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TODAY. Israel, USA, the “West” can’t hide their atrocious guilt any more

Look – it was sort of OK in the 1930s – for Western political leaders, and their people, to sort of “didn’t know” what was going on in Germany. Hell, they had the lovely 1936 Olympics, and workers were getting a good deal, and Hitler was lovely to dogs.

If there were atrocities going on, – like millions of Jews, homosexuals, dissidents, mentally ill…. getting tortured and murdered – well, we “found out” about it only years later, didn’t we?

BUT. It’s different now. There is ample evidence – first hand real photography, real videos and film, real firsthand aural and written accounts of the mass cruelties being inflicted by Israel on the people of Gaza.

“War against Hamas” – what nonsense ! It’s massacre of Palestinians, and everybody knows it.

President Joe Biden and co. can bleat all they like about “urging Israel to be humanitarian to the Gazan people”, AT THE SAME TIME AS BIDEN AND CO ARE SUPPLYING WEAPONS TO ISRAEL TO DO THE KILLING!

US officials told POLITICO that the Biden administration was not planning any consequences for Israel if it went ahead with a major assault on Rafah, which would inevitably kill a huge number of civilians. “No reprimand plans are in the works, meaning Israeli forces could enter the city and harm civilians without facing American consequences,” the report reads.

“We’re going to continue to support Israel … And we’re going to continue to make sure they have the tools and the capabilities to do that.”

Of course the only thing that Biden really cares about is himself getting elected again in November. That might make him, and USA’s sycophantic allies, care a little bit about the miseries in Gaza.

But the world is appalled. We are not taken in by pious bleatings about “humanitarian aid” – while the Genocide finding of the International Court of Justice is ignored by the powerful, and while the one agency of support to the Gazans is closed down by the powerful.

Perhaps they’ll try to pretend that all the mass of evidence of genocide is “fake news”, and produced by artificial intelligence, and critics are just “tools of Russia” – or some other rubbish that the CIA and nuclear-military-industrial complex think up.

Their hypocrisy is boundless. Now they’re all alarmed because Iran might make a nuclear bomb. Israel has about 90 nuclear bombs, according to some experts. Israel has had nuclear bombs for decades, and the “Western powers” just pretend that they don’t know this. Israel is OK, safe to manage its nuclear weapons. Really?

February 15, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Australian Parliament votes in favour of bringing Assange home

https://youtube.com/watch?v=DouCy0Kud34%3Fsi%3DWHa0OIQ9bhSMYrNU

By John Jiggens | 15 February 2024,  https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/parliament-votes-in-favour-of-bringing-assange-home,18333—

In a historic vote, parliamentarians have shown unprecedented support for the return home of imprisoned journalist Julian Assange. Dr John Jiggens reports.

WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY turned out to be an unanticipated Happy Valentine’s Day for Julian Assange supporters. The Australian House of Representatives passed a motion introduced by Tasmanian Independent Andrew Wilkie, on behalf of the Parliamentary Friends of Julian Assange, urging the U.S. and the UK to bring their prosecution of the WikiLeaks founder to a close and allow him to return to his family and home in Australia.

The vote was 86 for Yes (ALP, Greens and Independents) and 42 for No (mostly Liberal and National).

In an unprecedented show of parliamentary support for Assange, two-thirds of the lower house voted for the motion. It was not unanimous because Coalition members overwhelmingly chose to support the U.S. and UK in what the former UN Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, described as the torture of an Australian journalist.

Greens leader Adam Bandt appealed to the Coalition to support the motion. Assange has become symbolic of journalists around the world who face attacks on press freedom, he argued, ranging from political prosecutions through to murder.

Assange’s prosecution set a chilling precedent for journalists about their ability to hold governments to account and to tell the truth without facing imprisonment and without facing a risk to their own lives.

Bandt said:

“If governments think that participation in the AUKUS agreement and alliance is so critical, surely part of that should be the insistence on human rights and the proper treatment of our citizens — of Australian citizens. If we are sitting around a table with these governments, we should be able to insist that Julian Assange is brought home.”

His appeal fell on deaf ears — it remained AUKUS regardless of any cost.

For Assange, the situation is still perilous. He remains incarcerated in HM Prison Belmarsh in the UK, where he has spent the last five years, locked down for 23 hours each day in a three-metre by two-metre cell, unconvicted of any charges, an innocent man in a living hell, like Dylan’s ‘Hurricane’. Like Nelson Mandela, he walks his long walk to freedom around that tiny cell every day.

In one week, the UK High Court will decide whether he has exhausted all his legal appeals to prevent being extradited to the USA where he would face charges that could see him imprisoned for 175 years under their notorious 1917 Espionage Act for publishing material, which revealed shocking evidence of misconduct by U.S. forces.

