January 26, 2006

The Empire of Darkness Series #30: This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine


Hello everyone!

I lost count of how many hours I've spent preparing this compilation — I never keep track of this anyway ;-) — but one thing sure is that this 85 page long diary — or perhaps I should say diarrhea! — contains some of the most disturbing material I've ever networked —and believe me this is no fun for me to expose you with this kind of stuff. Which is why you'll find below to introduce the item 4 below, "Collapse of U.S. Economy Imminent", a dire warning that explicitly warns fainthearted readers to skip this part or risk being pretty shocked. I trust all seasoned readers of these compilations over the years won't be too shaken. Nevertheless it is the overall picture that one can draw from the current news that bothers me most. With the Bush junta being on the threshold of losing its grip — because of the indictments and deluge of corruption scandals unearthed by the FBI — on the absolute dictatorial powers they have bestowed upon themselves, the temptation is great to unleash some kind of last-ditch fake terrorist attempt to terrorize the US public into submission. At the same time, military preparations for a nuclear attack (with so-called "low yield" nukes) against Iran — perhaps "justified" by the fake terrorist attack mentioned above — appear to be all set and ready to go. This would undoubtedly unleash a series of worldwide repercussions that could trigger the kind of global conflict religious extremists, both in the US and in Iran, are hoping to see unleashed.

Faced with all these disquieting scenarios, my sense is that we are faced right now with a major test of our unshakable faith in the Powers for Good to assist us, both from the invisible realms of creation as well as in the physical one, in thwarting all such attempts, plans and plots. This is also a most significant test of our innate ability to remain spiritually centered and efficient and to resolutely continue to shine, shine, shine...

Hence the title of this compilation...

And if you feel UP to the divinely-sponsored mission of SHINING your ALL, make sure to join again this Sunday and the next one to Make Sure Peace Prevail In Iran...

Jean Hudon
Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator


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NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency (NSA) may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse, nor protection..........


"Have you ever given much thought to what a blessing really is and how it works? Although there are numerous definitions, most of them fringed with religious connotation, a blessing is basically an expression of Good. It is a way of conferring happiness and prosperity upon another, a sign of unconditional approval, and a conduit between souls. A blessing acknowledges the Good that is inherent in our world. Burdens, pain, suffering and lack flee from a blessing the way darkness flees from light. It is impossible to bless someone else without being blessed in return because when our minds are focused on offering good to another, there is no room for thoughts of our own troubles and woes. And in that moment when our thoughts are removed from that which bothers us, it loses its power over us. A blessing is the most divine expression of unconditional love we are capable of expressing. The soul connection between ourselves and those we bless demonstrates our relationship with a Higher Power and allows us to recognize evidence of the Divine in others. By embracing the true essence of a blessing, we keep love circulating. We become One with those we bless. That is what a blessing is. Have you blessed anyone today?"

— Kate Nowak kate@livemoreabundantly.com> - More about her below


"Those of us who are committed to the preservation of life in all its staggering diversity and beauty have only the same resources we’ve always had: the capacity to move, and help each other to move, into expanded, awakened consciousness; the purity and strength of our intention, and the courage and creativity to realize the vision that another world is possible."

— Ralph Metzner - Taken from http://gaiamedia.org


"The news is full of Iran and we all have reason to be concerned because the stakes are so high and divisions deep. Self-interested politics and power-play abounds and trustworthy leadership is lacking. It's a win-win for politicians and their media outlets because it beats up fear of external threat, of nuclear war, and makes people more pliable and amenable to messages of the "we'll protect you if you trust us" kind. The partiality of much news reporting does not mean we should ignore it, but rather ensure the omissions and spin is balanced."

— "Nadia McLaren" nadia.mclaren@gmail.com> who regularly compile and dispatch news and had lots of related material on Iran - More on this below.


"Keep your eye on the Abramhoff case. Abramhoff will unlock the door to all of this," said Heneghan who also cited Abramhoff's ties to Tom Delay and the Russian Mafia. Heneghan had his usual words of defiance for the criminals and conspirators within the U.S. government and those foreign agents that have infiltrated from outside our country. "We go where they don't want to go. We are not only going to expose them, we are going to defeat them. And we are going to rid ourselves of them. I don't care whatever it takes to defeat this filth. They are cowardly bastards though, that is what gives me not only hope, but confidence in victory. They will not stand up, they will run. But I have got bad news for them, when they run, we will pursue them. Because justice will be done for the crimes they have committed."

— Tom Heneghan in Update from cloakanddager.de for January 8, 2006


"I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it."

— Dwight D. Eisenhower


"I know you have a great sense of humor, and certainly a well-developed sense of irony, but this is no longer funny. Maybe it's a new form of Canadian irony -- reverse irony! OK, now I get it. First, you have the courage to stand against the war in Iraq -- and then you elect a prime minister who's for it. You declare gay people have equal rights -- and then you elect a man who says they don't. You give your native peoples their own autonomy and their own territory -- and then you vote for a man who wants to cut aid to these poorest of your citizens. Wow, that is intense! Only Canadians could pull off a hat trick of humor like that. My hat's off to you."

