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TODAY. Atrocities upon atrocities – the Israelis have excelled themselves this time.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CVfJnZAR5P4%3Fsi%3D9NfPsu8qcm8K_mKa

Who has the words to describe this? To express this horror?

Some of the victims have:

“Before our eyes, we saw bodies being torn apart and scattered on the roads, and we saw soldiers hidden in civilian clothes and in people’s cars running and killing everyone they met on their way without distinguishing between a child, a woman, a young person, or an old person. We saw the bodies of our brothers cut up, without heads, lying on the ground,” Abu Laban told Mondoweiss.

“I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t. I was covered in blood. I looked at my leg and it was cut off. I looked at my best friend next to me, and I found him taking his last breath.” –   ”  I cannot sleep. I cannot forget anything I witnessed and saw. I cannot forget the people who were running in panic and fear, searching for their relatives and families amidst the destruction and dismembered bodies.” -Al-Hawar 

Do you think that I’m making this up – because I’m “anti-semitic”, because I “hate the Jews”?

I don’t hate the jews, but I hate what they are doing in Gaza – and I hate the way some other Jews are rejoicing in these atrocities. And I hate the way that some Gentiles are pretending that it’s all OK – because 80 years ago atrocities were done to Jews – so we can’t blame the poor things, really – can we?

Yes we can.

The International Criminal Court is investigating Israel’s alleged war crimes in Palestine.

Israel’s latest effort – the rescue of four hostages. This was planned well in advance, and was done in at 11 a.m. , as a complete surprise in a highly populated area. Israeli special forces had numerous men disguised as refugees, installed in the area. The attacking Israeli military wore civilian clothes, rode in Palestinian cars, and moved among the people in disguise. There were no warnings to evacuate, or orders from the army to move elsewhere, and people were surprised by the Israeli special forces and tanks. Helicopters, fighter planes, artillery, and tanks descended. Reconnaissance aircraft and foot solders then began committing massacres against the civilian population. 

As reported by Robin Anderson – “When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’. Anderson details the verbal gymnastics used by the corporate media, to obscure the truth about what happened, in this atrocity, and others. Words like words like “genocide,” “massacre” and “starvation.” are not used. Journalists from respected media like NBC were embedded with Israeli forces. The dead are as much as possible described as Hamas, not as Palestinian civilians. For the New York Times, Time magazine, Forbes and the AP, mass killings are “a mistake” or a “tragic accident”. A death toll of 274, and injuries to 696 – are reported as “figures from Hamas” – with the inference that you can’t really rely on them.

Well – it’s not working this time. People have had a gutful of corporate media toeing the USA line, as it toes the Israeli line.

June 11, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Gaza has become a humanitarian catastrophe and Israel will have to answer tough questions

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CVfJnZAR5P4%3Fsi%3Duivyd1WAg7-aqvBB

By global affairs editor John Lyons, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-10/israel-tough-questions-war-in-gaza/103956848?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=twitter&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

“Frozen“ children — it’s an unusual description of an appalling reality.

They’re the words Sydney clinical psychologist Scarlett Wong used after a recent trip to Gaza with Doctors Without Borders.

“When you see a starving child, they are apathetic, they have no response,” she told SBS News. “This is the kind of thing we were seeing from a medical view … children have become frozen, with no emotion, and apathetic.”

The situation, Dr Wong said, was “the worst humanitarian disaster I have ever seen”.

Gaza has become one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of our time. The UN’s World Food Programme has said parts of Gaza are now gripped by “a full-blown famine”. 

One of the few countries denying this is Israel. Not only is there not a famine, said Ron Dermer, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, but there is an abundance of food.

He told a startled Yalda Hakim on Sky UK recently that there were in fact “bustling markets” with fruit and vegetables.

Dermer’s claim defies all available evidence. Given the Israeli army has drones flying constantly across the tiny enclave, Dermer could have provided photographs of the “bustling markets”. Where are the photos?

According to Foreign Policy magazine, 30 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals have been bombed — many repeatedly — even while medical staff, patients and civilians seeking shelter remained inside. Satellite imagery shows vast sections of Gaza in rubble.

The Wall Street Journal reported that from October 7 to December 15, Israel dropped 29,000 bombs, munitions and shells on Gaza. This means that, on average, Israel hit every square kilometre of Gaza with 79 bombs, munitions or shells.

After just nine weeks of the war, the newspaper said the destruction of homes, schools and other buildings resembled “some of the most devastating campaigns in modern history”.

When the war does finish, the rebuilding of Gaza could take a generation. The Washington Post reported that the head of the UN’s Mine Action Program, Mungo Birch, said the number of unexploded missiles and bombs lying under the rubble was “unprecedented” since World War II and that Gaza was now the site of about 37 million tons of rubble — more than what had been generated across all of Ukraine during Russia’s war — and 800,000 tons of asbestos and other contaminants.

Has the response been proportional?

Over the weekend, Israel rescued four hostages captured on October 7 from a heavily populated refugee camp. Gazan authorities said at least 210 Palestinians were killed and 400 wounded during the rescue, which involved heavy bombardment.

Hamas has had its day of reckoning; the videos from October 7 would be, for any reasonable observer, proof of atrocities and war crimes. The videos and photos not released to the public are even more appalling. Hamas has kept hostages for more than eight months.

But Israel’s day of reckoning for its eight-month-long response is still to come. The question is, has its response been proportional?

Every country that engages in war has a day, or years, of reckoning. America had such a day after the Vietnam and Iraq wars. Australia has had — and continues to have — days of reckoning after its involvement in Afghanistan, with continuing investigations into possible war crimes.

Israel will argue that for self-defence it needed to ensure that Hamas was never again in a position to commit an attack. They will argue that throughout the war, Hamas has used civilians as human shields and that, therefore, a large number of civilians were killed.

But there will be very specific allegations that Israel will be under pressure to answer. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported this week that the Israeli military has been using white phosphorous in Gaza and south Lebanon. HRW noted that white phosphorous causes severe burns, often down to the bone, and burns to only 10 per cent of the body are often fatal. It said it can cause respiratory damage and organ failure.

“Using airburst white phosphorous is unlawfully indiscriminate in populated areas and otherwise does not meet this legal requirement to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm,” the group said. 

The HRW report also referenced the Israel-Lebanon border. It said Israel had engaged in “widespread” use of white phosphorous since October, including at least five municipalities where white phosphorous munitions were unlawfully airburst over populated residential areas. It said Lebanon should turn to the International Criminal Court and enable the prosecution of grave international crimes.

The ABC put these allegations to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who said that like many western militaries, the IDF possesses “smoke-screen shells that include white phosphorous that are legal under international law”. 

“These shells are used by the IDF for creating smoke screens and not for targeting or causing fires and are not defined under law as incendiary weapons.”

Tough questions are being asked

As the war drags on, some media outlets are increasingly asking difficult questions of Israel.

CNN has conducted a major investigation of one of Israel’s “black site” prison facilities, where they claimed systemic torture of hundreds of Palestinians taken from Gaza is occurring. 

The US media outlet spoke to three Israeli whistleblowers from the facility who revealed atrocities ranging from doctors amputating prisoners’ limbs due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing and medical procedures sometimes performed by underqualified medics, which earned the facility a reputation for being “a paradise for interns” and a place “where the air is filled with the smell of neglected wounds left to rot”.

One medic from the facility said beatings of Palestinians were not done to gather intelligence but out of revenge for the October 7 attack. 

He said he was ordered to perform medical procedures on Palestinians for which he was not qualified: “I was asked to learn how to do things on the patients, performing minor medical procedures that are totally outside my expertise.”

June 11, 2024 Posted by | Atrocities, Gaza, Israel, Legal, Reference, USA | Leave a comment

When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’

https://youtube.com/watch?v=HU8aPp2guzU%3Fsi%3DNsZWVdgWhNFXMGSC

ROBIN ANDERSEN,  https://fair.org/home/when-israel-burned-refugees-alive-establishment-media-called-it-a-tragic-accident/ 10 June 24

As the world watched on social media and responded in outrage, US corporate media, once again, provided cover for the perpetrators of Israel’s genocide. 

Over the Memorial Day weekend, Israel bombed starving Gazan refugees crowded in tents in Rafah, where Israel had told them to go. As Jeffrey St. Clair (CounterPunch, 5/31/24) wrote, leaflets dropped in Rafah a few days before told them to go to “Tel al-Sultan through Beach Road,” an area set up by the UNRWA refugee agency and designated a UN humanitarian safe zone. The leaflet added, “Don’t blame us after we warned you.”

Nevertheless, without warning, Israel hit the camp with at least eight  missiles  spreading fire though the encampment of plastic tents (Quds News, 5/26/24). Some refugees burned to death, mostly women and children, leaving them dismembered and charred.

The world saw the terror of the massacre on international and social media. Images showed the area of the strike engulfed in flames as Palestinians screamed, cried, ran for safety and sought to help the injured. “They told people to move there then killed them,” Richard Medhurst (5/28/24) posted.

A boy cries in horror and fear as he watches his father’s tent burn with him inside. A man holds up the body of his charred, now-headless baby, wandering around, not knowing what to do or where to go. An injured, starving child convulses in pain as a medic struggles to find a vein for an IV in her emaciated arm (Al Jazeera, 5/27/24).

Al Jazeera (cited by Quds News, 5/26/24) quoted a Civil Defense source: “We believe that the occupation army used internationally prohibited weapons to target the displaced in Rafah, judging by the size of the fires that erupted at the targeted site.”

US news media reported the tent massacre, some more truthfully than others. But most establishment media repeated Israel’s false claims that it was an accident, weaving disinformation messaging into toned-down descriptions of the scene. With confused syntax, they omitted words like “genocide,” “massacre” and “starvation.” Most left out the language of international law that is best able to explain the unprecedented crimes against humanity that Israel is committing. Corporate reporting left the tent massacre devoid of context and empathy, ignored actions that need to be taken, and ultimately facilitated the ongoing Israeli genocide of Palestinians.

Embedded with an illegal invasion

When NBC News (5/28/24) reported from Gaza that “Israeli tanks reached the city center for the first time, according to NBC News‘ crew on the ground,” it failed to say that the NBC crew was embedded with Israel’s invading force.

The same sentence continued that Israel was “defying international pressure to halt an offensive that has sent nearly 1 million people fleeing Rafah.” But Israel was not just “defying…pressure”; it was in violation of a direct order from the International Court of Justice ICJ to halt its attack on Rafah. Yet NBC reporters rode into Rafah with an army that was ignoring international law to commit further genocide in Gaza.

Compare NBC’s words to those used by Ramy Abdu (5/26/24), chair of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, who posted: “In the deadliest response to the International Court of Justice’s decision, the Israeli army targeted a group of displaced persons’ tents in Rafah, killing approximately 60 innocent civilians so far.”

In a post, Francesca Albanese (5/26/24), UN special rapporteur for human rights in Palestine, included International actions that needed to be implemented:

The #GazaGenocide‌ will not easily end without external pressure: Israel must face sanctions, justice, suspension of agreements, trade, partnership and investments, as well as participation in int’l forums.

Such sanctions are rarely discussed in establishment media, but are becoming more urgent, given the New York Times report (5/29/24) that Israel intends to extend the genocide through the remainder of 2024. Though the Times reported on the global outrage and demonstrations against the Rafah massacre, the words “genocide” and “massacre” were not used, nor was there any mention of the possibility of sanctions against Israel.

Targeting ‘Hamas,’ not civilians

Instead of sourcing the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice or any humanitarian actors in the region, NBC (5/28/24) quoted a UN National Security Council spokesperson:

Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians…. But as we’ve been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians.

The dead were connected to Hamas whenever possible. At the bottom of the video, the subtitles listed numbers of dead, followed with, “according to the emergency services in Hamas-run Gaza.”

CounterPunch (5/31/24) quoted Jeremy Konyndyk, former head of disaster relief for US Agency for International Development, saying, “Bombing a tent camp full of displaced people is a clear-cut, full-on war crime” who added, “Even if Hamas troops were present, that does not absolve the IDF of the obligation to protect civilians. It does not turn a tent camp into a free fire zone.”

‘A tragic incident’

On NBC (5/28/24), under the footage of the burning horrors of Rafah, the chyron read, “Netanyahu: Deadly Strike a Tragic Incident.”

