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When the new West is won, will there be cowboys? In light of what her neighbors are up to, Double O Ranch owner Vicki Olson isn’t so sure. “I guess the point that I keep hammering at is that if they succeed, that means all of us third- and fourth-generation ranchers are gone,” Olson said. She is the average Montana rancher, 56 going on 70, working a spread gouged from the pebbly soil by her grandparents 100 years ago. Her neighbor, the nonprofit American Prairie Foundation, is methodically acquiring ranches and crafting a 3.5-million-acre wildlife reserve out of private property...

The head of the UN's climate change panel - Dr Rajendra Pachauri - is accused of making a fortune from his links with 'carbon trading' companies, Christopher Booker and Richard North write. No one in the world exercised more influence on the events leading up to the Copenhagen conference on global warming than Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and mastermind of its latest report in 2007. Although Dr Pachauri is often presented as a scientist (he was even once described by the BBC as “the world’s top climate scientist”), as a former...

Climate Change: Major U.S. corporations have set up a Web site calling for a global climate treaty to be signed in Copenhagen. Considering recent evidence of massive climate fraud, perhaps they should reconsider. Many will remember the classic soft drink ad campaign where young people from many nations gather on a mountaintop and sing that they'd like to buy the world a Coke, the theory being that sharing a soda was the key to world peace. That sort of naivete has led peoples and governments around the world to accept at face value the outright fraud perpetrated by the Milli...

Taxes fund environmental suits - Environmental law firms reap billions in fees to fund lawsuits October 15, 2009 The federal government has paid out billions of dollars to environmental groups for attorney fees and costs, according to data assembled by a Cheyenne, Wyoming, lawyer. Karen Budd-Falen of Budd-Falen Law Offices [main@buddfalen.com or 307-632-5105] said the government between 2003 and 2007 paid more than $4.7 billion in taxpayer money to environmental law firms -- and that's just in the lawsuits she tracked. The actual figure, she said, is far greater. "I think we only found that the iceberg exists," she said....

Though Ad Was Never Authorized, It Somehow Ended Up On The Internet, Causing Furor From Victims' Families NEW YORK (CBS) ― The World Wildlife Fund has condemned an unauthorized ad that is circulating on the Internet. It tastelessly refers to 9/11 and was rejected by an ad agency. The ad shows dozens of planes all headed for lower Manhattan, with the World Wildlife Fund logo and the caption: "The tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11." The response from WWF came quickly. "It's just insulting and appalling and we would never have ever considered using such images or such...

WWF condemns 9/11 print ad by DDB Brazil [NOTE: The WWF says it never approved this ad and is condemning it. See the updates below.] Just in time for the anniversary of 9/11 comes this tasteless, nightmarish print ad for the World Wildlife Fund, showing dozens of planes headed for lower Manhattan. See a larger version here. The copy reads: "The tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11. The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it." Unfortunately, respect is the main thing lacking here. Exploiting one tragedy to try to prevent another is just stupid and self-defeating, and...

It's enough to turn your stomach. Or, if you're a New Yorker who lived through the September 11th attacks, give you a serious case of the heebie-jeebies. A new ad purportedly for the World Wildlife Fund features dozens of airplanes converging on lower Manhattan -- featuring the Twin Towers -- with the line "The Tsunami Killed 100 Times More People Than 9/11." The ad was first brought to our attention by Gothamist, but was originally picked up by Adweek.com's AdFreak blog, which reports that the ad is from the Brazilian arm of the WWF. Sure, the 2004 tsunami was a...

The global-warming debate is shifting from science to economics. For years, the fight over the Earth's rising temperature has been mostly over what's causing it: fossil-fuel emissions or natural factors beyond man's control. Now, some of the country's biggest industrial companies are acknowledging that fossil fuels are a major culprit whose emissions should be cut significantly over time. A growing number of these companies are pushing for a mandatory emissions limit, or "cap." Some see a lucrative new market in clean-energy technologies. Many figure a regulation is politically inevitable and they want to be in the room when it's negotiated,...

