Shell Oil

[Dana]

"I mean," Slothrop now working himself into a fuss over something that only
disturbs him, dimly, nothing to kick up a row over, is it? "doesn't
it strike you as just a bit odd, you Shell chaps working on your liquid
engine your side of the Channel you know, and their chaps firing their
bloody things at you with your own...blasted...Shell transmitter tower, you
see."  (GR 241)

O.K. I've thought long and hard on the idea of using the list as a
forum for political issues but two things swayed my decision to do so:
Shell makes an interesting appearance in Gravity's Rainbow, and
really messes up the idea that a war has sides and all that.

and two: given the other shit that's been going down on this list, I
thought we could divert our attention to a "war" that is a little more
relevant to life--even to Gravity's Rainbow.

So, here goes:
A plea came through the Queen's English department list regarding Shell
Oil.  Seems they've been nominated by the World Wildlife Fund for their
progressive environmental policies.  However, to quote from the sender:
"as the WWF filled out the forms for this nomination, nineteen
Ogoni activists were likely being tortured in a Nigerian jail.  Their



crime was protesting Shell for extracting oil from their tribal
homelands."
Furthermore, two years ago, on Nov 10/95, Mr. Sara-Wiwa (nominee
for the Nobel Peace Prize) and 8 other Ogoni activists were executed
by the military dictatorship in Nigeria.  They died leading
a peaceful protest against Shell's destruction of Ogoni land in
Nigeria. (Forty per cent of the dictatorship's revenue comes from
Shell Nigeria.)
So, if we award Shell Canada we will be awarding the actions of Shell U.K.,
ignoring the fate of the 19 activists now in jail.
A plea has gone out to the international community to condemn Shell Oil;
while Shell rebuilds its environmental reputation, Ogoni people
are imprisoned for protesting the drilling and exploring of their land.
If you can spare a minute, send a note to the B.C. Minister of the
Environment (Cathy McGregor)
Parliament Buildings, Victoria British Columbia V8V 1X4 Canada