Poster of the Week

Fukushima Mon Amour
Yossi Lemel
Offset, ca  2012
Tel Aviv, Israel
41108

This month marks the third anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that caused the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan.

The nuclear fallout from Fukushima is ongoing—in addition to leaking radiation into the air, 1000s of tons of highly radioactive water continue to leak into the ground and into the Pacific Ocean.   The worst leak in the last 6 months took place just last month, in February 2014, when about 100 tons of radioactive water leaked.  This affects us all –the air we breathe, the fish we eat, and things we don’t even consider.  Just days ago, snow falling in Missouri was found to contain double the normal radiation amount.  The FDA stopped testing fish in the Pacific Ocean for radiation not long after the disaster started, but independent research is showing that every Bluefin tuna tested in the waters off California has been contaminated with radiation that originated in Fukushima.  Scientists suspect that all fish in the Pacific Ocean are affected.

Yossi Lemel’s poster connects the 2011 nuclear disaster with the 1945 dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. His title is from the 1959 French film "Hiroshima Mon Amour" which, among many other things, is about war, memory, and forgetfulness.  We must not forget.

Resources:

http://truth-out.org/news/item/21169-fukushima-update-the-nuclear-disaster-that-wont-go-away

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/world/asia/worst-spill-in-6-months-at-fukushima.html?_r=0

http://truth-out.org/news/item/19547

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/3/19/fukushima_fallout_ailing_us_sailors_sue

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/fukushima-nuclear-crisis-update-for-january-2/blog/48149/

Posters of the Week

The Good, the Bad & the Unthinkable

The Good : The Return of Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti

Haiti Will Rise Again
Eastside Arts Alliance
Jesus Barraza
Dignidad Rebelde
Silkscreen, 2010
Oakland, California

In 2004, Haitian President Aristide was kidnapped by U.S. soldiers, and forced to Leave Haiti for Africa. It was the second time that U.S. had forced the democratically elected president into exile. When Aristide announced earlier this month his plans to come back to his impoverished country, still reeling from the disastrous January 2010 earthquake and an ongoing cholera epidemic, the U.S. worked overtime to prevent his return. The New York Times reported that Obama even telephoned South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, to prevent Aristide from getting a passport, but Zuma refused to comply. To add insult to injury, State Department spokespeople kept repeating the lie that Aristide had “chosen” to leave 7 years ago.

The Bad: The U.S. Bombs Libya

This Is the Result of Reagan Terrorism
Artist Unknown
Offset, 1986
Libya

CSPG’s Poster of the Week reminds us that this is the second time in recent history that the U.S. has bombed Libya…and again, the primary casualties are civilian.

The Unthinkable: Ongoing Nuclear Disaster in Japan
The tragedy continues to escalate. First a devastating 9.0 earthquake, followed by an even more devastating tsunami, followed by the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl–and it is still out of control. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal (March 15, 2011) reported that President Obama continues to promote the safety of nuclear power and wants to speed construction of nuclear-power facilities.

Nuclear Power Gives Us Everything
Richard Adams
Ecoropa; Reprodux Ltd.
Offset, Date unknown
United Kingdom

Text: Nuclear Power Gives Us Everything: Cancer, Accidents, Unemployment, Armed Police, Radioactive Waste. All this and Higher Electricity Bills too.



Take It To Wall Street
Stop Nuclear Investments
Annie Katz
SHAD Alliance
Offset, 1979
New York, New York