Andrew "Test" Martin, a World Wrestling Entertainment star from earlier this decade, was found dead in his Tampa, Fla., apartment Friday night. He was 33 years old. The cause of death wasn't immediately known, the Tampa Tribune reported. Martin worked for WWE from 1998 to 2004 and 2006 to 2007. Martin was thrust into a prominent position from the onset because of his size and muscularity, with the "Test" nickname being short for "testosterone."

Hulk Hogan asks court for $300,000 Hulk_hogan Hulk Hogan needs money. Most of what the wrestler has is tied up in frozen bank accounts until his divorce is resolved. On Feb. 28, he had back surgery, so he won't be able to bring in any new money for a while. And the little bit of money he is allowed to spend is quickly disappearing. Hulk has just $410,985.84 in his bank account, and his bills are $312,686.35, according to a motion he filed in court Monday. Without an infusion of $300,000 from his frozen bank accounts, he won't be able...

Several years ago, Will Smith starred as legendary boxer Muhammad Ali in a movie. It was a movie. Play acting. Pretend. Smith didn’t actually get into a ring and box 12 rounds with Mike Tyson for real. Now Mickey Rourke is winning awards for his role as professional wrestler Randy the Ram in the acclaimed movie The Wrestler. That’s the difference between boxing and pro wrestling. Rourke has signed to wrestle WWE superstar Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 25 in Reliant Stadium on April 5. For real, or as real as pro wrestling can be. Rourke made the surprise announcement Sunday...

You've probably seen the commercials; TV actor Noah Wyle (ER, The Librarian) somberly informs us of an impending grave catastrophe: "A tragedy is unfolding in the world today. Climate change is threatening one of the most magnificent wild animals on the planet. Polar bears. They're struggling to survive."  Heart-tugging violins accompany video footage of a mother polar bear and her cuddly cub on a small ice flow.The ice is melting all around them and food is becoming harder to find as they lose their hunting grounds. Climate change. It's happening right now and its leaving mothers weaker and unable to...

Chairman Waxman Releases Letter Regarding Illegal Steroid Use in Professional Wrestling In a letter to Office of National Drug Control Policy Director John P. Walters, Chairman Waxman summarizes results of the Committee’s investigation into steroid use in professional wrestling and requests that ONDCP examine the widespread steroid abuse and systemic deficiencies in testing policies and practices. January 2, 2009 The Honorable John P. Walters Director Office of National Drug Control Policy Executive Office of the President Washington, DC 20503 Dear Mr. Walters: As you may know, I will be leaving the Oversight Committee to become Chairman of the Energy and...

Special Delivery Jones, one of the regular faces in the World Wrestling Federation heyday of the 1980s, died Sunday in Antigua, following a stroke two days ago. He was 63.

The classicists argue as to whether Nero really fiddled while Rome burned. Yet the story is seen as apocryphal in the same way biblical parables and myths from Greek Mythology are often so viewed. That is because we all know people who have done just that sort of thing. It happens amongst us now – and on a grand and extravagant scale. Perhaps the most amusing recent examples of this sort of behavior come to us from both the business world and from our friends, the environmental movement. We begin with the detestable resort vacation taken by those corporate bums...

The WWF told a conference in Stockholm there might be only 3,500 tigers left, and that one sub-species, the South China Tiger, could soon be extinct. Chinese demand for tiger body parts - used in traditional medicine - was described as one of the main threats. The WWF's co-ordinator in Nepal, Bivash Pandav, painted a bleak picture as he described the problems facing tigers across the world, saying he believed there were some 3,500 tigers left, compared with an estimated 5,000-7,000 in 1982. The director of WWF India's species programme, Sujoy Banerjee, said that at the beginning of the 20th...

When it comes to all things "green", common sense seems to have been abandoned. Consider the recent "lights out" campaign that was supposed to energise the world about the problems of climate change by urging citizens in 27 big cities to turn out their lights for an hour. With scores of companies and municipalities signing up, the WWF quickly called it an amazing success. Nobody, it seemed, wanted to spoil the party by pointing out that the event was immensely futile, that it highlighted a horrible metaphor, or that it caused much higher overall pollution. Danish newspapers happily quoted the...

Stalin's last army: hordes of gigantic crabs on their way to invade Europe - By Julius Strauss in Kirkenes, Northern Norway Millions of giant Pacific crabs, whose ancestors were brought to Europe by Joseph Stalin in the 1930s, are marching south along Norway's coast, devouring everything in their path.The monster crabs, which can weigh up to 25lb and have a claw-span of more than three feet, are proving so resilient that scientists fear they could end up as far south as Gibraltar. Energised by a mysterious population explosion a decade ago, whole armies of the crustaceans - known as the...

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Power companies in just five EU nations could reap windfall profits of up to 71 billion euros over five years thanks to Europe's emissions trading scheme, the green group WWF claimed Monday. The environmental group, which released the findings of a sector study, said the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) gives no incentive to move away from the most polluting coal-fired power stations and warned that Poland and other eastern European members were lobbying against a planned overhaul of the system after 2012. At the root of WWF's gripe is the free distribution of polluting permits to...

King Carl Gustaf XVI has announced that the lights will be turned off for an hour at royal castles on Saturday. The King has announced the royal intention to respect Earth Hour, a campaign by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to highlight energy use and climate change. Ulriksdal Castle and the King's home Drottningholm Castle will join Stockholm Castle in the centre of the city in cutting the lights at 8pm on Saturday. The King is honorary chair of the WWF in Sweden. WWF's Earth Hour campaign is expected to be respected by a large number of households across the...

Wrestling icon Hulk Hogan has been rocked by another bombshell as he recovers from his shock marriage split - he has been romantically linked to his teenage daughter Brooke's former assistant. (Advertisement) A new U.S. tabloid report claims Hogan had an affair with 33year-old Christiane Plante, while he was married to now-estranged wife Linda. The National Enquirer claims the wrestling great started romancing Plante 12 months before his 24-year marriage fell apart in 2007. Plante tells the publication, "I will never be able to fully forgive myself for this. I have lost an amazing friend." Hogan, who is hoping for...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Jan. 28, 2008 – When the “Legends of Wrestling” tour rolled in here Jan. 26, servicemembers and civilians gathered at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation clamshell to take part in the festivities. Army Pfc. Michael Grandi Jr., Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, holds the WCW Championship belt with wrestling greats (from left to right) Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart, Diamond Dallas Page, and Nicholai Volkoff during the "Legends of Wrestling" tour that came to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, Jan. 26, 2008. Photo by Spc. George Welcome,...

BERLIN (AFP) - German conservationists on Monday condemned the freeing of some 17,000 minks from a fur farm, apparently by animal rights activists, saying they would starve in the wild. "It was a political act, and it has nothing to do with protecting the environment," said Joern Ehlers from the German chapter of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). "These animals are going to die of hunger." Minks are carnivores who feed on small animals and those freed from the farm in Grabow, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Berlin, risked disturbing the ecological balance in the region,...

"Crush" Bryan Adams dead at 43 By GREG OLIVER - Producer, SLAM! Wrestling According to WWE.com, Bryan Adams, who worked as Demolition Crush and was half of the KroniK tag team, has been found dead. He was 43. WWE.com said no other details were available. Adams was a boxer in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in Japan, when Antonio Inoki discovered him and talked me into going into professional wrestling. When his time in the service was up, he trained in the New Japan dojo for a year. In the United States, Adams debuted in the Pacific Northwest in 1986,...

ATLANTA — Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son before hanging himself in his weight room, a law enforcement official close to the investigation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Authorities also said they are investigating whether steroids may have been a factor in the deaths of Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old son. Steroid abuse has been linked to depression, paranoia, and aggressive behavior or angry outbursts known as "roid rage." "We don't know yet. That's one of the things we'll be looking at," said Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard. He said test results...

One of the world's hottest spots—literally—has disappeared in the blink of an eye. Russia's famous Valley of the Geysers was buried on June 3 after an entire mountainside collapsed, according to the conservation nonprofit World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The landslide filled the Geyser River, which once ran freely through the unique vale (top), with millions of gallons of rock, gravel, snow, and ice (bottom). The valley, located in Kronotsky Nature Preserve in the Kamchatka Peninsula, is one of the few places in the world where geysers occur naturally, along with Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. and sites in Iceland,...

Our planet is just five years away from climate change catastrophe - but can still be saved, according to a new report. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warns governments have until 2012 to "plant the seeds of change" and make positive moves to limit carbon emissions.

Our planet is just five years away from climate change catastrophe - but can still be saved, according to a new report. Planet is five years from disasterThe World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warns governments have until 2012 to "plant the seeds of change" and make positive moves to limit carbon emissions. If they fail to do so, the WWF's Vision For 2050 warns "generations to come will have to live with the compromises and hardships caused by their inability to act". "We have a small window of time in which we can plant the seeds of change, and...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Amur tiger, the world's biggest wild cat, has pounced back from the brink of extinction to hit its highest population level for at least 100 years, the WWF said on Thursday. For generations hunters have tracked down and killed the tigers as trophies, for their brilliant gold and black fur or for the perceived healing qualities its crushed bones bring to traditional Chinese medicines. By the 1940s the sub-species had nearly died out and there were only around 40 surviving Amur tigers in its natural habitat in the frozen wilds of the Russian Far East. Environmentalists...

PARIS (AFP) - The World Wildlife Fund on Friday warned consumers against buying Spanish strawberries, whose cultivation is having a "catastrophic" impact on wetlands in the south of the country. "By buying Spanish strawberries -- on sale in supermarkets from January to April -- you are supporting the destruction of the Iberian natural milieu because the impact of this cultivation on the environment is catastrophic," WWF's Paris office said. Some 95 percent of Spanish strawberries are grown on an area of 5,000 hectares (12,300 acres) around the Coto Donana national park, which is on the UNESCO world heritage list, WWF...

52 REASONS NOT TO MOW 37 WAYS TO HELP TREES Please download with 100% cotton, rice, recycled, or scrap paper Ron Howard, director of A Beautiful Mind and many other films,made his first film at age 8.. an anti mowing film which showed the nature of mowers' attacks on lawns. Art Buchwald: People shouldn't be judged by the length of their grass. In 2003 through now, the world has seen floods, famine, fire, mudslides, hurricanes, tornados and other disasters created by the unprecedented destruction of trees around the world. Trees are nature's weather stabilizers. We need trillions of trees.. new...

HANGING ROCK — Two wrestling superstars from Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment may be tough in the ring, but they didn’t have enough muscle to escape drug charges after being stopped Sunday night by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Robert Alex Szatowski, aka WWE and ECW champion Rob Van Dam, and Terry Michael Brunk, aka Sabu, also a former ECW champion, were pulled over on U.S. 52, near Patrick Street in Hanging Rock at about 10:15 p.m. The two were apparently driving from their performances at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena earlier in the evening. According to the...

THESE ARE THE SENATORS WHO VOTED TO GIVE SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL PARTY, THESE POLITICIANS NEED TO BE DEFEATED IN 2006, 2008 OR 2010, WHENEVER THEY NEXT COME UP FOR OFFICE. SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW; THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION -- THAT IS, UNLESS THEY DO NOT MIND SHARING THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY WITH FOREIGN WORKERS WHO NEVER PAID INTO IT AND AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE BEING LEFT OUT. Grouped by Home State Alabama: Alaska: Stevens (R-AK), Yea Arizona: McCain (R-AZ), Yea Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR),...

