Animal Welfare Institute Condemns BLM Proposal to Kill Thousands of Wild Horses in Holding Facilities

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 2, 2008) – For the first time in the history of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—the federal agency charged with protecting and managing wild horses in the United States—officials now claim that up to 30,000 horses currently in confinement may have to be “euthanized” to balance the agency’s budget.

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) vehemently opposes any proposal that would sanction the mass killing of our nation’s wild horses. “To set the record straight, euthanasia is mercy killing. That’s certainly not what’s being proposed here by any stretch of the imagination,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI. “It’s killing pure and simple to balance the books for an agency whose reckless management has caused immeasurable harm to a national treasure at considerable cost to the American taxpayer.”

In the last few years, the BLM’s national wild horse and burro program has changed leadership and direction—and tragically, wild horses have paid the price. To placate the demands of livestock interests and despite protests from wild horse advocates, the agency began rounding up animals from the wild at an unprecedented rate, leaving many herds with so few animals that their long-term health and viability are now in serious jeopardy.

Adoption demand could not keep pace with such drastic removals, requiring the BLM to contract for more and more private long-term holding facilities. Today, this misguided policy has shockingly resulted in more animals being held in confinement than run free in the wild. Now, BLM officials are seeking a magic bullet for the problem that they have irresponsibly created – adding a whole new subtext to the expression “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”

The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed unanimously by Congress to stop the mass slaughter and commercial exploitation of these magnificent animals. “Americans were outraged to learn what was happening then, and they will be even more irate to learn what the BLM is proposing today,” Heyde said. “Public support for the original Act is considered one of the largest grassroots campaigns on animal welfare issues in US history. It is time to reignite this passion if we are to save these magnificent animals from extinction on the range and in the wild.”

The proposal to resume killing the public’s wild horses will be discussed at the next National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting scheduled for September 2008. AWI encourages the public and the US Congress to act swiftly to protect our horses, whose lives are at risk at the hands of the very agency tasked with the responsibility to care for them.

For over 57 years, AWI has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill. Please join us in our ongoing campaigns to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Sign up for AWI eAlerts to receive the latest news on what you can do to help us protect all animals: http://www.awionline.org/joinus.

For More Information:

Chris Heyde (703) 836-4300

For over 57 years, AWI has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill. Please join us in our ongoing campaigns to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Sign up for AWI eAlerts to receive the latest news on what you can do to help us protect all animals: http://www.awionline.org/joinus.

P Please consider the animals and their habitat before printing.

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Hear “A Peaceful Solution” by Chained Maiden

Chained Maiden from San Diego, California, United States Of America, recorded “A Peaceful Solution” in their own unique Electro/Pop/New Wave style. I always find it enjoyable to hear truly alternative music coming from the worlds largest military base.

Visual artists, musicians and other performing artists live and create right in heart of the military-industrial complex. As counter intuitive as this may seem, the Chinese predicted this thousands of years ago.

The Chinese believed that whenever a wave of primal energy approached its maximum strength then it would manifest at its core the seed of its opposite primal energy.

The more we see the power of the multinational cartels constrain and direct the lives of people, the greater the chance that people will experiment and find new ways to express themselves outside of narrowing cultural conventions.

As the global military-industrial cartels rise to what some call new global fascist extremes Chained Maiden emerges with a new way to perform “A Peaceful Solution.”

Another voice from different members of We The People Of The United States Of America makes themselves heard in the peaceful revolution.

Greater numbers of We The People Of The United States Of America make the peaceful resolution every day.

Those who seek to conform to the archetypical contemporary stereotypes tend to have a great deal in common. After all, they all strive for the same things.

However, those who reject the pressure to march towards the central icons of our military-industrial culture often have little in common other than their resistance to the pull of violent means to meet greedily affluent ends.

Those who move to the edges of our culture, intentionally or not, are often delighted by the diversity of humanity they discover.

The enforced sameness of the mundane existence promoted and propagated by multinational cartels tempts us into a life of mind numbing banality as one indigenous people after another die in vain fighting to preserve their millenniums-old way of life.

More, entire species that God placed on Earth before humanity have perished and continue to perish at an increasing rate. Now complete environments that once supported uncounted life-forms vanish forever for the sake of fear and greed.

The seeds of peace grow everyday even as the great wave of military-industrial might achieves its peak and begins its inevitable decline to oblivion.

The peaceful solution saves America.

Hear “A Peaceful Solution” by Chained Maiden

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwN_dUo9tb4

The Remington Riders contributed great talent and high production values to create their version of “A Peaceful Solution.” Jerry Miller, perhaps best known as the lead guitarist for the legendary rock group Moby Grape, provided the screaming guitar work.

