This is in regards to the theft of the United States 2004 Presidential Election. This meeting has been requested, a date has not yet been chosen.
By Paddy Shaffer
Ohio Election Justice Campaign
I am in the midst of planning a meeting with Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, and Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann. I have requested a three hour meeting, for which I plan to bring with me a group of speakers to each speak briefly on a topic, and then as a group we will discuss with Brunner and Dann, what is going to get done to investigate and prosecute those involved in the massive amount of documented election fraud in Ohio with an majority focus on 2004 (but not limited too, as the problems continue). We are waiting for confirmation that they will agree to meet and a date. We do not have a date for you today for this requested meeting.
I am inviting interested individuals and groups to attend as observers, and to help show their support to our goals being met. The Secretary of State and Attorney Generals offices are stalling on scheduling this meeting. Any help you can provide is appreciated.
Currently Brunner and Dann are doing little on this, and we cannot go into a third potential stolen Presidential Election with no accountability on what has happened. I think they need some positive encouragement, this is something the citizens want done, and prior to 2008. That leaves only a couple months. Please voice your opinion. If not now, with 2008 in a few months, when? Once 2008 is here, we could likely hear things like, it will be too disruptive to upset and change the Boards of Elections now, and "just get over it". Sorry folks, we should never get over it, not now, not in fifty years. We were intentionally robbed... and the robbers are still there collecting paychecks to run our unverifiable elections, for which we are taxed to pay them. To add to this, we now have more voting machines in Ohio than is 2004.
We have massive amounts of documentation in Ohio, thanks to the many citizen investigators, or which I am one. We want justice for Ohio and the nation. I also have documentation that the Attorney Generals office will do nothing in regards to 2004 election fraud issues. They put it in a letter to me that they will not investigate. I posted it in the letter entitled "An Open Letter To Lloyd Early, Director Of Special Investigations". 56 of Ohio's 88 Counties turned over partial or no ballots to the Secretary of State, which US District Court Judge ordered them to do, with the penalty of a fourth degree felony and a charge of contempt of court. Over one and a half federally protected ballots are gone. We have a massive number of counties with rigged recounts, and other crimes galore.
To understand some of the actual crimes committed, here is my research and what I am able to report on: http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2732
The documents from the Secretary of State relating to the destruction of over one and a half million Ohio 2004 ballots is at this website (it is a link halfway through the article): http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2730
To understand the significance of those ballots read "Shreds of Evidence" by Richard Hayes Phillips PhD at: http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2709
For an insiders look into how some of the Ohio BOE's view those of us who would dare to want to protect the 2004 ballots look at:
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2743
Jennifer Brunner has been repeatedly quoted in the press saying things like they didn't intentionally destroy ballots, which Judge Algenon Marbley ordered protected. These Ohio Boards of Elections destroyed over 1.6 million ballots. Well actually they did destroy those ballots on purpose, Warren and Fayette Counties wrote that they "intentionally destroyed" them in their letters of explanation I have asked to know why this is Jennifer's response, asked her to revise it, and I have gotten no response.
To read a condensed list of excuses look at: http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2731
Here in Ohio we had big, grand hopes that these new people were going to clean house and deal with these issues. Or were those just campaign promises?
I would like to speak to you about this, and include those of you in the meeting who would like to observe this important event in history, and to teach others about it. If you are interested, contact me. I'll have lots of documentation on my investigations up on this website soon. www.wakeupandsaveyourcountry.com This is the site for Ohio native Sheri Myers, for her book "Cheated!". I donated a copy of "Cheated!" to Jennifer Brunner and to Doug Miller recently. Doug is the Manager of Security at the SOS office. He read the book in the room with Richard and I while we photographed the Clermont County stickered ballots. Doug said that many people had asked him about the history of how 2004 unfolded after the election. He seemed pleased to have the story in print, yet looked troubled by what he was reading. Doug did not know about "Sleepovers" (where the poll workers have the voting machines at their homes for several days) nor the 2004 Warren County Homeland Security Alert, Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips just learned that the Deputy Director knew was coming days in advance of the November 2, 2004 election. Something needs done about all this.
As you read those letters of explanation, remember... that for the counties that destroyed records in 60 days... that would be January 1, 2005. Those had a 22 month retention schedule. The Boxer Rebellion and the certification of the election were on January 6, 2005. This ought to make you mad! Again, read "Shreds of Evidence" to see why those records likely are now gone.
Below is my confirmed guest list of speakers and others that plan to attend. I hope all can make it, as the date is still unknown. I have provided the Ohio Secretary of State and the Ohio Attorney Generals Office with the bios for those persons for which I have received a bio, and the topics on which they will speak.
Guest list,
Speakers,
Paddy Shaffer, Bev Harris, Gary Flowers, Victoria Parks, Blair Bobier, Patricia Axelrod, Sheri Myers, Tim Kettler, Brad Friedman, Tim Carpenter, Richard Hayes Phillips PhD, Ken Karan, Adele Eisner, Paul Harmon, Paul Lehto, Peter Jones, Karla Van Bibbler
Journalists
Lynn Landes - The Landes Report
Jon Craig - Cincinnati Enquirer
Evan Davis - Pacifica
Michael Collins - Scoop
Justin Jeffre - Cincinnati Beacon (publisher and writer)
Documentary Film Crews
1. Richard Ray Perez
2. Mary Beth Brangan and Jim Heddle
3. Matt Krous
4. Jeff Kirkby
Invited, monitoring issue, but not confirmed
Ian Urbana - NY Times
Guests to observe meeting
Mark Brown, Sherole Eaton, Marj Creech, Nudge Squidfish, Bill Buckel, Dan Stanton, Anita Rios, Jennifer Alexander
Supporting Organizations
Election Defense Alliance
Please let me know who would be interested in attending this very important meeting. No date is currently set. I will need a bio for anyone that is interested in coming.
Make it a Very Powerful Day,
Paddy Shaffer
Director, Artists Creating Justice
paddy@columbus.rr.com
(614) 761-0621
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
The Dog Ate My Homework Project
The Dog Ate My Homework Project
Bush and Cheney Stole Ohio Election
John Kerry and John Edwards sit silent?
Learn the County Election History and Help!
August 2007
With a minimum of 1,582,208 Ohio ballots lost or destroyed by Ohio's Boards of Elections in total disregard for the record retention schedule, and orders from US District Court Judge Algenon Marbley to protect them, it is time to ask the difficult questions about what has happened. Since no law enforcement agency has stepped in to investigate, the job continues to fall on the shoulders of Americans. Our work of taking a very detailed look into Ohio elections continues, with a focus on our STOLEN ELECTION OF 2004. A project has started as a result of the fury of Ohio Election Activist, Paddy Shaffer after reading the ridiculous "letters of explanation" provided to the Ohio Secretary of State, rather than providing her with the ballots, as ordered by the Judge.
The effort now started, is called "THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK PROJECT" (in reference to the lame excuses given), and this will be a version of "The People's Court", until or unless actual law enforcement folks, who have actual funding and resources, decide that stealing the Presidency of the United States warrants a look. They should be ashamed so far. Since stealing a loaf of bread could get a mother with hungry children harsh punishment, those of us paying attention in Ohio feel that stealing our election should matter, and matter a lot for every stinking hand that helped to pull it off. So it is now the time, and here is the chance for the American people to be the Judge, the Jury, the Court Reporter, the Prosecutor, and the Investigators. It is easy to do. Contact us with idea's for questions to be asked of the Boards of Elections. Report what you find back to us.
We want to provide some helpful hints on how to study any Ohio County that you are interested in, so you know some of its election history that might pertain to the research you collect for The Dog Ate My Homework Project. With this we seek to find out the truth about what has happened to Ohio’s missing 2004 election records. 56 of Ohio’s 88 counties are missing some or all of their 2004 election records. The excuses in the "county letters of explanation" only beg to have more questions asked. Fifteen offending counties did not even provide an excuse to the Secretary of State. There are forms all the Boards of Elections must fill out to dispose of or destroy records, in most of the counties we have now researched, the Board of Elections have not filed a single form in the last 15 years, or longer. Here are the counties, with no letter of explanation, and what they admit to be missing...
That includes
Columbiana, (unvoted ballots)
Coshocton, (unvoted ballots)
Darke, (unvoted & soiled ballots) (a soiled ballot is one that the voter ruined, and asked for a new one)
Lawrence, (unvoted, provisional, & soiled ballots)
Licking, (unvoted & soiled ballots)
Lorain, (unvoted ballots & ballot pages)
Madison, (unvoted ballots)
Miami, (soiled ballots)
Morgan, (unvoted ballots)
Noble, (unvoted ballots)
Summit, (unvoted ballots & ballot pages)
Tuscarawas, (unvoted ballots)
Wayne, (unvoted ballots)
Wood, (unvoted ballots)
Wyandot (soiled ballots & ballot pages)
Imagine being the detective to find out why?
We the people must ask them why, what happened, under what authority do you do these things. Since no one in an official capacity seems to be asking, “We The People” will step in and find out what happened to our ballots, our “Public Records”. Judge Algenon Marbley ordered these records to be safely maintained, and for the ballots to be turned over to the Ohio Secretary of State. Again I say, at a minimum, 1,582,208 (according to Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips)
ballots are now forever missing, which in this case are 1,582,208 pieces of evidence are gone.
This should matter to all Americans, regardless of party. This is just wrong! Is this 1,582,208 fourth degree felony charges? The Judge, in his September 11, 2006 ruling said it was a fourth degree felony, and he would hold those that did not abide by his ruling in contempt of court.
John Kerry and John Edwards need questioned too. What happened, why do they still sit silent. Did they read the books provided to them by Paddy Shaffer and Mark Brown with the evidence of the theft of the Ohio Election. If they didn't read them, why not? What could they do that would be more important? What does Al Gore think about it all?
If 2000, and 2004 were both stolen, how can these men sit silently and leave the gate open for election theft to visit our doors again? What the hell is happening here? If you talk to, or can call these men, provide us with the questions you posed to Kerry, and Edwards, and tell us their responses. It will be utilized in telling Ohio's story. Either they are part of the problem, or part of the solution, this is not something we can "GET OVER", nor should we.
The site for the Green Party’s 2004 Ohio Presidential Election Recount is http://www.iwantmyvote.com/recount/ohio_reports/
At this site you can go in and look at how the recount went in any county in Ohio. As you study the individual counties for your own research, or to assist with The Dog Ate My Homework Project, all the pieces of information weave the story together. Remember, they fought the recount. Delaware County set legal precedent by going to court to block the recount. As long as Delaware didn't recount, none of the other counties had to, until Judge Edmund Sargus ordered them to.
The Free Press has made available documents obtained by public record requests from the Ohio Secretary of State (SOS), Jennifer Brunner. This includes the inventory lists, letters of explanation (for not turning over records to the SOS), photos from some of the counties to explain why they didn’t send records, and more. That site is, (http://freepress.org/ballot/BOE.pdf)
As more important documents are gathered, they will be made available for viewing.
Please send Jason and Paddy your email address, and a phone number where we can reach you if you are willing to help. Send your answers to the project email ohballots@... , and also to Paddy Shaffer ohballots@gmail.com at
(614) 761-0621 and to Jason Parry at ohballots@gmail.com Send it to all three addresses. Jason will be putting data in spreadsheets and doing other things to make the data as useful as possible. If you learn anything really unusual or legally important, that you want to share, please call Paddy and share the story verbally also.
If you are able to make only one or a couple phone calls to one or two Ohio Boards of Elections, your assistance will help to make a difference. Please actually do something to address what happened in Ohio. This election fraud is of a cancerous sort, and it is spreading.
Thanks for your assistance,
Paddy Shaffer
paddy@...
(614) 761-0621
Bush and Cheney Stole Ohio Election
John Kerry and John Edwards sit silent?
Learn the County Election History and Help!
August 2007
With a minimum of 1,582,208 Ohio ballots lost or destroyed by Ohio's Boards of Elections in total disregard for the record retention schedule, and orders from US District Court Judge Algenon Marbley to protect them, it is time to ask the difficult questions about what has happened. Since no law enforcement agency has stepped in to investigate, the job continues to fall on the shoulders of Americans. Our work of taking a very detailed look into Ohio elections continues, with a focus on our STOLEN ELECTION OF 2004. A project has started as a result of the fury of Ohio Election Activist, Paddy Shaffer after reading the ridiculous "letters of explanation" provided to the Ohio Secretary of State, rather than providing her with the ballots, as ordered by the Judge.
The effort now started, is called "THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK PROJECT" (in reference to the lame excuses given), and this will be a version of "The People's Court", until or unless actual law enforcement folks, who have actual funding and resources, decide that stealing the Presidency of the United States warrants a look. They should be ashamed so far. Since stealing a loaf of bread could get a mother with hungry children harsh punishment, those of us paying attention in Ohio feel that stealing our election should matter, and matter a lot for every stinking hand that helped to pull it off. So it is now the time, and here is the chance for the American people to be the Judge, the Jury, the Court Reporter, the Prosecutor, and the Investigators. It is easy to do. Contact us with idea's for questions to be asked of the Boards of Elections. Report what you find back to us.
We want to provide some helpful hints on how to study any Ohio County that you are interested in, so you know some of its election history that might pertain to the research you collect for The Dog Ate My Homework Project. With this we seek to find out the truth about what has happened to Ohio’s missing 2004 election records. 56 of Ohio’s 88 counties are missing some or all of their 2004 election records. The excuses in the "county letters of explanation" only beg to have more questions asked. Fifteen offending counties did not even provide an excuse to the Secretary of State. There are forms all the Boards of Elections must fill out to dispose of or destroy records, in most of the counties we have now researched, the Board of Elections have not filed a single form in the last 15 years, or longer. Here are the counties, with no letter of explanation, and what they admit to be missing...
That includes
Columbiana, (unvoted ballots)
Coshocton, (unvoted ballots)
Darke, (unvoted & soiled ballots) (a soiled ballot is one that the voter ruined, and asked for a new one)
Lawrence, (unvoted, provisional, & soiled ballots)
Licking, (unvoted & soiled ballots)
Lorain, (unvoted ballots & ballot pages)
Madison, (unvoted ballots)
Miami, (soiled ballots)
Morgan, (unvoted ballots)
Noble, (unvoted ballots)
Summit, (unvoted ballots & ballot pages)
Tuscarawas, (unvoted ballots)
Wayne, (unvoted ballots)
Wood, (unvoted ballots)
Wyandot (soiled ballots & ballot pages)
Imagine being the detective to find out why?
We the people must ask them why, what happened, under what authority do you do these things. Since no one in an official capacity seems to be asking, “We The People” will step in and find out what happened to our ballots, our “Public Records”. Judge Algenon Marbley ordered these records to be safely maintained, and for the ballots to be turned over to the Ohio Secretary of State. Again I say, at a minimum, 1,582,208 (according to Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips)
ballots are now forever missing, which in this case are 1,582,208 pieces of evidence are gone.
This should matter to all Americans, regardless of party. This is just wrong! Is this 1,582,208 fourth degree felony charges? The Judge, in his September 11, 2006 ruling said it was a fourth degree felony, and he would hold those that did not abide by his ruling in contempt of court.
John Kerry and John Edwards need questioned too. What happened, why do they still sit silent. Did they read the books provided to them by Paddy Shaffer and Mark Brown with the evidence of the theft of the Ohio Election. If they didn't read them, why not? What could they do that would be more important? What does Al Gore think about it all?
If 2000, and 2004 were both stolen, how can these men sit silently and leave the gate open for election theft to visit our doors again? What the hell is happening here? If you talk to, or can call these men, provide us with the questions you posed to Kerry, and Edwards, and tell us their responses. It will be utilized in telling Ohio's story. Either they are part of the problem, or part of the solution, this is not something we can "GET OVER", nor should we.
The site for the Green Party’s 2004 Ohio Presidential Election Recount is http://www.iwantmyvote.com/recount/ohio_reports/
At this site you can go in and look at how the recount went in any county in Ohio. As you study the individual counties for your own research, or to assist with The Dog Ate My Homework Project, all the pieces of information weave the story together. Remember, they fought the recount. Delaware County set legal precedent by going to court to block the recount. As long as Delaware didn't recount, none of the other counties had to, until Judge Edmund Sargus ordered them to.
The Free Press has made available documents obtained by public record requests from the Ohio Secretary of State (SOS), Jennifer Brunner. This includes the inventory lists, letters of explanation (for not turning over records to the SOS), photos from some of the counties to explain why they didn’t send records, and more. That site is, (http://freepress.org/ballot/BOE.pdf)
As more important documents are gathered, they will be made available for viewing.
Please send Jason and Paddy your email address, and a phone number where we can reach you if you are willing to help. Send your answers to the project email ohballots@... , and also to Paddy Shaffer ohballots@gmail.com at
(614) 761-0621 and to Jason Parry at ohballots@gmail.com Send it to all three addresses. Jason will be putting data in spreadsheets and doing other things to make the data as useful as possible. If you learn anything really unusual or legally important, that you want to share, please call Paddy and share the story verbally also.
