Anti-war Activist Cindy Sheehan arrested at White House
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYleO9BWdX8
DEMOCRACY NOW: Sheehan Sets Up “Camp OUT NOW” in Antiwar Protest
We go to Washington, DC to speak with antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, founder of the group Peace of the Action, who has set up a camp near the Washington Monument calling on President Obama to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sheehan’s son Casey was killed while serving in Iraq on April 4, 2004.
http://www.democracynow.org/
Mar 21, 2010 11:32 am US/Eastern
6 Anti-War Protesters To Spend Weekend In Jail
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Activist Cindy Sheehan and five other anti-war protesters are spending the rest of the weekend in jail after being arrested outside the White House.A total of eight people were arrested after laying coffins at a White House fence at the end of Saturday's anti-war march. Sgt. David Schlosser says two people were released, but the other six had to stay in jail because they have out-of-state addresses. They'll be arraigned Monday in D.C. Superior Court. Of the eight people, Schlosser says four, including Sheehan, are charged with crossing a police line, and four are charged with disobeying an official order. Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq in April 2004, staged a prolonged demonstration in 2005 outside then-President George W. Bush's ranch near Crawford, Texas.
March 22, 2010
Drone protesters arrested at Tucson airshow
March 21, 2010Contact in Tucson: Felice and Jack Cohen-Joppa at 520-323-8697
"WAR IS NOT A SHOW" BANNER-HOLDERS ARRESTED
AT DAVIS MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE
TUCSON -- On Sunday afternoon, March 21, at the Aerospace and Arizona Days military exhibition and air show at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, two Tucson residents were arrested for trespass. John Heid, 55, and Gretchen Nielsen, 77, unfurled a banner declaring "War is Not a Show" and stood peacefully near the Predator UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle).
Nielsen stated, "When I see the display at the Air Show --- the fighter planes, the bombers, the attack aircraft ---I see a display of yesterday's toys. When I see the ground control station and data terminal for the unmanned MQ-1 Predator, I see an extension of teenage computer games. When I see our young adults in uniform who have been trained to kill on command, I see yesterday's children.
"When I see proud, patriotic parents and grandparents enjoying the thrill of war games at the Air Show, I see tomorrow's parents and grandparents begging what's left of the world for forgiveness."
Heid stated, "War is not a show. It is killing us. And them. Combatants and children alike. Our soul and civil society. The moral order too is a casualty. War is hell. Not a cause for celebration. A frontal assault on reason. And the earth. War is not a spectacle or family entertainment.
"Today at the Air Show we see its shiny weapons, not its bloody victims. Not the nearly 4,400 dead U.S. soldiers. Not the tens of thousands of Iraqi, Afghani or Pakistani civilians. We glorify the mighty flying death machines and ignore the havoc they wreak.
"Today, just after the seventh anniversary of the war on Iraq, we vigil beside an MQ-1 Predator drone. Over 700 Pakistani civilians have been killed by this machine's Hellfire missiles. Davis-Monthan is home base for the 214th Reconnaissance Group of the Arizona National Guard which flies around-the-clock combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan with the Predator.
"In the shadow of death we raise our plea for peace. For skies free of weaponry. For an end to war without end. The show is over, let peace begin."
The pair was taken to the Pima County Jail, where they were processed and released by 10 p.m. They are scheduled to appear in Tucson City Court for arraignment - Heid on April 29 and Nielsen on April 30.
Photos may be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/WarIsNotAShow
Mining company wants Tsilhquot'in film censored at public hearing
Mining company wants film sympathetic to Tsilhqot'in barred from public hearing
UPDATE: Public Hearing Schedule
By Andrew MacLeod March 17, 2010
http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Aboriginal-Affairs/2010/03/17/FishLakeFilm/
Photo: http://www.raventrust.com/
Taseko Mines Ltd. is seeking to prevent a federal panel reviewing its proposal for a gold and copper mine in northern British Columbia from showing a public hearing a documentary it says is biased in favour of the Tsilhqot'in First Nation, who are opposed to the project.
