1. Military Industrial Complex eyeing children
2. US Circuit Court & APD
3. Taos Peace House guest speaker
4. Aztatl's one-man show
5. US (ex-) soldier needs support
6. APD arrests on Journal website
7. Andrew's fine delivered
8. "No War on Iran" rally
9. Peacecraft information
10. Dismantle KAFB nukes
11. Trial for Trinity Nuclear Abolitionists
12. Hiroshima peace bell commemoration
13. Tent City protest
14. Female peace maker’s panel discussion
15. US/Iran friendship dinners
16. Ft. Huachuca protest
17. GI Rights Hotline
18. NMED well contamination
19. National General Strike
20. Activists seeking work
21. Trinity House feeds homeless
22. Silent Circle for Peace
23. New ANSWER film
24. Los Alamos/Santa Fe contaminated water
25. Greenpeace employment
26. ABQ Balloon Fiesta denies Greenpeace
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1.) The Military Industrial Complex is eyeing Albuquerque’s schoolchildren (again):
http://www.kirtland.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123108233
AFRL, UNM begin new hi-tech Partnership
by Eva Blaylock, Air Force Research Laboratory
7/28/2008 - KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico -- A collaborative effort here is paving the way for a new center of excellence within New Mexico for the application of Field Programmable Gate Arrays in space and defense systems. Called the FPGA Mission Assurance Center, the project was recently appointed $1.6 million by Congress.
In addition to UNM, the Center is reaching out to develop youth education outreach programs throughout the state. The goal is to create an educational pipeline for digital design and reconfigurable electronics from elementary grades through graduate school. The outreach effort builds on the existing AFRL La Luz Academy's science and math program for 5th through 12th grades, Albuquerque Public Schools' Career Enrichment Center and the Rio Rancho High School's Engineering and Design Academy.
Further down the educational pipeline, FMAC has made collaborations with several community colleges including Central New Mexico, Maricopa Community Colleges, Central Arizona College, and the Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute. The idea is to use the community college springboard to enable students to earn their preliminaries before moving on to the collaborative four-year colleges, including New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech and UNM.
There has been interest from other non-N.M. educational institutions to use the Center as an example within their own universities, to include Louisiana State University and the Ibero-American Science and Technology Consortium. The FMAC facility at 2350 Alamo Ave., SE, is up and running with instruction and research ongoing.
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2.) Some good news:
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/29115438metro07-29-08.htm
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Court: Police Not Entitled To Immunity
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has upheld a lower court's ruling that Albuquerque police officers are not entitled to qualified immunity on claims they retaliated against protesters at an anti-war rally… ______________________________________________________________________
3.) From Taos Peace House:
WITNESS TO A CRIME: A CITIZENS' AUDIT OF AN AMERICAN ELECTION By Richard Hayes Phillips Wednesday October 1, 2008; 6:30 PM at the Taos Peace House; 801 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte; Taos, New Mexico - Free and donations welcome.
Richard Hayes Phillips has been the leading investigator of the fraudulent 2004 presidential election in Ohio. His work was relied upon by John Conyers in challenging the Ohio electors in Congress; by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in his article for Rolling Stone magazine; and by Algenon L. Marbley in issuing his federal court order protecting the ballots from destruction. Assisted by teams of volunteers equipped with digital cameras, Phillips amassed some 30,000 images of forensic evidence. Then he analyzed it all himself, examining 126,000 ballots,127 poll books, and 141 voter signature books from 18 counties in Ohio.
Phillips' long-awaited book, "Witness to a Crime: A Citizens' Audit of an American Election," was published by Canterbury Press on April 12. The book is 448 pages, with a hard cover and a dust jacket. The book includes eight color plates, and a CD with 1200 digital images of actual ballots, poll books, voter signature books, ballot accounting charts, and other forensic evidence from the 2004 presidential election in Ohio.
http://www.witnesstoacrime.com/
TAOS PEACE HOUSE MEMBERSHIPS
Please support the peace house. We have a membership program. If you are already a member please mail in your contribution for August to The Taos Peace House; P.O. Box 424; Arroyo Seco, NM 87514 If you want to be a member visit our Membership page at: http://www.taospeacehouse.org/membership.html
The membership form can be downloaded from this page. Memberships are as little as $15 a month. And thank you to all of you that have been supporting our work!!!
The Taos Peace House and Infoshop is located at 801 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte; Taos, New Mexico 87571 USA; North of Cids Grocery next to Laughing Horse Inn across the street from Upper Ranchitos Road.
575-776-3880 or 575-758-8819 or 1-800-884-1136 menu@foodnotbombs.net; www.taospeacehouse.org
Keith McHenry, Co-founder of the Food Not Bombs movement P.O. Box 424 Arroyo Seco, NM 87514 USA 505-776-3880; 1-800-884-1136 keith@foodnotbombs.net www.foodnotbombs.net ______________________________________________________________________
4.) From Aztatl:
My friends, partners in crime, radical no-nonsense workers for democracy:
My one-person art show (String Theory) will be going up for exhibition this weekend.
Mixed media: watercolor, pastel, drawings, constructions, text & collage. Open for viewing Aug. 2 until Aug. 30, 2008 during regular library hours. Some affordable art will be available.
Opening Reception will be on Aug. 12, 2008 at 5 p.m., downtown main library. Latest chapbook (Return of the Rains) there also, cheap $5 worth of frijoles pintos. Come on down & let us socialize or forever hold your lip. I would value your opinion, critique of the work.
One lap ahead of the law,
Aztatl
aztatlxikano@yahoo.com
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5.) Sent in by Bill in Colorado:
LETTERS OF ENCOURAGEMENT: You are invited to write letters of encouragement to Robin Long, a US soldier who went to Canada rather than join his unit's deployment to Iraq. Robin was deported from Canada last week and is now in prison in Colorado. He will likely face a court martial.
He will be represented by James Branum, a Mennonite attorney from Oklahoma City who is a fellow counselor with me on the GI Rights Hotline. Please remember Robin and James in your prayers.
Letters may be sent to Robin at the following address. Please don't put anything else in your letters in order to ensure delivery:
Robin Long, CJC; 2739 E. Las Vegas; Colorado Springs, CO 80906.
If you would like to make a contribution to his defense, send a check to:
Courage to Resist/IHC; 484 Lake Park Ave. #41; Oakland, CA 94610.
Note Robin Long in the memo field.
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6.) Albuquerque police department arrest reports now on line at the Journal web site:
See if you are on the map.... (just kidding) http://www.abqjournal.com/crime/crimemapdailydefault.htm
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7.) Andrew’s Fine Delivered:
http://media.www.dailylobo.com/media/storage/paper344/news/2008/07/14/News/Protesters.Pay.For.Vandalism.Cleanup-3390511.shtml
The Independent Voice of the University of New Mexico since 1895 www.dailylobo.com Protesters pay for vandalism cleanup; Payment delivered after march, statement Caitlin Reece, 7/14/08 (Media Credit: Vanessa Sanchez / Daily Lobo Walter Rohloff holds a sign in protest as the Year 5 Coalition pays a fine for property damage which occurred during protest over spring break.)
On Friday, anti-war protesters from the Year Five Coalition met on campus to march a $200 reimbursement to the Student Activities Center. The payment was for campus property damage that occurred during a spring break protest. Over spring break, protesters left red handprints on UNM signs, sidewalks and streets near the Public Policy building on Sigma Chi Road. Before delivering the payment, members of the coalition read a statement at the regents' office and the office of the president.
"The beet juice and cornstarch placed on UNM's sign by unknown citizens that day represents the blood that UNM places on all of our hands as a result of UNM's complicity with war profiteering," member Jeanne Pahls said. "We wish the bloody stain that UNM brings to our community was as easy to wash off as the beet juice and cornstarch mixture that was put on UNM's signs."
Andrew Marcum, the student who applied for the permit to allow the protest, said the handprint stains were not sanctioned by the group. "I had no idea that this had taken place, so I was very surprised to receive the e-mail saying that I had been fined," Marcum said. "We didn't come to vandalize or make a scene; we came to be heard."
Pahls said it is unfair for the University to send the bill to Marcum. "It feels like UNM is just retaliating against Andrew, blaming him for something he wasn't responsible for," Pahls said.
Debbie Morris, director of the Student Activities Center, said UNM was not targeting Marcum. "We were simply asking for reimbursement for the damages and the cost of cleanup," Morris said. "It wasn't a fine, and there is nothing on record against Andrew Marcum." She said he received the notification because he filed for the permit. "Our hope was that the people responsible would come forward and take responsibility," Morris said.
Pahls said the group raised the money to reimburse UNM though donations from the community. Marcum said he wants the protest and its statement to be better-received next time. "UNM seemed to care more about the $200 than the message," he said.
Send a comment to the Daily Lobo about the article or the issue:
E-mail: news@dailylobo.com
Telephone: (505) 277-7527
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8.) From Armen and Take Back Our Country!:
WAR WITH IRAN??--Weekly rally changed to NOON on SATURDAYS:
For several reasons, we are moving the time of our weekly Saturday Peace Rally to 12 noon (ending at 1:30 PM), effective the first Saturday of July.
One major reason is to try to increase our numbers. There is an increasing possibility that we may soon be at war with Iran. Instead of a dozen people on the street, there should be 100 people or more each week, enough that our Senators and Congressmen start taking heed instead of marching in lockstep towards another disaster. We have been trying to raise awareness of the danger of a war with Iran since September 2006, when we devoted our final rally against Israel's war on Lebanon to the possibility of a war with Iran. We have had a steady turn-out since then, but not the numbers one would expect given the gravity of such a prospect.
If you want to help generate a critical mass on this issue, please join us Saturdays at Noon, at Central and Tulane. We have signs, although you are welcome to bring your own. And bring something cool to drink!
We must try to make a difference.
(Further info at 898-4544, or dtwm@earthlink.net.) ________________________________________________________________
9.) From Dawni and Peacecraft:
Some of your favorite Fair Trade Crafts have arrived at Peacecraft! We now have delicious organic fair trade coffee grown by coops in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador, in French Roast, French Vanilla, Hazelnut Decaf, and more! Quench your coffee thirst while providing clean water to children in the developing world!
Hurry in and see our one- time- only special collection of Children's Clothing from India! These cool cotton sets will be available for a limited time only, so get them while it's HOT!
Finally, pick up your tickets for Global Health Partnership's Second Annual "Feast for Change" Brunch on August 10th, generously donated by Scalo! Tickets are $50 each and are available at Peacecraft or by calling 255-5229.
Your support of Peacecraft aids needy artisans and farmers all over the world! There are so many ways to help...have you considered a financial contribution? Thank you for your support!
Dawni Bennett
Peacecraft Store Operations and Inventory Manager
3215 Central NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-255-5229
www.peacecraft.org
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10.) From Jeanne and Nukes Out of Duke City:
Many thanks to Jeanne and Code Pink Taos and Joe and the St. Bernadette Pax Christi in Albuquerque! We received a large number of petition signatures in the mail from these two groups for our petition to have the nuclear weapons at Kirtland dismantled! Any groups or individuals wishing to sign our petition can find it at www.StoptheWarMachine.org or call 401-4808.
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11.) From Mike and Marc:
Trinity Nuclear Abolitionists continue peace vigils in Los Alamos and two members are being prosecuted for alleged criminal trespass. Mike Butler & Marcus Page were recently arrested during a 24-hour prayer for peace at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). They are currently scheduled for separate trials (August 18 & September 15). The peace vigils have been conducted since last July--Trinity BombDay, and they continue each month. You are invited to the next prayer action @ LANL:
Please see the website for more info: http://lovarchy.org/LANS ______________________________________________________________________
12.) Sent in by Shannyn in Santa Fe:
Shannyn <networks@networkearth.org>
Subject: Hiroshima Peace Bell Commemoration
Sixty three years ago on August 5th, 1945 at 5:15 in the afternoon, (New Mexico time), a B17 bomber flew over Hiroshima, Japan, carrying a payload that had originated in Los Alamos. It was August 6th in Hiroshima at 8:15 in the morning. The whole city had spent anxious hours in bomb shelters the night before - an air raid. It had been a false alarm. The relieved people had returned home to sleep out the night. They had awakened to a beautiful clear day. At 8:15 many were on the way to work. Children were in schools. My friend Takashi Tannemori was playing hide-and-go-seek with his classmates when the single B17 bomber released its payload. A parachute opened. Blithely it floated down. People on the street noted the plane and the parachute, but were not overly concerned. Suddenly the "Pikadon" flashed. An excruciating blinding light was followed by an enormous explosion beyond anyone's experience or imagination. The horrors of human suffering that ensued were unspeakabl
e and are enduring.
Every year, in Hiroshima Japan at 8:15 in the morning of August 6th, people of Hiroshima have been ringing a Peace Bell, sending out their fervent prayer for the end of war - all war. They knew that life on Earth would be annihilated in any war with weapons such as these. This particularly human dilemma can be only solved by the creation of a world where humans use words instead of weapons; where kindness and compassion for all beings are prevailing human values. Only by evolving human consciousness will war become obsolete.
In Santa Fe, on the 60th year since the bomb was detonated over Hiroshima, we unified Santa Fe with the Hiroshima with a satellite link up. We rang bells for peace simultaneous with the Peace Bell in Hiroshima. Churches all over Northern New Mexico also rang their bells. That evening the radio news programs stopped with a minute of silence. We have continued this practice of ringing bells and sending prayers on August 5th at 5:15 PM, ever since.
On Tuesday, August 5th, at 5:00 PM you are invited to come to the Tree of Peace at the Capitol Round House - to the Annual Hiroshima Day Peace Bell Commemoration. You are invited to participate with a ceremony - ringing a Shinto shrine bell at 5:15 - creating a prayer bridge with the Japanese people. You are invited to bring a heart stone to join the other heart stones around our Tree of Peace that was planted as part of the Hiroshima Peace Bell commemoration a few years ago. You are invited to also bring prayers, songs, poems, your words to share, and mostly your intention to find your own way to be an ever greater vehicle for the realization of world peace.
And you are invited to empower the prayer bridge from wherever you are - to encourage your places of worship to ring their bells - to gather with friends and include young people to remember this horrific moment in human history - and to make your commitments to engage in peace processes of all kinds on all levels of culture for the future of our precious blue planet.
The wisdom and the prayers of the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers and Corbin Harney, the spiritual leader of the Western Shoshone people (on whose land is the Nevada Test Site), have inspired in me a deepening commitment to the practice of and belief in the power of prayer. Corbin passed away last year.
May Peace Prevail,
Shannyn
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13.) From Keith and Food Not Bombs in Taos:
TENT CITY PROTEST STARTS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2008 OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE TO END THE WARS AND BUILD THE FUTURE WE KNOW IS POSSIBLE.
NEW DATE - JOIN THE TENT CITY PROTEST WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6 AT NOON OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE IN LAFAYETTE PARK We are very sorry about the change in date. Problems with the food and logistics. If Bush starts bombing Iran before August 6th we plan to start the Tent City two days later.
HELP BRING PEACE AND JUSTICE TO OUR WORLD
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23917181
Israel Prodding U.S. To Attack Iran
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/24/eveningnews/main4206201.shtml
The Tent City Protest 2008; 1-800-884-1136; menu@ foodnotbombs.net www.consensus.net/tent_city_protest.
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14.) From Elaine and Daniel and Creativity for Peace:
MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 7PM
The Next Generation of Female Peace Makers from Palestine and Israel
Congregation Nahalat Shalom invites you to a panel discussion with Creativity for Peace young leaders Amira Said Radwan, Manar Mahamid, and Maya Hochstadter. These 3 young women, one Palestinian, one Palestinian living in Israel, and one Jewish Israeli, have recently completed the 2008 Creativity for Peace Summer Camp. Anael Harpaz, Creativity for Peace’s Middle East Director and Dottie Indyke, Executive Director, will join them on the panel at Congregation Nahalat Shalom, 3606 Rio Grande Blvd., NW.
Contacts: 341-2306; delschwartz@juno.com
Info: www.creativityforpeace.com
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15.) From Lynn and the US/Iran Friendship Dinners:
US/Iran Friendship Dinners to promote friendship between the people of the US and the people of Iran:
Next Dinner: Sunday, August 24, 4-6pm, Near North Valley – 10th and Menaul. Voluntary potluck: Bring a dish, or don’t bring a dish; Call for info and directions: 842-8505 _____________________________________________________________
16.) From Felice and Jack and the Nuke Resister:
PEACEKEEPERS NEEDED FOR NOVEMBER ANTI-TORTURE PROTEST AT FT. HUACHUCA, ARIZONA
Can you help?!
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WILL JOIN TOGETHER IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA
NOVEMBER 15 & 16 TO…SAY NO TO TORTURE
Saturday, November 15
Tucson, Arizona
Plan for Action: Civil Initiative to Stop the Training and Practice of Torture will be held from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m…
Sunday, November 16; Sierra Vista, Arizona
An anti-torture rally with music and speakers at Veteran's Memorial Park, ending with a procession to and presence across the street from the main gate of Ft. Huachuca. Ft. Huachuca is the home of USAICS, the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School, and has a long history of complicity in U.S. crimes of torture. The torture manuals used at the School of the Americas came from Ft. Huachuca…
If you want to volunteer, please contact <kkennonaz@cox.net>.
If you have questions, please write to southwestwitness@gmail.com and someone will get back to you as quickly as possible. Updated information will be posted at http://southwestwitness.org
To find out more about the November 21-23 vigil & action at Ft. Benning, visit http://soaw.org/
17.) From Mary and the GI Rights Hotline:
The GI Rights Network has recently undergone some reorganization. The website linked to on your website[http://www.stopthewarmachine.org] is the website for the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO), which used to house the coordinator for the network. That website, www.girights.org <http://owa.afsc.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.girights.org> (or its alias, girights.objector.org), is still the website for CCCO, but the new website for the network as a whole is www.girightshotline.org <http://owa.afsc.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.girightshotline.org> .
(On our "Hotline Branches & Organizations" page, you'll see that CCCO is there).
I encourage you to check out our new website, which allows easy access to military regulations and other information. Would you please direct the links on the following page(s): http://www.stopthewarmachine.org/other/gi.htm to the our new website www.girightshotline.org <http://owa.afsc.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.girightshotline.org> )?
Additionally, our new hotline number is 877.447.4487, so please go ahead and change any phone information you list as well.
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18.) From Dave and Citizen Action:
http://www.kirtland.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123048853
This is the earlier story about Kirtland from 2007 that shows the importance of having adequate well monitoring for detection of contamination. The NMED is not following federal law in requiring either a sufficient number of monitoring wells or wells that are capable of monitoring due to corrosion and other problems. The NMED continues to make the false claim that the geology at Sandia/Kirtland is so different from Los Alamos that it is safe to leave wastes in the ground. The jet fuel plume is just the tip of the iceberg with respect to potential contamination of groundwater at SNL/KAFB.
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19.) From Julia:
National General Strike - November 1 -11, 2008 Don't drive, buy, work or go to school
Thank you for your good work.
A grassroots movement for a National General Strike has begun. Please go to NationalGeneralStrike.com for more information. There is no corporate sponsorship, no money involved, and no one is "in charge". We must stop the war as well as solve other pressing problems. "Together as equals we can create positive solutions to longstanding problems". That quote is from Earth Conference One, held in l988 in London, after one week, when 100 political, religious and scientific leaders met to decide "What to do?"
juliawildwood@hotmail.com
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20.) Activists looking for part-time or full or temporary work. Many varied skills. 401-4808
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21.) From Mike and the Trinity House
Please join us every Sunday, 1 p.m., at Soldiers and Sailors Park (10th and Central). Bring your camera, video camera - in case the police begin again to disrupt the feeding of the homeless - and family, friends, kids.
Thank you all for all your support past and present. Please remember to join us every Sunday, on any level that you are able.
We always need Volunteers to: help prepare the food, help share the food, join us in the park, and help clean up.
Trinity House Catholic Worker
505 242 0497 or tna@catholicworker.biz
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22.) From Judy B.:
The Silent Circle for Peace continues each Wednesday, from 5:30 to 6:00 PM, UNM, Bookstore area. PLEASE JOIN US!
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23.) A new film from ANSWER:
Set in San Francisco’s Mission district, Romántico is a documentary about Mexican musician Carmelo Muñiz Sánchez, who leaves San Francisco to return home to his beloved wife, daughters and ailing mother after years playing in taquerías and bars. But once Carmelo arrives home, he is confronted with the struggles and poverty wages that led to his first border crossing. This touching film helps to sensitize viewers to the dignity of the undocumented workers and the hardships they face. Directed by Mark Becker 2005, 80min.
Call 415-821-6545 for more info.
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24.) From CCNS:
DOE Reports Increasing Radionuclides in Los Alamos and Santa Fe Drinking Water Wells. The Department of Energy (DOE) recently reported increasing levels of radionuclides in the Los Alamos and Santa Fe drinking water wells. DOE reported a doubling of the cesium levels in the Santa Fe wells and neptunium at double the federal drinking water standard in the Los Alamos County wells. DOE also reported radionuclides in the Pueblo de San Ildefonso drinking water wells. Most of the reported levels are below the federal drinking water standards. The source of many of the radionuclides is the manufacturing of plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons, also called pits, at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). As required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), in June 2006 DOE released a draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Operations at LANL. NEPA provides opportunities for the public to review the environmental and public health impacts of federal projec ts and give oral and written comments to the governmental agencies.
The draft statement reported radionuclide contamination in both the Los Alamos and Santa Fe drinking water wells, based on data from 2001 through 2004. CCNS and Robert H. Gilkeson, a registered geologist, reviewed the data and raised concerns about the quality of the data, the myriad of problems with the LANL wells and the lack of a reliable groundwater monitoring network for the many waste sites at LANL. In response, LANL conducted a statistical analysis of the DOE data and concluded that they “believe the data demonstrate no radionuclide detections in the water supply wells, with the exception of tritium in [a Los Alamos drinking water well].” Tritium is radioactive hydrogen and travels readily with water through the LANL canyons to the Rio Grande and through groundwater to regional drinking water wells.
Nevertheless, in May 2008, DOE released the final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for LANL in which they reported drinking water data from 2001 to 2005. With the addition of one year of data, a four-fold increase in the americium levels was reported in the Los Alamos County drinking water wells. Americium is a decay product of plutonium. DOE also reported a doubling of cesium and a 67% increase in tritium levels. For the Santa Fe wells, DOE reported a doubling of cesium; an almost doubling of potassium; a 63% increase in radium; and a 68% increase in tritium levels. DOE is the self-regulating for these radionuclides. DOE only reported radionuclide contamination for the drinking water wells, even though other toxic and hazardous contaminants have been reported in the wells drilled to characterize the geology beneath LANL.
Gilkeson said, “The repeated measurement of radionuclides in many of the Los Alamos County, the Pueblo de San Ildefonso and Santa Fe drinking water wells is an emerging environmental emergency. In order to ensure the safety of regional drinking water supplies, cleanup of the radioactive, toxic and hazardous waste must be the number one priority at LANL.”
This has been the CCNS News Update. For more information about this or other nuclear safety issues, please visit our website at nuclearactive.org.
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25.) Sent in by Bill:
A good job for a good person: Manage a Greenpeace Canvass Office - NM Albuquerque, New Mexico; United States; Greenpeace USA
http://www.idealist.org/en/job/302277-63
Salary: $35,406 plus benefits and monthly bonus ______________________________________________________________________
26.) Speaking of Greenpeace…Sent in by Dianne:
Greenpeace Denied Entry Into ABQ International Balloon Fiesta By Susan Montoya Bryan
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta attracts hundreds of pilots from around the world each year, but Greenpeace apparently will not be among those showing off their hot air balloons this fall. The international environmental group had planned to participate in the fiesta with its Earth balloon, which reads "Stop Global Warming, Save the Climate," but fiesta officials denied the application.
"All around the world, including here in New Mexico, Greenpeace is working to raise public awareness about global warming. It's a shame that the fiesta's board of directors made a unilateral decision to exclude Greenpeace's educational balloon," said Kristin Wheeler, the group's field organizer in New Mexico. Greenpeace argued that the decision was "discriminatory" and that the fiesta has allowed other balloons with political messages.
Paul Smith, executive director of the fiesta, said Thursday the decision was not about the balloon's message but rather that the group missed the May 31 deadline for submitting an application to participate in this October's event. While fiesta officials have made exceptions in the past, Smith said the board decided not to in this case. About 600 balloons are registered for the fiesta, and Smith said many factors go into deciding how many pilots to invite, including space on the field and the shrinking availability of landing sites due to development on the northern end of Albuquerque.
Wheeler said Greenpeace officials thought registration was open longer so the fiesta could fill more spots. The group submitted its application in June. The group's executive director sent a letter to fiesta officials last month and another letter is being prepared this week in hopes of getting them to reconsider the decision. Wheeler said Greenpeace also has approached the American Civil Liberties Union, Gov. Bill Richardson's office and the office of Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez in an effort to have the balloon fly during the fiesta.
"We went through all of the steps. ... The intention was to follow the rules and launch from the field," Wheeler said, explaining that the hundreds of people who attend the early morning launches from Balloon Fiesta Park would be able to see the balloon up close and ask questions about its message. Wheeler said Greenpeace had all of the logistics worked out for flying the new balloon at this year's fiesta. The group has been flying another balloon with the same message at events around the world, including the G8 Summit in Denver, Colo., in 1997.
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WOW!!! WAS THAT ENOUGH FOR ONE CALENDAR? NOW YOU ARE WELL INFORMED, EVEN WITH THE SAD TRUTH. BUT DON'T GET DEPRESSED…GET INVOLVED!