Three Mile Island: 30th anniversary of the worst nuclear accident in US history

Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez, Harvey Wasserman, Democracy Now

NEW FREE PRESS STUDY REVEALS: More than a million Ohio voters purged in run up to 2008 election – Republican Party wanted 800,000 more purged

Ohio election officials purged more than a million voters between the 2004 and 2008 elections. The number is three times that of voters purged between the 2000 and 2004 elections in that key swing state.

The Free Press Election Protection Project requested data from Boards of Elections in all of Ohio’s 88 counties. A detailed analysis of the records reveals shocking and unprecedented purges. The total number of people whose names were removed from the voting rolls is a stunning 1.25 million.

The Ohio data shows enormous disparities in the number of people purged in different categories from county to county. These results suggest obvious violations of equal protection and due process. The documents demonstrate that the voting rights of a million Ohioans were destroyed based on the arbitrary whims of local election officials. Purging appears to be subject to widely diverse interpretations of state and federal laws by different Ohio Board of Elections officials.

People died at Three Mile Island

People died---and are still dying---at Three Mile Island.

As the thirtieth anniversary of America's most infamous industrial accident approaches, we mourn the deaths that accompanied the biggest string of lies ever told in US industrial history.

As news of the accident poured into the global media, the public was assured there were no radiation releases.

That quickly proved to be false.

The public was then told the releases were controlled and done purposely to alleviate pressure on the core.

Both those assertions were false.

The public was told the releases were "insignificant."

But stack monitors were saturated and unusable, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission later told Congress it did not know---and STILL does not know---how much radiation was released at Three Mile Island, or where it went.

Obamabot

http://mattbors.com

Let's truly honor Cesar Chavez

It’s way past time that Congress declared the March 31 birthdate of Cesar Chavez a national holiday. President Obama agrees. So do the millions of people who are expected to sign petitions being circulated by the United Farm Workers, the union founded by Chavez.

Eight states and dozens of cities already observe Chavez’ birthdate as an official holiday – and for very good reason. As the UFW notes, “He inspired farm workers and millions of people who never worked on a farm to commit themselves to social, economic and civil rights activism. Cesar’s legacy continues to educate, inspire and empower people from all walks of life.”

Obama says, “We should honor him for what he’s taught us about making America a stronger, more just, and more prosperous nation,” and for providing inspirational strength, “as farm workers and laborers across America continue to struggle for fair treatment and fair wages.”

Chavez showed, above all, that the poor and oppressed can prevail against even the most powerful opponents – if they can organize themselves and adopt non-violence as their principal tactic.

Largest Ponzi Scheme

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Intifada: A third chapter

Though the dust has settled in Gaza, the rubble from the untold number of demolished buildings, homes and mosques is far from being cleared away. Graves continue to receive victims, young and old alike, from Israel's most recent offensive. And in the midst of this, with the hopes of some respite and recovery on the horizon, rumors of a third Intifada swell among politicians, scholars and everyday people alike.

While the first and second Palestinian uprisings were spontaneous and natural responses to institutionalized injustice, and while they fostered a great sense of community and brotherhood among Palestinians everywhere, the many years of uprisings mark some of the most painful years in Palestinian history.

A modest proposal

“But administration officials also worry that taking too hard a line with AIG and other companies could discourage top financial experts and institutions from joining the government efforts to fix the financial system.” — Weisman, Reddy and Pleven, Wall Street Journal

“AIG built this bomb, and it may be the only outfit that really knows how to defuse it.” — Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times

So, OK, we’re being held hostage and we have to pay up — give the AIG “brainiacs,” as Sorkin calls them, their unearned, taxpayer-underwritten $165 million in bonuses — or they’ll walk away from the disaster they created and let the whole global financial structure collapse in ruin.

Wow. I whistle in awe at the fiendishness of what can only be called financial terrorism, and as I do so a modest idea pops into my head, in the spirit of Jonathan Swift, of course.

France's nuke power poster child has a money melt-down

The myth of a successful nuclear power industry in France has melted into financial chaos.

With it dies the corporate-hyped poster child for a "nuclear renaissance" of new reactor construction that is drowning in red ink and radioactive waste.

Areva, France's nationally-owned corporate atomic façade, has plunged into a deep financial crisis led by a devastating shortage of cash.

Electricite de France, the French national utility, has been raided by European Union officials charging that its price-fixing may be undermining competition throughout the continent.

Delays and cost overruns continue to escalate at Areva's catastrophic Olkiluoto reactor construction project in Finland. Areva has admitted to a $2.2 billion, or 55%, cost increase in the Finnish building site after three and a half years. The Flamanville project---the only one now being built in France---is already over $1 billion more expensive than projected after a single year under construction.

In 2008, France's nuclear power output dropped 0.1%, while wind generation rose more than 37%.

Breaking: Peace activists arrested at Pentagon

ARLINGTON, VA - Seven peace activists were arrested this morning as they attempted to meet with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at the Pentagon.

The peace activists are associated with the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR), and their visit followed a letter to Gates demanding all military forces be withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan, and that bombings of Pakistan immediately cease. The committed activists from New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and the District of Columbia were arrested by Pentagon Police after they strenuously requested to meet with Gates.

"We wish to petition our government for a redress of grievances," said Michelle Grise, coordinator of NCNR. "Our grievance is that our government continues to engage in clear violations of international law by aggressively and immorally waging wars on countries which pose no immediate threat to our nation."

Grise was arrested along with six other activists, including 78 year-old Eve Tetaz. A retired D.C. public schoolteacher, Tetaz is a veteran peace activist and faces potential jail time for her protests.

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