Tracking the Hole in the Ozone Layer

Back in June of 2001, as the military Junta began to take hold in Washington, key scientists were dismissed from both the NOAA and EPA as Bush prepared to reverse himself on the issues of Global Warming and greenhouse gases. Government websites were stripped of data that has not since been replaced. Ozone layer data was removed from the NOAA sute during the days in late June when the UV index set scortching new records in Eugene, Oregon and other coastal cities. At left, is one of the original files that was removed. It's an animation of polar data from October-December of 1995. A european website provides an explanation, in addition to data from 1996 and later years, from european satellites. Meanwhile, the NOAA has resumed monitoring the depletion of the ozone layer, but they are under continued attack:
see: http://electromagnet.us/dogspot/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=460
and the EPA libraries and chemical data archives are being rapidly destroyed.
see: http://electromagnet.us/dogspot/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=454 http://electromagnet.us/images/holeanim.gif
And here's the URL of the original ozone hole animation so many people were looking for:
http://electromagnet.us/images/holeanim.gif
posted by david at 5:20 PM

Dumpster Divers Needed for EPA Bailout

"...the EPA has already destroyed documents. The Christian Science Monitor reports that "scientific journals worth hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars were thrown in dumpsters in October." An EPA chemist told the Kansas City Star that one library was told to throw away journals. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility uncovered documents ordering one library to recycle materials?"as many as possible."

read more

full story at The Union of Concerned Scientists

posted by david at 1:59 AM

Break the Engagement with Unocal

Unocal has won the first round in it's recent legal challenge. They had hired the Burmese army for security, and the resulting victims of rape and torture and trying to hold Unocal responsible.
On their corporate website, they continue to promote what they call a policy of "engagement".
All available evidence indicates that this particular engagement is much less civil than a shotgun wedding.

more from DOGSPOT

posted by david roknich at 2:29 PM

Good and Bad Ozone

The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere is beneficial -- it protects us from too much solar radiation. But ground-layer ozone is dangerous -- breathing it causes asthma attacks and makes things worse for people with emphysema, bronchitis and other lung diseases.

more about ozone pollution

posted by david roknich at 11:06 AM

Global Warming Campaign Promise

"We must send a strong message to the President and the country that Congress will hold Mr. Bush to his campaign pledge, that it recognizes that global warming poses grave dangers to our environment, our economy, and our national security, and that this country must reduce its CO2 emissions,"
Congresswoman Barbara Lee
April 30, 2001

more from DOGSPOT

DOGSPOT UK
posted by david roknich at 10:42 AM

ALCOA Boasts of Genius in Protecting Ozone Layer

PITTSBURGH (03-16)
Alcoa announced today that its environmental achievements have earned its inclusion in the book, Industry Genius: Inventions and People Protecting the Climate and Fragile Ozone Layer, written by Environmentalists Stephen O. Andersen and Durwood Zaelke.
The authors looked for two things in their search for industry genius companies: first, a management commitment to sustainability and environmental leadership; and second, brilliant engineers who are appropriately challenged, inspired and equipped to develop a sustainable industry.

press release

posted by Steven Realo at 2:57 PM

Scandal is Our Way of Doing Business

related to Peter Munk and Barrick Gold of Toronto: see April 23, 2001 archive

Gabriel Resources (TSX: GBU), a junior Canadian mining company, intends to realize Europeís largest open-cast mining development in Rosia Montana; entailing, amongst other, the involuntary resettlement of over 2000 people. From its onset the development has been beleaguered with scandals and operational problems including local, national and international opposition. Gabriel has been delaying the EIA process since October 2002.

more
posted by david roknich at 3:35 PM

False Basis of Iraq War Precipates International Scandal

"For bureaucratic reasons we settled on weapons of mass destruction
because it was the one issue everyone could agree on."
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz

special coverage


posted by david roknich at 1:24 PM

BP Amoco Passes The (greenhouse) Gas

"...starting a journey that will take the world's expectations of energy beyond what anyone can see today." Pretentious stuff for a company serving mainly oil and gas, with just a sliver of solar on the side. Make that Beyond Pretentious." Greenwash Award
posted by david roknich at 2:23 PM [edit]

Do You Agree or Disagree?

"There's no such thing as global warming - it's all natural climatic variation. And if there is a problem, it won't affect us much, and we can deal with the problems as they arise."

YEAH RIGHT,
THE GOLFING HAS BEEN PRETTY GOOD IN JUNO LATELY

posted by Steven Realo at 12:40 PM [edit]

I think I'll keep a copy for myself, too.
posted by Steven Realo at 2:11 PM [edit]

where did the Sierra club get their OZONE LAYER ANIMATION?
From the site in the previous post - but oops - it's not there anymore!
posted by david roknich at 1:56 PM [edit]

can you find the hole in the ozone layer?
posted by david roknich at 1:52 PM [edit]

revenge of the ever-recurring OZONE LAYER ANIMATION
ever since the residential selection of 2000, these links, created at TAXPAYER expense have been disappearing from the official US government sites where they belong.
posted by david roknich at 1:48 PM [edit]

What's all the fuss about? an easy to understand explanation the the function of the Ozone layer as a global filter of ultra-violet radiation, how it's being depleted, why we should worry, and what we can do about it.
posted by david roknich at 1:46 PM [edit]

all amazon watch related links will be moved to
  Fresh Green Blog time for a general cleanup and return to TOPIC
posted by david roknich at 1:05 PM [edit]

From Amazon Watch, Sept. 10, 2003
Washington, D.C.- Today, the Inter-American Development (IDB) executive directors approved financing for the controversial Camisea fossil fuel project in the Peruvian Amazon. Camisea's critics contend that support to the project is paving the way for the indiscriminate destruction of one of the world's most pristine rainforests and threatens the physical survival of isolated indigenous populations.

...The U.S. government announced its decision to abstain from a positive vote, yet without a clear "no" vote from the US, other voting members felt a sufficient consensus was in place to approve the project.

...Two U.S. oil companies, Hunt Oil and Halliburton, stand to benefit from the IDB's decision.  more

incidently, Haliburton has won some huge contracts fro the rebuilding of Iraq. One wonders to what extent Cheney has really divested himself.
posted by Steven Realo at 3:23 PM [edit]

performers in Billings, Montana, Anchorage Alaska, and Salem, Oregon are trying to decipher the score to summer music.
OK, eventually I'll post something on topic: which is the hole in there Ozone layer and related issues not considered to be problems by the present administration. Hey, if the peasants have bo bread just let them eat cake!
OZONE LAYER CAKE
posted by david roknich at 2:36 PM [edit]

the real david roknich is now at
davidroknich.com,
where he's posting the sheet music for his newest project:
Summer Music
The performance notes are in blog form, and you can post comments, ask questions, hurl tomatoes, whatever....
posted by david roknich at 2:39 PM [edit]

Once again, Naomi Klein attempts to make sense of our fragmented global realities:
"...in Washington D.C. last weekend... a demonstration against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund was joined by an anti-war march, as well as a demonstration against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. In the end, all the marches joined together in what organizers described as the largest Palestinian solidarity demonstration in U.S. history, 75,000 people by police estimates...
On Sunday night, I turned on my television in the hopes of catching a glimpse of this historic protest. I saw something else instead: triumphant Jean-Marie Le Pen celebrating his new found status as the second most popular political leader in France.
There is no connection whatsoever between French fascism and the "free Palestine" marchers... ...it is possible to criticize Israel while forcefully condemning the rise of anti-Semitism."
read more
posted by david roknich at 3:37 PM [edit]

"...We go to Ramallah hospital, ...where the Israelis attempted numerous times to go in and take who they wanted, but hospital staff and foreigners refused to let them in. Anyway, we went there to pick up our reporter and cameraman who were there to tape the burial of numerous martyrs. The reason they were being buried on hospital grounds was because there was no more room in the morgue. Anyway, we are right in front of the hospital and it is packed with demonstrators and doctors and nurses and the ...Israelis start shooting at everyone. Firstly, the curfew had been lifted so we had every right to be out and secondly it was just media, peacekeepers and hospital staff. What the hell were they firing at???" More first-hand accounts of Israeli terrorism sponsored by US tax dollars
posted by david roknich at 7:49 AM [edit]

1545: An ambulance has just come under fire in Ramallah trying to get around IDF tanks and internationals and medical staff were told over a loudspeaker to stay inside the hospital and then the IDF proceeded to open live fire on the hospital. A CBS news television crew was forcibly escorted out of Ramallah by the IDF. As a result, the remaining news crews in the area are concerned that they too may be expelled from the area, a concern which is affecting their ability to cover breaking news to the best of their ability.
From IMC Jerusalem, until they disappear.
posted by david roknich at 10:24 AM [edit]

"I and my friends - international peace activists from Italy, France, the US and other countries, some of them of Jewish origin - have come here to act as a human shield in case of any IDF attempt to break in. The government should know that among those determined to face the soldiers unarmed and bar their way is also an Israeli from Tel-Aviv."
Neta Golan
posted by david roknich at 9:52 AM [edit]

Release the Mindo Activists
Ecuadorian activists and their international allies remain in custody today after being arrested late Monday afternoon in the Mindo cloudforest region where local residents had maintained a forest occupation since Jan 2 to block the passage of the country's new OCP oil pipeline.
posted by Steven Realo at 6:42 PM [edit]

Camisea Gas Field Project on the Urubamba River in Peru
The international consortium responsible for the project has a 40 year concession to exploit gas and a 30 year concession to extract Camisea oil. This lengthy duration of this project is likely to guarantee ongoing environmental damage to the delicate ecosystems of Peru. Construction of the gas pipeline will begin in December 2003.
posted by Steven Realo at 6:30 PM [edit]

Linus Pauling At Berkeley
interviewed by Harry Kreisler in 1983

President Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy held a dinner for recipients of the Nobel Prize. On the day before, and in fact on the day of the dinner, my wife and I had demonstrated outside the White House against the bomb tests. When we came through the reception line, Mrs. Kennedy said, "Do you think it is right, Dr. Pauling, to march back and forth with your sign outside the White House so that Caroline says to me, 'Mummy, what has Daddy done wrong now?'" And then she introduced me to President Kennedy who said, "Dr. Pauling, I hope that you will continue to express your opinions."

posted by david roknich at 10:35 PM [edit]

in addition to the new comment-capable blogs, check out the naomi klein interview in a quicktime video made during a speaking tour in norway last year. Fortunately, the interview is in english. Get the free Quicktime player from Apple's site if you don't already have it.
posted by david roknich at 1:50 PM [edit]

A droll letter to the editor in Salem Oregon's "Statesman Journal" finally breaks the ice, comparing the Bush administration to "a fascist regime out of science fiction".Get it while it's hot. More about this one soon.
posted by Steven Realo at 9:14 PM [edit]

the start of Bush's War "Osama bin Laden and the Taliban received threats of possible American military strikes against them two months before the terrorist assaults on New York and Washington...
The Taliban refused to comply but the serious nature of what they were told raises the possibility that Bin Laden, far from launching the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon out of the blue 10 days ago, was launching a pre-emptive strike in response to what he saw as US threats."
posted by david roknich at 9:24 AM [edit]

"The US and British governments say they are "reconciled to civilian deaths" in their war. They cold-bloodedly admit they will be killing people who had nothing to do with the attacks in New York and Washington. There is no sense of "humanity", of "mercy" or of "justice" in that - just the plainest hypocrisy." The best text I have read about why we need to mobilize to STOP BUSH'S WAR
posted by david roknich at 7:47 PM [edit]

I'm beginning to practice the art of website defacement by starting on my own sites. My preference is bold red type right under the banner ad. Next thing you know, those brainwashed "war corespondents" on pubic radio will be calling this sort of thing "Terrism". Whoever brainwashed them obviously couldn't pronounce the word properly. Time to shake this country loose from the mass hypnosis that is recognized throughout the world a foaming-at-the-mouth war hysteria. I'm doing what I can, with a theatrical flair (or is that flare?). hehe....
posted by david roknich at 3:35 PM [edit]

From the Bush Terrorist Archive Department "the CIA officially acknowledged... that the mastermind of the terrorist attack, Chilean intelligence chief Manuel Contreras, was a paid asset of the CIA. The new report was issued almost 24 years to the day after the murders of former Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier and American co-worker Ronni Moffitt, who died on Sept. 21, 1976, when a remote-controlled bomb ripped apart Letelier's car as they drove down Massachusetts Avenue, a stately section of Washington known as Embassy Row."
posted by david roknich at 10:59 PM [edit]

Fear and Loathing "What is equally obscene is, the concentration seems to be focused entirely on the Wrong Kind of Sekurity, the bugging of our phones, our computers, and our private thoughts and feelings. Our other security, that upon which our very lives depend, is nonexistent, a spiderweb patched together with Faerie Dust, an illusion. It's a powderkeg lit on both ends, and with all-too predictable end results." ---doug
posted by david roknich at 3:55 PM [edit]

Over 50 Oregonians arrived in Columbus GA last night to join the annual protest and vigil at the School of the Americas, uncertain as to whether a permit had been granted for their planned procession. In a late-night email, Eugene activist Donna Frasier reported: "Judge Faircloth granted the permit... saying if the Army needed to be protected from this group of nonviolent people then we really were all in trouble."Ý
posted by david roknich at 5:16 PM [edit]

Explosives Planted In Towers The collapse of the buildings appears "too methodical" to be a chance result of airplanes colliding with the structures, said Van Romero, vice president for research at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. "My opinion is, based on the videotapes, that after the airplanes hit the World Trade Center there were some explosive devices inside the buildings that caused the towers to collapse," Romero said.
posted by david roknich at 10:30 AM [edit]

"Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception." --- Mark Twain, The Mysterious Stranger, 1916, Ch.9
posted by david roknich at 10:12 AM [edit]

The Emperor Walks Naked, cont. "...the Bush administration is using the tragic nightmare of murder in New York, which itself occurred under circumstances suggesting the complicity of Washington's covert forces, to create international hysteria sufficient to drag NATO into the strategic occupation of Afghanistan and an intensified assault on the former Soviet Union."
posted by david roknich at 9:54 AM [edit]

The Emperor Walks Naked, cont... "...Washington is playing with the possibility of a war which would make the horror that occurred last Tuesday at the World Trade Center, or even the much larger-scale horror of the U.S. terror-bombing of Yugoslavia, look like previews of hell."
posted by david roknich at 9:48 AM [edit]

War For Big Oil? Unocal stands to directly benefit from a US takeover of Afganistan. That's why we must "rid the world of evil" Time to remove the cowboy from the whitehouse before he commits 50,000 American lives and billions of dollars for the sake of his beloved oil money.
posted by david roknich at 11:47 PM [edit]

AFL-CIO Focuses on Relief Efforts, ..continued "...We remain steadfast in our conviction that the policies of the World Bank and the IMF must change if they are to foster a fair and just global economy that works for working families everywhere.Ý We will continue to call for new rules for the global economy that protect people and the planet, not just multinational corporate interests, and to work to defeat fast track trade negotiating authority, to win cancellation of debt for poor nations and to develop strong global HIV/AIDS policies."
posted by david roknich at 2:22 PM [edit]

AFL-CIO Focuses on Relief Efforts, Calls for Cancellation of IMF Meeting "Today I have sent a letter to James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, and Horst K–hler, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, calling upon them to cancel or postpone the annual meeting of the Bank and the IMF scheduled for Washington at the end of September.Ý As I said to them in my letter, I believe that this is a time for pause and profound reflection, not another round of closed-door meetings behind tall fences...
posted by david roknich at 12:59 PM [edit]

INNOVATIONS IN CROWD CONTROL WEAPONS "there is a need to consider halting the use of peppergas in Europe until independent evaluation of its biomedical effects is undertaken. Special Agent Ward the FBI officer who cleared OC in the USA was found to have taken a $57,000 kickback to give it the OK. Other US military scientists warned of dangerous side effects including neurotoxicity and a recent estimate by the International Association of Chief Police Officers suggested at least 113 peppergas linked fatalities in the US...
posted by david roknich at 10:19 AM [edit]

As we write, Manhattan feels under seige, with all bridges, tunnels, and subways closed, and tens of thousands of people walking slowly north from Lower Manhattan.... War Resisters League, Unofficial Statement
posted by david roknich at 9:14 AM [edit]

"...Thus we accuse the police of rioting, acts of terrorism and violations of basic human rights such as the freedoms of expression and assembly. The police must be made accountable for these crimes. The police attacked because Power is afraid of us, the rebel communities - people who won't submit to the neoliberal command." White Overall Statement
posted by david roknich at 11:02 PM [edit]

HaÔti ProgrËs
August 15 - 21,Ý 2001
"...Corruption and infiltration of the PNH (Haitian National Police) is no surprise. Since it replaced the FAdH in 1995, the PNH was designed, formed and trained by U.S. government agencies, which insisted on integrating many former Haitian soldiers(from the corrupt Duvalier regime that the US allegedly opposed, ed.)." .be the news where you can read and reply to this and related articles...
posted by david roknich at 10:50 AM [edit]

"It seems that any forces launching attacks against the Haitian government become the darlings of the Dominican authorities, in particular the army, which acts in close concert with the Pentagon, the State Department, and the CIA. These agencies of Washington seem to be conferring on the Dominican Republic the role of sub-regional policeman. Although Haitian Foreign Minister Joseph Philippe Antonio and his Dominican counterpart Alberto Despradel Cabral are to hold talks, it seems doubtful that the Jul. 28 assailants will be extradited back to Haiti, since the Dominican Republic now appears to be a base for regional destabilization under the direction of Washington..." From Haiti- progress
posted by david roknich at 12:37 PM [edit]

.be the news annnouncements of literature and software you can use online... ...a new box on the left with a link to the William S. Burroughs classic, "THE ELECTRONIC REVOLUTION"...and a new webmail interface that will allow you to log on to any server.
posted by david roknich at 7:38 PM [edit]

again
( link temporarily down, 09-18-03 -ed.) Once again, the basics of FTAA, in case if all the tear gas and rubber bullets have blurred your memory... "The goal of the FTAA is to impose the failed NAFTA model of increased privatization and deregulation hemisphere-wide..."
posted by david roknich at 1:58 AM [edit]

Toledo's Win In Peru Examined "...18.5% of those eligible did not vote, although voting is mandatory in Peru..." The people's choice? As soon as we explain the background, we plan to explore this much more thoroughly.
posted by david roknich at 1:10 AM [edit]

I'm actually down to my last $20.00, but I can still post to BLOGGER and even to my own interactive news site thanks to friends of mine who are allowing this errant behavior on their Mac Performa 475! Indymedia is too much of a high-bandwidth affair for this machine, so .be the news, and join me in low-rent oblivion at my fast php4 portal, while it lasts -:(
posted by david roknich at 10:25 PM [edit]

Some news from Chad and Agatha, who will be helping with a live webchat from Indonesia with a factory worker suffering under the boot of globalization summary and background later today Webchat with an Indonesian Worker at http://www.behindthelabel.org might still be going on if this posts soon enough
posted by david roknich at 7:40 PM [edit]

Ozone Layer: Background For those of you who doubt the reality of ozone layer depletion and it's consequences, consider the recent reports of high UV levels in the Pacific Northwest. According the standards of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration, the UV levels measured in Eugene, Oregon were high enough on Tuesday, June 18, to cause skin damage with only 15 minutes of exposure. A new acting director has been appointed to the NOAA, and with our new government in denial about environmental hazards caused by corporate greed, the sections of the NOAA site that provide UV data have disappeared, and with such haste that the links on the site are broken, that is, if you care to dig far enough to the page where there're hidden. Check for yourself, http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratoshpere/uv_index/uvi_map.gif The chimp hold his hands over his eyes and sees no evil.
posted by Steven Realo at 5:02 PM [edit]

Auto Air Conditioners and the Ozone Layer: Background From the EPA website: "The ozone layer is being depleted over Antarctica (the so-called Antarctic ozone hole), but also to a much lesser extent over North America, Europe, and other populated areas. A depleted ozone layer allows more UV-B radiation to reach Earth, harming human, animal, and plant life in many ways."
posted by Steven Realo at 4:32 PM [edit]

FUCK THE FTAA Today, American Citizen Lori berenson was convicted in a Peruvian court in an instance of double jeopary. As you would expect, the Free Lori website is extremely busy today, so you may want to try the new site above for a copy of her final statement to the court.
posted by Steven Realo at 6:56 PM [edit]

The Inquisition in Lima in 1736... and in April 2001: Lori Berenson (Liberacion - 26 April 2001) by Eduardo Gonz·lez ViaÒa, Peruvian novelist and Professor at Western Oregon University "...A military court condemned her, almost without listening to her, for 'treason against the fatherland'despite being a US citizen. The civilian court that currently judges her emphasizes her ideological beliefs more than irrefutably demonstrating her participation in a criminal act. The court's judges appear to ignore the fact that no democratic country punishes a person for their thoughts, as rebellious as those thoughts might be. Nevertheless, this judicial show, televised throughout the world, makes us Peruvians that live abroad embarrassed by our penal procedures and our judges. This is especially true when court president, Marco Ibazeta, points his finger and exhorts Miss Berenson to publicly renounce the T™pac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and its subversive ideas. Acts are punishable, not ideas. Lacking sufficient evidence from the start, the court has concentrated on the supposed ideological affiliation of the accused...." story continues at http://www.freelori.org/news/01apr26_liberacion.html The fact is, the Fujimori government, originally a puppet of our "School of the Americas" wasn't supportive of our Plan Columbia, so they were removed the same way that they were installed during the regime of Bush the First. And Lori Berenson could speak about many things that would be inconvenient for the CIA and the Bush family, but the things she has to say would pose even more obstacles to her aquittal. As Lori's trial winds to a close, I'll be posting the facts of how her imprisonment and our continued support of terror in Peru are directly related to our fatally flawed "Plan Columbia".
posted by david roknich at 10:33 PM [edit]

Indymedia Sverige - webcast news Here's a shining example of the American influence on worldwide police oppression. The same thing has happened again and again in US cities like Eugene, Iowa City, Seattle, and Chicago, where local police are temporarily replaced by faceless, masked, "Federal" thugs without badges or identification whose duty is not to protect the rights of the local citizens, but rather to assert the ultimate authority of the new Oligarchy. So this is how America has become the policeman of the world? The following is an eyewitness account from victims of our Resident's visit to Sweden, where the citizens decided to peacefully protest the outrageous and irresponsible policies of the corrupt and illegitimate regime that is installing a military dictatorship in the US and abroad. "...The young people kept inside Schillerska School came out scared and chocked by the rough treatment they recieved from the police. Without even an explenation for why, the were they treated like criminals and made to leave their personal details. The question is why they were even kept at all, what crime had they commited? And why were the police protecting their own identity with blank helmets and shields? Whatever answer the police will give, I feel no one deserves to be treated like these young people were treated tonight. Tove ends her story saying. "It's like they didn't see us as human beings any more. We were treated without any respect or understanding. We were just houligans, a dangerous problem to be solved." I should point out the the Swedish police and military have long been known for their reluctance to use force against anyone - and here is an instance on a police riot that makes the Chicago Police of the infamous 1968 riot look like harmless amateurs.
posted by Steven Realo at 9:00 PM [edit]

Indymedia Sverige - nyheter There is still a lot of confusion about how many people were shot at by the police on thursday night here in Gothenburg. Neither is is it clear what the condition of these people is. Many mainstream media, national and international, report on three shootings while the official pressrelease from the police in Gothenburg states that there was only one shooting. Listen to imc webradio for latest news on this issue, or read the many articles published by readers of the imc-website.
posted by Steven Realo at 8:48 PM [edit]

Indymedia Sverige - nyheter 14.40 Despite very heavy rain around 25 000 people, possibly more, joined the demonstration "For Another Europe". This is one of the biggest radical demonstrations in Sweden in a long time. The organisers are very satisfied with everything, the atmosphere was very good and the police ha a very low profile. Many of the speeches during the demonstration has been addressing the police violence that took place during the protests of the EU Summit 2001.
posted by Steven Realo at 8:47 PM [edit]

From Portland Indymedia "Portland revolutionary John Paul Cupp faces trial on June 20, 2001 for running afoul of Portland police limits on allowable political speech. Please attend the trial at the Multnomah County Courthouse at 1021 SW 4th, currently assigned to room 528 beginning at 9:00am. ...the judge has conducted the proceedings with the appointed attorney, shouting down John Paul when he asks to speak in his own defense. This all too common practice demonstrates that the court has an overriding interest in efficiently moving defendants through the system and regards the right of adequate legal representation as an obstacle..."
posted by Steven Realo at 5:35 PM [edit]

Exxon hasn't cleaned up" Exxon has boasted of spending $1.5 billion cleaning up the spill, but 20%--2.5 million gallons--of crude oil remains in the Sound, either coating the mussel beds or in tarry deposits on the shore. Exxon's cleaning crews only mopped up 15% of the spilled crude. The remainder either evaporated or broke down. America's largest oil company soon faced suits from the federal government and from native tribal and fishing communities. In 1994 a federal district court jury ordered Exxon to pay $5 billion in punitive damages to 30,000 natives, fishermen, and businesses suffering economic hardship because of the spill. To date, Exxon hasn't turned over a penny in satisfaction of that judgment. In fact, the company is earning $400 million a year in interest on the money..."
posted by Steven Realo at 11:36 AM [edit]

The Fight for the Americas "I said they would create a global royalty in which politicians and corporate leaders around the world have more in common with one another than with their own citizens, and that they would start to use their security forces against those citizens to protect their corporate interests. And this has happened. I told them that their policies would alienate huge numbers of us and that we would find each other and build a movement. And this has happened too..." Maude Barlow tells it like it is, and there is more to come.
posted by Steven Realo at 3:30 AM [edit]

Protest the Summit of the Americas Some of the Protest Victims in Quebec * Missing in Action ñ Jaggi Singh ñ Victim of a state kidnapping by undercover police at the demo - he is still in Jail. - Eric Lafferriere, 28, will never speak again. Two rubber bullets severed a nerve in his left arm and crushed his larynx last Saturday. Eric has undergone a tracheotomy and awaits further surgery. - Francois Gingras, 23, was shot in the eye with a gas canister upon exiting his apartment near Rene-Levesque to buy cigarettes. He plans to take his case to civil court. - The Quebec Legal Team confirms a report that one man's arm was broken by a tear gas canister fired from less than a meter away. Is it worth so much to them that they must wage war against their own people? FUCK THE FTAA !!!
posted by Steven Realo at 10:02 PM [edit]

Haiti Progres May 23, 2001 - English section More news from turbulent Haiti that you won't see elsewhere. "United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan lent tacit support to Haiti's Democratic Convergence (CD) opposition front this week in a report to the U.N. General Assembly, released May 21. In the agnostic, innuendo-laden language so favored by U.N. diplomats, Annan portrayed the CD as legitimate and representative and encouraged internationally-mediated negotiations between it and the Haitian government. But it is evident to the vast majority of Haitians (and even the most casual observer) that the CD is nothing more than a tool of Washington to politically destabilize Haiti and prod President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his Lavalas Family party (FL) to the right..."
posted by Steven Realo at 9:45 PM [edit]

Gestapo Gag Order Lifted "... The order did not specify what acts were being investigated, and the Secret Service agent acknowledged that the IMC itself was not suspected of criminal activity. No violation of US law was alleged. It is not clear whether federal law allows the Attorney General ever to approve such an investigation of US press entities to facilitate a foreign investigation. According to IMC counsel Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, "This kind of fishing expedition is another in a long line of overbroad and onerous attempts to chill political speech and activism. Back in 1956, Alabama tried to force the NAACP to give up its membership lists -- but the Supreme Court stopped them. This order to IMC, even without the 'gag,' is a threat to free speech, free association, and privacy." Not only do they bring you the news, they ARE the news. Visit IndyMedia for the full story.
posted by Steven Realo at 8:01 PM [edit]

A Primer on Global Warming "French mathematician Jean Fourier first described in 1827 how Earth's thin atmospheric blanket warms the earth..."
posted by Steven Realo at 3:19 PM [edit]

Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States Basic Information from the DOE
posted by Steven Realo at 3:14 PM [edit]

from alt.politics.greens 4/25/001 message ID tec1551g5h0j2a@corp.supernews.com Published on Tuesday, April 24, 2001 in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer FBI Raids Indy Media Center Stolen Security Plan for Quebec Meeting Was Put on Internet Here by Paul Shukovsky Security plans intended to protect Western leaders attending a trade summit in Quebec City were stolen from a car there over the weekend and posted, hours later, on a Seattle-based Web site, authorities said yesterday. On Saturday night, FBI agents raided the offices of the I ndependent Media Center in downtown Seattle, seizing computer-log records, according to federal sources. No arrests have been made. Center spokeswoman Sherry Herndon said she and other staff have been told "not to talk about" the incident under threat of being held in contempt of court. She referred inquiries to attorney Bob Goodman of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City, who also declined comment. He said the court order that was served on the IMC "contains a fairly broad gag order; therefore, we cannot talk." The three-day summit, which experienced mass protests similar to those that rocked Seattle during the 1999 World Trade Organization conference, ended Sunday without serious security incidents. Virtually every head of state in the Western Hemisphere with the exception of Cuba's Fidel Castro was in attendance. No mention of the FBI raid could be found yesterday on the IMC Web site. But the organization's home page carried a boldface note stating, "Everything is fine at the Seattle IMC. We will keep you posted on any further developments." One federal criminal justice source said the speed with which the sensitive stolen document appeared on the Internet speaks to the sophistication of the movement that is opposed to unrestricted global trade. "The fact that you have something of this magnitude out there on the Web, it really shows these groups are strong, resourceful and resilient," the source said. The IMC calls itself "a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grass-roots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues." The organization has committed "no clear-cut violation of U.S. law" by posting the document on the Web, and the action may be protected as free speech, according to federal criminal justice sources. President Bush, who attended the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit, was not placed at risk, according to one source. The breach of security, however, is another embarrassment for the Canadian government, which recently lost a highly sensitive, anti-terrorism document. It was stolen from a government official's car while he was attending a hockey game. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police referred a call for comment on the IMC incident to Quebec Provincial Police, which was in charge of security at the summit. No one was available to comment on the matter yesterday at police headquarters in Montreal.
posted by Steven Realo at 10:03 PM [edit]

Dalton Camp Lecture "...They ought to say what they believe. And what they believe, you see, is what we call neo-liberalism. They really do believe that Ayn Rand was a saint. And they really do believe that the individual comes first. They really do believe in first-come, first-served. They do believe in winner-take-all, that's their theology...
posted by Steven Realo at 5:27 AM [edit]

Dalton Camp Lecture "...Then, there was a letter. Just let me read you the letter (dated September 1996): Dear President Suharto, I wanted to thank you for your thoughtful letter. I hope my travels soon bring me back to Jakarta so that we might meet again. Earlier this week I was in Elko, Nevada for a meeting of the Barrick Gold Corporation's International Advisory Board (to which I am a senior advisor) and had the opportunity of touring the company's vast mining operation there. Because Barrick chairman, Peter Munk advised me of their interests in a major gold development in Indonesia, I simply want to take the liberty of telling you how impressed I am with Barrick, its visionary leadership, technological achievements, and great financial strengths. I can recommend Mr. Munk and Barrick with no reservations what so ever. My respects to you sir. And my warmest best wishes. Sincerely, George Bush. George Bush -- who is that guy? He's the former President of the United States. He's the former director of the CIA. He knew more about this man than any person in North America could have known...
posted by Steven Realo at 5:23 AM [edit]

CORPORATE DISSEMINATION SERVICES INC (Canadian NEWS) "... It is our conclusion that criminal offences have been committed in relation to Bre-X and members of the public in Canada and elsewhere... 4. That additional interviews be carried out of current and former Bre-X consultants; and 5. That a copy of this Interim Report and the Appendices be provided to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and to the Attorney General of Alberta for their review and action..."
posted by Steven Realo at 5:04 AM [edit]

Happyclown of The Month [February '97] "...with the help of Peter's good buddy Adnan Kashoggi, who later gained international notoriety as a high-rolling arms dealer in the Iran-Contra affair. From this point, there was no turning back for this great man with the golden touch. By 1983, Peter was buying gold mine after gold mine, quickly making Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. the second-largest gold producer in the world..."
posted by Steven Realo at 4:51 AM [edit]

The Corporate Web "...Both Mulroney and Bush are believed to have made phone calls to Indonesian President Suharto on behalf of Barrick. (Mulroney's Barrick stock options are worth an estimated $2.6 million.)"
posted by Steven Realo at 4:44 AM [edit]

CNN - Canadian, U.S. firms team up to mine huge Indonesian gold deposit - Feb. 17, 1997 After the discovery, Bre-X's stock shot from 36 cents to over $200, but that dramatic rise was cut short last November when the Indonesian government ordered Bre-X to form a partnership with Barrick, North America's largest mining firm.
posted by Steven Realo at 4:42 AM [edit]

FIRST FAMILY FEUD "...Barrick is also known for the luminaries on its board, including former U.S. President George Bush and ex-Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney..."
posted by Steven Realo at 4:38 AM [edit]

S. G. R. MacMillan: For the defence of serious criminal cases "..Peter Munk, CEO of Toronto's Barrick Gold, the world's second-largest gold producer...enlisted former U.S. President George Bush to lobby Suharto, the Indonesian ruler..."
posted by Steven Realo at 4:32 AM [edit]

Bush Family Gold Mine Scandal "... In mid-April, a team of senior executives from Barrick Gold Corp. arrived at a rugged mining camp in Peru known as Pierina. Their mission was to survey Barrick's efforts to build one of the world's lowest-cost gold mines some 14,000 feet up in the Andes, where 6.5 million ounces of gold, worth $2.2 billion, have been discovered. The visit came at a time when the industry was shell-shocked by the scandal surrounding Bre-X Minerals Ltd.'s claim to have found the world's largest gold mine in Indonesia..." Although Bush is not mentioned in this story, his investment in Barrick involved more than money, as we will demonstrate in future postings.