From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Mon Jan 17 00:06:30 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 00:06:30 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] A.N.S.W.E.R. - Counter-Inaugural Demonstration - Los Angeles Message-ID: <20050117080630.93785.qmail@web13626.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.answerla.org Counter-Inaugural Demonstration Jan. 20, 2005, 6 pm Westwood Federal Building On the first day Bush takes the oath of office--Thurs, Jan 20--thousands of people will demonstrate across the U.S. demanding "End the occupation of Iraq--Bring the troops home now!" The world will hear these demands loud and clear. In Los Angeles, join us at the Westwood Federal Building for a spirited rally and march through Westwood. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? All your favorites on one personal page ? Try My Yahoo! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? The all-new My Yahoo! ? Get yours free! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Mon Jan 17 09:55:55 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 09:55:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] The Religious Wrong - How Conservative Christians Fail At Ethics Message-ID: <20050117175557.65722.qmail@web13602.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/05/01/14_wrong.html The Religious Wrong How Conservative Christians Fail At Ethics January 14, 2005 Sharon Isikoff Religion should support the best in man, not the worst. It should help us to adhere to the highest principles, to be as good as imperfect human beings can be. Religious fanaticism clearly does not pass the ethics test. Whether you are considering the sanctity of life, the golden rule, virtues like charity, or sins like pride, there are so many ways that Conservative Christians who see the world in the absolute colors of white and black, right and wrong, consistently fail to find the best in themselves. The Sanctity of Life The Christian Right allows no exceptions to their prohibition of abortion. But how about if a woman with a bad heart condition, say cardiomyopathy for example, is criminally assaulted and raped? She manages not to die from the trauma of the attack itself, but is now going to die from the overwhelming of her heart by the stress of the resulting pregnancy. Neither she nor the unborn fetus is likely to survive. How does denying her a "morning after" pill or a very early abortion protect life? Fighting to preserve unborn life while not protecting women's lives, by offering real and accurate sexual information in schools and by making birth control available, is not consistent or ethical. Pregnancy, wanted or unwanted, has a mortality rate associated with it. Hundreds of women die each year of toxemia of pregnancy and from pregnancy complicating other disorders. I am no more in favor of abortion as a means of birth control than the Christian "right" is (and having been a pathologist who saw the results of the procedure first hand, I understand the horror), but it is wrong to not consider the situation. And while I know how joyful adoption can be, I also know how painful it can be. Do you really believe it is respectful of life to bring children into the world who will die in pain shortly after birth from horrible genetic mishaps or deformities like anencephaly? Perhaps you do, but if so, would you please make arrangements to adopt some? Or at least to pay their hospital bills so that their parents can afford to try again to have a child with a real chance at life? And while we are talking inconsistencies, if you really believe that life is sacred, how can you support the following concepts? Fighting to preserve unborn human life while fighting wars that kill children, men and women. Fighting to preserve unborn life while okaying (or standing silently by, which is the same as okaying) torture and the death penalty. Believing that only human life is sacred, and really only human life that looks just like you. Believing that you can protect human life but at the same time not worry about protecting the environment that supports all life. Love Thy Neighbor I have no doubt that some of the most loving people in the world are members of the Christian Conservative movement. I have personally been loved to death by some of them. But I am ethnically Jewish, and religiously indeterminate, and they all agree that since I do not agree with them, I am damned. For this reason they insist on trying to convince me of their rightness. And all I can think of is how wrong that is. So many of them believe that you should love thy neighbor unless he is a slightly different color or religion or sexual orientation or political party or any other difference that you (or your bible or your minister or your tv evangelist) choose to define as objectionable. And then love him, but insist that he is sinful and damned and should change and be the same as you, because you want him to be saved and not be left behind when the apocalypse comes. Or love thy neighbor unless he is too needy and requires your tax dollars to support a government program that helps him. The Virtue of Charity I have a friend who is a teacher who is opposed to the program which provides breakfast at school for needy children. This, in spite of the fact that studies have shown that a child who has not eaten breakfast will not learn as well as one who has. She objects because she feels the program provides for too many children who are not really needy. I could understand if she objected on the basis of the programs supplying non-nutritious foods like toaster pastries which only contribute to America?s obesity problems. But to deny food to the needy because a few people might be taking advantage seems a bit short of charitable. Her objection to welfare is similar, that there is too much cheating and women just have babies in order to get more welfare money. Her attitude remains the same, even though she recently visited South America and observed first hand what happens when societies become polarized between the very rich and the very poor. If you want to live in an armed fortress to defend against your poor and discontented neighbors, then you are right to condemn welfare. Let the poor fend for themselves, let natural selection reign. (Oh, wait a minute, if you are a Christian conservative, you do not believe in natural selection... never mind about that part). Even if charity was not considered a virtue, in my book, just for self-preservation reasons, it is wise to care for the poor to a certain level in order to avoid armed conflict. Resenting the taxes that help avoid the polarization of our society is wrong. The Sin of Pride I have no objection to your having faith that you have selected a righteous path. I object to your insisting that there is no other path that is righteous. You have faith, you believe that you are correct, and that is fine. But you are not all-knowing and all-seeing, nor any wiser than the millions of other human beings on the planet, most of whom have chosen other paths. Unless you claim you are all-knowing and all-seeing, you cannot be sure you are right, you can only be sure in your faith. If this is the case, then other people with other beliefs deserve your respect of their faith, which includes not insisting that they switch to yours. You are claiming that your answers should be taught in schools and posted on government buildings, because you are the only people who are right, and therefore smart and special. Every group believes that they are smart and special. That, my friends, is pride. Black pride, Gay pride, Christian pride, Moslem pride. All pride. If you claim to be sure you are right, and therefore all-knowing, you are guilty, by your own definition, of the sin of pride. You have usurped the position of your own Creator by insisting you know it all. And you have denigrated the whole concept of God by claiming to know exactly what God wants and what God?s will is. What a puny God that must be, that you, a lowly human, can be so sure of what God wants, or even of what God is. If you think this way, you are prideful, and that is a sin, and it is wrong. Forgiveness And while on the subject of sin, I would like to question the idea that one may sin and sin and sin and still be a good person and be "saved." Yes, humans are imperfect, originally sinful if you choose to call it that. And yes, forgiving the sins of others is an important part of coming to grips with that lack of perfectness that is part of the human condition. But to me it is wrong to comfort yourself by saying God will forgive you for anything