The Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine did not plan a special event for 2008. So, I am posting an audio player for the WERU Voices program I assembled from our August 6, 2007 Hiroshima/Nagasaki Commemorations at Pierce Park and the Hammond Street Church in Bangor:
You may visit peacecast.us HERE to download the podcast.
Today, August 6, 2008, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akibaasked for the new U.S. president to support a proposed ban on nuclear weapons. Mayor Akiba is quoted extensively in our 2007 program.
What was the source of the REAL anthrax Iraq DID possess?
Obviously the terror-inducing U.S. anthrax attacks during the fall of 2001 fit in nicely with what the U.S. was doing to portray Iraq as the most dangerous regime in the world. Here's President Bush whipping up hysteria concerning Iraq and bioweapons on October 7, 2002 in his famous Cincinnati speech, given as he was pressuring Congress to pass the Iraq War Resolution:
President Bush: ... the regime was forced to admit that it had produced more than 30,000 liters of anthrax and other deadly biological agents. The inspectors, however, concluded that Iraq had likely produced two to four times that amount. This is a massive stockpile of biological weapons that has never been accounted for, and capable of killing millions. ...
We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas. We're concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using these UAVS for missions targeting the United States. And, of course, sophisticated delivery systems aren't required for a chemical or biological attack; all that might be required are a small container and one terrorist or Iraqi intelligence operative to deliver it. ...
Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists. Alliance with terrorists could allow the Iraqi regime to attack America without leaving any fingerprints. ...
Now, news about the investigation into the October 2001 "anthrax by mail" attacks in the U.S. is hot again after the death by suicide of the latest FBI candidate for the culprit, another scientist within the U.S. military's own bioweapons program. The latest is that the suspect, the late Bruce Ivins, was some kind of whacko with an obsession with a college sorority.
Glenn Greenwald has been all over this story, with several postsfocusing on media contributions that helped President Bush falsely pin the anthrax threat on Iraq. Greenwald has his doubts about Ivins's guilt. THISDemocracy Now! segment suggests that the case should be far from closed, despite Ivins's suicide.
As Greenwald suggests, "extreme skepticism" should be the rule when dealing with any government or media claim concerning anthrax. I agree. Why might certain U.S. authorities want to keep the lid on the truth and the public diverted and confused? Perhaps it is because the U.S. itself, along with the U.K. have plenty to keep covered up. Both were key enablers of Iraq's actual bioweapons program during the 1980s.
Is there any evidence for this assertion? Yes. My old site carries an essential 2005 white paper on the subject written by contributor Geoffrey Holland. It is accessible HERE. Holland traces strains of anthrax shipped to Iraq through many decades of U.S. and U.K. bioweapons research, concluding "that the anthrax threat from Iraq, a repeatedly cited reason for the 2003 invasion of that country, actually originated from a dead cow in South Oxfordshire" in the U.K.
Holland argues that the "United States breached the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) by supplying warfare-related biological materials to Iraq during the 1980s" and should be sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council. Holland campaigned in the U.K. on this issue for several years, eventually garnering over 100 sponsors for a Parliamentary resolution demanding such a referral.
Today Juan Cole has more: "Bush Pressured FBI to Blame al-Qaeda for Anthrax", along with a fascinating item about how the notion that Iraq was anthrax central propagated through the U.S. media, even on entertainment shows and with the help of none other than John McCain.
Posted by The Owl on Aug 05 at 08:41. Filed under: Iraq
We have been seeing these massive trailer rigs that are used to carry huge wind machines up and down I-35 in Minnesota. We got caught behind one here, trying to make a turn from I-35 onto MN 95 in North Branch.
Posted by The Owl on Aug 04 at 14:16. Filed under: Energy
Tall ships arrive in Duluth to the delight of thousands Candace Renalls - Duluth News Tribune - Friday, August 01, 2008
With cannons’ roar, a trio of tall ships, their white sails billowing in the wind, glided into Duluth Harbor Thursday afternoon to the delight of the thousands of people who gathered to watch.
The ships, including replicas of 1812 war ships, passed through the Aerial Lift Bridge beginning about 4 p.m., followed by an armada of smaller boats that later milled around as the big ships docked along Harbor Drive.
It was the first time in decades that many tall ships had sailed into the harbor at one time, harkening back to the mid- to late-1800s when sailing vessels moved cargo on the Great Lakes. The ships are here for this weekend’s Duluth Maritime Festival and will be open for public tours today through Sunday. ...
"Patronizing" ad from Republican incumbent Senator Norm Coleman
Former entertainer Al Franken: Is he "serious"?
We're on a visit to my home state and it's hard to miss the politics. While recent polling has both Maine and Minnesota "likely GOP" in the senate contests, it appears there is a much more vigorous campaign already going on out here.
Just a couple of observations. The huge problem for Franken is that he is still trying to convince people he's "serious." That's deadly at this point, I would think.
Coleman, for his part, has pounced. The campaign as far as he's concerned is all about the quality of Franken as a real Minnesota human being. Franken is disqualified on the basis of some tax irregularities and off-color satire he'd written years ago. But the ad! I agree with the Air America people that it's patronizing. Any decent Minnesotan should be offended and it should backfire on Coleman. If the ad doesn't backfire, Minnesotans will for six more years have the senator they deserve.
Franken's videos have real issues in them. I think they're pretty good. More HERE.
Pepper-growing weather has really set in. It's warm, humid, and rainy. Yesterday storms dumping up to 10 cm swung through New England. Here, we had several pretty vigorous showers, but our total has been only about 3 cm. Still, that has made the garden extremely happy. Everything is zooming. Even the Brandywine tomatoes started very late from seed now look very strong and likely to succeed. Cucumbers are about to come in like gangbusters.
First I should tell you that the thought of winter scares me to death this year. Our little house uses 650 gallons of heating oil even with the significant conservation measures we took last year. I considered purchasing a wood pellet stove a few weeks ago, but decided against it when it appeared that both the equipment and pellet supply had evaporated due to a mad rush from people in the same fix.
Today the BDN ran three interesting pieces onwood pellets. One contained news of an oil-dealer-sponsored study concluding that wood pellets are "more polluting" than oil heating systems. (I guess the wood pellets have frightened our friendly oil dealers.)
I'll set the pollution issue aside for now, and just give a couple of thoughts about the story headlined "Don't panic: Popular pellets plentiful." This is an interesting headline, because just about every quote in the actual story suggests exactly the opposite:
In the short term, the demand for pellets is like a gold rush
we could sell more pellets than we are making
people are panicking and hoarding both stoves and pellets
people are unnecessarily buying enough pellets for two to three years
The retailers are panicked and are overbuying
We can’t even begin to scratch the surface of the demand
Firms in the United Kingdom are already sourcing wood pellets in Maine
homeowners are unable to obtain pellet stoves because manufacturers did not increase production fast enough
Bell said his company sells only to retailers and "we are very, very busy. We aren’t taking on any new customers."
If you have a pellet stove and you don't have pellets, maybe you should think about panicking?
I would only consider putting in a pellet unit if I could at the same time stockpile about 5 tons, enough for perhaps a bit more than a year.
UPDATE (Fri., noon): Please post your wood pellet reports below in comments. One very interesting item on supply experience is already there. ...
Posted by The Owl on Jul 24 at 13:49. Filed under: Energy
Imagine my surprise at about 7:50 am when the power winked off. As far as I can remember, we haven't had a significant outage for 18 months. I come to find out this one was a doozy:
Power Restored To Most Of Bangor Area
Strong Storms Knocked Power Out
POSTED: 10:56 am EDT July 24, 2008
UPDATED: 11:13 am EDT July 24, 2008
BANGOR, Maine -- Power is restored to most of Bangor Hydro-Electric's service area after eastern Maine was left in the dark Thursday morning due to a suspected lightning strike as strong thunderstorms rumbled across the state.
More severe thunderstorms were predicted for later in the day in much of Maine.
More than 118,000 customers lost their electricity shortly before 8 a.m., but Bangor Hydro spokeswoman Susan Faloon said the total was trimmed to just under 1,300 in scattered areas within two hours. ...
What I want to know is how storm effects caused such a widespread outage. This recalls the August 14, 2003 East Coast blackout: a relatively small storm effect cascades through an entire grid.
People should understand that our energy systems are more fragile than they appear to be.
Posted by The Owl on Jul 24 at 13:12. Filed under: Energy
Just a few days ago from a (broken) link at Counterpunch I discovered the incredible Pinky Show. The latest one posted, linked directly from the above graphic, features Pinky's discussion of recent American polling on attitudes about Iraq followed by a moving, disturbing, and deeply insightful talk by blogger and AFSC Iraq program coordinator, Raed Jarrar.
While Americans overwhelmingly believe the war was a "mistake," they are still bathed in misinformation about its consequences. For example, over 60% of Americans today believe the invasion and occupation has been a good thing for the Iraqi people. Many think that Iraqis should be grateful to the U.S., despite the fact that hundreds of thousands have been killed, millions displaced, and the country's infrastructure destroyed while the Bush administration and American corporations act to carve up Iraq's resources for their own benefit.
Pinky posits that it's corporate media and politicians who promulgate the misfeeds on Iraq. The wall of nebulous obfuscation prevents most Americans from processing the horrors the U.S. has inflicted upon Iraq. It's damned disheartening that so many people won't turn off their televisions, quiet the dissonant voice, and find places like Pinky to get some real information.
Posted by The Owl on Jul 24 at 12:48. Filed under: Iraq
President Bush (Sept. 6, 2006): I want to be absolutely clear with our people and the world, the United States does not torture. It’s against our laws, and it’s against our values. I have not authorized it, and I will not authorize it.
We conclude that, given the clear differences in definition, the UK can no longer rely on US assurances that it does not use torture, and we recommend that the Government does not rely on such assurances in the future. We also recommend that the Government should immediately carry out an exhaustive analysis of current US interrogation techniques on the basis of such information as is publicly available or which can be supplied by the US.
A question I have is the same as one a commenter suggests at the Balkinization blog where I linked to for the item on this report: Why the hell is the U.S. Congress not uncovering the fact that Bush statements on U.S. torture practice are false and unreliable? Why does the job fall to the U.K. Parliament? It's a damn shameful situation.
Posted by The Owl on Jul 21 at 15:23. Filed under: Torture
Four-masted schooner Margaret Todd, a regular sight in the harbor
In the park at Bar Harbor
We went to Bar Harbor Thursday for a talk on climate change. The talk didn't happen, but we had fun anyway. About the talk by U Maine professor Paul Mayewski, it's supposedly rescheduled for next Thursday July 24 at the Whale Museum on West Street, 7pm. No publicity has gotten out so far about this change. I hope people find out about it.
Neither the speaker in the audio clip below nor the author of this blog is the author of THIS BOOK.
I'm just sort of pondering all this. How do you feel today? If you want to, leave a comment. Also, if anyone requests the source of this clip, I will provide it in comments.
Maine Owl is a comment & nature photography blog. It is written by The Owl, a long-time peace & justice activist now residing in the Bangor, Maine area...
