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May
13, 2005
Northern rail link to help missile defence
A rail link between Alaska and Canada, proposed as a faster way to transport
natural resources, would also enable the United States to support anti-ballistic
missile silos and military bases, a new study says.
The report by a Boston firm says the link would benefit the Canadian and U.S.
economies and make it easier for the U.S. military to move its troops through
Canada to worldwide theaters of operation, such as North Korea.
The link would require 1,500 kilometres of new track, from the current Alaska
railroad terminus near Eielson Air Force Base to Fort St. John or Fort Nelson
in northeastern British Columbia, which are linked to Canada's national railroad
system.
The link would be able to provide support to missile-defense interceptor silos
being built at Fort Greely, Alaska and missile-tracking radar on Shemya in the
Aleutian Islands, says the report by Charles River Associates, prepared for
the Yukon government and obtained by The Associated Press.
The railroad, costing US $1.15 billion to $2.3 billion, would allow the U.S.
to develop an Alaska port to station up to three missile defense ships in the
northern Pacific, outside Korean territorial waters, the report said.
Last week, Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie and Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski signed
a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to split the estimated $5 million cost
of the study, which will be finished by June 2006.
May
13, 2005
Borders fence in Scandinavian reindeer
Reindeer herders in northern Sweden are considering releasing their animals
over the border to graze in Norway. At issue is a conflict over regulations
in the border area which prevent cross-border grazing by reindeer.
The pending move by the native Swedish Saami is expected to spur protests from
their counterparts on the Norwegian side of the border.
"We won't get into fist fights, that's a bit too primitive," said
Per Gunnar Harnesk.
"But we're prepared for a number of conflicts and police reports,"
Harnesk told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
According to the Swedish newspaper, Swedish and Norwegian authorities haven't
managed to agree on how grazing areas along the border should be regulated.
A 1972 amendment to regulations first laid down in 1751 expired on May 1, meaning
that the 244-year-old law now applies.
And this law says those reindeer herders who want to let their animals graze
on the other side of the border have a right to do so.
May
13, 2005
Shape up and show up for work, says Royal Greenland
Greenland's largest company, Royal Greenland, is considering closing one of
its shrimp factories because employees aren't showing up after pay day.
The newspaper Sermitsiaq said productivity at the company's shrimp factory
in the Southern Greenland town of Narsaq has dropped because many of the company's
70 employees haven't shown up since the last pay day, and the company is having
problems replacing them.
"We needed 55 workers and contacted the town's employment agency,"
said factory director Elias Didriksen. "Only eight accepted our offer,
even if there is unemployment in the town."
If the factory can't man its production lines, it may have to close down temporarily
after next the pay day and tell shrimp trawlers to take their catch somewhere
else.
Royal Greenland's factory in the western Greenland town of Ilulissat has also
experienced worker absences after pay day, the newspaper reported.
May
13, 2005
Whale hunters attacked for childrens' deaths
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
An anti-whaling group says Gambell whalers killed two village 11-year-olds
by letting them participate in a whaling hunt last month.
Cousins Yolanda and Leonard Nowpakahok were among four people dead or missing
after their boat capsized on April 27.
"The people of St. Lawrence Island may have the right under law to slaughter
the endangered bowhead whale, but they should not be allowed to expose minors
to the risks involved in killing whales," Paul Watson, president of the
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said in a written statement issued last week.
"We are appalled and outraged," said village tribe vice-president
Branson Tungiyan in a letter demanding an apology. "We did not kill those
two children."
The Yupik village of 650, Tungiyan said, is still reeling from the accident
that claimed not only two children, but also village mayor and whaling captain
Jason Nowpakahok and a crewman.
After the accident, the Sea Shepherd society, which was formed in 1977 to protect
marine mammals, called on the Coast Guard to investigate the deaths and take
steps to prevent others.
The release's headline drew Gambell residents' wrath: "Alaskan Whalers
Kill Two Children and an Endangered Bowhead Whale."
In his letter to Watson, Tungiyan explained that St. Lawrence Islanders have
"since time immemorial... included our children in our hunting practices,
whether it be on land, or in the Bering Sea or for whaling. This is an age-old
practice that has been handed down from generation to generation - something
your society does not practice."
May
6 , 2005
Duo to attempt summer polar trek
Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larsen from Minnesota are about to start on a 1,500-kilometre
trek across the Arctic Ocean to draw attention to Arctic warming.
The journey is to begin May 12 when the men paddle their boats away from Cape
Arctichesky in Siberia. They hope to arrive at Ellesmere Island 98 days later.
The North Pole will mark the expedition's halfway point.
While dogsled and ski teams have crossed the frozen Arctic Ocean in the winter,
a summer crossing by kayak and skis will be a first.
The two will collect snow and water samples, which will be analyzed for mercury,
lead and other chemicals, and they will measure water pools that collect on
top of sea ice.
Each will have a kayak stuffed with food, clothing and equipment. When they
can't paddle, they'll ski and pull their boats behind them.
Follow the "One World Expedition" at: http://oneworldexpedition.com.
May
6 , 2005
Danish can stay on Greenland's air waves
News will continue to be broadcast in Danish in Greenland, after parliament
rejected a bill by the social democratic Siumut party to limit the amount of
Danish-language news broadcasts on the national broadcasting station, KNR.
The proposal met with strong opposition from the many Greenlanders who only
understand Danish and who rely on the news in Danish as their source of information.
There are also many Danes who work temporarily in Greenland who do not understand
Greenlandic.
MLA Per Rosing-Petersen, who presented the bill, said the time was ripe to
do away with Danish news broadcasts. He said the Faeroe Islands, another member
of the Danish Commonwealth, only broadcast local news in Faeroese.
The bill's supporters said Danish news broadcasts are a relic from Greenland's
colonial past. Eliminating them would encourage both more Greenlanders and Danes
living in Greenland to learn Greenlandic.
Rosing-Petersen's proposal met with opposition both from conservative parties
as well as Siumut's coalition partner, the left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit Party.
"The proposal is neither realistic nor suitable," said Kuupik Kleist,
one of Greenland's two members of Denmark's parliament and a long-time IA member.
"The goal must be that the public, regardless of language or skin colour,
has access to as much information as possible so they can take part in public
debate."
May
6 , 2005
One people, one flag
The city of Oslo, Norway will not hoist the Saami flag on May 17, Norway's
Constitution Day, the Oslo city council decided recently.
"We are not one people with two flags, but rather one people with one
flag," stated council member Runar Gerhardsen.
Oslo's Mayor Per Ditlev-Simonsen supported the decision.
"Our Saami friends need to understand that very many feel that the other
364 days of the year are better suited for taking a stand," said Simonsen
last week.
May
6 , 2005
Saami music festival celebrates 2005
The theme of this summer's Riddu Riddu Indigenous Music and Arts Festival is
celebration.
"Celebration and joy have characterized the festival through all the years,
and this is what we wish to accent this year by focusing on different ways to
celebrate," said organizer Lene Hansen.
The festival takes place the second weekend in July in Mandalen, a seaside
community north of Tromsø, Norway.
This year's program includes NoKTuRNAL from Australia, which presents hardcore
aboriginal rock.
The program, which was announced this week, also includes, among others: Wa-Ta-Ga
form Karelia, Alit Boazo (Sápmi), DJ Amoc (Sápmi), Sheng Xiang
& Water 3 (Taiwan), Johanne Ballovarre, Namgar (Burjatia), Transjoik (Sápmi),
Tungtvann, The Lite, Djiromansa (Senegal/Norway), The White Cockatoo (Australia),
Cheinesh (Altay), Kevãz`vezi (Vepsian).
A Riddu Riddu International Football (Soccer) Cup is also on the program for
the first time.
During the festival, the Saami youth organization Davvi Nuorra is holding its
annual Indigenous Youth Camp.
The youth camp has been a part of Riddu Riddu for the last five years. At this
camp, Saami and other indigenous youth have a unique opportunity to meet and
exchange cultural skills and experiences.
Campers will also take part in the seminar "Youth and Celebrations,"
offered as part of the general festival program.
IYC has room for 35 indigenous participants from all over the world. The deadline
for applications is June 1. The fee for participation is 750 NOK (about $150),
including food, accommodation, courses and a pass to the festival.
For more information, visit www.riddu.com.
May
6 , 2005
Ice cream to help Arctic warming
Jerry Greenfield was in London last week to launch a college that will train
20 or so young people as "ambassadors" for climate change awareness,
says the Guardian.
Jerry is better known as one half of Ben & Jerry, makers of expensive ice
creams with funny names and chunky bits of cake and candy. Jerry and Ben Cohen
sold the company to the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever in 1999.
The two remain involved with the company, mainly with promoting its social
and environmental causes, of which the Ben & Jerry's Climate Change College
is a part.
The college is a three-year initiative that will offer six people between the
ages of 18 and 25 in the UK and the Netherlands the chance to learn about climate
change through workshops, internships and a visit to the polar region.
Jerry hopes they will then use that training, and the resources of the World
Wildlife Federation and Ben & Jerry's, to raise awareness about climate
change.
May
6 , 2005
Bowhead whaling tragedy stuns Bering Strait community
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
The St. Lawrence Island village of Gambell, population 650, was grieving last
week after four residents, including two children and the mayor, died when their
skin-covered whaling boat capsized while helping tow home a bowhead in the overnight
darkness.
Two other crewmen survived.
"It's a tragic day for Gambell," whaler Merlin Koonooka told the
Anchorage Daily News by telephone. "The whole village is in kind of a shock
right now."
Mayor Jason Nowpakahok, 38, along with his 11-year-old daughter, Yolanda Nowpakahok,
and his 11-year-old nephew, Leonard Nowpakahok died.
The loss of the whalers raises the need for more awareness about marine safety.
Alaska's "Kids Don't Float" project, which provides life jackets
and educational materials, established programs in Gambell and neighboring Savoonga
last year.
But whalers object to using the flotation devices. Some models are too heavy,
especially when worn under or over the thick clothing needed to keep warm on
a whale hunt. The better ones cost hundreds of dollars, an expense borne by
the captains of each crew. And many are simply the wrong color and could scare
off whales.
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