as long as you repent later. You can hate homosexuals and women, resent government charity, be pridefully sure of your righteousness, and even rape and murder, and as long as you say you are sorry and truly regret all that before you die, you are as eligible for redemption as the saint who devoted her life to charity and never hated or harmed a soul. What kind of a message is that? While no one is perfect, religion should not be so easy. It should insist that we try our best to be good, and that we should do our best to right wrongs that we have done to others, to ask other people?s forgiveness before we ask for God's. Only then should redemption be possible. Well, you say, that is not what our religion says, only God's opinion matters. And are you certain that it is God's opinion that it is so easy to gain forgiveness? You know God's opinion? Well, there you go again... you and your pride. The Religious Right So how can we avoid being a part of the Religious Wrong? Stop assuming that life is so simple, so black and white. Accept that you cannot know it all. Accept that your faith is a valid path for you, but that it may not be the only valid path. Fight wars only when absolutely necessary, not on the basis of religious differences. Accept laws that truly promote the best in humanity, preserve the sanctity of all life, including women and other species, respect our neighbors no matter what they look like, and care for the poorest and least able among us. Do not promote laws that limit freedom and dignity for particular groups just because they are different. Remember that none of us knows everything, none of us can know fully the will of God. Believe as you will, but let others believe as they will without interference. Who knows, perhaps we are all wrong, perhaps the idea my daughter came up with is right: the apocalypse may have already occurred and we have already all been "Left Behind." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? The all-new My Yahoo! ? What will yours do? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Mon Jan 17 11:18:51 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 11:18:51 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] (FactCheck.org) Social Security Ads: Risk or Protection? Message-ID: <20050117191851.22172.qmail@web13609.mail.yahoo.com> Social Security Ads: Risk or Protection? Pro-Bush group's first TV ad states the problem correctly. But the AARP uses a misleading photo Summary A pro-Bush TV ad gets the central fact right about Social Security: by the time today's young workers retire there are projected to be only two workers paying Social Security taxes for every one person receiving Social Security Benefits. Today there are 3.3 workers per beneficiary. But a different ad opposed to Bush's efforts uses a misleading photograph. It shows wild trading in commodities like cocoa futures to depict the risk that workers could face with private Social Security accounts. Actually, what's being proposed is not investment commodities, but in far less risky stock and bond mutual funds, which would be broadly diversified. Click the link below for the full survey: http://www.factcheck.org/article301m.html If the link does not work, copy and paste this link into your browser and hit "ENTER": http://www.factcheck.org/article301m.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Meet the all-new My Yahoo! ? Try it today! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Mon Jan 17 11:59:41 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 11:59:41 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] American Lung Association of Minnesota: Lacking Fossil Fuels, Minnesota Embraces Green Energy Message-ID: <20050117195941.11445.qmail@web13621.mail.yahoo.com> http://press.arrivenet.com/bus/article.php/549608.html American Lung Association of Minnesota: Lacking Fossil Fuels, Minnesota Embraces Green Energy Distribution Source : PRNewswire Date : Friday - December 31, 2004 SAINT PAUL, Minn., Dec. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- While its landscape may be blanketed with ice and snow for much of the year, Minnesota is undeniably "green" in its energy policies. Governor Tim Pawlenty recently dubbed his state "the renewable fuel capital of America," and there is significant evidence to support his claim: Transportation Fuels Minnesota has the highest renewable fuel use per capita in the nation stemming from strong utilization of ethanol and biodiesel fuels. Ethanol -- Minnesota state law requires that virtually all gasoline sold in the state contain 10% ethanol, which helps the gas burn cleaner. Adding ethanol has reduced the amount of gasoline used by Minnesota drivers by an estimated 260 million gallons every year. Pawlenty has proposed increasing the ethanol content to 20% by 2010, but such a change would require approvals from federal organizations and auto manufacturers. All major automaker warranties currently approve of using gasoline containing 10% ethanol. -- With 13 ethanol plants with an estimated production capacity of more than 500 million gallons of the cleaner-burning gasoline additive a year, Minnesota ranks 3rd in the nation in production of fuel-grade ethanol after Iowa and Illinois. Minnesota corn growers send approximately 15% of their crop to ethanol plants. -- The state also has North America's largest network (more than 100) of stations selling E85, a new fuel consisting of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline that can be used in "flexible fuel vehicles," including many of the popular large pickups and SUVs. The American Lung Association of Minnesota actively supports the use of E85, calling it "a clean air choice" compared to conventional gasoline. Biodiesel -- More than 200 Minnesota stations now offer "B2," a diesel fuel blended with two percent "biodiesel," made from soybeans. In the summer of 2005 it is expected that the requirements for implementing a 2% biodiesel mandate statewide will go into effect, utilizing 16 million gallons of renewable fuel. -- Currently three new biodiesel production facilities are under construction in Minnesota and when operational will produce more than 50 million gallons -- ranking Minnesota as a national leader in biodiesel production. -- Several fleets around the state are using 5-20% blends of biodiesel fuel year-round in Minnesota's cold weather climate, including Hennepin County (Minneapolis), the City of Brooklyn Park, Eureka Recycling (Saint Paul), US Forest Service (International Falls), etc. Electricity -- Taking full advantage of the strong steady winds that blow across the flat landscape in the western half of the state, Minnesota has become the nation's third largest producer of wind-generated electricity, behind California and Texas. Minnesota requires its largest utility company, Xcel Energy, to contract for at least 1125 megawatts of wind energy and 125 MW of biomass by 2010 -- A recent analysis by the Minnesota Department of Commerce indicates that currently 11% of the state's electricity needs come from renewable energy and by 2015 the number will increase to 20%, largely from additional wind energy installations. All Minnesota utilities need to make a good faith effort to procure 10% renewable energy by 2015, which is an additional amount from Xcel Energy's mandates. -- All Minnesota utilities are also required to offer their customers the option of purchasing wind energy to increase their personal offsets of traditional electricity fuels. Similar to E85 as a consumer choice program, "green pricing" programs have increased the number of wind turbines in the Midwest as more consumers choose these optional programs. Energy Conservation -- All Minnesota natural gas and electricity utilities are required to spend a total of around $75 million per year on energy efficiency and conservation programs to reduce demand levels. While not renewable, they reduce the need for traditional fuels and increase the percentage impact of renewable sources. -- All buildings funded by taxpayer dollars must meet the tough new State of Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines, which require structures that exceed existing energy codes by at least 30 percent. Minnesota is also home to the American Lung Association Health House program, which trains homebuilders how to construct high-performance, energy-efficient houses in a variety of climates nationwide. There is evidence that the steps Minnesota is taking are bearing fruit. A recent report on ozone pollution from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listed Minnesota as one of only 19 U.S. states with every county recording an acceptable level of ozone. Ground-level ozone is a primary component of smog, and ozone is also a known lung irritant and threat to human health. While geography and weather patterns are key factors in areas where ozone is a problem, Minnesota has clearly taken steps to reduce outdoor air pollution by embracing green energy sources. "While Minnesota is recognized as a leader in cleaner energy and alternative fuels, there is much yet to be accomplished before we can declare victory over air pollution," said Tim Gerlach, director of outdoor air programs at the American Lung Association of Minnesota. "Federal clean air standards are constantly under attack, and our energy policies are still far too dependent on high-polluting fossil fuels, all of which must be imported in Minnesota. We need to focus more attention on cleaner, renewable energy sources that can be produced here -- closer to home." For more details on outdoor air pollution and Minnesota's award-winning alternative fuel program, visit: http://www.cleanairchoice.org/. For more on the American Lung Association Health House program and indoor air pollution, visit: http://www.healthhouse.org/. American Lung Association of Minnesota CONTACT: Robert Moffitt of American Lung Association of Minnesota, +1-651-269-7561, or robert.moffitt at alamn.org Web site: http://www.healthhouse.org/ Web site: http://www.cleanairchoice.org/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Find what you need with new enhanced search. Learn more. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Tue Jan 18 00:00:12 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 00:00:12 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Viewpoint: Americans can reduce their oil consumption Message-ID: <20050118080012.55618.qmail@web13602.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.pressconnects.com/today/opinion/stories/op013105s142219.shtml Guest Viewpoint: Americans can reduce their oil consumptionBY JAMES M. FICKE Will we revert to the state of medieval villagers once the "black gold" we rely on today is depleted? No, there is hope. Here are 12 steps that can save 86 percent of the oil; the remaining 14 percent would be replaced by biofuels. We will not take into account efficiency from technology, or fuel cells. These are well recognized estimates that many experts of sustainability agree with. One, stay at home. Combine errands or do not do them at all. Use the Internet. Savings is 5 percent less oil used. Two, walk. We can save another 5 percent of oil by using our feet and legs for trips within two miles. Three, cycle. Can a world be designed around bikes with trailers, electric bikes and many other folding bikes that one can take on the train or bus? Yes! Savings is an additional 15 percent of oil. Fourth, sharing vehicles is a great option in the equation of sustainability. Greater coordination within communities between the citizens would result in an additional 5 percent savings in "black gold" fuel. Fifth, mass transit can save an additional 20 percent of oil by using minibuses, light rail, and hybrid engines. Sixth, car sharing. Pay by the mile and hour, making one think twice before driving. Seven, electric vehicles. New lithium batteries can last for up to 200 miles between charges. So far we are at a total of saving 75 percent of our liquid fuel. Eighth, we can manufacture hybrid cars that can get 167 miles to the gallon, not a dream but a reality. Savings total now at 86.5 percent less fuel used. Ninth, smart cars. There are several models out there that get 237 miles per gallon, a savings of 3.7 billion gallons a year under certain circumstances. Tenth, biofuels using sea-water ponds and sunshine along with algae can produce approximately a billion gallons of biodiesel every 20,000 hectares. Farm and sewage waste together can produce another 168 billion gallons a year. Eleventh, electricity is viable and absolutely necessary. It is estimated that North Dakota alone can generate electricity using wind power, eight times more than we need in this short scenario. The twelfth step is sound, wise and smart energy policies. With a $2.7 trillion government leading the way toward sustainability, only then will markets open up, creating a great new backbone economy bent on saving the planet and ultimately the human race, while producing better jobs. There would also be a multiplier effect with such a scenario -- benefits such as less acid rain, less smog, more community and healthier citizens. Yes, fear of the unknown is always a challenge, but when was America never up to challenges of such importance for its citizens and the world? Ficke is an Endwell resident. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - You care about security. So do we. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Tue Jan 18 11:19:52 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 11:19:52 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] (Volunteers Needed)1, 000+ oiled birds in care after spill hits Southern California beaches Message-ID: <20050118191952.30001.qmail@web13602.mail.yahoo.com> Volunteers Needed -Training is at 10am, 2pm, and 5pm and last an hour. Must be 18+ years old. WHERE: Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care and Education Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro Phone # 800-228-4544 http://www.ibrrc.org/ventura05_spill.html Swamped in San Pedro 1,000+ oiled birds in care after spill hits Southern California beaches Updated: Jan. 18, 2005 10:28 AM PST More than 1,000 birds, mainly Western Grebes are now in care at the San Pedro, CA center after an oil slick first struck along the Ventura County coastline. Oiled birds were picked up off the beaches starting Wednesday night. The area affected seems to be from Playa del Rey to Santa Barbara. According to Califonia Fish & Game, the total numbers so far: 1,260 birds collected off beaches and from the water; 241 subsequently died or were euthanized. Another 185 (beyond the 1,019) were dead on arrival. At this point, the source of the spill is still undetermined. Early reports tied the oil in the water to the disastrous mudslide that struck the La Conchita area on January 11, 2005. It was feared that a broken pipeline was the culprit and a sheen was spotted off shore that stretched about a mile long. Feather samples from oiled birds will be analyzed to se what type of oil was spilled. To date, wildlife reabilitators have washed nearly 180 birds of the oil that prevents them from thermo-regulating. How oil affects birds IBRRC works with the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) during spills in California. OWCN has a number of response teams in the Ventura area. After birds are captured and stabilized in Camarillo, CA., they are being transported to San Pedro for treatment. State officials warned the public not to approach the oiled birds, pointing out that grebes have particularly sharp beaks. They are advising people who came across the birds to call (562) 342-7222. If you do catch the birds please put them in a big box with air holes and a towel at the bottom. See: You found a bird, now what? Read more: San Pedro Center ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? All your favorites on one personal page ? Try My Yahoo! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Tue Jan 18 12:07:36 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 12:07:36 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Few Sri Lankans Clamor for Organic Bath Gel Message-ID: <20050118200737.87022.qmail@web13621.mail.yahoo.com> January 15, 2005 Few Sri Lankans Clamor for Organic Bath Gel In their effort to do the right thing, donors in distant, wealthy nations don't always send the right thing to help survivors of the tsunami. By Mark Magnier, Times Staff Writer GALLE, Sri Lanka ? In one of the largest relief efforts in history, a new issue is cropping up: mismatched aid. Relief groups have opened boxes meant for tsunami survivors to discover coats sent by donors who were apparently unaware that the island nation is in the tropics, as well as polyester shirts and pants, which don't absorb sweat, and fleece baby clothes. "They'd melt to death," said Pam Porodo, co-founder of Impakt Aid, a recently formed independent group working out of Colombo. Westerners touched by the suffering also have sent food, generously emptying their larders of items that might be standard fare back home but don't quite work locally. Canned mixed vegetables in cream sauce is one example. First of all, most people here don't have a can opener. Also, people here eat their vegetables fresh, and most don't like the taste of creamed or canned food or may well get sick from it. "The Sri Lankans can be very stubborn about what they eat, even if they go hungry," said Michelle Cornman, 28, a special education teacher helping with relief efforts. "And the wrong foods disrupt their system." Sri Lankans and local charity groups say they are tremendously grateful for the global outpouring of support. A growing number of communities are no longer short of basics. For example, at the relatively remote Ottusuttan refugee camp in the nation's northeast, several hours from the nearest paved road, more than 300 displaced people are receiving three meals and two snacks a day. At several camps in the south, including the Wijitharama Buddhist temple in Dewata, children have begun using huge piles of donated clothes as unofficial playgrounds. With getting the essentials becoming less of a worry, it is increasingly clear that what tsunami victims are receiving does not always represent the most effective use of resources. Some of this is inevitable, humanitarian groups say, given the gap in culture and the distance between well-intentioned donors in wealthy countries and impoverished refugees at the disaster site. Aid shipments have included items that are not only extravagant by local standards, including luxe organic bath gels and body lotions, but so culturally foreign as to be unusable to Sri Lankans who have lost everything. Even some items that hit the mark are viewed with mixed emotions by those working in the trenches. Designer children's shirts with their $40 price tags still attached, or boxes of flip-flops that cost $25 in postage to send are certainly useful. Yet that amount of money spent locally could buy 20 to 30 times as many items, in styles the people here prefer, and help rebuild the economy. Mismatches extend to temporary housing. The Netherlands immediately sent 1,200 14-foot-tall tents made of heavy canvas. The problem is that they're too big. Most people want to live on the site of their ruined houses, which are small and often still filled with rubble. "It's a bit of a shame," said Olof van Joolen, a Rotterdam-based reporter with the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad who was tracking Dutch relief efforts. "They're sitting unused in a warehouse in Colombo." Over the last two weeks, more than 160 international flights have brought 2,400 tons of rice, 700 tons of lentils, 750 tons of wheat flour and 4 tons of canned fish, among other provisions. Much more aid is in the pipeline. In the grand scheme of things, the mismatches are minor inconveniences in a campaign to ensure that people get enough food and have roofs over their heads. But they represent missed opportunities. Sometimes it's a case of what isn't being sent, rather than what is. Global donors faced with such a crisis immediately think about food, water and shelter. But few think to send such items as women's sanitary products. The Impakt group, however, canvassed five major distributors across the country, and none had any available. For women having their period and trying to cope with so many other things, it's a huge problem, locals and women aid workers say. Not only are there severe shortages, but most of the camps are run by men. And in Sri Lankan culture, women rarely speak openly among themselves about the subject, let alone to men. "Women are shy, even in the store, to ask for such things," said Malage Patmini, 42, a resident of Unawatuna Beach Road who lost six relatives in the tsunami. "A couple of days after the storm, I had my period and sent my daughter looking. She had to go to a store two hours each way to find some. There are almost none left anywhere." Sithmini Perera, a Sri Lankan woman working for the civic group World Vision, said that when she visits refugee camps, she's often mobbed by women who take her aside and ask her to raise the issue because they're too embarrassed. The tsunami displaced hundreds of thousands of people and disrupted women's traditional hygiene methods. With men around all the time, it's difficult to employ familiar methods, which include burning used cloth or otherwise disposing of waste, amid the tight living conditions and lack of privacy. "We're seeing a lot of women's problems," said Belinda Ratnavira, a Westerner living in Sri Lanka who has been volunteering since the beginning of the crisis. "In these conditions, things women might do on a regular basis to keep clean, now they can't. There's also a big lack of understanding on why you need to." A few aid groups have started distributing packets of items for women. But local women don't always know how to use foreign sanitary products, requiring special instructions. Nor do they always have the right garments. Some groups are now including underwear in the packets as well. But most workers say a desperate shortage of such items persists. "If there was even a small tent to help women, all you'd need to do is tell one woman and there would be a line several blocks long," said Malskaer Lispegh, a Dane who lives in Unawatuna. "There's a real organization problem with all this aid. People send the wrong things, which just end up in some big storeroom, or they fail to send the right things." http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mismatch15jan15,1,5078776.story ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Tue Jan 18 22:26:23 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 22:26:23 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] ANTI-WAR.US Message-ID: <20050119062624.65007.qmail@web13623.mail.yahoo.com> ANTI-WAR.US is dedicated to the free distribution of anti-war graphic material. As creative individuals trained in methods of mass communication, we can make a real difference by providing clear anti-war messages. All materials on this site are created voluntarily and distributed free to activists around the world. http://www.anti-war.us/gallery/index.php ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Find what you need with new enhanced search. Learn more. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Wed Jan 19 01:15:15 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 01:15:15 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Where will you be on Black Thursday? Message-ID: <20050119091515.66649.qmail@web13608.mail.yahoo.com> Where will you be on Black Thursday? http://www.black-thursday.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - now with 250MB free storage. Learn more. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Thu Jan 20 19:10:12 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 19:10:12 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Mark Morford: Ho Hum, More War And Death Message-ID: <20050121031012.99669.qmail@web13601.mail.yahoo.com> ===== Mark Morford's Notes & Errata ===== SFGate.com - January 19, 2005 --------------------------------- Ho Hum, More War And Death What happens when habitual warmongering and BushCo lies become part of our daily diet? By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist And then you read the appalling little story about how BushCo is now "taking steps" to further the investigation into why their original intelligence on Iraq was so painfully, treasonously, colon-clenchingly wrong, why they thought Saddam had giant Costco-sized warehouses stacked to the rafters with snarling nukes and nasty biotoxins and active warheads when, in fact, he had nothing but a couple Dumpsters full of rusty 20-year-old shell casings and a bucket of stale glue. And don't forget the part about how Congress allotted hundreds of millions of dollars for the futile WMD search, with no public accounting of the money, and the entire budget and the expenditures are to remain classified, by order of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Ha ha. Sigh. This is about the time your head spins all the way around and you shudder in disbelief and you stifle a giggle and hold your sides and restrain yourself from gagging, think happy thoughts about sex and love and trees because otherwise you just smash your head with a brick and throw puppies into paper shredders to numb the pain and quiet the screams ..... (click here to read the rest) (Full URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/01/19/notes011905.DTL&nl=fix ) --------------------------------- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Meet the all-new My Yahoo! ? Try it today! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Thu Jan 20 21:23:01 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 21:23:01 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Help the ACLU hold the President to his oath Message-ID: <20050121052301.86551.qmail@web13609.mail.yahoo.com> Today, the President takes the presidential oath of office, "to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." But here at the ACLU, we are concerned that his actions will continue to belie that noble oath. Through their actions, President Bush and his Administration have made it clear that they want us to surrender our freedoms. Today I am asking you to help the ACLU hold the President accountable to his pledge to protect and defend the Constitution by telling your Senators and Representative: "I refuse to surrender my freedom." Tell them that you won't surrender your freedom ... and tolerate more and more government intrusion into our bedrooms, our churches and our doctors' offices, to interfere in who we love, how and if we pray and what kind of families we chose to create ... allow FBI investigations provoked by nothing more than exercising our freedom of speech ... accept that government agents could secretly search the books we read, the credit card purchases we make and the Internet sites we visit or stand silently by while they justify the kind of torture of prisoners that has long been held abhorrent to our country. Click here to e-mail your Senators and Representative now! You can urge your Senators and Representative to take the lead in opposing efforts to make the USA Patriot Act permanent. And you can urge them to oppose other affronts to freedom as well. Don't let them write discrimination into the Constitution ... undermine our basic right to privacy ... oppose reproductive freedom ... destroy the separation of church and state ... and selectively apply the right to due process. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Thu Jan 20 21:31:47 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 21:31:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Is SpongeBob SquarePants Gay? Message-ID: <20050121053147.64857.qmail@web13624.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.useless-knowledge.com/1234/dec/article309.html Is SpongeBob SquarePants Gay? By Robert Paul Reyes Dec. 18, 2004 In my essays I've pondered the existence of god, examined the 2004 election results and questioned Bush's foreign policy, but now it's time for me to consider a truly weighty subject: Is SpongeBob SquarePants gay? Everyone has been asking that question since a Wall Street Journal article reported that the popular cartoon character has a huge gay following. Since I don't have the intellectual gravitas to create a theory that unites all the fields of physics, let me attempt to solve the SpongeBob mystery. Let me state at the outset that there is nothing wrong with being gay, it's not as if we are debating if SpongeBob is a bed-wetter or a bank robber. Some of my best sponges are a nice shade of lavender. The creator of Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants," Stephen Hillenburg, insists that SpongeBob is "kind of special," but not gay. Hmm, that's what my mom used to say, when I asked why Uncle Albert wasn't married: Honey, your uncle is kind of special, he prefers to stay home and listen to Broadway show tunes, instead of going to bars and picking up floozies. Let's examine the evidence pointing to SpongeBob's gay orientation. There's no denying that Ole SquarePants is a wee bit light on his loafers; he has a penchant for holding hands with his bud Patrick and he has a proclivity for sashaying around his pineapple house in his tight briefs. But would a gay man, or sponge, live in a community called "Bikini Bottom"? Would a gay man wear SpongeBob's aesthetically-challenged attire? Would a homosexual have a snail as a pet? As I recall Uncle Albert had a cat, but he would set out poison to kill the snails that nibbled on his precious flower garden. SpongeBob SquarePants is no Tinky Winky; he's just an average, enthusiastic, live-and-let-live sponge. Gays may find him appealing as a gay icon, but there's many women who find him sponge- worthy. And children love him because he is a funny and friendly human being, umm, I mean sponge. Now, his next-door neighbor, Squidward -- that fussy queen is another matter altogether... ------------ About the author Robert Paul Reyes: I am a columnist for the Lynchburg Ledger. Email: rreyes4966 at aol.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Thu Jan 20 22:35:30 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 22:35:30 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] =?iso-8859-1?q?Toyota_expects_to_be_making_one_mil?= =?iso-8859-1?q?lion_hybrids_a_year_within_five_years_=96_Fujio_Cho?= Message-ID: <20050121063530.17678.qmail@web13607.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.just-auto.com/news_detail.asp?art=46907 SWEDEN: Toyota expects to be making one million hybrids a year within five years ? Fujio Cho20 Jan 2005 Source: just-auto.com editorial team Speaking at the European Car of the Year presentation ceremony held this week in Gothenburg, Toyota President Fujio Cho said that he believed Toyota will be producing over a million hybrid vehicles a year five years from now. ?I can?t be concrete but it should be one million units within five years. With the right cars we can do much more,? he said in remarks that were translated from Japanese into English. In ?05-06 Toyota will make 300,000 hybrids, including 180,000 units of Prius. The balance will be the Lexus RX, plus Japanese-market minivans and mild hybrids. Cho went on: ?Eventually each model range will have a hybrid version.? When asked what Toyota spends on hybrid R&D, he said, ?I cannot single out hybrids per se. But we spend 700bn yen per year on technology and R&D. About half of that is related to the environment, by which I mean fuel cells, hybrids, weight reduction and so on. We attach great importance to this and will continue to spend at that level or increase it. We want to maintain leadership.? On the sticker price of hybrids Cho said: ?It costs more than an average car because of the battery, motor, inverter and so on. But with improved design and manufacturing methods, and increased volume, we have reduced costs significantly. We?re striving to do more. I can?t say when a hybrid will reach parity with a conventional vehicle but it?s our objective I promise.? - Paul Horrell ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Fri Jan 21 20:40:42 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 20:40:42 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Mysterious Oil Patches Take Big Toll on Seabirds Message-ID: <20050122044042.89320.qmail@web13624.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oil21jan21,0,5334740.story?coll=la-home-local Mysterious Oil Patches Take Big Toll on Seabirds Up to 5,000 avians have been harmed, the most in the state since a spill off the coast in 1990. By Amanda Covarrubias and Kenneth R. Weiss, Times Staff Writers A mysterious weeklong oil leak off Southern California has damaged more wildlife than any spill in state coastal waters since 1990, officials said Thursday as they struggled to find its source. Dead or oiled seabirds are now turning up on beaches from Santa Barbara to Huntington Beach, with estimates that as many as 5,000 birds may have been coated with the black goo. So far, nearly 1,400 birds have been retrieved since the first grebes washed ashore in Ventura County a week ago. What makes the situation so perplexing is that wildlife officials are overrun by birds, but have not found a major telltale slick on the water or tar balls washing ashore. "It's a tough nut to crack," said Dana Michaels, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game. "It's not like there's a big slick someplace and we can say, 'That's the responsible party.' This is a real mystery." Not knowing where the leak is coming from makes it impossible for experts to determine how much oil is out there and for people treating the injured wildlife to know whether the worst is over. "Just because you don't see a broken ship doesn't mean there aren't huge impacts on wildlife," said Jonna Mazet, a UC Davis veterinarian who is leading the rescue effort at the Oiled Bird Care and Education Center in San Pedro. At first, state officials, who surveyed the area by air Saturday, suspected a natural release of oil from the seafloor in the oil-rich Santa Barbara Channel. Then a photo circulated by e-mail showed an oil slick extending off Platform Holly, just offshore from UC Santa Barbara. But a State Lands Commission inspector found no evidence of a leak from the platform, and a sample of the slick did not match the oil recovered from