second nebraska nuclear plant threatened by flooding

BusinessInsider | A second nuclear power plant in Nebraska is being threatened by rising floodwaters, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a federal watchdog agency, says the plant's owners are taking the appropriate steps to ward off danger, according to a report in the Omaha World-Herald.

The Cooper Power Station would have to go into cold shutdown should floodwaters rise an additional six feet, a prospect local officials say is highly unlikely.

The Cooper plant is located 70 miles south of Omaha. The other nuclear plant at risk of flooding, the Fort Calhoun power station, is just north of Omaha.

Officials say a key difference between the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan and the two plants in Nebraska is that the Japanese plant had only an hour after the devastating March earthquake to prepare for floods. The Nebraska plants have had weeks to prepare flood defenses.

“That's not enough time to relocate a nuclear plant to higher ground or jack it up on stilts,” a nuclear scientist told the Omaha World-Herald, “but it is plenty of time to check to ensure that watertight doors are intact, backup power supplies are available and functional, fuel oil tanks are topped off, etc.”

At Fort Calhoun, the plant's owner, the Omaha Public Power District, has erected flood barriers to protect the plant should waters rise to 1010"-1012". The cooling pool for spent fuel rods is at 1,038.5". The river was measured earlier this week at 1005.6".

Elizabeth Cory, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, told the Omaha World-Herald that the flight bans over the two nuclear plants are meant to avoid collisions between aircraft drawn to the scene by curiosity.

“When you keep the area above the ground safe, you're going to keep the people on the ground safe, too,” Cory said.

missouri river - flood of biblical proportions

CBSLocal | ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - An expert on Missouri River reservoirs is sounding a very loud, very urgent warning about the chance of catastrophic flooding this summer.

Bernard Shanks, an adviser to the Resource Renewal Institute, says the Fort Peck Dam and five others along the Missouri are already full with the Army Corps of Engineers releasing record amounts of water to prepare for snow-melt and heavy rain up-river.

As a guest on KMOX’s Total Information AM Wednesday, Shanks was asked what he fears will happen should the Fort Peck Dam fail and set off a chain-reaction.

“There would be a flood like you’ve never seen,” Shanks told hosts Doug McElvein and Debbie Monterrey. “It would be literally of biblical proportions.”

He foresees a very real threat of “chest-high” water in St. Louis before summer’s end.

Shanks’ main concern: that the Fort Peck dam, which he maintains is built with a “flawed design”, would be overwhelmed by snow-melt and heavy rains up north and give way, causing reservoirs downstream to collapse in a domino effect.

If that happens?

“It would be the most epic man-made disaster in the United States,” Shanks replied bluntly.

He says most of the dams holding back water along the Missouri River are 50 to 70 years old, and like people they tend to weaken with time.

“I have followed this issue for 40 years, and I have never seen them more at-risk than they are today,” Shanks warned.

lamb's bread, king's bread has spiritual botanical agents...,

Video - Igziabeher is meaning GOD in amharic...like medanielem'Igzee'abihier

The word 'Igzee'abihier is the Ethiopian name for God, meaning literally, "Lord of the Universe". This is composed of 'Igzee (Lord) 'ab (father) bihier (of the nation). The complete phrase, 'Igzee'abihier Yimmesgen, means "Let God be praised".

it's hard out here for a reggae man...,

Video - Jimmy Cliff The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall - One and All...,

rastafarian rude bwoi bidnis...,

Video - mysterious rastafarian rude boy messaging first charting in the UK in 1969.

ras tafari on africa...,

Video - Haile Sellassie I was truth.

philosophers stoned...,

philosophypress | The fact is surprising, when you think about it. Why have philosophers not had more to say about the phenomenology and social, political, legal, economic, and medical aspects of cannabis? Plato wrote his dialogue Symposium about an after-theatre drinking party in ancient Athens, where Socrates and his friends discourse about the nature of love. But no one in almost two thousand five hundred years of Western philosophy has had much if anything to say about getting high. Philosophers, like approximately 1 out of 3 citizens in developed societies, presumably have tried marijuana, and some of them must regularly smoke it, just as they might enjoy the occasional bottle of wine. Are such indulgences so shameful for intellectuals, either intrinsically, or perhaps because they are illegal, that virtually no one in the philosophical community has been moved to remark at length on the psychology, pharmacology and sociology of cannabis intoxication?

