Solar, wind, and biomass have been touted as viable alternative energy sources to fossil fuels. But what if there is a nuclear energy source that is safe, green, and abundant? Thorium could be that source. Lightbridge, based in Virginia, is now testing this next generation nuclear fuel in Russia.
“It dramatically reduces the amount of waste in the reactor, reduces the toxicity of the waste coming out of the reactor, and doesn't produce any weapons usable materials,” says Seth Grae, president and CEO of Lightbridge.
It’s estimated that Thorium is three times more abundant than uranium, the element currently used in nuclear plants.Scientists say there is so much of it, that it can produce energy than all of the world’s oil, coal, and uranium combined. Sounds like the alternative energy source the world needs.But despite its advantages, nuclear experts say politics and corporate interests may be getting in the way.
“That doesn't mean that it's going to be picked up by the utilities and implemented.They're going to look at the economics and not the environmental benefits,” says Thomas Cochran, Director attheNatural Resources Defense Council. Cochran says the U.S. needs to change its energy policies in order to make Thorium more attractive to businesses.
“They would have to have a different fee structure than the current one to encourage the development of thorium fuels,” Chochran says. President Obama has vowed to transition the nation to alternative energy.With testing underway in Russia, China, and India, the United States may lose the race and find itself behind the curve when it comes to energy innovation and the jobs it may create.
“I think in the coming years, you'll start to see more testing, more results, and more industry interests. But I think most of the industry interest in using Thorium in reactors is from outside the U.S.,” says Grae.
Interview with Saul Landau, Institute for Policy Studies
More anti-corporate protesters are being arrested by the police across the United States.
More than 40 protesters were detained and charged with criminal trespassing in Austin, Texas. They were also issued citations which essentially prevent them from returning to the protest site.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Saul Landau, with the Institute for Policy Studies from San Francisco, to further talk over the issue.
The video offers the opinions of two additional guests: Charles M. Young, founder of the This Can't Be Happening! website, and Mark Glenn who is with the Crescent and Cross Solidarity Movement. Below is the text of the interview:
Press TV: I want to look at from the American people's perspective. What has taken so long with everything that has been talked about on the program? Why did it take so long for the Americans to take to the streets? Do you think that they will reach a point where they will be getting something from their efforts?
Landau: I think one of the problems has been that there is no negotiating process here; there is no method by which the American people can now take their grievances and turn them into affective demands, in other words, there is no channels to mediate; there is no political party now that represents the demands of many millions of people.
We have watched all of us around the world as a small group of people have appropriated the lion share of the wealth of the world and have appropriated -- if you like the comments -- those elements that have been since Pericles at least defined as common to all of us: the earth, the fire, the air and the water.
I think the word in Spanish is indignados, the people who took to the streets in Spain are called the indignant ones, that is, their dignity has been affronted and this has been what has forced people out; there is nowhere else to turn. The American dream -- that idea that you will have a home, a job and a car -- is still available to you but when you are asleep not when you are awake and here are people with master's degrees and other kinds of advanced college degrees and have no jobs and not chance to get them.
Their housing has become precarious; there is almost 11 million people now on the verge of foreclosure in the United States. This is becoming a rather desperate population and it is spreading and people feel that their dignity has been affronted and naturally the police, in certain places like Oakland, behave as predictably, I guess, and they are firing a tear gas grenade and fracturing the skull of an Iraq war veteran.
In New York, one former veteran stood up and said, 'what are you people doing?'. The people, the protesters and the people who are occupying all these cities, are not armed; they are not threatening violence and yet the police behave as if these people are somehow unruly and of course, crime is now increasing in some of these cities because the police are deployed there where there is no threat to property or people.
So what is happening is the American people or some of them, I think, have awakened to this enormous monstrous wealth gap of 325 to 1 between the CEO and the bottom worker. Now this is a wealth gap that outdoes even those of the famous dictatorships of the Third World and it is becoming obscene.
Press TV: Where do you see this movement going? Can these occupy protests go from a movement to a revolution?
Landau: Well, I do not think it is a movement; it is a prolonged moment. A movement has specific demands; give us civil rights, the vote or get out of Vietnam. These are movements and they have demands and those demands can be satisfied when the government exceeds to them.
This is still a prolonged moment of people expressing their indignation and stating -- if you like -- general complaints about the treatment giving to bankers and Wall Street sleaze while poor people are given -- if you like -- the raw end of the deal.
This has not yet become a movement; from a movement it might develop into a politics but that will take time and we will see. At this point, I'm encouraged by the fact that people are getting away from their computer screens; getting away from their depressions and getting out into the streets and mixing up with other people and practicing democracy in a very real way.
Press TV: As cold weather sets in the Northeast, do American protesters have what it takes to sustain their movement?
Landau: I do not know if people will be able to sustain it. They may have to go and find better shelter during the cold storm but then they will return, I think, and they will be back again and even if they are driven out for a month or two months during the winter, this is not going to go away until something fundamental changes in the way this government is running; the way this economy is running and the way wealth is really portioning out or portioned throughout the population in the most unequal way that we have had since the Gilda Day over a hundred years ago.
Something has got to change in this country. It is the economy and it is the political system that have become dysfunctional while we waste our money with stupid wars and stupid military activities and stupid military production.
We are dying as a country [and] our infrastructure is eroding and if somebody does not wake up and get out of the state of denial, there is going to be more and more people pouring out to the streets throughout this country and indeed throughout much of the world.
Israel has stepped up its aggression against Palestinians by highlighting the need for targeted killings.
This comes as Israeli fighter jets keep pounding the Gaza Strip.
What follows is the transcription of a Press TV interview with Nada Hashwi, political scientist in Beirut, to further explore the issue.
Press TV: Prime Minister Netanyahu's statement of kill or be killed, is this not an act of state terrorism towards Palestinians?
Hashwi: That is definitely terrorism and this is what terrorism is all about but the problem is what really is so outrageous is all the European community, the UN and practically all the West have a blind eye on what has been happening there for decades now. Israel has been using killings as their only weapon. This is their self defense.
They think they cannot exist without killing all the babies and all people and they have nothing to … I have got to say something and what I think. In my opinion, what has been happening today is the hostages and what has happened and this did not make Israel, the Zionist regime, happy at all and especially the extremists in that regime.
So Netanyahu thought, 'well, I will do some killings, maybe I will make them happy a little bit'. You see, they are based on cold blooded regime and they cannot exist without that. So by killing, by threatening to kill Hamas's leaders right now and making the resistance weak -- that is what they think -- that will make Hamas get back at them as well. So then they are going to use the media against Hamas and they are going to make Hamas the terrorist.
Meanwhile, what they have been doing is killing and what we are seeing right now is outrageous like where are the UN; where are the European community. Everybody is being killed in cold blood and nobody is saying anything. This kill policy has to stop and somebody has to do something against this brutal regime.
Press TV: How is it that the UN would allow such bold statements from Israel?
Hashwi: How? I do not think they can hear what Israel has been saying. They have a blind eye and a blind ear. They can hear anything but it is like exactly what has been happening in the US as well. It is whenever they are ruling them, the UN is nothing to them.
So with all the violations that they have been doing and the killings that they have been doing, do you think they think about what the UN is going to say or do? Now they go in public and say we want to kill; they have to be eliminated as if they are talking about something that is not … they are not talking about human beings. I cannot believe they can get away with things like that.
Israel is going down the hill and they must do something to put themselves back in the picture and by doing this killing policy, this is what they think they are going to bring back. But the old time is gone; it is not going to be like the old days where they go and kill and nothing is going to happen. This time, if Hamas is going to kill back and this is what they must do, it is not going to be the same as the old days.
They have to know something. The Zionist regime has to know that the old days are gone; they have to know that they are not dealing with the same resistance anymore. So they have to talk peace or else nothing else is going to work.
Press TV: Could this have a possible negative effect on the second part of the prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Tel Aviv?
Hashwi: Of course. Like I said, that is exactly what is going to happen because the extremist Netanyahu, I mean they are all extremists there, it was really a slap on their face and they are not really happy about these hostages' deal. So this is what they want to do.
They want to do something to say, 'well, you see, we cannot give you the rest of the hostages'. They do not care about any deals that they sign. They only think about themselves. The Zionists think about what really is best for them and it is definitely going to affect it.
Interview with Nada Hashwi, political scientist
Israel has stepped up its aggression against Palestinians by highlighting the need for targeted killings.
This comes as Israeli fighter jets keep pounding the Gaza Strip.
What follows is the transcription of a Press TV interview with Nada Hashwi, political scientist in Beirut, to further explore the issue.
Press TV: Prime Minister Netanyahu's statement of kill or be killed, is this not an act of state terrorism towards Palestinians?
Hashwi: That is definitely terrorism and this is what terrorism is all about but the problem is what really is so outrageous is all the European community, the UN and practically all the West have a blind eye on what has been happening there for decades now. Israel has been using killings as their only weapon. This is their self defense.
They think they cannot exist without killing all the babies and all people and they have nothing to … I have got to say something and what I think. In my opinion, what has been happening today is the hostages and what has happened and this did not make Israel, the Zionist regime, happy at all and especially the extremists in that regime.
So Netanyahu thought, 'well, I will do some killings, maybe I will make them happy a little bit'. You see, they are based on cold blooded regime and they cannot exist without that. So by killing, by threatening to kill Hamas's leaders right now and making the resistance weak -- that is what they think -- that will make Hamas get back at them as well. So then they are going to use the media against Hamas and they are going to make Hamas the terrorist.
Meanwhile, what they have been doing is killing and what we are seeing right now is outrageous like where are the UN; where are the European community. Everybody is being killed in cold blood and nobody is saying anything. This kill policy has to stop and somebody has to do something against this brutal regime.
Press TV: How is it that the UN would allow such bold statements from Israel?
Hashwi: How? I do not think they can hear what Israel has been saying. They have a blind eye and a blind ear. They can hear anything but it is like exactly what has been happening in the US as well. It is whenever they are ruling them, the UN is nothing to them.
So with all the violations that they have been doing and the killings that they have been doing, do you think they think about what the UN is going to say or do? Now they go in public and say we want to kill; they have to be eliminated as if they are talking about something that is not … they are not talking about human beings. I cannot believe they can get away with things like that.
Israel is going down the hill and they must do something to put themselves back in the picture and by doing this killing policy, this is what they think they are going to bring back. But the old time is gone; it is not going to be like the old days where they go and kill and nothing is going to happen. This time, if Hamas is going to kill back and this is what they must do, it is not going to be the same as the old days.
They have to know something. The Zionist regime has to know that the old days are gone; they have to know that they are not dealing with the same resistance anymore. So they have to talk peace or else nothing else is going to work.
Press TV: Could this have a possible negative effect on the second part of the prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Tel Aviv?
Hashwi: Of course. Like I said, that is exactly what is going to happen because the extremist Netanyahu, I mean they are all extremists there, it was really a slap on their face and they are not really happy about these hostages' deal. So this is what they want to do.
They want to do something to say, 'well, you see, we cannot give you the rest of the hostages'. They do not care about any deals that they sign. They only think about themselves. The Zionists think about what really is best for them and it is definitely going to affect it.
Writers and editors at Veterans Today are going to be writing on OCW, offering their expertise. Our staff has over a thousand years of experience, much of it commanding, not only armies, but heads of state security forces, intelligence agencies and as police trainers. The disease is police forces in a nation of laws violating those laws, those who are supposed to protect the public safety making it more than clear to us here at VT that they are willing to stoop to criminality to work for the 1%. My point? It isn’t just the banks. We are no longer a nation of civil law, no longer a nation of accountability, and those who would limit OCW (Occupy Wall Street) to demonstrations against banks may very well be working for the other side.
YouTube - Veterans Today - Expect it, this is how it has always been. We are going to be producing a series of documents which are meant to be genuinely educational. There is no secret that, at some point, millions in America, Europe, Israel and around the world began finally looking around, too many for the first time. We’ve been here all along and are glad to be onboard with you and have you onboard with us. We saw it all coming and have been literally screaming for years. Today, we are going to have a minor discussion about police. My “day job” is training intelligence and special operations forces. Long before that, I trained police. The staff I have worked with includes senior FBI officials and the former heads of two of Europe’s largest police agencies. Crowd control, “riot control” and counter-terrorism is an areas of expertise where I have been consulted at the highest levels by more than a few nations. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that police are more often than not the actual “rioters” during legitimate demonstrations.
YouTube - Veterans Today - More often than not, police agencies, some of whom receive training from very questionable sources, (the competition) are taught to use illegal surveillance, infiltration and actually commit acts of terrorism in order to gain public support for crackdowns on political movements that threaten control by the wealthy and corrupt. This is the generally the case, not the exception. This is as much a part of police training as lying in court. One problem in America is that many police departments are trained by Israeli groups, competent in their own way, that typically use police and military against Palestinian protesters who have no legal protections. This training is inconsistent with American law, police procedure and basic human rights. The situtation in Oakland, California with Scott Olsen, is such a situation and there are reports that police used illegal training and illegal methods of the Israeli Defense Forces, methods that have subjected them to nearly 200 votes favoring UN sanctions for “brutality” on peaceful American citizens involved in legal protests.
YouTube - Veterans Today - “NON LETHAL WEAPONS ARE A LIE” The actual term for projectiles, be they “rubber bullets, “bean bags” and, especially the grenades launched from the 40mm and 37mm launchers, be they tear gas, “flash bang” or smoke are technically “less lethal” munitions. They kill all the time. The M79 Grenade Launcher, one of the typical police devices, was responsible for as many deaths of American troops in Vietnam, what we call “friendly fire.” What killed our Army and Marines? They died when hit by tear gas rounds, parachute illumination rounds, practice rounds, the kind of things used in Oakland. Carrying, loading and firing such a weapon without legal standing, an open “field of fire” and clear visiblity assuring the public is protecting is a crime in every state in America. When done by a police officer, it consitutes a bevy of criminal acts. Simply put, you can’t shoot a half pound of hardened aluminum with an explosive device into the head of any passerby you choose without expecting consequences, which should included prison sentences of 5 years, uniform or not. This is what hit Marine Scott Olsen:
Maximum accuracy is obtained at ranges up to 219 yards (200 m). Area targets may be engaged up to 437 yards (400 m). This projectile can penetrate window glass or up to 3/4 inch (19 mm) thick pine at 656 feet (200 m) and still release CS. The projectiles will also function against other materials such as earth, gravel, brush, sandbags, and bamboo. Following impact, a cloud of CS is emitted for approximately 25 seconds. Area coverage: approximately 144 square yards (120 square meters). Two cartridges effectively placed will incapacitate 95% of unmasked personnel in an enclosure of 15 by 30 by 20 feet within 60 seconds after functioning.
The weight of the projectile is .45 pounds, roughly that of a baseball but as they are made of hardened aluminum alloy, the same alloy we are told cut through the 3 inch thick beams of the World Trade Center, projectiles shaped for penetration, they are considered, not “less lethal” but fully lethal if impacting a human body. Their lowest speed is close to 200 miles per hour, twice as fast as any professional baseball player can pitch. Speeds can well exceed that. Not only that, we are warned that these round, the exact same rounds used illegally by Oakland Police, often malfunction and explode on impact much as with the high explosive rounds used against fortified positions in military combat, the actual purpose for the weapon itself. POLICE AS CRIMINALS Police are not allowed to fire projectiles, throw grenades or “flash bangs” at protesters. These weapons can only be used on felony suspects. Otherwise their use is a violation of “procedure” and their use is “illegal.” The accussations against OCW protesters was “trespass.” Thus those attack were not armed felons. The methods used are restricted only to armed felons. You will see such weapons used during, not peaceful protests, but riots. If shots are fired at police or Molotov cocktails are thrown, all of which are easily documented on the dozens of videos as never having occurred, despite wild conjecture that some present may have been armed, use of force restricted to felony arrests, when used against people exercising legal rights that require court adjudication, are actually victims of assault or worse. In fact, federal authorities can and should arrest all police involved including command authority up to and including the major and city council of Oakland, California. Law requires it. Here is a legal opinion on that: Also, you will eventually be confronted with the “immunity” defense. Any legal “immunity” which government personnel may rightly claim derives ONLY from their compliance with their delegated authority(s). Immunity is a tricky legal concept, worth knowing in advance how to rebut: 1) absent any of the requisite credentials, no government “personnel”can claim ANY immunity whatsoever, because they are thereby impersonating either an officer or employee, which is a crime, typically a FELONY! 2) EVEN IF they have all requisite credentials, government personnel are still personally liable for criminal misconduct and criminal malfeasance;local government personnel are typically NOT insured or bonded for criminal conduct, because insurance underwriters typically refuse to indemnify criminal conduct (cf. Risk Management Departments for the specific terms and conditions of their general liability insurance contracts); 3) Treaties are supreme Law pursuant to the Supremacy Clause and,EVEN IF they have all requisite credentials, jurisdiction and authority, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights still makes government personnel liable for violations of constitutional rights: a href=”http://www.supremelaw.org/ref/treaty/covenant.htm”>http://www.supremelaw.org/ref/treaty/covenant.htm 3. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes:(a) To ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein ecognized are violated shall have an effective remedy,notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity; 4) Federal Judges in particular are PERSONALLY LIABLE to all Proper Parties, insofar as the insofar as the courts on whichthey presidehttp://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=435&invol=349insofar as the courts on which they preside have proceeded without original jurisdiction: Stump v Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, 356-357(a) A judge will not be deprived of immunity because the action he took was in error, was done maliciously, or was in excess of his authority, but rather he will be subject to liability only when hehas acted in the “clear absence of all jurisdiction,” Bradley v. Fisher, 13 Wall. 335, 351. Pp. 355-357. [435 U.S. 349, 350] On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversedthe judgment of the District Court, 4 holding that the “crucial issue” was “whether Judge Stump acted within his jurisdiction” and concluding that he had not. 552 F.2d, at 174.He was accordingly not immune from damages liability under the controlling authorities.The Court of Appeals also held that the judge had forfeited his immunity “because of his failure to comply with elementary principles of procedural due process.” Id., at 176. REAL POLICE, IF YOU CAN FIND SUCH THING Real police can arrest you at a protest. They cannot “disperse” crowds whose ideas they don’t agree with. These people are no longer acting as police and have no legal standing.Marching around with a bullhorn announcing plans to violate the civil rights of protesters is more an admission of criminal culpability, much as with the autobiography of President Bush being used to charge himwith war crimes.Police were only admitting they were planning criminal acts outside their authority.Police have procedures for arresting trespassers. They can approach a trespasser. A bullhorn can be legally considered “notification” of trespass but no more. At which point, police are required to approacha “trespass suspect” and may take that individual into custody, one at a time, using minimal force. This requires asking the individual to accompany the officer. Police may use restraint devices but never in a wayto inflict discomfort. Police may never use choke holds, batons, flash bangs or other devices. They may never draw their guns.If you physically resist police by fighting back, expect serious charges and serious injuries.You may “go limp” or “lock arms” with others requiring police to carry you away. This is your legal right.Any use of force against you, including physical violence, threats of violence, or use of tear gas or “flash bangs” are considered, minimally “reckless endangerment,” assault, “assault with intent to do bodily harm”or “gbh” as with Scott Olsen, “great bodily harm.”Police at Oakland should expect sentences of between 90 days to up to 5 years for the use of grenade launchers, which constitute the illegal use of lethal force. Videos show use of flash bank devices toinflict injury, those responsible for these acts and those supervising them are guilt of felony assault.None of these acts is legal and those performing them, once they began, sacrificed all immunity, all arrest powers, and had begun to function as a criminal organization as outlined in RICO statutes. ADVICE Lawyer up. Begin lawsuits now. Petition the courts to force arrests of police and officials guilty of criminal acts. This is allowable and there are legal procedures for this.Minimally, the federal government was required to have US Marshals on site who would have been forced to arrest the Oakland Police.Every legal action needed must be pursued until all police who have violated laws are arrested and allowed to defend themselves in court.They are not, however, allowed to use public funds for an attorney, once they begin acting outside the legal scope of their very limited authority. POLICE Some police are veterans. Many are professional. Too often, when in groups, police seem to lose their minds. There is a long history of this and failing to take this into account is in itselfactionable. Civil suits need to be filed against all elected officials who chose to misuse police forces when they knew there was a likelihood of criminal activity to occur at their direction.Criminal charges apply as well.These are issues for the courts and lawyers should be coming forward to handle these cases. Where are you?
