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<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT face="Times New Roman">Bruce
Tokars wrote:<BR></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">Hello --<BR><BR>They didn't like
our last video, Bullies of Westlands, and they let us know about it. The
California Farm Water Coalition made a point of letting the world know just
how wrong that Salmon Water Now video was from start to finish. Here is
a link to their review: <A
href="http://www.farmwater.org/Current-News/Videos-provide-half-truths.html">http://www.farmwater.org/Current-News/Videos-provide-half-truths.html</A>
So, our new video is for the farmers, and those in the Valley who
believe that we want to steal all the water.<BR><BR>It is available on Vimeo
uninterrupted and on YouTube in two parts. As usual we encourage sharing
and embedding. Here is what it is all about:<BR><BR><BR><B>Westlands,
Salmon, & Reason (21:18)<BR></B>Our last video, <I>Bullies of
Westlands</I>, blamed the powerful Westlands Water District for being the
primary reason wild California King salmon are on the edge of extinction. It
seems we hit a nerve.<BR> <BR>We received many comments thanking us for
drawing a line between Westland’s deeds and actions and the sad condition of
what was once a thriving fishery. But the majority of the comments we
received came from Central Valley residents who took heated exception to our
claims. Accusing us of “having no respect for our audience”, of
presenting “one big logical fallacy” and asking us “to provide evidence to
support the accusations.” Many of the comments were angry and
critical. Some were more thoughtful.<BR> <BR>Rushing to the defense
of Westlands by way of a point-by-point rebuttal was the California Farm Water
Coalition ( <A
href="http://www.farmwater.org/Current-News/Videos-provide-half-truths.html">http://www.farmwater.org/Current-News/Videos-provide-half-truths.html</A>
). According to their website, they represent a cross-section of the
agricultural industry. Their membership includes individual farmers, ag
water districts, the California Farm Bureau Federation, and many farm related
businesses. They hated our <I>Bullies of Westlands</I> video. They
said, “the half-truths presented in these videos will be well received by
those who want to take water away from California
farmers.”<BR> <BR>Salmon Water Now stands by our claims about Westlands
and the collapse of the salmon fishery. <BR> <BR>Our new video,
<I>Westlands, Salmon, & Reason</I>, offers further evidence to support our
position. We state unequivocally that our fight to pull salmon from the
edge of extinction does not need to be at the expense of agriculture. We
believe there is no reason that healthy runs of wild salmon cannot co-exist
with productive and profitable agriculture. But restoring salmon, and
the health of the Delta, requires that the Westlands Water District take a
good long look at their political agenda that pushes hard for water policies
which have created misery for thousands of people along the coasts of
California and Oregon.<BR> <BR><I>Westlands, Salmon, & Reason</I> is
a positive, detailed refutation of those who feel that the Westlands Water
District was a victim in Salmon Water Now’s <I>Bullies of Westlands</I>
video. At the end of the new video, Salmon Water Now offers a
proposition to the California Farm Water Coalition that we believe can help
put an end to the constant bickering over water policies. We seek to
expand understanding between agriculture interests and fishermen. We
want a productive dialog between Valley farmers, agriculture, fishermen and
costal residents. <BR> <BR>Watch <I>Westlands, Salmon, &
Reason</I> and see in detail why we say that <I>Bullies of Westlands</I> was
justified as a way to kick-start a meaningful discussion about water,
politics, and people. We are reaching out to farmers, and those who depend on
agriculture, to join Salmon Water Now’s efforts to bring sanity to California
water politics and that means REASON to Westlands.<BR> <BR>YouTube Part
1: <A
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC3o8VXulH0&hd=1">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC3o8VXulH0&hd=1</A><BR>YouTube
Part 2: <A
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZH52bL2r8&hd=1">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZH52bL2r8&hd=1</A><BR>Vimeo:
<A href="http://www.vimeo.com/14982246">http://www.vimeo.com/14982246</A>
<BR><BR><BR>B.<BR><BR><BR>Bruce Tokars<BR><A
href="http://www.salmonwaternow.org/">www.salmonwaternow.org</A><BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>