Secret US plan to derail European fight against illegal rainforest logging

Posted in the Environment & Energy Forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=21203&mesg_id=21203

An amazing story, though we shouldn't be surprised any more at how cravenly the blivet** administration sells off the world's heritage to criminals for profit.

PROGRESSIVE US venues.

It's our job to make sure this scandolous story of shameless greed and destruction gets OUT past the blackout policy.

I don't know all of the du rules yet.

Let's see if we can get this more attention that Terry's brain.

for the convenience of people who are interested in this story rather than the 500th or so Schiavo thread.

I stumbled over this story on the BBC page and was at first startled that I had heard nothing about it in the US press or in the blogs. I don't know any more about it than what you will find at the link, but it seems worth looking into to me. I posted first in the environmental forum because I hoped someone there would do so.

We need to pay attention, not be so distracted.

I mean, life/death, a family struggling with tragedy, epic battles over the separation of powers, sure, but it's still one person, sort of, but nothing that a thousands of families don't deal with every year, but without the circus.

Besides, this rain forest issue is about the well-being of entire nations and eco-systems, planetary health, the struggle of poor nations and powerful interests.

This matters.

Are there 2 people signed on as 'mainz_68'?

But I don't want to talk about Terry, so I don't have much choice. I think. Actually it's kind of fun. I hope it's ok?

so maybe somebody else can pick up the slack and talk to themselves. The issues are stated below. Be back soon.

Some chianti, Schweinefilet auf Käsespätzle mit Champignonrahmsauce espresso, I'm ready. Where were we?

Face up to it. Those trees are vegetables. Get real here.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4351863.stm

US blocks forest protection plan

By Roger Harrabin
BBC Newsnight correspondent
March 15, 2005

A secret US plan to wreck Tony Blair's G8 initiative combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests has been revealed in a State Department memo leaked to the BBC's Newsnight programme.

(snip)

The UK was prompted to start the initiative after Indonesian government ministers said corruption in their country was so rampant that they did not have the power to tackle the supply of timber from the criminal gangs pillaging the forests.

They urged rich nations to reduce the demand for cheap illegal wood.

But powerful industry lobbyists in the US have resisted moves to certify that timber is legitimately produced. And the leaked State Department memo shows that the US government will refuse to sign up to the Blair initiative.

Europe is strongly backing Mr Blair's initiative and the US tactics drew a furious response from rainforest campaigners.

(snip)

Faith Doherty, from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in the UK, said: "I think it's completely outrageous. What we have is a country that does consume tropical timber, that does acknowledge that there is forest crime, environmental crime in Indonesia and other tropical countries; and to try to undermine what people have worked so hard for the last five years on this issue is just unacceptable."

(snip )

There is much more at the link. The site also has a video link for this report on their main page
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/default.stm
This link did not work on my computer but may on yours.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0%2C13369%2C1438522%2C00.html

US tries to sink forests plan

British initiative on illegal logging opposed

Paul Brown and Roger Harrabin
Wednesday March 16, 2005
The Guardian

The US plans to wreck a British initiative to commit the G8 states to combatting illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests, a leaked memorandum revealed last night.

The development secretary, Hilary Benn, wants G8 environment and development ministers meeting in Derby tomorrow and on Friday to insist that all timber bought by official bodies in rich nations comes from properly managed forests.

The British initiative was prompted by Indonesia, which said corruption there was so rampant that the authorities did not have the power to tackle the supply of timber by criminal gangs. Indonesian government ministers urged rich nations to reduce demand for illegal supplies by requiring proper certificates showing wood had come from properly managed forests.

But industry lobbyists in the US have resisted moves to certify timber. A US state department memo leaked to the BBC's Newsnight shows that the US will refuse to sign up to the Benn initiative.

(snip)

(much more at link)

this is the area that originally spurred the European efforts to protect these forests, which are disappearing rapidly here and everywhere else they remain. The great majority of the logging is illegal and run by criminal gangs.

http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=39384

Forest Conservation Portal
Forest Conservation Archives

Indonesia: Third Largest Rainforest Illegally Felled for Flooring

Source: Copyright 2005, Environment News Service
Date: February 22, 2005

JAKARTA, Indonesia, February 21, 2005 (ENS) - Corrupt Indonesian military officers and international criminal syndicates are looting the forests of Papua, New Guinea, turning the world's third largest rainforest into a multi-billion dollar stream of illicit timber between Indonesia and China, new undercover research has found.

A report published Friday by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) of Washington and London, and the Indonesian group Telapak, details undercover meetings with illegal loggers, traders and timber buyers that reveal exactly how the forests of New Guinea are being stolen and who is profiting by the theft.

(snip)

With about 70 percent of its forest cover still intact, New Guinea still contains the last large stretches of undisturbed forest in the Asia-Pacific region, where 95 percent of the frontier forests have already been cut. But the Papua forest is rapidly disappearing, the trade driven by demand for a dark, luxurious looking wood called merbau.

M. Yayat Afianto of Telapak said, "Papua has become the main illegal logging hotspot in Indonesia. The communities of Papua are paid a pittance for trees taken from their land, while timber dealers in Jakarta, Singapore and Hong Kong are banking huge profits."

(snip)

(more at link)

and traffic. I can see where it would be really tough to root it out at that level once it's established. And it's not as if you could use defoliants to wreck their crop like with some drugs.

It seems though that trees would be difficult to smuggle. And the number of ports around the most critical rain forests are limited. And if you can control the ports...

There isn't much incentive to cut if you don't get paid.

http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=1388&area=finance

Labor concern over illegal logging claim

Labor has expressed concern at a leaked report claiming the United
States may seek to stop multilateral efforts to combat illegal logging
of the world's rainforests.

Labor wants an assurance from Prime Minister John Howard his government
will not join the US in this strategy.

(snip)

Mr Albanese said a leaked memo written by the head of forest policy in
the US State Department, Stephanie Caswell, and obtained by the BBC,
revealed the US would refuse to sign the Blair initiative and actively
encourage Russia, Canada and Japan to also vote against it.

(snip)

"Like the US government's actions in relation to the Kyoto Protocol,
this appears to be an attempt to undermine international cooperation
around an important environmental issue," Mr Albanese said.

(snip)

(much more at link)

I think we both feel that this story, which I stumbled over accidentally, needs to be made visible in this country as it is elsewhere in the world. The distraction by the Schiavo issue is covering a lot of alarming developments.

(And even the Schiavo issue is being underestimated by most, I believe - I think it's not only an attack on the judicial power to rule in abortion cases, as suggested in this thread (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3314694) but ultimately is groundwork for an attack on ALL judicial power that the neocons find inconvenient. But that's another story.)

ed;sp

and didn't get a single reply :sniff:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x21002

hatrack posted it again on the 19th, and got one reply http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x21113

We have to face it, no-one is very interested. I'm not sure we can even blame it on the Schiavo news either. Other stories have got some attentino, while this has consistently dropped like a stone.

I would have had to repost anyway, to get a chance to get it to the Greatest Page, where people would finally start to see it, but I would have certainly cited these earlier posts had I seen them. Sorry. Thank you for posting them here.

Yeah, my parallel post in Environment & Energy went nowhere for me, either.

Later today I plan to write to some blogs and whoever else I can think of and try to spread the story. I hope the people reading this do the same and post here when they do so we can keep track.

We have to make more noise about this story to break into the silence.

So Nothing Without Hope, whattaya think about terry? OMG

This does all tie in with other stories about the world bank, wolfowitz, walmart, and the war in iraq for that matter. Maybe try incorporating environmental issues like this into the others along the way.

For one thing Wolfowitz was ambassador to Indonesia. That ought to be a clue to something.

Look at it this way, suppose the good government of a rain forest rich country 'X' does try to do the right thing. No bribes. Really.

They cut a legal, maintainable amount each year.

It sells for less than it's worth because of illegal cutting elsewhere, and price pressure from the furniture manufacturers, who sell to Walmart.

Which puts that country in a financial bind.

So they turn to the World Bank.

"Hello Mr. Wolfowitz."

He says "here's some cash." Great. Relief

Now he says, 'we need to look at your books. You're spending too much on social programs.'

"Yes Mr. Wolfowitz, we'll cut programs." And we need more cash.

