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:

"Aloegen Natural Cosmetics (Levlad), 9200 Mason Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311; 800-327-2012; www.levlad.com"

Organization of Interest

Information is taken directly from the Idealist website (http://www.idealist.org/).

This Month“s:

Shenouda“s Environmentology Division
PO Box 301
Syracuse, New York 13201
United States
Contact Person: Dr. S. Shenouda

"We care about environment per se ( i.e. environment in its definite sense )as follows:
i. finding a sound relation between Man and his environment, according to the principles of Livingology and sustainability.

ii.caring about the natural resources, encouraging the use of the renewable resources, and economizing the use of the non-renewables.

iii. avoiding all aspects of pollution.

iv. caring about all international environmental problems, as well as regional and national issues."

Whad up wid dat?!

The point of this article is not to persuade, but to inform and provoke thought. Information was taken from (http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=66454)

"Iceland in crisis over controversial media law

Reykjavik, Iceland

17 May 2004 15:58

Iceland was embroiled in a political crisis on Monday as the country's president appeared poised to veto a media law proposed by the government, a first in the Icelandic republic's 60-year history.

The draft law, which is being angrily debated in Parliament, calls for the break-up of media groups if they concentrate too much power over media in their hands.

Iceland's opposition parties have accused Prime Minister David Oddsson of targeting a single company, the Baugur group, because of a personal grudge he holds against the diversified company's owners.

According to sources close to President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, quoted by Icelandic daily DV, he is "seriously considering" using his veto power if, as is expected, Oddsson wins backing for his draft law in the Althing, the world's oldest Parliament.

Grimsson on Friday even cancelled a trip to Copenhagen, where he was to attend the Danish royal wedding of Crown Prince Frederik and Australian Mary Donaldson, because he wanted to be present in case of a decisive vote.

"Because of uncertainty over when the Althing concludes a debate of important issues, the president could not leave the country," a statement said.

The Icelandic president is elected by popular vote, but his role is largely ceremonial.

If he indeed refuses to sign the draft into law, Iceland may even face a constitutional crisis, as some lawyers claim the country's Constitution does not grant the figurehead president real veto powers.

Justice Minister Bjoern Bjarnason has said any veto would be "an attack on the parliamentarian foundations of the republic".

Legal experts have said that applying a law that had not been signed by the president would be unconstitutional, leaving as the most likely outcome a popular referendum on the issue.

But weekend media reports said the Progressive Party, in coalition government with Oddsson's conservative Independence Party, may prefer a break-up of the government rather than drive Iceland further towards a constitutional crisis.

Oddsson meanwhile poured oil in the flames by stating that Grimsson was pursuing a personal agenda by defending Baugur, which has retailing and real estate interests, and controls Northern Lights, which owns newspapers Frettabladid and DV, several radio stations and the television station Channel 2.

Northern Lights publications are the president's strongest supporters among the media, Oddsson said, also pointing out that the president's daughter is employed by the Baugur group.

Oddsson also called on Grimsson to apologise to the Danish government for missing last week's royal wedding. -- Sapa-AFP"

Update on Tibet

Information is taken directly from the ICT website. (http://www.savetibet.org/)

"Campaign to Release Tenzin Delek Rinpoche

In April 2002 Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and Lobsang Dhondup were arrested and charged with involvement in a series of explosions in Sichuan Province. They were held incommunicado until their December 2002 trial, where they were convicted of "conspiring to cause a series of explosions" and "incitement to separatism," and sentenced to death. On January 26, 2003, the Sichuan Provincial Court rejected Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's appeal. Lobsang Dhondup was executed the same day. Tenzin Delek Rinpoche is currently being held in Tuandong Prison, Sichuan.

The circumstances surrounding this case indicate that the prosecution of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche is politically motivated. He built monasteries, schools and homes for the elderly in his community in eastern Tibet. His leadership outside the Communist Party made him a political target.

Please consider taking further action

1. Sign the Message of Support: http://www.savetibet.org/alerts/Action.cfm?a=67

Please join in solidarity with Tibet supporters all over the world by sending a Message of Support to Tenzin Delek Rinpoche. Your Message will be included in the Wall of Hope that will be built in Geneva on April 7. Your comments will be included in your personal Message.

