Volume # 60/ The Darker Side

Hi ya all ~

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Hi back!

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aktbird57,

You and your 283 friends have supported 1,879,134.8 square feet!

Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 42,415.5 square feet.
You have supported: (0.0)
Your 283 friends have supported: (42,415.5)

American Prairie habitat supported: 35,601.3 square feet.
You have supported: (9,972.4)
Your 283 friends have supported: (25,628.9)

Rainforest habitat supported: 1,801,118.1 square feet.
You have supported: (161,051.0)
Your 283 friends have supported: (1,640,067.1)

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1 Aktbird57 .. 1124 43.137 acres

Got the flu, raining, and if that wearnt' bad enough, smashed me fingernail at work today!

The dark side killing me past few days.

On a more positive note though - my daughter and s.i.l celebrate their 10th Wedding Anniversary Saturday with festivities that I ain't gonna miss for the world <health permitting>

Stradee, get well soon.

I am feeling down too- to chilly and wet here right now. I fear the weekend which was planned to be in the country will be "drowned".

On the other hand only 10 more days to a special lady's birthday and only 3 weeks to the end of term. Looking forward to something nice is always good.

Thanks for the kind words, UL.
Hoping the rain stops and you'll have a wonderful holiday also.

Oleanders began blooming last week <lovely white and red flowers> and with two days of steady rains, the trees flowers beginning to droop. Jeese. Wondering just what season we're in anymore. <sigh>

Good day to all ~

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Good news!

Congress Passes Important Horse Protection Legislation

Yesterday <June 8th> Congress passed by an overwhelming majority the Sweeny-Spratt amendment to make the use of federal funds for horse slaughterhouses in the U.S. illegal. IDA would like to thank all of our members who responded to our Action Alerts by writing, emailing, faxing and calling their Representatives: you really made a difference! And congratulations to everyone from the many different groups who lobbied and worked so hard for this victory. Because of our collective efforts, we are now one step closer to outlawing horse slaughter in this country.


The amendment now goes to the Senate, and you can be sure that we will continue to fight on behalf of America's horses to ensure that it passes there, as well.

Danon,
here is an update of the thunderbolt rescue.
They couldn't locate the plane yet, but hope to do it during the summer.
The pilot was rescued near the east bank of the lake, there the water is about 80 to 100 m deep. But it could be more than that. By sonar they found mud layers up to 11 m. So it seems it might not work out. If they will find the plane there will a TV crew on the location.
BTW- D-Day Museum in New Orleans is involved.

http://imode.unterwasser.de/news/details.asp?news_id=2819

This may be of interest here as well:

A former oil industry lobbyist edited the Bush administration's official policy papers on climate change to play down the link between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming:




Link to thread

That's sheer unadulterated garbage, Walter. The man was in charge of editing reports, and he summarized as best he could.

Sorry - it's not like you to state unsupported factoids!

P.S. For anyone ignorant of the great glaciations:

They've been happening with some regularity over the last billion years of the planet.

CO2 is a harmless gas in the concentrations found during that billion years and is at a historic low currently - if it rises a bit it will help plants grow - and btw this is a RAIN FOREST thread!

In case anybody missed the basic message here, the last glaciation ended 20,000 (twenty thousand) years ago; the planet has been warming EVER SINCE.

Pollution with heavy metals is an ENTIRELY DISTINCT issue, and the one we should worry about - there's nothing we can do about the planet warming or cooling, but PLENTY to be done about no longer poisoning the oceans and the ground waters!

Okay. greenpeace and the European media ....

(Btw: the copy above is from The Times.)

Walter - the source matters little if it's wrong, and that one was factually misleading.

From the EU thread, which I know you follow, you'll see I'm in support of the French - Greenpeace was utterly discredited in all scientific circles when it admitted making up data on the Shell North Sea platform disposal, and the 2 French agents that blew up the Greenpeace ship in New Zealand feted as heroes on their return. The politics of fear overlook the true dangers to man and animals and focus on matters beyond anyone's control, like planetary warming: it's a very good thing, by every single analysis, unless you're an iceberg

Not just the Euro media.
That report about the editing/summarizing is causing a pretty nasty smell.

259 google hits

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aktbird57 -

You and your 283 friends have supported 1,880,563.1 square feet!

Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 42,555.9 square feet.
You have supported: (0.0)
Your 283 friends have supported: (42,555.9)

American Prairie habitat supported: 35,601.3 square feet.
You have supported: (9,972.4)
Your 283 friends have supported: (25,628.9)

Rainforest habitat supported: 1,802,405.9 square feet.
You have supported: (161,074.4)
Your 283 friends have supported: (1,641,331.4)

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1 Aktbird57 .. 1125 43.170 acres

Hi all,
Patti and I are at our friends home in Ocean Springs, MS. All clicked.

ul,
That is a good link. Thanks. I have visited the museum in New Orleans - it's very nice and growing bigger all the time.

Ok, After driving almost 7 hrs I have to go now.

See ya all tomorrow.

Rest up, Danon.

If this is the place, it looks quite interesting ... Eudora Welty ...

http://www.southcoastusa.com/oceansprings.asp

Helen, although we can't do much about natural climate changes, we certainly can and should explore the uses of clean and reusable energy.

A former oil company lobbyist isn't exactly the person i'd trust for giving
good advise regarding the affects of greenhouse gas emissions - especially since the energy companies have a stake in the public not knowing the truth <Cheney, et al> America needs an energy policy that protects our environment, economy, and national security. Unfortunately, the energy bill passed by the House, is even more harmful than in previous years, giving huge subsidies to polluting industries, and almost no provisions in support of clean energy.

IMHO, the administration has some splainin' to do. The report just the tip of the iceberg <so to speak>

UL, thanks for the links also. Interesting!

Danon, good hearing you and Pattie are taking a holiday!

Stradee - carbon dioxide (CO2) is distinct from pollution issues (especially pollution by mercury and other heavy metals, which is irreversible and utterly dangerous).

So is planetary warming between great glaciations. These were the only points I was making - neither is in dispute.

For those following the EU constitutional debacle, excerpt from a Q+A with that text's main author:

"In response to a question about whether the rights of animals were included in the document, Giscard d'Estaing, said no, but that it was an important issue that would be considered."

http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/news/news/2003/giscard_destaing_100903.htm

The German constitution is clearly ahead on that topic - tks, Walter!

Helen, thanks for the new info! More from the EU and animal care.


Farm Animal Welfare Reforms

The recent decision by the EU to ban the battery cage system for egg-laying hens shows that it is no longer fanciful to have good animal welfare. In recent years the EU has decided to phase-out the veal crate, the tethering of breeding sows and the battery cage for egg-laying hens. Further animal welfare reforms are to be expected.

Furthermore, a Protocol attached to the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty recognises animals as 'sentient beings'. This means that animals can suffer and feel pain and are not simply agricultural 'goods'. The Protocol also states:

"In formulating and implementing the Community's agriculture … policies, the Community and the Member States shall pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals".

National and EU policy makers are therefore legally obliged to take farm animal welfare into consideration when formulating new agriculture policies. The Agri Food 2010 Committee should ensure that Irish farmers are prepared for animal welfare reforms and are encouraged with financial assistance and expert advice to make the transition to animal welfare-friendly agriculture.

http://www.agri-vision2015.ie/Agrifood/Sub05.htm