Category: Life

Free Paul Watson

Oct. 2nd 2024, Nuuk, Greenland – In what is quickly becoming a test of judicial integrity and international solidarity, marine conservation legend Captain Paul Watson appeared for his fourth court hearing today in Nuuk, Greenland. Despite increasing global attention and pressure for his release, the prosecution has requested yet another extension of Watson’s detention until October 23, 2024.

“In our view, the criteria for extradition have been met according to the accusations in the Japanese arrest warrant. Therefore, there is no point in analysing any documents. The detention is extended by 3 weeks, until Wednesday, October 23rd.” stated Stig Norskov-Jensen, the Greenland Court Judge in his ruling today.

During today’s session, Watson’s legal team demanded that critical evidence proving his innocence be admitted into the proceedings. However, the court, aligning with the prosecutor’s position, refused to allow the defence’s evidence yet again.

Lawyer Jonas Christoffersen explained: “Paul Watson has been in custody for four months, without the Court of Greenland or the High Court of Greenland having given permission for Paul Watson to document in court what the case is about. In our opinion, it is against his human rights for a judge to assess the evidence and the basis for a remand.”

The prosecution argued that Watson’s involvement in an anti-whaling operation, specifically his presence during Pete Bethune’s 2010 stink bomb action on a Japanese whaling vessel, was enough to justify the extradition request from Japan. They maintained that any evidence the defence presented was irrelevant under the circumstances.

Watson’s lawyer denounced the charges, stating that the legal actions against his client are wildly disproportionate, with the prosecutor asserting that a stink bomb attack constitutes an intentional assault on a ship, despite it being non-lethal. As the defence attempted to respond to this claim, the judge cut them off, disallowing any further discussion regarding the rejected evidence.

“The latest extension took place today, October 2, and we will now appeal to the High Court, and then we hope that the Supreme Court will put its foot down and state that anyone who is in remand – regardless of whether it is in an extradition case – has the right to have a judge see the key documents of the case and make a proper assessment of whether there is a basis for a detention.”  Stated Christofferson

In an emotional conclusion, Captain Watson stated: “This is my 73rd day in prison. I’ve missed my children’s birthdays, who just turned 3 and 8 years old. My accusers are criminals, and this isn’t just my opinion – it’s the judgment from the International Court of Justice and the Australian Federal Court. We’re talking about a bruise on someone’s cheek caused not by our stink bomb but by their own pepper spray. The Japanese rammed and split a ship in two, risking the lives of 6 crew members, whom we had to save” Concluding “I cannot believe that Denmark would extradite me to Japan – it would be my death sentence. Denmark respects human rights.”

Watson’s supporters worldwide are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as a politically motivated attempt to silence a man who has spent more than 50 years protecting marine wildlife, particularly whales, from illegal poaching and exploitation. The Captain Paul Watson Foundation has called on international human rights organizations to intervene and ensure Watson is given a fair trial.

Rob Read, Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Paul Watson Foundation UK, who attended the hearing in Nuuk today stated: “Our main worry is that the Judge feels the extradition requirements have been met and Paul is at real risk of a life sentence in Japan leaving our oceans without their greatest protector”.

Watson, who was arrested on July 21st 2024 while refueling his ship in Nuuk, Greenland on his way to stop a Japanese factory whaling vessel from hunting endangered Fin Whales  (on a decades-old Interpol warrant issued by Japan), faces charges for allegedly injuring a crew member during a 2010 stink bomb incident in Antarctica, opposing illegal Japanese whaling. Yet, Watson and his defence team argue that the charges are a smokescreen designed to deter him and others from opposing Japan’s whaling activities.

Recent news has implicated Danish Authorities and Faroe Islands police in Watson’s arrest. A Parliamentary enquiry into the case by Watson’s lawyers revealed Faroese Police tracked Watson and alerted the Danish Justice Ministry of his movements, triggering Watson’s ambush in Greenland. Denmark’s stance on international whaling laws and conservation efforts is often scrutinized, especially in relation to Faroese whaling practices, which are defended as cultural heritage by some and condemned by others, particularly within the marine conservation community.

The Captain Paul Watson Foundation, in collaboration with other environmental groups, continues to demand Watson’s immediate release. They argue that his detention and potential extradition are politically motivated, serving as a warning to others who dare to challenge the whaling industry.

THE #FREEPAULWATSON PETITION

https://www.paulwatsonfoundation.org/paul-watsons-legal-team-demands-fair-trial-as-extradition-looms/


How times change!

Back in 2007 Time magazine named Russia’s president Vladimir Putin as its person of the year. In explaining its decision, the magazine described him as a “steely and determined man” who had “emerged as a critical lynchpin of the 21st century.”

It added: “Putin is not a boy scout. He is not a democrat in any way that the West would define it. He is not a paragon of free speech. He stands, above all, for stability – stability before freedom, stability before choice, stability in a country that has hardly seen it for a hundred years.”

Where as as early as 2010 there were reports coming out of Russia into the press on the repression of the state stating that Russia was in fact a ‘mafia state’ with the Kremlin relying on criminals and rewarding them with political patronage, while top officials collect bribes ‘like a personal taxation system.

On the 24th September 2024 there was a Statement by Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the UN Security Council where he went on to say Putin’s Russia is a “mafia state” that is “built on lies”. Britain’s top diplomat directly accused Vladimir Putin of running a “mafia state” and likened him to a slave-owner in a fiery address at the United Nations Security Council.

David Lammy, the U.K.’s foreign secretary, took aim at the Russian president during the New York gathering Tuesday, telling Russia’s representative: “We know who you are.”

Lammy invoked the legacy of slavery to take aim at Putin’s conduct in the invasion of Ukraine, and accused the Russian government of running “roughshod over international law” while claiming to stand up for the “Global South.”

“Your invasion is in your own interests,” he said. “Yours alone. To expand your mafia state into a mafia empire. An empire built on corruption.”

He added, “Mr President, I speak not only as a Briton, as a Londoner, and as a foreign secretary.

“But I say to the Russian representative, on his phone as I speak, that I stand here also as a Black man whose ancestors were taken in chains from Africa, at the barrel of a gun to be enslaved, whose ancestors rose up and fought in a great rebellion of the enslaved.

“Imperialism: I know it when I see it. And I will call it out for what it is,” Lammy said.

Trumping on the facts

Both the main presidential candidates faced off yesterday in a head to head debate and no one knew how it was going to go.

The fact checking of Trumps deliberate misinterpretations of reality and lies were a genius stroke by the news network ABC – if only trump could be fact checked more throughout his life and with what he says there might be less of a messiah perspective from his supports and more realisation that like everyone else he is only human and not a good human at that.

Your life, your country and the world in which you live in might be in a difficult and precarious state and people hope and pray for a solution and maybe a messiah to solve their problems for them, their countries problems and if their feeling really charitable the world’s problems. But if you think Donald Trump is the solution to those problems I think you will be sadly mistaken and disappointed.  

Immigration, criminality and the risk of losing your job are all fears that Trump pull at on your heart strings, which gets people to vote and support for him. His narrative is that all illegal immigrants are dangerous criminals that could eat your cats and dogs and invade your country to commit crimes and take your jobs! As far as narratives go it’s kind of catchy but not based in reality.

A more realistic perspective of on illegal immigration is that these are people (yes human beings like you) who are desperately trying to escape war, poverty and hunger and search for a better life and any country including the USA can only take in so many people at any one time in order to manage the growth of its own population as well as that of incoming immigrants. Not all people that want to come to your country can be taken and many of those that might be refused, deported and prevented from entering are just ordinary human beings trying to escape war, poverty and hunger and search for a better life. The second narrative that states that there not all criminals that want to eat your cat or dog is not so punchy or easy to follow and does not give you that, though should hate all immigrants vibe as they are evil, ring to it. But is far more closer to the truth. Donald Trumps truth tend to be able to tell you a narrative that you want to be true and hear, even though in your heart and soul you know it is not true.

Coldplay – Politik

Admin Bitch Extraordinaire

Yes that’s me, the one you give the jobs no one else wants to do to. The one that smiles at the challenge and appreciates the results of their own work, even if no one else does.

Well I ran into the milestone of being 48 years old, last month amazed that I got here with not too many regrets and still some joy and happiness and a definite zest for life. But it’s also another year of working for the man. My job role sounds almost exciting as a Projects and Support Officer but make no mistake about it, I was chosen in my interview and undertake the role on a daily basis of an office admin bitch extraordinaire. I answer phone calls into our department, I speak to people about a huge range of issues sometimes nothing to do with my job, but I quickly google their issue and give them the number for someone else that can help if needed, I respond to emails I make sure the bills get paid and other essential but low grade office stuff that keeps the wheels of the business turning.  

We have been informed and seen in other organisations the shutting of phone lines and streamlining of emails on a straight to a database email system rather than to a person first and with no one there to answer phone calls coming into a department in the office anymore my days appear numbered in the job I do and enjoy. I have been in my current job for 4 years from July and I would be ready to move on if there were any where for an admin bitch roles to move onto but sadly my days and skills appear at present to not be in demand.

Don’t get me wrong I’m busy I get results and work hard in my job it’s just that managers and those above them have decided my role will no longer be needed in the future and even though I am busy as ever their eyeing up those P45 exit papers for me and people like me. It’s not like the work wont still need to be done when I am gone they will just either hire someone after me to do the job cheaper or get in someone with a degree and pay them the same or more than me and call it a career.

In my present admin role over the last 18 months our office manager resigned due to ill health and we have been doing a considerable amount of her work since she left, when one of us now has holiday the other person does a hell of a lot in order to just keep things ticking over, its a bit of a nightmare. It has been to a point though a fantastic work experience and an opportunity to develop my admin/project/finance skills even more though. But they see our ability not to fail as almost a failure in itself. We have been pleading for extra support and a decision on what happens to admin bods in the office like me. That decision has been made in that are roles are up for redundancy and we might be up for redundancy too, if we don’t play our cards right and even if we do play our cards right we could still find ourselves out of a job – catch 22 situation, we will make you redundant because your job is to important to be done by you or not important enough to be done by you any longer. We will tell you which we decide when we hand you your departure papers.

To be continued or to be discontinued!

Distance, Light & Sky – Don’t Go Dark On Me (Official Video)

They go on strike and you say ‘that’s ok you’re all done’!

It’s rare for me to hear two rich and powerful people massage their egos, so much as when I had the  misfortune to listen to part of the Trump and Musk lowlights of Monday nights X interview. At one time it almost sounded like to the two men were tickling each other’s bellies in happiness and joy, while discussing the dismantling of workers rights in order to make more money from it for each other. Trump on musk over firing workers ‘You’re the Greatest!’.

If you believe that Trumps policies will be for your benefit as opposed to, the benefit of the rich and powerful that work hard to elect him then more fool you. The Ecological damage to your environment will be fierce as he deregulates environmental protections of habitats in order to guess what merely make a quick buck at the expense of the environment, and as for your rights as a citizen if they get in the way of him and his supports making money don’t think that you will have protection either.

A part of me wants Trump to be elected just to see what a shit show he makes of being in government the second time around, but that’s my dark and selfish side the other part hopes for the best and hopes that he loses in the election and a more progressive form of government is allowed to prevail. Its all up to US voters anyway so they will only be able to blame or congratulate each other on the outcome of their election and his next potential four years in government.  

Frank Turner – Be More Kind 

Fascist fighters and racist rioters

From hate speech and misinformation starting on the shores of social media on the internet across the globe, this has generated a movement of fascists and racists smashing like an unwelcome windswept violent storm onto the streets of cities across the UK.

With the stoning of mosques, places of worship and prayer or the attempt to set fire to hotels where immigrants sleep or await their applications of immigration to be processed or the setting fire to police vehicles on the streets to taunting, fighting and beating of emergency services on the streets. This is the ugly side of the political right and racism in the UK.

Where misinformation and hate speech and expression has resulted in an explosion of hate and wanton destruction from those in the right that think the rule of law does not apply to them and that a murderous intent to kill those that are not the same colour or creed as them is normal and to be encouraged.

It’s sickening and they are a minority of people but intend to do the maximum amount of damage and violence. It’s repulsive, it’s wrong and they deserve the full force of the law to be thrown at them and where ever this type of sickness and poison rises up it must be confronted and repelled. The Nazis burnt books in Hitler’s Germany and in Merseyside the fascists burned down a library this weekend and also tried to burn down hotels with refuge applicants in them.

I know a member of my family and a person I went to school with that would follow and support and continue to promote hate speech and misinformation on the internet to promote the far right and perpetuate hate speech to others.

It’s a sad state of affairs to say there really is no stopping what those individuals have said or will say and type. They constantly slide between a fine line of spouting hate speech, lies and misinformation and then boast about going to Facebook jail temporarily being banned from posting lies, hate and misinformation on social media posts. The very few people that I know on social media that would be excited or feel empowered by the last 6 days of hate and violence have either been relatively quite or not spoken out recently in social media posts that I have read or for all I know are already celebrating the fact their serving time in Facebook jail. There have now been over 400 arrests in the UK linked to the last 6 days of violence and protest with no signs of stopping just yet. Those that express hate as a form of patriotism are not patriots and any excuses to say that they are reacting to the murder of 3 young girls while at a dance studio last week in Southport which was an initial justification for the outpouring of lies and hate speech leading to egged on actions of violence and hate. Violence with a murderous intent is not grief. I have decided not to show any photos of the rioting in the UK as I do not wish to promote the mindless violence in any way that has been taking place.

U2 – Where The Streets Have No Name (Remastered)

Open Letter for Whole Truth Five

Dear Attorney General, Richard Hermer KC,

This week has seen one of the greatest injustices in a British court in modern history. On Thursday 18th July, five people were given the highest sentences for nonviolent protest this country has ever seen. They were on trial for holding a zoom call, calling on others to take action to raise the alarm about the greatest threat humanity has ever faced: the climate and nature crises.

These sentences were handed down just days after the new government’s policy of no new licensing for oil and gas infrastructure was announced. In a world of sound, evidence-based governance, none of this needed to happen. With prisons at breaking point and the new government acting urgently to address this, how can these sentences be seen as anything other than insanity? The sentences, ranging from 4 to 5 years, are higher than those given to many who commit serious sexual assault. 

The defendants were denied the right to explain to a jury why they took the action they did, making a mockery of the right to a fair trial, with the judge saying that the Crown Prosecution’s agreed facts on climate collapse – including that the world has gone beyond 1.5 degrees for 12 consecutive months – were “neither here nor there”. These five brave, defiant people, like all nonviolent protestors, are fulfilling a necessary service by alerting the nation to the grave risk we all face, as scientists in their droves express their fear that many of the Earth’s systems are already at breaking point.

Immediately after the verdict, the UN’s special rapporteur on environmental defenders issued an extraordinary statement: “Today marks a dark day for peaceful environmental protest, the protection of environmental defenders and indeed anyone concerned with the exercise of their fundamental freedoms in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” 

According to the Office for National Statistics, 74% of people in the UK want urgent action on the climate crisis. Until a couple of weeks ago that majority was blocked by a Prime Minister who used climate – an existential threat – as a wedge issue in an election he lost. This new government has inherited a suite of recent legislation that conflicts with International Human Rights Law, and has put everyone’s right to peaceful protest at risk. The new government can address this now, as they have with fossil fuel licensing.

The world stands at a crossroads and so does our democracy. We write in support of Chris Packham and Dale Vince’s request for an urgent meeting with you, to be recorded so it is transparent to the public, to discuss the jailing of truth tellers and their silencing in court.

Sincerely, and with love for all humanity,

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/no-prison-for-protest?source=direct_link&


Sailing to Alderney on a tall ship called Queen Galadriel 

July 9th 2010 is  a date that comes up on my computer pictures timeline for a wonderful visit from Portsmouth to the Island of Alderney on a tall ship no less when I was 34 some 14 years ago now. 

Queen Galdriel – The Cirdan Sailing Trust
(https://www.cirdantrust.org/queen-galadriel)

Alderney is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is 3 miles long and 1+1⁄2 miles wide. The island’s area is 3 square miles, making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick.

Smb1001, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons

I was staying in supported accommodation in Chepstow in South Wales at the time of the trip to Alderney, after having come out of a hospital stay, due to struggling with my mental health back then. Though I am pleased to say that that was the last time I spent time in hospital due to my mental health and had I not been staying in accommodation in Chepstow I would never have been invited to sail on the ship. 

I was well on the way to recovery when this trip to Alderney took place and it really was a great adventure and a real privilege to go there on the working tall ship. I have just spent the last two hours trying to work out the name of the charity that we sailed with and also the name of the boat. Which I am pleased to say I found out eventually.


It turns out the boat is called as already mentioned in the title the Queen Galadriel and was originally built in 1937 in Svenborg, Denmark and was named Else first after the Captain’s daughter. She traded as a cargo vessel around the coasts of Denmark and Norway, initially as a motor sailor but after 1956 under motor alone. In 1983, she was bought by The Cirdan Sailing Trust and went into service, renamed the Queen Galadriel. The Ciridan Saling trust still run her today and groups or individuals can still pay to go on trips with her. 

Back in 2010 the weather was stunning when we sailed out to Alderney, really hot, but with a cool breeze on the ship so you did not really feel the heat too much when sailing. Alderney was such a lovely place to visit also, with the beaches there being really special as well. 

The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues (High Quality)

Top Trumps, Politics Today in the USA

Top Trumps is a card game first published in 1978. Each card contains a list of numerical data, and the aim of the game is to compare these values to try to trump and win an opponent’s card. A wide variety of different packs of Top Trumps has been published.