I am curious why none of the media covers the most important aspect of the Malvo shootings. If you look at Newspapers on the dates when the shootings are underway you discover something I find quite interesting. The shootings begin to dominate the news the day before the debate on the Iraq war starts and they catch them the day after the declaration of war??? If you ask most people "do you remember the debate about starting the second Iraq war", they will all answer "yes of course". But if you followup with the question "name one point in the...

I recently received a reply to a post that stated: "This should be beneath a "freeper". Sad." So I asked.. what is it that makes a FReeper? My reply (and I will admit was tasteless) was also questioning. It stirred controversy and was removed? Why Moderators? Can you not tell me? Did it not meet with your "FReeper" mentality? According to all posted guidelines it should be listed but no, you chose to delete it. Yes.. I'm the first one IBTZ, I'm sure you'll nick me for speaking up..

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Pro wrestler Brock Lesnar has settled his lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment, which sought to ban him from performing anywhere in the world until he's past his prime. Lesnar wrestled as "The Next Big Thing." He signed the noncompete contract in 2004 when he left the WWE so he could try out for the Minnesota Vikings. He was cut during preseason in August 2004. The contract restricted 28-year-old Lesnar from working in sports entertainment until 2010 and applied to many areas in which the former NCAA heavyweight champion from Minnesota might make a living, including ultimate fighting.

Santa Claus may have to swap his sleigh for waterwings sooner than expected as global warming melts his Arctic home, environmental group WWF said on Friday. A new study for the organization formerly known as the Worldwide Fund for Nature predicts that the earth could warm by two degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels as early as 2026 -- and by triple that amount in the Arctic. "This ... could result in Santa's home changing forever," said the report by Mark New of Oxford University. And Rudolph and his fellow reindeer are not the only creatures under threat -- polar bears,...

Wrestler Ric Flair Accused Of Road Rage POSTED: 5:35 pm EST November 28, 2005 UPDATED: 6:50 pm EST November 28, 2005 CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Pro wrestler Ric Flair faces assault charges after a road rage incident on Interstate 485 in Charlotte. Another driver said Flair attacked him and his car. The driver said he was on I-485 on Wednesday,trying to get out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday and traffic was slow. The driver said he noticed someone behind him flashing their headlights, so he hit his brakes. The driver said the car then pulled along side him, police said....

WWE reports Eddie Guerrero found dead By COREY DAVID LACROIX -- SLAM! Wrestling WWE.com is reporting today that Eddie Guerrero was found dead this morning in his hotel room in Minneapolis, MN. No cause of death has been reported, Guerrero is survived by his wife Vickie and two daughters. Guerrero had an absolutely stellar wrestling career, marked by his ability to deliver athletically competent, emotional, and ultimately awe inspiring performances in the ring. At the same time, it seemed he was constantly fending off his own personal demons in the form of alcohol and drug dependency. Those struggles were immortalized...

MOSCO2, April 4. (RIA Novosti)-Experts forecast that China's demand for Russian timber will increase by a third within the next five years, which will lead to poachers stepping up their efforts more than anyone else, Biznes reports. Alexei Yaroshenko, a Greenpeace expert says China imported about 20 million cubic meters of lumber from Russia in 2004. "Russia's total annual lumber exports do not exceed 40 million cubic meters," says Vladimir Gorshkov, the vice president of Bumprom. Anatoly Kotlobai, an expert on illegal timber procurement and trade with the World Wildlife Fund, maintains that half of the exported timber was felled...

Many argue that communism will never be possible because of "human nature". The essence of this false argument is the belief that a communist society would consist of an all-powerful central government that would tell everybody what to do--and would therefore undermine the creative initiative of individuals and the search for happiness. • This argument is based on two false assumptions: (1) It assumes that a communist society will look like the former Soviet Union, or the current China, North Korea, etc (ie: corrupt police states with a feudal-style ruling class) (2) It assumes that people will only work in...

Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund--who used public donations to fight the use of life-saving DDT in Third World countries--may be looking at reversing their stand. The Internet surfing JunkScience.com noted first hints of the sudden reversal. While a reversal coming 43 years later would undoubtedly save lives, how many tens of millions have died for nothing during the well-publicized DDT ban? In his New York Times January 8 column, Nicholas Kristof quotes Greenpeace and WWF spokesmen as now being in support of the use of demonized DDT in anti-malarial programs. "I called the World Wildlife Fund, thinking I would...

"Dangerous" global warming possible by 2026-WWF 30 Jan 2005 00:01:26 GMT Source: Reuters By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent OSLO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - World temperatures could surge in just two decades to a threshold likely to trigger dangerous disruptions to the earth's climate, the WWF environmental group said on Sunday. It said the Arctic region was warming fastest, threatening the livelihoods of indigenous hunters by thawing the polar ice-cap and driving species like polar bears towards extinction by the end of the century. "If nothing is done, the earth will have warmed by 2.0 Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels...

Peter Whatley, professionally known as "Pistol" Pez Whatley, passed away yesterday at the age of 54 in his hometown Chatanooga, TN while hospitalized. Whatley had been in poor health in recent years, and was believed to have been waiting for a heart transplant. He had suffered a heart attack in January 2003 and also some kidney probles that led to a long hospitalization, but was said to have improved greatly over the last year. A native of Chattanooga, Whatley competed as an amateur wrestler for Notre Dame High School in his hometown and later for UTC in Chattanooga, TN. He...

BANGKOK, Thailand, Oct. 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The world's most-feared shark received international protection from human predators here today when the international community approved trade controls on great white sharks and shark parts at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. World Wildlife Fund praised the addition of great whites to CITES as a conservation boost for the ocean's largest predatory shark. The member nations of CITES voted Tuesday to include the shark on CITES's Appendix II, 87 to 34. Appendix II listing of a species allows international trade, but requires importing and exporting countries to ensure that trade...

Big Bossman Passes Away At Age 42 Ray "Big Bossman" Traylor suddenly passed away Wednesday night at his home. He was 42. Traylor had a very successful run as The Big Bossman in the WWF years ago, and another semi-successful stint with the WWF in the late 90s as a somewhat repackaged Bossman. His cause of death is a mystery right now. He did not have any known health problems. ----- More On The Death Of The Big Bossman The ABC affiliate in Atlanta, WSB, is reporting that The Big Bossman died last night due to a massive heart attack....

The United Nations now administers more than five hundred treaties, of which 175 treaties and protocols directly influence policies of the federal, state, and local government. These treaties and agreements often have noble goals and seem to address a real need within the global community. However, obscure or statist language inherent within the treaties often results in U.S. law, and subsequent regulations, that conflict with the principle of individual sovereignty interwoven into the Constitution of the United States (hereafter called the Constitution). An Example For instance, to meet the letter of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the DOI had ...

Tenta faces another cancer hurdle 'Earthquake' John Tenta has revealed that he is facing yet another type of cancer, this time in his lungs. After disclosing that he had cancer of the bladder in May, ending his in-ring career, Tenta endured chemotherapy for months. But Monday, he told his fans on the WrestleCrap.com newsboard that things had taken a turn for the worse... remainder of article

Greece promised to make Athens 2004 the greenest Olympics ever, but environmental groups have already given the Athens Olympic Organizing Committee (ATHOC) failing grades when it comes to protecting nature. Athens won't be winning any green medals for its performance at the Olympics, according to the non-governmental organization (NGO) Greenpeace. Its report called "How Green are the Games" states that "green energy is the most striking failure for the Athens Olympics." "For a country that markets itself as a country of endless sunshine, solar energy for the Games shouldn't be so difficult. But green energy at the Games is close...