The change we are

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Oct 152012
 

The change we are – by Tim Nonn

Social change is mysterious. Our hearts open to an interior rhythm that seems to pervade the universe. In the midst of brokenness and suffering, we feel an unexpected, almost sacred, wholeness. We want to gather together in the open because we sense that all of the things that have divided us up to now are somehow no longer relevant. We look into

 one another’s eyes. We embrace. We recognize ourselves in the stranger. We feel pulled by a hidden current toward an unknown future.
Our everyday lives are changing. It feels like we are carrying around a secret. We want to shout it from the rooftops, but we speak of it in whispers. How does one speak of a mystery without losing a sense of awe and wonder? Wherever we walk, we feel like we are moving toward an inevitable destination. Whatever we are doing, we feel like we are practicing our future in small ways. Whoever we are with, we feel like we are sharing in a belonging that is emerging in every moment.
It would be easier if we had simply changed, and that was it. But we are changing, and the uncertainty that accompanies change never leaves us. It is a burden. We can try to ignore it, and return to our lives as if nothing had changed or was changing. It won’t work. We can try to define the change, and create neat little categories for everything that is happening. It won’t work. Like a rain-swollen river, it will always sweep away everything that stands in its way. That includes the person we once thought we were. Who we are in the midst of social change is revealed only gradually. That it is more a matter of not knowing than knowing sometimes makes the burden of change unbearable.
Just when we feel that we have fallen into an abyss, what is sacred and true of the change we are part of opens up a way through the darkness of uncertainty, and we see its dim glow in the distance. It calls us forward. It is a pathless path. Love always is. It is always new, and it always demands a new response from us. Nothing will work other than the giving of our whole being. Wholeness calls to wholeness. Love calls to love. Both are within us. Both are shaping the change we are part of. Both are inevitable, indestructible and so very, very patient and kind.

City Council Candidate “Virtual Forum” (Temporary Page)

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Sep 292012
 

Welcome!

The Occupy Democracy Working Group of Occupy Petaluma has sent a survey to the candidates for Petaluma City Council to ensure that some of the major “Occupy” concerns are addressed within that race.

The candidates were asked to respond by October 10.  Please check back shortly after that date to view their answers.

The questions cover the following topics:

1. Goals and Objectives

2. Campaign Finance

3. Positive Campaigns

4. Mid-term Vacancies

5. Land Use

6. Shollenberger Park

7. Localizing the Economy

8. Drones in Petaluma

9. The Occupy Movement

Fukushima Response

 News  1 Response »
May 222012
 

We have convened a ‘Fukushima Response’ Campaign. Please contact John B. if you are interested in working on this vitally important issue - jobertu@gmail.com

http://enenews.com/gunter-international-effort-must-now-be-mounted-to-prevent-further-catastrophe-at-fukushima-japan-yet-to-ask-for-outside-help-video

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As part of a presentation in Kansai, Japan on May 12th 2012, Maggie and Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education answered specific questions asked by symposium organizers regarding the condition of the spent fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4. Fairewinds analyzes the explosion at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3. Also, Arnie discusses what the future may hold for Japan if it chooses a path without nuclear power.

Maggie Gundersen: Hello Mr. Hirose and hello people of Kansai.  I am Maggie Gundersen.  I am the President and the founder of Fairewinds Associates and the founding director of Fairewinds Energy Education non-profit.

I am here today with Arnie Gundersen, my husband, and Chief Engineer for Fairewinds Associates.  We are here today to talk to you about the triple meltdown at Fukushima-Daiichi.  We hope to answer all your questions.  I wish we could have joined you in person, but I thank you for watching this video and please send us any follow-up questions.  We will be happy to answer them.  Now let’s bring Arnie into this conversation.  Arnie, how dangerous is the situation now at Fukushima-Daiichi Unit 4, particularly in Japan with its continuous danger of earthquakes and seismic activity and chance for an additional tsunami.

Arnie Gundersen: Unit 4 has always been my biggest concern. If you watched our website on the very first week of the accident I was saying that if Unit 4 were to catch fire, you would have to evacuate Tokyo.  As a matter of fact the book that we wrote talks about that a lot.  It is really important and it remains the biggest concern that I have about the Fukushima site.  Unit 4 has more fuel in it than any of the other units in the complex, but more
importantly it has the most recently used nuclear fuel.  And all of that fuel is outside of the containment.  So that would make it dangerous enough.  Except that also, of course, Unit 4 has had a series of explosions and is weakened structurally.  Before it might have withstood a 7.5 earthquake.  I believe that the structural damage to Unit 4 is so great that if there is a 7.5 earthquake, it will not withstand it.

