The Timber Products Company's withdrawal is a big win for the Tongass. But Ketchikan officials are trying to find another operator for the plant, and have asked the Environmental Protection Agency for a permit to use nearby Ward Cove for storing and transporting logs. Without the permit, reopening the mill would be much less viable.

http://www.savebiogems.org/tongass/takeaction.asp

In vielen alltäglichen Dingen wie Kosmetika, Haushaltsprodukten, Kleidung oder Möbeln sind synthetisch hergestellte Chemikalien enthalten. Von manchen dieser Chemikalien wissen wir, dass sie giftig sind und zu Krebserkrankungen oder schwerwiegenden Fortpflanzungsstörungen führen können, über viele andere ist aber nur wenig bekannt.

http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/safer_chemicals/chemical_reaction/background_de.html

In diesem Jahr werden die Mitglieder des Europäischen Parlaments (MdEPs) wichtige Entscheidungen zu dem vorliegenden Chemikaliengesetzesentwurf treffen. Im Juni wird in allen Ländern der EU ein neues Europäisches Parlament gewählt. Werden Sie selbst aktiv und fragen Sie Ihre MdEP-Kandidat/innen, ob sie unsere Kampagne unterstützen und ob sie unsere Gesundheit und unsere Umwelt vor gefährlichen Chemikalien schützen werden.

http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/safer_chemicals/chemical_reaction/index_de.html

Greenpeace Activist News, Vol. 4, No. 6

WE NEED YOUR INVALUABLE AND MUCH APPRECIATED HELP ONCE MORE AT CHEMICALREACTION.ORG

You play such an important part in spreading the word about the website and promoting our campaigns. Over 80,000 emails have been sent from chemicalreaction in this last year representing your support for strong EU chemical laws. This has been a powerful counter to the lobbing of industry. As the site has been extended to cover 17 countries and 16 languages we hope to increase that number significantly.

Next week's European Elections will return both new and old faces to the next parliament and it is imperative that we ensure that the new Chemicals Legislation [REACH] is at the forefront of their minds as a major concern for their constituents.

At http://www.chemicalreaction.org you can now contact many of your prospective candidates to ask them about their support for our campaign to protect our health and the environment from problem chemicals.

We need your help to reach as many prospective candidates as possible before next week’s elections on June 10th.

Greenpeace Activist News, Vol. 4, No. 6

The Bush Administration’s classification of prisoners as “enemy combatants” and its holding them without charge violates international law and the U.S. Constitution. If the government has evidence that individuals are involved with terrorism, there are other, better, legal options than detaining them without charge.

Right now, the Supreme Court is considering whether indefinite detention without charge violates federal law, in part because Congress has not approved such detentions. The Court’s ruling on this practice is expected soon. We expect the Bush Administration to seek Congress’s endorsement if the case goes against them.

Now is the time to tell your Members of Congress that you oppose the Bush Administration’s practice of indefinite detention and you do not want Congress to endorse it. Our united voices have the power to make change.

http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=15859&c=24&MX=1276&H=1

For a list of actions you can take right now to help build a strong economy, based on sustainable agriculture, while protecting your health and the environment! Click here:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/action.htm

Activists plan to shut down BIO 2004, the Biotechnology Industry Organization's international conference and promotional show taking place in San Francisco June 6 - 9, with a massive demonstration on June 8.

The action, in concert with demonstrations at the G-7 conference in Savannah, Georgia taking place at the same time, will cap a week of activities, street theater and teach-ins that aim to shed light on the social costs of agricultural biotechnology and present ecologically sound alternatives.

According to the website of Reclaim the Commons, the umbrella group organizing the demonstrations, the biotechnology industry exemplifies how global corporations erode democracy, threaten human health and the environment while they concentrate the control of food and natural resources.

The activities begin with a series of teach-ins beginning Thursday evening, May 3. Speakers will include Vandana Shiva, Starhawk, Anuradha Mittal, Dr. Ignacio Chapella, Andrew Kimbrell and Brian Tokar. The demonstration will be on Tuesday, June 8 at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco

Sources:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/20/BAGSC6OIDM1.DTL
http://www.reclaimthecommons.net/
http://www.foodfirst.org/bioaction/


Informant: Food First

The documented torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib underscores the need for President Bush to rededicate the United States to the Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that came about following World War II.

In three days, 10,000s of concerned citizens signed the HONOR THE LEGACY petition, including Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter Kris Kristofferson.

The petition has received national attention on CNN and radio stations across the country. (See below for more about the campaign.)

This Memorial Day, take a minute to HONOR THE LEGACY of American values, leadership and sacrifice that became international law.

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SIGNED, please do so today.

Sign the Petition Now!
http://epicalert.c.topica.com/maaciDiaa7eofbdrwCwe/


Printable Petition Now Available

Share copies of the "Honor the Legacy" petition with your friends and family over the Memorial Day weekend. Defending international law is everybody's job!

Honor the Legacy Petition (PDF)
http://epicalert.c.topica.com/maaciDiaa7es3bdrwCwe/

About the Campaign

This week, Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) and a coalition of veterans, religious leaders and human rights organizations launched the HONOR THE LEGACY campaign. The coalition includes: Amnesty International USA, Oxfam America, the National Council of Churches (NCC), Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and Veterans for Common Sense.

The campaign began Tuesday with the launch of the HONOR THE LEGACY petition that calls on President Bush to rededicate the United States to international law.

On Saturday, May 29th, the President has a historic opportunity to do so when he takes part in the dedication of the National World War II Memorial.

Should that not occur, the petition will continue remain open for signatures until July 4th.

Agency plan would sacrifice wildlife, wilderness values to oil

Of all the land protected in our magnificent National Wildlife Refuge System, 60 percent is in Alaska. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now drafting long-range management plans for all 16 Alaska refuges. The first plan, now available for public comment, will set the tone and direction for the plans that follow.

If the agency gets it wrong on this plan-and so far it has-the future for the others is dark. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect these matchless places. Please take a moment to tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to put wildlife first in Alaska's 16 wildlife refuges, starting with the 200 species that live in the Alaska Peninsula and Becharof National Wildlife Refuges. The deadline for comments is Monday, May 31. You can take immediate action from

http://ga1.org/campaign/AlaskaRefuges/wd8ks5x4ymmej5

Congress must oppose the practice of designating prisoners, “enemy combatants.” It is an unequivocal violation of U.S. and international law.

The Bush Administration’s use of “enemy combatant” designation sets a dangerous precedent where the government detains people -- including prisoners in the United States -- indefinitely without charging them with a crime.

If the government has evidence that an individual is involved with terrorism, there are other, better, legal options than detaining them without charge. By simply locking people away people without giving them the chance to clear their name, the government is violating their civil rights and increasing the chance that an innocent person will be improperly locked up.

Congress must oppose this practice and must not offer any endorsement of indefinite detention. If Congress were to pass legislation allowing this practice, it would be a violation of international law and in clear contradiction of the Constitution.

Take Action! Urge Congress to oppose the indefinite detention of American citizens by the Bush Administration.

http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=15859&c=24