Archive for the 'Politics' Category

DVDs of Mass Denial!

Page December 29th, 2007

So, we’re coming to the end of another year. We’ve learned a lot about our world this year, and not all of it is good news. Scientists are predicting that it will only be 5-6 years before Arctic summers are ice-free. 2007 was the second-hottest year on record. Climate change is resulting in more natural disasters, and affecting wildlife and humans alike. Through his movie An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore did his damndest to sound the alarm about climate change, and get us to realize that we can take action.

Predictably, his movie was barely out before big oil-funded free market think tanks were scrambling to refute everything the movie - and the science - was saying. “AL GORE IS A NAZI!” they screamed on Fox News. “DON’T BELIEVE HIM!”.

There were even documentaries made to present a “balanced” view to the public, parroting James Inhofe (R-Exxon)’s famous babble that climate change is a hoax. Glenn Beck hosted “A Climate of Fear” on CNN (with hilariously dismal ratings). And, in the UK, “The Great Global Warming Swindle” was aired on ITV’s Channel 4. The makers trotted out the usual suspects, “scientists” who are prominent members of the Global Warming Deniers Hall of Shame, like Patrick Michaels (”[Gore’s movie is a] riveting work of science fiction”) and John Christy (co-author of Global Warming and Other Eco-Myths).

Despite all of this, the truth still prevails (even on the cover of Newsweek); despite the fact that the US federal government is abysmal at reducing carbon emissions and admitting the truth about climate change, a number of governors around the nation have decided to take matters into their own hands, including several Republicans. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one; Charlie Crist, the Republican governor of Florida, is another (read about his climate initiatives here).

So Crist’s cabinet must have been scratching their collective heads and saying “Um, thanks. Really, you shouldn’t have… really!” when they received a very special holiday gift from Florida Attorney General (and former Republican Congressman) Bill McCollum:

Attorney General Bill McCollum isn’t buying Gov. Charlie Crist’s belief that global warming is a threat to Florida and the world. Shortly before Christmas, McCollum sent a memo (Word file) to Crist and the other Cabinet members, advising them that “the science is not all in” on the subject and urging them to view the enclosed DVD, a British television documentary called The Great Global Warming Swindle. (It costs $19.99, and this is not exactly “It’s a Wonderful Life.”)

The letter is short:

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in our recent climate change workshops.

While many believe the science of global warming is undisputed, I would encourage you to view the attached DVD documentary.

Your leadership on this important issue is appreciated.

Dude, let me repeat: your own governor gets it. He was the first Florida governor to get it. He’s even a Republican. The rest of his cabinet gets it, so why don’t you?

No offense, but I’m sure those DVDs will make nice coasters or Frisbees.

(Hat tip to dailyKos diarist kansasr.)

Nuclear Weapons, Nonproliferation, and the 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidates

Page August 30th, 2007

It was July 16, 1945. At 5:29:45 AM, the quiet southern New Mexico desert morning was shattered by an explosion, the effects of which were felt as far north as Albuquerque. It was the famous Trinity nuclear weapon test, the brainchild of the Manhattan Project, born of the concern that Nazi Germany was developing a similar weapon.

However, Germany wasn’t on anyone’s mind that morning, as World War II had ended in Europe two months earlier. The war still raged in the Pacific theater; after the successful test of “the gadget” in New Mexico, Manhattan Project Metallurgical Laboratory scientist Leo Szilard, and 69 of his colleagues sent a petition to President Truman expressing their opposition to the use of nuclear weapons against Japan. The petition warned of triggering an arms race, with dire international consequences:

The development of atomic power will provide the nations with new means of destruction. The atomic bombs at our disposal represent only the first step in this direction, and there is almost no limit to the destructive power which will become available in the course of their future development. Thus a nation which sets the precedent of using these newly liberated forces of nature for purposes of destruction may have to bear the responsibility of opening the door to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale.

If after this war a situation is allowed to develop in the world which permits rival powers to be in uncontrolled possession of these new means of destruction, the cities of the United States as well as the cities of other nations will be in continuous danger of sudden annihilation. All the resources of the United States, moral and material, may have to be mobilized to prevent the advent of such a world situation. Its prevention is at present the solemn responsibility of the United States — singled out by virtue of her lead in the field of atomic power.

The rest is history. The scientists’ warning went unheeded; Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, and the nuclear genie was unleashed.

Sixty-two years later, the Cold War may be over, but the threat of nuclear proliferation is still very real. Examples include North Korea’s (attempted) nuclear test last year; the Bush administration essentially ignoring international law in its deal to transfer nuclear technology to India, while looking the other way as Pakistan develops a new plutonium production reactor; both the US and Russia still have thousands of nuclear warheads on hair-trigger status.

Suffice it to say, as head of one of the most powerful nations on the planet, the next US president will have to deal with all manner of nuclear proliferation issues, both at home and abroad.

The guys over at the Nukes of Hazard blog are part of the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation in Washington, D.C., and have been providing exceptional analysis and coverage of nuclear proliferation issues, with respect to general foreign policy, Congressional action, and of course the current presidential campaigns.

Earlier this month, their sister organization, the Council for a Livable World (started by Leo Szilard in 1962) released the results of a questionnaire submitted to all of the presidential candidates, both Democratic and Republican. It asked seven critical questions on national security; six of these related to nuclear weapons and nonproliferation. None of the Republican candidates responded; all of the Democratic candidates responded except Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel.

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