Paradise Lost

Zoran D. Jankovic, DVM
Sott.net
Sun, 29 May 2011 00:00 CDT

While examining the available literature on health and nutrition from an evolutionary standpoint, one comes to the inevitable conclusion that, as far as diet is concerned, human beings entered a blind alley thousands of years ago. Even if by some miracle humanity as whole was to completely reorganize its diet overnight, an important question remains - have we engineered our environment beyond the point of no return?

Contrary to the popular belief held by many anthropologists that agriculture is one of man's greatest achievements, there is an increasing body of evidence which suggests that the human race actually set out on the path of self-destruction when it embraced agrarian societies.

The picture now emerging is that the switch from hunting and gathering occurred suddenly and was followed by a sharp drop in life expectancy. Ancient human bones found in archaeological layers dated since the adoption of agriculture reveal increased prevalence of disease and lesser numbers of aged people. For centuries after the adoption of agriculture, these bones also tell the stories of greater numbers of violent deaths when compared with bone remains from pre-agrarian hunter-gatherer societies. There is an undeniable echo of the Garden of Eden story here. This is, in fact, one of the greatest puzzles of prehistory. Why did agriculture catch on so fast?

It seems that agriculture was suddenly and independently adopted at several sites all around the globe, including the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, China and Mexico. From these sites it spread with considerable speed all over the planet. Today only a few isolated and insignificant populations of hunter-gatherers remain, mostly in the Southern hemisphere.

The speed at which agriculture spread from centres of original adoption may seem slow to the modern traveller, but it is remarkable by the standards of earlier innovations in prehistory. So far no satisfactory explanation has been offered for this puzzle. Most anthropologists have settled for the theory that overwhelming productivity of new technology was simply irresistible to our ancestors. But this theory doesn't seem viable bearing in mind puzzling evidence from the skeletons of the first farmers. Bone and tooth studies of some of the earliest agricultural communities in the Middle East show that farmers had worse health (due to poorer nutrition) than the hunter-gatherers who preceded them.

An amazing article continued at Source

The Rules for Being Human

This is a must have a look so good
When you were born, you didn't come with an owner's manual; these guidelines make life work better.
The Rules for Being Human

Barack Obama Media Circus European tour

An article by John Pilger

Welcome to the violent world of Mr Hopey Changey
When Britain lost control of Egypt in 1956, Prime Minister Anthony Eden said he wanted the nationalist president Gamal Abdel Nasser "destroyed . . . murdered . . . I don't give a damn if there's anarchy and chaos in Egypt." Those insolent Arabs, Winston Churchill had urged in 1951, should be driven "into the gutter from which they should never have emerged".

The language of colonialism may have been modified, but the spirit and the hypocrisy are unchanged. A new imperial phase is unfolding in direct response to the Arab uprising that has shocked Washington and Europe, causing an Eden-style panic. The loss of the Egyptian tyrant Hosni Mubarak was grievous, though not irretrievable: a US-backed counter-revolution is under way as the military regime in Cairo is seduced with bribes, and power is shifting from the street to political groups that did not initiate the revolution. The western aim, as ever, is to stop authentic democracy and reclaim control.
Robbers and bombers

Libya is the immediate opportunity. The Nato attack, with the UN Security Council assigned to mandate a bogus "no-fly zone" to "protect civilians", is strikingly similar to the final destruction of Yugoslavia in 1999. There was no UN cover for the bombing of Serbia and the "rescue" of Kosovo, yet the propaganda echoes today. Like Slobodan Milosevic, Muammar al-Gaddafi is a "new Hitler", plotting "genocide" against his people. There is no evidence of this, as there was no genocide in Kosovo. In Libya, there is a tribal civil war; and the armed uprising against Gaddafi has long been appropriated by the US, French and British, their planes attacking residential Tripoli with uranium-tipped missiles and the submarine HMS Triumph firing Tomahawks, in a repeat of the Iraq "shock and awe" that left thousands of civilians dead and maimed. As in Iraq, the victims, including countless incinerated Libyan army conscripts, are media unpeople.

In the "rebel" east, the terrorising and killing of black African immigrants is not news. On 22 May, a rare piece in the Washington Post described the repression, lawlessness and death squads in the "liberated zones" just as the visiting EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, declared she had found only "great aspirations" and "leadership qualities". In demonstrating these qualities, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the "rebel leader" and Gaddafi's justice minister until February, pledged: "Our friends . . . will have the best opportunity in future contracts in Libya." The east holds most of Libya's oil, the greatest reserves in Africa. In March the rebels, with expert foreign guidance, transferred to Benghazi the Libyan Central Bank, a wholly state-owned institution. This is unprecedented. Meanwhile, the US and the EU froze almost $100bn in Libyan funds, "the largest sum ever blocked", according to official statements. It is the biggest bank robbery in history.

The French elite are enthusiastic robbers and bombers. Nicolas Sarkozy's imperial design is for a French-dominated Mediterranean Union, which would allow France to "return" to its former colonies in North Africa and profit from privileged investment and cheap labour. Gaddafi described the Sarkozy plan as "an insult" that was "taking us for fools". The Merkel government in Berlin agreed, fearing its old foe would diminish Germany in the EU, and abstained in the Security Council vote on Libya. As in the attack on Yugoslavia and the charade of Milosevic's trial, the International Criminal Court is being used to pro­secute Gaddafi while his repeated offers of a ceasefire are ignored. Gaddafi is a Bad Arab. David Cameron's government and its verbose top general want to eliminate this Bad Arab, much as the Obama administration killed a famous Bad Arab in Pakistan recently.

The crown prince of Bahrain, on the other hand, is a Good Arab. On 19 May he was warmly welcomed to Britain by Cameron with a photocall on the steps of 10 Downing Street. In March, the same crown prince slaughtered unarmed protesters in his country and allowed Saudi forces to crush the Bahraini democracy movement. The Obama administration has rewarded Saudi Arabia, one of the most repressive regimes on earth, with a $60bn arms deal, the biggest in US history. The Saudis have the most oil. They are the Best Arabs.

The assault on Libya, a crime under the Nuremberg standard, is Britain's 46th military "intervention" in the Middle East since 1945. Like its imperial partners, Britain aims to control Africa's oil. Cameron is not Eden, but almost. Same school. Same values. In the media pack, the words colonialism and imperialism are no longer used, so the cynical and the credulous can celebrate state violence in its more palatable form.
Keys to the kingdom

As "Mr Hopey Changey" (the name that the great American cartoonist Ted Rall gives Obama) is fawned upon by the British elite and launches another insufferable campaign, the Anglo-American reign of terror proceeds in Afghan­istan and elsewhere with the murder of people by unmanned drones - a US/Israeli innovation, embraced by Obama.

On a scorecard of imposed misery, from secret trials and prisons, to the hounding of whistleblowers and the criminalising of dissent, to the incarceration and impoverishment of his own people, mostly black people, Obama is as bad as George W Bush.

The Palestinians understand all this. As their young people courageously face the violence of Israel's racism, carrying the keys to their grandparents' stolen homes, they are not even inclu­ded in Mr Hopey Changey's list of peoples in the Middle East whose liberation is long overdue. What the oppressed need, he said on 19 May, is a dose of "America's interests [which] are essential to them". He insults us all.

Source

Fukushima

Very Good Blog
As the Nuclear emergency in Japan enters into its 10th week, many children throughout Fukushima are now finding themselves exposed to yearly radiation levels which rival those set by The German Government for its Nuclear power plant workers. Likewise, many who argue in defence of nuclear power have gone on record and stated that Fukushima cannot and will not be another Chernobyl. However, Tepco have admitted on numerous occasions themselves that the Fukushima fallout could eventually exceed and surpass that of the 1986 disaster. The nuclear fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster is still being experienced today some 25 years on.

Since the early days of the crisis at Fukushima, both the Nuclear Industry and Global Mainstream Media have sought to convince us that the amount of radioactive particles released from the Daiichi reactors are safe. Sadly the effects of Fukushima haven’t even begun to surface whilst the leaks continue to release radioactive partials into the atmosphere even as we speak. The Radiation released from Fukushima Daiichi is not safe.

Caesium, Strontium, Plutonium and Radioactive Iodine are all deadly substances which are prone to attack the blood cells and produce cancers. Rather than wish to frighten or cause panic, the aim of this site is to inform you. Throughout you will find detailed analysis from a variety of independent bloggers, researchers and prominent Nuclear experts. You have the ability and right to inform yourself.

Welcome to the People’s News Network

Source

Letter from a Fukushima Mother

When Tomoko-san, a mother of two in Fukushima City, heard from an NGO worker that I was going to be in Fukushima to report on a story about radiation levels at local schools, she was kind enough to volunteer her time to speak to me – and handed me this letter. I promised to translate it and share it with you. So here it is:

To people in the United States and around the world,

I am so sorry for the uranium and plutonium that Japan has released into the environment. The fallout from Fukushima has already circled the world many times, reaching Hawaii, Alaska, and even New York.

We live 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the plant and our homes have been contaminated beyond levels seen at Chernobyl. The cesium-137 they are finding in the soil will be here for 30 years. But the government will not help us. They tell us to stay put. They tell our kids to put on masks and hats and keep going to school.

This summer, our children won’t be able to go swimming. They won’t be able to play outside. They can’t eat Fukushima’s delicious peaches. They can’t even eat the rice that the Fukushima farmers are making. They can’t go visit Fukushima’s beautiful rivers, mountains and lakes. This makes me sad. This fills me with so much regret.

Instead, our children will spend the summer in their classrooms, with no air conditioning, sweating as they try to concentrate on their lessons. We don’t even know how much radiation they’ve already been exposed to.

I was eight years old when the Fukushima Daiichi plant opened. If I had understood what they were building, I would have fought against it. I didn’t realize that it contained dangers that would threaten my children, my children’s children and their children.

I am grateful for all the aid all the world has sent us.

Now, what we ask is for you to speak out against the Japanese government. Pressure them into taking action. Tell them to make protecting children their top priority.

Thank you so much,
Tomoko Hatsuzawa
Fukushima City
May 25, 2011
[Translated by Hiroko Tabuchi]

Source

PROTECT IP Act

To fellow users of the Internet:

Greetings.

Anonymous has a grave announcement to make to all users of the World Wide Web.
The Internet you have come to take for granted has once again come under attack.
Several interest groups have been successfully lobbying to consolidate internet
censorship within the United States. They are rallying for the right to remove any
websites they deem "inappropriate" and, ultimately, for the ability to remove any
content that disagrees with their profit margins, personal whims, or other agendas.

This new initiative is called the PROTECT IP Act:
http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-to-introduce-draconian-anti-piracy-censorship-bill-110511/

This bill would allow the US Government to force ISPs and search engines to
censor websites they do not like under the guise of "copyright protection".
Instead of reducing piracy, this bill endangers the free flow of information.
Through domain seizures, ISP blockades, search engine censorship, and the
restriction of funding to websites accused of infringement, this bill promises to
take Internet censorship to the next level. Furthermore, it violates the citizens
' rights to due process, to free speech, to free expression and to legal
representation at their hearing.

The Internet is a place where anyone and everyone can come together freely
to share information and opinions. The freedom the Internet provides has
served as a global aid for tens of millions of people in places like Egypt, Tunisia
and Iran, to name a few. All of this has been accomplished largely without
interference from corporations, governments, or any other global institutions until now.

We must unite and stand up to those who wish to censor the Internet.
We must not allow them the freedom to moderate information and decide what we are
"permitted" to view.
We must protect what is rightfully ours.

We must protect the rights of the Internet.

You Are Anonymous
You are legion
You can not forgive this.
You can not forget this.
Expect eRevolution.


To the media

Institutions of the Media,

This message is a response to recent actions of the U.S. Government, the RIAA
, the MPAA and others. For some time now, powerful interests have been vigorously
lobbying the US Government in a campaign to censor the Internet. The PROTECT IP
Act is the result of their campaign. Through domain seizures, ISP blockades, search
engine censorship, and funding cuts to allegedly copyright infringing websites, the
PROTECT IP Act will take Internet censorship to the next level. In its present form, this act
threatens the very foundation on which the Internet was built: freedom of thought.

Anonymous are strong supporters of Internet freedom, and believe that the Internet
should remain a place where any person, from any country, regardless of religion, race
or political persuasion can communicate freely with the world. The Facebook and
Twitter "revolution" and its role in the recent changes in the Middle East illustrates
these principles. The PROTECT IP Act would allow government agencies and corporate
interests to control what we, the users of the Internet, are permitted to read, by censoring
search results on sites such as Google or Yahoo. Do we really want to live in a country
where the government determines what we should and should not see?

We are asking for your help and support in keeping the Internet a place where information
flows freely and without restriction. We believe that this is of vital importance to the media
, since Internet users are quickly becoming its primary viewing audience.

The public needs to be made aware of the consequences of the PROTECT IP Act.
The people must not be left in the dark, and Anonymous is determined to not let this happen.
We ask that you pledge to do the same.

~ Anonymous.


Further Links
http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-to-introduce-draconian-anti-piracy-censorship-bill-110511/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13387795
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20062398-281.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20062419-38.html

BBC, "Americans face piracy website blocking," BBC News (13 May 2011): accessed 15 May 2011, .

Downes, Larry, "Leahy's Protect IP bill even worse than COICA," cnet News (12 May 2011): accessed 15 May 2011, .

Ernesto, "U.S. To Introduce Draconian Anti-Piracy Censorship Bill," Torrent Freak (11 May 2011): accessed 15 May 2011, .

McCullagh, Declan, "Senate bill amounts to death penalty for Web sites," cnet News (12 May 2011): accessed 15 May 2011, .

To perpetrators of Censorship, the makers of this bill, and to the RIAA/MPAA

Your repeated attempts to seize control of the Internet have captured our full and undivided attention.

You seek to control the free flow of Information for your own ulterior motives
. You try to impose draconian laws under the guise of "copyright" while ignoring the basic tenets
of the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments to the US Constitution. Anonymous will not let this
happen. We will not submit to your intimidation and bullying and stand prepared to take all
necessary measures to halt your agenda of internet censorship.

You have declared war on the Internet, a war that you cannot win, against an entity you do not
understand. We are a sovereign nation, the first, last, and only free nexus of Information.
We are a Cyber Nation that you do not and can not control.
We are united, and we will stop at nothing to preserve our Freedom.

You have been warned. Cease your attempts at censorship, or face the wrath of the Hivemind.

We Are Anonymous
We are Legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us

GM food toxins found in the blood of unborn babies

When are we going to say enough is enough - the air we breathe, the food we eat - contaminated
GM firms claimed toxins were destroyed in the gut Yeah and I saw a pig fly this morning

Study: Mothers to be were tested

Toxins implanted into GM food crops to kill pests are reaching the bloodstreams of women and unborn babies, alarming research has revealed.

A landmark study found 93 per cent of blood samples taken from pregnant women and 80 per cent from umbilical cords tested positive for traces of the chemicals.

Millions of acres in North and South America are planted with GM corn containing the toxins, which is fed in vast quantities to farm livestock around the world – including Britain.

However, it is now clear the toxins designed to kill crop pests are reaching humans and babies in the womb – apparently through food.

It is not known what, if any, harm this causes but there is speculation it could lead to allergies, miscarriage, abnormalities or even cancer.

To date the industry has always argued that if these toxins were eaten by animals or humans they would be destroyed in the gut and pass out of the body, thus causing no harm.

Food safety authorities in Britain and Europe have accepted these assurances on the basis that GM crops are effectively no different to those produced using conventional methods.

But the latest study appears to blow a hole in these claims and has triggered calls for a ban on imports and a total overhaul of the safety regime for GM crops and food.

Most of the global research which has been used to demonstrate the safety of GM crops has been funded by the industry itself.
GM: Ninety-three per cent of samples from pregnant women and 80 per cent from umbilical cords tested positive for traces of toxins. Picture posed by model

GM: Ninety-three per cent of samples from pregnant women and 80 per cent from umbilical cords tested positive for traces of toxins. Picture posed by model

The new study was carried out by independent doctors at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, at the University of Sherbrooke Hospital Centre in Quebec, Canada.

They took blood samples from 30 pregnant women and 39 other women who were not having a baby.

They were looking for residues of the pesticides associated with the cultivation of GM food.

These include so-called Bt toxins, which are implanted using GM techniques into corn and some other crops.
Fragile: It is not known what effect the toxins have on the unborn foetus

Fragile: It is not known what effect the toxins have on the unborn foetus

Traces of Bt toxin were found in the blood of 93 per cent of the pregnant mothers – 28 out of 30. It was also found in 80 per cent of the umbilical cords – 24 out of 30.

In the non-pregnant group, traces were found in the blood of 69 per cent – 27 out of 39. It is thought the toxin is getting into the human body as a result of eating meat, milk and eggs from farm livestock fed GM corn.

The Canadian team told the scientific journal Reproductive Toxicology: ‘This is the first study to highlight the presence of pesticides associated with genetically modified foods in maternal, foetal and non-pregnant women’s blood.’

They said the Bt toxin was ‘clearly detectable and appears to cross the placenta to the foetus’.

Calling for action, the team said: ‘Given the potential toxicity of these environmental pollutants and the fragility of the foetus, more studies are needed.’

The director of GM Freeze, an umbrella group for community, consumer and environmental organisations opposed to GM farming, described the research as ‘very significant’.

Pete Riley said: ‘This research is a major surprise as it shows that the Bt proteins have survived the human digestive system and passed into the blood supply – something that regulators said could not happen.

‘Regulators need to urgently reassess their opinions, and the EU should use the safeguard clauses in the regulations to prevent any further GM Bt crops being cultivated or imported for animal feed or food until the potential health implications have been fully evaluated.’
Biohazard: Millions of acres in North and South America are planted with GM corn containing the toxins, which is fed in vast quantities to farm livestock worldwide

Biohazard: Millions of acres in North and South America are planted with GM corn containing the toxins, which is fed in vast quantities to farm livestock worldwide

The Agriculture Biotechnology Council, which speaks for the GM industry, questioned the reliability and value of the research.

Its chairman, Dr Julian Little, said: ‘The study is based on analysis that has been used in previous feeding studies and has been found to be unreliable.’

He said the toxins found are also used in other farming systems and gardening ‘with no harm to human health’.

Dr Little said: ‘Biotech crops are rigorously tested for safety prior to their use and over two trillion meals made with GM ingredients have been safely consumed around the world over the past 15 years without a single substantiated health issue.’

Places:
Canada,
Europe

Comments (26)

II The stem cells once extracted and hands in private labs or cord blood banks may sell them for more than gold, at about $30,000.00 a collected unit. A collected unit may be less then one ounce. The baby is missing not just his or her own stem cells but mature red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma, and the hormones for the sex of the child, and enzymes. The child is weaker and has been exploited for the sake of science. This is unnecessary as adults can donate their whole blood to confirm the elements of pollution are now in their blood stream, not just any creature living on Planet Earth, now polluted: land, air, water. You can only stop the hospitals from allowing doctors to be used as tools to do early and instant umbilical cord clamping by having a signed birth contract that all revival of all infants, however they are born, be revived on the unclamped and untied umbilical cord. The policies dictate instant or early cord clamping - an elements of surprise.

- Concerned2, Dawson Creek, BC Canada, 22/5/2011 08:24

The science studies are being used to seek DNA from the newborn babies, and their deprived placenta blood and that which is the umbilical cord. If the baby receives all their proper placenta and cord blood infusion into their expanding lungs, the cord is white, silver, flat with no blood in it, and it has ceased pulsating. The palcenta is then a flat cake, the name for placenta. The blood from the placenta has gone through the cord into the baby's expanding lungs. They can find the same results of toxins in chickens from their development in the egg; they can find the same results in adults who can donate their blood with consent; they can find the same results from other placenta birthing creatures. They are using science and research to justify seeking the baby's palcenta and cord blood, which is sold and separated into these elements: stem cells, they are adult stem cells coming from a full term baby but these are called cord blood stem cells, making them appear different.

- Concerned2, Dawson Creek, BC Canada, 22/5/2011 08:05

Look the GMO companies are culpable, but so are you the media and the Government for pushing this stuff on us. Anyone who dared to object was vilified and labelled a conspiracy theorist. So whatis this new rationale, just openly let folks know that they are being deiberately poisoned and made infertile and more prone to cancers as they are so stupid ( probably because of what has been put in to their bodies), testing public reaction?

- tom bowden, perth australia, 21/5/2011 12:36

They want to genetically modify humans

- Justine, uk, 21/5/2011 10:55

Whilst there is little in the way of evidence to show the long term effects of GM foods (as there has not been time to conduct such studies). That does not detract from the point that chemicals with unknown effects are entering our children at ages when even small amounts of a substance can cause serious problems. As a result there NEEDS to be far more caution exercised when dealing with GM foods to ensure that these foods are 100% safe. Would you give you child BPA contaminated bottles? No, because after years of use we find that it is harming our children. Should we allow thousands of children to possibly get sick, have GM crops contaminate non-GM crops and be forever left with a legacy of toxic foods? I would have to say no to that, but thats just my opinion of course.....

- Liam, Albury, Australia, 21/5/2011 02:32

Thanks for this report but why no mention of the company Monsanto, the world's largest producer of GM seeds. They have been trying for years to get their poisonerous seeds into our foods. in the US former members of Monsanto are now members of Obama's govenrment and when they leave they return to Monsanto. Its called the revolving door. I should also mention that Monsanto is not alone, Dow Chemical and DuPont are also into GM, as they were in making the chemical Agent Orange used with horrific results during the war on Vietnam. Today inj Vietnam there are over four million suffering from the effects of Agent Orange. My advice: Don't buy it, don't plant it and don't eat it.

- Len Aldis, London, 20/5/2011 19:40

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Find this story at www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1388888/GM-food-toxins-blood-93-unborn-babies.html

Japan lifts radiation limit for kids

Outraged parents have held a rowdy demonstration outside Japan's education ministry in Tokyo to protest against the government's decision to weaken nuclear safety standards in schools.

Under new guidelines, Japanese children are allowed to be exposed to 20 times more radiation than was previously permissible.

The new regulation means children can now be exposed to as much radiation as a German nuclear worker.

The government argues the change is essential to keeping schools open in the Fukushima region.

According to Nobel Prize-winning group Physicians for Social Responsibility, the new limits mean exposed children now have a one-in-200 risk of getting cancer, compared with a one-in-500 risk for adults.

The decision provoked outrage from within Japan's government, with the prime minister's chief scientific adviser resigning in protest.

The government says it had no choice but to raise the legal exposure limit, saying about three-quarters of the schools in Fukushima have radiation levels above the old safety level of one millisievert.

The vast majority of schools would have closed, putting the education of hundreds of thousands of children on hold.

Hundreds of parents travelled from the radiation zones of Fukushima to the doors of the education ministry in Tokyo, furious at the government's decision.

"While it may perhaps be safe to raise the exposure limit from one millisievert to 20 millisieverts per year, it doesn't seem to be the case that the people raising that limit would allow their own children to go and play in those areas," said Fukushima resident Sanako Kaji.

Like a sacrificial offering to an angry mob, an education ministry official was bundled outside to speak to the demonstrators, although he had very little to offer them at all.

The hapless official's words only seemed to anger the protesters further.

"The current radiation levels for schools in Fukushima pose no health risks to kids at all," the official said.

"The ministry does agree that it should take every measure possible to lower radiation levels at schools."

For the protesters, the meltdown at Fukushima is an ominous warning that the government must heed.

"This is an opportunity to get rid of nuclear energy and switch to renewable energy", said protester Tsutomu Une.

"If we let this chance pass us by, we're wasting all the sacrifices made by the victims of this disaster."

Source

Meltdowns of 2 more Fukushima Reactors

I still don’t know how to come to terms with Fukushima. The news blackout is pretty rigorous. Thus the “big picture” about the radioactivity dispersal from Fukushima REMAINS UNKNOWN. From the fragments it is clear that there IS A BIG PROBLEM.
TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co , the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disabled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, confirmed on Tuesday that there were meltdowns of fuel rods at three of the plant's reactors early in the crisis.

It had said earlier this month that fuel rods in the No.1 reactor had melted, but officials of the utility, known as Tepco, confirmed at a news conference that there were also meltdowns of fuel rods at the plant's No.2 and No.3 reactors early in the crisis.

Engineers are battling to plug radiation leaks and bring the plant northeast of Tokyo under control more than two months after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and deadly tsunami that devastated a swathe of Japan's coastline and tipped the economy into recession.

The disaster has triggered a drop of more than 80 percent in Tokyo Electric's share price and forced the company to seek government aid as it faces compensation liabilities that some analysts say could top $100 billion.

The Tepco officials said damage to the No.2 reactor fuel rods began three days after the quake, with much of the fuel rods eventually melting and collecting at the bottom of the pressure vessel containing them.

Fuel rods in the No.3 reactor were damaged by the afternoon of March 13, they said.

They repeated that the tsunami that followed soon after the quake disabled power to the reactors, knocking out their cooling capabilities. (Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Michael Watson)

Source

War Games Protest

Media Release 23 May 2011

Peacebus.com captain Convenes
Peace Convergence 2011
Peacebus.com captain, Graeme Dunstan, has taken up the convening of the 2011 Peace Convergence and he is now in residence in Rockhampton organising citizen resistance to the Talisman Sabre war games (18-29 July).
Talisman Sabre is the biggest military exercise in the land, a national event and as such the most visible manifestation of the US Alliance.

peacebus.com

cairnspeacebypeace

How Goldman Execs Screwed Their Clients and Lied to Congress

Wow Rolling Stone never cease to amaze me - here we have a picture gallery. Note the looks on these mens faces, sends shivers down my spine

Source

World Message

A Message for those who can follow - do not be afraid be LOVE - Consciousness is the Key. The aspect of the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts.



The End of Fear.
« The proles, if only they could somehow become Conscious of their own strength, would have no need to conspire. They needed only to rise up and shake themselves like a horse shaking off flies. If they chose they could blow the Party to pieces tomorrow morning. Surely sooner or later it must occur to them to do it? »
« Until they become Conscious they will never rebel,
and until after they have rebelled they cannot become Conscious. »
1984. George Orwell.

projectmayhem2012

Expect Us.

Tectonic Plates Underwater View

This has a double wow effect - scary and beautiful

Fair Go Fairfax

Help keep our Journos employed - stop Fairfax from downsizing - It is our news

Rally outside Fairfax in Sydney and Melbourne
This Thursday, May 19, 12-2pm

Join your colleagues and our supporters outside Fairfax buildings in Sydney and Melbourne, to protest the loss of in-house sub-editors and the decline of quality journalism. Find more details at our Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/FutureProofFairfax.

Sydneysiders will be throwing a picnic on the lawn outside ODI and Melburnians will be having a public rally with Father Bob Maguire and former Victorian Premier John Cain as guest speakers. Similar actions will be held in Newcastle, Canberra and Wollongong to show support for our subs.

Amazing truth at the source

Source

Fukushima out of control

“Situation at Fukushima out of control”
The situation at the Fukushima plant is currently out of control, says Professor Christopher Busby from the European Committee on Radiation Risks, who gave RT his insight into the recent developments in Japan.

The situation at the Fukushima plant is currently out of control, says Professor Christopher Busby from the European Committee on Radiation Risks, who gave RT his insight into the recent developments in Japan.
“Of course, it’s time for the Japanese government to take control. But having said that, it’s very hard to know how you could take control of the situation. The situation is essentially out of control,”

Busby stressed.

“I believe personally that it’s a global problem – and not the Japanese government’s problem only,” he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan said that his government was determined to "take responsibility" for Japan's crippled nuclear plant "right to the end" as the operator of the plant said a revised roadmap to resolve the crisis would stick with the existing timeline.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. Vice President Sakae Muto said the operator would maintain the revised plan but will add new tasks, such as boosting preparedness for tsunamis and improving conditions for workers.

Reports say there are signs that two further reactors, Nos. 2 and 3, at Japan's troubled Fukushima plant may have gone into meltdown. Earlier it was confirmed that similar problems had occurred at the number one reactor during the first 16 hours following the plant’s being hit by the earthquake and tsunami.

Video at Source

Source

ALERT: Emergency Levels Of Japan Nuclear Radiation

Emergency Levels Of Japan Nuclear Radiation Found In Forecasts Censored From Public
Posted by Alexander Higgins
Contrary to previous reports that NILO has stopped making Japan nuclear radiation forecasts , the forecasts are still being producing, but they are just not being released to the public. Nuclear radiation forecasts discovered just today on the site show emergency levels of radiation in the latest forecasts censored from the public.

Japan recently announced a massive censorship campaign to silence so-called “irresponsible rumors” about the nuclear radiation being released from Fukushima. Japan’s weather chief also censored radiation forecasts to “prevent panic in ordinary people”.

The news of censorship in Japan was coupled with an announcement that the United States would help Japan in silencing irresponsible rumors. The first course of action the US took was to stop all daily nuclear radiation monitoring of milk, drinking water and rainwater instead electing to now do radiation tests once every three months.

Those announcements were followed by news that the Norwegian Air Institute (NILO) shut down their program to product radiation forecasts. While forecasts haven’t been publicly accessible on the NILO site for some time several YouTube users have discovered that NILO is in fact still producing radiation forecasts, but they are being censured from release to the public.

In fact, radiation forecasts produced just today have been discovered on a separate area on the NILO site along with other forecasts showing radiation at emergency levels.

More at link with graphs

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TEPCO: Fukushima nuclear meltdown

by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

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(NaturalNews) The truth has finally come out, as officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) now admit that fuel in Reactor 1 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex melted just 16 hours after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the area on March 11, 2011. When asked why it took more than two months to reveal this critical information, TEPCO officials claim that a lack of data left the company unaware of the core's true condition until only recently -- and new reports indicate that other meltdowns could soon follow.

According to a recent report from The Mainichi Daily News (MDN) in Japan, TEPCO officials recently announced that, based on new data, water levels in the pressure vessel at Reactor 1 began to drop rapidly within just a few hours after losing power at 3:30 pm on March 11. By 7:30 pm, fuel was fully exposed, and by 9 pm, reactor core temperatures reached an astounding 2,800 degrees Celsius, or 5,072 degrees Fahrenheit. And by 6:50 am the next morning, a full meltdown occurred (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news...).

So for all the time that electric power was out in multiple reactors, causing the cooling systems to fail, and during the months after it was widely known that water levels were consistently dropping in Reactor 4 due to leaks, TEPCO played the ignorance card, acting as though it had no idea how serious the situation at the plant actually was. Surely the company must know, even without access to a detailed analysis, that when cooling systems fail and fuel rods become fully exposed, a meltdown is sure to follow -- even regular folks with no background in nuclear technology can put two-and-two together to figure that one out.

But apparently TEPCO thinks it can keep playing dumb, and that the world will simply believe whatever it says. This new revelation, however, proves that the company is greatly underestimating the fallout from the situation at best, and deliberately hiding the truth at worst. Either way, the situation is far more dire than we have all been led to believe.

"[TEPCO] could have assumed that when the loss of power made it impossible to cool down the reactor, it would soon lead to a meltdown of the core," said Hiroaki Koide, professor of nuclear safety engineering at Kyoto University, to MDN. "TEPCO's persistent explanation that the damage to the fuel had been limited turned out to be wrong."

And shortly after the announcement about Reactor 1, The Telegraph reported that two more Fukushima reactors may soon suffer a meltdown as well. Efforts to cool fuel in Reactors 2 and 3 have failed, and experts say that if the reactors cores have not already melted, they soon will (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...).

US held secret talks with Taliban

A US media report suggests that Washington has held several rounds of direct talks and is trying to reach a settlement with Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

The Washington Post said in a report on Tuesday that the plan was initiated several months ago to work out a settlement.

The report comes one day after State Department spokesman Michael A. Hammer said that the US had a "broad range of contacts across Afghanistan and the region, at many levels. . . . We're not going to get into the details of those contacts."