In response to Israel’s “accident” claim, journalists, activists and social media users, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib, reacted with incredulity and withering criticism of those who asserted it. That was the reaction Axios reporter and CNN analyst Barak Ravid (5/27/24) received when he posted, “Breaking: Netanyahu says the airstrike in Rafah on Sunday was ‘a tragic mistake,’ and adds that it will be investigated.” Katie Halper (5/27/24) replied to Ravid with, “Nice to see you using your position as a journalist to do comms for the Israeli government.”

And Tlaib (5/27/24) commented:

This was intentional. You don’t accidentally kill massive amounts of children and their families over and over again and get to say, “It was a mistake.” Genocidal maniac Netanyahu told us he wants to ethnically cleanse Palestinians.

She ended with the question, “When are you going to believe him?”

Sana Saeed (5/27/24), media critic for Al Jazeera+, posted the front pages of four print publications that repeated Netanyahu’s accident claim. The New York Times used “Tragic Accident,” while “Tragic Mistake” was preferred by Time magazine, Forbes and the AP. Over the headlines, she called them “propagandists for genocide masquerading as journalists.”

‘What Israel shared with us’

But CNN (5/28/24) seemed to be vying for Most Valuable Propagandists by elaborating on the unlikely details offered by the IDF to describe the official Israeli version of what happened. It began with Netanyahu speaking to the Knesset: “Despite our best effort not to harm those not involved, unfortunately a tragic error happened last night. We are investigating the case.”

After four paragraphs of details of the massacre—“burned bodies, including those of children, could be seen being pulled by rescuers from the wreckage”—CNN returned to the justifications. The long, breathless chain of details began:

A US official told CNN Monday that Israel had told the Biden administration it used a precision munition to hit a target in Rafah, but that the explosion from the strike ignited a fuel tank nearby and started a fire that engulfed a camp for displaced Palestinians and led to dozens of deaths.

But the claims could not be confirmed; “It’s what Israel shared with us,” the official said.

But the attack on Rafah was in no way a single “precision” “hit,” as numerous sources reported that multiple bombs hit the camp. And Al Jazeera (5/27/24) reported that Israeli drone strikes also hit the Kuwaiti Hospital, the only functioning hospital in the area, killing two medics. It also pointed out that no notice to evacuate came before the strike.

Ever-changing disinformation

In an X post (5/27/24), Intercept co-founder Jeremy Scahill noted the shifting narrative coming from Israel:

Netanyahu now admits Israel carried out the horrifying bombings that incinerated human beings in Rafah last night and turned a refugee camp into hellfire. I assume all the people who claimed it was actually a failed Hamas rocket attack will now rush to correct themselves.

As we observed after the flour massacre (FAIR.org, 3/22/24), Israel’s string of differing false statements immediately following a massacre is an IDF propaganda strategy designed to confuse and delay. Focusing on changing falsities distracts from the massacre and turns the cameras away from the horrible images of US-supplied weapons slaughter. In this way, massacres become normalized.

Repeating and discussing the ever-changing Israeli disinformation of denial, discussing weapons and official statements, also allows US corporate media to avoid easily observed patterns of Israel’s ongoing massacres, in addition to drawing public attention away from the suffering. But on social media, the raw footage and cries of outrage by users indicate that the manufactured emotional distance collapses online.

Some users expressed extreme distress after prolonged viewing of such imagery. One Palestinian organizer (5/27/24) said:

I’m shaking uncontrollably since last night. I can’t get the beheaded baby that was burned alive. The woman’s screaming out of my head. The decomposed bodies of babies out of my head. The girl whose body was stuck to a wall. Hind’s final message to PRCS…. And now. How do you watch all this and not feel your soul dead?

The daughter of Palestinian refugees posted (5/27/24):

The flour massacre, the tents massacre, the hospital massacre, the refugee camp massacre, the “safe corridor” massacre, the endless massacres, in homes, on the streets, in tents, on foot— eight months of massacre after massacre after massacre.

Another user (5/27/24) asked, “Why do so many Israeli mistakes involve launching multiple missiles at people they’ve assured are in safe zones?”

‘Willful media blackout’

It was the Israeli newspaper Haaretz (2/29/24) that exposed US corporate media reporting as repeated propaganda in a piece titled, “In Netanyahu’s Israel, the Rafah Horror Was Neither ‘a Mishap’ nor Exceptional.” The editorial scoffed at the use of “tragic mishap” to describe the “horrific incident.” It observed that “it took Netanyahu 20 hours to produce the disgraceful statement, which, as usual, lacked any shred of regret over the death of ‘noncombatants.’”

