Have a Sphongly weekend, folks!

Shpongle is a downtempo/ambient psychedelic trance (or psybient) project from the United Kingdom. The core members are Simon Posford (aka Hallucinogen) and Raja Ram (one third of The Infinity Project), but they often collaborate with other artists. Their sound has sampled Eastern ethnic instruments and Western contemporary synthesizer-based psychedelic music. Posford is responsible for the synth and studio work while Raja Ram contributes with flute arrangements. The project was formed in 1996 after the pair viewed a solar eclipse in India. The two went into the studio and attempted to duplicate the experience in sonic form, and the result was a 20-minute track, "...And the Day Turned to Night," which was featured on Shpongle's first album Are You Shpongled? and the Twisted label compilation Eclipse - A Journey Of Permanence & Impermanence.

Shpongle is not a dictionary-recognized word; in an interview taking place in Russia, Raja Ram stated that Shpongle is an umbrella term for feeling positive and euphoric emotions.

Shpongle's first track, "Vapour Rumours", was released on TIP Records' Infinite Excursions compilation in 1996. Their debut album, Are You Shpongled?, was released 1998 on Twisted Records. Their latest album, Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland, was released on 28 November 2009.

[Source: Wikipedia; suggested by Paik Yin]

Rio Tinto = RDA = Killers of the Sacred Tree

Jabiluka's sacred power 'must never be disturbed'

Mirarr elder Yvonne Margarula says her people are ‘‘deeply saddened’’ uranium from their land has been exported to Japanese nuclear power companies. Photo: Glenn Campbell

Lindsay Murdoch | The Age
April 7, 2011

IN THE Dreaming of the Mirarr people of Kakadu, a sacred, dangerous power called the Djang is unleashed when disturbed on their land.

Senior traditional leader Yvonne Margarula says her late father Toby Gangale warned the Australian government in the late 1970s the Djang ''might kill all over the world'' if disturbed at Ranger, a uranium mine that was built in Kakadu National Park despite opposition from traditional owners.

''No one listened,'' she said.


Now Ms Margarula says her people are ''deeply saddened'' that uranium from their land at Ranger has been exported over more than 30 years to Japanese nuclear power companies, including one operating the stricken Fukushima plant.

The Mirarr have declared they want the multibillion-dollar Jabiluka uranium deposit on their land to remain undeveloped and be incorporated into the world heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.

Ms Margarula and 30 other adults and about 40 children in her clan could be among Australia's richest people if they allowed Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) to develop Jabiluka, which was halted in 1998 after an eight-month blockade by 5,000 protesters.

The 72-square-kilometre mineral lease site containing 141,640 tonnes of uranium is one of the world's largest known undeveloped uranium deposits.


ERA, which is 68 per cent owned by Rio Tinto, is eager to mine the high-grade deposit worth $18.5 billion at current spot prices.

In a rare interview in Jabiru, a town near the Ranger mine and Jabiluka deposit, Ms Margarula told The Age she never wants to see Jabiluka disturbed.

''I am really happy about [the prospect of] it becoming part of the national park so my nephews and nieces can look after the country and I will never again see big clouds of smoke and dust on the other side of the hill while the rocks, the escarpments are destroyed,'' she said.

In a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week, Ms Margarula said it was ''with great sadness'' the Mirarr learned of the suffering of the Japanese people following the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear emergency.

''I am writing to you to convey our solidarity and support with all those people across the world who see in the events at Fukushima a dire warning of the risks posed by the nuclear industry,'' Ms Margarula wrote.

''This is an industry that we have never supported in the past and that we want no part of into the future,'' she wrote.

''We are all diminished by the awful events now unfolding at Fukushima … I urge you to consider our viewpoint in your deliberations with governments in relation to the Fukushima emergency and the nuclear industry in general.''


Ms Margarula, a shy, softly spoken elder, told The Age her people had decided they wanted the federal government to support the incorporation of Jabiluka into Kakadu as it has for another uranium mining area at Koongarra, near the world famous Nourlangie Rock.

Jeffery Lee, the sole member of the Djok clan and traditional custodian of the land, offered Koongarra to the government, shunning the chance to become a billionaire, saying he is happy to work there as a park ranger.

[Forwarded by Hari Ho]

"Why did you turn your back on SUCCESS?"

A few years ago an internet movie called The Secret got lots of people buzzing about "the Law of Attraction." It spawned a slew of seminars, workshops and spin-off merchandise. Among these was Bob Proctor's "Science of Getting Rich" program. Somebody who must love me a lot decided to purchase the package on my behalf and lure me into the adrenaline-charged world of supersalesmanship.

To me it was just another multilevel marketing scheme (or scam, depending on your timing and innate talent as a hustler). I decided to give it a go, and even created a blog to promote the Science of Getting Rich - but, alas, my enthusiasm didn't last more than six months. This final blogpost was published on my now-abandoned "Secret Science" blog on 7 October 2007. It stands as a permanent testimony of my lifelong unbelief in "all that glitters"...

This is it, folks. Here's where I get off!


Much as I appreciate M's efforts to initiate me into his high-flying world of supercharged entrepreneurship and his dream of unbounded success, I realize - having attended Bob Proctor's launch of the SGR program in Malaysia - it's not my scene. I look around at the people who are drawn to these events and seminars - and, although I can sense the good intentions in all of them, I can't help seeing them as a flock of seagulls, constantly thinking about fish... fish... and more fish.

So I've been seriously contemplating deleting this blog. But perhaps there are a few items in here some of you may find useful, so I've decided to keep it online. However, this is my final blogpost. I won't be updating Secret Science from now on.

Let's just say I've checked out Bob Proctor's Science of Getting Rich program and it's not something I can feel passionate about. No doubt it's an impressively packaged portable seminar, and some people have put an incredible amount of effort into getting it in the market.

The study materials are extremely well designed and of high quality - and it certainly does a good job promoting the Law of Attraction as a way of life. However, for the techniques taught to really work, one has religiously apply the principles.

That's the rub. I'm not a religious person and am, in fact, averse to religions.

I've spent the greater part of my life deprogramming myself from all belief systems. Why would I now choose to install another belief system - no matter what it calls itself - even if it promises me everything a human being could possibly desire in life?

I enjoy producing things: music, books, DVDs, great meals, whatever. But when it comes time to marketing myself and my products, I find it tedious in the extreme. Some people are just natural-born hustlers. Take M for instance: within three weeks of signing up for the SGR program he sold enough units - just by sending out a bunch of emails - to recoup whatever he paid plus at least an additional $10,000 in pure profits.

M the self-made multi-millionaire is surrounded by high-flyers like himself who wouldn't hesitate to fork out $2,000 - just to bring a smile to his face! And that's because the majority of his friends are inclined to spend a lot more than $2,000 on a weekend of fun - whether flying to Costa Rica for a tan or Phuket for a massage.

I believe in live and let live. It's purely an aesthetic choice that I'm attracted to what's natural rather than what's artificial. For example, I value getting a warm greeting from a stranger because he or she likes my aura; I'd sense it immediately if they smiled at me only because they can see I'm a big spender.

I've never traveled first-class in my entire life. First of all, I've never worked for a big corporation long enough for them to send me on a business trip; and I've always believed in living frugally. Even with a billion bucks in my bank account, I'd hesitate paying $10 for a cup of coffee in a branded location when I know I can get an even better cup of coffee 200 yards down the street for $1.

My daughter just returned from a vacation at an exclusive beach resort in the Philippines where she paid $15 for a glass of orange juice. Deep down in my heart, I know that this sort of lifestyle is out of whack with the natural universe. It leaves too large an ecological footprint and perpetuates a socioeconomic hierarchy wherein rank is acquired through financial status. I've seen how extremely rich people spoil their kids who can't help growing up as brats. Some remain brats their entire life - just look at Dubya.

Some of my friends tell me they have a plan: they'll work themselves to the bone for 10 years and make a huge pile. Then they can be free to master their own destinies and help everybody around them, set up charitable foundations, and so on. Hate to say this, folks, but that's a total fantasy ungrounded in reality.

The energy system is a closed loop. The more you pile on your plate the less remains on the table for those who haven't arrived for dinner. You believe in infinite abundance, you tell yourself; more food will soon be delivered from the kitchen, so there's plenty where that came from. Well, this may be true - but only up to a point.

The overfed are often undernourished in other areas of their being. Those who are out there grabbing as much money as they can while they can usually don't have enough time to sit down and engage in intelligent conversation. And when they're on vacation they just want to put their feet up, order a champagne bucket, and admire the view - they don't want to discuss heavy topics (like how come the IAEC has never been allowed to inspect Israel's nuclear arsenal or who orchestrated the 9/11 false flag operation and subsequent cover-up).

Lack is the shadow side of greed. So Bono and Sting with all their money can afford to play philanthropists and world-saviors, establishing foundations to preserve the rainforests or feed the war orphans. Bill Gates can pump millions into subsidizing the pharmaceutical companies so Africans can afford AIDS medication. There are days when I think this sort of lifestyle would really suit me. Hell, I'd love to be David Bowie for two or three months!

However, just about every problem you see around you is the result of human egotism, greed, and insensitivity. Empires are built by individuals consumed with megalomaniac visions and endowed with monomaniacal determination bordering on religious fervor. Such individuals may be admirable in their own way - but few are known for their wisdom. Becoming enlightened and living consciously doesn't require that you be a member of the Billionaires Club. Indeed, it gets harder and harder to feel empathy when you're too well padded and insulated from raw reality.

This is why I'm not over-the-moon about the phenomenal success of Rhonda Byrne's movie, The Secret, and the growing popularity of her book. The message, simply put, is just too glossy.

Anyway, I've rambled on enough. I just wanted to conclude this blog with a final message - but to go any deeper into the subject would require a 50,000-word essay. Even if I did write that essay, the ones who really ought to read it probably never will, simply because my name isn't Deepak Chopra. But, as they say at McDonald's, "Have a nice eternity!"

Water Crystal Magick: healing our emotional body through water consciousness

I received the announcement below from several friends but didn't note the date. Well, it's already past the stipulated time but being conscious of water and how it relates to our emotional body is always a good practice...

"Let's send our thoughts of love and gratitude to all water in the nuclear plants in Fukushima..."

Day and Time:

March 31st, 2011 (Thursday)
12:00 noon in each time zone

Please say the following phrase:

"The water of Fukushima Nuclear Plant, we are sorry to make you suffer. Please forgive us. We thank you, and we love you."

Please say it aloud or in your mind. Repeat it three times as you put your hands together in a prayer position. Please offer your sincere prayer.

Thank you very much from my heart.

With love and gratitude,
Masaru Emoto
Messenger of Water
AHO, Grandmother Whitedeer

Being conscious of WATER is particularly helpful in the process of our emotional healing. While some places are experiencing severe drought, others are getting flooded. Clearly, the earth's emotional body is out of balance - because the majority of humans are suffering from an emotional plague which blocks them from authentic feeling.

WATER is an important key to the mystery of life itself. Don't take it for granted! And, remember, your own body is at least 72% water!

A damn good reason to boot Najis & BN out!

Nuclear power, apart from nuclear war, is the greatest medical threat posed to life on this planet. In fact, 95% of the total nuclear waste in the United States has been generated by nuclear power plants.


Nuclear waste will last for 500,000 years, and there is no safe means to prevent these radioactive elements from entering and concentrating in the food chain. These elements, which are tasteless, odorless and invisible, are highly carcinogenic and mutagenic. Over time, they will induce epidemics of cancer and leukemia. This is particularly true for children, who are 10 to 20 times more radiosensitive than adults, and are therefore much more susceptible to cancer.


The nuclear waste will also induce epidemics of genetic diseases and congenital abnormalities in humans (as well as in animals and plants) for the rest of time. This is rather like a process of random compulsory genetic engineering.

~ From an interview with Dr Helen Caldicott, author of The New Nuclear Danger

Najib Razak's cabinet consists of arrogant assholes who strut around in expensive suits and get chauffeured around in sleek autos. With nothing but money and power and unwholesome sex on their puny minds, they are the worst qualified to call themselves leaders - and yet these ignorant, contemptible twits are allowed to make multi-billion-ringgit decisions that will determine your future and that of your descendants.

Are you going to shrug and say: "Aiyah, what to do? The world is like that lah. Just shut up and think about where your next meal is coming from..."? Or do you get off your butt, register to vote, and boot these incorrigible criminals out of power?

Anwar the Unstoppable...

... because he personifies the people's intensifying desire to see an end to criminal misrule under the incurable Dr M, the ruthless Daim Zainuddin, and their vile legacy of arrogant, cynical, corrupt cronyism and despotism!





Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's 7th prime minister, is destined to usher in a new era of democracy in Malaysia, with fresh faces, new blood and renewed dedication. More power to Pakatan Rakyat!





[First posted 29 March 2011]

Farewell, Valum Votan, Arcturian Emissary!

José Argüelles aka Valum Votan, Arcturian Emissary & Earth Wizard
(24 January 1939 - 23 March 2011)

According to the Foundation for the Law of Time, Arcturian Emissary Valum Votan (José Argüelles) "departed this Planet on Solar Moon 17 (March 23 2011), Red Spectral Moon, at 6:10 a.m. (the exact same time he was born in 1939 in the Red Spectral Moon year)."

"After a short illness, he slipped away in complete peace. We are asking for those who loved him to hold a synchronized vigil and/or ceremony on his behalf at noon (Pacific Standard Time) on Solar Moon 19, Kin 91. Send him your prayers, light and blessings to continue his spirit journey - and also visualize the rainbow bridge and the Return of Light."

We are saddened to report his passing, but his influence and his message lives on through his teachings. Though this galactic guide is no longer with us on the material plane, his presence will continue to guide us through the turning of the cycle and leaves us with one final message: "EVERYTHING IS PERFECT!!! Love everyone. Hate no one. God bless everyone."

Planet Art Network

Argüelles co-founded the Planet Art Network (PAN) with Lloydine in 1983 as an autonomous, meta-political, worldwide peace organization engaging in art and spirituality. Active in over 90 countries, PAN upholds the Nicholas Roerich Peace Pact and Banner of Peace, symbolizing "Peace Through Culture".

The Planet Art Network operates as a network of self-organized collectives, centralized by a shared focus of promoting the worldwide adoption of Argüelles' Dreamspell 13-Moon/28 day Calendar. The network upholds the slogan "Time is Art", suggesting that time is a vehicle for our creative experience, instead of the familiar saying "Time is Money".

On 6 August 1996 I wrote José Argüelles a letter c/o Barbara Hand Clow of Bear & Co, publisher of his paradigm-shifting books:

Dear Uncle Joe,

There seems to be a 7-year lag in operation here. I only got round to reading The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology in 1994 - and Surfers of the Zuvuya only came my way a few months ago. I made an attempt to phone you but the number given at the back of Mayan Factor was obviously only good before August 1987.

I just re-read Surfers - and felt compelled to send you some material very much inspired by your amazing work. I hope you receive it in due course and that it will give you a friendly ego massage.

You have my wholehearted admiration and applause for coming up with concepts like Harmonic Convergence, Campaign for the Earth and Planet Art Network. Absolutely spot on! Precisely what I've been working on since my own awakening in 1969.

May we soon meet on the Zuvuya, so I can personally give you the Mayan salute. Even better, if you ever find yourself drifting in this bioregional direction, fax or phone or write me at Magick River - and enjoy special hospitality from the Ceremonial Guardian himself.

From the bottom of the One Heart (thank you, Solara) - Galactic Greetings from an Earth-based Antarean.

Om'ta ku oyasin and Evam maya e ma ho!

[Thanks, Mel, for alerting me to Jose's departure. He was indisputably one of the greatest visionaries of all time.]

FURTHER RESEARCH

Foundation for the Law of Time

Earth Wizards & Surfers of the Zuvuya

The Mayan Zuvuya Calendar

Empathy transcends tragedy in Japan

[This is from an email forwarded by Monika Wyss... thanks, Monika!]

Last night when I was walking home (since all traffic had stopped), I saw an old lady at a bakery shop. It was totally past their closing time, but she was giving out free bread. Even at times like this, people were trying to find what they can do and it made my heart warm.

In the supermarket, items had fallen off the shelves and people were picking up and putting things back neatly, and then quietly standing in line to buy food. Instead of creating panic and buying as much as needed, they bought as little as they needed. I was proud to be a Japanese.

While I was trudging home for four hours, I saw a lady holding a sign that said, "Please use our toilet." They were opening their house for people to go to the restroom. I felt tears welling up.

At Disneyland they were giving out candies. High school girls were taking so many. I was dismayed. But then the next minute, they ran over to the children in an evacuation center and handed it to them. That was a sweet gesture.

My co-worker wanted to help somehow, even if it was just one person. So he wrote a sign: "If you're okay with motor cycle, I will drive you to your house." He stood in the cold with that sign. And then I saw him take one gentleman home, all the way to Tokorozawa! I was so moved. I felt like I wanted to help others too.

A high school boy was saved because he climbed up the roof of a department store during the flood. The flood came so suddenly. He saw people below him, trying to frantically climb up the roof and being taken by the flood. All he could do was keep filming them so their loved ones could later identify them. He still hasn't been able to reach his own parents but he says, "Its nobody's fault. There is no one to blame. We have to stay strong."

There is a shortage of gas now and many gasoline stations are either closed or have very long lines. I was worried, since I was behind 15 cars. Finally, when it was my turn, the man at the pump smiled and said, "Because of the situation, we are only giving $30 worth gas per each person. Is that all right?"

"Of course its all right. I'm just glad that we are able to share," I said. His smile gave me so much relief.

I saw a little boy talking to a public transit employee, saying, "Thank you so much for trying hard to run the train last night." It brought tears to the employee's eyes, and to mine.

A foreign friend told me that she was shocked to see a long queue form neatly behind one public phone. Everyone waited so patiently to use the phone even though everyone must have been so eager to call their families.

The traffic was horrible! Only one car could move forward at the green light. But everyone was driving so calmly. During the 10-hour drive (which would only take 30 minutes normally) the only hooting I heard was a horn of thank you. It was a fearful time -- but then again a time of warmth and it made me love Japan more.

When I was waiting at the platform, so tired and exhausted, a homeless person came to us and gave us a cardboard to sit on. Even though we usually ignore them in our daily life, they were ready to serve us.

Suntory (a fruit juice company) is giving out free drinks, phone companies are creating more wi-fi spots, 1,000,000 packets of noodles were distributed by a food company, and everyone is trying to help the best way they can. We, too, have to stand up and do our best.

Whenever there is a blackout, people are working hard to fix it. Whenever the water stops, there are people working to fix that too. And when there is problem with nuclear energy, there are people trying to fix that too. It doesn't just fix itself. While we are waiting to regain the heat in the cold temperature or have running water, there are people risking their lives to fix it for us.


An old woman on a train said: "Blackouts are no problem for me. I am used to saving electricity and turning off lights. At least, this time we don't have bombs flying over our heads. I'm willing to happy to shut off my electricity!" Everyone around nodded their agreement.

When I grow older, I am going to tell my children and grandchildren: "When your grandma was young, there was a big earthquake in Japan which brought the world to one. And everyone worked so hard to help support each other and everyone was shining."

To be able to tell that story, I'm going to work hard in rebuilding my life.

In Korea, a Japanese man took a cab ride and when it was time to pay, the driver refused and said: "You are Japanese, yes?" Yes. "When you go back to Japan, please donate the fee." Beyond nationality or politics, we are all the same.

I saw a man at the evacuation center crying when people brought food to him. It was the first time in 3 days that the food had been delivered to their center. But his next words surprised me. "I am very grateful that we are provided with food. But, but, the city next to us they are not receiving any food at all. Please go to that center as well."


An old man at the evacuation shelter said, "What's going to happen now?" Then a pink-cheeked school boy sitting next to him said, "Don't worry! When we grow up, we promise to do things much better." While saying this, he was rubbing the old man's back. And when I was listening to that conversation, I felt hope. There is a bright future, on the other side of this crisis.

[Uplifting! After reading this, how can I whine about both my computers crashing? I even managed to post this, although the computer had to be rebooted three times.]

Scandalous images guaranteed to destroy the Opposition once and for all!

That's right, folks, those vile characters who lead Pakatan Rakyat have been caught picking their noses, farting in public, taking a crap, pissing their pants, and even wanking on Sundays and public holidays. Now that you have seen how scandalous Opposition leaders can be, you are left with no choice but to continue voting Barisan Najis forever, wakakakaka!

TISS OFF, "DATUK P"!

Fukushima far worse than Chernobyl

Multiples Worse Than Chernobyl
By Stephen Lendman
.
"In Japan, coverup and denial persist. In a March 18 press conference, Tokyo Electric's (TEPCO) spokesman claimed water-dousing lowered radiation levels from 312 microsieverts per hour to 289. However, 48 hours earlier, chief cabinet secretary Yukido Edano said radioactivity levels were misreported in microsieverts instead of millisieverts - 1,000 times stronger. Contrary to other reports, TEPCO's spokesman also said water remains in Unit 4's cooling pool. In fact, there's none. Nothing the company says is credible.


In contrast, distinguished nuclear expert Helen Caldicott called Fukushima an unprecedented "absolute disaster," multiples worse than Chernobyl. "The situation is very grim and not just for the Japanese people. If both reactors blow then the whole of the northern hemisphere may be affected. Only one (Chernobyl) reactor blew, and it was only three months old with relatively little radiation. (Fukushima's) have been operating for 40 years, and would hold about 30 times more radiation than Chernobyl." It killed nearly one million people and counting, according to the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS). Yet the official IAEA figure was 4,000. NYAS' report said:


"This is a collection of papers translated from the Russian with some revised and updated contributions. Written by leading authorities from Eastern Europe, the volume outlines the history of the health and environmental consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. According to the authors, official discussions from the (IAEA) and associated (UN) agencies (e.g. the Chernobyl reports) have largely downplayed or ignored many of the findingins reported in the Eastern European scientific literature and consequently have erred by not including these assessments."



In fact, IAEA and UN agencies lied, what's ongoing now on Fukushima to conceal the greatest ever environmental/human disaster by far. Calling it a "diabolical catastrophe," Caldicott, in fact, believes "(i)t could be much, much worse than" 30 multiples of Chernobyl. "In the northern hemisphere, many millions could get cancer." Large parts of Japan may be permanently contaminated, not safe to live in. Adding a hopeful note, she also thinks "the nuclear industry is finished worldwide. I have said before, unfortunately, the only thing that is capable of stopping this wicked industry is a major catastrophe, and it now looks like this may be it."



In a March 16 "Destroyer of Worlds" statement, she added: "The world is now paying - and will pay however severe Fukushima turns out to be - a grave price for the nuclear industry's hubris and the arrogance and greed that fueled their drive to build more and more reactors. What's more, having bamboozled gullible politicians, the media, and much of the public into believing that it is a 'clean and green' solution to the problem of global warming, the nuclear industry has operated facilities improperly, with little or no regard for safety regulations, and they have often done this with the connivance of government authorities." In fact, nuclear power isn't "clean and green," nor is it safe or renewable. "It is instead 'a destroyer of worlds.' It is time the globaly community repudiated it....There is no other choice for the sake of future generations" and planet earth. Humanity has a choice - nuclear power or life itself.

Read the entire bone-chilling story here.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be heard on the Progressive Radio News Hour.

Dictators love nuclear power (reprise)

[A cogent and well-written essay by An Engineer from The Malaysian Insider, 19 December 2010]


DEC 19 — I am not at all surprised that the Barisan Nasional government has decided to build a nuclear power plant. After all, despite what environmentalists might like to think, the primary case against nuclear power has always been its economics.

When you take into account the lifecycle cost of nuclear power — from feasibility to construction to operation and, finally, decommissioning — it is the most expensive conventional method of producing electricity.

Add to that the inherent risks of nuclear reactors, plus the still unresolved question of what to do with spent fuel, and it is no surprise that the nuclear power industry has seen some very tough times in the past three decades.


Over the past few years, however, high prices of oil, gas and coal, coupled with concerns with carbon dioxide and global warming, have given nuclear advocates a new lease of life. Under current conditions, provided we are prepared to ignore the safety and environmental contamination issues, it is possible to make a conceivable economic argument for nuclear power.

Nuclear power requires tremendous up-front investment followed by relatively low operating costs. Thus all you have to do is assume an unrealistically low interest rate and continually high prices for fossil fuels. Project these assumptions over decades and you can show that nuclear energy is less expensive than using fossil fuels. However, you must carefully avoid all comparisons of nuclear with renewable energy — hydro, wind, solar and biomass — which are undoubtedly superior in terms of economics, safety and environmental protection.

Paradoxically, the characteristics of nuclear power so feared by its critics — enormous capital cost, open-ended escalation clauses and the oligopolistic nature of the industry — makes it a very attractive proposition for corrupt practices, provided you can ride roughshod over the opposition. This is exactly what happened in the Philippines, more than three decades ago.

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP)


The story of BNPP, Southeast Asia’s first and only nuclear power plant, illustrates some of the points above perfectly. In 1971, Ferdinand Marcos decided to build a nuclear power plant for the Philippines. However, at that time he was still the democratically-elected president and was unable to convince his people of the need to go nuclear.

By 1973, conditions were in place for him to push through his choice. The opposition had been eliminated by his declaration of martial law in 1972 and the quadrupling of oil prices because of the Arab oil embargo during the Yom Kippur war of 1973, made nuclear easier to sell to the public.

The tragic tale of BNPP has been carefully and comprehensively documented by the conservative business magazine, Fortune, in a remarkable 1986 article entitled “The $2.2 billion Nuclear Fiasco.” Initially Marcos delegated the responsibility for the plant to the National Power Co, the government-owned electric utility, which began negotiating for the supply of two 600MW nuclear plants from General Electric. By 1974 negotiations were more or less complete, with GE offering to supply two 620 megawatt reactors for US$650 million (RM2 billion at prevailing rates).

Westinghouse was late to the game and decided to leapfrog GE by dealing personally with Marcos. Westinghouse appointed Herminio Disini, a golfing buddy of Marcos whose wife was a cousin of Imelda Marcos, as its agent and he was able to arrange for the latecomer to present its pitch directly to Marcos and his cabinet at Malacanang Palace. After the meeting Marcos directed National Power to stop negotiating with GE and deal only with Westinghouse.

In 1976, after many rounds of fruitless negotiations and interference from Marcos, National Power announced that Westinghouse would build the BNPP, with one 626MW reactor, for US$722 million. The intervention of Marcos meant that the Philippine people had to pay a higher price for half the power! In addition, Disini, although he had no prior experience in construction, formed a new company which was awarded major BNPP subcontracts by Westinghouse.

Volcano and earthquake zone

Although the site was contentious, work began quickly, even before seismic and other on-site tests by the government regulator, the Philippines Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), were completed. Just 100km from Manila, BNPP sits on Mount Natib, a dormant volcano and within 40km of three geologic faults.

Alarmed by these facts PAEC called the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) for help. In 1978, two years after construction had commenced, the IAEA concluded that the volcanic and earthquake risks were “improperly addressed” and recommended that construction be stopped until more tests were done.

The PAEC chairman, Librado Ibe, was under tremendous pressure to ignore the IAEA report and issue a construction permit for work on the reactor itself to commence. Unable to resist any further, Ibe signed the permit in April 1979 and, four days later, emigrated with his family to the United States. Ibe explained to Fortune Magazine that he felt it was unsafe to resist Marcos’s lieutenants any longer.

A few months later Marcos himself halted construction because Filipino opposition to BNPP has grown substantially after the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania, US. Marcos appointed a new ad hoc commission to study the plant and they concluded that it was unsafe and would have to be modified to meet new US safety standards.

After two further years of haggling, Westinghouse agreed to upgrade the design, at an additional cost of US$700 million. By then the total cost of BNPP had risen to USD$1.8 billion.

Westinghouse rushed to complete BNPP amid growing opposition from Filipino activists. Construction was completed in January 1985 and BNPP was handed over to National Power. Westinghouse collected its money and the last construction worker left in May 1985.

Not a single watt

However, the plant was in no state to be fuelled. Inspections found more than 4,000 faults arising from poor quality control by the main sub-contractors, Disini’s company, and another controlled by a brother of Imelda Marcos. The main problems were attributed to poor welding, faulty pipe support brackets, substandard valve installations and leaking underground conduits and vaults.

In 1986, Marcos was overthrown in the People Power Revolution. Marcos and his family fled to Hawaii while Disini bolted to his villa in Vienna, where he apparently still stays.

Subsequent investigations by Corazon Aquino’s government found evidence of massive commissions paid by Westinghouse to Disini, which he shared with Marcos. The new government attempted to sue Westinghouse for corruption and restitution for faulty construction. In 1996 Westinghouse agreed to pay the Philippines government US$100 million in an out-of-court settlement.


Further studies have indicated it would cost an additional US$1 billion to correct all the defects in design and construction. Rather than throw good money after bad, the Philippines government decided to mothball the plant.

BNPP has been scrupulously maintained for more than 25 years, costing millions of dollars per year. It has not produced a single watt of electricity. The final price rose to US$2.2 billion, three times higher than the original estimate, and the final instalment was paid by the Filipino people in 2007, thirty-two years after construction commenced.


NOW... AFTER THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI DISASTER... AN EVEN STRONGER REASON TO BOOT BN OUT IN GE13!!!

Read this level-headed essay on AlJazeera English:
LEARNING FROM DISASTER AFTER SENDAI