photo by George Peper

Striper Wars     Eye of the Whale     The Man who Knew Too Much     Black Genius     Jesse Ventura     Recently Posted TWO FILMS I'd like to urge everyone to watch these two short documentary-style films, both around 15 minutes in length. "One of These Mornings" was created by Valery Lyman, a remarkable young film-maker whom I've known since she was a child. The subject is Election Day 2008, when Barack Obama became president of the United States. Valery had asked many friends and acquaintances, including myself, to call her that momentous day and leave messages about how we felt after voting. I think you'll find her combination of images with the voices-of-the-people inspiring. More than a year later, it brought tears to my eyes several times. Click on this link: One of These Mornings.   The other film is an interview with a longtime close friend of mine, Ross Gelbspan, an award-winning journalist who has written two books on climate change ("The Heat Is On" and "Boiling Point.") Ross has been sounding the alarm about the planetary crisis for more fifteen years, and this film with him speaks directly to what we must do to prepare for a very uncertain future. I think you'll find it compelling, sobering, and timely viewing - something we all need to think about, especially in terms of what our children and grandchildren will be facing. Click on this link: The Heat Is Online. - Dick Russell 1/29/10 The following interview with Homero Aridjis, Mexico's ambassador to UNESCO and an internationally-acclaimed poet/novelist and environmental leader, is about closing down Mexico's UNESCO office in Paris. [This is a rough translation. The original Spanish is below. An improved English translation should follow soon.] Cultural loss The Permanent Representation of Mexico to UNESCO in Paris, will conclude its work. Directed today by Homero Aridjis, the office was created as a liaison on issues of education, culture and science. Closure of the Embassy to UNESCO 'is a blow to culture' Reforma Cultural Supplement • Sunday January 24, 2010 This affects the country's image, especially at a time of chronic daily spread of violence, says Aridjis REFORMA / Staff "The closure of the offices of Mexico to UNESCO in Paris is a regrettable event, a blow to Mexican culture and its international leadership role that the country should play in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa," says the poet Homero Aridjis. In an interview via email, Aridjis, Mexico's Ambassador to UNESCO, analyzes the impact of this decision. Although the decision was announced days ago as part of the federal government's austerity, Aridjis says that until now they have not received notification. What is your opinion on the closure of representation? When criticized, the Foreign Ministry says it will close the offices of Mexico to UNESCO, but concentrate the respective roles "in the person of the Mexican ambassador to the French Republic". He argues that only half of the 182 member states (in fact, there are 193) of UNESCO have permanent and exclusive representative "as was the case with Mexico." I agree with Porfirio Munoz Ledo legislature when it favors entirely the autonomy of the Mexico office at UNESCO, because it is an organ of great importance, because it requires attention, time and hierarchy. When Harry Belevan-McBride, bilateral ambassador of Peru in France, learned the news of the beheading of the Mexican delegation to UNESCO, he phoned me to say he was alarmed Mexico was out of its cultural leadership abroad, and our Country the holder of the most vast and varied cultures of the Americas. He urged me to recommend to the Mexican authorities that they not make the same mistake as Peru to remove its ambassador to UNESCO to make the representation of bilateral hands, saying that it is impossible (according to his own experience) to effectively address UNESCO issues. The measure is regrettable, is a blow to Mexican culture, our international image, the leadership role our country should play in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and even in Africa. When you know the representatives of Member States accredited to UNESCO, some look at me shocked, and asked: "What's wrong with Mexico?". The same Irina Bokova, the new general director, asked me that question. I wonder what the position of the Senate is... complete article here TESTIMONY OF DICK RUSSELL Author, Striper Wars H796, An Act relative to the conservation of Atlantic striped bass Massachusetts Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources & Agriculture January 14, 2010 I thank you for allowing me to testify today on what I believe is an urgent conservation measure, vital to preserving for our children and grand-children the most magnificent fish that swims our near-shore waters. I am an environmental journalist and the author of six books, including one called Striper Wars, about the fish that is the subject of this hearing. And today I hope to offer some historical perspective, along with the reasons why H796 needs to be passed during the current legislative session. Striped bass have been called the aquatic equivalent of the American bald eagle. Without Native Americans having taught the Pilgrims about how to take striped bass, they would not have survived their first difficult winters in the Plymouth Colony. Protection of striped bass was the reason for America’s very first conservation law, in 1639, when the Massachusetts Bay Colony general court ruled they were too valuable to be ground up and used for fertilizer. The first fishery management measures, in 1776, were also drawn up on the striper’s behalf... complete article here And read Dick Russell's Conference speech, "At the Brink of Disaster..." "Climate Is Changing: Stories, Facts and People" A report on the 2009 Greenaccord Conference by Dick Russell December 6, 2009 VITERBO, ITALY – “To do nothing is fatal.” That was the stark message of one speaker at the VII International Media Forum on the Protection of Nature, held during the last week of November in advance of world leaders gathering in Copenhagen to seek an agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions. The figures on how rapidly the earth’s climate is changing were more alarming than ever before. At the same time, new ideas on how to achieve a much-needed societal transition were not only thought-provoking but often inspiring. Of the three conferences sponsored by Greenaccord that I have attended (see 2005), annually bringing together environmental journalists from around the world, this one carried a sense of intense urgency through all five days. Ten “climate witnesses,” coming from the Himalayas, India, Africa, and other regions, offered testimony that left no doubt about the devastating impacts already being felt. The lingering question was whether action to shift away from carbon-based fuels can happen quickly enough to avoid a chaotic, anarchic planetary future – one that could see as many as two billion climate refugees as sea levels rise, glaciers melt away, flooding and droughts accelerate. The last time the polar regions of earth were significantly warmer than today for an extended period was 125,000 years ago. Should we not curb emissions fast enough and see a rise of six degrees Centigrade over the course of the 21st-century, as a group of scientists recently projected, this would be a temperature rise not seen for about 100 million years. A hundred million years…. complete article here At the Brink of Disaster, Finding Each Other A talk given by Dick Russell, at the VII International Media Forum on the Protection of Nature, November 29, 2009, in Viterbo, Italy (with acknowledgment to my friend Ross Gelbspan for allowing me to utilize his writings on the climate crisis: see www.heatisonline.org) Recently I attended another conference, this one on “green building,” in the southwestern United States. More than 27,000 people came from all around the country, a very impressive gathering. And it was here that I learned about a little town in the heartland of America called Greensburg, Kansas. Probably you’ve never heard of it. I hadn’t. But it is an amazing example of people coming together to make a difference, following a natural disaster that devastated their community. Like so many other places in rural America, Greensburg was struggling. The kids were leaving after high school, and the population of 1,400 was increasingly elderly. Then, on May 4, 2007, everything changed. Storms are becoming more powerful as the climate heats up, and that night a 17-mile-wide tornado with winds exceeding 200 miles an hour damaged or destroyed more than 90 percent of Greensburg’s structures, including all the public buildings. Eleven of its citizens were killed. The rest had to disperse, as there was no place for them to live... complete speech here Green Building: An idea whose time has (finally) come by Dick Russell November 18, 2009 Anyone attending the Greenbuild 2009 conference and expo at the Phoenix Convention Center (Nov. 11-13) couldn’t help but come away impressed. First, there was the attendance – more than 27,000 people from all across the country, each paying to attend a variety of educational sessions, listen to numerous experts, and view sustainable products at close to 2,000 exhibits. To see a large room packed with General Contractors, eager for tips on how to “green” their job-sites and achieve LEED sustainable certification, was nothing short of inspiring. (A program established in 1998 by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.) In order to stand a chance against the ever-increasing threat of climate change, we’ve got to move fast – and changing the way our offices, homes, and apartment complexes are built is the most immediate thing to be done. Greater energy efficiency alone could quickly reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs) by 40 percent. For the first time, legislation pending in Congress would establish a national building code, instead of state-by-state. The House version of the bill mandates that building codes need to be 30 percent better than 2004 by 2010, and 50 percent better by 2016. The Senate bill, at the moment at least, is stronger than the House’s. We’re going to need to retrofit every single one of more than 100 million homes and 65 billion square feet of commercial buildings over the next 20 years. I learned of these things at a session titled: “Has the Change We Need Come to Main Street? How Green Building is Faring in the New Policy Environment.” A new federal Clean Energy Development Administration (CEDA) will contribute financing for retrofits. There will also be tax incentives and builder credits for homes built 50 percent stronger than existing code. The Department of Energy is expanding standards on appliances, and looking for the first time at energy consumption of our TV sets. “Smart grid” projects are moving forward, automation that for example will automatically dim your lights 40% at a given time, and let you know it’s a good time to unplug your computer and run off battery for awhile. HCFC refrigerants in chillers, air conditioning, and piping in grocery stores must be phased out (although it’s not yet known what will replace them). Have you heard what’s happening to the Empire State Building, which dates back to the 1920s? It’s getting a major overhaul that will reduce its energy use by 38 percent. All 6,500 windows are being rebuilt for efficiency, some 50 a day at a factory on the fifth floor. That means no transportation is involved, and the same glass is being used. The retrofit is expected to save $4.4 million a year in operating costs... complete article here

The recent death of Budd Schulberg, one of our greatest living novelists and screenwriters, brought to mind his incredible script for “On the Waterfront,” the Best Picture of 1954 that was probably Marlon Brando’s greatest performance. For me, it also recalled one of my favorite assignments, one featured in New York Village VOICE’s January 6, 1975 issue. The subject was “Tony Mike” DeVincenzo, the Hoboken man on whom Brando’s character of Terry Malloy was based. It’s a piece of film history that I was privileged to recount, and so I’ve dug it out of my archives. – Dick Russell -------------------- Village Voice - Jan. 6, 1975 The Original Brando Back on the Waterfront BY DICK RUSSELL On the waterfront, it is Sunday and Hoboken’s 5th Street Pier is still. The demolition team is gone, the Hudson is shuttered behind locked gates, and only the breeze breaks through to crease the trousers of Anthony “Tony Mike” DeVincenzo. “I kept this pier, and the Holland-America Line, closed for 16 days in a row,” he says. “The men wouldn’t go in, till I gave ‘em the okay.” It has been more than 20 years since Tony Mike DeVincenzo stood here alongside Hoboken’s longshoremen, and then broke the back of the waterfront mob with his testimony before the New York State Crime Commission. More than 20 years, too, since Columbia Studios came to this pier, and Elia Kazan coached Marlon Brando to “walk like Tony Mike, talk like Tony Mike” in what would become the most acclaimed film of its time. Now, the man whose life was a model for “On The Waterfront” cups a cigarette against the wind, then sweeps a finger across the breadth of the 5th Street Pier. Far into the harbor, a tugboat whistle howls and subsides. At last, flicking his cigarette between the rusted ties of the pier’s old Erie-Lackawanna freight tracks, Tony Mike DeVincenzo turns and says: “I only seen the picture once. It brings back too many memories.” ********** Read complete article here

New Edition Black Genius Inspirational Portraits of America’s Black Leaders Dick Russell Intimate, in-depth portraits, interviews, and essays of America’s black leaders—from the founding of the nation and Frederick Douglass to the 2008 presidential race and Barack Obama. Each figure is interconnected with the next, exploring themes of family and intergenerational community, spirituality, and diligence, activism, and struggle. These remarkable portraits reveal the true spirit of the American pioneers who forged much of the heart of this nation, but whose achievements have been largely overlooked. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. February 2009

The Warning

For the past six months, I've been assisting a production team in putting together a new, web-based documentary called "The Warning." It's a very timely film, which incorporates interviews with five prominent authors - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Naomi Klein, Joe Conason, Naomi Wolf, and Chris Hedges - concerning the perilous pass that American democracy has come to over the past eight years. I hope you'll click on the image at left to check out the dvd, and then click here to order "The Warning." Dick Russell A "Warning" To Us All October 30, 2008 in News by Michael Austin "Patriotism is not pinning a flag pin to one lapel to free up both hands, so you can tear up the U.S. Constitution." -Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in The Warning. The new production company/website Truthtopower.tv has just released its powerful first film, The Warning, featuring exclusive interviews with five recently-published authors Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Crimes Against Nature), Naomi Wolf (The End of America), Chris Hedges (American Fascists), Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine) and Joe Conason (It Can Happen Here). Director/Writer/Producer J.P. Sottile wisely steers clear of cinematic fireworks, keeping a tight focus on the writers’ frightening observations about the subversion and erosion of American Democracy in recent years. Privatized warfare, illegal torture and wiretapping, corporate and religious influence, the ballooning power of the Executive and more are exposed as the film warns just how slippery a slope the U.S. is sliding down. The Warning is an excellent example of the kind of patriotic dissent the country needs right now. Find out more and get your own copy here. The film was shown recently on LinkTV (Tuesday Nov. 4 at 8:30 pm...)   PRAISE FOR "THE WARNING" Your film "The Warning" is the most analytical, comprehensive, and uncompromising of the many DVD reports now available on the crises facing the United States as a democracy and a world leader. Your panel of experts are all genuinely expert. They are articulate, informed, and interesting. The film is also brilliantly cut and edited. I hope that you get a large audience and that the film plays a major role in the forthcoming national debate on how to reform the American system after the disasters of the Bush-Cheney years. My congratulations. Yours, Chalmers Johnson, Author of Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic. Invictus Sunday, March 1, 2009 Five Remarkable Interviews in "The Warning" The producers of a unique documentary sent me a DVD copy of their independent documentary, "The Warning." They hoped they would get a good review, and they needn't have worried. "The Warning," written, produced, and directed by Joseph P. Sottile, consists entirely of interviews with five well-known liberal authors (see below). Rather than questions and answers, the interviewees are allowed to speak for themselves. Occasionally, they even read appropriate selections from their works. But rather than a boring word fest, the seriousness of the work gives it a riveting feel. The subject is nothing less than the descent of the United States into a ruthless totalitarian state, which relies on state torture, an imperial executive, widespread surveillance, the conscious use of fear-laden propaganda, a docile press, and the influence of a radical Christian core of believers to spread the program in institutions throughout civil society. If we are not yet a fascist state -- and the film steps back from going that far -- we are clearly moving towards that. I would add that the election of Barack Obama may have slowed that descent, but to date, all the factors behind it remain in place, particularly what Kennedy in the film calls "the merger of state and corporate power." The following text comes from the film's website (emphases in original): Terrorism. Cronyism. Surveillance. The suspension of basic Constitutional protections. The Patriot Act. Pre-emptive War. Bad intelligence. Torture. Corporate power. Mercenaries. Occupation. The Unitary Executive. Neo-Cons. A never-ending war against "terror." Something very strange has happened in America. Since 2001, America has taken a radical turn. Five authors stood up and spoke truth to power, exposing shocking trends towards a police state, an accelerated corporate integration with the state and the blatant subversion of the U. S. Constitution. Five mavericks asked questions the mainstream media refused to ask, and looked into the dark corners of a closing democracy, a changing economy and growing empire. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy Naomi Wolf: The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot Chris Hedges: American Fascists; the Christian Right and the War on America Naomi Klein: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism Joe Conason: It Can Happen Here: Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush They expose the forces at work in the transformation of our democracy into a Unitary Executive that uses fear, emergency powers and the supremacy of military command to gather power into the office of the Presidency. The Warning traces the radical steps America had taken toward a new, wholly unconstitutional form of American government. The rise of super-patriotism Disdain for the importance of human rights and the rule of law Use of torture and secret prisons Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause Suppression of dissent A controlled mass media Obsession with national security Religion and ruling elite tied together Power of corporations protected Rampant cronyism and corruption Fraudulent elections These steps lead to a potential tipping point, from democracy to something different. Something ominous. T2PTV has created an affiliate program for the film for interested webmasters. I have chosen not to participate, in part because I want to keep this website ad free, but also because I'd rather all monies for this film go to its intrepid makers and marketers. The film is one I can recommend honestly, and because its message is important. Posted by Valtin at 11:19 PM

Archetypal Psychologies: Reflections in Honor of James Hillman Edited by Stanton Marlan ISBN: 978-1-882670-54-3 524 pp. Price: $32.95 This unique collection of essays was inspired by the wide-ranging work of James Hillman. In keeping with the "polytheistic" spirit of archetypal psychology, Hillman's writings have enriched the entire spectrum of our cultural imagination, challenging thinkers in such diverse fields as philosophy, religion, history, mythology, language, urban studies, politics, the men's movement, feminist criticism, ethics, art, film studies, poetry, analytic practice, and more. In this volume, Stanton Marlan brings together the work of 29 leading scholars, practitioners, and new voices as a testament to the fecundity and influence of archetypal psychology around the world. Archetypal Psychologies highlights the importance both of Hillman's original contributions and of current developments in this field. Featured in the volume are an excerpt from the developing official biography of James Hillman, a provocative current interview with Hillman, and a series of rare photographs. This work provides a fascinating exploration of the innovative ideas and current controversies generated by archetypal psychology and of how its many-faceted approach to life and culture intersects with and enriches contemporary society. It is certain to become a classic text in the field of archetypal psychology. Chapter 2. Legacy of the Ancestors by Dick Russell

"Don't Start the Revolution without Me" by Jesse Ventura and Dick Russell Vintage Ventura on Display in New Book Jesse Ventura Gets in (another) Last Word CIA Confirms Ventura Meeting Occurred Ventura had it right: CIA was here - Are they still?

Birth of an Island!

• by Dick Russell Recently Posted Drop in striper stocks puts recreational, commercial fishermen at odds  2/10 Cultural Loss  1/10 • Striped Bass in Trouble Again - What Is to Be Done?  1/10 • Testimony of Dick Russel on H796, on the conservation of Atlantic striped bass  1/10 Dick Russell is Back on the Trail of the JFK Case  1/10 Ocean Loses a Good Friend, The  12/09 • At the Brink of Disaster, Finding Each Other  12/09 • Climate is Changing: Stories, Facts and People;   A report on the 2009 Greenaccord Conference  12/09 • I gotta stay here all this time for a million dollars  11/09 • Green Building: An idea whose time has (finally) come  11/09 • Back on the Waterfront: The Original Brando  10/09 Gray Whales  5/09 Berlin Story  3/09 • Saving Stripers Will Require Tighter Net of Regulations  2/09 Letter to the incoming President of the United States  1/09

Published June 23rd, 2005... Dick Russell's latest book: Striper Wars An American Fish Story The remarkable story of how one species was brought back from the brink of extinction – only to face new and even more daunting threats... When populations of striped bass began plummeting in the early 1980s, author and fisherman Dick Russell was there to lead an Atlantic coast conservation campaign that resulted in one of the most remarkable wildlife comebacks in the history of fisheries. As any avid fisherman will tell you, the striped bass has long been a favorite at the American dinner table; in fact, we've been feasting on the fish from the time of the Pilgrims. By 1980 that feasting had turned to overfishing by commercial fishing interests. Striper Wars is Dick Russell's inspiring account of the people and events responsible for the successful preservation of one of America's favorite fish and of what has happened since... Click here for more... hardcover: 288 pages / Island Press – Shearwater Books (June 23, 2005)

Now in Paperback! Eye of the Whale "Once in a while, a book comes along that redefines its subject to the extent that most previous works immediately become obsolete. Eye of the Whale is such a book...it will change the way you think about the natural world." –RICHARD ELLIS, LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK REVIEW Named a Best Book of the Year by three major newspapers upon its initial publication, and now available for the first time in paperback, Eye of the Whale offers an exhilarating blend of adventure and natural history as Dick Russell follows the migration of the gray whale from Mexico's Baja peninsula to the Arctic's Bering Strait. Click here for more... Paperback: 688 pages / Island Press – Shearwater Books (September 20, 2004)

 

The Man Who Knew Too Much The Revised, Updated Trade Paperback Edition of Dick Russell's landmark 1992 book on the Kennedy assassination, "The Man Who Knew Too Much," is now in bookstores nationwide. Introduction by Lachy Hulme Order it here Click here for more...

Dick Russell's Black Genius in paperback In this collection of essays and interviews journalist Dick Russell examines the role of African Americans through two centuries of American history. He focuses primarily on the role of blacks in the cultural life of the United States. Russell writes about notable figures such as educator Mary McLeod Bethune, speaks with Harvard professor Cornel West about W. E. B. Du Bois, and discusses Frederick Douglass and James Baldwin in an essay titled "Timeless Voices, Parallel Realities." Black Genius and the American Experience, with an introduction by Alvin F. Poussaint, takes a thoughtful and fascinating look at the contributions to U.S. history made by Americans of African descent. Amazon.Com Click here for more... Paperback: 497 pages / Carroll & Graf Publishers (February 1, 1999)

 

Articles and Editorials by Homero Aridjis, Dick Russell...   Toward a Real Kyoto Protocol by Ross Gelbspan Kyoto and Beyond Sign the Petition: The People's Ratification of the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty Kelpie Wilson Interviews Ross Gelbspan t r u t h o u t Thursday 24 February 2005 Feeling the Heat, 2004 book of essays about climate change, including Dick Russell's chapter on the Caribbean.

 

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