Supporters of Bradley Manning interrupt Barack Obama to sing a song of protest over the WikiLeaks suspect’s treatment Barack Obama received an unusual protest in an unlikely location, when a group of supporters of Bradley Manning – the soldiers suspected of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks – interrupted a $5,000-a-head fund raising event with a song protesting Manning’s treatment. Obama was speaking to donors at a private event in San Francisco on Thursday morning when a group of 21 led by Naomi Pitcairn – a member of the satirical action Fresh Juice Party – started singing a song about Manning’s plight, and asking Obama: “We paid our dues, where’s our change?” “That was a very nice song,” Obama is heard replying when the singing ends. “Thank you. we worked hard on it,” one of the protesters responds. “You have much better voices than I have,” says Obama, “Thank you very much guys.” “Thank you for listening, we love you,” says another protester politely. “I appreciate that,” says Obama. “Now, where was I?” Around 200 Democratic donors were at the breakfast held at the St Regis Hotel in San Francisco. The other attendees appear to have listened politely – this being San Francisco, the liberal stronghold of America, they may have even sympathised – while the protesters held up small “Free Bradley Manning” signs. The Bay Citizen news site reported : [Naomi] Pitcairn paid for $76,000 of the $105,000 activists spent on tickets to the fundraiser. After several minutes of song, the Secret Service escorted her from the event, questioned and then released her. Jeff Patterson, project director of Courage to Resist, an activist group that took part in the protest, said that Pitcairn “describes herself as a trust-fund brat/artist.” After Obama had finished speaking, Logan Price , a member of the Bradley Manning Support Network, engaged the president for several minutes in debate over Manning’s charges and the effect of WikiLeaks. “I can’t conduct diplomacy on open source, that’s not how the world works,” Obama can be heard telling Price on video. Here are the lyrics: Dear Mr President we honour you today, Each of us brought you $5,000 It takes a lot of Benjamins* to run a campaign I paid my dues, where’s our change? We’ll vote for you in 2012, yes that’s true, Look at the Republicans – what else can we do? Even though we don’t know if we’ll retain our liberties, In what you seem content to call a free society. Yes it’s true that Terry Jones is legally free, To burn a people’s holy book in shameful effigy. But at another location in this country, Alone in a six by 12 cell sits Bradley. Twenty-three hours a day and night, The fifth and eighth amendments say, This kind of thing ain’t right. We paid our dues, where’s our change? * For non-US readers : a Benjamin is slang for a US $100 note , which bears a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Bradley Manning Barack Obama WikiLeaks US constitution and civil liberties Human rights United States Richard Adams guardian.co.uk
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Bishop of Oxford urges CoE school heads to allocate no more than 10% of places to practising Anglicans The Church of England plans to encourage its schools to offer more places to non-Christians. The Rt Rev John Pritchard, who is chair of the CoE’s board of education and the bishop of Oxford, said he was urging headteachers to allocate no more than 10% of places to practising Anglicans. At the moment, if a state-funded church school is oversubscribed it can select pupils based on their and their parents’ religious observance. If it is not oversubscribed, it must take those pupils who apply. The change could end the practice of parents attending services purely to secure their child a place at a popular CoE school. Pritchard told the Times Educational Supplement that he wanted CoE schools to be “as open as they can be”. “Every school will have a policy that has a proportion of places for church youngsters … what I am saying is that the number ought to be minimised because our primary function and our privilege is to serve the wider community. Ultimately, I hope we can get the number of reserved places right down to 10%. It goes back to what we see the mission of the church as being. I don’t think the mission generally is about collecting nice Christians into safe places.” About half of the 4,800 CoE schools set their own admissions criteria. The CoE cannot force its schools to change their admissions practices but it will issue guidance this summer designed to encourage them to do so. Professor Anne West, an education expert at the LSE, said the change could have “the biggest impact on admissions to CoE schools in a generation”. Pritchard said offering a greater proportion of places to pupils whose families do not attend church might lead to a drop in CoE schools’ exam results. “We may not get the startling results that some church schools do because we get some very able children, but we will make a difference to people’s lives,” he said. Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said Pritchard had become the first high-profile Anglican to admit that church schools achieved “league-topping results by using privileged admissions criteria to select the best pupils”. Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, chair of Accord, which campaigns to end religious discrimination in school admissions, said current practices had meant that religion and discrimination in schools had “become almost synonymous”. “Schools should be inclusive and tolerant and no state-funded school should be allowed to discriminate on the grounds of religion for any of their teacher posts or any pupil places,” he said. The previous government tried to ensure that a quarter of all places at new faith schools were for pupils of other faiths or no faith, but lobbying from the Catholic church forced ministers to drop the plans. Schools Christianity Secondary schools Anglicanism Religion Primary schools Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
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Medical workers targeted because they have evidence of security force atrocities, claims US-based human rights group Bahraini authorities have conducted a systematic campaign of attacks and arrests against medical workers who treated injured protesters during months of unrest in the Gulf kingdom, according to a US-based medical group. Physicians for Human Rights claims doctors and nurses have been targeted because they have “evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces and riot police” in the crackdown on Shia dissent in the Sunni-ruled island nation, which has been placed under martial law. The report by the group is the second to accuse Bahrain’s authorities of abuses in the medical system. Earlier this month, the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders called Bahrain’s hospitals “places to be feared” and claimed officials were arresting protesters who sought treatment. The military took over the main Salmaniya medical centre in Manama last month, and doctors and patients said soldiers and police had conducted interrogations and detentions inside the complex. Physicians for Human Rights said at least 32 healthcare professionals had been detained since Bahrain declared martial law last month to quell anti-government demonstrations by the country’s Shia majority demanding greater freedoms and equal rights. The report details attacks on physicians, medical staff and patients “with weapons, beatings and teargas”. “These attacks violate the principle of medical neutrality and are grave breaches of international law,” it says, adding that “high-velocity weapons and shotguns” have been used to fire birdshot, rubber bullets and teargas at unarmed civilians. About 1,500 troops from Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states are in Bahrain to help the ruling monarchy. Sunni leaders around the Gulf fear gains by Bahrain’s Shias could open the way for greater influence by Shi’ite powerhouse Iran in the strategic nation, which is home to the US navy’s 5th Fleet. At least 30 people have died and hundreds of demonstrators, opposition leaders, activists and Shia professionals such as doctors and lawyers have been detained since anti-government protests started 14 February. Bahrain Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media Sen. John Ensign will finally resign from his seat in the Senate effective May 3. Lawrence O’Donnell said this is the kind of thing that generally happens after the Senate Ethics Committee lets them know they’re going to recommend expulsion. From The Hill — Sen. Ensign to resign : “It is with tremendous sadness that I officially hand over the Senate seat that I have held for eleven years,” he said in a statement. “The turbulence of these last few years is greatly surpassed by the incredible privilege that I feel to have been entrusted to serve the people of Nevada. I can honestly say that being a United States senator has been the honor of my life.”The senator plans to send his resignation letter to Vice President Biden on Friday. Ensign is under a Senate Ethics Committee investigation over claims he violated ethics rules in the aftermath of an affair with Cynthia Hampton, the wife of former top aide Doug Hampton, whom he helped obtain a lucrative lobbying job. He cited the investigation in his statement. “I will not continue to subject my family, my constituents, or the Senate to any further rounds of investigation, depositions, drawn out proceedings, or especially public hearings. For my family and me, this continued personal cost is simply too great,” he said. The committee ramped up its investigation earlier this year, including hiring an outside counsel. The investigation would be dropped, however, if Ensign is no longer a member of the Senate. The resignation announcement started speculation the committee was closing in the senator. Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) has already announced he’s running for Ensign’s seat, and it’s possible Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval would appoint him as Ensign’s replacement. If he’s appointed, it would give Heller an advantage over Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), his likely general election competition. Berkley was heavily recruited by Democrats to run and is considered the strongest competition to Heller. She quickly won the backing of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
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“Jennifer Lopez May Be Leaving American Idol For Latin Talent Show … … Why The Real Winner Of “American Idol” Is Jennifer Lopez – Business Insider; Jennifer Lopez Developing New Reality Talent Competition Show, ‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’ Renewed and More TV News – TV Squad. See all 28 blogs. … Jimmy Fallon Renewed ! | Gossip Celeb Today This is great news! Congrats, Jimmy! Jimmy Fallon’s late night show has been steadily getting better, and gaining more and more viewers. We like to think that. Jimmy Fallon Renewed ! | Go Get a Guest Post Blog Jimmy Fallon Renewed ! Posted on April 21, 2011 by guestpo. This is great news! Congrats, Jimmy! Jimmy Fallon’s late night show has been steadily getting better, and gaining more and more viewers. We like to think that it’s because of … Jimmy Fallon Renewed ! | Celebrity Gossip Jimmy Fallon Renewed ! Posted on April 21, 2011 by. This is great news! Congrats, Jimmy! Jimmy Fallon’s late night show has been steadily getting better, and gaining more and more viewers. We like to think that it’s because of his … Cecile's blog: Jimmy Fallon Renewed ! Jimmy Fallon Renewed ! This is great news! Congrats, Jimmy! Jimmy Fallon’s late night show has been steadily getting better, and gaining more and more viewers. We like to think that it’s because of his special kind of humor mixed with an … SoJimmyFallon says: ★ SoJimmyFallon.co Jimmy Fallon Renewed ! | PerezHilton.com: This is great news! Congrats, Jimmy! Ji… http://bit.ly/emoaWK #jimmyfallon
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Thailand and Cambodia blame each other for the first major skirmish in Surin since February’s ceasefire Six soldiers have died in the first major flare-up since a shaky ceasefire in the Thailand-Cambodia border dispute was signed in February. As soldiers fought with rocket-propelled grenades and guns, both countries evacuated thousands of villagers and accused each other of firing first in the jungle around Ta Moan and Ta Krabei temples in the north-eastern Thai province of Surin, about 93 miles south-west of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which saw a deadly standoff in February . Three Thai paramilitary rangers were killed and 13 wounded, while three Cambodian soldiers died and six were wounded. “Cambodia started attacking our temporary base with artillery fire and we responded to defend ourselves,” said Lieutenant-General Thawatchai Samutsakorn, of the Thai army. Thai army spokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong said fighting began after Cambodian troops altered a bunker in the area and moved closer in violation of a ceasefire pact. “When warned, Cambodian troops stepped closer and started firing,” she said. Cambodia’s defence ministry spokesman, Lieutenant-General Chhum Socheat, said Thai artillery shells had hit four Cambodian villages and Cambodian troops responded with rocket-propelled grenades. Soon after the clashes subsided, Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong sent a letter to the UN security council in New York, accusing Thailand of launching a “blatant, large-scale attack”. A witness in one Thai village said occasional gunshots and shelling could still be heard hours after the clash. Thailand’s government evacuated about 7,500 villagers, while Cambodian authorities moved several thousand people out of the area. The fighting is the most severe since three Thais and eight Cambodians were killed and dozens of people wounded between 4 and 7 February in the bloodiest fighting in nearly two decades. As part of a ceasefire deal, Thailand and Cambodia agreed on 22 February to allow unarmed military observers from Indonesia to be posted along the border. But that arrangement – brokered by the Association for South East Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers in Jakarta – has yet to be put in place. Thailand said international observers were not required, insisting the two countries should resolve the issue bilaterally. Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya said on Friday: “There’s a mechanism in place, so there’s no need to run crying to Asean or the international community.” In his letter to the UN, his Cambodian counterpart, Hor Namhong, said Thailand’s refusal to allow third party mediation was a “pretext for using its larger and materially more sophisticated armed forces against Cambodia”. Indonesia, the current chair of Asean, of which Thailand and Cambodia are members, urged both sides to stop fighting. Indonesia “strongly calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities between Cambodia and Thailand; for the two sides to continue to resolve their differences through peaceful means,” it said in a statement. Chhay Mao, a major in the Cambodian army stationed at the Preah Vihear temple, said the fighting had not spread to the ancient clifftop Hindu temple, which was awarded by an international court to Cambodia 49 years ago. Both countries lay claim to a 4.6 sq km (1.8 sq mile) patch of land around it. The temple has been a source of tension for generations and the two countries have been locked in a standoff since July 2008, when Preah Vihear was granted Unesco world heritage status. Some analysts say hawkish Thai generals and their ultra-nationalist allies, who wear the Thai king’s colour of yellow at protests, may be trying to create a pretext to stage a coup and cancel elections expected in June or July. Others say it may be a breakdown in communication at a time of strained relations and unease after a rumour of an imminent military coup swirled in Thailand overnight. The army has dismissed the rumours as baseless. Thailand Cambodia United Nations guardian.co.uk
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Since the Law Society’s 2009 warning that the profession was oversubscribed student numbers have fallen, possibly too far The recession-hit legal profession has spent the past couple of years trying to deter wannabes from joining its swollen ranks. “We’re not telling people not to be a solicitor, but we are warning them about the risks and cost implications attached,” said the Law Society in 2009, as it launched a campaign urging students to think twice about a career in law. On the whole it has worked. Although the bar remains oversubscribed, enrolments on the legal practice course (LPC) – the year-long course law graduates must take to become solicitors, which can cost more than £13,000 – fell by 20% last year, as a belief that the country is over-lawyered took hold at schools and universities. Hartlepool sixth form college A-level law student Claire Watson, whose teachers cautioned her against pursuing a legal career, sums up the sentiment: “I’ve been told there are too many lawyers and that it’s very hard to get a job.” But could the warnings have gone too far? Last week the College of Law (CoL), one of the main providers of the LPC, drew attention to a possible impending shortage of rookie solicitors. According to the CoL’s research, the number of LPC graduates is now falling faster than the number of trainee jobs, meaning a shortfall of trainees could arise as early as this year. By 2012, the CoL says, there could be 14% more traineeships than there are graduates eligible to fill them. Of course, it’s in the interests of the CoL — a private law school operating in a highly competitive legal education market — to come up with findings like these. But history suggests it may have a point. As the profession emerged from the recession of the early 1990s, an oversupply of law graduates morphed rapidly into a shortage between 1995 and 1997. This wasn’t a big deal at first, as there was a backlog of jobless graduates from previous years to fill the empty places. If the CoL’s predictions prove correct, this process is likely to repeat itself: good news for the thousands of LPC graduates currently without training contracts. The concern is what happens after that. In the late 1990s and 2000s a pay war ensued — which saw junior solicitor salaries rocket from £30,000 to as much as £100,000 — as firms fought it out for the best graduates. Another wave of dramatic pay inflation looks unlikely this time around, though, thanks to a vast pool of cheap potential recruits in emerging markets like India — overlooked in the past, but increasingly seen as a desirable option by London law firms whose outlook has become far less Anglo Saxon-centric. Already Clifford Chance has hired a number of lawyers from its legal process outsourcing centre in Gurgaon, India. If this trend accelerates, there could be serious consequences for the future of the profession in this country. CoL chief executive Nigel Savage believes the Law Society needs to change tack fast to prevent a drift away from law among British graduates. “They should be sending out a much more positive message, but unfortunately the mood is still doom and gloom,” he says, adding that he believes there is a lack of “strategic thinking” from legal professional bodies on the issue of graduate recruitment. Professor Richard Moorhead from Cardiff Law School agrees: “It’s a confidence thing. The more doubt the profession shows about its ability to provide students with a safe route into employment, the more it will lose people.” However, the Law Society thinks its message of caution continues to be appropriate. Chief executive Desmond Hudson sees it as his obligation “to inform students about the realities of the expensive and demanding qualification process”. These realities, he adds, “are true regardless of the interpretations given to available or predicted statistics”. Hudson also challenges the CoL to publish the amount of its LPC students who secure training contracts – data that many law schools refuse to provide. This tension between the liberals and conservatives of the UK legal profession is long-running; Savage, who is close to several City law firms, has railed against the Law Society throughout a career spanning roles at various law schools. The stakes in this latest dispute could be the highest yet. Alex Aldridge is a freelance journalist who writes about law and education Solicitors Students Higher education Alex Aldridge guardian.co.uk
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More than 160 police raid squat occupied by opponents of new Tesco Metro in Stokes Croft area Eight police officers have been injured after a riot erupted in Bristol overnight, sparked by a raid on a squat occupied by opponents of a newly opened Tesco Metro store. More than 160 officers in riot gear, reinforcements from neighbouring forces and officers on horseback were involved in the operation, which began shortly after 9pm. Four people have been arrested, Avon and Somerset police said, because they posed “a real threat to the local community” in the Stokes Croft area of the city. Petrol bombs were found, the force said. “Police arrested three people on suspicion of public order offences and another person on suspicion of threats to cause criminal damage with intent to endanger life.” Superintendent Ian Wylie added: “There have been several significant incidents in this building during the past few days, which have caused serious concerns to police and local residents. “The safety of the public is paramount in a situation of this kind and we took the decision to carry out a robust and swift operation, following intelligence received about the criminal intentions of those who were occupying the building.” Clashes began when lines of officers closed off Cheltenham Road, a main route into the city centre, and protesters began throwing bottles at them. The disturbances continued through the evening and up to 4am on Friday. Many in the local community had objected to the opening of a new Tesco store on Cheltenham Road and the shop was severely damaged in the riot. The area is close to the St Paul’s area, where some of Britain’s first inner-city riots erupted in 1980. Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen said: “When 300 people congregated and a small minority from that group started small fires and throwing bottles, stones and other items at officers, we used well-rehearsed plans, which involved the use of officers from neighbouring forces to control what had become a volatile situation.” Eight police officers and a number of protesters were injured. None of the injuries are believed to be serious. Duncan Birmingham, an arts lecturer who lives nearby, told the Guardian he had seen lines of police in riot gear. “There were police horses and police vans from Wales,” he said. “There was a crowd who had put rubbish bins across the road and were throwing bottles. “But there were also people going to nightclubs, dressed up in party gear. Tesco has been trashed. The windows have been put in and there’s paint everywhere. There’s been massive opposition to Tesco opening . The store had been boarded up until it opened last week. There’s another Tesco about half a mile away in each direction.” Clare Milne, who lives nearby and has been organising the planning campaign against the store, said she had not been told why there was a police raid on the squatted building. “Our campaign has been peaceful but we have been telling the police and the council that if they go ahead and open [the supermarket] this is what will happen. Our community is well known for having people who if they are silenced will act in a way that will ensure they will be heard.” Police Protest Tesco Supermarkets Retail industry Owen Bowcott guardian.co.uk
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US senator meets opposition leaders in Benghazi as Barack Obama authorises use of armed Predator drones US senator John McCain, one of Congress’s most vocal supporters of military intervention in Libya, said rebels fighting Muammar Gaddafi’s troops were his heroes and praised their efforts to overthrow the dictator. The most senior Republican on the Senate armed services committee made the remarks during a visit to Benghazi yesterdayon Friday, before a meeting with opposition leaders to assess the situation on the ground. He is the most senior US official to visit the rebel-held eastern city. McCain’s trip comes as the defence secretary, Robert Gates, announced that Barack Obama has authorised the use of armed Predator drones against Gaddafi’s forces. It is the first time drones will be used for airstrikes since the US handed control of the operation to Nato on 4 April. The rebels had complained that allied airstrikes under Nato were largely ineffective in halting Gaddafi forces. McCain called for US military intervention in Libya in February, weeks before the UN security council authorised military action to protect civilians and impose a no-fly zone. When Obama acted with limited congressional consultation, McCain defended the president, saying he could not wait for Congress to take even a few days to debate the use of force. If he had “there would have been nothing left to save in Benghazi”. But when the US handed operational control to Nato – and withdrew combat aircraft – McCain criticised the administration. “For the United States to withdraw our unique offensive capabilities at this time would send the wrong signal,” he said. The US must not fail in Libya, he added, saying he spoke as someone experienced in a lost conflict, a reference to his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. McCain has also pushed for the arming of rebels, saying the US and its partners cannot allow Gaddafi to consolidate his grip on key areas of the country and create a military deadlock. Libya John McCain Muammar Gaddafi United States Middle East Obama administration US politics guardian.co.uk
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Environmental groups fear oil industry is not prepared for potentially catastrophic impact of oil spills in the Arctic The fight to stop the global oil industry exploring the pristine deep waters of the Arctic has been dubbed the new cold war, and early on Friday it escalated as environmental activists from 12 countries occupied the world’s second largest rig on its way from Turkey to Greenland to drill among the icebergs. The protesters found the 52,000-tonne semi-submersible platform Leiv Eiriksson at around midnight, steaming due west at a stately six knots in the sea of Marmaris, heading for the Dardanelle straits and the open Mediterranean. It took four more hours for Greenpeace to bring in its inflatables and a further 50 minutes in the choppy moonlit sea to intercept it. Even from three miles away, the Chinese-built mobile rig, which specialises in drilling in extreme environments, looks huge. From 100ft away in the pale dawn light it is a 15-storey industrial castle, bristling with cranes, derricks, gangways, chains, spars, girders, pipes, helipads and radar. Just 10 years old, it is already rusting and its paintwork is streaked from years of drilling in harsh west African, north Atlantic and Asian waters The Greenpeace boats approached the vessel cautiously in the three foot swell, like fleas to the backside of an elephant. At exactly 5.31am, the 11 climbers began to leap on to its hull and headed for a ladder. The plan was to stop the vessel in its tracks not by taking over the bridge, but by radioing the captain and asking politely. Fat chance. “This is Greenpeace, this is Greenpeace. I’m informing you that we have put climbers on your rig. I ask you stop your vessel”, asked Korol Diker, a Turkish campaigner, on a VHF channel. But the elephant barely registered. “I do not recognise you”, came the captain’s cutting reply and the Leiv Eiriksson steamed on. Undaunted, the climbers made it to a gangway 80ft over the vessel’s starboard stern. As four crewmen peered over the side from 30ft above them, and two more ambled over, seemingly unconcerned, the climbers made a cat’s cradle of rope to hang banners and a tent from. You can understand why the captain did not want to stop. The Scottish oil company Cairn Energy has hired the Leiv Eiriksson for around $500,000 a day and the company, run by Sir Bill Gammell, the former international rugby player, plans to spend more than $500m (£300m) in the next few months looking for oil in some of the most dangerous and coldest waters in the world. Any major delay could cost it millions and set back its plans for the Arctic by a year, because drilling is only possible in the July-October “summer window” when the ice has retreated. Cairn, which will be the only company to drill deep wells offshore in the Arctic this year, holds 11 licences in Baffin Bay covering over 80,000 square kilometres. It plans to drill four exploratory wells to depths of around 5,000ft, the deepest ever attempted in the Arctic. It is taking the Leiv Eiriksson and the Ocean Rig Corcovado – a drill ship now stationed near Aberdeen – as well as a fleet of backup vessels. Last year the company claimed it had struck oil in Baffin Bay after drilling several 300ft wells. But it later admitted that it had found no significant quantities . The venture, say environmentalists, is just the start of what is planned to be a risky offshore oil rush. Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and others have licences to explore in Baffin Bay, mostly above the Arctic circle. Others, including BP and Rosneft, plan to extract oil offshore from Siberia, Alaska and elsewhere in the Arctic. The US government estimates there are 90bn barrels of oil, around 13% of the world’s undiscovered reserves. But for Greenpeace and others the risk of a devastating spill is is too great, raising the spectre of the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989 when more than 1m barrels of oil were spilt, and the $40bn disaster in the Gulf of Mexico last year . “Any Arctic spill would be very difficult, if not impossible, to contain and clean up. The company has not released a detailed spill response plan for the Arctic waters. Its latest environmental impact assessment says it has not been possible to model oil behaviour on ice. Failing to consider the impact of ice on a potential Arctic oil spill renders the EIA [the US Energy Information Administration] unfit for purpose,” said Greenpeace campaigner Ben Ayliffe. Other leading environment groups, including the respected US thinktank Pew , plus NGOs Oceana and WWF, have all said that the oil industry is not prepared for a major pollution incident. “This is the most controversial rig in the world because it is the only one destined to begin risky offshore drilling in the very deep waters of the Arctic this year. We have stopped it because it’s blazing a trail for other major oil companies and sparking the start of a dangerous new Arctic oil rush.” Cairn, which could not be contacted, says it has prepared comprehensive oil spill plans, and has put up a bond of $2bn. Activists are now expected to dog the progress of the slow-moving Leiv Eiriksson as it passes Greece, Italy, France and Spain on its passage through the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic. The platform is scheduled to stop in Britain to pick up supplies before the last leg of its journey to Greenland in June. Oil Energy Oil spills Fossil fuels Oil Greenpeace Activism Arctic Cairn Energy Energy industry Royal Dutch Shell Exxon Mobil Chevron BP John Vidal guardian.co.uk
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