Robert Berry worked with Jan Lewis on the arrangement then went on to perform with the bass, drums and acoustic guitar while providing background vocals and engineering.

Jan Lewis lent her vocals, played piano and added additional lyrics to their version of Amy Nelson and Willie Nelson’s song. Listen to all the lyrics and read the bridge Jan Lewis added about the U.S. Constitution.

Don’t forget the Constitution.
There’s a war against that too.
There’s a war on Evolution.
There’s a war against the Truth.

This group of seasoned artists joined the peaceful revolution, voicing a peaceful resolution as they contribute their talent and resources for peace. When great people make awesome music for the sake of peace you know things are moving in the right direction.

Considering the proven talent in The Remington Riders I believe it becomes noteworthy that they add lyrics specifically mentioning the erosion of our Constitutional Rights, an attack upon reason, rationality and science plus just plain old lying.

These three ideas seem important because together they offer an altered set of facts. Facts are important because people are controlled through what they believe to be the facts.

It is rarely if ever effective and never efficient to try to change someone’s belief system straight on. You can try any argument and any threat but still people will stick to their belief systems. For many people the ability to stick to one’s beliefs, no matter what, is the true mark of a human being.

Now the way that people create their belief systems has become understood. It seems that one thing people do better than other life forms is to perceive patterns. Belief systems are another pattern that we create in our minds.

We create belief systems out of what we perceive to be the facts.

By selectively restricting accurate information while spreading disinformation, sets of apparent facts can be created with full anticipation of the type of belief system people will make of it.

Once it was a fact that the Earth was the Center of the Universe.

Then things changed.

People thought differently about themselves and the position of organized religion when everything began to revolve around the Sun. Once the majority of We The People Of The United States Of America could believe the main stream media, could follow our leadership and enjoyed the highest quality of life in the world.

Perceived facts have changed.

Now belief systems change, each person constructing what they believe to be an accurate model of the way things are based upon their perception of the facts. If the public educational system, organized religion and main stream media deliver all your facts then your belief system perhaps best serves others’ interests and not yours.

I’m not telling you that what you believe is wrong or somehow incorrect. After all, it is based upon the facts.

I am suggesting that everyone has the power to observe where they get their facts. The emergence of your belief system naturally follows.

I know it is a fact that Peace on Earth is possible NOW.

We just need more people singing “A Peaceful Solution.” Imagine the belief system you can build around that.

* * * * * Artist’s Statement * * * * *

The Remington Riders is a band that was formed by legendary guitarist Jerry “Moby Grape” Miller and country writer/singer Jan Lewis to make country music videos for YouTube audiences, mostly through their bulbheadmyass channel.

They believe that music is the best way to express political ideas and aspirations, and so were delighted when the Willie Nelson Peace Research Institute asked them to do their own arrangement of Willie Nelson and Amy Nelson’s “A Peaceful Solution.”

In fact, their bulbheadmyass channel posted its first video as a form of political expression against Bush, posting Jan Lewis’s “Execution Row (Postcards of the Hanging),” a modern-day homage to Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row,” in the wake of the Saddam Hussein hanging.

Jan and Jerry teamed up with Danish videographer, Erik Adelfred (YouTube channel adelfred), who made some magnificent graphics and put together a wonderful video to showcase the song.

Erik Adelfred is perhaps best known in Europe for a political video about East Germany. But his more recent masterpiece, American Pictures, a tribute to photographer Jacob Holdt, is a must-see. It chronicles racism and poverty in America over several decades in music and photos.

“I was particularly pleased that we were given license to do our own arrangement and even to add our own lyrics to Peaceful Solution,” said Jan.

“I added a bridge about the US Constitution, which I think may be the longest-lasting casualty of Bush’s disastrous wars, possibly derailing forever everything this country has stood for since its inception.”

As a special treat, besides posting “Peaceful Solution,” the Riders have also compiled a video featuring Jerry working out his guitar part for it. Jerry’s playing on this song is possibly the hottest guitar picking on all of YouTube, and it is a rare opportunity to watch him in the studio and to see his mind and his fingers at work as he develops a killer guitar part.

Links of interest:

Jerry Miller:

Behind the Scenes – Jerry Miller and the making of Peaceful Solution
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5GjWKPs3G8>

I’m Just a Covered Wagon <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-88z5k6W40>

Jan Lewis:

Execution Row (Postcards of the Hanging)
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQNBJpapIpQ>

Sad Country Song <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qREsXOqzi98>

Erik Adelfred:

American Pictures – a Tribute to photographer Jacob Holdt
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK7×8bKJXPo>

Other Remington Riders political video:

Battle of New Baghdad <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p0HpiCLNW4>

Other Remington Rider non-political videos:

One Shot at a Time <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Tu1RXmNd8>

Trying to Drown Your Sorrows <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkxgRK8o_Rw>

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hte1Gp2yjk

Ralph Buckley turns his version of “A Peaceful Solution” into an impassioned plea and another “Cry 4 Peace.” He also proves that a person can look at the scope of the madness and still continue to work for peace.

Too many people I talk to express apathy born of a sense of uselessness. While it may seem to be true that only one person cannot change the world alone, with your efforts in concert with others the world must change.

Recent advances in science even seem to empower individuals with this capacity. Certainly there have been many individuals who have risen from obscurity to change the world.

You may be able to provide just the added effort required to tip the balance towards world peace.

You will never know until you try.

Ralph Buckley gives powerful testimony of his journey towards making a difference for peace. He offers his voice to the choir here at Willie Nelson Peace Research Institute singing “A Peaceful Solution.”

Those who came before me often worked for peace in isolated small groups. During the Vietnam atrocities the world saw We The People Of The United States Of America take back our country and end the madness.

Unconscionable war profiteers and other sociopaths have once again steered the country down a hideous path. We can now see that the lies of the Cold-War Era have merely been replaced by the lies of the Drug-War Era and Terror-War Era.

History has always proven the lies. This time we have witnessed the proof of lies in near real time. Our challenge now becomes to see if We The People Of The United States Of America can adequately respond in near real time.

The multinational military-industrial cartels do their best to posture as undefeatable organizations. The proof they are not shows in their exaggerated fear of any and all local and indigenous groups who demonstrate a measure of sanity towards their environment.

The proof the multinational military-industrial cartels are not undefeatable shows in their huge and wasteful expenditures fighting invented foes. Even a near total control over main stream media cannot hide their desperation.

It is expensive to strive for world domination. Now we see the expenditure of resources that will never ever be replaced.

The foolishness of expended nonrenewable resources on violence, death and destruction can no longer be excused.

The transparent lies have become so unbelievable that it questions our sanity to even entertain the idea that there may be anything of substance to them.

It is no longer a question of isolated groups or localized psychopathic individuals screwing up in far away lands. Psychopathic groups have raised the stakes to include the entire world and every living thing on it.

The Internet now allows for a global community to see its strength and defy the insane logic of psychopaths to insist upon a peaceful resolution.

Join the peaceful revolution.

Take Back America.

* * * * * Artist’s Statement * * * * *

Why are you passionate about creating peace?
Peace…
I can’t look at the world anymore…and pretend it doesn’t affect me. Pretend that I can’t do anything about it.

Like many, I had become almost devoid of emotion. I was a walking corpse. For years I tried to be something or someone that I wasn’t. I tried my best to ignore the obvious, & found myself self-medicating in a world where any real caring or compassion is frowned upon.

The system is trying to encourage, no better put, the system is on a mission to train you to be an unfeeling consumer. They are careful not to expose you to the consequences of what it is to be a mindless consumer.

Peace is often misunderstood. Peace is not only represented when armies lay down their weapons.

Peace to the individual is more about the mind. Peace of mind. When you become content with the ‘state of mind’ that is termed has “now”. That rare moment when you no longer are concerned about tomorrow or worried about the consequences of yesterday.

Peaceful consciousness and quantum physics along with hyper dimensional physics has shown us that consciousness can have an affect upon matter.

In a moment of ‘pure consciousness’, a group of people meditating can literally have an affect upon violence and terrorism. The power of people coming together and focusing their consciousness has proven to be a source of unlimited energy and potential.

How long have you been working for peace?

Since I can recall…! I have been writing songs about peace since I started playing the guitar & piano. My 1st song that stands out for peace is a song that I wrote when I was 18. It is called “Where did everybody go”. It was made into a video a few years later. Mind you, I’m referring to a time when videos were extremely expensive and the computer revolution was still a few years away. If you’d like to see the song/video here’s the url address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j_z3t3AKv0

What are your ideas for peaceful solutions?

The idea of a Peaceful Solution is not has easy has it would appear to be. The system is so utterly corrupt. Corrupt by design. The power structure has been in place for the ages. But…yet I feel there is hope…there is a solution.

We are witnessing an awakening.

Across the entire planet…people are beginning to awaken to their own extraordinary potential within themselves. Each of us individually are beginning to see ourselves not as being alone, but has being part of a collective whole.

Quantum Physics has shown us that there is a ‘field’ that connects us all through our consciousness. Of course these discoveries have been hidden from us…really until recently. Along with the discoveries such has the ‘lost gospels’ found at Nag Hammadi and the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well has ancient Hindu & Sumerian texts.

This knowledge had been suppressed really since the destruction of the great libraries of Alexandria…Throughout the dark ages of the crusades, this integral part of our ancient history was well hidden. Known to only the precious few. The elite. The Secret Societies. TheTemplar’s, Freemasons, Rosicrucian’s…and in more modern times ’skull & bones’ ‘Illuminati’ etc….and most notably…Rome.

But now with the gift of the internet. This information is available to us. A privilege our ancestors never had.

But still, of even greater importance is that this new “field” that hyper dimensional physics has shown us…has revealed to us a source of energy that is infinite. Literally.

Tesla…being one of the 1st to come across this ‘field’…he saw the potential of a world in which every individual could easily have access to this energy. We could heat & light our homes. We could transport ourselves with vehicles that would be no longer be dependent upon fossil or any other ‘archaic’ types of fuels.

Now has the story goes, JP Morgan, Tesla’s then financier, learned of Tesla’s ideas and plans. JP Morgan then put an abrupt end to Tesla’s financing and put all projects aside indefinitely.
…but now…this again has been rediscovered.

Can you imagine the implications of such an energy. How this could change humanity forever.
The corporations, government, Illuminati, Jesuits….etc…
Can they suppress this kind of knowledge forever?

The Human species is on the verge of evolving…both spiritually and physically.
How long can the elite hold us back from destiny? How much longer can the Human race survive this dominion of madness and power….?

KEEP FREEDOM ALIVE!!!

Download my mp3s and music videos
FOR FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.ralphbuckley.com

my youtube channel at:
http://www.ralphbuckley.net

my podcast “Cry 4 Peace” at:
http://www.ralphbuckley.org

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CONTACT: Robert Jameson, 202-715-1535

robert.jameson@dittus.com

Animal Welfare Institute and National Black Farmers Association Call for Balanced Debate on Horse Slaughter Issue

American Horse Council and USDA Holds Disingenuous Conference on “Unwanted Horse Issue”

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, The American Horse Council (AHC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) held a conference entitled “The Unwanted Horse Issue: What Now?”

Despite constant assurances from USDA organizers that this event would have nothing to do with horse slaughter the meeting turned out to be exactly what the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) had anticipated from the start; a platform for a stacked panel of pro-slaughter representatives to further promote the practice of horse slaughter under the guise of talking about the “unwanted horse” population.

“Having the United States Department of Agriculture endorse an event like this really is a shame. What we need is a truly balanced debate that addresses sound, humane solutions to horse welfare issues. Unfortunately it seems like today’s intentions lie less with the interests of the horses and more with the interest of profit,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI.

What can only be described as a largely one-sided event, proponents of horse slaughter once again used their “unwanted horse” campaign as a way to perpetuate the idea that horse slaughter is a necessary evil without which horses will be subjected to mass neglect or abandonment. During the forum, slaughter proponents offered no solutions or options on how to fix the problem of unwanted horses, but continuously insisted that slaughtering is a humane way of dealing with surplus horses.

What they failed to mention about their supposedly humane solution are the thousands of miles that horses are made to travel without rest, food, or water, in cramped double deck trailers on their way to the slaughter house and the brutal way in which they are killed.

I came to attend an open forum about caring for horses, and all I heard about is that horses are personal property that can and should be slaughtered if the owners of this property want to do so,” said Dr. John Boyd, President of The National Black Farmers Association (NBFA). “When I tried to inform the audience of our recently announced initiative with AWI, “Project Wanted Horse”, which will help care for America’s horses in need I was immediately shot down. I thought this was a forum to discuss solutions, not squash ideas.”

In the ultimate act of hypocrisy, the event included a keynote address by former Congressman and current horse meat industry lobbyist Charlie Stenholm announcing a systematic effort to go to county and state associations and legislatures with their campaign in support of horse slaughter. If he can’t mislead the Congress and the American public on the issue he will try on another level.

“It is hard to believe that the USDA and The American Horse Council really expect a “balanced” debate from an industry paid lobbyist. It seems like once again, special interests and profits are being put before welfare,” noted Heyde. “It is because of people like Charlie Stenholm and pro-horse slaughter organizations and their blocking of a federal ban that horses continue to suffer.”

Letter AWI sent to USDA in response to their refusal to establish a balanced meeting: http://www.awionline.org/legislation/pdf/AWI_Reynells_UnwantedHorse.pdf

For more than 57 years, the Animal Welfare Institute has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Find out more at: www.awionline.org.

The National Black Farmers Association was founded in 1995.Today the NBFA has more than 94,000 members. For more information, please visit our Web site at: www.blackfarmers.org.

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