Twenty Years After the Chernobyl Accident

Statements of the Director General
by IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei

The April 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant remains a painful memory in the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people who were most affected by the accident. In addition to the emergency rescue workers who died, thousands of children contracted thyroid cancer, and thousands of other individuals will eventually die of other cancers caused by the release of radiation. Vast areas of cropland, forests, rivers and urban centres were contaminated by environmental fallout. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from these affected areas - forced to leave behind their homes, possessions, and livelihoods - and resettled elsewhere, in a traumatic outcome that has had long-lasting psychological and social impacts.

The commemoration of the Chernobyl tragedy is taking place in many forums this month - in Minsk, in Kiev and in other locations.

At the IAEA, it might be said that we have been responding to the accident and its consequences for twenty years, in a number of ways: first, through a variety of programmes designed to help mitigate the environmental and health consequences of the accident; second, by analyzing the lessons of what went wrong to allow such an accident to occur at all; and third, by working to prevent any such accident from occurring in the future.

Building a strong and effective global nuclear safety regime is a central objective of our work. This requires effective international cooperation. The explosions that destroyed the Unit 4 reactor core, and discharged its contents in a cloud of radionuclides, made painfully clear that the safety risks associated with nuclear and radiological activities extend beyond national borders. International cooperation on nuclear safety matters - sharing information, setting clear safety standards, assisting with safety upgrades, and reviewing operational performance - has therefore become a hallmark of IAEA activity, particularly at a time when we are witnessing an expansion of nuclear power to meet increasing energy demands in many parts of the world.

In 2001, after taking note of the conflicting views on the results of the accident, I called for the creation of a Chernobyl Forum, inviting the world´s foremost scientific experts to conduct an exhaustive assessment of the health, environmental and social impacts of the accident. As with all IAEA programmes, we emphasized an impartial, fact based approach to the analysis of this difficult and highly charged topic. I was pleased that, after a long period of careful analysis, the parties involved - including the World Health Organization and seven other specialized United Nations agencies, as well as the Governments of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine - were able to achieve consensus on the set of authoritative reports that were issued last September.

But the Chernobyl Forum had another purpose as well. My hope was that, by giving clear, impartial answers about the accident and its effects, we would be able to focus more effectively on present and future needs. Better international cooperation on assistance to the people and regions affected by the accident. Smarter approaches to safe food production and effective health care. Enhanced investments in the people concerned, in ways that would give them control over their own livelihoods.
In short, it was my hope that, by answering questions about the past, we could restore a vision of a brighter future for the regions concerned. And that remains my hope.

We will not soon forget the Chernobyl accident. We will not forget the emergency workers who gave their lives. We will not forget the health and environmental consequences. And we should never forget the lessons we learned regarding nuclear safety and international cooperation. In remembering the Chernobyl accident, we should renew our determination to ensure that such a tragedy will not happen again.

But we must also remember the survivors, the individuals and communities who seek to move forward with their lives and the lives of their children. At this time of remembrance, they too deserve our attention and assistance, so that they will be able to move beyond the shadow of the Chernobyl accident and into a prosperous future.

Copyright 2003-2005, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: Official.Mail@iaea.org

IEA Additional Coverage

Pentecostalism Turns 100

One of the fastest growing Christian movements began 100 years ago this week in Los Angeles. Pentecostals from all over the world joined in the Azusa Street Centennial.

Billboard:
Krista Tippett, host: I'm Krista Tippett. Today, "A Spiritual Tidal Wave." We'll explore the origins and impact of Pentecostal Christianity from Azusa Street in Los Angeles, where this frontier faith was launched by an African-American preacher 100 years ago this month. Now, with a half billion followers, it is changing the face of religion and society worldwide. Pentecostalism claims the gifts of the spirit described in the Bible as sources of spiritual power to face the challenges of human life and a changing world.

Professor Cecil M. Robeck Jr.: Once you have been touched by God at such a deep level, right down to the tongue that you speak, and your ability to speak the language that you've been trained in all of your life leaves you, there is no turning back.

Ms. Tippett: This is Speaking of Faith. Stay with us. I'm Krista Tippett. One quarter of the world's Christians, over 500 million people, are Pentecostal. And their numbers are rising exponentially. Though Pentecostalism is often confused by outsiders with Fundamentalist Christianity, it is an historically distinct and spiritually different movement. We come to you this hour from Azusa Street in Los Angeles at the centennial celebration of the Pentecostal movement. This frontier faith is now sweeping the world in ways that its African-American founder, a son of slaves, could never have imagined.

From American Public Media, this is Speaking of Faith, public radio's conversation about religion, meaning, ethics and ideas. Today, "A Spiritual Tidal Wave: The Origins and Impact of Pentecostalism."

NPR Feature Story "A Spiritual Tidal Wave"

American desinger for Queens' 80th Birthday Cover

News Released: April 18, 2006
American designer for Queen’s 80th Birthday Cover

(PRLEAP.COM) Mandy Searles of Massachusetts, USA,has designed a first day cover for HM Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday Royal Mail stamp issue. The limited edition cover and its special postmark is being issued by Britain’s secret little post office at Bletchley Park Eight years ago 25-year-old Mandy set up one of the world’s most popular web sites on Queen Elizabeth and her family. She is also a talented graphic designer and has used those skills to provide the backdrop for the new stamps. As Mandy put it “It has been a joy to work with Bletchley Park in creating this first day cover. I thank them for giving me this chance to further express my admiration for the Queen, who is my inspiration for so many things in life”.

The double-sided cover design complements the stamp images showing Her Majesty at different stages of her life. The stamps will be cancelled for their first day of issue with a unique ER postmark. Only 1000 are planned for the issue. The hand prepared cover comes complete with a special greeting card insert and will be individually numbered. It is only available direct from Chapman and Mitchell Covers at Bletchley Park Post Office, The Mansion, Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, MK3 6EB, UK. Tel: 01908 631797. Cover can be previewed in British Royalty section of cover gallery at the web site http://www.bletchleycovers.com/. Price £12.50 ($20 US) plus £1.50 ($2.50 US) post and packing.

EndsNote to Editors:Bletchley Park Post Office is based at Bletchley Park famous for the wartime enigma code breakers. It has been issuing first day covers since 1995 and uses the income to support its work at the park and with other charities. Web address www.bletchleycovers.com

Mandy Searles can be contacted through http://www.mandysroyalty.org/ a web site dedicated to the British Royal family.

A subject she has been fascinated by from an early age.Media contact:
Terry Mitchell. Tel: +44 (0) 1604 781440Email; terry@ltmp.co.uk

100 Years After the San Francisco Quake

April 18 marks the centennial of one of America's greatest catastrophes, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.

The economic and cultural hub of the West, San Francisco was forever changed by the massive earthquake and resulting fires that struck early in the morning on April 18, 1906. One hundred years later, the city remembers the disaster and recovery.

NPR Feature Story

Freud & His Continued Significance

On his 150th birthday, the architect of therapeutic culture is an inescapable force.

Why Freud—modern history's most debunked doctor—captivates us even now.

By Jerry Adler
Newsweek

March 27, 2006 issue - We stand now at a critical moment in the history of our civilization, which is usually the case: beset by enemies who irrationally embrace their own destruction along with ours, our fate in the hands of leaders who make a virtue of avoiding reflection, our culture hijacked by charlatans who aren't nearly as depraved as they pretend in their best-selling memoirs. As we turn from the author sniveling on Oprah's couch, our gaze is caught by a familiar figure in the shadows, sardonic and grave, his brow furrowed in weariness. So, he seems to be saying, you would like this to be easy. You want to stick your head in a machine, to swallow a pill, to confess on television and be cured before the last commercial. But you don't even know what your disease is.

Yes, it's Sigmund Freud, still haunting us, a lifetime after he died in London in 1939, driven by the Nazis from his beloved Vienna.


Sigmund Freud may have died more than 60 years ago, but his impact is still significant. The March 27, 2006 issue of Newsweek features the psychoanalyst on the cover and takes a look at Freud's long shadow on Western culture.

As the feature article indicates, Freud may not be taken seriously as a scientist, but his theories and ideas have influenced literature, popular culture, and modern therapy. The article offers a good examination of why Freud is still a topic of conversation, even after many of his theories have been disputed or lambasted by critics.

Read the Full Newsweek article Freud in Our Midst
htt://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11904222/site/newsweek/

In Celebration of Samuel Beckett 1906-1989

In Celebration of Samuel Beckett 1906-1989 Novelist, Playwright, Poet, critic, Irishman

Mix a powerful imagination with a logic in absurdum, and the result will be either a paradox or an Irishman. If it is an Irishman, you will get the paradox into the bargain..." reads the presentation speech for Beckett's Nobel Prize in Literature. "Paradoxically, this has happened in 1969, a single award being addressed to one man, two languages and a third nation, itself divided."

As the centenary of Beckett's birth approaches this week, remembrances and performances of his work are under way. In addition to plays such as Godot, Krapp's Last Tape and Endgame, Beckett wrote novels, essays and poetry, as well.

Godot, considered an influential classic today, earned everything from apathy to anger when it debuted in 1953. The dialogue bounces back and forth between two tramps named Vladimir and Estragon, stuck waiting for the arrival of an M. Godot -- who, like God, will never appear. When Godot opened in London, the British Lord Chamberlain censored some of the lines for supposed vulgarity and blasphemy.

Follow the Link below to the NPR Feature: Beckett's Centenary:
Revisiting a LegacyBeckett's Centenary: Revisiting a Legacy

Waiting For Godot

Selected Quotes

Let's go. Yes, let's go. (They do not move). - Waiting for Godot

Nothing to be done. - Waiting for Godot

The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh. Let us not then speak ill of our generation, it is not any unhappier than its predecessors. Let us not speak well of it either. Let us not speak of it at all. It is true the population has increased.- Waiting for Godot

Astride of a grave and a difficult birth. Down in the hole, lingeringly, the gravedigger puts on the forceps.- Waiting for Godot

Pozzo: I don't seem to be able . . . (long hesitation) to depart. Estragon: Such is life.- Waiting for Godot

Vladimir: Our Saviour. Two thieves. One is supposed to have been saved and the other (he searches for the contrary of saved) damned. Estragon: Saved from what?- Waiting for Godot

Estragon: What about hanging ourselves? Vladimir: Hmm. It'd give us an erection. Estragon: (highly excited). An erection!- Waiting for Godot

Vladimir: Well? Shall we go? Estragon: Yes, let's go. They do not move.- Waiting for Godot

We are all born mad. Some remain so.- Waiting for Godot

Let us not waste our time in idle discourse! (Pause. Vehemently.) Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late!- Waiting for Godot

But that is not the question. Why are we here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in this immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come.- Waiting for Godot

To-morrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of to-day?- Waiting for Godot

. . .in all that what truth will there be? Astride of a grave and a difficult birth. Down in the hole, lingeringly, the grave-digger puts on the forceps. We have time to grow old. The air is full of our cries. (He listens.) But habit is a great deadener.- Waiting for Godot

We wait. We are bored. (He throws up his hand.) No, don't protest, we are bored to death, there's no denying it. Good. A diversion comes along and what do we do? We let it go to waste. . .In an instant all will vanish and we'll be alone once more, in the midst of nothingness!- Waiting for Godot


For Full Text of Wating for Godot Follow The Link Below:
Samuel Beckett Dublin Ireland - Waiting for Godot

Sloane Coffin Dies at 81; Fought for Civil Rights and Against a War

William Sloan Coffin in His Own words:

"Not to Bring Peace, But a Sword" Let's start by recognizing that there is a fundamental, unacceptability about unpleasant truth. We all shield ourselves against its wounding accuracy. Not only do we do this as individuals, but we do this as a people, as a nation. Twenty-seven hundred years ago, as some of you may remember, not because you were there, but because you read the Bible, the priest Amaziah said of the prophet Amos, "...the land is not able to bear all his words."

Every prophet has realized that nobody loves you for being the enemy of their illusions. Every prophet has realized that most of us want peace at any price as long as the peace is ours and somebody else pays the price. That is why the prophet Jeremiah said, "'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace." and why Jesus said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34 NIV)

Full text of this sermon can be found at the following link:
http://www.30goodminutes.org/csec/sermon/coffin_3519.htm

"The Glory of God is a human being fully alive." Irenaeus

The Rev. COFFIN: I'd just as soon live a little bit longer. But when you are 80, you can't complain. Joy in this world comes from self-fulfillment. Joy is a more profound experience than mere happiness. When you feel a sense of undeserved integrity because you think you're in the right fight -- against segregation, against the war in Vietnam, against the stupid and cruel discrimination against gays and lesbians -- these are the right fights, I feel very deeply. And the sense of self-fulfillment which comes from being in the right fight is a wonderful thing.

I remain hopeful. The opposite of hope is despair -- not pessimism, despair. And as a very convinced Christian, I say to myself, "Come on, Coffin. If Christ never allowed his soul to be cornered with despair, and his was the greatest miscarriage of justice maybe in the world, who the hell am I to say I'm going to despair a bit?"

When you get older, friendship obviously runs deeper and deeper. And, I would add, nature gets more interesting the nearer you get to joining it, and also more beautiful. I can sit on the front porch here and watch the sun coming in through the maple leaves. You know, God is good.

Interview with Rev. William Sloan Coffin from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, August 2004: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week752/profile.html

In our time all it takes for evil to flourish is for a few good men to be a little wrong and have a great deal of power, and for the vast majority of their fellow citizens to remain indifferent." — In the Yale Alumni magazine in 1967

The U.S. government should have vowed "...to see justice done, but by the force of law only, never by the law of force." — After September 11, 2001

"We yearned for a revolution of imagination and compassion that would oppose the very aggressiveness and antagonism that characterized the actions of both Nixon and the Weathermen. We were convinced nonviolence was more revolutionary than violence" — referring to the organizers of the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam

"Without love violence will change the world; it will change it into a more violent one." — June 1968

"It's too bad that one has to conceive of sports as being the only arena where risks are, [for] all of life is risk exercise. That's the only way to live more freely, and more interestingly."

"The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love."

"Every nation makes decisions based on self-interest and defends them on the basis of morality." — to the Yale Class of 1968 35th reunion, May 2003

"Even if you win the rat race, you're still a rat."

Books
· Letters to a Young Doubter, Westminster John Knox Press, July 2005, ISBN 0664229298 (review and article from CommonDreams.org)

· Credo, Westminster John Knox Press, December 2003, ISBN 0664227074

· The Heart Is a Little to the Left: Essays on Public Morality, Dartmouth College, 1st edition, October 1999, ISBN 0874519586

· The Courage to Love, sermons, Harper & Row, c1982, ISBN 0060615087

· Once to Every Man: A Memoir, autobiography, Athenaeum Press, 1977, ISBN 0689108117