nuclear-news

Week to June 19, in nuclear news

A bit of good news .  The ‘lost’ underwater forests that came back from the dead.

Climate. Greta Thunberg: not phasing out fossil fuels is ‘death sentence’ for world’s poor…….   . Oil-rich nations dominate COP28 – now offering rich sponsorships, in the effort to silence critics. Fossil fuel lobbyists will have to identify themselves as such in registering for the UN Cop28 climate summit,

Environment.     Global biodiversity crisis

Nuclear. Russiamoved small “tactical” nuclear weapons to Belarus, sparking anxiety that the Ukraine war could “go nuclear”. Meanwhile, I have no doubt that Russia propaganda is portraying the war as being won by Russia.  And it is also patently obvious that Western media depicts the Ukraine “counter-offensive” as being a winner.  What gets me is that we – that’s the USA and all its “like-minded” hangers-on – are not actually at war against Russia. So we don’t really have to have the blanket of anti-Russian spin thrown over every news item of this proxy war, (as is the  practice in a real war)

Christina notes. Rafael Grossi – suffering a sort of “Schizophrenia” about nuclear so-called “safety?      Nuclear industry puppet France is bullying Europe into environmental destruction.   Council of Polluting Corporations COP28 – in charge of the November-December global climate talks.

TOP STORIES

The Imminent Extradition of Julian Assange and the Death of Journalism.

Milley Predicts Long, ‘Very Violent’ Ukrainian Counter-offensive.   Jacques Baud on the legitimacy and legality of Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine.       The Voltaire Network on the collapse of Kiev. Ukraine -its past, and now.

EU states back nuclear energy while diluting biodiversity reforms.

USA’s Inflation Reduction Act expands tax-payer funding for nuclear power plants.

USA Majority say taking nuclear, military secrets a national security threat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_j38JnnKxw

Fukushima waste-water plan a nuclear threat to Asia-Pacific.

AUSTRALIA.

  The AUKUS mess – false promises about Australian jobs: Richard Marles, Jonathon Mead duped? Dreadnoughts and Virginias: why is Australia paying more than twice the price for submarines?          

 Australia’s Atomic Survivors want Prime Minister Albanese to sign treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Karina’s father went blind at Emu Field. Now, she’s fighting for a treaty on nuclear weapons. 

Pro-nuclear brigade ignores inconvenient truth. Member of Parliament Ted O’Brien gets it so wrong about nuclear power.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. Democracy out the window in USA – as teachers and others punished for making pro-Russian comments.

CULTURE and ARTS.  The Fukushima Wastewater ‘Discharge’: What’s in a Name? – technostrategic language.

ECONOMICS. 

• Lawmakers seek clearer picture of nuclear command and control costs. 
• Pension funds and investment managers are not willing to take the risks on the dying nuclear industry. 
• More trouble at Vogtle. 
• Marketing. USA to market small nuclear reactors to Slovakia?  Egypt joining IAEA’s Convention on Nuclear Safety, as Russia successfully markets its nuclear industry to Egypt; Russia trying to market nuclear power stations to Sri Lanka. USA marketing nuclear power to Bulgaria.

EMPLOYMENT. Workers, residents, at US site that made Nagasaki A-bomb’s plutonium are still suffering.

 ENERGY. Expert: Germany’s energy system has coped with nuclear shutdown. 45 nations pledge to double their rate of energy efficiency improvements.        Nuclear Free Local Authorities – visiting community owned project in the UK, at the start of Community Energy Fortnight.

ENVIRONMENT   The profligate use of our stressed freshwater resource by the nuclear industry.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogeKk9b-yjY        Macao SAR to suspend Japanese food import after nuclear-contaminated wastewater discharge.          Japan urged to halt release of toxic water.

HEALTH. Cancer patients can possibly avoid radiation. Silent Danger: Hidden Link Discovered Between Low-Dose Radiation and Heart Disease.

LEGAL. Why Biden Wants Assange in Jail: Case at the Tipping Point, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joAMokiAllk

MEDIA. “Radioactive – The Women of Three Mile Island”” is compelling viewing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iotD7_cKWfc

POLITICS. 

• Japanese government making “all-out” efforts to convince fishermen that Fukushima waste-water release is OK . 
• U.S. Congress caves in to nuclear industry pressure for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to dumb down standards, and shift fees to tax-payers. 
• Connecticut Governor Lamont should veto SB 7 that would advance dangerous nuclear power. 
• Beware: we ignore Robert F Kennedy Jr’s candidacy at our peril. 
• Why Saudi Arabia wants a ‘nuclear Aramco’. 
• Zelensky’s Swiss parliament speech boycotted by right-wing Swiss People’s Party. 
• ‘Nuclear not allowed’: Papua New Guinea’s Marape backtracks on comments about Japan’s plan to dump nuclear wastewater. 
• Independent Scotland would ban nuclear weapons in written constitution.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

•  Victoria Nuland to announce Ukraine to join NATO – the start of World War 3. In July, NATO nations will upgrade Ukraine’s status as a future member, but in a rather confusing way. Zelensky admits that there was an ongoing civil war prior to the Russian invasion, claims Russia will attack a NATO member. 

•     Iranian Supreme Leader Says ‘Nothing Wrong’ With A Nuclear Deal With West. 
• Oman facilitating Iran-US talks to replace 2015 nuclear accord. 
• EU to vote on renewables bill again after being stalled on nuclear row.  Key renewables vote in European Council postponed over nuclear spat.
• South Korea begins public briefings to address concern over Fukushima water.

SAFETY.   UN: Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s Largest, Faces ‘Dangerous Situation‘. UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi continues to have a bet each way on nuclear power “safety”. UN concerned by ‘discrepancy’ in Ukraine nuclear plant water levels after dam collapse. U.N. nuclear chief visits Ukraine nuke plant after dam explosion, to “help prevent a nuclear accident“. 

French nuclear watchdog specifies questions for EDF reactor life extensions. Safety issues for 9 French nuclear reactors make their lifetime extension doubtful. 

Nuclear Weapons Cybersecurity.   Lawmakers propose shoring up nuclear cyber standards ahead of National Defense Authorization Act markup.

SECRETS and LIES. CIA: Black Market of Arms Trade. Part 1. Israel Worries U.S. Weapons for Ukraine Are Ending Up in Iran’s Hands.

SPINBUSTER. Ukraine’s propaganda machine is vital for Zelensky: Here is how it works. Ignoring the Fiction of a Nuclear Silver Bullet. The absurdity of Western reporting on the war in Ukraine – Schrodinger’s Offensive. “Nuclear is CLEAN” Trumpets Westinghouse’s Uranium Fuel in Cumbrian Press Adverts.

WASTES. 

• Czech nuclear problem: Where to store toxic waste? 
• Ontario Government Response on Nuclear Proximity Principle Expected by Mid-October.
• Fukushima nuclear plant begins tests of wastewater release plan; fishing officials remain opposed. 
• Talks ongoing over plans for UK’s Vulcan base to move into hands of Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 
• The US Energy Department is spending $26M to help find a temporary site to store spent nuclear fuel.

WAR and CONFLICT. Zelensky Confirms Ukrainian Counteroffensive Has Started.        Kiev intends to kill as many Russians as possible – top Zelensky aide.       Moscow estimates Ukraine’s counteroffensive losses.     Why Russia must not take the Western bait, to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war.     Putin warns NATO over being drawn into Ukraine war.     Time to remove nuclear weapons from NATO countries, in return for Putin not putting them in Belarus? [ on nuclear-news.net]Trudeau visits Kiev to bolster US-NATO war on Russia.   Vienna Summit: Anti-War Activists From 32 Countries Call For Diplomacy to End Ukraine War. Ukraine Becomes A ‘Nuclear Battleground’ As US, UK Russia Could Unleash Their ‘Cursed Ammo’ To The Warzone. Norman Solomon: Bipartisan Obsession With War.Darkness: nuclear winter – fire, ice, famine.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Number of nuclear weapons held by major powers rising, says thinktank. Nuclear weapons on rise in a world where ‘peace through deterrence’ is a myth. Nuclear weapons spending increases while global security decreases. Nuclear arsenals growing as chances for diplomacy shrink: report.     Tit For Tat: Putin says Russia will use depleted uranium against Ukraine if necessary.      US nuclear-powered submarine arrives in South Korea.

June 19, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes