Salam 1430, Hello 2009

english.aljazeera.net
Nothing like a new year, that literally arrived with a 'bang', to jolt me into write a new post and to make a timely 'make-over'.
To welcome 1430H and to mark the continuing bombardment of Gaza, I took the liberty of lifting a piece of art by Gaza artists that "reflect on 60 years of human rights" from www.menassat.com to replace the image of "the wall" for 2008.
Any one of us with a shred of conscience and who cherish our inalienable rights as citizens of a sovereign nation would be able to empathize with the plight of the Palestinians who are denied of "human rights in living, personal safety, work, health, education, decision making, not to mention freedom of speech, of opinion, of travel, the right to dignity, citizenship, nationality and control over one's own fate."
I pray that these continued attacks on innocent civilians will cease and that this humanitarian catastrophe will finally rally the Arab and Muslim nations to fight for the Palestinians' rights to sovereignty, dignity, stability and self-sufficiency, if not prosperity yet.
On the home front, high on my new year's wish list is to see less foreign workers who can't even communicate in English, let alone the national language, to serve as security guards, cashiers at gas stations and servers at other "altars" of American cultural, economic and political imperialism such as McDonald's, Bubba Gump, and what-have-you.
I heard over BERNAMA Radio 93.9FM that the Ministry of Human Resource was 'considering' to reduce the work permits given to foreign workers, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think now is not the time for 'considering' any more but for enforcing a national policy of 'Hire Malaysians First' in light of growing unemployment and global economic recession, among other calamities.
Lastly, here's an article by Deena Guzder, retrieved from http://www.muzzlewatch.com/2008/12/31/gaza-and-the-us-corporate-media/, that repudiates the myth of American Jewish support as monolithic.
Published on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 by CommonDreams.org
Lights Out in Gaza, News Blackout in US
by Deena Guzder
Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have decried Israel’s continued aerial bombing campaign as unlawful and denounced the killing of more than 300 Palestinians since 27 December, including scores of unarmed civilians not taking part in the hostilities. Israel’s attacks on the densely populated Gaza Strip also elicited condemnation from numerous world politicians and sparked protests in global cities.
Despite international outcry over escalating violence, the U.S. mainstream media continues to privilege a prepackaged narrative in which Israel’s actions are never disproportionate, never counterproductive and certainly never gratuitous. According to the mainstream media, the U.S. must continue uncompromisingly supporting Israel because the allegedly beleaguered democracy is held hostage by monomaniacal Islamofascists who are inherently evil. Promoting a paradigm in which Israel is always David up against Goliath, the U.S. media presents suffering Palestinians as expendable for the greater cause of Israel winning its epic struggle. To justify U.S.’s carte blanche to Israel, the mainstream media restricts American readers to an echo chamber in which the following claims are repeated ad nausem until they are mistaken for fact:
1. Israel has a legal and moral right to bomb Gaza out of defense Security concerns are not and never have been a tolerable justification for pre-emptive attacks. Israel’s decision to bomb Gaza represents a major assault on the international rule of law. The law of occupation is one of the oldest and most developed branches of international humanitarian law. An occupying power is obliged to follow the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, which protects the civilian population. The United Nations Security Council held in 1979 that the Fourth Convention did apply in the territories seized by Israel in 1967. Article 48 of the additional protocol is clear that Israel, as an occupying power, has obligations: “The Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objective.” The latest Israeli attacks come on top of a brutal siege of the Gaza Strip which has created a humanitarian catastrophe of dire proportions for Gaza’s beleaguered Palestinian residents by restricting the provision of food, fuel, medicine, electricity, and other necessities of life. “International law is not observed with respect to Israeli policies towards the Gaza Strip, Israel continues to reinforce an occupation whose every element violates international humanitarian law, and particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention,” notes Jeff Halper, an Israeli-American Anthropologist, author, lecturer, political activist, and co-founder and Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
2. Israeli citizens live in constant fear of Hamas rockets Since 2005 Hamas has fired some 6,300 rockets from Gaza at Israel, killing 10 people.[1] In just the last four days, Israel has reduced the Gaza Strip to rubble and killed over 300 Palestinians. During the ongoing four-decade-long brutal occupation of historic Palestine and the recent grotesquely inhumane blockade of Gaza, Palestinian deaths have far outnumbered Israeli deaths. Since September 29, 2000, approximately 123 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians whereas 1,050 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis. Since September 29, 2000, a total of 1,062 Israelis and no fewer than 4,876 Palestinians were killed in the conflict.[2]
3. Hamas refuses to recognize the right of Israel to exist and has never made any concessions As Seth Ackerman of Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) notes, there is no need to euphemize Hamas’ history of brutal tactics or its bellicose ideology, but Hamas has signaled its potential willingness to accept a two-state settlement and make other concessions to broker peace.[3] Hamas has also made tentative offers of a long-term “hudna,” or truce, albeit with less gusto than Israel demands.
4. Israel is only targeting Hamas headquarters Gaza, one of the most densely populated tracts of land in the world, is home to about 1.3m Palestinians, about 33% of whom live in United Nations-funded refugee camps.[4] Avoiding civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip during aerial raids is comparable to trying to avoid such casualties in Washington DC, New York City or Los Angeles. “Because Gaza is so densely populated, there is no such thing as precision strike - you have glass, brick, shrapnel flying into people’s homes,” notes Ewa Jasiewicz, a volunteer with the Free Gaza Movement.[5]
5. Attacking Hamas will help Israel achieve security There is no doubt that the recent attacks will only embolden and multiply Israel’s detractors. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a religious decree to Muslims around the world on Sunday, ordering them to defend Palestinians against Israel’s attacks on Gaza. For a second day in Jordan, several thousand protesters gathered in Amman and burned Israeli and American flags.[6] There were similar rallies in Egypt, Syria, Libya and Iraq with many calling for a firm response from their leaders. Hamas’ military is barely dented by the Israeli attacks and, according to a poll by Israel’s Channel 10 television station, only 6% of Israelis believe its governments aerial bombings will end Hamas’ rocket attacks. [7]
6. The Bush administration has the implicit support of the international community in blaming Hamas “thugs” and applauding Israel’s show of defense With the exception of the U.S. and her staunchest allies, the international community has largely condemned Israel’s attacks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on Israel to “urgently halt” its military campaign. Japan’s Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said, “Japan calls on Israel to exercise its utmost self-restraint.” China’s Vice-Premier Li Kequiang joined the voices urging a halt to violence and said, “The Chinese side is shocked and seriously concerned over the current military operations in Gaza that have caused a large number of death and injuries.”[8] Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi similarly stated, “Malaysia deplores the disproportionate use of military power by Israel against the people of Gaza.” French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the European Union presidency, told the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas of his serious concerns about the escalating violence. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon added his voice to the 15-member Security Council’s call for an immediate end to hostilities and urged Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the poverty-stricken territory.[9] Humanitarian organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reiterate their call for an end to reckless and unlawful Israeli attacks against densely populated residential areas.
7. The attacks on Gaza are supported by the entire Jewish community Jewish Voice for Peace joins millions around the world, including the 1,000 Israelis who protested in the streets of Tel Aviv this weekend, in condemning ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. The organization calls for an immediate end to attacks on all civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli. In the face of mounting deaths, several Israeli and American Jewish peace groups are protesting the recent air raids by demonstrating in the streets, petitioning their elected officials and directly reaching out to Palestinian civilians. Groups that are encouraging peace between Palestinians and Israelis include Rabbis for Human Rights, B’Tselem, Bat Shalom, Ta’ayush, Yesh-Gvul, Peace Gush Shalom Tikkun, and many others. While there is no consensus in the Jewish community on the recent Gaza air raids, the underreported efforts of the Jewish “left” is far from negligible; Jewish Voices of Peace claims more than 10,000 members and has been instrumental in drawing attention to the lopsided media coverage through their “Lights out in Gaza, News Blackout in U.S.” campaign. Many of these Jewish peace activists are deeply religious and draw on the Torah to support their stand against Israel’s attack on Gaza. The media has extensively covered the Israeli settlers who cheer on Israel’s more hawkish actions, but little has been written on dissident Israeli Jews and their American Jewish sympathizers who are advocating a more peaceful, non-violent course.
The mainstream media is culpable for American’s ongoing ignorance and knee-jerk loyalty to Israel. Instead of elucidating motives and contextualizing actions, reporters’ biased diction obscures facts and editors’ cursory commentary muddles logic. By de-historicizing the conflict, the media reduces Palestinians to stock-characters who reject generous olive branches offered by Israel in favor of advocating for the dissolution of the Jewish state. A column by Israeli Gideon Levy in Haaretz, entitled “The neighborhood bully strikes again,” could never appear in a paper in the U.S nor could a single paragraph be uttered by any American politician, in either party, of any national prominence without damning consequences.[10]
While visiting Israel in July, President-elect Barack Obama said, “If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I would do everything to stop that, and would expect Israel to do the same thing.” The question remains, what would Obama do if his daughters were deprived of food, electricity, medical care, and human dignity? What would Obama do if his daughters were humiliated when they traveled, maimed when they walked away from bomb shelters and robbed of their childhoods? If Obama fails to answer these questions with humanity, we can expect 4 to 8 more years of President Bush’s failed Middle East strategy.
Notes:
[1] Wall Street Journal (Asia Edition), Editorial, December 30, 2008 (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051140769338457.html)
[2] If Americans Only Knew http://www.ifamericansonlyknew.org/
[3] Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2974
[4] BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/v3_israel_palestinians/maps/html/population_settlements.stm
[5] Evening Standard (London) http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23608798-details/Defiant+Palestinians+fire+rockets+deep+into+Israel/article.do
[6] BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7803569.stm
[7] TIME Magazine http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1868929,00.html
[8] AFP News, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iWdYoZ5ATqNC6YY2jiHKiBQ0D5FA
[9] AFP News, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iWdYoZ5ATqNC6YY2jiHKiBQ0D5FA
[10] Salon.com http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/28/peretz/
Guzder works for TIME Asia magazine in Hong Kong and is a dual-degree graduate of Columbia University’s School of Journalism and School of International and Public Affairs. Please feel free to email her at dg2190@columbia.edu

No, we can't!

Obama's response to questions about Ahmedinejad's congratulatory letter on Awani Global really put a damper on my euphoric state over his victory.
Israeli's relevance to the US? Hmm ...
Obama: A nuclear-armed Iran would be 'unacceptable'
Nov. 7, 2008
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST
In his first press conference since securing the United States presidency on Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama said Friday that a nuclear-armed Iran would be "unacceptable."
Asked whether he responded to the letter of congratulation from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - the first instance of an Iranian leader congratulating an American president-elect since the Islamic Revolution which brought the ayatollahs to power in 1979 - Obama said "I am aware that the letter was sent," adding that so soon after the election there had been no time to "review the letter and respond as appropriate."
Obama also said that Iran's support of terror groups "must cease," and that the US must mount "an international effort to keep [Iran's acquiring nuclear weapons] from happening."
His opening speech at the conference implied that the global economic crisis would be one of the first matters to be tackled after his inauguration on January 20, 2009.
Regarding both the Iranian issue and the economy, Obama reminded reporters that the US "can only have one president at a time," and that US President George W. Bush's administration was still the US government until his inauguration.
Regarding Iran, Obama said "I want to be very careful that we are sending the right signals to the world as a whole that I am not the president and I won't be until January 20th," and avoided outlining a policy whilst Bush remains in power.
Asked what would be his current response to the Bush administration's handling of the economy, Obama said "the critical tone that has to be struck by all of us right now is the American people need help, the economy needs help, and now is a good time to set politics aside for a while and think practically what would actually work to help."
He said the middle class would be the demographic most in need of help, saying 95 percent of Americans would benefit from his economic agenda.
Obama said he and his wife Michelle were "graciously" invited by Bush and his wife Laura to visit the White House.
Asked about consulting with former US presidents, Obama said he met with all former presidents "who are living," including Republican George Bush, father of the current president and the man who presided over Operation Desert Storm in Iraq in the early 1990s.
Obama said he also read the biographies of former presidents and cited former US president Abraham Linclon as "an extraordinary inspiration."
Finally, a reporter asked what breed of dog the Obamas will bring to the White House, a question that seems to be high on the mind of Americans, according to Obama. He said the family considered taking a dog from a shelter, but eventually decided against taking a dog that would be "a mutt like me," referring to his mixed Caucasian and African lineage.

