♪ Life and Debt by Stephanie Black ♪ - 10 min 03 sec - 2.3MB

Today's podcast is with Stephanie Black, the director of the film Life and Debt, which we just screened at our 3rd Tokyo Peace Film Festival. The festival was a big success with 813 people (who bought tickets) and 50 volunteer staff.

Stephanie came to our house and spent the last few days in Kamogawa. She is a vegetarian (she eats some fish sometimes) so she really enjoyed the food we served as we cook almost everything fresh from our own organic garden. She says living our way (sustainably and organically) is the good way to tackle globalization (which is the theme of Life and Debt).

Her film is outstanding as it reveals what the IMF, the World Bank and their Structual Adjustment Policy really does to the 3rd world countries and their people.

This film says so much.

You can buy the DVD for 3,800 yen in Japan at UPLINK, or at any of the sites listed on lifeanddebt.org

911 Coverup Makes Front Page of Norwegian 'Le Monde'

Unfortunately, this is not an English language mainstream publication, but Le Monde Diplomatique, a well known and well respected paper in Norway published a three page cover story on July 1st 2006 that questions the official US government 911 story...

Here is a synopsis of the full story as published on the July edition of the Nowegian Le Monde Diplomatique homepage. (If you wish to read the synopsis on the Le Monde homepage you will need to scroll down to the bottom of the page.)

:::::::::

Was September 11th an inside job?
Av Kim Bredesen, Journalist for Le Monde diplomatique (Juli 2006)

9/11TRUTH: More and more people in the USA are convinced that the American authorities are concealing their involvement in the September 11th tragedy. Statements from witnesses, marked confidential for several years, now show that controlled demolition may have taken place. The US government had long anticipated such an incident – as the Republican document from 2000 Rebuilding America’s defenses indicates.

The 9/11Truth organisation believes that the USA probably orchestrated an incident of this type in order to justify the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the curtailing of civil liberties within the US through the introduction of The Patriot Act. It has now emerged that the America’s most senior military leader in 1962 devised a plan for a premeditated attack on Americans, which would have involved shooting down a passenger plane, so that the blame could be cast on Cuba. So why should this be excluded today? Many also believe that Pakistani intelligence cooperated with the CIA and Al-Qaida because the former transferred significant sums of money to the hijacker Mohammed Atta in the days leading up to the 11th of September. They even had Bin Laden under surveillance during the time of his treatment in a military hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan in September 2001.

:::::::::

An unofficial translation of the whole story has been posted here for everyone to get an idea of the extensive coverage the article gives.

Though it has been several weeks since the story ran, we can only hope that the the English version of Le Monde Diplomatique will carry the story...

Vanity Fair Covers Loose Change...

This months edition of Vanity Fair has a must read detailed article titled ‘Click Here For Conspiracy’ on the must see movie ‘Loose Change.’ Check out the online version here.

Here are some excerpts...

...For those who can't find information about the alleged cover-up on the nightly news, there is Loose Change, a documentary about 9/11 conspiracy theories which just might be the first Internet blockbuster. Since it appeared on the Web in April 2005, the 80-minute film has been climbing up and down Google Video's "Top 100," rising to No. 1 this May, with at least 10 million viewings.

...For the past three months, 20,000 people a day have been clicking on to the official Loose Change Web site, loosechange911.com; more than 50,000 have placed orders for the DVD since its release. ("But we're not really making any money," says Rowe, "because we gave away like 100,000 copies for free.") Millions more have been downloading the film from a growing number of unaffiliated sites.

...It's safe to say that, if it were a theatrical release, Loose Change would be one of the most popular—and incendiary—movies in the country right now. Avery and Rowe say they are talking to several major movie studios about releasing a third and "final cut" of the film on September 11, 2006. They wonder if the government may be watching, too. "I hope so," says Avery.

If you have not already watched it, YOU MUST!

♪ Tokyo Peace Film Festival Announcement ♪ - 5 min 25 sec - 1.3MB

The Third Annual Tokyo Peace Film Festival will be held this coming weekend... don't miss it! Listen to my interview with 12 year old Steven Sotor, director of the film ‘Genie In A Bottle: Unleased’ and in the accompanying podcast. Below you can find details on all the films that will be shown.

Date: Saturday, July 22, 2006

Time: 10:00 AM - 9 PM (see schedule of films below)

Place: National Institution for Youth Education
(National Olympic Youth Center)
Arts Building Large Hall (カルチャー棟大ホール）
3-1. Yoyogi Kamizono-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0052
TEL. +81-3-3467-7201
Map to venue: http://nyc.niye.go.jp/e/02informations/cont05.html

Entrance fee: 1500 yen for those aged 25 and younger, 2500 yen for those aged 26 and over

Fee includes membership to the "Tokyo Peace Film Club" , which includes discounts for upcoming films, announcements for future events, etc. Fee covers all films, and may be paid at the door. Because seats are filling up fast, it is best to make a reservations via the festival website (www.peacefilm.net, Japanese only) or e-mail: info@peacefilm.net (English OK).

Film schedule:

10:05 AM (104 min.): Little Birds
(http://www.littlebirds.net/eng/index.htm)
Directed by Watai Takeharu

After the U.S. armed forces entered Iraq in April 2003, Watai Takeharu remained in Iraq to continue shooting portraits of Iraqi citizens in the war-ravaged country. In Baghdad, Samawa, Falluja, and at Abu Ghraib, Watai listened to the voices of the Iraqi people, and succeeded in catching glimpses of the truth about the Iraq War that mainstream media have failed to capture. From the footage of over 123 hours which resulted from his one-and-a-half-year-long research in Iraq, a film has now been competed. (in English and Japanese)

12:04 PM (88 min.): Life and Debt
(http://www.lifeanddebt.org)
Directed by Stephanie Black

Utilizing excerpts from the award-winning non-fiction text "A Small Place" by Jamaica Kincaid, Life & Debt is a woven tapestry of sequences focusing on the stories of individual Jamaicans whose strategies for survival and parameters of day-to-day existence are determined by the U.S. and other foreign economic agendas. By combining traditional documentary telling with a stylized narrative framework, the complexity of international lending, structural adjustment policies and free trade will be understood in the context of the day-to-day realities of the people whose lives they impact. (in English and Japanese)

1:45 - 2:55: Lunch with the Directors!

Have lunch with directors Stephanie Black, Kamanaka Hitomi, John Junkerman, and Tanaka Yu. Seats available on a first-come, first-served basis only...reserve by e-mail at lunch@peacefilm.net or by FAX at 03-3393-2207 (English OK). Fee: 1500 yen.

3:00 PM (16 min.): Genie In A Bottle: Unleashed
http://www.lachildrensfilm.org/film.psp?id=145
Directed by Steven Sotor

What did the genie have to say about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? This film was screened at the United Nations and all around the world. It also was shown at the Los Angeles International Childrens Film Festival in December 2005. Steven and his 12 year old friend directed and produced this film. Check out this review here. (in English and Japanese)

3:33 PM (121 min.): Rokkashomura Rhapsody
(http://www.rokkasho-rhapsody.com/en/_links/links)
Directed by Kamanaka Hitomi

Documentary about the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho-mura, Aomori-ken. Kamanaka also directed the acclaimed documentary film "Hibakusha". (in Japanese; no English subtitles)

5:50 PM (92 min.): How to Make Peace　("平和の作り方")
by Kikuchi Yumi, Imamura Kazuhiro, Tanaka Yu

Film made by the Tokyo Peace Film Club, which takes an in-depth look at issues of war and peace and Japan's role therein. Original film that is not to be missed! (In Japanese only; no English subtitles.)

