MELTDOWN JAPAN. BYE BYE PLANET EARTH?

Ask the people of Chernobyl what they think of nuclear power.

I have contended, from the very beginning of this blog, that our planet may be in in its final decades.

Not that I authored this notion: Better minds were responsible for that. But I looked at the scoresheet and decided these people were right.

The two greatest threats to our existence are environmental collapse (use any of the terms for this you like), or nuclear catastrophe.

Anyone who still doubts climate change -- one of the leading threats to the biosphere we inhabit -- should really just, I dunno, READ. Start with anything by Dr. James Hansen, the NASA climate guru that the last Bush administration tried to censor.

Anyone who doubts that nukes could wipe us out should learn to, well, COUNT. There are enough nuclear warheads in existence to blow us to hell many times over -- by far the greatest number are in the United States, a country that is concerned about the nuclear goings-on of countries like Iran and North Korea.

Which is kind of like Charles Manson doing a TV ad advocating gun control. Especially since the ONLY country ever to use nukes on anybody is the United States; when we bombed God out of -- you guessed it -- Japan. (And remember: As long as human beings are involved, there is the possibility of human error. In other words, it wouldn't take a war to start a nuclear holocaust.)

What's going on in Japan right now brings both of these issues somewhat together. As nuclear power plants teeter on the edge of meltdown -- with the full catastrophic consequences being anyone's guess -- how can anybody claim that nuclear power is a sensible alternative to fossil fuels? Nuclear reactors, which dot the United States, are potentially unstable and very vulnerable to attack. Ask the people of Chernobyl about the reality of these things; forget about what governments try to jam down your throat.

We need to use clean, safe, alternative power. Wind, sun,water. I live in Las Vegas where the venal bastards who run the place have about 20 squillion miles of insanely bright commercial lighting burning every day of the year. What this city SHOULD be known for is being the prototypical solar city. After all, it is in the Mojave Desert and the sun blazes almost all year round.

I need to stop here. Long-winded blogs aren't the way to go. But you get my point and I'll elaborate more from time to time.

But please, as always, seek the truth... then trumpet it! Your kids will thank you.

Take care,
Adrian

IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING, you might like to take a look at BIOFUELS -- A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE or GUNNING FOR NORTH KOREA.

NOTES FROM DOWN UNDER -- PART 2

My brother has always been able to make me laugh but this time he was able to do it without trying.

We were at a petrol station outside of Sydney. I'd just bought something to eat as he was heading in to the cashier area to pay. I thought he'd used plastic at the pump.

"You're paying now?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"But you already got the petrol, right?"

"Yeah."

"The honor system?!"

That's right about when I cracked up.

Living in Las Vegas, I have about as much chance of pumping-then-paying as I do of beating one of the casinos into submission at the blackjack table. Ain't gonna happen.

And so it is that Australia is still a little bit, happily, behind the times.

But let's talk some Aussie politics.

Australia has a federal election this weekend. Following the lead-up while I was Down Under was simultaneously interesting, annoying and, to an extent, heartening.

Let's get this bit out of the way: The two party leaders vying to be Prime Minister are about as inspiring as a sea urchin. And that might be a bit "dirty" on sea urchins. The candidates are very average in the intelligence department, transparently rat cunning, evasive on specifics, and just bloody hard to listen to. They are, in short, true politicians.

They make promises and run through the "important issues," but make no effort to articulate HOW they will do what they say they are going to or WHERE the money will come from. And we all know damn well that they aren't going to be doing that stuff anyway. For example, the Liberal Party (conservative) leader, Tony Abbott, who is running to oust the incumbent Julia Gillard, is a proud Doubting Thomas about all this global warming stuff. Yep, a real genius who probably has mates in the petroleum industry.

So the pols in Australia have some commonalities with their U.S. counterparts; but they're not quite as vicious and evil and, frankly, don't have the same opportunities to be.

But one difference I did note about politics in Australia was in some of the media coverage.

One journalist on the government-run ABC TV station, Kerry O'Brien (pictured), has been dishing it up to the pollies for years. He totally exposed Abbott as an inept house plant with direct, meaningful questions. And Gillard was left to twist in the wind with parries like: "Yes, but you didn't answer my question!" It was like heaven to my ears after 15 years of the knuckleheads at Fox and CNN et al. And it shows why it's important to take media out of the hands of private owners.

(Visit the webpage for O'Brien's show "The 7:30 Report" here:
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/)

And while the commercial channels were softer, Abbott and Gillard and co. definitely had to work harder for their biscuits than Obama ever has or ever will. Heaven forbid a "mainstream" American journalist should dare point out that, good gracious, the president-of-great-promise is, well, a liar. Or that his arithmetic on the "withdrawal" from Iraq doesn't really add up to a withdrawal at all. Five minutes with Kerry O'Brien would be very telling indeed.

Another Aussie TV station, SBS, was started 30 or so years ago -- again by the government -- to cover all the multicultural bases. So it offers news that really is international and films that you won't see on the English-speaking channels (not to mention excellent soccer coverage).

George Negus, another veteran Aussie TV journalist, hosts a show called "Dateline" on SBS. But unlike its American namesake, this program will actually show you deformed babies in Iraq so you can't just mindlessly eat your burger and fries and not think about the consequences of what your government does in the name of its "interests."

I urge you to visit http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/600687/n/Iraq-s-Deadly-Legacy and watch Negus' report "Iraq's Deadly Legacy."

Here is the lead-in to the segment. It will give you some idea of the difference between between what is reported within the United States and what is reported elsewhere:

"It is seven years since the invasion of Baghdad and only now is the US withdrawing its forces from Iraq, but the Iraqi people themselves, meanwhile, are having to deal with what appears to be a more immediate and devastating legacy from the war - stories are now emerging of increased deformities in the country's newborn babies as well as a dramatic rise in the number of children with cancer. Dateline's Walkley Award-winning reporter Fouad Hady, an Iraqi-Australian, went back home to investigate. As you know, Dateline always warns it’s viewers when they are about to show images or sequences that they think you might find upsetting. Well, George Negus had a long look at Fouad's piece and it's definitely upsetting - confronting, in fact. Nevertheless, he urges you to stick with it. It says a lot about the ethical dilemma of modern armed conflicts like Iraq."

There is a long way to go to get all the ducks lined up and quacking in Australia but, like Europe and, well, just about anywhere that isn't America (or some other totalitarian regime), you do get some real news. In the States there's much more mass media, and much less news.

And the real news always reminds me of some bare truths. Especially when I see all those suffering children and the way the U.S. buries that kind of information. And the main truth that hits me is this: If you believe there is a God, you can believe that He is very pissed off with what we've done on this planet.

Not the happiest of thoughts but it's not too late to dig in and change things. If you really care.

Onward,
Adrian Zupp

THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON

Norman Solomon is one of America's most important activists. Google him.

I've known Norman [pictured above with writer/journalist Reese Erlich, left, and actor/activist Sean Penn, right] for three or four years, I suppose, but met him for the first time yesterday. He was in Las Vegas to attend a conference: A strange setting for two die-hard lefties to meet, nestled, as we were, in his room in the Masquerade Tower at the Rio. But the conversation was, as always, no frills.

We discussed his last book "Made Love, Got War," what a dire disappointment Obama is (even to those of us who had pretty low expectations to begin with), and the creature that is Las Vegas. As always, Norman was engaging, polite to a fault, and laser like in his appraisal of the status quo.

He also told me he might run for Congress in the future, as an unapologetic, true liberal Democrat. He lives in San Francisco and thinks he has a shot in his home district.

It's important that we spread the word about people like Norman Solomon. With their exceptional intelligence, flawless ethics and boundless energy, individuals like him are rare. We need them. And we need to help them.

If it's easy enough to send those funny chain emails all over the Net (nothing wrong with that!), surely we can pass on word about someone like Norman. So look him up, read some of his stuff, tell some friends, and let me know if you can think of any sites where I could put links or samples of his writing. (You can email me at adrianz59@yahoo.com)

This is a link to Norman Solomon's personal site: http://www.normansolomon.com/

Here is his Facebook page (friend him!): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Norman-Solomon/74786724636

And here is a link to his bio: http://www.normansolomon.com/norman_solomon/2004/04/norman_solomon_.html

I'm a hardened skeptic -- working as a journalist and living in Las Vegas will do that to you -- so I'm a hard sell. If I put my faith in someone, you can believe that it is well earned. I would back Norman Solomon all the way to DC and beyond.

I hope you will too.

Take care and keep smiling,
Adrian Zupp

MAYBE IT’S JUST ME… BUT I DOUBT IT VERY MUCH

A short digression from my two-part piece on the company-individual relationship – but one that is entirely apropos.

As I stated previously, I work for the world’s largest gambling company, Harrah's Inc. This is not something I’m proud of but, like most people, I need a job. I don’t plan to stay long.

Here’s the thing. During the current depression, the lords of Harrah’s have been crying poor. Telling their workforce that they’ll have to tighten their belts, cutting out all sick leave (and doing a thimble-and-pea trick with “PTO” or paid time off), freezing raises, laying people off, and so on and so forth. The usual “belt tightening” that generally applies to the belts of the many who can least afford it and not so much to the fat cats with the longest belts.

Pretty much standard operating procedure for most companies who are experiencing "tough times" – which doesn’t make it right, of course. Although I must say, that of all the companies I’ve worked for, Harrah’s is the most ruthless.

For all the talk from phonies like president Gary Loveman (pictured) about pulling together, being a family, care for the workers (the usual BS that they must be teaching in MBA programs), I’ve seen a lot of suffering and meanness at Harrah’s.

I’ll cover more of this ground in Part 2 of WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR LIFE FOR YOUR COMPANY?, but a recent turn of events at Harrah’s warranted special mention. You see, for all their cutting back and laying off and lying and propagandizing, the struggling Harrah’s recently found enough coin in the coffers to purchase the 2,500-room Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino: a prime Las Vegas Strip property.

As miracles go, this must surely rank right up there with “Take up thy mat and walk.”

Maximum-profit-driven companies like Harrah’s often seem to enjoy adding insult to injury. There have been many insults doled out by this paragon of greed. They have insulted their workers’ rights, dignity, dependents and more.

But perhaps the greatest insult is that the elitists with their hands on the levers believe that their more than 80,000 employees* are nothing better than a bunch of simpletons.

*FOOTNOTE: This passage is verbatim Harrah’s corporation propaganda from the About Us section of the company website:

“Our Employees
At Harrah´s Entertainment, over 80,000 employees each make a unique contribution to your experiences, and to our ultimate success. From nurturing a sense of team with co-workers ... to improving the quality of life in their communities, Harrah's Entertainment sets the standard of excellence in the gaming industry with employees who are devoted to delivering truly great service. Our employees are critical to our success.

Our company truly is distinguished by its talented and dedicated employees. We recognize and reward superior contributions and outstanding achievements.”


Take care,
Adrian Zupp