Tag Archives: Events
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Indigenous Rights Vs the World Cup :::::::::: things to remember … the peoples
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In just two weeks, Brazil will host the 2014 World Cup and a massive influx of people from around the world who are planning to visit the world of soccer and samba. What most Brazilians and global soccer lovers don’t know, however, is that the new stadiums and infrastructure costing upwards of $10 billion come at the expense of basic social needs, human rights and the environment. In response, civil society in Brazil is rising up and taking action. 500 people from over 100 distinct cultures are in Brazil’s capital They have come to Brasilia to defend their rights and their territories from a massive attack, waged by the agribusiness lobby and “ruralist” caucus of Congress. These business interests and their representatives in Congress have stopped the demarcation of indigenous lands and are working to limit indigenous rights that are guaranteed in the 1988 Constitution. Yesterday, indigenous leaders delivered declarations against these attacks to the Supreme Court and Congress. They then joined public workers protesting the World Cup. Signs read, “WORLD CUP FOR WHOM?” and “FIFA NO. DEMARCATION YES.” The peaceful demonstration was met by a violent response by the national police force. Legendary Kayapo Chief Cacique Raoni and hundreds of men, women and children were tear gassed in a harbinger of what’s to come in a couple of weeks as the World Cup begins in this Amazonian country. Can there be indigenous rights and the World Cup? We think it’s possible, but there’s a long way to go if that’s to be. For that to happen we need to add our fullest support to this fight against entrenched businesses and corruption and for the rights of indigenous forest peoples of the Amazon. Please show your support for the National Indigenous Mobilization today. For Indigenous Rights and the Amazon,
Leila Salazar-Lopez |
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Introducing our New Spanish Language Website
We are excited to share the new Spanish language SBA website. Utilize thousands of business resources now en Español!
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‘Paddle in Seattle’ protesters gather against Shell oil rig
By Seattle Times staff reporter
Activists in kayaks protest Saturday near the Polar Pioneer, Shell’s giant oil rig, which is moored at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5. (Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times)
Saturday’s protest flotilla was meant to show environmentalists’ disapproval of the Port of Seattle and of Shell, even if the massive oil rig, the Polar Pioneer, is staying put for a while.
Conrad Ely drove from Olympia with three friends, a double kayak and a canoe.
Amy McKendry arrived with her family and a canoe she’s had since she was 8.
Brandon Juhl came in from Snohomish without a boat, but was able to launch into Elliott Bay with an extra kayak another donated to the cause.
The Shell oil rig in Seattle:
- Barge (and dollars) unite pair on opposite sides over oil rig
- ‘Paddle in Seattle’ protesters gather against Shell oil rig
- Oil-drilling controversy here stirs old bitterness in Alaska
- Vote: Seattle, Shell and climate change | Jon Talton
- Photo gallery: Shell’s Polar Pioneer cruises to Seattle
- Port Commissioner Bill Bryant announces run for governor
- Shell oil rig arriving Thursday is just the start of Arctic drilling fleet
- Oil rig coming to Seattle despite Port vote to delay
- Anti-Shell protester perches on tripod on Harbor Island
- Shell clears major hurdle for Arctic drilling
- Shell: Giant oil rig to be towed to Seattle this week
- Obama administration approves Shell drilling in Arctic Ocean
They joined more than 200 other boats Saturday for Paddle in Seattle, a flotilla organized by a coalition of environmental groups, activists and tribal leaders from around the country to demonstrate concern about the impact of fossil-fuel consumption on climate change and to show disappointment in the Port of Seattle’s decision to host Shell’s offshore Arctic oil-drilling fleet.
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The coalition, Shell No! Action Council, has said the protests will culminate Monday with a day of peaceful civil disobedience that will attempt to shut down Shell operations at the Port. That protest is to start at 7 a.m. at the Duwamish Fishing Dock.
“We are building a movement, and this is how it starts,” said Renny Reep, one of Seattle’s Raging Grannies, who stayed on land with hundreds of other activists for Saturday’s events.
“We just have to stop Shell Oil,” she said.
The Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5 has been the center of an environmental and political standoff since the Port commission announced in January that Foss Maritime would lease the vacant terminal to use as a home base for Shell’s fleet during the winter months.
The 307-foot-tall Polar Pioneer oil rig arrived Thursday despite a request by the Port commission that it and support vessels stay away while the Port challenges a city ruling aimed at keeping them out.
The rig is the biggest piece of Shell’s 25-vessel fleet in the Pacific Northwest that is set to resume its controversial oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s North Slope. Company officials view that area as one of the world’s top prospects for a major oil find.
Even if the environmental community can’t change the Port’s mind and send the rig on its way, many on Saturday simply wanted to take a stand.
“The tiny boats on the water against the backdrop of the giant oil rig … It is a chance to show how much people care,” McKendry, of Kenmore, said Saturday morning at Seacrest Park. “It is just very Seattle.”
The flotilla of hundreds of kayaks, sailboats and canoes made its way up the Duwamish River to get as close as possible to the hulking oil rig.
Seattle police and the U.S. Coast Guard were on the water monitoring the protest, and Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Dana Warr said the demonstration remained peaceful.
“There were no arrests or warnings; everyone was very respectful of the safety zone,” he said. “One hundred yards is pretty close to the rig.”
After a couple hours out on the water — less for some — protesters made their way back to Seacrest Park and to Jack Block Park where environmental and tribal leaders, some from Alaska, gave speeches and sang.
“This was really a show of strength … of how many people are appalled by this” Shell No! spokeswoman Emily Johnston said.
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