December 22, 2008
Bush's USFW Service Rushes to Destroy American Wildlife
Here is a letter I wrote to the US Fish and Wildlife Service after I read Defenders of Wilderness useful discussion of the recent decision at USFWS.
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Your so-called “news release” on the Polar Bears is purposefully obfuscatory. The administration has made it clear with its 4(d) rule that the ESA will not provide any protection beyond the minimal Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and will provide no protection whatsoever against emissions of greenhouse gases that are causing the rise in global temperatures that directly threaten the polar bear; the 4(d) rule eliminates some of the necessary protections for the polar bear and its habitat under the ESA, based on the incorrect assertion that the polar bear is already adequately protected under other laws, such as the MMPA. Furthermore, the rule states that the ESA’s protections against “incidental take†– death or harm to polar bears caused by human activities such as oil and gas development – do not apply at all if those activities occur outside of Alaska. Nearly ALL Americans CARE about POLAR BEARS yet the USFW does not represent that majority but follows the whims of a small group of unpopular tyrants. Thank god the destruction of the American wilderness and slaughter of its creatures is almost over, at least for a while.
November 5, 2008
A new journal, Humanimalia, has an opening manifesto
Here is a taste:
I. The past twenty-five years have witnessed an extraordinary explosion of interest in human interfaces with non-human animals. Since the publication of Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation in 1975 and the beginning of the movement for animal rights, human relationships with animals have become a focus of study in disciplines ranging from archaeology to literary studies, from sociobiology to postcolonial theory. This new attention recognizes that animal/human interfaces have been a neglected area of research, given the ubiquity of animals in human culture and history, and the dramatic change in our material relationships since the rise of agribusiness farming and pharmacological research, genetic experimentation, and the erosion of animal habitats. Our social and legal relationships with animals have become an object of scrutiny through increased animal rights activism, a shift from a discourse of “pets†to one of “companion species,†and the expansion of representations of animals through media, as animals increasingly disappear from our day-to-day experience . . . See more at: http://www.depauw.edu/humanimalia/humanimalifesto.html
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Japan Buys Ivory
Japan still wants ivory. With all of our new man-made materials, Japan and China still want to exploit the elephant population by having them killed for their tusks. South Africa will begin killing elephants because it doesn’t even have room for a measly 20,000 of them! That is a small town in America and there is no room for elephants in Africa! Human overpopulation is out of control.
Friday 10th October, 06:23 AM JST
CAPE TOWN —
The South African government will press ahead with plans to sell just over 51 tons of ivory to China and Japan under a special exemption to the international ban on the trade. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ruled last year that Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe would be able to make a one-off sale of 108 tons of government stocks. Some environmentalists and African countries with dwindling elephant populations fear that it might encourage smuggling and poaching. South African wildlife experts visited the two nations in September and said they were satisfied that both countries would meet the stringent conditions set by the convention and would not reexport ivory to supply the black market. In a statement Thursday, the environment ministry said that it would now begin “preparations for the sale.†Ivory trade was banned globally in 1989, but reviving elephant populations allowed African countries to make a one-time sale a decade later to Japan, the only country which had previously won the right to import.
In July, the convention said that China should also be allowed to bid for the ivory at auction later this year as it had dramatically improved its enforcement of ivory rules. There was opposition to China’s inclusion in the auction from Ghana, Kenya and Australia, as well as some environmentalists. The Washington-based Environmental Investigation Agency, said China had left too many questions unanswered and that the smuggling of ivory was out of control. It said that more than 20,000 elephants a year are killed illegally in Africa and Asia for the ivory black market, with Chinese nationals implicated in illegal ivory seizures in more than 20 African nations. Five years ago, the Chinese government confessed to the convention that it had lost track of 121 tons of ivory — the equivalent to the tusks from 11,000 dead elephants — between 1991 and 2002 and indicated that it probably was sold on illegal markets. But since then Beijing has tightened its surveillance. Chinese law provides for capital punishment and life imprisonment for smugglers. The South African environment ministry said it was satisfied that both China and Japan have computerised systems to register tusks and ivory products, as well as strict controls and ivory detection equipment at ports of entry and exit to prevent illegal exports. After the sale, South Africa and its neighbors will not be allowed to export ivory again for nine years and must use the sale proceeds for programs to protect their elephant populations.
Even though the elephant is classed as “vulnerable†at international level, South Africa’s elephant population of 20,000 is set to double by 2020, placing a heavy toll on the balance of nature in the Kruger National Park and other wildlife centers. The government last year warned that it would have to resume killing elephants — banned since 1995 — as a last resort measure to try to control the population explosion. [the "explosion" is of an addition of 20,000 elephants in thirteen years!--that is not an explosion!]
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October 21, 2008
Pesticides Bad for Everyone
Pesticides detected in frozen beans imported from China
Wednesday 15th October, 09:15 AM JST
TOKYO —
An extremely high concentration of insecticide has been detected in frozen green beans imported from China, and one woman who ate some of the beans bought from a local supermarket became ill, a municipal government in Tokyo said Wednesday.
The public health office in Hachioji city said it has detected in the beans 6,900 parts per million of organophosphate pesticide dichlorvos, or 34,500 times the maximum level allowed by the Japanese government for imports.
The level of concentration was close to that of an undiluted solution of the pesticide, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said. With the level of concentration detected, a person weighing 60 kilograms may develop acute symptoms if around 0.07 gram is consumed, it said.
The beans were manufactured by Yantai Beihai Foodstuff Co. in China’s Shandong Province, imported by Nichirei Foods Inc. for sale under the ‘‘Ingen’’ brand.
The government is warning consumers who may have bought the product not to eat them and requested distributors to withhold its sale until the cause of the woman’s condition becomes known.
The latest food scare came on the heels of the yet unsolved cases of frozen dumplings tainted with agrochemical methamidophos that sickened three families earlier this year in Chiba and Hyogo prefectures.
A total of 265 tons of the product has been imported in the past year, the ministry said, adding that it has also ordered quarantine offices nationwide to withhold import procedures for all food products from the Chinese company.
Nichirei said Wednesday no dichlorvos was used at the farm that produced the beans and the factory that froze them, both in China.
Local health offices nationwide have also been asked to investigate if any similar cases have been reported.
The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating if the frozen food was deliberately contaminated. Police said they also detected the chemical in the remainder of the beans that was not used for cooking but the degree of concentration was not lethal.
Police said the package at the woman’s home had no other signs of being opened except for the cut that was made when the woman opened it with scissors.
The woman, 56, bought the product Saturday, thawed and ate some the following day, according to the health office. She vomited due to a foul taste and smell and later felt numbness in the mouth and nauseous.
She was rushed to a hospital in Machida city for treatment and her condition improved in two to three hours, the health office said. She was discharged Monday.
She had bought the product at an outlet of Ito-Yokado Co. supermarket chain in Hachioji, according to the public health office. Seven & I Holdings Co, the parent of Ito-Yokado, said the outlet in question sold 46 packages that day and traced the buyers for 40 of them. It has received no reports of health damage.
Ito-Yokado has already removed the product from the shelves of its 179 outlets, including those of affiliated supermarket chains.
The health ministry said the insecticide chlorpyrifos was also detected in frozen Jew’s marrow manufactured by Yantai Beihai in 2002 and exported to Japan. The concentration was 0.15 ppm, a level considered not to cause immediate health problems to humans, it said. The product was then destroyed.
September 13, 2008
Vivisection and Kill Shelters in Japan
As I feared–Japan still operates massive kill “shelters” and engages is widespread vivisection (28,000,000 animals per year). There are no regulations of the practice.
By Karryn Miller
“Big dogs like huskies are so cute when they are little, but as they grow up there are many cases where pet owners don’t know how to handle them and desert them,†says Meiko Ogawa, director of the Japan Anti-Vivisection Association (JAVA). “Other common reasons pets are left behind are: the owners get tired of them, they move home, the animal becomes ill or gets old.â€
Although procedures for dealing with stray and abandoned animals vary by prefecture, dogs and cats are often held for just a few days before being gassed to death. “The very little ones are frequently killed on the same day,†says Ogawa. “Some local governments put the abandoned cats into thick sacks… as they tend to scratch. They are left for up to two days without food or water before meeting their fate.â€
JAVA is fighting against these torturous conditions, but with just 12 staff — of whom only two are paid — it’s a strenuous battle, especially as the organization is trying to do more than just stop the killing. Other activities include preventing pet abuse, opposing the killing of wild animals, stopping fur production, and abolishing animal testing (vivisection).
The organization estimates that nearly 28 million animals are used for experiments each year in Japan. “At present there is no [Japanese] law that addresses animal testing,†explains staff member Satoko Wazaki. “Experiments of this nature fall under the ‘Law Concerning Protection and Control of Animals,’ which dates to 1972. The law is self-regulating, with no government inspections, no compulsory reporting of the number of animals used, and no penalties.â€
JAVA has achieved small victories, but animals continue to be tested on and killed at alarming rates. “By April 2006, all local governments stopped providing universities and institutes with abandoned cats and dogs,†says Wazaki. “But there are still many ways to get animals: researchers may buy animals from specialized distributors, and/or breed them by themselves; cats are captured by black market dealers; some zoos provide ‘surplus’ monkeys; wild monkeys are caught; and the list goes on.â€
In 2005 JAVA released a cosmetics guide (in Japanese) that lists domestic manufacturers who test on animals, those who don’t — and those who never bothered to respond to the group’s questionnaire, which was used to compile the book. Over 2,000 people have signed up to receive JAVA’s quarterly newsletter, some of whom volunteer their time by giving presentations about animal abuse, or by handing out flyers at train stations. The organization also makes an appearance at a number of events throughout the year, including the main Earth Day fair held at Yoyogi Park each April.
JAVA is currently seeking volunteers for letter-writing campaigns, as well as people willing to donate their time and/or money to help the cause. To learn more see www.java-animal.org, email java@blueocn.ne.jp, or call 03-5456-9311.
This story originally appeared in Metropolis magazine (www.metropolis.co.jp).
September 1, 2008
Veggie Dogs and Baseball–A New Tradition!
I’ve been enjoying more and more sports articles about folks who loves sports and eating vegan! Here’s one!
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Eight years into her mission, vegetarian advocate Johanna McCloy has inspired half of the major league ballparks to add meatless alternatives.
Jerry Crowe
July 22, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO — Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers is being introduced before last Friday night’s game against the San Francisco Giants, and Johanna McCloy, otherwise preoccupied at AT&T Park, lets out a yelp.
“Yes,” she cries. “Vegetarian.”
The Berkeley-based McCloy, a self-appointed advocate for meat-eschewing baseball fans, has crossed the San Francisco Bay to promote her dreamer’s quest: to add veggie dogs to the menu at every major league ballpark.
Eight years into her mission, the 43-year-old actress and Duke graduate is halfway there, with Dodger Stadium among the first to sign on and Angel Stadium still a holdout. Fielder’s decision to give up meat has been a welcome shot in the arm to the cause, which has encountered pockets of hostile resistance.
Last month, after an article about McCloy appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle magazine, reader Marc Kimberly of Concord wrote: “For goodness’ sakes, is there no limit to which annoying vegetarians won’t go in their efforts to try to convert people from enjoying meat in favor of the bland mishmash of unappetizing and virtually tasteless ‘food’ these elitist snobs choke down their gullets?”
McCloy says she was equally dumbfounded when, during an appearance on a Denver radio station, her efforts were labeled un-American. Her only objective, she says, is to give fans a choice.
“I said, ‘How more American can you get?’ ” McCloy says of her Denver radio experience. “This is a nation of immigrants, this is a nation of diversity, this is a nation of opportunity, this is a nation of saying ‘yes’ to everybody. How are you threatened by a couple of people to your left at a baseball game choosing to eat something other than what you’re eating?”
McCloy, who lived previously in Mount Washington, was introduced to baseball by a former boyfriend and says it was while attending a game at Dodger Stadium in 2000 that she hatched her idea of promoting meatless alternatives to standard ballpark fare.
“I was blown away by the size and scope of a baseball stadium,” she says, “so I thought when it came time to eat, ‘There’s going to be plenty of options,’ and there weren’t. I was a vegetarian, and I was naïve.”
She says she walked throughout the stadium and discovered that even a Subway sandwich stand offered no meatless choice.
The next day, she called the concessions manager.
“He said, ‘You’re right about the subs. We’ll start doing that,’ ” McCloy recalls. “I thought, ‘Wow.’ That was really reinforcing for me because I realized all I had to do was call and now all these people can have a veggie sub.
“That kind of got me going.”
Through research, she found that no big league stadium offered veggie dogs. Encouraged by vegetarians and animal-rights supporters, she launched a website, soyhappy.org, and started lobbying concession managers.
“I just thought it needed to happen because there was a certain percentage of the fan base at any given stadium that probably would not be eating at all, would bring their own food or would resort to eating only peanuts,” McCloy says. “It seemed like it made good business sense. It never dawned on me that it would take off like it did. I got this following — it was bizarre — and I went with it.”
As an actress who says her main claim to fame was a guest spot on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” — “I was one of only two women who made out with Worf in seven seasons,” she says — McCloy was used to unconventional followings.
But this was different.
The Chicago White Sox were the first big league team to offer veggie dogs, McCloy says, and 14 more followed, among them the Giants.
“She’s such a good advocate that she sort of makes it competitive between ballparks, which is cool,” says Sandie Filipiak, director of concessions at AT&T Park. “It’s like, ‘Who’s got the most vegetarian choices?’ “
Through her efforts, McCloy has developed an unexpected affinity for baseball and, since her move to Berkeley in 2002, the Oakland A’s.
“I’ve never become like a huge, avid, have-to-read-about-it-everyday kind of fan,” she says, “but I really enjoy it. And I love everything about the A’s. I love what they represent. I like rooting for the underdog.”
She says she’s drawn to the A’s pluck and resourcefulness, two attributes that could be ascribed to McCloy in her nonprofit, uphill endeavor.
“I’m pretty proud of it,” notes McCloy, who says she cried in 2001 when she bit into the first veggie dog served at Dodger Stadium. “I didn’t realize what a big deal it was going to be, and then when I realized that it was, at first I was kind of embarrassed. But then I realized it truly was important to a lot of people and then I thought about the big picture and how this was kind of a revolution.”
Will it end with veggie dogs in every stadium?
“Absolutely,” McCloy says. “I think it’s inevitable.”
Good Animal News Site!
I recently discovered an intriguing site that contains podcasts for you iPod and iTouch fans. Take a listen at http://www.animalvoices.ca/home
July 29, 2008
Who says you have to eat meat to be a successful athlete?
More good news from ESPN: Lots of beefy sports players are going vegan and vegetarian!
By Jonah Keri
With each home run Milwaukee Brewers slugger Prince Fielder hit in his breakout 2007 season, a prototype was confirmed. Here was a big, beefy athlete swinging from the heels, producing an NL-leading 50 homers. His physique resembled an evolutionary version of his dad, Cecil, a more muscular version of another hulking and somewhat round power hitter. If you had to guess Prince’s diet, you’d probably picture lots of steaks, with a side order of steak sandwiches and a steak smoothie. But a funny thing happened in the offseason. Fielder told the world he wasn’t a big meat eater at all. In fact, he’d given up animal flesh entirely after he read some eye-opening books, talked at length with his wife and soul-searched for months. At first there was some gentle poking, a few writers and talk show hosts wondering out loud whether a man who makes his living as a big, strong destroyer of baseballs could cut it on a diet of tofu and pixie dust. Ha, ha, ha. . . . see full article at http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keri/080616
July 7, 2008
Poem by Billy Collins
“Another Reason Why I don’t Keep a Gun in the House”
The neighbors’ dog will not stop barking,
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
they must switch him on on their way out.
The neighbors’ dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,
and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.
When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton
while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.
July 3, 2008
Waitzman is bad news
Bad News: Dr. David M. Waitzman: an animal experimenter at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Waitzman had a $1.7 million grant from the federal government that funded his cruel research on monkeys. He used the money to drill holes into monkeys’ skulls and implant steel coils in their eyeballs over and over again. An actual cage log of Cornelius, one of the tortured monkeys in Waitzman’s experiments stated that Cornelius suffered from tremors and seizures for more than eight months after Waitzman drilled into his skull, yet Waitzman continued to use Cornelius in experiments in which he was held immobile in a restraint chair and his brain was poked and prodded. Waitzman photo
On his final day, Cornelius started vomiting and convulsing during an experiment. The convulsions developed into grand mal seizures, and Cornelius died from cardiac arrest.
Newest entry: Dolphins die from sonar radar in UK–see more under Animals Treatment– Global
