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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Continual radiation release from Fukushima nuclear plant

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant daily spewing radiation across northern hemisphere Natural News,  June 20, 2013 by: Zach C. MillerThe Fukushima Daiichi disaster continues“…….The amount of radioactivity released from Fukushima from other points of comparison yields cause for concern. The release of radioactivity from Fukushima is estimated to be the equivalent of 168 of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II. More troubling still is the fact that the Fukushima plant continues to spew out radiation across the northern hemisphere every single day because the reactors have not stabilized. Continuously, leaks in the reactors are being reported, Fukushima children are being diagnosed with thyroid cancer, fish are being found to be contaminated with radiation, and U.S. water supply samples are testing positive for radioactive components Iodine-131, Cesium-134 and Cesium -137……”

June 22, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

China supports Obama’s call on nuclear disarmament

CHINA BACKS OBAMA’S CALLS ON NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT HTTP://AU.NEWS.YAHOO.COM/WORLD/A/-/WORLD/17686652/CHINA-BACKS-OBAMAS-CALLS-ON-NUCLEAR-DISARMAMENT/BEIJING (AFP) –   21 JUNE 13, CHINA ON THURSDAY BACKED US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S CALLS FOR THE US AND RUSSIA TO SLASH THEIR ATOMIC ARSENALS, SAYING THE TWO FORMER COLD WAR RIVALS SHOULD BEAR THE BRUNT OF GLOBAL NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT.

“The US and Russia… should substantially reduce their nuclear arsenal in a verifiable and responsible manner,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing in Beijing.

She added: “As the two countries have the largest nuclear arsenal, they should bear special and primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament.”

Her remarks came a day after US President Obama called for the US and Russia’s stash of strategic nuclear weapons to be cut down to around 1,000 and for stocks of tactical nuclear arms to be reduced.

Russia and the United States together hold about 90 per cent of the world’s nuclear weapons, while China is the fourth biggest nuclear power, behind France, according to the May/June 2013 report by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists published in the United States.

Russia’s total inventory of 8,500 warheads slightly surpasses that of 7,700 in the US. France has 300 warheads, while China has 250 and the United Kingdom 225, the report said.

Russian officials on Wednesday reacted coldly to the call by Obama, saying the United States should address Moscow’s concerns over missile defence first.

“How can we take seriously this idea about cuts in strategic nuclear potential while the United States is developing its capabilities” to intercept Russia’s weapons, deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin asked.

June 22, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Corporate land grabbing from indigenous peoples

Ultimately, the most affected aren’t the [indigenous] leaders who are comfortable in their palaces –most of them for more than two decades in power. The real losers in this are ordinary people in African countries.

As the G8 meet  in Northern Ireland, the spotlight has been brought back to taxes and role of multi-nationals in developing countries. It is not just tax evasion and tax holidays that governments provide them that hurt developing economies but land grabbing has also become an every day reality in most African countries. Some companies involved are from these G8 countries.

More work on the ground needs to be done for local communities to have their rights to land well kept as governments push in favour of foreign companies

nuclear-colonialism-4

Push for transparency at G8 alone will not solve land grabs in Africa  Rose Bell’s blog JUNE 17, 2013  In 2012, a few months before he passed away, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi while attending the World Economic Forum on Africa was asked a question that intrigues most African citizens. Why do African leaders- revolutionaries turn to looting their own countries once in power? The brainy later leader of Ethiopia responded by highlighting foreign corporations’ role in impoverishing Africa. He hinted that African leaders, in their quest to find jobs for an increasing unemployed population, were being held hostage by corporations that come in to invest.

 “The vast majority of the loot[ing] is done by properly organized companies through all sorts of accounting gimmicks,” he said. “I think that is the most insidious form of corruption. It affects everybody, including those whose hands are not in the till.” Continue reading

June 22, 2013 Posted by | 2 WORLD, indigenous issues | Leave a comment

Global indigenous movement challenging mining interests

Consider that when global actors invest in Canadian or Australian mines – or indeed, when Canadian mining companies seek to operate in Latin America – they do so on the premise that title to the lands and
resources is assured. Increasingly, that premise is being called into question, as Indigenous people use domestic and international law, the press and the mechanisms of environmental activism to shut down mine sites…….

Toward an Aboriginal Grand Strategy, Global Brief, DOUGLAS SANDERSON  June 21, 2013     “Classical wampum diplomacy may be dead and gone. But North America’s Indigenous people are once again power players…….today, in the year 2013, Indigenous people are resurgent: their claims to protection of their lands and interests are increasingly being heeded by the courts. Indeed, these Aboriginal interests are intersecting decisively with the economic interests of states and the profitability of major companies. Continue reading

June 22, 2013 Posted by | 2 WORLD, indigenous issues | Leave a comment

A bloggers life in the UK Part 3 – a week of searching for support

“Subject is a shop steward and member of the TGWU. Is a troublemaker. If she is not a member of the CP [Communist Party] her husband certainly is.”

 

MPs said that while the blacklist was not initially illegal, it was always “morally indefensible” and companies involved continued to use it after it had become illegal

blacklist-banner_tolpuddle

arclight2011

Many thanks to all those who have given me supportive messages and comments.
I contacted NETPOL http://netpol.org/ (solicitors who help activists normally) but got no reply..
i give you some more details here on how it is possible for PRISM to be used not just for surveillance but to attack.

I also point out that once you are on the PRISM blacklist that there is no going back.
Also PRISM can be used to threaten your friends and family even if they are not activists, they can be blacklisted at the push of a button.
Why are people not shouting about this?

”   First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out–
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out–
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out–
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me. “

Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)

Building firms could face bans over blacklisting of workers

Paul Cahalan  , Sanchez Manning

 

……The blacklist was drawn up by the Consulting Association (TCA), which was closed down in 2009 following a raid by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The raid revealed a database with the names of construction workers and environmental activists used by 44 major companies. MPs and unions say the list was used to ruin the job prospects and reputations of those on it.

Continue reading

June 22, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

NHK Special Report: Nuclear Safety Standards: Can the NRA Deliver?

 

MissingSky101

Published on 21 Jun 2013

NHK: Today’s Close-Up
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has adopted new safety standards that will come into force in July. They require nuclear plant operators to take measures against earthquakes and tsunami, and to prevent severe accidents. This edition focuses on the difficulties in implementing the revised guidelines, and on ways to improve the effectiveness of Japan’s regulatory system.

air date 6/21/13

June 22, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

German Car Manufacturers Generating Own Power As Nuclear Phase-Out Continues

German Car Manufacturers Generating Own Power As Nuclear Phase-Out Continues

BMW currently gets approximately 28 percent of its energy from renewable power, with the ultimate goal of 100 percent

Germany has been one of the world leaders in renewable energy in both solar and wind power, somewhat ironic considering the country’s reputation for a cool, overcast climate for much of the year. But the push for energy self-sufficiency for Germany’s auto industry has been given an added urgency since the announced phase-out of nuclear power by chancellor Angela Merkel following the March 2011 nuclear reactor failure in Japan following the devastating tsunami and earthquake.

According to Bloomberg, Germany has some of the highest energy costs in Europe, largely due to renewable energy surcharges. This has prompted many car builders in Germany  to build their own power plants to better control energy costs as utility-provided power gets increasingly expensive.

In the companies’ bids to become energy self-sufficient, the auto industry is looking at both renewable and conventional sources for power. BMW is adding four wind turbine towers near its Leipzig plant which builds the X1 crossover and is scheduled to build the i3 electric car. The windmills are expected to provide a fourth of the plant’s total power.

Daimler and Volkswagen are both planning on bringing gas-powered plants online within the next few years to provide more of their own power. Total power consumption of Volkswagen’s combined German manufacturing facilities surpasses that of the entire island nation of Jamaica. VW already produces 63 percent of its own power.

BMW currently gets approximately 28 percent of its energy from renewable power, with the ultimate goal of 100 percent. However, the inconsistent nature of renewables, and an inadequate energy storage infrastructure is prompting companies to invest in gas-powered plants

http://www.bmwautostore.com/german-car-manufacturers-generating-own-power-as-nuclear-phase-out-continues/

June 22, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Venezuela – A nuclear cover up? 2 charged with spying in USA

 

….At the start of the investigation, some scientists familiar with Pedro Mascheroni’s work had argued that there was nothing classified or secret about the information….

Today, President Hugo Chavez ordered that Venezuela’s non-existing Nuclear program be frozen because of the problems in Japan.  2011

Image and quote source ; http://devilsexcrement.com/2011/03/15/chavez-freezes-venezuelas-non-existing-nuclear-program/

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A former Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear physicist and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to charges that included communicating classified nuclear weapons data, federal prosecutors said.

Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni, 77, and Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni, 70, entered their pleas in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque. The couple had initially pleaded not guilty in 2010 after they were indicted on charges of violating the Atomic Energy Act.

The two were accused of offering to help develop a nuclear weapon for Venezuela through dealings with an undercover FBI agent who was posing as a representative of the Venezuelan government.

Prosecutors said the Mascheronis held security clearances that allowed them access to classified data while they were employed by the northern New Mexico lab. That data included information on the design, manufacture or use of atomic weapons, and the use of nuclear material in the production of energy.

The U.S. government did not allege that Venezuela or anyone working for it sought U.S. secrets.

Under the plea agreement, Pedro Mascheroni faces up to 5 1/2 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release. His wife could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison and nine years of supervised release.

The court still has to approve the agreements, and sentencing hearings for the couple have yet to be scheduled.

Pedro Mascheroni, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Argentina, worked in the nuclear weapons design division at Los Alamos from 1979 until he was laid off in 1988. His wife, a technical writer, worked there between 1981 and 2010.

Pedro Mascheroni was under investigation for about a year before he and his wife were indicted. In October 2009, the FBI seized computers, letters, photographs, books and cellphones from the couple’s Los Alamos home. In an interview with The Associated Press at the time, he said he believed the U.S. government was wrongly targeting him as a spy, and he denied that accusation.

He said in the interview that he approached Venezuela after the United States rejected his theories that a hydrogen-fluoride laser could produce nuclear energy.

https://i0.wp.com/www.fas.org/spp/starwars/program/trw.jpg

According to prosecutors, Pedro Mascheroni delivered to a post office box in November 2008 a disk with a coded 132-page document on it that contained “restricted data” related to nuclear weapons. Written by Pedro Mascheroni and edited by his wife, the document was titled “A Deterrence Program for Venezuela” and laid out his nuclear weapons development program for the South American nation.

Pedro Mascheroni stated the information he was providing was worth millions of dollars, and that his fee for producing the document was $793,000.

He later provided more information and received cash from the agent.

At the start of the investigation, some scientists familiar with Pedro Mascheroni’s work had argued that there was nothing classified or secret about the information.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/energy/article/NM-physicist-wife-plead-guilty-in-nuke-case-4615549.php

ISOTOPE SEPARATION WITH THE cw HYDROGEN FLUORIDE LASER

Date of Publication: Dec 1970

“…A cw hydrogen fluoride laser has been used successfully to separate deuterium from hydrogen by specific photocatalysis of the reaction of methanol with bromine. The strong absorption of H3COH was demonstrated for the HF laser lines P1(5), P1(6), and P1(7) while no absorption by deutero‐methanol of the HF beam was observed. Excitation of H2COH by the absorbed beam increased the rate of H3COH removal by reaction with bromine. Irradiation, at 90 W for 60 sec, with the cw hydrogen fluoride laser of a 1 : 1 H3COH : D3COD gas mixture in the presence of bromine produced isotope enrichment to greater than 95% D3COD….”

 
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=4842254&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fxpls%2Fabs_all.jsp%3Farnumber%3D4842254
 

Space Based Laser [SBL]

The potential to intercept and destroy a missile over enemy territory soon after launch, rather than over friendly territory, makes the development of a boost phase intercept (BPI) capability very desirable. In concert with ground based theater missile defense (TMD) systems already under development, the U.S. continues to investigate BPI concepts for BMD systems.

SBLRD Characteristics
Weight: 17,500 kg Length: 20.12 m
Diameter: 4.57 m Mirror Diameter: 4.0 m

  • Hydrogen fluoride chemical energy powered laser.
  • On board surveillance capabilities.
  • Super reflective mirror coatings allowing for uncooled optics.
  • Concurrent NMD / TMD capability.

http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/program/sbl.htm

 

June 22, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

US state on alert after nuclear waste leak problem gets even worse!

A spokeswoman for Washington state’s Ecology Department explained why the new finding was so disturbing.

“Until last night, it was thought the leak was contained in the outer shell, but workers detected elevated radioactivity levels within the leak detection pit,” Erica Holmes said.

  • AAP
  • June 22, 2013 10:56AM

 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/us-state-on-alert-after-nuclear-waste-leak/story-fn3dxix6-1226667944412

 

HEIGHTENED radioactivity levels have been found outside a nuclear waste tank in the US state of Washington, officials say, in a new alert about a site used to make Cold War-era bombs.

Image source ; http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2012/08/27/whats-inside-the-suspect-nuclear-waste-tank-at-hanford/

Governor Jay Inslee said there was no immediate public health threat, but urged federal authorities to accelerate action to deal with leaks at the Hanford site, which he sounded the alarm about four months ago.

In February, Inslee said that at least six tanks containing radioactive waste were leaking, based on decreasing levels within them, but no elevated radioactivity levels were recorded outside of the containers themselves.

Now, higher radiation levels have been recorded in a pit next to a double-shell tank at the the site, he said – suggesting that waste material has leaked through both shells containing them.

Inslee said that federal experts “discovered what appears to be an elevated contamination level reading in the leak detection pit outside and adjacent to the Hanford double-shell tank AY-102”.

“This is most disturbing news for Washington. It is not clear yet whether that contamination is coming directly from the outer shell of the AY-102 but it must be treated with the utmost seriousness,” he said.

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June 22, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

World Bank: Money Laundering Criminals – Interview with Whistleblower Karen Hudes

breakingtheset

Published on 21 Jun 2013

Abby Martin talks to Karen Hudes, former senior executive at the World Bank, about her experience blowing the whistle on the high level corruption within the international financial system and how her story was censored.

Includes the 900 million dollar fraud – World corruption!

June 22, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

POLICE RIOTS in LONDON & BRAZIL – JUNE 2013

nuckelchenblogde

Published on 21 Jun 2013

June 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nuclear War – Robert Stone versus Robert F. Kennedy, Jr

Andrew Revkin

Published on 19 Jun 2013

After a Jacob Burns Film Center screening of “Pandora’s Promise,” a new documentary defending nuclear energy, the director, Robert Stone, engaged in a vigorous (this is an understatement!) debate with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the environmental activist and lawyer and solar-energy investor. (Posted with permission for Dot Earth.)

June 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Nukes in Europe: Secrecy Under Siege – by Hans M. Kristensen

 

 

 

The Cold War practice of NATO and the United States refusing to confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weapons anywhere is under attack in Europe. This week, two former Dutch prime ministers publicly confirmed the presence of nuclear weapons at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands, one of six bases in NATO that still host US nuclear weapons.

http://blogs.fas.org/security/2013/06/secrecyundersiege/

June 13, 2013

lubbersThe first confirmation came in the program How Time Flies on the Dutch National Geographic channel where former prime minister Ruud Lubbers confirmed that there are nuclear weapons at Volkel Air Base. “I would never have thought those silly things would still be there in 2013,” Lubbers said, who was prime minister in 1982-1994. He even mentioned a specific number: 22 bombs.

vanagtThe second confirmation Lubbers was joined yesterday by another former Dutch prime minister, Dries van Agt, who also confirmed that the weapons are there. “They are there and its crazy they still are,” said va Agt, who was prime minister in 1977-1982.

As readers of this blog are aware (and anyone who have followed this issue over the years), it is not news that the US stores nuclear weapons at Volkel AB. But it is certainly news that two former Dutch prime ministers are now confirming it.

It is not a formal Dutch break with NATO nuclear secrecy norms but it is certainly a big crack in the dike that makes the Dutch government’s continued refusal to confirm or deny nuclear weapons at Volkel AB look rater, well, silly.

The instinct of the bureaucracy will be to ignore the statements to the extent possible and retrieve into past policies of neither confirming nor denying the presence of nuclear weapons. But the new situation also presents an opportunity to break with the past and attempt to engage Russia about increasing the transparency of non-strategic nuclear weapons in Europe. 

Privileged Information

Information about US nuclear weapons at Volkel AB is privileged information that Lubbers and van Agt would have had access to on a highly confidential basis as prime ministers under the bilateral US-Dutch nuclear weapons storage agreement code named Toy Chest (no pun intended).

After leaving office, Lubbers and van Agt would have had to rely on other people with access to such information to be told. A nod would be sufficient to confirm the general presence of weapons, but the specific number would be harder to get. Why Lubbers says 22 is unclear; perhaps that’s the number he recalls from 1994.

Back then, the Clinton administration’s 1994 Nuclear Posture Review decided to retain 480 nuclear bombs in Europe. How many of those were at Volkel AB is unknown, but when President Clinton six years later in December 2000 signed Presidential Decision Directive/NSC-74 that authorized continued deployment of 480 nuclear weapons in Europe, 20 of those were for Volkel AB.

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June 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Kazatomprom nuclear corporation plans to build a 36MW solar power station

Construction of solar plant in Western Cape begins

Image source ; http://thenetworks.co.za/2013/01/construction-of-solar-plant-in-western-cape-begins/

Staff Report

2013-06-20

SHYMKENT, Kazakhstan – Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s state-owned nuclear holding company, plans in 2014 to start building a 36MW solar power station in South Kazakhstan Oblast (SKO), CA-News.org reported June 19, citing a discussion between SKO Governor (Akim) Aksar Myrzakhmetov and Kazatomprom Board Chairman Vladimir Shkolnik.

The project is part of Kazakhstan’s plan to raise the amount of renewable energy resources in the country to 50 per cent by 2050, according to Ministry of Environment Protection. Currently about 15 per cent of Kazakh energy resources are renewable, mostly hydro-power.

Kazatomprom also will finance construction of a 200-pupil vocational high school in Shymkent within a couple of years, Shkolnik said.

http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/newsbriefs/2013/06/20/newsbrief-15

June 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

India WILL have to wait to join sensitive nuclear export body

….The diplomats declined to comment on which countries remained sceptical. After an informal meeting in March in Vienna, participants said Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland seemed to be among those still having doubts.

China is also believed to have reservations, influenced by its ties to its ally Pakistan, India’s arch geo-political rival, which has also tested atomic bombs, analysts say…..

VIENNA | Thu Jun 20, 2013 4:55pm IST

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/06/20/nuclear-india-nsg-idINDEE95J0A620130620

(Reuters) – Some states still appear to be sceptical about letting nuclear-armed India into an influential body regulating sensitive atomic trade, diplomats said on Thursday, suggesting Indian membership may not be imminent.

The United States, Britain, France are among countries pushing for allowing India – a growing market for such commerce – to join the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a move that would boost the Asian nation’s status as an atomic power.

But others worry about the implications for wider efforts to prevent the spread of atomic bombs if a country that has refused to sign a global anti-nuclear weapons pact were to enter a group which has a key role in countering proliferation of these arms.

If India joined the group, set up in 1975 to ensure that civilian nuclear technology exports are not diverted to make atomic arms, it would be the only member that is outside the 189-nation nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

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June 21, 2013 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment