a soldier for the dark side of the force!

Our friend and colleague, John LeKay, artist and activist on behalf of Native American issues, on the advisory board of FUSE USA, just released a video interview with Benny Zable, Australian anti-nuclear performance artist, and myself, shot one day this August.

If I look worn, tired, drained, a walking corpse, it's because I was horrifyingly sick that day... It had been a great effort for me to drive to Peekskill to participate in this action with Benny. I've been suffering from chronic Lyme disease since 1984, many in the pro-nuclear camp will be glad to hear. So if people wonder sometimes why I get so stiff, so useless, it's because the pain just becomes intolerable.

Another friend of ours, Jon Nowinski, also on the advisory board of FUSE USA, has done considerable research on the provenance of Lyme disease, which we are now certain came from Plum Island off the coast of Connecticut. I urge you to read his research. This is another facility which desperatly needs to get shut down before it takes us all along with it!

Yesterday, I attended the lecture given by Andrew Shapiro at Yale (why does the last name Shapiro come up so often in the context of my life?) who founded GreenOrder with monies from Wetlands, the environmental nightclub I helped put together in New York with Larry Bloch. But Andrew never asked me to join the board of advisors. Instead, he used his ivy league pedigree to court and greenwash major corporations, like GE.

In the late 60's GE developed a state of the art electric car. Ralph Nader was involved in the project. But GE decided not to pursue the idea because they didn't want to go into competition with their number one customer, GM.

Today, while GE used the EcoMagination campaign GreenOrder developed for them to sell a few solar panels and wind turbines, it's getting ready to put hundreds of nuclear reactors at sea for an ALL nuclear Navy.

GE brings good things to life... I remember taking the ride through the GE pavillion during the 1964 World's Fair in Queens... It never left me... this complete disconnect between nature and technology. I live in Fairfield County. I've met many GE executives... they have not changed. They're all stuck in a 1950's time warp, in the way they think, they dress and view the world. Anyone who still doesn't understand the relationship GE has with this country, should read Gravity's Rainbow.

I guess Andrew should be commended for the little GreenOrder accomplished at GE, but to me, that's just perpetuating the misery, giving GE another lease on life, so the bulk of the atrocities they wreck on this Earth continue unimpeded.

Sorry, Andrew... but you're just a foot soldier for the dark side of the force, a Palm Beach socialite, no matter how many coats of green paint you schlack on their facade! And you used Wetlands to get rich doing it, without putting anything back!

Nuclear Poster Exhibition ~ Australia

The Nuclear Poster Exhibition

THE NUCLEAR POSTERS

Breakdown Press Poster Series #3

THE NUCLEAR POSTERS contains 17 intelligent, provocative and affecting political posters within one beautiful publication. Breakdown Press has published this powerful collection of posters by artists, designers and writers breaking down the nuclear industry in Australia and celebrating creative dissent. Published at a time when the Howard-led Liberal Government is taking Australia down the nuclear path with the pedal to the metal in the lead-up to the 2007 federal election, THE NUCLEAR POSTERS brings together the work of committed artists and campaigners to spark debate about the role of the nuclear cycle in Australia. The posters chosen for this publication build on the history of the political poster movement and act as an oppositional force to this vicious nuclear cycle.

ARTISTS: Aris Prabawa Arlene TextaQueen Benny Zable Bretton Bartleet Deborah Kelly Graeme Dunstan Jessie Boylan Josh MacPhee Kevin Buzzacott Lou Smith Mathew Kneebone MITCH Peter Kneebone Rodney Dekker Rose Turtle Ertler Russell Kerr Simon Bent Tim Growcott Tom Civil Van Thanh Rudd

OPENING PARTY & PUBLICATION LAUNCH

6-8PM TUESDAY 13TH NOV

THE ARTERY,

87-89 MOOR ST,

FITZROY MELBOURNE, VIC

THE NUCLEAR POSTER EXHIBITION

Featuring the 17 poster designs chosen for the publication, 2 rock posters, plus original works by Arlene TextaQueen and Aris Prabawa.

Exhibition runs from 13TH NOV - 2ND DEC ‘07

GALLERY HOURS: midday ‘til late, Tuesday – Sunday

Breakdown Press in conjunction with JBSeed (John Butler’s philanthropic arts fund) will choose two posters from The Nuclear Posters for an oversized A0 rock poster campaign in Melbourne and Sydney in the lead-up to the federal election.

BREAKDOWN PRESS

PO BOX 1283 Carlton,

Melbourne VICTORIA

Australia 3053

info@breakdownpress.org

www.breakdownpress.org

Benny Zable Takes Manhattan

Sept 7th, 2007 - Australian anti-nuclear performance artist Benny Zable delivers letter from Dr. Helen Caldicott to Rupert Murdoch at News Corp. opposing the relicensing of the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

I had a security guard yell at me for 5 minutes, three inches from my face, because I wouldn't erase the video I shot of him inside the building... He threatened me, my friends, my family... so much for freedom of the press at the Fox Channel!

See the video HERE

Sydney, Australia is in APEC lock-down!

Sydney is in lock-down and hospitals are on standby for a terrorist attack as Australia prepares for the arrival of the world's most powerful leaders.

APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United States and Vietnam.

New Zealand is preparing to carve out a separate position on nuclear energy, and, as one of the few Apec countries to commit to emissions reductions under the Kyoto protocol, will push for an acknowledgment of Kyoto's binding targets in the leaders' final statement.

The agreement does not push for binding cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and its promotion of nuclear energy as a form of clean energy is controversial.

Green groups have accused Australian Prime Minister John Howard of using it in an attempt to derail the Kyoto protocol - an international agreement with binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions - after 2012.

Join Benny Zable, Green Nuclear Butterfly, Rock The Reactors, Wetlands Activism Collective & other members of the newly formed FUSE USA coalition in solidarity & protest with the Australian people this Friday in Manhattan.

For detailed information on the rally, download this flyer.

(Compiled from numerous online news sources)

Australia Fights Back U.S. One World Nuclear Order

Part 1



Part 2

Some General News Items From Green Nuclear Butterfly

Rare Picture of the elusive Australian Outback Twin Ass Monkeys.

Greetings Readers:

Do apologize for the lack of fresh articles lately, but 1) it is summer, and that in and of itself comes with its own set of distractions, and 2) the deadline for filing contentions is fast upon us. Our volunteer staff over at FUSE USA are busy with document research, and crafting our contentions, which will be extensive. FUSE USA is now officially registered as a Not-For-Profit corporation, and will be bringing you more on that development in the very near future (watch for our new blog launch). Between now and October 1st, 2007, a huge amount of GNB's efforts will be dedicated over to document research and crafting petitions, so be patient, as the Blog takes a back seat to our important fight to shutdown the aging Entergy reactors known as Indian Point.

There is a new blog out there that I encourage my readers to stay abreast of it. This Green Blog is published by long time environmental activist titan Harvey Wasserman. Harvey has recently published a book (featured on this blog earlier this summer) called Solartopia...a must read for Green people the world over. Wondering here if Harvey knows what ever happened to Scott Powers who used to be a great journalist for the Columbus Dispatch back in the early 90's.

NRC is trying to RUSH THE PROCESS of relicensing Indian Point. They have scheduled an Environmental Scoping Meeting for September 19th, and the public comments period closes very shortly after the meeting. This meeting, and the public comments received will shape the Supplemental EIS that will be appended to the Generic EIS being used to relicense these aging reactors that are leaking tritium and strontium into the Hudson River.

1. If you live in the area, and are concerned about Indian Point, it is imperiative that you attend the meeting. We will be posting details on this meeting in very early September.

2. Submit written comments to the NRC that express your concerns. Be specific, use real examples. Where possible, grab some cites to back up your contentions and/or worries by using Google. (FAC or Flow Accelerated Corrosion) is one example of a Google search that should bring up some very interesting articles and studies.

We have seen in recent events (Earthquake that struck the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Plant and the collapsing bridge in Minnesota) that the effects of aging, fatigue issues, and seismic activities can and will take their toll on man made infrastructure...factor in the risk of a terrorist attack, and Indian Point needs to be closed down.

Entergy was delivered a STUNNING defeat when their Motion For Summary Judgement attempting to dismiss a well written and defensible contention was denied. Our tip of the hat to the warriors in Vermont trying to close down the Vermont Yankee reactor...their victory ranks right up their with the one out in California at the Diablo Canyon site. Neither Entergy, NEI, EPRI or the NRC is happy about this event. The grassroots anti-nuclear movement is prying the lid off the can of worms, are about to expose the wretched stench that is the License Renewal Process. The NRC has been trying to ram these license renewals through before we got ourselves up and running...problem is, we are now WIDE AWAKE, and the tide is turning.

Bush is going to be traveling to Australia for APEC 2007 to meet with Prime Minister John Howard, with plans for Australia (against the will of the people) to join GNEP, and the push for a Nuclear Renaissance. There are some MAJOR protests being planned for his visit down under. As a show of solidarity with the Anti-Nuclear movement in Australia, world renowned activist Benny Zable and Remy Chevalier, GNB contributor, are planning a direct action in NYC on September 7th to coincide with Bush's visit to Australia. More details on this action as they arrive on our desk. If you would like to be vetted for this event, please write uraniumhotspot@aol.com with details about who you are, and what organization(s) you are affiliated with.

Lastly, GNB, Rock The Reactors and FUSE USA have been invited to table during EcoFest Sunday, September 30th at Lincoln Center. We encourage all Green Anti-Nuclear Folk to plan on attending this late September Earth Friendly spectacular in New York City.

Benny Zable Climbs Monteverde

I picked up Australian anti-nuclear performance artist Benny Zable at the Peekskill train station on Sunday morning. We headed off to the Bear Mountain Powwow in Harriman State Park to deliver a message from Harold One Feather who is attending the Southeast Convergence for Climate Action before coming up North to join the new FUSA USA coalition.

Benny took his peaceful earth flag inside the prayer circle... while I met some wonderful people, like Tchin and Sealy... and discovered the book Indian Tribes of the Hudson's River published by Hope Farm Press & Bookshop in Saugerties, NY.

We got lost a few times on the way there and back... all these tall trees, all these winding roads... but we made it back in time to meet up with an artist/documentary film maker who has asked for anonymity and Heyoka magazine publisher John LeKay at the Peekskill Coffeehouse. Sherwood Martinelli, of Green Nuclear Butterfly, joined us.

The Rock The Reactors poster I had placed in the window earlier in the day had been pulled down, and the flyers I had left by the door were all gone. We suspect friends of Entergy go around Peekskill systematically removing anti-nuclear literature from public view.

We headed off to Indian Point hoping to find an appropriate place for a vigil... a few people in Buchanan saw our short caravan drive towards the plant with bumper stickers clearly stating our point of view. By the time we got to the guard house, they knew we were coming.

What I did not realize, since I had not physically been to the plant since April 2006 when I photographed Betcee May... I try to stay as far away from Indian Point as possible... is they extended the perimeter with brand new barbwire fencing, Guantanamo Bay deja vu, the domes barely visible from the road. There was no place to shoot with a good view in the background, so we decided to look for another vantage point.

Someone suggested this restaurant on the hill which I did not know called Monteverde, meaning green mountain, in the Town of Cortlandt. I couldn't beleive the vista... the eerie sense of pending doom in the valley below, the irrepressible noise of freight trains... and yet... Monteverde is the home of a Yoga and Spa center, which won Best of Westchester award for "Most Transcendental Facial."

The next day I called and asked the receptionist, how does it feel to do yoga on this beautiful lawn, with a nuclear power plant in the background? She said: "People who come here to do yoga really don't want to think about negative environmental issues." So I contacted Yoga and Global Activism to see if perhaps they'd be interested in hosting an event on Monteverde at Oldstone Manor's grounds.

A recent review of the restaurant put it this way: "The carefully positioned trees on the left of the property hide a view of the Indian Point nuclear power plant on this side of the river. The land would be great if Amtrak didn’t run right next to it every few minutes. On the other side of the river there is a freight train line that runs less often, but is usually even louder."

We weren't allowed to enjoy the view for very long... The managing director asked us to leave... so we regrouped at a kayak landing for a wonderful sunset... finished the evening in Peekskill at Ruben's Cafe, Governor Pataki's favorite Mexican restaurant.

But not everybody loves living in Peekskill, as expressed by this, if somewhat funny, rather depressing video on YouTube. Seems there's always an underbelly... Despite this, looking through the official Peekskill website, I see a warm and thriving community, doing its best while living in the constant specter of impending doom. It's interesting to note that I could not find a single mention of Entergy or Indian Point on the website, in either the press releases or the 145 pages of photographs. The elephant is in the room, and yet nobody pays attention to it.

I left Benny in Sherwood's good care and bid everybody farewell... On Monday morning, when Benny called to check in with the EcoFest office in New York, he was told they had received an anonymous threatening phone call... All the caller said, in an intimidating tone, was: "So, EcoFest is involved with Indian Point now, hey?" and hung up.

Nothing like hundreds of Union Workers standing guard around Peekskill and Buchanan making sure nobody gets out of line... Little do they know, their families, their children, their friends, are all suffering the effects of low dose radiation... every new day that goes by, we are all at great risk for allowing Entergy, NRC and the political leaders in the state of New York to take such risk and liberty with the lives of millions, for just the sake of a few electrons more we can easily make up with conservation and Light Emitting Diode bulbs.

Shame on you Hudson Valley, for failing to shut down Indian Point over so many years... It takes a man from Australia to ring your wake up bell? Get it together for Pete sake. Shut that sucker down! Screw the independent safety assessment and the relicensing period. Just demand the plant closed... now, before we're all sorry... The USA is still a democracy... use it before you lose it... what are you waiting for... Isn't that what you all elected John Hall for?

Benny Zable Indian Point Overnight Vigil ~ Aug 5th & 6th

Join us in front of Indian Point
Buchanan, NY
August 5th & 6th
for an overnight vigil!

In solidarity with his nuclear free campaigners in the USA, Benny Zable Australian peace and environmental performance artist is available for photo opportunities outside the Indian Point Nuclear Reactor during an overnight vigil 5th and 6th August Hiroshima day commemorations.

Friday the core of the new nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights in Australia collapsed.

US President Bush and Australian Prime Minister Howard are to sign a Global Nuclear Energy Partnership deal during the APEC meeting in Sydney.

Good time to meet to talk .

Benny Zable

bennyzable@hotmail.com

http://www.bennyzable.com

You can reach Benny at:

West Side Cultural

212-496-2030

Alice Slater

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

446 E. 86 St.
New York, NY 10028

212-744-2005

646-238-9000 (cell)

aslater@rcn.com

http://www.wagingpeace.org