The Tsilhqot'in National Government had requested the film, Blue Gold: The Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake), be shown during a public hearing on Taseko's proposal, according to a message sent today to review panel participants by the panel's chair Robert Connelly.
A lawyer acting for Taseko, Keith Clark with the Vancouver firm Lang Michener, outlined the company's concerns in an e-mail to the review panel yesterday. “It is not evidence,” he wrote. “It is a propaganda film, produced to influence the opinions or behaviour of people, by providing deliberately biased content in an emotional context. By its nature, there is no opportunity for Taseko or anyone else to challenge it. When it is finished it is done. There is no one to answer questions or clarify any of the assertions.”
An e-mail distributed through the Friends of the Nemaiah Valley, one of the groups that funded the documentary directed by Susan Smitten, says Blue Gold is an important film. “It documents the voices of the Tsilhqot'in people themselves,” it said. “These voices are not filtered . . . They are the honest and deeply sincere voices of people who are defending their traditional territory.
“Taseko continues to trivialize these voices by labeling the film 'propaganda.'”
The panel intends to consider Taseko's objection during its first day of hearings in Williams Lake on March 22, Connelly wrote.
You can watch Blue Gold here:
Blue Gold: The Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) from Susan Smitten on Vimeo.
Blue Gold: The Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) from Susan Smitten on Vimeo.Update: On March 18 the documentary was relabeled as "private" on Vimeo, the site where it is hosted. The issue was technical, we're told, and it was again available by mid-afternoon.
Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.
Agenda for Public Hearings
Message from John Hummel
I used to work for the Tsilhqot'in people in this film. They contacted me for support yesterday. That crazy mining company Taseko wants to turn their lake into a toxic tailings pond with stuff like arsenic and mercury in it! Hope you share this email and link to the film far and wide!
All the best to you.
For Land and Life,
John H.W. Hummel
Link to watch film Taseko Mines wants to censor at the public hearings today in Williams Lake, B.C.:
http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Aboriginal-Affairs/2010/03/17/FishLakeFilm
AGENDA FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS
This hearing is in Williams Lake, B.C. - This is the Mine where they want to turn a whole lake into a Toxic Tailings Pond!
Note: I Got the Agenda Below from the Internet
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Update to Speakers' List for this week's Prosperity Mine Federal Review Public Hearings. I've received an updated list to the delegation (speakers') list at the Federal Review Panel for the proposed Prosperity Mine. Here it is: (Updated as of Saturday at 7:45am)
Monday, March 22 - Gibraltar Room, Cariboo Memorial Complex
Daytime Session - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Taseko Mines Ltd.
Tsilhqot’in National Government - Chiefs
Mandell Pinder – Counsel for the Canoe Creek (Bruce Stadfeld)
University of Victoria – ENVS461 Class (Dr. Karen Hurley & students)
Monday, March 22nd - Gibraltar Room, Cariboo Memorial Complex
Evening Session - 7-9 p.m.
Connie Jones
Josee Galipeau
Mining Suppliers Association of BC (Dave Sharples)
Share the Cariboo-Chilcotin Resources Society (Bill Carruthers)
Cariboo Chevrolet Buick GMC Ltd. (Brian Garland & Tammy Tugnum)
Council of Canadians (Meera Karunananthan and Harjap Grewal)
Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society (Alice Stoddard)
Tuesday, March 23 - Gibraltar Room, Cariboo Memorial Complex
Daytime Session - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
City of Williams Lake (Mayor Kerry Cook)
The Williams Lake Construction Association (Kevin Bourdon, Grant Barley, Bonnie Griffith, Bryan Neufeld)
Mining Association of BC (Pierre Gratton)
Williams Lake Field Naturalists (Fred McMechan)
Tsilhqot’in National Government - Chiefs
Tsilhqot’in National Government - (Roger Williams, Loretta Williams)
Xat’sull (Soda Creek) First Nation - (Thomas Phillips)
Tuesday, March 23rd - Gibraltar Room, Cariboo Memorial Complex
Evening Session - 7-9 p.m.
