Thursday, March 31, 2011

Worse Than Chernobyl?

'Worse Than Chernobyl': When the Fukushima Meltdown Hits Groundwater by Tom Burnett

"Fukushima is going to dwarf Chenobyl. The Japanese government has had a level 7 nuclear disaster going for almost a week but won’t admit it.

...

Pouring concrete on a critical reactor makes no sense – it will simply explode and release more radioactive particulate matter. The concrete will melt and the problem will get worse. Chernobyl was different – a critical reactor exploded and stopped the reaction. At Fukushima, the reactor cores are still melting down. The ONLY way to stop that is to detonate a ~10 kiloton fission device inside each reactor containment vessel and hope to vaporize the cores. That’s probably a bad solution.

A nuclear meltdown is a self-sustaining reaction. Nothing can stop it except stopping the reaction. And that would require a nuclear weapon. In fact, it would require one in each containment vessel to merely stop what is going on now. But it will be messy.

...

The Japanese are still talking about days or weeks to clean this up. That’s not true. They cannot clean it up. And no one will live in that area again for dozens or maybe hundreds of years."




Bill

Thursday, March 24, 2011

The Neoconservative Obama Administration

The Neoconservative Obama Administration by Sheldon Richman

"Just to be clear, the neocons were among the key architects of the war against Iraq in 1991, followed by the embargo that killed half a million children. That war and embargo set the stage for the 9/11 attacks, which were then used to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq (an ambition long predating 9/11) and the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, American’s longest military engagement — all of which have killed more than a million people, wreaked political havoc, and made life in those countries (and elsewhere) miserable. Let’s not forget the drone assassination and special ops programs being run in a dozen Muslim countries. The neocon achievement also has helped drive the American people deep into debt.
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As though his speech was written by the neocon brain trust, Obama intoned, “We must use all elements of our power — including our diplomacy, our economic strength, and the power of America’s example — to secure our interests and stand by our allies. And we must project a vision of the future that’s based not just on our fears, but also on our hopes — a vision that recognizes the real dangers that exist around the world, but also the limitless possibilities of our time.” (Emphasis added.)

Again, the people in the Middle East and Central Asia may not interpret those words the way Americans do. “Secure our interests” is likely to be understood as “secure American access to resources” and “making sure the Chinese and Russians stay away.” “Stand by our allies” means primarily “defend Israel.” Americans may think that sounds benign, but in the Muslim world it means the U.S. government will continue to do everything to support Israel’s denial of the rights of Palestinians and its ability to intimidate its neighbors."

Obama’s Libyan War by Jack Hunter

"Those who support our bombing of Libya to enforce a no-fly zone claim that these actions will not lead to a larger or more entrenched conflict. This claim not only contradicts most of America’s foreign policy history, but proves that our political establishment has learned virtually nothing from the lessons of Iraq."


How the War on Libya was Sold By JEFF SPARROW

"The revolution in Libya was never inspired by the west. The war in Iraq, the occupation of Afghanistan: these salutary instances of Western-backed ‘liberation’ did not move Libyans to rebel. On the contrary, the revolt against Gaddafi followed the revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt, revolutions that not only didn’t involve the West but were, to a greater or lesser degree, fought against western-backed dictators."


Scott Horton Interviews Karen Kwiatkowski by Scott Horton

"Karen Kwiatkowski, columnist at lewrockwell.com and retired USAF lieutenant colonel, discusses the Bush administration’s early Iraq War planning – well before they played up the WMD threat and sold the war to Americans; how the Office of Special Plans leaked classified information to cooperative journalists willing to press the case for war; the OSP’s dissolution soon after the war started – since its raison d’ĂȘtre was fulfilled; unpopular neocons who must attain power through appointed, rather than elected, government positions; and the ease-of-victory factor that explains why some wars are fought, and others aren’t."

Karen is a true America hero. Please read about her and listen to her interviews on this page.

Bill

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Can You Face the True Consequences of War?

Can You Face the True Consequences of War? The Horrors of Bagging Soldiers' Bodies in Iraq By Chris Hedges

Back when the Neocon gang was busy duping America into the invasion of the Middle East, I argued with anyone and everyone who would listen about how wrong that whole scheme was. I spoke just a little of battle scars, enough to make it clear that I was speaking with the authority of someone with experience with the killing fields that war really is.

On the few occasions when I did write on the subject of war, I thought the words, the explanation, and the understanding would come easy. How could it not. Well, it wasn't easy, the results weren't acceptable, and I changed not a single mind that I'm aware of.

Why is it so hard to explain something so horrible? I guess I didn't and can't answer that, so I'm especially thankful to Chris Hedges for a more poignant piece then I could ever write.

Bill















Bill

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

U.S. rescue chopper shoots six Libyan villagers

U.S. rescue chopper shoots six Libyan villagers as they welcome pilots of downed Air Force jet By Daily Mail Reporter

We all know this is a story of a heart-felt tragedy for everyone concerned.

But let us not forget that it did happen, and similar stories have happened countless times since our military was sent to seize authority of the Middle East.

Unintended consequences some will call it, dismissively, as if we knew going in that there were going to be stories like this, but we would accept them as the price we have to pay for spreading "liberty", "freedom", "democracy" and all the other patriotic-sounding words) that was being spread in the countries of the Middle East.

In reality, we've murdered the ordinary citizens of those countries by the boatload. In reality, we have millions of people out there who hate us very deeply. In a world brimming with terrible weapons, do you really think it's a good idea to be that hated?

We should all be so ashamed of what is being done in our name. This story, horrible as it is, is among the least of the millions of stories that really happened.

In general, we've been "protected" from this information, even though we know it really is happening all the time,

The day will come when we literally cannot afford their war anymore. Maybe this year, maybe next. Maybe there will be an event, or maybe we'll just financially bleed to death in the decades to come. The Arab/Muslim world is NOT going to cede to American/Israel authority. Not today, not tomorrow and not in a thousand million years. Maybe some event will lead to nukes.

But what kind of event would spark peace? Can you think of one? I can't.

Today there are millions of Americans who are jobless because the jobs were allowed to be sent overseas. We have millions of homeless, barely eating, no medical, etc., people, right here in the "homeland".

They say just the munitions for today's attack on Libya was on the order of a hundred million dollars. Small potatoes when you consider the invasion has already cost a trillion or more. There's at least one website devoted to explaining what that money could have done here. Not only would spending it here help us, but there's a certain goodwill associated with people whom you aren't sending soldiers to kill. That is, not only would be have money for our needs, we wouldn't be pissing on and off millions of people, who may very well be plotting their revenge as we speak. I think many such plots are in motion. When millions of people are involved, groups of a dozen or so can pop up like daisy's.

We know, or we should/better know, just how destructive a team of a dozen people can be, given today's horrible weapons.

Why are we not only taking this risk, but virtually guaranteeing we'll lose? Who took this risk in our name? For what purpose?

Who would be so monstrous as to set in motion a chain of events that has America headed for it's knees?

Would these people have private helicopters ready to take them to well stocked reserves in the mountains, so they are personally insulated from whatever attacks are coming? Will they be outta here within minutes of the 1st attack? Is the fact that their own personal asses are covered the reason why they don't care how reckless their decisions are?

Do we understand and acknowledge that the people who caused the invasion of the Middle East, for the purpose of securing military authority, to happen did in fact bet our farm, American, on their mission. We didn't see this 10 years ago, and it's crept in a tiny piece at a time since then, but if you project is out over the years to come, you can't help but realize they will NEVER give up. People with power don't give it up, period. It has to be taken away.

If we're going to do this in a non-violent way, we have to gain control over our election system. We need to move it to the Internet and provide public funding for whatever it cost. We need to develop an accurate list of the issues we want gov't to be involved with, and we need to know what the candidate's position is on each of these issues. We can then match our interests with candidates, so people who get elected actually represent you. Last, but not least, people who get elected for their positions must be held to those positions by rule of law, with real and serious penalties when they don't do what they promised to do. Obama is a perfect example of just how badly this needs to be.


Bill

Saturday, March 19, 2011

It's all part of the same machine

How Your Taxpayer Dollars Subsidize Pro-War Movies and Block Anti-War Movies by David Sirota

Perhaps you've wondered why there is a dearth of anti-war movies, then you should read this article to understand why.

The same is true for music, which hopefully someone else will study and report on. If you recall the 60's, you'll also recall so many excellent anti-war songs that remain popular to this day. Why not a peep today?


Bill

Friday, March 18, 2011

A summary of the Iraq invasion

Top 10 Reasons Iraq War was No Cakewalk By MEDEA BENJAMIN and CHARLES DAVIS

"March 19 marks the eighth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, a nation that had no weapons of mass destruction and was not involved in the 9/11 attacks. It was sold to the American public as a war to defend our nation and free the Iraqi people. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said our soldiers would be greeted as liberators and that Iraqi oil money would pay for the reconstruction. Vice President Dick Cheney said the military effort would take “weeks rather than months.” And Defense Secretary Assistant Ken Adelman predicted that “liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk.”

Eight years on, it’s time to look back at that “cakewalk.”"

Read it and weep

Scary: People Who Watch and Trust Fox News Will Surprise You By Ilyse Hogue

An excellent summary of the propaganda machine's biggest player.


Bill

Thursday, March 17, 2011

People Power vs. Washington

People Power vs. Washington by Juan Cole

"The claim that George W. Bush’s war of aggression against Iraq somehow opened up the Middle East to reform is an affront to the brave crowds that have risked their lives to change the American-backed order in that part of the world. Bush’s invasion was followed by no significant reforms in the region, whereas the outbreak of people power today has scared autocratic regimes into making unheard-of concessions. Iraq itself is no shining beacon on a hill for the people of the Middle East, but rather is a target of protests and an object lesson among the protesters of what to avoid.

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The handful of powerful neoconservatives in Washington who plotted the war on Iraq never pushed democratization as a goal until after it became clear that their primary justifications for military action were false. Even then, their notion of democracy involved dissolving Iraqi unions and gaining promotions for their Iraqi political cronies, who promptly created a secret police force. The constitution crafted at their insistence was almost universally rejected by Iraq’s Sunni Arabs, setting the stage for a civil war. Prime Minister Maliki has ruled as a soft strongman, creating tribal levies loyal to himself and asserting control over the Ministry of Defense and the officer corps."


Bill

The Greatest Rip-Off

The Greatest Rip-Off By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS


"What I am about to tell you might come as a shock, but it is the absolute truth, which you can verify for yourself by going online to the government's annual OASDI and HI reports. According to the official 2010 Social Security reports, between 1984 and 2009 the American people contributed $2 trillion, that is $2,000 billion, more to Social Security and Medicare in payroll taxes than was paid out in benefits.

What happened to the surplus $2,000 billion, or $2,000,000,000,000.

The government spent it.

Over the past quarter century, $2 trillion in Social Security and Medicare revenues have been used to finance wars and pork-barrel projects of the US government.

...

The government of the United States does not represent the American people. It represents the oligarchs. The way campaign finance and elections are structured, the American people cannot take back their government by voting. A once proud and free people have been reduced to serfdom."

Bill

Sunday, March 6, 2011

How do we fix America?

Sometimes we just don't see the obvious.

1. Take the money out of politics. Yes, that means public funding of elections. With the Internet and proper (open source) programming, a kick-ass election system can be developed and advanced. Imagine a system that you use to sort out your own issues and priorities, and then match your interests and desires to the field of candidates, and then imagine this method working for your town, your state, your country and your world.

2. Put Bush and the Neocon gang on trial for war crimes.

3. Do everything possible to make amends to the people of the Middle East for the killing and destruction brought on them by these war crimes.

4. Put the people responsible for the biggest heist of all time on trial for what they've done.

5. Let the Internet eat the television, and allow a new breed of editors to develop



Bill

Why are we in Afghanistan?

NOBODY thinks we're going to win anything in Afghanistan.

So why are we there?

I believe that our troops are in Afghanistan because they had to leave Iraq and it was the most convenient place to park them pending the Next Big Action in the Middle East.

Bringing them home was out of the question because (even if many still don't know it) the Neocon gang bet our farm on their Middle East invasion, and if the troops come home, it's game over for them. If we pull our military out of the Middle East and cancel the invasion, they wouldn't be going back, as is the case for, say, Vietnam (imagine us sending troops into Vietnam again? - it will NEVER happen). Same is true for the Middle East.

Why wouldn't the gang pull our troops out of the Middle East? Because doing so will bode ill for Israel, which will then be surrounded by it's enemies, and with those enemies knowing American troops wouldn't go back once they are out, they will certainly move to take advantage of the changed dynamics.

Without troops on the ground, all that is left for the power-freaks are the Big Guns. The nukes, specifically. We've got an entire Air Force and Navy equipped with enough nukes to blow up the whole world many times over, yet they've been held at bay since WWII. Would they use nukes to defend their beloved Israel? I say there is zero doubt about it, that long before they give up that land they will blow up the entire region.

So they've maneuvered us into an impossible situation. We can't leave, and we can't stay.

It's not that fact that bothers me as much as the fact that we Americans seem to be completely oblivious to these goings on. You'd think that by NOW, with all the years of war in the ME, that the American people would be onto what happened and is happening - essentially that we've been duped by the scum Neocon gang with it's Zionist (nonsense) philosophy.


Bill

Thursday, March 3, 2011

America in the Middle East: US Policy Fails Its Purchasers

America in the Middle East: US Policy Fails Its Purchasers by John Taylor
"U.S. Middle East policy long ago ceased to benefit broad American interests. U.S. policy is absurd, driven by religious fantasies narrow domestic considerations. There is no doubt that years of conflating Israeli and American interests is leading to disaster for the United States across the region. Given the successful efforts of Israel’s American supporters to hijack U.S. policy for Israel’s benefit, it is ironic but not surprising that American policy failures are also having a deleterious effect on Israel’s security."


Bill