feathers. Because the oiled birds turned up soon after last week's record rains, investigators have been tracking reports of broken oil lines undermined by erosion or severed in mudslides. So far, no oil from any reported breaks has reached the ocean. Another theory holds that capped oil wells inland, or on the seafloor, may have been damaged in recent storms, unleashing crude oil into coastal waters. But oil companies have reported no problems to authorities, as is required by state and federal law. Meanwhile, chemists at a state laboratory near Sacramento are trying to analyze samples of oily residue collected from bird feathers; from the banks of the Santa Clara River, which enters the ocean near Oxnard; and from a weather buoy three miles offshore from the mouth of the river. It is slow and painstaking work to develop the chemical fingerprint and match it against those in the state's library of samples collected from ships, oil platforms and other sources, said Michaels, who works for the Fish and Game Department's Office of Spill Prevention and Response. Further complicating matters, she said, is that the oil from birds has degraded from the weather, making it more difficult to analyze. So far chemists have been unable to determine if oil on the birds' feathers is crude or refined. The closest match is consistent with a natural seepage from a spot called Coal Oil Point on the UC Santa Barbara campus at Isla Vista, she said. Officials said the spill has damaged more wildlife than any other spill in California coastal waters in 15 years, when 3,400 birds died after the 1990 American Trader spill off the Orange County coast. Mazet said the toll of this leak could exceed the American Trader spill and be the worst in California involving marine life since 1986, when a barge sloshed oil into San Francisco Bay, killing 10,500 seabirds. Of the nearly 1,400 damaged birds picked up by veterinarians, rescuers and volunteers in the last week, 612 were dead or so sick they had to be euthanized. Wildlife experts know they find only a fraction of the seabirds killed or injured in oil spills, and Mazet estimated that as many as 5,000 birds have been harmed by this latest incident. In the 2002 wreck of the tanker Prestige off the coast of Spain, 63,000 tons of fuel oil was leaked, killing an estimated 250,000 seabirds. Yet only about 840 oiled birds were ever found, said veterinarian Michael Ziccardi, director of UC Davis' Oiled Wildlife Care Network. "In Spain, we recovered 508 birds alive and 320 dead in three weeks," Ziccardi said. "Here in California, we have recovered that many birds in three days." At least 90% of injured birds collected so far are Western grebes, large black-and-white birds with long, thin, yellow bills that they use to catch small fish just offshore. This time of year, Western grebes are often seen along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to central Mexico. Ziccardi, a veteran of oiled bird rescue operations, said the large number of injured birds points to either a large spill or a concentration of "unlucky birds that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." Western grebes tend to congregate on the open sea in large "rafts," and one state fish and game official reported spotting 1,000 grebes on the water near Oxnard right before the trouble started and another 1,000 off Malibu. Other oil-soaked seabirds that have been treated include Clark's grebes, eared grebes, loons, brown pelicans, a Brandt's cormorant and a surf scoter. At first, oiled birds were found along an area stretching from Santa Barbara to Venice, but the danger zone was extended Thursday to Orange County after oily birds were discovered in Huntington Beach. Investigators with the state Office of Spill Prevention and Response say they haven't ruled out any potential sources. Experts note that there are some 1,500 sunken vessels along the California coast with about 750 off central California, some of them with millions of gallons of fuel oil in their holds. Officials are considering using an underwater surveillance robot to take pictures to help in the investigation. State officials have asked for federal assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The federal government has not yet agreed to take over the investigation, which would assure federal funding. The spill comes as federal officials are reviewing environmental documents that could allow oil companies to extend their leases on 36 offshore tracts from Oxnard to San Luis Obispo for future oil drilling. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been encouraging the Bush administration to buy back these leased tracts, which have been undeveloped for decades. And oil industry lobbyists have been urging Congress and the Bush administration to lift an oil-drilling ban that covers nearly all federal waters off California, except for specific areas already producing oil. Those areas are marked by oil platforms, most of them in the Santa Barbara Channel and off Huntington Beach. Meanwhile, rescue officials say more volunteers are needed to help care for the injured birds at the San Pedro center. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Fri Jan 21 21:17:02 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 21:17:02 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Mark Morford: Do You Suffer News Fatigue? Message-ID: <20050122051702.71582.qmail@web13601.mail.yahoo.com> ===== Mark Morford's Notes & Errata ===== SFGate.com - January 21, 2005 --------------------------------- Do You Suffer News Fatigue? Sick of dour headlines? Too much Bush and war and death and homophobia and Bush? You are not alone By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist Maybe it was the deluge of deeply nauseating election stories. Maybe it was the horrifying election results. Maybe it was the staggering news of the tsunami devastation or the continued uptick of the number of U.S. dead in Iraq. Maybe it was Abu Ghraib or the brutal Fallujah carnage or the obvious and bitter stories of the foregone failure of the search for WMD. Was it continued tales of America's staggering deficit? Our humiliatingly weakened dollar? Our nation's current miserable standing in the international community? Shots of Bush's motorcade cruising down Pennsylvania Avenue, heading for Nightmare Term II, as people booed and threw eggs and turned their backs in disgust? Or maybe it was merely the standard postcoital tryst following the holiday consumerist orgy wherein you just want to bury your head in a pile of recycled Pottery Barn catalogs and wait for spring. You think? Whatever the reason, news fatigue is rampant right now. Do you feel it? Have you succumbed? My media colleagues complain of it and regular readers lament it almost every day: people are, apparently and quite understandably, deathly sick of the media and sick of the news .... (click here to read the rest) (Full URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/01/21/notes012105.DTL&nl=fix --------------------------------- -- Subscribe/Unsubscribe here -- -- Mark's column archives are here -- -- Mark's email address is here -- --------------------------------- All contents (tm) (c) 2005 SF Gate Have ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 10:27:49 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 10:27:49 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Is Bush Under the Spell of Satan? Message-ID: <20050122182749.43026.qmail@web13605.mail.yahoo.com> Satan Displays Bush 'Hook 'em' Hand Gesture; Is The Devil a UT Fan Too? For those who claim that the symbol only means 'hook 'em horns,' even though people like Silvio Berlusconi have also been photographed doing it, here is a representation of the devil flashing the same sign. I guess he's just a UT fan too? http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2005/210105devilhand.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Meet the all-new My Yahoo! ? Try it today! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 12:07:14 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 12:07:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] 104 Inauguration Protest Pictures Message-ID: <20050122200715.61270.qmail@web13624.mail.yahoo.com> 104 Inauguration Protest Pictures If it takes All these police to protect the President from the US Citizens, Then it should be Obviously to the Whole World that we are under Control of a Dictator ! Yahoo! News Photos - Bush Inauguration Protests Address:http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?g=events/ts/012005inaugprotests&tmpl=sl&e=1 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Sat Jan 22 12:12:01 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 12:12:01 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Onshore source suspected in major oil spill Message-ID: <20050122201201.61666.qmail@web13624.