Ranchland Honda (David Baye)
Doug Wilson
Russell Samuel Myers Ross
Federico Osorio
Jane Wellburn
Christine Hornby
Great West Equipment (Andrew Thompson)
Wednesday, March 23 - Gibraltar Room, Cariboo Memorial Complex
Daytime Session - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Health Canada (Dr. Carl Alleyne, Luc Pelletier)
Natural Resources Canada (Rob Johnstone, Margo Burgess, Kathy McPherson)
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (TBD)
Transport Canada (John Mackie, Linda Sullivan)
B.C. Chamber of Commerce (Jon Garson and John Winters)
Mining Watch Canada (Ramsey Hart)
Tsilhqot’in National Government - Chiefs
Tsilhqot’in National Government – Chilko Watershed Roundtable
Tsilhqot’in National Government – Invasive Plant Committee
Tsilhqot’in National Government – Archaeology First Nations Field Assistants
Tsilhqot’in National Government (Helen Haig-Brown)
Wednesday, March 24 - Gibraltar Room, Cariboo Memorial Complex
Evening Session - 7-9 p.m.
Tsilhqot’in National Government – Movie presentation: “Blue Gold: The Tsilhqot’in Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)” Pending: A motion has been received from Taseko Mines Limited, objecting to the showing of the film. The Panel will make its decision on the first day of the hearing after giving the motion due consideration. Please see the Project’s public registry, CEAR document #1791
Thursday, March 25
Daytime Session - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. @ Room 119, Pioneer Complex (351 Hodgson Road)
Stephanie Bird
Williams Lake & District Chamber of Commerce (Susan Redford)
Taseko Lake Outfitters (Siegfried Reuter)
Tsilhqot’in National Government - Xeni Gwet’in Cultural Tourism Program
Williams Lake Tribune (Lorne Doerkson)
Pacific Coastal Airlines (Daryl Smith)
Council of Canadians – Williams Lake Chapter (John Dressler)
Tsilhqot’in National Government - Chiefs
Tsilhqot’in National Government - (Linda Myers, Maria Myers)
Friday, March 26th - Valley Room, the Lodge in 100 Mile House, BC
Daytime Session - 12:00pm to 5:00pm & Evening Session - 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Taseko Mines Ltd. (Brief overview presentation, and questions)
Lower Bridge Creek Water Stewardship Society (Gordon Hoglund)
Yalakom Ecological Society (Karley Zibeau)
Rob Henneker
100 Mile House Mayor Mitch Campsall
Saturday, March 27th - Alexis Creek Community Hall
Daytime Session - 10:00am to 6:00pm
Taseko Mines Ltd. (Brief overview presentation, and questions)
Cariboo Regional District (Area 'K' Director Rick Mumford)
Other Information:
• Doors to the hearing room open at 9 a.m. each day. At this time, late registration will be taken for those that wish to present to the panel in the general sessions (subject to availability).
• Late registration will also be taken at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for those that wish to present to the panel in the evening session (subject to availability).
• There will be a lunch break at 12 p.m. each day.
• The General Hearing Session Monday begins with opening comments from the Panel Chair and preliminary matters and motions.
• Taseko Mines’ presentation on March 22 is expected to be 60-90 minutes, followed by questions.
March 21, 2010
Bolivia: 70 Governments Confirm for Climate Summit
Seventy Governments at Global Climate Conference
LA PAZ.- Some 70 governments have confirmed their attendance at the First World Conference of the People on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth to be held from April 20 to 22 in Bolivia, the Bolivian Executive announced.
The invitation was launched by the government for social organizations, indigenous peoples, farmers, scientists, universities and all governments to join in the demands of their peoples.
