The Fight For Headwaters Forest

I was looking for "background" information regarding the civil rights violation of the Earth First! protesters by the Humboldt County Sheriff's officers to share with my Constitutional Law class. The transcript regarding the alleged logger who cut the fateful tree that killed Gypsy seems to set the tone for a Criminal Law discussion. Appalling -- are we all the same species, here?

Sheila Blackford

Thank you for providing one of the only avenues for many of us to hear a full and true account of what is happening in Pacific Lumber's holdings in the Humboldt County redwood forest. Tonight, on your website, I listened to Cindy Allsbrooks' press conference and to the (alleged) sound of A.E. Ammons' rage and threats. The contrast couldn't be greater. My son, whom the media knows as "Farmer," was very near Cindy's son, "Gypsy" when he was killed.

I grieve for Cindy and her family with a sharp and fresh pain, even as I mourn the countless green hillsides torn bare by greed. My son and his siblings represent the seventh generation of my family since my grandfather's grandparents left Missouri and Ohio to live and work in California's redwood country in the mid-19th century. It is difficult to fathom what this land has endured in the last 150 years. It is our goal to devote ourselves to preserving what our ancestors did not. Long live our beloved children, long live this wise and sacred forest, long live truth.

(name withheld)

Shannon McNeil (San Antonio)

"Scott"

I am the mother of a 15 yr. old treesitter here in Oregon and she has been sitting since May (comes down now and then ...but the tree "Happy" has been her home. ) They have been treated with slightly more respect here by the authorities (until recently when they burned down their base camp twice) but at least no pepper spray.

My heart goes out to David Chain's family and I will continue to follow this story closely.

Ananda Owen

David dedicated himself to attempting to save the Headwaters Forest, and now has paid the ultimate price. He was a rare person, unlike most individuals (including myself), who will write letters and maybe donate money, but seldom actually participate in direct action. If anything good could possibly come out of this horrible event, perhaps it is that more of us will move beyond our stance of passive resistance and get out there.

Robert Hough

In Arizona where I live there is much discussion about candidates being bought by special interests. Your sheriff and county attorney are definite examples of what money from Pacific Lumber has purchased to the detriment of all of the people living in Humbolt County.

This has to stop. One person has been killed by the loggers already. It can't happen again.

Judy Nagle

As for Pacific Lumber Company, they have proven by their statements concerning the day that David Chain died (i.e. that the logger was unaware of anyone in the forest, and that there was a domino effect) that a civil suit will probably become necessary for them to let other employees know that it is not open season on activists

It is very obvious to me that Pacific Lumber is telling other loggers that it is not against company policy to abandon all standard logging safety practices if you can fall a tree on a tree hugger.

David Nathan Chain was a brave young man who stood up for what he believed in.

If given the opportunity to know him, you would have found that he was a truthful, honest and kindhearted young man with a passion for life and how delicate it is. He loved the Forest and what it stood for, not just the preservation but the future conservation of the entire ecosystem. I am his Aunt and can tell you that the world is a much sadder place when men of convictions can die through the prejudice of others.

I am quite certain that many of you are tired of dealing with activists that interfere with your right to make a living. I can absolutely understand that. But are you not ashamed to work for a company that is destroying our earth at an incredibly quick rate?

This process is ultimately destroying your ecology system, endangering homes below clear cuts, and destroying your future economy. That, to me, is the sad part,since timber is the main business there. What will happen to your livelihood when there are no more trees to cut down? When your water is fouled and there are changed weather conditions, where will you go? When mudslides destroy your homes, who will care? Who will help you then? Charles Hurwitz and his type will be on to greener pastures. He will be in Russia harvesting trees where their environmental laws are nonexistent and labor is cheap.

I appeal to you, [Humbolt County District Attorney] Terry Farmer. If you have children of your own, ask yourself how you would feel if you were dealing with not only the death of your only son but also the lack of justice that my sister is dealing with now. Please Mr. Farmer, reconsider your decision not to have an independent investigation. We are talking about the life of a fine young man of social conscience, with a kindness for other people and a respect for not just human life, but all the life of our earth. Please don't be mislead by Pacific Lumber and act in their behalf. Instead, work for all members of your community and help correct this great tragedy.

Karen Ripple (Pasadena, Texas)

Treason Is

Treason, according to Webster's, is "... the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to ... personally injure the sovereign or his family."

Is it just me, or does that pretty much define the actions of Linda Tripp, Lucianne Goldberg, Monica Lewinsky, Kenneth Starr, and Richard Mellon Scaife?

William C. Edwards Jr. (N Carolina)

Thanks

Thank you so much for your fine reporting and editing of so much news that we never find it in print, or find on Page 30 in the corner. Sometimes we think we are going crazy, looking for important news that effects our planet.

We have stopped looking at any news source except Mother Jones, since the OJ thing, when it was clear that the "soap opera" media wasn't going to quit. We applaud your commitment to this fine reporting and know it is not easy to find the truth in this world as it stands now. But through reporting like yours, (and your gifted writers, of course) the world will change.

Stacey and Josh

The Beat Goes On

Regarding the sad death of Sonny Bono and the revelation that he had a secret problem with addiction, perhaps he would be alive now if he could have been more open about the problem. In contrast to his youthful persona, Bono showed his intelligence and competence as a Congressman, powers he could have brought to bear on his problem, if he did not have to hide from the hysterical zero tolerance regime. In a climate of compassion, Sonny could have sought help, possibly avoiding his sudden collision with the reality of our shame-based attitude towards drugs. We won't make any headway against our real drug problem until we just abandon "Just Say No" and embrace ourselves the way we are. No amount of punishment and prison is going to solve the real problem, and we now have one of the world's highest incarceration rates, mostly for drug "crimes." How many do we put in prison before it starts to work? Shame and Prohibition did not work against alcohol in the twenties and it has no chance of working against drugs in our times.

Jim Rosenfield (Culver City)

My husband and I moved to this rural area 6 years ago, and there are quite a few that use the hunting seasons to obtain a large part of their diet. At first we thought they might get a deer or two and that would be it, but what we have found is that they take as many as they can possibly get, using the bow & arrow seasons, rifle seasons, another bow and arrow season and a black powder season. They hunt turkeys in as much passion as they do the deer.

My husband was telling me that the bullets they use to shot deer have soft points that are made from lead. It makes me wonder if the meat from these kills is lead contaminated. Is it possible that the amount of lead they are ingesting is harmful to them and their families?

Sylvia Hayes (Michigan)

Looks like more American-sponsored genocide to me.

"Chris"

Mumia Abu-Jamal

You have had good coverage of the Bear Lincoln case, but I have seen nothing on Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose appeal for a new trial was turned down by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Mumia's case is a "404 error--news missing" in the mass press Why is it also missing on Albion Monitor?

Pat Robertson

hi all
miss albion
round hills
stick with courage
baby's heart is homesickbroken
regards,
jim shaw