Haaretz derided the “willful media blackout regarding the scope of death and destruction over the last eight months.” Skeptical about the assertion that “it was not expected to cause damage to noncombatant civilians,” the paper observed that, if true, “this involves an ongoing failure at the strategic level.”

By May 29, US corporate media began to report extensively that the Israeli bombs dropped on Rafah that burned Palestinian refugees alive were made in the US. A  munitions fragment was filmed by Palestinian journalist Alam Sadeq, and was posted on X (5/27/24) by former US Army explosive expert Trevor Ball two days earlier. Much was made of the fact that the ordinance was smaller than the usual 2,000-pound bombs used to destroy Gaza, and were the preferred bombs the Biden administration had sent to Israel.

As the New York Times (5/29/24) put it, “US officials have been pushing Israel to use more of this type of bomb, which they say can reduce civilian casualties.” The lengthy report included a drawing of the bomb, the details of its manufacture, and assertions that its use by Israel indicated they tried to kill fewer civilians. Gone were any mention of the “tragic mistake,” and the “exploded fuel tank,” forgotten as yesterday’s fake news.

But a lengthy back-and-forth about how the fire could have started failed to point out the obvious, which comes only at the very end when a retired US Air Force sergeant observes, “When you use a weapon that’s intended as precision and low–collateral damage in an area where civilians are saturated, it really negates that intended use.”

As Israel’s atrocities continue to mount in Gaza, the LA Progressive (6/7/24) wrote that though Biden claimed to care about the loss of civilian life in Gaza, and that an Israeli attacked on Rafah would be a “red line,” “events of the past weeks have demonstrated that none of these claims are in fact true.” It added that a month ago, Hamas agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement “that looked a lot like the ceasefire agreement now being promoted by the Biden administration,” but Israel responded by rejecting that agreement as well.

In addition, Israel closed off the border area between Israel and Egypt, cutting off any aid or supplies from coming into famine-ravaged Gaza. The authors concluded, “What has transpired is a horrifying series of massacres against civilians, which the Biden administration continues to try to downplay, excuse and explain away.”

Over the last eight months, US establishment media have helped Biden “explain away” such  atrocities. They have not stopped repeating Israel’s propaganda, and have acted as willing conduits for Israeli disinformation. It is past time they stopped doing so, and started reporting on what is actually happening on the ground in Gaza, not through the eyes of the IDF.

June 11, 2024 Posted by | Atrocities, Gaza, Israel | Leave a comment

Radioactive Tritium from Monticello Reactor Leaked to the Mississippi River

BY JOHN LAFORGE,  https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/06/10/radioactive-tritium-from-monticello-reactor-leaked-to-the-mississippi-river/

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has formally apologized for multiple false assurances from its staff that a major leak of radioactive tritium from Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear reactor had not reached the Mississippi River — the drinking water source for 20 million people, including, 3.7 million in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.

In opening remarks to an NRC-sponsored public hearing at the Monticello (Minn.) Community Center May 15, 2024, senior NRC Branch 1 Environmental Project Manager Stephen Koenick, made jaws drop around the room when he quashed and corrected the NRC staff’s oft-repeated claims that 820,000 gallons of radioactive tritium-contaminated cooling water, that leaked from the 53-year-old reactor, had not been detected in the Mississippi.

Koenick said, “I would like to take a moment to address and clarify some miscommunication regarding the presence of detectable tritium in the Mississippi River. I know we … reported there [was] no indication [that the] tritium leak made it to the Mississippi. However, … in our Draft Environmental Impact Statement we … conclude there were some very low concentrations of tritium in the Mississippi River.” In this extremely rare and incriminating confession, Koenick went on: “So we apologize for this miscommunication.” (Transcribed from cellphone recording of the hearing.)

This official U-turn and apology from NRC managerial staff over its use of routinized PR-driven claims of “no danger to the public” — in this case regarding a major radioactive leak — should ravage the credibility an arguably industry-captured commission. Nothing it says should be taken at face value.

