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It is unclear what charges the former Maldives president faces. The upheaval in the strategic Indian Ocean nation has sparked concern that China may exploit the unrest.
By Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times
February 10, 2012
Reporting from New Delhi— A criminal court issued an arrest warrant Thursday for deposed Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed amid fear of further violence in the Indian Ocean nation after rioting the day before. It wasn't immediately clear what the charges against him were in the confusing and fast-evolving political crisis.
Newly installed President Mohammed Waheed Hassan moved Thursday to assemble a Cabinet, naming defense and home ministers who have had differences with Nasheed.
The jockeying and political upheaval come at a sensitive time for a country that held its first democratic election four years ago. The turmoil also provides a potential opening for China, which has been angling to expand its influence on India's doorstep, given the Maldives' strategic location astride Asia's main oil shipping lanes. And a protracted crisis could threaten the idyllic archipelago's tourism industry if it starts scaring away European and American travelers.
Nasheed, 44, spent much of Thursday with reporters and allies at his house as several hundred supporters formed a cordon outside under umbrellas in the inclement weather. Local news reports said the deposed president had sent his family to Sri Lanka while he awaited arrest.
Government officials and local reporters said a warrant was also issued Thursday for former Defense Minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu.
Newly named Home Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed said in a telephone interview that violent protests Wednesday by Nasheed supporters, which he said saw shops, courts, police stations and at least 17 police vehicles destroyed, were "clearly an act of terrorism."
Ahmed said he didn't believe the warrant for Nasheed was issued on terrorism charges but rather was related to a police investigation of the president's firing of a judge last month, which galvanized opposition to his rule.
"The situation is very tense," Ahmed said. "We're trying to restore order. In the capital the situation is under control, but in the outer islands, as with all countries, there are limited resources."
Nasheed allies counter that democracy has been subverted just as it is taking root in the Maldives. Paul Roberts, an aide to the former president, said that after seizing control with questionable tactics, the new government has subverted many branches of government and arrested elected representatives.
"It looks really bad," he said.
The United States and India announced that they are sending officials to confer and monitor the situation amid concern that the unrest could be exploited by China.
The crisis hit the international spotlight Tuesday when Nasheed announced his resignation for the good of the country. On Wednesday, the former human rights activist shifted gears, saying he had been forced to resign at gunpoint. Fresh rioting followed his statement.
Hassan has denied there was a coup and has called for a unity government.
Nasheed has told supporters and journalists that he won't seek an immediate reinstatement but believes Hassan should step down and call for elections to settle the issue democratically.
Nasheed was elected in 2008 amid great promise after three decades of rule by autocratic leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. But Nasheed ran into trouble with police and parts of the army after he dismissed the nation's top criminal court judge last month, accusing him of subverting his rule and maintaining close ties to Gayoom.
Analysts said the government may decide not to arrest Nasheed, or to at least delay his detention until things quiet down, given the protests and intense scrutiny.
Ahmed Tholal, vice president of the government's Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, said protesters arrested Wednesday after the rioting were released early Thursday. "We spoke to them and they suffered no further injury" in detention, he said, adding that commission members have received threats.
"We're calling for calm," he said. "We're very concerned about the deteriorating law-and-order situation."
More at the linkIt is unclear what charges the former Maldives president faces. The upheaval in the... more
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THE president of the Maldives resigned yesterday in what one aide described as a coup d’etat.
President Mohamed Nasheed has been credited with bringing democracy to the archipelago and raising awareness of the impact of global warming, at one point holding a cabinet meeting subsea, in scuba gear.
But he has faced weeks of opposition protests and this week a police mutiny.
Mr Nasheed, the Indian Ocean islands’ first democratically elected president, handed power to vice-president Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, explaining that continuing in office would result in his having to use force against the people.
“I resign because I am not a person who wishes to rule with the use of power,” he said in a televised address. “I believe that if the government were to remain in power it would require the use of force which would harm many citizens.
Mr Nasheed swept to victory in 2008, pledging to bring full democracy to the low-lying islands and speaking out passionately on the dangers of climate change and rising sea levels.
