http://howlingforjustice.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/wolf-slaughter-continues-in-the-rocky-mountains-by-james-william-gibson-earth-island-journal/

Wolf Slaughter Continues in the Rocky Mountains
by James William Gibson (Earth Island Journal)


Fantasies of killing become increasingly bizarre
Lynne Stone, longtime wolf advocate and executive director of Northern Idaho’s Boulder White Cloud Council in Ketchum, couldn’t help but laugh. For the last two years she has routinely petitioned the Idaho Dept of Fish and Game for every single “ Big Game Mortality Report” filed on wolves killed by hunters —several hundred of them since the animals lost Endangered Species Act protect. Hunters and trappers are required to send in the report along with the skull and pelt for examination. In mid-January Stone ran across a November 2012 report that stated, “DNA came back as a domestic dog,” a light-skinned one.

Hunters operating just west of Yellowstone National Park killed seven radio-collared wolves from
October through December, including the famous, often photographed 832F, the majestic female
alpha of the Lamar Canyon pack.

“Buy a wolf tag, shoot a dog, claim it was a wolf, get bragging rights and a dog-skin rug,” she chuckled “Life is wonderful in 3rd world Idaho. Is anyone missing a light-colored mutt? Maybe it’s time folks put orange vests and hats on their dogs.”

Gallows humor is all wolf supporters have left. In February 2011, Congress removed gray wolves in the northern Rockies from protection by the Endangered Species Act, the first time a species has ever been delisted for political reasons. Before that, the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s reintroduction of wolves to the northern Rockies in the mid-1990s appeared to be one of the greatest conservation successes in decades. Wolves had been killed off in the West in the late nineteenth and early centuries. But while tourists from all over the country came to Yellowstone in hopes of seeing “Cinderella” or “Limpy” — many of the wolves became named — in the Rockies a reactionary political movement developed against the animals.

http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/cost-of-inequality-oxfam-mb180113.pdf

The cost of inequality: how wealth and income
extremes hurt us all

The world must urgently set goals to tackle extreme inequality and extreme wealth
It is now widely accepted that rapidly growing extreme wealth and inequality are harmful to
human progress, and that something needs to be done. Already this year, the World Economic
Forum’s Global Risk Report rated inequality as one of the top global risks of 2013. The IMF and
the Economist agree. Around the world, the Occupy protests demonstrated the increasing public
anger and feeling that inequality has gone too far.

In the last decade, the focus has been exclusively on one half of the inequality equation - ending
extreme poverty. Inequality and the extreme wealth that contributes to it were seen as either not
relevant, or a prerequisite for the growth that would also help the poorest, as the wealth created
trickled down to the benefit of everyone.

There has been great progress in the fight against extreme poverty. Hundreds of millions of
people have seen their lives improve dramatically – an historically unprecedented achievement
of which the world should be proud. But as we look to the next decade, and new development
goals we need to define progress, we must demonstrate that we are also tackling inequality- and
that means looking at not just the poorest but the richest5. Oxfam believes that reducing
inequality is a key part of fighting poverty and securing a sustainable future for all. In a world of
finite resources, we cannot end poverty unless we reduce inequality rapidly.

That is why we are calling for a new global goal to end extreme wealth by 2025, and reverse the
rapid increase in inequality seen in the majority of countries in the last twenty years, taking
inequality back to 1990 levels.


Extreme wealth and inequality are reaching levels never before seen and are getting
worse

Over the last thirty years inequality has grown dramatically in many countries. In the US the
share of national income going to the top 1% has doubled since 1980 from 10 to 20%. For the
top 0.01% it has quadrupled8 to levels never seen before. At a global level, the top 1% (60 million
people), and particularly the even more select few in the top 0.01% (600,000 individuals - there
are around 1200 billionaires in the world), the last thirty years has been an incredible feeding
frenzy10. This is not confined to the US, or indeed to rich countries. In the UK inequality is rapidly
returning to levels not seen since the time of Charles Dickens. In China the top 10% now take
home nearly 60% of the income. Chinese inequality levels are now similar to those in South
Africa, which are now the most unequal country on earth and significantly more unequal than at
the end of apartheid. Even in many of the poorest countries, inequality has rapidly grown.
Globally the incomes of the top 1% have increased 60% in twenty years. The growth in income
for the 0.01% has been even greater.

Following the financial crisis, the process has accelerated, with the top 1% further increasing their share of income. The luxury goods market has registered double digit growth every year
since the crisis hit. Whether it is a sports car or a super-yacht, caviar or champagne, there has
never been a bigger demand for the most expensive luxuries.

..more..

If this Anti-Trapping petition gets 100,000 signatures in 30 days the Obama administration will have to address it. Please consider signing and sharing. Thank you!

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/ban-trapping-america-all-other-civilized-countries-have-already-done-based-cruelty-and-torture/4vhVGVbz

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/31/5153892/us-wildlife-agent-accused-of-trapping.html

U.S. wildlife agent accused of trapping a neighbor's dog

By Tom Knudson
tknudson@sacbee.com

Published: Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 7A

The arrest of a federal Wildlife Services trapper in Arizona earlier this month on a charge of animal cruelty has sparked renewed concern about the little-known agency.

Wildlife Services, which was the focus of a Bee investigative series last year, is a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that specializes in destroying and dispersing animals considered to be a threat to agriculture, the public and the environment.

Since 2000, employees have killed more than 1 million coyotes and other predators, along with many other species, from nonnative starlings and wild pigs to migratory shorebirds, beaver, porcupines, river otters and other native wildlife.

In the process, they have also accidentally killed more than 50,000 non-target animals, from domestic dogs to golden eagles and black bears, The Bee investigation found.

In Arizona, Wildlife Services employee Russell Files is accused of setting traps with the specific intent of capturing a neighbor's dog he found troublesome.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/31/5153892/us-wildlife-agent-accused-of-trapping.html#storylink=cpy

http://m.techcrunch.com/2013/01/29/realtime-political-fact-checking-becomes-a-reality-with-wapos-truth-teller/


Realtime Political Fact-Checking Becomes A Reality With WaPo’s ‘Truth Teller’

We are coming closer to a reality where no politician can ever spread well-known lies.

Today, exclusively with TechCrunch, The Washington Post has announced a fully automated fact-checking program, Truth Teller, that displays “TRUE” or “FALSE” in real time next to video of politicians and pundits as they speak. Given the fact that almost one-fifth of registered voters still believe Obama is a Muslim, a tool to curb widespread myths could benefit our democracy

The Knight Foundation-funded Truth Teller program automatically transcribes speeches and checks the statements against a database of well-known facts. For example, when House Speaker John Boehner claims that raising taxes on the top 2% would kill 700,000 jobs, Truth Teller pops a big red “FALSE” next to him, after cross-checking his statements against The Washington Post‘s own list of curated facts and other popular fact-checker databases.

For now, the early beta prototype has to be manually hand-fed some facts, and thus only works on topics it has been specifically designed to recognize. Since Congress has yet to pass a budget, and financial discussions are prone to widespread lies and misstatements, Truth Teller is being piloted on the issue of tax policy.

Eventually, The Washington Post‘s digital team hopes that Truth Teller can automatically draw from wisdom of the entire Internet and be available for citizens on their smartphones to fact-check politicians as they hold backyard BBQs during campaign season. Indeed, National Political Editor, Steven Ginsberg tells TechCrunch that he was inspired to pursue the project after witnessing Republican candidate Michele Bachmann spread lies to a small crowd of unsuspecting Iowans.

..more..

http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/cost-of-inequality-oxfam-mb180113.pdf

The cost of inequality: how wealth and income
extremes hurt us all

The world must urgently set goals to tackle extreme inequality and extreme wealth
It is now widely accepted that rapidly growing extreme wealth and inequality are harmful to
human progress, and that something needs to be done. Already this year, the World Economic
Forum’s Global Risk Report rated inequality as one of the top global risks of 2013. The IMF and
the Economist2 agree. Around the world, the Occupy protests demonstrated the increasing public
anger and feeling that inequality has gone too far.

In the last decade, the focus has been exclusively on one half of the inequality equation - ending
extreme poverty. Inequality and the extreme wealth that contributes to it were seen as either not
relevant, or a prerequisite for the growth that would also help the poorest, as the wealth created
trickled down to the benefit of everyone.

There has been great progress in the fight against extreme poverty. Hundreds of millions of
people have seen their lives improve dramatically – an historically unprecedented achievement
of which the world should be proud4. But as we look to the next decade, and new development
goals we need to define progress, we must demonstrate that we are also tackling inequality- and
that means looking at not just the poorest but the richest5. Oxfam believes that reducing
inequality is a key part of fighting poverty and securing a sustainable future for all. In a world of
finite resources, we cannot end poverty unless we reduce inequality rapidly.

That is why we are calling for a new global goal to end extreme wealth by 2025, and reverse the
rapid increase in inequality seen in the majority of countries in the last twenty years, taking
inequality back to 1990 levels67.


Extreme wealth and inequality are reaching levels never before seen and are getting
worse

Over the last thirty years inequality has grown dramatically in many countries. In the US the
share of national income going to the top 1% has doubled since 1980 from 10 to 20%. For the
top 0.01% it has quadrupled8 to levels never seen before. At a global level, the top 1% (60 million
people)9, and particularly the even more select few in the top 0.01% (600,000 individuals - there
are around 1200 billionaires in the world), the last thirty years has been an incredible feeding
frenzy10. This is not confined to the US, or indeed to rich countries. In the UK inequality is rapidly
returning to levels not seen since the time of Charles Dickens11. In China the top 10% now take
home nearly 60% of the income. Chinese inequality levels are now similar to those in South
Africa,12 which are now the most unequal country on earth and significantly more unequal than at
the end of apartheid13. Even in many of the poorest countries, inequality has rapidly grown14.

Globally the incomes of the top 1% have increased 60% in twenty years.15 The growth in income
for the 0.01% has been even greater16.
Following the financial crisis, the process has accelerated, with the top 1% further 17 increasing
their share of income18. The luxury goods market has registered double digit growth every year
since the crisis hit19. Whether it is a sports car or a super-yacht, caviar or champagne, there has
never been a bigger demand for the most expensive luxuries.

The IMF has said that inequality is dangerous and divisive and could lead to civil unrest20. Polling
shows the public is increasingly concerned about growing inequality in many countries, and by
people across the political spectrum.

..more..

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175637/tomgram:_engelhardt,_a_second_amendment_world,_pentagon-style/?utm_source=TomDispatch&utm_campaign=272308b908-TD_Engelhardt1_13_2013&utm_medium=email#more

The Pentagon as a Global NRA
For Washington, There Is No Arms Control Abroad
By Tom Engelhardt

Given these last weeks, who doesn’t know what an AR-15 is? Who hasn’t seen the mind-boggling stats on the way assault rifles have flooded this country, or tabulations of accumulating Newtown-style mass killings, or noted that there are barely more gas stations nationwide than federally licensed firearms dealers, or heard the renewed debates over the Second Amendment, or been struck by the rapid shifts in public opinion on gun control, or checked out the disputes over how effective an assault-rifle ban was the last time around? Who doesn’t know about the NRA’s suggestion to weaponize schools, or about the price poor neighborhoods may be paying in gun deaths for the present expansive interpretation of the Second Amendment? Who hasn’t seen the legions of stories about how, in the wake of the Newtown slaughter, sales of guns, especially AR-15 assault rifles, have soared, ammunition sales have surged, background checks for future gun purchases have risen sharply, and gun shows have been besieged with customers?

..snip...

Between them, the White House and the Pentagon -- with a helping hand from the State Department -- ensure that the U.S. remains by far the leading purveyor of the “right to bear arms” globally. Year in, year out, in countries around the world, they do their best to pave the way (as the NRA does domestically) for the almost unfettered sales of ever more lethal weapons. In fact, the U.S. now has something remarkably close to a monopoly on what’s politely called the “transfer” of weaponry on a global scale. In 1990, as the Cold War was ending, the U.S. had cornered an impressive 37% of the global weapons trade. By 2011, the last year for which we have figures, that percentage had reached a near-monopolistic 78% ($66.3 billion in weapons sales), with the Russians coming in a distant second at 5.6% ($4.8 billion).

..more...

http://m.democracynow.org/stories/13411


WED JAN 23, 2013

"Fire in the Blood": Millions Die in Africa After Big Pharma Blocks Imports of Generic AIDS Drugs

The new documentary, "Fire in the Blood," examines how millions have died from AIDS because big pharmaceutical companies and the United States have refused to allow developing nations to import life-saving generic drugs. The problem continues today as the World Trade Organization continues to block the importation of generic drugs in many countries because of a trade deal known as the Trips Agreement. We’re joined by the film’s director, Dylan Mohan Gray, and Ugandan AIDS doctor Peter Mugyenyi, who was arrested for trying to import generic drugs, and is recognized as one of the world’s foremost specialists and researchers in the field of HIV/AIDS. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2013/01/22


Point of No Return: Government Hypocrisy on Major Projects Will Lock in Climate Chaos

New report reveals added emissions from coal, oil and gas projects

SYDNEY/DAVOS - January 22 -

Government hypocrisy on major energy projects is fueling climate change and placing populations at risk, Greenpeace International said as it released a new report revealing the alarming threat posed by a planned massive global increase in emissions from coal, oil and gas projects.

The 14 carbon intensive projects highlighted in the Point of No Return report range from massive coal expansion in Australia, China, the US and Indonesia, to oil expansion in the tar sands of Canada, the Arctic and Brazil to new gas production in the Caspian Sea and the US.

“These new climate changing mega projects are the direct result of the hypocrisy shown by a handful of governments. These governments claim they want to prevent catastrophic climate change, but shamefully continue to approve and promote major fossil fuel projects that will lead to climate chaos and devastation,” said Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace International.

.. more...

Source: NWCN.com

NWCN.com

Fish and Game to spend more on reducing wolf population

Posted on January 17, 2013 at 5:16 PM
Updated today at 5:35 PM

BOISE -- The Idaho Department of Fish and Game will put more resources into keeping down the wolf population. The decision was made Thursday morning and Fish and Game Director Virgil Moore says it's a way to complement what has been effective management of the animals. But others say it's only more killing, and not management at all.

The first wolf hunt in Idaho was more than three years ago, and Idaho Fish and Game officials say hunters and trappers have done a good job controlling the population in and around farms and ranches.
But Moore says the wolf population is increasing in remote areas in north and central Idaho where hunters can't get to.

"These are backcountry zones that are difficult to access," Moore said.
That's resulted in the elk population, which was already dropping, to drop at a quicker pace in those spots. Fish and Game commissioners decided to move $50,000 from funding research that's almost done, to killing and trapping of more wolves in areas like Clearwater, Lolo and the Selway.

..more..

Read more: http://www.nwcn.com/home/?fId=187383641&fPath=/news/local&fDomain=10227

---

Thank you for the straight talk, firearms and hunting industry dudes! :Sarcasm:

Keep in mind the forces behind the hunting of this animal that has just been taken off the endangered species list.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022202587

Sarah Palin must be thrilled..