(Breaking news… – promoted by mataliandy)

According to a report in the AP, an oven at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Southern France exploded.

It was not immediately clear how serious the accident was or whether there were any victims. The Marcoule site is located in Langedoc Roussillon, in southern France, near the Mediterranean Sea.

I imagine more details will follow as more info becomes available.

Outraged Citizens to Rally in Monday Burlington City Council Meeting

BURLINGTON, VT – Friday Burlington community organizers were “shocked and appalled” that Mayor Bob Kiss had used obstructionist tactics to stop thoughtful climate change legislation they’d spent eight and a half months partnering with City Council to pass.

Community organizer Jonathan Leavitt said, “Since last December a coalition of concerned Burlingtonians has been building a social movement to pass thoughtful climate legislation. By unilaterally obstructing local democracy, Bob Kiss has shown creating a cozy home to greenwash corporate mega-polluters is more important to him than representing Burlington voters.”

Liza Cowan said “The Mayor’s own Vermont Progressive Party’s State Committee voted unanimously, advising Mayor Kiss not to veto this purely advisory resolution. Much of the Burlington statehouse delegation wrote an open letter supporting this resolution and opposing a veto. The resolution’s two sponsor comprise every single member of the Mayor’s party on City Council, and of the hundreds of Burlingtonian who’s spoken at City Council or in City Council Committee over the last 8.5 months, every single one supported this resolution or wish it went further.” Cowan continued “It is very concerning anytime a policy maker acts in isolation, ignoring his government and his people. This is just the situation Bob Kiss finds himself in though. The City of Burlington faces real challenges and the Mayor needs to stop dividing his people with these unilateral tactics so we can come together to solve them.”

Calling the climate legislation “both heartening and inspiring,” Vermont State Representative Suzi Wizowaty, who represents 8,000 Burlingtonians, said in the August 8th City Council meeting, “The resolution offers City Councilors and the Mayor a terrific opportunity to reconsider the proposed alliance with Lockheed Martin; and perhaps even more importantly, to involve citizens who obviously care a lot about our city, in thinking about and creating the kind of city we want to have in the future. This resolution is about more than Lockheed Martin, it is about honoring citizen participation in setting public policy and I urge you to support it.”

“I am shocked and disappointed,” said Burlington community organizer Anna Guyton. “Local organizers have employed every reasonable measure to encourage transparency in this highly-controversial proposed partnership, despite months of being ignored or indirectly insulted through the media. After a clear grassroots victory, it is appalling that the mayor has vetoed this non-binding resolution.”

I  don’t believe in God, who endows womankind with the gift for new life yet despises and humiliates her.

I don’t believe in God who fears knowledge and sets himself up against science.

I don’t believe in God who favors one people’s prayers and arcane rituals over all others.

I don’t believe in God who creates one race of people as inherently superior to any other.

I don’t believe in God who endorses murder and revenge for any reason.

I don’t believe in God who creates free-will and then mandates we should not use it.

I don’t believe in God who condemns any expression of love between two consenting adults.

I don’t believe in God who kicks the poor and weak when they are down.

I don’t believe in God who holds that disproportionate wealth is the just reward of the righteous.

I don’t believe in God who believes in any cruelty toward or abuse of children.

I don’t believe in God who teaches children to hate and suspect those different from themselves.

I don’t believe in God who holds that animals have none of the rights of man.

I don’t believe in God who anoints mankind as the center of the universe.

I don’t believe in God who decrees the earth is ours to despoil and dispose of as we see fit.

I don’t believe in God who is petty, spiteful and unforgiving.

I don’t believe in God.

Ten years later, the scope of the 9/11 tragedy is still mind-boggling. 2977 deaths (plus 19 hijackers). 90+ countries lost citizens. People of all races, religions, genders and sexual orientations were killed.

A recent op-ed reminded me that there are still those who would cravenly retrofit the tragedy to their own myopic worldview – specifically by using the attacks to cast Islam and all Muslims as “the enemy.” Here, then, is a reminder that Muslims also were killed in the tragedy. The following is a list of Muslim casualties from the World Trade Center attacks (via about.com. For a complete list of casualties, click here).

