Businessman convicted of nuclear exports
Dutch News 30 January 2009 The Amsterdam court of appeals has convicted businessman Henk Slebos of exporting products to Pakistan that can be used to make weapons of mass destruction. He was given a prison sentence of 18 months, six of them suspended. In 2005 a court in Alkmaar had sentenced him to half the time in jail. Mr Slebos is a friend of Pakistani atomic spy Khan, who is seen as the father of the Pakistan’s nuclear bomb.

Nuclear alert sparks Chester traffic chaos the standard  28 January 2009

Cheshire Police were quick to assure residents living close to a section of the A41 near Capenhurst that there was no risk after a trailer carrying low-level nuclear waste became detached from a HGV.

Nearby roads were sealed off after the alert was raised and police and firefighters were called out as part of a set emergency plan…………………….The incident had a major impact on rush-hour traffic into Chester and caused long tail-backs.

Families who believe they suffered from nuclear tests WalesOnline Jan 28 2009 by Darren Devine, Western Mail Their families believe they were guinea pigs in government experiments to develop nuclear bombs in the face of what was seen as a growing Soviet threat after World War II. Darren Devine hears from veterans and their families who say that the nuclear tests in the Pacific left a legacy of lives blighted by cancers and ultimately death………………………….

Successive UK governments have denied the veterans’ claims that they were exposed to significant doses of radioactive material, causing severe illnesses including cancers. But the 1000- strong Atomic Veterans Group is involved in legal action against the Ministry of Defence in the High Court in pursuit of a multi-million- pound compensation payout.

Veterans who served in the Army, Royal Navy and Air Force, as well as New Zealand and Fijian claimants, are involved in the landmark compensation case.

About 20,000 veterans saw blasts between 1952 and 1957 and only 3,000 remain alive.

Lawyers say the veterans suffered injuries of all types, ranging from minor complaints and skin conditions to cancers of the thyroid, liver, intestine and lungs.

They have pointed to the Rowland study of a small group of New Zealand test veterans which “proved that most, if not all, of them suffered genetic effects due to radiation exposure”.

The veterans’ lawyers maintain those responsible for the tests did not fully understand the risks.

The Somali Piracy Records. VI

American Chronicle Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis 28 Jan 09 “…………………………The parents of Ukrainian sailors held hostage by Somali pirates on a ship carrying a vast horde of weapons have told AFP they want humanitarian groups to help the sailors suffering “horrible” conditions……………………. We only can hope that all people on MV FAINA are informed about the following!
The Italian Ministry of Defence has been prosecuted on 17th December 2008 by a court of law in Florence / Italy and was charged to pay over half a million Euro in damages to a soldier. The amount was defined by the court as compensation to be paid to an Italian soldier, who had been contaminated during Operation IBIS in Somalia with radioactive substances – uranium – and fell sick thereafter. The ruling clearly points out the given direct correlation between the inhaled uranium-dust and the development of a Hodgkin Lymphoma. The scientific background to the ruling, elaborated by a medico-legal expert appointed by the court, has been published together with the ruling (see: http://www.vittimeuranio.com).

Falco Accame, who founded an association to assist soldiers with ailments due to the handling of ammunition with depleted uranium, stated concerning the ruling: Since 1984 the Italian Ministry of Defence had been provided with scientific documents concerning the use of ammunition containing depleted uranium – as most likely also in other NATO countries. During the Gulf War the precautionary principle had not been implemented yet by the United States of America, but already 1993 during the Somalia operations it was standard practice for most armies. It was only in 1999 that this danger had been exposed in Italy publicly by KAFOR troops operating in the Balkan. The failure to implement the precautionary principle in context with the exposure to depleted uranium ammunition in Somalia therefore must be seen as a criminal act, the court ruled.

First patent for “Armageddon Clothing” awarded tgdaily
TrendwatchBy Nino Marchetti Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Miami (FL) – Radiation Shield Technologies (RST), a developer of what it terms “personal-protection systems for ionizing and nuclear radiation,” said today it has been awarded a nanotechnology patent for the world’s first protective material designed for all types of chemical, biological, radiological and even nuclear incidents. It is called Demron………………….Demron is extremely heavy. The “cloth” weighs about 6 pounds per square foot. A 6′ x 6′ sheet (available in the form of a nuclear radiation blanket) weighs just over 200 pounds, and “is a portable shield offering protection from contained high-energy sources. The suppression blanket can be used to cover an undetonated dirty bomb, radiological dispersal device(RDD), or spill,” according to RST.

Solar Power Vs “Clean Coal” In Australia by Energy Matters 29 Jan 09 “………………. A gross feed in tariff, such as the spectacularly successful program implemented by Germany, pays a premium rate to householders and business for all electricity generated by a grid connected solar power system.

The cost of a properly implemented gross feed in tariff also becomes increasingly attractive when compared to “clean coal”, more accurately known as low emissions coal or “New Generation Coal“. This form of coal sourced power utilises controversial technologies such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) to reduce emissions.
According to a transcript of an interview with Dr.Chris Spero on the Australian Coal Association’s NewGenCoal web site, “the expectation is that the cost increase for clean coal technology will be in the order of 50 to 75% of current power generation costs”.

Low emissions coal also requires more energy, meaning more coal mining and additional environmental havoc.

UK’s Hartlepool 1 nuclear reactor shuts again  Jan 27, 2009

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) – British Energy’s  Hartlepool 1 nuclear power reactor stopped again on Tuesday just two days after restarting from a 14-month repair outage, according to data from National Grid.

British Energy was not able to immediately comment on why the 605-megawatt reactor in northeast England, which was closed from October 2007 until Sunday for boiler repairs, had shut again. (Reporting by Daniel Fineren, editing by Anthony Barker)

US to have ‘vigorous’ Iran talks BBC News
26 Jan 09 The new US envoy to the United Nations says Barack Obama’s administration will make Iran’s nuclear plans a diplomatic priority and pursue direct talks.

Susan Rice told reporters she looked forward to “vigorous diplomacy that includes direct diplomacy with Iran”.

Under George W Bush, there were no direct US nuclear talks with Iran.

The UN has urged Tehran to halt uranium enrichment, amid fears it could be used for military purposes. Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.

In the run-up to his inauguration last week, Mr Obama promised a “new approach” in the dispute.

Last month he called for “tough but direct diplomacy”, offering Iran economic incentives to end its nuclear programme or face tougher sanctions.

Floods, erosion or earthquake risk will not be a bar to nuclear power sites Telegraph.co.uk By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent
 28 Jan 2009 Risk of flood, coastal erosion, environmental damage or even earthquake will not be an automatic bar to the siting of a new nuclear power station, the Government has said…………………………

Last week, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority announced it would put forward four potential sites, at Sellafield in Cumbria, Wylfa in Anglesey, Oldbury in Gloucestershire and Bradwell in Essex.

Revised criteria unveiled at the launch of the two month process to award the contracts saw a lifting of an outright ban on siting new nuclear power stations in areas susceptible to earthquakes…………………………….

Robin Webster, of Friends of the Earth, said: “We urgently need to end our addiction to fossil fuels, but trying to breathe new life into the failed nuclear experiment is not the answer.

“Nuclear power is extremely expensive and leaves a deadly legacy of radioactive waste that remains highly dangerous for tens of thousands of years – and building new reactors would divert precious resources from developing safe, clean renewable power.”

Wind energy can now power 7 million homes Baltimore Business Journal – by Tierney Plumb 28 Jan 09 

Last year the U.S. wind energy industry installed a record 8,358 megawatts of new generating capacity that can serve more than 2 million homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

The Washington, D.C.-based trade association of America’s wind industry has more than 1,800 member companies……………………………..

Wind energy generating capacity in the U.S. now totals 25,170 megawatts, which can power the equivalent of close to 7 million homes.

The top five states, in terms of wind power generating capacity, are Texas, Iowa, California, Minnesota and Washington.

The wind industry has about 85,000 workers, or 35,000 more than a year ago. Many of the 8,000 construction jobs within the industry are at risk if financing for new wind projects is not met, said the association.

“The hope is that provisions such as those included in the House stimulus bill to restore the effectiveness of the tax incentives for renewable energy will quickly become law and provide the capital needed to continue to build projects,” said Bode, in a statement.