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STARS LAUNCH SAVE THE ARCTIC CAMPAIGN

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Greenpeace to plant a million names on seabed beneath the pole

Stars from the worlds of music, film, TV and business are today launching a campaign to save the Arctic.

Sir Paul McCartney, Penelope Cruz, Robert Redford, One Direction, Alexandra Burke, Jarvis Cocker and Sir Richard Branson are among dozens of famous names who are asking for a global sanctuary in the Arctic. They have joined forces with Greenpeace to demand that oil drilling and unsustainable fishing are banned in Arctic waters.

Others demanding that the uninhabited area around the North Pole is legally protected and made off-limits to polluters include Edward Norton, Woody Harrelson, Jude Law, John Hurt, Rita Ora, Thom Yorke, Tim Roth, Thandie Newton, Bruce Parry, Lawrence Dallaglio, explorer David de Rothschild and Cilla Black. (Full list below.)

They are among the first one hundred names to be written on an Arctic Scroll, which is launched by Greenpeace today at the Rio Earth Summit. When a million others add their own names Greenpeace will embark on an expedition to plant it on the seabed at the North Pole, four kilometres beneath the ice. The spot will be marked by a Flag for the Future designed by the youth of the world.

Anybody in the world can add their name to the Arctic Scroll and have their name planted beneath the pole by visiting www.SaveTheArctic.org

The huge expanse around the pole belongs to all of us because it is defined in international law as the high seas. But as temperatures rise and the ice melts the Arctic states – Russia, Canada, the US, Norway and Denmark – are making territorial claims on the seabed so they can open the door to oil companies. Arctic sea ice has retreated dramatically in recent years and scientists say the North Pole could soon be ice free.

The campaign is formally launched today at the Rio Earth Summit at a press conference (details below) hosted by Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo, Sir Richard Branson and actress Lucy Lawless, star of Battlestar Galactica and Xena: Warrior Princess. Lucy will be sentenced in September after scaling oil company Shell’s Arctic drilling rig and blocking its operations for 72 hours in New Zealand in February.

Sir Paul McCartney said: “The Arctic is one of the most beautiful and last untouched regions on our planet, but now it’s under threat. Some countries and companies want to open it up to oil drilling and industrial fishing and do to the Arctic what they’ve done to the rest of our fragile planet. It seems madness that we are willing to go to the ends of the Earth to find the last drops of oil when our best scientific minds are telling us we need to get off fossil fuels to give our children a future. At some time, in some place, we need to take a stand. I believe that time is now and that place is the Arctic.”

Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo said: “The Arctic is coming under assault and needs people from around the world to stand up and demand action to protect it. A ban on offshore oil drilling and unsustainable fishing would be a huge victory against the forces ranged against this precious region and the four million people who live there. And a sanctuary in the uninhabited area around the pole would in a stroke stop the polluters colonising the top of the world without infringing on the rights of Indigenous communities.”

As part of today’s launch, polar bears have been appearing in cities around the world.

Shell is due to begin exploratory drilling at two offshore sites in the Alaskan Arctic in the coming weeks. If Shell is successful this summer, an Arctic oil rush will be sparked and the push to carve up the region will accelerate. Russian oil giant Gazprom is also pushing into the offshore Arctic this year.

In 2007 Russian explorer Artur Chilingarov planted a Russian flag on the seabed beneath the pole and ‘claimed’ it for Moscow. Wikileaks documents later revealed he was acting on the instructions of the Russian Government. Now Greenpeace is planting the names of a million global citizens beneath the pole and marking the spot with a Flag for the Future designed by children in a global competition organised by the ten million-strong Girl Guide movement.

The campaign will initially focus on pushing for a UN resolution demanding a global sanctuary around the pole and a ban on oil drilling and unsustainable fishing in the wider Arctic. The campaign was launched today because the Arctic Circle is defined as the area of the globe which on the longest day – 21 June – experiences 24 hours of sunlight. On 21 June the sun never sets on the Arctic.

Rodion Sulyandziga from the Udega People and First Vice President of RAIPON (Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North) said:

“At present, the Arctic – one of the last unique and intact places on Earth – is facing a real threat from active oil drilling. A large scale oil exploration ‘development’ can irreversibly destroy the virgin purity of the Arctic region, putting at stake the physical existence and survival of Indigenous Peoples who, without their traditional living patterns, without their eternal habitat, will have no future.”

Three Arctic states, the US, Canada and Russia were responsible for sinking an Oceans Rescue Plan in Rio which would protect the vulnerable marine life of the Arctic’s international waters and enable the establishment of a sanctuary in the area around the pole.

Kumi Naidoo added: “We’re drawing a line in the ice and saying to polluters ‘you come no further.’ People ask me why I, as an African, care so deeply about the Arctic, but the answer is simple. The Arctic is the world’s refrigerator, it keeps us cool by reflecting the sun’s energy off its icy surface, but as the ice melts it’s accelerating global warming, threatening lives and livelihoods on every continent. Wherever we come from, the Arctic is our destiny.”

A new short film written and produced by advertising legend Trevor Beattie and released today uses stunning Arctic footage shot by world-renowned ‘Earth from the Air’ photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. The film is narrated by Golden Globe-winning actor John Hurt and can be viewed at www.savethearctic.org

Pirates of The Carribean: On Stranger Tides – The Review

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Yes indeed – Jack Is Back…

If you were to ask any man, woman or child ten years ago to name the world’s most famous pirate, you might have heard Captain Hook, Blackbeard or perhaps even Captain Pugwash. But since the release of Pirates of the Caribbean, there can only be one pirate for many – Jack Sparrow.

The creation of acclaimed writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, none could argue that Johnny Depp indeed brings Sparrow to life in ways that many other actors of his generation could not. There simply would be no Pirates of the Caribbean without him.

There is just something about him that gets to you on so many different levels. Whether it’s his colourful swaggering demeanour, his mentality, his over the top actions that land him into trouble – or maybe it is the fact that his true motives usually remain hidden. Whether he ends up being honorable or deceptive largely depends on the situation his is in and what is at stake. Either way, Jack Sparrow is like Marmite. You love him or hate him, or perhaps – just perhaps – hate that you love him.

When the last film ended with duelling pirate ships caught in a mystical vortex, one could only wonder where the franchise would head next. For me, I was left slightly worn out of sub-plots upon sub-plots. I think in the end, I had to simplify things in my mind and group the characters into good guys and bad guys just to make sense of it all.

One thing I do remember, is a certain pirate by the name of Hector Barbossa saying that he was off to find a certain Fountain of Youth. But good old Jack, you should never trust him, let alone leave him alone with a map. Barbossa found out to his horror that Jack had torn the centre out of it. So begins another adventure, and in Stranger Tides it is none other than the Fountain of Youth that they are searching for.

Sadly, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are absent from this movie, but for some, that will be a good thing as their romantic sub-plots have gone too. In their place is a nice-fitting Penélope Cruz, a deceitful old flame of Jack’s.

I was quite surprised at how well Cruz fits into the role. She’s Spanish, she’s feisty, and what’s more can more than hold her own against Jack both verbally and with a sword. It is her character Angelica that throws Jack into his first real pot of hot water when her crew captures him and forces him aboard The Queen Anne’s Revenge, captained by none other than the infamous Blackbeard (played excellently by Ian McShane).

Blackbeard has a good reason to be hunting the fountain of youth. It was prophesied that he will die at the hands of a one-legged pirate. The only way to escape death is to drink from the fountain and Angelica, his ‘long lost’ daughter, is only too willing to do whatever it takes to find it. Also in the hunt for the fountain is Barbossa (played again brilliantly by Geoffrey Rush), and the entire Spanish navy. Will they find it? Who will reach it first? You’re just going to have to watch the film to find out.

Making a welcome return in this film is Jack’s long-time friend Joshamee Gibbs (played by Kevin McNally) and there is a wonderful scene at the start of the film that really reinstates the bond between them. Cue Jack Sparrow entering a court room as a judge. Absolutely priceless.

Keith Richards also makes a welcome return cameo as Jack Sparrow’s father, imparting some good old words of wisdom that will no doubt come in handy in this quest. Newcomers to this adventure include a clergyman, played by Sam Claflin, Richard Griffiths as a decidedly autonomous George II, and Astrid Berges-Frisbey as the vulnerable mermaid Syrena.

One of the highlights of the film are the mermaid scenes. I won’t spoil things, but this film will reinvent the way you think of mermaids – perhaps forever. Not to mention give young kids nightmares. The scenes are shot and executed very well and bring some much needed seriousness to the light-hearted proceedings.

But the main focus of Pirates of the Caribbean has always been action. Trust me, in this instalment you get it in spades. In this respect, it is just as wearisome as the last film. Every single thing, no matter how simple or trivial, just seems like an adventure. No sooner has one set piece come to an end, then we’re thrown into another.

This is even truer for the fact that it is shot on RED 3D cameras, which provides the kind of vista almost befitting 3D gaming in that everything is in 3D –  even walls, candles, and swords. All of which makes it a little more unnerving when things come at you. Yes indeed, 3D has come a long way in the film industry.

Luckily, there are some brief moments of calm between set pieces of action where you can catch your breath, and are party to some lovely comedy. And I am pleased to say that the dialogue is totally up to scratch with some lovely camaraderie between the characters on screen.

Some reviews of On Stranger Tides have been less than promising and it almost had me sitting forward in my seat expecting to be disappointed. The truth is that I wasn’t. Yes, the film was marginally too long, yes, even the largest box of popcorn will be done by the time you reach the halfway point. But yes too, while it is true that you can have too much of a good thing, I think I will still be going back for a second helping.

 

Definitely a piece of 8