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November 27, 2004

Will we ever learn? CNN is reporting that 30,000 gallons of oil leaked into the river from a tanker called "Athos 1" which was hauling 325,000 gallons to a Citgo facility in Paulsboro, New Jersey. Coast Guard Petty Officer John Edwards (no relation) said the vessel was riding on a tilt and once docked, the crew noticed the oil. Oops. They're calling the environmental damage "minimal". No word on the long term damage. Time to boycott Citgo. Their website hilariously claims:

Petroleum will remain the most cost-effective transportation energy for many decades to come. As demand for energy grows, industry's challenge is to develop new fuels that burn cleaner and more efficiently. To accomplish this, refineries today are being upgraded continuously with new technologies applied to improve manufacturing processes. All these new processes and products will benefit both consumers and the environment.

How quaint. In June, a Citgo pipeline burst near Boston sending upwards of 12,000 gallons gushing into the surrounding area, with nearly 1,000 gallons spewing into the Fore River and adjoining wetlands.

10:36 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca

A week ago, a controversial $388 billion appropriations bill "passed" through Congress after a heated debate. Along with millions in pork, an infamous amendment gave Congressional leaders the ability to thumb through your tax records. More on that later. Now there's another appropriations bill which includes tough financial sanctions against nations who endorse the International Criminal Court, according to the Washington Post.

A provision inserted into a $338 billion government spending bill for 2005 would bar the transfer of assistance money from the $2.52 billon economic support fund to a government "that is a party" to the criminal court but "has not entered into an agreement with the United States" to bar legal proceedings against U.S. personnel. The House and Senate are to vote on the budget Dec. 8.

But the Republicans were clever enough to exempt some of our biggest NATO allies from feeling the brunt of the sanctions. In other words, they can support the ICC, but we won't punish them because we need them too much:

The legislation includes a national security waiver that would allow President Bush to exempt members of NATO and other key allies, including Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Argentina, South Korea, New Zealand or Taiwan. The waiver was added to the provision, which Rep. George R. Nethercutt (R-Wash.) introduced into a House appropriations bill in July, after the State Department raised concern that the cuts could undermine key programs that advance U.S. foreign policy.

The Bushies' strident opposition to the ICC has to be sending a giant nolo contendere signal to the rest of the world: 1) we're guilty of illegal unilateral invasion and prison torture (to name two), and 2) it doesn't matter because we're above the law and there's nothing anyone can do about it. With war crimes happening in the most despotic regimes around the world, we should endorse the ICC for no other reason than to prosecute them. Unless the practices of those regimes are too similar to our own. I can't help but to think the international community is watching the United States as we cower in the back of a white Ford Bronco.

09:32 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca