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Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Julian Assange

Liu Xiabao was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his struggle for human rights, democracy and freedom of speech in China, Likewise: WikiLeaks have contributed to the struggle for those very values globally, by exposing (among many other things) corruption, war crimes and torture.”

Julian Assange nominated for Peace Prize TECHWATCH, by Tom Coyne, February 3, 2011, Julian Assange, founder of the whistle blowing website, Wikileaks, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by a member of the Norwegian government. Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, civil liberties | Leave a comment

Extraordinary invective against Assange, from US right wing

A vengeful chorus came mostly from Republicans. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, darling of the unhinged right, denounced Julian Assange‘s “sick, un-American espionage” and came close to inciting his assassination

WikiLeaks: How US political invective turned on ‘anti-American’ Julian Assange The Guardian..…. demonstrates how ‘US blood on hands’ of website’s founder got fainter and fainter Luke Harding and David Leigh, * The Guardian,   3 February 2011 Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Lack of civil liberties on a national scale – Philippines and nuclear weapons

The problem is that under the US-RP Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows US military forces to enter the country supposedly for specific non-combat activities for a limited period, Philippine authorities are not allowed to inspect America’s military vessels....This is aggravated by the US’s standard policy on these matters, which is to neither confirm nor deny whether its visiting military vessels and aircraft are nuclear-armed or not..

China, US making Southeast Asia a nuclear neighborhood, JUN VERZOLA, GMANews.TV , 3 Feb 2011, “…..According to Roland G. Simbulan, a long-standing advocate of nuclear disarmament: “Given the nuclear-free policy laid down by the Philippine Constitution, even transient visits by nuclear-armed vessels or aircraft are prohibited. Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | Philippines, politics international | Leave a comment

Virginia Uranium gives big bucks to legislators

Top givers by amount ……. Virginia Uranium, ($27,489); Dominion Resources, which runs the largest electric company in the state ($22,673);

Va. legislators accepted more than $255,000 in gifts last year, Virginia Politics Blog By Anita Kumar 02/ 3/2011 Lobbyists, companies and trade associations gave Virginia legislators international trips, tickets to Redskins football games and the Richmond Ballet and meals last year, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in politics. Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Virginian group organising to keep ban on uranium mining

Everywhere they mine uranium they have had health problems within about a 50-mile radius,” he said.  A Floyd resident commented that cancer and birth defects are up by 81% in Fallujah, Iraq, because of U.S. weapons made with depleted uranium.

Uranium mining: Virginians band together to keep moratorium in place, South West Virginia Today ,By Wanda Combs February 3, 2011 About 40 people attended an informational meeting Thursday night at the Floyd Country Store to learn more about an organized campaign to mine uranium in Virginia. Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Lightning strike damages Dounreay nuclear site

Lightning bolt hit Dounreay nuclear site systems, BBC News, 3 February 2011 A lightning strike caused temporary damage to the Dounreay nuclear site in Caithness, it has emerged.No-one was hurt, but a number of electronic systems for carrying out measurements and monitoring were affected and had to be repaired. Lightning hit scaffolding in the fuel cycle area, a high security zone with facilities once used to handle and store nuclear material and waste. The incident came during an electrical storm on 15 January………BBC News – Lightning bolt hit Dounreay nuclear site systems

February 4, 2011 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Legal challenge to German govt extending life of nuclear plants

argues that the nuclear sites were inadequately protected against plane crashes and that safe nuclear waste disposal was not yet possible.

Greenpeace brings nuclear plant lifespan law to Germany’s highest court Deutsche Welle, Darren Mara (dpa, AP), 3 Feb 2011, Residents living near a handful of Germany’s nuclear plants, along with environmental group Greenpeace, have filed a case with the constitutional court over a new law extending the lifespan of the nuclear plants. Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | Germany, Legal | Leave a comment

9,200 green collar jobs in wind energy, UK

Highlighting the growth of renewable energy in the UK – both at onshore and offshore wind energy sites and domestic installations – the number of jobs increased to around 9,200 last year.

Wind power industry employment grows 91%, Energy Saving Trust, by Emily Thomas, 03 February 2011, Employment in the wind power industry has surged 91 per cent in the past three years, according to figures from a study by RenewableUK and the EU Sector Skills Council for the Power Sector.

Highlighting the growth of renewable energy in the UK – both at onshore and offshore wind energy sites and domestic installations – the number of jobs increased to around 9,200 last year. In 2007 there were just 4,800 jobs in the industry.Including tidal power and small-scale wind turbines, there are around 10,800 people employed in the UK’s energy industry.

Maria McCaffery, chief executive of the lobby group, told Bloomberg: “The growth in these technologies as well as small wind systems and marine is set not just to continue but accelerate, further driving employment.”

Reports suggest that as more homeowners sign up to the government’s Green Deal and install wind turbines in their property, this will boost the number of installation and manufacturing jobs to cope with demand.

Posted

Wind power industry employment grows 91% / Policy / Energy saving news / Resources / UK Home – Energy Saving Trust

February 4, 2011 Posted by | employment, renewable, UK | Leave a comment

The Southeast Asia nuclear weapons free zone

China, US making Southeast Asia a nuclear neighborhood.JUN VERZOLA, GMANews.TV, 3 Feb 2011, “……...The Southeast Asia nuclear weapons free zone The prohibition of nuclear weapons in Philippine territory is, in fact, not only mandated by the 1987 Constitution but by the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ), forged in Bangkok in 1995 by 10 Southeast Asian member-states: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The SEANWFZ or Bangkok Treaty of 1995, which took effect in 1997, commits its members to the following (Article 3):

  1. Anywhere inside or outside the nuclear weapons-free zone (NWFZ), not to develop, manufacture, acquire, possess or have control over nuclear weapons; not to station or transport nuclear weapons; and not to use or test nuclear weapons.
  2. In each member’s territory, not to allow any other state to develop, manufacture, acquire, possess or have control over nuclear weapons, nor to station nuclear weapons, nor to test or use nuclear weapons.

In short, the Bangkok Treaty binds all 10 member-states not to allow nuclear weapons—whether self-acquired or held by any other state—within their combined territory………….
Since China has rapidly increased its military strength in the past decade, its naval fleets have been projecting Chinese armed might—and presumably, its nuclear capabilities—beyond the internationally-recognized Chinese coastline, into the high seas beyond.

This problem is further aggravated in the case of the Philippines, where the most basic questions about the area of Philippine jurisdiction remain ambiguous. As discussed in his recent book, veteran diplomat Rodolfo Severino said, “Philippine law enforcement agencies have not been sure of what to allow and what to prohibit, particularly by way of sea passage, overflight, fishing activities, and environmental protection.” (See: Veteran diplomat asks: Where in the world is the Philippines?)
China, US making Southeast Asia a nuclear neighborhood – Nation – GMANews.TV – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News

February 4, 2011 Posted by | ASIA, Philippines, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

USA’s missile shield program was a lemon – Wikileaks

A 2007 briefing by General Patrick O’Reilly, director of the US Missile Defence Agency, disclosed that the radar system would be unable to detect long-range missiles in the launch phase because it could only see in a straight line, not over the horizon.

WikiLeaks cables: planned US missile shield blind to nuclear weapons, Telegraph UK, US plans for a missile defence system on Czech soil ran into trouble when defence chiefs realised the proposed radar was blind to nuclear missiles, leaked diplomatic cables show By Heidi Blake 03 Feb 2011 Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | technology, weapons and war, Wikileaks | Leave a comment

Sweden’s massive emergency drill about its aging nuclear reactors

It would later include a nuclear waste accident that would force authorities to plan for evacuations and increased communication with the public…….Sweden’s parliament passed a landmark bill last June allowing the country’s nuclear reactors to be replaced at the end of their life spans instead of simply ending nuclear power when they expire.

Sweden kicks off massive nuclear accident drill, 03 February 2011 AFP / The Swedish Wire Swedish authorities on Wednesday kicked off the country’s largest-ever crisis management exercise on what to do in the event of an accident at one of its nuclear plants. Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | safety, Sweden | Leave a comment

Legal case on unsafe transport of radioactive device

Although such radioactive exposures are rare, they are not unheard of.

Charges laid for unsafe transportation of radioactive device  Vancouver Sun, By Kelly Cryderman, Calgary Herald February 2, 2011 A case involving rarely used nuclear safety charges — and a radioactive device that travelled unlocked from northern Alberta to Ottawa — will be heard in a Calgary courtroom next month. Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | Canada, safety | Leave a comment

Iran’s nuclear progress slowed, but “could produce” bombs

Iran could produce two nuclear bombs within two years, London think tank warns – TelegraphUK, 3 Feb 2011, Iran is definitely pursuing a nuclear weapon and could produce two bombs within two years, a leading London think tank has warned.  By Damien McElroy,   03 Feb 2011 Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | Iran, weapons and war | Leave a comment