Here is what would happen if Unit 4 were to crack and the water were to drain out of the nuclear fuel pool.  The fuel is hot enough that it needs to be water-cooled.  If air is all there is cooling the fuel, it will burn.  It will burn the zircaloy cladding on the fuel, (and) will react with the oxygen to create a fire.  And it is a fire that once it starts, cannot be put out by water.  Water would make it worse.  So the nuclear fuel would have to burn completely before the fire would ever go out.

In the process, all that radiation would go up into the atmosphere and blow all over Japan and all over the world.

There is as much cesium in the fuel pool at Unit 4 as there was in all of the atomic bombs dropped in all of the tests in the 1940′s, the 1950′s, the 1960′s, and into the 1970′s.  All of the above ground testing has less cesium in it than is in the reactor pool at Fukushima 4 right now.  So it is a grave situation.  I don’t believe that the Japanese Government is moving fast enough.  If there is no earthquake, the plan to remove the fuel slowly is going to be adequate.  But we cannot wait on Mother Nature.  We have to quickly move that fuel out of that pool and onto the ground.  The key here is quickly.  The Japanese Government finally just this month came up with a plan to build a building around the fuel pool building and begin removing the fuel in 2013 or 2014.

I said that that is what they needed to do on the Fairewinds site in an interview with Chris Martenson a year ago. These things have been evident, but TEPCO is not moving fast enough and the Japanese Government is not pushing TEPCO to move fast enough either.  I think the top priority of TEPCO and the top priority of the Japanese Government should be to move the fuel out of that pool just as quickly as possible.  And in the meantime, they need to strengthen that pool to make sure that it can withstand an earthquake.  Remember, that pool is not in a containment.  You can look down in a satellite and see the nuclear fuel.  The roof is blown off.  And that is what makes it dangerous.

In America, we had the Brookhaven National Laboratory do a study to examine what would happen in a fuel pool fire.  Brookhaven National Labs determined that there would be 187,000 people who would develop cancer from a fuel pool fire.  It is a serious concern and I do not believe that Tokyo Electric and I do not believe that the Japanese Government is taking it seriously enough.  For the last year I have been working with Akio Matsumora and finally it appears that the world community is listening to Akio Matsumora’s concerns about the pool.  We need to tackle this as a concerned world community and encourage the Japanese Government and encourage Tokyo Electric to solve it quickly.

Maggie Gundersen: Arnie you mentioned cesium in your earlier discussion.  Why is it important?  What is the health effect of cesium and are there any other radioactive isotopes that would have been released during the triple meltdown?

Arnie Gundersen: Cesium is one of many radioactive isotopes that are created in a nuclear reactor.  It has got a 30 year half life which means that it hangs around for 300 years and biologically it mimics potassium.  You might remember that if you have a muscle cramp, you eat a banana and it goes to your muscles and relieves the cramp.  Well, cesium also goes to your muscles.  It is called a muscle seeker.  When it goes to your muscles, it can cause cancer, but it can also cause a variety of other illnesses.

The Brookhaven study only looks at cancer.  It does not look at all the other things that radioactive cesium can do.  In young children with rapidly developing muscles, especially their heart muscle, it can create something called Chernobyl Heart which is damage to the heart muscle, which once it is damaged, never ever recovers for the life of the child.  So cesium is just one of many isotopes, but it is relatively easy to measure and also biologically causes almost the most damage of any of the other isotopes that are in that reactor.

Maggie Gundersen: Arnie, you have said that you believe the explosion at Unit 3 was a prompt criticality.  What is a prompt criticality and why do you believe that?

Arnie Gundersen: I developed my concern about a prompt criticality because of the nature of the explosion in Unit 3. Unit 1, when it exploded,  blew sideways and with relatively low energy.  You can measure the rate at which it moves and it moves less than the speed of sound.  And that is called a deflagration.  It does not do anywhere near as much damage.  When I looked at the explosion on Unit 3, however, it was entirely different.  You can see it, it is not hard to see.  It is called a detonation.  The speed at which Unit 3 exploded was faster than the speed of sound.  And the important thing is not how Unit 3 exploded.  What is the most important thing is that it exploded with a detonation, not a deflagration.  The nuclear industry is not paying attention to this now, but it should be, because a nuclear containment can handle the slow moving deflagration, but it cannot handle the fast moving detonation.  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the international community are absolutely ignoring the fact that a detonation occurred in Unit 3.

