The WAAS is registered with the state of Michigan and was incorporated in January 2010. The address is listed as 32 N. Washington Avenue, Suite 7 in Ypsilanti, entity ID No. 70640K. Thomas E. McPhee Jr. is the head duck and was the former owner of a business called Gutter Kings. As you will soon see, this wizard of high tech imagery is also a master of self promotion
Other telephone numbers listed on the WA2S website are for New York 646-546-5640 (unpublished cell phone number) and Louisiana 310-734-6886 (unpublished land line in Beverly Hills, CA)
I remember seeing promos for a film about the Katrina "pet rescue." This film was directed by McPhee and featured on the "rescue party tour" produced by Man Smiling Moving Pictures. McPhee is also the contact person for another independent film production company - the Cave Studio, 2531 Jackson Rd., #246 in Ann Arbor, MI. [phone: 313-510-1444 - an unpublished cell phone number in Detroit.] On a March 2008 post to the ARSL-L email list,flixtour (website coming soon!) is also listed with McPhee's other sites. He has videos on YouTube as well.
According to the filing document with the Michigan Secretary of State, the two main goals of WAAS are to produce over 1,000 hours of "human-animal interaction" footage and to raise $250,000 to accomplish that goal.
Have you taken a look at the WAAS BOD yet? John Phillips, founder and executive director of the New York League of Humane Voters (NYLHV) . . . Kenneth Shapiro, cofounder of Animals and Society Institute, formerly Psychologists for the Ethical treatment of Animals (PSETA), founder and editor of Society and Animals: Journal of Human-Animal Studies; cofounder and coeditor of Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (JAWS); and editor of the Brill Human-Animal Studies book series. We've been in this part of the web before!
Also on board are Jamie Downey, the Founder and Publisher of The American Dog Magazine. Of course, the focus is on subjects like the alleged "nationwide pet overpopulation epidemic, the horrific cycle of animal abuse in puppy mills, the need to promote adoption of pets from our shelters and rescue groups and the importance of spaying or neutering your dogs and cats whether you adopt from a shelter or buy a puppy from an ethical, responsible, reputable breeder." Please note the quotes around their words, not mine.
The American Dog Magazine was formerly called the Colorado Dog. The Colorado Dog was a registered entity with the state of Colorado (now expired). Spidey could find no registration for the ADM. Downey now lives in Arizona and has a new website - called The Arizona Dog.
But here is bit of very interesting info. Jamie advertises franchises for magazine publishing.
"Become a Successful Magazine Publisher and Own a Magazine! Choose your city or state now and live the dream. Pre-release specials at fabulous introductory prices to start your own business for as low as $18,000. The American Dog Magazine is now releasing select cities and states so you can enjoy life, while making money doing something you love!"
Spidey could find no business entity in CO or AZ for either The Arizona Dog or the Dog Publishing Corp. A back issue of The American Dog featured Barack Obama on the cover. The issue focused on NOT buying from breeders. Breeders, they say, are costing American taxpayers thousands of dollars to care for shelter animals and euthanize the unwanted ones. What??? !!! Who is it that is always looking for problems where none exist? Who is it that seizes dogs from their owners at whim?
The magazine tells readers to never buy from a breeder but to adopt from a shelter. Needless to say, reputable dog breeders are not allowed to advertise in this publication. Enough said, for now.
Dorothy Davies is a founder and director of SASHA Farm in Michigan. The secretary/treasurer of Second Chance Humane Society in Ridgway, Colorado is also part of the WAAS crew.
The website says that McPhee "began his professional career in 1984 working as a marketing specialist in Delaware politics. Following a few highly successful years in mid-range computer hardware and software sales for a Fortune 100 service company, 1991 saw the advent of Tom’s cutting edge digital interactive software company MultiDynamics, Inc., with a focus on the development and production of multi-language interactive software." I guess he owned Gutter Kings before his "marketing career in politics."
Click here to watch his ten minute promo of the Rescue Journal. He wasted no time flying to Haiti, via the Dominican Republic, to join in the ARCH - Animal Rescue Coalition for Haiti mission. He hasn't even set up his federal 501c3 yet. After several career changes over the years, the independent, high tech film wizard has found his niche. Notice the WAAS logo? It's all about the "I."
Back to the video. OK, he is looking out the window of a commercial plane - on his way to the Dominican Republic. That checks out since commercial flights were just recently resumed to Haiti. He narrates that they arrived 3 weeks after the disaster first struck. Apparently they took a truck over the mountains from the Dominican in order to reach Haiti's borders. They would have had to have had customs clearance and proper visas and passports in Santa Domingo [or another checkpoint, perhaps] before driving to the Haitian border.
Next, we see some brief shots of earthquake damage and of the people. Canned film? Or real time? Then we see a black shiny "truck" with SODOPREC written on it. This is the animal control unit of the Dominican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Is this the truck they drove from Santa Domingo, over rough mountain terrain, to Haiti?
SODOPREC, according to their website, was created for the defense of animal rights. Interestingly, they maintain a national register of pets on this website.
The clip ends with "thanks to" two pages of names: Dick Green (IFAW), Marcos Polanco (SODOPREC), Alison Pittman (HSUS National Council), Sandi Corado (Kinship Circle), Jamie Downey (publisher, American Dog Magazine), Kathleen Hoffman, Michele Way, Humane Society International, ASPCA, AHA, HSUS, Ross Hammer, Director of Animal Content in Entertainment (ACE) program for The Humane Society of the United States Michael Markarian (HSUS Legislative Fund), Dave Pauli (HSI and HSUS), Lloyd Brown (Wildlife Rescue of Dade County, Florida and part of HSI field assessment team) and Rich Crook of Best Friends.
Really??? Rich Crook??? You can't make this stuff up!
By way of Michigan and Haiti, The World Animal Awareness Society made it to Dallas the other night (March 26th) so they could film Wayne Pacelle, Arthur E. Benjamin, Kristina Bowman, Bernie Berlin and others. This group gets around. Can you guess what they are raising money for at their $200-a-ticket dinner and a silent auction? I'll give you a hint - it rhymes with guppy gills.
Spidey just happens to have a few notes about Arthur Benjamin, self avowed animal rights activist, businessman and founder of the American Dog Rescue.
Benjamin gave $1,000,000 to the HSUS for the "Haitian effort". His website also asks for donations for the "cause". Numerous press releases about his donation stirred up a great deal of concern and quite a few people tried to alert him about HSUS. At that time, his website did not refer to him as an animal rightest nor were his connections to the AR crowd so obvious. He has since come out of the closet. In fact, one of the first - if not THE first - press release was released in Worth magazine(NYNY), a publication of Sandow Media (Boca Raton, FL). My what a tangled web. Boca Raton just happens to be the home place of Nanci Alexander. Benjamin has connections and spends time in Boca Raton, too.
It's a small world after all.
Benjamin is the VP/CEO of ATI Enterprises. ATI Enterprises, Inc. owns and operates vocational schools and training centers. The institute offers courses in areas such as automotive repair, graphic design, business administration, electronic engineering, massage and respiratory therapy, information technology, and welding. ATI Enterprises, formerly known as American Trades Institute, was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Arlington, Texas
Benjamin also spends time in Sandy, Utah and Dallas. His Gail L. and Arthur E. Benjamin Foundation gave $30,000 to No More Homeless Pets and $25,000 to the Utah Animal Adoption Center in 2007 and $28,000 to the Wasatch HS in Utah in 2006. He also gives generously to Smiling Dog Farms, a 37 acre farm also located in Wharton.
This was just a quick drive around the web on a Saturday afternoon. We are sure to travel these roads again!
A few more notes:
National Center for Disaster Fraud to Coordinate Haitian and Chilean Fraud Complaints. Shortly after the earthquake in Haiti last January, the FBI and the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) established a telephone hotline to report suspected fraud associated with relief efforts. That number, (866) 720-5721, was initially staffed for the purpose of reporting suspected scams being perpetrated by criminals in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. Since then, with the recent earthquake in Chile, our efforts have expanded to identify similar fraud activity emerging from that disaster. Therefore, the public is encouraged to call this same number—(866) 720-5721—to report suspected fraud from either disaster. The telephone line is staffed by a live operator 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Additionally, e-mail information can be directly sent to disaster@leo.gov.
The National Center for Disaster Fraud was originally established by the Department of Justice to investigate, prosecute, and deter fraud in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when billions of dollars in federal disaster relief poured into the Gulf Coast region. Now, its mission has expanded to include suspected fraud from any natural or manmade disaster. More than 20 federal agencies, including the FBI, participate in the NCDF, allowing the center to act as a centralized clearinghouse of information related to Haitian or Chilean relief fraud.
Pets of Haitian earthquake victims entering into the U.S.
News from Animal Wrongs
"GOAL, an international humanitarian agency dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poorest of the poor, recently lost a large donation that was meant to assist victims of the Haiti earthquake because an animal rights organization argued against the source of the donation.
The Irish Coursing Club, a century old greyhound sporting club, and Bookmaker Boylesports raised money at its events this past month towards the relief efforts being made in Haiti. The victims of the earthquake, however must have seemed insignificant to the self-righteous animal rights activists. Members of the misleadingly titled animal rights group, the Irish Council Against Bloodsports protested against the source of the donation, and ultimately prevented it from ever reaching Haiti." (see link for entire story)
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