*The information
that follows is from PETA's website.*
The following product is made from animal:
"Ambergris.
From whale intestines. Used as a fixative in making perfumes and
as a flavoring in foods and beverages. Alternatives: synthetic
or vegetable fixatives."
According to PETA, this is an animal-friendly company. "Those marked with a dot (·) meet the Corporate Standard of Compassion for Animals (CSCA). Those marked with an asterisk (*) manufacture strictly vegan products:
"African Bio-Botanica, Inc., 602 N.W. Ninth Ave., Gainesville, FL 32601; 904-376-7329"
As you know, the
IPS is dedicated to bringing attention to charitable organizations
everywhere.
This Month's:
The Wilderness
Society
P O Box 97231
Washington, D.C. 20077-7749
As the name suggests, this organization protects the wilderness and all it's glory. That's not a good description, I know, but I can't find my paperwork on them and all I have is this address. I'm sure they do good stuff for the world though if I bothered to write the address down in my planner.
[Editorial Comment: I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with the ruling, but I just thought this was an interesting article.]
*This article was taken from http://www.excite.com*
"States Lose Trade Discretion Case"
Updated 7:20 PM ET June 19, 2000 By LAURIE ASSEO, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court, saying states cannot infringe on the federal government's foreign policy-making role, made it harder Monday for states to boycott companies that do business in nations known for human-rights abuses.
The court unanimously threw out a Massachusetts law that limits state purchases from companies doing business with Myanmar, also known as Burma.
The law is pre-empted by federal sanctions against Myanmar, the justices said.
"The state act is at odds with the president's intended authority to speak for the United States among the world's nations" to promote democracy and human rights in Myanmar, ruled by its military since 1962, Justice David H. Souter wrote for the court.
"We see the state Burma law as an obstacle to the accomplishment of Congress' full objectives under the federal act," Souter said.
The National Foreign Trade Council, which challenged the Massachusetts law, said the ruling "reaffirms the federal government's predominant role in foreign policy and should help put an end to state and local efforts to make foreign policy."
The ruling upholds a federal appeals court decision that invalidated the Massachusetts law.
"We're disappointed," said Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly. "We feel this law addressed basic human rights and allowed the state to decide who it did business with."
State Rep. Byron Rushing of Boston, author of the invalidated law, said he would push for a new law to divest any of the state's $32 billion pension fund that is invested with companies that trade in Myanmar.
"It's important that American corporations get a sense that they are really going against a growing trend in the U.S. - that people care about human rights around the world," Rushing said.
The Massachusetts law was similar to the boycotts of South Africa by many states and cities during the era of racial apartheid.
Souter wrote, however: "Since we never ruled on whether state and local sanctions against South Africa in the 1980s were pre-empted or otherwise invalid, arguable parallels between the two sets of federal and state acts do not tell us much about the validity of the latter."
A number of state and local governments, including New York City and Los Angeles, restrict their purchases from companies doing business in places like Myanmar, China or the British province of Northern Ireland.
Massachusetts - home of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, in which colonists dumped tea in Boston Harbor rather than pay taxes to England - argued that it had a right to apply a "moral standard" to its spending decisions.
In challenging the law, the foreign trade organization said foreign policy must be exclusively controlled by the federal government because allowing states and cities to have their own policies would harm trade.
The Clinton administration supported the challenge, citing the federal government's "pre-eminent role in acting for the United States in the international arena."
Massachusetts' 1996 law allowed companies doing business with Myanmar to sell goods and services to the state only if their bid was 10 percent lower than any other bid. The law made exceptions for some medical devices, newsgathering and international telecommunications.
Congress imposed its own sanctions on Myanmar later in 1996, and under the law President Clinton barred new U.S. investments in that country.
A federal judge and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the Massachusetts law, and the Supreme Court agreed.
"Congress clearly intended the federal act to provide the president with flexible and effective authority over economic sanctions against Burma," Souter wrote.
"It is simply implausible that Congress would have gone to such lengths to empower the president if it had been willing to compromise his effectiveness by deference to every provision of state statute or local ordinance" that might conflict with federal action, Souter added.
On the Net: For the Supreme Court ruling in Crosby vs. National Foreign Trade Council: http://www.supremecourtus.gov or http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/
Information is taken directly from the ICT website, which you should visit, if possible (http://www.savetibet.org).
"China arrests eight Tibetan monks for alleged plot to kill new 'Living Buddha'"
BEIJING, June 1 (AFP) - China has arrested eight Tibetan monks on suspicion of plotting to kill a two-year-old boy whom Beijing enthroned as a reincarnation of a "Living Buddha," a Tibetan rights group said Thursday.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said in a statement released in Beijing that the arrests happened on May 17, the same day monks of the Reting Monastery in Tibet protested against the illegal selection of the boy by Beijing.
The Centre cited information from a former Reting Monastery monk who fled Tibet and arrived in neighboring Nepal recently.
Following the arrests of the monks, no tourists or other common people were allowed to enter the Reting Monastery, the Centre said.
An unconfirmed report also indicated two German tourists were detained following the incident, but later released, the Centre said.
China in January enthroned Sonam Phuntsok -- or Soinam Puncog by Chinese spelling -- as the new Reting, also known as the "Living Buddha."
The move was seen as an attempt by Beijing to increase its control over reincarnations of Tibetan lamas and to legitimize its rule over Tibet.
The enthronement followed the escape of the 14-year-old Karmapa Lama to the Tibetan exile government headquarters in Dharmasala, India in December.
As one of the four most important Tibetan spiritual leaders and one recognized by both Beijing and the Dalai Lama, the Karmapa Lama's escape was a major embarrassment for Beijing.
Beijing's selection of the new Reting lama was met with protest from the exiled Tibetan government.
The Centre said there are unconfirmed reports the eight arrested monks might be detained in Taktse County or Gutsa Detention Centre. The names and details of the monks are not available.
The position of Reting Rinpoche is one of the most important in Tibetan religious hierarchy.
The fifth Reting Rinpoche was once the regent of Tibet. Appointed by the Dalai Lama, the highest ranking lama, a regent's role is to assume responsibility in the absence of the Dalai Lama or at the time of his infancy.
The fifth Reting Rinpoche played an important role in identifying the present or 14th Dalai Lama, who was enthroned in 1940, the Centre said.
The following episode of a t.v. show is worth taping:
Since I already
wrote about it on DOBOA, I'll just copy it here:
Clerks
31 May 2000
Summary: This was the show's premiere, and a hilarious one at that.
Jay slips on some soda that Randall spilled on the floor and with
Randall's encouragement, Jay gets this big lawyer, Mr. Pierson,
to help him sue Dante. Randal uses the court, Judge Reinhold's
court in Leonardo, as a forum to get a chick's number, among other
things that do nothing to help out Dante, whom he represents.
The jury consists of 12 basketball players, all black, and Randall
of course makes them hate Dante, which is proven by the great
number of times that a basketball bonks Dante on the noggin. Then,
at the end, they put in Pikachu and Sailor Moon and Eddie Murphy. So I mean, this is like the best cartoon ever. Had one of the
Simpsons been there I would never again feel the need to watch
t.v. because frankly my friend, it doesn't get better than that.
Commentary: Duh! This rocked! I wish they would have had Ben Affleck
and Jason Lee of Chasing Amy fame in this and I wish they
were doin' it. Oh yeah, and the Simpsons. And Scott Baio. Then
it would've been perfection. But even without that it was funny.
Below, a sampling of kick ass lines. I can't believe they packed
so much cool into 20 minutes of animation.
Some of my favorite lines: "Here to question Mr. Hicks are
two giggling girls."--Mr. Pierson
"The defense calls George Lucas."--Randall
"Oh my god! Bear is driving. How can that be?"--Who
the hell knows
Last month's quote was from Mr. Garrison, South Park. First one to guess the source of this month's line wins a prize!
"I'm sorry I hit you in the head with an axe."
Sometimes life sucks and stuff can't get done by deadlines and so instead of just waiting around for life to clear up, you just go on and like, work around it. That's what we're doing this month. This article should return next month though. Sorry, but that's just the way it be.
"Losing My Religion" is a Southern expression for getting angry.
Yeah, no article here either.
Once again, I already wrote something for Eating Vie, so I'll just copy it:
Everclear Songs
from an American Movie, Volume One: Learning How To Smile
(2000) "Wonderful" ***** -- Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I love
Everclear, so sue me. At any rate, this whole song reminds me
of 'Amphetamine' and how it says, "Yeah she wakes me up in
the middle of the night just to tell me everything will be alright."
Art Alexakis writes such wonderful songs for his daughter (no
pun intended.) This is so pretty and starts out fairly slowly
and quietly then it gets all rockin' and stuff. That's another
reason I love Everclear: they'll make sad songs, but they're not
all sad. Like the song might discuss something sad, but it's still
got this like, 'oh well' attitude behind it, not 'oh well' as
in who cares, but 'oh well' as in so life sucks, so you fix it.
Move on with your life 'cause the world waits not. If you like
Everclear, you'll like this song. It's typical Everclear dude,
unless you're one of those losers that's all like, "Everclear's
gone soft dude. They suck now." In which case, get a life.
One of my favorite lines: "Promises mean everything when
you're little and the world is so big."
Visit Blocking the Wall Online: http://www.geocities.com/btwonline
SCREAM 3 ***
Directed by Wes Craven
Starring Neve Campbell, SCOTT FOLEY for no apparent reason, David
Arquette, SCOTT FOLEY for no apparent reason, Courtney Cox, and
SCOTT FOLEY ([comment edited out because it might ruin the movie
for some people but if you really wanna see what it says here
then go to the friggin' site! Any excuse for a plug huh Shadow?])
Remember how Wes Craven did Music of the Heart with Meryl Streep and no one noticed? Well we should have paid more attention. I think, embedded somewhere in that film was a crucial clue that would uncover how in the hell things fit together in Scream 3.
Don't get me wrong. Scream 3 is a fitting end to the slasher movie revival of the 1990's. You don't expect an ending with all the dramatic cohesion and impact of The Usual Suspects, but at the same time you expect something plausible, and, dare I say it, something the audience gives a damn about. The shocking conclusion of the Scream trilogy is about as laughable as Jaws: The Revenge, only with more talking. Much more talking. By this, I mean saddle in for one of those "Oh, I get it--I'm going to explain the plot for the next twenty minutes" sequences. Don't miss a second of it. Get back to me if it makes sense to YOU.
Despite an ending that pisses me the hell off, Scream 3 was enjoyable. Corny, yes, and intentionally so. In a plot device that no doubt took Kevin Williamson SO LONG to come up with (hence that ten-second break between Scream 2 and 3...), the movie Stab 3 is in production, and most of the action revolves around this endlessly self-referential backdrop. The jokes which Scream 3 decides to make about itself using the Stab 3 premise are cute, but never as hilarious and innovative as those in the original. Everyone would agree that the scary-movie-parody-edge of the Scream franchise ended with the offing of Jamie Kennedy's Randy character, the Mercutio to Neve Campbell's Romeo and/or Juliet. That, my friends, is why Randy makes an unexpected and completely incongruous (not to mention forced) post-mortum appearance in a video reintroducing the type of humor that made Scream a success. It's wacky and it's unbelievable, but everyone is just happy that Randy showed up again. Then we have to go back to watching the movie.
I give nothing away by saying that Liev Schreiber gets sliced and diced in the first ten minutes. His character deserved it, after all, having agreed to host a TV show called 100% Cotton, which would have been a trademark infringement, I do believe. But anyway. With him gone, the only Scream staples left running around are David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and their numerous streamlined cel phones. I mean, EVERYONE in this movie has at least three or four cel phones! And they contribute heavily to the plot! It's just creepy! Even creepier is Courtney Cox's hair, which I thought was the killer for an hour or so. "Look out behind you, it's Courtney's bangs! Aaiiieee!" She's skinny, too. I mean, she's always been skinny, but she looks rehab-skinny in this. David Arquette proves himself the insatiable thespian once more by squinting and contorting his mouth to say every single line, no matter how inconsequential. "Maybe if I hold this pained expression, I'll get more screen time! Use 1-800-COLLECT!". And Neve Campbell, teetering on the edge of tears, is just there.
Parker Posey, queen of independent film, who should have better things to do with her time, guests as the actress playing the character that Courtney Cox played-aw, forget it. She's funny and perfect and I'm glad they cast her, even if it's a step down from The House of Yes. Jenny McCarthy bounces her way through one and a half scenes, looking too jiggly to be called wooden and delivering lines like "my character gets offed in two scenes", which are supposed to be heartily ironic but just end up time-consuming and distracting. After all, we're busy watching all of Jenny's boobs that we can before she's killed. And she is killed.
A disturbing trend with this movie that is never referenced, but would no doubt have been mentioned had Randy been around: if a character is stabbed in the stomach, for some reason they have blood all over their faces when they die. What gives?! What, did their stomach explode?! Too much Taco Bell?! Geez.
It's all worth it for a certain diamond-brilliant cameo from our favorite be-trenchcoated slacker autuer and his loud-mouthed sidekick. You'll know it when it happens.
Did I mention Scott Foley is in this for no apparent reason? But don't let that fool you or anything....
And Lance Henricksen. What the fuck?! First Henry Winkler, then David Warner, now THIS?! What next, Sir John Geilgud as the evil amusement park owner!? -Shadow Omega
Coincidences. Coincidences fuel my life in so many ways. My latest obsession(s)/crush(es), the coincidences there are amazing. I mean, Jebus. What triggered this revelation that coincidences rule? Well, I was checking old horoscopes for a certain day just for fun and lo and behold, every single horoscope, for both Gemini and Cancer (because I'm on the cusp) as well as the other signs' horoscopes that stuff dealt with that day, said the exact same things. I apologize for not being more specific than this, but you never know who's reading this you know. (And you all must know by now how incredibly neurotically paranoid I am.) Anyway, my point is, I'm just saying that like, my life has been one session of coincidences after another, and I know that some of your lives have been too because like, I talk to you and stuff and we're all like, "Wow. So many coincidences." Anyway, so, I like coincidences; they're fun and interesting.
This column will be canceled after this month unless BPM decides to not hate me and contacts me voicing his interest in continuing his authorship of this column. Sorry dudes.
Dude: Ben Affleck, of Chasing Amy fame. Shadow and I have been lusting over him quite a bit lately. As I said on the Blocking the Wall site, "That's a big-a meat-a ball!"
Chick: Christina Aguilera. I'm not a fan by any means, but this is a pathetic attempt to get BPM to contact me because I know how fond of her he is. So, with BPM in mind, she rules, she's pretty and smart and talented and he'd be more than willing to rub her the right way and then do her on top of Scott's rotting corpse if Scott dares to come between the two of them and their search for erotic bliss.
Nothing here either. If you really want a whoriscope though, you can contact me and I'll do a personal tarot reading or something.
email:
If you have your newsletter mailed to you, remember to send in your yearly fee of $1 to lighten the burden of printing and shipping.
Know somebody worthy of joining the IPS? Let us know and we'll set them up with an application.
Song stuck in your head that deserves the Song of the Month title? Send it in. Avid about a worthy cause? Tell us about it. Your suggestions may not appear immediately because I write these so far in advance, but I promise I'll use it sooner or later. This is your newsletter so let me know what you wanna see in it and I shall do my best to please you. So it is written; so shall it be.
I haven't heard from anyone regarding the old pectin polls and crap we used to have, so I am yet again asking you guys if you want to bring that stuff back. And while we're at it, how would you guys feel about throwing IPS parties for all of our chapters? We could have the parties around the same time and then you can let me know how they went and I'll write up a supplement to the newsletter. I really have no idea how to keep everyone happy here, but let me know what you wanna do, be it party or vote in useless polls.
Back to the Top | News 15 | Home | Email the IPS | News 17