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Infinito Gold, a Canadian mining company, just slapped Costa Rica with a $1 billion lawsuit simply because the country decided its rainforests were more important than an open-pit gold mine.
Lauded as one of the countries with the most beautiful rainforests, it’s no wonder Costa Rica rejected Infinito’s mine. Costa Rica’s rainforest is home to many endangered species such the green macaw. Gold mining also uses toxic chemicals such as cyanide, which often leaks into and pollutes nearby lakes and rivers.
A subsidiary of Infinito Gold has announced that a massive lawsuit is “imminent”, so we need to act now. If thousands of us stand together, we can show Infinito that countries such as Costa Rica should have the right to protect their rainforests without being persecuted by corporations.
Tell Infinito Gold that Costa Rica has a right to protect its rainforests, and to drop the aggressive $1 billion lawsuit.
Open-pit gold mining in Costa Rica would involve destroying 190 hectares of pristine forest. The rainforest provides habitat to 5 percent of the world’s species. With a burgeoning eco-tourism industry, and over 75 percent of the population opposed to mining, Costa Rica can’t afford to go ahead with the project.
Letting Infinito Gold proceed with the lawsuit without a fight would set a dangerous precedent. It would send a signal that corporations’ profits take priority over a country’s decision to protect its environment. In 2001, Infinito Gold locked Venezuela into a legal battle over a rejected mine and fortunately lost. We can achieve the same outcome. But we can only make this happen if we band together on Costa Rica’s right to protect its rainforests and demand that Infinito Gold drop the lawsuit.
[url=http://action.sumofus.org/a/mining-costarica/2/2/][size=200]Please sign the petition here.[/size][/url]
Stand up for Costa Rica’s rainforests – tell Infinito Gold to drop the $1 billion lawsuit now.
[quote=”Scott”]Infinito Gold, a Canadian mining company, just slapped Costa Rica with a $1 billion lawsuit simply because the country decided its rainforests were more important than an open-pit gold mine.
Lauded as one of the countries with the most beautiful rainforests, it’s no wonder Costa Rica rejected Infinito’s mine. Costa Rica’s rainforest is home to many endangered species such the green macaw. Gold mining also uses toxic chemicals such as cyanide, which often leaks into and pollutes nearby lakes and rivers.
A subsidiary of Infinito Gold has announced that a massive lawsuit is “imminent”, so we need to act now. If thousands of us stand together, we can show Infinito that countries such as Costa Rica should have the right to protect their rainforests without being persecuted by corporations.
Tell Infinito Gold that Costa Rica has a right to protect its rainforests, and to drop the aggressive $1 billion lawsuit.
Open-pit gold mining in Costa Rica would involve destroying 190 hectares of pristine forest. The rainforest provides habitat to 5 percent of the world’s species. With a burgeoning eco-tourism industry, and over 75 percent of the population opposed to mining, Costa Rica can’t afford to go ahead with the project.
Letting Infinito Gold proceed with the lawsuit without a fight would set a dangerous precedent. It would send a signal that corporations’ profits take priority over a country’s decision to protect its environment. In 2001, Infinito Gold locked Venezuela into a legal battle over a rejected mine and fortunately lost. We can achieve the same outcome. But we can only make this happen if we band together on Costa Rica’s right to protect its rainforests and demand that Infinito Gold drop the lawsuit.
[url=http://action.sumofus.org/a/mining-costarica/2/2/][size=200]Please sign the petition here.[/size][/url]
Stand up for Costa Rica’s rainforests – tell Infinito Gold to drop the $1 billion lawsuit now.[/quote]
Under who’s administration were the contracts signed Scott? While I sympathize with your point of view and that of Costa Rica, I wonder how other nations, in particular China and Holland are going to view these actions. Or will it matter to them? From what I read in La Nacion, there’s some opposition to the port expansions in Moin, which in my view would be beneficial to the province of Limon.
It is one thing for individuals to pan for gold in the streams and rivers of Costa Rica and quite another to begin open-pit mining at the cost of the virgin forest.
The company clear cut a section of forest before permission had been decided and Costa Rica should be suing to have the forest restored to its original condition.
Maybe Infinito should sue Oscar Arias!!!!
[quote=”waggoner41″]It is one thing for individuals to pan for gold in the streams and rivers of Costa Rica and quite another to begin open-pit mining at the cost of the virgin forest.
The company clear cut a section of forest before permission had been decided and Costa Rica should be suing to have the forest restored to its original condition.[/quote]
[quote=”orcas0606″]Maybe Infinito should sue Oscar Arias!!!!
[quote=”waggoner41″]It is one thing for individuals to pan for gold in the streams and rivers of Costa Rica and quite another to begin open-pit mining at the cost of the virgin forest.
The company clear cut a section of forest before permission had been decided and Costa Rica should be suing to have the forest restored to its original condition.[/quote][/quote]
Didn’t he win some kind of a prize? Peace prize I think, but so did Barry. Did his bank account grow as a consequence of his signing contracts with the mining operation? But then I’m getting cynical here. Hang me from the highest tree!
[quote=”johnnyh”][quote=”orcas0606″]Maybe Infinito should sue Oscar Arias!!!!
[quote=”waggoner41″]It is one thing for individuals to pan for gold in the streams and rivers of Costa Rica and quite another to begin open-pit mining at the cost of the virgin forest.
The company clear cut a section of forest before permission had been decided and Costa Rica should be suing to have the forest restored to its original condition.[/quote][/quote]
Didn’t he win some kind of a prize? Peace prize I think, but so did Barry. Did his bank account grow as a consequence of his signing contracts with the mining operation? But then I’m getting cynical here. Hang me from the highest tree![/quote]
Has nothing to do with Arias or a peace prize.
Infinito got out way ahead of the legal proceedings against them and figured they were going to waltz in before the legal issues were settled and cleared about a hectare of virgin forest to start an open pit mine on the basis of a trade agreement between Costa Rica and Canada.
The Costa Rican Supreme Court ruled against them on the basis of destruction of the environment and they had to pull out.
Canadian organizations Mine Watch and The Council of Canadians are up in arms and telling Infinito they should back off.
[quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”johnnyh”][quote=”orcas0606″]Maybe Infinito should sue Oscar Arias!!!!
[quote=”waggoner41″]It is one thing for individuals to pan for gold in the streams and rivers of Costa Rica and quite another to begin open-pit mining at the cost of the virgin forest.
The company clear cut a section of forest before permission had been decided and Costa Rica should be suing to have the forest restored to its original condition.[/quote][/quote]
Didn’t he win some kind of a prize? Peace prize I think, but so did Barry. Did his bank account grow as a consequence of his signing contracts with the mining operation? But then I’m getting cynical here. Hang me from the highest tree![/quote]
Has nothing to do with Arias or a peace prize.
Infinito got out way ahead of the legal proceedings against them and figured they were going to waltz in before the legal issues were settled and cleared about a hectare of virgin forest to start an open pit mine on the basis of a trade agreement between Costa Rica and Canada.
The Costa Rican Supreme Court ruled against them on the basis of destruction of the environment and they had to pull out.
Canadian organizations Mine Watch and The Council of Canadians are up in arms and telling Infinito they should back off.[/quote]
[According to todays “La Nacion” and ex minister Rene Castro it looks as if maybe Oscar Arias may have quite a bit to do with the Infinito mess. You can check it out here in Spanish or Google translator. http://www.nacion.com/nacional/politica/Oscar_Arias-Industrias_Infinito-Rene_Castro_0_1350465078.html
b][/b][quote=”orcas0606″][quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”johnnyh”][quote=”orcas0606″]Maybe Infinito should sue Oscar Arias!!!!
[quote=”waggoner41″]It is one thing for individuals to pan for gold in the streams and rivers of Costa Rica and quite another to begin open-pit mining at the cost of the virgin forest.
The company clear cut a section of forest before permission had been decided and Costa Rica should be suing to have the forest restored to its original condition.[/quote][/quote]
Didn’t he win some kind of a prize? Peace prize I think, but so did Barry. Did his bank account grow as a consequence of his signing contracts with the mining operation? But then I’m getting cynical here. Hang me from the highest tree![/quote]
Has nothing to do with Arias or a peace prize.
Infinito got out way ahead of the legal proceedings against them and figured they were going to waltz in before the legal issues were settled and cleared about a hectare of virgin forest to start an open pit mine on the basis of a trade agreement between Costa Rica and Canada.
The Costa Rican Supreme Court ruled against them on the basis of destruction of the environment and they had to pull out.
Canadian organizations Mine Watch and The Council of Canadians are up in arms and telling Infinito they should back off.[/quote][/quote]
[quote=”orcas0606″][According to todays “La Nacion” and ex minister Rene Castro it looks as if maybe Oscar Arias may have quite a bit to do with the Infinito mess. You can check it out here in Spanish or Google translator. http://www.nacion.com/nacional/politica/Oscar_Arias-Industrias_Infinito-Rene_Castro_0_1350465078.html
b][/b][quote=”orcas0606″][quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”johnnyh”][quote=”orcas0606″]Maybe Infinito should sue Oscar Arias!!!!
[quote=”waggoner41″]It is one thing for individuals to pan for gold in the streams and rivers of Costa Rica and quite another to begin open-pit mining at the cost of the virgin forest.
The company clear cut a section of forest before permission had been decided and Costa Rica should be suing to have the forest restored to its original condition.[/quote][/quote]
Didn’t he win some kind of a prize? Peace prize I think, but so did Barry. Did his bank account grow as a consequence of his signing contracts with the mining operation? But then I’m getting cynical here. Hang me from the highest tree![/quote]
Has nothing to do with Arias or a peace prize.
Infinito got out way ahead of the legal proceedings against them and figured they were going to waltz in before the legal issues were settled and cleared about a hectare of virgin forest to start an open pit mine on the basis of a trade agreement between Costa Rica and Canada.
The Costa Rican Supreme Court ruled against them on the basis of destruction of the environment and they had to pull out.
Canadian organizations Mine Watch and The Council of Canadians are up in arms and telling Infinito they should back off.[/quote][/quote][/quote]
Remember….It was also Don Oscar that dumped Taiwan in favor of China…. seems for a Peace Prize winner, human rights and democracy have little meaning when picking friends with deep pockets. Wonder how much his bank balance went up with that move? Once China gets it hooks into an economy and a country’s natural resources the writing is on the wall for who will benefit and who will lose!
The term total fraud comes to mind with that deal and others that took place during Oscar’s term. Have we forgotten the money he was passing around to political “friends”? Many many questions…. but few honest answers.
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”imxploring”]Remember….It was also Don Oscar that dumped Taiwan in favor of China…..[/quote]
By the time Arias switched official recognition of China’s government from Taipei to Beijing almost every other nation in the world had done so, including the US. In fact, the US had done so 30 years previously. The fact that Costa Rica did was absolutely due to financial incentives (it was no secret) as [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/world/asia/13costa.html?_r=0]this New York Times Article[/url] makes clear:
“[i]…in return for Costa Rica’s shutting its embassy in Taiwan and expelling Taiwanese diplomats, China agreed to buy $300 million in bonds…It also agreed to give $130 million in aid to Costa Rica, as well as other incentives, including 20 scholarships each year for Costa Ricans to study in China.” [/i]
If Arias hadn’t done so it would have amounted to criminal malfeasance since Costa Rica got quite a nice benefit and the recognition was simply a statement of reality. Hundreds of millions in aid merely for saying something that was undeniably true? Why wouldn’t they do that?
What makes you think that Taiwan wasn’t doing the same thing in order to induce those last holdouts from switching their recognition? They simply got outbid by Beijing.
As for whether President Arias benefited personally, well, it’s possible I suppose, but I don’t know whether or not he did – and neither do you.[/quote]
So in so few words we can take it that a Peace Prize winner is willing to SELL his loyality and values, as well as that of his country, to the highest bidder? There is quite a big difference between the social, humanitarian, environmental, and democratic conduct of China and Taiwan…. but I guess your definition of “criminal malfeasance” glazes right over that! Perhaps China’s latest action in attempting to take control of the China Sea is to protect the dolphins and the environment?….. NOT!
As for Oscar benefiting…. I leave that thought open… but doesn’t recent history tell us that leaders that make such major changes in their loyalties usually have more than the concerns of the public at the center of their decisions? Seems Oscar’s brother lost interest in leading the country after Oscar scored big with the Chinese… perhaps Oscar was willing to share! LOL
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”imxploring”]So in so few words we can take it that a Peace Prize winner is willing to SELL his loyality and values, as well as that of his country, to the highest bidder? [/quote]
Loyalty and values have nothing to do with this. Did the US surrender its values or demonstrate some kind of loyalty by switching recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1978?
China has a reprehensible record on human rights and any of a number of other areas but its foolish to keep pretending that they aren’t an official government worthy of diplomatic relations.[/quote]
Simple answer to your question…..YES! Who might be the largest holder of US debt… willing to lend Uncle Sam cash to continue the lie the US is living? Which country does the US have the largest trade deficit with? Which country has a worse human rights record than Cuba yet enjoys most favorable trading status with the US? You guessed it, right on all three accounts!
So as far as a value system I would make the argument that the US has NONE when it comes to picking “friends”…. but I’m guessing when the Chinese make their next move against the dollar and it’s reserve currency status and their true goals become obvious that will suddenly become perfectly clear to everyone!
As far as China’s conduct on the issues I highlighted…. I guess we can agree on that issue!
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”imxploring”]
Who might be the largest holder of US debt… willing to lend Uncle Sam cash to continue the lie the US is living?[/quote]That would be the US government in the form of the Social Security Administration, the Federal Reserve and other government entities. The percentage of our debt held by American individuals and government entities is far larger than the percentage held by foreign individuals or government entities.
It is a common misconception that most of our debt is held by China. China does hold a pretty large chunk – about $1.3 trillion of the nearly $17 trillion, but that comes to less than 8%.
See [url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/10/10/230944425/everyone-the-u-s-government-owes-money-to-in-one-graph]here.[/url][/quote]
Thanks for the internet education… I’m well aware of how the current US debt is broken down. The point was the fact that China is the LARGEST foreign holder of US debt… as your research confirmed.
Perhaps a quick non-reference expansion of the facts that you highlight is in order…. looking beyond the numbers and the way inwhich they were presented.
The LARGEST holder of US debt is the AMERICAN people since all the governmental agencies you sited do not have the ability to pay this debt off. It can only be retired or serviced (never will be) by the taxes and forced payment that Americans will be required to make… therefore the largest holder of US debt is the American public. As well as being the one responsible for paying it off… what a concept! A massive debt “owned” by the American people but also the responsibility of the American people to make good on… hmmm… try getting your head around that concept!
BTW. The Federal reserve is not…. nor has it ever been a government agency. It is a PRIVATE corporation owned by banks. It’s “balance sheet”…. (had to put that in quotes since in a real corporation it would imply real assets and liabilities which the Fed does not have) has expanded to holding over 3 trillion dollars in “debt” that magically isn’t included in the publicly acknowledged national debt, but must be repaid by someone (refer to the prior paragraph to see who that might be) Fire up your net research engine on these facts… it’s a topic we can have quite an interesting exchange on. But be careful…. it’s a deep and twisted rabbit hole Steve.
[quote=”sweikert925″]By the time a conversation descends to semantics it’s probably well past any chance of a meaningful dialog, but I never used the word “agency” in my remarks – you did. Any entity which was created by an act of Congress, which has its top officers appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the US Senate, which is subject to Congressional oversight, whose profits are returned to the US treasury and which issues the currency of a nation would, in my opinion, qualify as a government entity.
However, lets make a deal – I will revise and extend my remarks, as they say in Congress, if you will. I will change my comment above to “That would be the US government in the form of the Social Security Administration, the Federal Reserve and other government entities [b]and quasi-government entities…[/b]” and you can change your comment above to “Who might be the largest [b]single foreign[/b] holder of US debt… willing to lend Uncle Sam cash to continue the life the US is living?”.[/quote]
Come now…. you can’t really believe that congress, or the president for that matter, have ANY control over the Federal Reserve. Congress has NO ability to modify or control any actions that Ben, or Janet come next year, make in their control of monetary policy. While the facade exist in the appointment and confirmation of the chairman, the US government has NO control over the actions or inactions of the Federal Reserve. The worst congress can do is call the chairman before a committee to pretend they have such power when infact they don’t.
While it might be your opinion, the Federal Reserve does not even remotely qualify as a quasi-governmental agency. The idea of presidental appointment and congressional confirmation was part of the original plan (1913) to add some type of appearance that the system was legitimate and not what it really is… a private banking arrangement that benefits it’s secret owners and has nothing to do with benefiting the American people. You can’t really say that a debt based monetary policy that has been allowed to grow unchecked is a positive or responsible outcome to what a central bank is suppose to do. And the current QE policy will be the kiss of death to this current system. Check out how the Fed is now carrying debt on their books instead of being added to the national debt. They must have picked up that accounting trick from Enron…. and we know how that ultimately worked out! LOL
Do a little research on the history of the Fed… there’s a great book (available on line in PDF fomat)… I believe it’s titled “The Creature from Jekyll Island”…. a really great read if you’re interested. You can also buy a copy and add it to that book shelf behind you. I found it fasinating!
There’s also a great series of videos out by Mike Maloney… “The hidden secrets of money”… (you can find them on Youtube)… one (EP#4) has to do with how the Federal Reserve and how the banking system really works. It’s truly a great series that breaks down how the system really works. I’d ask that you watch it. You’ll truly enjoy it and see how the system really works.
Have a great day my friend! Sorry for any typos…. busy day here!
I support the gold mining company. They had a legal contract. CR has a huge nation debt and resources in gold. The government can set up its own rules for reclamation and reforestation of the land when the gold mining is completed.
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