2. Tell a Friend about the Wall of Hope: http://www.savetibet.org/alerts/Action.cfm?a=68

We need your help to build an international movement to release Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and restore basic freedoms for Tibetans. Please tell ten of your friends about the Message of Support and Wall of Hope and we will send you a complimentary Freedom Bracelet. Ask them to join in solidarity with others around the world who are calling on the Chinese government to release Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.

3. Support the International Campaign for Tibet and our efforts to free all Tibetan political prisoners. http://www.savetibet.org/alerts/Action.cfm?a=69 "

What a show!

The following episode of a t.v. show is worth taping:

The episode of Bernie Mac where Jordan wants to get into the Mac Hall of Fame. The sickliest boy in the world joins the football team and takes on the roll of the Torpedo. It“s ten laughs a minute. For example, after Bernie tells the family about how Jordan heroically saved the game Jordan exclaims, "Yeah, but I didn“t get to see any of it “cause I was too busy tryin“ ta breathe!" (or something like that, I can“t remember the line exactly, but it“s funny and true.

Where“s That From?

The last quote was from "Berg" Two Guys a Girl, and a Pizza Place (has it been that long since the last newsletter?)!.

This month“s Quote: "We would (clean it), but the bacteria ate the sponge."

It“s Poetry Daddy O!

Sorry, no Poetry this month.

Petty Pectin Trivia

Bob Dylan used to make Jakob Dylan stand with other people when paparazzi waas around so as to shelter him from the exposure that accompanies the children of famous people.

Hmm, that“s strange...

*This article was taken from http://www.excite.com*

Double-Hand Transplant Patient Applauds Operation

Updated 8:15 AM ET January 19, 2001 LYON, France (Reuters) - One year after receiving the world's first double hand transplant, Denis Chatelier can now make a phone call, hold a tooth brush and scratch himself.

"Above all I can play ball with my children, I can put them on my knee and I can hug them," Chatelier told a news conference Thursday called to mark the first anniversary of his ground-breaking operation.

Chatelier, 34, lost his forearms and hands in 1996 when an amateur rocket he made with his nephews exploded as he was preparing it for launch.

An international team of eight surgeons under Jean-Michel Dubernard took 17 hours to complete the complex transplant. The same team carried out the world's first single hand graft in 1998 on Australian Clint Hallam.

Dubernard said Thursday he was delighted by the progress made by Chatelier, who spends six hours a day on exercises designed to stimulate feeling and strength in the hands.

Hair and fingernails had resumed growing and the hands had also regained sensitivity to heat and cold.

"I have started to catch objects, I can dress on my own, wash my teeth, go to the loo, scratch myself. I can lift an eight kilo (18 pound) weight," Chatelier said.

Visindi med Vadem

Greetings everyone.
This is the first article by Vadem ever to appear on the internet. All criticism of it“s content and formulation will promptly be disregarded. First of all, this column won“t be about science. That title is something to scare of the Britney Spearses of this world. Second, my personal beliefs and opinions will be the first and final word here, being infallible and right, mmmkay? Righty, carry on then.

A lil“ Darwinism 101.

Okay, for all you people out there that don“t watch the national television channel of Iceland, or have read Mein Kampf, then Darwinism is a theory on the evolution of the species. In fact, that was the title that Darwin put on the first book to present these ideas to the much-dismayed public. It says that within a species, the abilities and traits of the individuals differ by some amount, and that the compatibility of these traits with the environment will govern which individuals are most likely to prosper and have offspring, therewith passing the genes, which again govern these traits, down to the next generation of individuals of that species. Those whose traits do not measure up to the demands of the environment perish, don“t get to have offspring, and therefore their genetic frame dies with them. So the species of Earth have a natural tendency, in the long run, to become better suited for survival in their environment. The species of animals we see today are the offspring of such cruel methods. Well, actually Darwinism isn“t just that, and that wasn“t worded very accurately, but you get the idea.

Darwinism and your favourite species.

Darwin“s theories were of course quite controversial first when they came out, since humans could be deduced from a lesser species, aka apes, and so people felt they had lost their place in the universe as the coronation of creation. The church felt intimidated by Darwin (wait, the church felt threatened?) but ironically Darwin himself was a devoted Christian til his last day. The idea of Darwinism, which Darwin conceived while researching finks on the Galapagos Islands, soon though became something people felt comfortable with, since the idea was simple and eloquent, and suited the enlightenment streak of the 20^th century. Soon, some felt that Darwinism was something people should be taking more seriously, and eugenics, although existing before the times of Darwin, suddenly got a powerful spokesmen, especially in the US, where ideas on castrating the retarded was the hottest trend in town. That of course fell in the shadow of folks like Hitler, that got the fly in his head that Jews were the source of all genetic evil, and most people know the rest, and now he“s a fly hitting Satan in the head.

Criticism on Darwinism

Humans are now thought to have originated from a rather pathetic group of apes that were much weaker than their rivals and who had to flee into the African savannahs and either use their head or join the dinosaurs. So for the first time, Darwinism was solely focused on an organ many of us still today consider only to be buffer material that keeps our skulls from going BOOOONNGGG when hit with a football or a smack on the back of the head by Dick Cheney (no offence Bush), yes the brain. So the brain is a survival tool, which subjects it to Darwinism. In fact that should go for most parts of the human body too. So physical strength and stamina, tallness, good teeth, and of course a good tan, mean so much to the other sex because that shows what kind of genes you“d be mixing with your own, when marking your place in your ancestors“ descendant line. But wait, are those, combined with brainpower, the only thing that tells you whether your great x 1000 grandfather Zak will escape the big smelly sabre-toothed kitty that wants a piece of his ass, literally, or isn“t there something we are forgetting? Yes, my friends, luck has a lot to do with it. See, if the cat runs into a tree, turning into catalogue material for plastic surgeons, then Zak might escape. In fact luck could get the weakest member of the tribe to pass his/her genes on, and the strongest to fall on his ass, break his spine and die. Now, not many people would think of luck as being a physical trait, or a trait at all. I mean it comes and goes and all that, but that“s not the case according to the report made by the insurance companies that inspired this article. There are people who are just plain unlucky, and the other people that are not so plain unlucky, and that has a lot to do with the mindset of the person, according to the statistics. It seems like anger and youthfulness makes or breaks your lady luck, more so than can be explained from the fact that those people are clumsier or more self-destructive. So what if we actually took such a notion seriously, that there is something about the person, something that might be reduced to some kind of a physical feature, that governs the person“s luck? Maybe we should be taking that into account when we“re looking for a mate or a person to castrateOn health or aptitude tests, we might include a blackjack or a game of dice. In addition of being mentally or financially challenged, people might be considered fortunately challenged. When hiring people, employers might cut out a hole in the floor, put a mattress over it, and if the person being interviewed falls through it and, say, breaks his or her leg, then that“d be a good sign not to hire the person. And finally, the extremely unlucky might be of military use, since they could be convinced to join the other side if things aren“t going too well. So there you have it, a new perspective on a thing you all thought you knew in and out, brought to you by Vadem.

Song of the Month

"Don“t Tell Me", by Avril Lavigne. Okay, so her music by and large sucks and she“s such a huge friggin wannabe and hypocrite, but the tunes is catchy. They“re great to sing along to. So even if you sit around going, "Okay, so you wanted the guy out of your bed and he“s out of your bed, walking down the street. Then you say you want him out of your head, but then you follow him around and he“s the one that can“t get rid of you. So why were you so surprised when you told him you weren“t "that kind of girl" and he didn“t believe you?" then you can still enjoy the music while you“re driving to work or whatever. Plus, it“s real funny to sing her songs at Joe“s Crap Shack or Joe“s Crab Shack or whatever you prefer to call it.