So Joe Farmer can't get a mini-tractor loan, and he needs a little illegal cutting to feed the kids. Plus that, he's now really pissed at his government. He also buys a cheap AK-47, which the Chinese made.

Wolfie finds out soon enough (think of the CIA as his Equifax partner), and says "We can also find some cash for soldiers to keep Joe Farmer in check."

What choice do you have then, as the Minister of Good Government X?

Do you log even more? Take a bribe and save your own ass? What do you do?

for posting, an important story..

More news about the G8 and African logging.

http://www.greenconsumerguide.com/index.php?news=2495

thx

US CORPORATE MEDIA for this rainforest sellout scandal story. Here is his Google search result - I hope he will repost it in this thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=21203&mesg_id=21256

In my own Google research I also ahd found many hits in corporate media OUTSIDE the US, but total blackout here. They obviously KNOW about it, since they read the international newsfeeds. But they are not touching this disgusting scandal. We need to end-run them!

This is a despicable, wanton environmental sellout on a massive scale by the Bush administration. It is a scandal arising from a leaked State Department document that has been shown to be authentic. And they are doing their best to totally suppress it.

So I had a nice meal and Terry didn't. I'm sorry about that, I know her husband and family must be going through hell, but that's not my fault either. Personally, I think the bush family should take care of her themselves 24/7. It would do them some good.

While several of us continue the research and come to understand this story I'll keep up the monolgue until the admins get sick of it.

Here we go. Back to the rain forest.

to make a buck. Amazing.

Background: Countries with large tropical rain forests have been plagued by illegal cutting for years. Typically, the wood goes through several middlemen, then to flooring, paneling, and furniture factories in China and Brazil. Others too. From there it ends up in your local big box store as a special sale item.

This trade is controllable. You can't easily smuggle a tree. Because of that, the trade is driven by gangs, criminals, and bribery of government officials. The logging is worse in areas where the local population is poorest and the people can't defend themselves. The local military often participates in this trade.

The final buyer is likely to be someone in a wealthy country. Consequently, the wealthiest nations, the G8, led by the UK and the EU, have tried over the last 8?? years to develop a standard of certified trees from sustainable forests to meet the demand.

of CO2.

The situation has gotten particularly acute in Indonesia. Imagine the corrupting influence of this trade. Bribes and lawlessness in the Army, impoverished local populations, lost income for the governments, money flow into the pockets of a corrupt wealthy elite, etc.

Remember the tsunami and this areas need for hard currency. Remember al Qaeda. The criminal gangs don't give this cash to the United Way. They pay for protection.

It's not as hard to understand the destruction of the eco-system as it is to follow the money. It's not hard to imagine the mudslides after the monsoons, as in the Philippines. Think of the loss of productive land. You know what has happened to Haiti with it's deforestation.

And when the land can't sustain people they migrate, they go to the cities, they get angry.

"The UK was prompted to start the initiative after Indonesian government ministers said corruption in their country was so rampant that they did not have the power to tackle the supply of timber from the criminal gangs pillaging the forests."

For once, Tony Blair has taken the initiative. He has a plan.

"The development secretary, Hilary Benn, wants G8 environment and development ministers meeting in Derby tomorrow and on Friday to insist that all timber bought by official bodies in rich nations comes from properly managed forests."

The quotes are from the links above.

OK, a few responsible leaders take on a manageable problem. Then what happens?

"A secret US plan to wreck Tony Blair's G8 initiative combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests has been revealed in a State Department memo leaked to the BBC's Newsnight programme."

Ooops. They didn't mean for that to get out. Better distract some people before anyone finds out.

Basically, the Bush administration planned to foil Blair and the EU.

"Faith Doherty, from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in the UK, said: "I think it's completely outrageous. What we have is a country that does consume tropical timber, that does acknowledge that there is forest crime, environmental crime in Indonesia and other tropical countries; and to try to undermine what people have worked so hard for the last five years on this issue is just unacceptable."

Sounds like some Brits are pissed.

"Europe is strongly backing Mr Blair's initiative and the US tactics drew a furious response from rainforest campaigners."

Sounds like some more people are pissed.

"But industry lobbyists in the US have resisted moves to certify timber. A US state department memo leaked to the BBC's Newsnight shows that the US will refuse to sign up to the Benn initiative."

