Like a mine explosion, an outbreak of smallpox, or a chestnut blight, BP's oil spill looked like just another disaster, a tragic mistake made by benevolent capitalists. But like those past tragedies, this oil spill is a predictable consequence of an industrial civilization where risks are not calculated by those who will face the consequences should something go wrong.

From the newswire: "Puerto Rican political prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres, who was imprisoned three decades ago for his work in support of Puerto Rican independence, was paroled from federal prison in Pekin, Illinois on Monday, July 26, and returned briefly to Chicago to a hero's welcome before his planned move to permanently relocate to Puerto Rico. Spending 30 years behind bars for supporting Puerto Rican independence, he is the longest serving political prisoner in the history of Puerto Rico.

"Chicago’s Puerto Rican residents held a community celebration with Carlos to mark his return on Monday from 4-6PM at La Casita de Don Pedro Community Garden, 2625 W. Division St., Chicago. Hundreds of community residents and supporters attended the event. 'We are thrilled that he’s finally free,' said his sister Norma Torres. 'So many people of conscience have fought for years to win Carlos’ freedom – and that of all the Puerto Rican political prisoners. Now we need to bring Oscar home.'" Read more

On July 28th at about 10:00 a.m. Federal judge Susan Bolton issued a preliminary injunction against four provisions included in Arizona's anti-immigrant law, SB1070. These provisions include the mandate that law enforcement officers solicit the immigration status of anyone they encounter; the portion that makes failure to carry immigration documents a state crime; the portion that makes it a state crime for undocumented immigrants to perform work in Arizona; and the portion allowing for warrantless arrest of anybody who is suspected of having committed a "deportable offense". Judge Bolton's injunction is only temporary, which means that each of these provisions can still go into effect if the judge decides, after fully hearing the case, that they are acceptable.

Meanwhile, Judge Bolton allowed a series of provisions of SB1070 to stand. These include the portion that makes it a crime to solicit work as a day-laborer; the portion that requires law enforcement to fully cooperate with immigration authorities and to report anybody they know to be in the country illegally; the portion allowing anybody to sue any jurisdiction they believe is not fully enforcing the law; and finally the portion of the law that makes it a crime to "harbor" or "transort" any undocumented immigrant (this provision is especially designed to target and criminalize mixed-status families). These provisions will go into effect at midnight TONIGHT.

In response to this partial injunction, protest groups have vowed to go forward with their plans for the 29th. Read On for Details

Related Coverage: Mobilizations Take Place Across Texas for Arizona | National Week of Actions Everywhere against SB1070 | From Arizona to Minnesota, Immigrant Struggle Heats Up

Two weeks before the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the huge, trouble-plagued BP refinery in Texas City, Texas spewed tens of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the skies. The release from the BP facility here began on April 6 and lasted 40 days.

A 2005 explosion at the same refinery killed 15 workers and four more workers have died in accidents since then. Last year, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company $87 million for failing to address safety problems that caused the 2005 blast.

In the July 23, 2010 issue of the Texas Observer, an editorial takes the stance that "since the Supreme Court considers corporations to have personhood, maybe it's time we see BP for what it is: an unreformed criminal."

[photo by Lance Rosenfield, used without permission from ProPublica]

RESOLUTION to National Peace Conference July 2010: We SUPPORT BRADLEY MANNING & WikiLeaks for Leaking the Story of US War Crimes in Iraq

Bradley Manning, a member of the U.S. Army, is held in a US military prison in Kuwait. The military has charged him with two violations for releasing classified information (the Wikileaks "Collateral Murder" video) which showed the U.S. Army killing 12 Iraqi civilians in July 2007; Manning faces 54 years in prison and is being held in isolation from the outside world, and it is not clear if he has contact with his civilian attorneys working to defend him.

If the allegations are true, we believe that Bradley Manning is a hero for bringing to light the realities of the crimes being committed in the U.S. occupation. We call for his immediate release and for his attorneys to be allowed to talk to him.

The soldiers and officers, not to mention the commanders responsible for the July 2007 killing of civilians face no investigation, much less punishment of any kind.