5/19/02
10:36:41 PM

Planet Ark World Environment News

FEATURE - Animals have rights too, says legal eagle - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16023/story.htm

New study adds fodder to ANWR drilling debate - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16029/story.htm

US Forest Service fiddles while Alaska at risk, greens say - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16025/story.htm

Polar bears threatened by global warning - experts - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16019/story.htm

New plan for Alaska forest draws mixed reviews - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16014/story.htm

British study finds likely carcinogen in foods - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16032/story.htm

Villagers vow to fight Thai-Malaysian pipeline - THAILAND http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16024/story.htm

Maligned mining sector says digging for new image - PERU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16031/story.htm

Oman to combat oil pollution with radar aircraft - OMAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16030/story.htm

Pro-whaling lobby may make gains at IWC meet - group - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16020/story.htm

Iceland push for membership key test for whale meet - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16018/story.htm

Germany acts to give animals constitutional rights - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16022/story.htm

Yachting - Greenpeace disrupt France's America's Cup launch - FRANCE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16016/story.htm

Finland nuclear power expansion gains in poll - FINLAND http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16026/story.htm

Fate of orphan Puget Sound whale still undecided - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16027/story.htm

EU says farmers face extra costs to stay GM-free - BELGIUM http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16021/story.htm

EU aims to boost combined heat and power plants - BELGIUM http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16017/story.htm

INTERVIEW - New Antarctic iceberg split no threat-scientist - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16028/story.htm

Shooters to kill 15,000 kangaroos on army base - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16015/story.htm

5/19/02
10:33:26 PM

t r u t h o u t | 05.20

Multiple Reports Contradict Bush Denials

House Democratic Leaders Call for White House Probe

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.20B.Conyers.Probe.htm

Italy Reported Plot to Kill Bush With Plane

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.20A.Genoa.Plot.htm

Israel's Mossad Warned in August of 2001 of "Major Assualt"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.20C.Israel.Warn.htm

Clues Surfaced Before Sept. 11

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.20D.Clues.911.htm

'99 Report Warned About Plot Like 9/11

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.20E.99.Report.htm

Chicago Tribune Editorial | America's Raucous Democracy

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.20F.Raucous.Demo.htm

Mary McGrory | Lock-and-Load Ashcroft

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.20G.Lock.n.Load.htm

5/19/02
10:26:50 PM

FBI Admits No Evidence Links 'Hijackers' To 911

by Michael Collins Piper 5-18-2

The possibility that 19 Muslim men accused of being the Sept. 11 hijackers were not, in fact, the hijackers, is not so extraordinary an idea as it might seem.

After seven months of non-stop declarations by U.S. government spokesmen that there exists solid proof tying 19 Muslim men to plotting the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, FBI Director Robert Mueller has now admitted quite the opposite.

That 19 Muslim men who have apparently disappeared have been named as the hijackers is not in doubt.

What is in doubt is whether those 19 men were actually plotting anything, either individually or together.

The amazing possibility remains that others carried out the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, using the identities of the 19 Muslims who have been assigned guilt in the tragedy.

In an April 19 speech delivered to the Common wealth Club in San Francisco, Mueller said that the purported hijackers, in his words, "left no paper trial." The FBI director stated flatly:

In our investigation, we have not uncovered a single piece of paper-either here in the United States or in the treasure trove of information that has turned up in Afghanistan and elsewhere-that mentioned any aspect of the Sept. 11 plot.

In describing Mueller's evidence fiasco, Los Angeles Times reporters Erich Lichtblau and Josh Meyer, whose article was reprinted in The Washington Post on April 30, note that:

Law enforcement officials say that while they have been able to reconstruct the movements of the hijackers before the attacks-all legal except for a few speeding tickets-they have found no evidence of their actual plotting.

The Times reporters acknowledge that Mueller's comments "offer the FBI's most comprehensive and detailed assessment to date of its investigation, remarkable as much for what investigators have not found as for what they have."

The FBI director explained away the absence of evidence by making the disingenuous assertion that the hijackers used "meticulous planning, extraordinary secrecy and extensive knowledge of how America works" to conceal their scheme.

Mueller made this claim despite the fact that in the immediate wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, a variety of U.S. officials and media sources speciously announced, almost instantaneously, that there was firm evidence not only that these 19 Muslim men were agents of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda "network" but that they were indeed the individuals who hijacked the doomed flights on Sept. 11.

Mueller seems to forget that early government and media reports loudly hyped "discoveries"-letters and other documents-in the luggage and personal belongings of the presumed hijackers which "proved" that they were on a "mission for Allah," etc etc.

Now Mueller's comments seem to contradict everything that's been said.

http://www.americanfreepress.net

5/19/02
10:21:33 PM

The Massive Intelligence "Failures" and Coverups of Prior Knowledge Can Only Be Orchestrated from the Top!

9-11 beginning of long-term plot? Group analyzes attacks, says CIA needs 'truckload of pink slips'

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27520

Official Bungling Claimed in 9-11 Intelligence

http://www.americanfreepress.net/02_17_02/Official_Bungling/official_bungling.html

The Proof of a 9/11 Frame-up is Right Before You

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/frameup.html

The Case for Bush Administration Advance Knowledge of 9-11 Attacks by Michael C. Ruppert

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/042202_bushknows.html

Scandal Inside the FBI: Did G-Men Miss the Boat on 9-11?

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/3/13/94339.shtml

THE MOTIVES:

How the Pentagon Learned to Love the Weapon No One Wanted

The Carlyle Connection

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0218/gray.php

THE AFTERMATH:

Strange Cluster Of Microbiologists' - Deaths Under The Microscope

http://www.rense.com/general24/exk.htm

THE HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS

Operation Northwoods And The Reichstag Fire

http://www.rense.com/general24/operationnorthwoods.htm

"U.S. GOVERNMENT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF EMERGENCY"

by Sherman H. Skolnick 09/11/01

AMERICA'S REICHSTAG FIRE

http://www.skolnicksreport.com/pkem.html

BOOGYMAN FOR A NEW WORLD ORDER

Book alleges attempts to arrest Osama bin Laden blocked by the US

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2001/1119/wor8.htm

5/19/02
10:18:39 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE

http://ens-news.com

NUCLEAR REACTOR COULD RESTART AFTER 17 YEAR SHUTDOWN

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama, May 17, 2002 (ENS) - The Tennessee Valley Authority has decided to seek permission to restart a reactor at the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant that was mothballed in 1985. On Thursday, the three member board of the federally owned utility approved a staff recommendation to return Unit 1, the oldest of the facilities three reactors, to service for another 20 years.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-17-06.html

DRY RIO GRANDE POINT OF U.S./MEXICO FRICTION

SILVER CITY, New Mexico, May 17, 2002 (ENS) - The Rio Grande, the river dividing the United States from Mexico, no longer reaches the Gulf of Mexico into which it has emptied for millions of years. The water has stopped flowing due to a sandbar formed by several years of low water levels plus high water usage in drought stricken northern Mexico.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-17-05.html

PACIFIC ISLANDS TO PHASE OUT OZONE DEPLETERS

BANGKOK, Thailand, May 17, 2001 (ENS) - The Pacific Islands have been given a major boost in their efforts to phase ozone depleting substances, as required under the Montreal Protocol.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-17-01.html

SUPREME COURT OF CANADA TO RULE ON ONCOMOUSE PATENT

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada, May 17, 2002 (ENS) - The right to patent genetically modified animals is at stake on May 21 when the Supreme Court of Canada hears a case concerning the Harvard mouse or Oncomouse.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-17-192.html

TANZANIAN ATTORNEYS FACE CHARGES OF SEDITION

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, May 17, 2002 (ENS) - Two Tanzanian environmental attorneys are facing criminal charges for speaking out against human rights abuses. Tundu Lissu and Rugemeleza Nshala of the Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT) in Dar es Salaam face charges of sedition for their work to rectify alleged human rights abuses against small scale miners in Bulyanhulu. These charges are expected to be levied on May 31.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-17-191.html

BRAZILIAN ENVIRONMENTALIST JOSE LUTZENBERGER DIES

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, May 17, 2002 (ENS) - José Lutzenberger, a pioneer of the Brazilian environmental movement, died of heart failure Tuesday in Porto Alegre. He was 75.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-17-193.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: MAY 17, 2002

Estimate of Alaska Petroleum Reserve Quadruples

Wildfire Destroys Seven Homes in Arizona

California Could Save $28 Billion, Protect Environment

Millions of California Acres Could be Protected by Senate Bill

17 States, Virgin Islands Earn Clean Beach Certificates

Wasting Disease Working Group Unites Federal Agencies

Humans Responsible for One Quarter of Sulfur Gas

Second California Condor Chick Born in the Wild

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-17-09.html

5/19/02
10:12:11 PM

t r u t h o u t |

Hillary Rodham Clinton | "I Rise Today"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.18A.Clinton.Bush.NU.htm

The Gore Report on Airline Safety (Full Report)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.18B.Gore.Report.htm

Democrats End United Support of Bush on War

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.18C.Dems.911.htm

Rather Says; Patriotic Fever Caused Him to Go Easy on Questions

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.18D.Rather.Easy.htm

Venezuelan Coup Disrupting Oil to Cuba

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.18E.Ven.Oil.Cuba.htm

Israeli Tanks Enter West Bank City

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.18F.IDF.Tanks.htm

Clues Before Sept. 11 Were Plentiful

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.18G.Many.Clues.911.htm

5/19/02
10:09:25 PM

Greens Say No to Bush's Marriage Proposal

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020517125919929.html

Mass. Green and Rainbow Coalition Parties Merge

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020517094729368.html

Rob Young seeks Green nomination

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020516154310355.html

Aronowitz Opposes Budget Deal

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/2002051615370793.html

Don Hassig seeks Green nomination

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020516152828390.html

IMF Fuels Colombia Fire

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020430154827236.html

Butterflies in December

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020430153924539.html

Oil and gas wells in New York State

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020430152059624.html

One Green's report from DC

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020421105709941.html

Critical Mass cyclists arrested in DC

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020420185908950.html

Breaching the Knowledge Monopoly

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020420180157947.html

Maine Democrats contest matching funds for Green candidate

http://www.tcgreens.org/gl/articles/20020420154420815.html

5/19/02
10:03:27 PM

DAILY GRIST

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

DO YOU READ ME?

A little short on weekend plans? We've got a suggestion (or five): Find a cozy spot and curl up with some of this month's most interesting environmental reads. Now that the Farm Bill has passed, giving huge factory farms equally huge subsidies, check out what small organic farmers have to say about the system in the (metaphorical) pages of Salon. Or take a look at the six-part series on grassroots environmental groups and the evolution of the modern environmental movement in Rachel's Environment and Health News. In the mood for muckraking? Mother Jones dishes the dirt on companies receiving federal grants while violating federal environmental regulations. That's just the tip of the bookshelf; for more on what we're reading (and what you should be), check out Best of the Rest, only on the Grist Magazine website.

only in Grist: Wild reads from Earth Island Journal, Scientific American, Mother Jones, and more -- in our Best of the Rest section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/best/best051702.asp?source=daily>

SOMETHING NOT WILD

The U.S. Forest Service yesterday came out against adding any new wilderness areas to southeastern Alaska's 17 million-acre Tongass National Forest. The recommendation was a response to a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Singleton, who sided with environmentalists last year in ordering the Forest Service to determine if there were parts of the temperate rain forest that Congress could set aside as wilderness areas (where logging, mining, and road-building would be prohibited). The Forest Service's conclusion came as a blow to environmentalists, who saw it as further proof of the Bush administration's lack of commitment to wilderness preservation. The timber lobby, however, was elated, and said any other decision would have spelled the end of a viable logging industry in the region. The public has 90 days to comment on the plan.

straight to the source: Anchorage Daily News, Paula Dobbyn, 17 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=112>

do good: Take action to save Alaska's temperate rainforests <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/forests.asp?source=daily#arca>

FERMENTING REBELLION

One fine morning just over a year ago, residents of St. Paul, Minn., woke up choking on the air they breathe. What had happened? A friendly neighborhood brewery had been converted into an ethanol plant -- without any studies to determine the potential environmental impacts -- and the plant had begun spewing the rancid fumes of fermenting corn. The foul plume blanketed most of St. Paul and many of its southern suburbs -- and mobilized Andy Driscoll to do something about it. As one of the founders of Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment (and this week's diarist), Driscoll has been battling Gopher State Ethanol's St. Paul plant from the get-go. Read about the latest skirmishes, only on the Grist Magazine website.

only in Grist: Ethanol in a day's work -- a week in the life of Andy Driscoll, Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment -- in our Dear Me section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dearme/driscoll051302.asp?source=daily>

NUCLEAR POWER AS FOSSIL FUEL

The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation's largest public power producer, decided yesterday to restart a troubled nuclear reactor at its Browns Ferry plant in northern Alabama. The reactor has been out of use since 1985, when all three of the plant's reactors were shut down after engineers discovered that the reactors did not match their blueprints. Two of the three reactors were restarted in the 1990s; restarting the third one will cost $1.7 billion and is in keeping with the energy vision of President Bush, who strongly supports nuclear power. The TVA decision drew criticism from area residents, who are concerned about possible terrorists attacks, and from environmental groups, which say that the reactor is too old to be salvaged and that the money should go toward cleaning up fossil fuel plants instead. "It's like trying to dust off an eight-track tape player rather than buying a DVD system -- they're not getting good value for their money," said David Lochbaum, a nuclear-safety engineer with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

straight to the source: New York Times, David Firestone, 17 May 2002 <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/17/national/17NUKE.html>

only in Grist: Safety dance -- how secure are U.S. nuclear power plants? -- a two-part series by Shelley Smithson in our Main Dish Section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/smithson032602.asp?source=daily>

do good: Take action to stop the use of nuclear power in the U.S. <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/climate.asp?source=daily#nuclear>

YUCK A-MOUNTING

In more nuclear news, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham acknowledged yesterday that a proposed nuclear waste depository in Yucca Mountain, Nev., could only handle a portion of the waste that will be generated by commercial power plants and the government in the coming decade. The acknowledgement undercut President Bush's pro-Yucca argument that radioactive waste should be consolidated into one single, more secure location. As currently planned, Yucca Mountain has a maximum capacity of 77,000 tons -- but by the time the dump opens, there will be an estimated 65,000 tons of waste already piled up around the country, and reactors will continue to produce an additional 2,000 tons of waste annually. Abraham suggested that Yucca Mountain's maximum capacity could be expanded, a move that would have unknown implications for the approval process. The Senate must vote by July 26 on whether to proceed with the depository over the objections of the state of Nevada; the House already sided with the Bush administration.

straight to the source: Las Vegas Review-Journal, Steve Tetreault, 17 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=114>

straight to the source: Las Vegas Sun, Associated Press, 16 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=115>

only in Grist: Yucky Mountain -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha030402.asp?source=daily>

5/19/02
10:00:25 PM

Subject: Bush Lying on 9/11

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=26700

How gullible do the Bush people think we are? Here's Condolleza Rice claiming they had no idea there was any plan to use a jumbo jet to slam into a skyscraper:

"Had this president known that a plane was going to be used as a missile, he would have acted on it," said National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice."

Yet, part of the original 1970's design specs for the WTC was that it was built to withstand just such an attack. The WTC was also the U.S. building most expected to be attacked by Islamic terrorists.

They were expecting hijackings, yet when hijacking occured as expected they did nothing to stop them, acted as if they thought the first crash was an "accident" and they did nothing to prevent them. Let's not forget Bush had an entire plan in place pre-9/11 for an Afghanistan invasion, followed by an oil pipeline.

What's their main defense? That Democrats are being, "political". What a shocking accusuation, politicians being political. Bush would never do anything like that, would he, like selling photos of himself from 9/11?

Why is Cheney "warning" against an investigation if there's nothing to hide? Because it will reveal that the Bush and bin Laden families are close business partners and that the FBI and CIA were told not to go after bin Laden - their CIA operative or the Saudis terror-financiers and other criminal business partners of the various members of the Bush administration - like Dick Cheney himself.

And the counter-attack, that Clinton failed to go after bin Laden? Both Clinton and Bush are pawns of the Rockefellers. bin Laden was an operative of the Rockefeller-CIA. That's why he's still out there today after the world's largest manhunt.

See http://baltech.org/lederman/ for the real Bush story

xoxox

NY Post 5/18/2002 - TOP AIDES RALLY ROUND THE PREZ

By BRIAN BLOMQUIST

THE DAY HE WAS WARNED: President Bush meets members of his national security staff last Aug. 6 at his Texas ranch - the date he received a 11/2-page report on Osama bin Laden. The report mentioned the possibility of a plane hijacking, aides say. UPI

May 17, 2002 -- WASHINGTON - Top White House aides yesterday aggressively defended President Bush over the 9/11 uproar, downplaying the intelligence warning he received that Osama bin Laden's terror team might hijack commercial jets.

Trying to tamp down the growing furor over what the White House knew and when it knew it, the aides insisted the Aug. 6 warning wasn't specific enough to prevent the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

But the president's advisers did reveal the information was serious enough to alert the airlines through the Transportation Department and the Federal Aviation Administration.

"Had this president known that a plane was going to be used as a missile, he would have acted on it," said National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Adding more fuel to the fire, NBC reported last night that two days before Sept. 11, Bush was given a "detailed war plan" to dismantle bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

NBC reported that Bush was given a national security directive to sign for a plan that was "pretty much" the same as the one the United States followed after the attacks.

The plan included asking other countries to cooperate and share intelligence, disruption of al Qaeda cells using covert actions, the freezing of al Qaeda bank accounts and stopping its money-laundering operations.

The directive was on Bush's desk on Sept. 9, but he did not have a chance to sign it before the deadly attacks, the report said.

Questions about the Aug. 6 warning dominated a briefing by White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, and Rice held a second briefing to try to shed more light on what Bush knew.

"Information about hijackings in the pre-9/11 world is totally different from information about hijackings in the post-9/11 world . . . It might as well be a different word and a different language," Fleischer said.

"There appears to be a whole lot less 'there there' than I think people first thought," he added.

Bush reportedly told a group of Republican congressional leaders that he would have acted "forcefully" if he'd known about the attacks.

"He reminded us this is the political season," said Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.).

Bush made two public appearances yesterday, but never referred to the Aug. 6 warning.

The president received the warning from CIA advisers while on vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, aides said. It came in a 11/2-page "analytic report" on bin Laden that Bush specifically requested.

The FAA alert went out to the airlines July 31, a week earlier, based on an intelligence report that domestic flights could be a terror target.

It said that although nothing specific was known, "some of the current active groups are known to plan and train for hijacking" and that airlines should be on a "high degree of alertness."

xoxox

NY Post - CHENEY: DEMS' 9/11 CRITICISM IS 'IRRESPONSIBLE'

By FRANKIE EDOZIEN and VINCENT MORRIS

May 17, 2002 -- Vice President Dick Cheney last night lashed out at congressional leaders who've unleashed a barrage of criticism toward the White House for concealing terrorist threats last summer.

Cheney said Democrats in Washington "need to be very cautious not to seek political advantage by making incendiary suggestions . . . that the White House had advance information that would have prevented the tragic attacks of 9/11."

The vice president appeared in Midtown to support Gov. Pataki at the 40th anniversary celebration of the state Conservative Party.

Earlier, in Washington, leaders in both political parties called for a blue-ribbon panel to investigate what the White House and President Bush knew and when they knew it.

"Was there a failure of intelligence? Did the right officials not act on the intelligence in the proper way? These are the things we need to find out," said House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.).

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said the White House should reveal the contents of Bush's Aug. 6 briefing about Osama bin Laden and make public copies of an FBI memo last year warning about suspicious interest among Arabs in Arizona flight schools.

Sens. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), leaders of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, said they're concerned that spy agencies had warnings of terror plots - but did nothing.

"There was a lot of information," Shelby said. "I believe and others believe if it had been acted on properly, we may have had a different situation on Sept. 11."

In New York, Cheney labeled some of the criticism as "thoroughly irresponsible and totally unworthy of national leaders in time of war."

He said any investigation must be conducted in a responsible fashion, devoid of leaks or outrageous commentary and conducted by knowledgeable members, "not those who would seek short-term political advantage."

"I believe, for the most part, members of the intelligence committees of both houses have conducted themselves in the proper fashion. That's not necessarily true of every member of Congress," Cheney added.

He warned that any congressional investigation must not interfere with efforts to prevent another terror attack.

"Without a doubt, a very real threat of another perhaps more devastating attack still exists. The people and agencies responsible for helping us learn about and impede such an attack are the very ones most likely to be distracted from their critical duties," Cheney said.

In brief remarks, Pataki effusively praised the leadership of Cheney and President Bush in the anti-terror war.

THE LIE WON'T STAND

http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html

911 - HERE IS NEW STRONGEST-POSSIBLE EVIDENCE http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=26698

US PLANES TO INVADE AFGHANISTAN MONTHS BEFORE WTC ATTACK!

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=26699

Now let's change the world! - Mike Ruppert

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=26651

Prior Knowledge, Whitewash and the Cover-up Bush Whitewashes the Extent of His Prior Knowledge as The Truth Comes Out in the Mainstream Media -- Bush Says He Had Heard There Were Going to Be Hijackings, but That Intelligence Had Never Told Him They Were Planning To Fly the Jets into Buildings. Read After the Mainstream Postings about Bush's Prior Knowledge in August for Articles Showing the Govt. Was Fully Aware of the Threat Hijackings and Suicide Jet Attacks into Buildings in 1995.

http://www.infowars.com/

APFN - 9-11 - INFO AND LINKS:

http://www.apfn.org/apfn/WTC.HTM

`In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.'

http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html

5/19/02
9:49:11 PM

TomPaine.com

http://www.TomPaine.com

Independent, Commercial-free -- rare commodities in the Media Age.

BUSH'S SELECTIVE DISTASTE FOR DICTATORS

A Welcome For Our New Friend From Malaysia

by Laocoön

"Demand freedom in Malaysia and you're likely to wind up in prison and, no, George W. Bush won't be standing with you. He's standing instead with Dr. Mahathir, a repressive bigot who is another of our new best friends in the War on Terrorism."

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5667

The Loyal Opposition:

CARTER GOT IT RIGHT

The U.S. Embargo And Castro's Rule Are Both Bad For Cuba

by David Corn

As progressives have mounted a principled opposition to U.S.-Cuban policy, they have not, in general, been as vocal in advocating democracy and freedom for Cuba.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5670

COULD COLOMBIA BECOME THE NEW VIETNAM?

U.S. To Pad Accounts Of Colombia's Unaccountable Military

by David Rabin

Congress seems set to pour millions of dollars more into Colombia's military. Yet critics say the Colombians have failed to stop, or even slow down, grotesque human rights violations in that country's drug-fueled civil war.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5666

ADULTHOOD WITHOUT SEX

Abstinence-Only Message Is Old-Fashioned And Dishonest

by Philip D. Harvey

In today's United States, a policy of abstinence until marriage is anachronistic. Abstinence until adulthood and then responsible, protected sex is the message we should convey.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5640

And from our CHECK IT OUT! department:

STOP WRITING? OR STOP CRITICIZING?

The Internet has made hate mail all too easy, and those who criticize Israel or American policy in the Middle East are getting more than their share, writes journalist Robert Fisk in the London-based Independent. Fisk, who has the distinction of having received a death threat from actor John Malkovich, writes:

"It used to be just a trickle, a steady drip-drip of hate mail which arrived once a week, castigating me for reporting on the killing of innocent Lebanese under Israeli air raids or for suggesting that Arabs as well as Israelis wanted peace in the Middle East. It began to change in the late 1990s.... As journalists, our lives are now forfeit to the Internet haters. If we want a quiet life, we will just have to toe the line, stop criticizing Israel or America. Or just stop writing altogether."

And don't miss other short takes in TomPaine.com's CHECK IT OUT! department:

http://www.tompaine.com/check_it_out/

5/19/02
9:42:55 PM

Knowing Much, Bush Did Little To Protect America

by James Ridgeway

hen people first raised questions about President Bush's scared-chicken behavior on September 11, they were buried in patriotic abuse. But think about it. Consider the bare facts: The attacks happened on George Bush's watch. He was in charge. And he now admits to having known in general what was going to happen. Terrorists were slipping into the country. They were studying at American flight schools. They intended to hijack planes. They were financed by Osama bin Laden.

Knowing all of this, Bush still left us totally undefended. And for this performance, his approval ratings soared.

If the president got an intelligence warning during the summer about what might soon happen, how come he didn't do something then? He could have:

1. Told Congress.

2. Improved airport security, which had already been criticized as inadequate.

3. Alerted the airlines. As it was, the airlines never raised any questions when the hijackers started laying down thousands in cash for one-way tickets.

4. Warned the FAA. The FAA control center in New Hampshire knew 10 to 15 minutes after takeoff that an American Airlines flight from Boston had been hijacked. It was more than half an hour later when it crashed into the World Trade Center.

5. Ordered improved security for the nation's nuclear power plants, the untended thousands of miles of natural gas pipelines, the harbors into which a terrorist could sail a liquid natural gas tanker and unleash a holocaust equal to a nuclear explosion.

If Bush knew so much, how come he did so little on September 11? Instead of letting his handlers move him from place to place in an utter fog, he could have returned to Washington immediately and, as commander in chief, taken charge. He could have alerted the military, which ought to have had planes in the air moments after the FAA control learned of the takeover.

Bush was much more careful when it came to defending his political power. He and his managers managed to spin his response to the attacks so well that approval ratings soared to all-time highs. Clutching his halo, the president then began pushing for various rollbacks of freedom and constitutional process. They were old ideas for him, but he wrapped them in patriotic banners and sold them to the nation. Consider what he accomplished:

1. He set in motion the installation of a secret Congress.

2. His administration marched far forward with its program for restricting civil rights and tightening immigration rules.

3. He started a shooting war in Afghanistan against a group of people—the Taliban—with whom the administration was quietly negotiating last summer. He advanced immeasurably the interests of those who want to go to war against Iraq. That's not to mention those of the Israeli war hawks who assert they are part of the campaign against terror and that their invasion of Palestinian cities and towns is thus justified.

Bush protected himself and his friends. What he left uncovered was the rest of us.

Source: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0221/ridgeway3.php

5/19/02
9:33:45 PM

"While everything around me is ever changing, ever dying, there is underlying that change a living power that is changeless, that holds all together, that creates, dissolves and recreates.... For I can see in the midst of death, life persists, in the midst of untruth, truth persists, in the midst of darkness light persists."

Mahatma Gandhi

5/19/02
9:32:45 PM

UTNE WEB WATCH

The Best of the Alternative Web

COLOMBIAN TRIBE TOPPLES MIGHTY OIL GIANT

by Gabrielle Banks, AlterNet

-- Occidental Petroleum may have underestimated the power of the U'wa people of Siriri to keep the multinational off their land.

UK DESK: LORD MORGAN APOLOGIZES

by "Lord Morgan of Blighty Hall," Bully Magazine

-- What's with all this media drivel (like Ann Robinson of "The Weakest Link" infamy,) suddenly coming to America from the UK, you ask? Lord Morgan offers his sincere apologies on behalf of his country, but cannot take responsibility.

GARDENING AS AN ACT OF POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE

by Ed Fallon, The Populist

-- Rebellion against the status quo can be as simple as planting a garden.

Links to the above articles: http://www.utne.com/webwatch

5/19/02
9:31:19 PM

AlterNet Headlines

http://www.alternet.org

PART IV: DELAY'S UNREGULATED PACIFIC "PARADISE"

Stephen Pizzo, AlterNet

No rules, no regulators, no inspectors, no health and safety laws. What more could a sweatshop operator ask for? Welcome to the Mariana Islands, a U.S. protectorate and Tom DeLay's very own pet project.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13140

-- Read Part III: DeLay's Godfather

-- Read Part II: DeLay's Judge Dread

-- Read Part I: Tom DeLay's Axis of Influence

LUST IN OUR HEARTS

Lakshmi Chaudhry, AlterNet

We offer a mind-boggling range of excuses to justify female infidelity, but we rarely consider the obvious -- it may just be about sex.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13150

BRANDING CUBA: LA VIDA NIKE

Michael I. Niman, AlterNet

Compared to the advertising-saturated, developed capitalist world, Cuba is a blank canvas. And the corporate invasion is just beginning.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13135

FRANKENCORN THREATENS MEXICO'S ANCIENT MAIZE

Ronnie Cummins, BioDemocracy News

Agronomists and environmentalists fear that Mexican farmers have now, perhaps unknowingly, spread genetically engineered corn into most of the corn-growing regions of Mexico.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13147

MAY THE COSTUME BE WITH YOU

Jessica Lyons, AlterNet

Becoming Boba Fett or an evil Sith Lord has never been easier, thanks to a burgeoning online costuming community committed to outfitting hard-core Star Wars fans.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13131

DROP THE ROCK

Daniel Forbes, AlterNet

New York State is home to the nation's most repressive drug laws. Attempts at reform drag on while 19,000 people remain locked up -- 90 percent of them for minor possession offenses.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13097

ISRAELI REPRESSION AND THE LANGUAGE OF LIARS

Tim Wise, AlterNet

If what we see in Israel is democracy, then what does fascism look like? In a world such as this, where words have lost all meaning, we might as well just burn all the dictionaries.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13087

MAKING THE WORLD SAFE FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS

William D. Hartung, World Policy Institute

The Bush-Putin pact preserves the United States' nuclear arsenal and opens the door to a new kind of arms race.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13141

JAMMING CITIGROUP'S PR MESSAGE

Jennifer Bauduy, TomPaine.com

Ilyse Hogue of Rainforest Action Network explains the boycott against Citigroup bank, which lends to the fuel industry, invests in oil and logging and contributes to global warming.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13139

ARE WE DATING YET?

Lori Writer, Moxie

For a nice girl like me, sex isn't part of the try-before-you-buy phase. If you're sleeping together, you've bought it.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13106

FUN REPUBLICAN FUNDRAISING GIFTS!

David Turnley, AlterNet

With your kind donation to a Republican congressional campaign committee, you may enjoy one of many gifts, from Ari Fleischer's updated resume to a chance to clean Charlton Hestons dentures.Give now!

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13142

HUFFINGTON: Tax Avoidance And A Tan

Arianna Huffington, AlterNet

U.S. companies are slashing their tax bills by tens, and sometimes hundreds, of millions of dollars by reincorporating themselves offshore.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13153

TECHSPLOITATION: Digital Murder

Annalee Newitz, AlterNet

It seems as if most laws intended to protect people from violence are just one more way that violence gets perpetrated.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13138

5/19/02
9:30:47 PM

INTERVIEW - Italy green power output set to climb - Enel - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16002/story.htm

FEATURE - Honduran town fights to save leatherback turtles - HONDURAS http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15998/story.htm

Danish parliament ratifies Kyoto protocol - DENMARK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15994/story.htm

Weird weather lashes Ottawa tulip festival - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15995/story.htm

5/19/02
9:27:39 PM

Planet Ark World Environment News

US House panel to investigate FirstEnergy nuke plant - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15999/story.htm

US energy secretary sees Senate OK of Yucca site - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15991/story.htm

US House bill would toughen hard-rock mining rules - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16004/story.htm

US sees 9.3 bln barrels oil in Alaska Reserve - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15996/story.htm

US House panel demands govt plan for deer/elk disease - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16007/story.htm

TVA plans to restart long-idled Alabama nuke - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16000/story.htm

Spend more on biologists to save species - UK report - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16006/story.htm

Scientists seek partner for tobacco dental vaccine - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16005/story.htm

FEATURE - Arctic communities turn to ecotourism - SWEDEN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15992/story.htm

Stolen truck of cyanide found abandoned in Mexico - MEXICO http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15990/story.htm

Lithuania says EU must fund n-plant closure - LITHUANIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16001/story.htm

Soccer-World-Japan boosts nuclear plant security - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16003/story.htm

Meat from endangered whales said on sale in Japan - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15997/story.htm

Japan giraffe gets artificial leg after accident - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15993/story.htm

5/19/02
9:21:04 PM

What Is A Terrorist?

by Jeff Cohen

ter·ror·ist (ter'er-ist) n.

1. One who engages in acts or an act of terrorism.

2. One who leads an armed group that kills civilians as a means of political intimidation --unless he terrorizes Haitians while on the CIA-payroll, as did 1990s death squad leader Emmanuel Constant, in which case the U.S. refuses to extradite him to Haiti, even after Sept. 11, 2001.

3. One who targets civilian airliners and ships -- unless he blows up a Cuban civilian airliner, killing 73 people, and fires at a Polish freighter, like Orlando Bosch, in which case he is coddled and paroled by the Bush Justice Department in 1990, and his extradition is blocked.

4. One who leads a group that engages in kidnapping and murder -- unless the victims are Hondurans attacked by CIA-backed death squad Battalion 316, in which case Battalion architect Gustavo Alvarez becomes a Pentagon consultant, while the then-ambassador to Honduras who downplayed the terror, John Negroponte, is appointed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations days after Sept. 11.

5. One who uses rape and murder for political purposes -- unless the victims are four U.S. church women sexually assaulted and killed in 1980 by members of El Salvador’s U.S.-backed military, in which case excuses and distortions pour forth from then-U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick (“these nuns were not just nuns; they were also political activists”) and Secretary of State Al Haig (the nuns “may have tried to run a roadblock”).

6. One who designates civilians as “soft targets” to be attacked in the cause of political transformation -- unless the targets are Nicaraguans killed by Contra guerrillas armed and directed by the U.S who, according to Human Rights Watch, “systematically engage in violent abuses…so prevalent that these may be said to be their principal means of waging war.”

7. One who facilitates a massacre of civilians -- unless the victims are 900 Palestinians shot and hacked to death in the Sabra and Shatila camps by Lebanese Christian militia as Israeli soldiers stood guard, in which case Israel’s then-Defense Minster (now Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon remains a U.S. “War on Terrorism” ally after being censured as indirectly responsible for the massacre by an Israeli commission of inquiry.

Jeff Cohen is a media critic and author.

Source: http://www.FAIR.org

5/19/02
9:16:04 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE

http://ens-news.com

WHALING OPPONENTS CONVERGE ON JAPAN

TOKYO, Japan, May 16, 2002 (ENS) - The International Fund for Animal Welfare brought its objections to continued Japanese whaling into the center of Tokyo today in advance of the annual International Whaling Commission meeting next week in the whaling town of Shimonoseki, Japan.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-16-02.html

U.S. & CANADA: TOO MANY PEOPLE FOR WEST COAST HEALTH

OLYMPIA, Washington, May 16, 2002 (ENS) - The Puget Sound and Georgia Basin area on both sides of the U.S./Canadian border has too many people for its environmental good, according to the first environmental trends report for the region.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-16-03.html

EPA TOUTS POLLUTION TRADING AS CLEAN WATER FIX

WASHINGTON, DC, May 16, 2002 (ENS) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a water quality trading plan aimed at increasing the "pace and success" of efforts to clean up polluted rivers, streams and lakes. While the program would be similar to existing trading schemes for air pollution, some conservation groups are concerned that there is no proof that water credit trading will improve water quality.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-16-06.html

THIN POLAR BEARS CALLED SIGN OF GLOBAL WARMING

WASHINGTON, DC, May 16, 2002 (ENS) - Hungry polar bears are one of the early signs that global warming is impacting Arctic habitat, suggests a new study from World Wildlife Fund. The report reviews the threats faced by the world's 22,000 polar bears and highlights growing evidence that human induced climate change is the number one long term threat to the survival of the world's largest land based carnivores.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-16-07.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: MAY 16, 2002

New Whistleblower Law Holds Agencies Accountable

Enviro Group Report Rebuts Federal Fire Policies

Carbon Sinks Cannot Keep Up With Emissions

Agreement Accelerates Oak Ridge Cleanup

Rio Grande Flows Spiked to Boost Minnow Spawning

Petroleum Company Fined for Washington Spill

$5.5 Million Available for Coral Conservation

Critical Habitat Proposed for Hawaiian Plants

Indiana Animal Controls Called Inhumane

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-16-09.html

5/19/02
9:13:37 PM

t r u t h o u t | special edition

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney | Terrorist Warnings

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.17AA.Mckinney.Bush.NU.htm

Senate Leader Daschle | Briefing; Call For Action

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.17AA.Daschle.Bush.NU.htm

5/16/02
6:14:28 PM

MIT Invents Videos Of People Saying Things They Never Said

By Gareth Cook, Boston Globe Staff, May 15, 2002

CAMBRIDGE - Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created the first realistic videos of people saying things they never said - a scientific leap that raises unsettling questions about falsifying the moving image.

In one demonstration, the researchers taped a woman speaking into a camera, and then reprocessed the footage into a new video that showed her speaking entirely new sentences, and even mouthing words to a song in Japanese, a language she does not speak. The results were enough to fool viewers consistently, the researchers report.

The technique's inventors say it could be used in video games and movie special effects, perhaps reanimating Marilyn Monroe or other dead film stars with new lines. It could also improve dubbed movies, a lucrative global industry.

But scientists warn the technology will also provide a powerful new tool for fraud and propaganda - and will eventually cast doubt on everything from video surveillance to presidential addresses.

''This is really groundbreaking work,'' said Demetri Terzopoulos, a leading specialist in facial animation who is a professor of computer science and mathematics at New York University. But ''we are on a collision course with ethics. If you can make people say things they didn't say, then potentially all hell breaks loose.''

The researchers have already begun testing the technology on video of Ted Koppel, anchor of ABC's ''Nightline,'' with the aim of dubbing a show in Spanish, according to Tony F. Ezzat, the graduate student who heads the MIT team. Yet as this and similar technology makes its way out of academic laboratories, even the scientists involved see ways it could be misused: to discredit political dissidents on television, to embarrass people with fabricated video posted on the Web, or to illegally use trusted figures to endorse products.

''There is a certain point at which you raise the level of distrust to where it is hard to communicate through the medium,'' said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. ''There are people who still believe the moon landing was staged.''

Currently, the MIT method is limited: It works only on video of a person facing a camera and not moving much, like a newscaster. The technique only generates new video, not new audio.

But it should not be difficult to extend the discovery to work on a moving head at any angle, according to Tomaso Poggio, a neuroscientist at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, who is on the MIT team and runs the lab where the work is being done. And while state-of-the-art audio simulations are not as convincing as the MIT software, that barrier is likely to fall soon, researchers say.

''It is only a matter of time before somebody can get enough good video of your face to have it do what they like,'' said Matthew Brand, a research scientist at MERL, a Cambridge-based laboratory for Mitsubishi Electric.

For years, animators have used computer technology to put words in people's mouths, as they do with the talking baby in CBS's ''Baby Bob'' - creating effects believable enough for entertainment, but still noticeably computer-generated. The MIT technology is the first that is ''video-realistic,'' the researchers say, meaning volunteers in a laboratory test could not distinguish between real and synthesized clips. And while current computer-animation techniques require an artist to smooth out trouble spots by hand, the MIT method is almost entirely automated.

Previous work has focused on creating a virtual model of a person's mouth, then using a computer to render digital images of it as it moves. But the new software relies on an ingenious application of artificial intelligence to teach a machine what a person looks like when talking.

Starting with between two and four minutes of video - the minimum needed for the effect to work - the computer captures images which represent the full range of motion of the mouth and surrounding areas, Ezzat said.

The computer is able to express any face as a combination of these faces (46 in one example), the same way that any color can be represented by a combination of red, green, and blue. The computer then goes through the video, learning how a person expresses every sound, and how it moves from one to the next.

Given a new sound, the computer can then generate an accurate picture of the mouth area and virtually superimpose it on the person's face, according to a paper describing the work. The researchers are scheduled to present the paper in July at Siggraph, the world's top computer graphics conference.

The effect is significantly more convincing than a previous effort, called Video Rewrite, which recorded a huge number of small snippets of video and then recombined them. Still, the new method only seems lifelike for a sentence or two at a time, because over longer stretches, the speaker seems to lack emotion.

MIT's Ezzat said that he would like to develop a more complex model that would teach the computer to simulate basic emotions.

A specialist can still detect the video forgeries, but as the technology improves, scientists predict that video authentication will become a growing field - in the courts and elsewhere - just like the authentication of photographs. As video, too, becomes malleable, a society increasingly reliant on live satellite feeds and fiber optics will have to find even more direct ways to communicate.

''We will probably have to revert to a method common in the Middle Ages, which is eyewitness testimony,'' said the University of Pennsylvania's Jamieson. ''And there is probably something healthy in that.''

Compare original and synthetic videos from MIT on www.boston.com/globe.

Gareth Cook can be reached at cook@globe.com. This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 5/15/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.

http://www.Boston.com

5/16/02
6:04:37 PM

Stolen Skies: The Chemtrail Mystery Jet Trails in the Sky Used to Disappear. Now they Linger.

by William Thomas

It was around noon on March 12, 2000 when S.T. Brendt, the late night reporter for WMWV Radio, entered the kitchen of her country home in Parsonsfield, Maine. Her partner, Lou Aubuchont, was puzzling over what he had seen in the sky a half-hour before. The fat puffy plumes arching up over the horizon were unlike any aircraft condensation trails ("contrails") he had ever seen.

Instead of dissipating like normal contrails, these intersecting sky trails grew wider and began to merge. Looking towards the sun, Aubuchont saw what appeared like "an oil and water mixture" reflecting a prismatic band of colors.

Ordinarily, contrails flare briefly in the stratosphere as hot moist engine exhaust flash-freezes into a stream of ice-crystals. These pencil-thin condensation trails are short-lived, evaporating into invisibility as exhaust gases cool quickly to the surrounding air temperature.

As National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) meteorologist Thomas Schlatter explains, the formation of condensation trails requires temperatures lower than about minus 76 F and humidity of 70 percent or more. Because the Federal Aviation Authority requires military tankers and transporters to cross continental airspace at altitudes below 30,000 feet, ensuring safe separation from airliners flying between 35,000 and 39,000 feet, these military flights should leave no contrails at all.

But in late 1997, Aubuchont began to notice thicker trails extending from horizon to horizon. Hanging in the sky, these expanding white ribbons would invariably be interwoven by more thick lines left by unmarked Air Force jets, white or silver in color.

As Brendt glanced out the window, it looked like another gorgeous, cloudless day. But not quite. She spotted two jets laying billowing white banners to the north. Turning her gaze due west, Brendt saw two more lines extending over the horizon. She called Lou. Within 45 minutes, the couple counted 30 jets. "This isn't right," Brendt thought. "We just don't have that kind of air traffic here." While Aubuchont kept counting, Brendt started calling airports.

Alerted by a call from Brendt, Richard Dean, WMWV's assistant news director and the WMWV news staff filed outside and counted 370 lines of persistent contrails in skies usually devoid of aerial activity.

Brendt phoned a number of Air Traffic Controllers. They all stated that nothing unusual was going on. After several calls, Brendt reached one ATC manager who offered a different story. He told Brendt that his radars showed nine commercial jets during the same 45-minute span. From her location, he said, she should have been able to see only one plane.

"What about the other 29?" Brendt inquired. The ATC official confided off-the-record that he had been ordered "by higher civil authority" to re-route inbound European airliners away from an airborne "military exercise" in the area. "They wouldn't give me any of the particulars and I don't ask," he explained. The controller (who insisted on being identified only as "Deep Sky,") subsequently repeated his statements on tape before witnesses at the WMWV studio.

'It's a Military Exercise' On December 8, 2000, Terry Stewart, the Manager for Planning and Environment at the Victoria International Airport, responded to a caller's complaint about the strange patterns of circles and grids being woven over the British Columbia capitol. Stewart left a message on an answering machine tape - a message that later was heard by more than 15 million radio listeners. Stewart explained: "It's a military exercise, [a] US and Canadian Air Force exercise that's going on. They wouldn't give me any specifics on it."

Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Comox on Vancouver Island is Canada's biggest radar installation. CFB Comox is easily capable of tracking the US formations coming up from the south. When asked for a response to Stewart's statement, the base information officer at CFB Comox replied tersely that: "No military operation is taking place." Stewart later told the Vancouver Courier that his information had come directly from Comox.

By the summer of 2001, pictures of contrails were being circulated by the Associated Press and the word "chemtrails" could be overheard in coffee shop conversations across the continent

'It's a Hoax' In an April 20, 2001, letter to a US senator, Col. Walter Washbaugh, chief of the Congressional Inquiry Division for the Secretary of the Air Force in Washington, DC, called chemtrails "a hoax." Washbaugh blamed the increased number of contrails on "significant civil aviation growth in the past decade."

He is right on that score. A National Science Foundation study has found that in certain heavily trafficked corridors, artificial cloud cover has increased by as much as 20 percent.

Colonel Washbaugh ascribed widely reported grid patterns to overlapping aircraft flying north-south, east-west airways. The only thing wrong with this explanation, a Texas air traffic controller told me, is that US airways do not run north-south.

The colonel told the senator: "The Air Force is not conducting any weather modification and has no plans to do so in the future." In fact, the Pentagon has long been interested in using weather as a weapon of war. Attempts to steer hurricanes by spraying heat-robbing chemicals in their paths date from the 1950s. The recipe for creating "cirrus shields" was outlined in a 1996 US Air Force study subtitled "Owning the Weather by 2025." The report explained how "weather force specialists" were dispersing chemicals behind high-flying tanker aircraft in a process called "aerial obscuration."

Official denials reached new altitudes of absurdity when another colonel claimed: "The US Air Force (USAF) does not conduct spraying operations over populated areas." Apparently the colonel had forgotten how USAF air tankers dispensed thousands of tons of "Agent Orange" defoliants over the land and people of Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the Internet was abuzz with chemtrail conspiracy theories ranging from aliens leaving messages in the sky to government agencies dumping mind-control chemicals on an unsuspecting populace. The only problem was none of the theories were plausible.

The Welsbach Patent In 1994, the Hughes aerospace company was issued a remarkable patent. The Welsbach patent "for Reduction of Global Warming" proposed countering global warming by dispensing microscopic particles of aluminum oxide and other reflective materials into the upper atmosphere. This "sky shield" would reflect one or two percent of incoming sunlight. The patent suggested that tiny metal flakes could be "added to the fuel of jet airliners, so that the particles would be emitted from the jet engine exhaust while the airliner was at its cruising altitude."

Computer simulations by Ken Caldeira at California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) calculated that employing Welsbach's chemical-sunscreen technology could stop warming over 85 percent of the planet, despite an anticipated doubling of atmospheric carbon within the next 50 years. LLNL estimated the cost of creating thisso-called Sky Shield at $1 billion dollars a year - a cheap fix to avoid threatening the massive profits of the oil industry.

At the 1998 International Seminar on Planetary Emergencies, Edward Teller, the "Father of the H-bomb," presented his Next Big Idea. Teller called for spreading reflective chemicals over the Earth to act like a mirror-shade. If it was impossible to protect the entire planet, these chemical sky shields could, at least, be extended to cover allies who secretly agreed to allow this unprecedented geo-engineering experiment to be carried out over their territory.

In the July-August 1998 Science and Technology Review, Teller argued that the Sky Shield offered a more "realistic" option for addressing global warming than drastic cutbacks in CO2 emissions.

When asked if the technology was being pursued, Teller replied: "To my knowledge the answer is negative.... My recommendation was a tentative one depending on further evidence whether expecting global warming is realistic."

In fact, the technology already exists. In 1975, the US Navy patented a device for producing "a powder contrail having maximum radiation-scattering ability." The powder contained a mixture of 0.3 micron-sized titanium dioxide pigment particles coated with 0.007 micron hydrophobic colloidal silica and 4.5 micron particles of silica gel. The purpose of the apparatus was "to generate contrails or reflective screens for any desired purpose."

The Welsbach Patent proposed using "very fine, talcum-like" powder of 10 to 100 micron-sized aluminum oxide to produce a "pure white plume" in the sky.

In a May 2000 draft report submitted to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an expert panel chosen from among 3,000 atmospheric scientists, concluded that Teller's scheme might work. But the IPCC warned against unpredictable upsets of the atmosphere. The panel also warned against angry populaces reacting to "the associated whitening of the visual appearance of the sky."

Caldeira was so concerned that he went public. Deflecting sunlight would further cool the stratosphere, he warned, and this could intensify icy clouds of ozone-gobbling CFCs that could destroy the ozone layer - the Earth's already damaged solar radiation shield.

Was Teller's Sky Shield experiment already underway? During his interview with WMWV reporters, Deep Sky hinted that it was. Were the tankers observed on ATC radars involved in climate modification? Our FAA source hesitated before responding: "That approximates what I was told." Similar military activities were ongoing in other regions, he stated.

Chemtrails and Health Problems The Internet buzzes with conspiracy theories about chemtrails being used as part of a secret government biological experiment. But after more than three years of intense investigation, I have found no proof that chemtrails constitute a deliberate biological attack. (To be effective, bio-attacks must conducted close to the ground and never in daylight, in order to avoid ultraviolet sterilization of toxins.)

In the spring of 1998, rain falling through heavy chemtrails over Espanola, Ontario was found to contain concentrations of aluminum particles seven times higher than permitted by Canadian health safety laws. Provincial health officials ordered tests after residents began complaining about severe headaches, chronic joint pain, dizziness, sudden extreme fatigue, acute asthma attacks and feverless "flu-like" symptoms. The results of the test were not released.

The reports of illness all came from residents inside a 50-square-mile area who complained that they had been subjected to "months of spraying" by photo-identified US Air Force tanker planes. The USAF denied the intrusions.

On November 18, 1998, Canadian Opposition Party Defense Critic Gordon Earle petitioned Parliament on behalf of the people of Espanola. Speaking on behalf of Canada's New Democratic Party, Earle stated:

"Over 500 residents of the Espanola area have signed a petition raising concern over possible government involvement in what appears to be aircraft emitting visible aerosols. They have found high traces of aluminum and quartz in particulate and rainwater samples. These concerns combined with associated respiratory ailments have led these Canadians to take action and seek clear answers from this government. The petitioners call upon Parliament to repeal any law that would permit the dispersal of military chaff or of any cloud-seeding substance whatsoever by domestic or foreign military aircraft without the informed consent of the citizens of Canada thus affected."

A Harvard School of Public Health team determined that particulates with a diameter less than 10 microns (one-tenth the thickness of a human hair) pose a serious threat to public health. On April 21, 2001, the New York Times warned: "These microscopic motes are able to infiltrate the tiniest compartments in the lungs and pass readily into the bloodstream, and have been most strongly tied to illness and early death, particularly in people who are already susceptible to respiratory problems."

On December 14, 2000, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that inhaling particulate matter of a size 10 microns or smaller leads to "a 5 percent increased death rate within 24 hours." Teller's sunscreen calls for spraying 10 million tons of talcum-fine reflective particulates of 10 to 100 micron sizes.

Congress Addresses Chemtrails On October 2, 2001, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced the "Space Preservation Act of 2001" (HR 2977), which called for the elimination of "exotic weaponry" from space. Among the weapons to be banned were weather-modifying weapons such as HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) and chemtrails. Though HR 3616 was later amended to remove the section that would have banned chemtrails, the original bill acknowledging the existence of chemtrail technology remains on the pages of the Congressional Record.

With "chemtrails" now officially admitted by the US government, an even bigger trial is set to begin in the court of public opinion.

An earlier version of this report appeared in the October-November 2001 issue of Nexus Magazine [PO Box 30, Mapleton Qld 4560 Australia. www.nexusmagazine.com].

Edited reprint. Not available for distribution.

Chemtrails Go Global Sightings of oddly lingering plumes sometimes resembling rocket trails are not confined to North American skies.

While on leave in Italy in the summer of 1999, the US Navy's Kitty Chastain sat on her hotel balcony and watched aerial grids being laid all day just offshore over the Bay of Naples.

In Spain, on April 27, 2000, American tourist John Hendricks dashed off a quick email from El Café de Internet: "Were we surprised to see that the chemtrails are as bad here as they are anywhere, both in Mallorca and in Barcelona."

"Add Sweden to the list," a Swedish resident wrote after spotting eight to 10 parallel contrails. "I know the commercial routes, and we have a bunch of them, but not where these trails were."

Chemtrail activity has been reported in at least 14 allied nations including Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden and the United States.

Chemtrail photos from France, Australia, Scotland and Germany may be viewed on the author's website [www3.bc.sympatico.ca/Willthomas].

Another Scary Scenario According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Co., the only way to form artificial clouds in warm dry air is to introduce enough particulates into the atmosphere to attract and accrete all available moisture into visible vapor. If repeated often enough, the resulting rainless haze can lead to drought.

Patrick Minnis, an atmospheric researcher with California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES) and ardent chemtrails critic at NASA's Langley Research Center, reports that cirrus cloud cover over the US is up 5 percent overall because particulates in engine exhaust are acting as cloud-forming nuclei. As the number of flights currently exceeds 15 million annually worldwide, artificial clouds will intensify as air travel continues to climb.

Perhaps the appearance of chemtrails is a "sign from on high" that our atmosphere has become dangerously burdened with pollutants.

http://earthisland.org/eijournal/new_articles.cfm?articleID=585&journalID=64

5/16/02
6:00:20 PM

Indonesian Reefs Excite Scientists

May 15, 2002

Sheltered reefs fringe the islands Coral researchers have revealed the location of what they think is the most valuable cluster of reefs in the world.

It is in a remote archipelago off Indonesia, close to the coast of Papua Province, in the Malacca Sea.

The scientists have just submitted a report which estimates that more than 1,100 species of fish inhabit the area, along with 600 species of mollusc and 450 different species of coral.

The diversity of sealife among the Raja Ampat islands is described by the study's lead researcher, Dr Gerald Allen, as staggering.

Diverse species

The Museum of Western Australia researcher identified a record 283 species of fish in a single dive.

And his colleague, who had just completed the authoritative three-volume work on corals of the world, immediately stumbled across seven new species at Raja Ampat.

"As far as the fishes go, it was absolutely mind-boggling," Dr Allen told the BBC.

"Our survey ran for roughly two-and-a-half weeks and over that period I recorded 972 species, which is just phenomenal."

The extraordinary diversity of life in the area stems from the archipelago's position at the crossroads of oceans. The waters mark a meeting point for species from the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and western Indonesia.

Under threat

BBC correspondent Roger Harrabin, who this week dived among the reefs, says the area is also flushed with cooler waters that help to protect the corals from bleaching when temperatures rise during El Niño events.

But the scientists warn that even these reefs are coming under threat from illegal fishing and illegal logging, which leads to soil erosion and silts that eventually choke the living coral.

The charity Conservation International, which sponsored the Raja Ampat expedition, wants the islands made a world heritage site.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1989000/1989916.stm

5/16/02
5:56:16 PM

25-acre Island To Be Returned To Passamaquoddy Tribe

http://www.Indianz.com May 14, 2002

Domtar gives island to Passamaquoddies Returned land includes tribal burial ground

BAILEYVILLE - A 25-acre island owned by the Passamaquoddy Tribe for thousands of years next week will be returned to its historical owner, Domtar Industries Inc. officials announced Monday.

Located in Big Lake near Princeton, Gordon's Island holds a special significance to the Passamaquoddy because it is the site of an ancient tribal burial ground.

Domtar acquired ownership of the island when it bought the Georgia-Pacific pulp and paper mill.

Next week, Domtar officials and members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe will hold a special ceremony to mark the beginning of a new relationship. The event will be at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 21, on the water's edge at Peter Dana Point at Indian Township.

Domtar spokeswoman Gaile Nicholson said the company will transfer the deed to the Passamaquoddy "in the spirit of this new relationship."

On hand to help celebrate the event will be: Raymond Royer, president and chief executive officer of Domtar in Montreal, Indian Township Tribal Gov. Richard Stevens and Pleasant Point Tribal Gov. Rick Doyle.

"It is very important," Stevens said.

"We've tried for years to get the island returned to the tribe, and Domtar offered. It is one of those historical moments in terms of the tribe acquiring the island and the generosity Domtar has shown in turning over the island."

Doyle was unavailable for comment Monday.

Also at the ceremony will be Donald Soctomah, tribal representative to the state Legislature, and Debby Feck, general manager of Domtar's Woodland pulp and paper mill.

Soctomah could not be reached for comment Monday night.

The tribe is the easternmost native group in the United States. The Passamaquoddy have inhabited the land of eastern Maine and western New Brunswick for 12,000 years. At one time there were 15,000 Indians living in Maine, but by the 1800s that number had dwindled to 150 people.

Today there are around 3,000 Passamaquoddy tribal members. The tribe owns and works 140,000 acres of forestland it owns, as well as 2,000 acres of blueberry fields. Tribal members also practice traditional basket making and woodcrafts.

Domtar, which acquired the island when it purchased the mill in Baileyville, is the third-largest producer of uncoated freesheet paper in North American and the fourth largest in the world. It also is a leading manufacturer of business papers, printing and publishing papers and specialty and technical papers.

The Canadian-based company manages close to 22 million acres of certified forestland in Canada and the United States, and produces lumber and other wood products.

http://www.Indianz.com

5/16/02
5:50:55 PM

DAILY GRIST

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

SMOKIN' REEFER

Move over, Great Barrier Reef: Coral researchers recently discovered what they think is the most valuable reef cluster in the world. Known collectively as Raja Ampat, the reefs are located in a remote archipelago off the coast of Indonesia. In the course of a two-and-a-half week expedition there, a survey team recorded 972 species -- 283 of them in a single dive. Gerald Allen, the team's lead researcher, described the species diversity as "mind-boggling"; a colleague who authored the definitive work on corals of the world immediately found seven new species at Raja Ampat. The reefs owe their spectacular diversity to their location at the intersection of different waters, bringing in species from the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. Moreover, the area is flushed with cooler waters that help protect against coral bleaching, an increasing threat to reefs worldwide. Still, scientists warn that even these remote reefs are threatened by illegal fishing and illegal logging, which causes soil erosion and silting that can choke living coral.

straight to the source: BBC News, 15 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=107>

do good: Take action to save the Great Barrier Reef <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/oceans.asp?source=daily#reef>

LISTEN TO A STORY 'BOUT A MAN NAMED JEB

In a move that divided the state's environmental community, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) signed a law yesterday that will provide millions of dollars of funding to restore the Everglades. On the up side, the law will create a bonding program worth $100 million per year -- money that will be matched by federal funds -- to finance land purchases, studies, and the removal of a decades-old U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control project set up to drain the Everglades. But the law also contains a controversial provision that some say will make it more difficult for citizens to block development by allowing only people who can prove they are personally affected by a project to challenge it. For that reason, thousands of environmentalists asked the governor to veto the bill. However, some prominent environmental groups -- the Nature Conservancy, the Everglades Foundation, and the World Wildlife Fund, among others -- supported it, partly in recognition of the desperate need for restoration funding.

straight to the source: St. Petersburg Times, Julie Hauserman and Craig Pittman, 16 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=108>

only in Grist: Why Republicans fund Everglades restoration -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha111000.stm?source=daily>

MOZAM-PIQUED

Mozambique has decided to proceed with a $520 million plan to build a harbor and industrial free-trade zone on its pristine southern coast, a decision that has outraged environmentalists. The plan seems likely to put an end to efforts to establish a transnational conservation area stretching from St. Lucia in South Africa through Swaziland and into the Maputo Elephant Reserve in Mozambique. It will also threaten coastal and sand forests, wetlands, grasslands, and one of Africa's most important reef systems, thought to be home to the ancient coelacanth. The harbor, which will be built on the elephant reserve's southern border, is also expected to attract as many as 250,000 people looking for work, a migration that could have drastic environmental consequences. A Mozambican government scientist who declined to be identified said, "This whole plan is crazy," adding that those in the government who opposed it were being sidelined.

straight to the source: South Africa Independent, Mercury, Tony Weaver, 15 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=109>

SLIM PICKINS, WHITMAN

In an apparent effort to diffuse criticism from environmentalists, the Bush administration is considering stepping up legal action against some polluting utility companies. U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman has ordered the agency's regional enforcement officials to look for companies that have violated the Clean Air Act by upgrading power plants without installing state-of-the-art pollution-control equipment, as required under New Source Review regulations. The Clinton administration sued nine companies for New Source Review violations, but no new suits have been filed in the 16 months that President Bush has been in office. On the contrary: Environmentalists and some within the EPA have suggested that the administration encouraged utilities currently involved in litigation to stall in the hopes of more lenient rules coming down the pipe. Perhaps to refute that charge, the EPA and the Justice Department sent letters last month to two such companies warning them to settle within 60 days or face court action. "What this all shows is that we are serious about cleaning up the air," said Joe Martyak, the EPA's chief spokesperson.

straight to the source: Washington Post, Eric Pianin, 16 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=110>

only in Grist: Read a top U.S. EPA official's resignation letter castigating the Bush administration -- in our Muckraker section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/muck/muck030102.asp?source=daily>

do good: Take action to preserve the Clean Air Act <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/air.asp?source=daily#grandfather>

SHAFT!

The cost of closing and cleaning up old and abandoned mines around the world likely runs into the trillions of dollars, an amount that is far beyond anything mining companies can handle on their own, according to Robert Wilson, chair of the metals giant Rio Tinto. Wilson, who made his comments during a mining industry conference being held this week in Toronto, put the estimated cost of cleanup in the U.S. alone at $35 billion. And that's just the tip of the iceberg: "If you look at where the real problems are, in Russia, Eastern Europe, South Africa, India, China, the extent of the legacy issues is enormous," Wilson said. Moreover, only about 5 percent of operating mines have clear plans for handling the environmental consequences of closure, according to James Kuipers of the U.S. Center for Science in Public Participation. Kuipers proposed a metals tax on consumers to help pay for cleanup, while many other conferences delegates urged governments to become more involved. But Monika Weber Fahr of the World Bank (the number one financer of mine closings) said, "It should be the polluter that should be paying."

straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, 16 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=111>

do good: Take action to stop Rio Tinto's uranium mine in Australia <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/mining.asp?source=daily#riotinto>

5/16/02
5:42:08 PM

t r u t h o u t | 05.17

William Rivers Pitt | The Terrorists Flew and Bush Knew

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.17A.WRP.Bush.NU.htm

Gephardt on Reports of Bush Knowledge of Al Queda Hijackings

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.17B.Gephardt.Bush.NU.htm

Lawmakers Push for Hearings on Warning Given to Bush

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.17C.Pols.911.Probe.htm

CBS News | Bush Knew Of Hijack Threat

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.17D.CBS.Bush.NU.htm

Anti-Semitic Riot at San Francisco State University

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.17E.SF.State.Riot.htm

Gunmen Kill 30, Including 10 Children, in Kashmir

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.17F.Kashmir.Massacre.htm

Arianna Huffington | Tax Avoidance And A Tan

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.17G.Arianna.Tan.htm

Rangel and Powell | Landmark Program to Prepare Minorities for Foreign Service Careers

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.17H.Rangel.Powell.htm

5/15/02
5:08:50 PM

DAILY GRIST

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

BLOWING HIS TOP

The Bush administration appealed a federal court decision yesterday that would limit mountaintop-removal mining and asked the judge to clarify that the ruling "should be read as not applying nationwide or to activities other than coal mining." On May 8, U.S. District Judge Charles H. Haden II of West Virginia ruled that coal mining valley fills, such as those produced by mountaintop removal, are not allowed under the federal Clean Water Act, and blocked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from issuing permits for new fills. In its appeal, the Department of Justice said the ruling "casts a tremendous cloud of uncertainty over all future coal mining in Appalachia" and would result in tens of thousands of layoffs in the region. It argued that Haden's injunction was overly broad, and that he should have stuck to analyzing Corps regulations (rather than the Clean Water Act) in coming to a decision. The coal industry is expected to file a similar appeal shortly.

straight to the source: Charleston Gazette, Ken Ward, Jr., 14 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=97>

do good: Take action to keep solid waste out of our waters <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/air.asp?source=daily#solidwaste>

ABBEY'S ROAD

Edward Abbey -- novelist, curmudgeon, wilderness Jeremiah -- regularly complained that people wrote too much about him and not enough about his books, but that hasn't deterred any number of writers from taking on Abbey as their subject. Now biographer James Cahalan joins the ranks with "Edward Abbey: A Life." The book sets out to separate reality from fiction where Abbey is concerned, and to ennoble his writing with academic and critical appreciation. Does it succeed in those tasks? Grist reviewer Gregory Gipson says yep -- but questions the worth of that success. Read Gipson's take on Cahalan's take on Abbey, only on the Grist Magazine website.

only in Grist: Abbey Lives! -- a review of "Edward Abbey: A Life" -- in our Books Unbound section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/books/books051402.asp?source=daily>

BEAR WITH US

In northwestern Montana, the human population has grown by about 30 percent in the last decade. That's a problem for some of the region's other notable inhabitants: grizzly bears. At least half of the grizzlies in the Lower 48 live in northwestern Montana, and as the area becomes more crowded, regrettable bear-human interactions become more common. Grizzly bears are a protected species, so the traditional method of dealing with problematic wildlife -- shooting it -- is not an option. Instead, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken a more humane approach: education. For the bears, that means learning that straying too close to humans will have unpleasant results, ranging from barking dogs to rubber bullets. For people, that means a crash course in proper wildlife management: Just because it's cute (what bear educator Tim Manley calls "a golden retriever type of grizzly") doesn't mean it won't maul you.

straight to the source: New York Times, Blaine Harden, 14 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=99>

only in Grist: The simple bear necessities -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha090800.stm?source=daily>

RWANDERING FOOLS?

Tragically, education seems to have been insufficient to protect animals in Rwanda, where poachers last week killed two of the world's last remaining mountain gorillas. The poachers were attempting to capture and sell baby gorillas. According to Rwandan wildlife conservation officials, two men killed two female gorillas and trapped one baby gorilla, in the first such attack since 1985. The men are in custody, but are believed to be part of a wider criminal ring. With just 350 mountain gorillas left in the wild, the population is sufficiently fragile that the loss of any given individual is a blow. The gorillas are the biggest tourist attraction in Rwanda (where visitors pay about $250 per hour for a chance to see them), and the forests where they live are normally heavily patrolled against poachers.

straight to the source: South Africa Independent, Reuters, Helen Vesperini, 14 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=100>

only in Grist: Alternatives to elephant poaching -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha042800.stm?source=daily>

BUYING THE FARM

There might be a severe drought facing much of the nation, but billions of dollars in subsidies is soon to rain down on the bread-basket states, thanks to a farm bill signed by President Bush yesterday. Notwithstanding a White House pledge to wean farmers off of government funding, the bill is expected to cost $190 billion over 10 years, or $83 billion more than the cost of continuing current programs. A senior Republican official said Bush reversed course in the hopes of gaining an additional Republican seat in the Senate from one of the farm states next fall. The bill provides $17 billion for conservation measures. Still, it's mostly bad news for environmentalists: Generous subsidies to huge factory farms further endanger the nation's few remaining family farms. The practice of providing such subsidies dates from the early 1930s, when 25 percent of Americans lived on 6 million farms in the nation. Today, 2 percent of Americans live on 2 million farms.

straight to the source: Washington Post, Mike Allen, 14 May 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=98>

5/15/02
5:07:13 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE

http://ens-news.com

U.S., RUSSIA TO SLASH NUCLEAR ARSENALS

By Cat Lazaroff

WASHINGTON, DC, May 13, 2002 (ENS) - President George W. Bush announced this morning that the U.S. and Russia have agreed to cut their nuclear arsenals by more than 50 percent. The planned cuts were revealed within days of closed door Congressional briefings over Russia's alleged plans to resume nuclear testing, and less than two weeks before Bush's planned trip to Russia.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-13-06.html

AUSTRALIA SPENDS MILLIONS TO CONTROL FIVE WEEDS

CANBERRA, Australia, May 13, 2002 (ENS) - In a unique cooperation across state and territory borders to control a common problem, the Australian government is spending a further A$5.6 million to help control five weeds that are costing the country millions and harming the environment.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-13-192.html

WIND POWER DEMO PLANNED FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, May 13, 2002 (ENS) - Wind power development is taking a tentative step forward in British Columbia. The provincial power company, BC Hydro, and AXOR Group Inc. have filed Crown Land Applications with Land and Water BC Inc. for a 10 megawatt (MW) wind power demonstration project on Vancouver Island.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-13-191.html

MERCURY FOOD ALERT ISSUED FOR SWORDFISH, SHARK

LONDON, United Kingdom, May 13, 2002 (ENS) - Pregnant women, women who intend to become pregnant, infants and children under 16 years of age should avoid eating shark, swordfish and marlin due to high levels of mercury in these fish, the UK Food Standards Agency said Friday.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-13-01.html

FLOODING RAINS IN KENYA CLAIM 53 LIVES

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 13, 2002 (ENS) - Heavy rains across much of East Africa this month have proved deadly, particularly in Kenya. Floods and landslides in Kenya have killed at least 53 people including nine people who died following a violent thunderstorm in Nairobi Sunday.

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-13-04.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: MAY 13, 2002

White House Tries to Block Energy Task Force Deposition

Oklahoma Company Slammed by Enviros, Union

Physicians Group Opposes Yucca Mountain Shipments

Oceanographer to Receive National Medal of Science

Park Service Arts Program Promotes Environmental Awareness

Online Library Lists Incentives for Private Conservation

Boston Trash Hauler Pays $3.4 Million Fine

Smog Forecast Service Expanded

Solarbrate Events Highlight Solar Power

Improper Trash Disposal Endangers Wildlife

http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002L-05-13-09.html

5/14/02
12:41:15 PM

The Industrialisation of Farming in The UK

Tony Blair, the UK's Prime Minister, believes that if farming is to survive it must adopt modern business practises and seek seamless integration with other enterprises such as food processing and distribution. In short Tony Blair's 'New Labour Party' regards farming as just another industrial process.

Labour's History Is A Motivating Factor.

The Labour Party is comfortable with industry - after all it was born out of the trade union movement, which represents workers in the UK's key manufacturing industries. The party likes to think of itself as both socialist and radical but the fact it has operated, and gained power, within a capitalist framework demonstrates that it is neither.

During the 1960's a number of minor aristocrats and middle class intellectuals, keen to play politics, hijacked the Labour Party. While for a few years the party did indeed appear to be revolutionary. However claiming the party was a 'broad church' and rebranding its executive as an 'electoral college' only served to reconfirm the party's position as a prisoner of the establishment.

Labour leaders claimed the national health service and a shorter working week as two of their party's main achievements. However most industrial countries, which had come to depend on skilled workforces, found means of keeping their populations healthy. In Britain the shorter working week was 'cashed in' by workers who prefered to work overtime rather than use the free hours for leisure pursuits. Industry was, therefore, happy to work with Labour as any distribution of wealth was rapidly corrected through inflation, house price crashes or the liquidation of pension funds. When real advances, such as the European directive on working hours, were put on the table Labour rejected them out of hand.

In the late 1970's the decline in trade union membership eroded Labour's powerbase. The Conservative government, under Margeret Thatcher, claimed the credit for breaking the unions. However, in truth, voters had finally realised they were no longer exploited as workers. They were now exploited as consumers - and very nice it was too. Tony Blair's 'New Labour' finally woke up to the state of Britain in the late 1990's and he shifted the party's focus away from the shop floor to the market research department. Setting up focus groups, and phoning voters, he discovered what people really wanted ( basically money and to live forever). New Labour was voted into power promising to provide economic security and an efficient health service.

Today the only problem New labour faces is that almost anyone with access to a communications channel (the media in this case) can play 'call centre politics' The Far Right can do it and so can any number of single issue groups. The first to cause Blair problems were the farmers who, along with the hunting lobby and a number of Green activists, formed themselves into the 'Countryside Alliance' - a fuzzy group of everything Tony Blair did not understand. If only farming behaved like the old industries which Labour grew up in, and which the party was now so friendly with, then the party could understand it and, eventually, bring it under control.

What Do The Farmers Think Of This?

In the main, the Industrial Revolution passed farmers by. Workers left the land to work in factories and were replaced with machines - but apart from that nothing changed for decades. Farmers had a local customer base and few competitors. Over the years advances in transport, communications and chemical engineering have brought competition from around the world, increased the leverage of the food processor over the producer and left the farmer with an addiction to a range of chemicals. While the government's offer is not a good one, and will mean farmers saying goodbye to their traditional way of earning a living, for many it looks like the only game in town.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

New labour's argument is that by adopting the efficient working practises of the UK food processing and distribution industry farming can transform itself from a motley collection of disorganised artisans into Britain's agricultural shop floor. The problem is manufacturing is a lot further away from nature than farming. Farmers are about to become the interface between a man made virtual world and nature's very real world. A manufacturer writes down the value of plant and equipment over a number of years. Farmland is not amenable to the same treatment - although try convincing an industrialist it cannot be discarded after a decade of dumping various chemicals on it. The UK farming 'industry' has already suffered from one industrial disaster in the form of BSE. Mad cow disease occurred at the interface between the food processing industry and the farm.

Perhaps the biggest mistake is assuming the food processing and distribution industry is efficient or even profitable in the long term. The most technologically advanced tool in the food distributors arsenal is CRM software. Customer Relationship Management software underpins the loyalty card schemes employed by major retailers. If this software was used 'efficiently' it would be used to monitor and improve the diet of consumers. Instead the opposite happens. It is a tribute to the persuasiveness of consumerism that even the Green movement do not regard the human being as part of the environment. Even they fail to see that the marketing of sugar and fat, in various forms, to people who are already clinically obese is an environmental disaster. If a factory pumped as much waste fat into the environment as the average supermarket chain protesters and documentary film makers would besiege its offices.

Turning farming into an industry may solve a small problem for New Labour. In the short term it may drive a wedge between the farmer and the Green movement. In the long term, however, both these gains will be reversed.

Peter Kruger Author of 'The Genesis Modification' http://www.steinkrug.com

5/14/02
11:48:58 AM

Dear All,

Please be advised that May 2002 letters have been posted on our website. We are also happy to inform you that our Success Stories section has been updated.

Thanks for your continuing efforts to promote healing and justice in our world, and for encouraging others to join Earth Action Network. And, as always, feel free to contact us (by mail, email, fax or phone) with any suggestions you might have!

James Shvarts, webmaster, Earth Action Network

http://www.earthactionnetwork.org

5/14/02
11:47:47 AM

Planet Ark World Environment News

US truckers to watch for possible terror threats - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15941/story.htm

DOE head Abraham touts energy plan progress - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15930/story.htm

FEATURE - US Senate ethanol plan stirs conflicting reactions - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15939/story.htm

USDA mandates FMD-regions clean farm machine exports - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15942/story.htm

INTERVIEW - Expert warns world is warming faster than forecast - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15934/story.htm

Taiwan CPC may cut refinery output if drought lasts - TAIWAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15928/story.htm

Taipei rations residential water to fight drought - TAIWAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15937/story.htm

Forest fires tear through Siberia, Russia Far East - RUSSIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15927/story.htm

FEATURE - Panama's Devil's Island aims to be new Galapagos - PANAMA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15936/story.htm

New Mozambique port will go ahead, says minister - MOZAMBIQUE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15935/story.htm

FEATURE - Lithuania's nuclear workers fret for future - LITHUANIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15932/story.htm

Idemitsu may sell coal with emissions rights - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15938/story.htm