— Michael Moore Statement on Canadian Election (January 20th, 2006) http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php
Recommended by "Carol Welhan" caroling@telus.net>


Worthy of Your Attention

Note from Jean: I found the following message by Kate Nowak Katenowak@direcway.com> on the ERN guestbook. Her Flash movie is exceptional and REALLY worth viewing. Read it aloud if you are so inspired. It is a great experience! I will soon translate in French the movie and the introductory page on her website and I suggest anyone else with good translation skills who might be interested to offer Kate a translation to contact her directly...
"Great site. I recently created a short flash movie about blessings which is the core of a 100-day experiment to share a heartfelt blessing of good with at least one million people. I thought your readers might be interested. It can be found at http://www.mayyoubeblessedmovie.com
After viewing the movie, anyone interested in joining the experiment may do so. Thank you so much for the great work you are doing. May you and your readers be blessed with all things good."

Google Earth Program
http://earth.google.com/
You can view almost anywhere on earth, zoom in, and even change perspective from plan to elevation or anywhere in between. If you see something of interest you can double click on it and view closer. Google Earth streams the world over wired and wireless networks enabling users to virtually go anywhere on the planet and see places in photographic detail. This is not like any map you have ever seen. This is a 3D model of the real world, based on real satellite images combined with maps, guides to restaurants, hotels, entertainment, businesses and more. You can zoom from space to street level instantly and then pan or jump from place to place, city to city, even country to country.

"Through the Light"
http://www.near-death.com/experiences/reincarnation04.html
Mellen-Thomas Benedict's Near-Death Experience - Mellen-Thomas Benedict is an artist who survived a near-death experience in 1982. He was dead for over an hour and a half and during that time, he rose up out of his body and went into the Light. Curious about the universe, he was taken far into the remote depths of existence, and even beyond, into the energetic Void of Nothingness behind the Big Bang. Because of his near-death experience, he was able to bring back scientific discoveries. CLIP - Recommended by "Stephanie Sutton" ssutton@phisciences.com> Check also:
The NDE and the City of Light - Kevin Williams' research conclusions (VERY INTERESTING!!!)
http://www.near-death.com/experiences/research19.html

UNIVERSAL CIVILIZATION/New Earth Global Village News (Motherlode of cosmic information!)
http://www.newciv.org/nl/newslog.php/_v92/__show_log/

We are to become a galactic civilisation (31 Oct 2005)
http://www.newciv.org/nl/newslog.php/_v92/__show_article/_a000092-000102.htm
As incredible as it may seem to many people, humanity & Earth is undergoing evolutionary change Advancement. We are to become a galactic civilisation, interacting positively with the many star system civilisations in our galaxy and universe, and indeed other universes. It is our true destiny to change from a society based on fear and competition, to one based on love, peace, and harmony. The current chaos is merely part of the quickening change.CLIP

Galactic Humans
http://www.uciv.bravehost.com/
As ascended galactic humans (physical angels), we will be able to interact with all sentient life forms in our galaxy, universe, and beyond. We will regain extraterrestrial powers that we lost many lifetimes ago. Telepathy, teleportation, and interplanetary travel without space craft will be possible using our Light body or merkaba. CLIP

Float Like a Butterfly (23 Jan 2006)
http://www.grist.org/comments/interactivist/2006/01/23/hill/index.html?source=daily
Julia Butterfly Hill, activist and onetime tree-sitter, answers Grist's questions. Recommended by Susan R. Jason susieq@mcn.org> who wrote: "Julia has long been one of our local heroines here on the California North Coast. We were very blessed to have her living here in this community for several years, two of which she lived 200 feet up among the branches of an ancient redwood tree she named Luna. She succeeded in saving a small grove of trees (including Luna) in the area of that tree-sit, but more importantly, she raised awareness on a global level, of the devastation to our Mother Earth and Her watersheds, brought on by irresponsible, unsustainable corporate logging practices. I don't know how many are aware of the fact that the less than three percent of the remaining old-growth ancient redwoods continues to be ruthlessly and senselessly clear-cut. These forests' greatest value are as ecosystems of live trees, not as for-profit horizontal forests of lumber! Julia is a totally committed activist who comes from the heart, and consistently "walks her talk" and sets a most fine example for all of us. I hope you find time to read this Grist interview... questions can be sent in to Julia til Weds noon, and will be answered in the next interview. Both of Julia's books are well worth the read. They are: The Legacy of Luna... the story of her tree-sit, and One Makes A Difference."

Grizzly Bear in Peril
http://www.savebiogems.org/bears/takeaction.asp
Urge the Bush administration not to remove Yellowstone's grizzly bears from the endangered species list. (...) Stripping endangered species protection from Yellowstone's bears would open their habitat -- vast wild forests around the park -- to large-scale real
estate and energy development. It also would allow hunters to kill bears that roam outside the park. The state of Wyoming has already announced plans to allow grizzly bear hunting as soon as the bears are off the endangered species list.

Lots of weird news and strange material
http://www.surfingtheapocalypse.net/

LOTS of news headlines compiled by Mark Elsis
http://www.lovearth.net/news.php


CONTENTS

1. Iranian official: UN sanctions may lead us to seal off Persian Gulf
2. Nuclear War against Iran
3. IRAN'S OIL-EXCHANGE THREATENS THE GREENBACK
4. Collapse of U.S. Economy Imminent
5. If you build it, they will come...
6. International Jurists From 14 Countries Trying To Nail Bush And His Killer Cronies For Illegal Murder & Torture
7. Unfathomed Dangers In U.S.A. Patriot Act Renewal
8. Argentina Breaks Plutocrat, Banker Stranglehold
9. Alert: Two dangerous Navy proposals
10. Future depends both on Hamas and Israeli government
11. Free Travel Accommodation with like-minded people...
12. Imperishable Body of Russian Buddhist Lama
13. Best Prayer Seen In A Long Time...


See also:

Impeachment hearings: The White House prepares for the worst (1/23/2006)
http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/impeachment.htm
President Bush waved to the press on Jan. 22 after returning to the White House from Camp David. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press) The Bush administration is bracing for impeachment hearings in Congress. "A coalition in Congress is being formed to support impeachment," an administration source said. Sources said a prelude to the impeachment process could begin with hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee in February. They said the hearings would focus on the secret electronic surveillance program and whether Mr. Bush violated the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Administration sources said the charges are expected to include false reports to Congress as well as Mr. Bush's authorization of the National Security Agency to engage in electronic surveillance inside the United States without a court warrant. This included the monitoring of overseas telephone calls and e-mail traffic to and from people living in the United States without requisite permission from a secret court. Sources said the probe to determine whether the president violated the law will include Republicans, but that they may not be aware they could be helping to lay the groundwork for a Democratic impeachment campaign against Mr. Bush. (...) On Jan. 16, former Vice President Al Gore set the tone for impeachment hearings against Mr. Bush by accusing the president of lying to the American people. Mr. Gore, who lost the 2000 election to Mr. Bush, accused the president of "indifference" to the Constitution and urged a serious congressional investigation. He said the administration decided to break the law after Congress refused to change the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. "A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government," Mr. Gore said. "I call upon members of Congress in both parties to uphold your oath of office and defend the Constitution,” he said. “Stop going along to get along. Start acting like the independent and co-equal branch of American government that you are supposed to be under the constitution of our country." CLIP

More Americans Favor Impeaching Bush, Poll Says
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012606O.shtml
After the unfounded claims about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and recent news of domestic spying without warrants, mainstream politicians and ordinary voters are talking openly about the possibility that President Bush could be impeached. So is at least one powerful senator, Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

They Know They Broke the Law
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012506Y.shtml
William Rivers Pitt writes: Bush and the boys have taken to the road this week to defend the indefensible. To wit: spying on American citizens without a warrant is fine and dandy, because the President can do whatever he wants, because laws are meaningless in the main, because Osama may be under your bed sharpening his cutlass. The road trip started in Kansas and will wend its way hither and yon, spreading bad information and flat-out lies at every whistle-stop.

Bush Administration Launches Campaign Of Lies In Defense Of Government Spying (January 25, 2006)
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jan2006/nsa-j25.shtml
The Bush administration has initiated a campaign to defend its illegal spying program, employing its well-established technique of brazenly lying to the American people.The campaign began last week with a speech by Vice President Dick Cheney on January 19 and one by White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove on January 20. Rove denounced the mild criticisms made by some Democrats of the National Security Agency spying program as exhibiting a “pre-9/11” mentality, which “makes them wrong, wrong deeply and profoundly and consistently.” Coming from Rove, these remarks are a clear sign that the Republican Party plans to run in the 2006 elections on the basis of a defense of the administration’s criminal policies. (...) The administration’s offensive is designed to cover up the basic fact that the government has been operating a program that is in direct violation of US law and the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. In particular, the NSA spying violates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which was put in place as a direct consequence of revelations of massive illegal surveillance of US citizens and opponents of government policies. (...) The inclusion of surveillance of communications of US citizens under the category of “military action” underscores the limitless character of the power claimed by the president. The principle of the separation of powers is thrown out the window, and there is essentially no action that the president might take that could not be justified using the same argument. CLIP

Bush on Trial for Crimes against Humanity
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012406Z.shtml
The International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration (http://www.bushcommission.org) convened last weekend in New York City's Riverside Church. In the tradition of the Russell tribunal, the panel of judges at the commission of inquiry heard evidence of George W. Bush's war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, and elsewhere. (...) Harry Belafonte gave the other keynote address. "When a government fails to protect justice," Belafonte declared, "it is the responsibility of the people to rise up and change the guard, change the regime." In a hoarse voice, the legendary singer charged, "Those who fail to answer that call should be charged with patriotic treason." (...) Dahr Jamal, who spent 8 months in occupied Iraq as an independent journalist, also testified at the commission. He charged that the US military carried out collective punishment in Fallujah in violation of international law. Snipers engaged in targeted killings, and troops prevented ambulances from reaching the wounded and prevented the wounded from receiving medical attention, violations of the Geneva Conventions. The United States decided that the entire city of Fallujah, with more than 350,000 civilians, was "a free-fire-zone," Jamal said. In the attack on Fallujah in November 2004, between 4,000 and 6,000 civilians were killed. The US military employed illegal weapons, including cluster bombs, depleted uranium, and white phosphorous. Jamal accused the media, including CNN, Fox, Judith Miller, Thomas Friedman, Bill O'Reilly, and Rush Limbaugh, of aiding and abetting the Bush administration's war crimes and crimes against humanity in their coverage of the US assault on Fallujah. CLIP

