The Writing on the Wall Series #68: Looks Like the Mother of All Crises is About to Erupt
Hello everysoul!
As the title of this compilation clearly indicates, it appears the conditions for a global crisis of mammoth proportions are now gathering as the world economy is set to implode, the nuclear catastrophe in Japan is set to get much worst, the food crisis is set to worsen and many other political, humanitarian and environmental conflagrations are set to degenerate. The example of calm behavior displayed by people in Japan could be something many of us may soon have to emulate as we will do our best to adapt to our personal deteriorating circumstances and tap our deep well of spiritual resources to help others less well prepared souls to adjust and turn these tribulations into a perfect opportunity to set in motion the real deep spiritual, cultural and personal changes necessary to cocreate a Golden Era of Peace, Love and harmony on Earth.
1. THE CALM
Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.
2. THE DIGNITY
Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.
3. THE ABILITY
The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.
4. THE GRACE
People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.
5. THE ORDER
No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.
6. THE SACRIFICE
Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid.
7. THE TENDERNESS
Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.
8. THE TRAINING
The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.
9. THE MEDIA
They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.
10. THE CONSCIENCE
When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly.
Let us all hold the vision that out of this period of fast transition comes the Promised Land of a new global Oneness Consciousness in line with our true spiritual nature as souls living a chosen and rather unique physical experience at this historical Shifting Point between the current Earth-bound civilization and the emerging galactic civilization that already exists in the Continuum just ahead of now....
If you wish to see some of the pictures I took during my recent trip to Costa Rica, go at http://www.flickr.com/photos/61045848@N02/sets/ and then click on the first album with 66 pictures and then on the slideshow icon. If need be, in the Options link (top right) you can select how fast you wish the pictures to change - the default setting is medium. Then click on the full screen icon (bottom right) and enjoy. There is a pause button (bottom left) if you wish to take more time to examine some of these pictures. The first picture shows a big snow storm at the airport when I left. Almost all the pictures you'll see after the small crab were taken during a 5 hour jungle hike on a trail winding its way along the seashore. if you wish, you can add a comment to any picture. To have details on where I stayed, you can explore the second album starting with THIS PICTURE - I've put a description with each picture in this small album - and then click on "Next" to access the 2nd picture (etc).
To share this material with others, click HERE and then click on the icon(s) of the place(s) (like Facebook Blogger, etc.) where you want to share it, log on, etc. and it will be automatically posted there. You can also access the archived copy of this compilation (link shown above) and click on the “share” button featured under the Google automatic translation button, near the top, and then follow the same steps just mentioned.
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THE QUOTES
"Thank you so much for your compilations, especially the last one. Because of it, I was able to send the article about foods to combat radioactivity to my son and family who live in Japan. It is so important to have free access to information. Here in our University, they have just blocked Facebook, as they blocked YouTube some time ago. This seems to be a tendency in the world towards power and control through repression. So let's keep using these tools while we have them!"
- Sam Johnson (oaxacasam@hotmail.com)
"God bless you for your perseverance and insight, Jean. No one does meaningful news like you. Peace and gratitude."
- Meredith Tupper (meredith@pintsize.com)
"A few days ago I heard the news about a spaceship crashing in Russia. I was sad because I thought it was a very significant event and I was sure I would never hear what happened there. Thanks for contacting Suzy Ward and getting more news about it! It is hard to live on Earth, living through the Earth changes and feeling that you just don’t know what is really happening. Feeling deprived of the real information. Thanks for bringing it."
- Maria Nieuwenhuysen (maria@nieuwenhuysen.org)
"There is always this nagging free will provision that makes direct intervention tricky. Even God cannot go against the rules He has set up aeons ago for this universe just to do away with the trouble-makers... which is why the "opposing" forces still exist everywhere in one form or another and can continue to make their usual mischievous nose-thumbing antics at the Creator. In the end only the darkness-dissolving Power of Love will prevail in turning around the bleak odds the Light forces sometime face... which is the very reason why all this universal merry-go-round has been set in motion in the first place... so we may find within ourselves the power vested in us to co-manifest All That We Are a One with All That Is... There is no way around this one... We just need to actually start trusting and believing in our Selves... And I trust we are getting 'there'..."
- Jean - Taken from a March 25 email correspondence with Suzy Ward
"If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito."
- Betty Reese
"Our personal and global well-being depends upon how we treat natural attraction for it is the essence of being in balance." THE PROBLEM: Out of shame for our destructiveness, we deny that we are indoctrinated to excessively exploit nature's essence as it flows in, through and around us. THE ROOT: Our denial of our indoctrination hides from us the source of most personal, social and environmental disorders. THE SOLUTION: The sensory science of Natural Attraction Ecology enables our thoughts, feelings and relationships to consciously plug into nature and its restorative, self-correcting powers. Through this connection we enjoy the benefits of recognizing our denial, reversing our disorders and increasing well-being. (...) The joy of a quiet, renewing walk in a natural area demonstrates a major scientific truth that we often overlook. When we respectfully visit a natural area, natural attractions in our 53 natural senses connect our psyche with the self-correcting grace, balance and purifying power of our origins in nature. The nurturing energy of a peaceful nature walk is therapeutic because: It helps us restore our subdued natural senses. It energizes their sensibilities into the consciousness of our body, mind and spirit. It enables us to think, feel and relate with the natural joy and sanity of our inborn sensibilities. There are 150 activities that help us recapture and sustain this often lost sanity. They can be your gift to yourself, others and your livelihood, too."
- Michael J. Cohen, Ph.D. -- Taken from Natural Attraction Ecology -- Note from Jean: Mike is one of the 15+ co-founders of the Earth Rainbow Network at the founding meeting in 1997 in Santa Barbara where he led us in a couple of his fascinating nature-reconnecting experiences. You might also want to review an email discussion we had in 1999 archived HERE - The following quote also comes from there...
"When I was in Glastonbury a couple weeks ago (this was written on February 4, 1999), I went up the Tor one more time, late at night, before leaving England. The Tor is a sacred hill on top of which stands a tower which is all that remains of an old chapel. For over two thousand years before this chapel was built, this place has been used for initiations by the Druids and other shamans and spiritual guides of many cultures and traditions, and some even trace the use of this initiatory site back to Atlantis and before in time. Expert dowsers have detected very powerful ley lines - the underground streams of telluric energy running all over our living Earth - converging from all around England (and the world according to some) and intersecting precisely at the top of this hill where sensitive ones can indeed feel a strange, unusual throbbing in the heart chakra and get the feeling of being in the center of a very powerful vortex of energy when standing right on top of the nexus point. So I went up the Tor past midnight, and for the first time found myself alone up there. Since this was my farewell moment to England and the wonderful experiences I had there -- connecting with two thousand year old oaks who spoke to me, on behalf of all life on Earth, to help wake up humans and stop the slaughter of trees and life's biodiversity before it's too late, remembering past initiations on the Weary All Hill, listening in blissful ecstasy to the celestial voices of a choir accompanied by a gigantic organ in the endlessly echoing resonance of the Well's Cathedral cavernous nave -- I was in a mood to open myself totally to the magic of this unique moment in time. So I entered into a deep meditation, connected with Gaia's resonance within, felt the violet vortex taking hold of this human transference apparatus offering its channeling abilities to do the Will of God and heard the usual still small voice within guiding this consciousness into working to rebalance the male and female polarities on this tormented planet. On this site which, most appropriately in centuries past, had been used in pagan rituals dedicated to the Goddess life-nurturing forces, the time was ripe to bring back in humanity's conscious awareness the need to reconnect with the divine, sacred polarity of the female within us all and accept to come back to the middle ground, to the centerpoint of equilibrium, where the harmonious blending of both the male and female energies will govern the emerging New Age of Love and Harmony, the Golden era of cosmic renaissance to our Divinity, now being born in the crucible of each of our hearts as the Aquarian Age is dawning on Earth. Amongst the thousands of pilgrims who ascend this hill every year, many are most certainly also sensing the need to send a similar signals to all humankind. We have got to stop the killing and help heal the Earth back to its original radiant beauty. We have got to find peace within ourselves and bring this peace to the four corners of the Earth. We have got to open our hearts to the song of the Universe and sing, as one united voice, We Are One With All That Is."
The following prayer suggested by Masaru Emoto has been forwarded to me by several people...
To All People Around the World
Please send your prayers of love and gratitude to water at the nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan!
By the massive earthquakes of Magnitude 9 and surreal massive tsunamis, more than 10,000 people are still missing…even now… It has been 16 days already since the disaster happened. What makes it worse is that water at the reactors of Fukushima Nuclear Plants started to leak, and it's contaminating the ocean, air and water molecule of surrounding areas.
Human wisdom has not been able to do much to solve the problem, but we are only trying to cool down the anger of radioactive materials in the reactors by discharging water on them.
Is there really nothing else to do?
I think there is. During over twenty year research of hado measuring and water crystal photographic technology, I have been witnessing that water can turn positive when it receives pure vibration of human prayer no matter how far away it is.
Energy formula of Albert Einstein, E=MC2 really means that Energy = number of people and the square of people's consciousness.
Now is the time to understand the true meaning. Let us all join the prayer ceremony as fellow citizens of the planet earth. I would like to ask all people, not just in Japan, but all around the world to please help us to find a way out the crisis of this planet!! The prayer procedure is as follows.
Name of ceremony:
"Let's send our thoughts of love and gratitude to all water in the nuclear plants in Fukushima"
Day and Time: March 31st, 2011 (Thursday) at 12:00 noon in each time zone
Please say the following phrase:
"The water of Fukushima Nuclear Plant, we are sorry to make you suffer. Please forgive us. We thank you, and we love you."
Please say it aloud or in your mind. Repeat it three times as you put your hands together in a prayer position.
Note from Jean: On his blog Emoto make a rather ludicrous claim, like so many others before him... "This is the first big movement of prayer that all human beings on the earth will be united for a specific objective." Talk about being out of touch with what's been happening for over 20 years around the world...
Talking about the matter of claims, as I've mentioned last July 2, 2010, that some are skeptical about Emoto's claim that thoughts can affect water, based on the assertion that there has not been any double-blind trial of his theory. I just found however that the scientist Dean Radin in his DOUBLE-BLIND TEST OF THE EFFECTS OF DISTANT INTENTION ON WATER CRYSTAL FORMATION (the only one to my knowledge) came to the conclusion that... "Comparison of the mean ratings assigned to the images showed that the crystals from the treated water were rated significantly higher for aesthetic appeal than the crystals from the control water." More on this BLOG.
I would recommend though to NOT donate money through his website with no certainty that anyone in Japan would actually receive money given to him. If you wish to donate, I'd recommend that you instead use a reliable organization such as those below...
- What radioactive elements are the threat from Fukushima
- What the Government is not telling you
- What is The Petkau Effect
- What are the specific health risks to you & your family
- What the sequence to these threats will be over the next 5 years
- What history has taught us
- What misinformation are we being told?
- What you & your family can easily and effectively do to potentially overcome these risks NOW!
Shaken: 10 Economic Disasters Which Threaten To Rip World Financial Markets To Shreds
2011 has already been the most memorable year in ages and we haven't even reached April yet. Revolutions have swept the Middle East, an unprecedented earthquake and tsunami have hit Japan, civil war has erupted in Libya, the price of oil has been soaring and the entire globe is teetering on the brink of economic collapse. It seems like almost everything that can be shaken is being shaken. Unfortunately, it does not appear that things are going to settle down any time soon. The Japanese economy has been dealt a critical blow, the European sovereign debt crisis could flare up again at any moment and the U.S. economy could potentially plunge into another recession by the end of the year. The global economy and world financial markets were really struggling to recover even when things were relatively stable. If all of this global instability gets even worse it could literally rip world financial markets apart.
Yes, things really are that bad. The mainstream media has been really busy downplaying the economic impact of the disaster in Japan and the chaos in the Middle East, but the truth is that these events have huge implications for the global economy. Today our world is more interconnected than ever, so economic pain in one area of the planet is going to have a significant effect on other areas of the globe.
The following are 10 economic disasters which could potentially rip world financial markets to shreds....
#1 War In Libya
Do you think that the "international community" would be intervening in Libya if they did not have a lot of oil? If you actually believe that, you might want to review the last few decades of African history. Millions upon millions of Africans have been slaughtered by incredibly repressive regimes and the "international community" did next to nothing about it.
But Libya is different.
Libya is the largest producer of oil in Africa.
Apparently the revolution in Libya was not going the way it was supposed to, so the U.S. and Europe are stepping in.
Moammar Gadhafi is vowing that this will be a "long war", but the truth is that his forces don't stand a chance against NATO.
Initially we were told that NATO would just be setting up a "no fly zone", but there have already been reports of Libyan tank columns being assaulted and there has even been an air strike on Moammar Gadhafi's personal compound in Tripoli.
So since when did a "no fly zone" include an attempt to kill a foreign head of state?
Let there be no mistake - the moment that the first Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched the United States declared war on Libya.
Already the Arab League, India, China and Russia have all objected to how this operation is being carried out and they are alarmed about the reports of civilian casualties.
Tensions around the globe are rising once again, and that is not a good thing for the world economy.
On a side note, does anyone recall anyone in the Obama administration even stopping for a moment to consider whether or not they should consult the U.S. Congress before starting another war?
The U.S. Constitution specifically requires the approval of the Congress before we go to war.
But very few people seem to care too much about what the U.S. Constitution says these days.
In any event, the flow of oil out of Libya is likely to be reduced for an extended period of time now, and that is not going to be good for a deeply struggling global economy.
#2 Revolutions In The Middle East
Protests just seem to keep spreading to more countries in the Middle East. On Friday, five Syrian protesters were killed by government forces in the city of Daraa. Subsequently, over the weekend thousands of protesters reportedly stormed government buildings in that city and set them on fire.
Things in the region just seem to get wilder and wilder.
Even in countries where the revolutions are supposed to be "over" there is still a lot of chaos.
Have you seen what has been going on in Egypt lately?
The truth is that all of North Africa and nearly the entire Middle East is aflame with revolutionary fervor.
About the only place where revolution has not broken out is in Saudi Arabia. Of course it probably helps that the United States and Europe don't really want a revolution in Saudi Arabia and the Saudis have a brutally effective secret police force.
In any event, as long as the chaos in the Middle East continues the price of oil is likely to remain very high, and that is not good news for the world economy.
#3 The Japanese Earthquake And Tsunami
Japan is the third largest economy in the world. When a major disaster happens in that nation it has global implications.
The tsunami that just hit Japan was absolutely unprecedented. Vast stretches of Japan have been more thoroughly destroyed than if they had been bombed by a foreign military power. It really was a nation changing event.
The Japanese economy is going to be crippled for an extended period of time. But it is not just Japan's economy that has been deeply affected by this tragedy.
A shortage of Japanese-built electronic parts will force GM to close a plant in Zaragoza, Spain, on Monday and cancel shifts at a factory in Eisenach, Germany, on Monday and Tuesday, the company said Friday.
Not only that, GM has also suspended all "nonessential" spending globally as it evaluates the impact of this crisis.
The truth is that there are a whole host of industries that rely on parts from Japan. Supply chains all over the world are going to have to be changed as a result of this crisis. There are going to be some shortages of certain classes of products.
Japan is a nation that imports and exports tremendous quantities of goods. At least for a while both imports and exports will be significantly down, and that is not good news for a world economy that was already having a really hard time recovering from the recent economic downturn.
#4 The Japan Nuclear Crisis
Even if the worst case scenario does not play out, the reality is that the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant is going to have a long lasting impact on the global economy.
Already, nuclear power projects all over the world are being rethought. The nuclear power industry was really starting to gain some momentum in many areas of the globe, but now that has totally changed.
But of much greater concern is the potential effect that all of this radiation will have on the Japanese people. Radiation from the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant is now showing up in food and tap water in Japan as an article on the website of USA Today recently described....
The government halted shipments of spinach from one area and raw milk from another near the nuclear plant after tests found iodine exceeded safety limits. But the contamination spread to spinach in three other prefectures and to more vegetables — canola and chrysanthemum greens. Tokyo's tap water, where iodine turned up Friday, now has cesium.
Hopefully the authorities in Japan will be able to get this situation under control before Tokyo is affected too much. The truth is that Tokyo is one of the most economically important cities on the planet.
But right now there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Tokyo. For example, one very large German real estate fund says that their holdings in Tokyo are now "impossible to value" and they have suspended all customer withdrawals from the fund.
Once again, let us hope that a worst case scenario does not happen. But if we do get to the point where most of the population had to be evacuated from Tokyo for an extended period of time it would be absolutely devastating for the global economy.
#5 The Price Of Oil
Most people believe that the U.S. dollar is the currency of the world, but really it is oil. Without oil, the global economy that we have constructed simply could not function.
That is why it was so alarming when the price of oil went above $100 a barrel earlier this year for the first time since 2008. Virtually everyone agrees that if the price of oil stays high for an extended period of time it will have a highly negative impact on the world economy.
In particular, the U.S. economy is highly, highly dependent on cheap oil. This country is really spread out and we transport goods and services over vast distances. That is why the following facts are so alarming....
*The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States is now 75 cents higher than it was a year ago.
*In San Francisco, California, the average price of a gallon of gasoline is now $3.97.
*According to the Oil Price Information Service, U.S. drivers spent an average of $347 on gasoline during the month of February, which was 30 percent more than a year earlier.
*According to the U.S. Energy Department, the average U.S. household will spend approximately $700 more on gasoline in 2011 than it did during 2010.
#6 Food Inflation
Many people believe that the rapidly rising price of food has been a major factor in sparking the revolutions that we have seen in Africa and the Middle East. When people cannot feed themselves or their families they tend to lose it.
According to the United Nations, the global price of food hit a new all-time high earlier this year, and the UN is expecting the price of food to continue to go up throughout the rest of this year. Food supplies were already tight around the globe and this is certainly not going to help things.
The price of food has also been going up rapidly inside the United States. Last month the price of food in the United States rose at the fastest rate in 36 years.
American families are really starting to feel their budgets stretched. According to the U.S. Labor Department, the cost of living in the United States hit a brand new all-time record high in the month of February.
What this means is that U.S. families are going to have less discretionary income to spend at the stores and that is bad news for the world economy.
#7 The European Sovereign Debt Crisis
Several European governments have had their debt downgraded in the past several months. Portugal, Spain, Greece and Ireland are all in big time trouble. Several other European nations are not far behind them.
Right now Germany seems content to bail the "weak sisters" in Europe out, but if that changes at some point it is going to be an absolute nightmare for world financial markets.
#8 The Dying U.S. Dollar
Right now there is a lot of anxiety about the U.S. dollar. Prior to the tsunami, Japan was one of the primary purchasers of U.S. government debt. In fact, Japan was the second-largest foreign buyer of U.S. Treasuries last year.
But now as Japan rebuilds from this nightmare it is not going to have capital to invest overseas. Someone else is going to have to step in and buy up all of the debt that the Japanese were buying.
So if Japan is not buying U.S. Treasuries and bond funds such as PIMCO are not buying U.S. Treasuries, then who is going to be buying them?
The U.S. government needs to borrow trillions of dollars this year alone to roll over existing debt and to finance new debt. All of that borrowing has got to come from somewhere.
#9 The U.S. Housing Market
The U.S. housing market could potentially be on the verge of another major crisis. Just consider the following facts....
*In February, U.S. housing starts experienced their largest decline in 27 years.
*Two years ago, the average U.S. homeowner that was being foreclosed upon had not made a mortgage payment in 11 months. Today, the average U.S. homeowner that is being foreclosed upon has not made a mortgage payment in 17 months.
*In September 2008, 33 percent of Americans knew someone who had been foreclosed upon or who was facing the threat of foreclosure. Today that number has risen to 48 percent.
#10 The Derivatives Bubble
Most Americans do not even understand what derivatives are, but the truth is that they are one of the biggest threats to our financial system. Some experts estimate that the worldwide derivatives bubble is somewhere in the neighborhood of a quadrillion dollars. This bubble could burst at any time. Right now we are watching the greatest financial casino in the history of the globe spin around and around and around and everyone is hoping that at some point it doesn't stop. Today, most money on Wall Street is not made by investing in good business ideas. Rather, most money on Wall Street is now made by making shrewd bets. Unfortunately, at some point the casino is going to come crashing down and the game will be over.
Most people simply do not realize how fragile the global economy is at this point.
The financial crash of 2008 was a devastating blow. The next wave of the economic crisis could be even worse.
So what will the rest of 2011 bring?
Well, nobody knows for sure, but a lot of experts are not optimistic.
"A sharp slowing in global GDP in the second half of the year cannot be ruled out."
Let us hope that the world economy can hold together and that we can get through the rest of 2011 okay. The last thing we need is a repeat of 2008. The world could use some peace and some time to recover.
But unfortunately, we live in a world that is becoming increasingly unstable. With the way that the world has been lately, perhaps we should all just start to expect the unexpected.
But world financial markets do not respond well to instability and unpredictability. In fact, investors tend to start fleeing to safety at the first signs of danger these days.
Most Americans simply have no idea how vulnerable the world financial system is at this point. Nothing really got "fixed" after 2008. If anything, global financial markets are even more fragile than they were back then.
So what do all of you think about the state of the global economy? Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below...
45 comments posted there... including these ones...
The word “could” appears numerous times throughout this article. Many things could happen, but the fact is nobody knows for certain. This article, like many on this site, are worst case scenarios, with a lot of hedge words like could sprinkled throughout. Go back and read articles from late February, and early March 2008, and you will find much of the same gloom and doom written as the markets bottomed and then made a phenomenal rise. Things haven’t collapsed, the sun is still rising this morning, and the birds are chirping outside. Take a breather and look around good things are still happening, and the sky has not fallen.
You forgot “global warming”…
There couldn’t be a more insightful article than this one. If you can’t see the signs for what they are then just quit reading and go back to sleep.You have so very little time to prepare. Get out of paper, have enough food and water in your house to sustain you for as long as possible, get out of debt, procure gold and silver, procure arms and ammo to protect your family and your property, get yourself in physical and spiritual shape to weather the storm that’s approaching. Good luck to all.
The sooner the world economy collapses, the better. The monetary system has already failed and humanity cannot live depending on paper money. This is the perfect moment to realize that patriotism and religion are things of the past. We need a resource-based economy.
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Related article:
Global systemic crisis: Second half of 2011 – Get ready for the meltdown of the US Treasury Bond market http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-53-is-available-Global-systemic-crisis-Second-half-of-2011-Get-ready-for-the-meltdown-of-the-US-Treasury-Bond_a6091.html
Beyond its tragic human consequences, the terrible disaster that has just hit Japan weakens the shaky US Treasury Bond market a little more. In the GEAB No. 52, our team had already explained how the sequence of Arab revolutions, this fall of the “petro-dollar” wall, would translate during 2011 into the cessation of the massive purchases of US Treasury Bonds by the Gulf States. In this issue, we anticipate that the sudden shock experienced by the Japanese economy will lead not only to the halt in US T-Bond purchases by Japan, but it will force the authorities in Tokyo to make substantial sales of a significant portion of their US Treasury Bond reserves to finance the enormous cost of stabilization, reconstruction and revival of the Japanese economy. With Japan and the Gulf States alone accounting for 25% of the total 4.4 trillion USD of US federal debt (December 2010), LEAP/E2020 believes that this new situation which is asserting itself during the first quarter of 2011, against a background of China’s increasing reluctance (holding 20% of US Treasury Bonds) to continue to invest in US government debt, carries the seeds for the collapse of the US Treasury Bond market in the second half of 2011, a market that now has only a single buyer: the US Federal Reserve. It is certain that the context of the crisis of US local authority securities (Munis) and European government debt (the entire periphery of the EU, including the United Kingdom) that our team anticipated for this timeframe, will only exacerbate the event. Moreover, it is highly significant that PIMCO the world’s largest bond fund manager decided, at the end of February 2011, to liquidate its US Treasury Bond holdings. And that was before the disaster in Japan!
But beyond the Japanese and Arab shocks, the process of US Federal debt market implosion in the second half of 2011 is accelerating under the effect of four other events: - the introduction of budget austerity in the US which condemns US local authorities to a major crisis in the market for their debt ("Munis") - impossible for the Fed to introduce QE3 - the inevitable rise in interest rates against a backdrop of global inflation - the end of safe-haven status for the US currency. Of course, these events are related and, characteristic of a major crisis, we are entering a period that will see a mutual strengthening of their effects, leading to this sudden shock in the second quarter of 2011. Incidentally, we could add a fifth event: the complete decisional paralysis of the US powers. The daily confrontation on virtually all subjects, between Republicans (hardened by the "Tea Parties") and Democrats (demoralized by an Obama administration that has betrayed the substance of its campaign promises), tends to show, a little more each day, that Washington has become a sort of "Ship of Fools ", tossed about by events, without any strategy, without willpower, incapable of action; in other words, according to LEAP/E2020, messwhen the US Treasury Bond collapse begins, one cannot expect anything from Washington other than a colossal squawking that will only worsen the crisis. CLIP
NUGGETS OF SPECIAL INTEREST
A Love Letter To Japan (March 24, 2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ILno2fvLRg
35,000 people around the globe were asked one question: What would you write in a letter to the people of Japan? This letter was made with their responses... http://www.lovelettertojapan.com (Go there and you'll find several options to send a donation to help with the relief efforts) You can also download the letter HERE
Florida, STRANGE RUMBLING - 20 MINUTES LONG! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgxKVZBqCXw
Near this end of this video, there is a flash of light in the sky and the rumbling quickly fades away... From the East coast of Florida to the WEST coast of Florida.. across the entire state.. a large "rumble" was felt for several days across multiple locations.. and measured on the 18th via the Mississippi CERI seismograph. Shot on March 9, this video comes from youtube user DAISYJAYS: subscribe to their channel asap in case there are more events! http://www.youtube.com/user/DaisyJays - This rumbling is not pulsed as in the first one featured in my previous compilation.
I SEEN WHAT THE RUMBLING NOISE IS! (March 25, 2011) http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread679987/pg1
I live in Detroit and yesterday, around 2pm I heard a jet flying over my house. At first I didn't think anything of it until 5 minutes later the roaring jet noise was accompanied by a harmonic low pitched flute noise. If you have a Wii the music that plays on the main game menu is similar to what I heard. So I went outside to see what was causing the noise, but there was nothing in sky! No jet, helicopter, nothing. The rumbling seemed to spread out across the land and then it stopped. I say it lasted 7-10 minutes total. I went into the house and went into the front bathroom to do my makeup. I opened the window to keep an eye on things cause I was weirded out from what I just heard. So 5 minutes later the noise starts again and I look out the window. I glance up into the sky and I see the blue sky and fluffly clouds bend as if something was cloaked in the sky! Like in that movie Predator when the predator cloaks himself but you can still make out it's outline but it's clear. I saw what appeared to be a wing of a craft. This OBJECT IS HUGE! I wanna say football field size huge. I became very frightened and began saying "Oh my God over and over. Seeing something in real life that you only seen in movies is traumatizing. And what creeped me out even more is that people have been documenting this rumbling noise all over the world. I didn't take any video so you just have to believe me. I was afraid I might miss whatever was making the rumbling noise that I didn't wanna walk away to get a camera. I immediately called my bro because I remember a story he told me a month ago about a ufo outside his house that had legs on it like a transformer, (Optimus prime). He also lives in Michigan. But I was telling him about the noise that was coming from the object I saw and he blurted out "That's sounds like the noise I heard when I seen the Ufo outside my house!" I know all this sounds crazy, but I just wanted share my story, because people are trying to figure out what the rumble noise is. I've never seen a UFO, and I hope that whatever I saw is Government, because if it isn't from the government then we're screwed, and a War of the worlds type scenario is about to pop off! The link and source is just a random person account similar to what I experienced as far as the rumbling noise goes.
"The Anomaly in the Atlantic"Bermuda Triangle Strangeness, Ancient Gate Opening, or Atlantis Rising? http://www.stevequayle.com/News.alert/11_Global/110124.alert.Hawk.html
(...) Has some ancient machinery or crystaline device been activated? The area of the Bermuda Triangle seems to be described as having numerous quantum effects involving time loss or gain, odd clouds, tubes or portals where radio transmission is difficult to impossible and compasses spin or are completely inaccurate. CLIP - Could this be related to the strange sound phenomenon?...
Taos Hum http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EuRBM0i8mbI#at=35
Strange low-pitched sound coming out of nowhere in Taos, New Mexico. This recording is said to be taken by device called "Neurophone" about 10 yrs ago. This device works like a human skin, absorbs faint vibrations, then travels them directly into nerves. That's the reason why hum is so annoying, and not possible to catch by standard-issue microphones.
Richard C. Hoagland - The Secret Space Program & The Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Disaster (March 20, 2011) http://www.redicecreations.com/radio/2011/03/RIR-110320.php
In this program, we discuss the "Secret Space Program" and the concept of a breakaway civilization. Someone with a more sophisticated and advanced technology, from Earth, has created for themselves a completely different capability to go into space, to utilize resources and maybe even to settle on other planets. Is this a plausible theory? Could this really be happening? Richard C. Hoagland from enterprisemission.com and author of "The Monuments of Mars" and "Dark Mission", returns to Red Ice Radio to discuss some of these ideas. Richard tries to shed light on the possibility that most of humanity has been kept in the dark about. Topics Discussed: the other space program, advanced technology, Timothy Good, Peter Levenda, Richard Dolan, Joseph Farrell, the Secret Space Program, breakaway civilization, anti-gravity, free energy, Star Trek, the Nazis, the Hebrews, the Bible, natural cycle of cataclysm, the yuga cycles, the superwealthy elite, banksters, uranium and plutonium, Japanese earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown at Fukushima, war in Libya, philosophical roots of the ideology and more. Recommended by Carol Lynn Smith (carol88@shaw.ca) who wrote: "At the 29 min mark, Richard Hoagland confirmed that there is the technology to diminish radiation already. Nuclear radiation can be ameliorated by cold-fusion technology in hours. Years ago, during live television on Good Morning America, friends of Richard C. Hoagland demonstrated the use of a pebble-bed cold fusion technology to reduce by half, the amount of radiation in a beaker within 20 minutes."
The Distant Healing Network http://www.the-dhn.com/forms/rqst/dhn_rqst.html
Distant healing from experienced practitioners in a network of over 900 dedicated volunteers from all around the world. We feel that if we can be of any help in alleviating pain or disease, it should be freely available to all who request it. CLIP
Dommages collatéraux inexpliqués en Irak http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/telejournal/2010-2011/Reportage.asp?idDoc=143926&autoPlay=
Avec tous les événements qui se bousculent en Libye et dans d'autres points chauds du globe, il y a des conflits dont on entend moins parler. C'est le cas de l'Irak, où la souffrance fait toujours partie du quotidien d'innocentes victimes. Des hommes, des femmes, des enfants qui sont atteints de toutes sortes de malformations congénitales et de maladies, à la suite de bombardements. Akli Aït-Abdallah revient d'Irak et rapporte ce reportage qui contient des images très difficiles à supporter. Nous préférons vous prévenir.CE REPORTAGE CONTIENT DES IMAGES QUI PEUVENT ÊTRE TRÈS CHOQUANTES. - Note de Jean: J'ai été le premier à mettre un commentaire en ligne (en 2 parties - et il y en a maintenant 26!) à l'adresse URL ci-dessus en réaction à ce reportage troublant mais incomplet car ne dénonçant pas l'usage de l'uranium appauvri. Voici le texte de mon commentaire que j'ai dû amputer en partie par manque d'espace dans leur zone de commentaire dont la longueure est limité:
« C'est la première fois à ma connaissance que cette information est portée à l'attention du grand public dans le cadre du Téléjournal de Radio-Canada et ce fait mérite en soi d'être souligné. Le reportage est excellent, mais on voit bien dans sa conclusion que c'est presque à mots couverts que le journaliste révèle que la cause évidente de ces horribles déformations congénitales et de l'épidémie de leucémie, ainsi que la population de Fallujah l'a bien compris, est l'utilisation à grande échelle par l'armée américaine d'uranium appauvri (uranium-238), un métal lourd radioactif (en fait, un résidu des centrales nucléaires) employé lors de la première et de la seconde guerre en Irak (idem au Kosovo, au Koweït et en Afghanistan et maintenant en Libye - voir Libye : impact des missiles de croisière à l’uranium appauvri) pour renforcer la capacité de pénétration des munitions et des missiles (Cruise et Tomahawk) afin de mieux percer le blindage des chars d'assaut et autres véhicules blindés et des bunkers fortifiés. Dans son introduction (non incluse dans le clip vidéo mis en ligne), Céline Galipeau a affirmé que la cause des problèmes de santé des Irakiens est un «mystère», ce qui m'a fait sursauter et rager. Rien n'est plus faux puisque cette situation est parfaitement connue et documentée depuis de nombreuses années. Bien qu'il faille saluer le courage (relatif) de Radio-Canada d'avoir diffusé ce reportage à la charge émotive presque insoutenable, on ne peut que déplorer l'incapacité de Céline Galipeau à tirer les conclusions qui s'imposent à l'écoute de ce qu'avance cet excellent reportage.
Encore une fois, on protège, semble-t-il, les pires criminels que la Terre a porté, soit les responsables militaires et politiques qui ont sciemment décidé de nucléariser les guerres qu'ils mènent sans vergogne à travers le monde en recourant à l'uranium appauvri dont les dommages collatéraux, comme on dit avec tant de tact pour en masquer l'horreur inhumaine, demeureront à jamais l'héritage radioactif de ces guerres insensées et cruelles. Il faut savoir, en effet, ainsi qu'on l'explique dans l'article (dont je ne saurai trop recommander la lecture !) Les armes à l’uranium appauvri... «l’uranium appauvri est l’arme qui continue à détruire. La demie-vie de l’uranium-238 est de 4.5 milliards d’années, l’âge de la Terre. Et, comme l’uranium-238 dégénère en sous-produits radioactifs en quatre étapes avant de se transformer en graphite, il continue d’émettre plus de radiations à chaque étape. Il n’y a pas moyen de l’arrêter, et il n’y a pas moyen de le nettoyer. Il s’accorde avec la propre définition du Gouvernement US des Armes de Destruction Massive. » Quiconque désire s'ouvrir les yeux sur l'insoutenable gravité de ce crime abject contre toute la race humaine et contre toute vie sur Terre n'a qu'à faire une recherche google avec les mots «uranium appauvri» et à prendre le temps de lire une partie de la masse considérable d'information disponible sur ce sujet. Une fois que l'on a les yeux ouverts, que l'on saisit toute la puissance mortelle de ces armes diaboliques et que l'on comprend que nous sommes déjà tous contaminés et à risque plus d'avoir un cancer directement lié à l'usage de ces munitions et missiles - car les poussières contaminées ont déjà été portées par les vents aux quatre coins du globe, tout comme le sont en ce moment les particules radioactives émises par les réacteurs nucléaires endommagés de Fukushima (qui sera bientôt synonyme de Chernobyl sur les stéroïdes !), on cessera peut-être enfin de se mettre la tête dans le sable et de prétendre innocemment que ce qui se passe dans l'hôpital de Fallujah est un «mystère»... D'autres villes irakiennes - Basra, Samara, Baghdad et Mosul - ont elles aussi subi une extrême contamination radioactive par ces armes illégales et biocidaires. Pourquoi ne pas envoyer quelques journalistes enquêter aussi dans ces villes irradiées ?...
De l'avis de certains experts, la somme de l'ensemble de la radioactivité libérée par ces armes dans l'environnement de notre planète équivaudrait à plus de 400 000 fois la radioactivité émise par l'explosion nucléaire d'Hiroshima. Pour terminer, j'aimerais citer la conclusion de l'article déjà cité ci-dessus : «C’est aux citoyens du monde d’arrêter les guerres à l’uranium appauvri, et les futures guerres nucléaires, responsables de dévastations irréversibles. Il ne reste que quelques générations épargnées avant l’effondrement de notre environnement, et après il sera trop tard. Nous ne pouvons pas être en meilleure santé que ne l’est notre environnement - nous respirons le même air, buvons la même eau, mangeons la nourriture du même sol.
«Notre patrimoine génétique collectif, évoluant depuis des millions d’années, a été sérieusement endommagé ces cinquante dernières années. Le temps restant pour renverser cette culture de « moutons de Panurge » nous est compté. Dans le futur, que direz-vous à vos petits-enfants de ce que vous avez fait du meilleur de votre vie pour contrer ce processus de mort ?» (Rosalie Bertell, 1982) »
TOP 150 WARCORPS - The real war-profiteers! http://www.warisbusiness.com/top-150-warcorps/
These companies are ranked in descending order of the value of their US military contracts in fiscal year 2010.
Radiation Spike Detected in Ocean Near Japanese Nuclear Plant (March 30, 2011) http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/east-pacific/Radiation-Spike-Detected-in-Ocean-Near-Japanese-Nuclear-Plant-118898774.html
Japan's nuclear safety agency says radioactive iodine has been detected at more than 3,000 times the allowable level in the ocean near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.Officials said Wednesday that the water sample, with the highest levels yet recorded, was collected about 300 meters from the Fukushima plant, which has been leaking radiation since its cooling systems were knocked out by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11. (...) Nuclear experts believe the plant suffered partial meltdowns of the nuclear fuel rods in the cores of three of the six reactors after the earthquake and tsunami disabled the primary and back-up cooling systems that keep the rods from overheating.There are also fears that the containment chambers used to prevent radiation from escaping from the cores may have been damaged in at least two of the reactors. The latest evidence of that came Tuesday when technicians discovered low levels of plutonium matching that used in the number-three unit's fuel rods in soil samples outside the plant.Plant workers meanwhile are laboring under primitive conditions and with inadequate food and sleep to remove water from the basements and adjoining service tunnels at three of the reactors. The water, which is at 1,000 times the normal radiation level at the Number 2 unit, was at one point threatening to spill into the nearby ocean but it was reported Wednesday to be coming down in the basement of one of the buildings.Workers need to keep pumping water into the reactors to prevent the fuel rods from overheating, even as they need to remove the contaminated water so they can replace and repair pumps needed for normal cooling. In a worst-case scenario, the fuel rods could catch fire, spewing radiation, or melt through the floor of the reactors allowing their radiation to be widely distributed through the ground water system. CLIP - Check also Japan's Leaking Water Radiation 100,000 Times Above Normal
Fukushima radioactive fallout nears Chernobyl levels (March 24, 2011) http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20285-fukushima-radioactive-fallout-nears-chernobyl-levels.html
Japan’s damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima has been emitting radioactive iodine and caesium at levels approaching those seen in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Austrian researchers have used a worldwide network of radiation detectors – designed to spot clandestine nuclear bomb tests – to show that iodine-131 is being released at daily levels 73 per cent of those seen after the 1986 disaster. The daily amount of caesium-137 released from Fukushima Daiichi is around 60 per cent of the amount released from Chernobyl. The difference between this accident and Chernobyl, they say, is that at Chernobyl a huge fire released large amounts of many radioactive materials, including fuel particles, in smoke. At Fukushima Daiichi, only the volatile elements, such as iodine and caesium, are bubbling off the damaged fuel. But these substances could nevertheless pose a significant health risk outside the plant.
Radiation in seawater off nuclear plant spikes to 1,250 times normal (March 26, 2011) http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/26/japan.nuclear.disaster/?hpt=T2
Tokyo (CNN) -- Tests showed a sharp spike in levels of radioactive iodine in seawater just offshore of the embattled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are more than 1,250 times higher than normal, Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency said Saturday.In samples taken Friday morning from a monitoring station 330 meters off the coast, the levels were 50 becquerels of radioactive iodine per cubic centimeters of water. This compares to 4 becquerels -- which is 104 times above normal -- in samples taken from the same spot the previous morning. These high levels suggest there may have been some sort of leakage directly into the ocean -- unlikely to be because of atmosphere emissions or rain alone, said an official with the Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the nuclear plant. A Tokyo Electric official told CNN that authorities are not sure why the levels spiked. The official speculated that the radioactive iodine may have been swept off the coast recently into the Pacific Ocean or the tainted water may have seeped from turbine buildings for two nuclear reactors that have shown the presence of radiation 10,000 times the normal amount. Still, an official with Japan's nuclear safety agency told reporters Saturday that -- while drinking such tainted seawater would be dangerous, given the radiation's potential to cause cancer -- the effect on aquatic life imay be relatively minimal. CLIP
Breach Feared at Japanese Nuclear Plant (March 25) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBYFz_ectXc
Two weeks after an earthquake and tsunami triggered a crisis at a nuclear plant, the facility is still not under control, and the government said Friday there is a suspected breach at a reactor.
“Definite”: Fukushima No. 3 has “long vertical crack” down side reactor vessel – Nuclear Exec. (March 25th, 2011) http://enenews.com/definite-fukushima-no-3-has-long-vertical-crack-down-side-reactor-vessel-nuclear-exec
New signs emerged on Friday that parts of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are so damaged and contaminated that it will be harder to bring the plant under control soon. …Concerns about Reactor No. 3 have surfaced before. Japanese officials said nine days ago that the reactor vessel may have been damaged. …A senior nuclear executive who insisted on anonymity but has broad contacts in Japan said that there was a long vertical crack running down the side of the reactor vessel itself. The crack runs down below the water level in the reactor and has been leaking fluids and gases, he said. The severity of the radiation burns to the injured workers are consistent with contamination by water that had been in contact with damaged fuel rods, the executive said. “There is a definite, definite crack in the vessel — it’s up and down and it’s large,” he said. “The problem with cracks is they do not get smaller.” …
IAEA: No end in sight for radioactive releases at Fukushima (March 25, 2011) http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1628784.php/IAEA-No-end-in-sight-for-radioactive-releases-at-Fukushima
Vienna - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Friday it could offer no timeline on when Japanese engineers could stop radioactive leakage from the stricken Fukushima plant, even though the likely source of the emissions has been identified. 'We don't know how long there will be releases,' senior IAEA technical advisor Graham Andrew told reporters at the agency's seat in Vienna. In addition to suspected leaks of the vessel's shielding reactor cores at the plant's units 1 and 2, data also indicated a leak at reactor 3, IAEA officials said. The IAEA's chief safety official, Denis Flory, said a number of steps would be necessary before engineers at Fukushima could start to assess whether there are, in fact, leaks before they could start to fix them. First the reactor would have to be cooled and water would have to be injected to create an environment in which people could operate in the building and assess the damage. 'So we are not in this phase at all,' he said. The radioactivity being released from the power plant that was hit by a earthquake and tsunami on March 11 probably comes out of the reactors rather than from spent fuel ponds, the officials said, noting the composition of the radioactive isotopes. - Check also Japan nuclear crisis 'could last months'
Deconstructing Nuclear Experts (29 March, 2011) http://www.countercurrents.org/busby290311.htm
Since the Fukushima accident we have seen a stream of experts on radiation telling us not to worry, that the doses are too low, that the accident is nothing like Chernobyl and so forth. They appear on television and we read their articles in the newspapers and online. Fortunately the majority of the public don’t believe them. I myself have appeared on television and radio with these people; one example was Ian Fells of the University of Newcastle who, after telling us all on BBC News that the accident was nothing like Chernobyl (wrong), and the radiation levels of no consequence (wrong), that the main problem was that there was no electricity and that the lifts didn’t work. “ If you have been in a situation when the lifts don’t work, as I have” he burbled on, “you will know what I mean.” You can see this interview on youtube and decide for yourself.What these people have in common is ignorance. You may think a professor at a university must actually know something about their subject. But this is not so. Nearly all of these experts who appear and pontificate have not actually done any research on the issue of radiation and health. Or if they have, they seem to have missed all the key studies and references. (...) The latest UN report published on 28 February confirms the known death toll - 28 fatalities among emergency workers, plus 15 fatal cases of child thyroid cancer - which would have been avoided if iodine tablets had been taken (as they have now in Japan).This is breathtaking ignorance of the scientific literature. Prof. Steve Wing in the USA has carried out epidemiological studies of the effects of 3-Mile Island, with results published in the peer-review literature. Court cases are regularly settled on the basis of cancers produced by the 3-Mile Island contamination. But let us move to Chernobyl. The health effects of the Chernobyl accident are massive and demonstrable. They have been studied by many research groups in Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine, in the USA, Greece, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Japan. The scientific peer reviewed literature is enormous. Hundreds of papers report the effects, increases in cancer and a range of other diseases. My colleague Alexey Yablokov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, published a review of these studies in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (2009). Earlier in 2006 he and I collected together reviews of the Russian literature by a group of eminent radiation scientists and published these in the book Chernobyl, 20 Years After. The result: more than a million people have died between 1986 and 2004 as a direct result of Chernobyl. CLIP Check also Casualties of Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster: “Official” and Other Versions and The Biggest Cover Up of the Worst Disaster in History—Chernobyl: A Million Casualties and the video Chernobyl: A Million Casualties (A REAL EYE-OPENER AND TOTALLY DISPIRITING!)
The Doomsday Scenario - Is Fukushima About to Blow? (MARCH 28, 2011) http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney03282011.html
Conditions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are deteriorating and the doomsday scenario is beginning to unfold. On Sunday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) officials reported that the levels of radiation leaking into seawater at the Unit 2 reactor were 100,000 times above normal, and the airborne radiation measured 4-times higher than government limits. As a result, emergency workers were evacuated from the plant and rushed to safe location. The prospect of a full-core meltdown or an environmental catastrophe of incalculable magnitude now looms larger than ever. The crisis is getting worse.If spent fuel rods catch fire from lack of coolant, the intense heat will lift radiation plumes high into the atmosphere that will drift around the world. That's the nightmare scenario, clouds of radioactive material showering the planet with lethal toxins for months on end. And, according to the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics of Vienna, that deadly process has already begun.
(...) That the radiation is being released 5,000 miles away isn't as comforting as it seems.... Every day, the jet stream carries pollution from Asian smoke stacks and dust from the Gobi Desert to our West Coast, contributing 10 to 60 percent of the total pollution breathed by Californians, depending on the time of year. Mercury is probably the second most toxic substance known after plutonium. Half the mercury in the atmosphere over the entire US originates in China. It, too, is 5,000 miles away. A week after a nuclear weapons test in China, iodine 131 could be detected in the thyroid glands of deer in Colorado, although it could not be detected in the air or in nearby vegetation." (Washington's Blog) The smoldering Fukushima hulk is a perpetual death machine poisoning everything around it--sea, sky and soil. Here's a clip from the Collin's article:"... The soil contamination is really high. Soil found 40 kilometers away.... the levels on the soil were very high—in fact, a thousand times iodine, 4,000 times the cesium standard. And we just got a report from the Kyoto Research Reactor Institute, Dr. Tetsuji Imanaka, that said that—he had to look a little bit more into the sampling of the Japanese government, but depending on how the sampling was done, this level of contamination in the soil could be twice the amount that was compulsory evacuation for Chernobyl. Aileen Mioko Smith, March 24 (thanks to Michael Collins "They said it wasn't like Chernobyl and they were wrong")Twice as high as Chernobyl already, and the disaster is likely to persist for months to come. Things are getting worse, much worse.The Japanese government has been downplaying the crisis to make it look like they have matters under control, but it's all a sham. They control nothing. CLIP
RADIOACTIVE IODINE RELEASES FROM JAPAN’S FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI REACTORS MAY EXCEED THOSE OF THREE MILE ISLAND BY OVER 100,000 TIMES (March 25, 2011) http://www.ieer.org/comments/Fukushima_IEER_press_release_2011-03-25.pdf
The damaged Fukushima Daiichi reactors in Japan continue to release radioactivity into the atmosphere. So far, the accident has released far more radioactivity than the 1979 Three Mile Island (TMI) accident. While Chernobyl had one source of radioactivity, its reactor, there are seven leaking radiation sources at the Japanese site. Together, the three damaged reactors and four spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi contain far more long-lived radioactivity, notably cesium-137, than the Chernobyl reactor.
(...) Last week, IEER noted that damages from severe spent fuel accidents in the U.S. could range from $900 million to $700 billion (http://www.ieer.org/comments/Daiichi-Fukushima-reactors_IEERstatement.pdf). Vermont Yankee, for example, contains more spent fuel in its pool than all four stricken pools at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Yet the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not ordered any additional actions to protect this material.“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should order all aged spent fuel in the U.S. to be moved from pools to hardened dry storage,” said Dr. Makhijani. “It should suspend all licensing and relicensing proceedings until the long-term safety review is complete. It should also review the nearly certified reactor designs, like the AP1000. It is lamentable that the NRC extended the license of the Vermont Yankee reactor, which is the same design as the stricken Fukushima units, while the Japanese crisis is still going on and there has been no time to learn its lessons. I am shocked the NRC did not even order the emptying of all of Vermont Yankee’s older spent fuel into dry cask storage, as a condition of the license extension.”
Japanese treated for radiation in China (March 25, 2011) http://www.abc.net.au:80/news/stories/2011/03/25/3174098.htm
Two Japanese travellers have been hospitalised in China with "severe" radiation levels after they arrived on a commercial airliner from Tokyo, China's safety watchdog said. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said radiation levels that "seriously exceeded limits" were detected on the two when they arrived in the eastern city of Wuxi on Wednesday. But China's customs body said they did not present a risk to others. Until now, no-one in Japan except workers at the stricken plant has been found with seriously elevated radiation levels, and Japan's foreign ministry noted that as of March 18 the International Civil Aviation Association had declared that screening of airline passengers from Japan was not necessary. The first case of contaminated Japanese travelling abroad came as injuries to workers slowed the battle to control the Fukushima complex, 240 kilometres north of Tokyo.Some 700 engineers have been working around the clock to stabilise the six-reactor plant since the multiple disaster on March 11 which left more than 27,000 people dead or missing. CLIP
Japan's Chaos is a Wake-up Call: It's time for a nuclear energy time-out (March 23, 2011) http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/23-4
Sometimes chaos comes along as a wake-up call to humanity. Japan's double-whammy earthquake-tsunami is overwhelmingly tragic. Being at the mercy of the total chaotic effect of the elements--able to be wiped out by a wave of water from the sea--is an insult to the arrogance of modern humanity that thinks it can insulate and protect itself with technological know-how from the calamities visited upon our earth by Mother Nature. (...) The government is distributing potassium iodide tablets to prevent these people from getting thyroid cancer. But those tablets won't stave off other forms of cancer and leukemia that may exponentially increase. We now know that U.S. sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, sent from our military base in Okinawa to the vicinity of the accident, have been contaminated by airborne radioactivity.Meanwhile, nuclear industry spokespeople assure us that American reactors are much safer. Grimly, they comfort us that Chernobyl only had 50 immediate deaths. But Russian scientists recently reported that close to 1 million people have died from cancer since the dreadful accident in 1986 spewed lethal radiation over a broad swath of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Radioactive dust later traveled to many other countries in the Northern Hemisphere. Let this chaos be a wake-up call for a time-out on new nuclear energy construction projects. This includes the 62 reactors around the world now under construction and the additional 158 slated to go forward. And like the massive mobilization gathering strength in Japan, with emergency workers coming from all over the world to help rescue and recover the tens of thousands of people trapped in their villages, let us make a massive global effort to put a solar panel on every roof, a geothermal pump in every building, windmills on every windswept plain, and tidal energy pumps in our rivers and seas to harness the clean safe energy of our Mother Earth. Check also NIRS Calls for Permanent Shutdown of 23 US General Electric Mark-I Reactors - Same Design as Fukushima
Three Sites Where You Can Monitor U.S. Radiation Levels (March 28 2011) http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/03/28/three-sites-where-you-can-monitor-u-s-radiation-levels/
Radiation from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster has been detected in the air in five Western states and in rainwater in at least two so far.While federal officials continue to assure the public that no harmful levels have reached the United States, some Americans have not been content to take the government at its word. Geiger counters have been selling like popsicles in summer, and traffic has never been higher at websites that display data from radiation monitoring stations.We list three such sites below. Officials have said Fukushima radiation cannot reach the U.S. without being diluted to safe levels, and that the isotopes detected so far would not be sufficient to bump the numbers recorded on these sites, but should you wish to keep your own eye on things: The Environmental Protection Agency’s RadNet system is designed to detect radiation from accidents like the Fukushima disaster in Japan and from foreign nuclear tests. It displays a map of the United States with monitoring stations highlighted. Click on one for a graphic representation of its data.
(...) The Community Environmental Monitoring Program only covers Nevada and Utah, but it should be of interest to states downwind. (...) Don’t trust the government? Mineralab, a Prescott, Arizona, company that sells geiger counters, maintains radiationnetwork.com, “a nationwide grass roots effort to monitor the radiation in our environment.”The network collects data from private citizens nationwide who keep their geiger-counters running, with data uploading automatically to the website in real time. The site recently added citizen monitors in Europe and Japan. The Radiation Network’s map also displays potential sources of radiation across the U.S., including nuclear power plants, testing sites, waste collection facilities, etc. “Our Monitoring Stations have not yet registered a big, or even perceptibly significant ‘Gamma event’ from any radiation drifting over from Japan, so we can take a little solace in that,” said Tim Flanegin, who operates the site.“You know, there is an interesting paradox in the field of radiation monitoring. On the one hand, we might use a Geiger counter to perform a radiation scan of a suspected object or situation, and in a weird sort of way, we want a “hit” to confirm our fears, but on the other hand, if we don’t get a detection, some of us are understandably a little disappointed. But in that case, of course, we should instead breathe a sigh of relief.
Scientist: U.S., Canada, Mexico, Hawaii targeted in nuclear war from Japan - LOTS of amazing claims!! http://www.examiner.com/exopolitics-in-seattle/scientist-u-s-canada-mexico-hawaii-targeted-nuclear-war-from-japan
Independent scientist Leuren Moret in an exclusive March 27, 2011 interview with Alfred Lambremont Webre has stated that the west coasts of the United States and Canada, Mexico, and Hawaii are being intentionally targeted by dangerous radiation from the March 11, 2011 tectonic warfare earthquake and nuclear meltdown events at Fukushima, Japan.The west coasts of the United States and Canada, and Mexico, Ms. Moret indicates, are the major food producing areas for North America. Radiation from the Japan quake/nuclear meltdown events at Fukushima is intentionally being steered into these areas in order to dose the land and the food with radiation. Weather warfare capabilities used to steer radiation falloutMs. Moret indicates that the weather warfare capabilities of the HAARP-aerosol/chemtrails plasma weapons systems are being used to steer the radiation against these geographic targets. In the case of Hawaii, the HAARP radiation steering pattern is extremely unusual and visible.Ms. Moret indicates that although the west coasts of Canada and the U.S. appear to be targeted, the weather warfare capabilities of the HAARP-aerosol/chemtrails plasma weapon appear to be creating a high-pressure system that is protecting the highly populated eastern portions of Canada and the U.S. around Toronto, New York and Washington from the Japan radiation fallout. Ms. Moret indicates that the Hawaiian Islands are already suffering the effects of nuclear radiation from the use of U.S. depleted uranium (DU) weapons at bases there and from fall-out from U.S. atmospheric nuclear bomb testing. U.S. and Canadian Health authorities are misleading the public about radiation danger.
(...) Leuren Moret states, “The release of 1300 radioactive fission products from 600,000 spent fuel rods began with the hydrogen explosions and have been constant since. Unit 3 with the MOX fuel is the source of 23,800 pounds of Plutonium that has the possibility of global Plutonium pollution. Very fresh fission products in the contaminated water in Unit 2 indicates that criticality is now a danger.”Ms. Moret continues, “The EURAD organization in Cologne Univ. has excellent animated maps to show the progression of the poison clouds across the Pacific at different altitudes.
(...) In the interview, Ms. Moret urged individuals in the affected areas in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Hawaii to use reverse osmosis filters on their drinking water, to take iodine tablets or use iodine topically on the skin near the thyroid gland to protect the thyroid, to watch their diets and get regular exercise. CLIP -CHECK ALSO Japan’s Nuclear Crisis Debacle and the Depopulation Agenda
Alfred Weber And Leuren Moret- Covert/HAARP/NAVY - Nuclear War- AS DEPOPULATION PROGRAM (11 minutes urgent update to the March 27, 2011 interview mentioned above http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gSAtMdn12I
Obama Raises American Hypocrisy to Higher Level By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS (March 29, 2011) http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts03292011.html
What does the world think? Obama has been using air strikes and drones against civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and probably Somalia. In his March 28 speech, Obama justified his air strikes against Libya on the grounds that the embattled ruler, Gadhafi, was using air strikes to put down a rebellion. Gadhafi has been a black hat for as long as I can remember. If we believe the adage that “where there is smoke there is fire,” Gadhafi is probably not a nice fellow. However, there is no doubt whatsoever that the current US president and the predecessor Bush/Cheney regime have murdered many times more people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia than Gadhafi has murdered in Libya.Moreover, Gadhafi is putting down a rebellion against state authority as presently constituted, but Obama and Bush/Cheney initiated wars of aggression based entirely on lies and deception. Yet Gadhafi is being demonized, and Bush/Cheney/Obama are sitting on their high horse draped in cloaks of morality. Obama described himself as saving Libyans from violence while Obama himself murders Afghans, Pakistanis, and whomever else. Indeed, the Obama regime has been torturing a US soldier, Bradley Manning, for having a moral conscience. America has degenerated to the point where having a moral conscience is evidence of anti-Americanism and “terrorist activity.” The Bush/Cheney/Obama wars of naked aggression have bankrupted America. Joseph Stiglitz, former chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, concluded that the money wasted on the Iraq war could have been used to fix America’s Social Security problem for half a century. Instead, the money was used to boost the obscene profits of the armament industry. The obscene wars of aggression, the obscene profits of the offshoring corporations, and the obscene bailouts of the rich financial gangsters have left the American public with annual budget deficits of approximately $1.5 trillion. These deficits are being covered by printing money. Sooner or later, the printing presses will cause the US dollar to collapse and domestic inflation to explode. Social Security benefits will be wiped out by inflation rising more rapidly than the cost-of-living adjustments. If America survives, no one will be left but the mega-rich. Unless there is a violent revolution. Alternatively, if the Federal Reserve puts the brake on monetary expansion, interest rates will rise, sending the economy into a deeper depression. CLIP
Obama on Libya: Defending the Indefensible By Stephen Lendman (March 30, 2011) http://www.opednews.com/articles/Obama-on-Libya-Defending-by-Stephen-Lendman-110330-409.html
Obama's March 28 television address wreaked of hypocrisy, lies and disdain for basic democratic values, making an indefensible case for naked aggression against a non-belligerent country. America's media approved.On March 28, New Times writer Helene Cooper headlined, "Obama Cites Limits of US Role in Libya," saying:Obama "defended the American-led military assault in Libya on Monday, saying it was in the national interest of the United States to stop a potential massacre that would have 'stained the conscience of the world,' " even though no threat existed until:-- Washington showed up with co-belligerents France and Britain;-- beginning in 2010, armed and funded so-called "rebels" who, in fact, are cutthroat killers, rapists and marauders, terrorizing every area they control, including their Benghazi stronghold; and -- support them with daily "shock and awe" terror attacks, causing increasing numbers of deaths and injuries, as well as destruction and contamination of all areas struck by depleted uranium bombs, missiles and shells, spreading radiation over wide areas. Despite Pentagon denials, conservative estimates put civilian deaths at over 100, besides combatants killed and unknown numbers murdered by rebel allies. Since March 19 air attacks began, nearly 1,500 sorties have been flown, that number to rise exponentially as daily strikes continue under US command, running all NATO operations under AFRICOM's General Carter Ham. Alleged new commander, Canada's Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, is his subordinate, a Pentagon figurehead. The alleged handover is fabricated. NATO is code language for America/the Pentagon. Obama lied announcing otherwise, saying Washington's role will be limited to stop potential "slaughter and mass graves" in Benghazi. In fact, he supports and/or ignores rebel terror killings against defenseless civilians, making him complicit in their crimes, besides widespread ones caused by NATO, America's missile. US attacks, in fact, will continue throughout the campaign, perhaps lasting months at an enormous cost, besides hundreds of billions annually in Iraq and Afghanistan. CLIP
O’Bomba Gives War Speech – Its ON (3.18.11) http://theintelhub.com/2011/03/18/o’bomba-gives-war-speech-–-its-on/
I just got done watching (Nobel Peace Prize Winner) Barack Obama’s War Speech on cable news. It was interesting that Fox stated he was late for the (no questions asked) announcement of War, because Barry was meeting with Henry Kissinger. (war criminal, plunderer of South East Asia, Eugenicist, Rothschild spokesman) ….Chris Matthews came out seemingly against the “Declaration” asking a series of intelligent questions of his guests and audience:* Under what Authority is Obama taking us to War?* Can we Afford a war?* What did Obama mean by using the USA’s “Unique capabilities” tolead the “international Community” in this War?Of course comparisons are being made to Iraq, and the lead up to war there. Both Gulf War One (Poppy Bush) and Operation Iraqi Liberation (Baby Bush) Sanctions, UN Resolutions, War for Peace…. Quagmire?
(...) Also, mixed into the war plans is a mission to not only take out Air capabilities in Libya; but to attack ground forces, like tank formations… and send in Attack Copters… Make no mistake about it.. This is WAR. In the lead up to the Iraq war we were told that it would be a “Cake Walk” – That the people of Iraq would welcome us, and that the War would pay for itself through oil… (Profits that came, but never went to the Taxpayers, instead going to Oil Companies whom are still subsidized by Taxpayers to this day)T he Hypocrisy of TyrannyWhile Hitlery Clinton plays the duel roles of Madeline Albright, and Condi Rice… Cousin O’Bomba plays the role of Bush 41 and 43. While demanding that Quadaffi allow “protests” (read violent overthrow by Al Cia Duh elements) Americans live in a Militarized Police State. - Check also Libya False Flag Part 2: Cui Bono?
Libya conflict: MPs raise doubts over arming Libyan rebels (30 March 2011) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12915715
Prime Minister David Cameron has said the UK is not ruling out providing arms to rebels in "certain circumstances" but no decision has yet been taken. The idea has met with opposition in the House of Commons, where shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander questioned the legality and "advisability" of such a move. The rebels are continuing to lose ground to forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi and are retreating from their former strongholds along the eastern coast of Libya.
Libyan rebels in headlong retreat (30 March 2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmmFMK3uDDc
Read also the 5 articles related to the situation in Libya in the main section below...
Assad dashes Syrian reform hopes (March 30, 2011) http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/31/3178248.htm
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has dashed hopes of lifting the state of emergency which has been in place in the country for almost half a century. In a much-anticipated speech to parliament in Damascus, Mr Assad made no pledges that would appease the growing anti-government movement. Mr Assad had been widely predicted to give a timeframe for an earlier promise to repeal Syria's emergency laws, which were imposed when the Baath Party seized power in 1963. The laws ban all public gatherings and any form of dissent. In recent weeks, thousands of protesters have defied the laws and risked their lives to demand greater freedoms and democratic reform. But the president, in his first speech since the crisis began, accused protesters of being duped by what he called "outside conspirators" trying to bring Syria down."Syria is today being a target of a big plot from outside, internally and externally," he said."But in any battle you can't know the plans of your enemy. We should do everything to protect the success and protect ourselves from any plot that will be hatched outside Syria."Mr Assad has offered some reforms designed to appease those on the streets and even accepted the resignation of the government, which is more symbolic than significant, given he, as president, has overall power. But he gave no time frame for an earlier promise to lift the state of emergency. "The results of the reforms will come out in a later stage, not immediately," he said. Within hours of the speech, there were reports of new protests and gunshots in the coast city of Latakia. Australia has upgraded its travel warning for Syria, with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) asking Australians to reconsider their need to travel to Syria because of the risk of further violence."Further protests and violent clashes are possible in any part of Syria," the department said. "Australians in Syria should avoid all protests and large gatherings as they may turn violent."DFAT is also warning of a high risk of terrorist attacks. Syria's ruling Baath party has a long history of brutal oppression.Mr Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, who ruled for three decades before him, quelled an earlier revolt in 1982 by ordering the massacre of at least 10,000 people in the city of Hama. But unlike in Tunisia or Egypt where protesters have succeeded in ousting the regime, Mr Assad also has enormous support, not just among key communities but from the security forces. - Check also Assad supporters stage mass Damascus rally
Activists urge UN rights council to meet on Yemen (Mar 28, 2011) http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE72R1UZ20110328
GENEVA, March 28 (Reuters) - A coalition of global campaign groups on Monday urged the U.N. Human Rights Council to call a special session on what they called a rights crisis in Yemen.The coalition, including non-government organisations (NGOs) from sub-Saharan Africa and Egypt, spoke out as Syria, also currently the scene of violent suppression of protesters, set out its case for election to the 47-nation council.The NGOs said Yemeni authorities were responsible for "grave human rights violations, including the right to life" in seeking to quell mass demonstrations against the 32-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The situation in the country "is representative of a pattern of wide-scale violations of fundamental rights and freedoms.... which need to be dealt with urgently by the international community," they declared. CLIP
Protesters want Yemeni President to quit (2011-03-30) http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/video/2011-03/30/c_13804932.htm
BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of protesters have gathered in Yemen calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.The demonstrators blame Saleh for mismanagement and the fatal shootings of protesters. The demonstration comes a day after Yemen's chaos deepened, when looters at a munitions factory set off an accidental explosion that killed scores of people. The militant seizure of the factory and nearby towns amplified the fears that the situation in the country could deteriorate quickly because of the standoff between the president and an opposition coalition of youth groups, military defectors and tribal leaders. State control diminished sharply this month as massive demonstrations spiraled in major cities and the government pulled police from many towns. Anti-government protesters in other areas pushed out police and soldiers and set up militias for self-defense.
Despite continued talks, opium trade still tests Russia-U.S. relations (March 30, 2011) http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/despite-continued-talks-opium-trade-still-tests-russia-u-s-relations/
MOSCOW — One of the overlooked effects of the U.S. “reset” of its relationship with Russia is a continuing conversation about narcotics that has defused a potentially damaging disagreement over Afghanistan’s opium trade.In a major concession last year, Russia allowed NATO to expand transportation of military supplies over its territory — a crucial element of the supply network for U.S. operations in Afghanistan. But the decision came amid a major dispute over Afghanistan’s opium poppy production. Russia wants the United States to spray and eradicate the poppy fields, blaming Afghan heroin for the drug addiction of 1.6 million Russians and the deaths of 30,000 every year. The United States, which once endorsed spraying, has decided that eradication is a failed, counterproductive strategy and supports longer-term agricultural alternatives, as well as urging Russia to deal with drugs through treatment and prevention.Still, drug officials from both countries keep talking, as they did in a joint interview in the library of the U.S. ambassador’s residence before a reception in their honor last week, and they keep saying they are working in the same direction even as they take opposing positions. “If there is no cultivation of poppy, there is no trafficking,” Viktor Ivanov, director of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service, said in the interview. Afghanistan produces about 90 percent of the world’s heroin supply on a relatively small amount of land. “If we concentrate our resources to eradicate it there, it would be a thousand or a million times cheaper than fighting it all over the globe,” Ivanov said, reiterating an argument he has made many times. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, replied as he has before. “The U.S. government is not going to impose eradication,” he said. “It has to be something led by the Afghan government.”Health activists in Russia find the debate maddening because they would like to see the United States and Europe push Russia to focus on adequate treatment for drug addicts — methadone is against the law here, and treatment protocols reflect a Soviet-era emphasis on punishment. Still, some experts have praised the United States for engaging Russia on the problem. “I think it is one area that is challenging in the U.S.-Russian relationship, but one that the U.S. is handling rather well given the different understanding,” said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who has researched and written extensively about drugs in Afghanistan. Interestingly, Felbab-Brown said, the United States had been a firm believer in poppy eradication until studies in recent years showed that it didn’t work — alienating local farmers who found it difficult to develop new crops and markets. In another twist, she said Russia was at fault for obliterating much of Afghanistan’s traditional agriculture during the years of Soviet occupation. CLIP
OTHER RECOMMENDED NEWS AND INFORMATION
Big data to drive a surveillance society (March 24, 2011) http://www.itworld.com/hardware/141370/big-data-drive-surveillance-society?source=ITWNLE_nlt_today_2011-03-25
Analysis of huge quantities of data will enable companies to learn our habits, activities...
NEW YORK -- As real-time and batch analytics evolve using big data processing engines such as Hadoop, corporations will be able to track our activities, habits and locations with greater precision than ever thought. "It will change our existing notions of privacy. A surveillance society is not only inevitable, it's worse. It's irresistible," said Jeff Jonas, a distinguished engineer with IBM. Jonas spoke to a packed house of several hundred people Wednesday at the Structure Big Data 2011 conference here.For businesses, knowing where people are by using geo-locational data will help them personalize advertising and marketing materials over the Web. For example, if a company knows a customer is in Aruba, it won't bother offering him or her advertising for restaurants in New York, but instead it may market sun-tanning lotion or scuba-diving excursions.
(...) Jonas said 600 billion electronic transactions are created in the U.S. every day, much of which comes from geo-locational data generated by cell phones, which through cellular towers, triangulate a person's exact location at any time. Wireless providers have that data in real time.By looking at data over years, corporations can know how you spend your time, where you work, and with whom you're typically with."This is super food [for big data analytics]," Jonas said. "With 87% certainty, I can tell you where you'll be next Thursday at 5:35 p.m."Big data, an industry term that refers to large data warehouses, includes machine- and human-generated data such as computer system log files, financial services electronic transactions, Web search streams, e-mail meta data, search engine queries and social networking activity. In 2010 alone, 1.5 zetabytes of this data was created, most of which was machine-generated. Corporations filled their data center storage systems with about 16 exabytes of that data last year, according to Jason Hoffman, founder and chief scientist at cloud software provider Joyent. CLIP
Naval sonar drives whales from feeding grounds (25 March 2011) http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20288-naval-sonar-drives-whales-from-feeding-grounds.html
The first detailed study of the effects of naval sonar on whales shows that whales flee from prime feeding sites when navy tests begin – leaving them famished when they finally return.Blainville's beaked whales, Mesoplodon densirostris, use echolocation clicks to track down prey in the lightless depths they hunt in, a kilometre or more below the surface.To find out whether the whales are disturbed by naval sonar operations, Peter Tyack of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, and colleagues tracked the activity of Blainville's beaked whales during exercises at a US navy centre near Andros Island, Bahamas. The area encompasses an underwater canyon that is a prime hunting ground for these deep-diving whales.By satellite tagging one whale and listening out for the echolocation clicks of others using underwater microphones, the team found that whales stopped echolocating and moved away from the area during the tests. Once the exercises stopped, a day and a half went by before the whales returned CLIP
EMF-Omega-News 26. March 2011 http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/568/95/
Health Effects of our 'Wireless World' - Wireless radiation is interfering with our natural body frequency - Is Cell Phone Radiation Weakening the Brain? - Mobile radiation can weaken your eyesight - Wearing Phone on Belt Linked to Decreased Bone Mineral Density in the Hip - Science being abused - Keep Your Children Safe - Report of lawyers meeting at EU Parliament in Brussels the 25th January, 2011 - ICNIRP DRAFT Guidelines on Limits of Exposure to Incoherent Visible and Infrared Radiation - Corporation plans to bring mobile towers under tax net soon - Celebrity backing for battle to block mast plan - Health fears over possible phone mast - Caution needed over phone masts - LOUGHTON: Fears over districts latest phone mast plans - Some Worry About 'Smart Meters' - Smart Technology Not So Smart? - 4G Networks Raising Havoc on Swedens Railway System - Japan and its special fear of radiation - Next-up News - News from Mast Sanity
The Public Has a Right to Know: Will Fukushima Be Worse Than Chernobyl?
By Dr. JANETTE SHERMAN, MD -- March 24, 2011
A little over six months ago I wrote: " Given profound weather effects (earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, etc.), human fallibility, and military conflicts, many believe that it only a matter of time before there is another nuclear catastrophe. Nuclear fallout knows no state or national boundaries, and will contribute to increase in illnesses, decrease in intelligence, and instability throughout the world. The economic costs of radioactive pollution and care of contaminated citizens are staggering. No country can maintain itself if its' citizens are economically, intellectually, politically, and socially impoverished."
[My submission was rejected… too alarmist?]
While 25 years separates the sites and the events that led to the catastrophes at Fukushima and Chernobyl, the effects will be very similar – and will remain so for years to decades to centuries.
After Chernobyl, there was a delay in collecting and releasing information. The nuclear industry and many governments are reluctant to alarm the public, but the public has a right to know what the risks are and if possible to avoid – as much as possible – those risks.
The science of radiobiology is not new. When we know the identity of a radioisotope, we can predict how it will interact with living matter – human, animal or plant. Decades of research have confirmed that radioisotopes become deposited in various parts of living systems.
In humans, I-131 and I-129 concentrate in the thyroid, Cs-137 in soft tissue, and Sr-90 in teeth and bones.
Key to understanding effects is the difference between external and internal radiation. While external radiation, as from x-rays, neutron, gamma and cosmic rays can harm and kill, internal radiation (alpha and beta particles) when absorbed by ingestion and inhalation, releases damaging energy in direct contact with tissues and cells.
There is serious concern for the workers at the Fukushima plant, because of their proximity to the disabled reactors and to the fuel rods that have lost their protective cover of water. Some of the Fukushima workers, as with the "liquidators" at Chernobyl are exposed to dangerous levels of gamma and neutron radiation.
Those not in close proximity to the those sources of radiation will be spared some of the intense exposure, but will not escape the exposure from radionuclides that emit alpha and beta particles, as well as gamma radiation. These enter the bodies of humans by inhalation and ingestion of food and water.
Of the Chernobyl "liquidators" the young and healthy men and women who worked to stop the fires and to contain the release of radioactivity from Chernobyl, by 2005, some 125,000 of the estimated total of 830,000 were dead (15%) mostly from circulatory, blood diseases and malignancies.
Children born to liquidator families were seriously affected with birth defects and thyroid diseases, including cancer, and loss of intellect. But other children, based upon the research of multiple researchers, it is estimated that in the heavily contaminated areas of Belarus only 20% of children are considered healthy, placing an enormous burden upon governmental resources to provide medical care and education for those affected.
Many pro-nuclear critics have downplayed the risks from Chernobyl attributing concerns to "radio-phobia" but documentation of disease is not limited to the human population. With few exceptions, animal and plant systems that were studied demonstrated structural abnormalities in offspring, loss of tolerance and viability, and genetic changes. Wild animals and plants did not drink alcohol, smoke or worry about compensation.
When a radiation release occurs we do not know in advance the part of the biosphere it will contaminate, the animals, plants, and people that will be affected, nor the amount or duration of harm. In many cases, damage is random, depending upon the health, age, and status of development and the amount, kind, and variety of radioactive contamination that reaches humans, animals and plants.
For this reason, open and transparent data must be collected and maintained for all biological systems – human, animal, plant. We must have international support of research on the consequences of the Fukushima and support of Chernobyl research must continue in order to mitigate the ongoing and increasing damage. Access to information must be transparent and open to all, across all borders. The WHO must severe its' cooperation with the IAEA, in place since 1959, and assume independent responsibility in support of international health.
Given the emerging problems from the Fukushima nuclear plants and the continuing and known problems caused by the Chernobyl catastrophe, we must ask ourselves: before we commit ourselves to economic and technologic support of nuclear energy, who, what and where are we willing to sacrifice and for how long?
Radiation, Japan and the Marshall Islands (March 29, 2011) http://www.counterpunch.org/alcalay03292011.html
When the dangerous dust and gases settle and we discover just how much radiation escaped the damaged Fukushima reactors and spent fuel rods, we may never know how many people are being exposed to radiation from the burning fuel rods and reactor cores, and how much exposure they will receive over time. (...) The legacy of latent radiogenic diseases from hydrogen bomb testing in the Marshall Islands provides some clues about what ill-health mysteries await the affected Japanese in the decades ahead. Also, the Marshall Islands provide insight about ecosystem contamination of these dangerous radioactive isotopes, and what this means for the affected Japanese. CLIP
The prime minister of Japan has said that his government is “not in a position where we can be optimistic” about the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Is there any logical conclusion to draw from that statement other than that a large chunk of Japan is going to be uninhabitable?
They’ve got four nuclear reactors right next to each other in various states of disaster and probably meltdown. Two more are damaged. The workers on site are exhausted, sick and dying. The ocean and air around the plant are highly radioactive. The surrounding farms are producing radioactive vegetables. The drinking water in Tokyo is radioactive. If the Fukushima reactors keep exploding and burning and blowing radiation into the reservoirs, how long before Tokyo becomes Jonestown with a population of 13,000,000?
Michio Kaku, the physicist and author, has suggested on CNN that the best option right now is entombment. There’s nothing to salvage, he said, so the Japanese government should get some shielded helicopters and dump sand, boric acid, dolomite and concrete on the reactors and bury them for eternity. This could be done in ten days, he said, if they just got the materials together, which they aren’t doing because the government is not facing the implications of its own declared lack of optimism.
I’m not a physicist, but entombment at Chernobyl was vastly more complicated than Kaku was able to discuss in the time limits of American television. The Chernobyl reactor had to be mostly neutralized before being permanently buried, which meant that 800,000 or so “liquidators” had to run into the plant, perform some menial task in the presence of boiling nuclear waste for a minute or two, and then run out. Most of them are now sick, dying or dead from radiation poisoning.
Perhaps burying Fukushima will be a simpler process, because of robots or other technological developments. Perhaps burying Fukushima will be a more complicated process, because it has a lot more waste lying around and four out-of-control reactors while Chernobyl had just one. I don’t know. Either way, there is a moral problem that needs to be discussed.
Who will be the liquidators?
Whether Japan needs a few hundred volunteers to shovel boric acid on burning plutonium, or whether Japan needs 800,000 draftees, as in the Soviet Union, somebody’s got to do it.
Michio Kaku suggested the Japanese military, presumably because they are available and can fly helicopters. One could also argue that soldiers are paid to risk their lives for their country, and Japan has never needed them more.
Lets think about this, I say. The Japanese military is constitutionally forbidden to make war on anyone, so they are probably the nicest military in the world. And like every other military, it is full of young men who aren’t paid much, who haven’t lived much, who haven’t even started their families yet. Most important, Japanese soldiers bear no moral responsibility at all for the problem. Why should they die to solve it?
If someone has to die an agonizing, terrifying, nauseating, blistering, stinking, metastasizing death, who should be first guy to run into the Fukushima reactors with a bucket of wet cement?
I nominate Jeffrey Immelt.
Immelt is chairman and CEO of General Electric. General Electric designed all six of the faulty Fukushima reactors. General Electric built three of them. General Electric claimed it was safe to build these reactors next to the ocean in an earthquake zone. General Electric built 23 reactors in the United States exactly like the ones melting down right now in Japan. General Electric has made colossal profits promoting nuclear power in Japan and around the world. Jeffrey Immelt made $15.2 million last year.
He makes the most money, it’s his company, and he tells everyone else what to do. At any time since taking over GE in 2000, he could have said, “Those plants are too dangerous. We sold them to Japan. We need to shut them down.” He didn’t do that. Hence the nuclear waste in Tokyo’s drinking water belongs to Jeffrey Immelt.
This is what Immelt says on the GE website: “I’m out talking about this company seven days a week, 24 hours a day, with nothing to hide. We’re a 130-year-old company that has a great record of high-quality leadership and a culture of integrity.”
That is the statement of a moral turd. A shameless, sociopathic, moral turd. GE ran the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, one of the most polluted places on the planet. GE has paved parking lots with nuclear waste. GE has released vast clouds of radiation on innocent, unwarned people in United States just to see what would happen. GE has done radiation experiments on the testes of prisoners without properly warning them. GE dumped 1.3 million pounds of PCBs into the Hudson River, making it poisonous for generations. GE has refused to clean up the PCBs in the Hudson and elsewhere. GE has lied repeatedly about the PCBs. GE is a serial polluter of ground water. GE takes enormous pride in paying no corporate taxes in the United States. GE has been fined many times for defrauding the the Defense Department. GE has been fined many times for design flaws and safety violations at its nuclear plants in the United States. GE has shipped most of its operations overseas so it can pay workers less and get fined less. GE owns a big chunk of NBC and MSNBC, which has been covering Japan less and less as the meltdown gets worse and worse. GE sees to it that all those NBC Dateline true crime documentaries don’t inform anyone about GE crimes. And last, but far from least, GE launched the political career of Ronald Reagan.
For all that, GE has been named “America’s Most Admired Company” in a poll conducted by Fortune magazine.
For all that, Jeffrey Immelt has been named Chairman of Obama’s Economic Advisory Panel.
For all that, I say give Jeffrey Immelt a one-way ticket to Fukushima and a bucket of wet cement. While he’s pouring it on the burning fuel rods, he can throw in his MBA from Harvard.
Then give another one-way ticket and bucket of wet cement to Jack Welch, who was head of GE from 1981 to 2000. He can toss his #1 best-selling autobiography, Jack: Straight from the Gut, onto the fuel rods as well.
Then the Japanese get to pick between their prime minister and the head of the Tokyo Electric Power Company. But GE should go first. It’s the honorable way. Harakiri for the 21st century.
EPA set to increase allowable radiation levels thousands-fold!!
FALLOUT - EPA Plans to Reduce Cleanup of Nuclear Fallout Now
“No rest for the wicked!" Says EPA Employee With a Smile
by Michael Kane
March 24, 2011, 12:30 EDT, NEW YORK CITY– In the wake of the continuing nuclear tragedy in Japan, the United States government is still moving quickly to increase the amounts of radiation the population can “safely” absorb by raising the safe zone for exposure to levels designed to protect the government and nuclear industry more than human life. It’s all about cutting costs now as the infinite-growth paradigm sputters and moves towards extinction. As has been demonstrated by government conduct in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of Deepwater Horizon and in Japan, life has taken a back seat to cost-cutting and public relations posturing.
The game plan now appears to be to protect government and the nuclear industry from “excessive costs”… at any cost.
PAGs
Protective Action Guides , or PAGs as they are called by the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ), are used to enforce the law following any incident involving the release of radioactive material. If there were a dirty bomb attack in America or nuclear meltdown, how would the EPA interpret the Clean Water Act? How would it interpret a whole suite of laws that impact upon our food, water and soil? As with the incredibly toxic pollution which has claimed many lives of 9-11 responders, the sole decision about what is safe is an administrative EPA process shielded from public scrutiny.
In 1992, the EPA produced a PAGs manual that answers many of these questions. But now an update to the 1992 manual is being planned, and if the “Dr. Strangelove” wing of the EPA has its way, here is what it means (brace yourself for these ludicrous increases):
* A nearly 1000-fold increase for exposure to strontium-90;
* A 3000 to 100,000-fold hike for exposure to iodine-131; and
* An almost 25,000 rise for exposure to radioactive nickel-63.i
The new radiation guidelines would also allow long-term cleanup thresholds thousands of times more lax than anything EPA has ever judged safe in the past. Under long-established EPA policy, in conformity with long-accepted international standards on “acceptable” amounts of radiation these proposed changes would increase the permissible amounts of radiation to levels where 25% of those exposed to these “new acceptable levels” would develop cancer based on the EPA’s own numbers.ii
And the scariest part is that once the EPA publishes the changes in the Federal Register, it is a done deal. EPA deliberations are not discussed in public or debated in Congress. There is only a public comment period after the new PAGs are published. But it could be said that the EPA is notorious for ignoring what the public has to say during such comment periods.
These insane changes are nothing new. In the final days of the Bush Administration, the “Dr. Strangelove” wing of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was preparing to dramatically increase permissible radioactive releases in drinking water, food and soil after “radiological incidents.”
Radiological incidents include both reactor incidents at power plants and dirty bomb attacks.
This psychotic move was stopped in the eleventh hour in 2009 by a group called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER ) who submitted two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. When the EPA was not forthcoming with all of the documentation, PEER sued obtaining the desired docs and winning $12,000 in lawyer fees. They thought that was the end of it.iii
The overwhelming majority of the above information was provided to CollapseNet by Jeff Ruch and PEER. Ruch got us in touch with Dan Hirsch, who is President of The Committee to Bridge the Gap . Ruch told CollapseNet that Hirsch and his organization were the main players opposing the EPA’s changing of PAGs.
In a phone interview with Hirsch, CollapseNet asked what he and those he worked with were planning to do to stop the EPA from making these life-threatening changes.
Hirsch indicated that he had planned to write to the Assistant Administrator of the EPA expressing concern that the PAGs had not been addressed properly and request another face-to-face meeting. Hirsch informed me he and his colleagues had met with EPA a year and a half ago in regards to their attempt to change the PAGs back at that time. Remember, this process began at the end of the Bush administration and has only recently resurfaced.
Japan
It took only a few minutes for Hirsch to state that all his PAGs work has been put on hold by the unfolding events in Japan. He has been consumed with trying to get the American government to deploy appropriate radiation monitors – which they do have, somewhere – into California to detect radioactive iodide from radioactive plumes possibly coming from Japan. No such deployment has occurred.
Hirsch said there were 12 monitors deployed in California and that only 5 of them are operational. None of them are capable of detecting radioactive iodide. Under standard operating procedures the samples would be sent to Georgia for processing and the results should be available 5 days later. But by that time the radioactive plume would no longer be in California so the data would be completely useless in helping to protect humans from being exposed to radiation.
The government does have monitors that can detect radioactive iodide instantly, but they have not been deployed in California as of this writing. CollapseNet told Hirsch that, based on what he was saying, it seemed like the federal government had no intent to detect radioactive iodide in time to prevent exposure.
“It certainly gives that impression,” responded Hirsch.
Worst Fears
It seems that the Strangelove-wing of the EPA is working so hard to change the PAGs it is as if the powerful are anticipating radiological disasters in America as inevitable. Anything is possible, and everything is conceivable in the continuing collapse of human industrial civilization.
The reactor that saves itself: safe nuclear does exist - China leads the way with thorium
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard -- March 23, 2011
Thorium presents a different radioactive way.
A few weeks before the tsunami struck Fukushima's uranium reactors and shattered public faith in nuclear power, China revealed that it was launching a rival technology to build a safer, cleaner, and ultimately cheaper network of reactors based on thorium.
This passed unnoticed—except by a small of band of thorium enthusiasts—but it may mark the passage of strategic leadership in energy policy from an inert and status-quo West to a rising technological power willing to break the mould.
If China's dash for thorium power succeeds, it will vastly alter the global energy landscape and may avert a calamitous conflict over resources as Asia's industrial revolutions clash head-on with the West's entrenched consumption.
China's Academy of Sciences said it had chosen a „thorium-based molten salt reactor system‰.
The liquid fuel idea was pioneered by US physicists at Oak Ridge National Lab in the 1960s, but the US has long since dropped the ball. Further evidence of Barack Obama's "Sputnik moment", you could say.
Chinese scientists claim that hazardous waste will be a thousand times less than with uranium. The system is inherently less prone to disaster.
"The reactor has an amazing safety feature," said Kirk Sorensen, a former NASA engineer at Teledyne Brown and a thorium expert. "If it begins to overheat, a little plug melts and the salts drain into a pan. There is no need for computers, or the sort of electrical pumps that were crippled by the tsunami. The reactor saves itself," he said.
"They operate at atmospheric pressure so you don't have the sort of hydrogen explosions we've seen in Japan. One of these reactors would have come through the tsunami just fine. There would have been no radiation release."
Thorium is a silvery metal named after the Norse god of thunder. The metal has its own „issues‰ but no thorium reactor could easily spin out of control in the manner of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, or now Fukushima.
Professor Robert Cywinksi from Huddersfield University said thorium must be bombarded with neutrons to drive the fission process. "There is no chain reaction. Fission dies the moment you switch off the photon beam. There are not enough neutrons for it continue of its own accord," he said.
Dr Cywinski, who anchors a UK-wide thorium team, said the residual heat left behind in a crisis would be "orders of magnitude less" than in a uranium reactor.
The earth's crust holds 80 years of uranium at expected usage rates, he said. Thorium is as common as lead. America has buried tons as a by-product of rare earth metals mining. Norway has so much that Oslo is planning a post-oil era where thorium might drive the country's next great phase of wealth. Even Britain has seams in Wales and in the granite cliffs of Cornwall. Almost all the mineral is usable as fuel, compared to 0.7 per cent of uranium. There is enough to power civilization for thousands of years.
I write before knowing the outcome of the Fukushima drama, but as yet none of 15,000 deaths are linked to nuclear failure. Indeed, there has never been a verified death from nuclear power in the West in half a century. Perspective is in order.
We cannot avoid the fact that two to three billion extra people now expect—and will obtain—a western lifestyle. China alone plans to produce 100m cars and buses every year by 2020.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the world currently has 442 nuclear reactors. They generate 372 gigawatts of power, providing 14 per cent of global electricity. Nuclear output must double over twenty years just to keep pace with the rise of the China and India.
If a string of countries cancel or cut back future reactors, let alone follow Germany's Angela Merkel in shutting some down, they shift the strain onto gas, oil, and coal. Since the West is also cutting solar subsidies, they can hardly expect the solar industry to plug the gap.
BP's disaster at Macondo should teach us not to expect too much from oil reserves deep below the oceans, beneath layers of blinding salt. Meanwhile, we rely uneasily on Wahabi repression to crush dissent in the Gulf and keep Arabian crude flowing our way. So where can we turn, unless we revert to coal and give up on the ice caps altogether? That would be courting fate.
US physicists in the late 1940s explored thorium fuel for power. It has a higher neutron yield than uranium, a better fission rating, longer fuel cycles, and does not require the extra cost of isotope separation.
The plans were shelved because thorium does not produce plutonium for bombs. As a happy bonus, it can burn up plutonium and toxic waste from old reactors, reducing radio-toxicity and acting as an eco-cleaner.
Dr Cywinski is developing an accelerator driven sub-critical reactor for thorium, a cutting-edge project worldwide. It needs £300m of public money for the next phase, and £1.5bn of commercial investment to produce the first working plant. Thereafter, economies of scale kick in fast. The idea is to make pint-size 600MW reactors.
Yet any hope of state support seems to have died with the [UK] Coalition budget cuts, and with it hopes that Britain could take a lead in the energy revolution. It is understandable, of course. Funds are scarce. The UK has already put its efforts into the next generation of uranium reactors. Yet critics say vested interests with sunk costs in uranium technology succeeded in chilling enthusiasm.
The same happened a decade ago to a parallel project by Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). France's nuclear industry killed proposals for funding from Brussels, though a French group is now working on thorium in Grenoble.
Norway's Aker Solution has bought Professor Rubbia's patent. It had hoped to build the first sub-critical reactor in the UK, but seems to be giving up on Britain and locking up a deal to build it in China instead, where minds and wallets are more open.
So the Chinese will soon lead on this thorium technology as well as molten-salts. Good luck to them. They are doing Mankind a favour. We may get through the century without tearing each other apart over scarce energy and wrecking the planet.
---
Comment from one of our GIA Associates
This is precisely what we have been trying to get the US DOE [Department of Energy] to pay attention to for the past 17 years. Now come the Chinese with a working technology that will give them the ability to produce power without the risk of meltdown or nuclear criticality. We have been in possession of three alternative designs for such a system for many years - Otis Peterson has one of those options [liquid sodium reactor - INEEL] running now, producing 10 MW. It's a perfect bridge technology because units such as the ones the Chinese are beginning to explore are virtually repair and maintenance free for at least a 100 years. What the hell are we waiting for?
5.
Note from Jean: I urge you to take 15 minutes to read this whole article - although non US subscribers will probably want to jump over the few paragraphs that deal solely with the situation in the US - so as to better understand the revolting electromagnetic assault on our health that so-called 'smart' meters represent. This matter is grave enough to elicit a massive public revolt, just like what happened in California where public pressures have finally forced Pacific Gas & Electric to accept to offer to its health-concerned customers to simply have the internal wireless radio function of the already installed 'smart' meters turned off and their meter manually read once a month (with an extra charge!) just as for the traditional meters - a proposal which prompted this virulent rebuke by those opposed to this abject scheme. IMHO it would have been smarter to not remove the original analog meters in the first place for those who are informed enough to understand just how terminally dumb and dangerous having a 'smart' meter is...
Je recommande aussi aux abonné-e-s francophones de lire Dossier des compteurs 'intelligents' - Une nouvelle menace environnementale, une lettre que j'ai envoyée le 30 mars 2011 à André Bélisle, président de l'AQLPA, qui incluait cet article ci-dessous et dénonçait l'intention d'Hydro-Québec de remplacer tous les compteurs au Québec par ces nouveaux et dangereux compteurs 'intelligents"... Consulter aussi au http://21esiecle.qc.ca/electrosmog les 20 articles portant sur l'électrosmog écrits par André Fauteux de l'excellent magazine La maison du 21e siècle dont on peut obtenir un numéro d'essai gratuit au http://21esiecle.qc.ca/numéro-dessai-gratuit - André Fauteux m'a également recommandé...
Épidémie de cancers : l’électricité « sale » comparée à la radioactivité http://www.21esiecle.qc.ca/files/elect_sale_HFT.pdf
Hydro-Québec aurait court-circuité la recherche en 1994 (...) Environ 60 % de tous les cas de leucémie infantile pourraient être évités si les enfants étaient moins exposés aux hautes fréquences transitoires, estime le grand épidémiologiste Samuel Milham : « J’en suis presque arrivé à croire que les soi-disant maladies de civilisation sont en fait des maladies d’électrification.» CLIP
Culture Change note: As if you weren’t getting enough radiation: now comes really bad news in the form of smart grids. GE -- the designer of Fukushima nukes and 23 nukes in the U.S. like Fukushima's -- is the largest manufacturer of Smart Meters in the world. The con job continues. The System is out to get us. - JL
How is it that so many intelligent, inside-the-beltway environmentalists are buying into an eco-health-safety-finance debacle with the potential to increase energy consumption, endanger the environment, harm public health, diminish privacy, make the national utility grid more insecure, cause job losses, and make energy markets more speculative?
Answer: by not doing their homework.
Welcome to the Smart Grid -- a government-funded money machine capable of intruding into every aspect of our lives. Smart Grid technologies -- initially funded to the tune of $3.4 billion through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and slated to cost $11 billion through 2011 -- are enough to make even die-hard liberals demand a claw back of misspent tax dollars.
On the surface, Smart Grids sound ‘green’ -- with promises of saving energy, creating new power-line corridors run on wind and solar, way-stations to power-up electric vehicles, energy-efficient upgrades to an aging power infrastructure, and real-time customer knowledge of electricity use.
And there’s the enticing communications factor: a nationwide high-speed broadband information technology barreling down high-tension electric corridors called Broadband-Over-Power-Lines (BPL). What could be more perfect for communicating facts about the planet, funding enviro-candidates, pushing legislation, and organizing Earth Days?
But few who actually study how these new systems function want anything to do with them. Other than those who stand to make enormous profits and the physicists or engineers who dream up such stuff, Smart Grids are giving knowledgeable people the willies.
What Is a Smart Grid?
These days the word “smart” is attached to anything even marginally digital -- and indeed it’s an effective marketing tool because who wants anything dumb?
But is the Smart Grid really smart?
The problem: smart metering will turn every single appliance into the equivalent of a transmitting cell phone, and this at a time when public concern about the safety of exposure to the radiofrequency radiation (RF) of wireless technologies is on the rise. Heads up: that’s every dishwasher, microwave oven, stove, washing machine, clothes dryer, air conditioner, furnace, refrigerator, freezer, coffee maker, TV, computer, printer, and fax machine.
The average U.S. home has over 15 such appliances, each of which would be equipped with a transmitting antenna. While older models can be retrofitted, General Electric (GE) and other appliance manufacturers are already putting transmitters into their latest designs, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is already giving out tax credits.
Meanwhile, people who don’t want to use such appliances won't be able to deactivate the wireless component without disabling it and voiding warranties. Citing “electricity theft,” it could also be illegal to do so.
Yet, not one safety concern regarding the cumulative effects of 24/7 exposure to RF radiation seems to have occurred to the backers of Smart Grids. And this is despite the fact that all appliances will transmit wireless data with peak power bursts far above current safety standards - at frequencies between 917 MHz and 3.65 GHz in the ultra-high frequency/microwave ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum, several times a minute.
And that’s just the indoor part. All transmitters inside your home or office will communicate with a Smart Meter attached to the outside of each building. [1] That meter, in turn, will transmit at an even higher frequency to a central hub installed in local neighborhoods. In what are called “mesh networks,” signals can also be bounced from house-meter to house-meter before reaching the final hub. So exposures will not just be from your own meter, but accumulating from possibly 100-to-500 of your neighbors’ as well.
That’s a hefty barrage of radiation.
Some gas, water, and electric utilities are now using such smart networks, each with its own metering system and separate exposures -- creating a multi-frequency wall of radiation that, in the history of living creatures, is unheard of.
In addition, the meters and the antennas will act as transceivers, allowing both you via mobile phone or computer -- and take note: your utility company -- to remotely control your appliances. According to Jenny Anderson and Julie Creswell writing in the New York Times, one such system in the Midwest already allows the utility to cycle furnaces and air conditioners on and off every 15 minutes, with the stated purpose to reduce peak-loads on electric grids.
On closer scrutiny, Smart Grids look like another Build-It-Now-Deal-With-The-Consequences-Later fiasco. At a time when health concerns about the safety of cell phones, antennas, and Wi-Fi hotspots are mounting around the globe, Smart Grids will require literally billions of new transmitters, each pumping “electrosmog” into the environment -- for which there will be no mitigation, no conscientious objection, and no escape.
We Already Know a Lot about RF and the Environment
Living creatures are fantastically sensitive to low-level, non-ionizing radiation that includes everything from visible light to the earth’s natural electromagnetic fields.
Birds, butterflies, fish, marine mammals, bees, and other insects are particularly sensitive to the earth’s natural electromagnetic background, using it to guide their migrations, sense of direction, circadian rhythms, food-finding, and reproductive activities. Soil bacteria are also tuned to the natural currents of the planet.
But human-made radiation creates different exposures -- with unusual signaling characteristics like digital pulsing, phased array and saw-tooth waveforms, and at much higher power intensities than anything found in nature. RF is actually a form of energetic air pollution -- and if air were legally considered “habitat” like water and land, RF might be regulated differently.
Studies show that myriad wildlife abandons terrain when cell towers are installed. Cows have increased cancers, lower milk production, agitation [see Electromagnetic Fields], immune system disorders, more mastitis, miscarriages, and birth defects in offspring near cell towers. Birds with nests near antennas display lower reproductive rates, and chicks are born with birth defects. In simulations of whole colony collapse disorder, bees have disappeared entirely when transmitting cell phones were placed next to their hives. It is thought that RF interferes with their navigational abilities by coupling with a natural magnetic material called magnetite in bee abdomens.
Meanwhile, hundreds of studies done with laboratory animals found numerous cancers, immune disorders, and increased mortality from chronic, low-level exposures. This body of work should make us ponder the accuracy of the data -- and humaneness -- when biologists attach RF transmitters to elk, marine mammals, big cats, and other species to study them.
Trees also endure die-back near towers. Whole forests near broadcast antennas in Europe have suffered. Military-weapons designers have long used treetops with high moisture content as waveguides for missiles.
Some of this work goes back six decades in bioelectromagnetics and biophysics journals -- and is available for any curious environmentalist to see.
… and We Know about RF and Humans
Research on RF and human health dates to the 1940s when World War II’s radar revealed infertility and cataracts in military personnel.
David O. Carpenter, MD, MPH, is the director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the State University of New York at Albany, School of Public Health. Along with EMF/RF consultant Cindy Sage in California, he co-edited the 2007 BioInitiative Report, which calls for significantly more stringent RF exposure standards than now exist.
Environmentalists may know Dr. Carpenter, who blew the whistle on PCB contamination in farm-raised salmon. He is also an expert on the biological effects of electromagnetic fields. To him, the decade-long, 13-country World Health Organization’s 2010 Interphone Study confirms what previous reports and many experts have been saying all along: RF exposures at current levels are already unsafe.
According to Interphone, talking on a cell phone for 1,640 hours over a 10-year period -- the equivalent of 30 minutes a day -- increases an adult’s risk of malignant glioma brain cancer by 40%.
“While this [Interphone] study is not perfect,” Dr. Carpenter said, “it should serve as a warning to governments that the deployment of new wireless technologies may bring risks to the public that are widespread, involuntary, and increase long-term health care costs.”
His assessment ipso facto includes Smart Grids.
Over 70 studies have found effects at frequencies with very low-power intensity, many with implications for human health. Fifteen studies report effects among people living 50-to-1500 feet from a cell tower -- including cancers, immune system effects, fertility problems, heart arrhythmias, miscarriages, sleeplessness, dizziness, concentration difficulties, memory loss, headaches, skin rashes, lowered libido, fatigue, and malaise.
And many of these symptoms mirror what some people are reporting within days of Smart Meters installed at their homes.
In addition, several studies report increases in the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, which protects brain tissue from bacteria, viruses, and toxins. One study found increases in stress markers in human saliva near cell towers. Also reported are calcium ion changes in cells -- with implications for the ability to metabolize. Other studies link exposures to Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig Disease, and Parkinson’s.
In fact, every system of the body appears to be sensitive to low-level electromagnetic fields -- and why not? Living cells are electromagnetic systems.
Research by Magda Havas, Ph.D., of Trent University in Canada, and U.S. epidemiologist Samuel Milham, M.D., links something called “dirty electricity” with diabetes, malignant melanoma, and cancers of the breast, thyroid, uterus and lung. Dirty electricity is an industry term that describes a multi-frequency exposure when higher frequencies like RF couple with the lower frequencies running along power lines. BPL (Broadband-Over-Power-Lines) is 100% dirty electricity -- that’s how it functions -- and people barraged by it can now measure RF radiation emanating from their light sockets.
Of special concern are people with implanted medical devices like deep-brain stimulators for Parkinson’s, some pacemakers, insulin pumps, and in-home hospital equipment. The radiofrequency interference (RFI) inherent to Smart Grids can cause such equipment to go haywire, or even to stop. And RFI from ambient exposures has caused wheelchairs to go off peers or into traffic; automatic ignition switches in cars refuse to start until cars are towed to RF-free blocks; and surgical beds have jumped during operations.
RFI is also suspected in sudden acceleration of automobiles.
Low I.Q. for Smart Grids and Government
Think of the static on your radio. Now imagine Smart Grid’s multiple frequencies overlapping with animate objects … like your brain. The UHF used in Smart Grids couples best with brain tissue.
Several federal agencies actually do have a stake in RF safety, but the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) standards are the only ones in effect in the U.S. A major problem is that the FCC regulates only short-term, acute, high-intensity, thermal effects in humans, while no criteria exist to protect wildlife.
And there’s more. FCC standards only regulate for whole-body exposure, not for specific organs -- like brain tissue which absorbs energy differently. Plus, FCC allowances are averaged over 30 minutes. With Smart Grids such time-averaging makes the peak pulses that blast for a fraction of a second when first activated vanish on paper.
These are holes through which the Queen Mary could sail.
According to Richard Tell, an electrical engineer formerly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -- in a 2008 report on Smart Grids for Hydro One Networks, Inc./Toronto -- antennas on appliances may transmit at a density of .18watts, each at ballpark 4.5 seconds per hour. But external meters on houses transmit at around 1 watt at less than 2 minutes per hour.
Such figures may sound low -- until the use of many appliances at the same time and exposures from the neighbors’ meters is lumped in. Nowhere in utility estimates are such peak pulses factored -- which, Tell has said, can be 20 times higher or more.
Still, he notes, the radiation from Smart Meters is 15,000 times lower than what FCC standards allow.
Too, the industry claims that meters transmit every four hours -- but engineers like Stephen Scott of EMF Services/California measure spikes every few seconds, especially from banks of meters attached to housing and office complexes, while others have measured firing between 9-and-15 times a minute.
Utilities don’t release numbers for peak pulses, but one estimate by Southern California Edison -- since voided for P.R. reasons -- puts peak pulses at 229,000 microwatts per square centimeter at eight inches from the transmitter. That means if you sleep next to a wall with a smart appliance on the other side, strong UHF signals could be spiking several times a minute all night long -- right into your brain.
Compare that to cell phones that emit approximately 250-to-300 microwatts per square centimeter when placed directly against the head.
Vampires and Cyber Attackers Make the Honor Roll
For decades, knowledgeable environmentalists have advised people with remote-control appliances to unplug them because of “vampire” energy. Plugged-in remotes are never completely “OFF”; otherwise they wouldn’t be able to receive the signal to turn back “ON.”
So what will happen to our aggregate energy use when all appliances become smart vampires? No proponents thought to ask that question.
Though supposedly “secure,” Smart Grids can be penetrated by both wired and wireless networks. In August of 2009, hackers robbed 179,000 Toronto Hydro customers’ names, addresses, and billing information from their e-billing accounts. Security consultant Mike Davis of IOActive, Inc/Seattle has shown how easy it is to install computer worms that can take over the whole grid, and such worms can be programmed to alter billing information, gather information on electricity use for sale to third parties, or shut down hundreds of thousands of households.
Ross Anderson and Shailendra Fuloria at Cambridge University’s Computer Laboratory note that hostile government agencies or terrorist organizations could bring whole countries to their knees by interrupting electrical generation. More so than traditional grids, they stress that Smart Grids create a new strategic vulnerability as the cyber equivalent of a nuclear attack. Smart Grids are also easy to sabotage with simple jamming devices.
And if the problems aren’t human-created, nature could step in. The sun’s normal 11-year sunspot cycle -- ramping up right now, promising to pump sporadic blasts of electromagnetic energy toward earth -- could wreak chaos upon Smart Grids.
Privacy is an issue as well. When the utility company records home energy use in real time -- with data held at a central hub, potentially accessible from a hacker’s laptop –- the knowledge that you are not home becomes available.
Plus, do you really want the utilities remotely controlling your appliances?
And what about liability? Although grid engineers claim the systems are encrypted, encryption often fails. Imagine the utility -- or even a passing cell-phone user -- inadvertently turning on your oven when you’re on vacation. Or shutting off the furnace on a subzero night. For insurance purposes, who is liable? What about civil rights violations? Or the legal ramifications of a utility partnering with the police?
In the purest sense, Smart Grids offer new opportunities for electronic trespass.
Then there are the billing errors. Some customers in California have seen their bills triple -- from $200/month to $600 -- when Smart Meters were installed. After a class action suit was filed against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), that utility admitted that 23,000 of their Smart Meters “might” be defective, though they denied they were responsible for the billing errors.
Dumb is as Dumb Does
Smart systems can wreak havoc with electronics too. People are complaining of ceiling fans turning on in the middle of the night, speeds spontaneously changing, paddles reversing direction, and circuit boards burning up. A few meters have exploded. Others have fried electronics. Fires have started. In New Zealand firefighters report 422 fires in 2010 involved with Smart Meters.
Oddly, given such dire safety issues, neither U.S. utilities nor their experts seem capable of answering simple questions. At a public forum in Sebastopol in 2010, PG&E pulled its speakers when they didn’t get the format they wanted -- all questions in writing and in advance. Then, at a subsequent gathering, PG&E sent two experts -- Michael Herz and Leeka Kheifets -- neither of whom knew how often meters send or repeat RF signals, called the “duty cycle.” The two could not answer what the exposure would be for an apartment complex with banks of multiple meters, nor answer technical questions about peak-signal strength. And they didn't know the make or model of the meters so that people in the audience could look up the information.
One Sebastopol activist, Sandi Maurer, said in frustration: “How can we trust a company to deploy such a massive RF installation on every home, if they can’t even answer basic safety questions?”
But not all utilities are rushing forward. In 2010 Dominion Virginia Power delayed a $600-million program because Virginia’s State Corporation Commission questioned its economic wisdom, noting that the savings to ratepayers would be less than the rate increases needed to pay for the build-out. Hydro One/Canada came to the same conclusion in 2007, and last year lawmakers in the Netherlands struck down a bill that would have made Smart Meters mandatory. The U.K. is reconsidering a smart metering system as well, and in 2009 the European Parliament ordered member states to study the economic feasibility of Smart Grids.
Electricity = Big Bucks
All the while private, largely unregulated hedge funds have been entering energy markets, betting on the potential financial bonanza. It’s the big players who stand to profit, of course -- with your tax dollars going to the likes of GE, IBM, Siemens, Intel, Texas Instruments, AT&T, Verizon, Motorola, and other behemoths.
GE is the largest manufacturer of Smart Meters in the world. It has signed contracts with CenterPoint Energy and Grid Net to deploy WiMax-enabled radios for use in Smart Meters. WiMax is the fourth generation network that was earmarked by the FCC and the Obama administration to bring wireless Internet to rural areas -- so clearly the technologies are moveable pieces, depending on who owns the chessboard.
But it’s the taxpayer-customer who gets the double whammy: underwriting the infrastructure via tax dollars; enduring rate hikes and medical bills -- and then there’s the burden of having to buy new appliances.
Plus, for citizens, real-time metering reveals when you wake up, go to work, make dinner, do the laundry, use the computer, go on vacation. While proponents see real-time knowledge in the hands of consumers as a form of empowerment, they ignore the gorilla-in-the-room: tiered pricing. Today, many utilities set flat, state-regulated rates for kilowatt hours, but tiered pricing will change that.
Critics say that tiered pricing penalizes the elderly, self-employed, unemployed, homemakers, and those with small children -- all of whom use more energy during the day. But a darker possibility exists: a utility could create special billing tiers just for you. In other words, if you work the evening shift and cook dinner at midnight, your rate could be highest when everyone else’s is lowest.
Then there’s mandatory shut-offs for people who don’t pay their utility bills -- after which the unfortunate customer will have to buy a prepaid wireless-enacted electric meter like a prepaid phone card. Fantasy? Such a system was enacted in South Africa in the 1990s.
Inside-the-Beltway Enviros
Before the Obama administration even took office, their pre-transition coordinator for climate and energy policy, Carol Browner, met with IBM CEO Sam Palmisano.
Browner was the director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Clinton and is now Obama’s coordinator for climate and energy policy, while IBM has worked with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think-tank in DC to develop three focus areas: increased broadband access, digitized medical records, and Smart Grids.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Palmisano told Browner that a $10 billion investment was needed to jumpstart Smart Grids. Palmisano also claimed that Smart Grids would create 239,000 new jobs -- with half of those resulting from start-up businesses. But his promise was not computed against the jobs lost, such as hundreds of thousands of unemployed meter readers. Nor did he consider the fact that new information technologies are typically seen as a way to consolidate through fewer employees.
Other former Clinton Administration officials on board for Smart Grids include Al Gore -- because of supposed lower carbon emissions -- and Reed Hundt, chairman of the FCC in the 1990s when that agency championed massive auctions of the public airwaves for cell-phone technology.
Hundt went on to become co-founder of Frontline Wireless and Sigma Networks. Sitting on several corporate communications company boards, including Intel and China Telecom, he is also co-chairman of the Coalition for the Green Bank, a capital-raising nonprofit that is lobbying Congress for more Smart Grid money -- through environment committees in Congress.
The Food and Drug Administration and FCC have a stake in Smart Grids, as do the EPA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). But neither EPA nor FWS has the funding or manpower to address the RF effects of Smart Grids or consider the effects of a new infusion of radiation into the environment.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has oversight over FWS. Salazar was a U.S. Senator (D-CO, 2005-to-2009) before he left to join Obama. He was also Colorado’s Attorney General from 1999 to 2005 and gets low grades from environmentalists as one of a handful of Democrats to vote against setting limits on offshore drilling and global warming.
And he is no stranger to RF politics. A go-around on RF’s health and environmental effects raged from 2000 to 2006 in Colorado. At issue was a high-definition TV tower to be erected on Lookout Mountain near Denver, overlooking a community already burdened by one of the country’s largest antenna farms. After rancorous public hearings, the county board voted against the new tower. But Salazar attached a midnight rider to another bill right before Christmas recess pre-empting local decision makers.
Steven Chu is Obama’s Secretary of Energy -- the agency from which Smart Grids originate. He is former director of the DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and professor of Physics and Molecular Cell Biology at the University of California. He has also held positions at Stanford University and AT&T Bell Laboratories -- all of which develop/deploy RF technologies. He is now Obama’s Secretary of Energy, and in 2009 Chu issued a statement telling the states to take the federal stimulus money and not stand in the way of Smart Grids.
But perhaps the biggest lack of intelligence lies in the energy and environment committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Smart Grid legislation first passed in 2007 as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act under the Bush administration. Additional legislation was contained in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 at the House Committee on Energy & Environment, formerly chaired by Henry Waxman (D-CA). A companion bill was in the Senate., while in 2010 twelve bills were considered, some of which were revived in 2011. Everyone, including the Committee of Environment and Public Works -- formerly chaired by Barbara Boxer (D-CA) with a grid-related subcommittee chaired by Bernard Sanders (I-VT) -– has had a hand in Smart Grids.
Now some Republicans, especially Tea Party activists who view Smart Grids as massive big government intrusion, may be fighting Smart Grid proposals -– a situation that is creating an odd alliance between the extreme right and left-leaning activists who find themselves on the same side.
Smart Grids -- Boondoggle or Economic Stimulus?
2010’s federal appropriations for Smart Grids was $11 billion. But some financial analysts say it will take over $900 billion over the next two decades to upgrade high-tension lines, meters, central control facilities, and substations. In addition, they say to truly digitize and digitalize grids, it will cost hundreds of billions more, into 2030, because every utility’s computer network will need to be upgraded, new renewable-energy sources will be needed to plug into new access points, and recharging stations and power lines will need to be built. Proponents brag that the construction will be a bonanza.
But Smart Grids may be little more than a Trojan Horse donned in a “green” hat. After all the government mandates and stimulus money for Smart Grids, a veritable gold rush ensued -- with utility companies, hedge funds, meter vendors, patent owners, and colossi like Google and Verizon vying for taxpayer bucks.
In fact, few jobs were created.
Ironically, environmentalists are also pushing for Smart Grids without studying the environmental/health impacts or even calculating if such systems will save energy. Plus, provisions in the stimulus package exempt Smart Grids from National Environmental Policy Act review and allow federal preemption for siting new high-tension corridors through environmentally sensitive areas.
But the biggest enviro-irony is that most Smart Meter models don’t “run backwards”; if you install solar panels or other renewable-energy sources and want to sell energy back to the grid, without very expensive additional equipment the new metering makes that impossible.
People Are Getting Smart
Connecticut Light and Power is currently petitioning the Department of Public Utility Control to allow Smart Meters to be placed on 1.2 million homes, over the objections of the state’s Attorney General George Jepsen. A pilot program of 10,000 such meters found no energy savings in 2009, he said, but would cost ratepayers $500 million.
Maine has begun a statewide Smart Grid project -- over citizen opposition. Smart Grids already exist in parts of Virginia, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and the Midwest, while PG&E in California has installed several million meters on homes and businesses; 73% of buildings in Alameda County already have them. As of June 1, 2010, the California Public Utilities Commission reports 2,000 health-related and 1,500 non-health-related complaints. The PG&E executive in charge of the Smart Meter program, William Devereaux, was discovered infiltrating activist groups opposed to Smart Grids. He was fired, and the utility admitted to monitoring online groups to track their strategies.
California customers continue to sign petitions, organize calling campaigns, form neighborhood groups, hold forums, throw protests, get arrested for blocking utility trucks from neighborhoods, petition legislators, sue the state, and threaten to go off the grid. Many communities have called for ‘opt-out’ campaigns, insisting that PG&E allow old meters to remain or be wired to phone lines thereby avoiding the RF component. Over 30 communities, including several large counties have now passed either resolutions or actual ordinances banning Smart Meters and the number grows daily.
In 2010 Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) requested that the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) evaluate health effects. CCST issued a report in January, 2011, giving an “all-clear” that ignited more citizen anger. Experts who had been asked to contribute to the report later said that the report’s conclusions were not supported by the evidence presented and that their input was ignored. Marin County Supervisor Charles McGlashan has called for state hearings -- with his county board declaring that the state should shut down all Smart Meters until billing, health, and safety issues are resolved. It was recently discovered that Smart Meters aren’t even Underwriters Laboratory (UL) certified -- something required under most state codes.
High I.Q.’s in Europe
In 2007, Germany's Environment Ministry issued a warning to German citizens to avoid wireless technology when possible and return to cabled means of communication. The French national library banned Wi-Fi in libraries when librarians became ill. And the European Environmental Agency called for action to reduce public exposure to radiation from mobile phones, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, and other antennas.
In 2008 the European Parliament proposed publicly displayed maps of RF-contaminated areas so people could avoid them, while the U.K.’s Association of Teachers and Lecturers came out against Wi-Fi in classrooms.
Sweden has declared some beaches and public buildings RF-free areas where cell phones and wireless computers cannot be used so that people with electromagnetic hypersensitivity -- a form of environmental allergy that Sweden classifies as a functional disability -- can take a breather from contamination.
Individuals have also rallied. Spanish activists hold an annual International Day Against Electromagnetic Pollution. British and Irish citizens have taken to civil disobedience, bulldozing down cell towers. And Israelis have torn down cell towers with their bare hands and chased landlords who lease rooftops to tower companies through the streets.
All the while, a truly intelligent way to help an aging infrastructure does exist. Using closed cables, fiber optic boasts no environmental RF exposures, no dirty electricity, is resistant to sabotage and weather disruptions, and provides TV and high-speed Internet. For $11 billion, the U.S. could bring fiber optic to every home just as Japan has done.
And some towns aren’t waiting. Chattanooga, Tennessee already has a municipally owned fiber optic network. The community of Dunnellon, Florida is proposing a fiber-optic system for every home and business -- without increasing taxes. Meanwhile, Google is seeking prototype communities for a fiber-optic system that could possibly be licensed for utility metering. Unfortunately, Google has also wandered into wireless smart metering too.
The fact is: Smart Grids are dumb. Given known biological effects of RF -- together with the use of financial resources better spent on true sustainability -- this new roll-out adds yet another threat to the planet.
But, in this current stampede toward everything “green,” many environmentalists are flunking the I.Q. test. We all need to smarten up.
Note: [1] Smart Grid meters aren’t the same as the older wireless models. With the first generation, a van would cruise a neighborhood once a month, “call” for a signal to get the info on energy use, and be done with it. Most of those meters don’t put out radiation at any other time. But Smart Grids are that system on steroids, doing away with the meter reader and emanating 24/7.
GET ACTIVE!
stopsmartmeters.org Contact: info "at" stopsmartmeters.org, P.O. Box 66165, Scotts Valley, CA 95067 USA
This article also appears on counterpunch.org
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Related articles:
Smart Metering in Canada (24.03.2011) http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=1A796C36-1A64-6A71-CE9E2FB65F221D43
(...) Much like the push from State legislation in the United States, the pace of Smart Meter deployment in Canada has been driven by Provincial action. The installed Smart Meter base in Canada surged past 5 million in 2010 largely on the strength of Ontario's push towards full deployment. IDC Energy Insights estimates that more than 95% of the nearly 4.7 million eligible endpoints in Ontario had been outfitted with smart meters by the end of 2010. Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec have all flirted with smart metering, though, other than Fortis' PLC deployment in Alberta, installations outside of Ontario have been modest. IDC believes that British Columbia, lead by the full deployment of BC Hydro (slated to begin mid-2011) will lead the next wave of smart meter deployment in Canada, followed by Quebec and Saskatchewan. CLIP
Smart Gas Meter Penetration to Reach 11% by 2016, According to Pike Research (March 24, 2011)
THIS IS GETTING EVER WORST! http://www.sys-con.com/node/1766239
Gas utilities worldwide are placing increased emphasis on upgrading their operations with smart gas meters that utilize advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technologies to enable two-way communications between meters and utility systems. Mirroring electric utilities’ smart grid initiatives in many ways, these smart gas meter deployments are designed to improve the efficiency of utility operations, reduce costs, and improve the reliability and safety of natural gas distribution. A recent report from Pike Research forecasts that the adoption of smart gas meters will increase steadily over the next few years, and the penetration of smart meters as a percentage of total gas meters will rise from 4.1% in 2010 to 11.2% by 2016. CLIP
PG&E Smart Meter Plan Turns Wireless Off (March 24th, 2011) http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/03/pge-smart-meter-plan-turns-wireless-off/
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) continues to suffer smart meter woes among concerns from those who worry about privacy issues and/or health concerns from the built-in wireless technology of these meters, even despite organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund expressing support for the smart grid tech. Now, at the request of the California Pubic Utilities Commission, the utility looks to have developed what may be a solution for at least the so called health concerns some have. PG&E today proposed a plan to the CPUC which would give customers with smart meters the option of having the internal wireless radio function turned off. Said proposal, in keeping with the CPUC’s direction, would not increase the cost for those customers who choose instead to keep a fully functioning smart meter. Those that do want the radio shut off, however, would pay what are said to be “reasonable upfront and recurring fees to cover the costs of turning off the radio, manually reading the meters every month, modifying IT systems and providing information to customers on the program through call centers and other channels.” These fees would also cover what the utility says are any problems the existing, fully functional smart meter network might have “to compensate for any degradation that turning off the radio causes.” An option to move the meter to a different part of the home is another part of this plan, subject to its own set of costs, of course. CLIP
PG&E’s “Opt Out” Plan a Trojan Horse- ‘Smart’Meter IS the Problem http://stopsmartmeters.org/2011/03/25/pges-opt-out-plan-a-trojan-horse-the-smart-meter-is-the-problem/
So yesterday, after more than 100 outraged members of the public packed the CPUC meeting in San Francisco- a perfect storm of outrage against PG&E over San Bruno, Diablo Canyon, new rate hikes, and especially the ‘smart’ meter debacle - the company had an opportunity to redeem itself and propose real solutions that would put health and safety first. They failed miserably. PG&E’s plan would require that everyone in CA receive a ‘smart’ meter on their home. Yes that’s right. It’s an opt out program that requires mandatory ‘smart’ meter installation. This thing is getting more Orwellian by the minute.
PG&E says: “Just trust us to turn off your radio transmitter while still being subject to all your neighbors who didn’t want to shell out hundreds of dollars to get their switched off too.” More false solutions, more doublethink, and more fees charged to the ratepayer.So, let’s get this straight. The utilities go to the PUC several years ago, seeking a massive rate increase to pay for their ‘smart’ meter program. An appointed, beholden PUC rubber stamps their request, raising $2.2 billion from its customers without even asking them (or so much as notifying them.) PG&E rates skyrocket to some of the highest in the country, but they insist that we will save money on our utility bills. Then when thousands of customers complain that (not only are seeing their bills getting higher than ever) and they are getting sick from the strong microwaves, they tell us we have to pay even more to have the privilege of slightly lower electro-pollution in our homes. We’re not the best at math, but something just doesn’t add up here.
Increasing evidence indicates that there are more health problems associated with the beleaguered ‘smart’ meter than just the rf antenna. Researchers looking at the remote switching mechanism are suggesting that it may be responsible for many of the reported health impacts, especially tinnitus and other auditory impacts. Rob States, an electrical engineer who has been studying this, says: “Since individuals with no history of RF disease are experiencing symptoms the first day the meter is installed, we can assume the meter’s RF emissions are not the only problem. The RF network is activated months after initial meter installation. Extensive measurements have demonstrated that all of the meters measured so far, including ABB, GE, and Landis Gyr, emit noise on the customer’s electric wiring in the form of high frequency voltage spikes, typically with an amplitude of 2 volts, but a frequency any ware from 4,000 Hertz, up to 60,000 Hz. The actual frequency of the phenomena is influenced by the devices that are plugged into the customer’s power. Some houses are much worse than others, and this observation has been confirmed by PG&E installers that have talked to us.”
What is happening scientifically is beyond most of our understanding- yet there are experts who are beginning to realize what is causing so many reports of headaches and other health impacts from the meters. We need: - 1) Independent hearings at the state level on what’s wrong with the ‘smart’ meter program so that these experts can contribute their knowledge to keep us safe. - 2) an IMMEDIATE halt to any further deployment of wireless ‘smart’ meters in California - 3) the right to keep your analog meter, and the right to have it replaced if you have had a ‘smart’ meter installed - 4) Utilities ordered to keep ALL analog meters in safe storage in CA until resolution if this crisis - 5) and finally …..duh……immediate order to decommission Diablo Canyon and all reactors built on fault lines. The CPUC needs to respond to this crisis in a meaningful way, and if they don’t, perhaps mass civil disobedience is just what the doctor ordered.
Check also
Why Opt Out is a Cop Out http://stopsmartmeters.org/2011/03/23/why-opt-out-is-a-cop-out/
(...) Just don’t allow the installers access to your meters. They might tell you that they will turn your power off but it’s an idle threat - no one has had their power turned off from declining smart meter installation. In fact that would be illegal. Lock up your meter if you have to, post a sign, a couple of tarantulas, and you are set. The ‘smart’ meters send a powerful microwave signal roughly every 4 seconds that communicates with other meters in a ‘mesh network’ and eventually to a DCU (data collector unit) mounted on a power pole and then to a cell tower and to the utility. Saves them a lot of money but costs your health. See latest newsletter for what you can do: http://stopsmartmeters.org/ssm-bulletins/vol-6-march-2011/
1. INSURANCE COMPANIES WON’T INSURE THE HEALTH PROBLEMS FROM WIRELESS Smart Meters
And Insurance companies don’t sacrifice insurance premiums ($$$) for no reason.
2. WIRELESS SMART METERS TRANSMIT RADIATION APPROXIMATELY 25,000 TIMES PER DAY, 24/7, not 45 seconds per day as claimed by Utility Company.
VIDEO – Radiation Measured From Smart Meter Mounted On A Home (6 min) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRejDxBE6OE
3. CELL DAMAGE, DNA BREAKS & BREACHES IN THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER observed in laboratory tests from low levels of pulsed RF signal radiation as emitted by Wireless smart meters – reported by Top Wireless radiation scientists in the world:
VIDEO – http://electromagnetichealth.org/electromagnetic-health-blog/cc-video/
(...) Smart meters are a menace to our health – all of us, collectively, and individually. This is the worst case I have ever heard of, in modern times, of forcing people to have a new technology on their property that has zero benefits to the individuals and ignores the health effects warnings of scientists and research for the past four decades. I recommend everyone opt-out, as the mesh grid that is being set up is harmful, whether on your home or across the street. Further, even if you can’t feel the harmful effects you are risking horrific health problems. I think that Californians should insist on NOT paying for the privilege of remaining healthy and for NOT being assaulted by this dangerous device on our homes. . Read more at http://www.smartmeterdangers.org. Demand immediate removal and Ban of smart meters Now!!
Migraines, Smart Meters and My New Movie About EMF's (MARCH 18, 2011) http://open.salon.com/blog/show_the_love/2011/03/18/migraines_smart_meters_and_my_new_movie_about_emfs
I Want To Die - If it weren't for my children, I surely would have taken my own life this winter. To the outsider, my world is perfect. I am married to my true love, have three adorable children, and we live in an idyllic Northern California town, I had everything in the world to be grateful for, yet I could appreciate none of it. I was in excruciating pain day in and day out. I was suffering from debilitating daily migraines that went on for days without end. Some days I couldn't take my children to school because I would wake up in unbearable pain. Most people in that kind of pain would go to the hospital, yet I knew there was nothing anyone could do for me, and that made it all the worse. If you know someone who suffers from migraines, then you know that migraines are not just headaches. They are a neurological disease and when something triggers a migraine, the victims experience a complete meltdown of the senses coupled with excruciating head pain and nausea. For me light feels like knives twisting around in my eyeball, noise like someone jackhammering my ears and food seems like poison for my stomach as the nausea sets in at a sickening speed. I find it hard to speak or move and eventually end up in fetal position crying my eyes out and praying that someone will shoot me and put me out of my misery.
(...) He asked me if I too had gotten a smart meter installed recently. He said he had gotten one installed two weeks prior and had a headache every day since. He included two links one from the New York Times on the subject and one from Teens Turned Green (I have since then found hundreds of similar links). After reading them, "oh my god" was all I could think and say...could this be what is making me sick? I thought I vaguely remember PG&E saying that they were giving me a new meter, and I told them sure, great have at it. New is better! Well, it turns out, my meter was installed at the same time my migraines began to kick into gear. CLIP
Depleted Uranium: A Strange Way To Protect Libyan Civilians
By David Wilson - Stop the War Coalition -- March 25, 2011
"[Depleted uranium tipped missiles] fit the description of a dirty bomb in every way... I would say that it is the perfect weapon for killing lots of people."
- Marion Falk, chemical physicist (retd), Lawrence Livermore Lab, California, USA
In the first 24 hours of the Libyan attack, US B-2s dropped forty-five 2,000-pound bombs. These massive bombs, along with the Cruise missiles launched from British and French planes and ships, all contained depleted uranium (DU) warheads.
DU is the waste product from the process of enriching uranium ore. It is used in nuclear weapons and reactors. Because it is a very heavy substance, 1.7 times denser than lead, it is highly valued by the military for its ability to punch through armored vehicles and buildings. When a weapon made with a DU tip strikes a solid object like the side of a tank, it goes straight through it, then erupts in a burning cloud of vapor. The vapor settles as dust, which is not only poisonous, but also radioactive.
An impacting DU missile burns at 10,000 degrees C. When it strikes a target, 30% fragments into shrapnel. The remaining 70% vaporises into three highly-toxic oxides, including uranium oxide. This black dust remains suspended in the air and, according to wind and weather, can travel over great distances. If you think Iraq and Libya are far away, remember that radiation from Chernobyl reached Wales.
Particles less than 5 microns in diameter are easily inhaled and may remain in the lungs or other organs for years. Internalized DU can cause kidney damage, cancers of the lung and bone, skin disorders, neurocognitive disorders, chromosome damage, immune deficiency syndromes and rare kidney and bowel diseases. Pregnant women exposed to DU may give birth to infants with genetic defects. Once the dust has vaporised, don't expect the problem to go away soon. As an alpha particle emitter, DU has a half life of 4.5 billion years.
In the 'shock and awe' attack on Iraq, more than 1,500 bombs and missiles were dropped on Baghdad alone. Seymour Hersh has claimed that the US Third Marine Aircraft Wing alone dropped more than "five hundred thousand tons of ordnance". All of it DU-tipped.
Al Jazeera reported that invading US forces fired two hundred tons of radioactive material into buildings, homes, streets and gardens of Baghdad. A reporter from the Christian Science Monitor took a Geiger counter to parts of the city that had been subjected to heavy shelling by US troops. He found radiation levels 1,000 to 1,900 times higher than normal in residential areas. With its population of 26 million, the US dropped a one-ton bomb for every 52 Iraqi citizens or 40 pounds of explosives per person.
William Hague has said that we are in Libya "to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas". You don't have to look far for who and what are being 'protected'.
In that first 24 hours the 'Allies' 'expended' £100 million on DU-tipped ordnance. The European Union's arms control report said member states issued licences in 2009 for the sale of £293.2 million worth of weapons and weapons systems to Libya. Britain issued arms firms licences for the sale of £21.7 million worth of weaponry to Libya and were also paid by Colonel Gadaffi to send the SAS to train his 32nd Brigade.
For the next 4.5 billion years, I'll bet that William Hague will not be holidaying in North Africa.
Toxic Intervention: Are NATO Forces Poisoning Libya with Depleted Uranium as They 'Protect' Civilians?
by Dave Lindorff -- 03/23/2011
President Obama’s criminal launch of an undeclared and Congressionally unauthorized war against Libya may be compounded by the crime of spreading toxic uranium oxide in populated areas of that country.
This is latest concern of groups like the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, which monitor the military use of so-called depleted-uranium (DU) anti-tank and bunker-penetrating shells.
Images of Libyan civilians and rebels celebrating around the burning hulks of the Libyan army’s tanks and armored personnel carriers, which had been hit by US, French and British aircraft ordnance in the early hours of the US-led assault on the forces of Col. Muammar Gaddafy, could well have been unknowingly inhaling the deadly dust of the uranium weapons favored by Western military forces for anti-tank warfare.
Specifically, the British-built Harrier jets used by British naval air forces and also by US Marine pilots, are often equipped with pod-mounted cannons that fire 20 mm shells--shells that often have uranium projectiles designed to penetrate heavy armor.
So far, the US has not introduced its A-10 Thunderbolts, known also as Warthogs, into the Libyan campaign, probably because these sub-sonic, straight-wing craft, while heavily armored, are vulnerable to shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles which Libyan forces are known to possess in large numbers. Once the air-control situation is improved by continued bombardment, however, these specialized ground-attack aircraft will probably be added to the attacking forces. The A-10 has a particularly large automatic cannon which fires an unusually large 30 mm shell. These shells are often fitted with solid uranium projectiles for attacking tanks, APCs or groups of fighters holed up in concrete bunkers.
A-10s were heavily used in the Balkan conflict, and officials of Kosovo were dismayed to learn that some 11 tons of uranium weapons were fired there, leaving dangerous uranium dust fallout in their wake.
The US military is fond of DU weapons because the material, made from uranium from which the fissionable U-235 has been removed, because it is extremely heavy, and, in alloy form, also extremely hard. Because of its mass, such projectiles can penetrate even the heaviest armor. Then, in the heat caused by the collision with an object, the uranium bursts into flame at extreme heat, causing an explosive (and toxic) inferno inside a tank or other vehicle, which usually also ignites any ammunition being carried. Soldiers inside a target vehicle are incinerated. The problem is that the resulting uranium oxide produced by such explosions, besides being highly toxic chemically, is also a microscopic alpha-emitter, which if inhaled or ingested by human beings is extremely carcinogenic and mutagenic.
Cities in Iraq where DU weapons were heavily used, such as Basra, Samara, Baghdad, Mosul and probably especially Fallujah, which was virtually leveled in a November 2004 Marine assault, are showing high rates of birth defects, many of which, along with unusually high rates of leukemia, medical experts say are emblematic of fetal radiation damage.
A University of Michigan peer-reviewed study of births in Fallujah published in December 2010 found that of 547 births in Fallujah General Hospital in May of 2010, six years after the all-out US assault on that city of 300,000, in which DU weapons were reportedly used widely, 15% of babies had birth defects--a rate more than five times higher than the global average of 2-3%.
It would be a tragic irony if rebels in Libya, after calling for assistance from the US and other NATO countries, succeeded in overthrowing the country’s long-time tyrant Gaddafy, only to have their country contaminated by uranium dust--the fate already suffered by the peoples of Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Check also...
Statement on the potential use of depleted uranium in Libya - By the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/396.html
(...) Although the French, British, US and Italian actions have approval from the UN Security Council, the mandate under resolution 1973 is for the protection of civilians. Furthermore, all belligerents are bound by the conventions of International Humanitarian Law, including the obligation to protect civilians from harm during conflict. The use of weapons such as depleted uranium, which cause long-lasting contamination and present a hazard to combatants and non-combatants alike, run contrary to these obligations, and should not be countenanced in any conflict, particularly by parties who claim their motivation is the protection of civilians. ICBUW repeats calls for warring parties to affirm publicly that they will not use DU weapons in this conflict, and urges all sides to abide by their obligations under International Humanitarian Law to protect civilian life.ICBUW will continue to monitor the situation closely.
New animated short on DU: When the Dust Settles (video) http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/374.html
ICBUW and IKV Pax Christi have been working on a joint project to create an animated short film on the hazards of depleted uranium and the international campaign against its use and are happy to announce that the English language version has now been completed. The aim of the project was to render down a complex issue into six and a half minutes.
France claims depleted uranium fears unfounded as it seeks alternatives (31 January 2011) http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/371.html
A parliamentary response from the French Ministry of Defence has revealed that France has no plans to remove its depleted uranium rounds from service as part of a Europe-wide moratorium on their use, as requested by a 2008 European Parliament resolution. The MoD claims that the rounds are the most effective anti-tank weapon France has and that depleted uranium is harmless. However, the MoD also claims that it is undertaking research into alternatives, in order to replace depleted uranium as soon as it has a weapon that it believes is as effective. Like the UK, France claims that not only is depleted uranium harmless but also that it is the most effective material available for kinetic energy rounds. However, the UK now seems happy to field a less effective weapon if it can save some money, while France is so unconcerned about the potential risks from depleted uranium that it is spending money developing alternative materials. CLIP
UK Ministry of Defence: depleted uranium is not ‘safe’ (4 March 2011) http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/382.html
In a letter responding to concerns from SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament Bill Wilson, UK Defence Minister Dr Liam Fox has acknowledged that the MoD does not consider that depleted uranium weapons are 'safe'. However he goes on to argue that no long term health or environmental problems attributable to depleted uranium use have been found.In acknowledging that depleted uranium is hazardous, he sought to reassure Bill Wilson that in the UK the use, storage and handling of the weapons - and other environmental considerations, are governed by a range of legislation. This includes the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 and the 2000 Ionising Radiation Regulations Act, both of which form part of the Health and Safety at Work Act and are enforced by the UK Health and Safety Executive. While his aim may have been to reassure, the reference to the tight legislative framework concerning the use and management of depleted uranium munitions in the UK stands in stark contrast to the uncontrolled release of the substance during conflict. This once again highlights the fact that the military use of depleted uranium munitions inevitably breaches the most basic of radiation protection norms. Furthermore, their use is clearly at odds with the UK government’s own strategy on radioactive discharges – which is based on both the Precautionary and Polluter Pays principles, where:"The Government considers that the unnecessary introduction of radioactivity into the environment is undesirable, even at levels where the doses to both human and non-human species are low and, on the basis of current knowledge, are unlikely to cause harm." CLIP
Belgian MP asks government for clarity over US depleted uranium shipments (21 February 2011) http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/378.html
Belgian politician and depleted uranium ban advocate Dirk Van der Maelen has written to the Foreign Minister for clarification over possible breaches of Belgium’s uranium weapons ban after Wikileaks revealed that government officials had downplayed the importance of the legislation to US officials. Earlier this month a series of leaked US cables from its Brussels embassy published in Belgian newspapers revealed that Belgian officials had suggested to the US government that the country’s 2009 law banning depleted uranium weapons would not affect US military shipments of equipment through the country. Belgian campaigners reacted angrily to the news as the legislation clearly stipulates that the transit of depleted uranium and other inhumane weapons covered by the ban across Belgian territory is restricted. According to the cables, Belgian officials had privately suggested that Belgium’s treaty obligations to NATO took precedence over their domestic legislation. CLIP
German Bundeswehr manual challenges US and UK denials over depleted uranium in Afghanistan (21 July 2009) http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/283.html
A military manual that was handed over to German campaigners has reignited allegations that the US used DU ammunition in Afghanistan. If true, it runs counter to repeated assurances given by the US military that no DU was used. The manual, a war-fighting guide for Bundeswehrcontigents in Afghanistan is marked classified and for official NATO use only. It was written by the Bundeswehr's Centre for Communication and published in late 2005. Campaigners have long suspected that the US military has not been entirely candid over the issue and papers have emerged showing that DU munitions were transported to Afghanistan. The use of A10 Warthog aircraft - one of the main users of DU ammunition - remains widespread to this day, although the number of armoured targets is now much diminished. Estimates by Janes Defence in 2003 suggested that the Taliban had at least 100 main battle tanks and 250 armoured fighting vehicles at the beginning of the conflict. It would be unusual if the US Army had chosen not to engage these targets with DU munitions from the air.The section on DU munitions begins with: During the operation “Enduring Freedom” in support of the Northern Alliance against the Taliban-Regime, US-aircraft used, amongst others, armour-piercing incendiary munitions with a DU-core. Because of its pyrophoric character, when this type of munition is used against hard targets (e.g. tanks, cars) the uranium burns. During the combustion, toxic dusts can be deposited, particularly at and around the targets, which can then be re-suspended easily. It then warns troops how to recognise contaminated targets and of the potential health threat from DU munitions, suggesting precautions that troops should take. It is notable that they suggest the use of full Nuclear Chemical and Biological warfare suits: DU-munitions can therefore induce toxic and radiological damage to exposed personnel through heavy metal poisoning and very low-level radiation. When it is suspected that these weapons have been used (burnt out cars or tanks, burnt out convoys, typical 30mm bullet holes) NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protection suits and NBC masks have to be worn in the vicinity of the munitions’ impact, until NBC security troops can rule out any threat. CLIP
(Note from Jean: First read the Depleted Uranium: A Strange Way To Protect Libyan Civilians AND Toxic Intervention: Are NATO Forces Poisoning Libya with Depleted Uranium as They 'Protect' Civilians? articles above...)
Many of us here in Internet land have developed an entirely different perspective regarding Middle Eastern events. It is an understanding not aired by BBC or CNN. Here are a few pieces to the larger puzzle.
Here is an interview with an American Muslim minister, who basically says the same thing as former economic hit-man John Perkins has described. Egypt's dictator, Mubarak, was already sold out to British/American corporate interests (buying off the next leader won't be too difficult in their eyes)... so the West stayed out of the revolution to some degree. On the other hand, in order to overtake Libyan resources, the corporate Western leaders had to paint Qaddafi as an enemy of the state, instigate a revolution, and then justify bringing in the military air force.
Under Qaddafi a 25 billion dollar man-made river system has been completed. This is a prize that the British/American/European oligarchy would also love to control. http://twelfthbough.blogspot.com/2011/03/virtually-unknown-in-west-libyas-water.html
(...) The engineering feat involves collecting water from 270 wells in east central Libya, and transporting it through about 2,000 kilometers of pipeline to Benghazi and Sirte. The new "river'' brings 2 million cubic meters of water a day. At completion, the system will involve 4,000 kilometers of pipepines, and two aqueducts of some 1,000 kilometers. Joining in celebrating the inauguration of the artificial river were dozens of Arab and African heads of state and hundreds of other foreign diplomats and delegations. Among them were Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, King Hassan of Morocco, the head of Sudan, Gen. Omar El Beshir, and Djibouti's President Hassan Julied. Col. Muammar Qaddafi told the celebrants: "After this achievement, American threats against Libya will double.... The United States will make excuses, [but] the real reason is to stop this achievement, to keep the people of Libya oppressed.'' Qaddafi presented the project to the cheering crowd as a gift to the Third World. Mubarak spoke at the ceremony and stressed the regional importance of the project. Qaddafi has called on Egyptian farmers to come and work in Libya, where there are only 4 million inhabitants. Egypt's population of 55 million is crowded in narrow bands along the Nile River and delta region. Over the last 20 years, the water improvement projects envisioned for Egypt, which could provide more water and more hectares of agricultural and residential land, have been repeatedly sabotaged by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and the Anglo-American financial interests behind them. CLIP
As far as Egypt goes, covert control of the Egyptian government and the strategic Suez Canal... despite the appearance of a successful ousting of President Mubarak... will continue by "corporate" British/American/Israeli influence. The common people, both Egyptian Christian and Egyptian Muslim, are beginning to understand that a counter revolution is being instigated by Government Intelligence operations to foment strife and thus justify a military intervention (to quell dissent once and for all). http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/mar2011/egyp-m14.shtml
Regarding Libya, this is a completely different revolution which has been fomented by corporate interests to take back control of the Libyan nationalized oil fields. It may look like a drive for democracy and freedom, but how can we call Qaddafi a terrible leader when he overthrew a corrupt monarchy, modernized the country, won the highest HD (Human Development Index) in Africa, and applied a direct democracy system of government?" And let's not forget Qaddafi reinvested oil profits into the completion of the 25 billion dollar Libyan, man-made river system....thus bringing farming and agriculture to a level never seen before...
Libya, Hypocrisy and Betrayal by the United Nations (March 18, 2011) http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/18
The bombing of Libya will begin on or nearly to the day, of the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the destruction of Iraq, 19th March, in Europe. Libya too will be destroyed - its schools, education system, water, infrastructure, hospitals, municipal buildings. There will be numerous "tragic mistakes", "collateral damage", mothers, fathers, children, babies, grandparents, blind and deaf schools and on and on. And the wonders of the Roman remains and earlier, largely enduring and revered in all history's turmoils as Iraq, the nation's history - and humanity's, again as Iraq and Afghanistan, will be gone, for ever. The infrastructure will be destroyed. The embargo will remain in place, thus rebuilding will be impossible. Britain, France and the US., will decide the country needs "stabilising", "help with reconstruction." They will move in, secure the oil installations and oil fields, the Libyan people will be an incidental inconvenience and quickly become "the enemy", "insurgents", be shot, imprisoned, tortured, abused - and a US friendly puppet "government" will be installed. The invaders will award their companies rebuilding contracts, the money - likely taken from Libya's frozen assets without accounting - will vanish and the country will remain largely in ruins. And the loudest cheerleaders for this, as Iraq, will be running round tv and radio stations in London, Europe and the US, then returning to their safe apartments and their UK/US/Europe paid tenures, in the knowledge that no bombs will be dropping on them. Their children will not be shaking uncontrollably and soiling themselves with terror at the sound of approaching planes.And this Libyan "Shock and Awe"? Shame on France, shame on Britain and the US and a UN avowed: "... to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war." Every shattered body, every child maimed or blown to bits, every widow, widower, orphan, will have their name of those countries, and the UN., written in their blood in their place of death. And the public of these murderous, marauding Western ram raiders, will be told that we were bringing democracy, liberating Libya from a tyrant, from the "new Hitler", the "Butcher of Bengazi." CLIP
This was reported leading up to British/American bombing of Libya:
Libya: Another War, Another Pack of Lies (March 20, 2011) http://www.activistpost.com/2011/03/libya-another-war-another-pack-of-lies.html
The corporate-financiers are dangerously flirting with their entire official narrative collapsing, as their progressive, Peace-Prize wearing puppet President Obama and the "radical reformer" David Cameron lead yet another war based on an Iraq-style pack of lies. After weeks of peddling a litany of verifiable lies, the West has forgone any attempt to justify or veil their actions in legitimacy and has decided to go ahead with a UN rubber-stamped "no-fly zone." Far from having anything to do with preventing Qaddafi's planes from flying, the no-fly zone has translated into full-scale missile and aerial bombardments across Libya aimed at turning the tide for freshly rearmed Western-backed rebels.
(...) "What we can confirm, is that the entire Libyan rebel movement has been backed by the US and UK for nearly 30 years. We can confirm that the initial calls for a Libyan "Day of Rage" came not from the streets of Benghazi, but from the London based National Conference for Libyan Opposition (NCLO). We can confirm that NCLO leader Ibrahim Sahad was literally sitting in front of the White House giving an interview to the Western media in the opening stages of the Libyan unrest, parroting verbatim the West's desire to militarily intervene with a no-fly zone." It is quite clear that the globalists had decided part of their US State Department sponsored "Arab Spring" would include removing Libya's Qaddafi from power. No reality on the ground will prevent the globalists from achieving this goal, including the necessity to send troops on the ground if the current bombing and missile campaign fails to tip the balance in the Libyan rebels' favor. The corporate owned media has descended to a new level of unprecedented, shameless propaganda to hammer their misshapen agenda into an ill-fitting reality.
Remember Fukushima
The globalist "international community" and mandate has never been more clearly illegitimate, squandered, and abused than it is now. While Japan suffers the worst catastrophe in its history, a catastrophe that includes the largest recorded earthquake in human history, a devastating tsunami and multiple nuclear meltdowns, the West pursues with the entirety of its resources, energy, and influence a war of profit and expansion in Libya - under the poorly dressed guise of "humanitarian concerns." As it has been pointed out, such concerns are unverified and entirely based on what the BBC itself calls "allegations" and "claims." Meanwhile, an irrefutable, unprecedented humanitarian disaster unfolds in northeastern Japan.As if meddling in a foreign nation's affairs based on a pack of lies isn't bad enough, doing so when resources are desperately needed amidst a real disaster amounts to the zenith of criminal negligence. The West once again proves they are the greatest purveyors of crimes against humanity, through simultaneous action in Libya, and inaction in Japan.Such irresponsible leadership, with such self-serving priorities that clearly leave the vast majority of humanity out in the cold does not deserve our respect, our obedience, or our support. Identify the corporate-financier oligarchs that make up this malicious self-appointed "global consensus" and put them out of business via a full-spectrum boycott and by replacing them permanently on a local level. While millions suffer in Japan and millions are in danger in Libya today, failing to strip these tyrants of their unwarranted influence will inevitably ensure the suffering and danger comes to you.
Here is an article which gives some of the history of the drive by Western corporatists to overtake and privatize Libyan oil fields in the past... and how Qaddafi took back control and nationalized those oil fields. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23414
This was posted three weeks before British/American bombing of Libya started up...
The Tide of Media Disinformation: Who is Behind the Military Insurrection in Libya? (March 2, 2011) http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=23456
We are facing soon another illegal war, an invasion to dismantle yet another country in "western" i.e. ''Corporate'' interests. Libya is the target nation this time, and already has "military advisers" from U.S., Britain and France, and perhaps also from Israel, on its soil. Although genuine internal opposition to the regime exists, the Libyan "protesters" we see supported by a Western media frenzy are by and large a military force, now being trained and equipped by foreign powers who are intent on getting hold of Libyan oil to have it "privatized, i.e. to become foreign owned instead as it was nationalized by Qaddafi 40 years ago. The eastern part of Libya is where the oil fields by and large are, and that eastern part will be yanked out of Libya by separatists working hand-in-hand with foreign powers. Do they already have a name for that new "country"! It is of essence that we don't fall for the transparent claptrap that we should be and are supporting "demonstrators" and "protesters"; under no circumstances should we give comfort to those who mouth "Responsibility to Protect" (RTP) while preparing for all-out invasion and occupation of yet another country. No matter how you twist it, RTP is a blatant imperialist doctrine with a false garb of "humanitarianism."What is brewing in Libya is not a "protest" or "demonstration" that has spread across the country, but an attempt to overthrow the government, militarily. We hear already about "rebel soldiers" and see images of men shaking their powerful guns, waving flags from the pre-Qaddafi period, which appear out of nowhere, en masse. The question is who is behind this force and what is its aim? This question is not being addressed in any way in our media and by our political representatives, and any real information and analysis has been replaced by sentimentalizing about "people power." It is clear that big powers are in a real rush to attack and dismantle Libya, in the same manner that Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan have been attacked and dismembered. CLIP
I would ask the reader: "Does instigating war and proceeding to pillage, plunder, and overtake the resources of weaker foreign nations sound like 'establishing democracy and freedom' to you?
Or, are these oil-bearing nations that are purported to be 'enemies of the state', in actuality, nothing more than prizes to be won by the corporate oligarchy who pull the strings of government in the Western world today?
A March 25 White House press release announced Obama's planned March 28 national TV speech:
"to update the American people on the situation in Libya, including the actions we've taken with allies and partners to protect the Libyan people from the brutality of Moammar Qaddafi, the transition to NATO command and control, and our policy going forward."
Imagine the hypocrisy. US-style "humanitarian intervention" reigns death and destruction "to protect the Libyan people." Recall how "shock and awe" protected Iraqis, how war on Afghanistan helps Afghans and neighboring Pakistanis from predatory drone and ground attacks. Libyans are now tasting imperial viciousness firsthand.
In fact, all US wars are imperial, not humanitarian, a long discredited propaganda ruse major media reports don't explain. Instead they cheerlead for war no matter how lawless, mindless, destructive or counterproductive, spreading malicious misinformation to justify intervention, concealing or downplaying the fallout from all conflicts let alone why they're waged.
As a previous article explained, this one's for regime change like others, to replace one despot with another, control the entire Mediterranean Basin, colonize Libya, perhaps balkanize it, control its oil, gas and other strategic resources, exploit its people, privatize state industries, and establish new US bases for greater regional control.
Gaddafi's Removal Planned in 2010
On March 25, Voltairenet.org headlined, "French plans to topple Gaddafi on track since last November," saying:
"According to right-wing Italian journalist Franco Bechis, plans to spark the Benghazi rebellion were initiated by French intelligence services in November 2010." The progressive ComeDonChisciotte's Miguel Martinez explained that Italy's secret services backed the effort.
"Voltaire Network wishes to point out that Paris promptly paired up with London in its scheme to overthrow Gaddafi (Franco-British expeditionary force). This plan was recalibrated in the context of the Arab revolutions," now controlled by Washington for its own purposes.
Bechis explained the timeline from October 20, 2010 - January 22, 2011, saying Nouri Mesmari, Gaddafi's chief of protocol, "turned himself over to the French secret service, and according to the Italians, he masterminded the revolution against Gaddafi. The document was leaked to the Italian newspaper Libero."
It explained that he revealed "inside information about the regime as well as an account of who's who in Libya and who they should or should not contact." As a result, "by mid-January the French" were ready to begin ousting Gaddafi. The campaign began weeks before the US-led NATO attack.
On March 25, London Daily Mail Online writers David Williams, Tim Shipman and Daily Mail Reporter said before bombing began "it was revealed that hundreds of British special forces troops have been deployed deep inside Libya targeting Colonel Gaddafi's forces - and more are on standby."
"While Chancellor George Osborne repeated that UK ground troops would not be involved, the Daily Mail can reveal there are an estimated 350 already mounting covert operations," along with US Special Forces and Egyptian commandos.
"It is understood that just under 250 UK special forces soldiers and their support have been in Libya since before the launch of air strikes to enforce the no-fly zone against Gaddafi's forces," but they arrived well before its imposition.
Another 100 now supplement the original contingent, comprised of Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) paratroopers. They're drawn from SAS (Special Air Service) and SBS (Special Boat Service) personnel, re-supplied by airdrops from Cyprus. Moreover, 800 Royal Marines "are on five days' notice to deploy to the Mediterranean," a clear sign of impending invasion with 4,000 US marines deployed nearby to join them.
Libya's Rebel Opposition Forces: Democrats They're Not
A London Telegraph Rob Crilly March 23 article headlined, "Libya: it wasn't supposed to be like this in free Benghazi," saying:
So-called rebels "took no chances. They put a knife to the throat of (a) driver before hauling the three men and one woman from (his) car, dragging them through the street into a nearby mosque for a rough round of interrogation."
Inside they were beaten until they admitted planning an attack on the mosque, whether or not true. "It wasn't supposed to be like this in free Benghazi....Rebel leaders admit that dozens of Gaddafi supporters have been arrested or killed."
Every night, vigilante gangs "mop up (suspected) pro-Gaddafi elements." Foreign workers long ago fled the city. Most refugees, in fact, are foreign workers, not Libyan nationals, what major media reports don't explain.
Under rebel control, Benghazi residents are terrorized, many "too frightened to drive through the dark streets at night, fearing a shakedown or worse at the proliferating checkpoints." One man said unless they know you, they assume you're pro-Gaddafi.
Moreover, about 1.5 million black African migrant workers feel trapped under suspicion of supporting the wrong side. Numbers of them have been attacked, some hunted down, dragged from apartments, beaten and killed. So-called "revolutionaries" and "freedom fighters" are, in fact, rampaging gunmen committing atrocities airbrushed from mainstream reports, unwilling to reveal the new Libya if Gaddafi is deposed.
In his latest article, Webster Tarpley supplied more information headlining, "The CIA's Libya Rebels: The Same Terrorists who Killed US NATO Troops in Iraq," saying:
Already France and Portugal recognized anti-Gaddafi rebels "as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people." The names of most of their 30 + delegates aren't revealed. Opposition elements are an armed force, backed by Washington, France and Britain, the main co-belligerents.
A 2007 West Point study examined their backgrounds as "foreign guerrilla fighters - jihadis or mujahedin, including suicide bombers - crossing the Syrian border into Iraq during the 2006 - 2007 timeframe, under the auspices of....Al Qaeda."
Study findings are based on about 600 Al Qaeda captured personnel files by US forces in 2007. Most came from Saudi Arabia, others from Syria, Yemen, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan, and Libya alone supplying almost one-fifth of them, more per capita by far than other regional states. Diverted now from fighting America in Iraq, they were recruited, armed and funded to oust Gaddafi.
A previous article discussed their National Libyan Council leadership, a so-called "transitional government," accessed through the following link:
Tarpley believes the Harabi tribe may be trying "to seize dominance over the" others. "The Harabi are already practically hegemonic among the tribes of Cyrenaica (Libya's eastern coastal region). At the center of the Harabi Confederation is the Obeidat tribe, which is divided into 15 sub-tribes." Harabi apparently has links to violent elements in Benghazi. They're former US enemies, now allies against Gaddafi to oust him.
However, that begs the question. Will forces opposing US dominance, acquiesce once its imperial hand is evident, or will they resist later the way they're now doing. It's a consideration perhaps not planned for in Washington, London and Paris. In the fullness of time we'll know, including whether imperial forces unleashed a tiger they can't control.
Yet Council on Foreign Relations' (CFR) member Charles Kupchan told IPS, "(T)he six million dollar question is where is this heading and I don't think we have a clear sense of it."
As he knows but didn't say, of course we do. It's not humanitarian as he states. It's to terrorize Libyans until Gaddadi's ousted, then toughen things when he's gone as in Iraq and Afghanistan to assure Washington's hegemonic control. Allied with junior partners Britain and France, they'll carve up Libya for profit, crushing resistance mercilessly. It's how America operates globally, including at home where democracy is just a figure of speech, not reality.
The “existing power structure” means the demorat and repuke parties who put these dictators in power. It is the power structure in the Pentagon, and in our two parties who have backed them all up, all for the maintenance of Israel. Of course, these revolutions are a result of decades of dealing with these dictators and who are over throwing them. However, the power structure in the US has its hands in everyone of them. Today, it was reported by Bloomberg that a CIA guy is now in command of the Libyan Freedom Fighters. This guy was in VA two weeks ago, so how did he come to be the commander against Khadady? Why is Bradly Manning being tortured? The Obama/Clintons are all lying…they are planning a ground invasion beginning in April… its all been reported, no matter what Obama says tonight.
By Susan Lindauer, former U.S. Asset who covered Libya at the United Nations from 1995 to 2003
March 28th, 2011
Who are we kidding? The United States, Britain and NATO don’t care about bombing civilians to contain rebellion. Their militaries bomb civilians every day without mercy. They have destroyed most of the community infrastructure of Iraq and Afghanistan before turning their sights on Libya. So what’s really going on here?
According to the CIA, the following never happened…
Last October, US oil giants— Chevron and Occidental Petroleum— made a surprising decision to pull out of Libya, while China, Germany and Italy stayed on, signing major contracts with Gadhaffi’s government. As the U.S. Asset who started negotiations for the Lockerbie Trial with Libyan diplomats, I had close ties to Libya’s U.N. Mission from 1995 to 2003.
Given my long involvement in the Lockerbie saga, I have continued to enjoy special access to high level intelligence gossip on Libya.
Last summer that gossip got juicy!
About July, I started hearing that Gadhaffi was exerting heavy pressure on U.S. and British oil companies to cough up special fees and kick backs to cover the costs of Libya’s reimbursement to the families of Pan Am 103. Payment of damages for the Lockerbie bombing had been one of the chief conditions for ending U.N. sanctions on Libya that ran from 1992 until 2003. And of course the United Nations forced Gadhaffi to hand over two Libyan men for a special trial at The Hague, though everybody credible was fully conscious of Libya’s innocence in the Lockerbie affair. (Only ignorant politicians trying to score publicity points say otherwise.)
Knowing Gadhaffi as well as I do, I was convinced that he’d done it. He’d bided his time until he could extort compensation from U.S. oil companies. He’s a crafty bastard, extremely intelligent and canny. That’s exactly how he operates. And now he was taking his revenge. As expected, the U.S. was hopping mad about it. Gadhaffi wasn’t playing the game the way the Oil Bloodsuckers wanted.
The Vampire of our age—the Oil Industry—roams the earth, sucking the life out of every nation to feed its thirst for profits. Only when they got to Libya, Gadhaffi took on the role of a modern-day Robin Hood, who insisted on replenishing his people for the costs they’d suffered under U.N. sanctions.
Backing up a year earlier, in August 2009 the lone Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people, Abdelbasset Megrahi, won a compassionate release from Scottish prison. Ostensibly, the British government and Scottish Courts granted Megrahi’s request to die at home with dignity from advance stage cancer—in exchange for dropping a legal appeal packed with embarrassments for the European Courts.
The decision to free Megrahi followed shocking revelations of corruption at the special Court of The Hague that handled the Lockerbie Trial. Prosecution witnesses confessed to receiving payments of $4 million each from the United States, in exchange for testimony against Megrahi, a mind-blowing allegation of judicial corruption.
The Lockerbie conviction was full of holes to begin with. Anybody who knows anything about terrorism in the 1980s knows the CIA got mixed up in heroin trafficking out of the Bekaa Valley during the hostage crisis in Lebanon. The Lockerbie conspiracy had been a false flag operation to kill off a joint CIA and Defense Intelligence investigation into kick backs from Islamic Jihad, in exchange for protecting the heroin transit network.
According to my own CIA handler, Dr. Richard Fuisz, who’d been stationed in Lebanon and Syria at the time, the CIA had established a protected drug route from Lebanon to Europe and on to the United States. His statements support other sources that “Operation Corea” allowed Syrian drug dealers led by Monzer al-Kassar (also linked to Oliver North in the Iran-Contra scandal) to ship heroin to the U.S. ON Pan Am flights, in exchange for intelligence on the hostages’ whereabouts in Lebanon.
The CIA allegedly made sure that suitcases carrying heroin were not searched at customs. Nicknamed the “Godfather of Terror,” Al Kassar is now serving a prison sentence for conspiring with Colombian drug cartels to assassinate U.S. nationals.
Building up to Lockerbie, the Defense Intelligence team in Beirut, led by Maj. Charles Dennis McKee and Matthew Gannon, suspected that CIA infiltration of the heroin network might be prolonging the hostage crisis. If so, the consequence was severe. AP Reporter Terry Anderson got chained in a basement for 7 years, while 96 other high profile western hostages suffered beatings, mock executions and overall trauma. McKee’s team raised the alarms in Washington that a CIA double agent profiting from the narco-dollars might be warning the hostage takers whenever their dragnet closed in.
Washington sent a fact-finding team to Lebanon to gather evidence.
On the day it was blown out of the sky, Pan Am 103 was carrying that team of CIA and FBI investigators, the CIA’s Deputy Chief assigned to Beirut, and three Defense Intelligence officers, including McKee and Gannon, on their way to Washington to deliver a report on the CIA’s role in heroin trafficking, and the impact on terrorist financing and the hostage crisis. In short, everyone with direct knowledge of CIA kickbacks from heroin trafficking died on Pan Am 103. A suitcase packed with $500,000 worth of heroin was found in the wreckage. It belonged to investigators, as proof of the corruption.
The punch line was that the U.S. State Department issued an internal travel advisory, warning that government officials should get off that specific flight on that specific day, because Pan Am 103 was expected to get bombed. That’s right, folks! The U.S. had prior knowledge of the attack.
Unforgivably, nobody told Charles McKee or Matthew Gannon. But other military officials and diplomats got pulled off the flight—making room for a group of students from Syracuse University traveling stand by for the Christmas holidays.
It was a monstrous act! But condemning Megrahi to cover up the CIA’s role in heroin trafficking has struck many Lockerbie afficiandos as grossly unjust. Add the corruption of purchased testimony– $4 million a pop— and Megrahi’s life sentence struck a nerve of obscenity.
It struck Gadhaffi as grievously offensive, as well—The United Nations had forced Libya to fork over $2.7 billion in damages to the Lockerbie families, a rate of $10 million for every death. Once it became clear the U.S. paid two key witnesses $4 million each to commit perjury, spook gossip throughout the summer was rife that Gadhaffi had taken bold action to demand compensation from U.S. (and probably British) oil corporations operating in Libya. More than likely, Libya’s demands for kick backs and compensation extended to other European oil conglomerates as well—particularly France and Italy—who are now spearheading attacks on Libya.
I knew last summer there would be trouble. Payback would be a b—tch on both sides. You don’t lock an innocent man in prison for 10 years on bogus charges of terrorism, and expect forgiveness. The United States and Britain had behaved with remarkable selfishness. You’ve got to admit that Gadhaffi’s attempt to balance the scales of justice demonstrated a flair of righteous nationalism.
Alas, Gadhaffi was playing with fire, no matter how justified his complaint. You don’t strike a tyrant without expecting a tyrant to strike back.
There is simply no justification for U.S. or NATO action against Libya. The U.N. charter acknowledges the rights of sovereign nations to put down rebellions against their own governments. Moreover, many observers have commented that plans for military intervention appear to have been much more advanced than U.S. and European leaders want to admit.
For myself, I know in my gut that war planning started months before the democratization movement kicked off throughout the Arab world—a lucky cover for U.S. and European oil policy. Perhaps too lucky.
As Chossudovsky writes, “Hundreds of US, British and French military advisers arrived in Cyrenaica, Libya’s eastern breakaway province” on February 23 and 24— seven (7) days after the start of Gadhaffi’s domestic rebellion. “The advisers, including intelligence officers, were dropped from warships and missile boats at the coastal towns of Benghazi and Tobruk.” (DEBKAfile, US military advisers in Cyrenaica, Feb. 25, 2011) Special forces on the ground in Eastern Libya provided covert support to the rebels.” Eight British Special Forces commandos were arrested in the Benghazi region, while acting as military advisers to opposition forces, according to the Times of London.
We’re supposed to believe the United States, Britain and Europe planned, coordinated and executed a full military intervention in 7 short days— from the start of the Libyan rebellion in mid-February until military advisers appeared on the ground in Libya on February 23-24!
That’s strategically impossible.
Nothing can persuade me that Gadhaffi’s fate wasn’t decided months ago, when Chevron and Occidental Petroleum took their whining to Capitol Hill, complaining that Gadhaffi’s nationalism interfered with their oil profiteering. From that moment, military intervention was on the drawing board as surely as the Patriot Act got stuck in a drawer waiting for 9/11.
The message is simple: Challenge the oil corporations and your government and your people will pay the ultimate price: Give us your oil as cheaply as possible. Or die.
Don’t kid yourself. Nobody gives a damn about suffering in Libya or Iraq. You don’t bomb a village to save it. The U.S., Britain and NATO are the bullies of the neighborhood. The enforcers for Big Oil.
Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan have something in common. They have vast and extraordinary oil and mineral riches. As such, they are all victims of what I call the Vampire Wars. The Arab Princes get paid off, while the bloodsuckers pull the life blood out of the people. They’re scarcely able to survive in their own wealthy societies. The people and the domestic economy are kept alive to uphold the social order, but they are depleted of the nourishment of their own national wealth.
The democratization movements are sending a warning that I don’t think Big Oil, or their protectors in the U.S. and British governments understand or have figured out how to control. The Arab people are finished with this cycle of victimization. They’ve got their stakes out, and they’re starting to figure out how to strike into the heart of these Vampires, sucking the life blood out of their nations.
And woe to the wicked when they do!
This article may be reprinted in full or part with attribution to the author.
"Operation Libya" and the Battle for Oil: Redrawing the Map of Africaby Prof Michel Chossudovsky (March 9, 2011) http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23605
The geopolitical and economic implications of a US-NATO led military intervention directed against Libya are far-reaching.Libya is among the World's largest oil economies with approximately 3.5% of global oil reserves, more than twice those of the US."Operation Libya" is part of the broader military agenda in the Middle East and Central Asia which consists in gaining control and corporate ownership over more than sixty percent of the world's reserves of oil and natural gas, including oil and gas pipeline routes."Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, possess between 66.2 and 75.9 percent of total oil reserves, depending on the source and methodology of the estimate." (See Michel Chossudovsky, The "Demonization" of Muslims and the Battle for Oil, Global Research, January 4, 2007) . With 46.5 billion barrels of proven reserves, (10 times those of Egypt), Libya is the largest oil economy in the African continent followed by Nigeria and Algeria (Oil and Gas Journal). In contrast, US proven oil reserves are of the order of 20.6 billion barrels (December 2008) according to the Energy Information Administration. U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids Reserves)
An invasion of Libya under a humanitarian mandate would serve the same corporate interests as the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq. The underlying objective is to take possession of Libya's oil reserves, destabilize the National Oil Corporation (NOC) and eventually privatize the country's oil industry, namely transfer the control and ownership of Libya's oil wealth into foreign hands.The National Oil Corporation (NOC) is ranked 25 among the world’s Top 100 Oil Companies. (The Energy Intelligence ranks NOC 25 among the world’s Top 100 companies. - Libyaonline.com) The planned invasion of Libya, which is already underway is part of the broader "Battle for Oil". Close to 80 percent of Libya’s oil reserves are located in the Sirte Gulf basin of Eastern Libya. Libya is a Prize Economy. "War is good for business". Oil is the trophy of US-NATO led wars.Wall Street, the Anglo-American oil giants, the US-EU weapons producers would be the unspoken beneficiaries of a US-NATO led military campaign directed against Libya. Libyan oil is a bonanza for the Anglo-American oil giants. While the market value of crude oil is currently well in excess of 100 dollars a barrel, the cost of Libyan oil is extremely low, as low as $1.00 a barrel (according to one estimate). As one oil market expert commented somewhat cryptically:"At $110 on the world market, the simple math gives Libya a $109 profit margin." (Libya Oil, Libya Oil One Country's $109 Profit on $110 Oil, EnergyandCapital.com March 12, 2008)
Foreign Oil Interests in Libya
Foreign oil companies operating prior to the insurrection in Libya include France's Total, Italy's ENI, The China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), British Petroleum, the Spanish Oil consortium REPSOL, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, Hess, Conoco Phillips.Of significance, China plays a central role in the Libyan oil industry. The China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) had a workforce of some 400 employees. The total Chinese workforce in Libya was of the order of 30,000. Eleven percent (11%) of Libyan oil exports are channelled to China. While there are no figures on the size and importance of CNPC's production and exploration activities, there are indications that they are sizeable. More generally, China's presence in North Africa is considered by Washington to constitute an intrusion. From a geopolitical standpoint, China is an encroachment. The military campaign directed against Libya is intent upon excluding China from North Africa.
(...) Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa. The objective of US-NATO interference is strategic: it consists in outright theft, in stealing the nation's oil wealth under the disguise of a humanitarian intervention.This military operation is intent upon establishing US hegemony in North Africa, a region historically dominated by France and to lesser extent by Italy and Spain.
(...) The mainstream media through massive disinformation is complicit in justifying a military agenda which, if carried out, would have devastating consequences not only for the Libyan people: the social and economic impacts would be felt Worldwide. There are at present three distinct war theaters in the broader Middle East Central Asian region: Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq. In the case of an attack on Libya, a fourth war theater would be opened up in North Africa, with the risk of military escalation. Public opinion must take cognizance of the hidden agenda behind this alleged humanitarian undertaking, heralded by the heads of state and heads of government of NATO countries as a "Just War". The Just War theory in both its classical and contemporary versions upholds war as a "humanitarian operation". It calls for military intervention on ethical and moral grounds against "rogue states" and "Islamic terrorists". The Just war theory demonizes the Gaddafi regime while providing a humanitarian mandate to US-NATO military intervention.The heads of state and heads of government of NATO countries are the architects of war and destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. In an utterly twisted logic, they are heralded as the voices of reason, as the representatives of the "international community". Realities are turned upside down. A humanitarian intervention is launched by war criminals in high office, who are the unchallenged guardians of the Just War theory. Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo,... Civilian casualties in Pakistan resulting from US drone attacks on towns and villages ordered by president Obama, are not front page news, nor are the 2 million civilian deaths in Iraq. There is no such thing as a "Just War". The history of US imperialism should be understood. The 2000 Report of the Project of the New American Century entitled "Rebuilding Americas' Defenses" calls for the implementation of a long war, a war of conquest. One of the main components of this military agenda is: to "Fight and decisively win in multiple, simultaneous theater wars". "Operation Libya" is part of that process. It is another theater in the Pentagon's logic of "simultaneous theater wars". The PNAC document faithfully reflects the evolution of US military doctrine since 2001. The US plans to be involved simultaneously in several war theaters in different regions of the World. CLIP
Wow! That Was Fast! Libyan Rebels Have Already Established A New Central Bank Of Libya
Posted: March 30, 2011
The rebels in Libya are in the middle of a life or death civil war and Moammar Gadhafi is still in power and yet somehow the Libyan rebels have had enough time to establish a new Central Bank of Libya and form a new national oil company. Perhaps when this conflict is over those rebels can become time management consultants. They sure do get a lot done. What a skilled bunch of rebels – they can fight a war during the day and draw up a new central bank and a new national oil company at night without any outside help whatsoever. If only the rest of us were so versatile! But isn’t forming a central bank something that could be done after the civil war is over? According to Bloomberg, the Transitional National Council has “designated the Central Bank of Benghazi as a monetary authority competent in monetary policies in Libya and the appointment of a governor to the Central Bank of Libya, with a temporary headquarters in Benghazi.” Apparently someone felt that it was very important to get pesky matters such as control of the banks and control of the money supply out of the way even before a new government is formed.
Of course it is probably safe to assume that the new Central Bank of Libya will be 100% owned and 100% controlled by the newly liberated people of Libya, isn’t it?
The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) is 100% state owned and represents the monetary authority in The Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and enjoys the status of autonomous corporate body. The law establishing the CBL stipulates that the objectives of the central bank shall be to maintain monetary stability in Libya , and to promote the sustained growth of the economy in accordance with the general economic policy of the state.
Since the old Central Bank of Libya was state owned, it was essentially under the control of Moammar Gadhafi.
But now that Libya is going to be “free”, the new Central Bank of Libya will be run by Libyans and solely for the benefit of Libyans, right?
Of course it is probably safe to assume that will be the case with the new national oil company as well, isn’t it?
Over the past couple of years, Moammar Gadhafi had threatened to nationalize the oil industry in Libya and kick western oil companies out of the country, but now that Libya will be “free” the people of Libya will be able to work hand in hand with “big oil” and this will create a better Libya for everyone.
Right?
Of course oil had absolutely nothing to do with why the U.S. “inva—” (scratch that) “initiated a kinetic humanitarian liberty action” in Libya.
When Barack Obama looked straight into the camera and told the American people that the war in Libya is in the “strategic interest” of the United States, surely he was not referring to oil.
After all, war for oil was a “Bush thing”, right? The Democrats voted for Obama to end wars like this, right? Surely no prominent Democrats will publicly support this war in Libya, right?
Surely Barack Obama will end the bombing of Libya if the international community begins to object, right?
Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize. He wouldn’t deeply upset the other major powers on the globe and bring us closer to World War III, would he?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has loudly denounced “coalition strikes on columns of Gaddafi’s forces” and he believes that the U.S. has badly violated the terms of the UN Security Council resolution….
“We consider that intervention by the coalition in what is essentially an internal civil war is not sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council resolution.”
So to cool off rising tensions with the rest of the world, Obama is going to call off the air strikes, right?
Well, considering the fact that Obama has such vast foreign policy experience we should all be able to rest easy knowing that Obama will understand exactly what to do.
Meanwhile, the rebels seem to be getting the hang of international trade already.
They have even signed an oil deal with Qatar!
Rebel “spokesman” Ali Tarhouni has announced that oil exports to Qatar will begin in “less than a week“.
Who knew that the rag tag group of rebels in Libya were also masters of banking and international trade?
We sure do live in a strange world.
Tonight, Barack Obama told the American people the following….
“Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different.”
So now we are going to police all of the atrocities in all of the other countries around the globe?
The last time I checked, the government was gunning down protesters in Syria.
Is it time to start warming up the Tomahawks?
Or do we reserve “humanitarian interventions” only for those nations that have a lot of oil?
In fact, atrocities are currently being committed all over Africa and in about a dozen different nations in the Middle East.
Should we institute a draft so that we will have enough young men and women to police the world with?
We all have to be ready to serve our country, right?
The world is becoming a smaller place every day, and you never know where U.S. “strategic interests” are going to be threatened next.
The rest of the world understands that we know best, right?
Of course the rest of the world can surely see our good intentions in Libya, can’t they?
Tensions with Russia, China and the rest of the Arab world are certainly going to subside after they all see how selfless our “humanitarian intervention” has been in Libya, don’t you think?
In all seriousness, we now live in a world where nothing is stable anymore. Wars and revolutions are breaking out all over the globe, unprecedented natural disasters are happening with alarming frequency and the global economy is on the verge of total collapse.
By interfering in Libya, we are just making things worse. Gadhafi is certainly a horrible dictator, but this was a fight for the Libyan people to sort out.
We promised the rest of the world that we were only going to be setting up a “no fly zone”. By violating the terms of the UN Security Council resolution, we have shown other nations that we cannot be trusted and by our actions we have increased tensions all over the globe.
I doubt if there were any real plans to nationalize the oil – outside of the NWO press.
The game is genocide / subjugation
2. Steve Wiseman says:
The Rebels did not create the bank accounts; the Banks created the Rebels…It is they who run this world…the rebellions and wars are just all part of their plan…
NATO Chief Opens The Door to Libya Ground Troops (March 30, 2011) http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/nato-chief-opens-the-door-to-libya-ground-troops/
The mantra, from President Obama on down, is that ground forces are totally ruled out for Libya. After all, the United Nations Security Council Resolution authorizing the war explicitly rules out any “occupation” forces. But leave it to the top military officer of NATO, which takes over the war on Wednesday, to add an asterisk to that ban.During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island asked Adm. James Stavridis about NATO putting forces into “post-Gadhafi” Libya to make sure the country doesn’t fall apart. Stavridis said he “wouldn’t say NATO’s considering it yet.” But because of NATO’s history of putting peacekeepers in the Balkans — as pictured above — “the possibility of a stabilization regime exists.”So welcome to a new possible “endgame” for Libya. Western troops patrolling Libya’s cities during a a shaky transition after Moammar Gadhafi’s regime has fallen, however that’s supposed to happen. Thousands of NATO troops patrolled Bosnia and Kosovo’s tense streets for years. And Iraq and Afghanistan taught the U.S. and NATO very dearly that fierce insurgent conflict can follow the end of a brutal regime. In fact, it’s the moments after the regime falls that can be the most dangerous of all — especially if well-intentioned foreign troops become an object of local resentment. CLIP Check also Clinton says "no decision" on arming Libyan rebels !! So they are seriously considering it!
12.
Forwarded by Ricardo (ricardos@auroville.org.in)
From: Cecilie Surasky, Jewish Voice for Peace (info@jewishvoiceforpeace.org)
Sent: 26 March 2011
Subject: From Gaza to Jerusalem: JVP Statement on the Escalation of Violence
Please feel free to share this statement with your friends, loved ones, and colleagues. We hope it will inspire heartfelt conversations, debates, and questioning. And most of all action - no matter how big or small - for a better and more just world that values all lives equally.
Cecilie Surasky
Jewish Voice for Peace
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From Gaza to Jerusalem: JVP Statement on the Escalation of Violence, March 25, 2011
Any act of violence, especially one against civilians, marks a profound failure of human imagination and causes a deep and abiding trauma for all involved. In mourning the nine lives lost in Gaza and the one life lost in Jerusalem this week, we reject the pattern of condemning the deaths of Israelis while ignoring the deaths of Palestinians. We do not discriminate. One life lost is one life too many--whether Palestinian or Israeli.
Within the context of 44 years of the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, in the past two years (January 31, 2009 to January 31, 2011, starting just after Operation Cast Lead), over a thousand Palestinians have been made homeless by home demolitions, hundreds have been unlawfully detained, and over 150 men, women and children have been killed by the IDF and settlers, according to the Israeli human rights group B’tselem.(1) Many acres of Palestinian land have been taken and orchards uprooted by armed settlers. Countless hours have been lost at checkpoints, often fruitlessly, while Palestinians attempted to get medical care, jobs, and access to education. One and a half million Gazans have been living with a limited food supply, lack of electricity and dangerously toxic sewage.
This is occupation: daily, persistent acts of structural violence. All in the service of a government that constantly expands illegal Israeli settlements on land that rightfully belongs to Palestinians.
These acts don't reach our headlines because they are so habitual, so we learn not to see them. But Palestinians live them and their profound consequences everyday, and we must keep that in mind, even as we ponder the terrible events of the past few weeks:(2)
- A person or persons, (we don't know who), bombed a bus stop in Jerusalem, injuring 30 and killing 1 Israeli civilian;
- An Israeli bombing killed 3 children and an older man in Gaza;
- A person or persons, (we don't know who), murdered 5 members of a family, including three children, in Itamar, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank;
- The Israeli government suddenly tightened the siege of Gaza and escalated military attacks, killing a total of
- 11 Palestinians and injuring more than 40 since mid-March;(3)
Palestinians fired over 50 shells and rockets from Gaza into civilian areas in southern Israel.
These terrible acts of violence remind us that to end the Israeli occupation our best hope is supporting the inspiring nonviolent Palestinian movement for change, in the form of unarmed protests every Friday in places like Bil’in, Ni'lin, Sheikh Jarrah, and the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. This is a movement that respects life, that is part and parcel of the nonviolent democratic people's movements we have been inspired by throughout the Arab world, that welcomes the solidarity and support of Israeli and international believers in equality and universal human rights.
This is a movement that fundamentally subverts the logic of armies, revenge-fueled “price tags”, and armed struggle. And it is a movement that may well do what no other government to date has done-- pressure Israel to be accountable to international law and therefore help create conditions for truly meaningful negotiations.
Because it is so powerful, it is no surprise that the right to engage in nonviolent resistance, a foundational component of any functioning democracy, is under attack in Israel. Human rights activists are being detained or imprisoned. Bills to criminalize the BDS movement, or harass human rights organizations, are working their way through the Knesset.
Just this week:
- The very act of publicly commemorating the Nakba, a crucial nonviolent act of Palestinian remembrance, was essentially criminalized in Israel by the Knesset.(4)The Knesset also passed a law allowing small communities in the Galilee and Negev to discriminate against anyone wanting to reside there who does not fit in with the community’s “socio-cultural” character.(5)
- The Knesset also held hearings to assess whether the “pro-Israel, pro-peace” group J Street was sufficiently pro-Israel.(6)
- The IDF announced a new military intelligence-gathering unit solely dedicated to monitoring international left-wing peace and human rights groups that the army sees as a threat to Israel. The department will work closely with government ministries.(7)
- Dozens of Israeli soldiers raided the home of Bassem Tamimi, Head of the nonviolent Nabi Saleh Popular Committee , and beat his wife and daughter while arresting him presumably on charges of "incitement" and "organizing illegal demonstrations."(8)
As the Israeli government increasingly deploys anti-democratic measures and military repression, we at Jewish Voice for Peace are redoubling our efforts to support the best hope- a nonviolent Palestinian-led resistance movement in which we all work together to nurture life, justice and equality. We invite you to join the movement.
You may subscribed to receive E-news or become a member through http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/join
Check out our blogs Muzzlewatch (tracking efforts to stifle open debate about US-Israeli foreign policy) and The Only Democracy? (reporting on the struggle for civil and human rights in Israel and Palestine).
Inspired by what we're doing?
Contact us directly at Jewish Voice for Peace. 1611 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 550. Oakland, CA 94612 510-465-1777 divest@jvp.org
13.
From: http://www.matthewbooks.com/mm/anmviewer.asp?a=132&z=2
Knowledge emerging about manmade quakes, weather manipulation; radiation in Japan, ET assistance; Hatonn: difficulties in dismantling Illuminati-controlled technology; freedom fighters in Arab countries; higher perspective of Libya
Message from Matthew - March 25, 2011
With loving greetings from all souls at this station, this is Matthew to speak about two especially significant situations in your world. Because your perspective is limited to personal observation and media reports, we want to give you the encouraging news as seen from our higher vantage point. All happenings are within the universal acceleration mode that we have been telling you would cause changes to come thick and fast, and all that seems to be in turmoil in this moment will lead to the emergence of truths and the implementation of reforms.
To give an example of a long-hidden truth that has come forth to some extent, not long ago most people on Earth would have found it difficult to believe that a few scientists have been causing the tremendously destructive earthquakes, severe storms and flooding. Now your Internet is teeming with information about what manmade technology can cause and has caused, and while the public at large may not yet know this, in time they will.
Let us first speak about what Japan is dealing with. We know some lightworkers feel that our off-planet brothers and sisters need to step in and control the radiation situation that has the potential to create untold numbers of casualties and environmental damage globally. In our previous message we told you that our space family is reducing to the extent possible the radiation levels, and in other messages we have stated that crews cannot land en masse until safety can be assured for you and them, and at this point, it cannot. So assistance at the nuclear facility cannot come in a large public way; however, action has been taken.
At the request of various persons, my mother has been in touch with me and other sources, and I have asked her to share with you what she has been told.
CLIP - Note from Jean: This information in this part was included in my March 24 compilation
There are indeed unsafe levels of radiation in plants, water and air near the facility and lower levels elsewhere in that country; all those levels would be far higher without our space family's assistance on and off-planet that has greatly reduced the radioactivity at the facility.
We honor the courage of the Japanese workers at the site whose prolonged proximity to radiation will result in death or severe illness. Those who make transition to Nirvana will be greeted by throngs shouting Bravo! and given whatever personalized care is needed, and their bravery will be recognized as well by leaps in their soul evolvement. As for the workers who are less sickened, if their soul contracts call for a lifetime of many years, their bodies can heal as Earth continues her ascension toward vibratory levels where no disease exists.
In our previous message, we stated that all persons who perished in the quake and tsunami received exactly the customized care they needed. It would give a measure of comfort to their families if they could know that their beloved souls are joyful in their active lives in spirit and are beaming light to uplift their countrymen.
Now then, your space family's assistance in regard to this nuclear situation can go only so far because it is not their world, it is yours, and you must take strong action to assure that nuclear power is eliminated as a principal energy source. There must be a global demand for no new reactors to be built, for those in the construction stage to be stopped, and those in active service to be shut down. Nuclear power at your stage of development has been risky from the beginning, yet it proliferated because it is very profitable to the few whose greed far exceeds safety interests.
When crews can land in great numbers, they will bring their technology to dematerialize all nuclear waste and to eliminate all radioactive pollutants in air, water and soil, and they will work with you to purify and rejuvenate your planet.
The second situation of major significance we wish to address is what is happening in the Arab world. In what appears to be freedom contagion, if you will, the peoples who have been long-oppressed by despotic rulers or dynasties are responding to the intensifying light that is illuminating their lives as changeable and is emboldening them to wield "people power." Again, this is part of the acceleration that is affecting everything in the universe, and those reactions are keeping pace. There will be much bloodshed before the peoples in all countries are free, but triumph they shall!
We are aware of the conflicting opinions about the US-led coalition of military forces in Libya. What we see is a glorious U-turn in the attitude of national leaders intervening in the affairs of another country: For the first time in your history, intervention is not for a purely selfish purpose, but a noble one—to assist people who are fighting for their freedom. Without this assistance, many more Libyans would be slaughtered by the dictator whose conscience along with his mental capacity was destroyed long ago.
The day of dictators is over and so is the day of supporting those dictators for self-serving reasons. The day of exploiting Earth's resources without regard for environmental destruction is over, as is the day of the wealth of the world in the hands of a few. Everything based in darkness is swiftly coming to an end.
Unfortunately, the time of rumors and dramatic predictions about massive land, sea and polar shifts is still with you. Yes, do be truthfully informed, but please do not give any energy to any kind of fear-filled information! Stay steadfast in your light, knowing that countless souls in body and spirit are with you, lovingly speeding you on your way to Earth's Golden Age.
---
Related articles:
Weather Warfare: The Invisible U.S. Military Offensives in Weather Weaponry by Keith Harmon Snow (July, 2002) http://www.scribd.com/doc/18665065/Weather-Warfare-The-Invisible-US-Military-Offensives-in-Weather-Weaponry
To gain further insight into the mental illness of our leaders, and the irresponsible, catastrophic direction in which they have thrust us, consider the ongoing research, development and applications of weather warfare technologies. Adherents of weather warfare prefer to call it “environmental modification techniques” – or ENMOD. The corporate media has reported almost nothing about these aerospace and defense programs, or the technologies involved. Thus do I open the discussion of the ENMOD arena by deconstructing recent news stories. First note that the Internet abounds with conspiracy theories of all stripes about weather warfare, environmental modification and climatic mayhem. Numerous postings declare the climate instabilities we are already seeing to be the work of the antichrist or the New World Order – indeed in some cases they are one and the same -- and some of these websites describe people legitimately concerned and vocal about climatic change as the agents of a “left-wing conspiracy” with a “communist agenda” ever hostile to “free enterprise.” Buried beneath the volumes of imaginative but wholly fictitious conspiracies that gain wide circulation however, are the many legitimate secret programs orchestrated behind the darkness and denial of the military-industrial complex. Call these conspiracies if you like. This story – weather as a weapon – is certainly not one of them and, depending on how you look at it, this is certainly one of them. CLIP
Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025 (August 1996) FROM THE US AIR FORCE WEBSITE http://csat.au.af.mil/2025/volume3/vol3ch15.pdf
Executive Summary -- In 2025, US aerospace forces can “own the weather” by capitalizing on emerging technologies and focusing development of those technologies to war-fighting applications. Such a capability offers the war fighter tools to shape the battlespace in ways never before possible. It provides opportunities to impact operations across the full spectrum of conflict and is pertinent to all possible futures. The purpose of this paper is to outline a strategy for the use of a future weather-modification system to achieve military objectives rather than to provide a detailed technical road map. A high-risk, high-reward endeavor, weather-modification offers a dilemma not unlike the splitting of the atom. While some segments of society will always be reluctant to examine controversial issues such as weather-modification, the tremendous military capabilities that could result from this field are ignored at our own peril. From enhancing friendly operations or disrupting those of the enemy via small-scale tailoring of natural weather patterns to complete dominance of global communications and counterspace control, weather-modification offers the war fighter a wide-range of possible options to defeat or coerce an adversary. Some of the potential capabilities a weather-modification system could provide to a war-fighting commander in chief (CINC) are listed in table 1. Technology advancements in five major areas are necessary for an integrated weather-modification capability: (1) advanced nonlinear modeling techniques, (2) computational capability, (3) information gathering and transmission, (4) a global sensor array, and (5) weather intervention techniques. Some intervention tools exist today and others may be developed and refined in the future. CLIP - Note from Jean: This was released 15 years ago... Imagine how far they have now progressed in developing and using the necessary technology - like HAARP - to implement this goal and much much more including the severe storms and flooding mentioned above by Matthew...
Scientists find Extraterrestrial genes in Human DNA
by John Stokes -- March 2007
A group of researchers working at the Human Genome Project indicate that they made an astonishing scientific discovery: They believe so-called 97% non-coding sequences in human DNA is no less than genetic code of extraterrestrial life forms.
The non-coding sequences are common to all living organisms on Earth, from moulds to fish to humans. In human DNA, they constitute larger part of the total genome, says Prof. Sam Chang, the group leader. Non-coding sequences, originally known as "junk DNA", were discovered years ago, and their function remained a mystery. The overwhelming majority of Human DNA is "Off-world" in origin. The apparent "extraterrestrial junk genes" merely "enjoy the ride" with hard working active genes, passed from generation to generation.
After comprehensive analysis with the assistance of other scientists, computer programmers, mathematicians, and other learned scholars, Professor Chang had wondered if the apparently "junk Human DNA" was created by some kind of "extraterrestrial programmer". The alien chunks within Human DNA, Professor Chang further observes, "have its own veins, arteries, and its own immune system that vigorously resists all our anti-cancer drugs."
Professor Chang further stipulates that "Our hypothesis is that a higher extraterrestrial life form was engaged in creating new life and planting it on various planets. Earth is just one of them. Perhaps, after programming, our creators grow us the same way we grow bacteria in Petri dishes. We can't know their motives - whether it was a scientific experiment, or a way of preparing new planets for colonization, or is it long time ongoing business of seedling life in the universe."
Professor Chang further indicates that "If we think about it in our human terms, the apparent "extraterrestrial programmers" were most probably working on "one big code" consisting of several projects, and the projects should have produced various life forms for various planets. They have been also trying various solutions. They wrote "the big code", executed it, did not like some function, changed them or added new one, executed again, made more improvements, tried again and again."
Professor Chang's team of researchers furthermore concludes that, "The apparent 'extraterrestrial programmers' may have been ordered to cut all their idealistic plans for the future when they concentrated on the 'Earth project' to meet the pressing deadline. Very likely in an apparent rush, the 'extraterrestrial programmers' may have cut down drastically on big code and delivered basic program intended for Earth."
Professor Chang is only one of many scientists and other researchers who have discovered extraterrestrial origins to Humanity.
Human Genome Project Coordinators find absolute proof of Extraterrestrial contact with 'Earth humans' via DNA evidence.
Professor Chang and his research colleagues show that apparent 'extraterrestrial programming' gaps in DNA sequencing precipitated by a hypothesized rush to create human life on Earth presented humankind with illogical growth of mass of cells we know as cancer.
Professor Chang further indicates that "What we see in our DNA is a program consisting of two versions, a big code and basic code." Mr. Chang then affirms that the "First fact is, the complete 'program' was positively not written on Earth; that is now a verified fact. The second fact is, that genes by themselves are not enough to explain evolution; there must be something more in 'the game'."
"Soon or later", Professor Chang says, "we have to come to grips with the unbelievable notion that every life on Earth carries genetic code for his extraterrestrial cousin and that evolution is not what we think it is.
Magnetic monster: Geomagnetic field reveals increasing danger of 'continent killing' quakes
by Terrence Aym -- March 16, 2011
Russian geophysicist Pogrebnikov concurs with his colleagues at Harvard and Stanford: the Earth may be in for a hell of a time.
Imagine events just short of doomsday and you'll have a small glimpse of the global catastrophes that may lie just ahead.
Some scientists have seen this future—and the future is damn scary.
The former geologist Jim Berkland also "sees the future" on a regular basis, at least as far as earthquakes are concerned. He watches the geomagnetic field by watching aberrations in animals: odd actions, bizarre events, eerie mass deaths.
And the world's animals are self-destructing in swarms, hordes, flocks.
The magnetite embedded in many animal's brains make them sensitive to changes in the magnetic field. When that field is disrupted, some animals go mad. They get lost. Whales beach themselves. Birds desperately soar in confused flight and crash into each other, the ground and buildings.
Sometimes they just fall from the sky and die.
Berkland, a former USGS scientist has an 80 percent success rate predicting significant earthquakes. That's the best in the world and no one else comes close to that record.
Geomagnetic field hints at what earth's core is doing
The earth's history is one of violence. The oceans, the mountains, the great plains and savannas were all created by titanic forces that make the March 2011 Japanese earthquake look like a gentle rumble by comparison.
Awesome forces driven by a shifting core thrust up the mighty Andes from the bottom of the sea, changed the icecaps, formed coastlines and sunk whole island chains.
As the core stresses, compresses, spins and writhes its internal tortures are evident in the changes of the warping magnetic field.
That field is also stressed by interaction with the sun's influence on the earth within the magnetosphere. A delicate tug-of-war over the eons creates a dance of life and death.
As the core shifts and the erratic geomagnetic field moves towards reversal, evidence mounts that studies such as "Ultralow-Frequency Magnetic Fields Preceding Large Earthquakes" by Antony C. Fraser-Smith of Stanford University and Harvard's "Statistical relationship of strong earthquakes with planetary geomagnetic field activity" reveal the increasing possibility that massive, 'continent killing' super-quakes will reshape the current maps of the world.
Geodynamo creates earth's magnetic field
The mighty currents of molten rock, under intense pressure, boil beneath the crust creating earthquakes, volcanoes and continental drift. It is also the geodynamo that creates the earth's magnetic field and the interaction with the solar magnetosphere can initiate plate drift, tensions and the massive buckling and shearing between the plates called faults. The movement along the fault lines is called an earthquake.
Geomagnetic flux, often a precursor to mighty quakes, is sometimes accompanied by strange harmonics: people see colors dancing in the sky or hear what sounds like discordant music.
Then the earth moves and like a giant, invisible hand changes the lands and seas.
The growing aberrations of the magnetic field—and the increasing level activity of the sun—is symptomatic of the change in the earth's core. A dangerous change. An uncontrollable change. A change that is leading to the possibility of greater and greater disasters.
The core is restless now and when it is Mankind too cannot rest…
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Related article:
A guide to plate tectonics: How continents move (June 24, 2008) http://www.helium.com/items/1090917-the-long-travel-of-continents
The earth crust, also called LITHOSPHERE, is very thin respect to the earth radius (about 6350 Km), with a minimum thickness of 8-10 Km under the oceans, a maximum of about 70 Km under the main mountain ranges and an average value of 35-40 Km.This is the product (we can say, very scarce!) of our planet's surface cooling during the 4.5 millions years of its history, while its interior still remains hot for the emissions of radioactive elements and for the intense magnetic field created by great amounts of metals (Fe, Ni and Co), all contained in its nucleus. The density of our lithosphere is 3.0 g/cc for the oceanic crust, mainly basaltic and rich in Al, Fe, Si and about 2.8 g/cc for the continental crust, in the largest part, formed by granitic rocks. So, the lithosphere floats on the underlying MANTLE (until 2900 Km of depth, where the temperature = 3000C, approximately) that has a higher density of 5.6 g/cc and is relatively more plastic than the earth crust. The lithosphere, instead, is rigid and this has caused its cracking into 12 plates of variable dimensions; they move each one respect to the others over the upper layer of the mantle, called ASTENOSPHERE, more plastic than the deepest ones and about 500 Km thick. But what really moves these plates? Inside the astenosphere, there are great and slow convective motions, caused by the hottest and lightest molten rocks going upward while the coldest ones go downward. These streams act as conveyor belts and are responsible of the lithosphere plates movements; the plate tectonics studies just the motions of the crustal plates and the continents that are part of them, with wide portions of the surrounding oceans.
(...) It was observed that, where the plates go away the one from the other, there is a distension area, with the creation of new oceanic bottom with the magma, attracted upward from the astenosphere. This is at the origin of the long Medium Atlantic Ridge, crossing all the bottom of this Ocean from north to south; this is formed by the magma continuously erupted and deposited along the edges of the American and Euro-African plates and it's still slowly widening the Atlantic Ocean. Other similar ridges lay along the sea bottoms of all the oceans. Instead, where two plates move the one against the other, they collide and form the mountains of all the world by bending the sedimentary layers upward, around the collision point. The plates' relative speed varies between 1 and 18 cm/year and is measured by means of modern geodetic methods, with a precision of few mm. CLIP
FOOD prices around the world have already risen this year to within touching distance of the 2008 food crisis – and come this October, the world’s population is expected to hit 7 billion souls. Will there be enough food to feed the world?
And will the world see more social unrest? In 2008, surging food costs sparked protests and riots in more than 30 countries; this year, many commentators believe this has aggravated the political turmoil in Tunisia and Egypt.
Many media reports have blamed food price hikes on climate change and Asia’s increasing wealth.
It is true that severe droughts in Russia and China and floods in Australia, Europe, India, and Pakistan have affected crops.
Prof Fatimah Mohamed Arshad of Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies, says that the threat of climate change affecting food supplies may indeed have to be considered in a country’s long food production plans.
“The world’s poor suffer the most during high food prices as they spend up to 80% of their income on food.” (See The Hunger Map on SM5.)
And yes, the other reason touted – often by the Western world – for rising food costs, Asia’s increasing wealth, might be borne out by the fact that increasingly affluent consumers in China and India are eating more meat; 7kg of grain are fed to cows to produce 1kg of beef for human consumption, thus diverting supplies of corn and wheat from feeding people to feeding livestock.
Environmentalist and author George Monbiot has pointed out that the supply of meat has already trebled since 1980: farm animals now take up 70% of all agricultural land and eat one-third of the world’s grain.
But climate havoc and meat-eating are just part of the explanation. Olivier de Schutter, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, underlined at a media briefing in September that while the “initial sparks” of food price hikes may have been caused by such issues of supply and demand, the deeper reason is speculation on food commodities by powerful investors, such as hedge funds and investment banks.
For instance, he noted that in July 2010, Armajaro, a London-based hedge fund, purchased US$1bil (RM3.06bil) worth of futures contracts for 241,000 tonnes of cocoa, equivalent to almost all the cocoa in Europe’s warehouses!
(A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a particular commodity at a pre-determined price in the future.)
“That such hoarding is permitted in this day and age stretches belief,” said De Schutter.
He added that such speculation also caused the price of rice to leap by 165% between April 2007 and April 2008, something that could not be explained by supply and demand factors.
On Feb 15 this year, World Bank president Robert Zoellick warned that the rising cost of food around the globe had pushed about 44 million people into poverty since the middle of last year, with wheat prices doubling between June 2010 and January 2011, while corn prices rose 73% in the same period.
Yet, as David Dapice, associate professor of economics at America’s Tufts University points out, the world is actually producing more food! Shouldn’t an increased supply of a commodity drive prices downwards?
In a Feb 18 YaleGlobal article, he notes that from 2006/07 to 2010/11, the US Department of Agriculture estimates global production of rice, wheat, corn, soya and other grains rose from 1.78 to 1.96 billion tonnes, an increase of 10%.
“World population grew less than 5% in those years, so output is rising more than twice as fast as population. (So) it’s hard to argue that bad weather has driven food prices up when the world has more food per capita than before.”
A Jan 23 article in British newspaper The Observer summed it up: “Food speculation – people die from hunger while banks make a killing on food.”
The article explained that, following heavy lobbying by banks, hedge funds, and free market politicians in America and Britain, regulations on commodity markets have been steadily abolished in the past decade. Contracts to buy and sell food items were turned into “derivatives” that could be bought and sold among traders who have nothing to do with agriculture. In 2006, driven by the US sub-prime mortgage banking disaster, banks and traders around the globe stampeded to move billions of dollars into “safe commodities” such as food.
Biofuel bump
While Prof Fatimah agrees that such speculators are one cause of price hikes, she points out that there is another cause: the diversion of over 100 million tonnes of corn (one-third of the entire US crop!) from satisfying human hunger “to satisfying the thirst for fuel” for vehicles in developed economies (corn is used to make ethanol, a biofuel). Since biofuel crops are more profitable, fewer food crops, such as wheat, are grown.
According to Prof Fatimah, this demand for biofuel was “politically created” worldwide through government subsidies.
The Pesticide Action Network of North America (panna.org) sums it up well:
“Hunger in an age of plenty isn’t a problem of amounts produced. It’s a matter of priorities,” says its website, noting that the 107 million tonnes of grain that went to “feed cars” could have fed 330 million people or about one-third of the world’s hungry for a year. That’s one-third of 925 million under- or malnourished people in 2010, according to Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates.
According to a CNN report (tinyurl.com/4nn7oap), at a world food security summit in 2009, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said that somewhere in the world, a child dies of hunger every five seconds – even though the planet has more than enough food for all.
And it’s disturbing that in the world’s richest and most powerful country, 1 in 6 Americans have to deal with hunger and need food aid, according to the website FeedingAmerica.org.
It is a myth that the world (and it’s growing population) “does not have enough food” to feed everybody. S.M Idris, president of the Consumer’s Association of Penang, points out that according to the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, world agriculture produces 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per person per day, while an average person needs only 2,000 kcal a day.
“There is enough food to feed the world’s people. The main reason for hunger is that poor people cannot afford to buy it.”
Economics, rather than hunger, often determines policy. Columnist Coomi Kapoor wrote in The Star last September that in India, when huge mounds of surplus food grains were rotting out in the open, the Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to distribute them for free. Since 40% of the population live below the poverty line at less than US$1 (RM3.06) a day, this seemed to make sense. Yet Food Minister Sharad Pawar countered that the government could not do that as it would disrupt the country’s “food economy” – prices of wheat and rice would crash, thus adversely affecting the growers.
On Jan 22 this year, 48 agriculture ministers meeting in Berlin decried excessive price speculation on global food markets.
“Food markets should not be the object of gamblers,” said German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner in a report by news agency Bloomberg. “Food and agricultural commodities are not like anything else. Sometimes it’s about pure survival.”
Bruno Le Maire, the Agriculture Minister of France, pointed out speculation is ripe to happen as financial-agricultural markets are now 15 times bigger than real world global cereal production. He added that food speculation ruins farmers and heightens the risk of food riots in poorer countries: “It enriches a lot of people but impoverishes the rest of the planet,” he said.
Nature’s not to blame?
The US-based Institute for Food and Development, also known as Food First (foodfirst.org), says that it’s also a myth that nature (ie, droughts, floods, climate change, etc) is responsible for starvation.
“It’s too easy to blame nature. Food is always available for those who can afford it – starvation during hard times hits only the poorest. Millions live on the brink of disaster because they are deprived of land by a powerful few, trapped in the grip of debt, or miserably paid. Natural events rarely explain deaths; they are simply the final push over the brink.
“Human institutions and policies determine who eats and who starves during hard times. Likewise, in America many homeless die from the cold every winter, yet ultimate responsibility doesn’t lie with the weather. The real culprits are an economy that fails to offer everyone opportunities, and a society that places economic efficiency over compassion.”
Lester Brown, founder of sustainability NGO Earth Policy Institute (earth-policy.org), noted last month that richer countries such as China and Middle Eastern oil producers have reacted to the possibility of food shortages by buying up vast tracts of land in poorer parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South-East Asia, for food production.
Is this the way to solve global hunger? At last month’s World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal, there were many stories from Brazil, the Congo, India, Madagascar, and Mozambique about peasant farmers being pushed off their lands by big corporate “investors”, often with government approval.
“The spectre of a hungry world is being used to push the agenda for industrial agriculture,” says Gisele Henriques, a Brazilian food and agriculture advocate who attended the summit.
“But in reality, the majority of the land is used for producing animal feed and biofuels for cars, as well as land speculation, rather than food crops,” she wrote in Britain’s Guardian newspaper on Feb 12.
She points out that a World Bank report on land acquisitions shows that only 37% of the land acquired is used to grow food. Yet most governments desire foreign direct investment for a narrowly defined concept of “economic growth” which sidelines small farmers, who are considered “economically inefficient” because they feed “only” their own communities and not the global market!
De Schutter told the UN General Assembly last October that the farmland of smallholders is shrinking year after year.
“Farmers are often relegated to soils that are less fertile – that are arid, hilly or without irrigation. This poses a direct threat to the right to food of rural populations.”
He underlined that indigenous people who have “communal ownership” of their lands are particularly vulnerable to this.
Indeed, we have our own example of this in Sarawak, where numerous court cases have been filed over the past 15 years as the Ibans and others who practice traditional farming try to claim “native customary rights” to their lands, which are also wanted by large oil palm companies.
In her home country Brazil, Henriques has seen the adverse social effects of the large-scale agricultural development model.
“Half of agricultural production is going to soy and sugar cane, to feed animals and cars, not people.”
While Brazil increased its soya bean exports, the Amazon was deforested and traditional communities were displaced, resulting in a massive rural exodus to urban slums. Yet it is the small farmer that feeds Brazil, with 60% of the food consumed nationally coming from family farms, according to the country’s 2006 Agricultural Census, notes Henriques.
In other words, having enough food is about having access to resources, be it salaries for urban people or land for rural folk. While it is true that climate change does pose a threat to agriculture, ultimately it is political and economic fairness that determine food security, for the poor and powerless often go hungry while the rich can eat exotic air-flown foods.
Democratic food
The Pesticide Network summarises that people are hungry because the “global food system” is out of control – it prioritises corporate profits over actually feeding people. Food security is therefore really about “food democracy”.
Its website, panna.org, lists numerous successful cases of food democracy, such as the US-based Farm to School Network or Brazil’s city of Belo Horizonte, as examples of how even the poor can eat when people at the grassroots, rather than large corporations, have control over farms and food. In other words, food of, by and for the people.
“What unites them is shared priorities: feed people first and let farmers work the land. What results is democratic decision-making about food and agriculture.”
The danger of ignoring food security is this: hungry people can become angry people. And that’s when they will strike back at the system they perceive is working against them, as the worldwide food riots of 2008 and the recent troubles in Tunisia and Egypt have shown.
Idris of CAP says, “The best way to ensure global food security is to give priority to developing people’s needs rather than people’s greed. For example, nature gave us abundant free fish resources. Why do we scrape our seabeds with trawlers and destroy fish-breeding grounds (which then affects the smaller fishermen who can’t afford big boats)?
“If we do not distribute wealth more evenly, all of us, not just the poor, will suffer. Our social fabric will disintegrate and it is already happening around us in many parts of the world.”
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Related article and map:
Population poser (March 6, 2011) http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2011/3/6/lifefocus/8176527&sec=lifefocus
IS “over-population” the cause of hunger? Yet nobody would suggest that such densely-populated places like Hong Kong, Singapore or Holland are suffering from a lack of food and should “cull” their people.Taking Population Seriously, a book published by Food First (foodfirst.org), the US-based Institute for Food and Development, points out that it is illogical to see population as the cause of hunger – China has only half the crop land per person that India has, yet many more people in India are starving than in China.Indeed, StarTwo’s Jan 24 cover story on the consequences of the world’s increasing population, 7 billion and counting, that questioned “how long can the world hold up?”, noted that population growth may not be the real problem.The United Nations predicts that the number of the world’s peoples will plateau at 9 billion around 2050 before slowly starting to fall. And there are more than enough resources to feed the world even then, according to a report published in January by France’s national agricultural and development research agencies.The problem is inequality: one American, on average, consumes as many resources as 250 Ethiopians. In contrast to population growth, economic growth is limitless. In 2008, environmentalist and author George Monbiot pointed out in an article in British daily The Guardian that many economists predict that the global economy will continue growing by about 3% a year this century. At that growth rate, by 2100, global consumption will increase by about 1,600%.“This means that in the 21st century we will use 16 times as many economic resources as human beings have consumed since we came down from the trees,” he wrote. CLIP
World Social Forum 2011... So Intricate, Yet Perfect - The Reality of Africa
By Sachin Jain -- 20 March 2011
WSF 2011, organised in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, attracted more than 50,000 people pursuing the vision of creating a better world. But I have been observing a worrisome trend in this forum over the 10 years that I have attended its deliberations - you get a sense of the growing dominance of NGOs over people's movements at every step. Many of these organisations were, in fact, present this year to advertise and publicise themselves. The ruling political party of China put up a stall. Also participating were USAid and a host of other International funding agencies that push a liberal neo-colonial and capitalist approach to development agenda along with the financial resources they disburse. There should be no illusions about the kind of linkages these groups seek to establish with the WSF vision of building a new world order.
CLIP
This series of global meetings has been held regularly every year ever since the first forum was organised in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001. It provides a platform for social activists from across the world to share their ideas, strategies and struggles for creating a new and better world.
The first WSF was a response to the World Economic Forum organised at Davos in Switzerland. It boldly articulated the stand that it is possible to create a world in which basic human needs would gain precedence over ever-growing corporate rapaciousness and exploitation. Ten years have gone by during which WSF has sought to unite social movements across the world struggling against the forces of neoliberal capitalism and militarism, seeking a world order based on social justice and dedicated to humanity.
The chain of global meetings held in Brazil, India, Kenya and now Senegal reveal that the political orientation of not just local, national or regional forums but even the WSF is veering leftwards. In Africa this year, the attempt was once again to link local conditions with the global struggle for justice and equality.
The main agenda of the Dakar forum was the current recession in the global capitalist economy, which is impacting most severely on the poorest countries in the world. Its effects are clearly evident in the turmoil we are witnessing in the financial, energy and food sectors of most countries as well as the climatic changes taking place the world over. Privatisation of public resources under the neoliberal policies supported by global institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund has had its most deleterious effect on countries in the African continent.
Keeping in mind the current global economic conditions, the Dakar forum focused on three main ideological issues: the growing criticism of capitalism, the growing strength of the struggles against capitalism and imperialism, and using democratic and traditional methods as an alternative to repression and exploitation.
The six-day forum began with a huge rally from downtown Dakar to the university, where the programmes were subsequently organised. There was unbounded enthusiasm among the participants, the diversity in the messages sporting the banners they carried and the slogans they shouted pointing to how wide range and depth of the concept of social justice. The rally ended with a speech by Bolivia's leftist president Evo Morales. Denouncing imperialism in no uncertain terms, he underlined the importance of WSF, pointing out that it is like a school where activists learn how to develop, consolidate and strengthen their social revolutions to make them more effective.
A host of activities were planned on the forum agenda. The first day was devoted to Africa and emigrants from the continent. The daughters of Franz Fanon and Malcolm X participated in this session, discussing the legacy of their famed fathers. There was also a session chaired by former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in which he urged stronger ties between African and South American countries. Brazil is not just home to WSF but to the largest number of African emigrants.
The next two days of introspection brought out the wide range of concerns and rights issues that had brought participants together from across the globe. The evenings were devoted to music and cultural programmes as well as informal meetings. The last two days were devoted to the coordinators of various organisations, networks and revolutionary groups who expounded their plans of action for a better world based on the collective thinking of the forum. The closing ceremony had organisations making their announcements and reiterating their responsibilities.
In the initial years the WSF concept was of a platform where civil society groups could sit together and reflect on their common concerns. It was conceived to assist and strengthen grass roots organisations so they could grow and develop rather than to create a one-point programme to pursue any special agenda. But the forum became increasingly open to criticism for its inability to articulate a stand on several issues, especially with many organisations coming forward to seek help for furthering their political agendas.
CLIP
Participants of WSF 2011 discussed the issues of concerns in detail. The focus was on Migration, Land and other resource grabbing, dying democracy, challenges for people's action, rapid expansion of corporate control over political economy, climate change etc. There were discussions and sessions on the concept of de-growth. We also learned about the agriculture and food crisis from various aspects, like future trading, price volatility, increasing corporate control over agriculture across the world. But at a point of time we, the participants of this grand global even almost failed to discuss the role of justice institutions and seek the possibilities for collective action to activate them. In India we have enormous number of institutions having mandates to protect fundamental rights of the people and simultaneously protect democracy, but we find these institutions line National Human Rights Commission and Right to Information Commissions have started becoming a party in the rights violation. It was not a coincidence that people of Middle-East and Arab countries or even in some of the African countries are now marching towards changing rule of injustice in respective countries, they now feel they are in practice are the colony of their own exploitative rulers. Their rulers don't believe in democracy, transparency and accountability at any level, and if all such things are asked, bullets and guns will facilitate them.
CLIP
Even after a decade of successful organisation of these forums, the future of the WSF is still in a limbo. The international organizing committee met at the end of the Dakar forum to discuss future strategy. When the first forum was held in Porto Alegre, it was decided to hold these meetings to demand social and economic justice from the perspective of the global south. However, the original enthusiasm has paled in the face of the organisational difficulties. Many delegates would still like to come to such forums once every two years. As long as the WSF is held the fight for social justice will not falter. But there is need for a review.
For more information on the World Social Forum, please visit their official website at http://fsm2011.org/
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