Il Papa speaking in doomsday code in 2012

CODE:

“Among these, pride of place goes to the family, based on the marriage of a man and a woman. This is not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society. Consequently, policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself.”

TRANSLATION:

Gay marriage = Armageddon.

Oi, Bennie! A gay couple saying “I do” is not about to stop babies being born by the millions, cause ethnic genocide or result in mass extinction of the human species.

Whale Wars 2012: Sea Shepherd alleges Japanese whaler Yushin Maru 3 has entered Australian territorial waters

The Sydney Morning Herald
Whalers chase activist ship into Australian waters: Sea Shepherd
9 January 2012

Sea Shepherd Organisation on 9 January 2012:

The Yushin Maru #3 is presently (at 1400 Hours AEST) 5 nautical miles off the beach at MacQuarie Island. The Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker was attempting to shake the tail of the Yushin Maru #3 at MacQuarie. According to a 2008 order of the Australian Federal Court, Japanese whaling vessels are prohibited from entering the territorial waters of Australia.

 * Macquarie Island: a Tasmanian State Reserve managed by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service.

UPDATE

From The Age online 11 January 2012:

THE Gillard government has complained to Japan after a whaling vessel went deep into Australian territorial waters in pursuit of a protest vessel.
Hours after Japan said yesterday it would release three Australian protesters who illegally boarded a whaling security ship, it emerged that another vessel of the Japanese fleet went as close as four nautical miles to Tasmania's Macquarie Island in pursuit of the activists' long-range ship Bob Barker.
This brought the Japanese ship, the whale catcher Yushin Maru No. 3, inside Australia's 12 nautical mile territorial limit, where domestic laws ban whaling.
A spokesman for Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said the government had complained to Japan about the incursion.
''We have asked our embassy [in Tokyo] today to reiterate to the Japanese government that whaling vessels are not welcome in Australian territorial waters,'' the spokesman said.

Kyodo News states three protesters aboard the Shonan Maru 2 to be transferred to Australian custody

Headline in Kyodo News online on 9 January 2012:

Japan to transfer custody of 3 antiwhaling activists to Australia

ABC News reports on 10 January:

Three Australian anti-whaling activists being held on a Japanese ship after they snuck onboard at the weekend will be transferred to Australian custody, Japan's Kyodo news service is reporting. According to reports, Japanese government sources say criminal charges will not be laid against the three men because they did not cause injury to crew members of the Shonan Maru 2 or to the body of the ship.
Japanese government sources say they will consult with the Australian Government on the transfer of the three men.

Could it possibly be that the Government of Japan, besides objecting to the boarding of its own coast guard-manned ship, the Shonan Maru 2, was also less than impressed with the fact that this ship had decided to leave the whaling fleet as it approached the Antarctic killing grounds and come so close to mainland Australia in order to harass the MY Steve Irwin?

UPDATE:

According to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun on 9 January 2012:

Attorney General Nicola Roxon said she hoped a deal could be reached with Japanese authorities to release the three.
"We are representing our views most strongly that they should be released promptly and returned to Australian soil," Roxon said.
In addition, the attorney general also said the ministry patrol ship, which is providing security to the whaling vessels, is not welcome in Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone.
"The ship, people need to remember, is not directly involved in whaling activities, but it is clearly providing a support role, and that may give us some other options if it was trying to come into our territorial waters," she said.

Monsanto & Co. begins 2012 in court - again

The Charleston Daily Mail, 27 December 2011:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Several hundred Nitro area residents gathered Tuesday at the Charleston Marriott as attorneys attempted to forge a mediation in a class action lawsuit against the former Monsanto Company.

Representatives of the West Virginia Supreme Court mass litigation department and the attorney's law firms would not allow media access to any of the plaintiffs, saying those settlement discussions were confidential.

The case is scheduled to begin trial Jan. 3 in Putnam Circuit Court before specially-appointed Circuit Judge Derek Swope. If a settlement is not approved before then, jury selection is expected to begin next week and the trial is predicted to take up to six months.

The mass-litigation mediation involving 193 cases of alleged personal injury and wrongful death is being presided over by Circuit Judges Booker T. Stephens of McDowell County and Circuit Judge Alan D. Moats of Taylor County…..

The Charleston Gazette, 3 January 2012:

As jury selection began Tuesday in the class-action lawsuit seeking medical monitoring for those who may have been exposed to hazardous chemicals produced at Monsanto's former Nitro plant, the judge expanded a gag order on the lawyers prohibiting comments to the media.

"No lawyer is to discuss anything about the case," said Mercer County Circuit Court Judge Derek Swope. "If asked, you are to have no comment, end of story."

Swope's comments came after Monsanto lawyers filed a motion Tuesday asking him to hold lead plaintiff attorney Stuart Calwell in contempt of court for comments he made concerning the case to the Gazette and other local media outlets.

The judge did not immediately rule on the motion, but indicated he would hear arguments and rule later.

Swope was appointed to hear the case after Putnam Circuit Judge O.C. Spaulding was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and retired at the end of the year…….

Background

Court rejects Monsanto’s attempt to hide behind government contractor defence, 28 September 2011.

* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.