IMPEACHAPALOOZA-2006
http://www.impeachapalooza.org/
IMPEACHAPALOOZA-2006 is multi-act entertainment extravaganza for the purpose of educating and raising awareness of IMPEACHMENT as a tool for ridding ourselves of ALL the corrupt scoundrels from all three branches of our government! This includes: * Impeaching George W. Bush and his partner in crime, Dick Cheney* Impeaching any member of the Supreme Court who has upheld laws that violate the constitution * Impeaching any member of Congress who has voted to support any law (such as the 'Patriot' Act) that is contrary in letter or spirit to the Constitution of the United States.* Raising public awareness about 3rd.-Party alternatives to corrupt 'Republicrat' candidates.

William Rivers Pitt | Democrats: Get Up and Walk Out
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012206A.shtml
When George W. Bush delivers the State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 31, a little more than a week from now, William Rivers Pitt proposes that every single Democrat present in the House chamber for the speech should, at a predetermined moment, stand up and walk out in silent protest.

Throw A House Party For The State Of The Union Address
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3168
Does the thought of watching President Bush give the State of the Union address (scheduled for January 31) leave you feeling a bit depressed? We have the solution: throw a house party to support United For Peace And Justice and your local peace and justice group. And have fun!To support your efforts in hosting a house party, we have prepared a "Parties for Peace & Justice" kit, with instructions and a timeline for throwing a house party, a sample invitation, RSVP form and other support materials. CLIP

The Real State of Our Union
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012406A.shtml
What is the state of our union in 2006? Republicans today control the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House. They have absolute power, and it has corrupted their Party and led to the culture of corruption that we see now in Washington. Senator Harry Reid tells what happens to the state of our union when leaders put special interests ahead of Americans' interests.

Harry Belafonte Speaks at Duke (January 16)
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2006/01/belafonte_speech.html
Durham, N.C. -- Entertainer and human-rights activist Harry Belafonte spoke for an hour and a half at Duke Chapel Sunday, telling anecdotes about his friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., recounting his rise from poverty to worldwide success as a singer and urging the crowd to pursue King’s dream by helping those in prison, victims of Hurricane Katrina and others in need."Dr. King lives. His spirit lives," Belafonte said to the standing-room-only crowd. Belafonte was the keynote speaker in Duke’s three-day celebration of the King holiday, which continues today (Monday) with a series of "Freedom School" discussions on contemporary social issues and a staged reading of the play "Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark," written by Duke literature professor Ariel Dorfman. It began Friday with a talk by film director Charles Stone III. Belafonte also addressed the recent controversy over his recent trip to Venezuela, during which he criticized President Bush."I go where things are happening and see for myself," he said. "Such an experience recently has unfolded a new set of problems."He said he went to Venezuela after President Hugo Chavez’s offer of help after Hurricane Katrina was rebuffed by the Bush administration. "Our people called out in their pain and suffering and fear and our government did not respond," Belafonte said. "When the Venezuelan government stepped into this hollow moment... our president arrogantly dismissed it." He was harsh in his criticism of President Bush, saying, "Killing is our easiest tool. When you look at the president who has led us into a dishonorable war that has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people, many our own sons and daughters, I ask myself what Dr. King would have asked..."It is an act that has driven fear and terror into the hearts of the American people. What is the essential difference in quality of our humanity for those who would do the cruel and tragic deed of flying an airplane into a building and killing 3,000 innocent Americans and those who would lie and lead the nation into a war that has killed hundreds of thousands?"Excuse me, fellow citizens, if the line for me becomes a little blurred." Belafonte’s speech was punctuated by applause and the occasional "Hallelujah!" as he told stories from his own life and also urged the crowd to action. CLIP

Belafonte Continues Tirade Against Bush (January 21, 2006)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060121/ap_on_en_mu/belafonte_bush
NEW YORK - Entertainer Harry Belafonte, one of the Bush administration's harshest critics, compared the Homeland Security Department to the Nazi Gestapo on Saturday and attacked the president as a liar."We've come to this dark time in which the new Gestapo of Homeland Security lurks here, where citizens are having their rights suspended," Belafonte said in a speech to the annual meeting of the Arts Presenters Members Conference."You can be arrested and not charged. You can be arrested and have no right to counsel," said Belafonte. Belafonte's remarks on Saturday - part of a 45-minute speech on the role of the arts in a politically changing world - were greeted with a roaring standing ovation from an audience which included singer Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, and members of the arts community from several dozen countries.Messages seeking comments from Homeland Security and White House officials were not immediately returned.He had called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" during a trip to Venezuela two weeks ago. Belafonte, 78, made that comment after a meeting with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.The Harlem-born Belafonte, who was raised in Jamaica, said his activism was inspired by an impoverished mother "who imbued in me that we should never capitulate to oppression." He acknowledged that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks demanded a reaction by the United States, but said the policies of the Bush administration were not the right response."Fascism is fascism. Terrorism is terrorism. Oppression is oppression," said Belafonte, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Bush, he said, rose to power "somewhat dubiously and ... then lies to the people of this nation, misleads them, misinstructs, and then sends off hundreds of thousands of our own boys and girls to a foreign land that has not aggressed against us."

Annual U.S. Missile Defense Spending Could Double
http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2006_1_24.htm
WASHINGTON — The annual cost of the Bush administration’s missile defense plans could more than double to $19 billion by 2013, and total $247 billion from 2006 through fiscal 2024, according to a U.S. government report (see GSN, Nov. 30, 2005). (...) The projected growth for missile defense costs corresponds with substantial overall Defense Department cost increases, according to the CBO report. Military funding reached $509 billion in fiscal 2005, including $74 billion in supplemental funding, it says. It says the annual total could average about $522 billion a year through 2011 and $563 billion per year from 2012 through 2024, if historical cost growth and military expenditures to fight terrorists abroad are factored. CLIP

Fitzgerald Eyes Plame-Niger Conspiracy
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012306Z.shtml
State Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because some of the information they discussed is still classified, indicated that the White House had substantial motive for revealing undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to reporters.

Alito Filibuster: It Only Takes One
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012306I.shtml
Robert Parry writes: If confirmed, Alito would join at least three other right-wing justices - John Roberts, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas - who believe that George W. Bush should possess near total control of the US government during the ill-defined War on Terror. If Anthony Kennedy, another Republican, joins them, they would wield a majority.

'Alito a Threat to Our Fundamental Rights'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012406Y.shtml
Senator Patrick Leahy argues: This is a nomination that I fear threatens the fundamental rights and liberties of all Americans now and for generations to come. This President is in the midst of a radical realignment of the powers of the government and its intrusiveness into the private lives of Americans. This nomination is part of that plan.

Council of Europe Finds US Rendition Flights Illegal
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012406J.shtml
Dick Marty, a Swiss parliamentarian heading a Council of Europe investigation into the rendition claims, said in an interim report that US activities had been both illegal and counter-productive.

CIA Flights Likened to the Work of Gangsters
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012506L.shtml
The United States was accused of "gangster tactics" yesterday, and European governments were accused of turning a blind eye to the "outsourcing of torture," as a human rights watchdog concluded that the CIA conducted illegal anti-terror activities in Europe.

The Other Big Brother: The Defense Department
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012206X.shtml
Late on a June afternoon in 2004, a motley group of about 10 peace activists showed up outside the Houston headquarters of Halliburton to protest the corporation's war profiteering. To US Army analysts at the top-secret Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA), the "peanut-butter" protest was regarded as one of many potential threats to national security and began warrantless civilian monitoring.

US Spying on Bush Policy Dissenters
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012206Z.shtml
While the White House defended domestic surveillance as a safeguard against terrorism, a Florida peace activist and several Democrats in Congress accused the Bush administration on Friday of spying on Americans who disagree with President Bush's policies.

Warriors and wusses (January 24, 2006)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein24jan24,0,4137172.column?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
DON'T SUPPORT our troops. This is a particularly difficult opinion to have, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to put bumper stickers on his car. Supporting the troops is a position that even Calvin is unwilling to urinate on.I'm sure I'd like the troops. They seem gutsy, young and up for anything. If you're wandering into a recruiter's office and signing up for eight years of unknown danger, I want to hang with you in Vegas.And I've got no problem with other people — the ones who were for the Iraq war — supporting the troops. If you think invading Iraq was a good idea, then by all means, support away. Load up on those patriotic magnets and bracelets and other trinkets the Chinese are making money off of.But I'm not for the war. And being against the war and saying you support the troops is one of the wussiest positions the pacifists have ever taken — and they're wussy by definition. It's as if the one lesson they took away from Vietnam wasn't to avoid foreign conflicts with no pressing national interest but to remember to throw a parade afterward. Blindly lending support to our soldiers, I fear, will keep them overseas longer by giving soft acquiescence to the hawks who sent them there — and who might one day want to send them somewhere else. Trust me, a guy who thought 50.7% was a mandate isn't going to pick up on the subtleties of a parade for just service in an unjust war. He's going to be looking for funnel cake. CLIP

A New World Is Possible
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012606A.shtml
A new world is necessary but not possible, until we Americans get over the arrogant idea that we can solve the Iraq issue and the human rights violations problems alone. We have to reach out to fellow members of the human race all over the world to forge the bonds that are crucial to protecting innocent members of humankind who are impoverished or killed by our government and corporatism that has gone wild and is largely unchecked, writes Cindy Sheehan.

EU Commission caves in to biotech industry, Monsanto GM maize authorized
http://www.gmwatch.org

2005 warmest year on record, data indicates (Jan. 24, 2006)
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11009001/
‘Notable’ that temperatures high even without El Niño, NASA analysis says - A surprising Arctic warm spell is responsible for a 2005 that was likely the warmest year since instrument recordings began in the late 1800s, a leading researcher said Tuesday in describing a new federal analysis.

Coldest Temperatures In 50 Years Hit Germany, Bavaria (January 24 2006)
http://freeinternetpress.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5628
Germany was in the grip of some of the coldest temperatures in 50 years Monday after the recent freezing snap in Russia spread across much of Europe. Temperatures in Berlin plummeted to -17 Celsius (0 Fahrenheit), with a low of -33.8 Celsius (-28 Fahrenheit) recorded in parts of Bavaria. Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Romania saw a similar icy wave, with temperatures of -32 Celsius and below. Several southern European countries, including Greece, had snow. Meteorologists said they expected the arctic-style weather to continue until tomorrow. The severe cold snap has led to dozens of deaths across eastern Europe, as well as power breakdowns, snowstorms and traffic chaos. Polish officials said 27 homeless people froze to death over the weekend, bringing the total number of cold-related deaths this winter to 150. CLIP

California Can Profit by Reducing Emissions
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012406EB.shtml
California's ambitious plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions could create tens of thousands of new jobs and dramatically boost the economy in coming years, according to two new independent analyses. "It's basically a very good news story," said Ned Helme, president of the Center for Clean Air Policy, "We found you could do this very cheaply."

The scam of global warming is that we pay others for our complacency (Jan 17, 2006)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1687977,00.html
(...) But perhaps the most destructive effect of the carbon offset trade is that it allows us to believe we can carry on polluting. The government can keep building roads and airports and we can keep flying to Thailand for our holidays, as long as we purchase absolution by giving a few quid to a tree-planting company. How do you quantify complacency? How do you know that the behaviour the trade induces does not cancel out the carbon it sequesters?In other words I think it is fair to say that a scam is being perpetrated, but not of the kind Melanie Phillips alleges. We know that climate change will impoverish many people. We now know that it will make others very rich - but their money-making schemes will have precious little to do with saving the planet.

SWEDEN: WE WILL BREAK DEPENDENCE ON OIL BY 2020 (January 19, 2006)
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=10987&channel=0
The Swedish Minister for Sustainable Development, Mona Sahlin, has announced plans to break the country's dependence on oil by 2020. Writing in Swedish publication Dagens Nyheter recently, Minister Sahlin said that Sweden had the chance to be an international model in being the first government to break the dependency on fossil fuels. She claimed that, through a series of carrots and sticks, the country would boost its renewables sector and reach a state of energy self-sufficiency enhancing both an environmental and economic advantage. "The whole world is now dreading the problems brought about by dependence on oil," she wrote, highlighting the way that the damage wrought by hurricanes such as Katrina had focused the world's attention on oil dependency. "The Government is therefore setting a new policy target: the creation of the conditions necessary to break Sweden's dependence on fossil fuels by 2020. A Sweden free of fossil fuels would give us enormous advantages, not least by reducing the impact from fluctuations in oil prices. The price of oil has tripled since 1996! Old oil price records are now being beaten at a rapid rate." She proposed a number of measures to achieve these goals including: - Tax relief for conversion from oil, particularly for single family homes, but also public sector buildings to encourage conversion to renewable energy. - Higher targets for renewable energy so that the entire energy supply comes from renewable sources. - Tax breaks for renewable fuels for the transport sector; - Greater research and new knowledge for a renewable society; - Continued investment in district heating -- which has increased radically in Sweden in recent years -- and financial incentives to use biofuels in this. "Sweden has the chance to be an international model and a successful actor in export markets for alternative solutions," Ms Sahlin wrote. "But this requires conscious investments -- not a reactionary policy that obstructs the transition to alternative energy sources and investments in the environment of the future." "The aim is to break dependence on fossil fuels by 2020. By then no home will need oil for heating. By then no motorist will be obliged to use petrol as the sole option available. By then, there will always be better alternatives to oil."

Planet Earth, Year 2050
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012506EB.shtml
The authors of the world's most overlooked environmental study held a press briefing last week to discuss what life on the planet will be like in 2050. Their upbeat conclusion: fundamental changes can protect us from the worst consequences of overpopulation and climate change. This is good news - if we can act.

Johnson Left Hanging (GRIST SUMMARY)
Six former EPA chiefs tell Bush to cap and cut greenhouse gases
Six former heads of the U.S. EPA -- including five Republicans -- have blasted the Bush administration for failing to act on global warming. In an unprecedented united front, the ex-chiefs, gathered yesterday to commemorate the agency's 35th anniversary, agreed that debating the extent to which climate change is a human-caused phenomenon (a favorite Bushy pastime) is pointless. They want federally regulated carbon caps and cuts. Current EPA head Stephen Johnson defended Bush policies, but the panel wasn't biting. "This is not a sort of short-term cycle problem. This is a major disaster for the world," said Russell E. Train, EPA boss under Presidents Nixon and Ford. "To say we'll deal with it later and try to push it away is dishonest to the people, and self-destructive." Man, the commie pinkos are getting to everybody. Details at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011802072.html

The End is Nigeria (GRIST SUMMARY)
Oil pollution, corruption contribute to hostage-taking in Nigeria
In Nigeria, oil, corruption, pollution, and violence have produced a drama rich with 21st-century portent. Last week, militants in Nigeria's oil-rich delta region took four Western oil workers hostage. Their demands include more local control of Nigeria's massive oil wealth -- the proceeds of which typically end up in the pockets of crooked leaders -- and $1.5 billion from Royal Dutch Shell in compensation for pollution in the delta, like the big pipeline rupture last July that oozed contamination over farmers' fields and a fishing stream near the poor village of Iwhrekan. Villagers accuse Shell of sending thugs to ransack Iwhrekan after villagers chased off the company's chosen cleanup contractor -- charges the company denies. The Nigerian government and Shell reportedly want to pay the ransom and get back to business as usual. Nigeria is Africa's largest oil exporter, and is the fifth-largest supplier of America's imported oil. Details at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4631262.stm

We're No. 28! (GRIST SUMMARY)
U.S. environmental performance ranks below Malaysia, Chile, 25 others
We beat Cyprus! Yeah, boyee! The Mediterranean island nation comes in at 29th in a landmark pilot study ranking countries by their environmental performance. The U.S. comes in at a blazing 28th -- just behind most of Western Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Chile, and, uh, Slovakia. The 2006 Environmental Performance Index -- jointly produced by Yale and Columbia Universities -- ranks New Zealand No. 1 for overall success in attaining such environmental goals as sustainable fisheries and greenhouse-gas emission cuts. The U.S. scored at the top for environmental health factors like indoor air pollution and sanitation, but poorly on agricultural, forest, and fisheries management. The final report will be released at the World Economic Forum, the exclusive annual summit of business and policy pooh-bahs taking place this week in Davos, Switzerland. Details at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/23/politics/23environment.html?ex=1295672400&en=4a46ee655af5d776&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

Pesticide tests may use pregnant women, kids (January 24, 2006)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/256785_epa24.html
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration would allow some limited pesticide testing on children and pregnant women under controversial rules set to be made final as early as this week.After fielding about 50,000 public comments on its earlier human-testing proposals, the Environmental Protection Agency is setting out final rules that officials call tough and fair. But Democrats and environmentalists are raising an outcry, and courts could remain busy sorting it all out. "The fact that EPA allows pesticide testing of any kind on the most vulnerable, including abused and neglected children, is simply astonishing," Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., declared Monday. The new rules would prohibit regulators from using so-called "intentional exposure" research that involved children or pregnant women.But under what regulators described as "narrowly defined circumstances," such research could still be used -- if the researcher hadn't originally intended to submit the results to the EPA. CLIP

The Evidence for Ancient Atomic Warfare?
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/ancatomicwar1.html
Religious texts and geological evidence suggest that several parts of the world have experienced destructive atomic blasts in ages past. The following item appeared in the New York Herald Tribune on February 16, 1947 (and was repeated by Ivan T. Sanderson in the January 1970 issue of his magazine, Pursuit):When the first atomic bomb exploded in New Mexico, the desert sand turned to fused green glass. This fact, according to the magazine Free World, has given certain archaeologists a turn. They have been digging in the ancient Euphrates Valley and have uncovered a layer of agrarian culture 8,000 years old, and a layer of herdsman culture much older, and a still older caveman culture. Recently, they reached another layer.of fused green glass. It is well known that atomic detonations on or above a sandy desert will melt the silicon in the sand and turn the surface of the Earth into a sheet of glass. But if sheets of ancient desert glass can be found in various parts of the world, does it mean that atomic wars were fought in the ancient past or, at the very least, that atomic testing occurred in the dim ages of history? This is a startling theory, but one that is not lacking in evidence, as such ancient sheets of desert glass are a geological fact. (...) Mysterious Glass in the Egyptian Sahara - The following segment is One of the strangest mysteries of ancient Egypt is that of the great glass sheets that were only discovered in 1932. In December of that year, Patrick Clayton, a surveyor for the Egyptian Geological Survey, was driving among the dunes of the Great Sand Sea near the Saad Plateau in the virtually uninhabited area just north of the southwestern corner of Egypt, when he heard his tyres crunch on something that wasn't sand. It turned out to be large pieces of marvelously clear, yellow-green glass.In fact, this wasn't just any ordinary glass, but ultra-pure glass that was an astonishing 98 per cent silica. Clayton wasn't the first person to come across this field of glass, as various 'prehistoric' hunters and nomads had obviously also found the now-famous Libyan Desert Glass (LDG). (...) Alternatively, is it possible that the vitrified desert is the result of atomic war in the ancient past? Could a Tesla-type beam weapon have melted the desert, perhaps in a test? (..._) If one were to believe the great Indian epic of the Mahabharata, fantastic battles were fought in the past with airships, particle beams, chemical warfare and presumably atomic weapons. Just as battles in the 20th century have been fought with incredibly devastating weapons, it may well be that battles in the latter days of Atlantis were fought with highly sophisticated, high-tech weapons. CLIP

SECRET ENERGY HAUNTS CORAL CASTLE
http://www.surfingtheapocalypse.com/unexplained.html#secretenergy
The entire castle complex, which looks like a combination fortress and ancient temple, was constructed of huge coral blocks, many of which exceed five tons. Leedskalnin built the castle and everything in it by himself over 26 years -- using tools he made from scavenged junkyard parts.

MYSTERIES OF CORAL CASTLE
http://www.parascope.com/en/articles/coralCastle.htm
Florida's Coral Castle has attracted the international attention of professional construction engineers, astounded and mystified by the apparently impossible achievement of this diminutive wonder-worker. In the mid-1970s, for example, a large bulldozer was hired to manipulate a coral block equivalent to the Castle's 30-ton monolith; the bulldozer could not even lift it. (...) Leedskalnin never shared the secret of its construction with anyone, saying only that he had rediscovered the laws of weight, measurement, and leverage used by the Ancient Egyptians, and that these lost principles somehow involved the relationship of the Earth to certain positions of the heavenly bodies. Leedskalnin is quoted as saying, "I have discovered the secrets of the pyramids. I have found out how the Egyptians and the ancient builders in Peru, Yucatan, and Asia, with only primitive tools, raised and set in place blocks of stone weighing many tons." The very stones of Coral Castle support his story -- at an average of six tons, they are twice the weight of the blocks in Egypt's Great Pyramid at Giza. (...) Like the enigmas of its construction, its real function is unknown. Why did he make so many sculpted references and astronomical orientations to the heavens? For whom were 25 half-ton rocking chairs designed? To what or whom was his barbaric altar dedicated? What need could have demanded so massive a complex as Coral Castle? And why did Edward Leedskalnin devote his whole life to it? Today, Coral Castle is open to the public as the self-made monument of a reclusive man's mysterious genius.

Sky Anomalies (VERY WEIRD PHENOMENON - THE PICTURES ARE WORTH A LOOK!)
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/gen/page1258.html
I was driving near the Boise Air Terminal early yesterday afternoon (January 4, 2006). It had been raining in Boise for the past 4 days and yesterday the clouds began to thin. I caught sight of something strange coming over the horizon from the West and pulled over to watch it. As it drifted closer, I saw that it was shaped something like a snake slithering through the sky. I snapped a photo of it with my Nikon Coolpix 7000 digital camera. Then, I turned around and saw another anomaly in the sky toward the East. I changed locations so that I could get a better picture of it. It looked like the underside of a horseshoe crab. I have no explanation for either of these phenomena.

Explosive booms heard across Southeastern North Carolina (Jan 19, 2006)
http://www.wwaytv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=4271113&nav=menu70_2
Thousands of people reported hearing a series of explosive "booms" all across New Hanover County and in some sections of Brunswick County late Tuesday afternoon. Thoughts of the nuclear power plant exploding, an earthquake or a terrorist strike are just some of the theories that were tossed around after hearing the sounds. We spoke with a geologist to get to the bottom of it, but most of the information is pointing towards some type of military exercise. CLIP

International Symposium on the occasion of the 100th Birthday of Albert Hofmann
Held from 3 to 15 January 2006 in Basel, Switzerland
On the occasion of the 100th birthday of Dr. Albert Hofmann on 11 January 2006, the Gaia Media Foundation staged an International Symposium on the most widely known and most controversial discovery of this outstanding scientist. LSD - three letters that changed the world. Since 19 April 1943, the day Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann discovered this psychoactive substance, millions of people all over the world have experienced a higher reality with profound and psychological insights and spiritual renewal; created innovative social transformation, music, art, and fashion; were healed from addiction and depression; experienced enlightened insights into the human consciousness. Some 60 years later more than 80 experts from all over the world have presented an in-depth review of all aspects of this unique phenomenon, informing and discussing history, experiences, implications, assessed the risks and benefits of this most potent of all psychoactive substances. LSD - a challenge in the past, now, and in the future. CLIP Basel, 15 January 2006 (...) An Overwhelming, Positive Response: The symposium was a huge success with some 2,000 visitors from 5 continentsand from over 40 countries. "These figures are way beyond our expectations and we are very happy with that result, and with the over all extremely positive resonance," says Dieter A. Hagenbach, program manager of the symposium and president of the organizing Gaia Media Foundation. More than 200 media professionals from all over the world covered the symposium. Appeal for the Authorities: Finally, the speakers and Albert Hofmann signed an appeal in which they ask the authorities in Bern, Brussels and Washington for a revised and free-of-prejudice handling of LSD and related non-addictive substances, to make it accessible for scientific research again. More details at http://www.lsd.info/symposium/media-en/medienmitteilungen
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