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From Ron:
UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS, A Fascist, Totalitarian, misguided bunch of chicken huggers.. Why do I say this? After all, isn't the U.P.C. fighting the commercial poultry industry to insure we get better quality chicken? Don't be fooled, they are NOT out to simply clean up the industry. Yes it sure needs it. I think some of the practices used in todays poultry industry are discusting: The "fecal soup" all the "store bought" birds float in,for one. But that is NOT what the U.P.C. is about. If you casually peruse their website, that's the imression you'd get though. But dig deeper my friends. Read the articles, as exaggerated and mis-directive as they are. They advocate stealing chickens, and worst of all, they are lobbying our government to eventually eliminate by legislative mandate, ALL meat products from the American diet! I don't know about you, but trying to get our government to FORCE a vegan diet on us is unamerican! I don't like "big poultry" either! THAT is why I raise my own Chickens. Some of you may think, "well, their hearts are in the right places, even if they aren't very smart. After all, they do rescue chickens" My response to that: If trying to force us into being vegetarians is negated by the fact that they steal a few chickens and feed'em and sing to 'em or whatever, then your BRAIN isn't in the right place!! I must say that I'm surprised at the amount of small poultry people who raise a few birds for meat and/or eggs who come to the defense of these morons. The part of their brains that activate the self defense mechanism must have gotten clogged or something. Ask yourself this: Here's a group that feels the consumption of meat and eggs is "cruel and Barbaric". Let's assume for a minute that they finally do get "big poultry". Do you really think they're gonna fold up the tent and go home! Hell no! They ARE gonna come after us, the little guys! What scares the hell out of me is all the apathy and downright IGNORANCE I've run into from people just like me, folks eatin a few birds, fryin a few eggs. I'll tell ya, we're gonna fall like a house of cards when (not if) they come after us! I can already hear a few folks thinking; "It'll be a ling time before these zealots bring down big poultry. Why the hell should I worry about them?" You should worry about them because you are RIGHT! Hell probably will freeze over before they win! I'm worried about whats gonna happen when they figure out WE are easier to fight than big poultry. I'm worried that they'll come after us for the same reason they are vegetarians, vegetables are easier to catch! (NOTE to vegetarians who aren't out to force veganism on the rest of us. That last statement was a joke, And I'd fight to defend your right to NOT eat meat if someone was trying to force it on you) Ron
On a recent trip to Thailand it was discovered that 20th Century Fox is making a movie called "The Beach" on Phi Phi Leh Island, a treasured National Park in Thailand. Portions of the film, which stars Leonardo Di Caprio (Titanic-fame), will be shot on Maya Beach on the island of Phi Phi Leh. This is one of the most beautiful, unspoiled islands in the Pacific and it is being destroyed to meet Hollywood's perception of paradise. The film company has already bulldozed large portions of the beach and removed much of the natural vegetation (Giant Milkweed, Sea Pandanus, Spider Lily and other beach grass) in order to widen the beach to accommodate a football scene. Fox plans to replace the native vegetation with 100 non-native coconut palms to create their "paradise." Local Thai activists feared that removing the natural vegetation would create serious erosion, and they were right. The beach has alread been eroded and now locals are very worried about how much of the beach and bay will remain after the monsoons. Phi Phi Leh Island is supposedly protected as a National Park and is key to the local tourist economy. Thai activists report that Thailand's Royal Forestry Department violated their own regulations and were bought off by 20th Century Fox, who paid the government Bhat 4 million. Local activists are enraged that the government would cave in to Fox's demands and that their concerns were ignored. Activists are not opposed to filming on Maya Bay, but want the island to be filmed as-is. A lawsuit has been filed, but an injunction to stop further destruction of the island was denied. The local Thai people have tried everything, from the courts to blockading the beach, to protect their island. They need our help. They ask the American public to take action and boycott the film. The Thai people point out that Americans would never allow Thai film makers to bulldoze Yellowstone or other US National Parks. Hollywood must get the message that exploiting the environment and powerless people is unethical for mere entertainment. Please help the people of Thailand by: 1) Passing this message on to everyone you know. 2) Signing the petition below. 3) Write a letter to producer Andrew McDonald. Tell him you will boycott the film unless 20th Century Fox stops destroying Maya Bay. The address is: Andrew MacDonald, Producer c/o Carol Sewell 10201 W. Pico Blvd. Building 89, Room 224 Los Angeles, CA 90035 Check out web site of Maya Bay at: http://www.wildrockies.org/wve/beach.htm Please sign the petition and forward to someone else. If your name is #50, #100, #150 and so on, please send the petition back to: bryony@wildrockies.org PETITION: TO: Andrew McDonald, Producer "The Beach" We, the undersigned, will not see your film "The Beach" and will encourage our friends and family to boycott the film unless you cease and desist from destroying Maya Bay by removing the native vegetation and planting coconut palms. Maya Bay is already a paradise and does NOT need Hollywood's unnecessary alterations. 1). Bryony Schwan, Missoula, Montana USA 2) Laura Scherubel, Missoula, MT, USA 3) Claire Emory, Ovando, MT USA 4) Carol Hett, Sheridan, WY USA 5) Sue Nackoney, West Yellowstone, MT USA 6) Anna R. Mosqueda, Sacramento, CA, USA 7) Barbara Warner, Lebanon, KY 40033 8) Nancy Ellen Smith, Woodstock, GA USA 9) Kathy Richmond, Vice President,Friends of the West,Clayton, ID 10) Scott Edgerton, Missoula, Montana, USA 11) Chuck Pezeshki, Director,Clearwater Biodiversity Project, Troy,ID 83871 12) Ward Klemer, Seeley Lake, MT, USA 13) Aaron Coffin, Missoula, MT USA 14) Bruce Herbert, Seattle, WA USA 15) Eric Stewart, Eastpointe, MI USA 16) Lambert Rochfort, Bellingham, WA, USA 17) Anne Munier, Prince George, BC, Canada 18) Alexa Pitoulis, Prince George, BC, Canada 19) Seth Oldham, Prince George, BC, CAnada 20) Becky L'hirondelle, Prince George, BC, Canada 21) Keya White, Prince George, BC, Canada 22) Nicole Gagnon, Prince George, BC 23) Mirco Muntener, Prince George, BC, Canada 24) Keely Hunter, Prince George, B.C., Canada 25) Heather Lamb, Ottawa ON, Canada 26) Eric Lamb, Vancouver BC, Canada 27) Jana Heilbuth, Vancouver BC, Canada 28) Dawn Cooper 29) Shani Cote-Patch 30) Danna Schock 31) Glenn Sutter 32) Mark Segstro 33) Barbara Segstro 34) Pierre Mineau, Research Scientist, Canadian Wildlife Service,Ottawa,Canada 35) Chip Weseloh, Wildlife Biologist, Canadian Wildlife Service,Burlington, ON Canada. 36) Kevin M. Brown, Research Scientist, Cornell University, New York, USA 37) Jacques Brodeur, Professor, Universite Laval, Quebec, Canada 38) Jacqui Shykoff, Research Associate, Paris, France 39) Gunilla Rosenqvist, Associate professor, Trondheim, Norway 40) Charlotta Kvarnemo, PhD, Stockholm University, Sweden 41) Amanda Vincent, PhD, McGill University, Canada 42) Glenn Moore, University of Western Australia, Australia 43) Roddy Hale, University of Western Australia, Australia 44) Fleur Davies, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 45) Jacqui Davison, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 46) Rosemary Mckay, Canberra, Australia 47) Anthony Pigounis, Canberra, Australia 48) Iska Sampson, Canberra, Australia 49) Dougal Torrance, Canberra, Australia 50) Jane Gough, Canberra, Australia 51) Mia Thurgate, bathurst, Australia 52) Peter Valentine, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia 53) Campbell Davies, Townsville, Australia 54) Melita Samoilys, Townsville, Australia 55) Rosalie Chapple, Sydney, Australia 56) Susan Turner, Singapore 57) Oliver Christen, Sydney, Australia 58) Kazemaru Yukawa, Tokyo, Japan 59) Torbjörn Abelli, Stockholm, Sweden 60) Lise-Lotte Norelius, Stockholm, Sweden 61) Thomas Scherlund 62) Jörgen Bergerstedt, Stockholm, Sweden 63) Matz Bjurström, Stockholm, Sweden