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/12106308p-12976316c.html Onshore source suspected in major oil spillOfficials say the incident that killed or hurt at least 3,000 seabirds likely began in Ventura County.By Laura Mecoy -- Bee Los Angeles Bureau Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, January 22, 2005 SAN PEDRO - A mysterious oil spill that's believed to have caused more bird injuries and deaths than any spill in the state in 15 years most likely came from an onshore source in Ventura County, state officials said Friday. State officials estimated 3,000 to 5,000 seabirds - mostly Western grebes - were injured or killed by the spill. More than 1,400 of them were brought to the Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care and Education Center in San Pedro, where University of California, Davis, veterinarians and volunteers tried to rehabilitate the injured ones. OAS_AD('Button20'); While further tests will be needed to determine the source, state officials believe the spill occurred in Ventura County because the oil-coated birds were first spotted there Jan. 11. Also, they said, the largest number of dead and injured birds came from Ventura County. Kenneth Mayer, scientific branch chief of the state Fish and Game Department's Office of Spill Prevention and Response, said the tarry substance removed from the birds is "weathered" crude oil, or oil exposed to the air and the environment for some time. As a result, he said it most likely came from an onshore source - rather than offshore oil production or naturally occurring seeps of oil. He said the oil most likely washed into the ocean in last week's rainstorms. "It came out in the environment near the shore because that is where these grebes live," he said. Ventura County was one of the hardest-hit areas during the 15 days of record-setting rainstorms in Southern California in late December and early January. Lisa Curtis, Office of Spill Prevention and Response deputy administrator, said so many roads were washed out or blocked by mudslides that many oil companies haven't been able to get to their drilling operations to determine if oil has spilled. Capt. Steve Edinger, the Fish and Game Department's lead investigator, said tests indicate one source of oil caused all the damage to the seabirds. But he said no one has spotted a slick of oil on the water's surface or onshore. He said the oil must have dispersed or sunk already and is unlikely to wash onto local beaches. Oil has its own distinctive fingerprint of chemicals, so state officials are hoping to match the samples from the dead and injured birds to a definite source. But Edinger said the tests may take a month. In the meantime, bird rescuers celebrated the release of 19 seabirds Friday, a sign that they're beginning to turn the corner in the rescue efforts. "There are still a lot of challenges ahead," said UC Davis wildlife veterinarian Greg Massey. "At least, we are not getting 200 to 300 birds a day in now. We can focus on those we already have." Of the 1,422 birds collected since Jan. 11, 260 were dead and an additional 562 died or were so sick they had to be euthanized, Sylvia Wright, UC Davis spokeswoman, said. Assuming that many more birds were killed or injured by the spill than those collected, state officials estimate 3,000 to 5,000 were affected. Fish and Game's Mayer said if the estimate of 3,000 is correct, the spill could have harmed 25 percent of the state's grebe population. But he said some of the injured grebes could have come from Washington or Oregon, lessening the impact on the state's population. Grebes are not endangered, but their numbers have been dwindling, making them a "species of special concern." They spend their lives on the water. Their feathers link together, like Velcro, to create a watertight covering against icy waters. Massey, the UCD veterinarian, said oil on their feathers is "like a rip in a diver's dry suit." The feathers can't stick together any more. The cold water seeps in, and the bird's body temperature drops. The grebe becomes stressed, stops eating and becomes dehydrated. At the Oiled Bird Care and Education Center, volunteers placed injured birds in pens to be warmed, fed and hydrated. Grebes aren't designed to be on land, and that posed even more problems for rescuers. The grebes' feet, which act as rudders in the water, are located so far back on their bodies that they provide no support on land. So, the grebes rest on their breastbones, and that can cause lesions on their bodies if the birds stay too long in one position. As soon as blood tests showed the birds were stable, volunteers washed them in tubs of soapy water. Using toothbrushes and cotton swabs, they scrubbed away every spot of oil on the squealing birds' bodies. "You can't leave any oil on them," volunteer Hugh Denton said. "If you leave any spots, they won't dry." Once the birds were rinsed and dried, they went into pools where volunteers ensured they were clean. Volunteers then tagged each bird and put them in boxes for the trip to the beach. At nearby Cabrillo Beach on Friday, state officials gently lowered the seabirds into the ocean's edge. Each flapped its wings furiously, desperate to get away from the humans who had saved it from a certain death. A group of toddlers from a nearby "Mommy and Me" program had come to watch and applauded the birds' release. Jonna Mazet, the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center director who organized the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, watched as they set out on their own. "It is amazing to get the birds in and have them released within a week," she said. "I am really pleased because when you are designing and constructing this network, you always worry it might not work." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Meet the all-new My Yahoo! ? Try it today! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Sun Jan 23 21:18:11 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 21:18:11 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fwd: TV Documentary Seeks Worldwide Examples of Renewable Energy Message-ID: <20050124051811.26213.qmail@web13624.mail.yahoo.com> Hi I am a TV documentary maker based in London, England. One recent film I made that some of you might have seen was called SACRED GROUND, shown on PBS Frontline about the battle over what should be built at Ground Zero. It was also shown on Channel 4 in the UK and round thew world. I am now researching a documentary about living off the grid. It will include examples of small scale and large scale renewable energy use. It will be about off-grid lifestyles in the 3rd world and the West. Some of it will be about developing countries and their energy and recycling solutions; partly it will be about what we in the West can learn from the third world and from the Green movement. Some of it will be about mobile lifestyles - people living in trailers, boats, caravans etc. Please could anyone reading this send me actual examples of renewable energy or other off-grid solutions that are being used currently, anywhere in the world. preferably things you are involved in personally or where people you know are involved personally? Thanks very much, and please do forward this request on to others who might be interested. Nick Rosen www.vivum.net www.off-grid.net ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 250MB free storage. Do more. Manage less. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Sun Jan 23 21:25:41 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 21:25:41 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] ELF interview Message-ID: <20050124052541.91022.qmail@web13607.mail.yahoo.com> http://resist.ca/story/2005/1/9/165431/5707 Interview with the Earth Liberation Front Posted by: earth_first, Section: Turtle Island Posted on Mon Jan 10th, 2005 at 07:31:57 AM PST Direct action gets the goods: The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is an underground network responsible for acts of arson and sabotage against development, urban sprawl, and sport utility vehicles. ELF actions have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage in the United States. The Green Monkey, Coop Radio's environmental action programme on 102.7 FM in Vancouver, BC, interviewed the anonymous spokesperson for the ELF Press Office (ELFPO) last year. Green Monkey: Why do people commit direct action? Especially extreme examples like the arson at Vail and torching SUVs? ELFPO: We believe that people are driven towards direct action as a response to the feeling that more traditional forms of activism can't work without a component of economic sabotage. Direct action serves a double purpose of both costing target businesses and agencies economically as well as being dramatic enough to garner public attention to an issue - it is these twin results that continue to make illegal actions popular with a segment of those resisting the dominating aspects of industrial society. Green Monkey: Is this kind of direct action effective? What does it accomplish? ELFPO: Effectiveness is something that is not easily measured. There have certainly been some examples of direct effectiveness in terms of costing businesses for the price of their actions (such as the rise in insurance costs for SUV dealers in the United States as a result of a wave of vandalism acts and fires) - however effectiveness primarily has to be gauged over the long-term. The recent anti-sprawl fires in the US are an example of how actions can be both economically effective (in terms of costing developers extra money in security costs), but also effective because the whole discussion around urban sprawl was opened up in mainstream news as a direct result of these fires. An issue that the Sierra Club has been hammering at getting into the public consciousness for a decade, and all it takes is a few well-timed development fires and within a week there are editorials on urban sprawl popping up in every major newspaper across the United States. That is effective in terms of achieving the goals stated by the ELF - no question about it - but is it effective in bringing about massive changes to industrial society as a whole? Not yet. Green Monkey: Is the ELF revolutionary? ELFPO: Revolutionary in the sense that the ELF's goals seem to be to bring about large-scale social and ecological change - yes. There is no question that the ELF is motivated not only by environmental issues, but in their messages over the past decade there have definitely been statement that hint at a broader anti-capitalist analysis and a desire to bring an end to our current societal organization. Green Monkey: It seems every time an action happens, the mainstream enviros are eager to condemn the ELF as "terrorists." Why the backlash? Is there any way to get the big greens on side? ELFPO: The backlash is because mainstream enviros are afraid of being lumped in with "terrorists" and they seem to believe that most of the public is so stupid as to equate the Sierra Club with the ELF. We believe the public interested in environmental issues (or the public at large) can discern between mainstream and illegal action groups. What's funny is that the extreme actions of the ELF actually capture media and public interest in a way that mainstream enviros don't - which in the end gives a lot of space and media time to the above ground enviro groups to discuss their perspective on a given issues (such as sprawl or SUV use). We believe that the mainstream enviros wouldn't get nearly the airtime they do without the extreme animal and enviro groups carrying out illegal actions. However, while this may be true, we don't believe the mainstream enviros will ever officially be on side since they are reliant on large amounts of funding from not only the general public but often also corporations trying to "green" their image. In no way can those groups ally with radicals who break the law, their funders would not like it. Green Monkey: I know lots of folks who get a secret thrill from hearing about particularly dramatic actions. Why is that? Do you think more people support the ELF than we're led to believe? ELFPO: We get lots of "love letters" for the ELF every week, which tells us that there's greater public support out then the media would have us believe. We think that ELF actions are popular with people because they are expressions of resistance in a society that is frustrated, controlled, and ultimately stunted. To see a group act outside of the social training is secretly thrilling to everyone who wishes they too could break free just a little bit and go after the industrial mechanisms that keep us enslaved. There is also a strong psychological component to the use of fire as a tactic - the ultimate anti-social act is to burn down that which society prizes (buildings, vehicles etc) - to reduce that to ashes is the ultimate "Fuck you" and on some level we respond to that very strongly. Green Monkey: The ELF is now on the FBI's domestic terrorism list. Has this caused problems for people who talk openly about the ELF in the US? ELFPO: Activists vocally supporting the ELF in the US have definitely had a lot of problems over the past few years with the FBI going around and generally harassing them with raids, interrogations and the threats of Grand Juries. The last above-ground press officer for the ELF was raided 3 times in two years, and even the Canadian ALF Press Officer was raided [three years] ago by the RCMP on behalf of the US Government. The FBI is generally frustrated by their low rates of successful prosecution in ELF and other direct action sabotage cases, which means that they will go after anyone above ground who is vocal and supportive. We are currently asking people to support Harjit Gill in California who is one of these cases of FBI persecution. More information on his case is available at www.earthliberationfront.com. Green Monkey: In Portland, OR, Jeff "Free" Luers was sentenced to 23 years for burning SUVs, more than if he'd committed rape or manslaughter. How has the threat of harsh punishment affected the amount of ELF sabotage? ELFPO: We don't think it has. Jeff was sentenced 3 years ago, and since that time we have seen an increase in the number of actions and the amount of damage caused. The largest eco-sabotage action in US history was carried out in August [2003] in San Diego costing $50 million in damages, and 2003 as a whole was an incredibly costly year in terms of ELF damages - so there is no evidence that harsher punishments are deterring eco-sabotage. Green Monkey: Almost everyone who commits these major crimes in defense of the environment gets away scot-free. Why is that? ELFPO: Meticulous planning and attention to detail. Not getting caught is a matter of planning an action over a long-period of time so as not to run into any surprises during the action, and leaving no DNA or other forensic evidence behind that could track the police back to the person who committed the action. An important adjunct to this of course if the rule of secrecy at all costs. The few people who have been arrested over the past few years generally tend to be young (under 21) and to a number, every one of them had made the mistake of talking to someone they shouldn't have (a girlfriend, school friends etc), who either turned them in or caved under FBI interrogation. The people carrying out the larger-scale actions are likely more experienced in planning and carrying out covert activities, which means they leave few if no clues behind (at least according to FBI reports) which would tie them as individuals to the action at any point. Green Monkey: Where can we get more information about the ELF? ELFPO: The Earth First! Journal, Frontline-news (mailing list hosted on resist.ca.) These are the sources we contribute to regularly as the press office. [Editor's note: www.earthliberationfront.com is no longer accessible. Other online sources for ELF and related actions include: www.greenanarchy.org, www.directaction.info and www.nocompromise.org.] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From italysbadboy at yahoo.com Sun Jan 23 23:14:31 2005 From: italysbadboy at yahoo.com (ItalysBadBoy) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 23:14:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] More Links and Pics Regarding The Ventura Oil Spill effort Message-ID: <20050124071431.3283.qmail@web13607.mail.yahoo.com> Hello all, Here's a photographer's pictures regarding the recovery center and the birds. Steve wrote: Ventura Oil Spill effort >From 1st batch of pictures taken on 15 January 2005 http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/suyehara at pacbell.net/album?.dir=/c404&.src=ph&.tok=ph79taCBOUwAi1HK Links...... Oiled Wildlife Care Network http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/owcn/ The Wildlife Health Center http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/whc/default.htm IBB ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: