Global
To READ THE STATEMENT condemning Bush's new aggression
against Cuba, go to
www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/cuba/index.html
To see the INITIAL LIST OF SIGNERS, go to www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/cuba/signers.html
To SIGN the statement, go to www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/cuba/sign.html
To see the INITIAL LIST OF SIGNERS, go to www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/cuba/signers.html
To SIGN the statement, go to www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/cuba/sign.html
Greetings, Activists!
Please read this ENTIRE e-mail message, as it contains important, detailed information regarding our KFC Campaign, which is NOT being called off. In fact, it’s going full speed ahead. Please continue to organize as many demonstrations as you possibly can, write letters, and so on. The pressure must continue!
As you may have heard, KFC’s president, Cheryl Bachelder, recently flew to PETA’s hometown of Norfolk, Va., for a meeting with PETA president Ingrid Newkirk and Bruce Friedrich to discuss our demands of KFC. As a result of the meeting, KFC has pledged to make several important improvements in the way chickens are treated. Here’s what KFC has pledged to do:
· put cameras in all U.S. slaughterhouses to help discourage the sadistic abuse of chickens and to help catch and punish any employees abusing birds
· implement humane mechanized chicken-gathering at one-fourth of all U.S. slaughterhouses by the end of next year
· increase the amount of living space for each bird by about 30 percent
Please read this ENTIRE e-mail message, as it contains important, detailed information regarding our KFC Campaign, which is NOT being called off. In fact, it’s going full speed ahead. Please continue to organize as many demonstrations as you possibly can, write letters, and so on. The pressure must continue!
As you may have heard, KFC’s president, Cheryl Bachelder, recently flew to PETA’s hometown of Norfolk, Va., for a meeting with PETA president Ingrid Newkirk and Bruce Friedrich to discuss our demands of KFC. As a result of the meeting, KFC has pledged to make several important improvements in the way chickens are treated. Here’s what KFC has pledged to do:
· put cameras in all U.S. slaughterhouses to help discourage the sadistic abuse of chickens and to help catch and punish any employees abusing birds
· implement humane mechanized chicken-gathering at one-fourth of all U.S. slaughterhouses by the end of next year
· increase the amount of living space for each bird by about 30 percent
Halliburton Corp., the second largest oil services company in world, is the poster child for corporate greed and terror. And it seems that nothing will stop Vice President Dick Cheney’s old company from repeatedly breaking the law to save and earn mountains of cash.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing this week, Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton unit that won a controversial no-bid contract to extinguish Iraqi oil well fires, disclosed that it paid $2.4 million in bribes to a Nigerian tax official to obtain favorable tax treatment in the country where it’s building a natural gas plant and an offshore oil and gas facility.
The bribes were paid between 2001 and 2002 to “an entity owned by a Nigerian national who held himself out as a tax consultant, when in fact he was an employee of a local tax authority,” the company said in the SEC filing, which was discovered during an internal audit.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing this week, Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton unit that won a controversial no-bid contract to extinguish Iraqi oil well fires, disclosed that it paid $2.4 million in bribes to a Nigerian tax official to obtain favorable tax treatment in the country where it’s building a natural gas plant and an offshore oil and gas facility.
The bribes were paid between 2001 and 2002 to “an entity owned by a Nigerian national who held himself out as a tax consultant, when in fact he was an employee of a local tax authority,” the company said in the SEC filing, which was discovered during an internal audit.
A new poll tells us that -- by a two-to-one margin -- Americans
"use clearly positive words in their descriptions of the president." The
Pew Research Center, releasing a nationwide survey on May 7, declared
"there is little doubt ... that the war in Iraq has improved the
president's image" in the United States.
Such assessments stand in sharp contrast to views of George W. Bush overseas. In mid-March, the Pew center put out survey results showing that "U.S. favorability ratings have plummeted in the past six months" -- not only in "countries actively opposing war" but also in "countries that are part of the 'coalition of the willing.'"
So, why do most Americans seem at least somewhat positive about Bush, while the figures indicating a "favorable view of the U.S." are low in one country after another -- only 48 percent in Britain, 31 percent in France, 28 percent in Russia, 25 percent in Germany, 14 percent in Spain and 12 percent in Turkey? In large measure, the answer can be summed up with one word: media.
Such assessments stand in sharp contrast to views of George W. Bush overseas. In mid-March, the Pew center put out survey results showing that "U.S. favorability ratings have plummeted in the past six months" -- not only in "countries actively opposing war" but also in "countries that are part of the 'coalition of the willing.'"
So, why do most Americans seem at least somewhat positive about Bush, while the figures indicating a "favorable view of the U.S." are low in one country after another -- only 48 percent in Britain, 31 percent in France, 28 percent in Russia, 25 percent in Germany, 14 percent in Spain and 12 percent in Turkey? In large measure, the answer can be summed up with one word: media.
AUSTIN, Texas -- "We ought to be beating our chests every day.
We ought to look in a mirror and be proud, and stick out our chests and suck
in our bellies, and say, 'Damn, we're Americans!'" -- Jay Garner, retired
general and the man in charge of the American occupation of Iraq.
Thus it is with a sense of profound relief that one hears the news that Garner is about to be replaced by a civilian with nation-building experience. I realize we have all been too busy with the Laci Peterson affair to notice that we're still sitting on a powder keg in Iraq, but there it is. In case you missed it, a million Iraqi Shiites made pilgrimage to Karbala, screaming, "No to America!"
Funny how media attention slips just at the diciest moments. I doubt the United States was in this much danger at any point during the actual war. Whether this endeavor in Iraq will turn out to be worth the doing is now at a critical point, and the media have decided it's no longer a story. Boy, are we not being served well by American journalism.
Thus it is with a sense of profound relief that one hears the news that Garner is about to be replaced by a civilian with nation-building experience. I realize we have all been too busy with the Laci Peterson affair to notice that we're still sitting on a powder keg in Iraq, but there it is. In case you missed it, a million Iraqi Shiites made pilgrimage to Karbala, screaming, "No to America!"
Funny how media attention slips just at the diciest moments. I doubt the United States was in this much danger at any point during the actual war. Whether this endeavor in Iraq will turn out to be worth the doing is now at a critical point, and the media have decided it's no longer a story. Boy, are we not being served well by American journalism.
Not so long ago, I commented on a column by Christopher Hitchens in Vanity
Fair, in which this well-known toper addressed himself to the theme of "How
To Make Drink One's Slave and Not One's Master." Having already had
rich sport with Hitchens's bizarre excursus on this theme I'll confine
myself here to a sentence in that same column that was widely quoted as an
example of Hitchens' trenchant wit.
It dealt with the matter of how many dry martinis should a prudent drinker confront at cocktail time.
Here is what Hitchens wrote: "On the whole, observe the same rule about gin martinis -- and all gin drinks -- that you would in judging female breasts: one is far too few and three is one too many ... When you get the shudders, even slightly, it's definitely time to seek help."
It dealt with the matter of how many dry martinis should a prudent drinker confront at cocktail time.
Here is what Hitchens wrote: "On the whole, observe the same rule about gin martinis -- and all gin drinks -- that you would in judging female breasts: one is far too few and three is one too many ... When you get the shudders, even slightly, it's definitely time to seek help."
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- In Pensacola, Fla., a crowd of pink,
plastic flamingos on the lawn means someone is having a birthday. The
flamingos are usually for a major, zero-ending birthday, so on the day you
turn, say, 50, you walk out of the house, and there are 50 pink flamingos to
greet you. I report this to prove that travel is culturally broadening.
Also on the Redneck Riviera, an annual sporting event I trust will soon attract national television coverage: the Mullet Toss. Kenny Stabler, formerly with the Oakland Raiders, throws out the first mullet in the yearly fish fling, and then, less famous mullet chuckers compete.
Near as I can tell from a quick visit, the major problem along the Florida Panhandle is rapid development. Same old same old, except that both the old-timers and the newcomers have a strong interest in preserving the natural beauty of the place. By now, everyone knows what happens if you don't control growth. The phenomenon known as "strip commercial" appears -- endless stretches of tacky, plastic, franchise food joints.
Also on the Redneck Riviera, an annual sporting event I trust will soon attract national television coverage: the Mullet Toss. Kenny Stabler, formerly with the Oakland Raiders, throws out the first mullet in the yearly fish fling, and then, less famous mullet chuckers compete.
Near as I can tell from a quick visit, the major problem along the Florida Panhandle is rapid development. Same old same old, except that both the old-timers and the newcomers have a strong interest in preserving the natural beauty of the place. By now, everyone knows what happens if you don't control growth. The phenomenon known as "strip commercial" appears -- endless stretches of tacky, plastic, franchise food joints.
I am so glad that I found freepress.org. You are a breath of fresh air -
and thanks to Peter Werbe - as I heard about you today from his show.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
Corporation continues to support the worst abuses
On May 1, KFC issued a news release claiming to be adopting “industry-leading poultry guidelines.”
PETA is disgusted that KFC would attempt to deceive compassionate consumers: KFC’s release is worded so as to reassure chicken consumers who are anxious to hear that chickens are not cruelly treated by KFC and its suppliers and slaughterers. But, in fact, KFC continues to ignore its own animal welfare advisory board’s recommendations as well as those of the humane community, still has not adopted the eight key minimum reforms, and instead continues to hide behind the chicken industry’s skirts, hoping that this will all go away and pretending that it needs government permission to switch to gas killing, an accepted method that requires nothing more than the decency to implement it.
On May 1, KFC issued a news release claiming to be adopting “industry-leading poultry guidelines.”
PETA is disgusted that KFC would attempt to deceive compassionate consumers: KFC’s release is worded so as to reassure chicken consumers who are anxious to hear that chickens are not cruelly treated by KFC and its suppliers and slaughterers. But, in fact, KFC continues to ignore its own animal welfare advisory board’s recommendations as well as those of the humane community, still has not adopted the eight key minimum reforms, and instead continues to hide behind the chicken industry’s skirts, hoping that this will all go away and pretending that it needs government permission to switch to gas killing, an accepted method that requires nothing more than the decency to implement it.
ANTI-VIOLENCE WEEK OCTOBER 6-12, 2003
The purpose of the Week is to educate and raise awareness about violence and explore ways to reduce and prevent violence in our homes and communities. This year will mark the 5th anniversary of the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. Matthew was murdered in October of 1998 because he was gay.
So far, the plans for the Week include an anti-violence resource expo, a town hall meeting to discuss violence, and a memorial service to honor and remember Metthew and all victims of violence.
WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT FOR THE ANTI-VIOLENCE WEEK....
OCSJ is looking for organizations and individuals to develop and conduct workshops and programs on the following issues:
Family violence/Youth violence Same-sex couples and domestic violence Guest speakers for the town hall meeting
You or your group, business, organization, church, etc can also support the Week by becoming co-sponsors. For a donation of $125.00, we'll gladly list your name or the name of your group, etc in all flyers, press releases and other PR that we will be doing for the Week.
The purpose of the Week is to educate and raise awareness about violence and explore ways to reduce and prevent violence in our homes and communities. This year will mark the 5th anniversary of the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. Matthew was murdered in October of 1998 because he was gay.
So far, the plans for the Week include an anti-violence resource expo, a town hall meeting to discuss violence, and a memorial service to honor and remember Metthew and all victims of violence.
WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT FOR THE ANTI-VIOLENCE WEEK....
OCSJ is looking for organizations and individuals to develop and conduct workshops and programs on the following issues:
Family violence/Youth violence Same-sex couples and domestic violence Guest speakers for the town hall meeting
You or your group, business, organization, church, etc can also support the Week by becoming co-sponsors. For a donation of $125.00, we'll gladly list your name or the name of your group, etc in all flyers, press releases and other PR that we will be doing for the Week.