GULF OF MEXICO, MEDTERRANEAN SEA, WHAT'S THE DIF

While all the action seems to be happening onshore around the Mediterranean, don't think there aren't problems out to sea, too. Just because it ain't the Gulf of Mexico doesn't mean all is well.


THE FOLLOWING IS FROM HAARETZ

Wildlife group warns planned offshore drilling could harm Mediterranean sea life

International watchdog World Wildlife Fund charges Leviathan drilling site that the planned drills disregarded legal restrictions set down in international agreements to protect the sea.

By Zafrir Rinat

One of the world's most important environmental organizations, the World Wildlife Fund, warned yesterday about the ecological impact of planned natural gas drills in the eastern Mediterranean, first and foremost those planned by Israel and Egypt.

In a statement, the organization charged that the planned drills disregarded legal restrictions set down in international agreements to protect the sea and would cause severe damage to marine species.

	An oil rig (illustrative)
	Photo by: AP

The statement singled out Israel's Leviathan site - located 135 kilometers offshore and involving drills at a depth of more than 1,000 meters - as well as a planned Egyptian drill located 80 kilometers from the Nile Delta. Both are areas whose seabeds contain a wealth of unique species, said Dr. Sergei Tudela of WWF, and their ecosystems are very fragile and sensitive to outside interference.

Prof. Bella Galil of the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute in Haifa said the planned drill sites contained many species of coral, sponges and crabs, as well as various types of sharks.

"These are small populations, so if they suffer damage, it will be very hard for them to recover," she explained. "This is a region that is likely to be important to humans, because of these species' contribution to the development of various products. But it's also very interesting and special, and therefore, it must be protected."

WWF says that all the countries of the eastern Mediterranean, including Israel, are bound by various treaties aimed at protecting the sea, including a protocol on preventing pollution from drilling that is part of the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution. That protocol came into force about six weeks ago, after the requisite number of countries ratified it.

The organization also claims there is an absolute ban on drilling in areas that are particularly ecologically sensitive. It is therefore demanding environmental impact studies of these drills before they go forward.

Israel, however, has yet to ratify the protocol on pollution from drilling, and Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan therefore recently ordered his staff to complete the groundwork for the government to do so. The ministry has complained that it currently lacks tools to supervise gas drills and prevent them from causing environmental damage. Ratifying the treaty, it says, would at least deepen Israel's legal commitment to doing so.

AMERICAN'S NEW SLAVERY

It's unfortunate and racist fact of American life that if you are a young black man just trying to stay alive isn't easy, and just trying to stay out of jail is even harder.  Yet, somehow, what we hear all about is the bellyaching of the white, tea party types who have, oh, such a tough life.  Give me a break.

The following posts are from the blog US Prison Culture.

Hip Hop and the Banality of Incarceration

 

 

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Look at the cover of Ja Rule’s 2003 album Blood in My Eye. See the prison in the background? He is paying homage to George Jackson's book of the same title. Yet the impactful cover art belies the crappy lyrics contained on the actual CD. Ja Rule’s words in no way measure up to the powerful ones written by Jackson.

This got me thinking about the fact that the most successful modern social movements (the black freedom movement, the anti-war movement, etc…) seem to have had an accompanying soundtrack.

What would be the soundtrack for a modern social movement to dismantle prisons? A few weeks ago, in response to a request, I offered a few songs about prisons/jails that I like. However besides Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos by Public Enemy and 16 on Death Row by Tupac from that list, I don’t know that I would include any of the other songs on my anti-PIC movement soundtrack.

This led me to think more deeply about the relationship between rap music and the prison industrial complex. A number of rappers offer prison as a setting for their lyrics, album covers and videos. Yet how often have you heard these performers actually talking about prison abolition or even reform? The answer is simple… very rarely. Why is this?

I have a theory that it is because incarceration among young black men has been and is naturalized in actuality and in representation. I think that hip hop artists don’t talk about reform or abolition because to them prison has been and is a part of the experience of being young and black in America. It is a black boy’s rite of passage so to speak. I have no empirical evidence of the truth of this claim. I am just making an assumption based on very limited knowledge. This will no doubt prove to be problematic when it is shown that I am completely wrong. Yet, how would you explain the disconnect? I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the matter…

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It took me 3000 words to say what Mos Def said in 35…

Honestly it is a curse to have spent so many years in school… Academia has a way of making it impossible for a person to write succinctly and clearly. I have now spent the past few years unlearning bad habits from years of graduate school. No one cares about any of this so back to my main point…

I am writing an article about the so-called “war on drugs” and its impact on young women of color. I really hate what I have written so far. When that happens, I decide to listen to music to get my mind off the pain of writing. So I put in my Black on Both Sides CD by Mos Def. Halfway through listening to the song “Mathematics”, I decided to chuck everything that I had just written. I turned off the CD player and went to lie down.