Various representatives of civil society from 94 countries and delegates from 70 governments will be attending. In Cochabamba they will discuss global action plans such as demonstrations, but also the global referendum proposed by President Morales at the Copenhagen summit last December.
The meeting called by Morales will be held in advance of the next presidential conference on the same topic to be held in Mexico later this year. (Source: Granma Daily)
Bolivia creates new opportunity for climate talks that failed in Copenhagen
Pablo Solón Romero
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Friday 19 March 2010 07.00 GMT
In the aftermath of the Copenhagen climate conference, those who defended the widely condemned outcome tended to talk about it as a "step in the right direction". This was always a tendentious argument, given that tackling climate change can not be addressed by half measures. We can't make compromises with nature.
Bolivia, however, believed that Copenhagen marked a backwards step, undoing the work built on since the climate talks in Kyoto. That is why, against strong pressure from industrialised countries, we and other developing nations refused to sign the Copenhagen accord and why we are hosting an international meeting on climate change next month. In the words of the Tuvalu negotiator, we were not prepared to "betray our people for 30 pieces of silver".
Our position was strongly criticised by several industrialised countries, who did their brazen best to blame the victims of climate change for their own unwillingness to act. However, recent communications by the European Commission have confirmed why we were right to oppose the Copenhagen accord.
In a report called International climate policy post-Copenhagen (pdf), the commission confirmed that the pledges by developed countries are equal to between 13.2% and 17.8% in emissions reductions by 2020 – far below the required 40%-plus reductions needed to keep global temperature rise to less than 2C degrees.
The situation is even worse once you take into account what are called "banking of surplus emission budgets" and "accounting rules for land use, land use change and forestry". The Copenhagen accord would actually allow for an increase in developed country emissions of 2.6% above 1990 levels. This is hardly a forward step.
This is not just about gravely inadequate commitments, it is also about process. Whereas before, under the Kyoto protocol, developed countries were legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a certain percentage, now countries can submit whatever targets they want without a binding commitment.
This dangerous approach to climate negotiations is like building a dam where everyone contributes as many bricks as they want regardless of whether it stops the river.
The Copenhagen accord opens the dam and condemns millions. Various estimates suggest that the commitments made under the accord would lead to increases of between three to four degrees celsius – a level that many scientists consider disastrous for human life and our ecosystems.
For Bolivia, the disastrous outcome of Copenhagen was further proof that climate change is not the central issue in negotiations. For rich countries, the key issues in negotiations were finance, carbon markets, competitiveness of countries and corporations, business opportunities along with discussions about the political makeup of the US Senate. There was surprisingly little focus on effective solutions for reducing carbon emissions.
President Evo Morales of Bolivia observed that the best way to put climate change solutions at the heart of the talks was to involve the people. In contrast to much of the official talks, the hundreds of civil society organisations, communities, scientists and faith leaders present in Copenhagen clearly prioritised the search for effective, just solutions to climate change against narrow economic interests.
To advance an agenda based on effective just solutions, Bolivia is therefore hosting a Peoples' Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth on 19-22 April, and inviting everyone to participate. Unlike Copenhagen, there will be no secret discussions behind closed doors. Moreover the debate and proposals will be led by communities on the frontlines of climate change and by organisations and individuals dedicated to tackling the climate crisis. All 192 governments in the UN have also been invited to attend and encouraged to listen to the voices of civil society and together develop common proposals.
We hope that this unique format will help shift power back to the people, which is where it needs to be on this critical issue for all humanity. We don't expect agreement on everything, but at least we can start to discuss openly and sincerely in a way that didn't happen in Copenhagen.
• Pablo Solón is Ambassador to the UN for the Plurinational State of Bolivia. He is a sociologist and economist, was active in Bolivia's social movements before entering government, and is an expert on issues of trade, integration, natural resources and water.
LA PAZ.- Some 70 governments have confirmed their attendance at the First World Conference of the People on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth to be held from April 20 to 22 in Bolivia, the Bolivian Executive announced.
The invitation was launched by the government for social organizations, indigenous peoples, farmers, scientists, universities and all governments to join in the demands of their peoples.
Various representatives of civil society from 94 countries and delegates from 70 governments will be attending. In Cochabamba they will discuss global action plans such as demonstrations, but also the global referendum proposed by President Morales at the Copenhagen summit last December.
The meeting called by Morales will be held in advance of the next presidential conference on the same topic to be held in Mexico later this year. (Source: Granma Daily)
Bolivia creates new opportunity for climate talks that failed in Copenhagen
Pablo Solón Romero
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Friday 19 March 2010 07.00 GMT
In the aftermath of the Copenhagen climate conference, those who defended the widely condemned outcome tended to talk about it as a "step in the right direction". This was always a tendentious argument, given that tackling climate change can not be addressed by half measures. We can't make compromises with nature.
Bolivia, however, believed that Copenhagen marked a backwards step, undoing the work built on since the climate talks in Kyoto. That is why, against strong pressure from industrialised countries, we and other developing nations refused to sign the Copenhagen accord and why we are hosting an international meeting on climate change next month. In the words of the Tuvalu negotiator, we were not prepared to "betray our people for 30 pieces of silver".
Our position was strongly criticised by several industrialised countries, who did their brazen best to blame the victims of climate change for their own unwillingness to act. However, recent communications by the European Commission have confirmed why we were right to oppose the Copenhagen accord.
In a report called International climate policy post-Copenhagen (pdf), the commission confirmed that the pledges by developed countries are equal to between 13.2% and 17.8% in emissions reductions by 2020 – far below the required 40%-plus reductions needed to keep global temperature rise to less than 2C degrees.
The situation is even worse once you take into account what are called "banking of surplus emission budgets" and "accounting rules for land use, land use change and forestry". The Copenhagen accord would actually allow for an increase in developed country emissions of 2.6% above 1990 levels. This is hardly a forward step.
This is not just about gravely inadequate commitments, it is also about process. Whereas before, under the Kyoto protocol, developed countries were legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a certain percentage, now countries can submit whatever targets they want without a binding commitment.
This dangerous approach to climate negotiations is like building a dam where everyone contributes as many bricks as they want regardless of whether it stops the river.
The Copenhagen accord opens the dam and condemns millions. Various estimates suggest that the commitments made under the accord would lead to increases of between three to four degrees celsius – a level that many scientists consider disastrous for human life and our ecosystems.
For Bolivia, the disastrous outcome of Copenhagen was further proof that climate change is not the central issue in negotiations. For rich countries, the key issues in negotiations were finance, carbon markets, competitiveness of countries and corporations, business opportunities along with discussions about the political makeup of the US Senate. There was surprisingly little focus on effective solutions for reducing carbon emissions.
President Evo Morales of Bolivia observed that the best way to put climate change solutions at the heart of the talks was to involve the people. In contrast to much of the official talks, the hundreds of civil society organisations, communities, scientists and faith leaders present in Copenhagen clearly prioritised the search for effective, just solutions to climate change against narrow economic interests.
To advance an agenda based on effective just solutions, Bolivia is therefore hosting a Peoples' Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth on 19-22 April, and inviting everyone to participate. Unlike Copenhagen, there will be no secret discussions behind closed doors. Moreover the debate and proposals will be led by communities on the frontlines of climate change and by organisations and individuals dedicated to tackling the climate crisis. All 192 governments in the UN have also been invited to attend and encouraged to listen to the voices of civil society and together develop common proposals.
We hope that this unique format will help shift power back to the people, which is where it needs to be on this critical issue for all humanity. We don't expect agreement on everything, but at least we can start to discuss openly and sincerely in a way that didn't happen in Copenhagen.
• Pablo Solón is Ambassador to the UN for the Plurinational State of Bolivia. He is a sociologist and economist, was active in Bolivia's social movements before entering government, and is an expert on issues of trade, integration, natural resources and water.
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