Saturday, December 31, 2011

biosphere | Nuclear Explosions since 1945



BIOSPHERE


This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons

basically a closed system -
complex, not infinite,
vulnerable

Our biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be called the zone of life on Earth, a closed (apart from solar and cosmic radiation) and self-regulating system. From the broadest biophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. The biosphere is postulated to have evolved, beginning through a process of biogenesis or biopoesis, at least some 3.5 billion years ago.


Biosphere - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

> whats up: Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945 | Downwinders | Nuclear Law: DOWNWINDERS | BIOSPHERE



Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945

i just thought to throw this in here as its from same page where i have previously posted the BIOSPHERE bit on WHATS UP nuclear blog - - - an example of our arrogance, ignorance, and paranoia - and of our impact on the biosphere!



A Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945 - by Isao Hashimoto

Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto has created a beautiful, undeniably scary time-lapse map of the 2053 nuclear explosions which have taken place between 1945 and 1998, beginning with the Manhattan Project's "Trinity" test near Los Alamos and concluding with Pakistan's nuclear tests in May of 1998. This leaves out North Korea's two alleged nuclear tests in this past decade (the legitimacy of both of which is not 100% clear).


more > whats up: Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945 | Downwinders | Nuclear Law


From left: U.S. Navy Vice Admiral William H. P. Blandy, his wife, and Rear Admiral Frank J. Lowry cut a cake made in the shape of a mushroom cloud at a reception for Operation Crossroads, November 6, 1946. LIFE Gallery

The "Baker" explosion, part of Operation Crossroads, a nuclear weapon test by the United States military at Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, on july 25th 1946. This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons


more > whats up: Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945 | Downwinders | Nuclear Law

see also > whats up: Atomic Cover-Up: The Hidden Story Behind the U.S. Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

whats up: RC'S NUCLEAR BLOG



see also: what next: deep ecology
Deep Ecology is the belief that the world does not exist purely as a resource for man's benefit. The world exists for its own sake. We are a part of this wonderful and diverse creation but we do not own it.


NO NUKES | RE-TOOL NOW
whats up: RC'S NUCLEAR BLOG

Scott Olsen




Occupy Oakland protesters carry Scott Olsen away after he was hit in the head on Oct. 25. Photograph: Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images - Scott Olsen injuries prompt review as Occupy Oakland protests continue | World news | guardian.co.uk


Scott Olsen, U.S. Vet Wounded at Occupy Oakland, on Recovery, Protests, Iraq and Bradley Manning



For our last broadcast of 2011, we turn to someone who became one the faces of the global Occupy movement this year. Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old former U.S. Marine who served two tours in the Iraq War, was critically wounded after being shot in the head by a police projectile at Occupy Oakland. In a rare interview, Olsen joins us to discuss his life-threatening ordeal, his involvement in this year’s historic Wisconsin and Occupy protests, the case of accused Army whistleblower Bradley Manning and how he too had access to similar types of information, and the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. "They aren’t respecting our right to assemble, protest and redress our government for grievances," Olsen says of police repression of the Occupy protests. "They are terrorizing us from going out [to demonstrations]. That is a sad statement for our country." Olsen also says he expects to rejoin the Occupy and antiwar protests as his recovery progresses. "I look forward to being a part of the 99 percent and Iraq Veterans Against the War in 2012," he says. [includes rush transcript]


Democracy Now!
- a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. Pioneering the largest public media collaboration in the U.S., Democracy Now! is broadcast on Pacifica, NPR, community, and college radio stations; on public access, PBS, satellite television (DISH network: Free Speech TV ch. 9415 and Link TV ch. 9410; DIRECTV: Free Speech TV ch. 348 and Link TV ch. 375); and on the internet. DN!’s podcast is one of the most popular on the web.


Scott Olsen: Occupy Oakland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On October 25, 2011, Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old former Marine and Iraq War veteran, and a member of Veterans for Peace, suffered a skull fracture caused by a projectile that witnesses believed was a tear gas or smoke canister fired by the police.[36][78]

A video by protesters shows the explosion of what appears to be a flash-bang device thrown by one officer near protesters attempting to aid Olsen.[79] The Associated Press later reported that it was not known exactly what kind of object had struck Olsen or who had thrown or fired it, but that protesters had been throwing rocks and bottles.[80] The Guardian reported that a projectile found near where Olsen fell was a so-called "bean bag round".[79] Olsen was rushed to the hospital by other protesters, who were fired upon with unknown police projectiles while attempting to aid him.[37][81] Doctors said that he was in critical condition. At least two other protesters were injured.[1] The American Civil Liberties Union and National Lawyers Guild are calling for an investigation into the use of excessive force by Oakland police.[38] However, the investigation by the Citizens Police Review Board is expected to last several months.[82] ...


more > Occupy Oakland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

see also > what next: Bradley Manning | Wikileaks | Graham Nash

Friday, December 30, 2011

deep ecology




men protecting Mother Gaia and their families
photo: Survival International - The movement for tribal peoples


deep-ecology-hub: Making Sense of the Madness

Deep Ecology is the belief that the world does not exist purely as a resource for man's benefit. The world exists for its own sake. We are a part of this wonderful and diverse creation but we do not own it.


heureka: Deep Ecology

I was born a thousand years ago, born in the culture of bows and arrows ... born in an age when people loved the things of nature and spoke to it as though it had a soul.
-- Chief Dan George


The Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess coined the phrase deep ecology to describe deep ecological awareness. Deep ecology is the foundation of a branch of philosophy known as ecophilosophy, Arne Naess prefers the term ecosophy, that deals with the ethics of Gaia.

Fritjof Capra defined deep ecology by contrasting it with shallow ecology and showing that it is a network concept:

Shallow ecology in anthropocentric, or human-centred. It views humans as above or outside of nature, as the source of all value, and ascribes only instrumental, or 'use', value to nature. Deep ecology does not separate humans - or anything else - from the natural environment. It does see the world not as a collection of isolated objects but as a network of phenomena that are fundamentally interconnected and interdependent. Deep ecology recognizes the intrinsic value of all living beings and views human beings as just one particular strand in the web of life.


deep-ecology.org

Deep ecology is often stated as "deep" because it poses the deeper questions about the role of human life in the ecosphere. From a scientific point of view, deep ecology is in the fields of ecology and system dynamics. But from a spiritual side it is the human species that forms parts of the earth and it cannot be separated from it.

Other traditions such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism have influenced deep ecology over the recent years. This is because they have a non-dualistic approach to subjects and objects.

The world does not exist as a resource to be freely exploited by human; this is what many advocates of deep ecology believe. The belief is that the whole system is ethically superior to any of its parts...




Introduction To Deep Ecology

Deep ecology is an environmental movement initiated by a Norwegian philosopher, Arnie Naess, in 1972. He wasn't the first to dream up the idea of a radical change in humanity's relationship to nature, but he coined the term "deep ecology" and helped to give it a theoretical foundation. Deep ecology portrays itself as "deep" because it asks deeper questions about the place of human life, who we are.

Deep ecology is founded on two basic principles: one is a scientific insight into the interrelatedness of all systems of life on Earth, together with the idea that anthropocentrism - human-centeredness - is a misguided way of seeing things. Deep ecologists say that an ecocentric attitude is more consistent with the truth about the nature of life on Earth. Instead of regarding humans as something completely unique or chosen by God, they see us as integral threads in the fabric of life. They believe we need to develop a less dominating and aggressive posture towards the Earth if we and the planet are to survive.

The second component of deep ecology is what Arnie Naess calls the need for human self-realization. Instead of identifying with our egos or our immediate families, we would learn to identify with trees and animals and plants, indeed the whole ecosphere. This would involve a pretty radical change of consciousness, but it would make our behavior more consistent with what science tells us is necessary for the well-being of life on Earth. We just wouldn't do certain things that damage the planet, just as you wouldn't cut off your own finger.

more > Introduction To Deep Ecology - Michael E. Zimmerman




Encyclopedia of Earth: Deep ecology

Deep ecology is one of the principal schools in contemporary environmental philosophy. The term was first used by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess in 1972 in his paper "The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement." The term was intended to call for a fundamental rethinking of environmental thought that would go far beyond anthropocentric (human-centered) and reform environmentalism that sought merely to adjust environmental policy. Instead of limiting itself to the mitigation of environmental degradation and sustainability in the use of natural resources, deep ecology is self-consciously a radical philosophy that seeks to create profound changes in the way we conceive of and relate to nature.


Foundation For Deep Ecology

The Foundation for Deep Ecology, The Conservation Land Trust, and Conservacion Patagonica have offices at Fort Cronkhite in the Marin Headlands in Sausalito, California. Together, these organizations are dedicated to the preservation of wild nature.

In recent years, the Foundation for Deep Ecology has been active in publishing large-format books on diverse environmental topics. These include Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy, Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture, Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West, Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry, Plundering Appalachia: The Tragedy of Mountaintop-Removal Coal Mining, and Wildlands Philanthropy: The Great American Tradition.

The Conservation Land Trust works to protect wildlands, primarily in Chile and Argentina. Pumalin Park, a project of the Conservation Land Trust, is comprised of more than 700,000 acres and functions as a national park under a private initiative. While most of the park is pristine wilderness, it has extensive public access and is a popular destination.

Created in 2000, Conservacion Patagonica has already placed 450,000 acres of critical Patagonian habitat into permanent protection. Conservacion Patagonica has successfully created one Argentine national park, and is in the process of creating a second in Chile.

The Foundation for Deep Ecology has endorsed the position on economic growth developed by the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE). CASSE is the leading organization in educating the public and policy makers about the impacts of economic growth on the environment, national security, and international stability. Please join notable sustainability thinkers like David Suzuki, Vandana Shiva, and Bill McKibben, and sign the CASSE position on economic growth.


Deep ecology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deep ecology is a contemporary ecological philosophy that recognizes an inherent worth of all living beings, regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs. The philosophy emphasizes the interdependence of organisms within ecosystems and that of ecosystems with each other within the biosphere. It provides a foundation for the environmental, ecology and green movements and has fostered a new system of environmental ethics.

Deep ecology's core principle is the belief that, like humanity, the living environment as a whole has the same right to live and flourish. Deep ecology describes itself as "deep" because it persists in asking deeper questions concerning "why" and "how" and thus is concerned with the fundamental philosophical questions about the impacts of human life as one part of the ecosphere, rather than with a narrow view of ecology as a branch of biological science, and aims to avoid merely anthropocentric environmentalism, which is concerned with conservation of the environment only for exploitation by and for humans purposes, which excludes the fundamental philosophy of deep ecology. Deep ecology seeks a more holistic view of the world humans live in and seeks to apply to life the understanding that separate parts of the ecosystem (including humans) function as a whole.


Thursday, December 29, 2011

cost of war & the 0.01 percent



Meet the 0.01 Percent: War Profiteers

War industry CEOs make tens of millions of dollars a year, putting them in the top 0.01 percent of income earners in the U.S.



While the Occupy movement targets the 1 Percent, we want to introduce you to the elite among the gang of superrich: the war profiteers. War industry CEOs make tens of millions of dollars a year, putting them in the top 0.01 percent of income earners in the U.S., and they use their corporations’ massive lobbying dollars to keep their job-killing gravy train rolling. We’ve got to stop them. War Costs: Meet the 0.01 Percent

Help give your local Occupy group the tools they need to fight corporate power by sharing our new video with them and posting it on your social networks: http://warcosts.com/1percent


Photo: Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP/Getty Images

War industry CEOs make tens of millions of dollars a year, putting them in the top 0.01 percent of income earners in the U.S.

• Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush made $22.84 million last year.
• Lockheed Martin CEO Robert Stevens made $21.89 million.
• Boeing CEO James McNerney: $19.4 million.

These guys use their corporations' massive lobbying dollars to keep their job-killing gravy train rolling. Last year, their companies spent a whopping $46 million on lobbying, corrupting our politics and ensuring that their bank accounts continue to fatten at our expense. These executives are some of the main reasons why we're wasting so much on war instead of rebuilding our own nation here at home.

Help us fight their propaganda campaign to protect their profits. Use our list to share this video with your local Occupy group and encourage them to show it at their events: http://warcosts.com/1percent
CORRECTION: Lockheed Martin's CEO is Robert Stevens. The video refers to him as "Martin Stevens" which is incorrect.


Cost of War to the United States | COSTOFWAR.COM

The Cost of War is brought to you by National Priorities Project. National Priorities Project (NPP) is a 501(c)(3) research organization that analyzes and clarifies federal data so that people can understand and influence how their tax dollars are spent. Located in Northampton, MA, since 1983, NPP focuses on the impact of federal spending at the national, state, congressional district and local levels. For more information, please visit our website.


GlobaLove Think Tank



current deals & recent developments

- the US has just made a $30 billion deal with Saudi Arabia, presses for $11 billion more to Iraq, ships tear gas to Egypt... follow the money


U.S. Agrees to $30 Billion Arms Sale to Saudis - NYTimes.com

HONOLULU — Fortifying one of its key allies in the Persian Gulf, the Obama administration announced a weapons deal with Saudi Arabia on Thursday, saying it had agreed to sell F-15 fighter jets valued at nearly $30 billion to the Royal Saudi Air Force.


The weapons package is remarkable, both for its size and for its technical sophistication. Under the terms of the $29.4 billion agreement signed on Dec. 24, Saudi Arabia will get 84 new F-15SA jets, manufactured by Boeing, and upgrades to 70 F-15s in the Saudi fleet with new munitions and spare parts. It will also get help with training, logistics and maintenance.

The agreement, and the administration’s parallel plans to press ahead with a nearly $11 billion arms deal for Iraq, despite rising political tensions there, is dramatic evidence of its determination to project American military influence in an oil-rich region shadowed by a threat from Iran...


US firms shipped teargas to Egypt during crackdown, investigation reveals | World news | guardian.co.uk


Two US companies have shipped crowd control munitions and teargas to Egypt – one firm repeatedly – in the midst of violent and often lethal crackdowns on protesters by security forces, according to an Amnesty International investigation...


War on Iran has already begun

Escalation of the covert US-Israeli campaign against Tehran risks a global storm. Opposition has to get more serious...


Wednesday, December 28, 2011

crocodile steals lawnmower






28 December 2011

An Australian crocodile reacted badly when a noisy lawnmower invaded his space - he stole it, forcing keepers to make a daring rescue.

Elvis, who lives at the Australian Reptile Park, lunged at the mower, grabbing it from operations manager Tim Faulkner and keeper Billy Collett.

Pulling it under water, the five-metre saltwater crocodile "drowned" the machine at the park near Sydney.

He then sat and watched his catch for more than an hour in his enclosure.


''Once he got it, he just sat there and guarded it,'' said Mr Faulkner. ''It was his prize, his trophy. If it moved, then he would attack it again.''

That, he told the BBC, was fairly typical crocodile behaviour.

But Elvis, who is one of the largest crocodiles in New South Wales, is also ''a big territorial male'' who likes his meat.

While the keeper lured Elvis to the other end of the enclosure with an offering of kangaroo meat, Mr Faulkner was able to jump in, retrieve the badly chewed up mower and two teeth that Elvis had lost in the process.

''He has extraordinarily large teeth - much bigger than most crocodiles,'' added Mr Faulkner. ''He punched his teeth through the top casing of the mower.''

'Ate his girlfriend'
Elvis, who was captured in the wild and is thought to be around 50 years old, has always been a cranky croc. He was attacking fishing boats in Darwin harbour when he was caught, his keeper said.

At the crocodile farm he was first brought to after being caught, he ate two of his girlfriends.

''He is so full of testosterone that he views everything as a threat,'' explained Mr Faulkner. ''Even potential mates.''

The mower was fortunate to have escaped then. But it will never work another day.

As for Mr Faulkner, it was all in a day's work.

''I've handled a lot of animals,'' he said. ''There is a moment when your breath is gone and your adrenalin rushes in.''

But, he stressed, there is difference between a crocodile getting a mower and getting a human.

''That has never happened. We treat the crocodiles with a lot of respect,'' he added.



BBC News - Australian crocodile Elvis steals lawnmower


Monday, December 26, 2011

Food Democracy Now | OWS Farmers March






On December 4, 2011, farmers and activists from across the country joined the Occupy Wall Street Farmers March for
"a celebration of community power to regain control over the most basic element to human well-being: food."

The Farmers March began at La Plaza Cultural Community Gardens where urban and rural farmers addressed an excited crowd about the growing problems in our industrial food system and the promise offered by solutions based in organic, sustainable and community based food and agricultural production. This was followed by a 3-mile march from the East Village to Zuccotti Park, the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

This is what happens when farmers join with their urban allies - Together we are Unstoppable! Please join the movement and spread the word!


Food Democracy Now | Occupy Wall Street Farmers March Video


Food Democracy Now

Food Democracy Now! is a grassroots community dedicated to building a sustainable food system that protects our natural environment, sustains farmers and nourishes families.

Our food system is fundamentally broken. A few companies dominate the market, prioritizing profits over people and our planet. Government policies put the interests of corporate agribusiness over the livelihoods of farm families. Farm workers toil in unsafe conditions for minimal wages. School children lack access to healthy foods--as do millions of Americans living in poverty. From rising childhood and adult obesity to issues of food safety, air and water pollution, worker's rights and global warming, our current food system is leading our nation to an unsustainable future.


Yip Harburg Tribute | Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz





His name might not be familiar to many, but his songs are sung by millions around the world. Today, we take a journey through the life and work of Yip Harburg, the Broadway lyricist who wrote such hits as "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and who put the music into The Wizard of Oz. Born into poverty on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Yip always included a strong social and political component to his work, fighting racism and poverty. A lifelong socialist, Yip was blacklisted and hounded throughout much of his life. We speak with Yip’s son, Ernie Harburg, about the music and politics of his father. Then we take an in-depth look at The Wizard of Oz, and hear a medley of Yip Harburg’s Broadway songs and the politics of the times in which they were created. [includes rush transcript]

A Tribute to Yip Harburg: The Man Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz

Democracy Now!
A daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, airing on over 900 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the United States.

Join or Die | Ben Franklin & Snakes



Snake symbolism


The timber rattlesnake and eastern diamondback rattlesnake both populate the geographical areas of the original thirteen colonies. Their use as a symbol of the American colonies can be traced back to the publications of Benjamin Franklin. In 1751, he made the first reference to the rattlesnake in a satirical commentary published in his Pennsylvania Gazette. It had been the policy of Britain to send convicted criminals to America, so Franklin suggested that they thank the British by sending rattlesnakes to England.

In 1754, during the French and Indian War, Franklin published his famous woodcut of a snake cut into eight sections. It represented the colonies, with New England joined together as the head and South Carolina as the tail, following their order along the coast. Under the snake was the message "Join, or Die". This was the first political cartoon published in an American newspaper.

As the American Revolution grew, the snake began to see more use as a symbol of the colonies. In 1774, Paul Revere added it to the title of his paper, the Massachusetts Spy, as a snake joined to fight a British dragon. In December 1775, Benjamin Franklin published an essay in the Pennsylvania Journal under the pseudonym American Guesser in which he suggested that the rattlesnake was a good symbol for the American spirit:
"I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids—She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance.—She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage.—As if anxious to prevent all pretensions of quarreling with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most defenseless animal; and even when those weapons are shewn and extended for her defense, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal:—Conscious of this, she never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of stepping on her.—Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America?"


don't tread on me


The Gadsden flag is a historical American flag with a yellow field depicting a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike. Positioned below the snake is the legend "DONT TREAD ON ME." The flag was designed by and is named after American general and statesman Christopher Gadsden. It was also used by the Continental Marines as an early motto flag. It was the first flag ever carried into battle by the United States Marine Corps, during the American Revolution.



Gadsden flag - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Friday, December 23, 2011

INDIAN MUSIC: Vichitra Veena | Dr. Lalmani Mishra




Vichitra Veena by Dr. Lalmani Mishra of Mishrabani Gharana playing Raga Tilang

the instrument that i am thinking about building is a combination of a hurdy gurdy and no-frets vina as in the video above. the basic idea is to slice a barrel along one side (which becomes then the top of the instrument), intstall a soundboard on top, and have a large cranked wheel to drive a couple of playing strings and some drones (no hurdy-gurdy keybox) ...maybe i will post a photo of my sketch of a "barrel gurdy," or the new idea of using a conga drum rather than a barrel.

Dr. Lalmani Mishra

my "vocal teacher's" teacher *

Lalmani Misra (August 11, 1924 - July 17, 1979), M.A., Ph.D., D. Mus. (Veena), M.Mus. (Vocal), B.Mus. (Sitar, Tabla), (Sahitya Ratna) Dean & Head, Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, was an eminent Indian classical musician known as much for his art as for his scholarship.

Lalmani learnt Dhruvapada (Dhrupad) Dhamar in the tradition of Pt. Shankar Bhatt and Munshi Bhrigunath Lal. He learnt Khayal singing with Ustad Mehndi Hussain Khan, a disciple of Ustad Vazir Khan of Rampur Seni Gharana. He received training in Dhruvpad, Bhajan and Tabla from Swami Pramodanand; in sitar from Shri Shukdev Roy. Under the tutelage of Ustad Amir Ali Khan he perfected several other musical instruments.

Lalmani was appointed on the post of assistant music director in Shehanshahi Recording Company, Calcutta at the age of twelve. He worked in several films for the next two years...


Performing in Berlin, with a troupe, April 1932

...Carrying out research in the music of Vedic age, he unraveled the mystery of Samic scale. To re-establish the lost notes of that period he created a Raga Sameshwari. Dr. Misra also first made it possible in history of mankind, the twenty two Shruti-s (not to be confused with śruti, the genre of Vedic literature) to be distinctly heard on a single Veena. The invention and key to its function has been explained in “Shruti Veena” published on 11-02-1964 by Vikram Singh, Narendra Printing Works, Varanasi.

He had created several other Raga-s like Shyam Bihag, Jog Todi, Madhukali, Madhu-Bhairav, Baleshwari etc., all in strict adherence with rigid classical norms for creation of new Raga-s. Unesco released a compact disc of his Vichitra Veena entitled The Music of Pandit Lalmani Misra in 1996.

much more interesting history on this teacher > Lalmani Misra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

* i studied with Dr. Laxmi Tewari, a student of Dr. Misra's, at SSU for a couple of years around 1978 to 1981. Tewari-ji still teaches at SSU, and is an ethnomusicologist as was Misra. (the link for Tewari goes to an article from 1996 by Jan Haag). more on Dr. Tewari later :)



see also

Indian Music (Hindustani Classical) playlist on robertcherwink's YouTube Channel


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

HURDY GURDY - Recycled Guitar | AntiQuated Strings | Lute-backed



recycled-guitar gurdy: "George"




> george - mccormackgraeme


AntiQuated Strings - Graeme McCormack


Many years ago I saw a black & white Spencer Tracey Film Called “Captains courageous”. Spencer’s character played a bizarre mechanical fiddle called a Hurdy Gurdy. From that point this instrument fascinated me. Finding one to play was not very easy, so it was sometime before I was courageous enough to make one. I had never seen a hurdy gurdy in the flesh before. This made troubleshooting a long and sometimes painful process. My intention was to make a quick and dirty hurdy gurdy by converting an old guitar. In the end I put more work and detail into it and ended up with a very playable instrument that I named George. From then on I was hooked. Harry Wass, who is a good friend of mine was making a medieval fiddle around the time that I was making "George". We both finished our respective instruments at the same time. We set off to Salamanca markets in Hobart to do some busking, with great success.

antiquatedstrings - mccormackgraeme




Lute-backed Hurdy Gurdy: "Jiri"


Grand French Alto Hurdy Gurdy has 4 chanters, 3 trompettes, 3 bass drones and 12 sympathetic strings. Mainly in C/G tuning. Also plays in D/G.




Jiri Finished - mccormackgraeme
> Putting Things together................ - mccormackgraeme
> oud backed hurdygurdy making - mccormackgraeme

AntiQuated Strings - Graeme McCormack



see also

what next: Hurdy Gurdy: What's a Hurdy Gurdy anyway?

what next: all posts "Hurdy Gurdy"


Plastic Soup - Pacific Garbage Dump



how much plastic do you use? where does it go?


Great Pacific Garbage Patch





The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Pacific Trash Vortex, is a gyre of marine litter in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly between 135ºW to 155ºW and 35ºN to 42ºN. The patch extends over an indeterminate area, with estimates ranging very widely depending on the degree of plastic concentration used to define the affected area.

The Patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of pelagic plastics, chemical sludge, and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. Despite its size and density, the patch is not visible from satellite photography, since it consists primarily of suspended particulates in the upper water column. Since plastics break down to ever smaller polymers, concentrations of submerged particles are not visible from space, nor do they appear as a continuous debris field. Instead, the patch is defined as an area in which the mass of plastic debris in the upper water column is significantly higher than average.

> more: Great Pacific Garbage Patch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Pacific Garbage Dump- Nightline




Real Great Pacific Garbage Patch



This is a video I made with my US Foriegn Relations class in Zoo Academy. We spent from the beginning of november to the last day of school before christmas break on this. It was very frustrating but very informative. Please watch with respect and take note on how we are treating our ocean these days.


Charles Moore - the Great Pacific plastic trash island



The Great Pacific plastic TRASH Island. -
Please see my post on how to reduce your plastic consumption on my web site.
http://www.maskaras.com/2009/02/25/lets-talk-trash/
When are we humans going to STOP raping the Earth?? If you do have a conscience about this and want to start doing your share of “what we should have already done”, then start by – first calculating how much non biodegradable waste you generate in a week, then do a sanity check and see how much of this lands up in the ocean and land fills. Second, multiply the result by 54 weeks and think about it. It is an embarrassing and shameful situation. I will let the video do the talking..
A BBC coverage of what is happening at the beaches of Hawaii - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8639769.stm?ls (below)


BBC News - Ocean debris turning Hawaiian beach 'into plastic'

Consumer waste from the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" is turning a Hawaiian beach "into plastic", Tropic of Cancer presenter Simon Reeve has found.

Conservationist Sam Gon escorted him to the remote Kamilo Beach on Hawaii, where plastic bottles, bags, tyres, rusting petrol cans, and other waste from around the world washes up. They found more plastic particles than sand, as they dug a hole on what has been described as "the world's dirtiest beach."

click to visit page and watch video


Monday, December 19, 2011

'Blue bra' girl brutally beaten (Egypt) [RT]





Russia Today | Dec 18, 2011: The blog-o-sphere is boiling at the cruel beating of a female protester by Egyptian military police, who continued battling protesters in Tahrir Square on Sunday. The clashes, into their third day now, have left 10 people dead and hundreds injured. The video uploaded on YouTube Sunday reveals the extreme cruelty of the country's law enforcers during the crackdown. The army soldiers in full riot gear have been savagely beating a seemingly unconscious female protester with big sticks, kicking her and stomping on her chest. Security forces lashed out ruthlessly on armless civilians and burned down tents that had been put up by activists outside the parliament building to camp in protest against the military rule. The internet community therefore questions the methods of the military regime who took over power after the ousting of the ex-President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Shocking Video: 'Blue bra' girl brutally beaten by Egypt military

Sunday, December 18, 2011

DharmaFlix.com | Little Buddha




Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth. What is the truth? There is no spoon.

DharmaFlix is a collaborative effort to list, review, rate, and provide clips of films with Buddhist Dharma content for the benefit of all.


DharmaFlix.com Main Page - DharmaflixWiki
Top 100 Rated Films based on Dharma Content
Top Viewed Pages on Site

Films - DharmaflixWiki
Films
Documentaries
TV shows/Episodes
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What is Dharma? - DharmaflixWiki

Your world and everything in it, including you, is a simulacrum, illusory like a dream, a video game, or the Matrix. It arises from that which is called by many many names, but "your awakened mind" will work as well as any.

When your awakened mind illumines itself in the full glare of its own light, and penetrates the purported solidity of the material world, there is enlightenment, and the path is walked. Speaking Dharma, hearing Dharma, does not make it clear for you, so it is said that the Dharma cannot be spoken. Also, upon realization of Dharma, all statements are immediately seen to be part of the illusory world. Can there be a true statement in a dream?

Films seem real because we suspend our disbelief in them. Likewise, we live out our lives with our disbelief suspended in the 3-D illusory world we call "Reality". This is called "ignorance". Dharmaflix has films which may, if we remain aware, help us to regain our suspicion of Reality. When this suspicion of Reality, through meditation, becomes experience of the illusoriness of Reality, there is Dharma.




Little Buddha - DharmaflixWiki

Currently in position 3 of Top 100 Rated Films based on Dharma Content


Buddha - Little Buddha (Buda)

"The most quietly moving film Bertolucci has made." - The Village Voice.

From the award winning director of the Last Emperor comes this visually stunning film based on the life of the Buddha, starring Keanu Reeves, Bridget Fonda, and Chris Isaak.

In Seattle, USA, a young boy and his family discover the story of Prince Siddhartha and how he became the Buddha. Then Tibetan monks appear on the scene, searching for their leader's reincarnation - who they believe has been reborn in the young boy. Thus the life story of the Buddha is interwoven with a modern story about young tulkus.

Also featuring Sogyal Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Norbu Rinpoche, Khyongla Rato Rinpoche and Geshe Tsultrim Gyeltsen. Extras include: the making of Little Buddha, and interview with producer Jeremy Thomas, and theatrical trailer.



DharmaFlix.com Main Page - DharmaflixWiki

Saturday, December 17, 2011

READING LIST - Dharma Punx





Dharma Punx
by Noah Levine

This is the story of a young man and a generation of angry youths who rebelled against their parents and the unfulfilled promise of the sixties.

As with many self-destructive kids, Noah Levine's search for meaning led him first to punk rock, drugs, drinking, and dissatisfaction. But the search didn't end there. Having clearly seen the uselessness of drugs and violence, Noah looked for positive ways to channel his rebellion against what he saw as the lies of society.

Fueled by his anger and so much injustice and suffering, Levine now uses that energy and the practice of Buddhism to awaken his natural wisdom and compassion.

Noah Levine is a Buddhist teacher, author and counselor. He is trained to teach by Jack Kornfield of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. He teaches meditation classes, workshops and retreats nationally as well as leading groups in juvenile halls and prisons. Noah holds a masters degree in counseling psychology from CIIS. He has studied with many prominent teachers in both the Theravadan and Mahayanan Buddhist traditions.

Noah currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.


Dharma Punx


Friday, December 16, 2011

Keystone XL | Republican Hostage Taking | Tar Sands




UPDATE January 18: President Obama has just rejected a permit for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline -- a project that promised riches for the oil giants and an environmental disaster for the rest of us.

His decision represents a victory of historic proportions for NRDC and hundreds of thousands of committed activists like you who have waged an uphill, years-long fight against one of the most nightmarish fossil fuel projects of our time.

Please thank the President right away for his game-changing decision.

Obama's decision has come under attack by Republicans claiming it will cost “tens of thousands” of jobs. In fact, the State Department estimated that Keystone XL would result in just 20 permanent, operational jobs in the United States and 2,500 to 4,650 temporary jobs.

Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline

Stop the Tar Sands Pipeline : Take Action!: Save BioGems: President Obama has changed the rules of the game by listening to the American people, rejecting Big Oil’s political bullying and rejecting the destructive Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Please send him a message of thanks right away. If you want to have an even bigger impact, please call the White House at 202-456-1111 and convey your personal thanks directly!



"the biggest global warming crime ever seen"


Ben Jervey: The Moral Case Against Tar Sands


The environmental demolition of once pristine land by tar sands extraction is not the only injustice committed by members of The Canadian American Business Council. The toxic byproducts of the mining process are poisoning the First Nations (indigenous peoples in Canada) that rely on the land and water downstream. These sovereign communities have seen high rates of rare cancers since the mining began.

"There's no question that tar sands extraction is a climate catastrophe. The tars sands mining procedure releases at least three times as many greenhouse gas emissions as oil production, and the industry will be emitting 100 million tons of carbon dioxide a year by 2012. Some would say it's "the biggest global warming crime ever seen..."


TAKE ACTION NOW


Contact YOUR senators NOW re KEYSTONE XL
Urge them to reject Republican efforts to speed approval - The only independent analysis of Keystone XL, by Cornell University, said that it would kill more jobs than it would create. And this pipeline will be "essentially game over" for the climate.

There is no room to compromise with Republican hostage takers on this disastrous project.

> U.S. Senators Contact Page


Friends of the Earth ACTION ITEM
> Tell Obama: Keep your promises on the new Keystone XL review



F.O.E. News release: Posted Dec. 7, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a just-finished joint press conference with Canada's Prime Minister Harper, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to a "rigorous" review of the Keystone XL pipeline and threatened to veto any effort to force a rushed decision on the pipeline as part of his proposed payroll tax extension.

> FRIENDS OF THE EARTH
News releases | Blog | Home



Boehner Pledges to Add Oil Pipeline to Short-Term Payroll Bill - Businessweek
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said he would add language expediting approval of a Canadian oil pipeline to a proposal being considered in the Senate that would extend a payroll tax cut for two months.

Some Democrats have opposed language addressing the Keystone XL pipeline because of environmental concerns. Boehner’s comments to reporters today suggest that even a short- term payroll tax cut extension would complicate an agreement between the Republican-controlled House and the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority.

“We will make changes,” Boehner said. “I will guarantee you the Keystone pipeline will be in the bill when it goes back to the Senate.”


Review & Outlook: The Keystone Ultimatum - WSJ.com

"The Keystone codicil is now being negotiated in the Senate, where at least eight Democrats have said publicly they hope the project goes forward: Jon Tester and Max Baucus of Montana, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Mary Landrieu of Lousiana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Claire McCaskill of Missouri..."


Oil Spill at John Boehner’s Office | Tar Sands Action


Occupy & 350.org Crash Boehner’s Office over Backroom Attempt to Revive Keystone XL

Fossil fuel industry spent over $42 million to elect politicians involved; Activists respond with “Human Oil Spill” on Boehner’s front door

Cincinnati, OH- Members of Occupy Cincinnati joined climate activists in storming House Speaker John Boehner’s West Chester, Ohio office this morning with a “human oil spill” in response to last night’s vote to force through Keystone XL. The fossil fuel industry has poured an estimated $42,000,000 into campaign coffers of the 234 House members voting in favor, including $1,100,000 to Rep. Boehner alone, according to OpenSecrets.org. The industry lists the pipeline as a top priority.



Key Facts on Keystone XL | Tar Sands Action

for example: A rupture in the Keystone XL pipeline could cause a BP style oil spill in America’s heartland, over the source of fresh drinking water for 2 million people. NASA’s top climate scientist says that fully developing the tar sands in Canada would mean “essentially game over” for the climate.


Keystone Pipeline - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Keystone XL has faced lawsuits from oil refineries and criticism from environmentalists and some members of the United States Congress. The U.S. Department of State in 2010 extended the deadline for federal agencies to decide if the pipeline is in the national interest, and in November, 2011, President Obama postponed the decision until 2013. On November 30, Senate Republicans introduced legislation aimed at forcing the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days, unless the president declares the project is not in the national interest. On December 13, 2011, the Republicans attached this provision on a bill that also would avert cuts to Medicare, extend unemployment benefits, and extend the payroll tax cut set to expire at the end of the year. The House passed the bill despite President Barack Obama vowing to reject any legislation linking the pipeline and payroll tax cut.



Tar Sands Oil is Already Everywhere (Map) : TreeHugger


Environmentalists and climate activists may have won a big temporary victory when their efforts persuaded Obama to delay the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline until an in-depth environmental review could be conducted. As we speak, the GOP, their oil industry sponsors, and a small handful of oily Democrats are working to ram through a provision that would overturn Obama's decision, and let the pipeline go forward.

But as progressives, greens, and climate hawks continue to fight the efforts of Big Oil to circumvent democracy, they should keep in mind one thing: Tar sands oil is already everywhere. The tar sands industry is worth an estimated $13 billion or so, and it's already being refined at close to 50 refineries across the U.S...


Oil sands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Making liquid fuels from oil sands requires energy for steam injection and refining. This process generates two to four times the amount of greenhouse gases per barrel of final product as the "production" of conventional oil. If combustion of the final products is included, the so-called "Well to Wheels" approach, oil sands extraction, upgrade and use emits 10 to 45% more greenhouse gases than conventional crude..."



see also

what next: Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline | Prepare to Fight

what next: Obama takes ownership of Keystone XL decision | Friends of the Earth

what next: 12,000 Tar Sands Protesters Wrap White House in Human Chain


Bradley Manning | Wikileaks | Graham Nash




Today, 16 December 2011, is the first day of Bradley Manning’s pre-trial hearing. This will be held against the backdrop of President Barack Obama having already declared Manning guilty without any judicial process. Bradley Manning has also been subjected to extra-judicial punishment which amounted to torture during his 18 month detention.


wiseupforbradleymanning | Welsh, Irish, Scottish, English solidarity and support network: Free Bradley Manning!


UPDATE 2/3/12: Soldier charged with biggest leak of classified information in US history to face 22 counts, including aiding the enemy

Bradley Manning is to stand trial for allegedly giving more than 700,000 secret US documents to WikiLeaks for publication. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP
A US army officer has ordered a court martial for Bradley Manning, the soldier charged in the biggest leak of classified information in American history.

Military district of Washington commander Major General Michael Linnington referred all charges against Manning to a general court martial on Friday, the army said in a statement... - Bradley Manning: US general orders court martial for WikiLeaks suspect | World news | guardian.co.uk



Almost Gone by Graham Nash and James Raymond - in support of Bradley Manning


A companion video for "Almost Gone" -- a new song by legendary singer-songwriter Graham Nash and musician James Raymond (son of David Crosby) -- is being released today in support of accused U.S. Army whistleblower Bradley Manning. The free download is available on Nash's website (www.grahamnash.com) and the Bradley Manning Support Network site www.bradleymanning.org...


Veterans and supporters of Bradley Manning demonstrate at gates of Fort Meade hearing

FORT MEADE, MARYLAND — Eighteen months after he was first accused of revealing information to WikiLeaks, PFC Bradley Manning appeared before an Article 32 investigating officer this morning. Supporters began gathering outside the gates of Fort Meade to call for Manning’s freedom and denounce the proceedings as unjust. Inside the tightly-controlled military court room, lead defense counsel David Coombs challenged the investigating officer, Army Lt. Col. Paul Almanza, to recuse himself due to conflicts of interest.

“Military officials have begun conducting their star chamber prosecution after abusing Bradley Manning of his rights for eighteen months,” said Jeff Paterson, an organizer with the Bradley Manning Support Network, who was speaking from the vigil at Fort Meade. “The investigating officer is not only biased to produce an outcome that is favorable to his employer at the Justice Department — he’s under pressure from his Commander-in-Chief, who has already inappropriately weighed-in on this case.”

Supporters have long argued that PFC Manning could not receive a fair hearing due to unlawful command influence from President Obama, who publicly declared in April that the former Army intelligence analyst “broke the law.”


Bradley Manning Support Network


Bradley E. Manning (born December 17, 1987) is a United States Army soldier who was arrested in May 2010 in Iraq on suspicion of having passed restricted material to the website WikiLeaks. He was charged in July that year with transferring classified data onto his personal computer, and communicating national defense information to an unauthorized source. An additional 22 charges were preferred in March 2011, including "aiding the enemy", a capital offense, though prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty. He was found fit to face court martial in April 2011, and currently awaits the first hearing.

Manning had been assigned in October 2009 to a unit of the 10th Mountain Division, based near Baghdad. There he had access to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), used by the United States government to transmit classified information. He was arrested after Adrian Lamo, a computer hacker, reported to the FBI that Manning had told him during online chats in May 2010 that he had downloaded material from SIPRNet and passed it to WikiLeaks. The leaked material is said to have included 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables; footage of a July 2007 Baghdad airstrike; and footage of the May 2009 Granai airstrike in Afghanistan.

Manning was held in maximum custody beginning in July 2010 in the Marine Corps Brig, Quantico, Virginia, which in effect meant solitary confinement, conditions that Amnesty International called harsh and punitive. In April 2011, 295 scholars, including legal scholars and philosophers signed a letter saying the conditions he experienced amounted to a violation of the U.S. Constitution; later that month the Pentagon transferred him to a medium-security facility in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, allowing him to interact with other pre-trial detainees.

An article 32 hearing will be held on December 16 in Fort Meade, Maryland.



Bradley Manning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



see also


"Bradley Manning and the Fog of War." By Amy Goodman

December 21, 2011: Accused whistle-blower Pvt. Bradley Manning turned 24 Saturday. He spent his birthday in a pretrial military hearing that could ultimately lead to a sentence of life … or death. Manning stands accused of causing the largest leak of government secrets in United States history...


WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more than 1.2 million documents within a year of its launch. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder, editor-in-chief, and director. Kristinn Hrafnsson is the only other publicly known acknowledged associate of WikiLeaks as of 2011. Hrafnsson is also a member of the company Sunshine Press Productions along with Assange, Ingi Ragnar Ingason and Gavin MacFadyen.

