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India’s Chief Ministers urged to support the people, not foreign nuclear corporations

Kudankulam: 3 women CMs urged to take steps to rescind all nuke deals DNA, Jan 9, 2012,  Chennai  PTI An anti-nuclear forum spearheading the stir against Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant today requested women chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to take steps to rescind all nuclear deals the Centre has signed with US, Russia, France and other nations.

In a letter to them, the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy urged ‘the three popular and bold leaders’ tobring it up at the coming chief ministers’ conference and take steps to rescind all such agreements signed with these three countries and other nations.

Alleging that these are affecting Indian fishermen, farmers, Dalit workers and other deprived sections, it said the country’s nuclear performance has been “quite dismal, insignificant and wasteful.”

“Even after spending so much money, resources, time and national energies for the past 63 years, they produce hardly 2.5% electricity and have done little for the betterment of our people,” the letter said. PMANE also alleged that the nuclear department meddles in national politics and that ‘invigorating this department further would lead only to slavery and not salvation.”

“As women leaders with motherly concern for the people who enjoy people’s trust and huge political mandate, you are the hopes of our country’s youth and children,” the letter signed by PMANE convenor SP Udayakumar said. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_knpp-3-women-cms-urged-to-take-steps-to-rescind-all-nuke-deals_1635185

January 10, 2012 Posted by | India, politics | Leave a comment

India: determination of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)

demanded that the Centre cancel nuclear deals with all countries, including USA, Russia, France and Japan. “People should not be made scapegoats for the sake of multinational companies,”

Will lay permanent siege to Koodankulam plant if it goes critical: PMANE, The Asian Age, Jan 07, 2012 |  Madurai An anti-nuclear forum spearheading the ongoing stir against Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant on Saturday said it would intensify the agitation by laying a ‘permanent siege’ to the plant if it goes critical.
“The government should respect the sentiments of the local people. If they don’t, they will not hesitate to lay a permanent siege of the plant,” S P Udhaykumar, convenor of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) told reporters here. He said there is no compromise on PMANE’s stand that the Centre should shelve the project. Continue reading →

January 10, 2012 Posted by | India, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

NRC’s nuclear safety moves slow and inadequate

There is some dissent among nuclear experts despite the NRC’s assurances.

 radioactive tritium has leaked into groundwater at three-quarters of U.S. commercial nuclear power sites.

Nuclear safety in the U.S. a slow affair Smart Planet, By  | January 8, 2012 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is taking a years long methodical approach to advanced nuclear safety in the United States while other nations, including France and Japan, are acting more expeditiously.

Japan’s ongoing Fukushima crisis has placed nuclear power under scrutiny throughout the world, and public interest groups in the US have expressed safety concerns about its aging reactors. Watchdogs have criticized the NRC for softening regulations or  even ignoring violations…… Continue reading →

January 10, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Airport scanner staff to be monitored for radiation

Airport Screeners to be Monitored for Radiation, TSA Says Jan 9, 2012   Rachael Rettner, MyHealthNews The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is looking to monitor the levels of radiation that its employees are exposed to from X-ray technology, including airport body scanners, a document from the agency says.

In the document, the TSA said it plans to start performing radiation measurements using “personal dosimeters,” which are devices worn on the body that measure a person’s exposure to radiation, at certain airports. Such devices are used by people who work near sources of radiation  such as hospital and nuclear power plant employees.

“The measurements will assist the TSA in determining if the Transportation Security Officers (TSO) at selected federalized airports are exposed to ionizing radiation above minimum detectable levels, and whether any measured radiation doses approach or exceed the threshold where personnel dosimetry monitoring is required by [Department of Homeland Security]/TSA policy,” according to the document, which was posted on a government website. http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/2091-airport-security-screening-personal-radiation-monitoring.html

January 10, 2012 Posted by | health, USA | Leave a comment

Renewable energy deal between Scotland and Masdar

Scotland set for renewable energy deal in Abu Dhabi, BBC News 8 Jan 12, Mr Salmond said the deal would help develop university research into renewable energy Scotland is poised to sign a renewable energy technology research deal in the Middle East.

First Minister Alex Salmond is to travel to Abu Dhabi this week to sign a “ground-breaking” contract with renewables firm Masdar. Continue reading →

January 10, 2012 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Israel to close its unsafe Dimona nuclear reactor, in fear of war with Iran

Iranian war fears spark closure of Israel reactor THE AUSTRALIAN,    January 09, 2012   ISRAEL is preparing to shut its nuclear reactor at Dimona, where it makes nuclear weapons, because of the site’s vulnerability in a war with Iran. Continue reading →

January 10, 2012 Posted by | Israel, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Attacks on NRC Chairman take attention away from nuclear safety issues

The grumbling over Jaczko is a convenient smokescreen to draw attention away from the fact that, for the first time in decades, the NRC actually has a Chairman who, in his own words, is “a very passionate person about safety” at the country’s 104 operating nuclear reactors. That shows up the other four, who, much of the time, adhere to an old culture of capitulation to the demands of the nuclear power industry, a practice which almost invariably diminishes safety…….

Congress could better spend its time looking deeper into lax safety oversight at NRC and tell its commissioners to stop favoring the nuclear industry’s financial priorities over public safety.

The Jaczko DebateNuclear Agency Squabbling Throws Smokescreen Over Safety Lapses, Counter Punch, 6 Jan 12, by LINDA PENTZ GUNTER Four of the five commissioners at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission have charged their boss, Chairman Gregory Jaczko, with “causing serious damage to this institution.” That is tough talk coming from an agency where mismanagement under previous chairmanships actually did serious damage, not only to the regulatory integrity of the institution, but to safety integrity at nuclear reactors. Continue reading →

January 7, 2012 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul has some sane nuclear ideas

like former president (and five-star general) Dwight D. Eisenhower, he thinks the current military-industrial complex wields excessive influence on our politics and has become a self-perpetuating engine for counter-productive meddling abroad.

The rest of the GOP candidates are mostly competing to see who can sound the most eager for war (usually with Iran) or most willing to toss more money at the Pentagon….

Why Ron Paul may actually have something right, Foreign
Policy,  By Stephen M. Walt, January 6, 2012 – “…….despite his bizarre views on the gold standard, climate change, social security, and the like, Paul has put his finger on a number of issues that could resonate broadly with the American people, … Continue reading →

January 7, 2012 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Threats make Iran more anxious to have nuclear weapons

The ultimate irony, of course, is that the more the West tries to punish Iran for pursuing
nuclear weapons, the more they prove to the Iranian leadership the necessity of acquiring them.

A nuclear-armed state doesn’t get pushed around by bigger bullies,

Standoff Over Iran’s Oil and Nuclear Program Isn’t Going Away, Atlantic Wire,  DASHIELL BENNETT 6 Jan 12,  Iran promises more military action in the Strait of Hormuz, as western
nations try turn up the economic pressure in an attempt to stop the country’s nuclear program. After the Iranians conducted 10 days of drills near the all-important entrance to the Persian Gulf and threatened to close the Strait altogether if the U.S. and Europe impose more oil sanctions … Europe and the U.S. decided to consider more sanctions.

So Iranian naval officials announced a new set of war games that would take place in February. Meanwhile, Israel is talking about having its own missile defense exercise and the European Union is openly talking about a near total ban on Iranian oil imports, ratcheting up tensions instead of deflating them. Continue reading →

January 7, 2012 Posted by | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment

War games – all about Iran’s nuclear ambitions

Face-off in the Gulf as U.S., Israel and Iran all launch war games in show of force over nuclear plans and key oil route UK warns that it is prepared to use force to stop Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 6th January 2012 The U.S. and Israel are planning a massive military exercise in the Persian Gulf in an attempt to face down Iran over its sabre-rattling in the region.
But the Islamic Republic is also preparing war games in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic oil route which the country has threatened to block off in a move which could seriously restrict energy supplies. Britain’s Defence Secretary yesterday said that the UK would take military action to prevent Iran – which is believed to be developing secret nuclear weapons – from cutting off the strait.
Iran announced last night that an annual naval exercise known as ‘The Great Prophet’ would take place in the strait next month…….
Last month, the head of the British armed forces said the biggest strategic risk facing the UK was economic rather than military. General Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said ‘no country can defend itself if bankrupt’.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2082961/Face-Gulf-U-S–Israel-Iran-launch-war-games-force-nuclear-plans-key-oil-route.html#ixzz1inkW205N

January 7, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Depleted uranium has wreaked havoc on health in Iraq

The US and UK militaries have sent mixed signals about the effects of depleted uranium, but Iraqi doctors like Alwachi and Alani, and along with researchers, blame the increasing cancer and birth defect rates on the weapon.

Abdulhaq Al-Ani, author of Uranium in Iraq, has been researching the effects of depleted uranium on Iraqis since 1991. He told Al Jazeera he personally measured radiation levels in the city of Kerbala, as well as in Basra, and his Geiger counter was “screaming” because “the indicator went beyond the range”.

Fallujah babies: Under a new kind of siege, Doctors and residents blame US weapons for catastrophic levels of birth defects in Fallujah’s newborns, Al Jazeera, Dahr Jamail   06 Jan 2012  Fallujah, Iraq – While the US military has formally withdrawn from Iraq, doctors and residents of Fallujah are blaming weapons like depleted uranium and white phosphorous used during two devastating US attacks on Fallujah in 2004 for what are being described as “catastrophic” levels of birth defects and abnormalities.

Dr Samira Alani, a paediatric specialist at Fallujah General Hospital, has taken a personal interest in investigating an explosion of congenital abnormalities that have mushroomed in the wake of the US sieges since 2005. ”We have all kinds of defects now, ranging from congenital heart disease to severe physical abnormalities, both in numbers you cannot imagine,” Alani told Al Jazeera at her office in the hospital, while showing countless photos of shocking birth defects.

As of December 21, Alani, who has worked at the hospital since 1997, told Al Jazeera she had personally logged 677 cases of birth defects since October 2009. Just eight days later when Al Jazeera visited the city on December 29, that number had already risen to 699. Continue reading →

January 7, 2012 Posted by | depleted uranium, Iraq, Uranium | Leave a comment

USA ‘s cautious move to reduce nuclear weapons

Pentagon cuts: What will the new US military look like? BBC News, By Heather Hurlburt, Executive Director, National Security Network, 6 Jan 12,“…..The president’s 2009 Prague pledge to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in US strategy, and move toward their elimination, will begin to have practical force.

Stephen Young of the Union of Concerned Scientists describes the future of the nuclear weapons complex as “cautious but suggestive”. The strategy review document maintains a nuclear arsenal but hints at reductions, saying “it is possible our deterrence goals can be achieved with a smaller nuclear force”.

What might this mean in practice? In the near-term, disappointment for those on the US right who have advocated aggressive investment in new nuclear bombs and even a return to testing. In the longer-term, many Pentagon generals, especially those not in submarine, missile or nuclear bomber commands, are willing to consider shrinking the nuclear “triad”.  There is also a raft of influential players in the nuclear sphere who have been eager to retire the weapons…..”   http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16433138

January 7, 2012 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

New uranium mining banned near Grand Canyon

U.S. to Ban New Uranium Mining Near Grand Canyon, NYT, 6 Jan 12, By JOHN M. BRODER Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to announce on Monday that he has approved a 20-year moratorium on new uranium mining claims in a million-acre buffer zone around the Grand Canyon.

The decision, which has been under consideration for nearly two years, would allow a small number of existing uranium and other hard rock mining operations in the region to continue while barring the new claims. In 2009 Mr. Salazar suspended new uranium claims on public lands surrounding the Grand Canyon for two years, overturning a Bush administration policy that encouraged thousands of new claims when the price of uranium soared in 2006 and 2007.

Many of the stakeholders are foreign interests, including Rosatom, Russia’s state atomic energy corporation.

The Interior Department took public comment and prepared an environmental impact statement before deciding to extend the moratorium for another 20 years…. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/u-s-to-ban-new-uranium-mining-near-grand-canyon/

January 7, 2012 Posted by | politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Protect our grandchildren- close down New York’s nuclear plants

demand that New York state devise a plan to phase out all nuclear power and replace it with a combination of energy conservation and wind, solar and geothermal energy! That way we could all feel a lot safer, and protect generations of American children.

It’s time to close the facilities in New York Syracuse.com, Rick Olanoff, January 06, 2012 Did you know that Germany is planning to phase out its nuclear power plants?

Did you read that German children living near nuclear power plants are twice as likely to develop leukemia as those who live elsewhere? (And there have been no nuclear disasters in Germany that would greatly increase these risks.) Continue reading →

January 7, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Kim Jong Un – an unknown quantity in charge of North Korea’s nukes

Understanding the youngest man who can launch a nuclear weapon Kim was ‘dim’ and a Chicago Bulls fan to his Swiss schoolmates Gulf News, By Malcolm MoorePublished: 00:00 January 7, 2012 Shanghai: Officially aged 29, but probably only 26 or 27, he is the youngest man in history with the power to launch a nuclear weapon.
But the man who appears to have risen smoothly to become North Korea’s “Supreme Military Commander”, the title bestowed on him on Friday and confirmed by the country’s ruling politburo on Thursday, is a worrying blank to most of the outside world…. Inside North Korea, the country’s secretive regime has begun honing propaganda messages about the new leader…. http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/understanding-the-youngest-man-who-can-launch-a-nuclear-weapon-1.962297

January 7, 2012 Posted by | North Korea | Leave a comment

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