Beattie ready for backlash over dam decisions

As residents on the Logan and Mary rivers absorb the dam announcements of the past two days, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says he is prepared for the political fallout.

Climate change disrupts fisheries

By ANNE MATHER

July 8th

TASMANIA'S fisheries and agriculture industries are in jeopardy because of climate change, says a report released yesterday.

The report warns warming ocean waters could threaten Tasmania's abalone and rock lobster industries as well as farmed and wild fish stocks.

Temperature rises could also hit the state's dairy farms, vineyards and orchards.

The report by climate change expert Melanie Fitzpatrick, commissioned by the Australian Greens, shows climate change is already affecting Tasmania's environment and economy.

Greens Senator Christine Milne said all sectors of the state needed to focus urgently on how to adapt to the changes and to minimise their impacts.


The report, The Impact of a Changing Climate on Industry Sectors, warns that the $150million abalone industry is in jeopardy because rising water temperatures along the East Coast has introduced the long-spined sea urchin, which is devastating kelp forests needed by abalone.

The report says the East Coast has already seen a 1C rise in surface ocean temperature since 1940, and further rises could hurt the Atlantic salmon farming industry.

Letter From Michael Moore

Friends,

Just a quick note to let you know how things are going.

Back in February, I asked if people would send me letters describing their experiences with our health care system. I received over 19,000 of them. It was truly overwhelming as we literally took a month and read them all. To read about the misery people are put through on a daily basis by our profit-based system was both moving and revolting. That's all I will say right now.

We've spent the better part of this year shooting our next movie, "Sicko." As we've done with our other films, we don't discuss them while we are making them. If people ask, we tell them "Sicko" is "a comedy about 45 million people with no health care in the richest country on earth."

But like my other movies, what we start with (General Motors, guns, 9/11) is not always what we end with. Along the way, we discover new roads to go down, roads that often surprise us and lead us to new ideas -- and challenge us to reconsider the ones we began with. That, I can say with certainty, is happening now as we shoot "Sicko." I don't think the country needs a movie that tells you that HMOs and the pharmaceutical companies suck. Everybody knows that. I'd like to show you some things you don't know. So stay tuned for where this movie has led me. I think you might enjoy it.

At this point, we've shot about 75% of "Sicko" and will soon begin putting it together. It will be released in theaters sometime in 2007.

And if you don't hear much from me in the meantime, it's only 'cause I'm busy working. I realize that my silence doesn't stop the opposition with their weird obsession for me! It seems like not a week passes without my good name being worked into some nutty news story or commentary. (I have to say, though, I did enjoy Tom Delay blaming me and Ms. Streisand for why he had to resign from Congress!)

I hope all of you are enjoying your summer. If you're near the state of Michigan later this month, I'll be putting on the second annual Traverse City Film Festival in Traverse City, Michigan. I've personally selected 60 or so movies that I love, many of which did not get the notice or distribution they deserved. Others are brand new independent movies and documentaries that I hope will find a large audience when they are released.

The film festival will take place in this beautiful town in northern Michigan, from July 31st to August 6th. Appearing in person with their films will be David O. Russell ("Three Kings"), Lawrence Bender ("An Inconvenient Truth"), Terry George ("Hotel Rwanda"), Larry Charles ("Borat"), plus Jeff Garlin, Jake Kasdan, and other filmmakers. We're also going to show every feature film made by the greatest American director of all time, Stanley Kubrick. Joining us in person will be his executive producer, Jan Harlan, and actors Malcolm McDowell ("A Clockwork Orange") and Matthew Modine ("Full Metal Jacket"). We'll also be presenting a special salute to films made in Iran (a sort of "Let's get to know them first this time!" effort).

If you'd like to see the entire list of films, click here. Tickets go on sale today (July 7) at noon. To purchase your tickets (all seats $7), click here or call 231-929-1506. Last year we had 50,000 admissions, and we expect most films to sell out early this year.

Well, that's it for now. Bush has quietly closed down the special section of the CIA that was devoted solely to capturing Mr. bin Laden, so we can all rest easy now. I wonder who his next scary evildoer will be. A fearful nation awaits its marching orders, sir!

Yours,

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com

P.S. Don't forget to visit my website which I update every day with all the news the Bush stenographers (a/k/a "Mainstream Media") fail to put on page one.

Thousands March in Antiwar Rallies in Australia and Asia

By World Socialist Web Site
20 March 2006

Protesters in Australia and Asia took part in antiwar rallies and marches over last weekend to mark the third anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq and to demonstrate their continuing opposition to the subjugation of the country.

In Japan, about 2,000 people rallied on Saturday in a Tokyo park, carrying signs saying, “Stop the Occupation” as they listened to a series of antiwar speeches. The crowd later marched about 3.5 km toward Tokyo’s main Ginza shopping district. On Sunday, about 800 people marched on the US embassy chanting “No War, Stop the War”.

In Pakistan, protesters held antiwar rallies in several cities, chanting slogans such as “Down with America!” About 300 people marched through Multan, a main city in the eastern Punjab province, with some burning US flags, and about 200 gathered in the southern city of Karachi. Some 1,000 people took part in a demonstration in Lahore.

On Sunday, around 2,000 protesters took part in a rally in Seoul to demand the withdrawal of South Korean troops from Iraq. South Korea has the third-largest contingent of foreign troops in Iraq after the US and Britain. A demonstration also took place outside the US Embassy in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

In Australia, whose government joined the US and Britain in the 2003 invasion and still has some 1,300 troops in and around Iraq, about 1,000 people in both Sydney and Melbourne demonstrated, with smaller rallies in other cities.

Protesters marched through central Sydney on Saturday, chanting “End the war now” and “Troops out of Iraq”. Many campaigners waved placards branding President Bush the “World’s No. 1 Terrorist” or expressing concerns that Iran could be the next country to face invasion.

Two days earlier, visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was heckled by campaigners in Sydney, who accused her of having “blood on her hands”. During Saturday’s march, Rice was secluded in a high-security location. A tripartite meeting involving Rice and the Japanese and Australian foreign ministers was convened in an inaccessible former naval base.

At Melbourne’s rally on Friday night, the banners included, “Medicare not missiles,” “End Terrorism” and “Troops out now”.

Significantly, the demonstrations in Sydney and Melbourne included many young people, mainly university and secondary students, looking for ways to express their disgust at the war and hoping to find political answers about what lies behind the turn to militarism.

However, the platforms organised by coalitions of radical and trade union groups provided no analysis whatsoever, and their only perspective consisting of keeping up protests in an effort to pressure governments, and opposition politicians, into pulling Australian troops out of Iraq.

The featured speakers in Sydney—Greens Senator Kerry Nettle, Teachers Federation president Maree O’Halloran and a Uniting Church minister, the Reverend Ann Wansbrough—described the war as immoral, inhumane and based on lies, but offered no explanations for why it had been launched. None even mentioned the oil reserves, let alone the drive for US hegemony over the Middle East and Central Asia, and Washington’s underlying economic crisis.

In fact, not one speaker, including various radicals, uttered the word capitalism, or even big business. No one referred to the working class or suggested a socialist alternative.

Nettle underscored the platform’s nationalist outlook, appealing to Prime Minister John Howard to “bring home” the troops so that they had no role in “fuelling sectarian violence” in Iraq. Neither she nor anyone else mentioned the Labor Party’s bipartisan support for the Howard government on the “war on terror” and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The official leaflet advertising the Sydney rally promoted the dangerous illusion that the quagmire in Iraq made it harder for the US to attack Iran and that the Howard government could be pressured to withdraw troops. It also made the claim that Labor leader Kim Beazley’s call for an “exit strategy” reflected the growing anger about the Iraqi disaster. In reality, Labor has criticised the government from the right for not bringing troops back to fight “terrorism” closer to home.

The relatively low turnout in large part reflects the deadend of the politics advanced by the protest leaders. There are many indications of the widespread opposition to the US occupation of Iraq. A speaking tour this month by British journalist Robert Fisk, known for his criticism of the Bush administration’s policies in the Middle East, drew packed audiences in Australia and New Zealand.

The results of a survey published in today’s Sydney Morning Herald showed that a majority believe that Australian troops should be withdrawn from Iraq—28 percent immediately and another 37 percent once the Japanese engineers guarded by Australian soldiers leave. The research conducted by UMR Research for the consultancy Hawker Britton also found that 49 percent of respondents believed that the invasion was “to protect oil interests”. By contrast, only 3 percent thought the war was to promote democracy in the Middle East and 8 percent believed it was to fight terrorism.

In both Sydney and Melbourne, World Socialist Web Site supporters distributed hundreds of WSWS articles and leaflets advertising the upcoming WSWS-Socialist Equality Party public meetings on “Socialism and the struggle against imperialist war”.

Aidan, a Sydney University student, told the WSWS: “I hate everything about the war, and I think that it’s wrong, but it is a product of our government, which is part of the capitalist system and props it up.

“It is a new period of war. The US is trying to gain a toehold in the Middle East, so that it can have some kind of advantage over Europe and also control the oil reserves, given India’s and China’s increasing development and reliance on oil. So I don’t think the wars are going to stop.

“There is no question that the financial side of the US is extremely weak. The entire economy is built on foreign debt. Maybe this is a gamble to keep control of the oil reserves and the two largest emerging energy markets, to keep the US on top.

“At the same time, I don’t know if the overthrow of capitalism is the answer, or at least I don’t think it’s achievable in the medium- or short-term. Socialism has such a bad name; it is widely seen to have failed. Socialism in its purest sense has never been adopted, although the Soviet Union came close, so there’s never been a trial run.”

Melanie, a young engineer in Melbourne, said: “I think this war is totally unnecessary. The major victims are women and children. I think the cause of the war is to protect investments—the US and its allies want to hold onto their oil and also to prevent the oil from falling into hands that the US doesn’t control.

“Howard should leave Iraq alone. It’s greed. They have money on their minds with the oil reserves. Saddam Hussein has been arrested, the regime is down and they haven’t found any weapons of mass destruction. What reason do they have to be there?

“Why does it take an army to rebuild a country? That isn’t supporting the people there. A positive contribution would be to build schools and hospitals, which would actually lift the morale of the country.”

Tony, a 26-year-old student from Sweden, has lived in three countries since the invasion of Iraq and, along with his friends, has attended antiwar demonstrations in each. Whether he had been in Stockholm, Oslo or Melbourne, “everyone I know is opposed to the war,” he said.

“It’s still unbelievable that America would just run over the UN. The UN said it’s illegal. They said you have to confirm that Saddam Hussein’s got weapons of mass destruction. They [the US] didn’t get rid of him when they attacked Iraq the first time [in 1991]. If he’d been a threat, why didn’t they do anything about him for ten years?”

Tony raised the issue of the Danish media’s anti-Muslim campaign, which occurred just before he came to Australia. “The cartoons were a provocation so after the riots they [the Danish Government] would be able to point with their fingers and say, ‘Look at those Muslims, they are crazy.’”

He was disturbed by the anti-Muslim campaign in Australia. “I saw a TV show with all this black and white footage—it was all, ‘Here come the foreigners to take your jobs.’ It’s like it was in the 1930s and 1940s. Back then it was the Jews, just now it seems to be the Muslims.”

Aspartame Is An Excitoneurotoxic Carcinogenic Drug!

By Russell L. Blaylock, MD
3-17-6

Dangers of Aspartame

In 1965, a researcher at G.D. Searle pharmaceutical company inadvertently discovered the artificial sweetener aspartame while working on an anti-ulcer medication. It was discovered that the sweetener was about 150X sweeter than an equal amount of sugar. Over the next decade, the research staff at the G.D. Searle Company conducted a series of studies in an effort to get the product approved by the FDA.

Over all this consisted of about 11 different studies. In 1974 aspartame was approved for use only in dry foods. Its approval was based on these studies. Yet, even before these studies were being presented to the FDA, the pharmaceutical giant was under investigation for improprieties associated with several of its other drugs.

During this investigation, Dr. Adrian Gross was place in charge of examining these studies and Jerome Bressler was assigned to examine three of the studies. This investigation included a through examination of the pathology laboratory used in the tests, interviews with the scientists and technicians involved and a careful analytic review of the studies themselves.

In a letter to Senator Howard Metzenbaum, Dr. Gross discussed many of their findings in this investigation. He pointed out that at the heart of the regulatory process was the ability of the FDA to "rely upon the integrity of the basic safety data submitted" to the FDA. Further, he says, "Our investigation clearly demonstrates that, in the case of G.D. Searle Company, we have no basis for such reliance now."

He then pinpoints why he had reached this conclusion, when he states:

"Through our efforts, we have uncovered serious deficiencies in Searle's operations and practices which undermine the basis for reliance on Searle's integrity in conducting high quality animal research to accurately determine or characterize the toxic potential of its products."

Dr. Gross expressed his disdain at the way teratology experiments were conducted. These are critical tests with any new drug because it determines possible dangers to unborn children when their mothers are exposed to the product during pregnancy. He found that technicians responsible for the tests had no formal training in teratology or toxicology. In fact, they were given some books by the company and trained themselves for 3 months.
Of most concern was the way the carcinogenicity tests were conducted. These are tests to see if the product could cause cancer. According to the law, any product intended as a food product cannot have demonstrated cancer-causing ability at a dose 100X that commonly consumed.

Even though the tests were poorly conducted they did demonstrate that aspartame was associated with a dramatic, dose-dependent, increase in a variety of brain tumors-mainly astrocytomas-the type commonly seen in humans. This means that the higher the dose of aspartame the more tumors that were found.

The most appalling findings were by Dr. Bressler's investigation group. They found that in several instances malignant tumors were classified as benign and that in others, tumors were removed from rats and tissue slides and reported as normal.

Dr. John Olney, a neuropathologist and neuroscientist, pointed out to FDA investigators that aspartame contained at least two distinct components that could harm the brain-diketopiperizine and aspartic acid. The former is a suspected carcinogen and the latter an excitatory amino acid. As a world expert on excitotoxicity, a process where amino acids such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid causes brain cells to be excited to death, he understood the real danger to babies and small children. His laboratory studies had demonstrated that high dose aspartame could cause the very same brain injury as other excitotoxins.

The 1974 approval was withdrawn and after the results of these investigations were reviewed privately, aspartame was given approval once again in 1981. Ironically, it was approved using the very same studies that resulted in it being banned as too dangerous for human consumption in 1975.

In 1981, Arthur Hull Hayes was appointed commissioner of the FDA and in 1983 he approved aspartame for use in beverages. Three months later her left the FDA and accepted a position as the Senior Medical Advisor to Searle's PR firm of Burson-Marstellar.

Despite Dr. Olney's, and other neuroscientists and pathologists', objections, the product was given approval, essentially for all foods and beverages.

In 1992, Dr. Olney published a study that suggested that the significant rise in human brain tumors was related to the widespread use of aspartame, since it began after the approval of aspartame in foods and beverages. In Searle's original study Dr. Olney found that there was a 47X increase in brain tumors in the rats exposed to high dose aspartame. Even Searle's figures showed a 25X increase in brain tumors. Using existing data Dr. Olney and his co-authors found a 65% increase in brain tumors in humans since aspartame approval. Dr. H.J. Roberts also reported a similar rise in a rare form of brain cancer associated with aspartame use.

And a recent study by one of Europe's most prestigious oncology groups (a million dollar study) found a non-statistically significant increase in brain tumors in 1800 rats tested using aspartame. The control animals, which received no aspartame, developed no brain tumors, whereas the aspartame exposed animals developed 10 malignant gliomas, 1 medulloblastoma and 1 malignant meningioma.

I have had contact with a number of young women who have developed brain tumors (astrocytomas) following heavy use of aspartame products. When we combined the experimental studies with the clinical data it is obvious that aspartame is strongly linked to brain tumors and most likely lymphomas and leukemias.

Of great concern is the study by Trocho and his co-workers from the University of Barcelona, which found that aspartame was absorbed and then broken down into its component parts, including methanol and the methanol was further broken down into formic acid and formaldehyde. Using sophisticated radioactive labeling techniques he proved that the formaldehyde from the aspartame attached itself to the DNA, RNA and proteins of cells and that it was very difficult to removed. Further, they showed that the formaldehyde caused breaks in the DNA.

This has major implications in humans, since DNA damage, as was seen in their study, causes a multitude of cancers in humans as well as worsening of autoimmune diseases, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's dementia, Parkinson's and ALS. It also causes concern because DNA breaks in the DNA in sperm and ova can cause increased cancer risk and developmental problems in the offspring of mothers and fathers consuming aspartame products.

In the Bressler examination of the Searle tumor study they found that the female animals exposed to aspartame had a very high incidence of uterine polyps, which were rare in rats not exposed. In fact, at even moderate doses, there was a 15X increase in uterine polyps. In addition, they found several ovarian tumors, breast fibroadenomas, several pituitary adenomas, several lymphomas and pancreatic tumors.

The new million-dollar study by Dr. Morando Soffritti and co-workers found a dramatic increase in malignant lymphomas and leukemias in female rats consuming even low doses of aspartame-doses known to be consumed by millions of children, pregnant women and others. Their carefully done study concluded that most likely it was the formaldehyde breakdown product from the aspartame that was causing the cancers, which confirms what Trocho and co-workers had found earlier. Formaldehyde is known to be a powerful toxin and carcinogen, even in low concentrations.

Of great concern was the finding by Trocho, that formaldehyde tends to accumulate in the DNA and is difficult to remove. This means that drinking even a single diet cola sweetened with aspartame can eventually produce significant DNA damage to raise one's risk of cancer and other diseases. Today, over 5000 products contain aspartame. It is also important to appreciate that we are exposed to a number of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, which can add to aspartame's toxicity.

There are sufficient studies on the effect of aspartame on the developing fetus to draw serious concern about the safety of this product. For example, it has been shown that aspartame in the dose accepted as safe by the FDA (50 mg/kg/day) can produce phenylalanine levels in a large number of women and their babies during pregnancy-large enough to produce abnormal development of the baby's brain. This is because phenylalanine interferes with the normal migration and connections of the developing brain.

In my estimation, pregnant women should never consume foods containing aspartame at any level, for the reasons I have discussed. The aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol are all known to produce abnormal development of a baby's brain.

There is also evidence from the studies done by Dr. Ralph Walton, indicating that depressed people are especially sensitive to the toxic effects of aspartame and that this is especially true of those with suicidal tendencies. In a separate study he has shown that virtually all of the independently conducted studies done on aspartame safety have found problems with the product, yet not a single study funded by the makers of aspartame (now Monsanto) reported even minor problems.

This is especially puzzling when you consider that among all the food-related complained registered by the FDA, 75 to 85% are related to aspartame. This alone should tell us there is a problem.

There are sufficient independent studies to show that aspartame is a dangerous product and that it should have never been given approval. In fact, it was approved using the same shoddy studies alluded to by Dr. Adrian Gross in his letter to Senator Howard Metzenbaum.

References

1. Letter to Senator Howard Metzenbaum from Dr. Adrian Gross, dated October 30, 1987.
2. Jerome Bressler, The Bressler Report, 4/25/77 to 8/4/77
3. Olney JW. Excitotoxins in foods. Neurotoxicology 1994;15:535-544.
4. Olney JW, et al. Brain damage in mice from voluntary ingestion of glutamate and aspartate. Neurobehavoral Toxicolology 1980; 2: 125-129.
5. Reynolds WA. Et al. Hypothalamic morphology following ingestion of aspartame or MSG in the neonatal rodent and primate: a preliminary report. Environmental Health 1976;2: 471-480.
6. Brunner RL, et al. Aspartame: assessment of developmental psychotoxicity of a new artificial sweetener Neurobehavioral Toxicology 1979;1: 79-86.
7. Wurtman RJ. Aspartame: possible effect on seizure susceptibility. Lancet 1985;9
8. Maher TJ, et al. Possible neurologic effects of aspartame, a widely used food additive. Environmental Health Perspectives. 1987;75: 53-57.
9. Walton RG, The possible role of aspartame in seizure induction. In, Wurtman RJ, Ritter-Walker E. (eds); Dietary Phenylalanine and Brain Function. Birkhauser, Boston, 1988, pp 159-162.
10. Changes in physiological concentrations of blood phenylalanine produce changes in sensitive parameters of human brain function. In, Wurtman RJ, Ritter-Walker E. (eds); Dietary Phenylalanine and Brain Function. Birkhauser, Boston, 1988, pp187-195.
11. Christian B, et al. Chronic aspartame affects T-maze performance, brain cholinergic receptors and Na+, K+-ATPase in rats. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 2004;78:121-127.
12. Nakao H, et a. Formaldehyde-induced shrinkage of rat thymocytes. Journal of Pharmacological Science 2003; 91: 83-86.
13. H.J. Roberts. Does aspartame cause human brain cancer? Journal Advancement in Medicine 1991; 4: 231-240.
14. Trocho C, et al. Formaldehyde derived from dietary aspartame binds to tissue components in vivo. Life Sciences 1998;63:337-349.
15. Scoffritti M, et al. Aspartame induces lymphomas and leukemias in rats. European Journal of Oncology 2005; 10: (in press)
16. Sabelli HC and Javaid JI. Phenylaethylamine modulation of affect: therapeudic and diagnostic implications. Journal of Neuropsychiatry 1995; 7: 6-14.
17. Scharma RP, et al. cerebrospinal fluid levels of phenylacetic acid in mental illness: behavioral associations and response to neuroleptic treatment. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1995; 91: 293-298.
18. Robain O, et al. Experimental phenylketonuria: effect of phenylacetate intoxication on number of synapses in cerebellar cortex of rats. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 1983; 61: 313-315.
19. Matalon R, et al. Aspartame consumption in normal individuals and carriers of phenylketonuria. In, Wurtman RJ, Ritter-Walker E. (eds); Dietary Phenylalanine and Brain Function. Birkhauser, Boston, 1988, pp41-52.
20. Monte WC. Aspartame: methanol and public health. Journal of Applied Nutrition 1984; 36: 52.
21. Walton RG, et al. Adverse reactions to aspartame: double-blind challenge in patients from a vulnerable population. Biological Psychiatry 1993; 34: 13-17.
22. Olney JW, Farber NB, Spitznagel E, Robins LN. Increasing brain tumor rates: is there a link to aspartame? J Neuropathology Experimental Neurology. 1996;55:1115-23.

New Mexico Begins Legislative Process To Ban Aspartame

Fifteen state senators sponsored a bill to rid New Mexico of what some have called "Rumsfeld's Disease."

By Greg Szymanski

A senate bill to rid New Mexico of what has been called "Rumsfeld's Disease" was introduced Thursday by Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, as 15 other senators from both sides of isle also signed on, supporting legislation to ban the deadly artificial sweetener, aspartame.

Linked to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for his efforts in the 1970s for putting the sweetener on the market, New Mexico is the first state to consider banning the artificial additive linked to numerous ill-health affects, including cancer.

If passed, no food containing any amount of the sweetener could be manufactured, sold or delivered in Mew Mexico, beginning July 1.

After the bill was introduced Thursday morning, Sen. Ortiz y Pino, appearing on Greg Szymanski's radio show, The Investigative Journal, said he needs support from six more senators for passage if the anti-aspartame legislation makes its way for a vote during the short 30-day legislative session.

The Albuquerque democrat also said the bill needs to be put on the "governor's call list" in order for it to be heard, remaining optimistic since Gov. Bill Richardson has expressed strong concern about the health hazards of aspartame in the past.

"I decided to introduce this bill, despite strong opposition by lobbyists because it is the right thing to do and many of my constituents feel the artificial sweetener is dangerous," said Sen. Ortiz y Pino while appearing on The Investigative Journal.

"I am very optimistic that the banning of aspartame will be passed into law since 15 senators signed on with me to support the bill. I know of one other who has said he join us, leaving only six more votes to get it passed in the senate if it comes to a vote this session."

Besides the senate bill, New Mexico's House of Representatives has also introduced a similar bill, House Bill 202, calling for the same ban on aspartame.

The House version of the bill was introduced by Gallup democrat, Irvin Harrison, who claims the measure, if passed, "means a vital national and international precedent would be set, one which could precipitate a new era of consumer protection in the United States and other nations."

New Mexico resident and Santa Fe art gallery owner Stephen Fox has been one of the main activists pushing to raise public awareness and outlaw the use of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved additive.

Fox and many others trying to ban aspartame have for years been trying to warn unsuspecting users of the dangers, saying aspartame contains "poisonous and deadly toxins."

Before legislation was introduced, Fox tried to get aspartame banned through the state's Environmental Improvement Board (EIB), but after pressure from aspartame lobbyists, postponed any action on Fox's request until July.

The New Mexico Legislature established the EIB in 1978 to handle rules on the state's food and water supply, liquid waste, air quality and radiation control. However, any action by the legislature to ban aspartame would supersede an EIB ruling.

Although the EIB said in October that it had the necessary power to handle Fox's petition, on Nov. 9, the board backtracked, asking in writing for Attorney General Patricia Madrid's opinion on whether state law gives it the authority to regulate aspartame and whether the board could carry out Fox's request to outlaw or put warning labels on products that contain the sweetener. The board has not received an answer from Madrid.

Regarding the adverse health affects from aspartame, a recent report from a highly respected international medical team has now linked the toxins in aspartame to lymphomas and leukemias.

The report by Morando Soffritti "Aspartame induces lymphomas and leukemias in rats" is in the European Journal of Oncology for July, 2005. Dr. Sofritti is a member of the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences Cancer Research Centre in Bologna, Italy.

As reported, Dr. Soffritti and his team carefully set the conditions whereby genetically-uniform test rats were treated equally with the exception of being divided into groups given varying levels of the toxic chemical sweetener.

According to health experts, rats are deemed appropriate subjects for testing aspartame on humans because both humans and rats metabolize the methyl ester in aspartame into methyl alcohol, then formaldehyde then formic acid - all deadly poisons.

Neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, MD, one of the world's leading authorities on aspartame neuro toxicity, extensively reviewed the Soffritti report.

"This study confirmed the previous study by Dr. Trocho and co-workers (1998), which also found the formaldehyde breakdown product of aspartame to be damaging to cellular DNA and that this damage was cumulative," said Dr. Blaylock. "The type of damage was a duplicate of that associated with cancers. These two studies strongly indicate that drinking a single diet cola sweetened with aspartame every day could significantly increase one's risk of developing a lymphoma or leukemia.

"This study should terrify mothers and all those consuming aspartame sweetened products. This was a carefully done study which clearly demonstrated a statistically significant increase in several types of lymphomas and leukemias in rats. Both of these malignancies have increased significantly in this country since the widespread use of aspartame.

"They also found an increased incidence of malignant brain tumors, even though it was not statistically significant. This does not mean there is no association to brain tumors, since ONLY the animals exposed to aspartame developed the tumors. With children and pregnant women drinking the largest amount of diet colas, this puts their children at the greatest risk of developing one of these horrible diseases. Their found that even lower doses of aspartame could cause these malignancies, yet, the higher the dose, the more cancers that were seen.

"Since aspartame can increase obesity and may even cause the metabolic syndrome that affects 48 million Americans, there is no reason to ever consume this product. At the least, it should be immediately banned from all schools."

Experts urge new iPod ear studies

15 March 2006, 10:26 GMT

Apple is facing a possible class action over iPod sound levels US health experts have urged further research into possible links between personal music players and potentially irreversible hearing loss.

The National Institutes of Health said new studies were needed into the effects of in-ear headphones used in music players like the Apple iPod.

The NIH was responding to calls by a US congressman into the possible long-term effects of loud music on hearing.

Apple is facing a lawsuit in California alleging the iPod can damage hearing.

John Kiel Patterson, of Louisiana, says his iPod is capable of generating more than 115 decibels, a dangerous noise level, and is not safe for prolonged use.

Democrat Edward Markey wrote to the NIH in January calling for the body to look at research into the growing use of personal music players.

Kids are often more familiar with these products than parents, but they don't realise how harmful these products can be to hearing Congressman Edward Markey

"Sales of the devices have shattered all expectations. There is a very real need for research," he said.

"Kids are often more familiar with these products than parents, but they don't realise how harmful these products can be to hearing. It can lead to a lifelong ailment."

In a separate development, a poll of US youngsters suggested that as many of half of iPod users report symptoms of hearing loss.

The survey, by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), found that just 49% of US high school students reported no symptoms of hearing loss, compared to 63% of adults.

Symptoms include a need to turn up the volume on the TV or radio to hear broadcasts; asking someone to repeat part of a conversation; and ringing in the ears.

ASHA polled 301 high school students and 1,000 adults across the US.

The Pentagon's defence scientists want to create an army of cyber-insects

The Pentagon's defence scientists want to create an army of cyber-insects that can be remotely controlled to check out explosives and send transmissions.

The idea is to insert micro-systems at the pupa stage, when the insects can integrate them into their body, so they can be remotely controlled later.

Experts told the BBC some ideas were feasible but others seemed "ludicrous".

A similar scheme aimed at manipulating wasps failed when they flew off to feed and mate.

The new scheme is a brainwave of the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), which is tasked with maintaining the technological superiority of the US military.

It has asked for "innovative" bids on the insect project from interested parties.

'Assembly-line'

Darpa believes scientists can take advantage of the evolution of insects, such as dragonflies and moths, in the pupa stage.

"Through each metamorphic stage, the insect body goes through a renewal process that can heal wounds and reposition internal organs around foreign objects," its proposal document reads.

The foreign objects it suggests to be implanted are specific micro-systems - Mems - which, when the insect is fully developed, could allow it to be remotely controlled or sense certain chemicals, including those in explosives.

The invasive surgery could "enable assembly-line like fabrication of hybrid insect-Mems interfaces", Darpa says.

A winning bidder would have to deliver "an insect within five metres of a specific target located 100 metres away".

The "insect-cyborg" must also "be able to transmit data from relevant sensors, yielding information about the local environment. These sensors can include gas sensors, microphones, video, etc."

'Fiction'

Scientists who spoke to the BBC news website were unconvinced.

Entomology expert Dr George McGavin of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History said the idea appeared "ludicrous".

"Not all wacky ideas are without value. Some do produce the goods. My feeling is this will probably not produce the goods," he said.

"What adult insects want to do is basically reproduce and lay eggs. You would have to rewire the entire brain patterns."

Dr McGavin said it appeared impossible to connect the technology to the right places during the metamorphic phase, particularly with regard to flight.

Prof Andrew Parker, research leader at the Natural History Museum's zoology department and a specialist in bio-mimetics, said the concept was not too far fetched but had its limits.

Technology could help direct an insect to chemicals such as in roadside bombs, he said, but controlling full flight was "a long way off".

Entomology expert at the museum, Stuart Hine, agreed it was plausible to use insects to detect explosives.

But he added: "I feel that the reality of such cyborg fusion between insect and machine lies squarely in the realms of fiction."

To receive micro-signals from the insects would require a dish "quite close and several feet in diameter, rendering it a less than covert operation".

Darpa's previous experiments to get bees and wasps to detect the smell of explosives foundered when their "instinctive behaviours for feeding and mating... prevented them from performing reliably", it said.

Darpa was founded in 1958 to keep US military technology ahead of Cold War rivals.

Its website says it has around 240 personnel and a $2bn (£1.1bn) budget. Supporters say much of its work has been successful, but it has also drawn criticism for unusable "blue-sky" projects.

A former director said in 1975: "When we fail, we fail big."

Australians kidnapped 'by mistake'

By Liz Bennett and wires

March 15, 2006

AN Australian teacher kidnapped in Gaza believes he and his colleague were taken by accident during a kidnapping blitz by Palestinian militants who thought they were Americans.

Science and maths teacher Oles Shcharytsya, said today he believed their kidnapping was a mistake.
"Because they thought that people are Americans and they apologised, it's all right," he said on Channel 9.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer confirmed the identity of the other Australian as junior teacher Kaye Bennett.

He told Sky News that Australian diplomats were now assisting the two teachers who were released unharmed.

"We know that they are fine and they were not maltreated in any way," he said.

"Our consular officials have been able to get in touch with them so that's a relief."
Mr Downer said there were two other Australians, believed to be teachers, still in the Gaza Strip, but they told officials they felt safe despite the abductions.

"All the Australians there are OK, as far as we know," he said.

Mr Shcharytsya and Ms Bennett were abducted when 20 armed men forced their way into the American International School in Beit Lahiya, principal Hendrik Taatgen said.

"I think, by the time the naval police had met us to get them back, we couldn't prevent the other two, the Australians, they were being taken by the kidnappers, Mr Taatgen told the ABC.

Mr Taatgen was himself abducted from the same school, along with his Australian deputy principal Brian Ambrosio, in December last year.

The abduction was reported just before 2am (AEDT) today and Ms Bennett and Mr Shcharytsya were released just two hours after they were snatched.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said DFAT travel advisories for the Gaza strip and West Bank contained longstanding recommendations that Australians don't go to the region and that those already there should leave because of the security situation.

Mr Shcharytsya and Ms Bennett had been held by Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed offshoot of the Palestinian leadership's mainstream Fatah movement, before being handed over to preventive security, a spokesman for the group told Agence France-Presse.

At least nine foreigners were kidnapped in the spate of abductions, with six released a short time later, after Israeli forces stormed a prison in search of a wanted militant.

The facility had been deserted by British monitors shortly before the raid, sparking claims of collusion between authorities.

Official 'didn't believe kickbacks'

March 15, 2006

A SENIOR federal government official was certain AWB would not have paid kickbacks to Saddam Hussein for fear of damaging its strong reputation, the Cole inquiry was told today.

The former head of the Department of Foreign Affairs' Middle East section, Bob Bowker, told the inquiry that when questions were raised six years ago about AWB possibly paying kickbacks to Iraq, in breach of United Nations sanctions, he did not believe them.
The inquiry into the kickbacks scandal has previously heard how Bronte Moules, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) officer with Australia's mission to the UN in New York, sent a cable in January 2000 alerting her bosses in Canberra to concerns about possible irregularities in AWB's contracts with Iraq.

The concerns were raised by the UN after complaints by an unnamed country, now known to be Canada, about how it had a shipment of wheat rejected by the Iraqis because it refused to pay kickbacks.

Within five days of receiving Ms Moules' cable Mr Bowker had replied, saying he had spoken to AWB executives in Melbourne and he believed it was unlikely AWB had made any illicit payments.

Mr Bowker today said that based on his extensive experience in the Middle East, and knowledge of how AWB prided itself on providing superior wheat to the region, he did not believe the wheat exporter would have made any illegal payments to Iraq.

He said "resorting to systematic corruption" would only have damaged AWB's strong reputation.
"It was most unlikely in my view that AWB, which enjoyed an enviable reputation for integrity in the Middle East, would be likely to jeopardise that reputation and that stature," Mr Bowker told the inquiry.

He said he met AWB executives in December 1999 in Melbourne where they reviewed AWB's market strategy for Iraq.

But Mr Bowker said AWB never suggested there was anything different or unusual about the company's dealings, and assured him the company respected the obligations with which the Australian government had to comply under the UN sanctions regime in Iraq.

He said that when he received Ms Moules' cable the following month, he had "no reason to anticipate or believe it likely that this allegation was going to be found to have substance".

The claims raised had been made by an unnamed party and were based on "essentially hearsay", he added.

Mr Bowker said that while he was aware of corruption in many Middle East countries and had heard tales of illicit deals involving sheep, cheese and construction, he did not believe Iraq was involved in shady wheat deals.

He also recounted what he called a "legendary" tale of how an Arab trader in an unnamed country took a rat out of his pocket and threw it into a shipload of wheat, sparking a discussion about how to fix such a contamination problem.

"But in the case of Iraq and Egypt, there has been no evidence ... of systematic corruption, nor has there been any suggestion that AWB was prepared to go down that path," Mr Bowker said.

The inquiry continues.

Disgraced doctor practising in NSW

March 16, 2006

A DOCTOR who allegedly infected 12 patients with hepatitis C in South Australia is working unrestricted in NSW.

A South Australian parliamentary inquiry committee said it was "horrified" to find Stephen Rabone was still practising, The Australian newspaper reported today.
Dr Rabone, who worked at Barmera District Hospital in the Riverland in the 1990s, settled out of court with the 12 patients in 2004 after being accused of infecting them with hepatitis C using syringes he had also used on himself, the paper reported.

"Amidst suspicions of missing saline, syringes and drugs, it was also alleged by nursing staff that Dr Rabone would order a drug, leave the room momentarily taking the drug with him, self-administer the drug out of sight, then return and inject the patients with the same syringe," the committee's report stated.

Dr Rabone had moved to NSW and had a postal address in the northern Sydney suburb of Lane Cove, the paper said.
The NSW Medical Board confirmed Dr Rabone was registered to practise medicine in the state.

Heavy security for Rice meeting

March 16, 2006

A HEAVY police presence is in place around the Sydney hotel where the world's most powerful woman, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, will shortly meet Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

Dr Rice, who arrived in Sydney from Indonesia overnight, will spend three days in Australia in what is her first visit since becoming America's chief diplomat.
Cement bollards are blocking streets surrounding the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney's CBD, with US Secret Service personnel supported by state and federal police.

Sniffer dogs have been stationed in hotel lobby and journalists due to attend the press conference at 11.45am (AEDT) are undergoing security checks.

It is the second big security operation in Sydney this week, after the Queen's whirlwind visit on Monday.

Bid to change bugging laws

By Paul Osborne

March 16, 2006

INVESTIGATIONS into child pornography and organised crime could be put at risk without changes to proposed police bugging laws, an inquiry has been told.

A Bill before federal Parliament will hand police the right to trace innocent third parties they think might be able to lead them to a suspect.
But the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) told a Senate inquiry into the Bill there were flaws which would prevent some crimes being reported to police.

DPP acting senior assistant director Mark de Crespigny said in the agency's submission to the inquiry it was possible a computer manager could be prevented from reporting child porn to police for further investigation despite discovering it on a computer system.

"For example, if a system administrator becomes aware through the operation of a firewall system of the receipt of child pornography, it is not clear that the system administrator would be able to bring that fact to the attention of relevant authorities in order that a warrant might be obtained," Mr de Crespigny said in the submission.

He said the Blunn inquiry into bugging, which reported last year, had recommended anyone who had legitimate access to a computer system could report their suspicion of a crime.

Mr de Crespigny said another problem with the proposed laws was the time limit set on getting further warrants.
The Bill also prevents a further warrant being issued in relation to the same telco within three days after the execution of the previous warrant.

"The strict three-day waiting period for the issue of a further warrant may interfere with an investigation and the collection of important evidence," he said.

South Australian police commissioner Malcolm Hyde told the inquiry in his submission present laws prevented some crimes from being properly investigated.

"Experiences in South Australia have shown that the current interception framework has not been able to assist in cases where the telecommunications service of the suspected criminal cannot be identified," Mr Hyde said.

"A recent example of a case ... was that of a person being threatened and extorted by a member of an organised criminal group.

"In this case the ability of law enforcement to intercept communication services of the intended victim would have assisted to identify the culprit and capture incriminating communications."

Aboriginal legal threat to Queen

March 16, 2006

ABORIGINAL protesters today threatened the Queen with legal action if she failed to come to the negotiating table over an Aboriginal treaty.

A "final" written warning was issued to the Queen this morning calling on the monarch to implement a treaty and address issues of genocide and sovereignty.
The Queen, who opened the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne last night, has 28 days to respond to the notice or Aboriginal rights group The Black GST – which stands for genocide, sovereignty, treaty – will commence legal action in the International Criminal Court of Justice.

Aboriginal Elder Robbie Thorpe hand delivered the notice to Government House in Melbourne where the Queen stayed last night.

"I have exhausted all other legal avenues in this country to get these fundamental legal issues resolved," Mr Thorpe said.

"Despite victory in the Federal Court of Australia to force the Australian government to pass legislation to make genocide a crime in Australia, these issues are still not being addressed.

"Queen Elizabeth II is the sovereign ruler of this nation and she is ultimately responsible for the running of this country."
Mr Thorpe said the Queen faces the prospect of an International Criminal Court summons if she failed to respond.

The ultimatum comes after more than 500 aboriginal rights activists protested outside the Royal Exhibition Building yesterday as the Queen arrived for a state luncheon.

The protesters called on the Queen to meet Black GST members at a temporary campsite in Melbourne's Kings Domain for talks on a treaty with Aboriginal Australians.

The Queen did not respond.

U.S. Push for Democracy Could Backfire Inside Iran

March 14th, 2006 9:18 pm

By Karl Vick and David Finkel / Washington Post

TEHRAN -- Prominent activists inside Iran say President Bush's plan to spend tens of millions of dollars to promote democracy here is the kind of help they don't need, warning that mere announcement of the U.S. program endangers human rights advocates by tainting them as American agents.

In a case that advocates fear is directly linked to Bush's announcement, the government has jailed two Iranians who traveled outside the country to attend what was billed as a series of workshops on human rights. Two others who attended were interrogated for three days.

The workshops, conducted by groups based in the United States, were held last April, but Iranian investigators did not summon the participants until last month, about the time the Bush administration announced plans to spend $85 million "to support the cause of freedom in Iran this year."

"We are under pressure here both from hard-liners in the judiciary and that stupid George Bush," human rights activist Emad Baghi said as he waited anxiously for his wife and daughter to emerge from interrogation last week. "When he says he wants to promote democracy in Iran, he gives money to these outside groups and we're in here suffering."

The fallout illustrates the steep challenge facing the Bush administration as it seeks to play a role in a country where American influence is called unwelcome even by many who share the goal of increasing democratic freedoms.

"Unfortunately, I've got to say it has a negative effect, not a positive one," said Abdolfattah Soltani, a human rights lawyer recently released from seven months in prison. After writing in a newspaper that his clients were beaten while in jail, Soltani was charged with offenses that included spying for the United States.

"This is something we all know, that a way of dealing with human rights activists is to claim they have secret relations with foreign powers," said Soltani, who co-founded a human rights defense group with Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. "This very much limits our actions. It is very dangerous to our society."

Activists here said the Bush initiative demonstrates the chasm that often separates those working inside Iran for greater freedoms -- carefully calibrating their actions to nudge incremental changes in a hostile system -- and the more strident approach of many Iranian exiles who often have the ear of Washington policymakers.

"Our society is very complicated," said Vahid Pourostad, editor of National Trust, a new newspaper aligned with Iran's struggling reform movement. "Generally speaking, it is impossible to impose something from outside. Whatever happens will happen from inside.

"It seems to me the United States is not studying the history of Iran very carefully," Pourostad said. "Whenever they came and supported an idea publicly, the public has done the opposite."

Advocates and ordinary Iranians say the U.S. project also may suffer from poor timing. Just four years ago, the Iranian public's appetite for greater freedom was vibrant here, with a reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, returned to office in a landslide and his allies in control of parliament.

But public disillusionment grew steadily as the reformists failed to wrest crucial powers from the appointed clerics who control much of the power in Iran's theocratic system of government. The clerics cemented their grip by excluding dissenters from subsequent elections.

At the same time, hard-liners in the government maintained relentless pressure against independent institutions, closing more than 100 newspapers and jailing students by the hundreds. Many had ventured into the streets at the encouragement of satellite TV stations run by exile groups that breathlessly announced a new revolution in the offing.

"They said I would be joined by millions," said one student, who endured a beating by paramilitary militiamen unleashed against the demonstrators. "I just got beat up."

Today, Pourostad said, the capacity for civil society is so depleted that homeowners cannot be bothered to protest the cutting of trees in an eastern Tehran park to make way for a freeway extension.

"If such a thing had happened four or five years ago, the newspapers could have mounted a social movement," he said. "Now, we can put it in the paper, but we can't create a social wave. A disaster happens, but we can't do anything about it."

The Bush administration is asking Congress for $75 million in emergency funding to promote democracy in Iran, in addition to $10 million already budgeted. Most of the money, $50 million, would be spent to build a satellite television station. The plan also calls for $5 million each for scholarships and public diplomacy that includes fostering independent media inside Iran.

The final $15 million would go toward nongovernmental organizations and civic education on the lines of what the federally chartered National Endowment for Democracy carries out in a wide variety of countries.

"It's going to be hard for them to spend it here," said a diplomat at a European embassy in Tehran, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The diplomat refused to be identified because the embassy has had some success with a program aimed at fostering reform in one Iranian ministry and publicity could make it a target of hard-liners.

"There is a downside," the diplomat said. "There always is. And they'll have to be clever about how they spend it."

Iran on Monday lodged a formal complaint against the Bush plan through the U.S. Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy here. At the same time, Iran's parliament allocated the equivalent of $15 million to "probe and defuse" U.S. conspiracies and interventions in the country, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

The experience of Baghi's group is cast as a cautionary tale for all concerned, including a prosecutor notorious for using arrests and detention to make examples.

Baghi, 44, has been prominent in Iran's reform movement for a decade. Once a theology student, he worked in sociology and came to prominence as an investigative journalist. After writing articles that exposed the role of Iran's Intelligence Ministry in the murders of dissidents in the 1990s, he served three years in prison.

After his release he started a newspaper, Jumhuriyat. Prosecutors closed it after 13 issues. He then founded the Society for Protecting Prisoners' Rights, a group that provides free attorneys for inmates and lobbies Iran's judiciary for due process and humane treatment.

Baghi said a friend in Europe approached him 16 months ago with a proposal to send members of the group to Dubai for a "human rights workshop." The friend gave the impression the United Nations was involved, Baghi said.

Unable to attend because authorities continue to withhold his passport, Baghi sent three other members of the rights group: his wife, Fatehmeh Kamali; their adult daughter, Maryam Baghi; and Ali Afsahi, a cleric turned film critic. Kamali's nephew, Ehsan, a law student who lived with them, went along for the ride, Baghi said.

By all accounts, the workshops did not go well. "They were very angry about this trip," Baghi wrote his friend in an e-mail. "They felt offended and insulted."

Quoting his wife, who was not available to be interviewed because of her interrogation, Baghi said the workshops offered only rudimentary training in human rights. Other sessions highlighted popular revolts in Serbia, Ukraine and elsewhere. The three Iranians were the only participants and were moved from one hotel to another by the organizers, who conjured an air of cloak and dagger, Baghi said.

"You know what a vulnerable situation we have here in Iran," Baghi wrote. "It was not a good thing to invite us to such a workshop."

Peter Ackerman, who chairs the Washington group that ran a portion of the workshops, took issue with Baghi's description. Ackerman said the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict promotes the potential of nonviolent change by highlighting experiences in formerly oppressive countries, as depicted in the film "A Force More Powerful," which was screened in Dubai.

Baghi's group left Dubai early, saying the workshops were not what they had expected. Back in Iran, their attendance brought no immediate repercussions, even though it apparently was known to government security services. Baghi said the intelligence office of the Higher Education Ministry asked his daughter about the trip while vetting her for a graduate degree four months ago.

Then on Feb. 12, with reports emerging in Washington of the Bush initiative, Afsahi was taken into custody. Ehsan Kamali, the law student, was detained at a filling station four days later. Both remain in solitary confinement in Evin Prison in the north of Tehran, their condition unknown.

Baghi's wife and daughter were summoned to a prosecutor's office last Tuesday, when a Washington Post reporter arriving for a previously scheduled appointment found Baghi cursing Bush. The women were questioned into the night for three days by deputies of the Tehran prosecutor, Said Mortazavi, the government's most widely feared enforcer.

Diplomats said pressure on individuals has increased since the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president and the showdown over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"The people who did this workshop don't realize what kind of world we live in here," Baghi said. "Here, we've got Mortazavi and the system behind him. The other side has got the U.S. and its money. The pressure is on people who are trying to promote human rights inside the country.

"I feel Ahmadinejad and President Bush are like two blades of a scissor."

Ackerman took a different view.

"The question is: Why are they going to jail?" he said. "What kind of people are sending these people to jail? What's going on here is wrong. It's despicable."

Finkel reported from Washington.

Fallujah:The Flame of Atrocity

This week, the broadcast of a shattering new documentary provided fresh confirmation of a gruesome war crime covered by this column nine months ago: the use of chemical weapons by American forces during the frenzied, Bush-ordered destruction of Fallujah in November 2004.

Using filmed and photographic evidence, eyewitness accounts, and the direct testimony of American soldiers who took part in the attacks, the documentary – "Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre" – catalogues the American use of white phosphorous shells and a new, "improved" form of napalm that turned human beings into "caramelized" fossils, with their skin dissolved and turned to leather on their bones.

The film was produced by RAI, the Italian state network run by a government that backed the war.

More information at above link.

News from the San Joaquin Valley

Associated Press

HILMAR, Calif. - The Hilmar Cheese Company can drill a test well to find out if it can inject waste water deep underground without contaminating a nearby drinking water aquifer, federal officials said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which authorized the drilling on Monday, said they'll wait for test results before they give the company permission to drill other wells.

Company officials hope the move will solve the problem of what to do with up to 2.2 million gallons of waste water produced at the plant each day.


The company is also negotiating with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board to reach a settlement over a $4 million dollar fine imposed last year for years of water quality violations.

Can Saddam Hussein be found innocent?

by Yamin Zakaria

(Friday January 06 2006)

"The trial also serves to divert the attention away from the real war crimes and war criminals."

Saddam Hussein was overthrown as a consequence of an illegal war waged by: state terrorists, foreign fighters, vulture like mercenaries and some peripheral nations who prostituted their soldiers in exchange for some US dollars. Kofi Anan, the UN General Secretary, eventually confirmed what the rest of the world was saying - the war was a clear violation of the UN Charter. Saddam Hussein was overthrown illegally, imprisoned unlawfully and now being tried illegitimately by a US-led kangaroo court. However, what charges can be brought against Saddam Hussein? To answer the question, all the allegations that are constantly propagated as proven fact by the Western powers are, listed and analysed below.

a). Suppressing Dissidents (Human Rights Violation)

The allegations of human rights violations and the anti-Saddam mantra were only amplified by the West as part of the war propaganda, since the 1991 Gulf War. Prior to 1991, these allegations were rarely heard in the media, being an US ally. Most certainly he is not unique in suppressing dissidents, using torture and even executions. The governments of, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Turkey, mini-countries like Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain etc. are equally as bad and some are definitely a lot worse than Saddam. For example, Uzbekistan regime is known to employ horrific torture methods against political dissidents. However, such nations being US allies, their conduct does not even get noticed. The point here is; - if the US is going to try Saddam Hussein for human rights violations, then it must apply this principle consistently or not at all. Because selective application of a law/principle is a form of injustice, and shows ulterior motives in the one who is making the allegations.

In any case, the West has clearly lost the moral authority to make any accusations, as they are also violating human rights by using torture and unlawful internment. What better example than the infamous Abu-Ghraib prison, it was used by Saddam Hussein, and then the Americans came along used the same prison for ‘softening-up’ (torturing) innocent Iraqis and many were executed; no doubt, the Americans excelled Saddam Hussein. Prisoners are held indefinitely in places like Camp-X-Ray and Belmarsh, without being charged and without any legal representation. The US now sub-contracts torture (renditions) to other nasty regimes, but in any case, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has a long reputation for conducting such activities around the world.

If the US is really concerned about human rights, then it should address the rights of the 100,000 dead civilians first, and pay war reparations to Iraq. Where was that concern and commitment to human rights after the massacre in Sabra and Shatila, Rwanda, and in India where the ‘vegetarian’ Hindus cannibalised over 3000 Muslims? Is it a coincidence that none of those places have rich reserves of oil, unlike Iraq!

b) The Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s

The war had the clear blessing of the US, who directly encouraged Saddam Hussein to fight and armed him to the teeth, which included the sale of chemical weapons. If Saddam Hussein is now accused of waging war against Iran, after 25 years, then it is the Iranians and not the US-sponsored Iraqi regime that should be trying him. Most certainly, if he is to be tried, then so should all the culprits that supplied him with the weapons, intelligence and especially those criminals that supplied him with chemical weapons. Such a trial we can only dream of but it would constitute real justice.

c). Using Chemical weapons against the Kurds in 1988

After almost 20 years, Saddam Hussein is being accused of using these weapons against the Kurds in Halabja in 1988. Stephen Pelletiere [1] wrote in the New York Times clearly refuting this allegation. The Kurds were caught in crossfire. If anything they were killed by the cyanide based gas used by the Iranian army and not the mustard based gas used by the Iraqis. Stephen Pelletiere was CIA’s senior political analyst on Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war, and as a professor at the Army War College from 1988 to 2000, he was privy to much of the classified material that flowed through Washington having to do with the Persian Gulf. He also headed a 1991 Army investigation into how the Iraqis would fight a war against the United States. So, no doubt the man has authority on this subject.

What we know for sure, that the US used chemical weapons against the Iraqis (Fallujah, Baghdad and other places) but also against other countries in the past, e.g. Vietnam. With similar effects the US has been also used Depleted Uranium, causing mass deformities, cancer and all sorts of other diseases; this will continue to affect the Iraqis at least for the next 100 years or more. So, in chronological order, it is the US, that should be first in the docks facing charges of using chemical weapons and the like, against humanity.

d). Invasion of Kuwait (former province of Basra - Walayah of Basra)

Kuwait was historically part of Basra, and it was carved up the colonialist powers in line with the policy of divide and rule. The dispute in 1991 was an internal matter between the two Arab countries; no aggression was committed against any Western powers. Iraq could argue it was provoked into attacking Kuwait on a number of issues. However, the Western powers have no arguments in justifying the attack on Iraq apart from the neo-colonial fig leaf of UN resolutions, which only works in one direction; against the weaker nations.

The deaths of Kuwaitis due to the Iraq invasion were inflated. But what is for certain, a lot more Iraqis were killed by the US forces, they committed war crimes against Iraq on a massive scale. When the defenceless women, children and the Iraqi soldiers were retreating on the road to Basra (inside Iraq), they were needlessly murdered. It was a grotesque display of the murderous nature of these state terrorists. The ‘chivalrous’ allied soldiers were even fighting each other to take pot shots at the defenceless Iraqis - Shi’ites, Sunnis and Kurds. This incident let to labelling the road to Basra as the “highway of death”.

Retreating Iraqis were ironically fulfilling the UN resolutions; hence, there was no legitimate reason for the cowardly aggression. Yet, the UN remained a spectator, and took no actions in addressing this heinous crime. This once again confirms the nature of the UN; it is a fig-leaf of the major powers to justify their neo-colonial adventures. If Saddam Hussein is to be tried for invading Kuwait, a former province of Basra, the US and its coalition partners that should certainly stand trial for the unprovoked invasion of distant Iraq and the massive war crimes committed against the Iraqis, since 1991.

e). Killing of the Shi’ites uprising, post 1991 Gulf War

Small numbers of Shi’ites were killed after the 1991 war, for acts of sedition against the state, with open encouragement from the US. Similar treatments were given to anyone else who rebelled against the regime to overthrow it. In any country, such acts of rebellion are punishable with death or long term prison sentences. Saddam Hussein like any other head of state has every right to suppress such a movement. So, where is the crime here?

Legitimacy and Purpose of the Trial

Any trial lacks legitimacy under foreign occupation, according to international laws and common sense. Especially in this case, as the war was illegal, thus subsequent occupation was also illegal; and anything else that followed under occupation, for example elections, must also be illegal, null and void. Behind the scenes, the US is orchestrating the trial using Iraqis largely imported from abroad. The US is still the real authority in Iraq with its armed forces and only the politically naive would contend otherwise. The trial has been given an Iraqi face, for the politically naive, the moderates, traitors and opportunists. In reality, the trial is a smokescreen for the US, which is part of its neo-colonial designs for the region.

Americans claim Saddam Hussein is being tried on behalf of the Iraqi masses but the Iraqis are hardly engaged in a mass euphoric celebration on the streets of Iraq. Because, even those who opposed Saddam Hussein are opposed to the US sponsored trial, they understand that the primary purpose of the trial is to humiliate all the Arabs and Muslims. Accordingly, it is already being used to intimidate nations like Syria, Iran and others. Now if Saddam Hussein was replaced in the docks with the likes of Ariel Sharon, George Bush, Tony Blair there would be a spontaneous ecstatic celebration across the world and not just the Arab/Islamic world.

If Saddam Hussein was the real issue, the coalition forces would have left Iraq after his capture and by that time most of the senior Baath Party officials had also been killed or captured. The credibility of the US claims pertaining to Saddam’s trial is like its earlier claims of Iraq’s WMDs and later claims of its soldiers are benevolent liberators. The stark reality is, no WMDs existed; and the US soldiers are allowed and encouraged as part of the softening-up process, to take the souvenir pictures of Iraqi prisoners from places like Abu-Ghraib. These are the soldiers that are swapping pictures of the genitals of dead Iraqis to gain access to internet porn sites. Numerous reports confirmed that the US soldiers stole from Iraqi homes, offices, museums and palaces. They brag on websites to the wider audience and their friends and families back home, how they murdered and raped, Iraqi boys, girls, men and women in revenge for 9/11 but never for bringing Saddam to ‘justice’!

The trial also serves to divert the attention away from the real war crimes and war criminals. How ironic, that Saddam Hussein is on trial for the alleged killings in 1980s/90s, while the real criminals have just slaughtered 100,000 plus Iraqi civilians, and destroyed the countries entire infrastructure. They are roaming free and preparing for their multinationals to ‘rebuild’ Iraq, using Iraqi oil of course! Thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children are languishing in the brutal US-led prisons, in line with the Camp-X-Ray ethos. Many of the prisoners have simply vanished. It is Bush and Blair that are the real war criminals, who should be on the docks.

Can he be found innocent?

The case against Saddam Hussein is weak from the onset, because the real plaintiff (the US) has more than once proven to be a hypocrite and a liar. Allegations of Iraqi WMDs have been proven to be to be a clear lie, perhaps the lie of the century. Likewise allegations of Saddam’s mass graves, where figures of 100,000 to 500,000 were cited have been proven to be massive pre-war propaganda hype, if anything the US has created many mass graves since the first Gulf War in 1991. In any court, the words of a proven liar have no merit; therefore, the US-based allegations and any supportive evidence provided from them should be rejected instantly.

However, regardless of the strength or weakness of the evidences and the credibility of the real Plaintiff (the US), Saddam Hussein will be found guilty and he has to be found guilty. Because after failing to find WMDs, the justification for the war was changed to removing the tyrant Saddam Hussein on behalf of the Iraqi masses. If Saddam Hussein is now found to be innocent, then there are no more arguments for the war, the last remaining fig leaf falls and then even the history according to the victor will not be kind. In any trial there is a theoretical possibility of 50-50 chance of finding someone one innocent or guilty but certainly that is not going to be the case with the trial of Saddam Hussein and we know why.

Source:http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/24852

by courtesy & © 2006 Yamin Zakaria

Curfew call to end race riots

Curfew call to end race riots

By Edmund Tadros
December 14, 2005

Arab Christian, Arab Muslim and community organisations have called for a weekend curfew to stop the racial violence. 

"In order to prevent further violence, we call on the community to abide by a curfew on Friday from 9pm, on Saturday from 9pm and all day Sunday,'' the statement from Eman Dandan at the Lebanese Muslim Association said.

THIS IS NOT THE AUSTRALIAN WAY "SHAME"

Driver bashed by group of men

December 14, 2005 - 8:04AM

A motorist was bashed with a baseball bat and five people were arrested as hundreds of police hit Sydney's streets overnight to restore calm.

More than 450 officers were on patrol in flashpoint suburbs in the city's south and west after they were hit by violence sparked by Sunday's race riot at Cronulla beach.

NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Mark Goodwin said there were no "smash and bash" raids and no confrontations with police overnight.

It was not known if a fire that destroyed a Uniting Church at Auburn, in Sydney's inner west, early today was linked to recent violence in at least four Sydney suburbs, he said.

But police are treating the blaze at the church, which is near an Islamic centre, as suspicious.