TODAY. The Atlas Network and its toxic messages to the Stink Tanks
Who are the the Stink Tanks?
Posing as impartial advisers, these “Think Tanks” provide reports and articles designed to direct governments, and educational and other social organisations, towards policies that improve the profits of big corporations, and remove barriers to their profits, The barriers would be regulations, especially those involved with protecting the environment, and the rights of indigenous people.
How does the Atlas Network operate to spread these messages?
Apart from some funding, and training support, the real focus of the Atlas Network is on LANGUAGE –teaching the stink tanks how to use words to manipulate thinking. George Orwell alerted the world to the way in which fascism uses language, and wrote of Newspeak. Now the Atlas Network perfects the method – repetitively using vague and deceptive words to convey a lying message that is aimed at molding public opinion.
Sometimes these words are straightout lies: sometimes just vague words in which the meaning is distorted. The word “Elite” is a good example – now used to discredit scientists and other experts, so that the public comes to distrust them, and to rubbish their opinions, and their reports, particularly about regulations to protect the environment and indigenous rights.
FEAR is indeed the currency of the Atlas Network. Fear and distrust of regulations, of officers and organisations involved in human rights and environmental protection. So these stink tanks work to weaken laws, and discredit agencies of human support – such as the United Nations.
Side by side with those messages of fear, come the lying messages of reassurance – for example the story that global heating is not happening, or, if it is, it has nothing to do with human activities, -greenhouse gas emissions. So we don’t need to worry, or to do anything to stop these emissions. So we are reassured that nuclear power is “clean “green” “safe” “cheap” “nothing to do with weapons” .
What is the motive of the Atlas Network?
Are they evil? Wanting to harm people? Hating the environment?
NO – it’s just one simple thing – company profits. Freedom – defined as – Nothing should impede corporate profits.
This month we shall no doubt see some wonderful activity by the hundreds of stink tanks affiliated with the Atlas Network, leading up to, and beyond, the COP 28 Climate Summit, as they parrot out soothing messages about how all is well, in control, we don’t need to act on climate change.
And who funds the Atlas Network?
Fossil fuel companies and tobacco firms. Atlas has received funding from Koch Family Foundations, the Bradley Foundation. DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund. The Atlas Network receives much of its funding from libertarian and right-wing organizations and individuals
What can we do about this?
Well, I don’t know – but at least we can be alert to their language – alert to those repetitive, misleading words:
There are the “hooray” words – “justice”, “life”, “freedom” and those “positives” – “clean” “green” etc.
There are the “negatives” -“Hitler, “taxes” – and words used negatively “elites” “bureaucrat”, “government official” and “public servant “.
And as well, there are vague, really, almost meaningless words – that waffle, weaken, and obscure the argument- “may” “can” “could” “might” , “arguably”.
A Dangerous Conflation -an open letter from Jewish writers
n+1 magazine, 25 Oct 23
WE ARE JEWISH WRITERS, artists, and activists who wish to disavow the widespread narrative that any criticism of Israel is inherently antisemitic. Israel and its defenders have long used this rhetorical tactic to shield Israel from accountability, dignify the US’s multibillion-dollar investment in Israel’s military, obscure the deadly reality of occupation, and deny Palestinian sovereignty. Now, this insidious gagging of free speech is being used to justify Israel’s ongoing military bombardment of Gaza and to silence criticism from the international community.
We condemn the recent attacks on Israeli and Palestinian civilians and mourn such harrowing loss of life. In our grief, we are horrified to see the fight against antisemitism weaponized as a pretext for war crimes with stated genocidal intent.
Antisemitism is an excruciatingly painful part of our community’s past and present. Our families have escaped wars, harassment, pogroms, and concentration camps. We have studied the long histories of persecution and violence against Jews, and we take seriously the ongoing antisemitism that jeopardizes the safety of Jews around the world. This October just marked the five-year anniversary of the worst antisemitic attack ever committed in the United States: the eleven worshipers at Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha in Pittsburgh, who were murdered by a gunman who espoused conspiracy theories that blamed Jews for the arrival of Central American migrants, and in so doing, dehumanized both groups. We reject antisemitism in all its forms, including when it masquerades as criticism of Zionism or Israel’s policies. We also recognize that, as journalist Peter Beinart wrote in 2019, “Anti-Zionism is not inherently antisemitic—and claiming it is uses Jewish suffering to erase Palestinian experience.”
