Saturday, July 28, 2012

VANDANA SHIVA: Traditional Knowledge, Biodiversity and Sustainable Living - YouTube




VANDANA SHIVA: Traditional Knowledge, Biodiversity and Sustainable Living - YouTube

An Interview with Dr Vandana Shiva, one of the world's foremost environmentalist, anti-GM activist and an advocate of ecological farming and sustainable agriculture as a solution to climate change, food security, hunger and peace. The interview was taken on 16th March 2011, during "Grandmonther's University" a three day course at Navdanya Biodiversity Farm at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India which Dr. Vandana Shiva founded in 1987 to help save traditional seeds. The farm also undertakes research and training, along with the important role of distributing native seeds to farmers in the region.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Feature: An Open Letter to Environmentalists | Deep Green Resistance

This open letter was written by a member of Deep Green Resistance Colorado, and was influenced and informed by Deep Green Resistance and the work of Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith, Aric McBay, and Jack Forbes, among many other sources and experiences.
The earth isn’t dying; it is being killed. And “clean energy” will only make things worse.


I should probably begin by introducing myself; my name is Alex, and I’m a recovering renewable energy advocate. For years, I was a victim of desperation and hope; I petitioned and parlayed, chanted and canvassed; I brimmed with excitement at the prospect of “green jobs” and a “renewable energy economy.” I still see much of myself in many of you.

I know what it’s like. I know exactly how it feels to look around and see a world not just dying but being suffocated, being tortured and maimed, sacrificed on the twin altars of profit and production. As a young person today, I know what it’s like to fear the future, to fear for my future. I—like many of you—have read all the studies and reports I need to see to know what’s coming, what disaster is now screaming, all but unchallenged, down the track upon us.

I know what it’s like to want a way out, a path from this desert of despair to something, anything that will shift us from the deadly course our society is on, some simple solution, the kind of sane idea that even a politician could support.

Like many of you, for years I thought “clean energy” was the answer to the despair that weighs heavier on our collective shoulders and conscience every day. It seemed realistic. It seemed achievable. It seemed aesthetic. And most importantly, I thought it would save the planet...

more: Feature: An Open Letter to Environmentalists | Deep Green Resistance

MUST LISTEN: Secwepemc Elder Irene Billy: No Mining on Sewepemc Lands



Secwepemc Elder Irene Billy: No Mining on Sewepemc Lands - YouTube
This interview with Secwepemc Elder Irene Billy was conducted in May 2012. Irene Billy, most well-known for her defense of Indigenous land rights when she was arrested in 2001 for protesting Sun Peaks Resort, speaks here about mining on Secwepemc lands. Interview and video by Harjap Grewal and Harsha Walia.

whats up: Prosecutors to accept nuclear accident complaints


(VIDEO)

Prosecutors in Japan have reportedly decided to accept criminal complaints against the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company over the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Sources say the prosecutors made the decision after a government-appointed panel of experts released its final report on the accident on Monday.

About 1,300 people asked prosecutors in Fukushima Prefecture last month to investigate officials who held top positions with the government and the nuclear plant operator. The plaintiffs accuse the officials of professional negligence.

Other groups have filed similar complaints in Tokyo and elsewhere.

The prosecutors have to identify the cause of the accident if they decide to file charges against the officials.

The government panel and 3 other committees that conducted probes were unable to find the cause.

Medical experts say it would be difficult to determine that radioactive materials released from the damaged nuclear plant have inflicted physical harm on residents of Fukushima and other parts of Japan.
Jul. 24, 2012 - Updated 22:39 UTC (07:39 JST)

Prosecutors to accept nuclear accident complaints | NHK WORLD English

see whats up: RC'S NUCLEAR BLOG
and
whats up: Nuclear Power Crimes Against Humanity & Environment


NO NUKES! | RE-TOOL NOW

Monday, July 23, 2012

new green deal - "Next Great Revolution"



Democracy Now! | MONDAY, JULY 16, 2012
Gar Alperovitz’s Green Party Keynote: We Are Laying Groundwork for the "Next Great Revolution"

At the Green Party’s 2012 National Convention in Baltimore over the weekend, Massachusetts physician Jill Stein and anti-poverty campaigner Cheri Honkala were nominated the party’s presidential and vice-presidential contenders. We air the convention’s keynote address delivered by Gar Alperovitz, a professor of political economy at the University of Maryland and co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative. Alperovitz is the author of "America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy." In his remarks, Alperovitz stressed the importance of third-party politics to challenge a corporate-run society. "Systems, in history, are defined, above all, by who controls the wealth," Alperovitz says. "The top 400 people — not percent, people, 400 — own more wealth now than the bottom 185 million Americans taken together. That is a medieval structure." [includes rush transcript]

Tactical Briefing #36 | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters


Alright all you existential diggers and expectant souls out there,
Defying all cynicism, the passion on the streets keeps burning … with the crisis of capitalism intensifying people’s rage only grows, erupting in unexpected places like Quebec, Moscow, Mexico, Tel Aviv, Khartoum, Addis Ababa … meanwhile we keep learning new tricks in Madrid, Los Angeles, Greece, Palestine, Manhattan and Hong Kong.


The Zuccotti encampment model may have had its day, but the spirit of our movement lives on in the hearts and minds of hundreds of million of people around the world who know in their gut that the future does not compute.
Now a new operational model is emerging: the strategic pincer —> We attack the global financial system from above with big bang protests, uprisings and revolts —> concurrently we attack the global financial system from below with hundreds of daily move-your-money actions at the 35,000 branches of megabanks worldwide.
The Bank of America has 6,200 branches, Wells Fargo 6,600, JPMorgan Chase 5,500, Citigroup 1,300; Barclays has 4,700 branches in 50 countries, Deutsche Bank 3,100 in 72 countries, HSBC 7,200 in 85 and Goldman Sachs has over 70 offices worldwide … in front of these outposts of global capital we pitch our tents, bang our pots and pans, hold our credit card cut ups … we hand out pamphlets to the customers going in and out … we engage them in passionate conversation and convince them to move their money … we trigger a chain reaction and move $1-trillion away from the megabanks before yearend, changing global banking for good.
With our strategic pincer we beat the shit out of global capitalism over the next few months — metaphorically speaking of course — and then we escalate towards a series of global solutions: a Robin Hood Tax, pushing through a binding accord on climate change and launching hybrid Blue/Green Pirate political parties in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, Japan …
Stay loose, play jazz, keep the faith … Capitalism is heaving and our movement has just begun.
for the wild,
Culture Jammers HQ
Tactical Briefing #36 | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Spying on Scientists: How the FDA Monitored Whistleblowers Who Raised Concerns over Radiation



The Food and Drug Administration has been found to have launched a massive surveillance campaign targeting its own scientists for writing letters to journalists, members of Congress and President Obama. The scientists were expressing their concern over the FDA’s approval of medical imaging devices for colonoscopies and mammograms that could endanger patients with high levels of radiation. The covert spying operation led the agency to monitor the scientists’ computers at work and at home, copying emails and thumb drives and even monitoring individual messages line by line as they were being composed in real time. The agency also created an enemies list. We’re joined by the FDA whistleblowers’ attorney, Stephen Kohn, executive director of the National Whistleblowers Center. "For the first time, we now have a glimpse into what domestic surveillance of whistleblowers looks like in this country with the modern technological developments," Kohn says. "The agency [sought] to destroy the reputation of these whistleblowers forever." [includes rush transcript]

Spying on Scientists: How the FDA Monitored Whistleblowers Who Raised Concerns over Radiation

Friday, July 13, 2012

We will occupy the 1% | Occupy Bohemian Grove



Occupy groups from Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Portland, Sebastopol, and Petaluma, are joining some twenty other social justice activist organizations to protest the powerful one-percent elites partying at the Bohemian Grove in Monte Rio, California July 14-29.

2,000-3,000 rich and wealthy men have gathered every summer for 133 years in a private 2,800 acre ancient redwood retreat to celebrate themselves with parties, entertainment, and speakers. The men, Bohemian Club members and their guests, will hold a cremation of care ceremony July 14, where they symbolically burn the cares of the world before a giant owl in a bizarre annual ritual.





This year’s protest against the gathering of the world’s political and economic elite is called “Occupy Bohemian Grove, Expose the 1%. Occupy groups across America, and increasingly the world, are working to expose the one percent in control of global resources who are bringing human rights repression, environmental destruction, and war to humankind.


The Fukushima Mothers and Cindy Sheehan are joining the twenty-four co-sponsors for a Creation of Care ceremony, speakers, and music, Saturday, July 14, at the Monte Rio Amphitheater, just outside the gates of the Bohemian Grove. Kris Welsh will MC the day, and Dennis Bernstein, host of Flashpoints on KPFA/Pacifica radio will broadcast live from the event. Russia Today-TV with Abby Martin will film and John Rees with No-Lies Radio will video-cast the day on the Internet.



more: We will occupy the 1% | Occupy Bohemian Grove

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Democracy Now! - Climate Change

"This Is Just the Beginning" & Toll Worsened by Sustained Attacks on Public Sector, Science and Regulation



Stories

July 3, 2012
Democracy Now!