586px-jointdetailSensing a gap in current discussions of applied popular philosophy, I recently edited a book on the subject. It appeared under what for my tastes is the excessively provocative title, Cannabis – Philosophy for Everyone: What Were We Just Talking About? This was not my title, which was morphed by the editorial hierarchy at the press from its original mellifluous (I thought) and more easily parsed Cannabis & Philosophy: What Were We Just Talking About? For the record, I do not imagine that either cannabis or philosophy is literally for everyone. Cannabis is certainly not for children, studies show, particularly under the age of fifteen, nor for the psychically challenged, and I certainly do not advocate a cannabis-philosophy (whatever that would be) for everyone (no less). Philosophy for Everyone is instead the title of the series in which the book appears, a title that has wandered its way uninvited into the book title, ostensibly for the sake of distinguishing this set of books from other philosophy and popular culture series. There have already come to light such companion volumes as Porn – Philosophy for Everyone: How to Think With Kink, and Christmas – Philosophy for Everyone: Better Than a Lump of Coal, even though one hopes it is obvious once again that not everyone stands in need of either a Porn – or a Christmas – philosophy. Given the potential for misunderstanding my purposes inherent in the book’s bewildering title, I propose to air a few thoughts on the project and my motivations for editing a book on the relation between philosophy and, as I see it, the relatively innocent pleasures of hashish.

The gratification I speak of is already known to many from first-hand experience. The philosophical challenge is to try to put the experience into words in a descriptive psychology or phenomenology. What is it like to be high? How is the sensation of being high on cannabis different from normal straight consciousness? It is expedient but philosophically unhelpful to reply, “get high and find out”. There is a great difference between, on the one hand, having an experience and knowing firsthand what the words for such experiences attempt to name and describe, and on the other, understanding the internal structures and qualitative aspects of such experiences as phenomenology described by expert investigators. The phenomenology of getting high should be no different in this regard from that of pain or perception. We must nevertheless turn to poets like Baudelaire, Allen Ginsberg, and Paul Bowles for insights where philosophers have dared to say so little. One might conclude they have never actually heard of the stuff.

As for the social-economic-political-legal, medical, and other aspects of cannabis consumption, the whole topic would be altogether philosophically trivial and otherwise unworthy of philosophical attention, if it were not for the fact that cannabis is illegal. If I were prepared to say anything about the current state of cannabis worldwide, it would be that prohibition deprives us of the opportunity to develop mature attitudes and wise, scientifically-informed policies about recreational and other uses of mildly psychoactive hedonistic substances, as we have done in the case of many other things that are significantly less good for the user and society at large.

East, West, just points of the compass, each as stupid as the other

Video - Trailer for Dr. No.

Now, don't worry, Quarrel. Everything's going to be fine.

Video - The Wailers Steppin Razor

Special Executive for Counter Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, Extortion.

Video - The Wailers Simmer Down

james earl carter: call off the global drug war

NYTimes | In a message to Congress in 1977, I said the country should decriminalize the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, with a full program of treatment for addicts. I also cautioned against filling our prisons with young people who were no threat to society, and summarized by saying: “Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself.”

These ideas were widely accepted at the time. But in the 1980s President Ronald Reagan and Congress began to shift from balanced drug policies, including the treatment and rehabilitation of addicts, toward futile efforts to control drug imports from foreign countries.

This approach entailed an enormous expenditure of resources and the dependence on police and military forces to reduce the foreign cultivation of marijuana, coca and opium poppy and the production of cocaine and heroin. One result has been a terrible escalation in drug-related violence, corruption and gross violations of human rights in a growing number of Latin American countries.

The commission’s facts and arguments are persuasive. It recommends that governments be encouraged to experiment “with models of legal regulation of drugs ... that are designed to undermine the power of organized crime and safeguard the health and security of their citizens.” For effective examples, they can look to policies that have shown promising results in Europe, Australia and other places.

But they probably won’t turn to the United States for advice. Drug policies here are more punitive and counterproductive than in other democracies, and have brought about an explosion in prison populations. At the end of 1980, just before I left office, 500,000 people were incarcerated in America; at the end of 2009 the number was nearly 2.3 million. There are 743 people in prison for every 100,000 Americans, a higher portion than in any other country and seven times as great as in Europe. Some 7.2 million people are either in prison or on probation or parole — more than 3 percent of all American adults!

Some of this increase has been caused by mandatory minimum sentencing and “three strikes you’re out” laws. But about three-quarters of new admissions to state prisons are for nonviolent crimes. And the single greatest cause of prison population growth has been the war on drugs, with the number of people incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses increasing more than twelvefold since 1980.

Not only has this excessive punishment destroyed the lives of millions of young people and their families (disproportionately minorities), but it is wreaking havoc on state and local budgets. Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pointed out that, in 1980, 10 percent of his state’s budget went to higher education and 3 percent to prisons; in 2010, almost 11 percent went to prisons and only 7.5 percent to higher education.

Maybe the increased tax burden on wealthy citizens necessary to pay for the war on drugs will help to bring about a reform of America’s drug policies. At least the recommendations of the Global Commission will give some cover to political leaders who wish to do what is right.

help end the "war on drugs" and mass criminalization

Video - Nixon enlists governors' aid to wage war on drugs.

Evolver | Join us in a peaceful protest to help end the war on drugs! We will be carrying picket signs and handing out literature to garner support for our cause by those who are most affected by failed drug policy.

June 17th marks the 40th anniversary of the War on Drugs declared by Richard Nixon in 1971. This devastating, trillion dollar policy resulted in the ruin of countless individuals and families across the nation. It disproportionately criminalized minorities leaving wounds felt by three generations. For decades, we have stood by and watched as mainstream America gawks at the number of minority prisoners in the US. We joke and conjecture at potential causes for the disappearance of Black men over lattes. Blaming everything from evolution to upbringing, our policy makers have all but ignored the elephant in the room, our grossly discriminatory and aggressive criminal justice policy. We believe it is time for a change. No longer will we allow our fathers, uncles, brothers, husbands, wives, children, and grand children to be "acceptable casualties" of the war on drugs.

A few facts for your consideration:

• Given current rates of incarceration, three in ten of the next generation of black men can expect to be disenfranchised at some point in their lifetime. In states that disenfranchise ex-offenders, as many as 40% of black men may permanently lose their right to vote.

Source:
Sentencing Project, "Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States," (Washington, DC: March 2010), p. 1.

Between 2006 and 2008 people of color were between 4 and 12 times as likely to be arrested for a marijuana related offense than whites. This disparity in the arrest rate was found in all cities and all counties in California, and was averaged over three years to remove any one year statistical anomalies.

Source: Drug Policy Alliance

African Americans have been admitted to prison on drug charges at a rate up to 57 times higher than whites. In some states, 80 to 90 percent of all drug offenders sent to prison have been African American. The rate of Latino imprisonment has been staggering as well. Although the majority of illegal drug users and dealers are white, three-fourths of all people imprisoned for drug offenses have been black and Latino.

Source: http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/more-media-and-culture/2011/5/3/m...

2,424,279 or 1 in every 99.1 adults were behind bars in 2009 in federal, state and local prisons and jails, the highest incarceration rate in the world.

2/3 of people incarcerated for a drug offense in state prison are black or Hispanic, although these groups use and sell drugs at similar rates as whites.

Video - Nixon declares victory in the war on drugs.

the reagans speak out on drugs

Video - The Reagans speak out on drugs.

sandbags and nuclear power plants don't go together...,

Video - *High Alert* - Fire -Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant near Omaha Nebraska- Flooding Missouri River

Business Insider | A fire in Nebraska's Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant briefly knocked out the cooling process for spent nuclear fuel rods, ProPublica reports.

The fire occurred on June 7th, and knocked out cooling for approximately 90 minutes. After 88 hours, the cooling pool would boil dry and highly radioactive materials would be exposed.

On June 6th, the Federal Administration Aviation (FAA) issued a directive banning aircraft from entering the airspace within a two-mile radius of the plant.

"No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM," referring to the "notice to airmen," effective immediately.

Since last week, the plant has been under a "notification of unusual event" classification, becausing of the rising Missouri River. That is the lowest level of emergency alert.

The OPPD claims the FAA closed airspace over the plant because of the Missouri River flooding. But the FAA ban specifically lists the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant as the location for the flight ban.

The plant is adjacent to the now-flooding river, about 20 minutes outside downtown Omaha, and has been closed since April for refueling.

WOWT, the local NBC affiliate, reports on its website:

"The Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Facility is an island right now but it is one that authorities say is going to stay dry. They say they have a number of redundant features to protect the facility from flood waters that include the aqua dam, earthen berms and sandbags."

OPPD spokesman Jeff Hanson told Business Insider that the nuclear plant is in a "stable situation." He said the Missouri River is currently at 1005.6" above sea level, and that no radioactive fuel had yet been released or was expected to be released in the future.

Asked about the FAA flight ban, Hanson it was due to high power lines and "security reasons that we can't reveal." He said the flight ban remains in effect.

fukushima is much worse than you think...,

aljazeera | "Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind," Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry senior vice president, told Al Jazeera.

Japan's 9.0 earthquake on March 11 caused a massive tsunami that crippled the cooling systems at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan. It also led to hydrogen explosions and reactor meltdowns that forced evacuations of those living within a 20km radius of the plant.

Gundersen, a licensed reactor operator with 39 years of nuclear power engineering experience, managing and coordinating projects at 70 nuclear power plants around the US, says the Fukushima nuclear plant likely has more exposed reactor cores than commonly believed.

"Fukushima has three nuclear reactors exposed and four fuel cores exposed," he said, "You probably have the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactor cores because of the fuel cores, and they are all in desperate need of being cooled, and there is no means to cool them effectively."

TEPCO has been spraying water on several of the reactors and fuel cores, but this has led to even greater problems, such as radiation being emitted into the air in steam and evaporated sea water - as well as generating hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive sea water that has to be disposed of.

"The problem is how to keep it cool," says Gundersen. "They are pouring in water and the question is what are they going to do with the waste that comes out of that system, because it is going to contain plutonium and uranium. Where do you put the water?"

Even though the plant is now shut down, fission products such as uranium continue to generate heat, and therefore require cooling.

"The fuels are now a molten blob at the bottom of the reactor," Gundersen added. "TEPCO announced they had a melt through. A melt down is when the fuel collapses to the bottom of the reactor, and a melt through means it has melted through some layers. That blob is incredibly radioactive, and now you have water on top of it. The water picks up enormous amounts of radiation, so you add more water and you are generating hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive water."

Independent scientists have been monitoring the locations of radioactive "hot spots" around Japan, and their findings are disconcerting.

"We have 20 nuclear cores exposed, the fuel pools have several cores each, that is 20 times the potential to be released than Chernobyl," said Gundersen. "The data I'm seeing shows that we are finding hot spots further away than we had from Chernobyl, and the amount of radiation in many of them was the amount that caused areas to be declared no-man's-land for Chernobyl. We are seeing square kilometres being found 60 to 70 kilometres away from the reactor. You can't clean all this up. We still have radioactive wild boar in Germany, 30 years after Chernobyl."

female sex-slaves just make sense

Video - Kuwaiti politician on the benefits of having sex slaves.

IBT | A female Kuwaiti politician called for the legalization of the sex slavery, saying it would protect "decent, devout and virile Kuwaiti men" from adultery. It would keep them from the temptation of being seduced by another woman's beauty.

Salwa al Mutairi, a social activist who once ran for parliament, suggested bringing in female prisoners from war-torn countries, as it would be a "better life" for them, and they would not die of starvation.

Mutairi maintains there is "no shame in it and it is not haram (forbidden) under Islamic Sharia law."

To justify her claim, Mutairi cites an 8th century Muslim leader Haroun al-Rashid, who is rumoured to have had 2,000 mistresses.

In a recent visit to Mecca, she asked Muslim religious scholars what the Islamic ruling was on owning sex slaves, and was told that it is NOT haram.

Therefore, Mutairi claims, the ruling was confirmed by 'specialized people of the faith'.

"They said, that's right, the only solution for a decent man who has the means, who is overpowered by desire and who does not want to commit fornication, is to acquire jawari." Jawari is a plural form of the Arabic term 'sex slave'

She explains "For example, in the Chechnyan war, surely there are female Russian captives.

"So go and buy those and sell them here in Kuwait. Better than to have our men engage in forbidden sexual relations."

Mutairi detailed her proposal further, recommending that sex trade offices could operate the same way that recruitment agencies provide housemaids. And to "consider" the woman's feelings, the female prisoner should be at least 15 years old.

According to the politician, free women must be married with a contract, but with concubines, "the man just buys her and that's it."

Her suggestions, which went public via a Youtube video, brought in heavy criticism from fellow Kuwaitis and people around the world.

One person tweeted to Mutairi, "you're a disgrace to women everywhere."

Despite criticism, Mutairi insists, "I don't see any problem in this, no problem at all."

farrakhan unfiltered on libya

Video - Hon.Bro.Min.Farrakhan speaking oin the U.S. and NATO's War on Libya and Africa during a June 15, 2011 Press Conference at the UN Plaza Hotel.

african land grab: acres for a bottle of scotch

Zerohedge | Everyone who eats is aware that agricultural prices have been on a tear the past few years. With this has come a sharp increase in the value of arable land. Deep topsoil farmland in Iowa has changed hands as high as $11,000 an acre recently. That’s up from about $6,000 just a few years ago.

The shortage of arable land has gone global. Africa has seen an explosion of activity since 2008. How big is the land grab? Who’s doing the grabbing? It’s hard to tell as there is no central source of information and many of the transactions are not made public. An outfit called the Oakland Institute has been compiling information on this. From their June 8 press release:

The scale, rate and negative impact of land deals is alarming. In 2009 alone nearly 60 million ha– an area the size of France – was purchased or leased in comparison to an average annual expansion of global agricultural land of less than 4 million ha before 2008. Fist tap Big Don.

day light robbery in ethiopia: “doing business” with african dictators

abugidainfo | Dear People of India:

I greet you in peace and hope that the good people of India, who have yourselves thrown off the shackles of colonialism only 63 years ago, will join with Ethiopians and other Africans in confronting the hundreds of Indian companies who are now at the forefront of colluding with African dictators in robbing the people of their land, resources, lives and future! As either prospective buyers or simply as justice-loving Indians, you deserve to have full disclosure regarding the nature of these Ethiopian “business deals,” the impact it is having on “real people” on the ground, and the risks of “doing business” in Ethiopia with the current dictator of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi.

On June 8, 2011, Oakland Institute (OI) and the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) released a joint investigative report on Ethiopia, Understanding Land Investments in Ethiopia, part of a larger study of nine African countries affected by the new phenomenon called land-grabs. In Ethiopia, these “land-grabs” are being carried out as foreign investors make deals to lease some of the most fertile agricultural land for up to 99 years at negligible prices. Because private land ownership is prohibited in Ethiopia, “land deals” are being negotiated in secret agreements between these foreign investors and the Ethiopian government; without any consultation with the people.

My name is Obang Metho and I am writing this to you on behalf of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), a non-violent, grassroots social justice movement of diverse Ethiopians committed to bringing truth, justice, freedom, equality and the respect for human and civil rights to the people of Ethiopia and beyond. Our guiding principles are based on putting “humanity before ethnicity,” or any other distinctive that dehumanizes other human beings; and secondly, that “no one is truly free until all are free,” meaning that ignoring or contributing to the injustice, exploitation and oppression of our neighbors, near or far, creates greater insecurity and disharmony for all of us in this global world.

I come to you first and foremost as a fellow human as I call you to join our effort to stop the plundering of Ethiopia and Africa by African dictators, their cronies and their foreign partners—some of whom are Indian—who are hungry for our resources but care little for our people. An indigenous Ethiopian man described it this way: “This regime is one of the most hated regimes in Ethiopian history… they kill the people like they are nothing and with no remorse.” In light of this, I must warn you that those who are “doing business” in Ethiopia, are partnering with an illegitimately elected dictator and his authoritarian regime built on the brutal suppression of the rights of its citizens. The intent of my open letter is to expose the dark underside of these “deals” with the hope of joining forces with those in India who demand justice and human rights for all.

Ethiopia is controlled by a repressive regime, posing as a democracy, which maintains its power not by the ballot, but by the bullet; clearly shown by its99.6% claim to victory in the 2010 election and complete closing off of any political space. All sectors of society are tightly controlled by a one-party minority regime (TPLF), which politicizes all benefits—including business opportunities, education, jobs, agricultural supports and even food aid (see recent Human Rights Watch report)—and punishes any dissent; creating a silenced Ethiopian society.

Ethiopians are pro-business and pro-investment; particularly as Ethiopia is reported to be the second poorest country in the world with 90% of the people living under the poverty level. What we oppose is the daylight robbery of Ethiopia by modern day bandits who are willing to make secret deals with a corrupt government that would be illegal in India and other more developed countries. Abundant resources; combined with a disenfranchised public, few protective regulatory mechanisms, a lack of transparency, duty-free deals and regime promises of cheap labor have brought opportunists from all over the world—from India, China, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Turkey and beyond—all hungry to eat off the weakened carcass of the future hopes of the Ethiopian people.

Into this environment, have come over 500 Indian companies—more than from any other country in the world—to capitalize on this “goldmine of opportunity.” One Ethiopian from the Oromia region protested: “Our land is being given to the Indian companies and anyone who speaks out against it is labeled as a terrorist who is not supposed to have any rights or question any actions by the government.”

Why would any Indians be part of this? Any who resent the colonial past of your own country, should know that it began through the British East India Trading Company; where some of the more unscrupulous often colluded with corrupt indigenous government officials. What would Gandhi say today were he to know that Indians, who were only freed from the shackles of colonialism in recent history, were now at the forefront of this “land-grabbing” as part of the race for foreign control over African land and resources; currently being called the Neo-Colonialism of Africa?

african gods not sleeping...,

hwaairfan | And it seems God spoke again on a continent shaped like the heart – the heart that some African leaders are betraying when a volcano that had been dormant since 1861 erupted. The Dubbi volcano, in the Southern Red Sea Region, Eritrea erupted sending plumes of ash and smoke 8 miles up into the air, during Hilary Clinton’s African tour sending her home a day earlier than expected – not the first time Hilary has had such a welcome in Africa!

If the colonized will not listen, the indigenous will defend their land which the world seeks to rape again of its bounty while turning Africa people homeless, starving and begging as a result of the second scramble for Africa/land-grab.

The people are waking up around the world calling for dignity and justice, and Africans not lost to the bloodlust of the imperialists are no different in that regard.

Elders of Africa, ask for the right value of your exported produce before “leasing” land of which your people will not benefit. All land grab reports have proven this so demand this of your leaders. And lease land that belongs to know one either ancestrally or traditionally for this is the right of the land to be protected, for without land there is no nation to defend. Limit the channels at which land can be leased to avoid illegal leasing, and make the lease short-term, for who knows what the future will bring, for the benefits from that lease should be rendered and directed to the benefit of the people, so that your name, and your children and grandchildren will be honoured where it will be remembered! And if you do not understand the lease, or have the means to uphold the processes involved with the lease, it is better not to sign – for those that come to you for your land eat away at their own people and bankrupt their own countries, so what chance does a people who have never truly been respected stand!