If you are able to make only one or a couple phone calls to one or two Ohio Boards of Elections, your assistance will help to make a difference. Please actually do something to address what happened in Ohio. This election fraud is of a cancerous sort, and it is spreading.
Thanks for your assistance,
Paddy Shaffer
paddy@...
(614) 761-0621
Monday, August 27, 2007
Private War, Private World (for the rich), Makes The Common Man Expendable And Exploitable
"The Great Iraq Swindle
How Bush Allowed an Army of For-Profit Contractors to Invade the U.S. Treasury
--From Issue 1034... Rolling Stone Magazine
How is it done? How do you screw the taxpayer for millions, get away with it and then ride off into the sunset with one middle finger extended, the other wrapped around a chilled martini? Ask Earnest O. Robbins -- he knows all about being a successful contractor in Iraq. "
"Many Take Army's 'Quick Ship' Bonus
$20,000 Is Lure to Leave Within Days
More than 90 percent of the Army's new recruits since late July have accepted a $20,000 "quick ship" bonus to leave for basic combat training by the end of September, putting thousands of Americans into uniform almost immediately."
"Blackwater Buys Brazilian Bombers
August 27, 2007: Security company Blackwater U.S.A. is buying Super Tucano light combat aircraft from the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. These five ton, single engine, single seat aircraft are built for pilot training, but also perform quite well for counter-insurgency work. Brazil. The Super Tucano is basically a prop driven trainer that is equipped for combat missions. The aircraft can carry up to 1.5 tons of weapons, including 12.7mm machine-guns, bombs and missiles. The aircraft cruises at about 500 kilometers an hour and can stay in the air for about 6.5 hours per sortie. One of the options is a FLIR (infrared radar that produces a photo realistic video image in any weather) and a fire control system for bombing. Colombia is using the Super Tucanos for counter-insurgency work (there are over 20,000 armed rebels and drug gang gunmen in the country). The aircraft is also used for border patrol. The U.S. Air Force is watching that quite closely. The Super Tucano costs $9 million each, and come in one or two seat versions. The bubble canopy provides excellent visibility. This, coupled with its slow speed (versus jets), makes it an excellent ground attack aircraft.
Blackwater already has a force of armed helicopters in Iraq, and apparently wants something a little faster, and more heavily armed, to fulfill its security contracts overseas. Initially, Blackwater is getting one two-seater, for pilot training in the United States. '
How Bush Allowed an Army of For-Profit Contractors to Invade the U.S. Treasury
--From Issue 1034... Rolling Stone Magazine
How is it done? How do you screw the taxpayer for millions, get away with it and then ride off into the sunset with one middle finger extended, the other wrapped around a chilled martini? Ask Earnest O. Robbins -- he knows all about being a successful contractor in Iraq. "
"Many Take Army's 'Quick Ship' Bonus
$20,000 Is Lure to Leave Within Days
More than 90 percent of the Army's new recruits since late July have accepted a $20,000 "quick ship" bonus to leave for basic combat training by the end of September, putting thousands of Americans into uniform almost immediately."
"Blackwater Buys Brazilian Bombers
August 27, 2007: Security company Blackwater U.S.A. is buying Super Tucano light combat aircraft from the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. These five ton, single engine, single seat aircraft are built for pilot training, but also perform quite well for counter-insurgency work. Brazil. The Super Tucano is basically a prop driven trainer that is equipped for combat missions. The aircraft can carry up to 1.5 tons of weapons, including 12.7mm machine-guns, bombs and missiles. The aircraft cruises at about 500 kilometers an hour and can stay in the air for about 6.5 hours per sortie. One of the options is a FLIR (infrared radar that produces a photo realistic video image in any weather) and a fire control system for bombing. Colombia is using the Super Tucanos for counter-insurgency work (there are over 20,000 armed rebels and drug gang gunmen in the country). The aircraft is also used for border patrol. The U.S. Air Force is watching that quite closely. The Super Tucano costs $9 million each, and come in one or two seat versions. The bubble canopy provides excellent visibility. This, coupled with its slow speed (versus jets), makes it an excellent ground attack aircraft.
Blackwater already has a force of armed helicopters in Iraq, and apparently wants something a little faster, and more heavily armed, to fulfill its security contracts overseas. Initially, Blackwater is getting one two-seater, for pilot training in the United States. '
Friday, August 24, 2007
Rule to Expand Mountaintop Coal Mining
From The New York Times
Original article click here
Picture from Michael Temchine for The New York Times From mountaintop coal mining at Hale Gap, Va.
By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: August 23, 2007
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 — The Bush administration is set to issue a regulation on Friday that would enshrine the coal mining practice of mountaintop removal. The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams.
It has been used in Appalachian coal country for 20 years under a cloud of legal and regulatory confusion.
The new rule would allow the practice to continue and expand, providing only that mine operators minimize the debris and cause the least environmental harm, although those terms are not clearly defined and to some extent merely restate existing law.
The Office of Surface Mining in the Interior Department drafted the rule, which will be subject to a 60-day comment period and could be revised, although officials indicated that it was not likely to be changed substantially.
The regulation is the culmination of six and a half years of work by the administration to make it easier for mining companies to dig more coal to meet growing energy demands and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
Government and industry officials say the rules are needed to clarify existing laws, which have been challenged in court and applied unevenly.
A spokesman for the National Mining Association, Luke Popovich, said that unless mine owners were allowed to dump mine waste in streams and valleys it would be impossible to operate in mountainous regions like West Virginia that hold some of the richest low-sulfur coal seams.
All mining generates huge volumes of waste, known as excess spoil or overburden, and it has to go somewhere. For years, it has been trucked away and dumped in remote hollows of Appalachia.
Environmental activists say the rule change will lead to accelerated pillage of vast tracts and the obliteration of hundreds of miles of streams in central Appalachia.
“This is a parting gift to the coal industry from this administration,” said Joe Lovett, executive director of the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment in Lewisburg, W.Va. “What is at stake is the future of Appalachia. This is an attempt to make legal what has long been illegal.”
Mr. Lovett said his group and allied environmental and community organizations would consider suing to block the new rule.
Mountaintop mining is the most common strip mining in central Appalachia, and the most destructive. Ridge tops are flattened with bulldozers and dynamite, clearing all vegetation and, at times, forcing residents to move.
The coal seams are scraped with gigantic machines called draglines. The law requires mining companies to reclaim and replant the land, but the process always produces excess debris.
Roughly half the coal in West Virginia is from mountaintop mining, which is generally cheaper, safer and more efficient than extraction from underground mines like the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, which may have claimed the lives of nine miners and rescuers, and the Sago Mine in West Virginia, where 12 miners were killed last year.
The rule, which would apply to waste from both types of mines, is known as the stream buffer zone rule. First adopted in 1983, it forbids virtually all mining within 100 feet of a river or stream.
The Interior Department drafted the proposal to try to clear up a 10-year legal and regulatory dispute over how the 1983 rule should be applied. The change is to be published on Friday in The Federal Register, officials said.
The Army Corps of Engineers, state mining authorities and local courts have read the rule liberally, allowing extensive mountaintop mining and dumping of debris in coal-rich regions of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.
From 1985 to 2001, 724 miles of streams were buried under mining waste, according to the environmental impact statement accompanying the new rule.
If current practices continue, another 724 river miles will be buried by 2018, the report says.
Environmental groups have gone to court many times, with limited success, to slow or stop the practice. They won an important ruling in federal court in 1999, but it was overturned in 2001 on procedural and jurisdictional grounds.
The Clinton administration began moving in 1998 to tighten enforcement of the stream rule, but the clock ran out before it could enact new regulations. The Bush administration has been much friendlier to mining interests, which have been reliable contributors to the Republican Party, and has worked on the new rule change since 2001.
The early stages of the revision process were supported by J. Stephen Griles, a former industry lobbyist who was the deputy interior secretary from 2001 to 2004. Mr. Griles had been deputy director of the Office of Surface Mining in the Reagan administration and is knowledgeable about the issues and generally supports the industry.
In June, Mr. Griles was sentenced to 10 months in prison and three years’ probation for lying to a Senate committee about his ties to Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist at the heart of a corruption scandal who is now in prison.
Interior Department officials said they could not comment on the rule because it had not been published. But a senior official of the Office of Surface Mining said the stream buffer rule was never intended to prohibit all mining in and around streams, but rather just to minimize the effects of such work.
Even with the best techniques and most careful reclamation, surface or underground mining will always generate mountains of dirt and rock, he said.
“There’s really no place to put the material except in the upper reaches of hollows,” the official said. “If you can’t put anything in a stream, there’s really no way to even underground mine.”
He said the regulation would explicitly state that the buffer zone rule does not apply for hundreds of miles of streams and valleys and that he hoped, but did not expect, that the rule would end the fight over mine waste.
Mr. Lovett of the Appalachian Center said the rule would only stoke a new battle.
“They are not strengthening the buffer zone rule,” he said. “They are just destroying it. By sleight of hand, they are removing one of the few protections streams now have from the most egregious mining activities.”
Original article click here
Picture from Michael Temchine for The New York Times From mountaintop coal mining at Hale Gap, Va.By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: August 23, 2007
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 — The Bush administration is set to issue a regulation on Friday that would enshrine the coal mining practice of mountaintop removal. The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams.
It has been used in Appalachian coal country for 20 years under a cloud of legal and regulatory confusion.
The new rule would allow the practice to continue and expand, providing only that mine operators minimize the debris and cause the least environmental harm, although those terms are not clearly defined and to some extent merely restate existing law.
The Office of Surface Mining in the Interior Department drafted the rule, which will be subject to a 60-day comment period and could be revised, although officials indicated that it was not likely to be changed substantially.
The regulation is the culmination of six and a half years of work by the administration to make it easier for mining companies to dig more coal to meet growing energy demands and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
Government and industry officials say the rules are needed to clarify existing laws, which have been challenged in court and applied unevenly.
A spokesman for the National Mining Association, Luke Popovich, said that unless mine owners were allowed to dump mine waste in streams and valleys it would be impossible to operate in mountainous regions like West Virginia that hold some of the richest low-sulfur coal seams.
All mining generates huge volumes of waste, known as excess spoil or overburden, and it has to go somewhere. For years, it has been trucked away and dumped in remote hollows of Appalachia.
Environmental activists say the rule change will lead to accelerated pillage of vast tracts and the obliteration of hundreds of miles of streams in central Appalachia.
“This is a parting gift to the coal industry from this administration,” said Joe Lovett, executive director of the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment in Lewisburg, W.Va. “What is at stake is the future of Appalachia. This is an attempt to make legal what has long been illegal.”
Mr. Lovett said his group and allied environmental and community organizations would consider suing to block the new rule.
Mountaintop mining is the most common strip mining in central Appalachia, and the most destructive. Ridge tops are flattened with bulldozers and dynamite, clearing all vegetation and, at times, forcing residents to move.
The coal seams are scraped with gigantic machines called draglines. The law requires mining companies to reclaim and replant the land, but the process always produces excess debris.
