Buddhist Temple Built from Beer Bottles
http://greenupgrader.com/4262/one-million-beer-bottles-later-and-its-a-buddhist-temple/
Thai monks from the Sisaket province have used over one million recycled glass bottle to construct their Buddhist temple. Mindfulness is at the center of the Buddhist discipline and the dedication and thoughtfulness required to build everything from the toilets to their crematorium from recycled bottles shows what creativity and elbow grease can accomplish.
The Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple is about 400 miles northeast of Bangkok in the city of Khun Han close to the Cambodian border. Using Heineken bottles (green) and Chang Beer bottles (brown) the monks were able to clean up the local pollution and create a useful structure that will be a visual reminder to the scope of pollution and the potential we can make with limber minds.
The water tower and tourist bathrooms are even made from beer bottle litter. The monks were able to have the local people bring them the building materials which beautifully reflect the Thai sun.
Yes We Can!
Sen. Barack Obama’s Acceptance Speech in Chicago, Ill.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008; 12:02 AM
OBAMA: Hello, Chicago.
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.
It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It’s the answer that led those who’ve been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.
It’s the answer that led those who’ve been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.
A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.
Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he’s fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.
I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they’ve achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton…
… and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years…
… the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation’s next first lady…
… Michelle Obama.
Sasha and Malia…
… I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us…
… to the new White House.
And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother’s watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you’ve given me. I am grateful to them.
And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe…
… the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best — the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.
To my chief strategist David Axelrod…
… who’s been a partner with me every step of the way.
To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics…
… you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.
It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy…
… who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.
It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.
This is your victory.
And I know you didn’t do this just to win an election. And I know you didn’t do it for me.
You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime — two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.
Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.
There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage or pay their doctors’ bills or save enough for their child’s college education.
There’s new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.
I promise you, we as a people will get there.
AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!
OBAMA: There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can’t solve every problem.
But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it’s been done in America for 221 years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.
OBAMA: This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.
It can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.
Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.
In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
Let’s remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.
Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.
OBAMA: And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.
To those — to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope. (APPLAUSE)
That’s the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we’ve already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can. At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can. When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
AUDIENCE: Yes we can. OBAMA: When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
AUDIENCE: Yes we can. OBAMA: She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.
AUDIENCE: Yes we can. OBAMA: A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.
And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.
Yes we can.
AUDIENCE: Yes we can. OBAMA: America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.
This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
112-year-old Sacramento man awaits election history
112-year-old Sacramento man awaits election history
By Stephen Magagnini
smagagnini@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Nov.
04, 2008
George Rene Francis has waited 112 years to see an African-American president. Today, he’s glued to a television at his south Sacramento retirement home to watch history in the making.
Francis is already a part of history — he’s considered the oldest man in America, and by casting his absentee ballot for Barack Obama, he’s arguably the nation’s oldest voter.
“President was the only thing he voted for,” said one of his three daughters, Lelia Francis LaRue, who helped him fill out his absentee ballot. “He left everything else blank.
“
Asked why Obama, Francis replied emphatically, “I think he’s great, because he’s black! Because the white people thought a negro would never be promoted!”
Larue, 78, said, “As much as we went through” in the Jim Crow south — forced to the backs of buses and movie theatres in New Orleans — “he never taught us bigotry or prejudice.
“
To this day, Francis recites lines from the “The Black Man’s Plea for Justice” by Ephraim David Tyler, the poet laureate of Shreveport, Louisiana:
I am a citizen. I’m loyal.
Will you recognize my votes?
I pay dear for transportation over all of your railroad tracks.
I live up to all requirements, I always pay my tax.
When I don’t fill blanks correctly, will you kindly teach me how?
Francis was born in Louisiana June 6, 1896 the grandson of slaves. During the years he grew up, African Americans had a hard time voting in south — if they were allowed to vote at all.
“He voted for the first time when he was about 27 years old,” said another daughter, Shirley Wade. Francis doesn’t remember the first president he voted for, but that would have been Calvin Coolidge’s second term.
In the Democratic-controlled south, African Americans often voted Republican, though Francis - an independent - recalls voting for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Richard Nixon.
Nearly all of his more than 70 voting-age children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren are for Obama, grandson Glenn Stephens said Tuesday morning. One of the few to break ranks is granddaughter Diana Thomas, 55, of Sacramento, who’s registered as an independent and voted for McCain.
“I tend conservative and I believe McCain would be better for the economy and better for the security of the country,” Thomas said. “I understand why my grandfather would vote for Obama — he’s seen a lot and been through a lot in his life time. It’s an historic moment for him and he’s going to take advantage of it and vote for a black man.
“
Asked if he’d been following Obama, Francis said, “I looked at him all night last night on my TV all by myself!”
When he didn’t see Obama on the TV in the living room earlier today, Francis suggested his relatives — about a dozen were visiting on election day — take him back to the TV in his room.
Francis, who met Booker T. Washington, was friends with Louis Armstrong and saw Babe Ruth hit a home run in spring training, never thought he’d live long enough to see a black president. “I think it’s beautiful,” he said of Obama’s ascendance.
Philadelphia McCain supporters want Obama to die?
Here is a picture of a house that is located only one block from a voting location in the Port Richmond area of Philadelphia.Where is the FBI?
Arrests in Plan to Kill Obama and Black Schoolchildren
Arrests in Plan to Kill Obama and Black Schoolchildren
WASHINGTON — Two young men who are believers in “white power” have been arrested and charged in Tennessee in what federal officials described as a plan to assassinate Senator Barack Obama and kill black children at a school.
Federal officials said they regarded the scheme as “serious.” It does not appear to have moved to an advanced stage, according to court documents unsealed Monday, but officials said the two men did acquire several rifles and cased a home and a gun store to rob as part of the plan.
Federal officials said that both of the men who were arrested — Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark., and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn. — told interrogators that they had talked of assassinating Mr. Obama. Lawyers for the men could not be reached.
The two men “planned to drive their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows,” according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Jackson, Tenn., by an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Mr. Obama has no plans to be in Tennessee, and the affidavit does not make clear whether the men had picked a place for an attack.
The assassination was to be the culmination of a “killing spree” that would also single out children at an unnamed, predominately black school, federal officials said. The men talked of “killing 88 people and beheading 14 African-Americans,” according to the affidavit.
The two men each had “very strong views” about Aryan white power and “skinhead” ideology, the federal officials said, and the numbers 88 and 14 have special significance in the white power movement. The number 88 is shorthand for “Heil, Hitler” — H is the eighth letter in the alphabet —and 14 signifies a 14-word mantra among white supremacists: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”
Officials said the two men met via the Internet through a mutual friend.
Concerns about possible plots against Mr. Obama have been acute because of his status as the first black presidential nominee from a major party. He has had Secret Service protection since May 2007, the earliest a candidate was ever assigned protection.
Mr. Cowart and Mr. Schlesselman were each charged with illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun, conspiracy to rob a firearms dealer and making threats against a presidential candidate. A detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Memphis.
“We honestly don’t know if they had the capability or the wherewithal to carry out the kind of plan that they talked about,” Malcolm Wiley, a spokesman for the Secret Service in Washington, said in an interview. “But we take any threat seriously no matter how big or how small it is.”
Skinheads held over Obama death plot
By Deborah Charles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two white supremacist skinheads were arrested in Tennessee over plans to go on a killing spree and eventually shoot Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, court documents showed on Monday.
Daniel Cowart and Paul Schlesselman were charged in a criminal complaint with making threats against a presidential candidate, illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun and conspiracy to rob a gun dealer.
The plot did not appear to be very advanced or sophisticated, the court documents showed.
“We’re unsure of their ability or if they have the wherewithal to carry out any of their threats,” said a source close to the investigation.
Obama would be the first black president in U.S. history if he defeats Republican John McCain in the November 4 election. Concerns about Obama’s safety led the Secret Service to provide round-the-clock protection from early in his campaign.
The suspects met over the Internet about a month ago, said an affidavit filed by Brian Weaks, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“The individuals began discussing going on a ‘killing spree’ that included killing 88 people and beheading 14 African Americans,” Weaks said in the affidavit.
The men stole guns from family members and also had a sawed-off shotgun. They planned to target a predominately black school, going state to state while robbing individuals and continuing to kill people, Weaks said in the affidavit.
“They further stated that their final act of violence would be to attempt to kill/assassinate presidential candidate Barack Obama,” he said.
The men planned to wear white tuxedos and top hats during the assassination attempt, which would have involved driving as fast as they could toward Obama and shooting him from the windows of the car.
They planned their first house robbery for October 22 but ended up leaving without breaking in. Instead they bought ski masks, food and rope to use in their robbery attempts.
They were arrested later that day and officials unsealed the court docket on Monday.
They wrote racially motivated words and symbols on the exterior of Cowart’s vehicle, including a Swastika and the numbers “14″ and “88″ on the hood of the car.
ATF special agent in charge James Cavanaugh said “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet and 88 stood for “Heil Hitler.”
“The U.S. Secret Service takes all threats against presidential candidates seriously and is actively investigating the allegations,” said Richard Harlow, special agent in charge of the Secret Service-Memphis Field Office. “The Secret Service does not comment on this type of investigation.”
“It’s all legal & fun — No permits or licenses required!!!!”
Boy, 8, shoots himself to death at Mass. gun show
WESTFIELD, Mass. (AP) — With an instructor watching, an 8-year-old boy at a gun fair aimed an Uzi at a pumpkin and pulled the trigger as his dad reached for a camera.
It was his first time shooting a fully automatic machine gun, and the recoil of the weapon was too much for him. He lost control and fatally shot himself in the head.
Now gun safety experts — and some gun enthusiasts at the club where the shooting happened — are wondering why such a young child was allowed to fire a weapon used in war. Local, state and federal authorities are also investigating whether everyone involved had proper licenses or if anyone committed a criminal act.
“It’s easy to lose control of a weapon like that … they are used on a battleground for a very good reason,” said Jerry Belair, a spokesman for Stop Handgun Violence, based in Newton, Mass. “It’s to shoot as many times as you possibly can without having to reload at an enemy that’s approaching. It’s not a toy. It’s not something to play with.”
Police said Christopher Bizilj (Bah-SEAL) of Ashford, Conn., was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., on Sunday afternoon, shortly after firing a 9mm micro Uzi submachine gun at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman’s Club, co-sponsored by C.O.P. Firearms & Training.
“The weapon was loaded and ready to fire,” Westfield police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said. “The 8-year-old victim had the Uzi and as he was firing the weapon, the front end of the weapon went up with the backfire and he ended up receiving a round in his head.”
Nunez said the investigation is continuing.
Christopher, a third-grader, was attending the show with his father and sixth-grade brother, Colin. Christopher had fired handguns and rifles before, but Sunday was his first time firing an automatic weapon, said his father, Charles Bizilj.
Bizilj told the Boston Globe he was about 10 feet behind his son and reaching for his camera when the weapon fired. He said his family avoided the larger weapons, but he let his son try the Uzi because it’s a small weapon with little recoil.
“This accident was truly a mystery to me,” said Bizilj, director of emergency medicine at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Conn. “This is a horrible event, a horrible travesty, and I really don’t know why it happened.”
Police are calling the shooting an accident but are investigating whether everyone connected with the incident had proper weapons permits. Massachusetts requires licenses to own firearms, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issues different licenses to possess machine guns.
The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people from as far away as Maine and Virginia. An advertisement said it would include machine gun demonstrations and rentals and free handgun lessons.
“It’s all legal & fun — No permits or licenses required!!!!” reads the ad, posted on the club’s Web site.
“You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control — “FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL,” the ad said.
The ad also said children under 16 would be admitted free, and both adults and children were offered free .22-caliber pistol and rifle shooting.
Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. It is legal in Massachusetts for children to fire a weapon if they have permission from a parent or legal guardian and they are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor, Nunez said. The name of the instructor who was with the boy at the time was not released.
“We do not know at this time the full facts of this incident,” Nunez said Monday.
‘Mutilation’ of McCain Worker in Pittsburgh a Hoax
Published on Friday, October 24, 2008 by Editor & Publisher
Police Declare ‘Mutilation’ of McCain Worker in Pittsburgh a Hoax — After Media Raise Doubts
NEW YORK - It had drawn wide local and national–even political attention, with some of the candidates for president/vice president weighing in or even calling — but now the story has fallen apart. Police in Pittsburgh have declared it all a hoax and are charging the McCain worker at the center of the episode. 
It started yesterday afternoon with Matt Drudge screaming at the top of his site in red type — but no siren — that a Pittsburgh campaign worker for McCain, age 20, had been viciously attacked and the letter “B” carved into her face, presumably by a Barack Obama fan. Her name, it soon emerged, was Ashley Todd and she had come to Pittsburgh from College Station, Texas, to help out.
It started to appear overblown (Drudge downgraded it to smaller, black type) as the police noted that it seemed to be a robbery ($60) and she did not seek medical attention. But later press reports said she would visit a hospital, Sarah Palin and maybe John McCain had called her and Obama camp had condemned, although McCain/Obama angle to story not yet confirmed.
Still later, conservative columnist Michelle Malkin, and some others, grew skeptical. For one thing, the “B” was carved a little too lightly and perfectly — and backward, as if done using a mirror. Smoking Gun probed a too-pat “Twitter” angle and Gawker looked at her MySpace page.
Then police said that evidence from the ATM that she reportedly visited did not match her account. And then she changed her story, admitting that her assailant did not see a McCain bumper sticker on her assault, and adding to he account a sexual assault and losing consciousness.
John Moody, executive vice president at Fox News, commented on his blog that “this incident could become a watershed event in the 11 days before the election. If Ms. Todd’s allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they do not know enough about the Democratic nominee. If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.”
Now the Pittsburgh TV station KDKA reports: “Police sources tell KDKA that a campaign worker has now confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter ‘B’ in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker.
“This afternoon, a Pittsburgh police commander told KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin that Todd confessed to making up the story. The commander added that Todd will face charges; but police have not commented on what those charges will be.”
For links and updates to our new blog:
Will Humpbacks Be Targets for Japanese Harpoons this Year?
Founder and President of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Countdown to Operation Musashi
Make Your body like a rock, and ten thousand things cannot touch you.
- Miyamoto Musashi
This year we must implement the “Mountain-Sea Change” and “Penetrate the Depths.” These are strategies of the legendary Japanese strategist Miyomoto Musashi, but as always the foundation of my strategy is the strategy of no strategy, a very effective zen strategy, also first articulated by Musashi.
For this season I am focusing on the teaching of Ai Uchi. This means that my crew and I will approach the whalers without anger, without fear, and with a profound dedication to serving the interests of our clients – the great whales.
We must think like the whalers do and we must anticipate what they will do.
It is fairly easy to predict the psychology of the Japanese whalers.
We expect them to be more aggressive this year.
We also expect them to spit in the face of Australians and declare that they intend to kill 50 Humpbacks, 50 Fins and 935 Piked (Minke) whales. They may raise the quotas but pride will dictate that they will not lower the quotas and the 50 Humpbacks they took off the table last year, they will most likely put back on the table this year, because they did not get what they wanted once again from the International Whaling Commission.
The whalers have seen the resolve of the Australian government dissolve over the last year. They will seek to exploit this weakness.
This is more than just the issue of killing whales for the Japanese Ministry of Fisheries. These are bureaucrats who see themselves as the guardians of Japanese nationalism and they look at any reduction in their kill quotas as a personal insult.
What does this mean for the Sea Shepherd crew?
It means we have to match the escalated aggression of the whalers with an escalated aggression of our own. It is not an easy task. We need to develop a strategy that will be effective yet non-violent. We need to uphold international conservation law but at the same time we must operate within the boundaries of international maritime law.
But that is what we do. In over 32 years of campaigns, no Sea Shepherd crewmember has ever been convicted of a felony, nor have we been sued and most importantly we have never caused a single injury.
This is a record that we intend to keep.
Operation Musashi is on schedule. We must meet the Japanese whaling fleet when they arrive in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in December.
Their objective is to kill whales and our objective is to prevent them from killing whales.
This will be our fifth voyage to these waters. Four voyages completed to the most remote and hostile seas on the planet without a single accident, or a single injury.
But most importantly these four voyages have resulted in well over a thousand whales saved. That my friends, is the ultimate in satisfaction and all the critics in the world cannot rob us of the knowledge that we succeeded in defending and protecting so many lives.
The Achilles heel of the Japanese whalers is profits. We must continue to cut into their profits and we must continue to make whaling more costly than profitable.
Our strategy is to locate, intercept, block and harass and also of course to deliver a few surprises.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society heads south to represent our clients – the great whales. What we do, we do for them. The risks we take, we take for them.
This is a noble enterprise, and our reward will be, as it has been for the last three years, the satisfaction of knowing that whales will continue to live that would otherwise fall victim to the cruel harpoon cannons.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is unique in this respect. When our ships arrive on the scene - the killing stops.
We don’t have any “kill” footage of whales being harpooned because the whalers do not kill whales when we are around – they run and we pursue.
In the spirit of Miyamoto Musashi we will implement Operation Musashi with five approaches and five attitudes as described in the book Go Rin No Sho.
Step by step we will voyage the thousands of nautical miles required through fierce winds and icy seas, through dense fog and driving sleet where steel will clash with steel, with cannons silenced and the screams of whales diminished – there we will demonstrate that we the whale warriors are as determined in our service to the whales as any traditional samurai and in so doing we will do Musashi proud.
Sea Shepherd Prepares to Take on Japanese Whalers Alone This Year
The Japanese whaling fleet will depart from Japan next month.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Ship Steve Irwin will also depart at the end of November from Brisbane, Australia.
The Japanese fleet and the Steve Irwin should arrive in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary around the same time.
“Our objective is simple,” said Captain Paul Watson. “We intend to once again intervene against illegal Japanese whaling and once again we intend to save the lives of as many whales as we can with the resources available to us. We have been the cause of the Japanese whaling fleet losing profits for three years in a row. We intend to make it a fourth year of red ink for the whaler’s books.”
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society cannot depend on the government of Kevin Rudd in Australia to help the whales.
“They have reneged on their promises and have done far less than the John Howard government when Senator Ian Campbell was the Environment Minister,” said Captain Watson. “I think Environment Minister Peter Garrett should have kept playing music and stayed out of politics. He is no friend to the whales, kangaroos, trees or the environment – just another hot air politician.”
Exactly a year ago today, a month before the Australian elections, Rudd and Garrett both promised to appoint a whaling ambassador and they promised to take legal action against Japan.
Shadow environment minister Greg Hunt said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Mr. Garrett had been hoping the public would forget about their promises on whaling.
“It is time the Minister and his boss finally stated once and for all whether they will deliver on the promises they made last year,” he said.
Greenpeace may or may not send a ship southward. They haven’t said.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society once again made a request to Greenpeace to work in cooperation on the effort to defend the whales and once again Greenpeace has refused.
Greenpeace informed The Western Australian newspaper that they would not work with Sea Shepherd unless it renounced violence and property damage.
“It’s hard to renounce violence when we have never been violent,” said Captain Watson. “In our entire history of over three decades we have never caused a single injury to a single person. As for property damage, Sea Shepherd has never damaged any property that has not been used in a criminal activity. That is why we have never been convicted of a felony or of any property crime, nor have we been sued.”
The Sea Shepherd crew will relay information to Greenpeace on the position of the Japanese fleet when it is found and Sea Shepherd will assist Greenpeace unilaterally. The whales need all the support they can get.
“We want Greenpeace down there,” said Captain Watson, “We would like anyone with a boat and the ability to navigate in the Southern Oceans to be down there. The whales need help from all of us. I will not criticize Greenpeace for sending a ship down to Antarctic waters despite their animosity towards us, but considering the huge amount of funds they raise for the whales, I will most certainly criticize them if they do not send a ship to the Southern Oceans in December.”
The Sea Shepherd crew have been preparing the Steve Irwin for the return to Antarctica. A new helicopter deck and hangar has been added and the helicopter has been completely overhauled. New equipment has been secured including a new hydraulic crane and fast interceptor boats. At least half the crew this year will be Australian. The rest of the crew will be Canadian, American, British, French, Dutch, South African, Swedish, and Chilean.
“We have a few surprises for the whalers this year,” said Sea Shepherd 2nd officer Peter Hammarstedt of Sweden. “We intend to be more aggressive and even more relentless in our interventions. We do not intend to witness the killing of any whales, we intend to make sure no whales are killed on our watch.”
Last year’s successful campaign will begin airing on Animal Planet in a seven part series called Whale Wars beginning November 7th at 9:00P.M. in the United States. The program will air at later dates internationally.
Do you Yahoo? Then YOU kill sharks.
10/21/2008
Good News - The Shark Killers at Yahoo take a Financial Beating
Yahoo is getting their just desserts.
The financially troubled Internet company is laying off 10% of their workforce.
Their profits are heading into the basement.
“We have been disciplined about balancing investments with cost management all year, and have now set in motion initiatives to reduce costs and enhance productivity,” said Yahoo co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang in a written statement.
“The steps we are taking this quarter should deliver both near-term benefits to operating cash flow, and substantially enhance the nimbleness and flexibility with which we compete over the long term,” he added.
In a conference call after the results were announced, Yang said the company was working to reduce costs in other ways than just slashing jobs, including relocating offices and consolidating real estate. “We are identifying ways we can operate more efficiently,” he said.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has a suggestion for Yahoo. Divest yourself of Alibaba, the largest shark finning company in the world. Yahoo owns 40% of this destructive and merciless corporation.
That in addition to Yahoo’s slavish kow-towing to the Chinese government makes this company one of the most unethical corporations in the world.
“I hope they go under,” said Captain Paul Watson. “Yahoo is contributing to the extinction of world shark populations – they are arrogantly wiping the seas clean of sharks. I look at the graph of their losses and I smile – it serves them right.”
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been boycotting Yahoo ever since they bought into the Chinese online shark-finning corporation of Alibaba.
Yahoo reported a net income of $54 million, or 4 cents per share, a decline of 51% from a year ago.
Yahoo has been pursuing an ad-sharing deal with top rival Google.
The partnership has been put on hold, however, as the Justice Department investigates whether the deal would create an online advertising monopoly and violate antitrust laws.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is hoping that Google will refrain from partnering with a company that is so involved with the destruction of the world’s sharks.
Yahoo has refused to respond to Sea Shepherd’s concerns about their involvement with the slaughter of sharks. Only one Yahoo representative responded and that was to say there were too many sharks in the oceans anyway.
With more than 90% of the world’s sharks eradicated and with many species on the brink of extinction, Yahoo has become an international eco-terrorist organization.
Instead of buying Yahoo, Google should let the company die and pick up the market after their demise.
The world does not need Yahoo, the Chinese ass-kissing shark slaughtering ecologically ignorant company that it is.