The White House has refused to further comment on the issue.

However, an American official said Afghan authorities have been briefed on the contacts between the US and the Taliban.

A senior Afghan official has confirmed that US representatives met with a Taliban figure close to the group's leader in three countries, including Germany.

The development comes after senior officials in the US and the UK floated the idea of making peace with the Taliban, although the annihilation of militants was one of the main objectives of the 2001 US-led invasion.

US President Barack Obama has frequently blamed Pakistan for not doing enough to fight terrorism in its troubled northwestern tribal belt along the Afghan border.

American aircraft frequently attack Pakistani tribal regions, targeting alleged militant hideouts but locals say civilians are the main victims of the unauthorized attacks.

Pakistani officials have dismissed reports that the country's tribal areas are a safe haven for terrorists.

Meanwhile, senior Afghan and Pakistani officials have frequently said that efforts by Washington to make peace with the Taliban are bound to fail without the assistance of Kabul and Islamabad.
JR/HGH/AKM


Pakistan says it's arrested an al Qaida figure
By Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan said Tuesday that it had arrested an al Qaida operative in the southern city of Karachi, the first arrest of a terrorism suspect since an American special forces raid killed Osama bin Laden deep inside the country on May 2.

The Pakistani military described Muhammad Ali Qasim Yaqub, also known as Abu Sohaib al Makki, as a "senior al Qaida operative," though there was some debate about his importance.

"The indications are that he is a midlevel al Qaida operative who may have been involved in operations," said a U.S. official in Washington who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The arrest appeared to be a Pakistani effort to show the United States that it would go after al Qaida and Taliban extremists who've taken refuge in Pakistan. It came a day after Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said here that the U.S. and Pakistan had agreed to try to reset their relations after the bin Laden raid, which angered and humiliated Pakistan's military and raised questions in the U.S. about Pakistan's commitment to combating terrorism.

But the difficulties the relationship faces were on display Tuesday.

Pakistani military authorities announced that two of its soldiers were wounded when helicopters from the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan crossed into Pakistani airspace and Pakistani soldiers fired on them. Coalition officials in Afghanistan said the helicopters had been called in by a U.S. outpost near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border that had come under fire from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, U.S. military officials in Islamabad acknowledged that Pakistan had told them in writing to reduce the number of U.S. trainers who are working in Pakistan.

It was unknown whether a treasure trove of information that US troops scooped up at bin Laden's hideout in the resort town of Abbottabad had contributed to Yaqub's capture.

Word of the arrest came as other news reports indicated that al Qaida had named an interim leader to replace bin Laden. Saif al Adel, a senior al Qaida military commander who was in Iranian custody until a year ago, will assume the group's top position until a permanent successor is named.

The Pakistani military said that Yaqub was a Yemeni national who "has been working directly under al Qaida leaders along Pak-Afghan borders." He appears to be a virtual unknown, however, and doesn't appear on the FBI list of wanted terrorists or lists of top al Qaida figures.

"He's certainly not a top-tier figure," said a U.S. official who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to reporters.

"The arrest of al Makki is a major development in unraveling the al Qaida network operating in the region," said the statement from the Pakistani military, which added that he'd been arrested by "security agencies," usually code for the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, the military's biggest spy agency.

Pakistan is a magnet for jihadists from all over the world, drawn partly by past state patronage of Islamic extremist groups. Karachi is where many think that Mullah Mohammad Omar and other top Afghan insurgents as well as al Qaida commanders are in hiding, in a sprawling run-down metropolis where it's easy to melt away. Last year, the Taliban's deputy leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, was arrested in Karachi.

Many suspect that Pakistani security forces have protected the Afghan insurgent leaders in Pakistan or at least tolerated their presence. But Pakistan has arrested a series of top al Qaida operatives since 9/11, though it's been years since a similar arrest was made.

Also on Tuesday, a confused picture was emerging of the helicopter attack on a Pakistani border post that left two Pakistani soldiers injured.

Pakistan said it had "lodged a strong protest and demanded a flag (high-level) meeting" over the incident.

Officials with the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because the incident is under investigation, said that the helicopters, which were almost certainly American, had been called in by a coalition outpost named for former NFL football star Pat Tillman after the post had come under fire from Pakistan. When the helicopters arrived, they also came under attack and, the second time it happened, they returned fire.

The Pakistani military said the helicopters clashed with Pakistani soldiers after they crossed into North Waziristan, part of Pakistan's tribal area, in the early hours Tuesday.

"The troops at the post fired upon the helicopters and, as a result of exchange of fire, two of our soldiers received injuries," the Pakistani statement said.

Lt. Cmdr. Colette Murphy, a spokeswoman for the international coalition in Afghanistan, said, "ISAF is aware of the incident and is assessing it to determine what happened."

North Waziristan is home to the Haqqani network, a deadly Afghan insurgent group that's allied with al Qaida and the Taliban. The U.S. has asked Pakistan for years to mount an assault in North Waziristan to rout extremists there.

Previous such incidents have even led to Pakistan closing its border crossings into land-locked Afghanistan, holding up supplies for coalition troops.

U.S. military officials in Islamabad, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said they'd been instructed in writing in recent days to reduce the number of American military training personnel in the country.

An American military official wouldn't specify how many U.S. trainers were involved in the drawdown. Pakistan's chief military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said the trainers would be reduced to the "minimum essential required."

(Shah is a McClatchy special correspondent. Jonathan S. Landay contributed to this article from Washington.)

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Big Oil to Congress: 'Don't F#@k With Us'

And the Beat Rolls on - Big Corps ruling our World
By Jeff Goodell
Big Oil execs appeared on Capitol Hill yesterday and told members of the Senate Finance Committee, in so many words, "Don't fuck with us."

That’s nothing new, of course. But yesterday’s hearing was a particularly revealing example of how cocky Big Oil is feeling right now, with gas prices high, summer driving season on the way, and a still-sluggish economy that allows Big Oil to throw its weight around in Washington like sumo wrestlers in a room full of ballerinas.

The subject of yesterday’s hearing was a Democratic proposal to cut $21 billion in oil industry subsidies over the next decade and use it to pay down the deficit (the original plan had been to use the money to fund clean-energy research, but that was DOA with fossil-fuel friendly politicans of both parties). The revised proposal has a certain populist appeal: if Republicans want to make deficit reduction the number one political priority in America, why not start by cutting pay-outs to one of the biggest, oldest, and richest industries in the world? It’s not like Big Oil needs the cash. The Big Five oil companies -- Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips – made $34 billion in profits in the first three months of 2011, up more than 40 percent from a year ago. If they were smart, Big Oil could have supported the proposal as a patriotic gesture, a sign that, in America, during hard times, we all have to pull together and give up a little something.

But of course that is not how it played out. Instead, we witnessed a parade of greed and political body-checking that was remarkable even by Congressional standards.

Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who earns roughly $21 million a year, called the attempt to roll back the subsidies "misinformed and discriminatory." Then he threatened to abandon America all together: "You give me a different tax burden," he said, "I'm going to take my capital then, since the U.S. isn't attractive, I've got to go somewhere else."

John Watson, CEO of Chevron, a perennial favorite on lists of “least reputable” companies in America and a master at sucking crude oil and cash out of Third World nations, argued that the oil men were just old-fashioned American capitalists who had pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and were now enjoying their just rewards. "Don't punish our industry for doing its job well," he said piously.

But the most shameless – and in a weird way, revealing – argument came from ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva. On Wednesday, ConocoPhillips had released a statement calling the Democrat’s proposal to cut subsidies "un-American." During the hearing, Mulva was grilled by New York Senator Charles Schumer about the comment, but Mulva refused to walk it back. And why should he? Mulva understands as well as anyone that when you give as much money to Congress as Big Oil does -- in the 2010 election cycle, Big Oil and Gas gave over $10 million to federal candidates, about three-quarters of which went to Republicans – it’s downright un-American not to get your way with lawmakers.

Of course, all this was just political theater. The Democrats’ proposal is unlikely to pass in the Senate, much less the House, where Republicans are pushing hard to expand off-shore drilling. But it was further evidence of a basic rule of American energy politics: the more desperate we get for cheap oil and gas, the more delusional we become. “You'd be likelier to see a unicorn in this hearing room than have Americans believe you need these subsidies,” Schumer said to the oil execs during the hearing. Welcome to Never-Never Land, Senator.

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Did Playstation Network Outage Turn Opinion Against Anonymous?

"We are Legion. We do not forget. We do not forgive. Expect us."
"We Did It for Lulz" the DDOS not the criminal fraud/hack of others.

Hey People do not be turned off anon. "Think abc people and you will have the guilty party"

The Playstation Network outage has inconvenienced and enraged tens of millions of Playstation users for weeks now.

Anonymous made the initial denial of service (DoS) attack. After that, it’s unclear if anyone associated with the group was responsible for the massive breach of security or if it was the DoS attacks that weakened Sony’s defenses enough for the malicious hackers to break through.

What’s emerging, however, is the turning of public opinion against Anonymous.

Before the Playstation episode, the public viewed Anonymous with a reserved curiosity, awe, and support.

They were the free-wheeling modern-day vigilantes who attacked targets many people didn’t like (Scientology/Tom Cruise and Mubarak’s government). They also fought for privacy and freedom and won the implicit admiration of many people who were concerned about such issues.

However, with the attack on Playstation, many thought Anonymous went too far.

“Anonymous states that it is defending the defenseless, but what do I tell a 9 year-old that just wants to play Little Big Planet 2 online?” said website lifebatch.com.

“I must admit I was immediately a fan of Anonymous when I learned of their political efforts to keep governments and giant faceless corporations from keeping illegal activities secret, but as a gamer who likes to play his games I say this recent is going too far… I feel like this war has been declared on us, the gamers,” said a posting titanreviews.com.

“You didn’t just f*** over Sony, you f****d over millions of people,” said a user at IBTimes.

“Explain to me you bunch of bozos, how are you standing up for my rights by treading on my rights? You think your right to hack your own PS3 system trumps the rights of millions of gamers who just want to kick back and play the game? Wow,” said another user at IBTimes.

The turning of public opinion against Anonymous is similar – not in scope but in nature – to what happened to Islamic extremists in Egypt in late 1997.

Before 1997, Egypt, a Muslim country with a healthy dose of suspicious and resentment for the West, had enough people who implicitly admired and supported Islamic extremists. However, in November 1997, Islamic extremists went too far by brutally murdering 62 people – including one 5-year-old and many women – at an Egyptian tourist site.

This turned public opinion, and the Egyptian government, sharply against them.

Realizing their misstep and the loss of almost all their support, Islam extremist leaders scrambled to deny their involvement. The group never recovered their broad support. Time will tell if Annonymous meets the same fate.

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