The group has released a number of significant documents which have become front-page news items. Early releases included documentation of equipment expenditures and holdings in the Afghanistan war and corruption in Kenya. In April 2010, WikiLeaks published gunsight footage from the 12 July 2007 Baghdad airstrike in which Iraqi journalists were among those killed by an Apache helicopter, as the Collateral Murder video. In July of the same year, WikiLeaks released Afghan War Diary, a compilation of more than 76,900 documents about the War in Afghanistan not previously available to the public. In October 2010, the group released a package of almost 400,000 documents called the Iraq War Logs in coordination with major commercial media organisations. This allowed every death in Iraq, and across the border in Iran, to be mapped. In April 2011, WikiLeaks began publishing 779 secret files relating to prisoners detained in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

In November 2010, WikiLeaks collaborated with major global media organisations to release U.S. State department diplomatic cables in redacted format. The release was nicknamed CableGate referencing the Watergate scandal and implying that this release was as dramatic as the Presidential scandal. On 1 September 2011, it became public that an encrypted version of WikiLeaks' huge archive of unredacted U.S. State Department cables had been available via Bittorrent for months, and that the decryption key (similar to a password) was available to those who knew where to look. WikiLeaks blamed the breach on its former partner, The Guardian, and that newspaper's journalist David Leigh, who revealed the key in a book published in February 2011; The Guardian argued that WikiLeaks was to blame since they gave the impression that the decryption key was temporal (something not possible for a file decryption key). Der Spiegel reported a more complex story involving errors on both sides. Widely expressed fears that the CableGate release could endanger innocent lives have so far proved unfounded.



WikiLeaks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thursday, December 15, 2011

HURDY GURDY - Matthias Loibner





Matthias Loibner is one of the world's leading hurdy gurdy players. In 2011 Matthias appeared in a live studio session on BBC Radio 3's World on 3 with Lopa Kothari.

HURDY GURDY Demonstrated & played by Matthias Loibner




Matthias Loibner: "tiny hurdy gurdy concert" St. Chartier, France - 2003



see also >

what next: Hurdy Gurdy: What's a Hurdy Gurdy anyway?: The hurdy gurdy is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound using a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings like a bow... (featured: Melissa the Loud & "Hurdy Gurdy: What's a Hurdy Gurdy anyway?" video)

what next: HURDY GURDY - misc photos


hurdy gurdy playlist at robertcherwink's YouTube channel

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Historic 'Law of Mother Earth' - Nature Rights




Evo Morales speaks at the UN | Wikimedia Commons

With the cooperation of politicians and grassroots organizations, Bolivia is set to pass the Law of Mother Earth which will grant nature the same rights and protections as humans. The piece of legislation, called la Ley de Derechos de la Madre Tierra, is intended to encourage a radical shift in conservation attitudes and actions, to enforce new control measures on industry, and to reduce environmental destruction.

Bolivia Set to Pass Historic 'Law of Mother Earth' Which Will Grant Nature Equal Rights to Humans (18 April 2011)



In characterizing Mother Earth, the document explains, “Mother Earth is the living dynamic system comprised of the inter-related, interdependent and complementary indivisible community of all life systems and living beings that share a common destiny.” While considering Mother Earth a sacred place apropos the cosmological understanding of Indigenous peoples, the law enfranchises a commons, or “collective rights of public interest.” This commons is an enshrining of biodiversity and human diversity.

Bolivia and the Law of Mother Earth | Earth First! Newswire


"This Act is intended to recognize the rights of Lamadrid Earth, and the obligations and duties of the Multinational State and society has to ensure respect for these rights..."

GOOGLE TRANSLATION OF BOLIVIA'S LAW OF MOTHER EARTH

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

FOE on Nuclear reactors



Nuclear reactors

Friends of the Earth's nuclear campaign works to reduce risks for people and the environment by supporting efforts to close existing nuclear reactors and fighting proposals to design and build new reactors and use federal funds to underwrite such initiatives. As the Fukushima disaster continues to unfold, our campaign is engaging key battles, against old and new reactors, and on loan bailout guarantees and other federal policies that subsidize the nuclear industry.

For 40 years, Friends of the Earth has been a leading voice in the U.S. in opposing nuclear reactors. In the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, it is clear that there can and must be a thorough debate on our energy future and the need to move beyond this dangerous and dirty technology to the clean renewable and efficiency technologies of the 21st century.


Fighting a massive nuclear bailout

Nuclear reactor construction is so expensive and subject to cost overruns and loan defaults that Wall Street won't finance it. For this reason, reactor construction in the United States came to a halt in the late 1970s. Industry executives have admitted that without taxpayer-backed loan guarantees, they cannot build new reactors. That's why the nuclear industry is so eager to stick you -- the taxpayer -- with the bill.

Loan guarantees are the principal means by which the nuclear industry is trying to put taxpayers on the hook. Each nuclear reactor costs as much as $10 billion to build, and the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the industry will default on more than half of its loans. Through loan guarantees, taxpayers will be forced to repay Wall Street if -- and when -- nuclear companies default on their loans. Yet President Obama's fiscal year 2011 budget proposed $55 billion in nuclear loan guarantees. In February 2010, the president announced the first taxpayer-backed loan guarantee to build two reactors in Georgia, which would be the first built in the U.S. in 30 years.

Friends of the Earth is fighting to stop loan guarantee bailouts for the nuclear industry, to protect the public and prevent taxpayer money from being wasted on this dirty, unsafe, and old technology. Safe, clean, and responsible alternatives exist, such as solar, wind, and energy efficiency, and these should be the focus of government investment.


Nuclear reactors | Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth strives for a more healthy and just world. We understand that the challenges facing our planet call for more than half measures, so we push for the reforms that are needed, not merely the ones that are politically easy. Sometimes, this involves speaking uncomfortable truths to power and demanding more than people think is possible. It's hard work. But the pressures facing our planet and its people are too important for us to compromise.


NO NUKES | RE-TOOL NOW

what next: old nukes, new nukes, NO NUKES | occupy nuclear

NUCLEAR playlist





NUCLEAR playlist on robertcherwink's Channel



see also


whats up - RC'S NUCLEAR BLOG
whats up: Links | whats up: Videos


Fairewinds Associates Updates - Fukushima updates with Arnie Gunderson
Nuclear Power and Nuclear Energy Dangers | Greenpeace
Beyond Nuclear | BeyondNuclear1's YouTube Channel
EnviroVideo presents Enviro Close-UP with Karl Grossman
Cryptome Nuclear Power Plants and WMD Series