The US Supreme Court has played a real top card in favour of Trump this week with the ruling that former presidents are partially immune from criminal prosecution. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump and future and past presidents get absolute immunity for official acts carried out as a President.

For a country that lives and dies by the rule of law and power and prestige of its own democracy this is the law to end all laws. To say that one man a President of a county has immunity for official acts carried out is bizarre and surely in conflict with the US Constitution principles of governance.

Well Joe Biden is hated by a huge majority and seen as too old to govern again so it looks very much like your going to get Trumped for your next President.

I just hope he throws all his energy into making money out of the system at the expense of the social fabric of the state and showing off about how super he is and playing lots of golf, while he is President and does not do any serious long lasting damage to your constitution and country. The sooner he has departed from the office of president and this earth the better.

If he starts messing with the freedom of press in your country and the ability of truth to flow freely through your society purely for his own gains, ego and political positioning this will be deeply damaging to the state of play of US political institutions and players.

Chinese & Russian political powerbase’s must be expectant and celebrating a potential Trump victory. Trump will try to dismantle NATO and President Putin will continue to disarm and conquer  the Ukraine and China mght well be tempted to take over Taiwan.

The majority of citizens in all countries across the world will be hoping and praying that Trumps actions and inactions will not come back to haunt them.

Living in a country that is hopefully about to come out of some 14 years of Conservative incompetence in governance this week, it will feel more like relief than a celebration and a severely punished conservative party by the electorate, could end up seeing them becoming the third largest party in British politics rather than the largest.

Sadly the US democratic system is institutionally designed for just the worship or support of two parties and even if Trump seriously damages the support for Republicanism, this will likely be a short term problem for Republicans as there is no grass root movement to ever replace them nor is there the will of the people to see them gone.

Everything is not lost, though for one think he is not in power yet and if he comes to power he will also lose it again.

Coldplay – Everything’s Not Lost (Includes Hidden Track ‘Life Is For Living’)

Mind over Mutter!

To mutter to speak quietly and in a voice that is not easy to hear, often when you are anxious or complaining about something: He muttered to himself as he walked or I heard him mutter something.

A week from tonight our polling stations where people vote will be closing about now and the councils will begin the count to determine which MPs are local neighbourhoods, towns and cities decide to elect and send to parliament. When I was 18 I studied Public Policy at Southampton Institute, I had learning difficulties and it was the first place I got offered that offered a course I really wanted to study.

It involved the study of UK contemporary Politics, Economics, Sociology and Constitutional Law. The course gave me a good understanding of and an ability to interpret political views and issues, while  developing my own views and perspectives on politics too.

Sadly though due to a serious mental health issue and drug addiction I only lasted on the course for about 18 months then crashed and burned. But in that time and to this day it gave me a good understanding of learning – not just about the power of education the importance of politics and breaking down concepts and rebuilding them back up again in my mind. But also the addictive and damage nature of illegal drugs the limits and fragility of my mental health and mind.   

After some real life altering choices which I mainly had to force upon myself due to the sad truth of the fact that for me illegal hallucinogenic drugs and any forms of cannabis are just seriously damaging to my mental health and an absolute no go zone for me and my head. From the age of about 16 up to about the age of 25 I still did not realise or believe the damage that certain illegal drugs could do to me ,I just did not want to accept it. I don’t advocate abstention for everyone and think many forms of drugs should be licensed or legally controlled not simply banned. But just as an alcoholic should not touch a whisky, I should not touch hallucinogens or cannabis due to the impacts on my mental health and life.

I have a form of mental health condition which means I have been on a form of medication that prevents or dampens down hallucinations’ for over probably 20 years or more now. The form I am on at the moment works really well for me and keeps me balanced and well enough to hold down a job and function having only had a few blips in my mental health road over the years and managed to stay on track with my life, job and home.

When I occasionally have, for want of a better word had a mental hiccup I have had enough incite to know what was going on and to ask for help and hold on for dear life and look after myself and all I am and have as best as I could until things calmed down and imporved. But saying all that if I knew what triggered these mental health incidents then I can’t promise I would try to do those things that increase the risk of them not happening again.

You still must live your life because you are still alive you can’t completely block yourself of from the things that you fear or hurt you in the outside world. To experience life is to experience a range and spectrum of emotions and experiences some positive and sadly some at times negative. The only constant that seems to appear in life is change and those that best adapt and act on that change are the ones that tend to survive and thrive.

Amy Macdonald – This is the life