The Aftermath of a Nuclear War: The Top 1% and the Mission to Mars
The American Empire is Playing a Dangerous Game with its Nuclear Weapons Arsenal The Day After Nuclear Armageddon: Armchair Warriors, Chicken Hawks and the Colonization of Mars? By Timothy Alexander Guzman Global Research, August 01, 2016 “………In 2015, the main-stream media, in this case Newsweek published an article titled ‘Star Wars’ Class Wars: Is Mars the Escape Hatch for the 1 Percent? It claims that wealthy billionaires are planning an escape from planet earth and leave the rest of the human race behind:
It’s nice to know Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have a plan. They will help the richest people in the world go to Mars and start over, leaving the other 99 percent to suffer on a dying, warring planet. The only solace for those of us left here will be that the Biebs should be prosperous enough to go with them
But those who have the political power and most of the world’s wealth at their disposal are in the midst of creating a plan to leave Earth in case of an apocalyptic scenario whether by a world war or an unstoppable life-threatening disease or any other catastrophe. They have it all figured out. The billionaire founder of Space X, Elon Musk and others like him have an ambitious dream and that is to colonize planet “Mars.” Yes, you heard this right the next planet closest to the sun. Maybe they want to step out into the sun and get an instant sun tan instead of heading out to their private beach or their local overpriced sun tan salons? Living on Mars does not seem like something the average human being would like to do at some point in their lives, maybe visit as a tourist but to live for the rest of their lives? I highly doubt it.
Perhaps Musk is not the only elite multi billionaire who would want to live on another planet or in space far away from the madness of our planet. Besides many of the financial and political elite created the situation that led to war, poverty and disease in the first place for their own benefit whether it was financial or political. According to an interesting article on Elon Musk’s vision of colonizing mars by www.science.com titled ‘Now Is the Time to Colonize Mars, Elon Musk Says’ quotes Musk who addressed an audience at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and said“now is the first time in the history of Earth that the window is open, where it’s possible for us to extend life to another planet,” he continued “That window may be open for a long time — and hopefully it is — but it also may be open for a short time,” he added. “I think the wise move is to make life multiplanetary while we can.”
According to Newsweek, Musk wants humans to become a “multiplanet species” and maintain an outpost as an “insurance policy” if something catastrophic were to occur on earth
Colonizing Mars has long been a passion of Musk’s. Indeed, the entrepreneur has repeatedly said that he founded SpaceX in 2002 primarily to help make humanity a multiplanet species. Having a self-sustaining outpost on the Red Planet would serve as an insurance policy, making humanity’s extinction unlikely even if something goes terribly awry here on Earth, Musk said Tuesday. Colonizing Mars would have other benefits as well, he added; the effort would greatly advance science discoveries and technological capabilities, and it would help inspire and excite people from all walks of life and from all around the globe
I do agree that colonizing mars would “advance science” but that is as far as I would go for such a project. Musk’s plan to send “people from all walks of life and around the globe” sounds nice but in all actuality is unrealistic. Who would reach Mars? Those with wealth and fortune from mainly the West not the 99 percent will get to go to Mars (and of course if you are willing to live the rest of your life on the red planet)…..http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-american-empire-is-playing-a-dangerous-game-with-its-nuclear-weapons-arsenal/5539076
French trade unions consider further legal action against EDF’s Hi8nkley nuclear project
Now French want to block Hinkley nuclear plant with unions set to launch second legal challenge http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3720786/Now-French-want-block-Hinkley-nuclear-plant-unions-set-launch-second-legal-challenge.html By CITY & FINANCE REPORTER FOR THE DAILY MAIL, 2 Aug 16 Fresh fears have emerged over the future of Hinkley Point nuclear power station as French trade unions look poised to launch a second legal challenge against the project.
EDF gave its long-awaited approval for funding of the £18billion nuclear plant last week.
But yesterday it was claimed board members were only given 48 hours to read the 2,500-page proposal document before voting on the investment. Complaints about the brevity of the two-day window have prompted French trade unions, who voted against the project, to consider further legal action against the energy company.
It follows an earlier legal bid from the unions over claims EDF did not provide enough information during the consultation on Hinkley.
EDF declined to comment.
Can America afford the Pentagon’s grandiose nuclear weapons plans?
The new forecasts are likely to add to the debate over whether coming administrations will be able to afford what defence analysts call a “bow wave” of costs converging in the next decade for the new nuclear systems
A trillion dollar program: Pentagon poised to approve work on modernizing 
nuclear-armed ICBMs, National Post Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News | August 2, 2016 The Pentagon is preparing to approve development and production of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, opening competition between three top defence contractors and rekindling debate over whether the U.S. can afford to modernize its triad of nuclear weapons.
Frank Kendall, the Defense Department’s top weapons buyer, has convened a closed session of the Defense Acquisition Board for Wednesday to review the Air Force’s acquisition strategy and updated cost estimates for replacing Minuteman III nuclear-armed missiles that have sat in silos for almost 50 years.
The Air Force last year estimated the program would cost $62.3 billion for research and development and production of as many as 400 missiles as well as command and control systems and infrastructure. Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman are all competing to build the new ICBMs.
The other arms of the nation’s land-air-sea nuclear triad also are scheduled to be modernized: Northrop defeated a Lockheed-Boeing team in October for the right to build a new bomber that can carry nuclear weapons, a project valued at as much as $80 billion. The Navy is planning to replace its Ohio-class nuclear-armed submarines through a production program now estimated at $122 billion.
Updated estimates for the cost of the missiles have been prepared by the Air Force and and the Pentagon’s independent cost assessment office but haven’t yet been released. The Navy is also updating its submarine estimate for a review later this year.
The new forecasts are likely to add to the debate over whether coming administrations will be able to afford what defence analysts call a “bow wave” of costs converging in the next decade for the new nuclear systems as well as nine Air Force conventional systems and plans for increased construction of naval vessels such as a second Ford-class aircraft carrier.
The ICBM “milestone marks the official beginning of the technology development stage where contracts will be awarded and spending” will “begin to ramp up,” from about $75 million this year to $1.6 billion in 2021, Todd Harrison, a defence budget analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an email.
Arms control organizations and some Pentagon officials say the nuclear triad’s modernization could cost as much as $1 trillion over 30 years if research, procurement, operations and support are included.
By way of comparison, Pentagon analysts estimate that Lockheed’s F-35 jet, the military’s most expensive program, may cost as much as $1.12 trillion over 60 years to support.
“It’s also important to put these costs in context,” Harrison said. “The U.S. will likely spend more than $20 trillion over the next 30 years on defence, so $1 trillion is only a small fraction of that,” Harrison said…….http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/a-trillion-dollar-program-pentagon-poised-to-approve-work-on-modernizing-nuclear-armed-icbms
The Small Nuclear Lobby sees its chance in UK, as Big Nuclear flounders
Professor Michael Bluck, Director of the Centre for Nuclear Engineering “Nuclear power is widely accepted as a vital component in the energy mix, and Hinkley C will provide important base-load in support of other low-carbon, but intermittent technologies, such as wind and photovoltaics.
“The construction and commissioning of Hinkley C will also provide a focus for the reinvigoration of the UK nuclear industry and the associated skills development necessary for future nuclear technologies such as small modular reactors, which could be built in a factory and transported to a location, making them cheaper to make and run, (SMRs) and Generation IV reactors, which would use nuclear waste from other reactors to power them, making them more efficient, and potentially even safer than current versions.” (http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_2-8-2016-14-28-7)
New York’s subsidy gift to the nuclear industry – the prelude for other States?
“Nuclear power is not carbon-free,” wrote Michel Lee, head of the Council on Intelligent Energy & Conservation Policy based in Scarsdale. “If one stage,” reactors operation itself, “produces minimal carbon…every other stage produces prodigious amounts.” Thus the nuclear “industry is a big climate change polluter…Nuclear power is actually a chain of highly energy-intensive industrial processes whichcombinedconsume large amounts of fossil fuels and generate potent warming gasses. These include: uranium mining, milling enrichment, fuel fabrication, transport” and her list went on.
Reuters has reported that the nuclear “industry hopes that if New York succeeds, it could pressure other states to adopt similar subsides” for nuclear plants.
New York’s Woeful $7.6 Billion Nuclear Bailout Package http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/08/02/new-yorks-woeful-76-billion-nuclear-bailout-package by Karl Grossman
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo—who appoints the members of the PSC—has called for the continued operation of the nuclear plants in order to, he says, save jobs at them. The bail-out would be part of a “Clean Energy Standard” advanced by Cuomo. Under it, 50 percent of electricity used in New York by 2030 would come from “clean and renewable energy sources”with nuclear power considered clean and renewable.
“Nuclear energy is neither clean nor renewable,” testified Pauline Salotti, vice chair of the Green Party of Suffolk County, Long Island at a recent hearing on the plan.
The “Clean Energy Standard” earmarks twice as much money for the nuclear power subsidy than it does for renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
China not happy with Theresa May’s ‘unwanted accusations’ over Hinkley Point nuclear project
China warns UK against ‘unwanted accusations’ over Hinkley Point Downing Street’s suspicions endanger ‘hard-won mutual trust’ between two countries, Beijing says. By Karthick Arvinth, IBT, August 2, 2016 China says it will not tolerate “unwanted accusations” over its investments in the UK after Theresa May’s government decided to review a controversial nuclear power project at the last minute.
A commentary published by the state-run Xinhua news agency on 1 August said Downing Street’s stance on Hinkley Point C risked damaging the “hard-won mutual trust” between the two countries fostered by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Britain last year…
Xinhua warned that the “suspicious approach” towards China could deter other investors from investing in post-Brexit UK……..http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-warns-uk-against-unwanted-accusations-over-hinkley-point-1573739
What happens next, with Hinkley Point C nuclear project?
The nuclear option: Where next for Hinkley Point?, business Green, Madeleine Cuff, 2 Aug 16, Last week was quite a rollercoaster for those involved in low carbon energy policy. French utility EDF spent the first part of the week drumming up media excitement for a final investment decision on its Hinkley Point C development, briefing heavily that the project would likely be green lit by the board on Thursday – a decision widely viewed as the final hurdle for the UK’s first new nuclear power plant in a generation.
But in a surprise twist of events, just hours after EDF approved the investment – losing a board member and angering its own unions in the process – the government launched a review into the project’s “component parts”, pushing the contract signing back into the autumn, assuming it happens at all.
So what now for the beleaguered energy project? Is this review really just a chance to double check the finer details? Or could this be the start of a major shake up of the UK’s clean energy policy? BusinessGreen spoke to a range of experts to get their views on where next for Hinkley Point.
Tom Burke, chairman of E3G……..really, the government should drop the project. It’s now taken most of the political damage for abandoning it anyway. All of the people opposed to it – financial analysts, credit rating agencies, environmentalists, even members of the EDF board – have been encouraged to redouble their efforts to stop what is now I think pretty widely recognised by everybody outside of government and nuclear theologians as a very bad deal indeed. You now have huge momentum behind the calls for the government to enact a Plan B.
There are so many things that you could do that would be faster, cheaper, cleaner and more reliable than Hinkley. There’s no shortage of alternative plans that would actually keep bills down for people and be low carbon, such as a new energy efficiency programme, a new fleet of offshore wind farms with power two-thirds the price of Hinkley’s, and more interconnectors to bring clean energy for the continent.
The big obstacle to this is that there is still a vast illusion among the commentariat that you need baseload power which only nuclear can supply – but that’s coming from people who haven’t caught up with where electricity grid technology has got to. This is really all about letting go of bad ideas………..http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/analysis/2466652/the-nuclear-option-where-next-for-hinkley-point
Biggest Nuclear Weapons Stockpile in the World- Puget Sound
Puget Sound Is Home to the Biggest Nuclear Stockpile in the World, Truth Out, , 01 August 2016 By Martha Baskin, Crosscut The ad pierces your consciousness and catches you by surprise. Plastered on the side of Seattle’s King County Metro it hurls you momentarily back in time, to a time when nuclear weapons were an imminent threat to our survival. Or did the era never end?
The ad — sponsored by activists from the Poulsbo-based Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action — reads: “20 miles west of Seattle is the largest concentration of deployed nuclear weapons in the US.”
Behind this text is a map, depicting the proximity of Seattle to Naval Base Kitsap, located on the eastern shore of Hood Canal, one of the four main basins in Washington state’s Puget Sound. The base is home port for eight of the US Navy’s 14 Trident ballistic missile submarines as well as an underground nuclear weapons storage complex. Together, they’re believed to store more than 1,300 nuclear warheads, according to Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.
This is arguably the biggest single concentration of nuclear warheads not only in the US, but in the world.
King County Metro was initially hesitant to run the ad, until Kristensen confirmed its accuracy. The combined explosive power contained in the base is equivalent to more than 14,000 Hiroshima bombs, he says.
But the most surprising thing to him about the underground nuclear weapons storage complex — known as the Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific (SWF-PAC), and completed in 2012 — is the extent to which a $294 million bunker has largely escaped public debate, except for a few industry-related articles.
The small non-profit behind the ad shares a land border with the naval base. It launched when Robert Aldridge, an engineer for Lockheed Martin in California — the arms manufacturer has a facility at the base but only to ensure that Trident ballistic D5 missiles are ready for deployment on the subs — quit his job directing their development when he saw they could be used in a preemptive first strike against the Soviet Union.
According to Glen Milner, an active member of the Center, Aldridge then contacted two peace activists in the area — Catholic theologian Jim Douglas and his wife Shelley — and the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action was formed……..
The US Navy has presented a plan to spend over a trillion dollars during the next 30 years upgrading and maintaining the entire triad of US based nuclear weapons, according to Martin Fleck of Physicians for Social Responsibility, a group that advocates for nuclear disarmament. This includes over $100 billion to replace the base’s nuclear submarines.
The plan was approved by Obama in 2010.
“We and our allies,” says Fleck, “are arguing for sanity with nuclear weapons given that we have enough already to end the world several times over. Why on earth would we invest another trillion dollars in them at this late date?”……http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/37052-puget-sound-is-home-to-the-biggest-nuclear-stockpile-in-the-world
Nuclear companies NuGen and Horizon keen for projects in UK, despite the Hinkley nuclear fiasco
UK new nuclear programme not dependent on Hinkley, say rivals, Telegraph, Emily Gosden, energy editor 2 AUGUST 2016 Nuclear developers NuGen and Horizon have played down fears that scrapping Hinkley Point would derail the wider UK new-build programme, insisting their projects are not dependent on EDF’s getting the go-ahead.
Industry experts have warned that confidence across the sector would be damaged if Theresa May pulls the plug on the £18bn project, especially given the French energy giant has already invested £2.4bn in Hinkley with unstinting Government support until now.
But NuGen, which is jointly owned by Japan’s Toshiba and France’s Engie, said it would continue developing its project at Moorside in Cumbria “irrespective of the status of other developers’ plans”.
Hitachi’s Horizon project, which plans reactors on Anglesey,also distanced itself from the worries over Hinkley, saying its “sole focus remains, as it always has been, on making strong progress with our own flagship Wylfa Newydd power station project”.
Despite Mrs May’s surprise review of Hinkley, a Horizon spokesman said it had “no qualms about the continued commitment of the Government to UK nuclear new build”.
Reports in recent days have suggested the UK Government could face compensation demands from EDF if it pulled out of Hinkley.
Peter Atherton, an associate at consultants Cornwall Energy, said EDF had been operating under “an implicit guarantee from the Government that, provided you can get your technology through the approval process, and we can reach a satisfactory contractual arrangement, the project will go ahead”.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on Tuesday reiterated that there would be no liabilities for the UK taxpayer or consumer if Hinkley were cancelled, as no contracts had been signed.
However, Mr Atherton said that if Hinkley were cancelled without any reimbursement for EDF, this would “significantly undermine” other developers’ confidence and might prompt them to seek some sort of financial guarantee.
“If I was them I would say to the Government, OK, if want us to carry on developing this project, we need you to fund it or to guarantee that if you pull the plug on us you pay those development costs,” he said.
Both Horizon and NuGen are privately keen to emphasise the differences between their projects and EDF’s.
Neither project has Chinese involvement, understood to be one of the key causes of concern for Mrs May over Hinkley, which would be one-third funded by Chinese state companies.
Both have also long been working to meet the Government’s expectation that they will be cheaper than Hinkley…..http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/08/02/uk-new-nuclear-programme-not-dependent-on-hinkley-say-rivals/
The increasing danger as USA revs up its nuclear arsenal
Wall Street, the Military-Industrial Complex, corporations and the politicians are willing to lead the world into an Armageddon-type scenario. Washington is confident that they can defeat its adversaries with their military power but the U.S. has never faced countries like Russia, China or Iran. Russia has more advanced military technologies including its air and missile defense systems known as the S-500 which can counter any US-NATO missile or fighter jet at a moment’s notice. Irrational decisions made by Washington’s establishment means two things, first, they must be really politically and historically ignorant on Russia’s stance when it comes to its sovereignty and they must really despise humanity, but one thing is certain; they want the U.S. to remain as the world’s standing superpower.The American Empire is playing a dangerous game with its nuclear weapons arsenal. The US-NATO and Israel alliance has declared directly and indirectly that Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are a threat to world peace and security.
Let’s be clear on who is the real threat to world peace and it is not the countries I just mentioned, it is Washington’s geopolitical ambitions to bring its enemies under their sphere of control. Washington’s geopolitical moves are antagonizing its enemies which can ignite a catastrophic world war that can go to nuclear at a moment’s notice. The threat of a nuclear war is at almost the same level of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, but if you listen to the main-stream media (MSM) you may never know what is really going on concerning world events.
The first woman and U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has threatened Iran with nuclear strikes while Israel maintains its own nuclear weapons arsenal which is also a threat to its neighbors in the Middle East, especially Iran.
Washington is placing NATO troops and Missile Defense Systems close to Russia’s borders and giving the U.S. Navy the green light to a possible confrontation with China’s naval fleet in the South China Sea. Washington’s bellicose actions are indeed provocative. Continue reading
World Powers Must Fulfill Nuclear Deal with Iran
Iranian President Says World Powers Must Fulfill Nuclear Deal Radio Free Europe, August 02, 2016
Iranian President Hassan Rohani has criticized world powers for not fulfilling all of their commitments under a historic nuclear deal signed last year.
Rohani said on state television on August 2 that the failure to lift all sanctions against Iran had harmed the country’s economic growth.
He said that “if the other party had acted properly we would be in a better [economic] situation today.”
Rohani added that Iran still cannot access all of its assets held abroad and that the U.S. Congress, Israel, and some other unnamed regional countries had prevented the nuclear deal from being fully implemented.
He admitted, however, that Iran had been able to export much more oil after sanctions limiting exports were lifted and had regained access to the international banking system…..http://www.rferl.org/content/iran-rohani-world-must-fulfill-nuclear-deal/27896610.html
O’Neill a victim of nuclear fallout
, alistair osborne , 2 Aug 15 clear conflicts usually create shocking casualties. So Britain should count itself lucky if the fallout from blowing up Hinkley Point C can be confined to Lord O’Neill of Gatley.
Apparently, the commercial secretary to the Treasury could quit the government over Theresa May’s attitude to China: one exposed by her laudable decision to review the £18 billion Franco-Sino nuke, in which Beijing is poised to take a one-third stake. His lordship’s a bit miffed, what with having been brought into government by ex-chancellor George Osborne to drum up Chinese investment, and then having had the new PM’s Hinkley delay sprung…(subscribers only) http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/oneill-a-victim-of-nuclear-fallout-lwgxrxfn8
Choosing Our Nation’s Course for the Next 40,000 Years — Democratic and Republican Party Platforms Show Extreme Contrast on Climate Change
According to our best understanding of the science, the Permian hothouse extinction event which wiped out more than 90 percent of life in the oceans and more than 70 percent of vertebrate life on land lasted between 48,000 and 60,000 years. Continued fossil-fuel burning through the end of this century could set off an event as bad or worse, proceeding with a speed far faster than the Permian and possibly having more harmful and longer-lasting impacts.
Keeping these sobering thoughts in mind, it has been rightly said that though we are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, we are likely the last generation with the opportunity to do anything about it. And in this election we will choose the path of our nation not only for the next four years, but over the course of at least the next 40,000. For when we vote…
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Hinkley C update – Chaos and TINA
Figure 1: Hinkley C and delays, like peas in a pod!
Well it would appear that Theresa May, for all her faults, is the sort of person who reads the small print of any document before signing it. The UK was on the verge of signing the deal with EDF to proceed with Hinkley C when at the last minute business secretary Clark announced a delay while they “evaluated” the contract (I have this vision of May reading the Hinkley C contract details over breakfast and spitting in her coffee when she realised what a crap sandwich the country was being expected to swallow).
And this decision to push ahead despite Brexit, by EDF (who brought forward the schedule) must have come from orders from the top. Likely Hollande himself, likely hours after he met Theresa May and with her letting slip she had reservations…
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August 2 Energy News
Opinion:
¶ “What World Climate Can Expect From US Presidential Choices” • “This year, every vote is a vote for or against climate change,” says Nick Stockton on Wired.com. Citizens of the United States have to make a real choice about climate this year. Our votes may determine how the country addresses the world climate for decades. [CleanTechnica]
NOAA image.
World:
¶ Argentina announced details of its first renewable energy tender, scheduled to take place next October. Rules for the renewable energy auction came with the government announcement. The auction will allocate 1 GW of capacity, including 300 MW of solar capacity. Project sizes will vary between 1 to 100 MW. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Renewable power provides 19% of England’s electricity, but the outlook for the year ahead is “poor”, according to a report by Regen SW. Slow progress in renewable heat means only 5% of…
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1 This Month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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