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To March 24 – this week’s nuclear news

Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs

Well, it’s been quite a week, with all the Cambridge Analytica stuff showing the power and influence of corporations and political parties in manipulating social media– We should not be so surprised, except for the speed and effectiveness of the Cambridge Analytica’s opinion-influencing campaigns.

Manipulation of public opinion has a long and dishonourable history. Following the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, America launched a successful pro nuclear power propaganda campaign, resulting in the growth of the ‘peaceful’ nuclear industry, especially in Japan.

Hitler used the 1936 Berlin Games to ‘sell’ Nazi Germany as a fine culture.  Currently, Putin is being accused of using the FIFA World Cup as a glorification of his Russian regime.

We can look forward now to two years of global hype over the 2020 Olympics in Japan as a glowing  (though lying) recommendation of a now healthy Fukushima.

All this in the desperate effort to save the reputation of the global nuclear industry. However not everyone, even conservatives, are buying this, as the situation in Britain shows, with renewables gaining popularity.

Climate:  social science research also shows the way in which conservatives are being won over to accept climate change as a reality, and the need to work actively to slow its progress. Polar Anomaly Flip in an Abnormally Warm World: Arctic to Cool as Antarctica Heats Up.

USA.

NORTH KOREA. North Korea significantly slows down tunneling in nuclear weapons test site.

FRANCE. Theft of confidential information about Cattenom, Flamanville and Paluel nuclear power plants. India has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: Macron keen to sell EPR reactors to India anyway.

JAPAN. Proposed storage of spent nuclear fuel sparks resistance in Aomori Pref. City. Hakodate court rejects plea for injunction to halt construction of Oma MOX plant in Aomori.

Fukushima.

CANADA. Radioactive Cesium 134 from Fukushima nuclear disaster – found in British Columbia.

RUSSIA. The very dangerous prospect of nuclear-powered cruise missiles. Concern over Russia’s nuclear activities in the Arctic – potential for a radiological disaster.

EUROPE. 1960 Paris Convention part of undemocratic government support for nuclear industry. Plan for pan-European alliance against the promotion of nuclear energy– Austria and Luxembourg to start it.

UK. British nuclear submarine joins American naval exercises under Arctic ice.    UK Conservatives – inconsistent, incoherent, policy – agreeing to Russia’s involvement in UK’s nuclear power development.   UK: renewable energy becoming cheaper than nuclear power.

FINLAND. Finland’s nuclear power plant’s price tag – at least $11 billion.

March 24, 2018 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Saudi prince admission of possible nuclear weapons development has upset USA lawmakers

Saudi Prince’s Nuclear Bomb Comment May Scuttle Reactor Deal, Bloomberg  By Ari Natter 

  • Fresh scrutiny for plan to build U.S. reactors in Saudi Arabia
  • Lawmakers say Saudis shouldn’t be allowed to enrich uranium

Opposition to a deal for the U.S. to provide nuclear power technology to Saudi Arabia is growing after Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said the kingdom would develop a nuclear weapon if Iran did.

  The potential for U.S. companies to participate in the construction of as many as 16 nuclear reactors sought by the kingdom has been seen as a potential lifeline to Westinghouse Electric Co. and others suffering from the flagging nuclear industry at home.
 To further that effort, the Trump administration is said to be considering allowing the Saudis the right to enrich uranium, a break from the so-called “gold standard” included in the nuclear-sharing agreement with the United Arab Emirates, which allows power generation but prohibits the enrichment and reprocessing of uranium.

But that idea ran into a buzzsaw during a House hearing on Wednesday, with lawmakers from both parties saying prince’s admission that his country might seek to build nuclear weapons was cause to halt negotiations between the two nations. Energy Secretary Rick Perry met with Saudi officials earlier this month in London to begin talks on the deal. …….https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-21/saudi-prince-s-nuclear-bomb-comment-may-scuttle-reactor-deal

March 24, 2018 Posted by | politics international, Saudi Arabia, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea significantly slows down tunneling in nuclear weapons test site

North Korea’s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site: Significant Slowdown in Tunneling [excellent satellite photos]   BY: 38 NORTH  MARCH 23, 2018      A 38 North exclusive with analysis by Frank V. Pabian, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Jack Liu

Commercial satellite imagery of North Korea’s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site from mid-March 2018 suggests that there has been a significant slowdown in tunneling and a reduced presence of related personnel at the site when compared to just two weeks earlier. During this same time period, high-level talks between North and South Korea moved forward, including Pyongyang’s proposal for a summit with US President Donald Trump.

Imagery from early March had shown signs of continued tunneling excavations at the West Portal, including mining carts and significant amounts of new spoil deposits. Large groups of personnel were also noted in the open support areas serving the nuclear test site’s Command Center. However, imagery from March 17 showed no evidence of tunneling operations or the presence of any personnel or vehicles at any of the support areas including those near the Command Center.

This is an important development given efforts to establish high-level meetings between the United States, South Korea and North Korea. However, whether this is just a temporary development or whether it will continue over time is unclear.

  • North and West Portals

    The North Portal, the tunnel complex where the last five underground nuclear tests were conducted, seems to have been abandoned since the September 2017 test. ……..https://www.38north.org/2018/03/punggye032318/

March 24, 2018 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Trump to sell over $1 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia

 State Department Approves $1 Billion Arms Sale With Saudi Arabia , Daily Caller HENRY RODGERS Political Reporter  24 Mar 18 

The State Department announced it had approved the sales of more than $1 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia Thursday, which includes 6,700 missiles.

The announcement comes two days after President Donald Trump met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of a three week trip in the U.S. The Saudi Arabian government requested to purchase 6,700 U.S. built anti-tank missiles as well as supplies and parts for old tanks and helicopters, which the State Department approved.

The sale will “support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a friendly country, which has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statementThursday, adding it “will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”

“The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested to buy up to six-thousand-six-hundred (6,600) TOW 2B missiles (BGM-71F-Series) and ninety-six (96) TOW 2B (BGM-71F-Series) fly-to-buy lot validation missiles………http://dailycaller.com/2018/03/23/state-department-arms-sale-saudi-arabia/

March 24, 2018 Posted by | marketing, politics international, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment