2/4/02
5:44:31 PM
DAILY GRIST <http://www.gristmagazine.com>
"NO WAY," SAYS NORWAY
Long unhappy about pollution from Britain's Sellafield nuclear power plant, Norway announced yesterday that it would call for a binding international agreement to force polluting countries to pay for toxic cleanups beyond their own borders. The nation's foreign affairs committee voted unanimously to ask the government to impose economic sanctions on the U.K. until radioactive emissions from Sellafield cease. Traces of the radioactive compound technetium-99 originating from Sellafield have been found along the entire Norwegian coastline. Norway's environment minister, Boerge Brende, has been a force behind the effort to create a U.N. high commissioner for the environment and a unified system of environmental treaties.
straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, Inger Sethov, 01 Feb 2002 <http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14316/story.htm>
RED ROSE
Working in the area of conservation means living with constant crisis, writes Tony Rose in this week's Grist -- and he should know. Rose works with the Bushmeat Project in equatorial Africa to educate people about the importance of protecting the environment and preventing wildlife from becoming dinner. That's a tall order, when forests are being cut down, animals are being slaughtered, and conservationists themselves face constant danger from disease and strife. Still, the rewards -- say, gazing into an ape-friend's eyes -- are ample. Read more about the Bushmeat Project, only on the Grist Magazine website.
only in Grist: Gorilla: It's what's for dinner -- Tony Rose and the Bushmeat Project <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/rose012802.asp?source=daily>
ASTHMA: WORLD TURNS
For the first time, researchers have concluded that smog can cause asthma, rather than just aggravate it. In the 10-year study, being published in the British journal Lancet, investigators followed children participating in athletics in 12 Southern California communities. Six of the communities had some of the nation's poorest air quality, while six enjoyed relatively clean air. The children in the smoggy areas were three to four times more likely to develop asthma than those in cleaner communities. The findings will bolster the case against the Bush administration's current attempts to weaken clean air standards. Asthma, the leading chronic illness among young people, afflicts about 9 million children in the U.S. and accounts for millions of hours of lost time at school and work.
straight to the source: San Jose Mercury News, Marilee Enge, 01 Feb 2002 <http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/smog01.htm>
straight to the source: Washington Post, William Booth, 01 Feb 2002 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6057-2002Jan31.html>
do good: Take action to preserve the Clean Air Act <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/air.asp?source=daily#grandfather>
IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT, GET OFF THE PLANET
If you can't stand the heat ... tough luck. Last year was the second-hottest year on record -- and that means that now, nine of the 10 hottest years since 1860 have occurred since 1990. With that clear trend in place, plus the likelihood of another El Nino, 2002 could be, well, miserable. Check out the details at "How's the Weather?", only on the Grist Magazine website.
only in Grist: How's the weather? -- taking the Earth's temperature -- by Leonie Haimson <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/heatbeat/weather020102.asp?source=daily>
SALT OF THE EARTH
Tim Salt, a 27-year veteran of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, has been reassigned from his key post refereeing land-use disputes in the California desert, in a move environmentalists say is a capitulation to miners, ranchers, and off-road vehicle enthusiasts. As manager of the BLM's 11 million-acre California Desert District, Salt drew the ire of all of those constituents by dramatically restricting land use to protect Peirson's milk vetch (a desert plant), bighorn sheep, the desert tortoise, and other wildlife. Although environmentalists sometimes felt Salt didn't go far enough, most were unhappy with the shuffle: Karen Schambach, California coordinator for the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, called it consistent with "a definite pattern by this administration to reassign administrators who have an environmental ethic."
straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Tony Perry, 01 Feb 2002 <http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-000008054feb01.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dscience>
only in Grist: A week in the life of Jeff Ruch, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/ruch121100.stm?source=daily>
2/4/02
5:42:15 PM
Enjoy the late winter SUN! and check out the Greenpeace Clean Energy Now! Campaign's weekly good news update - "POSITIVE ENERGY!"
SAN FRANCISCO ROLLS ON WITH A STRATEGY TO STOP CLIMATE CHANGE
"We need to act now if we're going to keep San Francisco and the Bay Area a viable place to live for future generations," said Mayor Willie Brown, who has has placed a resolution before the Board of Supervisors calling for San Francisco to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% from 1990 levels. This is far more aggressive than the Kyoto Protocol targets that President Bush has refused to participate in. This positive move by the Mayor follows right on the heels of two solar sond initiatives (props B & H) passed by San Francisco voters on November 6, 2002.
To read more about propositions B and H, just visit:
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/features/sfsolarvictory.html
For more details about the Mayor's resolution, go to:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/01/29/MN151003.DTL
PLAN FOR REBUILDING AFGANISTAN IS SOLAR NOW!!!
Unlike many rebuilding strategies of the past that funnel money into big business to provide social services, the program for Afghanistan focuses on small installations of solar power to provide energy to the people. The World Bank, the UN Development Programme, the Asian Development Bank, and the interim Afghan government have outlined a $15 Billion program that supposedly starts from the ground up, taking a village approach to building locally controlled energy and sanitation services. Not only can this provide services to people that truly need it, it could also allow Afganistan to show the word how to create a sustainable, empowered society.
For more details,go to the New Scientist website and look for reports from January 26, 2002. at:
PARTIAL VICTORY: AUTO EMISSIONS BILL PASSES THE CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY! THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE NEEDS YOUR POSITIVE ENERGY TO SEE TO IT THAT AB1058 BECOMES LAW
For the last couple of weeks we have been keeping you posted about AB1058 - a bill in the California legislature to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles in California. We have great news: it passed the house! Now the Senate and Governor have to also support the bill to turn into law, and both are under extreme pressure from the "oilies and autos" - lobbyists from the car and fossil fuel industry.
The bill is a pioneering attempt to require reductions in carbon dioxide emitted by cars and light trucks. Vehicles in California account for about 60% of those emissions, which are not a direct health threat but are a major contributor to climate change. About 10% of the nation's new car sales occur in California.
For more information about the vote on it this Wednesday check out:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000007808jan31.story
TAKE ACTION!
Pressure the Governor's office to pass AB1058.
Give Governor Davis a call and tell him you want make this bill (as it is currently written) to become law, at: 916-445-2841
Or you can send him an email at:
governor@governor.ca.gov
Tell Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante you appreciate his longstanding interest in the bill and expect him to ensure it sails through the Senate and is carried into law by Governor Davis.
The Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante can be reached by phone at: 916 445-8994
THE ROLLING SUNLIGHT HITS THE ROAD FOR THE WINTER OLYMPICS
That's right, Greenpeace is bringing clean energy to Salt Lake City, Utah! The Rolling Sunlight, Greenpeace's solar demonstration truck will be at the Olympics educating people from all over the world about one of our greatest energy sources: the sun!
Learn more about Greenpeace's clean energy on wheels by going to:
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/california/rollingsunlight.html
2/4/02
5:34:47 PM
UTNE WEB WATCH
The Best of the Alternative Web
KEEPERS OF THE FLAME
by Esther Kaplan, The Village Voice
-- With mainstream activist groups lying low, this weekend's World Economic Forum (WEF) in New York looks like a coming-out party for the new leaders of the global justice movement: the anarchists.
LEGALLY HIGH
by Chris Harris, Hartford Advocate
-- A powerfully hallucinogenic herb used by Mexican Indians for centuries is making a name for itself among recreational drug users -- and the DEA.
YES TO NUKES, NO TO WASTE AND TO HELL WITH THE SHOSHONES
by Heidi Walters, Las Vegas City Life
-- While local residents fight to keep Nevada's Yucca Mountain free from nuclear waste, senatorial support of increased nuclear testing may undermine efforts to keep the area clean.
Links to the above articles: http://www.utne.com/webwatch
2/4/02
5:32:22 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
GAO Will Sue Bush Administration for Documents
WASHINGTON, DC, January 31, 2002 (ENS) - The General Accounting Office plans to file suit against the Bush administration within weeks, seeking the release of documents relating to closed door meetings between Vice President Richard Cheney and energy industry officials. The case is viewed as a crucial test of the president's power to protect records of private meetings with powerful and influential commercial interests.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-31-06.html
FISH FARMING MORATORIUM LIFTED IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
VICTORIA, British Columbia, Canada, January 31, 2002 (ENS) - New environmental standards and practices will allow for lifting of the five year ban on new salmon aquaculture operations in British Columbia as of April 30, the British Columbia government announced today. The David Suzuki Foundation, a Vancouver based environmental group, said the move means "business at any cost comes first" and warned that the environment is being sacrificed.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-31-01.html
FLAME RETARDANT CHEMICAL FOUND IN FISH, HUMANS
By Pat Hemminger
NEW YORK, New York, January 31, 2002 (ENS) - Freshwater fish in Virginia have been found to contain the highest reported levels in the world of a common but controversial flame retardant, penta bromo diphenyl ether. The chemical, which is showing up in animals and humans around the globe, has been linked in laboratory animal studies to behavioral problems, but little is known about its effects on humans.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-31-07.html
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM OFFSETS CLIMATE IMPACT OF ANNUAL MEETING
NEW YORK, New York, January 31, 2002 (ENS) - The World Economic Forum said today that it has purchased reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from a geothermal project in Indonesia to offset the global warming impact of its five day annual meeting. opening today in New York City. For the first time, representatives of the 1007 member corporations opened their meeting here today rather than at the forum's headquarters in Davos, Switzerland.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-31-03.html
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JANUARY 31, 2002
Green Scissors: Subsidies to Energy Industry Set to Double
U.S. Teams with Kazakhstan to Make Fuel from Uranium
232 Groups Urge Rejection of Nevada Nuclear Waste Dump
Auto Workers Favor Greater Fuel Efficiency
Texas on Alert for West Nile Virus
Fractal Patterns Help Earth Scientists Forecast Disasters
Young Folks Can Win by Writing About Bears, Otters
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-31-09.html
2/4/02
5:29:52 PM
AlterNet Headlines
WHEN THE BABES BEAT UP THE BOYS
Michelle Goldberg, AlterNet
A recent spate of pop culture man-beatings indicates that the War of the Sexes is far from over. Why has the image of a frenzied female attacking a callow guy become a media staple?
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12319
RETRO CHOMSKY? A VISIT TO FAIR'S 15th BIRTHDAY PARTY
Don Hazen, AlterNet
Though their messages are important and hard-hitting, Noam Chomsky and his soulmates at FAIR may be falling behind the times in their unwillingness or inability to change.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12323
'AXIS OF EVIL' CRUMBLES UNDER SCRUTINY
Michael T. Klare, Pacific News Service
Any suggestion that Iraq, Iran and North Korea are allied against America is preposterous and the nuclear and biological arms threat they pose is better addressed without war rhetoric.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12321
GOVERNMENT GANGSTERISM AT WORK
Ted Rall, AlterNet
When it suits their immediate aims, the Bushies wield the law like a club. As soon as the law proves inconvenient, however, they chuck it out the window like a gum wrapper.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12318
BUSH'S STATE OF THE UNION ROUGH DRAFT
David Turnley, AlterNet
This transcript reveals an audiotape of President Bush practicing an early version of the State of the Union address that appears to be written by the president himself.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12315
SCREAMING ME ME'S
Christina Waters, Metro Santa Cruz
How can parents, without the slightest twinge of guilt, bring rambunctious children to nice restaurants? These are public places, not exercise yards for feral youngsters!
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12316
LETTERS: JAMAICA IMF FILM HITS HARD; SOLOMON GOT LEE, ROMMEL WRONG AlterNet readers respond to recent articles by Tamara Straus and Norman Solomon in our new Letters to the Editor section.
http://www.alternet.org/letters_ed.html?BulletinID=7
WHY WE'RE SUING ASHCROFT
Jeremy Voas, Detroit Metro Times
The editor of the Detroit Metro Times explains his paper's decision to file lawsuit that would force Ashcroft to open up the secret trial of a Sept. 11 detainee.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12314
HUTCHINSON: TYSON IS OUR MONSTER
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, AlterNet
Many of those who now shout loudest for Mike Tyson's blood will be clamoring for tickets to see him in his next megabucks fight. Are they to blame for his thug behavior?
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12324
ENRON AND OUR PUTRID CAMPAIGN FINANCE SYSTEM
Adam Lioz, TomPaine.com
The biggest scandal here is not personal corruption -- it's systemic corruption. It's how the very wealthy decide who gets to run for office in the first place -- and then who wins.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12311
NUCLEAR REACTION
Nancy Guerin, Metroland
A proposal to allow for the recycling of radioactive scrap metal has advocates up in arms.
* In EnviroHealth: http://www.alternet.org/?IssueAreaID=18
2/4/02
5:26:47 PM
t r u t h o u t | 02.01
Senator Says Enron Not Cooperating With Investigation
http://www.truthout.com/02.01A.Sen.Enron.No.htm
Boxer Calls On FERC To Provide List Of All Meetings And Phone Calls With Enron Executives
http://www.truthout.com/02.01B.Boxer.FERC.htm
Daschle, Conrad, And Levin on National Missile Defense
http://www.truthout.com/02.01C.3.Sens.NMD.htm
Russ Feingold | No. 1 Reason for Campaign-Finance Reform? Enron
http://www.truthout.com/02.01D.Feingold.Enron.htm
Cheney Made Millions Off Oil Deals with Saddam Hussein
http://www.truthout.com/02.01E.Cheney.Hussein.htm
Wellstone Vows to Fight Bush Cuts to Job Training
http://www.truthout.com/02.01F.Wellstone.Jobs.htm
2/4/02
5:24:52 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
IAEA seeking nuclear devices in Georgia - report - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14318/story.htm
Weapons of mass destruction threat up - CIA - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14324/story.htm
Britons more worried about waste than climate - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14310/story.htm
UPDATE - Environment groups warn UK govt on gene crop sites - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14311/story.htm
UK should raise renewable targets, says leaked report - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14317/story.htm
Largest straw-fuelled power station opens - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14319/story.htm
Air pollution linked to asthma in young athletes - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14321/story.htm
UPDATE - Singapore 2001 chemicals investments, output hit - SINGAPORE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14320/story.htm
Norway wants sanctions for cross-border polluters - NORWAY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14316/story.htm
Court finds Greece late to protect sea turtle habitat - LUXEMBOURG http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14313/story.htm
Thousands of dead fish wash up on Kenya coastline - KENYA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14312/story.htm
Jakarta rains ease, but flood problems remain - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14323/story.htm
German nukes reach record output in 2001-Atomforum - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14314/story.htm
UPDATE - Renewable energy to drive French power investment - FRANCE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14315/story.htm
Canadian to donate lions to Kabul, concerns raised - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14322/story.htm
2/4/02
5:22:47 PM
`Evil Axis' Remark Provokes N. Korea Thu Jan 31, 3:49 PM ET By SANG-HUN CHOE, Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - In its first public reaction to being called part of an "axis of evil," North Korea on Friday said President Bush's pronouncement was little short of a declaration or war.
"The option to 'strike' impudently advocated by the U.S. is not its monopoly," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said. North Korea, it said, "will never tolerate the U.S. reckless attempt to stifle the (North) by force of arms but mercilessly wipe out the aggressors."
The statement, carried by the North's official KCNA news agency and monitored in Seoul, was the regime's first since Bush's State of the Union speech Tuesday.
In the speech, Bush said North Korea, Iran and Iraq formed an "axis of evil," and that "the United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."
"This is, in fact, little short of declaring a war against the DPRK," or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the communist state's official name, said the North Korean spokesman, who was not identified by name.
"We are sharply watching moves of the United States that has pushed the situation to the brink of war after throwing away even the mask of dialogue and negotiations," he said.
Since Bush's inauguration, North Korea has regularly churned out similar hard-line rhetoric against Washington.
In South Korea and Japan, North Korea's uneasy neighbors, warned that Bush's comments had raised tensions.
"It cast an ominous dark cloud over Northeast Asia, the Korean peace process in particular," said Baek Hak-soon, a security expert in Seoul's independent Sejong Institute.
To observers in Seoul, Bush's speech reaffirmed what they saw as a widening gap between the United States and its closest Asian ally, South Korea, in their ways of dealing with North Korea, a totalitarian regime that U.S. officials say is armed with long-range missiles and up to 5,000 tons of biochemical weapons — and possibly a few crude nuclear devices.
"I had an impression that Bush has become overconfident after receiving so much international support for the U.S. war against terror," said Hiroshi Kimura, a political science professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies. "It may not be so wise for Japan to go too far in following the United States."
Bush is expected to visit Tokyo and then Seoul Feb. 17-21 to discuss security concerns about North Korea.
After meeting U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in Washington, South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo said Washington's policy of seeking dialogue with North Korea remained unchanged.
"North Korea must understand that the Clinton administration has been replaced by the Bush administration, and must come to the table of dialogue as soon as possible," Han was quoted as saying by South Korea's national news agency Yonhap.
After months of policy review, Bush in June offered to reopen dialogue with North Korea on the North's missile and nuclear programs and its heavy deployment of conventional weapons near the border with South Korea.
North Korea, through its news media, has rejected the offer as having too many conditions.
Relations between the two Koreas that improved vastly following their historic summit in 2000 stalled amid the U.S.-North Korea tension.
On Friday, the North Korean spokesman said Bush's "reckless strong-arm policy" made the United States a target of terrorism and urged Washington not to "groundlessly" accuse North Korea of developing weapons of mass destruction and sponsoring terrorism.
Experts say North Korea has developed missiles that can deliver its biochemical weapons to South Korea and Japan. About 47,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan and 37,000 in South Korea.
2/4/02
5:17:57 PM
DAILY GRIST
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
LOW-CARBON RIDERS
In a move that could have radical implications for the automobile industry, the California Assembly passed a bill yesterday that would make it the first state to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles as a step toward curbing global warming. Because about 10 percent of the nation's new cars are sold in California, legislation affecting emissions in the state would force significant changes from automakers -- changes that neither industry nor the federal government have been inclined to initiate. The bill will now go to the Democrat-controlled Senate, which is likely to amend it significantly.
straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Gary Polakovic and Miguel Bustillo, 31 Jan 2002 <http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-000007808jan31.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dscience>
only in Grist: All I really need to know about reducing greenhouse emissions I learned in kindergarten -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/ha/ha021901.stm?source=daily>
DANUBE BLUES
The Danube River in Europe may be blue, but it's not very green -- and its environmental problems are slated to get even worse, the World Wildlife Fund warns in a report being released today. More than 80 percent of the river's wetlands and flood plains have already been destroyed in the name of flood protection, agriculture, power production, and shipping, the report says. Now, plans to deepen parts of the channel for new shipping routes and construct additional canals and dams could endanger what remains. WWF says the changes would alter or destroy almost a million acres of protected river sites in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria. The group says the governments should look instead to technological improvements in ships and navigation.
straight to the source: Boston Globe, Associated Press, Susanna Loof, 30 Jan 2002 <http://www.boston.com/dailynews/030/world/Group_says_plans_for_shipping_:.shtml>
A GOOD DEED
The U.S. took a significant step toward acquiring its 57th national park yesterday when the Nature Conservancy announced that it had signed an agreement to purchase historic Baca Ranch, which borders Colorado's Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Preserve. Conservationists have long lobbied for national park status for the area, which includes the tallest sand dunes in North America. In 2000, the Clinton administration authorized purchase of the 151-square-mile ranch and creation of the national park. The Nature Conservancy paid $31.3 million -- its most expensive acquisition ever in the Rocky Mountain West -- and will turn the deed over to the federal government. The area is expected to become a national park by 2005.
straight to the source: Denver Post, Mark H. Hunter, 31 Jan 2002 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,53%257E370396,00.html>
do good: Take action to increase funding for National Parks <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/forests.asp?source=daily#natlparks>
GENERALLY STALLED MOTORS
General Motors Corp. is not doing nearly enough to improve the fuel economy of its vehicles, according to a report released yesterday. That might not seem like news, but the organization that released the report, the Boston-based Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, has been consulting with GM for almost 10 years and has been praised by the company in the past for being industry-savvy and reasonable in its expectations. The report notes that although GM has made some environmental progress by improving fuel efficiency in certain vehicles and reducing pollution at its factories, those gains have been offset by the rise in popularity of highly fuel-inefficient sport utility vehicles. The report comes at a time when the Bush administration and Congress are considering toughening the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards.
straight to the source: Wall Street Journal, Jeffrey Ball, 30 Jan 2002 (access ain't free) <http://online.wsj.com/article/0,4286,SB1012360811708836440,00.html>
only in Grist: A week in the life of Bob Massie, executive director of the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/massie091800.stm?source=daily>
do good: Take action and demand fuel-efficient cars <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/autos.asp?source=daily#cafe>
NORTON HEARS A HOOT
The Bush administration will ask Congress for $100 million to fund a program to encourage joint conservation efforts between private and public landowners. Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who is announcing the program today in Pennsylvania, called the "Cooperative Conservation Initiative" an effort to "empower a new generation of citizen-conservationists." Under the initiative, the government will dole out money for conservation projects when there are matching in-kind or financial contributions; the exact details of the budget will be revealed next week. Some environmentalists are skeptical: The executive director of the Sierra Club, Carl Pope, said the program sounded like it was "being funded at the expense of the basic legal obligations of the Department of the Interior."
straight to the source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Associated Press, 30 Jan 2002 <http://www.jsonline.com/news/nat/ap/jan02/ap-budget-private-013002.asp>
WEEPING AND RAILING
Convinced that "potentially significant" environmental problems could be avoided, federal regulators yesterday approved the largest railroad construction project in recent history. The project, a $1.4 billion, 900-mile line linking Wyoming coal fields to the Mississippi River, was okayed after the Surface Transportation Board, a branch of the Department of Transportation, imposed 147 conditions to protect water, wildlife, and air quality. The impetus for the project comes from an anticipated boom in coal mining in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, which could produce more than 500 million tons of coal by 2010. If the project is completed, dozens of trains per day, each with at least 100 cars, would run through South Dakota's Buffalo Gap National Grassland and Wyoming's Thunder Basin National Grassland. Critics say they plan to sue to stop construction.
straight to the source: MSNBC.com, Associated Press, 30 Jan 2002 <http://www.msnbc.com/news/696617.asp>
only in Grist: Methane to their madness -- coal bed methane extraction threatens other parts of Wyoming, too -- by Hal Clifford <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/maindish/clifford010902.asp?source=daily>
2/4/02
5:14:28 PM
The Nation
"Rolling into this seaside, heavily industrialized but quite elegant town, you know you are a long, long way from Seattle, Quebec, DC or Genoa. The Workers Party city and state governments have rolled out the red carpets, so to speak, for the expected 70,000 Forum attendees."
Read Nation contributing editor Marc Cooper's daily dispatches from the second annual meeting of the World Social Forum in Brazil. He'll be filing regular web reports from the streets, halls and restaurants of Porto Alegre, a city governed by a leftist administration, which has offered itself as gracious host, promoter and partial underwriter of this week's WSF.
Exclusively available at:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=special&s=cooper20020130
And watch The Nation's special World Economic Forum/World Social Forum resource page for articles, links and activist resources. All available at:
http://www.thenation.com/special/2002wef.mhtml
You can also check out The Nation's site for new editorials, columns, articles and reports on a wide-range of other topics, including Enron, Afghanistan, the State of the Union Address, the Middle East, Huey Freeman, and much more. All available now at:
2/4/02
5:13:26 PM
MOJOURNAL
NEW ON MOTHERJONES.COM
* Call Waiting * - Enron may be the current icon for how far corporate braggadocio and political connections can take a company, but Global Crossing isn't far behind.
http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/updates.html
* Restricted Access * - Why are journalists' requests for George W. Bush's gubernatorial documents being met with lengthy delays?
http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/bush_documents.html
* Testing Protest in New York * - Anti-globalization activists will be back on the streets at the World Economic Forum meeting in New York -- but will militant tactics backfire in a city still reeling from Sept. 11?
http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/wef.html
* No Assurances * - Are California authorities giving a free pass to a former Michael Milken crony who helped to gut an insurance company, leaving thousands of policyholders to pick up the pieces?
http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/insurance.html
* News Beat * - WEF activists smeared?; Israeli dissidents; queer Kandahar; more ...
http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/news_beat.html
* Capitol Beat * -Calling Bush's bluff; how the "Axis" played abroad; President Norton?; more ...
http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/capitol_beat.html
* Discuss * - Stay off the streets?: Should anti-globalization activists abandon confrontational tactics during the World Economic Forum summit in New York?
http://www.motherjones.com/cgi-bin/WebX?50@@.ee9a2dd
2/4/02
5:12:14 PM
Public Citizen issued the following two press releases this morning:
Jan. 31, 2002
Public Citizen Calls on Government to Seize 10 Products Containing Synthetic Ephedra
Synthetic Compounds in Dietary Supplements Violate Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Public Citizen is asking the government to seize 10 products being marketed on the Internet as dietary supplements because they contain synthetic ephedra. Including synthetic compounds in dietary supplements is expressly prohibited by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
In a letter sent today to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, Public Citizen names nine dietary supplement manufacturers that are marketing the 10 products. Some even advertise their products as "pharmaceutical grade" compounds.
Ephedra is a dangerous substance associated with more reports of death, heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension and seizure than all other food supplements combined, noted Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group.
"Despite your oft-professed concern for food safety, your Department has been grossly negligent in protecting Americans from what is clearly the most dangerous drug that masquerades as a food supplement, ephedra," Wolfe wrote.
Last June, Canada issued an advisory warning people not to use products containing any form of ephedra. The warning was based partially on adverse event reports received by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In September, Public Citizen and noted clinical pharmacologist Dr. Ray Woosley petitioned Thompson to ban all ephedra supplements. This month, Canada called for a recall of all ephedra products of certain dosages, that are combined with stimulants, or that are marketed for weight control or performance enhancement. This type of a recall would effectively cover all ephedra products currently marketed in the United States.
The 10 products are Adrenalin, Ephedrine 25, Hollywood Cuts, Lipodryl 90, Ephedrol, Phenylkinetics, Overdrive, Adipokinetix, Alphadrine and Meta-Burn Extreme. Public Citizen's letter is available on the Web at
http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7146.
Jan. 31, 2002
World Economic "Forum" Is High-Dollar, U.S.-Europe-Japan Corporate Trade Association, Not a "Dialogue"
WEF Excludes Developing World Attendees and Critics; WEF Founder's Own Foundation Has Ties to Companies That Have WEF Contacts and Contracts, Public Citizen Report Reveals
NEW YORK - Contrary to the image it touts as a being venue for dialogue on the vital issues of the day, the World Economic Forum (WEF) is a high-dollar corporate trade association composed of top brass from mega-corporations who are WEF's members and funders. WEF mainly provides private access for corporate titans to political leaders and shuts out voices of those who question its corporate globalization agenda, according to a Public Citizen analysis in a report released today.
Further, the Public Citizen analysis found that a foundation established by the WEF's founder hasholdings in companies whose businesses benefit from WEF contracts and contacts with key WEF members.
The WEF is meeting this week in New York, ostensibly to "engage top leaders from different segments of global society" on global issues, according to its Web site. But the meetings will go forward without representatives from key non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in both developing and developed countries. (They will be holding a counter-meeting at the World Social Forum, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to strategize on alternatives that can provide more equitable and democratic outcomes. For more information, see
http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/eng/.)
Nor does the WEF represent the world. Despite the organization's claims, the analysis of WEF's board members and attendees shows that they come primarily from Europe, the United States and Japan. Members on both its guiding boards - the Forum Board of Directors and the sister Council Board of Directors - are overwhelmingly white European and American men, the analysis shows.
"The World Economic Forum is not what it purports to be," said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. "These corporate elites are hardly the people we want steering the global trade agenda. The WEF lacks the diversity of opinion necessary for an open and honest debate. It appears designed to reinforce preconceived notions and reach a predetermined conclusion -- that is, to further the interests of corporations in trade while shutting out the concerns of environmentalists, health advocates and public interest groups."
Founded in 1971 by Klaus M. Schwab, the organization limits its membership to just 1,000 of the world's top corporations. Member companies must have annual revenues of more than $1 billion.
The WEF's annual meetings provide intimate venues for corporate executives to hobnob with politicians, including presidents, prime ministers and members of royalty. Executives who attend the invitation-only meetings network can arrange face-to-face meetings in quick succession that otherwise would take months to arrange. A series of regionally focused meetings that occur between annual summits are designed to provide a more intimate opportunity for business leaders to meet local government leaders and regulators and challenge local laws and regulatory oversight. Credentialed members of the media seeking to cover the WEF are kept out of many events.
Yet what goes on behind those closed doors can have a profound effect on policy. For instance, the WEF takes credit for launching the Uruguay Round of negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and helping create the World Trade Organization (WTO). This year it will feature discussions about the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement.
This year, summit participants are disproportionately from Europe, the United States and the Middle East. Most delegations from Africa are small, and just four Central American delegations are coming, even though the FTAA NAFTA expansion is prominent on the agenda.
Further, many NGOs are noticeably absent. NGO representatives who participated in the 2000 meeting and were critical of the WEF weren't invited back in 2001. And many 2001 NGO participants -- key civil society leaders such as Martin Khor of the Third World Network in Malaysia, Vandana Shiva of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in India and Jeremy Rifkin of the Foundation on Economic Trends -- weren't invited this year. (Public Citizen, which attended in 2001, was not invited.)
Others, such as Greenpeace, rejected WEF invitations in protest. The Public Citizen report exposes an exchange initiated by Amnesty International's then-Executive Director Pierre Sane and the WEF's Schwab protesting the WEF's treatment of NGOs and peaceful protesters at its last meeting.
"People who question the WEF's agenda and demanded civil liberties and basic democratic rights clearly are unwelcome," Wallach said.
Finally, the study shows how the holdings of the WEF president's own family foundation have benefitted from the cozy business contacts with WEF members, partners and the WEF itself. For example, WEF President Schwab sits on the board of Swiss bank holding company Vontobel, which underwrote the initial public offering of Swiss software company Think Tools, where Schwab also was on the board of directors. Virtually all of Think Tools clients were WEF members in 2000. Think Tools provided Internet banking software for Vontobel, whose contract was terminated for substantial losses in 2001.
A copy of Public Citizen's report is available at
http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7147
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
For more information, please visit http://www.citizen.org
2/4/02
5:10:32 PM
An Islamic woman is fighting a decision by the state of Florida to deny her a driver's license because she refused to remove her veil for the identification picture.
Sultaana Freeman says her religion forbids her from revealing her face to strangers.
Freeman had a Florida driver's license until Dec. 17 when the state revoked it because she refused to allow examiners to take her photograph without a veil that shows only her eyes and forehead.
"It was not a problem until after Sept. 11," said civil liberties attorney Howard Marks, referring to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington. He filed a petition in circuit court in Orlando on Jan. 17 seeking to overturn the decision. He said similar regulations have been overturned in Indiana, Colorado and Nebraska.
Marks is centering his approach on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1998, which was passed to shore up provisions of the Florida Constitution regarding free exercise of religion.
But state officials are not backing down. "Florida law requires a full facial view of a person on their driver's license photo," said Robert Sanchez of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. "We have no choice but to enforce it."
Freeman said when she lived in Illinois, she had no problem with her driver's license. She said she was photographed with her veil.
2/4/02
5:06:14 PM
THE OLD COLLEGE TRY
A nationwide poll by the University of California at Los Angeles indicates more college freshmen describe themselves as politically liberal than at any time since the Vietnam War.
The researchers measured liberalism by asking students to describe their political views and take positions on certain benchmark issues. More than one-third -- the highest rate since 1980 -- say marijuana should be legalized, although 75 percent also say employers should be allowed to require drug tests of workers and applicants. A record 57.9 percent think it should be legal for gay couples to marry. And 32.2 percent say the death penalty should be abolished, which is the strongest showing for that position in 20 years.
Still, about half of the class's members, in line with their recent predecessors, view themselves as "middle of the road" politically. And 20.7 percent consider themselves conservative or "far right," while 29.9 percent -- the highest figure since 1975 -- say they are liberal or "far left."
2/4/02
5:02:48 PM
Nuclear Plants Targeted
By Bill Gertz
U.S. intelligence agencies have issued an internal alert that Islamic terrorists are planning another spectacular attack to rival those carried out on September 11. The detailed warning was issued within the past two weeks in a classified report that said one target was a U.S. nuclear power plant or one of the Energy Department's nuclear facilities. The alert was based on sensitive intelligence gathered overseas that revealed discussions among terrorism suspects. The latest warning was similar to other terrorist threats that prompted public alerts in October and December.
Officials familiar with the report said it contained six potential methods and targets of attack, among them:
•A bombing or airline attack on a nuclear power plant or other U.S. nuclear facility, such as a weapons storage depot, designed to cause mass casualties and spread deadly radiological debris.
•A bombing against a U.S. warship in Bahrain, headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, where some 20 ships are based. The attack would be similar to the October 2000 suicide bombing attack on the USS Cole.
•Another airliner attack on a building using a hijacked commercial jet as a suicide bomber.
•A vehicle bombing in Yemen. Authorities in Yemen, acting on intelligence gathered by the United States in Afghanistan, recently averted a car bombing of the U.S. Embassy in San'a by finding the explosives-laden vehicle.
A public alert had been issued Jan. 14 that said al Qaeda terrorists were planning an attack in Yemen. President Bush said in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night that U.S. intelligence agencies had uncovered plans of U.S. nuclear power plants at terrorist bases in Afghanistan, an indication attacks on the facilities were planned.
"We have found diagrams of American nuclear power plants and public water facilities, detailed instructions for making chemical weapons, surveillance maps of American cities, and thorough descriptions of landmarks in America and throughout the world," Mr. Bush said.
"What we have found in Afghanistan confirms that — far from ending there — our war against terror is only beginning," he said.
A defense official said yesterday that intelligence gained from Afghanistan had led to the thwarting of three terrorist attacks, including the arrests of terrorists in Singapore and Yemen. A third operation is still "being rolled up," the official said.
"We have been getting a lot of indications [of an attack] but no specific threat information," the official said. Yemen's foreign minister, Abubaker al-Qirbi, told The Washington Post on Wednesday that authorities in Yemen have tracked down two key al Qaeda suspects in that country. Mr. al-Qirbi said Yemen was working to capture a group of suspects wanted by the United States for questioning about their links to Osama bin Laden, blamed for the September 11 attacks.
A U.S. intelligence official said the intelligence community is constantly receiving new threat data.
"It's a heightened threat environment, and we get threat information on a regular basis," this official said. No public announcement has been made of an impending terrorist attack based on recent assessments. But the information related to a potential new attack first came to the attention of intelligence agencies last week, officials said. The last time the Bush administration issued a public warning of a potential terrorist attack was Dec. 3, when Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge announced that Americans should be alert to the danger of an attack. It was the second such warning.
"We remain on alert," Ridge spokesman Gordon Johndroe said yesterday, adding that the FBI also has issued a warning to law enforcement around the country to remain on high alert through March 11.
"Subsequent warnings for heightened vigilance around utilities, nuclear power plants, water treatment plants were issued a couple of weeks ago," Mr. Johndroe said in an interview. "The threat remains, and therefore we remain on alert."
Attorney General John Ashcroft said Friday, in releasing a photograph of a suspected suicide terrorist, that "I want to advise the public to exercise vigilance and common sense in the face of the terrorism threat."
On Jan. 17, Mr. Ashcroft released photographs of five al Qaeda terrorists whose statement made on videotapes found in Afghanistan "suggest future terrorist acts, specifically suicide attacks."
Energy Department spokeswoman Lisa Cutler said security has been stepped up at nuclear-weapons facilities throughout the United States since September 11.
In San Francisco yesterday, security guards detected bomb residue on the shoes of a passenger seeking to pass through a security checkpoint. The man disappeared before he could be questioned.
On Dec. 22, Richard C. Reid, a British national linked to the al Qaeda terrorist network, was arrested after he tried to light the fuse of an explosives-laden shoe on a Paris-to-Miami flight, authorities said.
Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020131-617330.htm
2/4/02
4:52:52 PM
MIKE RUPPERT GIVEN A STANDING OVATION
TORONTO - [FTW, January 20, 2002 - Posted to the Web, January 25, 2002]
Near capacity crowds turned out in the 500 seat auditorium of the University of Toronto's medical school for two lectures by FTW publisher Michael Ruppert as he continues to use government documents, insider books and reports, congressional records, and mainstream press reports to expose US government complicity in and foreknowledge of the attacks of last September 11th.
"We didn't know how Canadians would react," said the co-organizer of the event Susan Bulger-Bullen of Sumari seminars. "But their interest was high and Mike's detailed and documented evidence was so compelling that I think he's changed Toronto forever, maybe Canada too." The attendance the first day was only around 250-300 because of confusion about the advertised location. However, the second lecture was filled to near capacity in the double-decked auditorium.
"Once the lecture began, the Canadian audience sucked up every bit of evidence Ruppert presented as though they had just discovered water, Bulger-Bullen added. "Nobody moved for five hours."
Using the same basic format as his November 28th lecture at Portland State University, Ruppert presented newer material, including charts from a two-part FTW series by geologist Dale Allen Pfeiffer (December/January) on the coming end of the age of oil and the massive dislocations it is destined to produce. "It is imperative," Ruppert said, "that people know that world oil production will peak within the next five years, never to be exceeded again," said Ruppert. "This, at a time when world population is rapidly increasing and demand, especially in China, the Far East and the developing world, is soaring. This is the reason for the wars that will not end in our lifetimes."
In his two plus hour lecture Ruppert detailed the meshing necessities for the CIA, acting as an agent of globalization, to control both the drug cash and the oil of Central Asia. "People got it when I pointed out that even if we started on a crash program to convert to other energy sources, the civilization could not change away from oil quickly enough to avert the crisis. And when I described the economic dislocations involved, the millions of people who work in the plastics, power, auto and oil industries who would be thrown out of work in such an effort, people understood that this crisis is not going away with wishful thinking. That doesn't even begin to consider all of the money that would be taken out of the economy if those people lost their jobs."
"Mike did an absolutely amazing job and was superbly eloquent," said Dr. Terry Burrows, a Toronto psychiatrist who attended both lectures. "No one in their right mind can see the evidence that he has gathered and not understand that this is a war against all peoples of the world and that the official position is so absurd as to be laughable."
Canada has seen a flurry of legislation stripping the civil rights of its citizens since September 11th. Bills C-36 and C-42 have stripped away many of the rights held sacred in Canada and Canadians are becoming increasingly alarmed since their combat troops have been sent to fight in Afghanistan. Canada is widely known as a quiet nation, more peacekeeper than war maker.
"What helped tremendously here was getting Mike on local talk radio before the event. Canadians tend to be skeptical, but Mike's performance was amazing and the buzz is still continuing. One guy who is writing his doctoral thesis called and said that he would be using Mike's material for research," said co-organizer Loretta Stirbys. "If we had him back here today we could bring out a thousand people with no effort. I mean they gave him a standing ovation and kept him going for almost three hours with questions after the lecture. There were as many people there at the end as when he began. Emails are still flying all over Canada."
Mike lectures next at Schreiner University in Kerrville west Texas on January 30th. Additional lectures are pending or confirmed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Detroit, New York City, Great Britain and Australia. Information will be posted on the FTW web site.
Photos of the Toronto event are available with this story at http://www.copvcia.com.
2/4/02
4:51:49 PM
Smallpox vaccine never tested in clinical trials
From: http://www.909shot.com
NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER RELEASES SMALLPOX REPORT OPPOSING BIOTERRORISM FORCED VACCINATION PLAN
Washington, D.C. - The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) today released a comprehensive report on smallpox and smallpox vaccine critical of model state legislation initiated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) militarizing the public health infrastructure during state-declared "public health"emergencies. In the report, which is published in the organization's newsletter, THE VACCINE REACTION and is available at http://www.909shot.com,NVIC calls for full testing of both old and new smallpox vaccines before release because the old smallpox vaccine was never tested in clinical trials and the CDC admits it is so dangerous that it cannot be used on a mass basis today.
In an editorial, NVIC co-founder and president Barbara Loe Fisher criticizes a federal plan urging state health officials to use the state "militia"to arrest, imprison and force vaccination and medication on Americans and be exempt from liability for any injury or death that results. The plan "treats American citizens like runaway slaves in need of subjugation"said NVIC's Fisher. "America should have a sound, workable emergency plan in place in the event of a bioterrorism attack, but not one that places the life and liberty of the majority in the hands of an elite few, who will have the power to take both from citizens without their consent."
GESTAPO ACTIONS
The proposed legislation would also give health officials control of all roads and the power to seize homes, cars, telephones, fuel, food, firearms, prescription drugs and alcohol. It has already been introduced in Massachusetts. A non-profit, educational organization founded in 1982 by parents of vaccine injured children, NVIC serves as a consumer watchdog on vaccine development and policymaking. NVIC advocates the institution of safety and informed consent protections in the mass vaccination system and basic science research into genetic and other biological factors which place some individuals at high risk for vaccine injury and death.
"In addition, today there are many more adults suffering with immune deficiency syndrome, lupus, herpes and other diseases affecting the immune system. Without appropriate safety studies evaluating the risks of a new vaccine in the real world of today, there is no reliable way to predict the potential negative impact on the health of children and adults, especially on the tens of millions of Americans already suffering with chronic autoimmune and neurological disorders. "Health Secretary Orders 300 Million Doses of Vaccine: One month after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, DHHS Secretary Tommy Thompson called on industry and government to produce and stockpile 300 million doses of vaccinia virus vaccine by the end of 2002. He said that all Americans should know they "have their name on a vaccine shot in our inventory." Cost estimates range from $500 million to nearly $2 billion. In order to be able to accomplish this goal, some in industry are calling for cutting the number of participants in vaccine trials and bypassing standard safety and efficacy requirements to quickly create a stockpile of vaccine.
"Industry Asks for Immunity From Lawsuits: Drug companies competing for the multi-million dollar contract to produce enough vaccinia virus vaccine to vaccinate every American are asking Congress to pass legislation shifting all liability for vaccine injuries and deaths to the American taxpayer.
Already, there are bills being drafted in Congress to create a federal fund to compensate victims of bioterrorism vaccines, such as vaccinia virus vaccine.
2/4/02
4:50:34 PM
Smoking Gun in Enrongate - Let the impeachment begin
01/24/02
Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Curtis Hebert, Jr. is going public with explosive allegations. Hebert says Enron CEO Ken Lay--the largest contributor to George Walker Bush--made improper demands.
When Lay threatened that his close friend Bush, would fire Hebert unless he obeyed, Hebert refused. Lay ordered Bush to fire Hebert, and Bush complied in August 2001. Hebert has been on record about all of this for months, but he recently made a new, even more explosive charge. Hebert says Bush also let Lay INTERVIEW him and other candidates for FERC Chairman in the first place!
In a nutshell: Enron gave Bush $millions to sponsor his rise from a losing Candidate for the US House to the "leader of the free world." In return, Bush gave Enron "hireand fire" authority over the FERC, and performed other favors in return for money. This directly and personally ties Bush to the Enrongate scandal in all its illegality.
Bush betrayed his oath to the American people when he let Ken Lay hand pick regulatory watchdogs we entrusted to prevent the massive meltdown that cost Americans $billions. This makes letting the fox guard the hen house look like tender loving fiduciary care.
This is nothing new for Bush, who fired Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC) director Eliza May in retaliation for her investigations of Service Corporation International and its CEO Robert Waltrip. Waltrip--like Enron's Lay--is a longtime Bush patron.
Bush lied under oath regarding this political quid-pro-quo, then he and SCI settled a lawsuit to keep May quiet. Texas taxpayers picked up $155,000 of the hush money tab, while SCI paid May the other $55,000, according to a Dallas Morning News story published 11/09/2001. Texans know this scandal as "Funeralgate."
The Rule of Law requires that Bush testify under oath about Funeralgate, his and his Brother John Ellis Bush's Votergate activities during the 2000 election in Florida, and Enrongate. We already know George Walker Bush has an established pattern of helping his friends and backers evade regulation and possibly even criminal charges!
We must demand action now, because Enron and its accountants at Anderson have been destroying evidence by the box-load. We must know what Bush did, and why he did it.
Enrongate is not just a Bush scandal: this is a Republican scandal. Other top GOP officials like VP Dick Cheney, White House advisor Karl Rove, House Leader Dick Armey and Sen. Phil Gramm also helped Enron plunder and evade regulation. They helped Enron rip off consumers, investors and employees.
Ignore Republican and media efforts to spin this as a business scandal or a bipartisan scandal. This is not about the generous, but legal contributions Enron made: 73% to Republicans, 27% to Democrats. This is a GOP political scandal because Republicans helped Enron pay no taxes in four out of five years, while hiding profits in offshore accounts. Despite the hype, no Democrat did anything of the sort.
Even with all these special favors, golden boy Ken Lay ran Enron into the ground. Adding insult to injury, if not perfidy to perjury, the Republican "stimulus porkage" aims to give Enron and Lay even MORE of your tax money.
This Republican scandal exposes GOP corruption at the highest levels, but more profoundly, it reveals the bankruptcy of the GOP "government is the problem" ideology. It blows the lid off Bush's Enronomics, and his plan to Enronitize Social Security, energy and other policies.
I am currently working on another article concerning these fundamental failures in Republican philosophy. For now, back to the immediate scandal. Already, Armey and Gramm are quitting politics to escape Enrongate, but ending their careers to enjoy tax-paid pensions may not be enough to satisfy justice and the Rule of Law.
These top Republicans--all outspoken critics of President Clinton's conduct in office--should welcome full-scale investigations into their own apparent influence pedling. As should House Whip Tom DeLay, VP Cheney, George Walker Bush, and other GOP leaders. As should Ken Lay, Sen. Gramm's wife Wendy--a former regulator turned Enron board member.
If they broke the law, they should pay the penalty. That's been the Republican mantra for nearly a decade. Let them prove they meant it by volunteering to testify before the US Senate--under oath, on national television. If they're innocent, what do they have to fear? They should welcome the opportunity to come clean or set the record straight.
Despite their nonstop pontificating about others' lacking accountability, I'm not confident these Republicans will step up and do the right thing. We must take it upon ourselves to demand justice and uphold the Rule of Law. Call the media and your elected officials NOW to make sure they understand the real issues in Enrongate, Funeralgate, and Votergate.
Let the investigations, perhaps even impeachment begin!
Mike Hersh is a contributing writer for Liberal Slant: http://fp.enter.net/~haney/
ENRON-BUSH-WTC-OIL-CONNECTION - Part I of III
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/enron_bush.htm
Bush: No 'Fishing' For Info Allowed in Enron Debacle
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=16585
MURDER + ENRON-BUSH-WTC-OIL-CONNECTION
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=17067
The Enron Web - Arthur Andersen Consultant Shot Dead In Dec.
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=17075
Harris County medical examiner fined for illegal autopsier
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=17068
Complaint against Defendants: ENRON
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=17073
`In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.'
http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html
SEE ALSO:
Cheney Says Won't Turn Over List of Energy Meetings
http://www.truthout.com/01.28A.Cheney.No.htm
Why Did an Exec Who'd Sounded the Alarm Kill Himself?
http://www.truthout.com/01.28B.Climbing.Walls.htm
Friends in High Places
http://www.truthout.com/01.28C.WP.High.Places.htm
Despite His Qualms, Scandal Engulfed Executive
http://www.truthout.com/01.28D.Baxter.Qualms.htm
Sierra Club Files Suit Against Cheney's Energy Task Force
http://www.truthout.com/01.28F.Sierra.Cheney.htm
GAO Vows to Sue For Cheney Files | Hill Probes Enron Influence on Task Force
http://www.truthout.com/01.27C.GAO.Vows.htm
The Woman Who Saw Red | Enron Whistle-Blower Sherron Watkins Warned of the Trouble to Come
http://www.truthout.com/01.27F.Saw.Red.htm
2/4/02
4:46:39 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS)
97,000 ACRES PROTECTED FOR NEW NATIONAL PARK
By Cat Lazaroff
DENVER, Colorado, January 30, 2002 (ENS) - The nation's newest national park drew closer to reality today, as the Nature Conservancy signed an agreement to buy the Baca Ranch, an unbroken stretch of 97,000 acres in Colorado. The announcement culminates years of efforts to protect the San Luis Valley and its unique wildlife as the Great Sand Dunes National Park.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-30-06.html
VARIETY OF SPECIES BEST FOR ECOSYSTEMS
COLLEGE PARK, Maryland, January 30, 2002 (ENS) - The health of an ecosystem depends on the variety of species that inhabit it, suggests new research from the University of Maryland. The researchers say the discovery could revolutionize how scientists look at the effects of species extinction.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-30-07.html
INVEST NOW IN ENVIRONMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH, CLINTON WARNS
BERKELEY, California, January 30, 2002 (ENS) - Globalization has created a "world without walls," an "explosion of democracy and diversity within democracy," former President Bill Clinton told an enthusiastic audience at the University of California- Berkeley on Tuesday.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-30-01.html
DENMARK TO SLASH ENVIRONMENTAL SPENDING
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, January 30, 2002 (ENS) - Large cuts in Danish spending on environmental policy making and aid to developing countries were confirmed yesterday in a draft 2002 budget unveiled by the government. The supplementary proposal follows the victory of center-right parties in elections last November.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-30-02.html
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JANUARY 30, 2002
Bush May Designate National Monument in Utah
USFWS Administrator Confirmed by Senate
Mercury Phaseouts Challenged in New Report
Lawsuit Will Challenge EPA Over Pesticide Use
Point Reyes Management Gets Middling Review
USFWS Revisits Decision on Rock Creek Mine
Earthquake Monitors Installed at Winter Olympics Site
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-30-09.html
2/4/02
4:37:16 PM
"We understand why children are afraid of darkness,
but why are men afraid of light?"
Plato
2/4/02
4:36:26 PM
t r u t h o u t
COPY GAO's Decision to Sue White House
http://www.truthout.com/01.31A.GAO.2.Sue.htm
Waxman-Dingell in a 10 Page Letter Press Again for Full Disclosure
http://www.truthout.com/01.31B.Wax.Dingell.htm
Congressman Bob Filner Calls for a Special Prosecutor
http://www.truthout.com/01.31C.Filner.SP.htm
Don't Go There: Bush Asks Daschle to Limit Sept. 11 Probes
http://www.truthout.com/01.31D.Dont.go.There.htm
William Rivers Pitt | A Running Diary of the State of the Union Address
http://www.truthout.com/01.31E.WP.STOU.htm
Enron Says Shredding of Records Was Not Stopped Until Recently
http://www.truthout.com/01.31F.Enron.Shreading.htm
Republicans Divide Over Disclosing Information
http://www.truthout.com/01.31G.GOP.no.GAO.htm
2/4/02
4:35:11 PM
E-WIRE ENVIRONMENTAL PRESS RELEASES
Environmental Solutions Worldwide Inc. Announce the addition of Key Staff at its Wholly Owned Subsidiary, ESW America Inc.
TELFORD, PENNSYLVANIA, Jan. 30-/E-Wire/-- Environmental Solutions Worldwide, Inc. (ESW) (OTCBB: ESWW), a company that develops, ,manufactures, and sells environmental technologies, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary ESW America has hired Mr. Robert Simkovic as President and Dr. K.M. Vijayakumar as the head of ESW America's research and development department.
http://www.ewire-news.com/wires/0CD56408-B701-4913-94201AB11E791D94.htm
New Steels Can Help Vehicles Achieve Five-Star Crash Rating, Double Fuel Economy at No Additional Cost
DETROIT, MI, Jan. 30-/E-Wire/-- Greater use by automakers of new grades of Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS) will provide an unprecedented, high level of crash safety performance at no cost increase, according to a new study from the global steel industry.
http://www.ewire-news.com/wires/BCD15E2B-86FF-48A1-8FBCCA97F0370249.htm
George Bush's Former Oil Firm Threatens Important Nesting Sites for Endangered Atlantic Green and Leatherback Sea Turtles in Costa Rica
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA, Jan. 30-/E-Wire/-- Texas oil company Harken Energy Corporation is vigorously seeking the approval of the Government of Costa Rica to exploit petroleum and natural gas off the Costa Rican Caribbean port of Moin, Limón.
http://www.ewire-news.com/wires/C3F2E048-894C-4176-BD8FAFC7B40FCA3C.htm
Nuclear Solutions, Inc. Appoints Don Hunsaker to Executive Advisory Board
MERIDIAN, IDAHO, Jan. 30-/E-Wire/-- Nuclear Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB:NSOL) announces the appointment of Don Hunsaker II, PhD, to the Executive Advisory Board.
http://www.ewire-news.com/wires/DB256807-430F-44C0-98D78F82FCAD1051.htm
2/4/02
4:32:33 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
US to press China on biotech food rules next week - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14293/story.htm
UPDATE - US storm spreads ice, snow across 14 states - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14294/story.htm
GAO filing suit against White House - sources - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14295/story.htm
Bush makes scant mention of energy plan in speech - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14300/story.htm
NYC Council seeks cut in power plant CO2 emissions - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14303/story.htm
Europe set for years of wet winters - scientists - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14301/story.htm
EU recycling rules freeze UK's fridge mountain - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14302/story.htm
Russia says no compromise in EU air traffic talks - RUSSIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14304/story.htm
Greenpeace mulls action against Romanian imposter - ROMANIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14296/story.htm
Kuwait to seek Iranian gas after Qatari deal - KUWAIT http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14299/story.htm
INTERVIEW - German MVV eyes more local firms, renewables - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14291/story.htm
More tests needed on gene crops-French food agency - FRANCE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14298/story.htm
Olympics-Beijing forms body to fight graft ahead of 2008 Games - CHINA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14297/story.htm
Pacific Hydro targets Chile power project - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14292/story.htm
2/4/02
4:30:14 PM
Men carrying pollutant have more boys - US study
by Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent, January 30, 2002
WASHINGTON - Men who have higher levels of polluting chemicals known as PCBs in their bodies are slightly more likely to father boys, researchers said.
The researchers at Michigan State University said their study showed that human beings can be affected sexually by the chemicals, which cause sex-related defects in animals. "We do not wish to say that having a baby boy is bad. It's just that there were more of them," Wilfried Karmaus, a epidemiologist who led the study, said in a statement.
"A change in the proportion of boys to girls, however, indicates that environmental contaminants may play a role in human reproduction."
PCBs are endocrine disruptors - chemicals that act like hormones. They and related chemicals known as dioxins are reported to have caused deformities of sexual organs in fish and alligators.
In humans both dioxins and PCBs can cause cancer, infertility and perhaps other sexual changes. Vietnam veterans exposed to dioxin in Agent Orange, used to strip foliage in the jungle, claim it has caused a variety of ills including cancer and birth defects in their children.
Karmaus used information from studies of men and women who liked to fish in the Great Lakes, which are polluted with a range of chemicals.
"They were recruited by the Michigan Department of Community Health,' Karmaus said in a telephone interview. Their blood levels of PCBs and other chemicals were measured.
The 101 families they studied had children born after 1963, and both mother and father had detectable PCBs in their blood. There was a total of 208 children.
Of these, 57 percent were boys, which is a slight increase of the normal trend of about 51 percent. Usually, 105 boys are born for every 100 girls.
"However, we did not detect that the PCB levels of mothers affected the number of boys or girls," Karmaus said.
Writing in the January issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Karmaus stressed that his sample was small, meaning he worked with too few people to have a good idea of what the numbers meant.
He noted that other studies had showed conflicting findings. One after a dioxin accident in Italy in 1976 found people who were exposed had more girls than boys. "Then there are the Army servicemen who were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam war. They found fewer girls and more boys," Karmaus said.
PCBs can come from many different industrial sources including hydraulic fluids and oils, electrical capacitors and transformers.
Source: http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14287/story.htm
1/30/02
8:15:30 PM
To see direct giving to politicians broken down into the top 25 industries, go to:
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/index.asp
1/30/02
8:14:43 PM
Parable of the rushed Samaritan
Nearly 30 years a study was conducted at Princeton designed to figure out the conditions under which good people would act for good, or at least be helpful.
Two psychologists asked seminarians to walk over to another building on campus to give a short speech, either about their motives for studying theology or about the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan. The psychologists had planted an actor along the way, stumped over, coughing and obviously in bad shape. The two experimenters had led half of the students to believe that they were late for their speaking appointment, and half that they had ample time. So, taking into account what they were thinking about on the way (theology versus the Good Samaritan) as well as how much time they had, what do you think determined whether students would help the man in need?
Contrary to expectations, the content of the speech made no difference. People asked to give either speech, including the Good Samaritan, were no different in how many stopped to help. What mattered a great deal, by contrast, was whether students were in a hurry. Of those who were told that they were in a hurry, only 10 percent stopped to help. Of those told that they had plenty of time, 60 percent stopped to help.
Are you always in a rush? What might be the message for you?
1/30/02
8:14:11 PM
"Science may have found a cure for most evils;
but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all
the apathy of human beings."
Helen Keller
1/30/02
8:13:33 PM
Chechnya: More Blood for Oil - by Karen Talbot
http://www.covertaction.org/full_text_69_03.htm
1/30/02
8:12:56 PM
TomPaine.com
OUR LATEST OP AD:
THE CHEATING OF AMERICA
Think Enron and Andersen Are Exceptions? Think Again.
The Enron-Arthur Andersen scandal exposes, among other things, the shady world of tax evasion. Enron paid no income tax in four of the past five years -- it was able to transfer its assets among 881 subsidiaries that were set up abroad in tax-sheltered countries.
Enron is not alone. Every year, thousands of the biggest corporations and the wealthiest individuals pay no income tax, thanks to help from accounting companies, law firms and Wall Street brokerages -- and often with a wink and nod from Washington. The result: the rest of us must cover for the tax dodgers: $195 billion annually, or $1,600 per taxpayer.
THE CHEATING OF AMERICA, a book by Charles Lewis, Bill Allison, and the Center for Public Integrity (Harperperennial Library), takes a hard look at this tax-shirking epidemic and reports that the IRS is decreasing enforcement and prosecution.
READ OUR OP AD:
http://www.tompaine.com/op_ads/opad.cfm?ID=5060
AND READ THESE RELATED ARTICLES:
EQUAL UNDER THE LAW?
What About Enforcement?
by Charles Lewis, Center for Public Integrity A look at the people and companies who have benefited and profited handsomely from the American economy and quality of life, but who have chosen to opt out of the system.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm?ID=4197
PERFECTLY LEGAL
Taking Advantage Of Holes In The Revenue Net
by Bill Allison, Center for Public Integrity
How the super rich avoid paying taxes and you don't.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm?ID=4196
CHRYSLER OPTED OUT OF TAXES
Adapted From "The Cheating Of America"
by Bill Allison
How one of America's largest car dealers accepted help from the American people then stabbed them in the back.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm?ID=4190
THE BILLIONAIRE WHO BOUGHT A BANK -- AND PAID NO TAXES
Adapted From "The Cheating Of America"
by Bill Allison
A case study in how to legally avoid paying taxes. If you're a millionaire, that is.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm?ID=4189
TAX BREAKS FOR THE RICH
A Question of Morality
by Robert Apfel
If the United States was a perfect place to live, giving tax breaks to the rich wouldn't be such a bad idea. But since it's not, not only are tax breaks for the rich a bad idea, it borders on immoral.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm?ID=4191
STATE OF THE UNION: CORRUPT
by Publicus
Our roving observer muses: Then As Now... God Bless Sherron Watkins... Tommy, Teddy And Tepid Opposition... Here Comes 2004.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm?ID=5063
BREAKING WITH HISTORY
An Interview With Joseph Thorndike
by Steven Rosenfeld
President Bush's State of the Union speech called for major new defense spending and for a tax-cut based economic stimulus plan -- making Bush the first wartime president in generations to seek a tax cut.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm?ID=5065
PESTICIDE WARS, CONTINUED
When Agriculture and Public Health Collide
by Karen Charman
Floridians say the state's medfly erradication program made people sick, and that it didn't have to be that way.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm?ID=5064
A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS IN MASSACHUSETTS?
An Interview With Rick Klein of The Boston Globe
by Steven Rosenfeld
A Massachusetts Supreme Court decision last week has brought the state to the brink of a constitutional crisis. In forceful terms, the Court ordered intransigent legislators to fund a campaign finance reform law passed by voters in 1999, but that the lawmakers don't like and have tried to squash.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm?ID=5056
A NEW, NEW WORLD ORDER?
An Interview With Dennis Brutus
by Jennifer Bauduy
What is the future of the global justice movement? "This really is a global struggle. It is happening in Bolivia, in Kenya, in Argentina, all over the world. It's coming from the grassroots."
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm?ID=5062
1/30/02
8:11:54 PM
NASA just issued an alert for falling space debris. The space agency warned residents of a vast swath of Earth from South Florida to Australia that heavy chunks of a dying, 3 1/2-ton satellite could strike the region tonight or Thursday.
Engineers said that as many as nine pieces of debris weighing up to 100 pounds each could survive as NASA's Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer plunges through the atmosphere. The space junk could hit an area bordered by Orlando on the north and Brisbane, Australia, on the south.
That includes all of South Florida, as well as Mexico City, Caracas and Bogotá. The debris field could stretch over 625 miles, but NASA said the odds favored impact in unpopulated areas.
``The probability of the few EUVE surviving pieces falling into a populated area and hurting someone is very small,'' said Ronald Mahmot, a NASA project manager. ``It is more likely that the small pieces will fall into the ocean or fall harmlessly to the ground.''
1/30/02
8:11:16 PM
DAILY GRIST <http://www.gristmagazine.com>
ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO THROW A FIT ABOUT. Make sure your family and friends are as anxious about the environment as you are. Send a warm, cheery message asking them to sign up to get Grist by Email at <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/signup/tell_pal.asp?source=daily>
GIRLS WILL BE BOYS
Environmental toxins are disrupting human biology at the most basic level: reproduction. That was the conclusion of researchers at Michigan State University, who found that men with higher levels of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were more like to father boys than girls. PCBs are known to cause sex-related defects in animals (although the researchers were quick to explain that boys are not, technically speaking, sex-related defects) and are also linked to cancer and infertility. The study examined men who had high levels of PCBs in their blood due to eating fish caught in the heavily contaminated Great Lakes. Interestingly, PCB levels in mothers did not seem to affect the gender of the child.
straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, Maggie Fox, 30 Jan 2002 <http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14287/story.htm>
straight to the source: Toronto National Post, Joseph Brean, 29 Jan 2002 <http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20020129/1270309.html>
AT LEAST THEIR BREASTS WON'T CATCH FIRE
But mothers have something else to worry about. Scientists and environmentalists are calling for a ban on a chemical flame retardant that has been shown to accumulate in breast milk. The chemical, polybrominated diphenyl ether, or PBDE, is commonly used in foam furniture and plastics to reduce risk of fire by up to 45 percent, according to manufacturers. But PBDE, like PCBs and DDT, is a persistent organic pollutant (POP) that bioaccumulates in the environment and in body fat. In 1998, Swedish scientists found that levels of PBDE in Swedish woman's breast milk had increased 40-fold since 1972; in December, a study found that North American mothers had levels of PBDE 40 times that of the Swedes -- an amount researchers called "humongously high." The exact health effects are unknown. The most dangerous variety of the chemical will be banned in Europe beginning next year; whether the U.S. will follow suit is uncertain.
straight to the source: MSNBC.com, Associated Press, 29 Jan 2002 <http://www.msnbc.com/news/695907.asp>
only in Grist: Swede dreams are made of these -- Sweden takes big steps to ban chemicals -- by Donella Meadows <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/citizen/citizen121500.stm?source=daily>
do good: Take action to ratify a treaty to phase out POPs <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/toxic.asp?source=daily#pops>
YOU GOTTA HAVE FAITH
And speaking of environmentally sensitive moms and pops: How does being an environmentalist affect the decision to have a baby, and how does the environment at large affect the prenatal environment? Those questions are central to Sandra Steingraber's "Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood." Reviewer and prospective mother Jonna Higgins-Freese looks at Steingraber's contribution to the small but growing genre of environmental parenting books, only on the Grist Magazine website.
only in Grist: Oh, baby! -- a review of "Having Faith" -- in our Books Unbound section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/books/books013002.asp?source=daily>
SHARK SKIN SUIT
Last summer, they were are our worst enemy; now they need a best friend. We're talking about sharks, of course. The much-maligned beach marauders are now the subject of a lawsuit filed earlier this week against the U.S. government by environmental organizations. The National Audubon Society, Earthjustice, and the Ocean Conservancy claim the National Marine Fisheries Service has failed to prevent overfishing and rebuild coastal shark populations. The lawsuit also accuses the NMFS of caving to commercial pressure by suspending limits on catching sharks. The animals are becoming increasingly popular menu items, with the result that their numbers are falling fast. One species, the commercially popular sandbar shark, has declined by 80 percent since the 1970s.
straight to the source: CNN.com, Reuters, 29 Jan 2002 <http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/01/29/sharks.reut/index.html>
I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT ENGLAND HAD FOOD
England's food production and farming needs to take a radical turn for the greener, according to a new report by the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food. The commission, which was convened following devastating outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in the U.K., calls for some farm subsidies to be based on conserving the land rather than tilling it. Other recommendations include increasing organic farming, encouraging farmers to sell their goods at cooperatives and farmers markets, and persuading supermarkets to sell locally grown products. Many welcomed the report, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said, "The current situation benefits no one: farmers, taxpayers, consumers, or the environment." The already demoralized farming sector, however, is wary of the proposals, and some consumers fear that implementing them would drive up food prices.
straight to the source: BBC News, 29 Jan 2002 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/newsid_1787000/1787329.stm>
1/30/02
8:10:26 PM
DAILY MEDIA NEWS
Breaking news stories about the international media, from mainstream and alternative sources.
http://www.mediachannel.org/news/today/
EXCLUSIVE: Global conflict coverage from Globalvision News Network's 150 international news providers
EXCLUSIVE: News Dissector's Daily Weblog Danny Schechter critiques what's reported - and what's not featuring reader input.
http://www.mediachannel.org/weblog
COVERING THE PLANET: ENVIRONMENTALISM IN A MEDIA WORLD
Environmental issues directly affect our communities, food, health and economic development. But do they get the media treatment they deserve? A special MediaChannel Issue Guide.
http://www.mediachannel.org/atissue/environment
AFGHANISTAN'S RADIO PEACE
A BBC team in Afghanistan finds a hunger for radio as a means toward education and even peace. (From Guardian Unlimited)
http://www.mediachannel.org/front.shtml#afghanistan
WHERE IS AIDS AMONG A-LIST TOPICS?
