The reason there has not been a political settlement in the Middle East is because the US has unilaterally blocked it for the last 25 years. Listen to Chomsky’s interview with Evan Soloman
Author: admin
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Israel’s bombs create ecological disaster
Along Lebanon’s sandy beaches runs a belt of black sludge, 10,000 to 30,000 tonnes of oil that spilled into the Mediterranean Sea after Israel bombed a power plant, reported The Age (29/7/2006, p.15).
Oil storage tanks hit: Lebanon’s Environment Ministry said the oil flooded into the sea after Israeli jets hit storage tanks south of Beirut in the first fews days of fighting, creating an ecological crisis that the government has neither the money nor the expertise to deal with.
$US50m needed for clean-up: "We have never seen a spill like this in the history of Lebanon. It is a major catastrophe," Environment Minister Yacoub al-Sarraf said. The clean-up "would need an armada" and the cost could be as high as $US50 million ($A66 million).
80km-long spill: Swept by a north-easterly wind, the spill has travelled 80 kilometres along the coast of Lebanon. An Israeli warship damaged by a Hezbollah missile may also have spilled diesel oil into the sea.
The Age, 29/7/2006, p. 15
Source: Erisk Net
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Sen. Campbell used parrots for votes
Federal Environment Minister Senator Ian Campbell is fighting a case brought by the proponents of the Bald Hills wind farm and Victoria, who suspect that his real concern in scuttling the project in May was to appease residents in the marginal Liberal electorate who had campaigned against the wind farm for aesthetic reasons, reported The Australian Financial Review (26 July 2006, p.8).
Departmental advice overridden: The Bald Hills project in Gippsland was rejected by Senator Ian Campbell after he received advice that the turbines would affect the population of orange-bellied parrots, a critically endangered species. But his department’s advice was that the effect on the parrots was so insignificant that the wind farm should go ahead.
Bias alleged: Victoria and the wind farm developer have asked the Federal Court to set the decision aside on the grounds that Senator Campbell may have been biased and that he used his powers for an improper purpose.
The parrot factor: In vetoing the development, Senator Campbell relied on a scientific study by environmental consultancy Biosis Research. It showed that if 23 wind farms went ahead in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, one orange-bellied parrot would be killed every 20 years. It is estimated that there are between 99 and 200 of the parrots left in Australia.
Campbell will not give evidence: On 25 July, Bald Hills Wind Farm asked the court to order Senator Campbell to give evidence in the case, due to begin on August 28. The judge declined the request, but only after Senator Campbell’s lawyer conceded that his client had not followed his department’s advice.
Recovery program proposals ignored: The department also recommended that the developers should have to contribute to efforts to save the parrots, but the court was told that Senator Campbell did not have regard to advice on an orange-bellied parrot recovery program.
"Why didn’t he get advice?" Nor did he provide reasons for refusing to follow the advice. "If he was so concerned about the orange-bellied parrot why didn’t he get advice?" Bald Hills Wind Farm director Andrew Newbold said outside court.
Campbell stays mum: A spokeswoman for Senator Campbell said it would be inappropriate to comment on the case, but insisted the study was a valid ground for stopping the development. Counsel for the developer, Gavan Griffith, QC, told the court the wind farm should have been approved on condition five parrots were bred and released each year. The case is continuing.
The Australian Financial Review, 26/7/2006, p. 8
Source: Erisk Net
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Bring David Hicks home
It’s been four and a half years that Hicks has been detained without a trial. Add your name to the growing demand to finally repatriate this Australian citizen.
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Chavez finalises Russian arms deal
U.S. criticised
"Russia will be a reliable partner for Venezuela, as well as for all our partners in the world," Mr. Putin said after talks with the Venezuelan leader."Cooperation between Russia and Venezuela is not directed against third countries," the Russian leader added.
Mr. Chavez, an outspoken critic of Washington, praised Russia for defying the U.S. arms blockade, describing the U.S. as "the biggest threat which exists in the world." "It is a senseless, blind, stupid giant which doesn’t understand the world, doesn’t understand human rights, doesn’t understand anything about humanity, culture and consciousness," the Venezuelan leader said while unveiling a bust of 19th century South American liberation hero Simon Bolivar at a Moscow library on Thursday.
Mr. Putin said Russian companies were prepared to invest "hundreds of millions and billions of dollars" in Venezuela. He also promised to support Venezuela for rotating membership in the U.N. Security Council over U.S.-backed Guatemala.
Mr. Chavez said he had invited Russia to join the construction of the world’s longest gas pipeline across South America. It is Mr. Chavez’s fourth visit to Russia in five years.