Another nuclear war-mongering week in the news

A bit of good news. The Golden Rule, the first boat to protest nuclear weapons is back to inspire a new generation.

Events. 17 May Online Seminar – Beyond Nuclear “Tritium and the U.S. Nuclear Power Sector”. 18 – 28 May .12TH INTERNATIONAL URANIUM FILM FESTIVAL RIO DE JANEIRO .

Climate. The most at-risk regions in the world for high-impact heatwaves.

Nuclear. What can I say? The longest section below “Weapons and Weapons Sales” says it all. It’s the war-mongering economy, stupid.

Christina notes. Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles – a puppet of the American war industry – leading us on to WW3.

CLIMATE. Despite the dangers of climate change, UK nuclear power stations still sited on the coastline!

ECONOMICS. Preparing for War: The Global Military Budget. Nuclear vs Solar: The Race For Renewable Dominance. Marketing. UK courts Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates for investments to salvage the nuclear dream

ENERGY. EDF Q1 revenues rise but nuclear output declines.

ENVIRONMENT. Remembering Chornobyl — Beyond Nuclear. Why did Russians dig trenches in radioactive Chernobyl woods? Marine deaths prompt calls for investigation and halt into any new nuclear dump tests. Hinkley fish deterrent farce makes mockery of Environment Agency and Minister.

HEALTH. Russian troops ‘went FISHING in the nuclear reactor cooling channel at Chernobyl’ and are now suffering from radiation sickness. ‘New Zealand should say sorry’ – sailors posted to watch nuclear tests.

HISTORY. REGAN Vest: Inside Denmark’s secret nuclear bunker.

MEDIA. BBC launches 7 part series on Fukushima nuclear disaster. Fukushima nuclear disaster – new Netflix series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtB8P59xWjw Survivors of Britain’s Cold War radiation experiments to have their stories recorded.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. The age of small modular nuclear? Amid maintenance delays and strikes in nuclear industry, France restarts one reactor.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. MPs and activists push back as Ottawa pitches expansion of nuclear energy -“a dirty dangerous distraction”.     Citizen opposition blocks discharge of radioactive water from Indian Point nuke into Hudson River, for now.             Anti nuclear campaign groups in Wales (Dwyfor and Meirionnydd) urge government to invest in energy conservation, NOT dirty nuclear power.

PERSONAL STORIES. The mind of Oppenheimer, inventor of nuclear bomb who turned pacifist. Chernobyl: Survivors reflect on nuclear accident, Russian occupation.

POLITICS. 

• . New Defence Review Further Enslaves Australia To US War Agendas. Australia pays former US defence chiefs $7000 a day for advice.  Australia being seduced into war again by the US, this time over Taiwan. 
• Biden’s team fears the aftermath of a failed Ukrainian counteroffensive. Scott Ritter: ‘Ukraine Victory Resolution’ Act – a Delusional Suicide Pact. 
• US Senators and Congress Members introduce Bill to stop A1 from power to launch a nuclear weapon. Lawmakers propose banning AI from singlehandedly launching nuclear weapons.
• Canada’s push for small nuclear reactors will be costly, ineffective, some MPs warn. New nuclear tech not the answer to Canada’s climate woes, MPs say. 

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

• Biden and South Korea’s Yoon sign new agreement on nuclear weapons. 
• France to participate in Russian Rosatom’s Hungary nuclear power plant project. Will The EU Sanction Russia’s Nuclear Industry? (I don’t think France will agree to this) 
• Pentagon-EU-NATO merger proceeds apace. New pact mandates EU honor NATO’s Article 5 collective war clause . 
• Statement by the G7 Parliamentarian Forum for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. G-7 Expected to Focus on Nuclear Dangers in Hiroshima.

PROTESTS.“We won’t be scapegoats!” — French opposition to nuclear waste dumping.

PUBLIC OPINION. Is nuclear power attractive or risky? In Minnesota, it’s both.

SAFETY Remembering Chernobyl as nuclear danger grows with attacks in the Zaporizhzhia region. Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant: a Catastrophe Waiting to Happen, Ukraine’s nuclear power plants are still a source of nightmares years after the Chornobyl disaster. Chernobyl anniversary offers a bleak look at what may await other Ukrainian nuclear plants. Russia fixing power line from Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to land it controls, IAEA says. 

Japanese authorities doubtful of removal process of Fukushima radioactive sandbags. Libya lost, then found, 2.5 tonnes of uranium – a red flag for nuclear safety.   No change to nuclear transport rules following accident down under, says regulator.

SECRETS and LIES. 

• Foiled Escape: UC Global, the CIA and Julian Assange.
•  ‘Crazy’ that Russia and Ukraine still trade – Seymour Hersh.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_2kfZKtSRg
• Once Shocking, U.S. Spying on Its Allies Draws a Global Shrug. 
• How The FBI Helps Ukrainian Intelligence Hunt ‘Disinformation’ On Social Media. 
• Sensitive files on nuclear submarine found in English pub restroom. 
• ACTION ALERT: False NYT Spy Claim on Iran Nukes Needs Correction.
• Australia Pays “retired U.S. military figure” Clapper to advance USA’s Military Aims

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. India needs ‘space-based’ weapons – top generals. Stop SpaceX from crashing rockets in the Pacific. The wrong stuff – Musk and the 4/20 rocket drill .

SPINBUSTER. Caitlin Johnstone – The Single Dumbest Thing The Empire Asks Us To Believe.

WASTES. Nuclear waste from small modular reactors – Simon Daigle comments on recent article. A means to dispose of nuclear waste remains elusive and Canada continues to store the most per capita. The long and dirty legacy of nuclear power. Plans to release nuclear wastewater into Hudson River delayed following outcry.

WAR and CONFLICT. 

• Daniel Ellsberg Warns Risk of Nuclear War Is Rising as Tension Mounts over Ukraine & Taiwan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RAxEnqZt3w 
• US deployed Nuclear Disablement Teams to S. Korea in March.
• Russia is preparing to defend Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. 
• NATO drills fifth-generation warplanes for all-domain “immediate response under Article 5”. 
• Germany trains Ukrainian special forces, tank crews for attacks on Russian forces. 
• Estonia: NATO absorbs national forces on Russia’s northwest border . 
• Sardinia: NATO strike force practices war with Russia . 
• Mombasa Appeal for peace and prevention of Nuclear War – International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. 

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES.

•  UK replacing its Nuclear Warhead Programme – at what cost? UK underlines commitment to NATO nuclear capability  and a £3 billion funding uplift for the nuclear enterprise. UK Gave Ukraine Thousands of Shells, Including Depleted Uranium Rounds. 
• Will the West turn Ukraine into a nuclear battlefield? 
• US nuclear weapons modernization plan spurs cost questions. Dealing with a debacle: A better plan for US plutonium pit production. 
• US to send nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea. Kim Jong Un’s influential sister says North Korea determined to develop nuclear arsenal following US-South Korea summit. 
• Pentagon: Poland leader among NATO nations, “wonderful host” to U.S. combat forces . 
• Largest short-range missile acquisition in NATO: UK to deliver more missile batteries to Poland . 
• NATO conference pushes arms procurements for Ukraine, future wars .  
• NATO allies, partners provide Ukraine with 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks . 
• Ukraine signs new contracts with Turkish drone manufacturer for “new-generation weapons” . 
• France: NATO’s rehearsal for war with Russia includes cyber, space, electromagnetic components . 
• Nuclear weapons: a big threat to Africa, too — IPPNW peace and health blog.

May 2, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes