Earths.net

12/28/00
4:22:43 PM

would someone please explain why you are petitioning for a john lennon day? he's a dead musician...nothing more, nothing less. i'm into saving the rainforests, saving the whales, and saving the babies- everyone hates world hungerand social injustice. As for social injustice, the opinions are varied. So you have celebs sharing your crusades- Hitler had his- was he correct because others believed him? Let J L rest in peace- come down from your cellar loft of self-aggrandisement and stay out of politics. Lastly, you are the reason we can't legalize dope. Oh yea, maybe you could cut a few more windows in your 70's abode.

12/28/00
1:29:14 PM

World Environment News - December 28th, 2000 from Planet Ark

Here are today's Reuters 'World Environment News' headlines, proudly brought to you by Planet Ark.

Doing environmental research? Search our news archives at: http://www.planetark.org/searchhome.cfm

UPDATE - Icy storm paralyzes Arkansas, Oklahoma - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9391

Spanish judge closes case in massive toxic spill - SPAIN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9389

Lebanese army issues landmine warning for south - LEBANON http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9390

War, drug trade cause Colombia ecological disaster - COLOMBIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9394

Animal rights group targets Vancouver meat trucks - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9392

12/28/00
1:26:49 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS) http://ens-news.com

"We Cover the Earth For You"

SHARK FINNING BANNED IN U.S. WATERS

WASHINGTON, DC, December 27, 2000 (ENS) - Shark finning - the wasteful practice of slicing the fins from a shark and returning the dead or dying animal to the sea - is now banned in all United States waters. President Bill Clinton signed a bill banning shark finning on Tuesday.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-27-06.html

NEW ZEALAND GE PROTESTS END IN ARRESTS

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, December 27, 2000 (ENS) - Five Greenpeace activists who boarded a ship carrying genetically engineered soya meal were arrested by New Zealand police today.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-27-10.html

EVERY MEXICAN ACCOUNTABLE IN NEW GREEN VISION

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, December 27, 2000 (ENS) - The new government of Vicente Fox wants to change Mexicans' culture in order to better protect

Mexico's environment. That was the message of a "New Vision" announced by Semarnat, the country's environment ministry.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-27-11.html

POTASSIUM IODIDE ADOPTED INTO U.S. RADIATION RULES

ROCKVILLE, Maryland, December 27, 2000 (ENS) - Federal funds could be made available to states and local governments that want to stockpile potassium iodide, under a proposal made last week by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The supplement could be supplied to people exposed to radiation in the case of a catastrophic nuclear power plant accident.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-27-15.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE: AMERISCAN DECEMBER 27, 2000

Five New Monuments Recommended to Clinton

$84 Million Settle Clean Air Suit Against Koch Petroleum

Environmental Actions Rank High on Government's Top 50 List

California's Common Ravens Could Be Separate Species

Connecticut Imposes Emissions Limits on Power Plants

Nature Conservancy Names New President

Wind Energy Could Blow Away California Crisis

Forest Service Hiring 3,500 New Firefighters

Satellite Tracks Right Whale Migration

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-27-09.html

12/28/00
1:25:15 PM

You can take action on this alert either by email or preferably on the web at: http://actionnetwork.org/take-action.tcl?key=1137877A14291B1227020445C243

Alert expires on January 20, 2001

Here's what this alert is about:

Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Because of your support for protecting our national forests, we are writing you today with one simple request--Send an e-mail to President Clinton, urging him to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain has often been called "America's Serengeti" because of its abundant and diverse wildlife. Home to nearly 200 species, including caribou, musk oxen, grizzlies, wolves, polar bears, snow geese and millions of other migratory birds, the coastal plain is the last 5% of Alaska's vast North Slope still off limits to oil drilling - but for how long?

The oil industry, which would reap immense profits from plundering the Refuge, has long wanted to drill in the Refuge. During the presidential election campaign President-elect George Bush stated that he also wants to open the Refuge to oil development. Any oil drilled in the Refuge would take years to get to market, and would never supply more than 2% of U.S. needs. This would transform this Wildlife Refuge into a vast industrial complex, complete with roads, pipelines, sewage plants, refineries and pollution.

President Clinton has the opportunity to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its magnificent wildlife forever by designating it a National Monument. But time is running out, and oil companies and other special interests are lobbying him heavily to not take this action.

Just as we would never allow multinational corporations to dam the Grand Canyon for its hydroelectric power or tap Yellowstone's Old Faithful for its geothermal energy, we must never sacrifice national treasures like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to short-term profit. We need your help to ensure that President Clinton delivers a holiday gift to the Nation: an Arctic Wildlife National Monument for future generations.

Please send your email today.

For more information about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge visit www.alaskawild.org or www.saveourcaribou.org.

Season's Greetings, The Alaska Coalition

12/28/00
1:23:54 PM

The BEIR[Biological Effects Of Ionizing Radiation] VII study has been extended two years in order that new information on the doses to the Japanese atomic bomb survivors can be developed and analyzed. The new anticipated date for completion of the study is October, 2003.

Rick Jostes National Academy of Sciences 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418

rjostes@nas.edu Phone [202] 334-2840 FAX [202] 334-1639

I thought people might be interested in a history of phony radiation standards in the USA courtesy of the US military & nuclear industry. This history & commentary is courtesy of Dr Rosalie Bertell.

-Bill Smirnow

http://www.geocities.com/mothersalert/bertell2.html Comments on the History of Permissable Dose Standards by Dr. Rosalie Bertell

In October 1945, after the US Occupation Force had taken over Japan, it was officially announced that there would be no more deaths at Hiroshima and Nagasaki due to the atomic bombs. Under the Occupation Force direction, no Japanese physicians or scientists were allowed to study the atomic bomb survivors, and no reporting about the survivors was allowed until the 1951 treaty was drawn up and signed in Tokyo.

In spite of these prohibitions and difficult circumstances, a Japanese Haematologist discovered the increase in leukemia among the survivors. It began within a year of the bombing. He reported this at a professional meeting and was roundly denounced by the US researchers in Hiroshima and Atomic Bomb Casualty Commissiion (now called the Radiation Effects Research Foundation).

The physician was sure he was right, and he persuaded a medical student to take two years off from his studies and document all of the atomic bomb victims with leukemia. This was a difficult job since they were being treated at many different hospitals. The student obtained blood slides for each patient and also verified where they were when the bombs were dropped. After two years of study, it was about five years after the boming at that time, the results of this study were released. The US researchers could no longer deny the fact, and they turned around and claimed credit for the research.

When the atomic bomb studies were actually set up, using persons identified in the1950 Japanese census, they omitted counting these early, significantly increased number of cases. The Atomic bomb studies were not actually published with dose information until after the1965 doses were devised by John Auxier of Oak Ridge Labs. These doses were, in 1980, denounced as wrong, and a new set of doses constructed in 1986. Although the justification for the new doses was improvement of the science, the journal Science gave a wonderful description of John Auxier's inability to produce the worksheets which showed the derivation of the dose estimates he had assigned. It seems that he lost these work sheets accidently to a shredder when he moved offices. This lead to the unanimous recommendation to lower permissible doses of radiation by the ICRP in 1990.

The US has still not lowered the permissible doses, and it also claims wrongly that its radiation protection standards, set in 1952, were based on Atomic bomb studies. This is, of couse absurd. Most people in the nuclear industry equate "legal" with "safe", and if you try to explain that even within permissible levels of exposure there is significant risk of radiation damage, they think you are "emotional" and "unscientific".

The US appears to have used its 1952 estimates of permissible doses for nuclear workers for the DU exposure in the Gulf War.

More about this history can be found in my book: "No Immediate Danger: Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth". The Women's Press, London UK, 1985. There are still copies around in libraries, but it was taken off of seller's shelves in 1995 because I hope to update it. I have copies available for $12.50 US if anyone would like one.

Dr. Rosalie Bertell

12/28/00
1:22:17 PM

World Environment News - December 27th, 2000 from Planet Ark

Here are today's Reuters 'World Environment News' headlines, proudly brought to you by Planet Ark.

Doing environmental research? Search our news archives at: http://www.planetark.org/searchhome.cfm

Clinton signs law banning shark finning in US waters - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9379

UPDATE - Winter storm ices over US heartland - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9380

Ebola hits Uganda's tourism revival effort - UGANDA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9385

Taiwan-held islet to clear landmines, open to China - TAIWAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9377

Taiwan gives grace period for labelling GMO foods - TAIWAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9381

Mine kills five civilians in southern Senegal - SENEGAL http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9376

Spy trial of Russian scientist begins - RUSSIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9382

FEATURE - Greens see greed, neglect tainting Siberia's pearl - RUSSIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9383

Oil leaks from cargo ship on rocks off Norway - NORWAY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9387

Volcano stabilizes - Mexican villagers return home - MEXICO http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9386

FEATURE - Southern Lebanese see little to celebrate post pullout - LEBANON http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9378

Japan shuts nuke reactor after pump malfunction - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9375

India says water,energy key foreign policy issues - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9384

Germany rejects EU charge it bungled mad cow scare - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9388

12/28/00
1:18:22 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS) http://ens-news.com

"We Cover the Earth For You" ************************************************************

CANADA, U.S. LOOK NORTH TO MEET ENERGY DEMANDS

MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada, December 26, 2000 (ENS) - North America's rising energy demands and soaring natural gas prices are sending U.S. corporations and the Canadian government north to Nunavut's trillion dollar gas supply.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-26-10.html

************************************************************

FACTORY CHICKEN INDUSTRY ROASTED IN INDIA, UK

MUMBAI, India, December 26, 2000 (ENS) - India's meat eaters might be thinking twice about their carniverous ways after an animal welfare group unveiled a billboard ad this week depicting a chicken preparing to eat a human leg on a plate.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-26-11.html

***********************************************************

EUROPEAN UNION TACKLES SMALL ENGINE EMISSIONS

BRUSSELS, Belgium, December 26, 2000 (ENS) - Drawing heavily on rules already in place in the United States, the European Commission has proposed a law governing air pollutants from petrol driven non-road mobile equipment, such as lawn mowers and other garden tools.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-26-12.html

************************************************************ SEND NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com

*********************************************************************** E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE *********************************************************************** TO STATE, ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATIONAL EDITORS:

No Happy Holidays for Yellowstone's Bison: Grinch-Like Government Bison Plan is Nothing to Celebrate (Unless You're a Cattle Rancher) Reports the Fund for Animals

NEW YORK, Dec. 26 -/E-Wire/-- In a statement released today, The Fund for Animals condemned the government's recent Record of Decision on the Final Environmental Impact Statement on the long-term management of Yellowstone's bison.

/CONTACT: D.J. Schubert, 602-547-8537 or Andrea Lococo, 307-859-8840, both of the Fund for Animals/

/Web site: http://www.fund.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Dec00/26Dec0002.html

TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

The Role of Renewable Energies in Providing Clean Rural Energy

LIMA, PERU, Dec. 26 -/E-Wire/-- An international seminar, "The Role of Renewable Energies in Providing Clean Rural Energy" will be held in Lima, Peru on February 12 and 13, 2001.

/CONTACT: Mr. Marcos Alegre, General Manager, ILZRO RAPS Peru, 011-51-1-425-7206 (Peru), marcale@terra.com.pe OR Dr. Rosalind Volpe, Consultant, Environmental Health, ILZRO RAPS Peru, 919 361-4647 extension 3023 (USA), rvolpe@ilzro.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Dec00/26Dec0001.html

12/28/00
1:17:19 PM

This quiet week between Christmas and New Year's is one of the few in which America's oldest weekly magazine doesn't publish. We'll be back at it next week as usual. In the meantime, check out highlights from the most current issue of The Nation as well as recent features you may have missed. All are available at http://www.thenation.com

ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT:

ROBERT SHERRILL: Death Trip: The American Way of Execution http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010108&s=sherrill

BRUCE SHAPIRO: A Talk with Governor George Ryan http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010108&s=shapiro

ON THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT:

ROBERT FISK: Time of the Intifada http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20001120&s=fisk

AMOS OZ: A Postcard from Arad http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20001120&s=oz

EDWARD SAID: The End of Oslo http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20001030&s=said

ON ALABAMA:

JOANN WYPIJEWSKI: Back to the Back of the Bus http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20001225&s=wypijewski

RANDALL KENNEDY: Marital Color Line http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20001225&s=kennedy

ON ALAN GREENSPAN AND THE FED

WILLIAM GREIDER: Father Greenspan Loves Us All http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010101&s=greider

ON NORTH KOREA:

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS: Rogue Washington http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010101&s=hitchens

ON RUSSIA:

STEPHEN F. COHEN: American Journalism and Russia's Tragedy http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20001002&c=5&s=cohen

ON ELECTION 2000:

GORE VIDAL: Democratic Vistas http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010108&s=vidal

DAVID CORN: Questions for Powell http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010108&s=corn

WILLIAM GREIDER: Clinton Follows the Money http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010108&s=greider

ERIC ALTERMAN: Let the Whitewash Begin http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010108&s=alterman

JONATHAN SCHELL: A Force To Reckon With http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010101&s=schell

ERIC FONER: Partisanship Rules http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010101&s=foner

LANI GUINIER: Making Every Vote Count http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20001204&s=guinier

Finally, please make sure to check out our appreciation of the life of longtime Nation Europe correspondent Daniel Singer. One of his era's foremost radical journalistic voices, Daniel passed away in Paris on December 2. An irreplaceable colleague, thinker and friend, Daniel touched countless lives with his writings, his activism and his generosity of spirit. We've also collected some of Daniel's best work for The Nation from 1970-2000. Our memorial to his life and the collection of his writings can both be found at:

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20001225&s=editors2

12/28/00
1:16:02 PM

To: Stop Cassini subscribers, media, elected officials, government employees From: Russell Hoffman, editor, STOP CASSINI newsletter Re: Reaction to Cassini's reaction wheel glitch Date: December 26th, 2000

Dear Readers,

Below is an important email sent out today by Jonathan Mark of the Post Cassini Flyby News web site. We thank him.

As noted in the full ABC news article (also shown below), Cassini is having problems with one of its "reaction wheels". There are four reaction wheels on most spacecraft, including Cassini. They spin at high rates of speed, and are used to steer the spacecraft be speeding the wheels up or slowing them down.

You need at least three reaction wheels because the spacecraft needs to be maneuvered in three dimensions in space, and each one can only re-orient the space probe along one axis. Four is the normal number, which gives the probe one spare reaction wheel which can partially substitute for any of the others, in conjunction with the other two that continue to work.

The loss (or potential loss) of a reaction wheel so soon into its journey -- comparatively soon, that is, for it is still a long, long way from its destination (Saturn) -- can be extremely serious for the Cassini mission, for when Cassini finally gets to Saturn, it will have to do a lot of maneuvering in order to achieve its scientific goals. For example dozens and dozens of orbital loops around Saturn are planned. Its ability to maneuver could be significantly compromised (efficiency will decrease, if nothing else), and if another reaction wheel is lost, the probe will have to rely on thrusters, which have fairly limited fuel supplies (that's why they stopped the research mission around Jupiter when the reaction wheel failed -- to conserve thruster fuel). If the thruster fuel runs out, the probe then would become virtually uncontrollable in at least one plane (one axis), such that it might be flung BACK TOWARDS EARTH in a random "unexpected" (by NASA) gravity-assist with some of the heavenly bodies it passes near -- Saturn itself and its moons, or in just a few days -- Jupiter.

This is a very serious incident and NASA/JPL doesn't want the world to take notice, but we SHOULD all be demanding that NASA redirect Cassini RIGHT NOW while it still can be done, into Jupiter and be done with it. Once it's impacted Jupiter Cassini can't come back and impact us.

SEND CASSINI SMASHING INTO JUPITER TODAY!!!

Below are NASA contact points for demanding that Cassini be destroyed by smashing it into Jupiter.

Sincerely,

Russell Hoffman editor STOP CASSINI newsletter Nukes, Kooks, and Spooks newsletter Webmaster, STOP CASSINI web site

Home page of our STOP CASSINI movement: http://www.animatedsoftware.com/cassini/cassini.htm (Beware of imitations!)

NASA CONTACT INFORMATION:

Cassini Public Information Jet Propulsion Laboratory 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena CA 91109 (818) 354-5011 or (818) 354-6478

Here's NASA's "comments" email address: comments@www.hq.nasa.gov

Daniel Goldin is the head of NASA. Here's his email address: daniel.goldin@hq.nasa.gov or dgoldin@mail.hq.nasa.gov

Here's the NASA URL to find additional addresses to submit written questions to:

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/facts/HTML/FS-002-HQ.html

Here's some NASA email addresses of people who have spoken about Cassini or otherwise are involved in NASA's reacting to public opinion (by squashing and ignoring public dissent, mostly):

"Roger Launius" <roger.launius@hq.nasa.gov> "Steve Garber" <steve.garber@hq.nasa.gov> "Fred Gregory" <fgregory@hq.nasa.gov> <whill@hq.nasa.gov> <prutledg@hq.nasa.gov> "Brian Welch, NASA HQ PAO" <bwelch@mail.hq.nasa.gov> <OOSA@unov.un.or.at> "Sandra M. Dawson" <sandra.m.dawson@jpl.nasa.gov> <Cassini@jpl.nasa.gov> "Charles S. Morris" <csm@encke.jpl.nasa.gov> "David F. Doody" <david.f.doody@jpl.nasa.gov> <history@lists.hq.nasa.gov> "Leslie J. Deutsch" <leslie.j.deutsch@jpl.nasa.gov>

YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT NASA IS DOING TO YOUR HEALTH.

END OF NASA CONTACT INFORMATION

INCOMING EMAIL FROM JONATHAN MARK:

To: Post Cassini Flyby News <noflyby@yahoo.com> From: Post Cassini Flyby News <noflyby@yahoo.com> Subject: Cassini maneuvering glitch has halted Jupiter studies

Post Cassini Flyby News Editor - Jonathan Mark <noflyby@yahoo.com> P.O. Box 1999 Wendell Depot, MA 01380 USA

21 December 2000

Dear friends,

Long time Cassini NoFlyby and Flyby News subscriber, Paul, just alerted me about a news story on a maneuvering glitch that has halted Jupiter studies on the Cassini space craft's flight to explore Saturn and moons. Whatever information and results this probe may achieve, they can never be worthy of the costs and risks to human and other life. For background on Cassini and its hair raising Earth flyby, see: http://www.nonviolence.org/noflyby .

The Associated Press

P A S A D E N A, Calif., Dec. 21 — NASA suspended the Cassini spacecraft’s observations of Jupiter because of a problem with a maneuvering system.

For the full Story check the following url:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/cassini_problems001221.html

Post Cassini Flyby News is an electronic news service, alerting subscribers to new postings at http://www.BartJordan.com and issues regarding peace in space, indigenous/human rights, and the environment. To sign on for news fit to transmit in the post Cassini flyby era from another address, send an email to noflyby@yahoo.com with "Subscribe" in the subject field. To remove from Flyby News simply reply with "Remove" in subject field.

END OF EMAIL FROM JONATHAN MARK

ABC NEWS ARTICLE ABOUT CASSINI'S PROBLEM:

Maneuvering Glitch Cassini Spacecraft Halts Jupiter StudiesThe Associated Press P A S A D E N A, Calif., Dec. 21 — NASA suspended the Cassini spacecraft’s observations of Jupiter because of a problem with a maneuvering system.

Cassini had been sending back images and other scientific data about Jupiter as it moves toward Saturn and its moon Titan on a $3.4 billion, U.S.-European mission. Observations were halted Wednesday after one of the spacecraft’s four "reaction wheels" experienced problems, causing Cassini to switch to a different maneuvering system. Problems Began Sunday Cassini’s wheels can point the spacecraft in any desired direction by taking advantage of the law of physics that each action has an opposite reaction. When an electric motor spins one of Cassini’s wheels, the spacecraft rotates in the opposite direction. The problem surfaced Sunday when the No. 2 reaction wheel began to need extra force to turn, and the spacecraft reacted by automatically switching from electricity to a hydrazine thrusting system to maneuver. The hydrazine must be conserved for the primary mission at Saturn, according to officials at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the mission for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European and Italian space agencies. Cassini program manager Bob Mitchell said the situation was improving because the wheel functioned properly in a test Tuesday. "If things go favorable for us from now on for the rest of the testing that we’re doing it’s conceivable that we’d be back up and running in a week to 10 days," he said. Engineers don’t know what caused the problem but speculation has centered on the possibility that some type of material got into the wheel mechanism and then either wore down or was spit out, Mitchell said. Since its 1997 launch, Cassini has flown by Earth once and Venus twice, each time using gravity to gain speed and change direction as it heads for Saturn. Its closest approach to Jupiter — at a distance of 6 million miles takes place Dec. 30. Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

12/28/00
1:08:23 PM

FAIR-L Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting Media analysis, critiques and news reports

ACTION ALERT: LOCKOUT AT WBAI: Pacifica management fires senior staff, changes locks at New York station

December 26, 2000

The national management of Pacifica Radio has fired several long-time staffers at WBAI, the New York City community radio station that is home to the award-winning show "Democracy Now!": program director Bernard White, producer Sharan Harper, and station manager Valerie Van Isler (see "Pacifica Management Move to Undermine WBAI's Independence," http://www.fair.org/press-releases/van-isler.html ).

Accompanied by security guards, Pacifica executive director Bessie Wash arrived at WBAI late at night on Friday, December 23, and changed the locks both to the station and to individual offices. WBAI staff-- including "Democracy Now!"'s Amy Goodman-- are now being admitted to the building only on a "controlled entry" basis until further notice. White and Harper have been threatened with arrest should they attempt to enter the building.

Pacifica has appointed WBAI afternoon talk show host Utrice Leid as acting station manager. Last week, WBAI news director Jose Santiago turned down the job, saying he had been falsely assured by management that Van Isler was resigning voluntarily. Since the lockout, Leid has asserted on air that the crisis is simply an internal personnel dispute. Given Pacifica management's recent embrace of arbitrary firings and other autocratic management techniques, this is at best hard to believe.

The current crisis is reminiscent of last year's lockout at KPFA in Berkeley, which also came on the heels of a number of politically motivated firings. That lockout brought thousands of Berkeley listeners out into the streets to protest Pacifica management's actions and demand greater accountability to the community, in keeping with the progressive core values laid out by Pacifica founder Lew Hill.

Over the last year and a half, Pacifica's management has increasingly orchestrated censorship-- including of FAIR's own radio show, CounterSpin-- retaliatory personnel moves and the disenfranchisement of listeners and local advisory boards in order to impose its often regressive decisions on the network. FAIR had feared that Pacifica's recent moves against "Democracy Now!" (see http://www.fair.org/activism/democracy-now.html ) were an indication that the network was preparing an attempt to break the independence of WBAI, one of the cornerstones of the progressive community. The holiday firings and lockout have more than confirmed those fears.

When FAIR asked for help in supporting "Democracy Now!" against harassment from Pacifica management this October, members of our email list responded passionately and swiftly, writing over 1,300 letters to Pacifica in just over four days, and organizing demonstrations across the country.

Since then, listener meetings and demonstrations have been ongoing, and early signs are that listeners are responding to this latest crisis with just as much energy. Despite the organizing difficulties presented by the holiday season and below-freezing temperatures, listeners have already begun to take action in New York City. Several dozen people held a vigil outside WBAI's Manhattan studios on the night of the lockout, and hundreds attended a demonstration outside the building on Saturday the 23rd. Daily protests are planned outside the station from four to six pm, beginning Tuesday, December 26.

As a media watch group dedicated to strengthening democracy by defending a free press, FAIR decries the lockout and recent firings at WBAI. We urge Pacifica to immediately reinstate Van Isler, White and Harper, and to cease restricting employee access to the station. We stand in solidarity with the staff and listeners of WBAI who are fighting to win democratic, community control of their station.

For more information about the ongoing crisis at Pacifica, see: http://www.fair.org/activism/pacifica-history.html

ACTION: 1. The group Concerned Friends of WBAI is urging New York City listeners to attend a community planning meeting this Wednesday, December 27, 6:30 pm at SEIU Local 32 B-J, 101 Sixth Avenue. For more information, see: http://www.wbai.net .

Concerned listeners in other cities should check the Save Pacifica website for updates and for links to local listener groups that may be organizing in their area: http://www.savepacifica.net .

2. Please call or write to Pacifica and let them know that you support the locked out WBAI staffers. Urge the network to reinstate Valerie Van Isler, Bernard White and Sharan Harper, and to cease harassment of WBAI employees.

CONTACT: Bessie Wash, Pacifica executive director mailto:FALCON1591@aol.com Phone: 888-770-4944 x348 (toll free) Post: The Pacifica Foundation 2390 Champlain St. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009

As always, please remember that your comments will be more effective if you maintain a polite tone. Please cc fair@fair.org with your correspondence.

12/28/00
1:07:09 PM

GE Reactors In USA Have Cracked Shrouds, Other Problems

I shouldn't be but I am still ASTOUNDED at the absolute arrogance that the nuclear industry shows to every citizen in the United States & many throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Please note that the utility is being quoted when it's stated that it would take 3 years to cause concern. Concern? What kind of concern[s]??? Why isn't the utility stating what kind of concern[s]? What if they're lying or have made an honest mistake and it takes less than 3 years? Note that the company plans to examine the cracks in 2003- what if they change their minds or "forget"? They're suppossed to examine THEIR OWN PIPES?

And we're suppossed to believe them? This should be a front page story on newspapers across the country.

Why isn't a group like NIRS [http://www.nirs.org], Critical Mass [http://www.citizen.org] or Greenpeace [http://www.greenpeace.org] being quoted?

Do people in and around all reactor communitties [thousands of miles & dozens of countries in the Northern Hemisphere] know that these cracks might cause a nuclear CATASTROPHE anywhere, possibly at any time and that nuclear power executives have been CLOSELY watching this situation?

What ramifications might this have for nuclear power plants throughout the rest of the world?

If anyone knows what the ramifications are or might be for NPPs around the world I'd love to hear from them.

http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/friday/local_news_ a3245faf15e871400020.html

Cracks in pipes found at S.C. nuclear power plant Associated Press Friday, December 22, 2000

Columbia, S.C. --- More tiny cracks have been found in pipes that carry contaminated water through a Fairfield County nuclear power plant, but officials say the problem should not delay restarting its V.C. Sumner plant next month as scheduled.

It would take three years for any newly discovered cracks to grow big enough to cause concern, according to a report by South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., presented to federal regulators Wednesday.

''We're still anticipating starting up in the first or second week of January,'' said Steve Byrne, vice president of nuclear operations for SCE&G.

The company plans to examine the cracks in 2003 to see if they have grown, Byrne said.

The plant has been closed since October, when inspectors found a major pipe leaking boric acid near the power station's radioactive core. Regulators say the leaking pipe did not pose a threat to the public because the plant has adequate containment areas and controls.

The discovery of the cracks prompted further testing last month that uncovered additional cracks along weld seams on other pipes, the company said Wednesday. Seven possible cracks were found on a section of pipe repaired since October. Eleven others are on other pipes, according to the company's report.

The cause of the cracks is unclear. SCE&G officials say the initial crack could have come from an outdated weld repair technique.

Nuclear safety advocates say the crack discovered in October could have led to a pipe break that would have required the plant to rely on emergency systems to keep the reactor cool.

Some of the possible cracks discovered last month were on pipes that carry water from a reactor core.

Federal regulators, nuclear safety advocates and atomic power executives have been watching the Sumner plant closely. Cracks could indicate similar problems in plants across the country. A 27-inch crack was found in October.

Investigators also are reviewing the type of testing done to examine the safety of pipes.

http://www.geocities.com/mothersalert/jackshannon.html

12/28/00
1:03:07 PM

The Resurgence of Citizens' Movements PAUL HAWKEN

We are beginning a mythic period of existence, rather like the age portrayed in the Bhagavad Gita, in The Lord of the Rings, and in other tales of darkness and light. We live in a time in which every living system is in decline, and the rate of decline is accelerating as our economy grows. The commercial processes that bring us the kind of lives we supposedly desire are destroying the earth and the life we cherish. Given current corporate practices, not one wildlife reserve, wilderness, or indigenous culture will survive the global market economy. We are losing our forests, fisheries, coral reefs, topsoil,water, biodiversity, and climatic stability. The land, sea, and air have been functionally transformed from life-supporting systems into repositories for waste. Feeling the momentum of loss at the beginning of a new century, one wants to close one's eyes. Yet that is the very thing that will bring forth ruin. I believe in rain, in odd miracles, in the intelligence that allows terns and swallows to find their way across the planet. And I believe that we are capable of creating a remarkable future for humankind. In the United States, more than 30,000 citizens' groups,nongovernmental organizations, and foundations are addressing the issue of social and ecological sustainability in the most complete sense of the word. Worldwide, their number exceeds 100,000. Together, they address a broad array of issues, including environmental justice, ecological literacy, public policy, conservation, women's rights and health, population growth, renewable energy, corporate reform, labor rights, climate change, trade rules, ethical investing,ecological tax reform, water conservation, and much more. These groups follow Gandhi's imperatives: Some resist, others create new structures, patterns, and means. The groups tend to be local, marginal, poorly funded, and overworked. It is hard for most groups not to feel justified anxiety that they could perish in a twinkling. At the same time, a deeper, extraordinary pattern is emerging. If you ask these groups for their principles, frameworks, conventions, models, or declarations, you will find that they do not conflict. Never before in history has this happened. In the past,movements that became powerful started with a unified or centralized set of ideas (Marxism, Christianity, Freudianism) and disseminated them, creating power struggles over time as the core mental model or dogma was changed, diluted, or revised. This new sustainability movement did not start this way. Its supporters do not agree on everything-nor should they-but remarkably, they share a basic set of fundamental understandings about the earth, how it functions, and the necessity of fairness and equity for all people in partaking of its life-giving systems. This shared understanding is arising spontaneously from different economic sectors, cultures, regions, and cohorts. And it is spreading throughout this country and the world. No one started this worldview, no one is in charge of it, no orthodoxy is restraining it. I believe it is the fastest-growing and most powerful movement in the world today, unrecognizable to the American media because it is not centralized, based on power, or led by charismatic white males. As external conditions continue to worsen socially, environmentally, and politically, organizations working toward sustainability multiply and gain more supporters. We will never recover what we have lost. It will take 5 million years to restore the diversity of lost species. Nevertheless, in 50 years we can begin the very necessary work of restoration. We can begin to reduce carbon in the atmosphere; recharge aquifers; bring back lands that have been taken by deserts; create habitat corridors for buffalo, panthers, and gray wolves; and thicken our paper-thin topsoil. What is possible in 50 years is a world that is wonderfully messy and deliriously creative. It doesn't fit a single scenario written anywhere by anyone. As for the United States, it will not be a country defined by technologies, measured in money, or summarized by demographics. It will be, perforce, a country in a world defined by the acts of restoring life on Earth-dancing, donning costumes, singing, performing rituals, enjoying magic, praying, worshiping, and playing. This is the work of carefully reconstituting what has been lost by creating conditions conducive to life.In 50 years, America will be a culture whose industrial materials cause no damage to anyone, on the short term or the long term; it will be a society that emulates the design brilliance of nature, which we have yet to fully appreciate. The great work of this era will be extraordinary for defining its goals not solely in terms of a decade or even a century, but of millennia. The American people will have thrown off the tyranny of compressive time, coercive work, and erosive competition. It will be a country still rent by massive discontinuities as the momentum of today's world extends far into the future, but it will be a country that is connected, aware, and committed to the future. It will be an America that can see-and can see that it knows all it needs to know to sustain and honor life. That alone will distinguish it from where we are today.

Paul Hawken is the author (with Hunter and Amory Lovins) of Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution and The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability.

12/23/00
12:28:04 PM

Original Message From: Carol Spooner wildrose@pon.net To: Undisclosed-Recipient Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2000 12:34 AM Subject: Fw: URGENT! WBAI TAKEOVER IN PROGRESS!

This Bulletin is from the Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board -- Forwarding News Just In]

Original Message From: Eileen Sutton efsutton@earthlink.net To: efsutton@earthlink.net Sent: Friday, December 22, 2000 8:49 PM Subject: Fwd: URGENT! WBAI TAKEOVER IN PROGRESS!

The Executive Director of the Pacifica Foundation, Bessie Wash, is right now inside WBAI's studio, together with WBAI Talk-Back Host Eutrice Leid, changing all the locks. Concerned listeners and producers are calling on everyone who wants to save WBAI's independent voice to immediately come to the station at 120 Wall Street, just south of Water Street. Take the 2 or 3 to Wall Street or the 4 or 5 to Wall Street or the A to Fulton.

WE MUST RALLY TO SAVE FREE SPEECH RADIO! Bob Lederer Freelance journalist ledererbob@usa.net

Original Message From: anita dutt To: newpacifica@egroups.com Sent: Friday, December 22, 2000 9:13 PM Subject: [NewPacifica] URGENT-FRIDAY MIDNIGHT ACTION

Hello,

Eileen Sutton has sent an email, others have been called by Bernard--if you can go to the station you are needed--the station is being "taken" and Utrice installed as GM. People are on their way down there now (about midnight Friday)

Anita

P.S. Bessie Wash is with Utrice (since about ll:20 friday nite) and they are reported to be changin all locks.

This Bulletin is from The Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board http://home.pon.net/wildrose/remove.htm to subscribe/unsubscribe email wildrose@pon.net

12/23/00
12:25:57 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS) http://ens-news.com

"We Cover the Earth For You"

WHEN IS A CHRISTMAS TREE NOT A CHRISTMAS TREE?

By Andrew Darby

HOBART, Tasmania, Australia, December 22, 2000 (ENS) - A bid by The Wilderness Society in Australia to register an endangered 78 metre (254 foot) tall eucalypt as the world's tallest Christmas Tree has failed to pass a species scrutiny.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-22-01.html

CHRISTINE TODD WHITEMAN NOMINATED FOR TOP EPA JOB

By Cat Lazaroff and Brian Hansen

WASHINGTON, DC, December 22, 2000 (ENS) - President Elect George W. Bush has named New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman as his nominee for administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Whitman's nomination drew cautious optimism from some environmental groups, and harsh criticism from others.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-22-06.html

RUSSIA CLOSE TO ACCEPTING WORLD'S NUCLEAR WASTE

MOSCOW, Russia, December 22, 2000 (ENS) - Russian lawmakers have voted by a large majority to allow foreign nuclear waste imports. Environmentalists say Thursday's vote paves the way for Russia to be turned into the world's nuclear waste dump.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-22-12.html

U.S. SPAWNS FINAL COLUMBIA/SNAKE RIVER SALMON RECOVERY PLAN

By Brian Hansen

SEATTLE, Washington, December 22, 2000 (ENS) - A coalition of nine federal agencies on Thursday unveiled a final long term strategy designed to recover threatened and endangered salmon throughout the Columbia/Snake River Basin in the Pacific Northwest.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-22-15.html

ENVIRONMENTAL INFRACTIONS TO COST UK, GERMANY DEAR

BRUSSELS, Belgium, December 22, 2000 (ENS) - The United Kingdom and Germany face heavy daily fines for breaching water quality laws at beaches and failing to follow environmental standards.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-22-11.html

FRENCH AUTHORITIES RECALL RADIOACTIVE WATCHES

PARIS, France, December 22, 2000 (ENS) - Watches sold in France under the brand name "Trophy" are contaminated with radioactivity, according to a French government agency.

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-22-10.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: DECEMBER 22, 2000

$1.4 Billion Settles Pollution Charges Against Cinergy

Clinton Makes Recess Environmental Appointments

Population, Environment Among Important Future Trends

No Link Between Depleted Uranium, Gulf War Syndrome

Snowmobiles Banned from Yellowstone, Grand Teton

Hazwaste Violations Cost University of Hawaii $1.7 Million

Gear Changes Will Reduce Risks to Large Whales

Texas Cave Species Listed as Endangered

Los Angeles Studies School Bus Soot Trap

NOAA Helps Santa Find His Way

For full text and graphics visit: http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2000/2000L-12-22-09.html

HEALING OUR WORLD: WEEKLY COMMENT

By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.

WARNING LABELS ARE NOT ENOUGH

No politics, song, religion, behavior, or what not, is of account, unless it compare with the amplitude of the earth. Unless it face the exactness, vitality, impartiality, Rectitude of the Earth. Walt Whitman

The approach taken by government regulators and politicians to mitigate environmental and other health hazards is usually to identify the harmful material or practice in question and to post a warning label. If we are lucky, a multi-year phase out plan will be presented that keeps the toxic substances in the marketplace or continues the dangerous practices for the sake of business profits.

SEND NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com

TO BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Tirex enters into contract to sell tire recycling system to Well Express International Ltd. of Hong Kong

MONTREAL, CANADA, Dec. 22, -/E-Wire/-- The Tirex Corporation (OTCBB-TXMC) announced today the signing of the first purchase and sale agreement in respect of a TCS-1, the Company's patented system for tire recycling.

/CONTACT: Jackie Reid, The Tirex Corporation, (OTC BULLETIN BOARD - "TXMC"), Tel: 514.933.2518, Fax: 514.933.6368/

/Web site: www.tirex.com/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Dec00/22Dec0001.html

TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDITOR:

OMRI Assists National Organic Program

EUGENE, Ore., Dec. 22 -/E-Wire/-- Representatives of the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) applauded today's release by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) of national organic standards, and look forward to continuing to play a vital role in the future of the National Organic Program.

/CONTACT: Kathleen Downey, Executive Director of Organic Materials Review Institute, 541-343-7600, or fax, 541-343-8971, or kdowney@omri.org/

/Web site: http://www.omri.org/

For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Dec00/22Dec0002.html