At the beginning of this month, President Barack Obama shocked environmentalists by announcing that he would violate the Clean Air Act by refusing to provide strong regulations to prevent smog. Now, he is delivering another kick in the teeth to the environmental community that made his 2008 election possible: President Obama has announced that he will not obey a law that requires him to place economic sanctions against nations that hunt and kill endangered whales.
“I am not directing the Secretary of the Treasury to impose trade measures on Icelandic products for the whaling activities that led to the certification by the Secretary of Commerce,” told Congress. The Pelly Amendment requires that the President impose economic sanctions against countries that violate global agreements on fisheries – which includes anti-whaling measures. President Obama, however, has decided that protections for whales aren’t very important, and has waived the Pelly Amendment.
The action is practically an invitation for Norway, Iceland and Japan to expand their hunting of endangered whales – and for other nations to join in the whaling too. Obama might as well have taken a knife and jabbed it into the heart of a harpooned whale himself.
SHAME on You Obama!!!
Oh come on, AS IF a president who doesn’t sign on to Kyoto or the other world meetings over the environment, doesn’t do anything about the Gulf Oil “spill” (except to now allow drilling in the Arctic – like THAT won’t have any consequences), couldn’t care less about the EPA apparently, (and on and on) would even consider looking at the plight of whaling (not to mention over-fishing in general, pollution of the ocean, or CO2 pollution issues which are killing coral reefs & making the oceans too acidic).
He’s a Republican – what do you expect?
…..sorry, should have been “plight of WHALES” of course, not whaling – which is what we’d all like to end.
well, Obama has turned out to be a real sonofabitch.
What a lying bastard he is …. Phony prick is no better than Bush!!!
Now that is a truly foolish and ignorant statement. That Obama is not all you want (or thought he would be) may be true, but even a quick review of the George II years reveal horrors beyond this. Watch the current GOP debates for a hint at what happens if we say “there’s no difference.” Not seeing the difference leads to indifference which leads to handing harpoons to our opponents.
The Pelly Amendment does NOT require the President to impose sanctions:
“(4) Upon receipt of any certification made under paragraph (1) or (2), the President may direct the Secretary of the Treasury to prohibit the bringing or the importation into the United States of any products from the offending country for any duration as the President determines appropriate and to the extent that such prohibition is sanctioned by the World Trade Organization (as defined in section 2(8) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act [19 USCS § 3501(8)]) or the multilateral trade agreements (as defined in section 2(4) of that Act [19 USCS § 3501(4)])”
Obamas a god damn democrat not a republican
No-one anymore should be under any illusions about Barack Obama. He is every bit as much of a willing servant of the rapacious capitalist elite as were both George Bush’s. He will NEVER do anything that damages the interests of big business. He was just a clever change of brand by the cynical elite to fool us into believing that things could change.
The problem is not a particular president, as any president under this system will behave in the same way as the corrupt and dishonest Obama. What we need is a social revolution that restores power to the 99% and constructs a system that is about satisfying social needs, including our ethical needs for abolishing speciesism, and not personal greed.