subject: Living out loud--April 2011 [print this page] Living out loud--April 2011 Living out loud--April 2011
LIVING OUT LOUD--April 2011
This is a blog about a life (mine) that is really largely uneventful but for me quite satisfying, or as Shakespeare once so aptly wrote, "a poor thing but mine own". I plan to give the bare bones outline of the days, the weeks etc. of my daily experiences with pertinent ( I hope) comments. Why would I want to do this? I suppose, because I can!
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April 2011
The world this month has become an increasingly dangerous and frightening place for a great many people. This, of course is especially true in Japan where the Japanese experienced first hand a powerful earthquake and immediately following that event a disastrous tsunami, and as I write this the nuclear accident danger is still ongoing which could further contaminate food and water and kill many more people in the coming years. Many countries are now re-evaluating their own nuclear policy--Switzerland, Germany, Turkey among others What happened in Japan could certainly happen here in the United States. There have already been two major accidents in the world--one in Chernobyl, Russia and now this accident in Japan.-- and at least two near misses--3 mile Island, NY and Waterford nuclear plant outside of New Orleans (because of hurricane Katrina)and 19000 gallons of radioactive water has been accidentally released into Lake Ontario due to a faulty pump seal. The plant in Chernobyl after 25 years is still dangerous, and the communities surrounding it for many miles are unable to eat the food or drink the water from that area. The radioactivity from the damaged reactor even though encased in a protective sarcophagus will continue to be dangerous for the next 100,000 years. Is this the direction that we want our country to take? I certainly think it is time to examine, monitor and re-evaluate our commitment to nuclear power.
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The middle east is still uppermost in the news this month with the United States, the United Nations and NATO enforcing a no fly zone in Libya and becoming more involved in the humanitarian aspects of that conflict and in the democracy movement there against the ruler, Moummar Gaddafi. In late March, NATO took complete command of the operation in Libya. All of us will continue to monitor these ongoing, world-changing events as they happen. Not only is Libya at risk, but Syria, Bahrain and many other countries in the middle east also seems to be experiencing similar instability at this time. This ongoing hunger for democracy in countries that have never had it is a triumph for human dignity everywhere, and as President Obama recently said in one of his speeches " Whenever the light of freedom is lit, the world becomes a brighter place."
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The Forbes List of the richest people in the world has recently come out. The list of billionaires (that's with a B) has grown this year from 1011 to 1210. GM which registered a profit of $14.5 Billion paid no taxes this year. In a time of deep recession when the Republicans in Congress and Republican governors everywhere are cutting the safety net under poor and middle income citizens and vowing not to add taxes for the rich or the corporations, the wealthiest people in this country continue to get richer and continue to pay less and less taxes.
The Republicans intend to cut the funding for---
1. community health centers
2. food and health for low-income pregnant women and children
veteran housing vouchers leaving 10 000 veterans to face the possibility of homelessness.
3. they plan to fire more teachers
4. cut financial aid to poor and middle income students, and continue to cut many more important aid programs which have made life better for the less fortunate in our society.
At this writing, a man in Madison, Wisconsin, Mathew Schauenburg, is risking his life on a hunger strike against the cuts that Governor Scott Walker is making against the poor and middle class in Wisconsin and also against the Republican assault on collective bargaining. The hunger strike is in its 28th day. His facebook web-site is listed below--also 2 more sites that will give you free, easy ways to become involved in changing the world.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1294024021#!/profile.php?id=100002187313228 http://change.org and http://www.avaaz.org/en/about.php
Iwill be back again soon writing more about "Living Out Loud", to try to understand and illuminate not only daily living but also some of the complicated world issues that effect not only my life, but all of our lives.