The NRC’s about-face nullifies months of repeatedly saying to the press, which then duly reported, that no detectable tritium had been found by Xcel’s testing of the Mississippi River. On March 18, 2023, NRC spokesperson Victoria Mitlyng even told the press, “There is no pathway for the tritium to get into drinking water.” Absurdly, even an official NRC email message sent to Nukewatch the same evening of the May 15 public hearing, states: “As far as the Mississippi River, samples taken from the river so far have not shown increased tritium concentrations.”

A week before the formal disavowal, on May 7, 2024, NRC presenters at an NRC-sponsored public hearing, held in the same Monticello community center, repeated on the record that Xcel had found “no detectable levels” of tritium in the Mississippi. Since the massive leak was disclosed in March 2023, Xcel has claimed, as it does in a company website posting (“Monticello Groundwater: Progress on the recovery and treatment of tritium in the groundwater….as of Nov. 18, 2023”): “We test the river regularly for tritium and have not found any, indicating that if it is present, it is at such low levels, and is dispersing so quickly, that it cannot be detected by highly sensitive instruments.”

Xcel’s tritium contamination of the Mississippi has been confirmed by the NRC’s April 2024 “draft Site-specific Environmental Impact Statement” (Draft EIS) regarding Xcel’s request for an extended operating license, and by Xcel’s own 2023 “Annual Radioactive Effluent Release Report”, which says on page 2: “Tritium was detected in newly developed MW-33A [monitoring well-33A] and MW-37A which resulted in MNGP [Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant] reporting an abnormal discharge to the Mississippi River.” Monitoring wells 33A and 37A are the two closest to the river.

Xcel has now, and for a second time, applied to the NRC for an extended operating license which, if granted, would allow the achey, breaky Monticello jalopy to run until the age of 80. No power reactor on earth has ever done so. Such official lying and its protection of corporate contamination of drinking water ought to be scandal enough to cancel any consideration of Xcel’s license extension. Public denunciations or “comments” on the NRC’s Draft EIS on the application are being accepted until June 25. To send yours, see: www.nukewatchinfo.org.

John LaForge is a Co-director of Nukewatch, a peace and environmental justice group in Wisconsin, and edits its newsletter.

June 11, 2024 Posted by | environment, radiation, USA | 1 Comment

US issues major nuclear weapons alert amid fears of all-out war: ‘If that day comes…’

Hindustan Times, By Shweta Kukreti, Jun 08, 2024

The White House has issued a major warning, stating that the United States may have to broaden its nuclear weapons arsenal.

Amid rising geopolitical tensions, the White House has issued a major warning, stating that the United States may have to broaden its nuclear weapons arsenal in reaction to Russia, China, and North Korea expanding their nuke programs “at a breakneck pace”.

Speaking to the Arms Control Association on Friday, Pranay Vaddi, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Arms Control at the White House, stated: “Absent a change in adversary arsenals, we may reach a point in the coming years where an increase from current deployed numbers is required. We need to be fully prepared to execute if the president makes that decision.”

If that day comes, Vaddi believes it will lead to the conclusion that additional nuclear arsenals are needed to dissuade US adversaries while also protecting the American people, and Washington’s allies, and partners.

Vaddi’s statements come amid rising tensions between the United States, Russia, and China, raising worries of an all-out conflict. In May, Russia carried out strategic nuclear arms training “in response to provocative statements and threats by individual Western officials.”…………………………………………………….

US’ alert comes after Putin’s warning

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened that he could deploy conventional missiles within range of Western powers after some of the countries granted Ukraine authorisation to use their weapons against Russian military targets on its own territory for the first time……………………………  https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/us-issues-major-nuclear-weapons-alert-amid-fears-of-all-out-war-if-that-day-comes-101717854501474.html

June 11, 2024 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

China urges long-term supervision over Japan’s radioactive water discharge

08-Jun-2024. CGTN  https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-06-08/China-urges-strict-supervision-over-Japan-radioactive-water-discharge-1ugaDo6lH8I/p.html
A Chinese envoy on Friday called for strict, independent and effective long-term international supervision over Japan’s discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.

Japan has recently carried out its sixth round of the Fukushima wastewater release. The Chinese envoy stated that the discharge continues to raise deep concerns among the international community, especially among Japan’s neighboring countries.

Li Song, China’s permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), expressed doubts about the long-term reliability of Japan’s wastewater purification equipment, the effectiveness of the current monitoring arrangements, the weak supervision from the Japanese government, and the chaotic management of the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the Fukushima plant’s operator, during a meeting of the agency’s board of governors.

Li stressed the importance and urgency of establishing a long-term international supervision mechanism for nuclear-contaminated wastewater discharge as an addition to the regulation of the Japanese government and monitoring by Japanese nuclear power regulators, rather than replacing them.

He emphasized that only through such an arrangement can Japan dispel the concerns and panic of the people of China and other stakeholder countries. Such an arrangement is also conducive to further strengthening the authority and function of the IAEA in the field of international nuclear security and serves the fundamental interests of Japan and the Japanese people, Li added.

The Chinese envoy also stated that China and Japan have agreed to find an appropriate solution to the issue of the Fukushima wastewater discharge through consultation and negotiation. China hopes that Japan will show sincerity, seriously address the legitimate concerns from home and abroad, earnestly fulfill its responsibilities and obligations, and join hands with China, the IAEA, and the international community to work out more effective supervision measures to ensure that the Fukushima wastewater release will not cause long-term harm to the marine environment and humankind.

June 11, 2024 Posted by | Japan, oceans, wastes | Leave a comment

Chief Akagi requests public hearing to review any new governance arrangement for the Point Lepreau nuclear reactor on Peskotomuhkati homeland

Canada adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).  Article 29 of UNDRIP requires states to take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials takes place in the lands or territories of Indigenous peoples without their free, prior, and informed consent. The CNSC’s decision to grant NB Power a 10-year license renewal does not reflect this commitment.

by Abby Bartlett, June 10, 2024  homeland https://nbmediacoop.org/2024/06/10/chief-akagi-requests-public-hearing-to-review-any-new-governance-arrangement-for-the-point-lepreau-nuclear-reactor-on-peskotomuhkati-homeland/

On May 15, New Brunswick’s Energy Development Minister Mike Holland tabled the first reading of a bill to change the Electricity Act. The change would allow NB Power to enter a partnership with Ontario Power Generation (OPG).

In a letter to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) on May 29, Peskotomuhkati Chief Hugh Akagi outlined his initial concerns with the proposed agreement between NB Power and OPG, which reportedly includes a partial ownership stake in the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station.

The letter is from the Passamoquoddy Recognition Group (PRGI) which represents the Peskotomuhkati Nation in Canada and the interests of rightsholders and the Peskotomuhkati ecosystem, including the Point Lepreau Nuclear Station and areas surrounding up to 90 km away.

Any new owners of the Lepreau CANDU nuclear reactor will have rights and responsibilities that PRGI wants clarified. In May 2022, Chief Akagi spoke at a public hearing held by the CNSC in Saint John to discuss NB Power’s request for a 25-year renewal of the license to operate the Point Lepreau nuclear reactor.

At the hearing, PRGI asked the CNSC to reduce the license to three years, stating that the average length of licensing is only 2.44 years. In the end, the CNSC granted a 10-year licence. Given that PRGI has already felt the impact of the proposed change in licence holders, they are rightfully concerned about the possible repercussions that will come from the new proposed changes.

In December 2023, New Brunswick published its new energy strategy, outlining plans to declare that the Point Lepreau reactor will undergo licence “renewals every 10 years.” This statement assumes that the 10-year license length will be the conclusion of future discussions that have not happened yet.

Back in June 2022, Chief Akagi stated that a 10-year license renewal meant that Canada was not meeting its own legal and related obligations to the Nation. “The new licence gives NB Power the ability to create and store 10 more years of fresh and dangerous high-level waste on our territory. This is not acceptable,” Chief Akagi said at the time.

Canada adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).  Article 29 of UNDRIP requires states to take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials takes place in the lands or territories of Indigenous peoples without their free, prior, and informed consent. The CNSC’s decision to grant NB Power a 10-year license renewal does not reflect this commitment.

Regarding any new governance arrangement for the Point Lepreau reactor, PRGI has many questions outlined in its letter to the CNSC.

PRGI wonders how a new joint ownership entity will fulfill its Indigenous consultation obligations. Will PRGI have any say about these arrangements? How will a joint ownership arrangement for the existing CANDU reactor impact any new reactors on the Point Lepreau site? What will OPG’s responsibilities be for the existing and any further nuclear waste produced by the Point Lepreau plant under a co-ownership arrangement?

