U.S. Aggression on Iran- Interview with Noam Chomsky

I was surfing through the web when I came upon one of my favorite authors, Noam Chomsky speaking about the issues surrounding Iran and U.S. Foreign policy.

Guns, Germs and Steel- An interesting perspective on human development

In “Guns, Germs, and Steel”, Jared Diamond attempts to provide an alternative explanation of historical milestones that would eventually shape the way the world works today. Diamond’s motive for writing the book is to answer the question, “Why did history unfold differently on different continents?” From the beginning of the book he warns that he is not trying to explain racial differences that would have affected the development of civilizations. Instead he finds and analyzes the oldest possible human milestones as a starting point to account for the development of the continents. These milestones include but are not limited to the development of writing, plant and animal domestication, the use of technology, and governmental structure. Diamond holds that environmental factors and the needs of societies are responsible for the varying developments seen across the continents.

Unlike other books that attempt for explain the progression of civilizations, “Guns, Germs, and Steel” does not pose racist causes and it is not Eurocentric in content. Instead, Diamond gives a concentrated version of every civilization for the past 13,000 years. His motive is truly to gain an understanding of the environmental factors that led to the developmental divergence of civilizations. I reccomend the book to anyone seeking to find an understanding of the way the societies of the world work and the underlying reasons for this intricate development.

The Potential in Nuclear Energy

After reading John McPhee’s “The Curve of Binding Energy” the dangers of nuclear power are evident to me. However, I feel that the positive aspects of nuclear power outweigh the negative, and that safeguarding can be improved in order to increase global safety while still benefiting. Although I do not support nuclear weaponry, I feel that nuclear energy as a power source is a better alternative to those currently in use.
Nuclear weapons have shown great destruction and another detonation on civilians would be an unthinkable tragedy. For this reason I feel the Atomic Energy Commission needs to improve safeguarding and realize the threat posed by stolen nuclear material. If this is done effectively, many global issues can be solved regarding the energy crisis.
The global energy crisis consists of different components. It includes over-consumption of oil which leads to pollution, health concerns, and global climate change. We’ve depleted our resources so much that the cost of oil is rapidly increasing, affecting the economy and leading us into wars over control of it. It is evident that we are in need of an alternative energy source, one that is easier on the environment, affordable and in vast supply.
An example of a nation that has embraced nuclear power is France, who in my opinion has shown great success. They are not reliant on foreign oil and they emit a smaller ratio of greenhouse gasses per capita than other nations. They also have among the lowest electricity costs in Europe. Public opinion on the matter shows that 70% of the citizens of France approve of nuclear power and express minimal fear of it.
So far France seems to have mastered nuclear power and utilized it in a positive way while keeping potentially lethal nuclear materials out of the wrong hands. I feel France is setting a good example for nations to follow, in successfully establishing an efficient and clean power industry.
When discussing the issues regarding the safety of nuclear power, the example of Chernobyl is a prevalent argument. However, there are common misconceptions involved with this argument. It is important to understand that nuclear power plants only need 3% enriched uranium in order to sustain power while an atomic bomb requires 98% enriched uranium. Therefore, it is virtually impossible for a nuclear power plant to explode because of nuclear material.
The tragedy at Chernobyl occurred because of a loss of coolant accident also known as LOCA, as well as human error. Since then, we have analyzed these errors so that another accident like this will not occur. I don’t think this event should keep us from forging ahead in utilizing an effective energy source, rather we should learn from past mistakes and use caution as we do with many other industrial entities.
Over all the positive aspects of nuclear energy outweigh the negative, just as long as the Atomic Energy Commission establishes effective safeguards.We should not let opportunity pass because of the possible fear of something. Instead, we should overcome obstacles in order to improve our lives.

Another Loss in the Fight for Mumia's Freedom

On March 27th, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied Mumia Abu Jamal's request for a new trial, meaning that he is currently facing either life in prison or execution. Though he was granted a re-sentencing, he was denied a new trial on the basis that it was unclear what ethnicities his jury consisted of. Consequently the Third Circuit Court of Appeals feels that since they can't be sure of the jury's race, they can't definitely say there was a racial bias against him. It has almost been a year since they began deliberating, and the outcome was a big disappointment to all of Mumia's supporters. Mumia's lawyers are appealing this decision, and in the meantime there are many scheduled rallies in New York, Philadelphia and in major cities around the world.

Does This Ring a Bell?

On April 25th, 2008 the three police officers that were indicted in the killing of Sean Bell were acquitted of all charges. Sean Bell was shot on his wedding day, along with two if his friends in a hail of fifty bullets. It was later discovered that they were unarmed, and there is now much speculation on the events that unfolded that night. There is the question of proper police protocol that was not followed, as well as the forcefulness of the incident. Either way, an unarmed man was killed and no one will pay for it. While reading about this trial, it reminded me of Amadou Diallo, and the similarities between the cases.

In 1999, Amadou Diallo, an immigrant from Guinea was shot and killed by four police officers. Of the forty-one shots, nineteen hit Diallo who was later found to be unarmed. The police officers claimed that he fit the description of a serial rapist in the area, and that he appeared to be armed. He in fact he was only armed with a wallet. Mass demonstrations against the acquittal of these officers were carried out. In 2000, my father and I attended one of these rallies in Union Square, and I vividly remember the crowds honoring Diallo's life and protesting the circumstances of his death.

In the case of Sean Bell, his surviving family has hired Al Sharpton as their advisor. Following the acquittal of the accused officers, the family has promised to round up the masses to perform civil disobedience, boycotting and other practices that would express their feeling towards the outcome of the trial. Hopefully this will lead to some action; preferably legal action that will prevent similar future occurrences and hold that shooting at unarmed citizens is not acceptable and will have harsher punishments. Also, these will hopefully lead to more effective police training so that officers on the job have safe protocol to follow at all times.

Running Dry

“Running Dry” is a public education project to raise awareness of the global water crisis. The other day I heard Jim Thebaut speak particularly about the pressing issue of limited water supply in the American Southwest and the effect it has on its native peoples. Thebaut states that through the combination of our predecessors’ exploitation, population surges and our continuing disregard for the environment, we’ve systematically destroyed the natural ecology of the American Southwest.
The water crisis may not be apparent to the average American, because we are so used to waking up every morning to take long showers, use unlimited tap water, wash our cars, and water our lawns among other activities. For this we must credit water utility companies that haven’t let us down by privatizing water. For this reason, it’s difficult for most Americans to wrap their head around the idea that there is a full blown water crisis in the United States. We are steadily losing water supply and quality of water due to pesticides and pollution.
Jim Thebaut, the director and producer of this documentary feels that the root of the problem goes back to many years ago when the West was taken from the natives and we built dams and infrastructure that overwhelmed the environment. Unfortunately our “manifest destined” predecessors didn’t consider living in the environment and the native people that still reside there have to live with the consequences of their irresponsible behavior. The Colorado River is depleted due to climate changes and overuse and it is not being replenished. Other factors include the lack of ground water and water pulse in the United States. This is a cold reality but with planning and cooperation it can be reversed. Thebaut is trying to spread the word to increase public interest and action.
In his documentary he highlights a decision made 100 years ago in Winter v. United States. The 1908 Supreme Court decision states that all reservations including Indian reservations are entitled to clean water provided by the government. Thus far, states have negotiated how to provide water and infrastructure but unfortunately there have only been paper decisions. Although the decision marks its centennial, there is still the issue of financing the building of infrastructure to provide reservations with clean water and it’s not a priority for local government.
The Navajo have to walk for hours in order to get decent water, since the nearby water supply has been contaminated by runoff from mines. As a people that have been self-sufficient for hundreds of years they now find themselves dependent because they are unable to harvest corn- a staple in their diet. “Running Dry” is a documentary that calls for action to stop the evolving world water crisis. Is informs the public on how they can act to press for stronger legislation regarding the American Southwest water issues. For more information visit http://www.runningdry.org/

Post 9/11 America: A Numb Truth

In Post 9-11 America, one would imagine security surrounding nuclear material to be at an all time high. One would also imagine the public’s concerns to be at the same level, but that just is not the case. Only seven years have passed since terrorism has hit American soil, and in my opinion the general public is at ease, in the sense that we are not so worried of another comparable occurrence in the future.
As destructive as the events of 9/11/01 were, they could not compare to the bombings as Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We have experienced terrorism and are not that shaken anymore, so for the public to be seriously concerned about a potential nuclear bombing is not very likely. After all it seems as if centuries have passed since World War II, and it did not even occur in America. We’ve only read about these events, and maybe imagined them as scenes from an action movie. Catastrophes always seem to have a fiction-like air to them as time passes. As concerned as we should be about the threat of nuclear bombs, it just isn’t the reality.
Why is it that as a whole we fail to truly care about the threat of nuclear bombs? It very well could be our psychological way of coping with it. We would rather not think about it and subconsciously hope it doesn’t happen. An opposing psychological view may be that we think it would never happen to us, because as American humans we sometimes like to think we are indestructible. Either way, instead of action we choose only to hope that the Atomic Energy Commission is doing its job and keeping nuclear material out of the wrong hands.
Personally I feel that if the horrible violent acts of the past have not opened our eyes to the possible threats, only a direct attack would. Societies have endured the effects of atomic bombs and have rebuilt. The destruction of an event like this would be unimaginable, and it is a shame that as a whole we neglect to act in a way so that an atomic bombing would be far less likely to happen. Whether its denial, arrogance or indifference, it is unfortunate that the threat is not as real to us as it should be.