Yes, we can!

Finally, I'm compelled to write about a historic occasion after a two month hiatus.
(Never mind the Hari Raya prayers at the Shah Alam mosque, the Sultan's and MB's open houses; they are now a distant memory. But wait ... I can still recall the irate "taxpayer" (I presume) at the Istana who objected to the rakyat entering through the side gate, and not the main gate, and the attractive young woman in her tube dress that just about covered her 'endowments'. I certainly hope that Khalid Ibrahim is still pursuing his vision of a zero-poverty state based on the Caliphate Economic Model that he shared with me two Hari Rayas ago at Anwar Ibrahim's house in Bukit Damansara. And I pray that he values ALL his supporters, including the single mother of two endearing boys, a 12 year old and an infant, who was willing to pay RM80 for cab fare to and from Taman Tun Razak to attend his 'rumah terbuka').
Well, I guess I'm just another sucker for emotional appeals in political campaign speeches but I had to wipe tears from the corner of my eyes upon hearing both McCain's concession and Obama's victory speeches.
(With the amount of campaign money raised and media coverage on the Republican and Democratic candidates, I have completely forgotten that I had rooted for Ralph Nader, the real McCoy and the genuine article, in 2004. Tell me all about 'agenda setting function' of the media.)
Although I had my share of flak for politicians, I do admire their magnanimity and grace in the face of defeat as well as their astuteness in encapsulating their thoughts while endearing themselves to their constituencies at very such notice.
I had managed to sneak away to follow the US presidential election results at the Renaissance earlier today. It was indeed a poignant moment - not just for the African Americans, but for all US, and perhaps global, citizens.
Throughout his speech, I pictured a son of a white American woman from the counter-cultural generation who had an eclectic background. Never would anyone imagine that he will be the 44th commander-in-chief of the US of A.
What remain etched in my mind, though, was his call for American patriotism to forge unity and reconciliation. Let's hope he'll able to live up to his campaign promises before the various lobbyists, neo-cons or neo-libs close in on him.
Congratulations, Mr Prez-elect!

The morning after ...

