tagged w/ Amazon
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David Poland of Movie City News and Anne Thompson of Indiewire join Showbiz Sandbox hosts Michael Giltz and J. Sperling Reich in discussing a few of the personal memories each has of the late film critic Roger Ebert from spending time with him over the years. For instance, did you know filmmaker Michael Moore credits Ebert with helping spread the word about the his first movie? Or that Ebert was an early investor in a little web startup named Google?David Poland of Movie City News and Anne Thompson of Indiewire join Showbiz Sandbox... more
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On the latest episode of the Showbiz Sandbox podcast:
Bill Carter of the New York Times has been reporting on the television industry for over 30 years. Who better to ask about why nothing makes any sense in this year’s television season? In a wide-ranging conversation, Carter touches on everything from the reason networks have been cutting back on original programming to why ratings have become so complicated to tabulate. Shince Carter literally wrote the book on late night television (actually two of them), his thoughts about which of the ever growing list of hosts is most dominant, and why, is rather insightful.On the latest episode of the Showbiz Sandbox podcast:
Bill Carter of the New York... more
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For the past four years blogger Aaron Rich has been reviewing the movies he sees on his blog All The Movies I Watch, with a strong emphasis on independent and international titles. Last year he saw more than 500 films and in this interview he provides rundown of some of his best (and worst) movies of 2012, many of which you may be unfamiliar with.For the past four years blogger Aaron Rich has been reviewing the movies he sees on... more
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David Wild, a contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine, helped write last weekend's Grammy telecast as he has for the past 12 years. He joins us to discuss how the show was put together, working with host LL Cool J and why performing on the Grammys has become so important to a musician's career. Wild even reveals John Mayer’s secret life as a joke writer.David Wild, a contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine, helped write last... more
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Indigenous leaders from the Ecuadorian Amazon have traveled to Houston to challenge the Ecuadorian government face-to-face during its XI Round oil concession promotional activities around the North America Prospect Expo (NAPE), the oil prospecting industry's semi-annual trade show where government officials scheduled meetings with oil company executives and investors seeking to auction off a vast swath of pristine Amazon rainforest.
Jaime Vargas, President of the Achuar Nationality of Ecuador; and Narcisa Mashienta, community leader from the Shuar Nationality of Ecuador will be in Houston until Thursday. They are joined by North American indigenous leaders and human rights groups including concerned citizens from the Tar Sands Blockade, Idle No More Gulf Coast and Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (T.E.J.A.S.) in a collective effort to raise attention and call on the Ecuadorian government to suspend its tendering of oil concessions that threaten to devastate the rainforest and the native communities that live there.
Yesterday the coalition garnered international attention protesting outside the Westin Oaks Houston Hotel as the Ecuadorian government launched its latest bidding round and roadshow. They later confronted government officials at both an information session hosted by the government, and in a hotel where private meetings with oil company executives and investors were being held. Today when Narcisa, Jaime and the Amazon Watch team arrived at the doors to the official NAPE event – tickets in hand – they were denied entry.
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Hydrocarbons, the Committee of Hydrocarbon Tender, and the state-run oil company Petroamazonas plan to sell 16 Amazonian blocks, covering nearly ten million acres of primary forest and indigenous land in the Southeastern Ecuadorian Amazon. The area is home to six indigenous nationalities: the Shuar, Achuar, Kichwa, Shiwiar, Andoa, and Sápara. In none of the blocks has Petroecuador obtained Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), an internationally recognized human rights benchmark intended to protect the rights of indigenous communities whose lives and lands are affected by extractive mega-projects such as oil drilling.Indigenous leaders from the Ecuadorian Amazon have traveled to Houston to challenge... more
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An area of the Amazon rainforest twice the size of California continues to suffer from the effects of a megadrought that began in 2005, finds a new NASA-led study. These results, together with observed recurrences of droughts every few years and associated damage to the forests in southern and western Amazonia in the past decade, suggest these rainforests may be showing the first signs of potential large-scale degradation due to climate change.
An international research team led by Sassan Saatchi of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., analyzed more than a decade of satellite microwave radar data collected between 2000 and 2009 over Amazonia. The observations included measurements of rainfall from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and measurements of the moisture content and structure of the forest canopy (top layer) from the Seawinds scatterometer on NASA's QuikScat spacecraft.
The scientists found that during the summer of 2005, more than 270,000 square miles (700,000 square kilometers, or 70 million hectares) of pristine, old-growth forest in southwestern Amazonia experienced an extensive, severe drought. This megadrought caused widespread changes to the forest canopy that were detectable by satellite. The changes suggest dieback of branches and tree falls, especially among the older, larger, more vulnerable canopy trees that blanket the forest.
While rainfall levels gradually recovered in subsequent years, the damage to the forest canopy persisted all the way to the next major drought, which began in 2010. About half the forest affected by the 2005 drought - an area the size of California - did not recover by the time QuikScat stopped gathering global data in November 2009 and before the start of a more extensive drought in 2010.
"The biggest surprise for us was that the effects appeared to persist for years after the 2005 drought," said study co-author Yadvinder Malhi of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. "We had expected the forest canopy to bounce back after a year with a new flush of leaf growth, but the damage appeared to persist right up to the subsequent drought in 2010."
Recent Amazonian droughts have drawn attention to the vulnerability of tropical forests to climate change. Satellite and ground data have shown an increase in wildfires during drought years and tree die-offs following severe droughts. Until now, there had been no satellite-based assessment of the multi-year impacts of these droughts across all of Amazonia. Large-scale droughts can lead to sustained releases of carbon dioxide from decaying wood, affecting ecosystems and Earth's carbon cycle.
The researchers attribute the 2005 Amazonian drought to the long-term warming of tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures. "In effect, the same climate phenomenon that helped form hurricanes Katrina and Rita along U.S. southern coasts in 2005 also likely caused the severe drought in southwest Amazonia," Saatchi said. "An extreme climate event caused the drought, which subsequently damaged the Amazonian trees."
Saatchi said such megadroughts can have long-lasting effects on rainforest ecosystems. "Our results suggest that if droughts continue at five- to 10-year intervals or increase in frequency due to climate change, large areas of the Amazon forest are likely to be exposed to persistent effects of droughts and corresponding slow forest recovery," he said. "This may alter the structure and function of Amazonian rainforest ecosystems."
The team found that the area affected by the 2005 drought was much larger than scientists had previously predicted. About 30 percent (656,370 square miles, or 1.7 million square kilometers) of the Amazon basin's total current forest area was affected, with more than five percent of the forest experiencing severe drought conditions. The 2010 drought affected nearly half of the entire Amazon forest, with nearly a fifth of it experiencing severe drought. More than 231,660 square miles (600,000 square kilometers) of the area affected by the 2005 drought were also affected by the 2010 drought. This "double whammy" by successive droughts suggests a potentially long-lasting and widespread effect on forests in southern and western Amazonia.
The drought rate in Amazonia during the past decade is unprecedented over the past century.
More at the linkAn area of the Amazon rainforest twice the size of California continues to suffer from... more
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Consumer Triangulation Scam is when a scammer uses three different victims (triangle) to turn a stolen credit card into cash. This scam is usually carried out at large online stores such as EBay, Amazon and Wal-Mart. A scam like this must be carried out quickly by the scammer before the stolen credit card is reported by the victim. But, it is not the victim of the credit card that will suffer the most, it is the victim who will win the online bid and pay for the items.
http://www.onlinethreatalerts.com/article/2012/12/31/consumer-triangulation-scam/Consumer Triangulation Scam is when a scammer uses three different victims (triangle)... more
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Media Source http://www.mtv.com/artists/lord-hector-diono-11/
Submitted by Chad Banes New York, New York
The promo code is 408842 the reason is simple says the urban music Vet Lord Hector Diono whose real name is Lord Michael A.C. Rosenthorn; who recently formed a partnership with Expedia and a host of U.S., Canada. And European Hotel affiliates during a candid recorded phone interview this morning.
The long time rapper songwriter put it into words for his reasoning for releasing his personal celebrity promo code last week. The rapper stressed that the economy is still a major factor for his beloved neighborhood, Decatur Georgia, which is about 15 minutes outside of Atlanta Georgia.
Hector told us that while he doesn’t like to travel just for the sake of traveling, others that know him do travel, and he says he wanted to offer his fans of his underground musical ranting a chance to live and shop as he does now that certain circumstances for the rapper are looking up.
Lord Hector is a respected and sometimes according to sources we’ve spoken with, a feared business man in addition to being one of MTV’s most popular unsigned indie label owners, with strong commerce connections around the world.
He says he rarely has to leave his state to conduct business largely in part to the internet. Hector founded “The Icon Shop.net “on November 19th 2011 and since then his urban fashion line has taken In over one hundred partners and affiliates who just want to be a part of the rapper’s legend.
Hector told us that while music is first love, business has always been and will continue to be a major part of his life and legacy. “How does it benefit me to conduct any business that doesn’t offer to help people”, The rapper asked as I questioned him more about his overall objectives and motives behind his ventures, Hector went on to say this “Look, my hood is just like most hoods in this country and probably around the world you see, as long as urban youths keep getting locked up or bang in the streets their is a missing factor there, to many of my music supporters feel in their personal lives that no one gives a damn about them, so they act out, or they make mistakes that cost them dearly, my focal point is clear and simple give them something they can claim as their own,and maybe, just maybe when their wearing my brand they’ll at least have a different mind state before they leave the house that morning if nothing else you know?”
Hector was referring to the acronym surrounding his company name “Icon” Which stands for “I. Can. Overcome. Negativity”. Despite the rapper's aggressive tone taken in his music,it has been said that Lord Hector is one of the most down to earth people you’ll meet in these trying times, especially toward those who seek his insight on the inner workings of the entertainment business from an independent prospective.
We mentioned the recent arrest of Mann Johnson One Hector’s
VP s’ with his company Icon Originals; Hector only had this to say,
“We ride for Mann Johnson, he’ll be out soon”, Hector says the arrest was due to a probation violation, and though it did play a sour note for his company’s year end, it hasn’t stopped anything when it came to what Hector and his team of dedicated Icon affiliates are
doing to make fashion and hip hop mean more than just looking good on TV and in night clubs. Learn more about Lord Hector Diono as we’ve had the pleasure of doing by visiting theiconshop.net , or MTV.com - Chad Banes Media Affiliates New York, New YorkMedia Source http://www.mtv.com/artists/lord-hector-diono-11/
Submitted by Chad Banes... more
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Today Talisman Energy (TLM) announced its decision to cease oil exploration activities in the Peruvian Amazon and to exit the country upon completion of ongoing commercial transactions.
"We have fought long and hard against Talisman's drilling in our territory because of the negative environmental and social impacts we have seen from oil drilling around the world," said Peas Peas Ayui, President of the National Achuar Federation of Peru (FENAP). "Now that Talisman is leaving we can focus on achieving our own vision for development and leave a healthy territory for future generations."
Talisman is the fifth oil company to withdraw from controversial Block 64, located in the heart of indigenous Achuar territory in a remote and bio diverse region of the Amazon rainforest. Talisman has been exploring in Peru since 2004 and has come under increased pressure by human rights groups and shareholders for operating without Achuar consent.
"Talisman has had to face up to what the Achuar told them when they first invested in Block 64: The company cannot drill without the consent of the Achuar people," said Gregor MacLennan, Peru Program Coordinator at Amazon Watch. "Talisman's exit sends a clear message to the oil industry: Trampling indigenous rights in the rush to exploit marginal oil reserves in the Amazon rainforest is not an option."
Despite Talisman's claim of attaining local support from communities and signing good neighbor agreements with 66 communities downriver from their operations, the company never had the consent of the majority of communities living within Block 64. Talisman first invested in Peru one year after leaving Sudan and became sole operator in 2007, shortly after John Manzoni's appointment as CEO. Manzoni was replaced by ex-TransCanada CEO Hans Kvisle on Monday this week.
"We are the owners and the original people of this land," said Peas Ayui. "No outside person or company may enter our territory by force, without consultation and without asking us. We have been fighting against oil development on our land for 17 years and we maintain the same vision to protect our territory and resources for future generations. Let this be a clear message to all oil, mining and logging companies: we will never offer up our natural wealth so that they can extract our resources and contaminate our land."
More at the linkToday Talisman Energy (TLM) announced its decision to cease oil exploration activities... more
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Want to see a brand new 2012 Who Owns My Heart remake music video? Watch this Now! By the silly funny song parodies man, Nixon Lee.Want to see a brand new 2012 Who Owns My Heart remake music video? Watch this Now! By... more
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We recently celebrated the news that a high court in Brazil had ordered the immediate halt to construction of the Belo Monte Dam due to a lack of prior consultations with affected indigenous peoples. Now, however, the Brazilian government has presented a complaint to the Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court to overturn this historic ruling. The suspension of the Belo Monte Dam could be ruled on at any moment.
Send an email to Supreme Court Chief Justice Ayres Britto calling on him to respect the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Xingu and to continue the suspension of the Belo Monte Dam!
More at the link below.We recently celebrated the news that a high court in Brazil had ordered the immediate... more
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Federal Judge Souza Prudente of the Federal Tribunal of Brazil's Amazon region suspended all work today on the Belo Monte Dam, invalidating the project's environmental and installation licenses.
While the project has been suspended previously on numerous occasions, and those suspensions overturned on political grounds, this latest decision could have some legs. The decision breaks down in the following way:
The federal judge ruled that no consultations were held with indigenous people prior to Congress issuing Decree 788 in 2005, which effectively approved the Belo Monte Dam. Article 231 of the Brazilian Constitution requires consultations to be held directly by the Congress prior to approval. In this case, approval was given three years before publication of the environmental impact assessment, and no consultations with indigenous peoples were ever carried out by the Brazilian Congress.
As a result, the project's environmental license (granted in 2010) and installation license (granted in 2011) are now considered invalid, meaning that no further work can continue on the dam.
Brazil's National Congress must hold a series of public hearings, or consultations, with the indigenous tribes that will be affected by Belo Monte. Only after such consultations occur and are considered satisfactory, must the Congress legislate a new approval for the dam.
The government and project consortium Norte Energia, S.A. can appeal to Brazil's Supreme Court, Brazil's Superior Court of Justice, the President of the Federal Tribunal, and Brazil's Attorney General, in the next 30 days. Since this is a constitutional matter, the appeal is likely to go to the Supreme Court.
In a press conference given today late in Brasil, Souza Prudente stated that "only in a dictatorial regime does a government approve a project before holding consultations."
The decision supports the arguments that the affected tribes have been making over the lifetime of Belo Monte: tribes will face downstream livelihood impacts as a result of a reduction in the flow of the Xingu River on the 100-km stretch known as the Volta Grande or "Big Bend," and were never properly consulted, much less gave their consent.
In the words of the decision itself,
"installation will cause direct interference in the minimal ecological existence of the indigenous communities, with negative and irreversible impacts on their health, quality of life, and cultural patrimony, on the lands that they have traditionally occupied for time immemorial. This requires the authorization of the National Congress after holding prior consultations with these communities, as deemed by law, under the penalty of suspension of the authorization, which has been granted illegally."
Beyond the fact that the Belo Monte Dam is now considered illegal by one of Brazil's higher courts, the fact is that Brazil doesn't need Belo Monte. Economic rationale for the dam is based on a projected economic growth of 5% or more a year, but over the past few quarters, GDP has been lucky to grow at even a measily rate. As far as Belo Monte's importance to Brazil's economic race, this is really a case of the horse following the wagon.
And, as illustrated by this historic court decision, the wagon has been trampling on indigenous people and their rights, along the way.
More at the linkFederal Judge Souza Prudente of the Federal Tribunal of Brazil's Amazon region... more
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The titans of the Web—Facebook, Google, eBay and Amazon—have joined forces to make their voices heard in Washington, forming a powerful lobbying group called the Internet Association. The companies already collectively spend millions to lobby regulators and legislators on a variety of issues, but as a unified group they’re hoping to become major players in shaping legislation.
Hopefully, the members of the association will keep to Google’s unofficial slogan of “Don’t Be Evil,” and fight for user privacy and security against government intrusion. If these companies become entrenched parts of the political system, however, and yield to government demands for release of private data, Internet users around the world could be in for a lot of trouble.
That's a lot of lobbying power let's just hope they use it for good.The titans of the Web—Facebook, Google, eBay and Amazon—have joined forces... more
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For more than two weeks indigenous activists and allies have shut down construction of part of the controversial Belo Monte Dam in Brazil, demanding an end to the project or for the compensation promised to the affected communities.
Brazilian government officials and representatives of the project builders Norte Energia are slated to meet with protestors on July 9 but until then the activists have stated that they intend to stay on the site.
Local leaders such as Sheyla Juruna of the Juruna indigenous community affected by the dam asserted one of the positions at a press event last week.
“The time is now! The Brazilian government is killing the Xingu River and destroying the lives of Indigenous Peoples. We need to send a message that we have not been silenced and that this is our territory. We vow to take action in our own way to stop the Belo Monte Dam. We will defend our river until the end!”
In another recent interview, leaders such as Bebok Xirin of the Xirin Tribe focused on what had been promised to the community by the government and the company but had not materialized.
“We would not be here today if the company and the government would have done what they promised to us,” Xirin said. “In my community nothing has been done. There is no quality health post, no school, they have not built a road for us, and my road is the river and that is going to be dried up.”
This latest action grew out of the Xingu +23 conference in Altamira, Brazil, a meeting of 300 indigenous activists that took place at the same time as the UN’s Rio+20 summit on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro. Activists coined the name Xingu+23 in honor of the first time that communities were able to halt the construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam in 1989, created by the historic First Gathering of Indigenous People of the Xingu.
Xingu+23 participants came together on June 13 and four days later, activists from the Xirin, Juruna, Parakana and Araras communities and allies climbed on top of an earthen dam built to block the flow of the Xingu River on the Pimentel site and dug out a channel to allow the river to flow again into the area.
Since then the activists have danced, sang, and held various press events, attracting media from across the world.
While various officials have tried to have the protestors evicted, and in a separate legal action they want police to arrest several of the activists, accusing them of trashing offices of the construction consortium, none of the close to 200 people have been removed nor have the activists budged from the site.
Activists from Amazon Watch, one of at least 5 NGO’s supporting the protest, stated that the builders’ judicial request to have the activists removed by force by police was rejected by a federal judge over the weekend of June 23. The charges listed in the separate criminal complaint against some of the protestors has motivated a large team of Brazilian and international lawyers to take this part of the struggle to an international forum.
In a report issued to the human rights arms of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations (UN), Brazilian and international groups detailed attempts to prosecute human rights and environmental activists and seek the arrests of 11 civil society leaders.
Among the accused are a local reporter, leaders of the Xingu Alive Forever Movement, a Catholic priest and nun who led a mass during the Xingu+23 protest, a documentary filmmaker and a fisherman whose house was recently demolished to make way for dam construction.
“The complaints filed by the dam consortium and the request for arrest warrants are based on fabricated information and gross distortions of the facts, with the clear intention of criminalizing leaders of a legitimate social movement opposed to the federal government’s obsession with the construction of Belo Monte, regardless of the project’s human and environmental costs and the rule of law,” said Marco Apolo, lawyer and co-director of SDDH, a renowned human rights NGO based in the state of Para.
As of press time, Brazilian officials have not taken any further steps against the accused protestors nor has their legal team announced whether the OAS has responded to their requests.
The famous Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam Project is owned by the government run Norte Energia consortium and will start operating in 2015 in the Amazonian state of Para, in the heart of the Rainforest approximately 2,000 miles north of the captial Rio de Janeiro. It would be the third largest dam in the world, and would have an installed capacity of 11 thousand megawatts. Official estimates predict that the dam would flood 500 square kilometers (over 200 square miles) of land occupied mainly by indigenous communities and other small farmers and fishermen as well as dry out a 60 mile stretch of the river known as the Big Bend. From 20,000 to 50,000 people would be displaced to accommodate the project.
http://ictmncdn1.tgpstage1.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/LO-RES-Belo-Monte-Dam-protests-june-2012-AP120620110169-615x390.jpgFor more than two weeks indigenous activists and allies have shut down construction of... more
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Following years of intense pressure from the agribusiness sector, Brazil's parliament has approved destructive reforms to the country's forest protection. President Dilma has just 9 remaining days to veto this hatchet job before it becomes law. With the world watching, which side of history will she choose to be on? Will her legacy be Amazon ruin? Or, will she demonstrate courage and act on behalf of future generations?
This article appeared in the New York Times today.
YOU can urge President Dilma to do the right thing for Brazil, the Amazon and the planet.
Take action now by signing this petition, tell her to veto the new Forest Code!
More at the linkFollowing years of intense pressure from the agribusiness sector, Brazil's... more
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"General Counsel Michelle Wilson announced at a shareholder meeting in Seattle this morning that Amazon has decided not to renew its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) this year. Dave Johnson, a Fellow at Campaign for America's Future, is reporting from the shareholder meeting and confirmed to the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) that he heard the announcement.
..."
See, letting them hear you is helping. Worth noting, there are other groups joining legislators to corporations too closely, and we need to pay attention. I love it when people here at Current post information so we can all get involved where needed. It really is worth working at."General Counsel Michelle Wilson announced at a shareholder meeting in Seattle... more
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191,000 people are homeless or have have suffered "significant" damage due to flooding in the Amazon region of eastern Peru, reports the Associated Press.
The flooding is considered the worst in 30 years, inundating croplands and communities along the Amazon River and its tributaries. Last month the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency in Loreto, a region that borders Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil. Now there are reports of a leptospirosis outbreak, which has already killed three people. Hundreds of others have been hospitalized with skin, intestinal, and respiratory problems.
Damage has been exacerbated by new developments in floodplain areas as well as higher than usual rainfall.
Scientists have warned that Peru is likely to experience increased incidence of flooding and drought as a result of climate change. Last week the country adopted a resolution to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions.
"If we don't do something we will have problems with water supplies along the coasts, we know there will be more droughts, more rains ... we are already seeing temperature changes," Mariano Felipe Soldan, head of the government's strategic planning office, told Reuters.
Read more: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0502-peru-amazon-flooding.html#ixzz1tmAjDCeI
More at the link:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/-kZe8MuFoyps/T5R-Ru-HV1I/AAAAAAAAGXI/NkqP3AfAHro/image%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800191,000 people are homeless or have have suffered "significant" damage due... more
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From Siberia to the Amazon, you can now get your sushi fix in some of the most remote regions of the world. What was once one nation's cuisine has, in a matter of 20 years, gone global. But the worlds' insatiable appetite for sushi comes at cost.
In this Vanguard hour, Adam, a ravenous sushi consumer since childhood, goes on the journey of the Bluefin tuna from the deep waters of the ocean to a sushi bar in downtown Los Angeles. He then travels to Japan, where the populace is nervously bracing for what could be a world without Bluefin tuna. Adam visits the famous Tsukiji fish market, where the world's best fish is bought and sold to the world -- and asks the question: will our taste buds spell chaos for the world's oceans? A recent study by the UN warns that the world's oceans may be completely depleted of fish in 40 years. Already, ninety percent of the large fish in the world's oceans have disappeared. And one of the most endangered fish today is the Bluefin tuna--also know as the king of sushi.From Siberia to the Amazon, you can now get your sushi fix in some of the most remote... more
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