But he drew fire for his arrest of a judge he accused of being in the pocket of his predecessor, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled for 30 years. Protests set off a constitutional crisis that had Mr Nasheed defending himself against accusations of acting like a dictator.
“It’s a coup, I am afraid,” an official at Mr Nasheed’s office said, asking not to be identified. “The police and Mr Gayoom’s people as well as some elements in the military have forced the president Nasheed to resign. According to my book it’s a coup.”
The new president said this was a “misrepresentation”.
“The people have been out on the street demonstrating for weeks now and it came to a point where the crowds [were] too overwhelming and the president tried to negotiate, was too late and the people prevailed on him to resign.”
Overnight, vandals attacked the lobby of the opposition-linked VTV TV station, witnesses said, while mutinying police attacked and burnt the main rallying point of Mr Nasheed’s Maldives Democratic Party before taking over the state broadcaster MNBC and renaming it TV Maldives, as it was called under Mr Gayoom.
Yesterday, soldiers fired teargas at police and demonstrators who besieged the Maldives National Defence Force headquarters in Republic Square. Later, demonstrators stood outside the nearby president’s office chanting “Gayoom! Gayoom!”.
The protests, and scramble for position ahead of next year’s presidential election, have seen parties adopting hardline Islamist rhetoric and accusing Mr Nasheed of anti-Islamism.
The trouble has also shown the deep rivalry between Mr Gayoom and Mr Nasheed, who was jailed in all for six years after being arrested 27 times by Mr Gayoom’s government while agitating for democracy. The vice-president is expected to run a national unity government until the election.
More at the linkTHE president of the Maldives resigned yesterday in what one aide described as a coup... more
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Now I know that all we have to do is work 5 times harder to get rid of our dependency on fossil energy. This is why peak oil is of such concern; oil is not easily replaced and our civilization is utterly dependent upon it. If we have to work harder to get the same energy, there is the possibility that civilization will decline to some degree. Let's resurrect cave living!Now I know that all we have to do is work 5 times harder to get rid of our dependency... more
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Like many Gulf Coast residents, I was highly skeptical when both the media and the Coast Guard told us that the tar balls we were seeing wash up on our shores in the months following the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster were not from BP’s oil geyser at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. If they weren’t from the massive leak caused by BP, Halliburton, and TransOcean, then where were these tar balls coming from? While we might not know the clear answer to that question, we do have a new suspect.
According to a lawsuit filed this week by the Waterkeeper Alliance and their Gulf Coast affiliates, there is a smaller oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast that has been flowing nonstop for almost seven and a half years. While nowhere near as large as the oil leak from the Deepwater Horizon disaster – the lawsuit estimates the current leak to be releasing a few hundred gallons of oil per day – the fact that it has been flowing for more than seven years allows plenty of time for hundred of thousands, if not low millions, of gallons of oil to be released into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
However, the energy company responsible for the leak – Taylor Energy – says that only about 14 gallons of oil are leaking per day. The Waterkeeper Alliance is basing their analysis on the size and scope of visible oil sheens, similar to how the flow rate was determined for the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
The lawsuit alleges that Taylor Energy is responsible for allowing oil to flow into the Gulf, a direct violation of the Clean Water Act. They are seeking civil penalties in the amount of $37,500 per day that the oil has been leaking, the maximum possible penalty for such violations under the Act.
So how has an oil leak managed to go undetected, or at least unreported, for the better part of a decade? That’s one of the questions the lawsuit is hoping to answer.
From EcoWatch:
Aided by satellite imagery and research conducted by SkyTruth and aerial observation by SouthWings, the Waterkeeper Alliance and its local Waterkeeper organizations learned that the spill, located approximately 11 miles off the coast of Louisiana, started after an undersea landslide in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. An offshore platform and 28 wells were damaged, and since then, Taylor has yet to stop the daily flow of oil from the site. Waterkeeper estimates that hundreds of gallons of oil have leaked from the site each day for the last 7 years.
