NEWS......NEWS......NEWS......NEWS......NEWS......NEWS....NEWS....
ARCHIVE FOR JULY 1998
:JULY:26..TESCO NET CUTS ONLINE COSTS
The UK's top supermarket Tesco have cut the cost of getting on line.At £8.99 per month the price is sure
to tempt people to join them.more info can be found at www.tesco.net................
:JULY:25..W E E K L Y. H E A D W A T E R S . F O R E S T. U P D A T E
Update 07-23-98 (No Action Alert this week)
ENVIRONMENTALISTS JOINED BY WOODY HARRELSON AND
MERLE HAGGARD AT SACRAMENTO RALLY DENOUNCING
PROPOSED HEADWATERS HABITAT PLAN
Environmentalists sent a clear message to Governor Wilson and Pacific
Lumber on Wednesday that the Habitat Conservation Plan proposed last week
is unacceptable.
At a noontime press conference on the west steps of the Capitol
yesterday, actor Woody Harrelson, singer Merle Haggard, and North Coast
environmental leaders called on the legislature to reject Pacific Lumber's
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). After addressing the crowd of about 100,
Harrelson and Haggard, news crews in tow, led the group to the Governor's
office to ask for a meeting. The Governor was "unavailable," but members of
the group did succeed in meeting with Senator Burton, Senator Hayden,
Senator Sher, and others.
Some features of the new and UNimproved HCP include:
A provision that would allow Pacific Lumber to sue federal agencies
for monetary damages under "breach of contract" if they feel that the
government has not lived up to its side of the bargain. This is
unprecedented and could be used to give PL a way to sue the government if
agencies insist on more species protections or revoke the permit because
Hurwitz and co. are taking advantage of it.
A "trap door" provision allowing Pacific Lumber to use logging roads
in winter months if they simply notify federal agencies. Previously, the
company was essentially barred from using these roads in the rainy season.
A provision allowing Pacific Lumber to do more logging in "protected"
stream buffers than was indicated in the Agreement in Principle.
------------------------------------------------------------
MAXXAM VIOLATES HCP ... ALREADY
In a clear signal of bad faith, Pacific Lumber/Maxxam on Sunday began
cutting 73 acres of old-growth Douglas Fir, (Timber Harvest Plan 1-96-413).
The THP was approved by the California Dept. of Forestry (CDF) IN SPITE OF
the Natinal Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) sending a letter to CDF
requesting them NOT to approve the plan because they found it didn't
conform to the Headwaters Agreement in Principle. The Agreement in
Principle requires Maxxam/PL to consult with NMFS on these plans.
On Thursday Pacific Lumber abruptly stopped logging in the area in
response to NMFS's William Hogarth, who said the move "has the potential to
compromise" the federal-state Headwaters Agreement.
"The [NMFS] is deeply concerned and disapointed by the California
Department of Forestry's disregard for its responsibilities and
obligations," Hogarth wrote in a letter.
This is not the first time PL and CDF have gone ahead with THPs that
didn't conform to the Agreement in Principle. This plan in is in the near
vicinity of THP 1-97-307, which also met with agency consternation (see 5/6
Update).
(Thanks to Michael Evansen for this item. For information and how you
can help, call 707-441-9938.)
------------------------------------------------------------
JEWISH OBSERVANCE -- TISH B'AV (DAY OF MOURNING)
IN THE ANCIENT REDWOODS
On Sunday, August 2, there will be a day-long hike into the ancient
redwoods of Headwaters Forest to observe Tish B'Av -- the day of mourning
the destruction of the ancient temple in Jerusalem. The Headwaters hike
will focus prayer and political action on the destruction ongoing in the
Headwaters vicinity, resulting in stream degradation and loss of habitat
for endangered species.
The hike will visit both ancient groves and clearcut areas. The hike
will be silent except for prayer and logistical instructions and will be
slow to accommodate those who are observing the fast. Permission to enter
the property will be requested in advance from the Maxxam Corporation. If
permission is denied, each participant will have to decide if he or she
will proceed with the hike as an act of civil disobedience.
Because the holiday falls on a Sunday, the hike will not interfere with
logging operations. Arrests are possible, but not likely.
If you are interested in attending, please contact Barak Gale at
barakg@igc.org, or Naomi Steinberg at 707-923-7888.
------------------------------------------------------------
T H E S E U P D A T E S are prepared by Headwaters Sanctuary Project
and distributed by Bay Area Action www.baaction.org.
http://www.HeadwatersForest.org info: headwaters@enews.org
:JULY:19:1998 New Kid on the Block: "Brill's Content"
For perhaps the first time, there is now a mainstream American magazine
which analyzes and critiques non-entertainment media. The magazine is
called "Brill's Content," (which I'll refer to as "BC") named after the
editor (and a reporter for BC), Steven Brill; Brill is the CEO of both the
Court TV television channel and American Lawyer Media. BC bills itself as
"The Independent Voice of the Information Age," which is pretty arrogant and
inflated a description.
BC magazine describes its own "value system" as having four parts:
1)Nonfiction should be true; 2) there should be truth in labeling and
sourcing; 3) journalists should have no hidden motives; 4) the news should
have full accountability. The magazine then focuses, or promises to focus
on trying to keep (or make in the first place) the media (primarily news)
objective, honest, and accountable for their actions. Not a bad idea.
For the most part, the magazine's articles are about various mainstream news
media making mistakes. A number of stories in the premiere issue are about
inaccurate news articles, or questionable practices. To some extent, this
is a good thing. If journalists know that their mistakes can be exposed,
they might be more careful in their reporting. The stories about shady
journalistic processes is good, and can help to remind readers that news is
created, that reporters and pundits are people with goals and failings and
ambitions and opinions just like you or me.
However, the criticism is rather shallow. BC does not make sweeping
criticisms of core concepts or practices of journalism, just ones that are
closer to the surface. One article in the first issues is about a
Washington Post piece which was refuted nearly entirely in a letter by the
subject of the article, Senator Robert Byrd. The BC article questions the
reporter's methods and facts. The underlying theme of the BC piece is
"reporters often do a poor job of checking facts and getting sources." The end.
Another article is about how fashion magazines may or may not accurately
cite the clothing and makeup worn by their cover models; some fashion
magazine employees claim that the companies who purchase the most
advertising space in their magazine are credited as the clothing and makeup
manufacturers whether they are or not. While this is an example of a type
of fraud, it is not an especially important or dangerous type of fraud.
Some articles praise examples of good journalism and work by others involved
in the media. This issue has a particularly fawning piece about Robert
Wietrak, the top book buyer for retail giant Barnes & Noble-- without much
mention of issues that we media activists are concerned about: with the
publishing world dominated by only a few immense corporations, this man
becomes a gatekeeper, deciding which words and ideas will reach the
book-buying public.
The centerpiece of this issue is the "Pressgate" article about the recent
media frenzy regarding the alleged scandal of Bill Clinton and Monica
Lewinsky. This article received some press coverage itself, because it
stated that independent counsel Kenneth Starr had broken the law by leaking
information about "prospective witnesses who might testify at a grand jury,
or about expected testimony" etc. "Pressgate" is 30 pages long,
uninterrupted by advertising (unlike the rest of the magazine, which is
rather saturated with it). This is unheard of. I have never seen an
article that long in a mainstream news magazine. The article is well-done,
and comes down pretty hard on the press for all of their tabloid coverage,
lurid stories, and reliance on rumor/gossip/hearsay for "facts."
Judging by the ads present, the magazine is aimed at upper and upper-middle
class white males: airlines, celphones, men's suits, investment consultants,
expensive alcohol, etc. (and nearly all of the models depicted in these ads
are white). But what is perhaps the biggest faux pas is that there are a
number of advertisements in this issue of BC for other media: magazines such
as Men's Journal, Forbes, Fortune and Smart Money; A&E Documentaries; the
Fox News Channel; the Capital Publishing company (behind several other large
magazines); and a number of websites which have news or investment information.
This is a blatant conflict of interests; can a media watchdog stay
"independent" when it gets its paychecks from that same media it is supposed
to be critiquing? I decided to look for hard evidence of this "preferential
treatment of advertisers" phenomenon by choosing this issue's advertiser
most likely to be mentioned in BC, which seemed to be the Fox News Channel;
it is the largest, and most news-oriented of the media advertisers. I
examined the "Pressgate" article, which was extensive, lengthy, and indicted
nearly all major media outlets, including all of the major cable news
networks, and the nightly news broadcasts of the Big Three networks. The
only mention of Fox News at all is in a lengthy, paragraph-sized quote from
Tom Brokaw, where he is mentions their name in a list of the many new news
sources in the world since Watergate. But the article does not criticize
the Fox News Channel at all. In fact, there is scarcely any mention of the
Fox News Channel in this issue; and when it is mentioned, it is usually
lumped in with the other news networks.
Should we be suspicious? Was Fox News not really a part of this story?
Were they considered too small or unpopular to bother covering? Maybe the
station did a good job; according to the Fox News Channel ad, a
Cablevision/Chilton Research Services poll found that 23% of American cable
subscribers polled gave the station's Clinton-Lewinsky coverage an
"excellent" rating (of course, there's a lot of data missing that would
allow us to interpret this poll data meaningfully). Or was BC afraid to
offend their sponsor?
We will have to see how things play out. It is possible that BC can be
antagonistic, lose its media sponsors, and replace those revenues with
advertising dollars from other businesses; the magazine is new, and perhaps
they haven't yet found their proper advertising base. Otherwise, I would be
very skeptical about the magazine's ability to probe all media outlets equally.
It is possible that BC will help to legitimize the news industry as well,
for better or for worse. The existence of an opponent helps make an
institution more credible. One popular myth is that adversary journalists
take on politicians, and keep them honest. Without the press at least
making a show of this role, politicians would seem even less legitimate.
Now, with a mainstream watchdog keeping an eye on the journalists, the press
may seem more legitimate.
Brill's Content may be a good thing, trying to keep reporters honest (and to
its credit, it makes wide notice of its outside ombudsman, Bill Kovach, to
be contacted if BC itself makes mistakes. He is supposed to keep BC itself
honest. His e-mail address is bkovach@brillscontent.com . I think I will
be writing him a letter about all this). The magazine is also good for
reminding people that the news is written/created/managed by human beings,
who contain all of the good and bad that comes along with being human.
However, the magazine is often shallow in its criticism, and does not
address the media issues that I feel are the most important.
_Updates_
INDONESIA
Although there are a number of political and social struggles still
occurring, and some debate who is really in charge in Indonesia, that issue
has more or less been settled: the IMF austerity rules control the land.
The country is becoming so short of food that President Habibie recently
asked the citizens of Indonesia to fast two days a week to help conserve rice.
There has also been evidence suggesting that some of the violence, rape, and
rioting during the protests several weeks ago were actually carried out or
instigated by Indonesian military officers posing as civilians.
People of East Timor have been especially vocal, demonstrating and calling
for their own independence. Some protests have been met with violence on
the part of the Indonesian military.
The U.S. Senate has actually just unanimously passed Senate Resolution 237,
which calls for President Clinton to "work actively, through the United
Nations and with United States allies, to carry out the directives of
existing United Nations resolutions on East Timor and to support an
internationally supervised referendum on self-determination." This marks an
incredible change in at least theoretical U.S. policy towards Indonesia and
East Timor. The U.S. has been supplying weapons and troop training used by
Indonesia in the conquest and repression of East Timor for more than twenty
years. We can only hope that this Senate resolution will be heeded.
There are several other bills related bills also before the U.S. Congress:
House Concurrent Resolution (H.Con.Res.) 258, which supports East Timor's
right to self-determination; Indonesia Human Rights Before Military
Assistance Act (H.R. 3918) which would freeze the transfer of ALL U.S.
weapons, spare parts and ammunition for Indonesia's military until a
popularly elected government emerges in Indonesia and until substantial
human rights improvements in Indonesia and East Timor can be demonstrated;
and the International Military Training Accountability Act (H.R. 3802),
which would close loopholes concerning U.S. military training of Indonesian
troops, banning all such aid. For more information on these bills, contact
the East Timor Action Network at etandc@igc.apc.org .
MULTILATERAL AGREEMENT ON INVESTMENT (MAI)
The latest issue of "Dollars and Sense" has a very good article about the
MAI (the nasty treaty to ensure investor rights over all other concerts, see
NW v2, #3), which actually has some optimism. The article lists actions
taken to stop the MAI, and outcry against the treaty. It gives a webpage
address for the "MAI-Free Zone action kit" at
www.citizen.org/pctrade/tradehome.html . I haven't checked it out yet, but
it sounds like just the thing for those of you who want to work to fight
this thing. _Dollars and Sense July/Aug 98_
PROPOSITION 226
Fifty-three percent of California voters rejected Proposition 226, and it
will not be put into effect.
MONSANTO
Also in the latest issue of "Dollars and Sense," is news that the Monsanto
Corporation (featured in NW v2, #3) is adding to its ownership of seed
companies. In addition to its recent acquisition of Holden's Foundation
Seeds last year, Monsanto now plans to buy DeKalb Plant Genetics, the
world's eighth largest seed company.
One of Monsanto's financial strategies is to take existing crop seeds, and
genetically alter them so that the second generation of seeds from these
crops will not germinate. This means that farmers will need to buy seeds
from the company every season instead of the usual method of planting seeds
from the plants they have just grown. To the extent that Monsanto can both
create such seeds and take over the seed market, the company can control all
agriculture and the world food supply.
And we're still waiting for Part 2 of Alex Ko's article about Monsanto and
government regulation (Ya hear that Alex? Get me your article). _Dollars
and Sense July/Aug 98_
Sent in by NEWSWATCH
JULY:10.............STAR RADIO'S ON-LINE SHOPPING STARTS
You can now shop on line thanks to the Culzean online shopping centre which is part of the star radio
web site.With space for up to 20 shops it is bound to be the place to buy your presents and gifts.
:JULY:07:1998........Thompson hears you , more SB 533 co-authors needed.
H E A D W A T E R S F O R E S T
A C T I O N A L E R T
07-01-98
MORE CO-AUTHORS FOR SB 533 NEEDED
Thanks to all the calls and letters from Headwaters activists, we have
quite a few new co-authors for Byron Sher's Headwaters bill. Especially
interesting is Senator Mike Thompson, whose district office was flooded
with calls from constituents (and many of you!) angry that he appeared to
have been orchestrating some sort of Sacramento back room deal between
Senator Burton and Hurwitz.
If the purpose of the meeting was to secure the cash with no strings
attached, it apparently didn't go so well for Hurwitz. He and his PL/Maxxam
staff came to the meeting prepared with lots of charts and graphs, lobbied
Burton on their HCP, but left without any apparent commitment from the
senator.
Kudos to Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, who refused to join the
meeting because the assemblywoman who represents Humboldt County, Virginia
Strom-Martin, was forbidden (by Hurwitz) from attending.
On the Assembly side we now have the support of Assemblywoman Liz
Figuoera, Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin,
and Assemblyman Mike Honda, in addition to Keeley, Shelley, Lempert, and
Migden.
More co-authors are needed for SB 533 to shore up the support in the
Legislature and keep Governor Wilson from attempting a last-minute maneuver
in budget negotiations. The following is a list of targeted senators and
assemblymembers. If your representative is listed here, please contact him
or her with a message to support strong protections for Headwaters Forest
by co-authoring SB 533.
For more information on SB 533 see the May 6 Weekly Update, archived in
the News section at http://www.HeadwatersForest.org/news/
Note: Some districts split towns and counties. If two senators or
assemblymembers are listed for your city and you're not sure which one is
yours, please consult your phone book's "Government" section to determine
which district you live in.
SENATORS
Dede Alpert
(Coronado, Imperial Beach, San Diego)
phone 916-445-3952, fax 916-327-2188
Ralph Dills
(Carson, Compton, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Long Beach, Los
Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Marina Del Rey, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Venice)
phone 916-445-5953, fax 916-323-6056
Tom Hayden
(Beverly Hills, Encino, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Westlake
Village, Woodland Hills)
phone 916-445-1353, fax 916-324-4823
Teresa Hughes
(Compton, Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lynwood, Paramount)
phone 916-445-2104, fax 916-445-3712
Betty Karnette
(Artesia, Avalon, Bellflower, Downey, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood,
Long Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, San
Pedro, Signal Hill)
phone 916-445-6447, fax 916-327-9113
Quentin Kopp
(San Francisco, South San Francisco, San Mateo, Daly City, Burlingame,
Pacifica, San Bruno)
phone 916-445-0503, fax 650-301-1797
Bill Lockyer
(Castro Valley, Fremont, Hayward, Milpitas, Newark, San Jose, San Leandro,
San Lorenzo, Union City)
phone 916-445-6671, fax 916-323-2234
Jack O'Connell
(Atascadero, Buellton, Carpinteria, Lompoc, Morro Bay, Ojai, Paso Robles,
San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Santa Paula)
phone 916-445-5405
Bruce McPherson
(Gilroy, Hollister, Monterey, Morgan Hill, Salinas, Santa Cruz, Watsonville)
phone 916-445-5843, fax 916-445-8081
Herschel Rosenthal
(Canoga Park, Los Angeles, North Hollywood, San Fernando, Van Nuys)
phone 916-445-7928, fax 818-901-5562
Adam Schiff
(Burbank, Glendale, Los Angeles, Pasadena)
phone 916-445-5976, fax 916-324-7543
Hilda Solis
(Alhambra, Azusa, Baldwin Park, El Monte, La Puente, Monterey Park,
Rosemead, San Gabriel)
phone 916-445-1418, fax 916-445-0485
------------------------------------------------------------
S E N T B Y Headwaters Sanctuary Project and Bay Area Action
.
http://www.HeadwatersForest.org | info: headwaters@enews.org
July:06:1998.................MORE DATA ON FOOTPATH
More info on the coming walk at the new path from Lanark to Crossford.Booking can be made for this
walk by calling 01555 665244.The starting point is new Lanark Youth Hostel on Sunday the 12th
at 11:30am.......sent by...M.McMahon
:JULY:04:1998......Six months at 180 feet
W E E K L Y . H E A D W A T E R S . F O R E S T. U P D A T E
Update 07-01-98
Note: There was no Update last week.
CELEBRATION FOR JULIA BUTTERFLY'S SIXTH MONTH IN DEFENSE OF LUNA
Over 300 hike to visit Luna on anniversary
"Those things of real worth in life are worth going to
any length in love and respect to safeguard."
-Julia Butterfly Hill
This month forest activist Julia "Butterfly" Hill, 24, marked the six month
anniversary of her treesit high atop the 1,000-year-old tree known as Luna.
Enduring El Nino storms, helicopter harassment, a ten-day siege by Pacific
Lumber/Maxxam security, and the sorrow brought about by witnessing the
destruction of a forest, her feet have not touched the ground since
December 10 of last year. Yet Butterfly continues to persevere, inspiring
people around the world while continuing her struggle to save the last of
the ancient redwoods.
On June 10 over 300 supporters gathered in a display of solidarity and
celebration with Butterfly in the town of Stafford, CA, site of the
mudslide which raced down from a Pacific Lumber Company clearcut,
destroying seven homes on New Years Day 1997. Included among the
participants was Mickey Hart, former drummer of the Grateful Dead, who led
a drum-in near the base of Luna, showing his support for protecting our
forests through music.
Kicking off the event was a message from Julia herself, relayed via
cellphone over a PA system. In her address Julia urged those gathered to
enjoy the day, and look upon it as a chance to celebrate and re-energize,
yet to remember that each of us must become more involved in the effort to
save the ancient forests, and that one person alone is not enough.
Poetry, prayer, and shared thoughts among a circle of hundreds finished
the event, as everyone prepared for the long hike back to Stafford. But in
the end one of us did not return that day. As the sun began to set over
Humboldt County, still high atop Luna remained Julia Butterfly. And there
she remains today, continuing to hold fast in demand that our forests be
saved. Inspiring each of us to find the strength within ourselves to do
everything that we can to create a world that she can come down to.
To visit the Luna Media website turn your browser to...
http://www.humboldt1.com/~lunanews
Look for a new site at www.luna.com in July.
To order the new 20-minute video "Luna: The Stafford Giant Tree Sit"
contact:
Headwaters Action Video Collective
707-459-5490 x582 or http://www.asis.com/kmud/lunavideo
(Thanks to LunaMedia for this update.)
------------------------------------------------------------
HURWITZ'S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SHINES SPOTLIGHT OF CRITICISM
The Houston Chronicle ran a front-page article June 22 titled "Bad logging
makes bad neighbors, Pacific Lumber ruins watersheds, critics say."
The article, by Bill Dawson, focuses on the devastation that Pacific
Lumber/Maxxam's clearcutting has wrought on the residents of Humboldt
County, especially the Stafford landslide of January 1996. Mike O'Neal, who
narrowly escaped death when the massive debris torrent nearly destroyed his
home, was interviewed. Huge trees "were snapping off like matches and
hitting the ground," he recalled. "It wasn't good logging that caused
this," O'Neal concluded.
Local attorney Bill Bertain, a conservative Republican long critical of
Maxxam's policies and who won a $7 million pension settlement for PL
retirees, summed up the situation. "What we're seeing, after 12 and-a-half
years of Hurwitz pounding the watersheds, is a region-wide collapse of
watersheds. More and more people are seeing it."
Pacific Lumber Company received numerous court fines last month for
violations of California State forestry rules noted last year, including
erosion-linked problems. In an unprecedented action last December, the
California Department of Forestry imposed new restrictions and threatened
to yank Pacific Lumber's timber operator's license. Inspectors had found
substantially more violations than at any comparable company, most related
to erosion.
Bertain said inadequate state enforcement is responsible for some
problems and residents "are really planning to bend the ears" of the state
Board of Forestry at a rare meeting in Humboldt County, July 6-8.
For more information on the Board of Forestry meeting in Eureka,
contact the Humboldt Watershed Council at 707-443-7433.
------------------------------------------------------------
GAIA MUSIC FEST POSTPONED
The Gaia Music Festival, a three-day benefit in Mendocino County for
Headwaters Forest, has been postponed from July 17-19 to sometime in the
fall, most likely October 2-4.
Performers, vendors, and musicians can call Environmentally Sound
Promotions at 707-923-4949, or email EnSoPro@asis.com, for more information.
------------------------------------------------------------
S E N T B Y Headwaters Sanctuary Project and Bay Area Action.
http://www.HeadwatersForest.org | info: headwaters@enews.org
July:03:1998............Footpath get's first footing
A new section of the Glasgow to Lanark walk way will be open to the public on the 12 of July 1998.At a
cost of £740,000 the new section takes you from Lanark to Crossford (about 7miles).It is Planned to
link up the walk way to the paths and right of ways to the north of the A72 which would allow walkers
from Lanark a clear path right up to Bothwell.Also in the next few years the linking of the Glasgow paths
to the Bothwell end of the walk way should take place finishing the job.The path at Bothwell is
linked from strathclyde park and The barn hawks reserve at Motherwell,a further branch of the network
will take you up to Larkhall by the old Monkey road,this path at present is useable but needs some work
done on it................sent by M McMahon
JULY:02:1998...........TITANIC GETS KNOCK OFF NUMBER ONE SPOT
The star radio's number one film for the past 4 months has been the Titanic movie,but this month
it is knock of the number one spot by the funny 80's based movie The wedding singer ...........sent by m.mcmahon
END OF ARCHIVE
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