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My Friend Jan on a recent trip to Isreal

Thou Shalt Not Kill?

Humans Drive Rare Dolphin to Extinction

by Ian Sample

THE Yangtze River dolphin, until recently one of the most endangered species on the planet, has been declared officially extinct after an intensive survey of its natural habitat.

The freshwater marine mammal, which could weigh up to a quarter of a tonne, is the first large vertebrate forced to extinction by human activity in 50 years, and only the fourth time an entire evolutionary line of mammals has vanished from the face of the earth since 1500. 0808 05

Conservationists described the extinction as a “shocking tragedy”, caused not by active persecution but accidentally and carelessly through a combination of factors including unsustainable fishing and mass shipping.

In the 1950s the Yangtze had a population of thousands of freshwater dolphins, but their numbers declined dramatically when China industrialised and transformed the Yangtze into a crowded artery of mass shipping, fishing and power generation. A survey in 1999 estimated the population was just 13.

Historically, the species achieved nearly demi-god status among fishermen who recounted tales of dolphins being reincarnations of drowned princesses.

Sam Turvey, a biologist at London Zoo, worked with Chinese government scientists to survey the Yangtze downstream of the giant Three Gorges Dam. The researchers hoped that if any dolphins were spotted, they could be taken to a reserve.

But at the end of the survey, they had neither seen nor heard any sign of the dolphins, according to their report in the journal, Biology Letters.

“The hopes of each person on the survey died at different points; everyone had a moment of realisation that we weren’t going to find anything,” Dr Turvey said.

Copyright © 2007. The Sydney Morning Herald.

Codepink LA Impeachment Party and Banner Drop

DLove2007

Join CODEPINK for coffee and impeachment pie over the 405 next Tuesday evening! We're going to tell the world we don't want one more day of Bush and Cheney's lies! We'll bring all the tools necessary to do a freeway banner drop and teach you how to do your own.

Tuesday August 7th - Freeway Impeachment Party and Banner Drop
When: 5pm
Where: the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, corner of Palms & Sepulveda
3470 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles CA, 90034
What: Join us for a fun banner drop over the 405 Freeway
RSVP to Karin at codepinkkarin@gmail.com

CONTACT: Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Congressman Dennis Kucinich To Receive More Than 100,000 Petitions From Supporters Seeking Impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney

D.Love2007


WASHINGTON - AUGUST 2 - Congressman Kucinich will receive petitions from people throughout the country who support impeaching Vice President Dick Cheney.

Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment against the Vice President on April 24, 2007, because "the Vice President actively and systematically sought to deceive the citizens and Congress about an alleged threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. He has purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive us about the relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda. And he openly lied to the America people and has publicly threatened aggression against Iran," Kucinich said.

There are currently 16 co-sponsors of H.Res. 333: Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA), Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Rep. Al Wynn (D-MD).

What Next? Pizza Hut School Of Nutrition?

"The University of Iowa is mulling whether to rename its College of Public Health after Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield's foundation in exchange for a $15 milion gift from the company's philanthropic arm," the newspaper reports.

"We're close to the tip of the sword for an AT&T School of Business or a Kodak School of Digital Communication. I can see that as not so far off," said Terry Burton, a naming-rights consultant.

The idea has ignited debate.

As Randa Safady, vice chancellor at the University of Texas, put it, "It's important that the public and we don’t equate the generosity of corporations with selling out."