This looks like a showdown. Maybe the State Department had better think about it again. Oh yea, Colin Powell isn't there any more, is he?

Certainly the environment matters, but a sick political system makes for sick environmental system. Fix the one and the other has a fighting chance.

International traders don’t just ship something 5,000 miles and hope someone will pay up when they get there. They get loans, credit, guarantees of payment ahead of time. No guarantee, no shipment.

And the guarantees are often arranged through the World Bank. Paul Wolfowitz is about to be approved as head of the World Bank. Paul Wolfowitz was the former Ambassador to Indonesia. It may be too late to stop his appointment, but it’s worth a try.

Tony Blair will be up for elections soon. He needs some sort of victory to help him along, and he's not going to find that victory in Iraq. Bush is screwing his buddy.

As I said before the items are manufactured largely in Brazil and China. China buys US bonds that fund the deficit and war effort. Cheap goods in the US imported from China helps keep manufacturers in the US from being able to compete. They lay off assembly line workers, they get rid of unions, unions that support Democrats.

The goods are sold through big box stores in the US and Europe. The big box store owners support Republicans.

If Indonesia and other counties with tropical rain forests can't earn money the honest way,they have to do it the dishonest way. Or they borrow from the World Bank and IMF. Big time.

Have you ever owed anyone big money and haven't been able to pay? You'll do anything to keep them from putting you out on the street or breaking your kneecaps.

And when they borrow, the WB/IMF own them. They force them to cut social programs, they force taxes cuts for the wealthy, they put the population into indentured servitude. Sound familiar?

People don't like indentured servitude. They'll put up with it for a while, but it gets old. They get angry. They support radical groups, like al Qaeda, who'll promise them anything. The US then sells the weapons that keep them humble. Humble that is until they figure out a way to fly a big plane into a tall building.

Then, in 2012, some kid from Georgia who just got out of diapers when bush was inaugurated ends up fighting another kid who doesn't have a job because the trees are gone and his village just got washed down a hill.

That's why it matters now.

In this country, only Michael Moore and Wes Clark appear to be paying attention so far.

Here are Paine's comments from the other thread on this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=21203&mesg_id=21256

"Results of my google search: Corporate Media cover-up

I searched "G8 initiative combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests has been revealed in a State Department memo leaked to the BBC's" in news and got only the BBC story:

US blocks forest protection plan
BBC News, UK - Mar 16, 2005
A secret US plan to wreck Tony Blair's G8 initiative combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests has been revealed in a State Department ...

I then searched the same string in "web" and got 13 hits (the BBC, 11 bolgs and the world bank). NOT ONE CORPORATE MEDIA OUTLET HAS PICKED THIS UP! At least Wes Clark and Michael Moore are paying attention."

And here is the portion of his search results that he posted there:

from Paineinthearse that you have there Nothing Without Hope, but it's 1am an I'm all in for the day. I'll look at it in detail tomorrow.

I still think this is too big of a story and crosses too many topic lines to remain as an "environmental' issue only. It crosses into all sorts of topics that people are passionate about. People probably need some time to absorb it, and a place where they can jump in. comments in other topics can also bring them in.

Eventually it will be picked up, I have no doubt, maybe when it's simplified more, or when other wire services in the EU have more to say. I have no doubt they'll eventually have plenty to say.

I believe the G8 summit is in July in Scotland. I think some German groups are planning to be there.

We've kept it near the top for most of the day.

during our study of the rainforests, it occurred to me that TREES were the LUNGS of the world. In the 4th grade we'd studied the planets and somehow I got the idea in my head that Venus had been populated by sentient beings who BLEW IT. As we discussed the destruction of the rainforests I quipped that we would likely end up in the same shape. Mrs. Houston got VERY, VERY ANGRY with me ('specially since I'd told all my classmates that our "duck and cover" routines were NONSENSE).

Frankly, I never thought (or hoped) I'd live long enough to watch the stupidity reach its foregone conclusion. :sigh:

from a report published in early February, before the US secret plan to undermine European efforts to control illegal rainforest logging was exposed.



The last rainforests of the world are being ripped apart by violent criminals who sell the wood to the industrialized countries for things like flooring in housing tracts. The Bush Administration has been secretly plotting to undermine years of work by the European countries on coming to an agreement to fight this rape of the planet. The rest of the world knows this now, because a secret US State Department document was leaked. But OUR media - the Poodle Press - have blacked this story out entirely.

This is a huge scandal, and its censorship is another!

I searched "G8 initiative combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests has been revealed in a State Department memo leaked to the BBC's" in news and got only the BBC story:

US blocks forest protection plan
BBC News, UK - Mar 16, 2005
A secret US plan to wreck Tony Blair's G8 initiative combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests has been revealed in a State Department ...

I then searched the same string in "web" and got 13 hits (the BBC, 11 bolgs and the world bank). NOT ONE CORPORATE MEDIA OUTLET HAS PICKED THIS UP! At least Wes Clark and Michael Moore are paying attention.

nerdshit.com: US blocks forest protection plan
... initiative combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests
has been revealed in a State Department memo leaked to the BBC's Newsnight... ...
www.nerdshit.com/archive/2005/03/16/_us_blocks_fore/ - 14k - Cached - Similar pages

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Newsnight | US blocks forest protection plan
... combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests has been
revealed in a State Department memo leaked to the BBC's Newsnight programme. ...
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/4351863.stm - 36k - Mar 20, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

Welcome to MichaelMoore.com!
... rainforests has been revealed in a State Department memo leaked to the ...
Top 10 Reasons Why Paul Wolfowitz Would Make a Good World Bank President ...
www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1845 - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

LP: US blocks forest protection plan
... rainforests has been revealed in a State Department memo leaked to the BBC's
Newsnight. ... And do they fit the G8 rules for "cheap illegal wood"? ...
www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=88277 - 19k - Cached - Similar pages

American Samizdat: Rebel Scum Since 2001
... rainforests has been revealed in a State Department memo leaked to the BBC's
... Proudly featuring over a hundred bloggers from all over the world: the ...
amsam.org/2005/03/us-blocks-forest-protection-plan.html - 54k - Cached - Similar pages

World Family Organization
... Called Economic Threat At Talks ==============================================
... to combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests. ...
www.worldfamilyorganization.org / News/WB_News/press_wb_news.htm - 56k - Cached - Similar pages

TIDEPOOL | News for Salmon Nation
... The state Department of Revenue delivered the sobering news at the ...
combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests has been revealed ...
tidepool.org/TEXTONLY.CFM - 101k - Mar 20, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

News - Press Review
... states to combating illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests.
... The US state department memo leaked to the BBC's Newsnight shows that the ...
web.worldbank.org/.../NEWS/ 0,,date:03-16-2005~menuPK:278083~pagePK:34392~piPK:34427~theSitePK:4607,00.html - 101k - Mar 20, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

Clark Community Network || Comments General Discussion
... illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests, a leaked ... A US state
department memo leaked to the BBC's Newsnight shows that the US will ...
chat.forclark.com/comments/2005/3/15/215359/869/238 - 116k - Cached - Similar pages

XQUARTERLY
... commit the G8 states to combating illegal logging in the world's ... The US
state department memo leaked to the BBC's Newsnight shows that the US will ...
www.exchangemagazine.com/XQuarterly/worldnews1.html - 366k - Cached - Similar pages

NewsFeeds
... G8 initiative combating illegal logging in the world's threatened ... a company
that has been making noise lately in the Linux desktop market with ...
www.loopynews.com/LoopyNews/news.asp?page=alternative - 173k - Cached - Similar pages

News Flash: Archive
... Israel has been described as the top threat to world peace, ahead of North
... had been transferred from the State Department, which distrusted the INC, ...
www.blabla4u.com/Flashes/Client-CivilSocietyArchEng.asp - 513k - Cached - Similar pages

HighBeam Research
... HighBeam Library Research Looking for the old eLibrary? Search our extensive
archive of more than 34 million documents from over 3000 sources -- a vast ...
www.highbeam.com / - 16k - Mar 20, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

and when I do, I'll post the link to the new thread(s) in this one.

:kick:

Thanks for getting this out...this needs to be spread far and wide!

This whole story makes me sick to my stomach...

I wonder how this will affect ** and Blair's supposedly chummy relationship?