Unintended consequences will cook us!

Radioactive materials in oil and gas drilling - makes sense but I expect no one gave it any thought. Glad I did not grow up next to Long Beach's oil fields. Then again, it could explain why honky tonk music out of Tulsa and Bakersfield is so hot!

clipped from www.dw-world.de Radioactive waste hidden in oil and gas production According to by German public broadcaster WDR, the oil and gas industry has kept secret the dangerous amounts of radioactive waste produced. But experts like Harald Thielen of the Society for System and Reactor Safety acknowledge that the problem exists. The WDR report says that in Germany alone, up to 2,000 metric tons of naturally-occurring radioactive waste is sucked out of the earth every year and dumped in the surrounding countryside. By extrapolating these figures to oil production in the United States, which produces much more oil and has lower industry safety standards, up to 260,000 metric tons of radioactive waste could be produced there.

"Fundamentalists" threaten Republicans and Democrats

This story is about GOP but same party cleansing attempt is going on in Democratic Party where competing "Progressives" are trying to dictate the "correct" position on everything. The real story is that "fundamentalism" is a political virus infecting global politics and religions.

Beware of the Fundamentalist Flu it's the political pandemic that could do us all in - especially if it has its way in this week's climate talks

clipped from www.boston.com Cultural revolution in the GOP IF POLITICS were a science, some latter-day Isaac Newton would confirm an iron law - that a party’s pursuit of ideological purity inevitably leads to destruction. Witness the proposed resolution from a member of the Republican National Committee, James Bopp of Indiana, that the party deny funding to any Republican who fails to support more than two of 10 conservative litmus-test items.

Swine Flu Conspiracy Flops - On to the Next Scare Mongering Story

clipped from afludiary.blogspot.com A Shot Of Reality We are now two months into the global H1N1 pandemic vaccination effort and one thing is abundantly clear;  the dire warnings of the anti-vaccine crowd that  `the vaccine is deadlier than the virus’ have not come to pass. Somewhere between 100 million and 200 hundred million people worldwide have now received the shot, and the number of reported adverse effects has been about what we expect with the seasonal jab.   The vast majority of adverse affects reported have been mild.  The CDC is investigating roughly 204 serious post vaccination reports (out of 46 million injections).

A Lawrence of Arabia Solution for Afghanistan?

Go to Netflix or where ever you get films - rent Larence of Arabia and watch it as if you were looking for ideas of how to create a success out of Afghanistan. Not a bad idea but remember that - in the end - the Imperialists got the upper hand and that today, we are still paying the price.

clipped from circlingthelionsden.blogspot.com Gant argues passionately that the key to success against the Taliban is to work with the tribes. He says: We demonstrated month in and month out that a small effective fighting force could unite with an Afghan tribe, become trusted and respected brothers-in-arms with their leaders and families, and make a difference in the US effort in Afghanistan. In doing so, we discovered what I believe to be the seed of enduring success in that country." His strategy is based on the idea of Tribal Engagement Teams, working as part of an overall strategy that allows these teams working closely with a tribal group to decide how to engage the enemy. As Gant says: "TETs must be allowed to be on their own, grow beards, wear local garb, and interact with the tribesmen at all levels. They must be allowed to be what they are: American tribesmen...Rules of Engagement must change.

Madagascar ripe for greed and need ruination of environment

Do we have time to wait for more forests - the earth's lungs - to die?

clipped from rakotomalala.blogspot.com A Review of Media Content on Rosewood Massacre in #Madagascar On the eve of the Global Climate Change Summit in Copenhague, a tragic development in conservation effort in Madagascar is currently taking place. Having already lost 90% of its original forest, An illegal logging traffic of rosewood that has been evoked in the Malagasy mediasphere for a few months has now been thoroughly exposed by an undercover team of investigators. The details of this very profitable traffic have been made public and shared by many citizen bloggers and scientific publications. The latest report produced by Global Witness and Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) states that about $460,000 USD a day worth of trade are made as the country is still marred in the absence of a government of national unity. The full report is available here (and in french here).

Eastern Congo, one story - Francoise

No Fundamentalists here just a fifty year struggle over diamonds, rare minerals for computers, cell phones, nuclear weapons and millions of people killed, marginalized, exploited, and abused - in full view of world's leaders but out of sight and out of mind for most of us.

clipped from blip.tv Francoise's Story | Condition: Critical Francoise was burnt when the hut she was sleeping in was set on fire. The door was locked from the outside. Her neighbours broke the door down and she escaped with one of her children, but the other dies in the fire. Visit htt://www.condition-critical.org for more stories from people living through the war in Eastern Congo.

Sheila Chandra - Sunset over the Ganges

There is more under the sun than most of us can imagine. This video shows the modern and traditional of India with great charm, beauty and class!

Power to the Pedal People!

Home of Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts is also home to people powered hauling. college towns - gotta love em and it's my hometown too.

clipped from www.pedalpeople.com a worker-owned human-powered delivery and hauling service for the Northampton, Massachusetts area Recycling & trash Farm share delivery Grocery delivery Pedicab service Yard care

One Peace - September 25, 2010 - Jerusalem

Earthdance - Peace - Be there live or virtual.

clipped from www.onepeacejerusalem.org One Peace Jerusalem is an unprecedented event with an intention to deliver a global message of peace and healing to the heart of Jerusalem, a city that is held sacred my many cultures but steeped in religious conflict. Incorporating music and art, a global media campaign and the support of Religious Leaders throughout the world, One Peace will focus the intention of millions of global citizens on "Peace in the Holy land".

Let's Look for a Quick Exit and Not Leave Afghans With No Support

clipped from www.codepinkalert.org Eight Years in Afghanistan—How Many More? Let's tell Obama: We Need an Exit Strategy, Not an Escalation! In the wake of Obama's announcement to escalate military operations in Afghanistan with 30k more troops in 2010, we have found these articles and analyses very helpful when trying to get a handle on the Administration's reasoning for a surge of violence:

How Many times Has Your Burger Been Nuked?

Before you even get a chance to cook it too much or too little, it may have been irradiated numerous times because it's "cheaper" for them to nuke it instead of making sure the packing and grinding process is clean!

clipped from action.foodandwaterwatch.org Ask Your Senator to Oppose Sen. Feinstein's Flawed Food Safety Bill Do you want irradiated food on your dinner plate?  How about dinner that's been rinsed with chemicals?  Right now there is a bill in the senate that would do exactly that in the name of "food safety." We all know there are serious problems with our food safety system, but irradiating and chemically treating more of our food is the wrong approach to make our food supply safer.  Rather than focusing on preventing contamination of our food, this bill emphasizes treating contamination after it has happened, with risky technologies like irradiation.

Fearful Iraqi People Enslave Their Minds and Bodies

Iraqi women pay for low self-esteem of Iraqi men - big time.

clipped from thewip.net Paint It Black: Women in Iraq Pay for Liberation by Miaad A. Hassan - USA - Amal was once my neighbor in Iraq. My childhood friend is depressed, but she is not the only one since most of her sisters - the women of Iraq - have been forced to wear the hijab and more. Cajoled, shamed and threatened, the women of Iraq have been draped in black. Iraqi men have seen to that. Let us hope that very soon the people of Iraq, especially the men, decide that a new day has dawned and that they no longer have to paint their hopes and dreams - their mothers, wives, sisters, cousins and daughters - black.

No, the Toxic Substance Control Act does not cover Wall Street, or your street

Thirteen states overcome fear of the number 13 to say: Yo! The US has done a lousy job keeping us safe from toxic substances - they even keep the location of coal company ash pits secret!

clipped from www.maine.gov States Urge Federal Action on Toxic Chemicals 13 States Release Recommendations on Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act The eight recommendations listed in the States’ Principles on Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act are central to TSCA’s reform, state officials say. The principles were developed through a collaboration of 13 states – California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. State regulatory leaders across the country say the 33-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) does not contain powerful enough tools to safely monitor and control the tens of thousands of chemicals used every day in the United States.

Give Peace a Chance? Not here, not now, it seems

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if the "leaders" in Palestine and Israel went to sleep for 20 years - would the ordinary people figure out how to live together in peace? At the least, they could could probably figure out how to speak plainly about what they were doing and why.

clipped from www.palestinecenterblog.org Israel revoked residency of 4,577 Palestinians in East Jerusalem Israel stripped a record 4,577 Arabs of their residency rights in East Jerusalem in 2008, equaling almost 35 per cent of all such cases since the Jewish state took control of the area in 1967. [Source: Harinder Mishra, Press Trust of India]

When "Pet" Fish Go Bad - Red Lionfish is Caribbean's Killer Bee

clipped from www.ipsnews.net New Pirate of the Caribbean Invades from Pacific CARACAS, Dec 2 (IPS) - The red lionfish (Pterois volitans), a venomous coral reef fish from the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, has invaded the waters of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to wreak havoc on ecosystems, native fish populations and popular underwater diving areas. The invasive, exotic-looking fish apparently reached the Caribbean in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew destroyed an aquarium in a restaurant in Florida and six of the ferocious predators got out.

What is Freedom of Press and Speech Worth?

More than 80 journalists have been killed this year - it was 30 in the Philippines in one incident. Cowards, wannabe dictators, and people who want to run your life fear, persecute and kill journalists. The unfunny thing is that some "news" organizations seem to delight at inflaming people against the "media" and those who defend free speech and press. Of course they do the same with inflaming people against anyone they don't like and refuse to take responsibility when someone dies. Words and speech have power, they know it. this article demonstrates that truth.

clipped from knightcenter.utexas.edu World newspapers condemn mass killing of journalists in Philippines Gavin O’Reilly, president of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), told the 2,000 delegates from 87 countries that the mass killing on Nov. 23 was “the deadliest single attack on the media in history.”

Woods vs Fire Hydrant or US vs Taliban - Most Important?

Hmmm? If the death of a fire hydrant as important as the lives of US Troops, NATO Troops, Afghans, Pakistanis? US Press does not seem to be able to figure that out?

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com Par for the coarse The feeding frenzy over Tiger Woods's tiny run-in with a fire hydrant has taken voyeurism to new depths. This isn't breaking news. This is breaking gossip. For God's sake, Tiger, tell us or we'll have to get back to our own pedestrian lives. Or, heaven forbid, focus on the prospect of 30,000 more American troops being sent to Afghanistan.

I Pray There Will Still Be Music in Afghanistan in 18 Months

clipped from awwproject.wordpress.com Music is Not Prohibited We have a saying: music is the soul’s nutrition. It is so true. My soul always feels hungry to listen to music. Music is my companion in my loneliness. I don’t understand why fundamentalist Muslims say music is haram (religiously prohibited.) I asked them, but no one had a proper answer. They said: “God prohibited it and we don’t want to listen to it.” Unbelievable. If music is rest-giving and soothing, then why is it prohibited? When nature creates music with waves, blowing wind, singing birds, then why is it prohibited? I am Muslim but will not believe it. God created the world, the birds, the water, the sky and human beings. All these elements make sounds. God will never make a mistake. Music is not prohibited. God created it.

Host a future search about jobs in USA

Be part of the solution!

clipped from www.whitehouse.gov The White House Blog Host a Community Discussion and Be Part of the President’s Forum on Jobs This Thursday, the President is hosting a discussion at the White House to explore every possible avenue for job creation and get ideas from CEOs, small business owners, economists, financial experts, labor union representatives, nonprofit groups and regular Americans who have felt the impact of this economic crisis firsthand. Let us know if you are interested in organizing a jobs forum in your community, and we’ll follow up with discussion questions and other materials to make your event as productive as possible. We’re not able to offer an events center where you can find events already happening, so if you haven’t heard of one in your area, start your own and reach out to your network for participants.

Planet Killing Opps? Plastic Bags + Plankton = ?

Talk about a major unintended consequence? Better start demanding quick switch to biodegradable plastic bags or how about carrying things in your own bags! Got to be one of the dumbest and laziest ways to kill our planet and ourselves!

clipped from photographyforagreenerplanet.wordpress.com Great Pacific Garbage Patch within the North Pacific Gyre, is now twice the size of Texas What exactly is in the patch? Plastic. The answer is always plastic. Plastic is a synthetic material invented by man that never degrades. Plastic does not biodegrade, it just photo degrades, meaning that it breaks down visually until it becomes so small and invisible while still maintaining its toxic molecular structure that it makes its way into the food source of the smallest of aquatic organisms– plankton. The key to life in the oceans.