Roughly half the coal in West Virginia is from mountaintop mining, which is generally cheaper, safer and more efficient than extraction from underground mines like the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, which may have claimed the lives of nine miners and rescuers, and the Sago Mine in West Virginia, where 12 miners were killed last year.
The rule, which would apply to waste from both types of mines, is known as the stream buffer zone rule. First adopted in 1983, it forbids virtually all mining within 100 feet of a river or stream.
The Interior Department drafted the proposal to try to clear up a 10-year legal and regulatory dispute over how the 1983 rule should be applied. The change is to be published on Friday in The Federal Register, officials said.
The Army Corps of Engineers, state mining authorities and local courts have read the rule liberally, allowing extensive mountaintop mining and dumping of debris in coal-rich regions of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.
From 1985 to 2001, 724 miles of streams were buried under mining waste, according to the environmental impact statement accompanying the new rule.
If current practices continue, another 724 river miles will be buried by 2018, the report says.
Environmental groups have gone to court many times, with limited success, to slow or stop the practice. They won an important ruling in federal court in 1999, but it was overturned in 2001 on procedural and jurisdictional grounds.
The Clinton administration began moving in 1998 to tighten enforcement of the stream rule, but the clock ran out before it could enact new regulations. The Bush administration has been much friendlier to mining interests, which have been reliable contributors to the Republican Party, and has worked on the new rule change since 2001.
The early stages of the revision process were supported by J. Stephen Griles, a former industry lobbyist who was the deputy interior secretary from 2001 to 2004. Mr. Griles had been deputy director of the Office of Surface Mining in the Reagan administration and is knowledgeable about the issues and generally supports the industry.
In June, Mr. Griles was sentenced to 10 months in prison and three years’ probation for lying to a Senate committee about his ties to Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist at the heart of a corruption scandal who is now in prison.
Interior Department officials said they could not comment on the rule because it had not been published. But a senior official of the Office of Surface Mining said the stream buffer rule was never intended to prohibit all mining in and around streams, but rather just to minimize the effects of such work.
Even with the best techniques and most careful reclamation, surface or underground mining will always generate mountains of dirt and rock, he said.
“There’s really no place to put the material except in the upper reaches of hollows,” the official said. “If you can’t put anything in a stream, there’s really no way to even underground mine.”
He said the regulation would explicitly state that the buffer zone rule does not apply for hundreds of miles of streams and valleys and that he hoped, but did not expect, that the rule would end the fight over mine waste.
Mr. Lovett of the Appalachian Center said the rule would only stoke a new battle.
“They are not strengthening the buffer zone rule,” he said. “They are just destroying it. By sleight of hand, they are removing one of the few protections streams now have from the most egregious mining activities.”
Monday, August 20, 2007
Canada's forests are not disposable, Hemp is the next wave, get on board or miss the boat, Your choice CEOs
send a letter here to the corporate greedists... be nice, It is written for you already pretty much if you are angry. If you feel creative go for it and add some of your original thoughts.
I feel the wholesale deforestation of the planet must stop at present with global warming and the over production of CO2.
From Vote Hemp
USDA Research Shows Hemp Has Potential for Paper Production
In 1997, the USDA Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin conducted an evaluation of hemp as a potential feedstock for the paper industry in that state. They concluded that "... hemp could profitably be used as a fiber source for the paper industry" and that "Wisconsin farmers could meet the demand for fiber by the fine paper manufacturers of Wisconsin." To view the report, click here. (PDF file 569k)
With all the cutting going on. Hemp could replace paper from trees, 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees saved without the toxics involved in processing! No pestisides needed and it is renewable.
http://write-a-letter.greenpeace.org/280
Canada's forests are not disposable
Logging companies are cutting down Canada’s Boreal forest - destroying this ancient forest at an alarming rate. Three of the largest companies involved in this destruction are Abitibi Consolidated, Bowater and Kruger. These companies are regularly clearcutting areas the size of 17 000 football fields. As one of the world’s last remaining original forests, Canada’s Boreal deserves better. We need your help getting the message to The CEOs of Abitibi Consolidated, Bowater and Kruger: Canada’s forests are not disposable.
Greenpeace is calling these companies to account - over the next few weeks and months we will be putting pressure on these companies to clean up their practices. We need your help in letting these companies know that Canadians - their customers - want them to clean up their logging practices.
Tell Abitibi CEO John Weaver, along with Kruger and Bowater CEOs Joseph Kruger and David Paterson what you think of the way in which their companies continue to treat Canada’s Boreal forest.
Canada's forests are not disposable, Candadian hemp is the next source, use it!
Dear Mr. Kruger, Mr. Paterson and Mr. Weaver,
I am writing to express my concern regarding your company's logging practices in Canada's Boreal forest. As a concerned customer of many of your clients, I hope that Abitibi-Consolidated, Kruger and Bowater will implement without delay new and responsible forest management policies.
The Boreal forest represents a unique and vital natural resource. It acts as home for many First Nations communities, contains countless animal and plant species and helps curb global warming. In Canada, we hold the power to protect this incredible ecosystem. As the country's largest logging companies, Abitibi, Bowater and Kruger should be at the heart of these protection efforts. Instead, your companies continue to act irresponsibly.
Reckless logging practices such as massive clear-cutting are destroying the Boreal's remaining intact forest landscapes. Considering that only 25% of the world's original forests remain, these practices are especially unacceptable. Thus, I support Greenpeace's demands that your company immediately:
1. Defer on logging in all intact forest landscapes and mapped endangered forests including caribou habitat, and work with Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations and governments to have these areas formally protected.
2. Shift to FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification across all tenures.
3. Publicly commit to cease licensing in currently unallocated areas.
4. Discontinue logging without prior and informed consent of First Nations whose territories are affected.
As natural resource and forest scarcity continues to increase, these objectives are becoming more important than ever. Forest protection must be considered as a priority by global citizens, governments and especially, logging companies.
As a customer of the many businesses you supply, I urge Abitibi, Kruger and Bowater to begin considering their role in forest protection as a serious part of their corporate citizenship. Should your companies choose to continue ignoring these duties, I will avoid buying products from the customers you supply: I refuse to support the continued devastation of Canada’s Boreal forest.
Sincerely,
I feel the wholesale deforestation of the planet must stop at present with global warming and the over production of CO2.
From Vote Hemp
USDA Research Shows Hemp Has Potential for Paper Production
In 1997, the USDA Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin conducted an evaluation of hemp as a potential feedstock for the paper industry in that state. They concluded that "... hemp could profitably be used as a fiber source for the paper industry" and that "Wisconsin farmers could meet the demand for fiber by the fine paper manufacturers of Wisconsin." To view the report, click here. (PDF file 569k)
With all the cutting going on. Hemp could replace paper from trees, 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees saved without the toxics involved in processing! No pestisides needed and it is renewable.
http://write-a-letter.greenpeace.org/280
Canada's forests are not disposable
Logging companies are cutting down Canada’s Boreal forest - destroying this ancient forest at an alarming rate. Three of the largest companies involved in this destruction are Abitibi Consolidated, Bowater and Kruger. These companies are regularly clearcutting areas the size of 17 000 football fields. As one of the world’s last remaining original forests, Canada’s Boreal deserves better. We need your help getting the message to The CEOs of Abitibi Consolidated, Bowater and Kruger: Canada’s forests are not disposable.
Greenpeace is calling these companies to account - over the next few weeks and months we will be putting pressure on these companies to clean up their practices. We need your help in letting these companies know that Canadians - their customers - want them to clean up their logging practices.
Tell Abitibi CEO John Weaver, along with Kruger and Bowater CEOs Joseph Kruger and David Paterson what you think of the way in which their companies continue to treat Canada’s Boreal forest.
Canada's forests are not disposable, Candadian hemp is the next source, use it!
Dear Mr. Kruger, Mr. Paterson and Mr. Weaver,
I am writing to express my concern regarding your company's logging practices in Canada's Boreal forest. As a concerned customer of many of your clients, I hope that Abitibi-Consolidated, Kruger and Bowater will implement without delay new and responsible forest management policies.
The Boreal forest represents a unique and vital natural resource. It acts as home for many First Nations communities, contains countless animal and plant species and helps curb global warming. In Canada, we hold the power to protect this incredible ecosystem. As the country's largest logging companies, Abitibi, Bowater and Kruger should be at the heart of these protection efforts. Instead, your companies continue to act irresponsibly.
Reckless logging practices such as massive clear-cutting are destroying the Boreal's remaining intact forest landscapes. Considering that only 25% of the world's original forests remain, these practices are especially unacceptable. Thus, I support Greenpeace's demands that your company immediately:
1. Defer on logging in all intact forest landscapes and mapped endangered forests including caribou habitat, and work with Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations and governments to have these areas formally protected.
2. Shift to FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification across all tenures.
3. Publicly commit to cease licensing in currently unallocated areas.
4. Discontinue logging without prior and informed consent of First Nations whose territories are affected.
As natural resource and forest scarcity continues to increase, these objectives are becoming more important than ever. Forest protection must be considered as a priority by global citizens, governments and especially, logging companies.
As a customer of the many businesses you supply, I urge Abitibi, Kruger and Bowater to begin considering their role in forest protection as a serious part of their corporate citizenship. Should your companies choose to continue ignoring these duties, I will avoid buying products from the customers you supply: I refuse to support the continued devastation of Canada’s Boreal forest.
Sincerely,
Monday, August 13, 2007
Karl Rove Retire? LOL The Devil Is Unleashed
This morning, Aug. 13, 2007, Steve Inskeep, on NPR, made a statement on how Karl Rove called republican higher ups, election day 2004, telling them to ignore exit polls.
Karl Rove was in Ohio that day with President Bush and Kenneth Blackwell. That same day, as reported by independent investigators (http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org.nyud.net:8080/story/2006/%2011/9/61233/1283 ) it was noted that Ohio elections results servers were switched from Ohio and then originated from the same servers that the RNC had been using for various sites of their own interests, possibly including their emails.
(I have been told there are plenty of questionable emails, as well, from local Ohio republican officials questioning the authority of court ordered ballot retention in the state.)
Is this why Karl was so SURE the exit polls in 2004 needed to be ignored?
Since then many concerned individuals (see www.freepress.org election section) have gone to many counties throughout Ohio and found, in fact, that their suspicicions were confirmed when hand counting ballots, checking signature books, and other investigative techniques uncovered the reality that Karl Rove's election results did not match reality on the ground.
There is a plethora of evidence there that Paddy Shaffer, Dr. Robert Fitrakis, Richard Hayes Phillips, Harvey Wasserman (and others) could attest and provide the facts to this happening. At this point, the Ohio attorney general has ignored the evidence these people have provided as proof and Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner also has slighted them by ignoring the urgency of the situation in light of the pending 2008 elections.
Karl Rove was in Ohio that day with President Bush and Kenneth Blackwell. That same day, as reported by independent investigators (http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org.nyud.net:8080/story/2006/%2011/9/61233/1283 ) it was noted that Ohio elections results servers were switched from Ohio and then originated from the same servers that the RNC had been using for various sites of their own interests, possibly including their emails.
(I have been told there are plenty of questionable emails, as well, from local Ohio republican officials questioning the authority of court ordered ballot retention in the state.)
Is this why Karl was so SURE the exit polls in 2004 needed to be ignored?
Since then many concerned individuals (see www.freepress.org election section) have gone to many counties throughout Ohio and found, in fact, that their suspicicions were confirmed when hand counting ballots, checking signature books, and other investigative techniques uncovered the reality that Karl Rove's election results did not match reality on the ground.
There is a plethora of evidence there that Paddy Shaffer, Dr. Robert Fitrakis, Richard Hayes Phillips, Harvey Wasserman (and others) could attest and provide the facts to this happening. At this point, the Ohio attorney general has ignored the evidence these people have provided as proof and Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner also has slighted them by ignoring the urgency of the situation in light of the pending 2008 elections.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Top Ten Myths About the Illegal NSA Spying on Americans
(Download a printable version of the full ACLU report. Download a printable version of this summary.)
FEATURES
NSA Spying on Americans Is Illegal
Audio: ACLU v. NSA Clients Respond to White House Claims About Illegal Spying
Learn More About Illegal Government Spying
ACLU Calls for a Special Counsel: Add Your Voice
MYTH: This is merely a "terrorist surveillance program."
REALITY: When there is evidence a person may be a terrorist, both the criminal code and intelligence laws already authorize eavesdropping. This illegal program, however, allows electronic monitoring without any showing to a court that the person being spied upon in this country is a suspected terrorist.
MYTH: The program is legal.
REALITY: The program violates the Fourth Amendment and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and will chill free speech.
MYTH: The Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) allows this.
REALITY: The resolution about using force in Afghanistan doesn't mention wiretaps and doesn't apply domestically, but FISA does--it requires a court order.
MYTH: The president has authority as commander in chief of the military to spy on Americans without any court oversight.
REALITY: The Supreme Court recently found the administration's claim of unlimited commander in chief powers during war to be an unacceptable effort to "condense power into a single branch of government," contrary to the Constitution's checks and balances.
MYTH: The president has the power to say what the law is.
REALITY: The courts have this power under our system of government, and no person is above the law, not even the president, or the rule of law means nothing.
MYTH: These warrantless wiretaps could never happen to you.
REALITY: Without court oversight, there is no way to ensure innocent people's everyday communications are not monitored or catalogued by the NSA or other agencies.
MYTH: This illegal program could have prevented the 9/11 attacks.
REALITY: This is utter manipulation. Before 9/11, the federal government had gathered intelligence, without illegal NSA spying, about the looming attacks and at least two of the terrorists who perpetrated them, but failed to act.
MYTH: This illegal program has saved thousands of lives.
REALITY: Because the program is secret the administration can assert anything it wants and then claim the need for secrecy excuses its failure to document these claims, let alone reveal all the times the program distracted intelligence agents with dead ends that wasted resources and trampled individual rights.
MYTH: FISA takes too long.
REALITY: FISA allows wiretaps to begin immediately in emergencies, with three days afterward to go to court. Even without an emergency, FISA orders can be approved very quickly and FISA judges are available at all hours.
MYTH: Only liberals disagree with the president about the program.
REALITY: The serious concerns that have been raised transcend party labels and reflect genuine and widespread worries about the lack of checks on the president's claim of unlimited power to illegally spy on Americans without any independent oversight.
(Download a printable version of the full ACLU report. Download a printable version of this summary.)
Original AT:
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/24076res20060206.html
FEATURES
NSA Spying on Americans Is Illegal
Audio: ACLU v. NSA Clients Respond to White House Claims About Illegal Spying
Learn More About Illegal Government Spying
ACLU Calls for a Special Counsel: Add Your Voice
MYTH: This is merely a "terrorist surveillance program."
REALITY: When there is evidence a person may be a terrorist, both the criminal code and intelligence laws already authorize eavesdropping. This illegal program, however, allows electronic monitoring without any showing to a court that the person being spied upon in this country is a suspected terrorist.
MYTH: The program is legal.
REALITY: The program violates the Fourth Amendment and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and will chill free speech.
MYTH: The Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) allows this.
REALITY: The resolution about using force in Afghanistan doesn't mention wiretaps and doesn't apply domestically, but FISA does--it requires a court order.
MYTH: The president has authority as commander in chief of the military to spy on Americans without any court oversight.
REALITY: The Supreme Court recently found the administration's claim of unlimited commander in chief powers during war to be an unacceptable effort to "condense power into a single branch of government," contrary to the Constitution's checks and balances.
MYTH: The president has the power to say what the law is.
REALITY: The courts have this power under our system of government, and no person is above the law, not even the president, or the rule of law means nothing.
MYTH: These warrantless wiretaps could never happen to you.
REALITY: Without court oversight, there is no way to ensure innocent people's everyday communications are not monitored or catalogued by the NSA or other agencies.
MYTH: This illegal program could have prevented the 9/11 attacks.
REALITY: This is utter manipulation. Before 9/11, the federal government had gathered intelligence, without illegal NSA spying, about the looming attacks and at least two of the terrorists who perpetrated them, but failed to act.
MYTH: This illegal program has saved thousands of lives.
REALITY: Because the program is secret the administration can assert anything it wants and then claim the need for secrecy excuses its failure to document these claims, let alone reveal all the times the program distracted intelligence agents with dead ends that wasted resources and trampled individual rights.
MYTH: FISA takes too long.
REALITY: FISA allows wiretaps to begin immediately in emergencies, with three days afterward to go to court. Even without an emergency, FISA orders can be approved very quickly and FISA judges are available at all hours.
MYTH: Only liberals disagree with the president about the program.
REALITY: The serious concerns that have been raised transcend party labels and reflect genuine and widespread worries about the lack of checks on the president's claim of unlimited power to illegally spy on Americans without any independent oversight.
(Download a printable version of the full ACLU report. Download a printable version of this summary.)
Original AT:
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/24076res20060206.html
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R.D. Laing
Speaking on Autonomy