American tourist killed in New Zealand

[Submitted by a guest writer]

Wrongful Death: Failure of the Government in its Duty to Warn of Fatal Dangers!

Another Avoidable Killing!

This time an American tourist was killed in New Zealand. Alan Paul Leger, a 57-year-old from Boston, just a name to the readers, but a real person to his family, alive and well just a few days ago, is now dead. Was he murdered, or did he die because the authorities failed to warn him of the dangers? Either way, one or more people are directly responsible for his death and they should be brought to account.

To add insult to injury because the victim was an American, and the New Zealanders don’t like “septic tanks” (Yanks) in their neck of the woods, New Zealand police declared: “The American tourist who fell to his death in the Mt Cook National Park yesterday was inexperienced in the alpine environment.”

Mountain Safety Council chair Ross Meder added: “Tourists often fail to realise weather conditions can change extremely quickly in New Zealand, much more so than in the Northern Hemisphere.”

Well, thanks for letting the deceased know. He would be sure to be careful next time!

Links to the death report:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=104916500
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4394988a11.html

Links to recent tourist fatalities in NZ:
New Zealand: A Tourist Deathtrap
Canadian Tourist Murdered?
Murdered in New Zealand in the Prime of Her Life

Who’s Afraid of Compound 1080?

[New Zealand Poisoning Syndrome (NZPS), Health Bulletin # 2. Exposure to Compound 1080 Feb. 10, 2008]

Should You be afraid of 1080?

Sodium fluoroacetate (aka, sodium monofluoroacetate, compound 1080 or 1080)

1080 is a potent metabolic poison that works by interfering with the citric acid cycle, and is used primarily to control mammalian pests, including invasive species. The existence of this chemical was first noted in the Second World War.

Compound 1080 is the most toxic pesticide registered by the World Health Organization, WHO. It is rarely used in the U.S. because it is highly toxic and kills wildlife indiscriminately. The only manufacturer of 1080 left in the U.S. ships most of its production to New Zealand. More information on 1080 …

Related Links:

• Truth About ‘100% Pure New Zealand’ Advertising Campaign
• NZ indiscriminate aerial applications of the potent poison 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate)
• New Zealand: A Tourist Deathtrap .
• Toxic Hazard Warning: Bromomethane Exposure in New Zealand ! .
• New Zealand releases about two and a half tons of compound 1080 into its environment each year, about 90% of the global use.

Snowstorm Destroys Chinese Forests

China provinces lose entire forests

Snowstorm destroyed a total of 17.3 million hectares of forests in 18 provinces in southern China. Monetary value of the losses, which amount to 10 percent of all forests in China, may reach $US3billion, according to the State Forestry Administration.

Bamboos collapse under the weight of snow in Xianning of Hubei Province
[Photo credit: Xinhua/China Daily]

Full report