A Bird's Eye View of the Pebble Mine Site

Pebble Mine Plan Superimposed on Anchorage, Alaska

Pebble Mine Plan (in black) Compared With Other Gold Mines

The fascinating website http://skytruth.mediatools.org/ has some wonderful satellite images of the proposed Pebble Mine site. Just looking at them gives you a true appreciation of the impact this mine will make on our region. I've included some of the images above on this post, but if you care to see them all CLICK HERE.

Both Sides Pour Resources into the Pebble Fight

There are two sides in the fight over the proposed Pebble Mine – the mining industry and its various foes. Both factions realize the stakes involved so, not surprisingly, vast amounts of money are being poured into the rival campaigns. How much money you ask? It is estimated that both sides have spent a combined total of $3.6 million; a hefty sum to spend in Alaska. Statistics show that this figure is more than groups raised for all four statewide ballot measures in 2006 (year that saw substantial fights over natural gas and cruise ship taxation) and more than was spent by all the candidates in the hard fought Republican primary of that year.

This costly political battle is resulting in Alaskans being inundated by TV, print and radio ads. Movies have even been produced on the subject (I'm a fan of Red Gold). Voters have recently started receiving large brochures in the mail asking them to fill out mining surveys, and absentee ballots so they might vote early.

The pro Pebble pockets are deep ones, continually filled by the large mining corporations and the board members of the nefarious Pebble Partnership who have the most to lose should Ballot Measure #4 pass. Another big pro Pebble interest is Alaskans Against Mining Shut Down (another mine industry shill group).

Does He Feel the Same Way About Salmon?

Yesterday I posted a story about the Pebble Partnership and how it bought off Ken Taylor, a deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, with a cushy vice presidential gig at the partnership. It turns out that Mr. Taylor has never been particularly 'keen' on protecting the environment - which makes him an odd choice to work at the fish & game department, but I digress.

Here's an article about his involvement with the polar bear debate during his time as a state official published in January of this year in the Anchorage Daily News,

But Taylor, the Palin administration's point man on polar bears, argues that the scientific justification simply isn't there -- at least not yet -- to declare the polar bear "threatened" and touch off a cascade of effects under the Endangered Species Act. A decision on the bears is expected from the U.S. Department of the Interior in the next few weeks.

"From my perspective, it's very difficult to put a population on the list that's healthy, based on a projection 45 years into the future," Taylor says. "That's really stretching scientific credibility."

If he doesn't want to look out for polar bears, can we expect him to give flying fig about salmon?

Pebble Partnership Head, John Shively, Buys Off Alaskan Official

John Shivley, the head of the infamous Pebble Partnership, has hired a fresh new face for his outfit – but in actuality he’s buying off a state official. The Pebble Blog at the Anchorage Daily News reports,

Ken Taylor, a deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, has taken a job as the Pebble Partnership's vice president for
environment.

Ken Taylor was recently profiled in the Daily News due
to his role as the Palin administration's "point man" on the status of polar
bears.

To read the full story click here.

Now there may be some among you who accuse me of rushing to judgment regarding Mr. Shively; that I’m automatically assuming the worst and that there’s no reason to assume he’d be using this job to buy off Ken Taylor. Yet, we know from history that John Shivley has no problem lying under oath or striking corrupt bargains with officials.

You see, Shively used to be chief of staff to Governor Sheffield back in 1985. During his time in that position, a grand jury began an investigation into Sheffield. Later, that same grand jury found that Governor Sheffield had improperly intervened on behalf of a union leader when the Governor’s office awarded the union boss a $10 million no-bid contract.

Initially, both Sheffield and Shively denied committing any crime and Sheffield refused to accept Shively’s resignation. Shively refused to testify against Sheffield until granted immunity and when he got it, he admitted under oath that he had lied to investigators on a number of occasions about Sheffield’s behavior. He also admitted to throwing official documents away in his trash can when a reporter asked to see them. If anyone should have been indicted, it was Shively.

We also have some good info on Ken Taylor, which I’ll share with you tomorrow.

Anglo American and Human Rights Abuse

Anglo American owns and operates the Colombia’s Cerrejon mine – the largest open pit coal mine in the world. Cerrejon represents one of Anglo’s biggest money makers, and the story of its construction is very illustrative of the mining giant’s moral depravity. You see, in order to make way for the Cerrejon mine, Anglo American bulldozed a farming community and later admitted to not compensating any of the families for their property.

The village was named Tabaco, a sustainable farming community populated by Afro-Colombians. The village had a school, health clinic, telephone exchange and, most importantly for the inhabitants, good farmland. None of that, however, kept Anglo, and Sir Mark Moody Stuart, Anglo’s Chairman of the Board, from completely leveling the community in 2001.

Afterwards, Moody Stuart said that the displacement was not ‘perfectly executed’. He also said that only a small number of inhabitants were compensated for their loss of property. To call these understatements would be, in and of itself, an understatement.

Interviews conducted with over 60 families from Cerrejon after the town’s destruction revealed that none of the families had been reimbursed. What is even more frightening is that the Cerrejon mine is expected to expand – and the mine’s growth could eventually lead to the destruction of four more villages. I wonder if Anglo is going to treat the pristine ecosystem of Bristol Bay with the same disregard as they did the people of Cerrejon.

People of Bristol Bay take heed.

An Article Worth Reading

The latest issue of Flyfisher Magazine has an excellent article on the Pebble Mine Project entitled, "The Pending Pebble Mine Disaster", written by Jon Lyman. With stunning photography and sharp writing, it comes highly recommended from puckfebble.

Here's an excerpt from the article discussing the environmental abuse Northern Dynasty Minerals has already visited on Alaskan waterways:

The headwaters of Upper Talarik Creek and the Koktuli River are fed by the winder snows and groundwarter running off the rolling alpine tundra. It is a high, empty prospect wandered by thousands of caribou and hundreds of bears and is home to nesting waterfowl and raptors. For the past several years the area has been seasonal hom to drill drews and exploratory rigs belonging to Northern Dynasty Mines, Inc. Although the mining company pledges to follow the highest standards, its drill mud and oiled sites already discolor what has always been a pristine wilderness.

Evidently, Northern Dynasty has a history of breaking pledges.

Mining Into Their Web Of Lies

It is sometimes hard to keep track of the vast web of lies that Northern Dynasty, Anglo and John Shively have woven but today the Alaska Supreme Court shed light on some of them. In their opinion they essential rebut and disprove every argument Alaskans against the mining shutdown have made. Time after time they have tried to distort the will of the 60,000 Alaskans who put this initiative on the ballot and they have been proven wrong on all counts.

This story is developing so there is more to come...

Contact Eric Twelker

For any of you folks out there who suffered at the hands of the recent Supreme Court decision to let the Exxon Corporation off the hook for the Valdez spill, we want you to know that you have former Exxon lawyer, Eric Twelker, to thank.

If you care to contact the Twelkster and let him know of your displeasure, he can be reached at:

P.O. Box 33873, Juneau, Alaska 99803 PHONE (907) 789-6800 FAX (907) 789-3742 E-Mail
mailto:twelker@alaska.net

Anglo's Ties to Mugabe

We all know what a bad guy Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe is, and if you have any doubts this latest stolen election should remove them. What many people may not be aware of are the ties Anglo American has to Zimbabwe in spite of this evil, and even more distressing is how Anglo persists in their relationship with the Mugabe regime. Indeed, Anglo actually is working on plans to strengthen this partnership in the wake of Mugabe’s most recent crimes. The London times reported recently that,

Anglo American, the London-based mining giant, is to make what is believed to be the largest foreign investment in Zimbabwe to date, just as the British Government puts pressure on companies to withdraw from the country.

Anglo will invest $400 million (£200 million) to build a platinum mine in Zimbabwe — a move that has raised concern among some of the company’s shareholders and been condemned by politicians.

The Foreign Office was investigating tonight whether the company’s investment breached sanctions against Zimbabwe. Anglo insisted that its involvement in the country did not break the law.

The decision, which was criticised roundly as likely to give succour — and possibly money — to the Mugabe regime, is in stark contrast to the policy of nearly all other main British corporations in Zimbabwe. They are either withdrawing from the country or waiting for Mr Mugabe to be deposed before expanding their businesses.

I guess Mugabe won’t ever need to worry about running out of money to finance his murderous regime as long as he has Anglo American to bankroll him. Perhaps if the Pebble Mine Project is allowed to go forward, Anglo can collect a portion of the innumerable dead salmon carcasses and send them to Mugabe. After all, they’re throwing enough money at him, why not some dinner as well?

In all seriousness however, Anglo has promised not to rape and pillage Alaska's salmon fisheries, but how can we expect them to care about the salmon when the obviously could not care less about actual human beings suffering in Zimbabwe?