Our is that Nucular?

A new centrifuge facility was formally opened on Friday at the Resende nuclear plant in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The Brazilian government says its technology is some of the most advanced in the world.

The official opening follows lengthy negotiations with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.

They claim the type of centrifuge in use at Resende will be 25 times more efficient than facilities in France or the United States.

Fire up the F-117s! Brazil might send their super-effecient centrifuges to, Venezuela… who might then send them to Iran! Who might send them to North Korea and China and Russia and Syria and and and…

Or maybe they’re just doing it to supplement their energy requirements. Naw… that’d be too simple.

From the guys who gave you… I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die back in 1967.

We now get Cakewalk to Baghdad. Lyrics here.

If this chorus doesn’t get stuck in your head for the rest of the day….

Next we’re gonna cakewalk into Teheran,
Gonna cakewalk to Damascus and Pyong-yin-yang
When we strut on in,
Everybody’s gonna cheer
They’ll be wavin’ old glory,
We’ll have kegs of beer, just like that…

….

Do you think we’ll see those Bush boys patrollin’ the streets
Like our soldiers got to do in Basram and Tikrit?
We gonna see Richard Perle cakewakin’ ’round
The streets and alleys of Baghdad town?

Cakewalk to Baghdad,
Cakewalk to Baghdad

Easy to cakewalk in … not so easy to cakewalk out.

And to snap you back into reality:

Iraqis attack British troops after Helicopter crash

Our new Conservative Government has apparently delivered major cuts to Energy Saving programs offered by the Feds.

Among the best known is the Energuide program, in which Canadians who have their homes renovated to save energy can qualify for a federal grant of several thousand dollars. About 300,000 people [including me] have used the program since its start in the late 1990s.

Energuide has had its budget slashed by $227 million over the next five years. Groups that run the program say it will be a shadow of its former self and a lot fewer people will be able to take advantage of it

….
There’s also a similar Energuide program for low-income households. Its entire budget of more than $550 million is cut, meaning that program is now gone.

But Fear Not!

the government is developing its own environmental plan, which will be announced later this year.”

Hooray for the Conservatives, proving once again they really care about the Environment, citizens, and the poor…. or not.

I can’t believe it… I’m going to have to phone the Feds, and the Energuide company that I’ve already payed $100 to come assess my house, to see if I will still qualify. If not, that’s potentially $3000 down the drain.

Oh… but wait… I get $1200 a year (before taxes) to pay for my childcare… that is.. if I could find a daycare space to put my child in.

Hooray!
:hmm:

My apologies to my Albertan friends, but this is just too obvious to pass up. Our new Prime Minister, with the majority of his support coming from the Canadian “Oil Patch”… cuts Energy Savings programs intended to reduce consumption of fossil fuels?

Call it a conspiracy theory if you want… I call it a convenient coincidence.

Dear Editors of the Alberni Valley Times and the Vancouver Sun,

Blustery speeches and heart-felt complaints are all well and good, but they don’t get us very far. At the Public forum held by the Save Our Valley Alliance on May 4 in Port Alberni, I felt there was little in the way of a proposed way forward, of proposed action. There was, however, general consensus on one thing; Only the Government of BC can force the Forest Companies to change. It must be convinced to take the lead and change the laws so that companies no longer have carte-blanche when it comes to forest practices and log exports in our province. It is clear what the Liberal Government thinks of SOVAs action so far, and while a trip to the Legislature would be helpful, one day of protest on the Lawn would likely do little to change their minds.

It is time that SOVA joined forces with other groups… native, environmental, union, and others… across the Island, and around BC. We have a strong alliance of interest groups on this issue. What’s more, the citizens of BC have the leverage. These trees grow on our land. They grow around our communities. They use our roads. The common Union tactic would favor rotating strikes… the common Native or Environmentalist tactic would favor a roadblock. Perhaps it is time for rotating roadblocks, manned by Union members, Aboriginals, Environmentalists and other parties, at log sorts and active logging operations around the Island and the Province. If, after a few days, or weeks, that does not have the desired effect… then shut the whole forest down for a day, two days, a week. Yes, money will be lost and our own neighbours will be affected, but hey, in this town, a couple weeks layoff is par for the course. In the end, this is about sustainability and securing our future. This also ties into much larger issues like high gas prices, the proper use of railroads, climate change, and peak oil. If we the citizens of Port Alberni and British Columbia would like to have a real, sustainable future… then we must start by ensuring our own resources are managed in a responsible way. This is only the first step in building a sustainable future for our Province.

We have seen that, when faced with real pressure, this government will bend, and with a Loyal Opposition finally restored to the Legislature, the pressure will be that much greater. It is time to act. SOVA, and the Community of Port Alberni, have only just begun… we must take the lead in spreading this movement across the Island and Province wide.