As Senator David Shoebridge tweeted on the day of the vote:

‘There are real concerns that if Julian loses next week he will be immediately extradited.’

In this epic David versus Goliath mismatch, one lone Australian journalist pitted against the world’s greatest empire, it was rare good news. Members and supporters of the Parliamentary Friends of Julian Assange tweeted happily.

Andrew Wilkie, Convenor of the Parliamentary Friends of Assange:

‘I successfully moved a motion to recognise the importance of bringing Julian Assange’s extradition to an end. The Govt voted for it in an unprecedented show of political support for Julian. The US must heed these calls & drop the extradition. #FreeAssangeNOW #auspol #politas.’

Adam Bandt, Leader of the Greens:

‘Today – for the first time – the House voted to call on the UK & the USA to bring Julian Assange home. His family, the people and this Parliament want him home.
PM — it’s time we make this a reality.’

Dr Monique Ryan, Independent member, Kooyong:

‘A powerful moment. Today the Government and crossbench called on the United States and the United Kingdom to stop prosecuting Julian Assange so he can come home. This is the ultimate test of our nations’ friendship and I sincerely hope it is heard.’

David Shoebridge, Greens Senator:

‘Today the House of Representatives has voted in favour of a motion from my Parliamentary Friends of Assange colleague @WilkieMP on the need to bring Julian home. This is a genuinely historic moment and a testament to the work of so many for so many years. 86-42 vote.’

February 15, 2024 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, politics | 2 Comments

The ‘disturbing’ intel roiling the Hill is about Russian nukes in space

The U.S. has for more than a year been concerned about Russia’s potentially creating and deploying an antisatellite nuclear weapon, one of the people familiar with the intelligence said.

Politico, By ERIN BANCO, ALEXANDER WARD and LEE HUDSON, 02/14/2024

A vague warning by the chair of the House Intelligence Committee about a “serious national security threat” Wednesday is related to Russia’s attempts to develop an antisatellite nuclear weapon for use in space, according to two people familiar with the matter.

While the people did not provide further details on the intel, one of them noted the U.S. has for more than a year been concerned about Russia’s potentially creating and deploying an antisatellite nuclear weapon — a weapon the U.S. and other countries would be unable to adequately defend against.

In his statement Wednesday morning, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said his committee had made available the information about the national security threat and called on the administration to declassify the intelligence so officials and lawmakers could discuss the matter with allies.

It is not clear what prompted Turner to issue the statement now, as the intelligence has been available to leaders of the House intelligence committee and their top aides in a secure room on Capitol Hill for more than a week, one of the people said. The Senate intelligence committee has also had access to the information.

House intelligence committee members on Tuesday voted to open the intelligence up for viewing for all members. All Senate members now have access as well.

It’s possible Turner was attempting to raise alarms about Russia’s advancements in space as a way of underscoring the need for lawmakers to approve additional aid to Ukraine. The Senate passed the supplemental bill including $60 billion in aid for Kyiv. It is currently under review by the House.

One House intelligence committee member said the intelligence was “disturbing.” Another said “it’s a serious issue but not an immediate crisis.” Both members and the others familiar with the intelligence were granted anonymity to speak about classified materials. ………………………………………………………..

U.S. officials have raised the alarm in recent years about missiles launched from Earth’s surface that can destroy satellites in orbit. In 2021, Russia conducted an anti-satellite missile test on one of its own satellites, breaking it up into more than 1,500 pieces of debris — which can pose a serious threat to other objects in orbit.

ABC previously reported on the particulars about the most recent intelligence relating specifically to the antisatellite nuclear weapon.

There are a number of other issues that the administration has viewed as concerning in regard to Russia’s activities in space, including certain developments with its satellites and its jamming of U.S. satellites. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/14/house-intel-national-security-threat-russia-space-power-00141473

February 15, 2024 Posted by | Russia, space travel | 2 Comments

Britain must pay more for Hinkley, says France

Push for funding comes weeks after Hinkley Point C costs were revised up to £46bn

Jonathan Leake, 13 February 2024

 British taxpayers have been asked to stump up cash to fund nuclear power
plants being built in the UK by the French energy giant EDF. Bruno Le
Maire, France’s finance minister, said on Tuesday he would be asking
Jeremy Hunt for “an equitable sharing of costs” for the power stations
which include Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, and Sizewell C, in Suffolk.

It comes after it emerged that the costs at Hinkley Point C had surged to
£46bn, significantly more than the £18bn proposed when contracts were
signed in 2016. Speaking at an International Energy Agency ministerial
meeting in Paris, Mr Le Maire said he had raised the subject with Claire
Coutinho, the Energy Secretary, and planned to have “discussions” with
Mr Hunt, the Chancellor, about it.

The UK has so far refused to consider
paying more for Hinkley, pointing out that it is not a government project.
Last month a government spokesman said: “Any additional costs or schedule
overruns are the responsibility of EDF and its partners and will in no way
fall on taxpayers.”

There is growing concern in France over the plight of
state-owned EDF which is on the hook for most of the extra costs. If EDF
were to pull out of Sizewell it would cause huge delays and a likely end UK
hopes of building 24 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity by 2050, equating to
about seven new nuclear power stations. These would supply up to a quarter
of the country’s projected electricity demand.

 Telegraph 13th Feb 2024

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/02/13/france-tell-uk-pay-taxpayer-cash-fund-nuclear-power-station

February 15, 2024 Posted by | France, politics international | Leave a comment

The War on Gaza: Public Relations vs. Reality

Wednesday, February 14th, 2024, By Robert C. Koehler, m http://commonwonders.com/the-war-on-gaza-public-relations-vs-reality/

For its victims, war is . . . yes, hell. For the rest of us — the onlooking and supportive patriots — war is an abstraction embedded in ignorance, a.k.a., public relations, served up for public consumption.

At least that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The reality of war should never directly confront the official PR of those waging it. If it does, God help the war industry!

But that’s what’s happening now, as public support for U.S. complicity in Israel’s devastation of Gaza diminishes, indeed, starts turning to outrage. Official spokesmen for the Biden administration, such as John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, are forced to start mixing apologetic language in with their unwavering support for the bombing and murder of civilians . . . excuse me, Israel’s right to defend itself.

“Civilian deaths are happening, and happening at a rate that obviously we’re not comfortable with,” Kirby said in a New Yorker interview. “But,” he quickly added, “it doesn’t mean that they are intentionally trying to wipe the people of Gaza off the map the same way that Hamas wants to wipe the Israeli people off the map.”

Wow, Israel’s actions and official declarations of intent to obliterate Palestine are making the U.S. government uncomfortable. (But Hamas is still the bad guy.) Oh, if only fragments of actual truth about the war could penetrate such an interview. For instance:

And it was mostly — I mean, the majority of the patients that I treated were children, anywhere from the age of 2 to 17. I mean, I saw horrific eye and facial injuries that I’ve never seen before, eyes shattered in two 6-year-old children with shrapnel that I had to take out, eyes with shrapnel stuck inside, facial injuries. I saw orthopedic injuries where — you know, limbs just cut off and dangling. I saw abdominal injuries that were just horrific. And it was just mass chaos. There were children on the floor, unattended to, with head trauma, people suturing patients without anesthesia on the ground. It was just mass chaos and really horrific, horrific scenes.”

The speaker is Dr. Yasser Khan, a Canadian ophthalmologist recently back from a humanitarian mission at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, near Rafah. He was interviewed by Democracy Now! I wish John Kirby could have been there.

The hospital, he said, was “about 300, 400 percent over capacity. There was patients and bodies lying all over the hospital floor, inside and outside. They had orthopedic devices coming from their legs or their arms. They were getting infected, they were in pain, because they were on the floor, so the conditions weren’t very sterile. And if they survived amputation the first time, the infection would get them . . .”

His words go on and on. OK, you (I mean Kirby) might say, this is war. People get hurt. But Israel has to “defend itself.”

This is self-defense?

“They have killed over 300 or 400 healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, paramedics. Ambulances have been bombed. This has all been a systematic sort of — you know, by destroying the healthcare system, you’re contributing to the genocide.”

Khan also notes: “They’ve attacked the sewage system, the water system, so the sewage mixes with the drinking water. And you get diarrheal diseases, bacterial diseases. You know, cholera, typhoid is not far away. Hepatitis A is epidemic there now. They’re living in cramped spaces.”

And it gets even more insane: “What’s going on is now there’s 10,000 to 15,000 bodies that are decomposing. So, it’s raining season right now in Gaza. So all the rainwater mixes with the decomposing bodies, and that bacteria mixes with the drinking water supply, and you get further disease.”

Israel has the right to defend itself. But come on, guys, be a little bit more careful. Kill fewer children. Try not to poison the water. You might say this is public relations with a limp. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to “refrain” from taking action that could be considered genocidal and, good God, “take measures to improve the humanitarian situation for Palestinian civilians in the enclave,” as Reuters reports.

But it’s war itself — regardless of “intent” — that is causing this hell. The act of war, the weapons of war, the political-economic structure of the globe that is based on endless war and domination, seems never to face serious condemnation, at least not in any official sense. But if we feed war, we feed hell.

Perhaps there’s one bit of recent news about a challenge to the global war industry, and its public relations perpetrators, that isn’t simply a scream from the political margins or cries from the victims. It’s the Transatlantic Civil Servants’ Statement on Gaza, a statement, released on Feb. 2, signed by more than 800 civil servants from the United States, the European Union and about a dozen European countries, declaring: “It Is Our Duty To Speak Out When Our Governments’ Policies Are Wrong.”

The statement declares the Gaza pummeling “one of the worst human catastrophes of this century.” And it calls on its countries to halt all military support to Israel and use their leverage “to secure a lasting ceasefire and full humanitarian access in Gaza and a safe release of all hostages” and “develop a strategy for lasting peace.”

A strategy for lasting peace? That’s another way of calling for an end to war. It’s about time.

February 15, 2024 Posted by | spinbuster | Leave a comment

Small Nuclear Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Consent in Saskatchewan: What You Haven’t Been Told

https://youtube.com/watch?v=f6TOoWU-w5A%3Fsi%3DxmGwuRnGSDe5zS0_

Uranium Mining in Northern Saskatchewan: What You Need To Know―Four-Part Webinar Series Webinar #2: February 13th, 2024,

Small Nuclear Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Consent in Saskatchewan: What You Haven’t Been Told Everyone is welcome to attend this webinar series that will help you know more about what is happening with uranium mining in Northern Saskatchewan. While many people have been busy in survival mode and exhausted from the pandemic, wars around the world, and the extreme rising cost of living, uranium mining lobbyists and governments have been taking advantage, passing industry-favourable laws that will further degrade and threaten freshwater systems already desperately overburdened by farming and mining use and wastewater byproducts.

Hosted by Tori Cress Guests: Paul Belanger, Keepers of the Water Science Advisor. Dr. Gordon Edwards, President and co-founder of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, and Benjamin Ralston BA, JD, LLM, Assistant Professor at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan Technical support: Beverly Andrews Paul Belanger works on the Keepers of the Water team as our Science Advisor and is also an environmentalist – entrepreneur, and designer. Paul founded his first environmental organization in 1987, then went on to mentor with scientists and operate an oil field supply and safety company. After more education and some research, Paul began an ecological design company called Living Design Systems – which is still active. Paul holds much knowledge and will now take us through a brief history of uranium mining in Saskatchewan.

Benjamin Ralston is an assistant professor at the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan. Some of his research areas include Aboriginal rights, Canadian constitutional law, environmental law, human rights law, and natural resource law. Benjamin has worked at the U of S in various capacities since 2014. Including for the first year of the Nunavut law program in Iqaluit. He taught law courses in the Kanawayihetaytan Askiy (kaun-a-way-taa-tan-ah-ski) Program for Indigenous land managers and continues to teach a graduate course on environmental law and policy for the School of Environment and Sustainability. He is completing his Ph.D. at the College of Law with a dissertation investigating the intersection between environmental assessment practices and Indigenous rights in Canada. No registration is required. We will be broadcasting live from our Facebook Event Page here, https://fb.me/e/4cpZppDBU and on our YouTube channel here, https://youtube.com/live/f6TOoWU-w5A?…

February 15, 2024 Posted by | Canada, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors | Leave a comment

AI, climate change, pandemics and nuclear warfare puts humanity in ‘grave danger’, open letter warns

More than 100 politicians, academics and celebrities urge world leaders to act now against the existential threats facing mankind

Samuel Lovett, DEPUTY EDITOR OF GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY, 15 February 2024  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/ai-climate-change-pandemic-nuclear-warfare-humanity-danger/

Climate change, pandemics, nuclear warfare and artificial intelligence all pose an existential threat to humanity and need to be addressed with “wisdom and urgency”, more than 100 politicians, academics, and celebrities have warned in an open letter.

The signatories, including Annie Lennox, Richard Branson, Gordon Brown and Charles Oppenheimer, whose grandfather developed the atom bomb, said today’s world leaders prioritise “short-term fixes over long-term solutions” and “lack the political will to take decisive action” against the many dangers facing mankind.

“Our world is in grave danger. We face a set of threats that put all humanity at risk. Our leaders are not responding with the wisdom and urgency required,” the letter reads. “We are at a precipice.”       

The signatories list four key demands for future-proofing humanity: a global financing plan to ease the transition to clean energy; arms control talks to reduce the risk of nuclear war; an equitable pandemic treaty to prepare for future outbreaks; and international governance for regulating AI to make it “a force for good”.

“The biggest risks facing us cannot be tackled by any country acting alone. Yet when nations work together, these challenges can all be addressed, for the good of us all,” the letter states.

The call for action is led by the Elders, an independent group of global leaders campaigning for peace and human rights founded by Nelson Mandela, and the Future of Life Institute, a non-profit working to develop transformative technologies for the benefit of humanity.

Other signatories of the letter include Ban Ki-moon, the former UN Secretary-General, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former UK foreign secretary, Helen Clark, the former prime minister of New Zealand, Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, and Amber Valletta, the American model and actress.

The letter also encourages the world’s decision-makers to be “bold” in abandoning their short termism in favour of “long-view leadership”.

“In a year when half the world’s adult population face elections, we urge all those seeking office to take a bold new approach,” it reads.

“We need long-view leadership from decision-makers who understand the urgency of the existential threats we face, and believe in our ability to overcome them. 

“Long-view leadership means showing the determination to resolve intractable problems not just manage them, the wisdom to make decisions based on scientific evidence and reason, and the humility to listen to all those affected.”

The letter comes ahead of the Munich Security Conference, where government officials, military leaders and diplomats will meet on Thursday to discuss international security.

Each year, the conference brings together roughly 350 senior figures from more than 70 countries to engage in an intensive debate on current and future security challenges facing humanity.

Commenting on the open letter, Ban Ki-moon said the range of signatories “makes clear our shared concern: we need world leaders who understand the existential threats we face and the urgent need to address them”.

February 15, 2024 Posted by | environment | Leave a comment

Russian nuclear capabilities in space could threaten international satellites, US military comms: Sources

House Intel Chairman Mike Turner first warned of the ‘serious national security threat’ on Wednesday

 By Brooke Singman , Jacqui Heinrich Fox News, February 14, 2024

The U.S. has intelligence of a national and international security threat related to Russian nuclear capabilities in space which could threaten satellites, including potentially knocking out U.S. military communications and reconnaissance, Fox News has learned. 

Sources tell Fox News that the Russian capability has not yet deployed.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner on Wednesday morning first warned of a “serious national security threat,” and called on President Biden to declassify it………………………………………………………………………………………………………. more https://www.foxnews.com/politics/russian-nuclear-capabilities-space-could-threaten-international-satellites-us-military-comms-sources

February 15, 2024 Posted by | Russia, technology | Leave a comment

South Africa lodges Urgent Complaint with Int’l Court of Justice over Israel’s Plan to Assault Rafah

JUAN COLE, 02/14/2024

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The South African government lodged an urgent complaint on Monday at the International Court of Justice against the plan announced by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to attack Rafah in southern Gaza, where 1.4 million people, most of them refugees from elsewhere, have been pushed by the Israeli military. So reports Siyabonga Mkhwanazi at Pretoria’s Independent On Line (IOL) (a consortium of South Africa newspapers).

The IOL says that President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed Tuesday that South Africa has inquired with the ICJ whether it needs to issue another preliminary judgment to stop Israel’s planned offensive against Rafah. The Court is permitted to issue provisional orders at any time without having to convene to decide the case finally.

Lizeka Tandwa at the Mail & Guardian reports that the further submission to the court pointed out that “Rafah is the last refuge for the surviving people in Gaza.”

Vincent Magwenya, the spokesman for South African’s president, posted this statement to the presidency web site:

………………………………………………………………………https://www.juancole.com/2024/02/complaint-justice-israels.html

February 15, 2024 Posted by | Legal, South Africa | Leave a comment

Development of small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors: implications for the management of higher activity wastes and spent fuel [new paper from  UK Committee on Radioactive Waste Managemen [CoRWM]

A new paper from the UK Committee on Radioactive Waste Management says that the issue of managing the used fuel and radioactive waste from these small modular reactors “appears, with some exceptions … to have been largely ignored or at least downplayed up to now”. It adds that the issue “must be considered when selecting technologies for investment, further development, construction and operation”.

There is considerable interest in the development of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) designs and their commercial deployment, both for energy security and net zero, particularly given the historic difficulties of deploying reactors at gigawatt (GW) scale.

The management of spent fuel and radioactive waste from these new reactors must also be considered when selecting technologies for investment, further development, construction and operation.

This CoRWM position paper provides recommendations to the UK Government, Great British Nuclear, and Nuclear Waste Services and regulators to consider as SMR and AMR deployment is progressed.

The paper is posted at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/development-of-small-modular-reactors-smrs-and-advanced-modular-reactors-amrs-corwm-position-paper 

PDF, 539 KB, 42 pages

February 15, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment