Showing posts with label environmetal activists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environmetal activists. Show all posts

Sunday, August 23, 2009

ARE WE REALLY CATTLE?

by Peter Chamberlin
August 20, 2009
Have we really become "We the sheeple," or are we still human beings? The planet is dying under the thrall of a small minority of men who think of the rest of the human race as "cattle," livestock for them to buy and sell.
The ruling class behaves much like a spoiled child, if they don’t get to have everything their way all of the time, they throw this massive temper tantrum and threaten to upset the whole game. They have gotten their way in everything for so long that they have fallen under the spell of their own propaganda. They believe that we are sub-human animals, who should be herded into the best outcome possible. But, have the rest of us begun to accept this as well?
As members of the human herd, most of us recoil at the "bovinian" suggestion, but consider just how much we do behave like a herd. We willingly accept being treated like a herd, trusting our lives to politicians because we appreciate not having to make hard decisions for ourselves, being contented as cows, as our leaders and their hired hands drive us down a path to destruction, for the sake of them making a few dollars more in profit.
Preserving profits for the ruling elite is the only motivation (other than media-manipulated patriotism and nationalism) compelling us to fight our resource wars in Asia and Africa. The leaders of the entire world pretend that we are there to fight against terrorism, even though they know that the terrorism comes with us, their hope being their own little "piece of the action." The American way is to wage war with dollars, as well as bombs.
What the hell is the matter with people? Has everyone so bought-in to the propaganda that leads them to their own deaths that they believe the lies that control us? Willfully following sell-out leaders, who are leading their own countries to death and slavery is more than merely suicidal, it’s something a dumb animal would do.
Does the herd even think of itself as human anymore? Would it really matter what the herd thought about anything, anyway? Nothing will change as long as we willingly accept this idiocy. We have not changed. We are still human beings. Our feelings and concerns for ourselves, our families and our friends are legitimate, and just as real and as valid as those shared by the ruling class elitists who send our sons and daughters into battle to control the gas and oil, just like everyone who is being targeted by our government as it sends forth Special Forces and their "Islamist" counterparts to kill, not in the name of freedom, but to seize unfair economic advantage!
The entire "conflict" within the "arc of crisis" that is schemed over by Brzezinski and friends is manufactured for our entertainment and distraction. It is foolishness to look at "militant Islamists" and the CIA Special Forces teams who are sent in to fight them as two separate entities, without realizing that they are one and the same.
In Central Asia, the scary "Islamists" appear, as if by magic, wherever the oil companies have an interest. Theories are floated that the sudden rush of militant extremists in western China and the former countries of the Soviet Union is explained as an unfortunate by-product of Pakistan’s anti-Taliban offensive, as militants trained in Pakistan’s FATA Region return to their native countries.
From Russia to China and southwards, attacks begin in targeted nations and then someone appears in the national media to warn of the "Islamist" threat. News stories begin to appear of running gun battles and explosions, linking all of them to the "militant" threat. Attacks are made upon adversaries of the United States and those countries then become blacklisted as unstable for development and the subservient, media dutifully reports that our enemies have been attacked our other enemies.
Whose interests does this serve—crazy militants, with their warped dreams of a "caliphate," or American oil companies, who are trying to undermine China, Iran and Russia? The "powers that be" are playing a very dangerous game with all of our lives.
How long will the countries targeted by American/Islamist limited warfare continue to tolerate this bold assault? China, in particular, is presently bound by the economic chains that have been forged with the United States. How much longer will it continue to abide provocations in Xinjiang and other Chinese interests from Central Asia, to Pakistan, to Africa? It would be extremely unprofitable right now for China to haul the United States before the UN Security Council or to take military actions in retaliation for this low-intensity war that has been waged upon them. But that will not always be true. When the American house of cards finishes collapsing all bets will be off.
Our new administration in Washington has been empowered with as mandate for change, yet the only change that they have opted for is to accelerate the plans for world conquest in Central Asia. The only real impediment to that plan is the American people. Will the people continue to tolerate Obama’s impersonation of Bush and allow this obscene escalation of the neocon wars?
The ruling class fears an aware, vigilant majority. They know the people’s power and they tremble before it. It is only the people themselves, the "sheeple," who fail to realize the awesome powers delegated into our hands. It upsets the self-appointed whenever anyone begins to regain any measure of that control back, depriving the secret rulers of their illegitimate power to dictate the terms of our lives. The worst thing of all for them would be if all people everywhere were suddenly allowed to start thinking for themselves, with everyone making their own decisions.
The human race finds itself in an extremely unusual dilemma; if the best-laid plans of mankind’s finest minds succeed, then humanity may cease to exist. If the plan that has been crafted by the finest minds, financed by the world’s greatest "benefactors" and supported by nearly every government on the face of the planet, succeeds, then "humankind" may cease to exist, to be replaced by a new master-race parasitic species and its new sub-human host species (the living remainder of the "useless eaters").
A great moment of crisis has been manufactured for us. The decisions that have been made have maneuvered us into a kill box, so that the harvesting of the "useless eaters" may begin.
If mankind as a whole cannot embrace a new benevolent identity and move forward together, then, thanks to our enslavement to technological advancements, our old malevolent identities are positioned to destroy all life on this planet. A decision to change must be made on a societal level. The world cannot change, humanity cannot evolve to the next level, until someone leads the way. The self-appointed leadership of the "free world" has to either lead the way or get out of the path of others who understand the path to mankind’s salvation.
The way of force must be replaced by the path of cooperation. This is not a direction that is presently coming from the United States; it is entirely an Asian phenomenon. The Western Darwinian world of domination by the strongest has brought us to the point of economic collapse and unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe. The rulers of this old order have one solution to all problems—more force, the closed fist. There is a better way.
Wherever the models of supply and governance are breaking-down, force is the immediate solution, the only solution offered. If all the people cannot be fed, then obviously (only to inhuman thinkers) there must be too many people, therefore, we must thin-out the herd of "useless eaters" (non-productive members of society). Simply helping the people in need would not be "profitable." The United States, as the leader of the developing world, must have more energy and other strategic resources available to it than the rest of the world, therefore, we are justified in moving those resources out of the Middle East and Central Asia into our hands, whatever is required to do so (taking by force).
Likewise, in domestic policies such as health care and education reform, it is "wasteful" of limited resources to supply high-dollar medical treatments to those patients whose health will never improve, or expensive educations to students who are less than "exceptional." The way of force embraces such cost-cutting ideas, depicting them as moral choices, since limited funds are not "wasted" on life-supporting treatments for the terminally ill, or on educational opportunities for mediocre students ( those should be wasted the ignorant cousins of the elite).
This is the thinking of the old order that has put us in our current dilemma. The "selfish man" having his way when he really shouldn’t, has created a real threat to all mankind. The selfish must give way to the needs of the entire community.
A new generation of selfless leaders is arising to meet the challenge posed by the dying order. Where "selfish man" cannot conceive of anything but a profit-based international order, "new man" cannot accept thinking that does not contain a human element, a compassionate direction. The old malevolent thinking is violence based, whereas new man cannot conceive of killing his fellow man. Selfless leaders of the humanity movement have great difficulty in understanding the thinking of the heartless corporate extortionists. There is a basic disconnect between the thinking of the old man and the "new man" who is rising-up amongst them. This gives the new man the advantage, if he can only take advantage of it.
This brings the situation down to where we witness a rising minority of "new men" facing-off against a persevering minority of the super-wealthy, who are perhaps even more dedicated to preserving their old selfish order of mankind, whatever the potential costs. The leadership of the rising humanitarian order is trying every reasonable means at its disposal to overturn the old order, while the leadership of the house of profit is using every means in its limitless bag of tricks to destroy the threat.
Through economic and military coercion the United States has persuaded the world into allowing it almost free rein in shaping international institutions and the ideas that are acceptable to world opinion. We have created an illusory image of ourselves which hides American war crimes and crimes against humanity behind a hypocritical mask of humanitarianism and "foreign aid."
Membership in America’s club requires a sell-out of their countrymen from the leaders of the nations that are seeking our "aid packages" or entrance into our economic system. The sell-out is to embrace our manufactured image, blinding themselves to the reality that our leaders create. The real image of America, one of double-dealings and secret wars, is hidden from the world by common consent. The pay-off for these leaders is the personal fortunes that each of them has acquired and gained notoriety for in their home countries.
By letting Americans determine which words and opinions are "politically correct" in acceptable discussion in the media, crimes are hidden and false realities become the foundation of public debate. In this way, internal debate bends to accommodate the false American reality. This American power to simultaneously bully and seduce their way in the world, extending into the basic rights of the Nations involved, has allowed our inept leaders to force upon the world the situation we face today. Further bullying and super-scheming by Obama and Brzezinski will not achieve American objectives of total power. Another way must be found.
It is only a matter of time before America is taken out of the world’s way. It is inevitable that the world will embrace the way of international cooperation, over the American way of secret and open conquests. The only alternative to a world centered on meeting its own needs is the present course we are trapped on, one wherein the victor claims all the spoils of war. That world cannot be attained within our technological environment (do the math). Nature will continue, either with us, or in spite of us.
The world needs a life-changing moment, one that will force all thinking humans to make life-changing decisions, so that we can all emerge from it as a different people, new men and women.
Everything is now black and white, not black or white as it should be. The way forward is for each of us to begin to see both sides, or all sides, of contentious issues. Life has conditioned us to divide everything new into categories, based on determinants of fear, greed, or other motivators. We have to understand that these are the motivators of children, or animals, not adult human beings. There are so many simple solutions to be found by those without blinders, with two eyes to see.
The world will solve its problems and go on, as long as we don’t prevent that from happening. The question of whether we will continue to seek to force the world to accept American domination, or if we will learn to play well with others, will determine whether or not we are accepted into the new order that is now emerging in Asia and beyond.
The energy supplies and other natural resources that are being fought over will be moved to markets, no matter what. Fighting to claim them, or to keep others from obtaining them, is a backwards policy, meant to enrich the few at the sake of the many. All of this will change.
Whether or not this Nation will be part of the new world alliance is a question that each of us must answer. Will we passively allow the United States to perish from the face of the earth or develop into the full-blown pariah nation that have been becoming, that we will deserve for impeding the advancement of the human race, or will we stop the madness and deception by altering our leaders’ commitment to their present path? Or, will we interfere with their petty plans?
Barack Obama has a very clear choice to make, whether he is going to be remembered as humanity’s emancipator from war or as history’s last tyrant? Obama has to decide what means more to him, pursuing a path that will engender hope in the entire human race, or pursuing his own ambition. Will he take a stand for freedom and human decency by ending all of our wars right now with the stroke of a pen, or will he continue to drag us down the path of total war in Central Asia, the path that we were bound to by the former tyrants, Bush and Cheney?
- peterchamberlin@naharnet.com
Credit:http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m57143&hd=&size=1&l=e

Saturday, July 25, 2009

NEWSBLAST(US) Terrorism laws are wrongly being used to round up eco-activists,says author Dean Kuipers

[Grist Magazine - interview at full story link]

“Rod Coronado is not a terrorist,” says Dean Kuipers, author of
Operation Bite Back: Rod Coronado’s War to Save American Wilderness
and a longtime writer about the world of eco-activism.

Back in the 1980s and ‘90s, during Rodney Coronado’s radical sabotage
campaigns on behalf of animals and the environment, terrorism was
generally considered to mean violence against people. Feeling strongly
that the loss of any life was wrong and that casualties would harm the
movement, Coronado took care to not hurt anyone as he liberated
animals and burned down research facilities across the American West.
Charged with arson in 1995, Coronado served four years in a
medium-security prison and, in August of 2006, was sentenced to eight
more months for dismantling a government-owned mountain lion trap.

But over the years, the official definition of terrorism expanded.
Through the 1992 Animal Enterprise Protection Act, the 2001 USA
PATRIOT Act, and the 2006 Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, the federal
government proclaimed that the tactics the radical animal-rights crowd
had been using for years were now a form of “terrorism” and could be
prosecuted much more harshly.

--
full story:
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-23-terrorism-laws-used-to-round-up-eco-activists-dean-kuipers/

Friday, July 24, 2009

SAVE POLAR BEARS!PETITION TO SIGN! ACTION ALERT!


Polar bears are dying. As global warming accelerates, the sea ice they depend on for survival is literally melting away. Bears are starving and drowning as they have to swim farther and farther to reach solid ice. Some are even turning to cannibalism in a desperate search for food. Those trapped on land hundreds of miles from the nearest ice often wander near villages in search of food and are shot.

As if that weren’t enough, oil and gas drilling is destroying and polluting their fast-dwindling Arctic habitat.

A third of all polar bears — including all bears in Alaska — will be extinct by 2050 if current trends continue. The rest of the species will be gone by the end of the century.

But it’s not too late to save the polar bear if we join together and take immediate action. The science is clear. We know what needs to be done — we just need to build the political support to do it.

Please sign the petition below to encourage President Barack Obama to rein in global warming and save the polar bear now.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

(US) Gary Francione on Animal Inferiority and Veganism

In part three of my four-part interview with Professor Gary Francione,
Francione discusses the topic of animal inferiority. Because of the
ideological consideration of non-human animals, questions are often
asked of animal rights advocates whether or not they believe animals
are superior to humans.

Francione also goes on to talk about promoting "creative non-violent
vegan education" as a primary means of activism. Hear the interview
with the embeddable player below as well as the preceding interviews
farther down

--
full story:
http://www.examiner.com/x-4198-Vegan-Examiner~y2009m7d22-Professor-Gary-Francione-on-Animal-Inferiority?cid=exrss-Vegan-Examiner

Governor Schwarzenegger signs our seal bill!

Rally tomorrow to uphold the new law!
Thank you to all who contacted Governor Schwarzenegger- -your efforts paid off! After Judge Yuri Hoffman gave San Diego 72 hours to chase away the La Jolla seals on Monday, the governor signed our bill to save them! However, the city must go back to Judge Hoffman tomorrow to ask him to reverse his order now that the law has changed.
We will be holding a rally at the courthouse followed by either a victory celebration or a protest at the beach if Judge Hoffman orders the city to disperse the seals anyway!
When: 8am, Thurs. July 23, 2009
Where: San Diego Superior Court, 330 W. Broadway St., San Diego, CA 92101
The hearing will be in Dept. 60 at 8:30am and is open to the public.
After the hearing, we will head to Casa Beach (aka the Children's Pool) 850 Coast Blvd., La Jolla, CA 92037, for either a victory celebration or a protest if the city begins trying to disperse the seals per Judge Hoffman's orders!
Monday's story was covered in the AP, LA Times, San Diego Union Tribune, and numerous other publications. The UT also did a great editorial.
Can't make the rally but want to stay infomed? Follow our Sealwatch campaign coordinator Dorota Valli and our attorney Bryan Pease on Twitter! Governor Schwarzenegger is now following both and tweeted that he signed our bill!
2) Join us: Bi-coastal foie gras protests!
Join APRL and IDA for protests in San Diego and NYC against this cruel delicacy that is becoming increasingly unavailable due to the efforts of dedicated volunteers like you!
NYC
When: Sunday, July 26, 2009, 7-9pm
Where: Momofuku Noodle Bar, 171 1st Ave. (btw 10th & 11th) NYC 10003
San Diego
When: Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009, 7-8pm
Where: Mille Fleurs, 6009 Paseo Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe 92091
FOLLOWED BY Delicias Restaurant from 8-9pm, 6106 Paseo Delicias
For more info on this campaign see http://m1e.net/c?100352189-Ovn./GnrMEyf2%404448915-WIzV08tAxSHCo.
3) Vote for APRL in the Veggie Awards!
APRL has been racking up victories for animals--from saving the La Jolla seals to banning foie gras to distributing tens of thousands of flyers about adopting a cruelty-free vegan diet! Please vote for APRL as your favorite nonprofit organization in the annual VegNews Veggie Awards!
4) Join us at Comic-con!
Join us for a feed-out of delicious vegan food at Comic-Con--the massive comicbook convention in San Diego. We will be handing out thousands of pro-veg flyers and free vegan food samples for people to try! This is a positive and rewarding way to show people that adopting a cruelty-free lifestyle can be quite tasty! We will be meeting at the Convention Center Trolley Stop on Saturday and Sunday, July 25th and 26th from 10am to 6pm. Email us to sign up for a shift!
As always, more information is available on our calendar at http://m1e.net/c?100352189-CQKy6yTMugdf2%404448916-T/UF1y2p44kPQ.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Journalists Arrested ,Attacked with Clubs for Filming Seal Slaughter!


Journalists Arrested, Attacked with Clubs for Filming Seal Slaughter
Written by Bryan Nelson


Sealers wielding clubs for the purpose of killing seals attacked two journalists, one from the UK and one from South Africa, who were filming the brutal Namibian seal cull last week.
The journalists were then arrested and jailed at the Henties Bay Police Station in Namibia, and their camera and video was confiscated by authorities. The British and South Africa Embassies are demanding their immediate release.
The two journalists are Ben Smithers of South Africa and Jim Wickens of the United Kingdom. They were in the process of filming the controversial hunt in the Cape Cross Seal Reserve in Western Namibia when they were assaulted. The film was meant to be a collaborative project with Eco-Storm and Dutch NGO Bontvoordieren, showcasing the brutal and cruel practices that take place during the seal slaughter.
The seals are killed annually for their meat, oil and skins. Russia and China are the leading markets in the world for seal products, which include garments and accessories, though buyers are commonly found throughout the UK, North America and all over the EU.
Some sealers have been witnessed skinning seals alive when they’re unlucky enough to survive being brutally clubbed.
An activist and personal friend of the jailed journalists, Peter Hammarstedt, has issued the following statement: “In a time when the European Union has just banned the import of all seal products, Namibia refuses to join civilized society by continuing the senseless slaughter of seals and by clubbing to death any semblance of freedom of the press or freedom of speech. Bart and Jim are political prisoners and need to be released immediately.”
Leading activist organizations like the Sea Shepard Conservation Society are urging people to please write to the Namibian embassy in your country demanding the release of the journalists.
Source: Sea Shepard News
Image Credit: Sara&Joachim on Flickr under a CC License

THE BENEFITS OF MARINE RESERVES CAMPAIGN! NEW ZEALAND



Where marine reserves have been established, there are many benefits for the environment and for all of us to enjoy:

Crayfish, Photo: Ian Skipworth
Crayfish Flourishing
The number and size of crayfish has increased significantly inside some of our marine reserves (e.g. Te Angiangi, Tonga Island, Piopiotahi reserves).
At Te Whanganui-a-Hei Marine Reserve, crayfish are 15 times more abundant than those in non-reserve areas.

Jewel anenomies, Kapiti island marine reserve. Photo: Ian Skipworth
Starfish, Snapper & Sea Squirts Thriving
By not taking marine life inside marine reserves, food webs and habitats can return to more natural states. At Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve, increasing numbers of crayfish and snapper are eating kina, whose number had exploded along the heavily fished coast and reduced the abundance of seaweed, which they eat. With fewer kina, seaweeds and other creatures living on and around it, such as starfish, sponges, byrozoans and ascidians, have bounced back.
To read more,please visit the website:

Friday, July 17, 2009

BUAV News Alert: MP joins call to Cambodia to end monkey cruelty

Chris Mullin, MP, joins animal campaigners in call to UK
government over shocking plight of primates in Cambodia*
The *BUAV*, with
the support of *Chris Mullin MP* *for Sunderland South and
Chair of the All Party Cambodia Group,* has today visited the
Foreign Office to call on the British government to express its
concerns to the government of Cambodia regarding the unacceptable
cruelty and suffering that are being inflicted on the country’s
indigenous population of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis),
concerns regarding the conservation status of this species and issues
surrounding the implementation of the Convention on the International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) regulations.

The call comes following an investigation carried out by the BUAV which
gathered shocking video and photographic evidence of the dreadful
suffering endured by monkeys trapped in the wild in Cambodia to
populate industrial-scale factory farms which supply the international
animal testing industry. Primates from Cambodia have already been
imported into the EU in 2008 and a CITES export permit was granted by
the Cambodian authorities for primates to be exported to a UK primate
supply company.

According to the latest available CITES data, over fourteen thousand
macaques were permitted to be exported to China, Vietnam, Europe and
the USA in 2008 (1). This is almost double the figure reported to CITES
for 2007, which was 7,280.

The evidence obtained by the BUAV raises concerns about the
exploitation of Cambodia’s indigenous population of long-tailed
macaques through a largely unregulated trade which has resulted in the
indiscriminate and intensive trapping of wild monkeys to establish the
numerous breeding and supply farms that have been set up within the
country. Despite the establishment of captive breeding, the BUAV
investigation has shown that monkeys are still being taken from the
wild in large numbers to replenish breeding stock.

Cambodian primate trade industry is also failing to comply with
international animal welfare guidelines - the International
Primatological Society’s (IPS) guidelines on the acquisition, care and
breeding of nonhuman primates. Of particular concern were the inhumane
and cruel methods used to trap wild monkeys and the inadequate
conditions in which captive primates were housed at one primate
breeding company.

BUAV investigators filmed trappers as they illegally hunted primates in
the tropical swamps and jungles of Cambodia, including inside a
specially protected wetland nature reserve. The film shows how habitat
is destroyed to catch the monkeys, and gives graphic evidence of the
obvious misery the animals endure as they are ripped from their
families and homes.

A recent published paper from the Asian Section, IUCN/SSC Primate
Specialist Group, has raised concerns about the status of the
long-tailed macaque in the Indochinese region, especially Cambodia, and
stated that the available data “…on the present status of populations
such as numbers, distribution and population trends are deficient for
most species, especially those that are widespread geographically, such
as Macaca fascicularis…” The paper concludes: “It is imperative that
the conservation status of M. fascicularis be reassessed, particularly
taking into account the impact of trade on the species, requiring as
such a careful assessment by the CITES Secretariat.” (2)

The BUAV has also recently learnt of the deaths, earlier this year, of
over 200 long-tailed macaques destined for the research industry. The
macaques, all captured from the wild in Cambodia, apparently suffocated
to death during transit. The monkeys were on their way by road to
China. The deaths occurred when the truck in which they were being
transported was detained for many hours at the Cambodia border.

*BUAV Chief Executive Michelle Thew *said: “Our investigation has
uncovered major concerns regarding the conservation status of the
long-tailed macaque in Cambodia and the shocking cruelty that is being
inflicted on this species for the research industry. The plight of
these monkeys must no longer be ignored. We urge the UK government to
make representation to the government of Cambodia on this important
issue expressing the concerns of the British people.”

*Chris Mullin, MP and Chair of the All Party Cambodia Group* said:
“I appeal to the government of Cambodia to put an end to this awful
trade and to do what it can to conserve this endangered species.”


References:

1. CITES trade statistics derived from the CITES Trade Database, UNEP
World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK

2. Eudey, Ardith A. (2008) The Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca
fascicularis): Widespread and Rapidly Declining. Primate Conservation
(23): 129–132.



ENDS

NOTES TO EDITOR

Copy of the letter, video footage and stills are available from the
BUAV press office - contact details below.

The BUAV has been campaigning for over 100 years to achieve a world
where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals. We are
committed to achieving our aims through reliable and reasoned
evidence-based debate.

For more information contact: Sarah Kite at sarah.kite@buav.org

or Erin
Seymour +44(0) 20 7619 6978/Out of hours mobile: 07850 510 955 /
Erin.Seymo


Thursday, July 16, 2009

(US) The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act: The Most Dangerous Domestic Terror Law You've Never Heard Of!

Under the AETA, if you and a friend go on the web to research a
company whose practices you plan to protest, you may have just become
a terrorist.
...
You may not have heard of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, because
the very first prosecution under the 2006 law is currently underway in
San Jose, California. In the case, USA v. Buddenberg, four animal
rights activists are accused of chanting, making leaflets and writing
with chalk on the sidewalk in front of a senior bio-researcher's
house, as well as using the internet to research the company whose
actions they planned to protest. Under the AETA, they are charged with
acts of animal enterprise terrorism.

The AETA classifies a person who "intentionally damages or causes the
loss of any real or personal property" or "intentionally places a
person in reasonable fear of" death or serious bodily injury as
terrorists when they act for the "purpose of damaging or interfering
with an animal enterprise." It imposes penalties accordingly. At first
blush, this may not sound so bad. But a closer look exposes serious
problems: the AETA can be read to reach so many different types of
protests and people, and it is written in language so vague, it is
impossible for someone to know whether their actions might be covered
under the AETA, and thus great swaths of protected speech are in
danger of being silenced by the law.

--
full story:
http://www.alternet.org/rights/141328/the_animal_enterprise_terrorism_act:_the_most_dangerous_domestic_terror_law_you%27ve_never_heard_of/

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

(US/ca) Federal judge to weigh constitutionality of animal rights anti-terrorism law

A federal judge in San Jose will weigh arguments today over whether a
2006 law designed to stem violent animal rights protests is
unconstitutional, marking the nation's first legal showdown involving
a Justice Department crackdown on activists accused of threats against
medical researchers and others.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte is considering a legal challenge to
the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which was invoked for the first
time in an indictment earlier this year against four activists charged
with threats and vandalism against University of California medical
researchers in Santa Cruz and Berkeley.

In motions to dismiss the indictment, civil liberties groups and
lawyers for the defendants argue that the animal terrorism law is
unconstitutional on its face, saying it is overbroad because it covers
legitimate free speech and so vague that citizens cannot determine if
they're committing a crime.

In response, Justice Department lawyers defend the constitutionality
of the law, saying it applies to "criminal conduct, not protected
speech."

--
full story:
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_12825570?nclick_check=1

Saturday, July 11, 2009

PLEASE ACT! SWISS BANKS SUPPORTING RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION

Colleagues,
Please, we must increase email protest participation. Recent victory in Peru -- questionable decrees were overturned (for now) -- shows what we are capable of when we all work together. And please send the PNG alert (2 protest emails) to which you will be forwarded as it is of vital importance.
For Earth, Dr. Glen Barry
*************************

ACTION ALERT PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!

Swiss Francs Threaten Indonesian Rainforest

By Ecological Internet's Rainforest Portal with Rainforest Rescue
http://www.rainforestportal.org/
http://www.regenwald.org/international/englisch/

July 9, 2009

TAKE ACTION HERE NOW:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=swiss_indo_finance


Major Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS are to further fund Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), the world's largest listed palm oil company, which currently produces 10 percent of Indonesia's palm oil. A further 1.3 million hectares of land are to be developed for palm oil plantations with Swiss finance on the island of Indonesia Kalimantan (Borneo) and in Papua on the Western half of the island of New Guinea. Let these banks and the Swiss government know that their financing of rainforest destruction and climate change is completely unacceptable and will be protested until it ends.

TAKE ACTION NOW:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=swiss_indo_finance


DISCUSS THIS ALERT:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2009/07/alert_swiss_francs_threaten_in.asp

Friday, July 10, 2009

Japan Attempts to Bully the Netherlands

By Captain Paul Watson
It appears as though Japan may have finally succeeded in gaining enough influence in the Netherlands to attempt to dictate Dutch law.
Because the Steve Irwin, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s flagship (used to obstruct activities by Japanese whalers in violation of international laws and in an internationally recognized Whale Sanctuary), is registered in the Netherlands, the Japanese authorities have lodged an official complaint regarding the conduct and behavior of the Steve Irwin.
In recent years, a number of incidents have taken place between the vessels of the Japanese whaling fleet and Sea Shepherd in the waters of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. According to the Dutch Transport and Water Management Inspectorate, both parties have been guilty of breaking international regulations concerning good seamanship and the safety at sea.
While it appears that this will not have any serious consequences for Japanese state-supported and illegal operations, it may carry serious consequences for Sea Shepherd.
On request of the Dutch Transport and Water Management Inspectorate, the Dutch Public Ministry investigated and determined it is not feasible to start a legal prosecution. The Dutch cabinet is now considering a ban against Sea Shepherd vessels sailing under the Dutch flag. Public Works State Secretary Tineke Huizinga said she wants to amend the law quickly to make this possible.
Japan has repeatedly complained to the Netherlands about Sea Shepherd. Current law makes it difficult to take action against ships already registered with the Dutch government, so the cabinet wants to speedily extend its legal options for withdrawing certificates of registry, according to Huizinga.
Unfortunately, the Dutch authorities would be closing their eyes to the fact that all the incidents between the illegal Japanese whalers and Sea Shepherd have taken place in the waters of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and/or in others areas protected by international and Australian Federal law.
The Japanese whaling fleet is engaged in illegal activities, but lack of enforcement allows them to operate largely unopposed. Sea Shepherd is the only organization actively enforcing conservation law to stop these Antarctic poachers, and operates under the UN World Charter for Nature to that end.
For years now the Netherlands have stated they are against whaling, but have not taken any action to back up this statement. Now, given the opportunity to stand up to Japan, they intend to persecute the only organization worldwide actively striving to enforce international laws and protect whales.
Why does the Dutch government not show its independence and acknowledge the violations of the law committed by the Japanese whalers? Why is Japan apparently placed above international law?
Japan has placed itself above the law because it assumes no government in the world would show the will to actively accuse and legally prosecute Japan for their many violations of international conservation laws. The only entity that has dared to stand up and act is Sea Shepherd. The Netherlands now has an opportunity to join the legal and ethical side in this battle.
Will the Dutch government narrow-mindedly support illegal whaling operations, or will they support the only organization actively seeking to uphold those same laws by not pandering to Japanese objections?
It seems that Japan is attempting to amend Dutch law. We hope we are wrong. Regardless, we will continue to defend the defenseless against illegal activities in the Antarctic and elsewhere.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Breaking: Greenpeace Activists Scale and Occupy Mt. Rushmore



Written by Timothy B. Hurst




[Update: 12 Greenpeace activists were arrested shortly after unfurling the banner. Possible charges range from trespass to destruction of government property. ]

At approximately 10:30 AM Mountain Time, Greenpeace activists unfurled a banner at one of America’s most iconic landmarks with a message that reads, “America honors leaders not politicians: Stop Global Warming.” The banner, measuring sixty-five feet by thirty-five feet, features an unfinished portrait of President Obama.

The demonstration comes as President Obama meets other G8 leaders in L’Aquila, Italy today to discuss the global warming crisis in the lead-up to UN climate treaty talks in Copenhagen this December.


» See also: Breaking: Greenpeace Occupy Four Italian Coal Power Stations
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High winds made the unfurling of the banner especially difficult, but climbers were able to secure the banner despite the winds and pressure from fast-approaching National Park Police climbers. In a piece of twenty-first century political theater, Greenpeace also tweeted from atop the famous rock face and streamed the live video feed of the action at their website, providing color and play-by-play analysis from their communications team in D.C. and activists on the ground.



To bring attention the issue, 11 activists completed a challenging climb to the top of Mount Rushmore, and three rappelled down, hanging the nearly 2300-square-foot banner as they descended.

It was not entirely clear how the activists so easily evaded the security perimeter in the early morning hours on Wednesday, but according to Greenpeace, the highly-trained climbers took special care not to damage the monument, using existing anchors placed by the National Park Service for periodic cleanings.

“When you have individuals who are determined, who are equipped, who are organized, who are willing to do damage to government property, there’s not many systems that are fail-safe to that,” Nav Sing, spokesman for the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial told the Rapid City Journal.

The demonstration in South Dakota follows a series of protests in Italy this morning where other Greenpeace activists hung banners on smokestacks of the dirtiest coal-fired power plant in Italy, calling attention to the collective failure of leadership on global warming at the G8.


“This monument celebrates leaders who rose to the great challenges of our past,” said Greenpeace USA Deputy Campaigns Director Carroll Muffett. “Global warming is the greatest crisis humankind has ever faced and it is the defining test of leadership for this generation. It’s an open question whether President Obama will pass that test.”

“While President Obama’s speeches on global warming have been inspiring,” added Muffett, “we’ve seen a growing gap between the president’s words and his actions.”

Specifically, Greenpeace is calling on President Obama to:

• Strive to keep global temperatures as far below a 2 degrees Celsius increase as possible, compared to pre-industrial levels to avert catastrophic climate change;

• Set a goal of peaking global emissions by 2015 and be as close to zero as possible by 2050, compared to 1990 levels;

• Cut emissions in the U.S. by 25-40 percent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels;

• Join and encourage other members of the G8 to establish a funding mechanism that provides $106 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries adapt to global warming impacts that are now unavoidable and halt tropical deforestation

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Tell Papua New Guinea and British Royalty:Climate Solutions Have No Place for Continued Industrial Primary Forest Destruction!

ACTION ALERT PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!

Tell Papua New Guinea and British Royalty: Climate Solutions Have No Place for Continued Industrial Primary Forest Destruction

By Ecological Internet's Rainforest Portal with Rainforest Rescue
http://www.rainforestportal.org/
& http://www.regenwald.org/international/englisch/

July 6, 2009

TAKE ACTION HERE NOW:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=png_redd_logging


Knighting of illegal logger and carbon market corruption plague Papua New Guinea's (PNG) attempts to receive carbon money for protecting rainforests. Let Prime Minister Somare, and England's Queen and Prince of Wales, know PNG climate and biodiversity protection under UN REDD carbon markets requires an immediate end to industrial primary rainforest destruction by logging and oil palm. And certainly no royal knighthood for criminal loggers.

TAKE ACTION NOW:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=png_redd_logging


DISCUSS THIS ALERT:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2009/07/alert_tell_papua_new_guinea_an.asp

MASSIVE SKI DEVELOPMENT THREATENS BC COMMUNITY,WILDLIFE ENVIRONMENT!TAKE ACTION NOW!


MASSIVE SKI DEVELOPMENT THREATENS BC COMMUNITY, WILDLIFE, ENVIRONMENT

Grizzly bears, wolverine, wolves, mountain goats, salmon at risk

A massive ski resort proposal near Squamish, British Columbia would threaten the quality of life for area residents, wildlife, and the environment. The planned development, Garibaldi at Squamish (GAS), could adversely impact an array of wildlife including grizzly bear, wolverine, mountain goat, and salmon and steelhead.

Until recently, Squamish had been a relatively sleepy town. But expansion of the Sea-to-Sky Highway that connects Vancouver to Squamish has ushered in unprecedented and unplanned development. Local residents have grown increasingly concerned about how urban sprawl is affecting wildlife. A recent spike in encounters with cougars has focused attention on the connection between sprawl and the displacement and change of behavior of the big cats and other large predators. Driving these species from their territory is a recipe for disaster for Squamish and wild animals.

The GAS plan, first submitted to the BC’s Environmental Assessment Office in 1997 and recently resurrected, would cover an area roughly half the size of Squamish. The development would include two golf courses, 25 ski lifts, 98 km of new roads, hotels, and nearly 6,000 new homes, apartments, and condominiums. The proposed development encompasses land that has been identified as prime habitat for endangered or at risk species such as peregrine falcon, wolverine, and marbled murrelet. The GAS area also includes a threatened grizzly bear population unit that has been designated for recovery by the province. The project has come under especially intense fire because of its potential impacts on Brohm River, one of the most productive salmon and steelhead streams in the province. The development calls for expansive water management, including sewage and storm water discharge, irrigation for golf courses and potable water, extractions of water for snowmaking, and as many as five dams.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
*Urge provincial and local officials to reject the Garibaldi at Squamish ski resort proposal. For your convenience, Big Wildlife has included a sample letter below. Email your letter to the following officials:

Environmental Assessment Office: eaoinfo@gov.bc.ca

Premier Gordon Campbell: premier@gov.bc.ca
West Vancouver - Garibaldi MLA - Joan McIntyre: joan.mcintyre.mla@leg.bc.ca
Local MP - John Weston: westoj@parl.gc.ca
NDP Leader - Carole James: carole@bc.ndp.ca
Green Party - Jane Sterk: info@greenparty.bc.ca
Conservative Party - Wilf Hanni: leader@conservativesbc.com

District of Squamish
Mayor Greg Gardner: ggardner@squamish.ca
Councillor Bryan Raiser: braiser@squamish.ca
Councillor Corinne Lonsdale: clonsdale@squamish.ca
Councillor Doug Race: drace@squamish.ca
Councillor Patricia Heintzman: pheintzman@squamish.ca
Councillor Paul Lalli: plalli@squamish.ca
Councillor Rob Kirkham: rkirkham@squamish.ca

SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear Public Official:

I urge you to reject the planned Garibaldi at Squamish (GAS) ski resort. The development, which would include two golf courses, 25 ski lifts, 98 km of new roads, hotels, and nearly 6,000 new homes, apartments, and condominiums, would erode the quality of life for area residents and adversely impact prime habitat for endangered and at risk species, such as peregrine falcon, wolverine, and marbled murrelet. The GAS area also includes a threatened grizzly bear population unit that has been designated for recovery by the province.

In addition, the GAS proposal would degrade Brohm River, one of the most productive salmon and steelhead streams in the province. The ski development calls for extensive water management, including sewage and storm water discharge, irrigation for golf courses and potable water, extractions of water for snowmaking, and as many as five dams.

Expansion of the Sea-to-Sky Highway has ushered in unprecedented and largely unplanned development. Local residents have grown increasingly concerned about how urban sprawl is affecting wildlife. A recent spike in encounters with cougars has focused attention on the connection between sprawl and the displacement and change of behavior of the big cats and other large predators. Driving these animals from their territory is a recipe for disaster for Squamish, wildlife, and the environment.

Again, I urge you to reject the GAS ski resort plan. Thank you.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
PHONE
EMAIL

Save Patagonia!Action Alert!


Tell the Chilean government to reject the HydroAisen dam project and to pursue a sustainable energy future.

July 5, 2009

President Michelle Bachelet Jeria

Subject:


Dear President Bachelet,

(Edit Letter Below)

I am pleased that your government has challenged the HydroAisen dam scheme due to its environmental impacts. During the next few months, I urge you to work with NRDC in developing energy alternatives for Chile and to reject the HydroAisen project altogether.

I am concerned about the harmful impacts that the proposed mega-dam projects in Patagonia would have on the region's thriving wildlife. NRDC has already begun to identify technologies and investors that can help build a clean and sustainable energy future for Chile, given your nation's significant solar and geothermal potential.

I appreciate and am encouraged by the government agencies' analysis and hope that you will work with NRDC to pursue a range of alternative energy opportunities for Chile.
Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]

Sincerely,

Your signature will be added from the information you provide below. For messages going to Congress or your state legislators, we'll use your address to fill in the names of your representatives.

Protect Yellowstone's Newborn Buffalo-Action alert!

Ask the Obama administration to protect buffalo that roam outside Yellowstone National Park into Montana.

July 5, 2009

Secretary Tom Vilsack

Subject:


Dear Secretary Vilsack,

(Edit Letter Below)

I am dismayed by the recent hazing of bison -- better known as buffalo -- off U.S. Forest Service land on the west side of Yellowstone National Park in Montana on the Horse Butte peninsula. I'm calling on you to prevent these forced removals in the future. Because Horse Butte is cattle-free year-round, there is simply no basis to haze -- and likely kill -- buffalo on Horse Butte.

While millions of wild buffalo once roamed North America, the Yellowstone herd is comprised of about 3,000 buffalo -- the only continuously wild, free-roaming herd in America. In the spring, some of these buffalo leave snow-covered Yellowstone in search of fresh forage at lower elevations in Montana.

Many buffalo also travel to these grass-rich areas to give birth. Unfortunately for the buffalo on Horse Butte in Montana, however, the government agencies in charge, including the U.S. Forest Service, do not allow them to stay there after May 15. As one of the five agencies that manage Yellowstone's buffalo population under the Interagency Bison Management Plan, the Forest Service -- which is under your jurisdiction -- has the power to effect positive change for Yellowstone's buffalo.

The justification for this deadline -- as well as last year's slaughter of more than 1,600 buffalo -- is concern that wild buffalo may spread brucellosis to domestic cattle in Montana. But there has never been a documented case of transmission of brucellosis from buffalo to cattle in the wild.

Furthermore, there are no cattle on Horse Butte, and there is significant support among the Horse Butte landowners for allowing buffalo there year-round. As a result, there is absolutely no reason to haze buffalo back into Yellowstone and needlessly endanger the park's iconic buffalo population.

Please act immediately to allow buffalo to roam free year-round on Horse Butte in Montana.
Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]

Sincerely,

Your signature will be added from the information you provide.

Action Alert!Protect Grizzly Bears!

Urge the Obama administration to restore endangered species protections for grizzly bears.

July 5, 2009

Secretary Ken Salazar, Department of the Interior

Subject:


Dear Secretary Salazar,

(Edit Letter Below)

I urge you to restore endangered species protections for Yellowstone's grizzly bear population. In 2008 alone, approximately 49 grizzlies were killed -- the largest level of mortality since 1972, when bears were still legally hunted. The previous year, we were just one female grizzly death shy of breaching the allowable mortality limit. These numbers are devastating to the already imperiled grizzly population.

In recent years, grizzly bears have suffered from a serious decline in whitebark pine seeds in the Yellowstone ecosystem -- one of their major food sources. This decline is only expected to accelerate as a result of global warming and mountain pine beetles. With this major loss in the grizzly diet, it is especially critical that your agency take immediate steps to reduce human-grizzly conflicts. These include simple steps such as requiring hikers and hunters to carry bear pepper spray, enforcing and implementing food storage regulations in occupied bear habitat, and funding bear education programs that will prepare outdoor enthusiasts for potential bear encounters.

With grizzlies already reduced to one percent of their former range because of excessive killing and habitat loss, it is clear that they need access to additional suitable habitat, such as the Wind Rivers and Palisades.

If this alarming and excessive grizzly mortality rate continues, the hard-earned progress toward recovery will be quickly reversed in a few years. The Yellowstone grizzly, a symbol of our wilderness heritage, deserves our best efforts to ensure that it will still be here for future generations in and around our nation's oldest park.

Please restore endangered species protections for Yellowstone's imperiled grizzlies.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

Sincerely,

Protect the Peace-Athabasca Delta Action Alert!

Tell Canadian government officials to protect bird habitat throughout the boreal forest.

July 5, 2009

Minister Jim Prentice, Environment Canada

Subject:


Dear Minister Prentice,

(Edit Letter Below)

I am very concerned about the way in which Alberta is mining and drilling boreal forests and wetlands for tar sands oil. In particular, I am concerned about the huge threat that tar sands development poses to migratory bird populations, which depend on the boreal forest for survival.

Tar sands development has been called the "most destructive project on earth" because of the excessive global warming pollution it produces and the way its toxic mining operations devastates the boreal forest and wetlands that serve as breeding grounds for migratory birds. If this destruction continues at the projected rate, as many as 166 million birds including future generations could be permanently lost.

I ask that you call a halt to tar sands expansion and restore the land that has already been despoiled, protecting bird habitat in Alberta and elsewhere throughout Canada's boreal forest.
Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]

Sincerely,

Tell the governor of New York to permanently protect lands within the Adirondack Park.

ACTION ALERT!
To go to the action alert page and send a letter click on the title!

Governor David Paterson

Subject:


Dear Governor Paterson,

(Edit Letter Below)

I write to ask that you move expeditiously to acquire the Finch-Pruyn and Follensby Pond lands within the Adirondack Park. The Finch lands are some of the most ecologically valuable of all private lands in the park, encompassing 161,000 acres of lush forests, beautiful streams and dazzling lakes. Despite the economic recession, it is still critical to proceed with these land acquisitions now.

It is also critical to stop the building of the Adirondack Club and Resort south of Tupper Lake until major modifications are made to protect the environment. Of particular concern are the lands zoned "resource management" that the developer wants to convert into "great camp" lots.

The adjacent Follensby Pond tract of almost 15,000 acres is where Ralph Waldo Emerson, painter James Stillman, poet James Russell Lowell and others convened a "philosphers' camp" 150 years ago. It is essential that state agencies take precautionary action to ensure that our great Adirondack heritage is not despoiled by this proposed development.

The purchase of these high priority special areas will require significant funding from the Environmental Protection Fund. You have indicated that you want to divert monies from this critical fund, and reduce a critical funding source that would result in $45 million dollars worth of projects funded, when over a billion dollars of projects have been identified for this year. While I understand that budget cuts are necessary, this extreme move represents more than an 80 percent reduction in funding.

I urge you not to make such drastic cuts to the Environmental Protection Fund, which is so critical to protecting New York's natural heritage, and to proceed with the acquisition of the Finch-Pruyn and Follensby Pond lands.
Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]

Sincerely,