NO2ID Campaign

From the U.K.: A catchy plea to retain some privacy. Say NO 2 ID! Go to www.no2id.net for more info.









A campaign now taking root in Greece as well.

Kelly's death 'was NOT caused by an overdose': Drugs expert dismisses theory on weapons inspector

Based on his body weight, the amount of water his body is likely to have contained, and the strength of the tablets, Dr Watt said it was not 'accurate or reliable' to suggest Dr Kelly had absorbed more than a 'therapeutic dose' of the medicine – in this case about two pills.

Dr Kelly's body was found in woods close to his Oxfordshire home in July 2003 shortly after he was unmasked as the source of a BBC report claiming the government 'sexed up' a dossier on Iraq's weapons.

Three blister packs of co-proxamol, each capable of holding ten tablets, were found in his coat pocket. Only one tablet remained. The official toxicologist, Alexander Allan, was unable to specify how many pills Dr Kelly had taken but tests showed he had less than a fifth of one tablet in his stomach.

Lord Hutton, who chaired the public inquiry into his death, found that he killed himself after cutting his wrist and taking 'an excess amount of co-proxamol tablets'. Co-proxamol ingestion is also listed as a cause of death on Dr Kelly's death certificate.

Unusually, there has never been a full coroner's inquest.

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Caterpillar Delays Bulldozer Deliveries Over Corrie Trial

The American company that supplies the IDF with bulldozers is holding up delivery until the Rachel Corrie trial ends.

Corrie, a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), was killed in Gaza after being struck by an IDF bulldozer while kneeling as a human shield in front of a local Arab structure that was being demolished in an anti-terror operation. Corrie became a martyr of sorts for the anti-Israeli international Left, which portrays her as a fighter for human rights, rather than an enabler of terrorist murderers.

The foreign anarchist's parents, Craig and Cindy Corrie, filed a civil lawsuit against the IDF, which resumed in September in a Haifa court. The driver of the bulldozer testified that he did not see Corrie drop to her knees in front of the bulldozer shovel, due to the extremely limited line of vision afforded by the cab in which he sat.

ISM members who were with her claimed in prior testimony that she was standing during the March 16, 2003 incident.

But eyewitnesses at the scene told a different tale to various news reporters who wrote about the incident, including one from the New York Times. Several versions were also posted on the ISM website.

"The bulldozer drove toward Rachel slowly, gathering earth in its scoop as it went. She knelt there, she did not move," said one.

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Corrie Family Appeals Decision Allowing Soldiers to Testify Behind Screen

Lawyers for the family of Rachel Corrie filed an appeal with the Israeli Supreme Court on Sunday, challenging a decision to allow soldiers to testify behind a screen in the lawsuit filed against the State of Israel for the unlawful killing of the American peace activist in Rafah, Gaza.

State attorneys made the highly unusual request in court on Thursday, October 7 arguing that they were necessary to protect the soldiers' safety and prevent their images from being circulated. Haifa District Court Judge Oded Gershon granted the request, ruling that all but two soldiers, who were both already known to the public, would be permitted to provide their testimony hidden from public view.

Corrie attorneys opposed the motion, arguing that allowing the soldiers to testify behind a screen infringes upon the fundamental right to an open, fair and transparent trial. They argued that the government request was based on an overbroad security certificate issued by Defense Minister Ehud Barak in 2008, was not supported by concrete evidence to substantiate their concerns for the soldiers' safety or security. The lawyers will also ask the Supreme Court to review Judge Gerhson's decision not to allow the family to see the witnesses even if the public could not.

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600 people arrested in India for opposing nuclear plant, hundreds more voluntarily risk jail

World's largest nuclear park is planned in Jaitapur, in Ratnagiri district on the coast of southern Maharashtra. The park would comprise up to six large nuclear reactors bought from the French nuclear giant- Areva. In addition to the inherent hazards of nuclear power, the project threatens the livelihoods of about 10 000 farmers and fishermen and their families.

Today, more than a thousand local people have taken action against the project, voluntarily risking lengthy arrest and further legal consequences. The message is clear – they want their land and their fisheries, not paltry compensation offered by the nuclear company. 600 people have already been loaded into police buses and hauled into jails. About 700 more still continue the peaceful protest, risking arrest.

Several prominent figures, including a former Supreme Court judge, Justice P B Sawant, former Magsaysay award winner Admiral Ramdas were intending to join the protests, but are reported to have been arrested on the highway, about 20km from the site.

The Jaitapur project is characterized by shocking neglect – from the choice of an earthquake-prone and ecologically valuable site, to a timetable that leaves insufficient time to review the risks of the nuclear reactor design, not yet in operation anywhere in the world. Because of these and many other flaws the reactors would entail unacceptable hazards.

The local people are against forced acquisition of their land by the government. They consider their land to be of much more value than a job at NPCIL and some money in lieu of the land. The local people have unanimously rejected the compensation package offered by the government. Satyajit Chavan, an activist protesting in Jaitapur, said: "It seemed more like a police state, where emergency measures are evoked to apparently maintain law and order. The state seems to act against wishes of its own citizens."

A joint report by Greenpeace and European solar panel manufacturers showed earlier this week that solar power can deliver electricity at a competitive cost by 2015. This is 3 years before the first planned reactor could be in operation in Jaitapur. Wind power and biomass can do that already now. There is no need to import dangerous and destructive nuclear reactors.

(This post is by Karuna Raina, Nuclear and Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace India)

~ Indymedia Australia ~