The Cork is Off the Bottle: Nuclear Incident in Montana
By JenniferVan Bergen and Raymond Del Papa, CounterPunch
According to counterpunch.com, a number of missile silo doors in Montana were accidentally opened last week. In the past, similar incidents nearly started a nuclear war with the former Soviet Union, which was actively engaged in arms race with the U.S. Today there is d?tente, but the threat of a similar mistake causing Armageddon may be even higher, because stateside missile systems are susceptible to computer error or sabotage, and Russian's early warning systems are dangerously outdated and decayed. -- Harry Sheff
http://www.counterpunch.org/bergen01222005.html

Catching the Wind: The World's Fastest-Growing Renewable Energy Source is Coming of Age
By Jim Motavalli, emagazine
The U.S. Federal Wind Energy Program began during the oil crisis of the 1970s, but it wasn't until the 1990s that wind energy became a viable alternative in America. Less than one percent of the electricity in the U.S. comes from wind power today -- nowhere near Denmark, the world's leader at 20 percent. According to emagazine, though, federal tax credits are now making wind energy competitive with fossil fuels. The American Wind Energy Association's interactive online map shows California, Texas, and Minnesota leading the nation in wind energy projects. California's output of 2,042 megawatts, alone, annually saves the equivalent 4.8 million barrels of oil. -- Harry Sheff
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?2176
http://www.awea.org/projects/index.html

The Ten Worst Corporations of 2004
By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, Multinational Monitor
Companies like Clear Channel and Halliburton would easily make The Multinational Monitor's annual list of the ten worst corporations year after year if it weren't for their 'no-repeat rule.' That said, it wasn't hard to find ten corporations guilty of despicable business practices for the year 2004. The new list includes Coca-Cola for its union-busting and human rights violations in Colombia, Hardee's for its 1,420 calorie 'Monster Thickburger,' and the Alabama sewer and water-pipe company McWane, Inc., which has 5,000 employees and has racked up nine deaths and 4,600 injuries since 1995. -- Harry Sheff
http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm2004/122004/mokhiber.html

Art Activism: Making Another World Possible
By Paul Schmelzer, Adbusters
Is apolitical art irresponsible in a world full of poverty, violence, and injustice? 'Art is an effective method of resistance and change -- just as it is an effective tool for the maintenance of power or the status quo,' says artist Sam Durant. Adbusters introduces some artists who are making statements and helping people: The Interventionists, a group exhibiting at the MASSMoCA in Massachusetts, for instance, have built mobile homeless shelters that are both aesthetically pleasing inside the museum and useful outside. Mexico City artist Minerva Cuevas' art project/nonprofit Mejor Vida Corporation gave away unscratched lottery tickets (and let people keep the winnings), distributed barcodes to give shoppers fair prices at supermarkets, and made fake student IDs so people can take advantage of museum and transit discounts. -- Harry Sheff
http://adbusters.org/magazine/art_activism/anotherworld.php