Stuff That Rules

Kill Bill rules. Did you notice at the end of the movie(s) it said that the character, The Bride, was one that was created by Q and U? I was kinda surprised “cause I thought it was just Q who invented the gal. Then I started thinking, man, Ethan Hawke should mebbe be scared. I mean, what if you were poor Ethan Hawke and you got a divorced “cause things just didn“t work out and then your ex-wife invented this charater in these 2 movies like the one in this movie? You think they“d let him go into the Witness Protection Program for that even though he“s not a witness. Whathow, movie still good.

Dude and Chick of the Month

Dude: Quentin Tarantino. Hasn“t he been on here before? Doesn“t matter. Anyway, so it was a damn long wait, but Kill Bill was more than worth the wait, doncha think? The best thing about him is that he makes movies that are just as fun to make as they are to see, unlike some people who will remained unnamedjamescameron.

Chick: Uma Thurman. Still not a big fan of hers, because she just annoys me, but I don“t have a problem watching her in movies. She“s a capable actress and a nice person and all that, just something annoys me about her. Even with all that though, The Bride was friggin awesome and it was great that she got her ass kicked while she was kicking ass. That“s the real world you know? I mean, even I sometimes get a bruise when I“m beatin“ down. So yeah, uh, good job on these movies Uma.

Wacko Advice From Waco

Want a Big Penis to tell you want to do? Send your dilemmas to Big Penis Man c/o the IPS and kiss all your worries goodbye!

Dear Big Penis Man--
I have been accepted to the college of my dreams, but it“s out of state. That means if I go there, I“ll have to leave my boyfriend behind. What should I do?
--Lily in Lafayette

Dear Lily in Lafayette--
This is a perfect time for you to venture out and explore the world. You are young and still learning, which brings me to my point. Have you ever watched the Real World and seen how those people behave? They have a bf/gf, and yet they go and sleep with anyone with in a 3 foot radius. Therefore, I say you should go to your new school and sleep with anyone in a 6 foot radius. This is also a good time for you to explore your sexuality by sleeping with other girls and blame it on your youth in the past. So yes, go to the out of state school and cheat on your bf with any male or female within a 6 foot radius. You only live once, unless you believe in reincarnation, then maybe 9 times like a cat.

Dear Big Penis Man--
My mom says that I“m just a late-bloomer, but everyone else says I“m just a skinny little nerd boy. I“m tired of taking flack off of everyone, but I“m too scared to say anything to them. How do I handle this situation?
--Not a Nerd

Dear Not a Nerd--
You should carry a knife, b/c it is easy to conceal and cheap. When someone fronts you, you reach for the knife and stab the fool in the kidney like people do in prison. When you get into prison, I'll tell you how to protect your virgin butthole. So I'll be waiting for that email when the time comes.

Whoriscopes

Sorry, no whoriscopes this month.

Notes From the Editor

So first, the big events of late:

The IPS is pleased to welcome Run For Your Smurf and Vadem Nah as it“s newest members!

Congratulations to SCRAD who got married on March 27, 2004! Happy Birthday to CoPresident/CoFounder Olga, Big Penis Man, and Vadem Nah!

For any of you who have visited the site in the past, you might have noticed a few slight changes in the online format. Also, the IPS is now entirely online. That“s partially “cause I don“t have a printer and also “cause all current IPS members have internet access anyway. There“s also a new article, accompanied by a teeny little picture. I tried to put pictures on some other articles too, but for some reason, none of them would work. Rather than delay the newsletter anymore, I figured might as well run it with just the one picture. Hope that doesn“t depress anyone.

And now a bit o bidness. The list of current IPS members stands as thus:

Alan, Sally, Vadem Nah, Big Penis Man, Run For Your Smurf, Scotty D., Olga, and Angela

If you previously were a member of the IPS and would like to continue your membership, but do not see your name above, contact us and we“ll get that taken care of for you. If you never were a member, but would like to jump on the paddy wagon now, then by all means, click on the application link at the top of the page and fill it out. Membership is selective, but so is the presidency for the United States, so don“t let that stop you from trying.

Remember, if you have any ideas for the newsletters or the website feel free to email them to us. We at the IPS love membership involvement.

The IPS, pushin“on and tearin“it up...

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