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Thomas Paine

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.
Showing posts with label Air pollution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Air pollution. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Environmental Challenges

Mean surface temperature change for 1999–2008 ...Image via Wikipedia
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Global WarmingGlobal Warming (Photo credit: mirjoran)
Decline in thickness of glaciers worldwide ove...Image via Wikipedia
Geologic time scale Climate ChangeImage via Wikipedia
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LE MONDE SELON MONSANTOLE MONDE SELON MONSANTO (Photo credit: David_Reverchon)
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Natural News

Antibiotics may be permanently altering the Guts of humanity 
Salt is Life


The Policy Advisor's Dilemma - R Pielke, Jr
When scientists politicize science R Pielke Jr
 JoAnn Nova discusses Global Warming
Radiation physics constraints on global warming : co2 increase has little effect
Terms that have different meanings for scientists and the public
Mitigating Ozone Pollution and Climate Change Through Methane Control

When scientists politicize science R Pielke Jr
 JoAnn Nova discusses Global Warming
on the gargantuan lie of climate change science
Terms that have different meanings for scientists and the public
Mitigating Ozone Pollution and Climate Change Through Methane Control
Is Free Energy a National Security Issue ?
Libbe HaLevy, Simi Valley Nuclear Disaster, Post-Fukushima Activist Response
Can We Switch to Electric Cars ?
Air Pollution
E News Japan Energy News
Occupy Monsanto
2,4-D
Monsanto declared worst company of 2011
GMOs, a 12 year olds urgent warning to other kids
Global harms of industrial ag
Military Industrial Agriculture
Battle against modified Eucalptus trees
Global opposition to REDD forest carbon offsets

Environmental Toxicity and the Effect on Health
The Sixth Extinction
The Dying Trees - Ozone and Pollution
Natural Gas: Avoidable Health Hazard
How we wrecked the ocean
Oil well has been poisoning the Gulf of Mexico for 7 years
Mitigating Ozone Pollution and Climate Change Through Methane Control
Society to review climate message
Scientists questioning the accuracy of IPCC projections

When scientists politicize science R Pielke Jr
Post Normal Science, its culture and how it retards learning in our universities*
*Activist Teacher in Litigation
Fraud : The Big Lie of Global Warming
The World According to Monsanto
Monsanto GM soybean open planting ( Canada )
Seeds of Destruction
Marijuana laws - Canada
Story of Depleted Uranium
Educate Yourself - Global Warming

Climategate ( RSS Feeds )
State of Fear - Crichton
Fallen Angels ( SF on Ice Age )
NOVA - Science in the NewsDying Trees
Desertification and Chemtrails
 Neil Tyson explains UFOs and everything
Chemtrail Health Effects on Humans and Environment
Monsanto : a History

  Chemtrails Produced by Aviation Fuel Laced With Trimethylaluminum or Aluminum? | AirCrap.org
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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

10 Aug - News Notes

An F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, marked AA-1, lan...Image via Wikipedia

The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under ...
Jul 11, 2010 ... The Codex Alimentarius Committee are the same corrupt pharmaceutical supporting organisation that are trying to destroy herbal remedies and ...
Feb 5, 2009 ... Codex Alimentarius, created by pharmaceutical companies and the company which made and supplied the gas used in Auschwitz, ...
Codex is NOT going to protect us, it will hurt us financially and healthwise by ... of another globalist plan/plot goes ahead with "CODEX ALIMENTARIUS", ...
Sagebrush BBQ & Grill and Max & T's Bar Linked to Hepatitis A Illness
http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/sagebrush-bbq-grill-and-max-ts-bar-linked-to-hepatitis-a-illness
 

Girls Hitting Puberty at Younger Age: Study - Discovery

  • U.S. girls are starting puberty at a younger age than past generations, according to a new study.
  • Negative impacts associated with early puberty in girls include increased risk of cancer later in life and psychological troubles.
  • The researchers still don't know what's causing this trend. 
GENETICALLY MODIFIED SOY LINKED TO STERILITY, INFANT MORTALITY
By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups.
And if this isn't shocking enough, some in the third generation even had hair growing inside their mouths.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind (Even When It's Not Out of Sight)
http://www.truth-out.org/out-sight-out-mind-even-when-its-not-out-sight62137
We have witnessed an incredibly broad, and powerful, propaganda campaign. A campaign that peaked this week with the US government, clearly acting in BP’s best interests, itself announcing, via outlets willing to allow themselves to be used to transfer the propaganda, like the New York Times, this message: “The government is expected to announce on Wednesday that three-quarters of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon leak has already evaporated, dispersed, been captured or otherwise eliminated — and that much of the rest is so diluted that it does not seem to pose much additional risk of harm.”
Two captains of so-called “vessels of opportunity” helping with the cleanup recently told Times-Picayune reporter Bob Marshall that they saw more oil at South Pass on Tuesday than they have during the entire crisis.
Yesterday I spoke with Clint Guidry, a Louisiana fisherman who is on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Shrimp Association and the Shrimp Harvester Representative on the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force created by Executive Order of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

“Right now, there is more oil in Barataria Bay than there has been since this whole thing started on April 20,” 
BP oil is now turning up under the shells of post-larval blue crabs all across the northern Gulf of Mexico. Nearly all the crab larvae collected to date by researchers, from Grand Isle, Louisiana all the way over to Pensacola, Florida, have oil under their shells. Further analysis is showing that the crabs likely also contain BP’s Corexit dispersant.

On August 5th it was reported that a pair of fishermen in Mississippi “made an alarming discovery that has many wondering what’s happening below the surface” of the Gulf of Mexico. They found several full-sized crabs filled with oil. 
A rock jetty near Waveland became covered in one thousand pounds of tar balls in only three days time. It was also recently revealed that the worst dead zone in 25 years has been recorded in Gulf of Mexico waters.
“In May, Mother Nature Network blogger Karl Burkart received a tip from an anonymous fisherman-turned-BP contractor in the form of a distressed text message, describing a near-apocalyptic sight near the location of the sunken Deepwater Horizon — fish, dolphins, rays, squid, whales, and thousands of birds – “as far as the eye can see,” dead and dying. According to his statement, which was later confirmed by another report from an individual working in the Gulf, whale carcasses were being shipped to a highly guarded location where they were processed for disposal.”

Environmental and Health Impacts of the BP Gulf Oil Spill
Plus Necessary Resources for the Healthcare Provider

http://oilspillsolutionsnow.org/?page_id=176
The relentless cycle of low pressure systems throughout the Gulf of Mexico during the summer season is instrumental in keeping the many toxic vapors close to the surface of the Gulf, as well as the many coastal communities that rim her. We are not only talking about petroleum VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) and the dispersant chemicals found in COREXIT and the hovering methane gas concentrations. We are also talking about the inevitable interactions and synergies among these chemical contaminants that produce much more powerful combinations, especially when they co-exist in such a conducive environment as the Gulf of Mexico hot and humid stewpot.
These realities in the water, and in the air, ought to be known by anyone participating in cleanup and recovery operations anywhere in the Gulf. To ignore them is to do so at great peril. The water has been polluted to a degree never seen on such a grand scale in US Territorial Waters. There simply is no precedent here.
There are dimensions that none have ever dared to whisper because it would mean the end of the Oil & Gas Industry for good.

Question:
What do you get when you mix
oil & methane gas,
with oil dispersant (COREXIT),
with radioactive effluent,
with surface-burning oil slicks (petroleum+dispersant),
with lots of dead marine life of every sort and kind
in the Gulf of Mexico during a hot and humid summer?

Answer:
A toxic petrochemical stew which is neither safe to eat from, nor swim in. The affected beaches, wetlands, marshes and estuaries should also be viewed with great caution, or avoided altogether.
 
The following article lays bare some of the greatest concerns by those in the field of toxicology. Dr. Shaw offers some invaluable toxicological perspective.

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0710/toxicologist-shrimpers-exposed-oilcorexit-mix-suffered-bleeding-rectum/

Dr. Shaw offered a stark analysis of Corexit 9500 in her piece for The New York Times.
“Though all dispersants are potentially dangerous when applied in such volumes, Corexit [9500] is particularly toxic,” she wrote. “It contains petroleum solvents and a chemical that, when ingested, ruptures red blood cells and causes internal bleeding. It is also bioaccumulative, meaning its concentration intensifies as it moves up the food chain.”

Speaking to CNN on Friday, her message was a bit more dire.
“It ruptures red blood cells, causes internal bleeding and liver and kidney damage,” Dr. Shaw said. “This stuff is so toxic — combined, it’s not the oil alone, it’s not the dispersant — the dispersed oil that still contains this stuff, it’s very, very toxic and it goes right through skin.”

It has been estimated that 11.1 million gallons of oil have been burned on the surface of the Gulf thus far. The resulting aerosolizing of the hydrocarbon chemical constituents, along with the dispersant chemical constituents will produce vectors of dissemination that must be further studied. Such a high concentration of harmful airborne chemicals and contaminants, especially if there is a radioactive component, could pose a great health risk to all life residing downwind from the surface oil-burning activity.

We could even see similarities to Gulf War Syndrome experienced by US Service Members who were downwind from the burning oil fields in Kuwait.
 
The many first responders who showed up at the 911 rubble pile in NYC suffer from a unique malady known as 911 Toxic Dust Syndrome. And although it has yet to be officially recognized by the US Federal Government, it has a specific set of baseline symptoms which are exhibited by many, even those who were present when the Twin Towers came down. There are many who lived and worked in the same general vicinity who also experience symptoms to this day.

The health and medical records of many first responders who have passed away since 911 will also reveal that they exhibited none of these unique symptoms prior to 911. Therefore, many of these deaths were caused directly by a disease process that was triggered by their exposure to the aerosolized toxic dust that came to permeate a large swath of lower Manhattan. These same records will also reveal a similar pattern of health issues and medical diagnoses which is very similar to those who are still living with the
pain and suffering associated with 911 TOXIC DUST SYNDROME.

The area of research that studies the effects of different combinations of these chemical constituents is at an alarmingly rudimentary stage of development. Therefore, we really do not know the long-term effects of the various chemicals that, through synergistic interactions, can ramp up their level of toxicity in living organisms. Because we are particularly concerned about the deleterious effects to human life, it may be very difficult to ever assess these health risks. Who among us would avail our person to such exposures for the sake of testing?

We can make the following three (3) statements about oil, dispersant (Corexit 9500) and dispersed oil. As follows:

(1) 10.72 parts per million (ppm) of oil alone will kill 50% of the fish test species in a normal aquatic environment within 96 hours.
(2) 25.20 parts per million of dispersant (Corexit 9500) alone will kill 50% of the fish test species in a normal aquatic environment within 96 hours.
(3) 2.61 parts per million of dispersed oil (Corexit-laden) alone will kill 50% of the fish test species in a normal aquatic environment within 96 hours.

HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS AND RESOURCES
Gulf Oil Spill Health Hazards
http://www.sciencecorps.org/crudeoilhazards.htm
******************************************************************************
BLACK WAVE: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez

http://oilspillsolutionsnow.org/?page_id=150
******************************************************************************
Minimizing Adverse Health Effects Through Transparency & Intelligent Mitigation Responses

http://oilspilltruth.wordpress.com/
******************************************************************************
Environmental Health Impacts

http://oilspillsolutionsnow.org/?page_id=140

Dr. Tom Termotto, BCIM, DCAE
National Coordinator

Gulf Oil Spill Remediation Conference (International Citizens’ Initiative)
Tallahassee, FL
OilSpillSolution@comcast.net

http://oilspillsolutionsnow.org/
SKYPE: Gulf_Advocate

Pets Vital to Human Evolution-Discovery

New theory - paleoanthropologist Pat Shipman of Penn State University.

  • Meat-eating and animal domestication separated humans from other apes.
  • Taking in animals is uniquely human and seems counterproductive at first.
  • Hunting and caring for animals drove the development of technology and languages.

 

CIA AND ISI NURTURED MUJAHEDEEN AND TALIBAN 

As the conditions in Iran worsened, the Soviets really began to believe that the United States was going to invade Iran and then push into Afghanistan, and Hafizullah Amin was going to be the means by which they were going to do that. So that was their thinking. They got rattled. They voted I think it was five times against invading Afghanistan. And then finally they said, look it, the generals came forward-Paul Warnke told us this; the man who negotiated the SALT II treaty told us personally-he said the Russians, the military leadership, came to the Politburo and said, look it, you know, we're not getting anywhere with the United States; SALT isn't going to be ratified by the Congress; the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty that was signed by President Carter is not going to be ratified. He said, we can't go anywhere; we've got nothing to lose by going into Afghanistan.


 War in Eastasia
http://www.ips-dc.org/articles/war_in_eastasia?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IPS%2Flatest+%28The+Latest+from+the+Institute+for+Policy+Studies%29

The WikiLeaks info-dump of more than 90,000 documents, in addition to proving to the few who had not yet realized that the United States is in deep doo-doo, have shown that our ally Pakistan is collaborating with the Taliban and al-Qaeda to plan attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan.

( Doo-doo that is apparently a matter of established historical choice. )

 Afghanistan: In Search of the True Civilian Toll
http://www.truth-out.org/afghanistan-in-search-true-civilian-toll62139

President Hamid Karzai’s office issued its own press release, condemning the missile strike in Rigi.

“Based on reports by the National Directorate of Security, a house in Rigi village in Sangin district of southern province of Helmand was hit with a rocket launched by NATO/ISAF troops leaving 52 civilians dead including women and children,”

“The President stressed that the recent documents leaked out to media clearly support and verify Afghanistan’s all-time position that success over terrorism does not come with fighting in Afghan villages, but by targeting its sanctuaries and financial and ideological sources across the borders,”

Haji Hussain, another man from Joshali village who had taken refuge in Rigi : “We don’t know why they’re killing us,” he said, his voice rising. “The foreigners say they try to protect civilians, but they are killing us. They are supposed to have very advanced technology that can detect a nail on the ground from the air, so why the hell could they not see a house full of women and children? No one survived the strike. They talk of humanity and civilization, where does their humanity and civilization go when they decide to kill women and children? It’s all lies. They’re just our enemies … ”

Hussein was unsure of the exact number of casualties; he thought it was about 45.

A Break in Israeli-Turkish Relations
http://www.truth-out.org/a-break-israeliturkish-relations62126

Although bringing Israel to the table seemed like a breakthrough for the international system, the ability of this commission to restore justice and avert a break in Israeli-Turkish relations is very dubious. The commission, which has impaired impartiality because of two pro-Israeli members among its four members, does not have the authority to interview any of the Israeli officers or commandos or the survivors of the attack. Nor can the commission demand an apology and compensation from Israel, which are the minimum requirements for Turkey to restore ties with Israel.

Further deterioration in Turkish-Israeli relations or an official termination of diplomatic ties will have far-reaching and disastrous implications for the region and beyond.

This new trend will also inevitably increase the gap between East and West, and have a further destabilizing effect on the Middle East. Both Arabs and Israelis would be losing the single capable actor to mediate the conflicts between them.

Israel, mired in its “overwhelming force doctrine,” is a declining power in the region. The political defeats of its last three military campaigns — the 2006 Lebanon War, the 2008 Gaza invasion, and the 2010 deadly flotilla attack — increased its regional and global isolation, and minimized its strategic maneuvering space. At this point, even unconditional U.S. support does not help much to ease Israel’s isolation before the eyes of the world community. To make matters worse, Israel’s further isolation and the escalation of tension with its neighbors may make the country more of a burden for the United States, which is beginning to question its strategic partnership with this problematic ally, and further alienate liberal American Jews.

A "STINKER" OF A JOBS REPORT AND HARPER SAYS IT'S TIME TO FOCUS ON THE DEFICIT - if so, then how about following the advice of an honoured Canadian and "go where the money is"

As we prepare to take on the deficit, let's not forget Harper's plan to spend 10 billion on prisons. Defying all logic, this is supposed to lower the crime rate . . . that's by the way, at a historic low. On the other hand, if the one thousand dangerous criminals that were arrested at the G20 protest is anything to go by, perhaps once all the austerity measures really hit, we will need more prisons after all. ( Do I need to post 'Snark Alert' for satire ? )

Put that together with the purchase of 65 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Jets estimated to be around 16 billion once the maintenance costs are factored in. One does start to wonder just what all the deficit mania is about.  Clearly, it's quite ok to spend on beefing up the RCMP's capacity to quell angry citizens and on the military (and just who are these Fighters going to be fighting anyways?). 
So just how is the deficit going to be fought? Well, apparently not by cutting the public service says newly anointed Tory House leader MP John Baird. He told the Ottawa Citizen "We won't see the massive cuts to the public service that happened under the last Liberal government."

Well what's left? Who's going to pay for this year's projected 54 billion dollar deficit? Cutting back government programs we are told, and we all know in the end that means cutting back on the social safety net and other social programs. 
 Bob Blair on how to cut the deficit?  Bob said "go where the money is*". The rich have the money and a wealth tax (as opposed to an income tax) could pay down deficit in one move and make a good dent in the overall debt as well.
( * That's what happens in sales and when judgements are made in court : the only practical recourse.)
Paul Jay
Gates Proposes Limited Defense Spending Reductions
http://www.truth-out.org/gates-proposal-would-cut-thousands-defense-jobs62159
In an effort to deter potential budget cuts by Congress*...Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Monday proposed to cut spending on contracting, to close a command stationed in Norfolk, Va., and to reduce the number of flag officers and civilian leaders.

The proposed changes would lead to the elimination of thousands of jobs.
(* Editorial opinion)
Gates called the changes an effort to eliminate waste and duplication. Gates also proposed cutting the budget for contractors who support the Defense Department by 30 percent over three years; freezing the number of employees in his offices, defense agencies and combatant commands; and eliminating 50 generals and admirals and 150 top civilian posts over two years. He also called for cuts in intelligence contractors.

The secretary made the announcement while Congress is in recess

What Landmark Proposition 8 Ruling Means for the Future
http://www.truth-out.org/what-landmark-proposition-8-ruling-means-future62149
The anti-marriage equality side presented only two witnesses, who were unable to articulate any rational reason to treat straights and gays differently when it comes to the right to marry.
# Marriage in the United States has always been a civil matter. Civil authorities may permit religious leaders to solemnize marriages, but not to determine who may enter or leave a civil marriage.
# California, like every other state, has never required that individuals entering a marriage be willing or able to procreate.
# Individuals do not generally choose their sexual orientation.
# Same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples in the characteristics relevant to the ability to form successful marital unions.  
Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.

 
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Monday, June 21, 2010

21 June - Political Whirled


25 Little-Known Google Tools for Scholars and Academics

60 Awesome Search Engines for Serious Writers

On the Border: News Reporters Now Enemies of Truth

By Brenda Norrell
Narcosphere
People who live along the US/Mexico border have a new online patrol. We are all now scouts on the lookout for the news reporters, television crews and filmmakers who come to the border to promote themselves and tell the same old worn out story about drug running along the border.

The underlying theme of their stories is always the same: White people are good and brown people are bad.
These news reporters always leave out this vital fact: The narcotics pipeline exists because of the demand for illegal drugs in the US.

News reporters certainly don't want to investigate the fact that the most notorious killers, now running the drug war in Mexico, the Zetas, were trained by US Special Forces.

These same news reporters don't like to report that US soldiers have been heavily involved in running drugs. The FBI had to shut down the sting operation, Operation Lively Green, because so many US soldiers wanted to run cocaine from Nogales to Phoenix.

Naomi Klein: Gulf oil spill: A hole in the world

The Deepwater Horizon disaster is not just an industrial accident – it is a violent wound inflicted on the Earth itself. In this special report from the Gulf coast, a leading author and activist shows how it lays bare the hubris at the heart of capitalism
Naomi Klein The Guardian, Saturday 19 June 2010 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/jun/19/naomi-klein-gulf-oil-spill

Chief Arvol Looking Horse: A Great Urgency

To All World Religious and Spiritual Leaders

My Relatives,

Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I

ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit

of your Nations in prayer.

We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the World; we

are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing their sacred color,

which have been signs for us to pray for the sacred life of all things. As

I am sending this message to you, many Animal Nations are being threatened,

those that swim, those that crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations,

eventually all will be affect from the oil disaster in the Gulf.


Why the US is using Israel for a proxy attack against Iran. To stop Iran’s natural gas deal with Pakistan.

US Congressional records show that US oil companies like Unicol, petitioned the US government to use the US military to expedite a regime change in Afghanistan so that Unicol could begin building a Trans-Afghanistan natural gas pipeline through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India. During a FEBRUARY 12, 1998 US Congressional hearing Unocal actually asked the US government to remove the Taliban and install a US friendly leader in Afghanistan. Again the US is planning to attack another country, using Israel as its proxy, to take control of yet another natural gas pipeline - this time the Iranian natural gas pipeline deal with Pakistan
“The deal was signed. Export of Iran’s gas to Pakistan will be launched by the end of 2015,” Iran’s state TV reported.
“For 25 years Iran will export one million cubic metres of natural gas to Pakistan per day,” it said.
The project is crucial for Pakistan to avert a growing energy crisis already causing severe electricity shortages in the country of about 170 million, at the same time as it confronts Islamist militancy.
( Funny how one can read something that seems insightful...and realize there's a bias involved that reveals the writer likely doesn't have a clue. Besides which ; would this deal solve Iran's U.S.- caused energy shortage ? This is likely to become  extremely messy instantly. )
The US has been intentionally (and illegally) interfering with Iran’s development of its rich oil and gas resources with sanctions, both UN and US imposed sanctions, The US imposed sanctions against Afghanistan and Iraq for the very same reasons. The US has been using a totally fictitious nuclear threat from Iran to divert US and World attention away from the real US agenda - to take control of the oil and natural gas resources of yet another Middle East country.


VA quietly giving benefits to Marines exposed to toxic water


FOR VETERANS WHO MIGHT BE AFFECTED
Veterans who think they might have been affected by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune can apply for service connection health benefits from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs . You can apply by filling out VA Form 21-526, Veterans Application for Compensation and/or Pension.
The VA recommends that if you have any of the following material, please attach it to your application:
— Discharge or separation papers (DD214 or equivalent)
— Dependency records (marriage & children's birth certificates)
— Medical evidence (doctor & hospital reports)
Veterans who have applied for benefits related to water contamination at Camp Lejeune say they strongly recommend a medical nexus letter from a doctor.
For more information, contact your local VA office or your local veterans service organization, or go online to http://www.vba.va.gov/VBA/
The Marine Corps also has a website about the Lejeune contamination, www.tftptf.com
ON THE WEB
Department of Veterans Affairs benefits website

Holocaust Survivor protests Israel massacre in Gaza 2009


nbGazette

USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and one Israeli warship, crossed Suez Canal into Red Sea to seize humanitarian aid ships by force and commit acts of violence against civilians

Intercepts Iranian aid convoy to Gaza
For all you naive Canadians who believe Canada isn’t or was never involved in the US war of aggression against Iraq you are sadly wrong and deceived as the HMCS Charlottetown has been with the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group when the US attacked Iraq on March 18, 2003.); and the British destroyer HMS Manchester (D95).
A day earlier the Egyptian government denied an Israeli government request not to allow the Iranian flotilla to use the Suez Canal to reach Gaza.
Collective punishment is specifically barred under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that the objective of the blockade is to weaken the Gaza economy and undermine support for Hamas. That is a political, not a military, objective, and it is impermissible under international law to target innocent civilians to achieve nonmilitary goals.
The second point pertains to the attack on the Freedom Flotilla. As Bisharat notes, “Actions taken to enforce an illegal siege cannot themselves be legal.” The Israel commandos were transported 70 miles offshore, into international waters. There, they attacked a civilian vessel flagged to an allied state — a NATO member — and killed and wounded some yet unclarified number of activists whose journey was motivated by their opposition to the blockade.
It was not an act of “piracy,” because the Israeli troops were operating under the flag of a nation-state. Because the blockade violates international law, and Israel had no military justification for boarding her with special forces troops, it rather constituted an “illegal act of war.” Craig Murray, a former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, called the legal situation “very plain”:
Because the incident took place on the high seas does not mean … that international law is the only applicable law. The Law of the Sea is quite plain that, when an incident takes place on a ship on the high seas (outside anybody’s territorial waters) the applicable law is that of the flag state of the ship on which the incident occurred. In legal terms, the Turkish ship was Turkish territory.
There are therefore two clear legal possibilities.
Possibility one is that the Israeli commandos were acting on behalf of the government of Israel in killing the activists on the ships. In that case Israel is in a position of war with Turkey, and the act falls under international jurisdiction as a war crime.
Possibility two is that, if the killings were not authorised Israeli military action, they were acts of murder under Turkish jurisdiction. If Israel does not consider itself in a position of war with Turkey, then it must hand over the commandos involved for trial in Turkey under Turkish law.


Not All Environmentalists Pleased with Climate Legislation

"It's not accurate to call this a climate bill," said Tyson Slocum who serves as Energy Director for Public Citizen, a Washington DC based consumer advocacy organization. "This is nuclear energy- promoting, oil drilling-championing, coal mining-boosting legislation with a weak carbon pricing mechanism thrown in."

"National environmental groups in Washington, DC, led by Environmental Defense Fund, are sending the message that they'll accept nearly any compromise to get a bill through," David Orr, who serves as Chair of the Ozark Headwaters Group, Sierra Club's Arkansas Chapter, recently told Truthout. "With the British Petroleum oil disaster devastating the Gulf of Mexico, EDF and other big-name green groups applaud the Kerry-Lieberman bill that allows for greatly expanded offshore drilling, and other give-aways to polluting industries that do nothing to advance the cause for climate protection."

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

18 May - Gas Wells Are Not Our Friends

Gas Wells Are Not Our Friends


How To Stanch An Oil Volcano: Rachel Maddow Show



Mother's Day: A Call For Peace



PA Department of Environmental Protection Studies Air Quality




South Caddo (LA) Evacuees Return Home

The residents of South Caddo, evacuated this week due to hazardous gasses in their homes from gas drilling-related causes,  were allowed to return to their homes yesterday.  But first they went to the Shreveport Fire Station No. 22 to pick up water.  The water was not provided by the offending gas company, Exco Resources, Inc.  The water was provided at taxpayers' expense by the fire department.  A team of 23 people escorted the residents back to their homes and went in first in groups of three to test and make sure it was safe. 
Shreveport Times article



Firsthand Experiences With the Marcellus Shale Drilling: Stephanie Hallowich Speaks Out


Troy Borough (PA) Council Approves Gas Lease


From the Sidebar



Food for Thought

"And by reason of their boundless pride. . .there shall be nothing remaining on the earth or under the earth or in the waters that shall not be pursued and molested or destroyed."


Leonardo da Vinci




"We are the most dangerous species of life on the planet, and every other species, even the earth itself, has cause to fear our power to exterminate. But we are also the only species which, when it chooses to do so, will go to great effort to save what it might destroy."


- Wallace Stegner, renowned western writer and conservationist


"In every decision we must consider the impact on the seventh generation."


A principle of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Nation