March, 31 2011, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
As Japan Disaster Spreads, Threatening U.S., Obama Embraces Nuclear Power
ARJUN MAKHIJANI
Available for a limited number of interviews, Makhijani is president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, which has released a series of papers on the Japan nuclear disaster. The most recent is titled "Radioactive Iodine Releases from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Reactors May Exceed Those of Three Mile Island by Over 100,000 Times."
WASHINGTON
ARJUN MAKHIJANI
Available for a limited number of interviews, Makhijani is president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, which has released a series of papers on the Japan nuclear disaster. The most recent is titled "Radioactive Iodine Releases from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Reactors May Exceed Those of Three Mile Island by Over 100,000 Times."
AILEEN MIOKO SMITH
Aileen Mioko Smith is executive director of Green Action, a Japanese environmental group. She happens to be visiting California, where she is scheduled to be until April 12. She has been stating from the beginning of the crisis that the Japanese government has not been sharing critical information with the public. She is analyzing the situation and has been translating reports and posting other information at: fukushima.greenaction-japan.org.
She said today: "We would like to have the international community sanction the Japanese government for wantonly raising the level of contamination allowed for Fukashima citizens. Up until now, it had certain standards for food from the area, but is working to change those standards to make things appear OK. What the government should be doing is broadening the official evacuation zone."
HARVEY WASSERMAN
Wasserman is author of Solartopia! Our Green-Powered Earth, AD 2030 (which includes an introduction by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.). Wasserman recently wrote the piece "'Safe' Radiation is a Lethal TMI Lie." He is posting regularly at: nukefree.org/news/Nuke.
KARL GROSSMAN
Professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury, Grossman is author of Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power and Power Crazy. He just wrote the piece "Obama's Wrongheaded Nuclear Stance -- After Japan Disaster," which states: "President Barack Obama's support this week for the construction of more nuclear power plants in the United States, amid the ongoing nuclear power plant disaster in Japan, must be considered as among the most wrongheaded and irrational positions ever taken by a U.S. president, against stiff competition.
"As a candidate for president, Obama knew about the deadly dangers of nuclear power. 'I start off with the premise that nuclear energy is not optimal and so I am not a nuclear energy proponent,' Obama said at a campaign stop in Newton, Iowa on December 30, 2007. 'My general view is that until we can make certain that nuclear power plants are safe ... I don't think that's the best option. I am much more interested in solar and wind and bio-diesel and strategies [for] alternative fuels.'"
Grossman added: "The claim being disseminated by media of 'no immediate danger' from the spread now worldwide of radioactivity from the ongoing nuclear power disaster in Japan is outrageous. Any amount of radioactivity can kill, as has now been widely acknowledged by organizations involved in research on radiation. The media coverage overall of the catastrophe has been barely passable to dreadful. It's been full of journalistic ignorance (the repeated reports, for example, that potassium iodide pills will 'block radioactivity' when, in fact, they block only radioactive iodine, one of hundreds of radioactive poisons) and the presentation of nuclear promoters as 'experts' (making declarations such as one 'expert' on PBS NewsHour saying the plutonium discharges in Japan are 'actually typical of natural plutonium contamination in this country.' There's no 'natural plutonium contamination' in the U.S. -- plutonium is man-made. Journalists desperately need to know the facts about nuclear technology -- and not be bamboozled, as is the current media situation."
Background: From the New Scientist: "Fukushima radioactive fallout nears Chernobyl levels," which states: "Japan's damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima has been emitting radioactive iodine and caesium at levels approaching those seen in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Austrian researchers have used a worldwide network of radiation detectors -- designed to spot clandestine nuclear bomb tests -- to show that iodine-131 is being released at daily levels 73 per cent of those seen after the 1986 disaster. The daily amount of caesium-137 released from Fukushima Daiichi is around 60 per cent of the amount released from Chernobyl."
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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Ahram Onlinereports:
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- Safer working conditions to prevent injuries and fatalities.
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- Dignity and respect for all employees.
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In Queens, where Amazon workers at DBK4—the corporation's largest delivery station in the city—voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike of their own.
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BREAKING: Amazon workers in NYC are going on strike right before Christmas — the company's busiest time.
The first unionized Amazon warehouse is going to shut down in a historic walkout.
Workers plan to hit the company where it hurts to win their first union contract. pic.twitter.com/CwnrRWg4be
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) December 13, 2024
A strike at this time of year, the busiest for the retail giant, reports labor correspondent Jessica Burbank for Drop Site News, "would hit them where it hurts. The scale of the strike would be unprecedented, including the major hubs of New York and San Bernadino, California."
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Amazon now has a workforce of over 700,000, making it the largest employer of warehouse workers in the nation. If a contract is won at these initial 20 bargaining units, it has the potential to impact working conditions for thousands of workers, and inspire union organizing efforts at Amazon facilities across the country.
For Amazon workers who voted to unionize their warehouses in March of 2022, this has been a long time coming. “Thousands of Amazon workers courageously cast their ballots to form a union at JFK8 in Staten Island,” Smalls said in a text. “We shocked the world, we had won against a corporate giant and hoped that step would propel us forward to help create a better workplace.” For years, Amazon stalled on recognizing the union, and has not yet met union representatives at the negotiating table.
Smalls said, “I’m excited to see workers take control, take the next step and move even further down the path to victory when they exercise their right to strike.” He continued, “We celebrated as we inspired thousands of others to hope for the same.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Saturday issued his support for the union workers.
"Amazon delivery drivers and warehouse workers deserve decent wages, benefits and working conditions—and the right to form a union," said Sanders. "I strongly support the thousands of Amazon workers who will go on strike tomorrow if Amazon doesn't end its illegal union busting."
The workers at JFK8 said people could support the union's effort in various ways "at this critical time," including:
- Donate to the Solidarity Fund: Help workers sustain their fight by contributing to the strike fund.
- Show Up on the Picket Line: Join workers at JFK8 to demonstrate solidarity and hold Amazon accountable for their illegal refusal to negotiate a union contract.
- Spread the Word: Use social media and local networks to raise awareness about the workers’ struggle and the importance of their fight for justice at Amazon.
- Contact Elected Officials: Urge representatives to publicly support JFK8 workers and pressure Amazon to negotiate in good faith.
- Sign the Petition: Stand with Amazon workers and demand that Amazon guarantee a safe return to work, free of harassment and retaliatory disciplinary action, to all workers participating in protected collective action.
For his part, former labor secretary and economist Robert Reich said he had no sympathy for the retail giant's refusal to bargain in good faith with the workers who make its business model possible.
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