Iran has demanded an official apology from the US over its recent anti-Iran allegations and media hype, falsely claiming that Tehran plotted to assassinate the Saudi Arabian envoy to Washington, Press TV reports.
In a recent letter to the US government, Iran has insisted that American authorities must publicly apologize to the Iranian government and its citizens for the false accusations they publicized against Tehran in violation of international norms and regulations.
In the letter, the Iranian government also demanded compensation for material and moral damages caused by the American anti-Iran publicity campaign.
The letter has been handed over to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran which represents US interests in Iran since Tehran and Washington severed diplomatic relations in 1980.
According to the letter, the manufacture of such deceitful scenarios [against Iran] has become a permanent component of US policies against Iran.
The letter further cited the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 as another clear instance of US warmongering based on the dissemination of entirely false allegations.
After killing hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis and US soldiers and wasting billions of dollars out of the pockets of American citizens, said the letter, the US has no other way out except to withdraw its military forces from Iraq.
On October 11, the US Justice Department accused Iran of plotting to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Washington Adel al-Jubeir, with help from a man suspected of being a member of a Mexican drug cartel.
Tehran says the media hype fabricated by Washington is an attempt to deflect attention from the anti-corruption and anti-corporatism protests currently rocking the United States.
The anti-corporatism protests against corporate and banking corruption, poverty and social inequity erupted in New York in mid-September and have since spread to many major cities across the US.
Unesco, The United Nations' cultural agency, has decided to give the Palestinians full membership of the body, in a vote that will boost their bid for recognition as a state at the UN.
Riyad al-Malki, the foreign minister, said: 'This success, if it is realised, and with this large number of votes, will give a great boost to the efforts that we are making to get the required vote in the United Nations'Photo: EPA
By Our Foreign Staff
Unesco is the first UN agency the Palestinians have sought to join as a full member since President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full membership of the United Nations on Sept. 23.
The United States, Canada and Germany voted against Palestinian membership. Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and France voted in favour. Britain abstained.
Huge cheers went up in Unesco after delegates voted to approve the membership Monday. One shouted "Long Live Palestine!" in French.
Israel said that the vote will harm prospects for the resumption of Middle East peace talks.
"This is a unilateral Palestinian manoeuver which will bring no change on the ground but further removes the possibility for a peace agreement," Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "This decision will not turn the Palestinian Authority into an actual state yet places unnecessary burdens on the route to renewing negotiations."
The White House condemned the vote as "premature" and it undermind international peace efforts. "Today's vote at UNESCO to admit the Palestinian Authority is premature and undermines the international community's shared goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
On Sunday, Riyad al-Malki, the foreign minister had said of the bid: "This success, if it is realised, and with this large number of votes, will give a great boost to the efforts that we are making to get the required vote in the United Nations."
Admission will be seen by the Palestinians as a moral victory in their bid for full UN membership. Washington, which has the power to veto such applications, opposes the Palestinian bid for a full UN seat on the grounds it is unhelpful to efforts to revive peace talks with Israel, the last round of which broke down a year ago.
Israel's closest international ally, the United States has said it will use its veto power in the Security Council to quash the bid for full UN membership, were it brought to a vote.
But Unesco is one of the UN agencies the Palestinians can join as a full member regardless of their broader status at the United Nations, where they are currently classified as "an observer entity".
Palestinian success could bring a financial cost for Unesco. Under US law, the admission as a full Unesco member would trigger a cut-off in US funding which accounts for 22 per cent of the agency's funding.
A lone Occupy Wall Street protestor plays a drum during a snowstorm in Zuccotti Park, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) –Saturday’s snow storm made life in Zuccotti Park miserable for Occupy Wall Street protesters. Demonstrators were left drenched with rain and then snow as the storm moved through the region. Central Park set a record for both the date and the month of October with 2.9 inches of snow. Those camping out in the park have been stockpiling donated blankets, scarves, coats and have been trying to get more tents, cots and tarps. PHOTOS: October Snowstorm According to an “urgent” alert on their website, OWS is looking for a number of other donations, including waterproof boots, gloves, hats, hand and foot warmers and disposable foot covers among other things. The site says the protesters “are in need of emergency supplies crucial for cold weather survival (and occupation).” The site says they also need cots to get protesters off the ground, adding that they don’t have any and “could really use these.” Reportedly, some have been even getting winter weather survival tips from the homeless. They say they’re also looking for thermal heaters after fire officials removed six of the protesters’ gas-powered generators from Zuccotti Park on Friday, saying it was safety issue.
“The argument could be made they just wanted to get at our power source,” said demonstrator Brian Najdanik. Without generators, protesters were left with just flashlights and lanterns. Lights, cooking equipment and the media center at Zuccotti Park were all turned off. Fire officials say storing gasoline in such packed quarters is simply too dangerous. But the protesters are coming up with a new solution – a stationary bike and generator connected to a battery. “We’ve got five bike-powered generator systems that are coming from Boston and we’ve got five more plus other ones that are going to supplement as well so we’re completely, completely off the grid,” said demonstrator Lauren Minis. Insiders at Occupy Wall Street say they expect to have their media center and the food service area fully powered and illuminated by Monday. The movement is also expected to reveal just how much money they have raised and spent in the first five weeks of the Occupy Wall Street campaign. OWS has reportedly raised nearly $454,000 and has spent more than $50,000 so far for things like food, clothing, medical supplies, laundry, media and other expenses. OTHER “OCCUPY” HEADLINES AROUND THE COUNTRY:
The Associated Press coldly announced the massacre of a group of Black people who were settled in a camp in front of the Libyan official residence. Dozens of dead bodies were found, hands tied behind their backs. The American news agency pointed out that these people were not combatants. Michel Collon and the delegation who went to Libya in July had met these men who loved Libya.
