Activist WeeklyVolume 3 jamesrichmond.wordpress.com February 2008

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

1 World News

1 U.S. News

3 Virginia News

5 Foreign Policy

6 Canada

Activist Weekly 1

World News

Burma Report BackAvaaz Members Donate over

$325,000 to the Burmese Democracy Movement

"Thank you indeed from friends in need." - Dr. Naing Aung, Secretary-General, Forum for Democracy in Burma

3 months ago, thousands of Avaaz members donated over $300,000 (in just 4 days!) to support the Burmese people's efforts to peacefully promote political change and tell the world about their struggle.

This is a quick report on where that money is going, and what the outlook is for Burma. It is based on a visit I made to the region after our fundraiser, where I met with Burmese activist leaders, discussed strategy and took their guidance on the best way to make our members' financial support matter.

- Ricken Patel, Executive Director, Avaaz

Continued page 2

U.S. NewsStaples dumps Asia Pulp & Paper over its destruction of virgin rainforestsRhett Butler, mongabay.com www. southernsustainableforests.org Southern Forests Network

Construction of new logging corridor through dense dry lowland forest in Bukit Tigapuluh, Riau © WWF Indonesia.

Office supply giant Staples Inc. dropped Asia Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd. (APP), one of the world's largest paper companies, as a supplier due to concerns over its environmental performance, reports Tom Wright of the Wall Street Journal.

Calling APP a "great peril to our brand" for its alleged logging of wildlife-rich rainforests in Indonesia, Staples said it will now look to other suppliers for its branded photocopy and office paper. APP had accounted for roughly 9 percent of Staples-branded stock.

"We decided engagement was not possible anymore," Mark Buckley, vice president for environmental issues at Staples, told the Wall Street Journal. "We haven't seen any indication that APP has been making any positive strides" to protect the environment.

Activist Weekly 2

Background: People Power vs. The GeneralsFor decades, the nation of Burma has been ruled by a corrupt and brutal military dictatorship. Despite the awful risks, the Burmese people have repeatedly peacefully demonstrated in the streets, led in spirit by their last democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, a woman who has been under house arrest for years. Last fall, in the face of desperate poverty and continued repression, Burmese monks marched with hundreds of thousands of others asking for change. The world responded with a global outcry of solidarity.

Avaaz members responded in force, with 835,610 of us signing a petition calling on China and the UN Security Council powers to stop a military crackdown on the protests. Avaaz members endorsed and funded a global ad campaign targeting Chinese support for the Burmese military, and organized and joined in hundreds of protests and rallies around the world on October 6th. Avaaz members in Singapore successfully lobbied their foreign minister to deny the Burmese generals easy investment and vacation opportunities, and European Avaaz members lobbied their governments to strengthen economic sanctions.

Current Situation: The overall situation in Burma has deteriorated significantly since the protests. 80% of the leadership of the monk and student networks that led the protests have been caught and jailed. The remaining 20% are on the run, hiding in safe houses and constantly at risk. The Burmese generals have used torture extensively to work their way through these networks. They have also immediately and viciously cracked down on any street protests. Our original hope was to break the media and internet blackout that the Burmese generals had imposed on the country. But now, even if we did, there are no significant protests to cover. The public protests have been smothered.

But there is hope, and with all of our support, Avaaz is helping it grow. No dictatorship was ever overthrown without much sacrifice and long struggle. The Burmese have struggled for 20 years, they are fighting a long fight, and we are committed to stay with them. The protests last fall brought a whole new generation of nonviolent activistsinto politics. Hundreds of thousands of new people are eager to take up the cause. The brutality against monks, revered by all Burmese, was the last straw for the Burmese generals. They have now lost all legitimacy whatsoever with the people -- they are holed up in a jungle capital and rule by force of terror alone. There are signs of dissension within the Burmese military, as some senior officers refused to crack down on the protesters. International pressure remains steady. The Junta has been pressured, by the UN Security Council and by China, into fast tracking their (flawed) plan for democratization, and have announced a constitutional referendum to be held in May. 2008 is going to be a big year for the Burmese democracy movement. Plans are being made; the movement is thinking big and planning its return.

Staples continued from page 1

Earlier Staples said it hoped that engagement with APP would prompt the firm to change its sourcing policies.

The announcement comes at a difficult time for APP, which has faced widespread condemnation from green groups for its environmental record. In October, following an inquiry from the Wall Street Journal, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a forest certification body, rejected APP's planned use of a logo indicating its products met FSC environmental standards. Earlier a partnership with environmental group WWF soured when it became evident that APP continued to log old growth forests for paper pulp. Still APP has "made up for lost orders from big Western buyers by selling more in the Middle East, India and Bangladesh, where environmental concerns are not such an issue," writes Wright.

In recent months, logging in Indonesia has garnered worldwide attention due to its impact on global climate. Several studies published over the past year show that emissions from forest destruction in Indonesia have made the country the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Politicians are now scrambling to rein in deforestation in an effort to qualify for carbon credits that could be worth billions of dollars. Yesterday Irwandi Yusuf, governor of the province of Aceh, announced he would protect 1.9 million acres of forest in Ulu Masen in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 100 million tons over 30 years.

Buy 100% post Consumer use Recycled Paper at Staples

Activist Weekly 3

V i r g i n i a – C h e s a p e a k e B a y

Court Rules EPA Violated the Law by Evading Required Power Plant Mercury Reductions

Chesapeake Bay – Activist Weekly

Washington, D.C. — A federal appeals court ruled this morning that a rulemaking by the Environmental Protection Agency violates the Clean Air Act by evading mandatory cuts in toxic mercury pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants violates the law. The decision invalidates the agency’s so-called “Clean Air Mercury Rule,” which would have allowed dangerously high levels of mercury pollution to persist under a weak cap-and-trade program that would not have taken full effect until well beyond 2020.

Fourteen states and dozens of Native American tribes, public health and environmental groups, and organizations representing registered nurses and physicians challenged the EPA’s suite of rules in 2005. The ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rebuked EPA for attempting to create an illegal loophole for the power generating industry, rather than applying the toughest emission standards of the Clean Air Act. The states challenging this EPA rule are: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin.

EPA unlawfully decided to remove power plants from the most protective requirements of the Clean Air Act, reasoning they had the authority under the law to do so. “This explanation deploys the logic of the Queen of Hearts, substituting EPA’s desires for the plain text… [of the law]” the court wrote in its decision.

“The federal court agrees with the American Medical Association that EPA's flawed mercury program for coal plants is hazardous to our health,” said Vickie Patton, an attorney with Environmental Defense, which along with Sierra Club and the National Wildlife

Earlier Staples said it hoped that engagement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 100 million tons over 30 years.

Federation was represented by Earthjustice in the lawsuit. “This decision is a victory for the health of all Americans, but especially for our children who can suffer permanent brain damage from toxic mercury pollution.”

 EPA estimates that as many as 600,000 babies are born annually at risk of serious harm from exposure to high maternal blood-mercury levels resulting from contaminated fish consumption. “Coal company claims of ‘clean coal’ will now be put to the test,” said Alice McKeown, coal analyst for the Sierra Club. “These mercury pollution reductions will be an important trial run to see if coal is still viable in a cleaner energy future.” The EPA’s actions declared unlawful today included first removing power plants from a regulatory list requiring the toughest Clean Air Act safeguards against toxic pollution. The agency then proposed to replace these standards with a much weaker mercury cap-and-trade program that failed to reduce mercury emissions from each power plant in the country, achieved weaker reductions at plants required to do something, and would have taken effect well beyond dates mandated in the Clean Air Act.

“The court has now told EPA in no uncertain terms to follow the law as it is written. We are looking forward to working on rules that reflect the most stringent controls achievable for this industry, as the Clean Air Act requires,” said Ann Weeks, attorney for Clean Air Task Force who represented U.S. PIRG, Ohio Environmental Council, Natural Resources Council of Maine, and Conservation Law Foundation in the case.  “That’s what is needed now, if we are ever to alleviate the problem of mercury contamination in fish and wildlife.”

Approximately 1,100 coal-fired units at more than 450 existing power plants spew 48 tons of mercury into the air each year. Yet only 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury is needed to contaminate a 25-acre lake to the point where fish are unsafe to eat. Over 40 states have warned their citizens to avoid consuming various fish species due to mercury contamination, with over half of those mercury advisories applying to all waterbodies in the state.

“These two rules represented what was perhaps the biggest sellout to industry in the history of EPA,” said Waterkeeper Alliance Legal Director, Scott Edwards.  “It's a real tragedy that we've had to spend two years getting this industry-scripted scheme struck down while energy companies continue to poison our children with mercury.”

Power plants also emit tens of thousands of tons of other air toxics, including hydrogen chloride, arsenic and lead.“The technology exists to dramatically reduce toxic mercury pollution, and it is years past time to put that technology to work,” said the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Litigation Director Jon Mueller. 

Virginia - US News Continued

SPLC Campaign  

Uranium Mining www.sierraclub.org A small group of landowners in Pittsylvania County is working to lift Virginia’s quarter century moratorium against mining uranium. These landowners claim to have almost $10 billion worth of uranium ore under their property. Uranium mining is not allowed under Virginia law, mainly becauseof concerns over water pollution.

Uranium mining is a very dangerous activity, and the industry has a terrible track record of leaving pollution and health problems in its wake. These landowners are expected to urge the General Assembly to study the potential of lifting the moratorium and allowing uranium mining. Sierra Club and other organizations will be closely following this process and making sure any review of uranium mining critically examinesand adequately weighs the potential for environmental harm and human health impacts.

Of course there will be plenty of other important proposals we will follow and work for or against. We will be able to accomplish our legislative goals only if you, our members, are actively contacting your state Delegate and Senator. If you have any questions about these or other legislative proposals, or how you can be involved in our legislative program, please contact either our director and lobbyist, Michael Town (michael.town@sierraclub.org) or our Legislative Chair, Tyla Matteson (tmatteson1@mindspring.com).

Closes Notorious Mississippi Girls' Prison Southern Poverty Law Center www.splcenter.org

Feb. 14, 2008 — The state of Mississippi has decided to close the state's notorious Columbia Training School, seven months after the Southern Poverty Law Center sued the state to stop the physical and sexual abuse of teenage girls confined there.

The SPLC suit exposed brutal conditions at the prison, including the painful shackling of girls for weeks at a time. It also sought to force the state to provide mental health and rehabilitative services to girls, many of whom suffer from emotional problems or mental illness.

In announcing the decision today, the state's Department of Human Services (DHS) said Gov. Haley Barbour and the DHS recognized the need to provide the best possible care and supervision of juveniles placed in state custody and the need to use taxpayer funds efficiently. The DHS also said the state seeks to decrease incarceration of juveniles and provide quality services for at-risk youth.

"We applaud the governor's wisdom in making this decision," said Bear Atwood, director of the SPLC's Mississippi Youth Justice Project. "It takes courage and foresight to change the status quo. We are heartened that Mississippi is realizing that harsh punishment for juveniles who commit minor offenses is not only ineffective but counterproductive."

The DHS said it will transfer the 37 girls at Columbia to Oakley Training School, the state's prison for boys, within the next 90 days. The legislature will be asked to permanently close Columbia.

"Most of the girls at Columbia do not belong in prison at all," Atwood said. "Most are there for very minor, nonviolent offenses. Ripping them from their families and locking them up only encourages further delinquency."

Most of the girls at Columbia could be treated far more effectively — at half the cost — in community-based programs that focus on rehabilitation and mental health treatment. In 2007, according to the state, it cost $5.8 million to house an average population of 47 girls. The facility has 109 staffers.

Mattaponi River, Virginia Sierra Club www.sierraclub.org The Mattaponi River in Virginia's King William County and King and Queen County is home to eagles, shad and the Mattaponi American Indian tribe. The tribe members - descendants of Chief Powhatan and his daughter, Pocahontas - live on the Mattaponi River on one of the oldest reservations in the United States.

But a new reservoir proposed by the City of Newport News would divert as much as 75 million gallons of water a day from the river - destroying more than 400 acres of forested wetlands and jeopardizing the Mattaponi tribe's shad fishery. Even though three independent studies have concluded that Newport News does not need the water, the city and its mayor are moving forward with the King William Reservoir.

Help the Sierra Club, the Mattaponi Tribe and other conservation groups persuade the Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Newport News to save the Mattaponi River.

Mattaponi - Sierra Club

FOREIGN POLICYActivist Weekly 4

Congo: The Invisible War

www.democracynow.org Hear Democracy Now on WRIR 97.3 F.M. at 9:00 A.M EST each weekday www.wrir.org

By Amy Goodman

It’s the deadliest conflict since World War II. More than 5 million people have died in the past decade, yet it goes virtually unnoticed and unreported in the United States. The conflict is in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Central Africa. At its heart are the natural resources found in Congo and multinational corporations that extract them. The prospects for peace have slightly improved: A peace accord was just signed in Congo’s eastern Kivu provinces. But without a comprehensive truth and reconciliation process for the entire country and a renegotiation of all mining contracts, the suffering will undoubtedly continue.

In its latest Congo mortality report, the International Rescue Committee found that a stunning 5.4 million “excess deaths” have occurred in Congo since 1998. These are deaths beyond those that would normally occur. In other words, a loss of life on the scale of Sept. 11 occurring every two days, in a country whose population is one-sixth our own.

Just a little history: After supporting the allies in World War II, Congo gained independence and elected Patrice Lumumba, a progressive Pan-Africanist, as prime minister in 1960. He was assassinated soon after in a plot involving the CIA. The U.S. installed and supported Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled tyrannically for more than 30 years, plundering the nation. Since his death, Congo has seen war, from 1996 to 2002, provoked by invasions by neighboring Rwanda and Uganda, and ongoing conflict since then.

A particularly horrifying aspect of the conflict is the mass sexual violence being used as a weapon of war. Congolese human-rights activist Christine Schuler Deschryver told me about the hundreds of thousands of women and children subjected to rape:

“We are not talking about normal rapes anymore. We are talking about sexual terrorism, because they are destroyed—you cannot imagine what’s going on in Congo. We are talking about new surgery to repair the women, because they’re completely destroyed.” She was describing the physical damage done to the women, and to children, one, she said, as young as 10 months old, by acts of rape that involve insertion of sticks, guns and molten plastic. Deschryver was in the U.S. as a guest of V-Day, Eve Ensler’s campaign to end violence against women, in an attempt to generate public awareness of this genocide and to support the Panzi Hospital in Deschryver’s hometown of Bukavu.

Maurice Carney is executive director of Friends of the Congo, in Washington, D.C.: “Two types of rape, basically, are taking place in the Congo: One is the rape of the women and children, and the other the rape of the land, natural resources. The Congo has tremendous natural resources: 30 percent of the world’s cobalt, 10 percent of the world’s copper, 80 percent of the world’s reserves of coltan. You have to look at the corporate influence on everything that takes place in the Congo.”

Among the companies Carney blames for fueling the violence are Cleveland-based OM Group, the world’s leading producer of cobalt-based specialty chemicals and a leading supplier of nickel-based specialty chemicals, as well as Boston-based chemical giant Cabot Corp. Cabot produces coltan, also known as tantalum, a hard-to-extract but critical component of electronic circuitry, which is used in all cell phones and other consumer electronics. The massive demand for coltan is credited with fueling the Second Congo War of 1998-2002. A former CEO of Cabot is none other than the Bush administration’s current secretary of energy, Samuel Bodman. Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan, which took over the Phelps Dodge company’s enormous mining concession in the Congo, is also in on the game.

The United Nations has issued several reports that are highly critical of illegal corporate exploitation of the Congo’s minerals. A Congolese government review of more than 60 mining contracts call for their renegotiation or outright cancellation. Says Carney, “Eighty percent of the population live on 30 cents a day or less, with billions of dollars going out the back door and into the pockets of mining companies.” An important question for us in the U.S. is: How could close to 6 million people die from war and related disease in one country in less than a decade and go virtually unnoticed?

Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on 650 stations in North America.

CanadaActivist Weekly 5

Friends of Clayoquot Sound www.focs.ca

Stubbs Island Protected

93 acres of the 133 acre Stubb’s Island (also known as Clayoquot Island) in Clayoquot Sound are now protected after the island’s owner registered a covenant with The Land Conservancy under the federal Ecological Gifts Program.

The island, which lies in Tofino harbour, was the first location of European settlement here. It had long been used by First Nations, and was also the site of a Japanese village prior to World War II.  There are few signs of those days left on the island. It has become an important wildlife refuge for occasional bears, cougars, and wolves and its location near the entrance of Clayoquot Sound makes it a very important place for migrating birds. Brant Geese stop there each year on their 6000 mile journey to the Arctic.

The conservation covenant  ensures that the old growth forest, historic Japanese Village site, and valuable shoreline for bird-nesting habitat on this island will remain in their natural state.

What are Friends of Clayoquot Sound doing in 2008 to help achieve greater protection for Clayoquot Sound’s ancient temperate rainforest and wild ocean? Here are some of the campaigns, projects and activities we are engaged in this year: 

working with First Nations and BC government to develop a “conservation solution” for Clayoquot Sound that would protect Clayoquot’s intact, unlogged valleys and provide eco-friendly economic opportunities for First Nations 

pressuring government and industry to switch open net-cage salmon farms into closed containment tanks with waste treatment  

assisting Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in planning for their Kennedy Watershed Tribal Park 

Forest Watch monitoring of logging and logging plans in Clayoquot 

writing a report on current and planned logging in Clayoquot Sound to inform local communities and as a general public education tool 

guiding Big Tree Tours to the ancient forest of Meares Island  

sea lice field research (funding dependent): assessing levels of sea lice on juvenile wild salmon near salmon farms compared to farm-free areas in Clayoquot 

researching the pesticide SLICE, used to control sea lice infestations on salmon farms 

writing a booklet geared to First Nations, describing the negative environmental impacts of open net-cage salmon farming 

ongoing public education via our environmental info centre/office in Tofino, newsletters, e-news, website, presentations, etc.

Of course, our small organization depends on funding mostly from you, the public. Please make a donation to FOCS to enable our work. We make your money achieve good things for Clayoquot Sound!  You can donate online at www.focs.ca/support , by phone at 250-725-4218, or by mail at Box 489, Tofino, BC, V0R 2Z0. Click here for a donation form you can print and mail. Thank You!

Activist Weekly 6