I must confess that I did join the hordes of motorists who waited in the long queus for last minute fill ups at petrol kiosks last night.
Not so much to take advantage of the pre-revised price*, but simply because my tank was almost empty.
It pained me though to observe the dependency of local motorists on their vehicles, or other 'wonders' of technology for that matter, for their sense of identity or social status.
Perhaps the exorbitant price increase will force us to change and adopt a more eco-friendly life style after all.
Perhaps, from here on, some of my colleagues will stop feeling sorry for me when they see me walking from home to office and back.
Correct me if I'm wrong but economists such as Amartya Sen and Inayatullah have long advocated austere or frugal development policies so as to be kind to our wallets, souls, and Mother Nature.
*For those who don't have to pay for their own petrol consumption, the price of unleaded petrol went up by 41% or 78 sen per litre effective June 5 2008.
=========================================================================================Here's a short excerpt from an article "The freedom to be frugal" by Molly Scott Cato, a lecturer at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff. She is economics spokesperson for the Green Party in England and Wales and was one of the party's candidates for Wales in the 2004 elections to the European Parliament.
"An unexpected consequence of the relative definition of poverty and the growth dynamic that underlies it is the loss of another freedom: the freedom to be poor. In response to the realisation that the level of consumption of most citizens in the developed world is a threat to the survival of our species, some environmentalists have adopted a frugal lifestyle, yet this can result in disapproval from their neighbours. In an article called 'Poor not Different', the German economist Wolfgang Sachs tells of a visit he made to Mexico City shortly after the 1985 Earthquake. He was impressed by the restoration that had been carried out:
We had expected ruins and resignation, decay and squalor, but our visit had made us think again: there was a proud neighbourly spirit, vigorous activity with small building co-operatives everywhere; we saw a flourishing shadow economy. But at the end of the day, indulging in a bit of stock-taking, the remark finally slipped out: 'It's all very well, but, when it comes down to it, these people are still terribly poor.' Promptly, one of our companions stiffened: 'No somos pobres, somos Tepitanos' ('We are not poor people, we are Tepitans') ... I had to admit to myself in embarrassment that, quite involuntarily, the clichés of development philosophy had triggered my reaction. (Sachs, 1992: 161)
The insult was created by Sachs's assumption that he could impose an objective judgement of poverty, that he could decide from the outside the acceptable standard of living, that he could deprive the Tepitans of their right to be poor. As Sachs concludes, "The stereotyped talk of 'poverty' fails to distinguish, for example, between frugality, destitution and scarcity ... Frugality is the mark of cultures free from the frenzy of accumulation." His conclusion about the Mexican village where he was working was that 'Poverty here is a way of life maintained by a culture which recognizes and cultivates a state of sufficiency; sufficiency only turns into demeaning poverty when pressurized by an accumulating society.' (Sachs, 1992: 161)
Readers can access the full article at http://www.feasta.org/documents/review2/cato.htm

Start Your Day with P.O.P and Change the World!

The International Museum of Women (I.M.O.W), a non-profit and non-partisan organization, is spearheading an important online campaign to inspire women around the world to connect with other women and spark a global dialogue around the issue of why women's political power matters.
The Power of Politics Campaign (P.O.P) in conjunction with I.M.O.W.'s new global online exhibition Women, Power and Politics is asking women around the world to take part in the exhibition and educate themselves about why women's political participation makes a difference in every woman's life.
The exhibition will showcase historical and contemporary political stories about women in provocative ways just as the spotlight intensifies on groundbreaking campaigns, elections, and leadership of women from Argentina to the United States. The exhibition runs from March 8 - December 31, 2008 in four languages: Arabic, French, English, and Spanish at www.imow.org
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Did You Know?
The United States ranks 67th globally in including women in high-ranking political representation? That means that only 16% of the U.S. Congress is comprised of women.*
Out of 200 countries in the world, less than 40 have ever had a woman as a prime minister or president.*
By understanding the historical role of women in politics and learning how women today can influence politics to transform the futures of women and girls, facts such as these will hopefully become obsolete as women ascend to more powerful positions in various political arenas around the world.
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The P.O.P campaign has 5 really easy steps that women can take TODAY to help increase their political knowledge, inspire each other to become active in the political process and support women who are interested in running for both informal and formal political positions worldwide:
Step 1: Connect with the Women, Power and Politics global online community of people who are talking to each other 24 hours, 7 days a week about the role of women in politics and how they can use their individual power to help other women.
Step 2: Share with us how politics has shaped your life by submitting stories, poetry, art, photography, political cartoons and/or music to our Women, Power and Politics exhibition at www.imow.org. Your submission may be chosen to be included in the worldwide exhibition!
Step 3: Take Action in your own community or help a woman in another country by connecting with one of our community partners at www.imow.org. Here you can connect with various organizations and learn how to run for political office, tap into political networks and register to vote among other life-changing activities.
Step 4: Spread the word to your family, friends and colleagues and promote the P.O.P campaign on blogs, your MySpace and Facebook pages and any other online network to which you belong. You can also create links to www.imow.org.
Step 5: Donate to the International Museum of Women and help us to continue our work to inspire and connect women around the world at www.imow.org.
Take one step or all five and help women globally learn about the importance of the Power of Politics in her life today! Thank you for your support.
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Note:
* Statistics provided by (1) The Interparlimentary Union Report, 2006 based on U.S. House of Representatives and (2) International Museum of Women Independent Research from the Women, Power and Politics Exhibition 2008.

WALK FOR THE POLAR BEAR

For so long, I felt so smug about signing online petitions to stop global warming and forwarding them to family and friends. Hey, I even watched Al Gore's The Inconvenient Truth. However, I restrained myself from stopping and getting off my car to 'hug a tree' that the road-builders cut down to widen the road and put street lights on the narrowed divider opposite the al-Malek Feisal mosque.

Watching 'Face to Face With The Polar Bear' on Animal Planet last night made me want to call the station and ask: "What happened to the female adolescent bear that was reduced to skin and bones? Why didn't the producers return to rescue her?"

Then it dawned on me this morning that I have to stop expecting others to do their part and start doing something myself - switch off the air-conditioners, change the light bulbs and start walking for that scrawny polar bear and other species endangered by global warming.

A 30 minutes walk to and fro would in fact help me lose weight and keep fit, plus avoid getting into arguments about traffic rules and parking rights near my workplace and neighbourhood.

And on my way to work this morning, I noticed that there are at least two abandoned bungalows at Section 16, Petaling Jaya, that could have been put to good use.

I hope to continue walking for the polar bear for as long as I can.

Vanishing Ice (World Environment Day Special)
Animal Planet Premiere Tuesday June 5 at 6.30pm
Coinciding with World Environment Day on June 5, Animal Planet will feature two one-hour programs back-to-back every Tuesday throughout June, focusing on a variety of animals affected by the world’s melting ice. See how climate change and other environmental impacts are dramatically affecting polar bears, killer whales, wolves and penguins and what the changes mean for their imminent future. Vanishing Ice World Environment Day special programs include: June 05 (6.30pm) – Boy Among Polar Bears June 05 (7.30pm) – Face To Face With The Polar Bear

http://www.animalplanet.com.au/ontv/vanishing_ice/index.shtml

Goodbye Guantanamo

Here's another chance at exercising your rights as a concerned global citizen:
Dear Avaaz Member,
Bush's top advisors are divided over whether to close Guantanamo prison forever. A massive global outcry could tip the balance.
Sign the petition below - we will publish it in key US papers next week:
Take Action Now
Guantanamo prison is a major part of President Bush's assault on international law. 400 prisoners remain trapped in Guantanamo prison without being charged with any crime or given a trial. Now we have a chance to shut it down. Last week US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Guantanamo should be closed. President Bush's advisors are now split down the middle on this issue -- a massive global outcry could tip the balance, and push Bush to close Guantanamo forever.
Click below to sign the Close Guantanamo petition, and we'll run ads next week in major US papers announcing the number of signatures:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/close_guantanamo
It's now clear that many of the detainees are simply innocent people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Guantanamo's former commander General Jay Hood has admitted, "Sometimes we just didn't get the right folks." This is what happens when people are held without charge or trial. After being held for five years, last week Australian David Hicks was finally charged -- and sentenced to just 9 months in an Australian prison. This hardly looks like the "worst of the worst" - words the Bush Administration used to justify ignoring basic standards of justice.
Meanwhile, as regimes around the world use Guantanamo to excuse their own human rights abuses, international law keeps taking a beating. Sign the petition calling on the US government to close Guantanamo , and for its inmates to be tried in a legitimate court or set free. Let's run ads in Washington DC and show that citizens from every country on earth want this injustice to end:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/close_guantanamo
In hope,
Ricken, Milena, Tom, Graziela and the Avaaz Team

End the Seal Hunt Today

If you're a sucker for cute babies, regardless they are humans or otherwise, then do your bit in saving innocent seal pups from being cruelly clubbed and butchered by inhumane hunters.

Plus, we really have to start making sacrifices in terms of "creature comforts" such as vehicles, air-conditioners, etc. that produced green house gas emissions and caused global warming that eroded polar ice caps and destroyed the habitats of endangered species. Do something, anything starting NOW!