Sea Shepherd News!

The Sea Shepard's are reporting that one of their crew rescuing dolphins in Taiji, Japan has been arrested and the others have had their rooms searched and all kinds of items confiscated, including "computers, phones, hard drives, photos, cameras and anything they deemed suspicious."

The Japanese are claiming that Cove Guardian Erwin Vermeulen assaulted someone. No witnesses saw anything yet they took him into custody. Classic tactic. Trumped up charges.

"Erwin was attempting to film the transfer of dolphins from the sea to holding pens at the resort."...and so they got mad and arrested him.

The Cove Guardians are now without means to document the atrocities being committed at Taiji.

Here is a plea for help:

UPDATE 12/20/2011:

This year's killing season in Taiji will go on through the end of March, 2012. Sea Shepherd is encouraging the public to send emails, letters, phone calls, and other communications to local Taiji government offices, the Fishermen's Union (FU), Taiji Whale Museum, Dolphin Base, the Dolphin Resort hotel, and Japanese embassies and consulates around the world. They are also requesting donations to cover immediate replacement of at least one laptop and several SD cards for the volunteers' cameras, so that their documentation work can continue immediately. Addresses for public input include the following:

Mr. Yoshiki Kimura, Governor of Wakayama prefecture
(Mr. Kimura's office issues the drive fishery permit, thus granting permission for the annual dolphin slaughter.)
E-mail: e0001003@pref.wakayama.lg.jp
Public comment lines: +81-73-441-2028
Phone: 81-73-441-2034
Fax: 81-73-423-9500

Tourism Bureau, Wakayama Prefecture
E-Mail : e0625001@pref.wakayama.lg.jp
URL : http://kanko.wiwi.co.jp/world/english/index.html
Phone 81-73-441-2789
FAX : 81-73-427-1523

Japanese Embassies Worldwide
http://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/mofaserv.html

Also breaking in Sea Shepherd news today is that the ship Brigitte Bardot was incapacitated by a rogue wave and is real danger. It will take the Steve Irwin over 20 hours to reach the crew. They think the ship will stay afloat that long and hopefully withstand a tow back to port. This is a MAJOR setback in Operation Divine Wind as all ships are in the Southern Ocean stopping the annual whale hunt there.

“This is disappointing but these are hostile seas and we have always been prepared for situations like this,” Said Captain Paul Watson from the Steve Irwin. “Right now the safety of my crew on the Brigitte Bardot is our priority and we intend to reach the crew and then do what we can to save our ship.”


News Article on Arrest

News Article on Raid

News Article on Rogue Wave

Sea Shepard News Feed

Mayor Bloomberg's Response to Carriage Horse Death

Is infuriating! According to Gothamist.com the Mayor of New York in response to a ban on carriage horses, said...drum roll please..." (they) probably wouldn't be alive if they didn't have a job".

Crickets...

Un.freaking.believable.

Oh, and "(they're) part of New York's heritage".

Ok. Let us reply to that, Mr. Mayor.

1) To imply the horses wouldn't be alive if they weren't pulling carriages is ludicrous at best and downright ignorant at worst. He clearly thinks this incident is a joke and part and parcel of being a horse in NYC.

2) To say horse drawn carriages are part of New York's heritage is totally correct, HOWEVER, to quote New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio from this Huff Post News Article:

London, Paris, Las Vegas, Toronto and Beijing -- New York City's chief rivals for tourism -- have all banned horse-drawn carriages in recent years, and with good reason. Our city's carriage horses work strenuous hours throughout the week and unlike the horses that plied the park a hundred years ago, today's horses travel on hard asphalt roads that wear down and damage their feet.

Horse drawn carriages are more of a London heritgage don't you think, Mayor? And yet, they had the mercy and compassion to see that it doesn't belong in a modern urban city. AND BEIJING (!) banned it?! I guess NY isn't as progressive as Beijing.

Get with the program, Mayor Bloomberg.

Necropsy results on the beautiful white horse that died Monday are still unavailable at this time. We WILL be posting an update as soon as its released.

BANHDC.org

Requiem for a Carriage Horse

This horse dropped dead yesterday

"Healthy horses do not drop dead on the street."

Do you believe that carriage rides are just innocent romantic ways to spend the time? Not really. Not in this day and age of car pollution and traffic.

Did you know that the average carriage horse in NYC has to travel 2 miles to get to Central Park and then work 9 hours a day (on average it's more) and then walk the 2 miles back to their stable before repeating 7 DAYS A WEEK - 365 DAYS A YEAR?

No, carriage rides are not innocent or romantic. They are money making machines for greedy owners that prey on gullible tourists and people that just don't get it.

"Stacy Wolf of the ASPCA said: 'The life of a carriage horse on New York City streets is extremely difficult and life threatening and the ASPCA has long believed that carriage horses were never meant to live and work in today's urban setting,'"

This horse in question was beautiful. How did the owner not see he was in distress?

Necropsy results are expected today to determine what killed him.

Directly or indirectly the work on the street is what killed him. It's so sad.

According to Gothamist.com carriage horses have been seen working illegally in inclement weather, drinking from filthy street puddles to slake their thirst and are at risk of and do get hit by buses.

What's worse is that this news - from the streets of New York City - wasn't reported in the mainstream US news. It came from England. WTF?

Kudos to Lea Michele of Glee fame who is furious over this senseless death. She filmed a PETA PSA to encourage the ban just in the last few days and tweeted this yesterday: "Just woke up to the saddest news about one of the carriage horses dying the midtown Nyc. This has to stop! Please," Lea Michele tweeted.

We couldn't agree more.

Daily Mail News Article

Gothamist.com News Article on NYC's silence over carriage horse death

Go toBanhdc.org to learn how to ban this stupid practice from big cities like NY. Caution: Graphic images that will immediately affect how you view the next horse drawn carriage. Not so innocent and romantic after all.

20/20's Children of The Plains

20/20 ran a report last Friday night about the Lakota kids on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

It was the most bittersweet thing we've seen in ages and hands down one of the most horrifying.

"Squalid conditions" does not even come close to describing how these people are living at Pine Ridge. Children in Haiti and for God's sake, Bangladesh seem to have more.

The Reservation, one of over 500 in the U.S., has a staggering unemployment rate upwards of 80%, an adult alcoholism rate of over 70%, one of the highest teenage birth rates and high school drop out rates in the U.S. and last year alone the local cops answered over 17,000 calls related to alcohol.

To top it off, ABC reported that although the Reservation itself has no liquor stores, the closest town has 4 and they alone sold over 4 million cans of beer last year to a tune of $7 million dollars profit.

It's actually ridiculous that this is happening in the United States.

The Reservation practically runs as a sovereign nation (in fact, it is), so it's not as if no one has tried to help or to intervene. People's hands are tied when it comes to the laws, red tape and regulations regarding the reservations. You can't just walk in and open up a McDonalds or even put in a grocery store. You just can't. The most successful business on the reservation, Tanka Bar (.com) is more regulated than a nuclear power plant. They have to file papers every five minutes to continue operations. And they live there!

Without cell towers and access to Internet, cell phones and technology, there are very few .com entrepreneurs that can operate from the homes there.

This may well be changing as the 20/20 report has generated interest and sparked the imaginations of people who want to get in there and either help outright or help get the people there on the Internet to sell homemade Native American made items.

There's talk of mobile health clinics and the children profiled just last Friday have had trust funds set up for all the donations pouring in as well as been offered financial tuition aid. That alone is amazing.

One of the teenagers profiled, Robert Looks Twice, has captured the hearts and minds of Americans everywhere. He has a new page on Facebook, that someone set up for him, and has been receiving advice on how to get to college and fulfill his dream of being the first Native American President. And he is, quite frankly, an amazingly talented person that we can't even wait to vote for.

If you haven't seen the report click the link below to watch it. It's fascinating. And follow the other links to see how you can help the children of the plains.


20/20 Episode in full

Robert Looks Twice Facebook Page

Wounded Knee School District Foundation

Wounded Knee School Wish List - Books!

Donate $ to the kids featured in the special

"It is Against the Will of the People"

In AMAZING environmental and human rights news, we've learned that Myanmar is "shelving the controversial megadam project."

'This is the first time in 50 years that the government has given in to the wishes of the people'

This is a major victory for pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Kyi was kept under house arrest for her pro-democracy views by the ruling Junta of Myanmar.

It's very good of them to listen to the voice of the people," said Suu Kyi, who has spent nearly 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest. "I welcome this."

There is much more to this story. Please follow the link to read all the details.

News Article

Let's Hear it for "The Missile!"

Ok class. Pop Quiz.
You have 5 seconds to answer the following question: Who is currently the Best British Athlete? And the words Andy Murray better not cross your lips!

1
2
3
4
5

Have it?

MARK CAVENDISH, that's who.

Mark "The Missile" Cavendish, who fresh off his Green Jersey (for fastest sprinter or racer) at the Tour De France, JUST WON the Title and Rainbow Jersey as World Road Cycling Champion in Copenhagen.

"A performance like that has never been seen before - it was mind-blowing."

"This is the pinnacle,” he (Cavendish) said. “This is what we’ve all been working for. As a British citizen, the Olympics is a big thing. But as a professional cyclist, you can’t get bigger than winning the rainbow jersey.

"I always said when I was younger that I wanted to be world champion. I can’t win the yellow jersey in the Tour de France. For me, this jersey signifies the biggest thing I can get.”

As he has done throughout his career, Cavendish was quick to attribute his success to the strength of the team behind him, with the likes of Bradley Wiggins, David Millar and Geraint Thomas throwing all their efforts into seeing him to the finish.

Performance director Dave Brailsford was overjoyed after a week that saw Britain top the medal table at the championships with two gold, two silvers and two bronze.

“I’ve watched world championships for many, many years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team dominate from start to finish like a British team did today,” he said.

“They made their intentions very clear right from the very start. The turn that Bradley Wiggins did at the end was mind-blowing.”

Oh! We can hear Phil Liggett calling it now...It must have been glorious.

It's a HUGE win for Britain who has been putting all of its love behind Andy "Chokeartist" Murray and golfer Rory McIlroy.

As David Millar put it: “The UK needs to understand he’s the country’s greatest athlete,” said Millar. “He is probably the greatest sprinter in the history of cycling.”

You can feel the frustration in Millar’s comment, which stems from Britain’s lukewarm enthusiasm for cycling."

Well, England would be still be crowing about David Henman if it wouldn't be so laughable. Still, England's heart and soul is with its footballers so cycling takes a distant 6th seat behind squash of all the stupid things.

We celebrate for Britain and Mark Cavendish who is a highlight in the Tour. He really is something to watch during the final sprints. He can hide in plain sight, pop out of nowhere and cycle like the fucking devil to stage victory after stage victory. He rocks.

Cavendish celebrates his win

Telegraph News Article

BBC News Article

Next up? The 2011 edition of Paris-Tours on Sunday October 9.

And in More Execution News...

Wow, the Executioner is busy!

This one we agree with wholeheartedly.

"Lawrence Russell Brewer, 44, is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection at 6pm for his part in the 1998 killing of James Byrd, Jr in East Texas."

We remember this horrific crime as if it were yesterday.

"Brewer was one of three men convicted of killing Byrd after they offered him a lift along a remote country road.

Byrd, 49, was beaten unconscious and urinated upon before being bound to the vehicle by his ankles with a heavy logging chain and driven for three miles.

Forensic evidence showed that he was alive for much of the ordeal but was killed when the vehicle hit a concrete drainage channel causing his head and arm to be ripped from his body."

We know. That's one of the most awful fucking things you can imagine.

Of the other two men, one got life in prison and the other's case is still under appeal.

It was a sad tragedy and now justice will be served, somehow.

They made a movie about this murder, called "Jasper, Texas" and it's very good. It stars one of our all-time favorite actors Louis Gossett, Jr.

We hope James Byrd can Rest In Peace.

Will There Be a Tennis Strike?

The Big Three - Federer, Nadal and Djokovic

Andy Murray has gone on record saying 'Yes I think so.'

This is nothing new. For years now tennis players have complained about how long their season is compared to every other sport. They virtually have a year long season without sufficient off-time to recover - again - like every other sport.

This has been a contentious point for a very long time.

Several top-players LED BY the Big Three, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are reportedly "not afraid" to boycott or strike to get the reigning bodies of tennis - Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and International Tennis Federation (ITF)- to reform the schedule. Viva la Revolucion!

As it stands now, Rafa, for example, will not be able to rest until December 5. Even then he would have a scant 3 weeks to rest, recuperate and recover before he will have to report to Australia for the January Open there.

That's a very long and difficult season. Consider football. Those guys play once a week for only 16 weeks! In tennis it's a constant 47-49 weeks. That's crazy.

From the AFP:
"The 24-year-old Scot (Andy Murray) told the BBC that he had held several talks with other players at the US Open and they would be discussing the matter further at the Shanghai Masters early next month.

Matters came to a head at the US Open where rain forced some players such as Spanish star Rafael Nadal to play matches on three successive days then have one day off and travel to Europe to play Davis Cup.

The players were also incensed by the announcement last year by ATP chief executive Adam Helfant, who has since decided to leave the governing body, that the Paris Masters and the World Tour Finals would be played back-to-back, so two weeks have been saved in the 2012 ATP calendar.

However, Murray made clear the players' patience was wearing thin.

"It's (a strike) a possibility. I know from speaking to some players they're not afraid of doing that (striking)," said Murray, who was beaten by Nadal in the US Open semi-finals.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that but I'm sure the players will consider it." "

We saw the show of solidarity between players as we've never seen before at the US Open earlier this month. The players marched practically in formation right into the President's office and had their say.

They've cut their teeth with that one and will almost certainly be ready to unionize themselves and fight for the bigger prize.

Now that Roger Federer has twin baby girls at home, we're sure he will lead the way into Mordor to destroy the One Ring of power a power play for reformation. He has as much to fight for off the court as he does on it.

News Article

Slater wins 47th Surfing Competition

Slater celebrating with tradional Tahitian garb

The most famously skilled surfer in the world, Kelly Slater, won his 47th competition, The Billabong Prop Tahiti, yesterday.

The surf was unbelievably challenging for the competition with swells so big they actually called off the entire thing for an entire day. That is unheard of in a sport that craves the giant waves.

Kelly's victory was all the more thrilling with a finale showdown between him and Owen Wright "that left Wright disappointed".

Here are the highlights of the final day:




News Article

ESPN News Article

Breaking News: News is FAILing!

World, we have a problem. It's the 24/7 feed-the-beast news cycle.

"You can't believe everything you read" has never been a truer axiom. With the rush to fill every second of every day with fresh Breaking News, major outlets are failing every day at bringing us ACCURATE news.

Here are two examples from JUST THIS WEEK!

Case in Point #1:

Headline:
Internet Explorer Users Have a Lower IQ (than people who use other web browsers)

This one should have caught someone's attention before the rush to publish it in every newspaper and Internet news site in the entire world.

This "news" article was a complete HOAX, even down to the phony website that listed the information.

The only outlet that questioned the authenticity of the article was the BBC.

Original article from our local Fox affiliate

The Real News - It's a Hoax


Case in Point #2:

Headline:
Amy Winehouse Was About to Adopt a Child

We didn't believe this one from the get-go but don't tell the reporters that spread this falsehood like wildfire.

It was retracted the next day after it had been posted as real by...again...every newspaper and Internet news site in the entire world.

Original UK article

CBS.com retraction

Of course, no news article is actually "retracted". They just publish the "truth" the next day and if you missed it but caught the first, you'll never know you were duped.

In both of these cases the news itself was throw away news. Who cares if Internet Explorer users are dumber than rocks or if Winehouse wanted to or was going to be a mom?

However, how much of the news that we rely on for world or financial information is also false?

Is there any accountability in this day and age? Can you literally publish anything and get away with it? Even if you are an "accredited newsource"?

We checked The Drudge Report, the right-wing extremist news site and found they have linked to false stories like the Internet Explorer story the other day.

SURVEY: Internet Explorer users have lower IQs... ^
From the August 01, 2011 13:13:47 GMT edition of the Drudge Report.

True, they are a just a blog...like us...but in the rush to "print", they will hand out false story links like candy - 24/7.

How in the world are people to know or accept that the news story they are reading about is true at all? Do we have to give a 24hr "breather" before we believe or act on a particular story?

Can we only believe its-happening-live-on-tv-right-in-front-of-us-news?

As we go forward into this technological age we are living in, these questions will have to answered and news outlets will have to face accountability. Especially before they inadvertently cause mass trauma over a "terror threat" or something else that turns out to be a non-existent falsehood.

While we are bashing the news organizations that are supposed to give us real news, read this Blog from Al Gore.

His point is well taken although we're 100% sure that the news people will completely ignore it.

SOS! CALL FOR ACTION! WE MUST FREE THE STEVE!

WE MUST SAVE THE STEVE IRWIN FROM THE BRITISH COURT SYSTEM!

YOU MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO AND HELP THE SEA SHEPHERDS GET THEIR SHIP BACK...




SEA SHEPHERDS URGENT SOS


DONATE HERE TODAY!

It's Over, Zahi

It's all over. The Last Great Pharaoh of Egypt is no longer.

Yesterday, in both shocking and saddening news and without any fanfare (and we mean ZERO) famed Indiana Jones wannabee, Zahi Hawass, was told to pack his bags and leave the office he's held since 1969.

He tried to leave on foot but was heckled by protesters so he had to hail a cab and basically run away for his life from what once was the most famous position and highest regarded cabinet in all of Egypt - Egyptian Minister of Antiquities.

He even had his own TV show and clothing line but that wasn't enough to counter decades worth of lies, privilege and cronyism.

It's over, Zahi.

People have felt the same way about Zahi Hawass as we have over the years. Both worshipped and ridiculed, elevated and scorned, his method of so-called Archeology has fueled debate, anger, skepticism and jealousy over the 40 years of his career.

How the mighty have fallen.

A few short years ago, laws were changed in his country to protect his right from forced retirement to no avail. Just 3 years later and he leaves office in a humiliated and down low fashion - no ticker tape parades or state sponsored ceremony of greatness.

Nothing.

Just pack your bags and go, Dr. Hawass.

You're fired.

News Article

Wimbledon Update: And on the Women's Side

Serena and Venus as the Divas they are

THE WILLLIAMS SISTERS ARE OUT!

Hallelujiah!

We know they are the best players of their generation but personally they are so unlikeable they make our skin crawl. We just cannot root for them. Ever. There is absolutely nothing to like about them. They are mean, rude and simply obnoxious people that do not get "it" or anything for that matter. Their narcisssim level is in a class by itself.

Venus was bested by the same person who put her out last year and with the SAME score: Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 6-3.

There is word that Venus should retire. Wimbledon was her best event. She's 31 and can't even win 6 games here now.

Serena was bested today by Marion Bartoli in three sets. Bartoli is an "outcast". She's not one of the glamorous ones, her father is her coach (we know how THAT goes) and we like her for that. She is consistently in the WTA's top ten players and SHE BEAT SERENA. Go Bartoli!

So, Good bye Serena. Good bye Venus. Take that bitch Maria Sharapova with you!

Caroline is everything that Bitch Sharapova wishes she was...
talented, cute and liked

We also say good bye to Caroline Wozniacki who once again is "under fire" for being ranked #1 in the world with NO MAJORS. That's right. Cute little Wozniacki has never won a major title and it's starting to piss people off that she is ranked so high without one.

She lost today in three sets to Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.

As cute as Wozniacki is, she doesn't hold a candle
to the sex kitten known as Ana Ivanovic. WOW!

Speaking of sex...

Although this is a post about the Women's side...

WE MISS MARAT SO MUCH, WE CAN'T TAKE IT.
HERE HE IS FOR OLD TIMES SAKE...

Big, delicious Marat Safin at Wimbledon
a few years ago...
Where are you now, Buddy?

The Pharaoh is "Innocent"

From June 16, 2011

CAIRO: An Egyptian court ruled on Wednesday that Egypt’s firebrand Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass is innocent of charges against him. The minister is currently in the United States on a speaking tour.

“Today is a very special day for me. The MSA, and myself personally, will always hold the laws of Egypt in the highest regard,” Hawass wrote on his personal blog.

“The MSA, and myself personally, have always held the laws of Egypt and the ruling of our courts in the highest regard and we will continue to do so,” he continued."

Did we expect anything less? Remember the "Teflon Don"? Well, Dr. Hawass is the "Teflon Pharaoh". Nothing can touch this guy!

The world is going to be so boring without him one day...

Keith Olbermann is Back

He's baaack! "Countdown" fans rejoice, your favorite tell-it-like-it-is news anchor has a new network and is ready to launch tonight at 8pm. Current TV, Al Gore's newstation, pulled Keith onboard to help boost ratings.

The word on the street is, that Keith is trying to get his protege Rachel Maddow to join as well.

Tonight's first guests? Michael Moore and Markos Moulitsas (founder of the Daily KOS.com)

Fox news nemesis, Olbermann, will also bring back his "worst person in the world" segment, as well as his cutting commentary.

Just in time for the 2012 political Presidential run season. We can't wait. The only thing we need to do now is find Current TV on our cable lineup.

Good news for Al Gore. Ratings are up already.

A Blood Red Moon

The highly anticipated lunar eclipse is going to happen very soon...only not in North America.

The best places to view it live and in person are in Europe, Asia and Africa.

However, because its 2011, we get to watch it live on the Internet!

Google.com is going to stream it live over their famous "doodle" which all day has already been a lunar eclipse.

Youtube.com is also going to have it along with a dozen or so other sites.

The entire process will last five hours, 36 minutes, ending at 7 p.m. ET, making it the longest one of the 21st century.

Not only that but it will turn the moon a red color.

"All lunar eclipses are cool, but in a total lunar eclipse, the moon turns a kind of a red color. The middle of Earth's shadow isn't black, it's red, Dundee explained, because the light waves from the sun that are on the red end of the spectrum bend around the planet at just the right angle to bathe the moon in red light."

Amazing!

Where's Your Crown, King Nothing!?

THE MAVERICKS WIN! THE MAVERICKS WIN!
THE MAVERICKS WIN!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

LeBron James LOSES!

The self-titled "king" has no crown, no glory and remains just a self-centered jackass like always.

Congrats to the ENTIRE MAVERICK TEAM and, of course, MARK CUBAN. The coolest sports owner of all time.

YAY!!

Way to go Mavs!

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can go suck on Dirk Nowitzki's HUGE TROPHY.

The March on Blair Mountain - A Must Read!

ATTENTION ACTIVISTS!!

We are going to reprint this blog in it's entirety from the Huffington Post blog by Robert Kennedy, Jr.

It's SUPER CRITICAL!!

This week an important protest is taking place in the coalfields of West Virginia. The March on Blair Mountain began on Monday as several hundred people embarked on a five-day journey retracing the steps of over 10,000 miners who 90 years ago staged the largest armed insurrection after the American Civil War. Today's march is a protest against both the attack of the union movement in America and the demolition of the Appalachian mountains.

For over 50 years, American unions have served to counterbalance the ascendancy of unsheathed corporate power that threatens now to overwhelm American Democracy. In the past year, the union movement's final redoubt -- the public service unions -- have been vilified and emasculated in traditional union states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa.

Now one of the biggest union busters in American history, Massey Energy, is launching a final assault on the icon of America's union movement, Blair Mountain.

Blair Mountain's storied history dates back to West Virginia in the 1920s, when the entire state was a company town. Big Coal dominated every aspect of economic life. The industry owned the shops, the homes, of course the mines -- and made sure there was virtually no other source of employment in the state. Working conditions were horrendous: men and their sons worked 12 to 16 grueling hours in dark, dangerous mines dying from a notorious plague of subsurface explosions, cave-ins and black lung.

The companies used local sheriffs to enforce their system of feudal serfdom. When a miner was injured and his family needed to be evicted from their home, the sheriff did the dirty deed. When union organizers appeared, the sheriff arrested, jailed, and routinely beat them, before escorting them to the county line. One sheriff refused to tow the company line: Sid Hatfield, of Hatfield and McCoy lore.

Not only did Hatfield refuse to do the industry's bidding, but he jailed mine operators for mistreating their workers. In the infamous Matewan gun battle, Hatfield helped kill seven mine company private investigators who had evicted union families from their homes.

Hatfield was never convicted for the Matewan shootings, but the mine operators took their revenge and on August 1, 1921 when industry thugs executed Hatfield in broad daylight on the McDowell county court-house steps.

Hatfield's assassination triggered one of the biggest labor demonstrations in American history. Ten thousand miners from the coalfields of Kentucky and West Virginia marched for six days, converging on Blair Mountain to confront their industry bosses. They were met by King Coal's powerful army of thugs and mowed down by Gatling guns.

President Warren Harding, a so-called "friend of coal," like most of the leading politicians of the Gilded Age, authorized the U.S. army to drop bombs and poison gas on the marching miners -- the only time in American History when our military deliberately bombed U.S. citizens. These military measures broke the demonstration but outraged the public, and gave vital traction to the United Mine Workers and the American labor movement.

Over the next 60 years unions became the critical counterweight to corporate power and the principal platform for the growth of the American middle class, which gave our Democracy its wealth, prosperity, and sense of justice as a core value.

Now, as the union movement finds itself battered, beleaguered, and under assault by a legion of corporate toadies in state governor's office from every director to chamber of commerce. Tea Party, talk radio, Fox News and the tsunami of corporate money released by the Citizens United case, Massey Energy has recently announced that it intends to blow up Blair Mountain, the Gettysburg of America's union-based Democracy, to mine it for coal.

For the first time in decades, environmentalists including the NRDC, Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Alliance and local groups have declared common cause with unions in staging a six-day march to retrace the steps of the 1921 Blair Mountain miners. The march convenes Saturday morning June 11 with a final climb up Blair Mountain. Marchers hope to save this historic mountain from Massey by securing its status as a historic landmark.

West Virginia is today's epicenter of one of America's greatest civil disobedience movements. More than 200 people have been arrested protesting mountaintop removal coal mining in the past 18 months. The protesters include college students and local West Virginia marines, former miners, housewives, and an 82-year-old grandmother who was arrested in her wheelchair. They are all calling for an end to mountaintop removal, the extreme form of coal mining that has flattened 500 mountains in Appalachia, illegally buried 2,000 miles of streams, destroyed one million acres of forest, and devastated numerous communities, lives, and towns in the region.

Union busting corporations have commoditized not just the workforce, but the historic landscapes of West Virginia, using great machines and dynamite to eliminate mining jobs. While production has more than doubled in 10 years, industry employment is one-tenth of it what was when my father warned me about strip mining as a 14-year-old boy.

It is time for Americans to march in the footsteps of our union ancestors of 90 years ago to protect our jobs, and save our national patriarchy, the purple mountains majesty, the individual rights and community based values that make our country of the envy of free people.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears in the documentary The Last Mountain (www.thelastmountainmovie.com), currently playing in theaters.

The film reveals the devastating effects of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia and features the dedicated activists who are fighting to make sure all Americans have access to clean air and water.

So what can we do?

CALL YOUR SENATORS, CALL THE WHITE HOUSE, CALL ALL LAWMAKERS and tell them: Blair Mountain, W. VA MUST BE PROTECTED AS AN HISTORIC LANDMARK!

NATIONAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL

FIND YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS

Giza Pyramids News Update and Shutting Down

"Security staff from the Pyramid site in Giza, however, announced that starting 15 June, the iconic pyramid complex would be shut down."

The pyramids are being closed due to security concerns. Nothing has been okay since the revolution and there are protests everywhere, including the blocking of the iconic pyramid complex at Giza.

So starting next week they will be closed to the public indefinitely.

This comes on the heels of a magnificent discovery inside the Great Pyramid of "graffiti" said to "be ancient graffiti tags left by a worker or symbols of religious significance."

"A robot with a camera went down a mysterious passage only eight inches wide and found some hieroglyphs daubed with red paint onto the floor of a secret chamber at the end of the tunnel.

Egyptologist Luca Miatello has deciphered the writing and says they're engineering marks. They make the number 121, which corresponds to the length in cubits of the so-called Queen's Chamber of the pyramid."



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Hmmm...very interesting. Robots are again crawling all over the inside of The Great Pyramid the very week they are announcing a shut down.

Also, more woes for The Pharaoh:

It's being reported that "Staff members who had worked for the government anywhere from five to thirty years were demanding permanent contracts and decent working conditions. They also sought the removal of Zahi Hawass."

We'll keep you updated but something tells us Zahi Hawass isn't going anywhere!

French Open: And the Trophies Go To...

Congratulations to Li Na, the first Chinese woman to win a major. She went toe to toe with Francesca Shiavone, defending Champion from Italy and won in 2 sets.

Li Na...29 years old and loving it!

And much to our chagrin, our beloved Novak Djokovic lost the semis to Roger Federer who proved why he is the one of the best players of all time. The 4 set match camethisclose to 5 but Novak got in the groove to late to stop the Fed Express (so much for the Yokobabies).

But alas in the Finals today, Roger came out strong but lost in 4 sets to RAFAEL NADAL. The undisputed King of Clay, who with this win, has SIX French Open trophies now. Rafa owns the French Open and has tied Bjorn Borg (with 6) as the King of the French. One day they have to rename Roland Garros to The Rafael Nadal Stadium. He owns it.

Rafael Nadal enjoys chewing on another trophy

RAFA! Rafa looked fucking awesome today, regaining all his speed, skill, energy and passion that he seemed to lack the last few months while Novak was on his Serbian Reign of Terror. While Roger Federer can school a class on Finesse, Style and Grace...Rafa has all the Hard-Core Ability. And it was great to see another Federer-Nadal classic today. The best rivalry in sport.

Fun Fact: Novak turned 25 years old on the first day of the French Open 2 weeks ago, Rafael Nadal turned 25 just a couple of days ago AND Nadal, at the age of 25 years and two days, was just 24 hours older than the Bjorn Borg was when he won his sixth title in 1981.

So Happy Birthday to all three Tennis Legends!

Bjorn Borg in 1981 and Rafael Nadal today, 2011.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal -
"the two greatest players to ever play against each other"

Federer in action today at Phillippe Chartrier Court
at Roland Garros Stadium Paris, France.

Rafa Nadal - Not God or even the Devil
himself could have beat him today
This kid is more than the real deal...
he is on course to be the best player of all time!
"del diablo toro" - The Devil's Bull!