The news alphabet features many stories starting with A, but one - AIDS - is often missing. News Dissector Danny Schechter reports on the problem and a project out to fill the gap.
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/missing.shtml
MEDIA VS. DISSENT
As the World Economic Forum descends on New York City, newspapers are portraying activists as trouble-makers and security threats while Indymedia covers the demonstrations from the inside. Plus: On-screen Protesting (From FAIR, Rtmark)
http://www.mediachannel.org/front.shtml#wef
MEET THE FUTURE: THE PARTICIPATORY INTERNET
Participation sites empower people to do something with the material they find, often collaboratively. Also: A scheme for adding value to computers. (From AllAfrica, NewsTrolls)
http://www.mediachannel.org/front.shtml#participation
SEPTEMBER 11 BY THE NUMBERS
A study finds U.S. coverage of the war on terrorism heavily favored official views and increasingly presented punditry rather than facts. Plus: How "America" was portrayed in Sept. 11 photos; Editor as critic: a video remix of war coverage (From Project for Excellence in Journalism, Newswatch, GNN)
http://www.mediachannel.org/front.shtml#911
GRASSROOTS SYNERGY: INTRODUCING MC-NET The MediaChannel Networking and Collaboration E-List: Connect to advice, resources and colleagues across the global network.
http://www.mediachannel.org/mc-net
1/30/02
8:09:53 PM
The Nation
"He sure didn't leave the Democrats much room to maneuver. When George W. Bush delivered his first State of the Union address--a two-ply speech divided between a so-called war on terrorism and a supposed war on the recession--he depicted himself as a Rooseveltian president, as in both (Republican) Teddy and (Democrat) Franklin Delano."
Read the rest of David Corn's debut article for his new Nation web feature, "Capital Games," currently at:
http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3
"Capital Games" will take on the day-by-day political and policy battles in official Washington in regular online reports. With an informed, unconventional perspective, these dispatches will hold the politicians, policymakers and pundits accountable and report the important facts and views that go uncovered elsewhere.
And, for more on last night's State of the Union Address, don't miss the latest installment of John Nichols' exclusive "Online Beat."
JOHN NICHOLS: What's This About "Accountability?" George W. Bush could not bring himself to mention the name Enron in his State of the Union address.
http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?bid=1
THE NATION ON ENRON
George W. Bush didn't mention Enron last night but The Nation certainly has been examining the company's scandal of late. Read The Nation's special online collection of Enron-related reporting by Robert Scheer, David Corn, William Greider, Robert Borosage, Matt Bivens and Chris Floyd. Exclusively available now at:
http://www.thenation.com/special/2002enron.mhtml
THE NATION ON THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
The Nation and the Nation website will be featuring special reports from the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil; from the expected protests in the streets of New York City; and from the suites of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, where the World Economic Forum will be meeting. Watch this space for further info.
You can also find information, including event calendars, regarding expected WEF-related activities in New York City this week at The Nation's new WEF resource page. Currently available at:
http://www.thenation.com/special/2002wef.mhtml
And check out The Nation's site for new editorials, columns, articles and reports on a wide-range of other topics, including the Middle East, Afghanistan, welfare politics, Huey Freeman, the new Congressional session, and much more. All available now at:
1/30/02
8:09:11 PM
Public Citizen
232 Groups Urge Congress to Reject Nuclear Dump
Letter Highlights Conflict of Interest
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A broad coalition of environmental and public interest organizations delivered a letter to Congress today drawing attention to the flawed process that has characterized the Department of Energy's (DOE) Yucca Mountain Project and urging lawmakers to reject the proposal for a high-level nuclear waste dump in Nevada.
The groups also distributed a November report by the DOE Inspector General, which uncovered conflicts of interest involving contractors on the Yucca Mountain Project. According to the report, the law firm Winston & Strawn was simultaneously employed as counsel to the DOE, working on the Yucca Mountain Project, and was registered as a member of and lobbyist for the Nuclear Energy Institute, the pro-repository nuclear industry trade group.
"Clearly, the DOE has failed to exercise necessary oversight of its contractors, resulting in an apparent pro-industry bias in the agency's site characterization and site recommendation activities," the groups wrote in the letter. "It would be irresponsible for Congress to allow the Yucca Mountain Project to continue without a thorough review of the causes and consequences of contractor conflict of interest that have recently been brought to light."
The letter was endorsed by 22 national organizations, including the Sierra Club, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Indigenous Environmental Network. In addition, 210 regional, local and Native American groups from 50 states and the District of Columbia endorsed the letter. The letter and list of endorsing groups can be viewed online at
http://www.citizen.org/cmep/energy_enviro_nuclear/nuclear_waste/hi-level/yucca/articles.cfm?ID=7086.
"Advocates for public health, safety and the environment agree that the Yucca Mountain Project is a disaster," said Kevin Kamps, nuclear waste specialist with the Washington-based Nuclear Information and Resource Service, a signatory to the letter. "Far from solving the nuclear waste problem, this irresponsible project would introduce new risks to the state of Nevada and the 44 other states through which nuclear waste would be transported."
Lisa Gue, policy analyst with the national consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, agreed. "An honest process would have shelved this dangerous proposal long ago," she said. "In defense of responsible, accountable government, as well as public health and safety, we are joining with concerned citizens across the country in urging members of Congress to oppose the Yucca Mountain Project."
For more information about Public Citizen and NIRS, please visit http://www.citizen.org and http://www.nirs.org
1/30/02
8:08:24 PM
FIRST AFGHANISTAN, THEN THE WORLD?
Read online, subscribe, or unsubscribe at:
http://www.9-11peace.org/bulletin.php3
1/30/02
8:07:53 PM
UTNE WEB WATCH
The Best of the Alternative Web
UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU, FOR ONE YEAR
by Erica Cordova, Ka Le O
-- The House Armed Services Committee is considering a bill that would require everyone registered for the draft to serve up to one year in basic military training and education. The proposed Universal Military Training and Service Act of 2001 demands much and answers little.
THE PRIME-TIME SMEARING OF SAMI AL-ARIAN
by Eric Boehlert, Salon.com
-- Salon.com takes NBC, Fox News, Media General and Clear Channel radio to task for pandering to anti-Arab hysteria and ruining the life of an innocent professor.
REBUILDING NYC
Web Site Review by Kate Garsombke -- A collection of articles from the Gotham Gazette focuses on New York's future and looks at the process of rebuilding.
Links to the above articles: http://www.utne.com/webwatch
1/30/02
8:07:08 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
ATTORNEYS ALLEGE BUSH HAS FAILED TO DEFEND THE ENVIRONMENT
SAN FRANCISCO, California, January 8, 2002 (ENS) - In the first year of George W. Bush's presidency, environmental protections have taken a backseat to industry concerns, according to attorneys who represent environmental groups in court. "Under this administration the courts have become the forum of choice for rolling back environmental protections," Earthjustice Executive Director Buck Parker said today.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-08-01.html
BLOOMING FUTURE PLANNED FOR EU'S FLOWER ECOLABEL
BRUSSELS, Belgium, January 8, 2002 (ENS) - The profile of the European Union's flower ecolabel could rise dramatically under a three year promotional initiative to be published shortly by the European Commission. The plan - formally a commission decision - was adopted by commissioners at the end of December after being endorsed by the EU's 15 member states.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-08-03.html
NEW PARTNERSHIP TO WARD OFF POTENTIAL WATER WARS
PARIS, France, January 8, 2002 (ENS) - To help to avert potential conflicts between nations over the orld's scarce freshwater resources, a former Soviet president who is now an environmental leader has pledged to cooperate with with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-08-02.html
CANADA BETS ON NATURAL GAS FOR CLEAN STATIONARY POWER
OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada, January 8, 2002 (ENS) - The Canadian government is betting a million dollars that a low emissions natural gas engine can generate the fuel economy and performance of a diesel engine for stationary electric power generation.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-08-04.html
1/30/02
8:06:38 PM
Driven by the force of love the fragments of the world seek each other that the world may come into being".
Teilhard de Chardin
1/30/02
8:05:57 PM
t r u t h o u t
Gov. Jeb Bush's Daughter Charged With Fraud
http://www.truthout.com/01.30A.Noelle.Bush.htm
Bush, Adamant, Won't Disclose Enron Talks
http://www.truthout.com/01.30B.Bush.No.2.htm
Police : Baxter Death Not Necessarily Suicide
http://www.truthout.com/01.30C.Police.Suicide.htm
Accounting Uncertainties Lead to Big Losses on Wall Street
http://www.truthout.com/01.30D.WS.Losses.htm
One Anthrax Answer: Ames Strain Not From Iowa
http://www.truthout.com/01.30E.Anthrax.Ames.htm
Judicial Show and Tell | Senators Gramm and Hutchinson Dig Deep Into Applicants' Political Pasts
http://www.truthout.com/01.30F.Judicial.Show.htm
The Battle Back Home
http://www.truthout.com/01.30G.Back.Home.htm
Congressman Richard A. Gephardt
http://www.truthout.com/01.30AA.Gephardt.Responce.htm
Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.
http://www.truthout.com/01.30AC.Jackson.SOTU.htm
Senator Thomas Daschle
http://www.truthout.com/01.30AB.Daschle.SOTU.htm
1/30/02
8:05:26 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
Boffins get choice picks at "rat boutique" - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14279/story.htm
UPDATE - Environmentalists sue US to save sharks - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14280/story.htm
Men carrying pollutant have more boys - US study - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14287/story.htm
US Senate panel to tighten power plant emissions - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/14288/story.htm
Farmers find flaws in green vision - UK