7:37 PM (80 min.): Japan's Peace Constitution (http://www.cine.co.jp/kenpo/english.html)
Directed by John Junkerman

In 2005, sixty years after the end of World War II, the conservative Japanese government is pressing ahead with plans to revise the nation's constitution and jettison its famous no! -war clause, Article 9. This timely, hard-hitting documentary places the ongoing debate over the constitution in an international context: What will revision mean to Japan's neighbors, Korea and China? How has the US-Japan military alliance warped the constitution and Japan's role in the world? How is the unprecedented involvement of Japan's Self-Defense Force in the occupation of Iraq perceived in the Middle East? (in English and Japanese)

Festival sponsors include:

Department of Peace Project, Global Peace Campaign, Be Good Cafe, Japan Jiritsu Project

For more information, contact the Peace Film Club:

URL: http://www.peacefilm.net
E-mail: info@peacefilm.net (English okay)
Tel: 090-4459-3020
FAX: 0479-62-1327

Tell Bush Hands Off Korea! Send an online petition

Got this from IAC. Thank you, Sara!
====

Tell Bush, Cheney, and Congress:
U.S. HANDS OFF KOREA!

Sign the petition online.

Please join our online campaign to demand U.S. HANDS OFF KOREA, by sending emails to President Bush, your senators, your congressperson, key congressional leaders and the media telling them you want the U.S. to end its warmongering campaign against Korea NOW!

The text of our online petition is below:

President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Rice, Secretary-General Annan, and Congressional Leaders,

I am writing this letter to oppose the current international warmongering campaign against Korea being carried out by the U.S. government, and to demand that it end immediately!

With the recent routine testing of 7 missiles by the DPRK, the Bush Administration is working overtime to gather international support for sanctions and other hostile actions towards North Korea.

It is important to put the launch of the missiles in perspective to see which country is the real threat to peace in the region.

The DPRK tested 7 missiles, one of them the Taepodong-2 missile. The others were short-range Scud and medium-range Rodong missiles. These tests violated no international law and were completely within that country’s rights as a sovereign state. These sorts of tests are conducted all the time by many countries.

Even the New York Times, in a July 5 editorial, had to admit that, "Since the test poses no direct security threat, and violates no international treaty, there is no justification for any military response, by the United States or anyone else."

The testing of 7 small rockets by the DPRK pales in comparison with the massive military mobilization by the U.S.

On June 14, the U.S. Air Force held “a quality control test” for its 500 Minuteman III missiles. One of these missiles traveled 4,800 miles towards the central Pacific, and three test warheads landed near the Marshall Islands.

At the same time, three U.S. Navy carrier battle groups—including three aircraft carriers, 22,000 troops, dozens of fighter planes and several heavy bombers —were assembled in the western Pacific off Guam in the largest naval mobilization since the Vietnam War. The USS Curtis Wilbur and the USS Fitzgerald, both guided-missile destroyers with massive destructive capacity sit right off the coast of North Korea. The U.S. also sent spy planes on 170 missions over North Korea. Just hours ago, the USS Martin, a 9,200-ton guided missile destroyer with the Navy's most advanced combat weapon system arrived in the region as a direct challenge to the DPRK.

The U.S. still has more than 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea despite widespread, militant opposition to them. Its claims that the troops are there to protect the south from the north are rejected by the majority of southerners. In fact, there have been massive demonstrations against the U.S. military presence.

It's important to remember that President George W. Bush named the DPRK, along with Iraq and Iran, as one of the “axis of evil.” As the whole world witnesses the torture, rape, and murder that "regime change" has brought to the people of Iraq, the DPRK has every reason to be concerned and has every right to take necessary steps to defend itself.

The DRPK has tried repeatedly to get the U.S. to end the state of war that still exists since the 1950-53 Korean War and to sign a peace treaty that would normalize relations between the two countries. The U.S. always refuses. The U.S. war on the Korean Peninsula resulted in the death of 4 million Korean people and the division and continuing U.S. occupation of the country to this day.

Considering the U.S. missile test, the military maneuvers, and the constant stream of threats against the DPRK from both the Republican administration and the Democratic Party leaders, it is quite clear that the Pyongyang government faces a serious threat from the most belligerent and heavily armed military in the world.

As part of the media hype to demonize and isolate the DPRK, Bush and his media mouthpieces have raised the specter of North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons. Again, this must be put into perspective. The U.S. stockpile contains almost 10,000 nuclear warheads. This includes 5,735 active or operational warheads: 5,235 strategic and 500 nonstrategic warheads. The U.S. also has approximately 4,225 additional warheads held in the reserve or inactive stockpiles.

The U.S. is also the only country to ever use nuclear weapons against civilian targets. The Bush Administration has also made it very clear that it considers use of nuclear weapons is acceptable in its global crusade of regime change.

I reject the use of "weapons of mass destruction" as justification for a campaign of sanctions and hostility against the people of North Korea.

I denounce this fabricated crisis as just the latest in a string of distortions generated by Washington to justify its program of endless war.

I demand:

- An end to Washington's campaign of lies and hostility towards the people of North Korea.
- An end to the military operations targeting North Korea.
- That the U.S. end the state of war with North Korea that has lasted more than 50 years.
- The immediate withdrawal of the U.S. naval carrier groups deployed against the DPRK.

Sincerely,

Sign the petition online.
(Your signature will be appended here based on the contact information you enter online)

Sign the petition online - http://www.iacenter.org/koreacampaign.shtml

Donate to help with organizing expenses- http://www.iacenter.org/iacdonate.shtml

Sign the Iraq Hope Network Petition... Please!

Please join the Iraq Hope Network in signing a petition calling for an immediate end to the suffering of people in Iraq that is resulting from the violent and illegal tactics presently being employed by the U.S. military. The petition will be delivered to President George W. Bush, with a copy to the U.S. Embassies in Tokyo and Baghdad.

You can find the petition here:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/507914513

The Iraq Hope Network is a Japan-based network of NGOs, aid workers, journalists, lawyers, university professors and volunteers who together sponsor projects in Iraq focused on humanitarian aid, reconstruction and human rights.

Many thanks for your help!

LA 911 Conference Great Success

Take a look at what Charlie Sheen says here:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2006/270606charliesheen.htm

Here is some news from Prison Planet:

American Scholars Symposium A Huge Success
Attendees from around the globe attest to 'best 9/11 truth conference ever'

Paul Joseph Watson|Prison Planet.com|June 26 2006

Over 1200 attendees from as far afield as Japan, Great Britain and Australia converged on the Sheraton Hotel in Los Angeles to enjoy a conference that they later described as the best 9/11 truth symposium ever, the highlight of which was a personal appearance and speech by Hollywood star and 9/11 truth crusader Charlie Sheen.

People from as far away as Japan and Australia made the long-haul trip to L.A. to view slick presentations from numerous high profile speakers. Media organizations from Great Britain and Australia were also represented as well as over 100 alternative press outlets.

BYU physics professor Steven Jones' authoritative lecture on the use of incendiary devices in the demolition of the trade towers and building 7 went further than ever before in its conclusive tone on the issue. Jones has now tested steel samples from two different sites that both clearly show the use of thermate as a tool of implosion and the analysis has been verified by two other universities.

Lt. Col. Robert M. Bowman, the former head of the Star Wars weapons defense system and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Nuclear Engineering from Cal Tech, also gave a powerful presentation on the NORAD 9/11 stand down which was extremely well received.

The highlight for many was the surprise personal appearance of Hollywood star, current TV hit and recent shining addition to the ranks of noted 9/11 whistleblowers Charlie Sheen, who received a rapturous ovation before his speech on the courage of those who went before him in standing up to an unpalatable truth in the name of freedom.

To read more: go to:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2006/260606hugesuccess.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get Alex Jones' new movie TerrorStorm for just $5.95!
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Now, it is our turn to host the Symposium in Japan.
On Oct 7, we will invite Jimmy Walter and William Rodoriguez to Tokyo for the 1st 911 Truth Conference in Japan.

I am raising 2 million yen to cover the cost of the event. If you can afford any donation, please go to the Post Office near by and send whatever you can afford money by YUBIN Furikae (Postal Transfer: ask for the help) to:
00110-1-144224 Harmonics Life Center
In the box below, please write 911 donation, and your e-mail address, and at the bottom your name and address. For donations over 10,000 yen, I will send you a DVD produced by Re-Open 911 and signed by Jimmy Walter.

Thanks for your support in advance. I need all of you who are reading this to help make this a success!

Spa! Magazine does 911 Story!

The latest issue of the Japanese weekly magazine SPA! has an multi page story on 911. If you live in Japan, check it out! If you read Japanese, purchase a copy for yourself, or if you don’t for your Japanese friends!

I will write more on the content soon...

♪ Global Alliance for Departments/Ministries of Peace Emerging ♪ - 41 min 02 sec - 9.5MB

I am writing this at my old friends house (Janis Levine) in Seattle where I am spending a night before leaving for Japan after the four day Summit for an International Intiative for Departments of Peace. This time, unlike the first time in London last October, we had delegates from the 3rd world countries like Uganda, the Solomon Islands, Nepal, the Phlippines and India, (Palestine and Israel were there, too, but they were in London at the first Summit). Having all these 3rd world countries join us made our experience so much richer.

All the International delegates In the school bus to Royal Roads University, where the Summit was held on June 21-22, 2006

The US movement continues to be the leader of our campaign, with Dot Maver who has been doing amazing organizing and supporting for the whole movement along with the wonderful staff members at Peace Alliance. We are very fortunate we have such a strong movement in the USA, because the decisions of the US affect all of us in the world.

On the way to here from Victoria, I met several people on the Victoria Clipper (The name of the boat we took.) who were interested in learning more about the DoP initiative. I gave them my contact info and the URL of the Peace Alliance:
http://www.thepeacealliance.org

You can lobby anywhere, any time, with anyone! It's fun!

I already miss my new global family with whom I know I will work for a long time. In the podcast you can listen to what some of the delegates say about the Departments/Ministries of Peace. I wish I could have recorded all the voices of the delegates, at least one from each country (about 17 countries participated), but due to time restraints, I could only include some. Still, by listening to them you can get some idea of their thinking and of our work.

Japanese delegates in front of Royal Roads University

At the end of the Summit, Japan was selected to be the host of the next Summit in 2007 by a majority vote... Other countries that were nominated included Australia, India, Romania, the Philippines, England and Costa Rica. During the final stage of the selection, India and Japan were the last remaining countries. At that point, the Indian delegate, Krishuna, stood up and said, "I would like to support my Japanese friends who are struggling to preserve Article 9, the Peace Constitution of Japan, and if having the Summit in Japan helps the peace movement in Japan, I would like to drop out and maybe be the host next time."

As soon as he said that, every body recognized the importance of Article 9 for peace building around the world.

At the Eagle Feather First Nations Artist Gallery on Jun 21 after the conference

The process of choosing the next host country was so fair, open, caring and beautiful that I cried after Japan was chosen. The Summit in Japan will be held on or around Sep 21, 2007, The International Day of Peace. Everyone wants it to take place in Hiroshima. That would be another challenge as I live far away from Hiroshima. We have a lot of work ahead...

I mean to build a strong team in Japan to host the next Summit. This will be very challenging for me and my family, but I know I can get all kinds of support from the new friends I met in this conference.

Working for peace gives you a lot of joy and satisfaction indeed.

Our wonderful International team, now called the Global Alliance for Ministries/Departments of Peace. In the center is Dot Maver, Executive Director of the Peace Alliance USA

♪Jimmy Walter at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan♪ - 64 min 36 sec - 14.9MB

[Updated June 17th: Now includes a short interview with Jimmy recorded at Yumi’s home the day after Jimmy’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club presentation]

I hope you will listen to Jimmy Walter's presentation at The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan that is included here.

Jimmy arrived the evening of June 14 at Narita Airport. We were there to greet him but he didn't come out of the security gate until one hour after his plane landed. We were quite nervous until we met him, wondering all the while if he had been stopped at immigration by the Japanese police or something like that.

Jimmy has had many attacks, death threats, his house broken into, computers stolen, etc. But he is here now with us... What an honor to have such a wonderful human being who devotes his life to saving not only America but also the entire world from the real terror!

This is the joy of doing peace work... You keep meeting wonderful people. I am so blessed.

Enjoy and learn from his presentation!

Left to right: Shokichi Kina (Diet Member for Okinawa, Yumi Kikuchi, Jimmy Walter & Benjamin Fulford

Watch This Movie!! (Please...)

This movie is very well done! More can be found here http://www.911revisited.com/

Lecture by Jimmy Walter of the Reopen 9.11 Campaign

Thursday, June 15th 7-9 PM (doors open at 6:30)
National Institute for Youth Education (National Olympic Memorial Youth Center)
Central Building Room #101
Entrance fee: 1000 yen (advance reservations not required)

Venue Address: 3-1. Yoyogi Kamizono-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 151-0052
Phone: 03-3467-7201
Map: http://nyc.niye.go.jp/e/02informations/cont05.html

Jimmy Walter, a businessman from the U.S., is the founder of a campaign titled "Reopen 9.11." This campaign is working to challenge the official explanation for the events of September 11, 2001, which hold that al-Qaida operatives were responsible for perpetrating multiple terrorist attacks in the United States. (Campaign website: www.reopen911.org)

For example, the U.S. government states that the World Trade Center building collapsed when its steel was weakened from the heat of the flames that broke out after it was struck by airliners--a claim that Brigham Young University physics professor Steven Jones explains is physically impossible. See his detailed explanation here.

Currently Mr. Walter is on a European tour to expose the truth behind the events of 911 and is coming to speak in Japan for the first time. We were hoping Mr. Walter would be joined by William Rodriguez, who was the last person to escape from inside the towers before they collapsed, however Mr. Rodriguez will not be able to attend.

Come and hear for yourself a completely different perspective from what is being presently accepted by mainstream media--a view that is gaining a growing number of followers around the world.

The lecture will be in English, with Japanese interpretation provided by Gen Morita and Yumi Kikuchi.

Sponsor: Global Peace Campaign http://english.globalpeace.jp
Organizer: Yumi Kikuchi, Founder, GPC http://yumikikuchi.blogspot.com
Supporting Organizations: Japan Jiritsu Project, Tokyo Peace Film Festival

For more information, contact Yumi Kikuchi:

E-mail: yumik(At symbol)fine(Dot)ocn(Period)ne(Dot)jp

yumik@fine.ocn.ne.jp



Tel: 0470-97-1011
FAX: 0470-97-1215

Four Page 911 Story In Flash!

The latest issue of the Japanese mens magazine Flash (Issue 916) has printed a four page story on the alleged 911 hijackers that have subsequently been found to be alive and well.

There are many such articles covering this matter in the western media but till this publication, few to be found in the mainstream Japan media. For example, here is one story from the BBC.

It is interesting to note that NONE of the names of the hijackers can be found on the passenger manifests of the hijacked flights.

Both Benjamin Fulford and myself were interviewed for the story, though I am not quoted in the article at all.

There are so many strange areas in the official 911 story it is amazing that most people have believed it without a question for so long!

NY Times Report on Chicago 911 Truth Conference

I wanted to go to Chicago for this event very much, but couldn't, so I asked Benjamin Fulford, the author of the 911 story that appeared in the January issue of the Weekly Post to attend this conference. Check out this previous post to learn about Benjamin and the Weekly post article. He should be in Chicago now and will report to us the latest developments in the 911 Truth Movement in the USA.

Here is the NY Times article covering the event. (You need to be a registered user to see the full story. Registration is free!)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/05/us/05conspiracy.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Great coverage, isn't it? Finally mainstream media started picking up this most important issue.

Would you like a puppy?

Kuro-chan, our stray dog had babies about a month ago. Four black ones and one light brown one. They are so cute but we can not keep them here as we often travel for long periods of time. We are looking for someone who can keep one or both. Please let me know by DM.

Universal National Service Act of 2006

Did you know about this?
They are going to start the discussion on this bill today:2006-06-06, 666!
http://www.anewworldrising.com/node/433

February 14, 2006, Congressman Charles Rangel (Democrat - NY) introduced a bill (Universal National Service Act of 2006 - HR 4752 IH) aiming at drafting everyone - men and women alike - from the ages of 18 to 42 into the military for a minimum period of 2 years.

To quote the bill: "To provide for the common defense by requiring all persons in the United States, including women, between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes."

The House is to convene on June 6 (06/06/06] to debate and possibly adopt this bill, that is, unless a vast public outcry succeeds in derailing this insanity, which you can do by writing a letter of protest to your congress person through

http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm or http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html

Phone calls are even better. The numbers of all US Representatives can be found at:

http://clerk.house.gov/members/index.htm

♪ Meeting with Johan Galtung ♪ - 33 min 29 sec - 7.7MB

Have you heard of Transcend?

It is a method that solves conflicts without violence or arms. They have been very successsful in many areas of conflict and there are many Transcend trainers all over the world. There is even an academic group in Japan that studies the Transcend method.
http://www.wako.ac.jp/~itot/tran/

The Interenational group can be found here:

http://www.transcend.org

Support Peace by Peaceful Means!

Buy Peace Shares with TRANSCEND and contribute to peacebuilding world-wide!

Isn't this great? I will send my support in Euros.

I went to ICU yesterday where Johan Galtung and other peace academics gathered for an International Symposium on Peace, Religion and Politics. The title was:
Movements and Pacifism after September 11.

In the podcast, you can listen to questions the scholars made to Johan and his responses to them. Meeting Johan was like meeting Gandhi!

The Unthinkable!

My friend from Hawaii sent me this story that was published in the UK Sunday Times
++++++++++++
Sarah Baxter, Washington (The Sunday Times) Hala Jaber and Ali Rifat, Baghdad

PHOTOGRAPHS taken by American military intelligence have provided crucial evidence that up to 24 Iraqis were massacred by marines in Haditha, an insurgent stronghold on the banks of the Euphrates.

One portrays an Iraqi mother and young child, kneeling on the floor, as if in prayer. They have been shot dead at close range...

Please read the full story here.
++++++++++++

Now all the major news outlets are covering this horrible event. The BBC has posted two videos about the event. Have a look at the first here, and the second here.

Democratic Congressman, Jack Murtha, a former Marine, spoke out strongly against the war in Iraq! Click here to watch the interview (6.5 MB). Listen to him talk about the total lack of progress for the rebuilding of Iraq... Things have simply not improved as the US government claims they have. Murtha believes that before the year is out, Republicans will be asking to get the US troops out of Iraq! Let us hope so! The sooner the better.

As my friend who alerted me to the story says...

Stop the War! End the Occupation! Bring the Troops Home Now!

1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties. 4. Oppose all discrimination: anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, etc. 5. Seek peace through justice in Hawai`i and around the world.

Please have a look at this interview with the sole family survivor of the attack...



In writing up this story, I came across this flash movie at chris-floyd.com which says it all...
*WARNING* Some images in the Flash presentation and image gallery may be uncomfortable and inappropriate viewing for faint of heart and young children.

Mussolini

"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Mussolini

He was quite right, wasn't he? Now the US is run by the White House Company, Bush as the speaker, Cheney as the boss, Wolfawitz as the brains, Mossad, MI6, CIA, etc. etc.

Do you agree?

Archbishop Desmond Tutu on a Department of Peace

Got this from Dot Maver, Executive Director of Peace Alliance, USA. I met her when I was covering Dennis Kucinich in 2004 Presidential campaign. She was his campaign manager and is very warm-hearted and a talented person.

Peace Alliance is the center of the US Department of Peace Movement and also the leader of the international movement. I am going to attend the 2nd People's Summit for Department of Peace, which will be held in Victoria, Canada, from Jun 18-22. Upon coming home, we will have a meeting for JUMP (Japan United for a Ministry of Peace) on July 9 or 17. Will keep you updated.
==========
http://www.thepeacealliance.org/content/view/145/1/

Photo and interview by Mark Tompkins
For the Peace Alliance
At the Quest for Global Healing
May, 2006, Bali, Indonesia

What are your thoughts on the movement to establish Ministries and Departments of Peace in governments worldwide?

TUTU: It’s an extraordinary idea and, it fills one with a great deal of excitement and exhilaration, and it sounds crazy, but then I think it was crazy when Gandhi said we’re going to work so that eventually India is free. It must have been crazy when Martin Luther King Jr. also said we’re going to make civil rights a real issue in the United States, and maybe when Nelson Mandela and others said one day apartheid will be no more, that we need those like yourselves who dream dreams and say, “It is possible. It is possible for people to know that war is not natural.”

People have been able to live peacefully together, but if they live peacefully together after war, why should they have war first before they can realize that it is a great deal better. War is not nice to children, it’s not nice to people, it’s not nice to the environment.

And so I say go for it. This is marvellous. Go for it and really be crazy and say, one day we’ll ask, “Why were we so stupid for so long because of something so obvious?” Saying let us put our massive investment that we are putting right now in instruments of death and destruction, let us put them into something that is creative, that is life-enhancing teaching kids that there are ways of resolving differences that don’t need to be violent. You can sit down and ultimately say, “You know, actually, an enemy is a friend waiting to be made.”

Mad Mag Morph!

Is this frightening or what??

Al Gore On Saturday Night Live!

Check out Al Gore having some fun! If only half of this were true!



Transcript of the show...

Al Gore: When Glaciers Attack -- The World That Might Have Been

Al Gore appeared last weekend on 'Saturday Night Live.' In the show's alternate reality, here's the speech he gave. "Good evening, my fellow Americans.

"In 2000 when you overwhelmingly made the decision to elect me as your 43rd president, I knew the road ahead would be difficult. We have accomplished so much, yet challenges lie ahead.

"In the last six years we have been able to stop global warming. No one could have predicted the negative results of this. Glaciers that once were melting are now on the attack.

"As you know, these renegade glaciers have already captured parts of upper Michigan and northern Maine, but I assure you: We will not let the glaciers win.

"Right now, in the second week of May 2006, we are facing perhaps the worst gas crisis in history.

"We have way too much gasoline. Gas is down to $0.19 a gallon and the oil companies are hurting.

"I know that I am partly to blame by insisting that cars run on trash.

"I am therefore proposing a federal bailout to our oil companies because -- hey, if it were the other way around, you know the oil companies would help us.

"On a positive note, we worked hard to save welfare, fix Social Security and of course provide the free universal health care we all enjoy today.

"But all this came at a high cost. As I speak, the gigantic national budget surplus is down to a perilously low $11 trillion.

"And don't get any ideas. That money is staying in the very successful lockbox. We're not touching it.

"Of course, we could give economic aid to China, or lend money to the Saudis ... again.

"But right now we're already so loved by everyone in the world that American tourists can't even go over to Europe anymore ... without getting hugged.

"There are some of you that want to spend our money on some made-up war. To you I say: what part of "lockbox" don't you understand? ...
"As for immigration, solving that came at a heavy cost, and I personally regret the loss of California. However, the new Mexifornian economy is strong and El Presidente Schwarznegger is doing a great job.

"There have been some setbacks. ... Baseball, our national pastime, still lies under the shadow of steroid accusations. But I have faith in baseball commissioner George W. Bush when he says, 'We will find the steroid users if we have to tap every phone in America!'

"In 2001 when I came into office, our national security was the most important issue. The threat of terrorism was real.

"Who knew that six years later, Afghanistan would be the most popular spring break destination? Or that Six Flags Tehran is the fastest growing amusement park in the Middle East?

"And the scariest thing we Americans have to fear is ... Live From New York, it's Saturday Night!"

(c) 2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

Intelligence Community Knew 9/11 Was An Inside Job As Soon As It Happened

Got this from Marty Greenhut of the Global Peace Campaign Mailing List.
You can subscribe to our ML (Mailing List) for free. It is full of important news that you do not hear in the mainstream media. To subscribe please send a blank email to:
globalpeacecampaign-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To visit the GPC Group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/globalpeacecampaign/

Please join us.

Anyway, you should read the following...

Everyone in the worldwide intelligence community knew that 9/11 was an inside job as soon as it happened...

Yumi
===========
Reynolds: "Come Out of the White House with Your Hands Up!"
http://milwaukee.indymedia.org/en/2006/05/205461.shtml

by Kevin Barrett
Ex-Bush Official Busts 9/11 Perps at U.W. Historical Society

Madison, WI
Saturday, May 6, 2006

An enthusiastic standing-room-only crowd packed the Wisconsin Historical Society auditorium Saturday to hear ex-Bush Administration insider Morgan Reynolds prosecute top administration and military officials for the 9/11 inside job.

Reynolds indicted Richard Cheney, George W. Bush, former Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Meyers, confessed WTC demolisher and insurance-fraudster Larry Silverstein, and others for mass murder, conspiracy, and other charges including high treason. The enthusiastic response from the overflow crowd was a de facto vote for conviction on all counts.

The former Director of the Criminal Justice Center at the National Center for Policy Analysis, showed that the defendants conspired to create a false cover story of suicide hijackings in order to "blow the World Trade Center to kingdom come" with explosives-a shock-and-awe psy-op designed to coerce the American people into supporting a pre-planned "long war" in the Middle East, massive increases in military spending, and the rollback of Constitutional civil liberties.

Reynolds stated that everyone in the worldwide intelligence community knew that 9/11 was an inside job as soon as it happened, with the obvious stand-down of US air defenses, controlled demolition of the World Trade Center, and non-protection of the President in Florida being the biggest tip-offs. The head of the Russian equivalent of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the former head of the German intelligence service Andreas Von Bulow, former National Security Agency official Wayne Madsen, and former MI-6 agent David Schayler have all openly called 9/11 an inside job, while former CIA official Ray McGovern has confirmed this directly in private, and indirectly in public by way of his ringing endorsement of David Ray Griffin's work on 9/11.

Reynolds, who served as George W. Bush's Labor Department Chief Economist in 2001-2002, believes that a 9/11 truth victory is looming on the near-term horizon. He predicted that one or more of the 9/11 insiders will soon "give it up" and come forward with what they know, saying "Remember, you heard it here first." He said that most of those complicit in the attacks did not realize how over-the-top the plot was, due to the need-to-know compartmentalization of such covert operations, and that some semi-complicit individuals will probably be coming forward. Reynolds said that most of his email acquaintances are now worried that the 9/11 truth movement is going to win, triggering the greatest Constitutional crisis in U.S. history. For Reynolds, this is less a cause for worry than for rejoicing: "We need a Constitutional crisis!"

Reynolds argued that 9/11 truth is a matter of extreme urgency, since the perpetrators seem to be preparing another 9/11-style terror hoax as a pretext for attacking Iran with nuclear weapons. He said that exposing the 9/11 fraud is the best way to stop Cheney's plan to stage an unprovoked nuclear attack on Iran, and the military draft and Pinochet-style prison camps and death squads for dissenters that might accompany it.

Reynolds urged the audience to help educate the American public about the 9/11 inside job. Personal contact with family and friends, the internet, alternative media, and public events like this are all good educational strategies, he said, adding that a demonstration of 100,000 9/11 truth supporters at Ground Zero next year would be hard for the media to ignore.

Politicians and the media will help expose the 9/11 inside job, he said, only after the growing grassroots movement reaches critical mass. The organizers of Reynolds' talk urged audience members to come to the upcoming international 9/11 truth conference in Chicago, 9/11: Revealing the Truth, Reclaiming Our Future, June 2nd-4th, 2006:

http://911revealingthetruth.org/

* * *

Introduction to Dr. Reynolds Presentation

(delivered in much abbreviated form due to time constraints)

by Dr. Kevin Barrett

Coordinator, Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth: mujca.com Member, Scholars for 9/11 Truth: st911.org
Member, Scientific Professionals Investigating 9/11 (SPINE): 911physics.net

Friends, we are gathered here today not just to speak truth to power, but to start fighting back. The information you are hearing today is political dynamite. It is the stuff of which revolutions are made.

Evil rulers use divide-and-conquer strategies against their subjects. In Iraq, the occupiers blow up mosques and markets, and murder thousands of bystanders, in a lame attempt to provoke a Sunni-Shia civil war. But they're not fooling anybody. The Iraqis all know who's really doing these bombings, just as 90% of the Arab and Muslim world knows that 9/11 was an inside job. Here in Ersatz America, our criminal rulers are trying to divide us by whipping up emotional hysteria: abortion, immigration, gay marriage, liberal versus conservative, religious versus secular, Christian and Jewish versus Muslim-anything to distract us and keep us from seeing what they're doing to all of us.

9/11 truth unites ALL of us - left and right, gay and straight, religious, spiritual and secular, Muslim, Christian and Jewish, military and civilian - in revolutionary outrage against this evil regime, and in determination to overthrow it by any means necessary.

We hope the 9/11 truth revolution will be a nonviolent revolution. We are starting with education, symbolism, and nonviolent action. Please honor the request of Veterans for 9/11 Truth (v911t.org) to fly the American flag upside down as a symbol of Constitutional distress. And please come to Chicago for the international 9/11 truth strategy conference June 2nd - 4th, sponsored by 911truth.org and the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth. Posters are available at the table outside. We are meeting in Chicago to figure out how to win on 9/11 truth. And we are going to win. See: 911revealingthetruth.org

And when we win, the brave man we have invited here today will get a big chunk of the credit.

Dr. Morgan Reynolds is Professor Emeritus at Texas A & M University. He served as Chief Economist in the Department of Labor under George W. Bush during the Cheney regime's first illegitimate term. He is the former director of the Criminal Justice Center at the National Center for Policy Analysis, and appeared on innumerable political discussion shows in the mainstream media - back when we used to have a mainstream media rather than a Ministry of Propaganda. I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that - it's the Ministry of Love. Wait a minute, that's the one that runs Abu Ghraib and the sex torture gulag. Or is that der Ministry of Unheimlich Insecurity?

I'm sorry, I grew up back when we had something vaguely resembling a democracy - I can't keep all this stuff straight. In any case, Dr. Reynolds has a stellar resume, and the best part of it is that he is a Wisconsin Badger with three degrees from this great university - and he is living up to its motto, The Truth Will Set You Free!

Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Morgan Reynolds.

* * *
(For Morgan Reynolds' work, see his website nomoregames.net)

Related
http://mujca.com

http://911revealingthetruth.org

Stephen Colbert, New American Hero

I heard his name a week ago from my dear friend Norie Huddle. She sent me the speech he made at a Whitehouse dinner on April 30. I watchted it, laughed and laughed till my stomach ached! Who is this guy?

And a week later, today, I got what is written below from Lucille Moyer, and also from Truth Out, and others! Now I am realizing this is not just funny but revolutionary. You must watch and spread it around too!

Yumi
==============

Lucille Moyer wrote:
Stephen Colbert will become an American folk hero because he singlehandedly circumvented the administrative protectorate and the secret service to courageously and publically confront this president who doesn't read, doesn't watch TV, doesn't listen to advisers and thinks he is above the law and congress. It was a coup that untold millions upon millions around the world, marching in the streets, have been unable to achieve. Hooray for Colbert!!!

* * * * * *

Stephen Colbert: New American Hero
By Don Hazen, AlterNet
Posted on May 9, 2006, Printed on May 10, 2006
(Click here to read the story.)
Virtually overnight, Stephen Colbert became a hero to countless Americans, following his April 30 performance at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

Since then, millions of people have either watched the video or read the transcript of his skewering of both the president and the press corps, and have discussed it avidly. Tens of thousands of people have gone to the website ThankYouStephenColbert.org and written letters of appreciation. Talk about water-cooler chatter; the event crashed internet servers across the land. It truly was one of those moments of media shock and delight.

And then, an odd but revealing thing happened. Some of the chattering class commentators, mainstream media writers and columnists, and Democratic officials didn't get it: Not very funny, rude, not respectful of the president, and so on. Are they kidding? How could they not understand they were witnessing one of the bravest, most subversive performances in memory, which thrilled and gave hope to untold viewers and readers, and will be a huge marker when people look back on the Bush era?

Colbert's speech had a huge impact for two reasons: First, he spoke truth to power right to the face of the president, in front of the entire news media. No one could miss, sidestep or deny it. It wasn't a scene from a movie, book or talk show -- it was live. It reminded me of Edward R. Murrow's famous address to the Radio and Television News Directors Association (recently depicted in the film "Good Night and Good Luck"). It gave me goose bumps. Colbert's performance shamed every Democrat or columnist who has been too afraid, too timid, or just too worried about losing his or her own power and access to go out on a limb and tell the truth that this administration is a disaster beyond our wildest nightmares. Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rove have gotten away with murder … and worse. And many of the people in that room that night who squirmed in their seats -- it was in part because of the internal indictment they were feeling for not doing what they should have done, countless times, long before. Maybe now they will do the right thing, but I won't be holding my breath.

The second reason Colbert made such a huge splash is the rapid advance of video on the web. Almost overnight, the media world has irrevocably changed as video is increasingly becoming as important as print and still images on the web. When, in a matter of hours, dozens of websites can post or link to a video and get the word out about a spectacular event, the role of the gatekeepers and the corporate media shrinks big-time. And it doesn't matter if the networks or CNN or Fox decides that they don't want you to see it -- they can't stop it. The people's network is now in working order. Progressives now have a television capacity; still rudimentary, perhaps, but powerfully effective.

The Press Leaks

The press coverage of the Colbert performance was illuminating, according to the popular blog, Democratic Underground: "Expect nothing less from the cowardly American media. This demonstrates powerfully the ability of the media to choose the news, and to decide when and how to shield Bush from negative publicity. Sins of omission can be just as bad as sins of commission."

The AP's first stab at it, as well as Reuters and the Chicago Tribune, tell us everything we need to know: In these reports, Colbert's performance is sidestepped and marginalized, while President Bush is depicted as lighthearted, humble and witty.

Salon's Joan Walsh points out, "Colbert's deadly performance did more than reveal, with devastating clarity, how Bush's well-oiled myth machine works. It exposed the mainstream press' pathetic collusion with an administration that has treated it -- and the truth -- with contempt from the moment it took office. Intimidated, coddled, fearful of violating propriety, the press corps that for years dutifully repeated Bush talking points was stunned and horrified when someone dared to reveal that the media emperor had no clothes. Colbert refused to play his dutiful, toothless part in the White House correspondents' dinner -- an incestuous, backslapping ritual that should be retired. For that, he had to be marginalized. Voilà: 'He wasn't funny.'"

On the Democratic political front, as John Aravosis wrote on AmericaBlog, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., actually stepped up to defend President Bush, saying, according to The Hill:

"I thought some of it was funny, but I think it got a little rough … He is the president of the United States, and he deserves some respect."

"I'm certainly not a defender of the administration," Hoyer reassured stunned observers, but Colbert "crossed the line" with many jokes that were "in bad taste."

Criticizing Colbert for being rude would be pretty funny if it weren't so depressing. Rude? Since when has politics in this administration used the Marquis of Queensbury rules? Is Dick Cheney sweet and accommodating? When, in their march to power, has the right wing had good manners -- about abortion or gay marriage, or in the push for invading Iraq? Sure, mention decorum and one thinks immediately of Karl Rove, of Pat Robertson calling for the assassination of Hugo Chavez, of Jerry Falwell blaming America's bad morals for 9/11.

The fact is, Stephen Colbert is at the acme of rising independent voices -- in the blogosphere, on the internet, in publishing and independent filmmaking -- who are being aggressive and playing hardball the way the right does. And guess what? The establishment is getting nervous. The powers-that-be know that people respond to passion, anger and resistance, emotions that convey meaning and seriousness, and the will to fight hard for important issues.

In a smaller way, but showing similar guts, Cindy Sheehan spoke truth by traveling to Texas and demanding that the president explain, please, just what "noble cause" her son died for. Ray McGovern did it recently when he publicly challenged Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in Atlanta, and so did Harry Taylor, the man who confronted George W. Bush at a town meeting in North Carolina.

Perhaps the most important lesson we have learned from the divisions laid bare by Stephen Colbert is that the big split isn't so much between Democrats and Republicans or between the media and the people and events they cover, but rather between the powerful and the angry, between those basking in power and those fighting for change. The kiss-ass media, the revolving-door congressmen, the sycophant lobbyists and congressional staffers, the greedy media consultants -- all are dependent on and addicted to the trappings of power, whether it's their next book, TV appearance, consulting contract, ride on Air Force One or junket to play golf at St. Andrews. Stephen Colbert turned the heat up on them all:

… let's review the rules. Here's how it works: The president makes the decisions; he's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people, the press, type those decisions down. Make, announce, check. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kickin' around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration? You know: fiction!

It's getting hotter in the kitchen, and some of those who have the most to hide are getting closer to a meltdown.

Don Hazen is the executive editor of AlterNet.

© 2006 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/36067/
---------
The COMPLETE Colbert Clip is Here, Part 1 - Part 2.
---------
"NO BRAVERY" (A nation blind to their disgrace)
A Must Watch 4 Minute Video Flash presentation
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article11799.htm

"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government."
- Thomas Jefferson

Babies Today Are Still Dying from Chernobyl 20 Years Ago

I had to post this here so that more people understand what it means to have nuclear power plant operating near you. (by this I mean 200 miles (320KM) or less!) Imagine being a mother who has a baby dying from cancer, and you can not do anything. Many Iraqi mothers are now experiencing this from DU pollution, as are the mothers of Chernobyl children.

We have 55 nuclear power plants plus one new reprocessing plant in Japan. According to Greenpeace in one day Rokkasho Reprocessing plant discharges the same amount of radiation as a single nuclear power plant would discharge in one year. But some say it is more than that.

For example, Mr. Kiyohiko Yamada says that the discharge of radiation from Rokkasho alone IN ONE DAY is more than all the 55 nuclear power plants in Japan combined FOR A YEAR. What this means is that Rokkasho is releasing the equivalent amount of radiation that 20,075(55 by 365 days) nuke plants would release PER DAY. Mr. Yamada says that the radiation release data was made public through the Gennen's public hearing minutes, which he has access to (Gennen is the Japan Nuclear Fuel Company who operates the Rokkasho reprocessing plant). The "active test" of the reprocessing plant started on March 31.

This number sounds too high to be believable to me, so I am in the process of checking this data. I will will adjust these figures after I have confirmation of this data.

This is really crazy. Are the Japanese people (we) so stupid to allow this happen to their(our) land, water and air? All our assets, houses, apartments, company buildings and so on, will become worthless if a single accident happens. In case of the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, without even an accident, the pollution is released on a daily basis, as part of the regular operation of the plant, so the damage is ongoing and continous...

Who would want to invest in such a potentially dangerous place? Think about it. If we wanted to sell Japan in such a condition, who would buy it? We have no right to pollute our planet, our land, water and soil. They are for our children to enjoy. We must do something about this!

Yumi

Please read the letter below, from Michael Mariotte, the Executive Director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service.

I hope you will forward it on to others around the world.
============
NUCLEAR INFORMATION AND RESOURCE SERVICE
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 340, Takoma Park, MD 20912
301-270-NIRS (301-270-6477); Fax: 301-270-4291
www.nirs.org

May 4, 2006

Dear Friend of NIRS,

I’m sitting today in our office in Rivne, Ukraine, where we’re working on the next steps to build upon last week’s remarkable Chornobyl+20: Remembrance for the Future conference in Kyiv, Ukraine.

I’m almost 200 miles west of Chornobyl, yet just 30 miles to the north is one of Ukraine’s four levels of contaminated zones. In this zone, tens of thousands of people live and work and farm and eat food grown on land that is killing them. More than four million people in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia still live on land contaminated from the Chornobyl accident of 20 years ago. Sadly, babies born today are still dying from that accident because they’re drinking milk produced by cows eating contaminated grass. Chornobyl truly is an accident without end.

If your information came only from the American media, or the nuclear power industry, you would probably think Chornobyl really wasn’t so bad. A disaster, yes, but a manageable one; one the world can live with if necessary to produce needed electricity.

Sitting here in Ukraine, with new studies about the real consequences of Chornobyl stacked next to my desk, the reality looks quite different.

Last September, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Health Organization (WHO) released a report on Chornobyl’s consequences, which concluded that while the accident had resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars in damages and permanent interdiction of large areas of land, “only” about 4,000 cancer fatalities were expected. Perhaps only the cynical nuclear power industry could consider a disaster whose consequences are greater than Hurricane Katrina to be good news, but the industry seized upon this study to argue that the world should be building more nuclear reactors.

But in the past few weeks, several new studies have been released countering the IAEA’s report. First came the TORCH report, prepared for the Chornobyl+20 conference. It concluded that 30,000-60,000 cancer fatalities can be expected. A report prepared for Greenpeace and endorsed by more than 50 scientists from the affected countries projects 93,000 deaths, and perhaps as many as 200,000. Other studies project even higher casualties.

And these reports were big news across Europe. Finally, even the World Health Organization (which by a 1950s-era agreement is forced to accept IAEA statistics on nuclear-related health effects) could no longer accept the IAEA’s numbers, and on April 20 released a document projecting a still-very-conservative 29,000 deaths (although you had to read the fine print to find that number).
In short, the IAEA has been largely discredited; its September report found to be self-serving. The real consequences, and thus lessons of Chornobyl, are much greater and more profound than the IAEA and nuclear industries of the world want to admit.

Across Ukraine, across Europe, this is generally understood. But the U.S. media has by and large ignored the reality of Chornobyl and its implications.

That’s easy to do in the U.S., it’s much harder to ignore here in Ukraine. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be coming home. I can leave and not worry about the ongoing consequences. The people who live here cannot.

And yet we all—in every country—ignore the devastation of Chornobyl at our own peril. Because Chornobyl can happen anywhere there is nuclear power and, unless its lessons are learned, it will happen again.

The studies I referred to, and more, are available on our website at http://www.nirs.org/c20/c20us.htm, along with the resolution from the conference and a lot more.

In coming weeks, we’ll be adding proceedings from the conference and updating and expanding our sections on nuclear power and climate change and on sustainable energy, so that you’ll continue to have access to the best and latest information on the issues important to us all. And we’ll be working to spread the truth about Chornobyl, and nuclear issues generally, to the media across the U.S.

You’ll also be hearing from us about the latest congressional activity on Yucca Mountain and reprocessing and how your actions can make a difference in our energy future.

That all takes resources, of course, and I hope you’ll take a moment now to help by donating to us at https://secure.campagne-online.com/registrant/donate.aspx?EventID=2927&LangPref=en-CA. This is our secure online credit card processing system. You can also access this site directly from the NIRS home page at http://www.nirs.org.

As an added incentive, if you contribute by June 30, your contribution will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, by a matching grant set up as a tribute to NIRS’ Radioactive Waste Project director Diane D’Arrigo, who is celebrating her 20th year at NIRS.

If you’d prefer to donate by check, please send your contribution to NIRS, 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 340, Takoma Park, MD 20912. Or you can contribute by credit card over the phone at NIRS, 301-270-6477.

However you choose to contribute, I hope you will do so as generously as you can. We must ensure that there will be no more Chornobyls—not in Ukraine, and not in the U.S.

Thank you for your help and support.

Michael Mariotte
Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
nirsnet@nirs.org

Dear Mr. President!, by Pink

This is so wonderful! I hope Mr. President, you will listen to the words, carefully!

20 years later, have we learnt from Chernobyl?

April 26th marked the 20th anniversary of the disaster at Chernobyl. On that day, two explosions took place at reactor number four that caused in total 120 tons of uranium and over 900 tons of highly radioactive graphite to be dispersed, much of it, of course, in the vicinity of the plant, but a significant part of it ended up contaminating all the countries of the world.

I wonder if we have learnt anything from this event that caused and continues to cause so much death, disease, pain and hardship... Officially it is said that about 4,000 deaths could be attributed to the accident, however, some estimates now predict the number of fatal cancer cases will be over 90,000. But even 90,000, may be on the low side. Have a look at this Chernobyl Health Report from GreenPeace if you would like to learn more...

Here in Japan, a country prone to earthquakes, we have 55 nuclear power stations operating in the area the size of California. With a population of nearly 130,000,000, if only one of them were to meltdown, the direct human damage would be unthinkable.

Map of the soil contamination area. The area is larger than the island of Honshu

The town of Hamaoka, which is less than 200 KM / 125 Miles from Tokyo, currently has five nuclear reactors in operation. Many people consider Hamaoka to be a disaster waiting to happen as it is built over an earthquake prone area where two tectonic plates meet. Hamaoka may be the most dangerous reactor complex in Japan, if not the world... Have a look at this story titled Japan‘s Deadly Game from the Japan Times and you will begin to understand what I mean.

Again, I ask, have we learnt anything from Chernobyl? As we continue to court such obvious danger I think that maybe we have not! Perhaps it is because we have not been shown in detail the continuing horror that continues in and around Chernobyl.

Recently CNIC (Citizens Nuclear Information Center) translated to Japanese a 25 minute movie titled ‘The Sacrifice.’ It shows scenes of the cleanup directly after the explosions as well as personal stories of the brave men that sacrificed their lives for the safety of their country and actually the world. I hope you will make the effort to see it. The movie can be bought from CNIC. Contact them at the bottom of this page. CNIC publishes newsletters in English(bimonthly) and Japanese(monthly). If you would like to support their hard work to educate the public about the dangers of nuclear power I hope you will subscribe to one or both of them.

Also, if you would like to help support the work of the many volunteers trying to get the five Hamoaka reactors shut down, please check out the Stop Hamaoka homepage. There is no English page available but even so, you can send them a donation to help them with their important work. They put out a newsletter in Japanese that you can show to your Japanese friends... To send them a donation use a Post Office Furikae form. The account name is: Hamaokagenpatu Soshoudan. The account number is: 00870-5-95420. If need be you can contact them via email, though they may take a while to reply as they do not usually use English.

If you read Japanese you should buy a copy of Housyano de Syutoken Shometsu (放射能で首都圏消滅 Radiation - Extinction of Tokyo Metropolitan). It went on sale on April 26, the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident. Even if you can’t read it you should buy a copy and give it to your Japanese friends so they can understand the gravity of the situation we are in. Everyone living in Japan will be affected by the expected earthquake and any resulting nuclear disaster.

[Update] I would also suggest you take a look at this PDF report titled On The Way Out, by Mycle Schneider and Antony Froggatt. It appeared in Nuclear Engineering International last year, though that version was not complete with graphs.

Here is a quote from the last paragraph: “The nuclear share of energy use for electricity production is expected to decline in most regions of the world as a result of public opposition, waste disposal issues, concerns about nuclear arms proliferation, and the economics of nuclear power. The nuclear share of electricity generation worldwide is projected to drop to 12% in 2025 from 19% in 2001.”

I will repeat what I said to one of the comments attached to this blog, I wonder if any of the people and government officials controlling the nuclear industry here in Japan are aware of the trends mentioned in the report. The sooner they wake up to what is going on in the rest of the world, the better!

I hope you will take a look at some of the many web sites that discuss the Chernobyl disaster on the net. Here are a few that I found interesting:

Nuclear Nightmares: 20 Years Since Chernobyl - A photo documentary.

Murderous Atoms - An archive from the May 5, 1986 issue of DER SPIEGEL, just days after the world became aware of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Chernobyl Revisited - In 2004, a local woman named Elena rode her motorcycle through the Chernobyl area, and took photographs... Check out what she sees and has to say.

Bush Must Now Face The Music!

[Update: Neil Young‘s Living With War album is now available in streaming format online. Click here to listen to the album!

There seems to be a growing dissidence amongst musicians for the Bush government. USA today reported on March 23rd that Carlos Santana‘s philosophy is the antithesis of President George W. Bush's. Read the story here.

Then a few days ago, 60’s rock musician Neil Young, who once openly supported President Bush, did a complete about face! Neil is about to release a new album titled ‘Living With War‘. The album centers around one hard hitting song, ‘Let’s Impeach The President.’ Hey, it doesn’t get more direct than that!

Check out this interview on CNN ShowBiz tonight! (Broadband is recommended)

You can read more about Neil’s thinking and the backround to his new album here. The albums internet release is scheduled for April 28th, the CD format should be available in early May.

Here are the lyrics to “Let’s Impeach the President”:

Let’s impeach the president for lying

And leading our country into war

Abusing all the power that we gave him

And shipping all our money out the door

He’s the man who hired all the criminals

The White House shadows who hide behind closed doors

And bend the facts to fit with their new stories

Of why we have to send our men to war

Let’s impeach the president for spying

On citizens inside their own homes

Breaking every law in the country

By tapping our computers and telephones

What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees

Would New Orleans have been safer that way

Sheltered by our government’s protection

Or was someone just not home that day?

Let’s impeach the president

For hijacking our religion and using it to get elected

Dividing our country into colors

And still leaving black people neglected

Thank god he’s racking down on steroids

Since he sold his old baseball team

There’s lot of people looking at big trouble

But of course the president is clean

Thank God

Former German Minister says 911 an Inside Job!

Don't be surprised when you read or listen to the interview of a former German Minister (from the Schimidt cabinet) by Alex Jones.

This is part of the April 21st 2006 article:

Former German Minister Says Building 7 Used To Run 9/11 Attack, Guide the planes in, then destroy the crime scene.

Former Helmut Schmidt cabinet member, 25-year German Parliamentarian and global intelligence expert Andreas Von Bülow says that the 9/11 attack was run by the highest levels of the US intelligence apparatus using WTC Building 7 as a command bunker which was later demolished in order to destroy the crime scene.

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Shocking! Read the full story here:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/april2006/210406runattack.htm


Spread the word. Send it to your friends. And thank you in advance! We are in this together and your help is important and needed.

Listen to the interview here:
http://www.prisonplanet.tv/audio/200406vonbuelow.htm

[If you would like to learn more about Von Bülow you should have a look at this Wikipedia article on him.]

JUMP Kick Off Concert on April 29

If you have friends living in and around Tokyo, an interesting peace concert will be held on April 29, 2006. This concert is the kick off event for JUMP, Japan United for a Ministry of Peace.

Please spread the good news by putting news of the concert in your blog and homepage.

Your help is appreciated to help make true PEACE a reality.

The Japanese government wants to discard our Peace Constitution, including Article 9, and is preparing many wartime laws which will make our nation a Police State, following in the steps of the USA. If you know of any English or Japanese publications, please submit the concert information below to their event calender.

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"JUMP Kick off Concert"
JUMP (Japan United for a Ministry of Peace) will have a Kick Off Concert on April 29, 2006 in Tokyo, at Educus Tokyo from 6:30pm to 8:30.
*Map: http://www.zenkyo.biz/map.html
(nearest station: Kojimachi, or Ichigaya JR, across from old Nihon TV bldg.)

Musicians will include The New Frontiers -1 (minus one member), ZAKI, Kazumi, Yukie Ikebe and others. MC: Yumi Kikuchi. Tickets: 2000 yen reserved, 2500 yen at the door.
*reservations can be made through Yumi: yumik@fine.ocn.ne.jp

JUMP is a citizen's volunteer group aiming to establish a Ministry of Peace in Japan. Representatives of JUMP will attend the 2nd People's Initiative for a Department of Peace which is to be held in Victoria, Canada from the 18th to the 22nd of June. This event is fundraiser for the conference to help 3rd world delegates attend as well as to promote JUMP in Japan.

To join JUMP and/or to help spread the word about JUMP, please contact Yumi.

JUMP KICK OFF CONCERT!

JUMP (Japan United for Ministry of Peace or 平和省プロジェクト in Japanese) will have a "JUMP Kick Off Concert" on April 29, 2006 in Tokyo, at Educus Tokyo (Ichigaya, In front of old Nihon TV office) from 6:30pm.

Musicians will include The New Frontiers -1 (minus one member), ZAKI, Kazumi and others.
MC: Yumi Kikuchi.
Tickets: 2000 yen reserved - 2500 yen at the door.

You can send an e-mail to me to reserve tickets: yumik@fine.ocn.ne.jp

JUMP is a citizen's volunteer group aiming to establish a Ministry of Peace in Japan. Representatives of JUMP will attend the 2nd People's Initiative for a Department of Peace to be held in Victoria, Canada in June (18-22) and this event is fundraiser for the conference to help 3rd world delegates attend the conference.

You can find out more about the 2nd People’s Initiative for a Department of Peace on this page.

Must listen to conversation with Jimmy Walter!

You must listen to this conversation between Alex Jones, Jimmy Walter and William Rodriguez. Jimmy and William are currently in Venezuela and will meet with President Chavez soon to discuss the coverup of the Sept. 11th events and the possible formation of an international investigation into 911.

This is truly a first rate discussion on the current situation in the US and the world and how the media is controlled by the government. A lot of other important things are covered too! Definitely recommended listening. Definitely! Listen to it here!

Great Ray Griffin Speech here

On March 30, Dr. Ray Griffin gave a wonderful speech in California at the Grand Lake Theater to a crowd of Progressive Democrats. You can listen to it on our Global Peace Campaign website Audio Resource page (It is 2 hours in length.)

In other news, Ed Asner is officially supporting Charlie Sheen. An interview was planned on CNN ShowBiz Tonight but at the last moment CNN cancelled, due to pressure from the ‘top‘. (Read about this here) Ed is a supporter of Addicted To War and I hope one day to meet all these great, courageous Americans. Thank you, Ed Asner!

Another amazing piece of news is from Venezuela. Jimmy Walter of Reopen 911 and William Rodriguez, a 911 survivor, are making a world tour and are currently in Venezuala. (When I spoke to him a few days ago, he was just about to leave the hotel for the airport.)

They have already met with the President of the Assembly and they will soon meet with the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. President Chavez has decided to organize a full international investivation into 911.

Check out the poster that William is holding. Can you read what it says at the bottom? Rodriguez was the last survivor pulled from the rubble of the north tower of the WTC, and was responsible for unlocking the stairwells within the tower. Rodriguez represented family members of 9/11 victims and testified to the 9/11 Commission that bombs were in the north tower but his statements were completely omitted from the official record!

Wow! It is getting HOT.