In under 35 words, Mos Def had said what I still could not convey in 3000. Here’s the relevant passage from the song:

all research and successful drug policy show
that treatment should be increased
and law enforcement decreased
while abolishing mandatory minimum sentences
they’re trying to build a prison
(for you and me to live in).

There you have it folks. There is no way to top the eloquence and simplicity of these words. So now this is the standard. I am going to tell the editor of the journal that she should call Mos Def and ask him to write the essay about how the war on drugs impacts women of color. He’s likely to send back two sentences that say it all…

Tags: mass incarceration, prisons, war on drugs, women in prison

About The Author

prison culture

I have been an anti-violence activist and organizer since my teen years. I recently founded and currently direct a grassroots organization in Chicago dedicated to eradicating youth incarceration. My anti-prison activism is an extension of my work as an anti-violence organizer.

THINGS THAT GO BOOM IN GREECE AND MORE

Greece is one of those States that are jumpin'. The people of Greece are so pissed off about so many things, I just can't keep up.  Sometimes they blow things up, sometimes they just battle police in the streets, and the other day they even took over toll booths.  


The first article below is from ekanthimerini, as is the second..  The third is from TVNZ.

Guerrilla group claims ministry letter bomb 

 Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire said it sent package in solidarity with members facing trial 

A letter bomb sent to the Justice Ministry offices last week was destroyed in a controlled explosion before it could go off and so caused no damage or injuries

The urban guerrilla group, Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, on Sunday claimed responsibility for a letter bomb that was sent to the Justice Ministry in Athens last Wednesday but destroyed by police before it could go off.


The group, which also claimed responsibility for a powerful explosion at an Athens court building in late December as well as a wave of parcel bombs sent to embassies in Athens in November, said its latest initiative was intended to express support for some of its suspected members who are currently facing trial.


“To show our solidarity with the battle of the imprisoned members of Conspiracy of Fire Cells and to our worthy brothers, we sent a letter bomb to Justice Minister Haris Kastanidis,” the group said in a written proclamation published on the Greek version of the anti-capitalist news network Indymedia. The statement reproached Kastanidis for refusing to satisfy the demands of defendants for the minutes of the trial to be tape-recorded (a procedure that was foregone to save money).


The statement also condemned the minister for claiming that last Wednesday’s letter bomb had contained enough explosives to kill him, noting that the “precautionary measures” were the same as those taken in the letter bombs used in November.
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Protesters occupy toll stations

 Demonstrators want contracts of road management firms to be revoked

A protester holds up two placards reading 'Free roads' and 'We won't pay' in front of a toll station on the outskirts of Athens on Sunday

Hundreds of protesters gathered at toll stations across the country on Sunday, forcing open barriers and allowing motorists to pass through without paying.


The protests, which peaked between noon and 3 p.m., are part of a broader initiative by citizens who are refusing to pay road tolls or purchase public transport tickets.


A spokesperson for the crowd that gathered at the Afidnes toll station, north of Athens, said that demonstrators did not simply object to the increase in toll charges but that they demanded the revocation of the contracts signed between the government and the consortia who are to manage the country’s national roads. “We pay higher taxes on fuel and road tax for maintenance works. We are not going to pay through the nose for toll charges too,” said Stratis Loupatatzis.


Last week Justice Minister Haris Kastanidis provoked vehement protests from opposition parties after suggesting that the government should show some “understanding” for a growing number of citizens’ movements that have united under the “I won’t pay” banner. “Laws must be enforced,” he said. “But there has to be a balance between the strict enforcement of a court decision and social reality.”
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Greek police clash with residents over landfill

Published: 8:34AM Wednesday February 09, 2011 Source: Reuters

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  The Acropolis - Source: Reuters

Greek police have clashed with residents protesting against the planned construction of a landfill dump close to an archaeological site near Athens, officials said.

Police fired several rounds of teargas at residents and hooded youths in the town of Keratea, who hurled petrol bombs and stones at them.

"Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of Keratea, both residents and anarchists. Police are firing teargas to disperse them," said a police official who declined to be named.

Four protesters were slightly injured and about five cars damaged, and more police were expected to reach Keratea later in the evening, the official said.

Residents have clashed with police several times over the planned waste dump. In December, a local court ruled that the project should be suspended temporarily, but residents say police are still guarding the area.

Greece has been fined in the past for failing to meet EU targets for waste management.

WAR CRIMES TRIAL, BUT THEY WON'T GO TO JAIL

A war crimes trial will take place next month in Spain against Moroccan politicians and soldiers for their acts against the Sahwari people.  Though it's nice to see somebody who cares, in this case, Judge Baltasar Garzon, no one will be punished no matter what the outcome.  And that just isn't right.

The following is from the Sahara News Service.

War crimes in Western Sahara: Trial of Moroccan official in March in Madrid

The Judge Rome (Italy) Feb07,2011(SPS) - The trial on the genocide and the war crimes perpetrated by Moroccan politicians and soldiers, since October 1975 to 1987, will be open on 9- 10 March in Spain, Italian news agency Ansamed reported Sunday. In this regard, "human rights activist Aminatou Haidar and the 13 Sahrawi refugees living in Tindouf camps in Algeria have been called to appear as witnesses," the same source added. The investigation entrusted with famous Judge Baltasar Garzon in 2007 was based on a complaint filed in 2006 against 31 Moroccans responsible for the disappearance of 542 persons, after Spain withdrawal in 1975 from its former colony Western Sahara. The complaint also referred to the death by torture of 56 Saharawis in Moroccan prisons. After the preliminary hearing, Judge Garzon had reduced the number of persons covered by the investigations of 31 to 13 only. The investigation by Baltasar Garzon had been frozen after notice of a commission, and was returned to Morocco in October 2008, said this source. The judge, Pablo Ruiz, who replaced Judge Garzon, has reopened the case last November, and called last Thursday, the 14 Saharawi witnesses, said the same source. The 13 senior Moroccan officials, some of which are still active Hosni Benslimane, the head of the Moroccan Royal Gendarmerie since 1985, are accused of war crimes and genocide. Benslimane is also covered by international warrant for his alleged role in the assassination of opponent Mehdi Ben Barka in 1965. (SPS)

MOVE THEM TO THE FLINT HILLS

Montana needs to get a life and quit killing buffalos.  If they don't want em, I know folks in Kansas who would love to see a heard in the Flint Hills.  Hell, help em along, and the buffalos will walk there.  Ain't much to see in the Sunflower State.  Buffalo would be nice and it would be nice for them, too.


The following is from the Guardian.

Hundreds of Yellowstone buffalo face slaughter

Nearly 400 wild buffalo from Yellowstone national park in Montana face cull amid fears of disease outbreak

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• Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 February 2011 17.46 GMT
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Bison in frost-covered grass, Yellowstone national park. Photograph: David Ponton/Rex Features

Hundreds of buffalo from America's last great remaining wild herd could be sent for slaughter after being driven from Yellowstone national park by high snow and harsh temperatures, conservationists warned today.

Nearly 400 buffalo have been captured and penned on the northern boundaries of the park after wandering in search of food during an unusually severe winter.

Authorities were testing the animals for exposure to brucellosis, a disease that can cause pregnant cattle to abort. Those that test positive will be sent for slaughter under a controversial programme intended to protect Montana's cattle industry.

"It's a nightmare that is going on here," said Jeff Welsch, a spokesman for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. "One third of the herd was slaughtered under the same scenario in the winter of 2007-2008, and now we are going back to a similar situation."

News reports said today 53 of the 161 buffalo tested so far were positive for brucellosis.

Meanwhile, conservation groups were seeking court injunctions to stop the authorities from shipping the corralled animals to a slaughterhouse on Monday.

Welsch said hundreds more buffalo were lined up at the borders of the park. If park officials do not succeed in driving them back, those animals too were at risk of slaughter.

There are about 3,900 buffalo left in Yellowstone national park, the last genetically pure herd remaining of the millions that once roamed the American West. Their existence has come into conflict with Montana's billion-dollar cattle industry. Montana has a zero-tolerance policy for buffalo that wander out of the park – in part because of pressure from ranchers who fear the animals will infect their cows.

Conservationists argue there is little justification for the government's brucellosis regime. Although the disease is endemic to the Yellowstone herd there has never been a documented case of transmission from wild buffalo to cattle.

They say the prevention programme has taken a terrible toll on the buffalo. In 2008, after another unusually harsh winter drove the animals out of the park in search of food, some 1,600 were captured and killed, including 1,400 carrying brucellosis.

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For further information go to http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/