We find this rhetorical tactic antithetical to Jewish values, which teach us to repair the world, question authority, and champion the oppressed over the oppressor. It is precisely because of the painful history of antisemitism and lessons of Jewish texts that we advocate for the dignity and sovereignty of the Palestinian people. We refuse the false choice between Jewish safety and Palestinian freedom; between Jewish identity and ending the oppression of Palestinians. In fact, we believe the rights of Jews and Palestinians go hand-in-hand. The safety of each people depends on the other’s. We are certainly not the first to say so, and we admire those who have modeled this line of thinking in the wake of so much violence. …………………………………………………………………………..
We call for a ceasefire in Gaza, a solution for the safe return of the hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and an end to Israel’s ongoing occupation. We also call on governments and civil society in the United States and across the West to stand up against the repression of support for Palestine.
And we refuse to allow such urgent, necessary demands to be suppressed in our names. When we say never again, we mean it.
Names: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. more https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/a-dangerous-conflation/ #Israel #Palestine
Nuclear Bomb Map Shows Impact if Biden’s New Weapon Dropped on Russia
NewsWeek, Nov 03, 2023 By Giulia Carbonaro, US News Reporter
nuclear bomb being developed by the Biden administration could wreak havoc in Moscow, according to a simulation analyzed by Newsweek.
The creation of a new U.S. bomb, a variation of the B61 gravity bomb developed in the 1960s during the Cold War, was announced by the Department of Defense (DoD) last week. A news release by the Pentagon said that the B61-13 is intended to “strengthen deterrence of adversaries and assurance of allies” by providing President Joe Biden “with additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets.”
While the Pentagon has not yet revealed exactly how powerful the bomb will be, officials said it would be capable of an explosive yield similar to an older model, the B61-7. That nuclear bomb had a maximum yield equivalent to 360 kilotons of TNT, roughly 24 times the explosive power of the 15-kiloton bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II.
A visual representation was created using Nukemap, an online tool created by historian of science and nuclear technology Alex Wellerstein. It shows that a B61-13 bomb exploding over Moscow at an estimated maximum yield of 360 kilotons of TNT would cause significant devastation and kill more than 300,000 people.
Anything within roughly a half-mile radius from the bomb’s detonation site would be vaporized by a fireball, while heavy damage would demolish buildings and likely kill everyone else within a mile.
Anyone within about 2 miles from the detonation site would suffer levels of radiation exposure so high that they would be dead within a month, while 15 percent of survivors would die of cancer later in life.
Some 2 miles out from the point of the bomb’s explosion, buildings would collapse, chances of a fire starting would be high, fatalities would be widespread and injuries “universal,” according to Nukemap. Several people would suffer life-altering burns. Additional radiation-related deaths would likely occur in the larger region.
The simulation shows that fatalities in Moscow would be estimated around 311,480, while the number of those injured would be as high as 868,860. The Russian capital’s population is estimated at over 12.6 million.
If launched on St. Petersburg, the B61-13 bomb could be even more devastating, killing an estimated 360,150 and injuring another 685,930, according to the simulation created by Nukemap…………………………………………….. more https://www.newsweek.com/nuclear-bomb-map-shows-impact-if-b61-13-dropped-russia-1840606 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
A small victory for nuclear justice. And international cooperation.
By Ivana Nikolić Hughes, Christian Ciobanu | November 3, 2023 https://thebulletin.org/2023/11/a-small-victory-for-nuclear-justice-and-international-cooperation/
In contrast with the grandeur of the General Assembly Hall, the uplifting design of the Trusteeship Council room, and the stunning circular table in the Security Council Chamber, Conference Room 4 at the UN Headquarters is modest and unassuming. And yet, magic can happen there. When the heads of state are long gone and even the ministers have departed New York, diplomats push forward agendas to advance international cooperation on any number of international issues. They give statements, engage in debates publicly and privately, and vote for resolutions and more, often late into the night.
A kind of diplomatic magic took place last Friday night. Voting on a series of resolutions in what is referred to as the “nuclear weapons cluster” of the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee (which deals with disarmament and international security), diplomats considered for the first time a resolution entitled: “Addressing the Legacy of Nuclear Weapons: Providing Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation to Member States Affected by the Use or Testing of Nuclear Weapons.” The first such victims came into being when the United States conducted its first nuclear weapons test in New Mexico and then used nuclear weapons in attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945.
But nuclear explosions continued over the decades and around the world, in the form of nuclear weapon tests. The victim counts are easily in the millions.
Two of the countries affected by nuclear weapons testing, the Republics of Kazakhstan and Kiribati (from Soviet Union and United Kingdom/United States tests, respectively), brought the resolution forward and advocated broadly for its adoption. The result of their work became obvious when the voting began at roughly 6:30 p.m., and a sea of green checks began to fill the screens displaying the results. With 40 co-sponsors and many countries confirming in advance that they would vote in support of the resolution, the adoption was inevitable.
Still, it would be hard to overstate what a victory it was to have 171 countries vote in support of this resolution, with only four no votes and six abstentions. This was not only a triumph for those impacted by nuclear weapons use and testing but also for international cooperation. Especially at a time when UN resolutions seem to be supported on the basis of who likes whom (or perhaps even more so, who doesn’t like whom), having 171 states stand for those who have been harmed by nuclear weapons and whose environments may still be contaminated is welcome and long overdue.
In an unlikely alliance under most other circumstances, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (that is, North Korea), France, Russia, and the United Kingdom all voted no. Their stance is shameful, given the context of nuclear colonialism embodied by the French nuclear testing program in Algeria and French Polynesia and the United Kingdom’s testing in Australia and Kiribati. Better than voting no, the other nuclear weapon possessors—China, India, Israel, Pakistan, and the United States—all abstained. (So did the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a non-nuclear weapons country that supports the nuclear ban treaty.) It was encouraging to see that the United States abstained rather than voting no alongside France and the United Kingdom.
None of the nine countries that possess nuclear weapons voted in favor of the resolution, leaving them isolated. Since they caused the harm and the contamination that are the topic of the resolution, voting yes on this resolution at the earliest opportunity could become the first step towards redeeming themselves and righting these historical wrongs. When the resolution comes up for a vote in December in the General Assembly, they should all reverse their votes and vote yes. They owe it to the victims and their descendants.
Upon adoption in the General Assembly in December, this resolution will pave the way for the long and hard process of information gathering and needs appraisal in affected states, followed by actual steps to assist victims and assess and remediate contaminated environments. Such work has already begun within the context of the Treaty on the Prohibiton of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), but bringing these conversations into the broader sphere is critical. Future versions of the resolution can build in further binding steps.
The world cannot afford to create more victims of nuclear weapons or to contaminate more environments. In fact, indications are that all of humanity and life on the planet would become a victim in case of nuclear war using today’s arsenals. Therefore, while they’re deciding to come around and help victims of past nuclear weapons use and testing, the nuclear weapons countries should also recommit to nuclear disarmament in a verifiable and time-bound manner. There are lots of options for them to do so—through numerous resolutions that were also voted upon on Friday, but also through joining and/or meeting their existing obligations under key treaties, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and the TPNW. Helping existing victims is but one step. Getting rid of nuclear weapons is the only way to ensure there will be no more. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Environmental Advocates fear New Hampshire “clean” nuclear energy proposal would pit nuclear against solar, wind
If not designed carefully, critics say a clean energy standard that includes nuclear power could undercut the market for renewable energy credits.
Energy News Network, by Sarah Shemkus, November 2, 2023
Climate and clean energy advocates in New Hampshire say a pending proposal to define nuclear power as clean energy could undercut solar and wind power in the state.
Though the details are still in the works, state Rep. Michael Vose, chair of the legislature’s science, technology, and energy committee, is drafting a bill that would allow nuclear power generators, such as New Hampshire’s Seabrook Station, to receive payments for contributing clean energy to the grid.
Some environmental advocates, however, worry that the proposal would provide unnecessary subsidies to nuclear power while making it harder for solar projects to attract investors.
“It’s just another way to reduce support for solar,” said Meredith Hatfield, associate director for policy and government relations at the Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. …………………………………………………………………………….
The details of Vose’s clean energy standard bill have not yet been finalized. A clean energy standard is broadly different from a renewable energy standard in that it includes nuclear power, which does not emit carbon dioxide, but which uses a nonrenewable fuel source. Those writing the legislation, however, will have to decide whether it will propose incorporating the new standard into the existing renewable portfolio standard or operating the two systems alongside each other……………………………………………………………….. https://energynews.us/2023/11/02/advocates-fear-n-h-clean-energy-proposal-would-pit-nuclear-against-solar-wind/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
The Moral Complexities Of Bombing A Concentration Camp Full Of Children
Caitlin’s Newsletter, CAITLIN JOHNSTONE, NOV 4, 2023
They’re dropping bombs on a concentration camp full of children. THEY’RE DROPPING BOMBS ON A CONCENTRATION CAMP FULL OF CHILDREN.
Not in the past. Right now. They’re still doing it. They show no signs of stopping.
No part of opposing this should be remotely controversial.
They’re dropping bombs on a concentration camp full of kids. Even shitlibs and pseudo-leftists who get every other foreign policy issue wrong are managing to get this one right, it’s that obvious. Anyone getting this issue wrong can be permanently dismissed without any real loss
No matter how much you talk about October 7, it will still be a fact that Israel is raining military explosives upon a concentration camp full of children, and that it urgently needs to stop.
No matter how much you talk about how evil and bad Hamas are, it will still be a fact that Israel is raining military explosives upon a concentration camp full of children, and that it urgently needs to stop.
No matter how much you say the words “human shields”, it will still be a fact that Israel is raining military explosives upon a concentration camp full of children, and that it urgently needs to stop.
No matter how much you accuse Israel’s critics of loving terrorists, it will still be a fact that Israel is raining military explosives upon a concentration camp full of children, and that it urgently needs to stop.
No matter how much you accuse Israel’s critics of hating Jews, it will still be a fact that Israel is raining military explosives upon a concentration camp full of children, and that it urgently needs to stop.
No matter how many words you use or how much narrative spin you try to put on it or how many ad hominems you throw at the people criticizing what Israel is doing, it will still be a fact that Israel is raining military explosives upon a concentration camp full of children, and that it urgently needs to stop.
Yeah I’m gonna go ahead and assume that the people arguing that it’s necessary to keep dropping military explosives on a giant concentration camp full of children are on the side that will be judged negatively by history.
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A huge amount of western depravity hides behind the unexamined assumption that killing people with bombs is somehow less evil than killing them with bullets or blades. By waging nonstop foreign bombing campaigns, the west desensitized the public to the reality of what bombs do.
❖
Hamas are in the ambulances. Hamas are in the hospitals. Hamas are underneath the refugee camps. Hamas are behind the children. Maybe they’re just massacring civilians.
If a military power was just massacring thousands of civilians and then making up propagandistic lies to cover its massacres, would it look any different from what Israel’s actions and statements look like right now?…………………………………………………………………..
more https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-moral-complexities-of-bombing?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=82124&post_id=138565169&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&utm_medium=email #Israel #Palestine
Nuclear plays minor role in IEA World Energy Outlook 2023
31 October 2023
IEA’s new World Energy Outlook 2023 sees a phenomenal rise of clean energy technologies. It describes an energy system in 2030 in which clean technologies play a significantly greater role than today. This includes almost 10 times as many electric cars on the road worldwide; solar PV generating more electricity than the entire US power system does currently; renewables’ share of the global electricity mix nearing 50%, up from around 30% today; heat pumps and other electric heating systems outselling fossil fuel boilers globally; and three times as much investment going into new offshore wind projects than into new coal- and gas-fired power plants…………………………………………….
The WEO-2023 proposes a global strategy for getting the world on track by 2030 that consists of five key pillars. These are: tripling global renewable capacity; doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements; slashing methane emissions from fossil fuel operations by 75%; innovative, large-scale financing mechanisms to triple clean energy investments in emerging and developing economies; and measures to ensure an orderly decline in the use of fossil fuels, including an end to new approvals of unabated coal-fired power plants.
It is notable that the press release makes no mention at all of nuclear. The 353-page report itself mentions nuclear 114 times – mostly in passing or in tables. By contrast, renewables are mentioned 174 times, solar 408 times, wind 233 times coal 492 times and gas 792 times.
The only reference to nuclear in the Foreword is to note: “A second difference between the 1970s and today is that we already have the clean energy technologies for the job in hand. The 1973 oil shock was a major catalyst for change, driving a huge push to scale up energy efficiency and nuclear power. But it still took many years to ramp them up while some other key technologies like wind and solar were still emerging. Today, solar, wind, efficiency and electric cars are all well established and readily available – and their advantages are only being reinforced by turbulence among the traditional technologies. We have the lasting solutions to today’s energy dilemmas at our disposal.”
…………………………………………………. in line with previous IEA publications, the overall impression is that nuclear is at best, an afterthought, which receives only grudging attention.
Nuclear Engineering International 31st Oct 2023
https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsnuclear-plays-minor-role-in-iea-world-energy-outlook-2023-11258986 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Dounreay: New two radioactive particles found at Sandside beach
Two new radioactive particles have been found at Sandside beach near
Dounreay. The discoveries, reported this week, were found on September 27
and October 16, and are categorised as “minor”. The depth of the
earlier find could not be ascertained due to tides, but the more recent
particle was at a depth of 8cm. The total number of finds at Sandside in
2023 now stands at five. Dounreay says that “an important part of the work
to close down Dounreay is to address the legacy of radioactive particles in
the marine environment around the site”.
John O’Groat Journal 1st Nov 2023
https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/dounreay-new-two-radioactive-particles-found-at-sandside-be-331553/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #radiation
Sizewell C campaigners wait for ruling on latest court fight over nuclear plant
Campaigners opposed to the building of a new nuclear power plant near
Sizewell in Suffolk are waiting to see if they have won the latest stage of
a legal battle with the Government.
Protest group Together Against Sizewell
C objects to a decision, made in 2022 by then business secretary Kwasi
Kwarteng, to give the development the green light. The group lost a High
Court fight in June and has now asked three Court of Appeal judges to
consider its concerns. Sir Keith Lindblom, Lady Justice Andrews and Lord
Justice Lewis on Thursday finished overseeing a Court of Appeal hearing in
London and said they would deliver a ruling on a date to be fixed.
Lawyers representing the group told judges the central issue relates to whether a
“development consent order” was lawful “without any assessment” of
the environmental impacts of an “essential” fresh water supply. A
spokesman for Together Against Sizewell C said in a statement outside
court: “It is clear that the business secretary needed to guarantee how a
permanent water supply of two million litres per day for Sizewell C would
be obtained, before giving consent.
Belfast Telegraph 2nd Nov 2023
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/uk-world/sizewell-c-campaigners-wait-for-ruling-on-latest-court-fight-over-nuclear-plant/a781818743.html #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
1.This Month
1 July WEBINAR: Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction webinar, Understanding the New Nuclear Arms Race: Views from Washington, Moscow and Beijing.
Monday, July 1, 2024 from 10 am to 11:30 am Mountain Time
- Speakers include: Sharon Weiner, Associate Professor, American University; Dr. Timur Kadyshev, Senior Researcher, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy; Dr. Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Dr. Zia Mian (moderator), Princeton Program on Science and Global Security.
PETITION. Oppose Uranium Mining near the Grand Canyon
Canyon Mine, also known as Pinyon Plain Mine, has begun mining uranium inside Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument, near Grand Canyon National Park. Sign the petition to oppose uranium mining near the Grand Canyon
6-7 July A summit and a rally in Washington D.C. https://nonatoyespeace.org/
13 – 25th July PROTEST ACTION AT LAKENHEATH -Stop nuclear weapons returning to Lakenheath UK –sign on at https://lakenheathallianceforpeace.org.uk/sign-up/
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