Michel Collon : « I have met these people while on mission in Tripoli. I talked with some of them. Contrary to what the media and the rebels proclaimed, they were in no way « mercenaries ». Some were black skinned Libyans - as a matter of fact, a major part of the population in Libya is composed of Black African people - the others were civilians who came from sub-Saharan African countries and who had been living in Libya for a long time. They all supported Gaddafi for the very reason that he opposed racism and treated Arabs and Africans as equals. Unlike the « rebels » of Benghazi, who are well-known for their anti-Black racism and who made themselves guilty of dreadful and systematic atrocities from the very first days of the war. What is paradoxical is that NATO says it wants to bring democracy but allies itself with a Libyan branch of Al Qaeda and with a group of KKK-like racists ! »
All the team of Investig’Action is deeply distressed by this sad news.
Simon de Beer, a member of Investig’Action, in the camp.
Simon de Beer, a historian and member of Investig’Action :
« Thousands of Black African people live in Libya. I had the opportunity to talk with many of them, particularly in the Bab Al Aziziya camp. Most of them regard Gaddafi as one the fathers of Africa. They even compare him with Lumumba and Sankara. From an outsider point of view, it may seem incredible, but one has to bear in mind that in the poorest continent of the planet, Libya is an exception : the Libyan life expectancy is 75 years ; water, electricity, health care and education are free ; and filling up barely costs more than one euro…That is why millions of Africans heavily support Gaddafi. I was shocked to hear of the brutal death of those who, as a sign of solidarity, camped peacefully in front of Gaddafi’s residence. Their murder is a gratuitous act of barbarity.
How dare we still call the rebels « democratic forces » ?
Map indicating the Human Development Index in 2009, according to the United Nations. In Africa, Libya is the only country which level of development is close to the one of developed countries. For this reason, many African people emigrate in Libya in order to work and live there.
Mohamed Hassan, an observer of Africa, with an African leader. Read his interview about the mission in Tripoli.
Tony Busselen, a journalist for the weekly newspaper Solidaire, took part in the mission a few weeks ago :
« Our photos show that these people were unarmed civilians, there were even many women and children. I talked with them, they joined forces against the war and did not understand what Europe wanted.
They told me : « Libya is working well, the achievements are far better than in Africa, it is very good for us, and Europe is this country ! It’s beyond understanding. » They were quite willing to defend Libya because they could compare it to their home country.
It is really barbarous to murder unarmed people, hands tied behind their backs, they were simply people, workers who came spontaneously to defend their new homeland. This is truly terrifying and I saw photographs showing the same deeds committed in Benghazi by the « rebels » who are clearly using terror. So, when I see people in Tripoli « applauding » the rebels, I believe that they are simply terrorized. NATO is bringing dread.
A mercenary ?
Where are these women and children now ?
Ilse Grieten : « I cannot believe these things when I see them. We had already heard of so many accounts of atrocities committed by the rebels, and they are the very ones whom we help and arm ?! Again, I’m furious, everyday ! These people are so decent, hundreds of them representing so many African countries, they all had been standing inside and around their tents for months, convinced that they must support Gaddafi and Libya as a model for Africa. I can still hear them say : « Libya is the mother of Africa. » They clearly showed us what African unity was. They all wanted to speak to make us understand that this was simply an attack against Africa and its raw materials. Libya is the gate to Africa. I hope their voice will be heard at last. Why did NATO and the rebels refuse the peace proposal of the African Union (53 countries) ? Why haven’t we heard about it until now ? For them, Gaddafi is the symbol of African unity, the man who protects his own plundering against neocolonial plundering. The man who did more for Africa than any of its own leaders. »
Soon we will publish the testimony of these men and women.
Screenshot of a Reuters video, which dare say they do not know who committed this massacre yet.
The following pictures were found on the Facebook profile of supporters of the NTC (the National Transitional Council of Libya). The places and dates can hardly be definable. But what is sure is that the men who were arrested are not combatants but are threatened, if not already murdered as these pictures are being published. All this thanks to the UN, NATO, the members of the European parliament and their evil special correspondent - Bernard-Henri Levy - on the pretence of protecting the populations and establishing democracy.
How could you hold a weapon with one arm in plaster ?
Le Figaro (French newspaper) justifies the massacre.
« Cornered in the Eastern gate, the last followers of the Guide take off their uniforms, get dressed in plain clothes and vanish in Tripoli. Some are arrested, among whom are African mercenaries. »
Want to take direct action against the government, light up a joint. Nothing seems to quite get government officials, politicians, prison corporations (and the small towns they're in) and a whole lot of people up on their high horse like pot, marijuana, weed. The syndrome is so severe and the symptoms of self-righteousness so acute that reason and logic totally desert folks who otherwise have some measure of common sense. Why? Quite simply, it undermines the legitimacy of the whole system. The reason of course is there is no other substance that shears the control of the oppressive tentacles of god, state and capital like pot. For many users it frees the mind from everyday stress and liberates their creative thought processes. It is a treatment for glaucoma, is said to help those with ADHD to focus, relieve Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, nausea and is a good pain reliever, with less mental impact then a couple of beers on the average person. It's also well, just good; especially with a plate of brownies and a glass of milk.
Reefer Madness Drugs are dangerous. In 2009 drugs killed 37,484 people, suicide 36,500, car accidents 36,284, firearms 31,228, falls 24,834, and murder 16,591. So drugs killed a lot of people but of those who died of a drug induced death, only one in five was from an illegal drug, the rest were prescription and non-proscription pharmaceuticals. That means approximately 7500 people died of illegal drug use, the majority from cocaine, heroin and amphetamines. To put this number in perspective it is only 31% of the number of people who died of direct alcohol induced deaths which doesn't included car accidents, suicides or other causes of death related to alcohol abuse. Even that pales in the light of the 450,000 annual deaths from smoking a legal product, tobacco.
What is even further disturbing about this is that the death rate from illegal drugs in this country is 1800% higher per 100,000 population than in drug liberal Netherlands. The reason is that by regulating drugs instead of banning them to the black market, they are safer, consistent in quality and pose much less of a health threat to the user. Treating drugs like cocaine and heroin as medical issues needing treatment has worked well in other countries that tend to have lower addiction rates without all the drama and expenditures our government insists on. Current policy certainly is not a success. Despite the expenditure of $54 billion dollars this year on drug interdiction, incarceration and court costs the U.S. still has the highest cocaine use rate of any country in the world.
Let's look closely at the biggest drug problem, 90% by most accounts is marijuana use, just how many deaths did it cause? Zero, that's right ZERO. So why is it a threat to the government? Why spend more than the GDP of Costa Rica each year on the "failed war on drugs"? Why incarcerate one quarter of all of the world's prisoners, adding two million to the system for drug related offenses since 1980? Why pour millions in arms and military training into foreign countries "to fight drugs"?
In June of this year the Global Commission on Drug Policy issued a damning report. The U.S. representatives (hardly liberal) Paul Volcker, former Fed Chairman and George P. Schulz who was in the cabinets of both Presidents Nixon and Reagan and is credited with bringing peace to Ireland supported the report. The report declared the "war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world." The report went on to say, "Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won," The Obama administration responded that, "Legalization remains a non-starter"" Why?
Philosophical The reasons are philosophical and cultural, political, geo-political, and economic. First the philosophical and cultural, the western mind likes order, it objects to people staring into space and giggling. More to the point it objects to free thinking whether pot induced or the rebellion it symbolizes against authority. The idea of a mind not tethered to production for the capitalist economy, obedience to the corporate managed state or the superstition of the church is repulsive to the managers of these institutions.
The cultivation, processing and enjoyment of marijuana is free from government interference and control, it is a threat to every form of control. Unlike alcohol, tobacco, methamphetamine, heroine or cocaine, it doesn't require any fancy processing; grow it, dry it, smoke it. In fact grow it in your closet, as a lot of folks seem to be doing, half of all domestic production is considered to happen indoors in the U.S. After that you can improve on your methods.
But the reality is anyone can do it. It is totally democratic, accessible to anyone no matter what their income status, which is a threat to the system. It is a valued commodity that corporate capital can't corner the market on, the government can't regulate and the church can't match the high. It is a source of income to those who refuse to be slaves to the wage slavery of modern corporate capitalism. Because of those reasons the government hates it, capital hates it and the church hates it.
I cannot emphasize this enough; the sheer democracy of having free access to a non-harmful herb that alters your mind in a pleasant way threatens the ability of these institutions to make you feel powerless in their shadow. It is also natural for so many people precisely because it caters to their indigenous roots. Everyone has a natural desire to get high, little kids spin in circles until they fall down from dizziness. Before spreading to the west the use of cannabis in central and south Asia can be traced to the 3rd millennium BC. Use was widespread and practiced in China, India (the term ganja is Indian), Nepal, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, ancient Assyria and Sufi's in the Muslim world.
Marijuana was only regulated by countries at the beginning of the 20th Century and it wasn't until 1937 with the Marijuana Transfer Tax that a real ban came about in the U.S.
October 28, 2011 "Information Clearing House" --The Assad regime in Syria is facing increased scrutiny for its handling of demonstrators. The Syrian opposition has asked for arms and NATO intervention similar to what was witnessed in Libya. Washington Hawks such as former presidential candidate and U.S. Senator John McCain have called for military intervention in Syria to “protect civilians.” The call for the use of military force to “protect”.
Given the demonstrated lack of regard for human life and the aversion to justice (Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.), what lies behind the imperative to intervene in Syria?
The protest movements in Syria started in Daraa -- dubbed the epicenter of the anti-Assad protests. Daraa, traditionally supportive of Syria's ruling Baath Party, suffered from reduced water supply triggering massive protests against the local administration and the regime for failing to deal with the acute water scarcity in the region. Water.
Therein lies the crucial motivation behind the support, agitation, and arming of Syrians against their government by those who endorse ‘humanitarian wars’. It would be naïve to believe that the ‘humanitarian’ interest in Syria comes on the heels of the uprisings in the region given that water has been and continues to be a critical determinant of state security and foreign policy between Israel and Syria (as well as Lebanon) dating back decades.
It was the 1967 war which resulted in the exponential expansion of Israeli water sources including the control of the Golan Heights (also referred to as the Syrian Golan). For decades, Syrian Golan and the return of its control to Syria has posed a major obstacle to the Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations. Israel’s water demands make it virtually impossible to accommodate this process. In fact, even with full control of the Golan, Israel’s water crisis in 2000 were so acute that it prompted Israel to turn to Turkey for water purchase.
In addition, Syria’s presence in Lebanon since the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war in 1975 played a crucial role in hindering Israel’s never-ending water demands. Although the 1955 Johnston Plan (under the auspices of the Eisenhower administration) proposed diverting water from Lebanon’s Litani River into Lake Kinneret, it was not officially formulated, though it remained an attractive prospect. In 1982, Israeli forces established the frontline of their security zone in Lebanon along the Litani. Numerous reports alleged that Israel was diverting large quantities of Litani water.
Syria’s presence in Lebanon and the 1991 Lebanese-Syrian Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination, was a challenge to Israel and its diversion of water. When Syria replaced Israel as the dominant power in southern Lebanon in May 2000, Israeli fears grew that Syrian success in controlling the Golan and by extension, Lake Kinneret, would have a devastating effect on Israel.
Perhaps this helps explain the fact that on September 13, 2001, while the United States was recovering from the shock of 9/11, the influential and powerful JINSA (Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs) had a statement available as to how the U.S. should proceed. As part of its recommendations, it pointed the finger at not only at Afghanistan and Iraq, but also presented Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Sudan, the Palestinian Authority, Libya, Algeria (and eventually Saudi Arabia and Egypt) as danger spots. Shortly thereafter, in May 2002, the “Axis of Evil” was expanded to include Syria.
The next logical step was for the United States to pass and implement the Syrian Accountability Act and the Lebanon Sovereignty Restoration Act which in addition to sanctions, called for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. The troops remained until April 2005. They were forced to leave a few short months after the assassination of Prime Minsiter, Rafik Hariri when Syria was accused of involvement in the murder. Clearly, Syria was not the beneficiary of the assassination.
Without a Syrian presence, Lebanon was made more vulnerable, facilitating the 2006 Israeli attack and invasion of water-rich Southern Lebanon.
While Israel lost the public opinion war in Lebanon and Syria remained intact amidst the accusations and chaos, it became necessary to once again put Syria in the spotlight. In 2007, Syria stood accused of having a nuclear bomb program. As a member of the NPT, rather than reporting such suspicions (unfounded) to the IAEA, Israel, with a green light from the United States, bombed a factory which it alleged was involved in nuclear weapons activities.
Israel’s attack on Syriaon 6 September 2007, remained secret until it was revealed by the former prime minister (1996-1999) and the then opposition leader, Binyamin Netanyahu -- the current Prime Minister of Israel.
Netanyahu took office in March 2009. In April 2009, a U.S. funded London-based satellite channel, Barada TV, started broadcasting anti-regime propaganda into Syria. Barada TV’s chief editor, Malik al-Abdeh, is a cofounder of the Syrian exile group Movement for Justice and Development headed byAnas al-Abdah. It is crucial to note that the pro-Israel Dennis Ross a former fellow at the AIPAC created Washington Institute for Near East Affairs, who is currently a senior advisor to Barack Obama, was present in a 2008 meeting with Anas al-Abdah (see here). Although the meeting took place in early 2008, the theme of the meeting was: “Syria in-transition”.
Prophecy or planning, doubtless, there are many Syrians who do have grievances against their government and demand more rights. In this sense, their cause is no different than the many protests we witness on a daily basis around the world – including the United States. What is tragic about the Syrian situation, is that the imperative for intervention in Syria is not based on a genuine desire to help the people. The peoples’ grievances is being used as a means to arm them, have them killed, and create the need for an intervention in order to promote Israeli interests.
The Syria imperative is Israel’s gain paid for with the blood of the Syrian people.
Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich has a Master's degree in Public Diplomacy from USC Annenberg For Communication and USC School of International Relations, Los Angeles. She is an independent researcher, public speaker, radio commentator, political columnist, and peace activist living in California.
A picture of a damaged neighborhood in the city of Sirte on October 28, 2011
The bodies of dozens of Libyan civilians, including those who have been killed in a NATO airstrike, have been found in Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte.
More than 50 bodies were found under the rubble of a several-storey building flattened in a NATO airstrike, Libyan charity Jabal al-Akhdar announced.
"There are more than 50 civilians under the rubble, of women, of children. It's horrible. We can't get access. It would take bulldozers," a member of the charity, Mohammed Muftah, told AFP.
Another charity member, Ayman Ibrahim, said the "building collapsed after a NATO airstrike."
Between 65 and 70 bodies were also found on the lawn of al-Mahari hotel, some with their hands bound, and many with a bullet in the head.
National Transitional Council fighters said they were executed by Gaddafi's forces before the fall of the city.
Many Libyan civilians have been killed in the North African country since NATO began its airstrikes in March.
The military alliance had said its intervention in Libya was aimed at protecting civilians from Gaddafi forces.
NATO decided to end its mission in Libya at the end of this month, declaring it fulfilled its 'historic mandate' to protect civilians.
According to NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil, at least 25,000 people were killed and 50,000 others were wounded during the Libyan revolution.
On October 20, Gaddafi was killed in his hometown of Sirte, eight months into an uprising that put an end to his 42-year dictatorship.
It was here at the courthouse in Benghazi where the first spark of the Libyan revolution ignited. It’s the symbolic seat of the revolution; post-Gaddafi Libya’s equivalent of Egypt’s Tahrir Square. And it was here, in the tumultuous months of civil war, that the ragtag rebel forces established their provisional government and primitive, yet effective, media center from which to tell foreign journalists about their “fight for freedom.”
But according to multiple eyewitnesses—myself included—one can now see both the Libyan rebel flag and the flag of al Qaeda fluttering atop Benghazi’s courthouse.
According to one Benghazi resident, Islamists driving brand-new SUVs and waving the black al Qaeda flag drive the city’s streets at night shouting, "Islamiya, Islamiya! No East, nor West," a reference to previous worries that the country would be bifurcated between Gaddafi opponents in the east and the pro-Gaddafi elements in the west.
Earlier this week, I went to the Benghazi courthouse and confirmed the rumors: an al Qaeda flag was clearly visible; its Arabic script declaring that “there is no God but Allah” and a full moon underneath. When I tried to take pictures, a Salafi-looking guard, wearing a green camouflage outfit, rushed towards me and demanded to know what I was doing. My response was straightforward: I was taking a picture of the flag. He gave me an intimidating look and hissed, "Whomever speaks ill of this flag, we will cut off his tongue. I recommend that you don't publish these. You will bring trouble to yourself.”
He followed me inside the courthouse, but luckily my driver Khaled was close by, and interceded on my behalf. According to Khaled, the guard had angrily threatened to harm me. When I again engaged him in conversation, he told me "this flag is the true flag of Islam," and was unresponsive when I argued with him that historically Islam has never been represented by a single flag. The guard claimed repeatedly that there is no al Qaeda in Libya, and that the flag flying atop the courthouse is “dark black,” while the al Qaeda flag is charcoal black. To many locals, it’s a distinction without a difference. One man approached me with a friendly warning: "I recommend that you leave now; [the Islamist fighters] could be watching you."
But none of this should be surprising. In Tripoli, Abdelhakim Belhaj, a well-known al Qaeda fighter and founder of the notorious Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), is now leading the rebel “military counsel” in Tripoli. A few weeks ago, Belhaj ordered his fighters to take command of the Tripoli airport, then controlled by a group of Zintan fighters, a brigade of Berber Libyans who helped liberate the capital from Gaddafi loyalists. A few days later, Belhaj gave a speech emphasizing that his actions had the blessings of Libya’s National Transitional Counsel (NTC), who appointed him to the leadership of Tripoli’s military command.
According to a Libyan who didn't want to be named, a special military group inside the NTC is calling on Salafi fighters with military backgrounds to join a special group fighting in the rebellion. "There will be special benefits if you join whether you die in battle, or when you return home,” including monthly salaries. (One NTC source told me that Belhaj’s fighters are the only rebel fighters who receive a monthly salary.)
In a recent speech heralding the new beginning of post-Gaddafi Libya, Moustafa Abdeljalil, the head of the NTC, declared the country an “Islamic state, and sharia law is the source of all our laws." It was indeed an odd declaration for a leader celebrating his country’s liberation, leading many to wonder: Who are Abdeljalil and the NTC trying to appease?
It isn’t uncommon to discover rebels with radical backgrounds. In an off-the-record interview, one NTC member spoke casually of his past, explaining that the Gaddafi regime blacklisted him from the country for his ties to LIFG. He told me of his close association with Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the infamous “blind cleric” jailed for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, who he helped ferry across the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan during the mujahedeen fight against the Soviet Union.
The war to rid the country of the Gaddafi dictatorship might have ended, but the battle for control of post-revolutionary Libya has only just begun. And it will surprise few that assorted radicals, jihadists, Salafists, and LIFG veterans are attempting to fill the power vacuum and replace one dictatorship with another.
Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street activists will have to battle plummeting temperatures, as well as corporate greed, without any power supply. New York authorities have confiscated generators and fuel from their camp in
My take on the communications shutdown: In what is obviously a muscle flexing exercise meant to show the public just how much power and control the federal government really has, all communications will be cut off for an estimated three minutes on November 9th, 2011.
Claiming this is a test of the emergency response system, the terror alert system, and any other excuse they can come up with, Fema (that would be the same FEMA in charge of those camps they deny exist) will conduct a complete communications shutdown: all TV, radio, internet, and phone systems will be disabled simultaneously. This will be at 1:00 CST.
I am trying to figure out what kind of national emergency would require cutting all communications, broadcasts and internet use? Maybe an emergency in which the government itself feels threatened by …….the people? If this were a test to make sure the system was intact in the event of an emergency I could understand it. But that isn’t what this is. This is a test meant to ensure that the apparatus is in place and operational in the event the government wants to prevent communication between citizens: this is a test to make sure they CAN shut it all down if they choose to.
Think Egypt here. As the protest crowds grew in Egypt, what did the government do? They shut down all cell phones and internet access in an effort to halt communications. It didn’t stop anything, the crowds still grew, but the idea behind this action was clear.
I believe what is actually behind this might be the downloading of some kind of code needed to make the shut-down apparatus work efficiently. Think about your cable system if you have one or even an upgrade to many computer programs. A new code must be downloaded and installed, then the system shutdown and re-booted for the changes to take effect. And, just like these coded program changes in computers and cable, once you re-boot, whatever was newly installed is activated and just runs silently behind the scenes. In fact, in almost every case, you are not even aware of what changes were made. I have a strange feeling this is what is happening here. I also think this is somehow attached to the all-digital system they forced everyone onto a few years back.
Being a rather rational and logical person, the idea of shutting off communications of all kinds during a national emergency just doesn’t make any sense to me. Why would anyone want to do that? Wouldn’t your first reaction be to make sure communications were all intact and operational? Unless of course, their definition of an emergency is something other than say extreme weather, floods or things of that kind. In what kind of emergency situation would it benefit the public to have all communications shut down? I can’t even think of one.
If I were the government I could see where it could be really handy especially in light of the steady growing unrest across the country. Of course their phones, computers and broadcast systems would all be working just fine as their communications systems are independent of the system the public uses.
We have long since passed the point where we can trust government on any level. This impending communications shut down is only a test run for something far more serious. This is not about public safety, emergency response or any of the other fluff and hype put out to try and explain why the government would engage in such a test. In my opinion, this is merely a test run for a future event which could be catastrophic as far as the general public is concerned.
Keep your eyes and ears open…….something is afoot here and it doesn’t look good for most of us.
On Oct. 31, the U.N. Population Fund marks the arrival of the 7 billionth person on Earth and raises the population estimate for the planet at mid-century to 9.3 billion people.
There is a possibility, says the United Nations, that, by century's end, world population may reach 15 billion. What does this mean for Western civilization?
It may not matter, except to identify who inherits the estate. For while world population is exploding, Western peoples are dying. Not a single European nation, except Muslim Albania, has a birth rate that will enable it to replace its present population.
By mid-century, Western man will be down to 12 percent of world population. By century's end, he will be a tiny fraction, roughly equal to the white population of Rhodesia when Robert Mugabe came to power.
The demographic winter of the West has set in.
Between now and 2050, Russia, a nation of roughly 140 million, down from nearly 150 million at the breakup of the Soviet Union, is on schedule to lose an additional 24 million people.
"Hypermortality" is a word demographers use in discussing Russia.
Germany is to lose 8 million of her 82 million people. Ukraine has lost 6 million people since liberation in 1991 and will lose another 10 million by 2050. The population of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, 8 million in 1990, will by mid-century have fallen by 30 percent to 5.7 million.
Britain, however, is to add 12 million. But since emigration from Britain is bleeding the population and the birth rate of her native-born has been below zero population growth for 35 years, the U.N. has to be factoring in immigration from the old colonies in the Caribbean, the Middle East, the sub-Sahara and South Asia.
With the median age of European nations rising toward 50 and above, and a growing share of the population over 65, the continent is going to need millions of young immigrants to maintain the labor force and cope with seniors and elderly in retirement centers, assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
Where will they come from? Continents and countries with population surges and surpluses.
By 2050, Africa's population will double from 1 billion to 2 billion people. Where today the six most populous Islamic nations – Indonesia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria and Turkey – have a combined population of 885 million, by 2050 their populations will have increased by 475 million to 1.36 billion. Of the 48 fastest-growing countries in the world, 28 are majority Muslim or have Muslim populations of more than one-third of the national population.
And since it is the Muslim nations of North Africa and the Middle East that are closest to Europe, with easiest access to the continent, Muslims will likely furnish most of the multitudes who are coming.
What will this mean for Europe? Religious and racial conflict.
On Sept. 11, 2001, after the twin towers fell and Germany expressed her anguish and solidarity with America, a strange event occurred. In the Turkish districts of Berlin, bottle rockets were fired all night in celebration.
In the banlieues around Paris and other French cities, Arab riots, assaults on police and mass arson of vehicles regularly occur. This summer in London, the immigrant enclaves exploded and poured out into the city night after night.
Angela Merkel of Germany, seconded by David Cameron of Britain and Nicolas Sarkozy of France, declared multiculturalism had "utterly failed."
What is the future of Europe? What is the future of Western man? Houari Boumedienne, Algerian revolutionary and president of his country, predicted it at the United Nations in 1975.
"One day, millions of men will leave the Southern Hemisphere of this planet to burst into the Northern one. But not as friends. Because they will come in to conquer, and they will conquer by populating it with their children. Victory will come to us from the wombs of our women."
Boumedienne's words were spoken just as European and Western birth rates plunged below ZPG.
What, then, is the future?
A Russia with not one-tenth China's population will not hold on to a continental nation twice China's size. Already the Russian Far East is being invaded by Chinese crossing the Amur and Ussuri rivers to work, even as Mexicans cross the Rio Grande to reoccupy lands torn away from their ancestors in 1836 and 1848.
What is the future of the West?
China will retrieve all the lands lost to Russia in the 19th century and slices of Russia that China never owned. Mexicans and Hispanics will dominate from the Floridas to the American Southwest the lands Spain and Mexico lost to the United States in the 19th century.
Africans, whose lands were colonized and exploited by Europeans, and Muslims and Arabs, whose ancestors were turned back at Poitiers and Vienna, will succeed in the final conquest of Europe.
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