Daily Archives: January 26, 2014

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Freedom Industries tank farm responsible for the Elk River chemical contamination is going to be shut down and dismantled, according to an order from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection that was announced Saturday by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Freedom Industries tank farm responsible for the Elk River chemical contamination is going to be shut down and dismantled, according to an order from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection that was announced Saturday by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

All chemicals must be removed from the facility by March 15.

Freedom must begin the process of dismantling, removing and disposing of all of its above-ground tanks and all associated piping and machinery by that same day, according to the order.

All 17 tanks at the Freedom facility are in inadequate secondary-containment areas, according to a news release from Tomblin's office that was issued with the order. Fourteen of those tanks still have chemicals in them.

The release says that those chemicals include calcium chloride and glycerin, both of which are common additives to household products. DEP Secretary Randy Huffman said three smaller tanks contain a semi-solid substance that is "like fatty acids." Huffman said none of the tanks contain any harmful or hazardous substances.

"During the dismantling of the tanks, Freedom Industries is ordered to install measures that ensure that secondary containment is adequate to contain any potential spills resulting from the work," the release states.

Huffman said workers from the company and the DEP are digging cutoff trenches and taking other remediation efforts to protect the river, should there be another leak before the chemicals can be moved. He also said just having people on the site is a help.

The release states that Tomblin ordered the dismantling of the tank farm, although his signature does not appear on the order. It is a "consent order," meaning the company agreed to the terms. That also means the company cannot appeal the order.

The release states that Tomblin and Huffman began discussing the option of dismantling the tanks on Jan. 10, the day after the leak was discovered.

See the original post here:
DEP order: Dismantle Freedom tank farm

January 26, 2014

Freedom Houses Freedom in the World 2014 report, which classifies a country as free, partly free and not free based on both political rights and civil liberties, lowered Indonesias status from free to partly free.

The reason for this drop of status is due to a new law restricting the activities of nongovernmental organisations.

I would add, we are partly free because we have no idea what to do with the freedom that we have.

The inability of the state to follow the Pancasila ideology is whittling at the countrys democracy and freedom, not to mention the countrys foundation.

Being the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, we pride ourselves of our brand of Islam, which is moderate.

In reality, we already have Syariah in Aceh, while more and more local governments around the country are leaning towards laws and regulations favouring the religion of the majority rather than respecting equally all the other religions as stipulated in the Pancasila ideology.

Indonesia willingly makes herself less free when she allows herself to be highjacked by a majority of people who see their fellow countrymen as less equal before the law if they are deemed not equal before the eyes of God.

Moreover, although we have achieved democracy, in that we have an elected and democratic government, there is a consensus that Indonesia, as a country, is still not free.

The word for freedom is merdeka which contains within it the spirit to fight against injustice and oppression, initially against colonial rule.

See original here:
On being free – Desi Anwar

Peter Greste. Photo: ABC/Twitter: @PeterGreste

Detained Australian journalist Peter Greste has released a letter vowing to fight for freedom of speech in Egypt after being jailed for reporting on unrest in the country.

The award-winning Al Jazeera reporter was arrested in Cairo on December 29 along with colleagues Mohamed Adel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed.

The trio had been reporting on the political turmoil in Egypt when they were accused of holding illegal meetings with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB).

Egypt's military-installed leaders declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation in December, and had previously accused Al Jazeera of pro-Brotherhood coverage.

The Al Jazeera network, however, has emphatically defended its staff's actions, saying they were doing their job by reporting objectively.

Greste, who is being held in Cairo's Tora prison, says Egyptian authorities are cracking down on anyone "who refuses to applaud the institution".

Greste says he had originally planned to fight for his freedom "quietly", in part not to risk the precious little recreational time he was given.

However, he now says acquiescence on his behalf would validate the Egyptian authorities' "attack" on freedom of speech.

"I have sought, until now, to fight my imprisonment quietly from within, to make the authorities understand that this is all a terrible mistake - that I've been caught in the middle of a political struggle that is not my own," Greste writes in the letter, which has been authenticated by his parents.

Excerpt from:
Peter Greste declares battle for freedom of speech in Egypt after prolonged detention