The farm, one of 20 sites in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere
Reserve, is located at the entrance to a provincial park that
encompasses a fjord, the Megin River estuary, old-growth Sitka spruce
forests and salmon spawning habitat.
IHN is endemic to wild Pacific fish, and at low concentrations is not
deadly to them. However salmon farms amplify diseases like this, much
like in a crowded hospital, where pathogens which are normally not an
issue can become deadly.
Today in Frankfurt, Germany the general Public Prosecutor to the
Higher Regional Court requested a preliminary extradition arrest warrant
against Captain Paul Watson, on the basis of the local arrest warrant
and request for extradition from Costa Rica.
In a highly unusual move,
the Public Prosecutor stated that the German Ministry of Justice and the
German Ministry of Foreign Affairs have the power to stop the
extradition procedures on political grounds.
If the German Ministry of Justice and/or the German Ministry of Foreign
Affairs give notice that they would not grant an extradition of Paul
Watson to Costa Rica the case would be over, and Captain Watson would be set free immediately.
We ask our supporters to continue to appeal the German Ministry of Justice for help.
On May
20th, Western heads of state will gather in Chicago for a NATO conference on
Afghanistan. The U.S. Government’s choice of May 20th is culturally insensitive
and historically dismal.
It is the day in 1940 that the first prisoners arrived
at Auschwitz; it is the day in 1927 when
Britain signed the Treaty of Jedda which recognized the corrupt Saud family as
legitimate; it is the day in 1989 that the Communist Party in Beijing declared
martial law in response to a march by one million pro-democracy protesters in
Tiananmen Square; it is the date of the annual anti-Islamic “Draw Mohammed”
protests; and, it is the day in 1802 when Napoleon Bonaparte signed the “Law of
May 20" which reinstituted slavery in some French colonies. In addition, it is
the date of the next Solar Eclipse, which in many cultures is a day of bad omens
linked to misfortune and disaster.
It is especially unusual this year as the
eclipse begins (can be first seen) in Asia and ends in the United States, which
is rare and perhaps prophetic.
US civilian and military employees regularly target and fire
lethal unmanned drone guided missiles at people across the world. Thousands of people have been
assassinated. Hundreds of those killed
were civilians. Some of those killed were rescuers and mourners.
These killings would be criminal acts if they occurred
inside the US.
Does it make legal sense
that these killings would be legal outside the US?
U.S. and Canada Implementing Beyond the Border Perimeter Security Initiatives
by Dana Gabriel l Be Your Own Leader
Through
the Beyond the Border agreement released in December 2011, the U.S. and
Canada are implementing initiatives that are working towards
establishing a North American security perimeter.
This includes
expanding trusted traveler programs, as well as enhancing integrated law
enforcement and information sharing cooperation which has raised many
privacy concerns that have yet to be properly addressed.
There are questions surrounding the Conservative government’s Bill C-38, the Budget Implementation Act that also contains changes related to the U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border action plan. This includes ratifying and making the Shiprider
a legal and permanent program which will require amending the Criminal
Code, along with the RCMP and Customs Act.
"Magic Soap" Maker David Bronner on Labeling Genetically Modified Foods, Fair Trade, the War on Hemp
by Democracy Now!
Critics of genetically
modified foods have won a victory in California by securing enough
signatures to place a referendum on the November ballot that could force
food manufacturers to label food products containing genetically
modified organisms, or GMOs.
Numerous items are already sold in grocery
stores containing genetically modified corn and soy, but companies do
not currently have to inform consumers. We speak to David Bronner,
president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, about GMOs, fair trade, the U.S.
war on hemp, and the company’s support of Palestinian olive oil
producers.
Guest: David Bronner, grandson of Dr. Emanuel Bronner, who founded Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. He has been president of the company since 1998.
The trees have been planted by farmers on their own lands in the area of
Wadi Kana. This valley has been designated as a nature reserve by the
Civil administration (The Israeli military-based administration of the
Palestinian occupied territories).
The farmers had no say in the
creation of the nature reserve on their land; there was no process that
took into account their needs.
The farmers have already passed the deadline of the order to uproot
their own trees, now the Israeli army may come any day to uproot them
and charge the farmers for the work carried out.
Meanwhile no action has been taken to remove 22 buildings of the illegal
Jewish outpost of Alonei Shiloh all of which is entirely in the area of
the nature reserve. In addition to this, 123 buildings from the
neighbouring Jewish settlements are within the nature reserve. Some of
these buildings have demolition orders, some even for some time, but no
action has been taken.
In the space of one week last month, the BBC offered an opportunity
to compare its reporting on two nuclear powers: India, an ally of the
British government; and North Korea, an official enemy.
The Federation of American Scientists estimates
that India has a stockpile of 80-100 nuclear weapons while North Korea
has less than ten. North Korea originally signed the Non-Proliferation
Treaty on nuclear weapons (NPT) but withdrew in 2003.
Like Israel and Pakistan, also nuclear powers, India has never signed
the NPT. Despite this, the US has supported the development of nuclear
weapons in all three countries – India receiving particular support from
George W. Bush and Obama.
The 2008 India Civilian Nuclear Agreement —
an agreement of cooperation between India, the US, and other providers
of nuclear technology — is linked with plans to build dozens of nuclear
plants in India, a country that exploded five nuclear devices at its
Pokhran test site in 1998.
Over the past few
years a number of us have puzzled over this question. The Crown
Corporation, in most people’s minds, was given its natural monopoly
status in the belief that the Board and Officers will prudently manage
Hydro’s assets so as to deliver adequate electricity to British
Columbians at the lowest rates possible.
For decades this seemed to be
what happened, making BC the place in North America with the lowest
electricity rates. It was held to be an achievement to celebrate and
certainly gave our province an energy edge when it came to attracting
new businesses.
This is fast becoming no longer the case. Let’s
take a look at the record.
Canadian Human Rights Report on Colombia a 'Sick Joke'
by Mining Watch Canada
The Canadian government’s human rights report tabled in Parliament
Tuesday regarding implementation of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade
Agreement might as well have been a comic strip of three monkeys: "see
no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."
Its substance is summed up in the first three pages of the 18-page
report (that's counting the title page and two annexes that occupy 12
pages). In essence: there will be no human rights report this year
because only nine months have passed since the agreement was
implemented.
I’m scaring myself by connecting the dots. If you join me, I am not afraid. There is a small role for each of us.
6 short emails.
Number 1: Stop the University of Saskatchewan from setting Lockheed Martin up to train our young people for war-related undertakings (below).
Number 2: Stop Harper from setting up a vacuum pump to funnel our money to Lockheed Martin for F-35’s.
Number 3: Stop fighter jets from flying over our cities, normalizing the
police state. Another one flew over my home in Saskatoon yesterday
evening. It has become routine.
Number 4: For Saskatonians: Come to the University tomorrow (May 16th).
The University has racked up a pile of debt (Provost Brett
Fairbairn). They are holding a “Financial Town Hall Meeting”. Who will
be held to account for the huge debt? How will the situation be
resolved? Lockheed Martin is plying the University with dollars.
Will corporate interests take over this extremely valuable public
institution for a few shekels? Will we just let it happen?
Number 5: Understand how a nation becomes conditioned to, and the enablers of, violence and war. Watch Michael Moore’s 'Bowlingfor Columbine'
Number 6: And oh yes, Don`t forget Lockheed Martin and Boeing at the new Aviation Training Centre: Drone Technology.