See Fukushima Future tab on this site for the rest of this interview and more information.

FPZs Gallery

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Mar 222012
 
This gallery contains 1 photos
 Posted by Sonya

An Open Letter to the Occupy Movement

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Feb 202012
 
letter 2


This resolution was adopted by the Occupy Petaluma General Assembly and printed in the Petaluma Argus Courier on 2-16-2012.

The Occupy Movement is facing a defining moment as it responds to recent confrontations between Occupiers and police in several cities. If we hope to mature as a movement, and achieve the support of the majority of people who are suffering from economic inequality and the corruption of our democracy by the 1%, it is imperative at this critical juncture to reaffirm our commitment to nonviolence.

The vast majority of cities and towns in the Occupy Movement have adopted and steadfastly adhered to an agreement of nonviolence, but there has been a lack of clarity on and commitment to nonviolence by some general assemblies in the Occupy Movement. Therefore, to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of the movement, we urge every general assembly to adopt a resolution that affirms nonviolence.

Occupy Petaluma has passed a simple statement, which reads:

“Occupy Petaluma is committed to nonviolence and condones neither violence nor intentional acts of property destruction. We are resolved to express our grievances with the financial system, corporations and government through democratic means, including peaceful protest, creative nonviolent direct action and community building.”

Our commitment to nonviolence does not mean that we are blind to or condone the brutal, excessive and illegal use of force by police. We condemn municipal governments that attempt, often in collusion with federal authorities, to deny the Constitutional and human rights of people who are engaged in public acts of protest. While recognizing the complexity of this issue, we believe that the immoral and unlawful tactics sometimes employed by the police must never be used as a justification for an escalation of confrontation and tension that will inevitably lead to an erosion of public support for the Occupy Movement.

One of the greatest contributions that can be made by this movement is to break the cycle of violence through an enduring commitment to nonviolence. The state’s capacity for violence will always be superior to that of the governed. Only nonviolent actions render the state and the 1% powerless. We believe that the spirit of nonviolence in the Occupy Movement is the source of its strength, creativity and unity – and the only way we can achieve the full support of the 99%.

While recognizing the extraordinary diversity of perspectives in the Occupy Movement and the difficulty of achieving consensus on this issue, we believe that our solidarity will only mature through a common agreement on nonviolence. Uncritical solidarity with groups that engage in or refuse to condemn acts that depart from a commitment to nonviolence is a path toward disintegration not growth of the movement. Genuine solidarity arises from a shared respect for all life. This is the perspective from which nonviolence is manifested as a daily practice and strategy for the Occupy Movement.

Finally, at this critical juncture, we recommend that every city and town in the Occupy Movement, which has not already done so, affirm an agreement of nonviolence through the passage of a general assembly resolution. We recognize that in those locations where a consensus on nonviolence has not yet emerged, the majority of Occupiers have made numerous efforts to pass resolutions supporting nonviolence in their general assembly meetings. We applaud those efforts and hope that recent events will tip the scales in favor of nonviolent resolutions soon being passed in all locations nationwide.

As we work to dismantle structures of injustice and war, we strive to build what Martin Luther King Jr. called “the beloved community” through a common commitment to nonviolence. This commitment will allow the Occupy Movement to create a broad path of nonviolent social change for the millions of people who languish under a ruthless and corrupt economic and political system. Our vision of a broad path leading toward justice and peace will overcome the violence of a dying order by uniting people in a solidarity that reaches into every city, every neighborhood and every heart.

The Shame of Foreclosure

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Feb 112012
 

The shame of foreclosure is a stigma in our society that prevents us from uniting with our neighbors to end a crisis that is destroying our communities. This reality was driven home for me by two events that occurred this week.

The first event was a conversation with a very close friend of mine. He refused to put up a Foreclosure Prevention Zone sign in his front yard. He told me that he was afraid that his neighbors would think he was being foreclosed. Many people in Petaluma are putting these signs in their yards and windows. But I’m certain there are many more people like my friend who don’t want to be stigmatized as a victim of the foreclosure crisis, and would never consider displaying this sign. Ironically, my friend had contacted me several weeks ago to ask for help for a friend of his who was facing foreclosure. Through the intervention of Occupy Petaluma, his friend’s home was saved after the bank agreed to modify the mortgage. I was saddened and perplexed that my friend was unable to make the connection between our work to save people’s homes and the need to publicly stand in solidarity with our neighbors who are facing foreclosure. His feeling of shame at the idea of being stigmatized by putting a sign in his yard was too powerful to overcome – even though he realized it may help his neighbors in distress. I have to admit that I felt angry and judgmental toward my friend. While I want to let go of these unkind feelings and reconcile with my friend, this event has allowed me to understand the depth of shame that prevents us from becoming a community of compassion in a time when economic inequality and the suffering of our neighbors is tearing apart the fabric of our society.

The second event was a visit to my old house, which was foreclosed after I lost my job and my wife’s business went bankrupt. I hadn’t been back there for more than a year. It was a traumatic experience. On Wednesday, I received a call from a producer at NBC Nightly News. They wanted to interview me about the foreclosure fraud settlement between the banks and government. (It is a sham – a legal fig leaf on a monumental injustice!) While I was waiting at my old house for the news crew to arrive, memories of happier times flooded back. I remembered watering the plants and flowers in the front yard. I remembered watching my wife help our son learn to ride his first bike on the street in front of our house. I remembered the time a disoriented turkey flew up on our roof while my son and I watched in surprise and delight. The memories were overwhelming, and even though I thought that I had already healed from the trauma of losing our home, by the time the news crew arrived I was close to tears. When they began filming, I broke down. It was embarrassing the next day to watch myself crying on national television knowing that many people were watching me during this vulnerable moment. The shame of foreclosure had once again entrapped me, and I wanted to withdraw from the work at Occupy Petaluma to save people’s homes. I wanted to hide. In the last few days, I have felt raw and drained as I try to cope with the pain of these feelings.

The shame of foreclosure is a very powerful force. It keeps us isolated. It keeps us divided. It keeps us trapped in guilt and fear. There is much more going on in the foreclosure crisis than the staggering statistics of loss and the indefensible lack of justice in this tragedy. These things cannot tell the whole story. We will never understand the tragedy of this crisis unless we are willing to listen to the voices of those who are suffering from the shame of foreclosure. Millions of people in our country are living on a daily basis with shame. There is the shame of being foreclosed. There is the shame of participating in the illegal and immoral practice of foreclosing people’s homes. And there is the shame of living in denial about the suffering of our neighbors who are being foreclosed. We could solve the foreclosure crisis and still remain divided as communities unless we understand that the shame of foreclosure affects all of us — and together let go of the shame.

On Sunday, February 19th, we will begin the weekly “Vigil for Our Neighbors in Foreclosure” at Walnut Park in downtown Petaluma. The vigil, which will be held from 2:00-3:00 pm, will include a time of silence and an opportunity to share our stories about being foreclosed or witnessing neighbors being foreclosed.

I hope these vigils will plant the seeds of reconciliation in our community so we can unite to overcome the shame of foreclosure. Wall Street, the banks and the government cannot do this work for us. We cannot overcome this shame and reconcile with one another alone as individuals. We can only do it together as a community. It is an extraordinary challenge. Only our courage to reach out in compassion to one another will ultimately allow us to overcome the foreclosure crisis and the shame associated with it. Our silent and spoken witness in the vigils will be testimony of our belief that we have the capacity and determination to become a community of compassion.

The Dangers of Denial about the Foreclosure Crisis

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Feb 012012
 

Most people who are facing foreclosure and eviction wait too long to reach out for help. They — like many of the 20 million American homeowners whose mortgages are underwater — are living in denial about the foreclosure crisis. They feel helpless and powerless. Today I learned that a long-time member of my own church in Petaluma is facing eviction.

She is a caring, funny, kind, 68-year-old woman who has spent her life helping other people. But she kept the foreclosure a secret, and now, it’s probably too late to save her home. I know what she has been going through. I kept my home’s foreclosure a secret from the same pastor and church members for a year in 2010. After the Occupy Movement came along last year, I found my voice, and I’m now working with a wonderful group of people in Northern California to keep people in their homes. Please don’t wait until it’s too late to reach out for help if you are unable to make your mortgage payments or are facing foreclosure. We have only helped a few people stay in their homes since we organized the “Foreclosure Prevention Zone” a month ago. But we can’t help you if you don’t reach out to us. About 3 million homeowners will face foreclosure in 2012 — and it’s preventable! We must unite and find our voices to stop this tragegy from destroying more lives and our communities. Don’t live in denial another day. You can find your voice like I did, and even more importantly, you can join a community of compassionate people who will support you in your struggle to stay in your home. Click on the “Foreclosure Crisis” tab for more information and how to contact us.

 

Vigil for Our Neighbors in Foreclosure

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Jan 272012
 

“Vigil for Our Neighbors in Foreclosure” on Sunday, February 19th from 2:00-3:00 pm at Walnut Park in downtown Petaluma (D St. & Petaluma Blvd. So.).

The vigil will be a regular weekly event for people facing foreclosure and eviction and for homeowners whose mortgages are underwater. We will gather together to share our stories and discuss solutions. We hope these vigils will raise awareness about the destructive effects of the foreclosure crisis on our community. Please join us on February 19, and every Sunday thereafter, as we express solidarity and compassion with our neighbors in distress.

Teach-in on Foreclosure Crisis

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Jan 222012
 

ESTABLISHING SONOMA COUNTY AS A “FORECLOSURE PREVENTION ZONE”

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 – 7:00pm-9:00pm

Arlene Francis Center, 99 6th St., Santa Rosa, CA

Occupy Petaluma and Occupy Santa Rosa are holding a “Teach-In” to explore with citizens of Sonoma County how to collaborate in establishing Sonoma County as a “Foreclosure Prevention Zone.”

In Sonoma County, from 2008 to 2012, there have been over 20,000 foreclosures with a home value loss of over $8.4 billion. Our local governments have lost more than $200 million in tax revenues due to the housing crisis.

“The foreclosure crisis is a crime scene that is wrecking Sonoma County,” says Occupy Petaluma member Tim Nonn. “We need to come together as communities to demand principal and interest rate reductions for every mortgage that is underwater.”

Today, an estimated 29% of all homes with mortgages are underwater. A total of 14 million homes may be foreclosed on from 2007 to the end of the crisis – one in every four mortgages! With foreclosures increasing, a growing imbalance of supply and demand is driving down home prices and driving up rents.

One in five U.S. foreclosures is in California. From 2008 to 2012, nearly 2 million homeowners in California have lost their homes to foreclosure with a home value loss of over $630 billion. Nation-wide, local governments have lost more than $17 billion in tax revenues due to the housing crisis.

This week the federal government proposed a sell-off of foreclosed homes to large investment firms, instead of finding a way to keep Americans in their homes.

Speakers: Tim Nonn, Foreclosure Prevention Specialist of Occupy Petaluma, and Real Estate Broker CJ Holmes will propose solutions to keep homeowners in their homes and to establish Sonoma County as a “Foreclosure Prevention Zone.”

“We must move very quickly and make a huge ruckus,” says speaker CJ Holmes. “If we allow Hedge Funds to get their hands on our homes at these current depressed prices, the billions the 1% already took from us 99% will be peanuts in comparison.”

Related articles from CNBC:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45925851/

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45945390

California delegation asks Pres. Obama to address the foreclosure crisis more aggressively

 Uncategorized  1 Response »
Jan 202012
 

Over 10 million mortages in the U.S. are underwater and 1 million homeowenrs face foreclosure this year. Now, the 50 Attorneys General are cutting a backroom deal with the big banks and Wall Street investors to protect the banks and investors from prosecution for foreclosure fraud. The foreclosure crisis is a crime scene — and the federal government is giving a free pass to the criminals who created it and are profiting from it.

The California delegation wants a stronger approach from the Obama Administration that helps homeowners stay in their homes and reduces the principal on mortgages that are underwauter. Demand justice, not backroom deals! Contact the White House and your senators and congressional representatives. Tell them to listen to the voices of homeowners who are suffering from Wall Street greed.

http://lofgren.house.gov/images/stories/1.19.12%20Ltr%20to%20Pres%20Meeting%20Request.pdf

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/foreclosure-settlement-talks_n_1214782.html

 

 

 

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