Shabbir Ahmed – 47 years old – Windows on the World Restaurant

Tariq Amanullah – 40 years old – Fiduciary Trust Co.

Michael Baksh – 36 years old – Marsh & McLennan

Touri Hamzavi Bolourchi – 69 years old – retired nurse on United #175

Abul K. Chowdhury – 30 years old – Cantor Fitzgerald

Mohammad Salahuddin Chowdhury – 38 years old – Windows on the World

Jemal Legesse De Santis – 28 years old – World Trade Center

Simon Suleman Ali Kassamali Dhanani – 63 years old – Aon Corp.

Syed Abdul Fatha – 54 years old – Pitney Bowes

Mon Gjonbalaj – 65 years old – Janitor, World Trade Center

Nezam A. Hafiz – 32 years old – Marsh & McLennan

Mohammed Salman Hamdani – 23 years old – NYPD Cadet

Zuhtu Ibis – 25 years old – Cantor Fitzgerald

Muhammadou Jawara – 30 years old – MAS Security

Sarah Khan – 32 years old – Forte Food Service

Taimour Firaz Khan – 29 years old – Carr Futures

Abdoulaye Kone – 37 years old – Windows on the World

Abdu Ali Malahi – 37 years old – WTC Marriott

Nurul Hoque Miah – 35 years old – Marsh & McLennan

Boyie Mohammed – 50 years old – Carr Futures

Ehtesham U. Raja – 28 years old – TCG Software

Ameenia Rasool – 33 years old – Marsh & McLennan

Mohammad Ali Sadeque – 62 years old – newspaper vendor at WTC, reported missing

Rahma Salie & child – 28 years old (7 months pregnant) – American #11

Khalid M. Shahid – 25 years old – Cantor Fitzgerald

Mohammed Shajahan – 41 years old – Marsh & McLennan

Nasima Hameed Simjee – 38 years old – Fiduciary Trust Co.

Michael Theodoridis – 32 years old – American #11

Abdoul Karim Traore – 41 years old – Windows on the World

Karamo Trerra – 40 years old – ASAP NetSource

Shakila Yasmin – 26 years old – Marsh & McLennan

( – promoted by odum)

Most of us are waking up to the realization that the social contract we all have around money has been trashed. The scale of proven, un-prosecuted fraud in the mortgage scam is appalling.  Our major banks (who own the Federal Reserve that regulates them) are too big to fail.   The world is awash in debt and all we can think of to bail it out is more debt.  It is almost universally acknowledged that we have done nothing but kick the can down the road.

If having a desire for the economy to function better for the vast majority of people on this planet qualifies me as a liberal, I cherish the label.  I think I share that broad goal with most of my neighbors, many of whom, for example, vote for Bernie Sanders year after year.  People with this kind of community orientation tend not to organize their lives around making lots of money, and we don’t make a study of money. Most of us just need the money system to work for us and if it does then we like to go pay attention to other things we find more interesting, like, for example, art, sports, nature, or helping a neighbor recover from a flood.

This doesn’t prepare us very well for when the money system fails us, as it is doing now.  We drown in the complexity of trying to understand what a derivative is, let alone how it might bring down the entire economy.

This is where Joe comes in.  Joe Bongiovanni, (a former resident of Marshfield and former General Manager of Washington Electric Coop) has been a monetary reformer for over 30 years.  He specializes in explaining the Byzantine money system we have had since the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913 in terms that we teachers, farmers, carpenters, artists, granite workers, etc.– can all understand.  He explains how the money system works as a hidden tax on the people, an incessant extraction of wealth from the true economy where most of us live and work to the financial sector.  

And…he dares to dream of and speak of: a money system that would halt this extraction, a money system that could support the true economy that produces our food and the things we need and want, a money system that could eliminate the National Debt entirely without austerity.  That last one is too big a dream for most of us.  There is no narrative that even states it as a goal, unless you heard it from a monetary reformer; indeed, I lose a lot of people as soon as I start talking about a money system that could allow us to pay off the national debt.

This coming Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 PM, Joe will be speaking at the Pavilion Auditorium downstairs in the Pavilion Building (109 State St.) in Montpelier.  The topic is “Reforming the Money System to Solve the Debt Crisis.” In the talk, Joe will introduce the audience to Dennis Kucinich’s monetary reform bill, HR 6550, the National Emergency Employment Defense Act, and he will ask the audience to urge the Vermont congressional delegation to support the bill.  In particular, Joe hopes Bernie will sponsor the bill in the Senate.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have been of friend of Joe’s since the 1980s.  In September of 2008, when the entire world economy teetered on collapse, I started listening to Joe on money.  At that time I didn’t even know what a money system was, let alone what monetary reform was.  Since then, I have helped Joe establish the website EconomicStability(dot)org, and a Youtube video blog called Coffee with Joe.

I am not an economist, so after studying this with Joe for the past three years, I don’t know if the NEED Act would actually work.  A debt-free money system has never really been tried on a grand scale (though Abraham Lincoln issued $450 million in debt-free US Notes during the Civil War, the original and true Greenbacks, until shut down by the money interests).  It could certainly be corrupted and administered with disastrous results.  It certainly does not absolve us of the responsibility of acting ethically or putting in place systems that stop unethical behavior.  The likelihood of it getting any traction has always seemed incredibly low to me, because it can only come from the grassroots, and most people shut right down when you merely mention a subject like the Federal Reserve.

But those of us who dare to dream of a world without war or starvation, where humans and nature find a balance, need to listen to Joe when he says that you can’t have any of those things if you don’t fix the money system. The Kucinich bill seems to me to offer the best opportunity to transition to a money system that is not only much fairer, but one that is much less prone to crashes.  But don’t take it from me; come to Montpelier Wednesday night, and hear about it from Joe.

Peter Young

36 Hudson Ave.

Plainfield VT 0566

(This is extremely important and timely information for the GMD community.  

Maintaining the spotlight on Entergy’s outrageous attempt to strong-arm the State of Vermont is necessary now more than ever.  That the rally and vigil is being held in poor storm-torn Brattleboro should be reminder enough of what is at stake if we fail to stop Entergy now. – promoted by Sue Prent)

http://www.evacuationplans.org

UPDATE: TPM is back up and running. they have the full story on their site, and still no direct evidence of the involvement of “Anonymous” at this point, but the story is still developing.

This evening Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo posted a note on TPM’s Facebook page describing a distributed denial of service attack (DDOS) that caused the site to crash at about 5:00 this afternoon.

There has been no claim of responsibility, but the attack comes on the heels of TPM’s publication of fourteen mugshots of members of Anonymous, the “hacktivist” group that has been linked to related attacks on media and other outlets for taking action against Wikileaks.

This attack on freedom of the press is a serious threat, and demonstrates an ugly totalitarian streak in an organization that has allegedly taken a position in favor of public dissent.

Anyone who has been supportive or sympathetic of Anonymous to this point should reconsider supporting an organization that appears to be attempting to crush, rather than support, dissent.

Much, much more on this Lunderville appointment coming. I’m hearing from all kinds of people who are somewhere between disgusted and crestfallen at the news. All see it as a cynical, too-clever-by-half move by Shumlin to score political points with GOP insiders and (again) with the Harlan Sylvester crowd – all at the worst possible time for Vermont, as we’re facing the biggest natural catastrophe in our history.

No doubt, though, that’s not the feeling in the Pavilion. They were probably tuned into Common Sense (formerly True North) Radio on WDEV this morning, and were greeted to the accolades not only from host Rob Roper himself, but virtually all the callers to this hard-right, Ethan Allen Institute sponsored talk show. Mission accomplished, eh? Go team.

In the meantime, Shumlin helps out his fellow Democrats even more by recording Lunderville’s first campaign ad. Here’s what Shumlin said at his press conference (cue music and scenes of Vermont):

(Shumlin) “I don’t that think we could find a Vermonter who cares more about Vermont, who has more administrative ability to get tough things done, whose heart and soul is committed to this great state than Neal.”

All it needs is the disclaimer: Paid for by Lunderville for Secretary of State (and Green Mountain Power, of course. Who run Bartertown?)

Hang on, folks. The fallout from this is far from over.

Shumlin:

“Neale has experience with every office of state government, including as Secretary of Transportation, as well as in the private sector,” said Gov. Shumlin, who made the announcement today at a news conference. Lunderville also served as Douglas’ administration secretary. “He’s a proven problem solver, and gets things done. Neale can focus those skills on getting Vermont communities back on their feet, while we also continue to ensure that  every Vermonter has affordable health care, broadband access and a quality education.”

While competent, there are obviously less political people (on either side of the partisan divide) who would have been just as competent – and probably some who have experience with disaster relief. Rather than being a bold, apolitical stroke, this feels more like another attempt at the patented Shumlin political calculus – to put the GOP Wonderboy in charge and insulate himself from cleanup and recovery criticism from his next Republican opponent (whoever it may be) and undermine their support by building more inroads among the GOP big dogs.

If that sounds cynical, so be it. This appointment disappoints me, because it feels cynical.

And if I’m right, it’s another sign that Shumlin’s political meter is always running and isn’t focused on the bigger picture. Rather than drift into obscurity, this position will put Lunderville front and center, giving him a great launching pad to run for statewide office.

Hopefully I’m wrong, and it’s just about the best person for the job. Lord knows we need him or her.

(Quick PS… someone just pointed out to me – knowing me – that if this is a clever political move, shouldn’t I of all people be for it? My big political concern with this administration is that they don’t do to the Democratic Party what Jim Douglas did to the VT GOP… Douglas tasked the party and his own strategery so myopically to his own benefit, that the greater Vermont Republican Party atrophied, leading to their small minority. I don’t want a mirror version of history to repeat itself.)

Peter Welch has succeeded in proactively assembling a bipartisan caucus of Representatives from states affected by Tropical Storm Irene. The caucus has moved (with blinding speed) to position itself in opposition to Eric Cantor’s position that all disaster relief must be offset with yet more cuts to social programs.

Republican New Jersey Governor Christie last week came out in opposition to using much-needed federal help to devastated areas for political advantage by holding them hostage to the tea party agenda. That was enough to opem fissures within the GOP on Cantor’s unprecedented proposal. Welch wisely and deftly used the opportunity to take the initiative within the House, hopefully creating an infrastructure to scuttle any attempt by Cantor to follow through on his threats. The coalition is mostly Dems, but includes 9 Rs (Note that Sen. Brown of Mass. is labeled a Dem… whoops…. h/t farjas) – not enough to make a “clean” vote on aid a slamdunk by any means, but enough to start taking a meaningful stand in the crazy current House. This is from the press release:

“Hurricane Irene was an act of God. It will take an act of Congress to ensure that families and businesses slammed by this powerful storm get back on their feet,” Welch said. “Natural disasters know no political boundaries; they are indiscriminate in where they strike. America has a long and proud tradition of coming to the aid of fellow Americans who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in harm’s way. This bipartisan Coalition will hit the ground running to ensure that our constituents and districts recover from this catastrophe.”

…Over thirty offices were represented at today’s meeting, including Reps. Welch (D-Vt.), Pelosi (D-Calif.), Hoyer (D-Md.), Larson (D-Conn.), Cantor (R-Va.), Tonko (D-N.Y.), Butterfield (D-N.C.), Pascrell (D-N.J.) Lance (R-N.J.), LoBiando (R-N.J.), McCarthy (D-N.Y.), Runyan (R-N.J.), Jones (R-N.C.), Ackerman (D-N.Y.), DeLauro (D-Conn.), McIntyre (D-N.C.), Olver (D-Mass.), Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.), Smith (R-N.J.), Ruppersberger (D-Md.), Scott (D-Va.), Hayworth (R-N.Y.), Sarbanes (D-Md.), Nadler (D-N.Y.), Langevin (D-R.I.), Marino (R-Penn.), Hanna (R-N.Y.), Grimm (R-N.Y.), Holt (D-N.J.), Meeks (D-N.Y.), Fattah (D-Penn.) and Sens. Brown (D-Mass.) and Warner (D-Va.).