“The plaintiffs filed suit to stop the spill and lift the veil of secrecy surrounding Taylor Oil’s seven-year long response and recovery operation,” explained Marc Yaggi, executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance. “Neither the government nor Taylor will answer basic questions related to the spill response, citing privacy concerns.” The public deserves to know how this spill happened and why it continues. Coastal communities should understand the risks involved in developing off-shore oil resources and what protections are in place to prevent damage from future spills.
Justin Bloom, the eastern regional director of the Waterkeeper Alliance, points out that none of the recommended reforms from the NOAA assessment of the Deepwater Horizon oil leak have been enacted, allowing for a culture that puts the profits of the oil industry ahead of environmental and human health protections.
In addition to the newly-filed lawsuit, the Waterkeeper Alliance has also released a joint report with SkyTruth and SouthWings (under their joint organization of the Gulf Monitoring Consortium) detailing the failings of our current monitoring and reporting systems for oil disasters. From their new report:
In addition to the lack of reporting, chronic underreporting of oil spills makes it impossible for the public and decision makers to understand the true scope of pollution caused by oil and gas exploration and production. The National Reporting Center’s (NRC) reports lacking estimates of the amount of oil spilled are common. Between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011 a total of 2903 oil or refined petroleum (e.g. diesel fuel) spills were reported in the Gulf region. Seventy-seven percent (2221) of those reports did not include an estimate of the quantity of oil spilled. Forty-five percent (1311) identify a suspected responsible party – a strong indicator that those reports were submitted by the actual polluters – and of those, nearly half (620) do not include any spill amount.
More at the linkLike many Gulf Coast residents, I was highly skeptical when both the media and the... more
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The last time oil prices were as hot as they are today, Canada’s oil-sands industry was in a growth-at-any-cost mode. Growth has returned to the oil patch after the oil-price collapse in 2008-2009 shelved $40-billion worth of projects, but the new mantra is cost-control.
link:http://business.financialpost.com/2012/02/01/oil-sands-sector-embraces-cost-control/The last time oil prices were as hot as they are today, Canada’s oil-sands... more
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11dim
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The corporate media have been given their orders to throw the focus back on to Iran.
Here is a recap of what they are trying to make you forget.
1. Last Spring, Rose Gottemoeller, an assistant secretary of state and Washington's chief nuclear arms negotiator, asked Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel refused.
2. The United Nations passed a resolution calling on Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to submit to inspections. Israel refused.
3. The IAEA asked Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to submit to inspections. Israel refused.
4. Iran's formal notification to the IAEA of the planned construction of the backup fuel-rod facility underscores that Iran is playing by the rules of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which Iran has signed.
5. Iran allows IAEA inspections of all its facilities.
6. Contrary to face-saving claims, it appears that the US and Israel were both caught off guard by Iran's announcement of a planned underground (to avoid being bombed) enrichment facility. The reasoning is simple. Had the US or Israel announced the existence of he new facility before Iran's notified the IAEA, it would have put Iran on the defensive. As it is now, the US and Israel seem to be playing catch up, casting doubt on the veracity of Israel's claims to "know" that Iran is a nuclear threat.
7. The IAEA and all 16 United States Intelligence Agencies are unanimous in agreement that Iran is not building and does not possess nuclear weapons.
8. In 1986, Mordachai Vanunu blew the whistle and provided photographs showing Israel's clandestine nuclear weapons factory underneath the reactor at Dimona.
9. Israel made the same accusations against Iraq that it is making against Iran, leading up to Israel's bombing of the power station at Osirik. Following the invasion of 2003, international experts examined the ruins of the power station at Osirik and found no evidence of a clandestine weapons factory in the rubble.
10. The United Nations has just released the Goldstone Report, a scathing report which accuses Israel of 37 specific war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza earlier this year. Israel has denounced the report as "Anti-Semitic (even though Judge Goldstone is himself Jewish), and the United States will block the report from being referred to the War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague, thereby making the US Government an accessory after-the-fact.
11. Recently revealed documents prove not only that Israel has nuclear weapos, but actually tried to sell some to Apartheid South Africa. Who else Israel approached to sell nuclear weapons remains an unasked question.
12. In 1965, Israel stole over 200-600 pounds of weapons-grade uranium from the United States.
13. Declassified documents from the former South African regime prove not only that Israel has had nuclear weapons for decades, but has tried to sell them to other countries!
We all need to be Joe Wilson right now. We need to stand up and scream, "LIAR!" at every politician and every talking media moron that is pushing this war in Iran. And we need to keep dong it until they get the message that we will not be deceived any more.
Israel wants to send your kids off to die in Iran, and YOU are the only one that can stop them.
Please forward this comment to your social networks.The corporate media have been given their orders to throw the focus back on to Iran.... more
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By David Edwards
Sunday, January 22, 2012
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said on Sunday that he may block an extension of the payroll tax holiday if President Barack Obama does not approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that this Keystone pipeline is in fact approved,” the Speaker told Fox News host Chris Wallace.
“Are you saying you may link the Keystone pipeline to extending the payroll tax holiday?” Wallace asked.
“We may,” Boehner admitted. “As I say, all options are on the table.”
“Why not demand that if he wants the payroll tax cut, he has to approve it?” Wallace urged. “In other words, it comes with it. You want the payroll tax cut, the pipeline goes with it.”
“All options are on the table,” Boehner repeated.
Wallace also noted that during his upcoming annual State of the Union speech, Obama would ask for more help for the middle class, propose that the wealth pay more taxes and suggest a “grand bargain” to cut the deficit and raise the nation’s debt limit.
“It sounds to me like the same old policies that we’ve seen,” Boehner complained. “And if that’s what the president’s going to talk about Tuesday night, I think it’s pathetic.”
Last week, the Obama administration rejected TransCanada Corp.’s plan to pipe Canadian oil sands through sensitive environmental areas to Gulf Coast refineries. The 2 percentage point payroll tax cut for 160 million workers expires in February.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/22/boehner-may-hold-payroll-tax-cut-hostage-over-keystone-pipeline/
Watch this video from Fox News’ Fox News Sunday, broadcast Jan. 22, 2012.
"Ain't nobody who has tried Harder than Mr Boehner, LMFAO!!!!"By David Edwards
Sunday, January 22, 2012
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said... more
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KB723
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This is why activism matters.
Six months ago, the Obama Administration was set to approve one of the single most environmentally disastrous fossil fuel projects imaginable.
Today, it's dead.
The Keystone XL pipeline - designed to bring filthy tar sands oil from Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas so that oil companies can profit by selling the oil overseas - was dealt a severe setback Wednesday when President Obama said no to an election year blackmail threat by the American Petroleum Institute and its lackeys in Congress.
But President Obama didn't reject Keystone XL because he wanted to. Or because he thought it was the right thing to do. Or because he thought it would help his reelection campaign. He rejected it because you made him do it.
It's a victory for activists. But because the President rejected the pipeline on a narrow technicality,1 in no way has he set down a clear marker against the pipeline or the carbon bomb that burning Canadian tar sands oil in China represents.
We want to thank the many groups and thousands of activists, who, following the inspiring call of Bill McKibben, joined us in putting massive public pressure on the President. In fact, CREDO waged the single largest activism campaign in our history.2
It was this pressure that forced President Obama to initially delay the decision in November. And it was this pressure, combined with the Republicans' overzealous and irresponsible demand of a 60-day deadline that forced him to reject the pipeline permit.
Our pressure overcame the lies and propaganda of Republicans and oil giants, and their threats of massive political consequences if he didn't approve it.
Rejecting this pipeline was the right thing to do. But by rejecting it purely on a technicality, there are many things President Obama did not do:
•He did not close the door to this pipeline once and for all. In fact, he specifically opened the door to the southern portion of Keystone XL, which would allow this oil to be exported overseas -- the real reason TransCanada wanted Keystone XL in the first place.
•He did not explain the imperative of stopping not just this project, but others that will expedite disastrous warming. Just the opposite -- he touted the need to expand oil and gas drilling and made no mention of clean energy.
•He did not refute the lies of Republicans and polluters, whose biggest "jobs plan" is a foreign oil pipeline whose chief purpose is to export oil overseas.
The time to lead us away from dirty fuels and prevent escalating global catastrophes from climate change is here. And President Obama still can.
Tell President Obama: It's time to lead on climate. Make the case in your State of the Union Address.
Until President Obama makes a clear and compelling case to the American people for sweeping action to reduce our dependence on any and all fossil fuels, the pace of our transition will remain slower than what is required to stem the onrushing danger of climate pollution.
Until he refutes the false choice presented by Big Oil and Republicans -- that we must choose between a clean energy future and a stable economy - he empowers and remains vulnerable to their attacks.
Until he shows his commitment to clean energy over dirty fossil fuels, the energy of progressive activists will be spent fighting individual bad decisions, instead of pushing to support needed progressive policies.
And ultimately, until President Obama takes the opportunity for a true moment of leadership that publicly raises the stakes on the fight to stabilize our climate, the State of our Union will remain deeply clouded.
More at the linkThis is why activism matters.
Six months ago, the Obama Administration was set to... more
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Much is being said about the Keystone XL pipeline and most of what is being said by the Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), are just flat out lies, and they know it. They are constructing a wedge issue for Republicans to use in campaigns.
Both are saying that the pipeline would create tens of thousands of jobs and both are saying that President Obama has done nothing to increase US oil production, and both are lies.
First the facts for the Keystone XL pipeline.
A report by Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute on the Keystone XL pipeline: (this is a summary of their key finding, read the entire report here)
The industry’s US jobs claims are linked to a $7 billion KXL project budget. However, the budget for KXL that will have a bearing on US jobs figures is dramatically lower—only around $3 to $4 billion. A lower project budget means fewer jobs.
The project will create no more than 2,500-4,650 temporary direct construction jobs for two years, according to TransCanada’s own data supplied to the State Department.
The company’s claim that KXL will create 20,000 direct construction and manufacturing jobs in the U.S is not substantiated.
There is strong evidence to suggest that a large portion of the primary material input for KXL—steel pipe—will not even be produced in the United States. A substantial amount of pipe has already been manufactured in advance of pipeline permit issuance.
The industry’s claim that KXL will create 119,000 total jobs (direct, indirect, and induced) is based on a flawed and poorly documented study commissioned by TransCanada (The Perryman Group study). Perryman wrongly includes over $1billion in spending and over 10,000 person-years of employment for a section of the Keystone project in Kansas and Oklahoma that is not part of KXL and has already been built.
KXL will not be a major source of US jobs, nor will it play any substantial role at all in putting Americans back to work. Even if the Perryman figures were accurate, and all of the workers for the next phase of the project were hired immediately, the US seasonally adjusted unemployment rate would remain at 9.1%—exactly where it is now.
KXL will divert Tar Sands oil now supplying Midwest refineries, so it can be sold at higher prices to the Gulf Coast and export markets. As a result, consumers in the Midwest could be paying 10 to 20 cents more per gallon for gasoline and diesel fuel. These additional costs (estimated to total $2–4 billion) will suppress other spending and will therefore cost jobs.
Pipeline spills incur costs and therefore kill jobs. Clean-up operations and permanent pipeline spill damage will divert public and private funds away from productive economic activity. In 2010 US pipeline spills and explosions killed 22 people, released over 170,000 barrels of petroleum into the environment, and caused $1 billion dollars worth of damage in the United States.
Rising carbon emissions and other pollutants from the heavy crude transported by Keystone XL will also incur increased health care costs. Emissions also increase both the risk and costs of further climate instability.
By helping to lock in US dependence on fossil fuels, Keystone XL will impede progress toward green and sustainable economic renewal and will have a chilling effect on green investments and green jobs creation. The green economy has already generated 2.7 million jobs in the US and could generate many more.
Now, about President Obama killing US oil production and increasing our dependence on foreign oil.
In 2010 and 2011 the United States had produced more oil since 2003. In 2011 for the first time, the United States was a net exporter of petroleum products.
The top export of the United States in 2011 was fuel. The United States is the biggest consumer of fuel and now we are also the biggest exporter of fuel, which is part of the reason why our gas cost so much at the pumps.
From USA Today
“Measured in dollars, the nation is on pace this year to ship more gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel than any other single export, according to U.S. Census data going back to 1990. It will also be the first year in more than 60 that America has been a net exporter of these fuels.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wrote a letter last year to the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying he had “serious concerns” about the pipeline.
“The proponents of this pipeline would be wiser to invest instead in job-creating clean energy projects, like renewable power, energy efficiency or advanced vehicles and fuels that would employ thousands of people in the United States rather than increasing our dependency on unsustainable supplies of dirty and polluting oil that could easily be exported,” Reid wrote.
In 2008 during the campaign for President, one of the biggest rallying cries by John McCain and Sarah Palin was “Drill Baby, Drill”. One of the rally cries for the 2012 election by ALL Americans should be; “What’s drilled in American, Stays in America for Americans”. This is a position that the oil industry pays millions to suppress.
Read the decision by President Obama for postponing the project, Click here.Much is being said about the Keystone XL pipeline and most of what is being said by... more
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Who would get the money?
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BP Plc (BP/), the operator of the Macondo well that caused the worst U.S. oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, may reach a settlement with the U.S. for as much as $25 billion, Morgan Stanley said.
The company and the Department of Justice will probably agree on a sum of $20 billion to $25 billion before the trial scheduled to start on Feb. 27, analyst Martijn Rats said in a note published today. The figure, which includes civil charges, criminal penalties and fines under the Clean Water Act, exceeds the $12 billion that BP set aside for these costs, he said.
BP took about $40 billion in charges related to the April 20, 2010, blowout on the Deepwater Horizon rig and set up a $20 billion fund for victims of the spill. The higher-than-expected cost of a settlement will prevent BP from raising its dividend, Rats said.
The result of the trial, “would be particularly uncertain and difficult to predict,” Rats wrote in the note. “Given the large amounts involved, we believe both BP and the DoJ will find the associated risk unattractive.”
A settlement will probably come after BP announces fourth quarter results on Feb. 7, Rats said. BP has already settled with four of the six other companies involved in the spill.Who would get the money?
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BP Plc (BP/), the operator of the Macondo well that... more
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KB723
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The U.S. government has denied an application by TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline, the State Department announced Wednesday.
A statement released by the department says it doesn't preclude TransCanada applying again with a different route.
The Canadian government wanted to see the pipeline go ahead.
A statement released by U.S. President Barack Obama put the blame on Congressional Republicans, who inserted a 60-day deadline for a decision on the pipeline in a December 2011 bill to continue U.S. payroll tax cuts.
"The rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment," Obama said in the statement.
"This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people."
A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Twitter that Harper spoke to Obama earlier Wednesday afternoon.
More to come
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/01/18/pol-keystone-xl-pipeline.htmlThe U.S. government has denied an application by TransCanada to build the Keystone XL... more
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The U.S. is sending another escorted aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, saying it's a routine mission. An escalating verbal conflict between Tehran and Washington has been also made worse by the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist on Wednesday. Karen Kwiatkowski, a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, who worked in the Pentagon and the National Security Agency explained to RT that Western powers are unlikely to invade Iran.The U.S. is sending another escorted aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, saying... more
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ACCORDING TO REUTERS ANARCHADIA HAS THE ABILITY TO SEE INTO THE FUTURE:
Nigerians protest over fuel price for second day
By Akintunde Akinleye and Mike Oboh | Reuters – 1 hr 10 mins ago "
# AnarchadiaCENSORED
Nigeria has twice the Population of France… yet only 1% of Nigeria has access to Internet… compared to 67,4 % in France… Both Countries have Corrupt Governments… Both Silenced Revolutions… Both controlled by the Corporatized Empire…
Nigeria – Population: 126,635,626 – Number of Television Stations: 2
Number of Television Stations: 2 Number of Television Sets: 6,900,000
Number of Individuals with Internet Access: 200,000
” The Niger Delta holds some of the world’s richest oil deposits, yet Nigerians living there are poorer than ever ” - National Geographic
http://anarchadia.com/2012/01/07/nigerian-revolt-2012-censored/ACCORDING TO REUTERS ANARCHADIA HAS THE ABILITY TO SEE INTO THE FUTURE:
Nigerians... more
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There is proposed pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia where Oil will be shipped to China. The film SPOIL is a cinematic experience which shows the world of the potential destruction to native peoples and there lands.
http://www.pacificwild.org/site/dispatches_from_the_rave/1296589563.htmlThere is proposed pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia where Oil will be shipped... more
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Gosh, I wonder who would want USA, to give up oil. And the greatest propaganda, is telling Americans we are always trying to find oil here in The US, and searching for alternative energies. Gosh we just do not know how scientific Suff.Gosh, I wonder who would want USA, to give up oil. And the greatest propaganda, is... more
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Hans Herren, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized scientist specializing in sustainable agriculture. He is president of the Millennium Institute, a non-profit development research and service organization dedicated to sustainable development. Dr. Herren co-chaired the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science & Technology (IAASTD), an initiative sponsored by the World Bank and United Nations in partnership with the World Health Organization that assessed global agriculture and recommended agroecological solutions to world hunger.
Dr. Herren has earned numerous awards that recognize his research achievements. These include the 2002 Brandenberger Preis for improving the living standards of Africa's rural population, the 2003 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and the 1995 World Food Prize for his work developing a successful biological control program that saved the African cassava crop, and averted Africa’s worst-ever food crisis.
Dr. Herren’s work in agroecology in Africa has been credited with saving millions of lives by enabling African people to produce the food they need. He developed the “push-pull” system that uses simple but powerful bio-control strategies to effectively manage corn pests, resulting in large increases in yields.
There is much discussion today about the need to “feed the world” because of the growing global population. What do you think needs to be done in order to ensure there is adequate food for everyone in the world?
HH: The issue is less on how to feed the world than how to nourish the poor and hungry. Today we produce 4600 calories per person per day, so there is enough food to feed twice the present population. The problem is that we produce mostly cheap commodities rather than quality food. These cheap products, in addition to being of low nutritional value, are based on a few crops that carry a large ecological, social, and economic footprint. What is needed is to support farmers in developing countries to grow their own healthy food by providing information, know-how, financial support for inputs, and support for them to access markets, among others.
Food security is achieved when availability, access, stability, and utilization are assured equally for all. There is also a need for new and participatory research into sustainable agricultural practices, based on the principles of agroecology and organic farming, which would free farmers from dependence on external inputs such as chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
Some agricultural “experts” are calling for another Green Revolution. What are your thoughts on this?
HH: What we need least is another Green Revolution. What is needed now is to move forward with the lessons learned from the Green Revolution, taking forward what has worked and leave behind most of it, since the Green Revolution has left agriculture dependent on external inputs that are non-sustainable and becoming more and more expensive since they are based on oil, a finite resource, and also synthetic fertilizers, also based on finite natural resources.
The way forward is to understand and work with the system in a holistic and integrated manner. Silver bullets, reductionism as often promoted by the agri-chemical industry are not solutions.
More at the linkHans Herren, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized scientist specializing in... more
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After promoting war on Iraq through false weapons of mass destruction stories the New York Times is promoting war on Iran through false weapons of mass destruction stories.
NY Times reporter Steven Erlanger lies about the recent IAEA report on Iran. Steven Erlanger became the Jerusalem buearu chief in July 2004. The Big Lie is as follows:
The threats from Iran, aimed both at the West and at Israel, combined with a recent assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran’s nuclear program has a military objective, is becoming an important issue in the American presidential campaign.
The November 18 IAEA report (pdf) does not say that Iran's program has a military objective.
It quotes from a UN resolution that expressed "concerns about the possible military dimensions of the Iranian nuclear programme", later says it had "identified outstanding issues related to possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme" and repeats similar language several time. All the outstanding issues the IAEA mentions predate 2003.
Nowhere does the IAEA claim that Iran's nuclear program has a military objective. The New York Times just made that up.After promoting war on Iraq through false weapons of mass destruction stories the New... more
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