PNN - the Unconventional Convention Show

PNN
9/22 - Guests

Mark Pafford       - 07:10:00 PM      -  07:30:00 PM
       
Susan Nilon       -  07:32:00 PM -      07:47:00 PM
       
Rob Abston      -  07:48:00 PM  - 07:58:00 PM
       
Susan Smith      -  08:00:00 PM      -  08:10:00 PM
       
Meredith Ockman    08:12PM     -  08:20:00 PM
       
Luis Cuevas      -  08:21:00 PM      -  08:30:00 PM
       
Panel              -  08:30:00 PM      -  09:00:00 PM

Events:
Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti Thurs | Sept. 27 | 2 pm | Performing Arts Bldg. (PA) 101
Visiting author/sociologist Jeb Sprague (University of California, Santa Barbara) investigates the role of right-wing paramilitarism in undermining the democratic aspirations of the Haitian people. Free public lecture presented by the Peace Studies Program. More information at 561-799-8226 or dmcgetch@fau.edu. http://monthlyreview.org/press/books/pb3003/

Jamaican Independence Fifty Years Later: A Lecture by Noted Author Rachel Manley
Wed | Oct. 10 | 3 pm | Board of Trustees Room, Administration Building (AD)
Rachel Manley, as a member of Jamaica's most famous political family, provides a unique inside perspective on decolonization and independence. Sponsored by the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Art and Letters, Ethnic Studies Certificate Program, English Department, Political Science Department, and Philosophy Department. For more information, contact Raphael Dalleo at rdalleo@fau.edu.


From Invasion to Exploitation--
Sunday, October 14, 2012: gather at 11:30 a.m.  @NW 41st St. & NW 97th Ave, Doral, FL
From the invasion by Columbus in 1492 to the struggles of today in the tomato fields of Florida, the peoples of the Americas have suffered 520 years of repression while giving of themselves in 520 years of resistance. Join us to work for justice and celebrate our successes.
From the Invasion to Exploitation--Struggle Brings Victory from Ecuador & Nicaragua to our Tomato Fields. Protest the existence of the SOA/WHINSEC, reject the use of drones by the U.S. Southern Command against our brothers & sisters in Latin America and demand peace & justice for all the peoples of the Americas.
Sponsored by: CODEPINK: Miami & SOA Watch: South Florida. Co-sponsors include: Coalition of Immokalee Workers; CODEPINK: South Florida; Progressive Democrats, Miami.
For more information call Daniela @ 786-343-3796 (Spanish language),
Linda @ 305-801-0245, or Ray@ 754-423-0051.

SCPA - PROGRESSIVE FEST
OCT 21 10AM - 6PM
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News Items

0. Union Statement on the Chicago Teachers Strike
“We certainly watched the strike with great interest because the Chicago teachers were working through many of the same issues we’ve had to deal with in Florida. We’re also concerned about the misuse of testing for evaluations and merit pay – concepts that have never worked and are doomed to failure in their present forms. We’re also concerned with issues like proper funding for our schools, class size and the conditions of our classrooms. We salute the Chicago teachers for having the courage to go out on strike to call attention to these issues.”

Mark Pudlow, spokesman,  Florida Education Association

1. BP and the spill and the stain and the poisoning goes on
Last year, the U.S. Coast Guard announced the Gulf Coast would shift to a Shoreline Cleanup Completion Plan, which would lay out the process for determining how formerly oiled areas can be declared clean.
Federal officials and all Gulf states signed onto the plan except Louisiana. State officials said it leaves Louisiana's vulnerable beaches and marshes open to continued oiling and doesn't hold BP accountable for long-term monitoring and cleanup of oiled shores.
“For well over a year the state has been pushing BP to remove this oil. It was obvious it was there,” Graves said. “Their refusal to take proactive steps to remove the oil has put us in this predicament now.”
He added that BP was trying to remove portions of Elmer's Island beach from active cleanup shortly before Hurricane Isaac uncovered oil.
Graves said the state is concerned because the “intrusive, mechanical approach” to cleaning oil from beaches will dig up too much of the beach on already vulnerable shoreline. Without compacted beach sand, shores will be more exposed to erosion. The process will also impact microorganisms that live in the sand.
“When you dig up and expose those organisms to sunlight and the elements, you end up killing and changing these ecosystems,” Graves said.
Graves said BP's request was a “blanket deep-cleaning proposal across south Louisiana,” a request the state finds “too blunt and intrusive.”
Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph said that the cleaning process wasn't ideal, but it might be a necessary evil to get remaining oil off of Lafourche's beaches.
"We're not thrilled with it, but simultaneously, we can understand that to get to the root of the problem we might have to dig that far down," Randolph said.

2. INDIAN & JAPANESE REACTORS
The CAG has come to be known as one of the few watchdogs of mention in the political morass that exists in India today. When it released its findings on the state of functioning of the AERB, it was simply formally putting across what many have been highlighting for years now: That the AERB — far from its actual mandate of being a regulator — functions as a self-certification arm for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, and instead of regulating the serious atomic energy industry, the AERB certification has become a mere rubber stamp. This being a matter of national shame, it calls for immediate remedial steps.
After all, no country can take the risk of a nuclear accident lightly because of the enormous social, environmental and economic costs involved. The Japanese Government is still calculating the economic costs of the Fukushima disaster.
An independent inquiry into the Fukushima disaster showed complicity between the Government, the regulator and the operator, all of which led to the ‘man-made’ disaster of shocking proportions. The report, which was an investigation done by a Japanese parliamentary committee, categorically states that the cause for the meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor was neither the earthquake nor tsunami, it was caused because of “willful negligence”. It was termed as a ‘man-made’ disaster — “Made in Japan” is how it was called by the committee.

3. Three Mile Island - By NBC News and wire services
A reactor at Three Mile Island, the site of the nation’s worst nuclear accident, shut down unexpectedly on Thursday afternoon when a coolant pump tripped and steam was released, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told NBC News.
The system tripped when "the pump stopped operating and created a power/flow imbalance," said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan.
The plant responded as designed and is stable with no impact on public health or safety, added NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci.
If any radiation was in the released steam, Screnci said, it would be below detectable levels.
Exelon, the plant operator, said in a statement that "during the shutdown, steam was released into the atmosphere, creating a loud noise heard by nearby residents."
A NRC inspector based at the plant "responded to the control room immediately after the reactor trip to independently assess control room operators' response to the event and ensure safety systems were functioning as designed," Sheehan said. "He did not identify any immediate concerns with operator or equipment performance."
Plant operators were not yet sure what caused the problem.
"Once the reactor is sufficiently cooled down, plant personnel will be able to access the containment building and troubleshoot the problem," Sheehan added.
Located about 12 miles south of Harrisburg, Pa., Three Mile Island in 1979 saw a partial meltdown of one of its nuclear reactor cores. Small amounts of radiation were released into the environment when the reactor core lost cooling water, exposing the highly radioactive fuel rods.
A presidential commission later said the accident was "the result of a series of human, institutional and mechanical failures."


4. A US army soldier who fled to Canada five years ago to avoid serving in Iraq has been arrested in the US after losing her deportation case.
Kimberly Rivera, a mother of four, had claimed refugee status in Canada, but she was ordered to leave last month.
On Thursday she voluntarily went to a border crossing in New York State, where she placed into military custody, anti-war campaigners say.
She faces between two and five years in prison, her lawyer said.
Ms Rivera served in the Iraq war in 2006, but on her return to the US said she had become disillusioned with its cause and thought it was "immoral".
She went to Canada with her husband and children while on leave and between deployments in 2007.


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Conventions


REPUBLICAN - TAMPA
1. Romney Speech
2. Ann's Speech
3. The Republican Platform
4. the Clint Eastwood Speech
5. The campaign
6. the tax documents release
7. protestors

- AUDIO - Republican Excerpts - Ann Romney & Paul Ryan [5:56 min]
- AUDIO - SUSAN NILON on Republican Convention +  [10:34 min]
- AUDIO - Debate Brown & Warren [5:56 min]
- AUDIO - Democratic Convention Excerpts [6:24 min]
- AUDIO - SARAH SILVERMAN - on VOTER FRAUD  [3:46 min]

DEMOCRATIC - Charlotte
1. President Obama's Speech
2. Michelle Obama's Speech
3. The Democratic Platform (adding in God & Israel)
4. The Clinton Speech
5. the campaign
6. protestors