blog bits
An update from [A rubbish story].
Morning, bloggers!
A few days ago, we brought up a little blog report from one of Global Radio News’ Brazilian correspondents, Simon Lane.
Simon noticed that there was an awful lot of rubbish sitting just off the Brazilian coast, and wrote about the how’s and why’s on our Ning network, Sell News.
To quickly sum up, the rubbish – or shiploads of garbage – was from the United Kingdom, and arrived at the coast of Brazil to dump its load. However, the Brazilian government barred the rubbish cargo from Brazilian soil, and a political and media tussle began.
Simon’s first entry on the rubbish story is located here.
Our original blog post about the story is likewise here.
Today, Simon tells us that the rubbish is on the move again:
“Who’s going to recycle a condom?” – President Lula
Posted by Simon Lane on July 28, 2009 at 7:30pm
Everyone wants to know what’s happening to the 1 600 tons of toxic waste illegally imported from the UK into Brazil recently. Well, it’s all going back to the old country so get your masks on if they’re any left down at Boots. In fact, no less than 41 containers were sealed by IBAMA (Brazil’s Eco-cops) last week and should be on their way, if not now, then, er, shortly. The story, according to the laws of disproportionate tragedy, seems to have disappeared from the Brazilian press today – in vain did I seek a vituperative outburst in the letters’ pages but the natives still show great deference to bold empires – the last gem to hand being an amusing report by an O GLOBO correspondent from a couple of days ago. There’s a nice photo of Environment Minister Carlos Minc pointing to an open container in mask and outsize black gloves and a wonderful reaction from the president of the republic, Lula, on a visit to São Paulo: “They (rich countries) are so clean and pollution-conscious … but who’s going to recycle a condom?” Good point. Lula and Minister Minc are enjoying some moral high ground for a moment so let them have their turn … besides, there’s a clean view up there. Lula made it quite clear what he thought of everyone lecturing Brazil on “inhuman working conditions” (that must be the third thing people don’t like about this country I forgot to mention in my previous post) in sugar cane plantations, which produce one of Brazil’s principal exports, high-grade ethanol, which the Greenies love so much as it is reduces all those nasty emissions. But what price slavery if we can all breathe a bit better in the knowledge that sea levels will not, after all, be over our heads by Christmas? Let’s get some perspective here! As for the work in hand, everything is under control and running to schedule, the 1.3 million dollar fine for “crimes against the environment” (that’s one notch below genocide) gratefully received and stored for a special occasion. Let’s use that money wisely to celebrate global inclusiveness and safe-sex hedonism irrespective of social orientation. Waste not, want not …
Read the entry on our Ning, Sell News.
Special thanks for an e-mail from last night from a GFM blog reader. Their letter tipped us to the update in Brazil issued a few days ago, and we immediately rung up Simon to hear his voice from the ground.
Global for me enjoys working alongside you – it’s all about connecting you to the reporter behind the news desk.
So far we’ve covered this story with simple blogs and e-mails, but if you would like more comprehensive news coverage on this controversial rubbish, let us know. Hop over to our Suggest and Fund page for more information.
Cheers,
Kim
–GFM Team
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