NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Katie O'Sheehan
Asogomi Publishing International
440.944.4746
September 19, 2006
Red Cross Demands Author Dump Donations
Cleveland, OH—In a surprise move, the American Red Cross insisted that author Tim Warneka stop his donations. Warneka, author of the newly released book Healing Katrina: Volunteering in Post-Hurricane Mississippi had been making electronic copies of his new book available free to any reader willing to send a donation to the Red Cross. “I was very surprised,” said Warneka, “but the Red Cross was very insistent that I remove their name from the publisher’s website.”
Warneka, who is also the president of Asogomi Publishing International, the micro-publisher that released Healing Katrina, received the strongly worded email after he sent the Red Cross notification about the book. “The Red Cross informed me that it is a federal offense to use their name and logo on a website without official permission. To say the least, this surprised me in light of all the people who linked to the American Red Cross’ website in the aftermath of both 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina,” said Warneka.
At the request of the Red Cross, Warneka is changing his website to remove any reference to the American Red Cross. “While my intention in offering this link was to create monetary support for the Red Cross, I fully appreciate that the Red Cross is working hard to protect itself. Asogomi Publishing International is doing everything it can to comply with the requests the Red Cross has made.”
In the meantime, Warneka will continue to offer Healing Katrina as a free downloadable ebook to anyone interested in making a contribution to any disaster relief agency. Healing Katrina can be downloaded at no cost at: http://www.asogomi.com.
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