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Safe Passing Update Newsletter (SPUN)
August 2, 1999 #2
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SAFE PASSING
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This week's Picture of the Week is Alberta "Binki" Thompson. Her picture has been in the Heroes page on Safe Passing since the
start, now read the story behind the picture taken the night when she was "rescued" from the reservation.
http://www.safepassing.org/pow
From an article in JINN Magazine by Stephen Zak:
The federal Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) is supposed to protect whales. Instead, in a perverse twist, the Coast Guard used
the law to justify forcing protest boats to shore for "harassing" the whale, thereby freeing the hunters to slaughter the 34-ton
creature with no interference.
Read the full article here: http://www.safepassing.org/news/jinn01.html
UPCOMING EVENTS
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"SAVE A WHALE GO TO JAIL: KILL A WHALE AND GET PAID"
Please join Sea Defense Alliance and Ocean Protection Coalition at the pretrial of the activists, Josh Harper and Jake Conroy, who
put their lives between the .577 caliber rifle, harpoons and the gray whales. They succeeded in preventing any deaths on May
10, 1999. Now these heroes need our presence in support of their commitment.
The rally in support of Jake and Josh:
Port Angeles Courthouse, 4th & Lincoln, Port Angeles
Wednesday August 4th, 8:45 AM -12 PM
Contact: 206-361-0736
Every Saturday the Peninsula Citizens for the Protection of Whales (PCPW) have a demonstration in Port Angeles to raise awareness
and collect petition signatures. If you would like to help or want more information, they can be contacted at 360-452-6361 or
877-525-8336 (toll free).
http://www.safepassing.org/pcpwinfo.html
Makah Days are coming up at the end of August. Mark your calendars for August 27th through the 29th. PCPW and Ocean
Protection Coalition have events planned in Port Angeles and Sekiu. Details will be announced as they are finalized.
NEWS
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From Associated Press:
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July 30, 1999, RENO, Nev. -- Former Makah tribal Police Chief Lionel Ahdunko has been sentenced to one year in federal prison on his
guilty plea to illegal possession a fully automatic weapon while police chief for a Nevada tribe.
U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben also sentenced Ahdunko to three years probation for making false statements in a police report
about an accident involving a tribal vehicle that Ahdunko was using for personal use.
Ahdunko was fined $3,500 and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service for each offense.
During a court session yesterday, McKibben gave Ahdunko until Sept. 15 to voluntarily surrender and begin serving his sentence.
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Day 78 of the Coast Guard protest boat seizure. They have threatened people, illegally blockaded Neah Bay, vandalized a
memorial, spied on U.S. citizens, struck protestors with vehicles, and seized boats without proper cause. Let them know what
you think:
Admiral James M. Loy, Commandant United States Coast Guard
2100 Second Street SW. Washington D. C. 20593-0001
Phone: (202) 267-2229 (don't use the automatic attendant, wait on line)
Commandant's Fax: (202) 267-4158
Rumor Department:
There are whispers coming from the unidentified tribal members that the whalers plan on hunting another whale before Makah Days at
the end of August. We would like to remind the tribe of their agreement to murder only migrating whales. They grays
don't start returning to Baja until late October.
Late Breaking News:
Sea Shepherd is reporting that the Makah have been spotted practicing in their canoe again. Everybody needs to be prepared for
the fall hunt, it ain't over yet!
WASHINGTON CITIZEN'S COASTAL ALLIANCE (HE LIVES!)
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Still here, but still offline. I finally decided to access my e-mail through an "internet cafe", and was floored to find 792 new
e-mails! Sigh....
I'll be back online in a week or so, and will be happy to put updates out. In the meantime, send one or two paragraph blurbs to me,
and I'll collect them for the next update.
In the meantime, tell everyone that my family and I are doing fine, taking a few weeks on the boat and frolicking with orcas in the
Haro Strait... (jealous?)
And be sure to tell everyone I'll be back to raise hell soon!
Regards,
Dan
ACTION
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What can you do?
- Write, email, call, and fax your elected officials and local newspapers. They have to be reminded that this issue has not
gone away.
- Attend the events and demonstrations. If you are unable to attend, help out the various groups with donations. A list
of organizations worthy of contributions can be found here:
http://www.safepassing.org/links.html
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Safe Passing - http://www.safepassing.org
For questions, comments, and site contributions, email mark@safepassing.org
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