NB Power is fraught with 3.6 billion dollars of nuclear debt due to the original building cost of the Lepreau nuclear generating station, the later refurbishment of the reactor, and the poor performance over the course of its operation.

This potential agreement would mean shedding the Lepreau nuclear reactor off to a new entity, which would be co-owned with OPG and NB Power in an agreement that could force New Brunswick customers to pay for expensive nuclear power for decades.

The letter by Chief Akagi ends with two requests. First is the need for the CNSC to commit to holding in-person hearings for the future request to change ownership of the Lepreau nuclear reactor to ensure that the Peskotomuhkati Nation can intervene in its traditional way rather than only through written intervention.

The second request asks the CNSC to remind the New Brunswick Government that a future 10-year license for the Lepreau reactor is not up to the provincial government. Instead, it will be a matter of review and decision made by the CNSC, which will involve public intervenors, including PRGI. 

As Chief Akagi outlines, NB Power is required to make an application to the CNSC to authorize the transfer of licence, and under section 40 of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, they are also required to hold a hearing. The Peskotomuhkati Nation does not want this proposed change to become another injustice that they must bear. The CNSC needs to ensure that Peskotomuhkati people’s voices are heard, understood, and respected in the process.

Abby Bartlett is a research assistant on the CEDAR project at St. Thomas University.

June 11, 2024 Posted by | Canada, indigenous issues | Leave a comment

Ukrainian officials stole $490 million meant for military – MP

 https://www.rt.com/russia/599073-ukraine-fortification-construction-embezzlement/ 10 June 24

Criminal proceedings are underway in relation to dozens of cases of alleged embezzlement, according to politician Mikhail Bondar.

Nearly $500 million given to Kiev for the construction of defensive fortifications to repel Russia’s advance has been embezzled or stolen, media reported on Sunday, citing Mikhail Bondar, a member of the Ukrainian parliament.

Ukrainian law enforcement authorities have launched around 30 criminal proceedings linked to the embezzlement of 20 billion hryvnias ($491 million), Bondar told lawmakers at a closed-door session of the parliamentary investigative commission on fortifications, according to multiple media reports. In the absence of defensive fortifications, Russian forces have made rapid advances in the country.

“Members of the commission from Servants of the People [Ukraine’s ruling party], when they heard such figures, immediately tried to defend the managers of the funds,” Bondar said. However, he claimed that the “lion’s share” of the funds had been disbursed through Ukraine’s military and civil authorities, which the MP described as the “vertical of the president.”

Ukrainian lawmakers have urged the defense ministry, as well as local military authorities, to provide information on the use of budget funds for the construction of defenses.

Last month, Ukrainian media reported that military and civilian authorities in Kharkov Region had paid millions of dollars to fake companies for the supply of non-existent construction materials to build fortifications.

According to Ukrainian anti-corruption activists, Kharkov Region authorities alone embezzled or stole 7 billion hryvnias ($176.5 million) that they had been given to build fortifications along the border. The lack of defenses has resulted in Russian troops overrunning a dozen settlements in quick succession.

For the supply of wood, the Kharkov Department of Housing and Communal Services and OVA Regional Military Administration signed contracts worth 270 million hryvnias ($6.8 million) with five companies that had been set up immediately after the contracts were announced. No bidding process took place, and at least two of these companies were owned by the same person, an anti-corruption report claimed.

In May, Russia launched a large-scale offensive on Kharkov Region, capturing multiple towns and villages. Some Ukrainian troops, including Denis Yaroslavsky, a commander active in the area, blamed their superiors for putting up inadequate defenses, claiming they may have embezzled money intended for their construction.

For months, Kharkov Region has been a source of Ukrainian cross-border attacks on Russia’s Belgorod Region. Its proximity has allowed Ukrainian troops to regularly shell the Russian city with multiple rocket launch systems.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that Moscow could be forced to “create a cordon sanitaire” in Kiev-controlled territories to prevent attacks on Russian border regions.

June 11, 2024 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Ukraine is a ‘gold mine’ – US senator

 https://swentr.site/news/599068-ukraine-gold-mine-us/ 10 June 24

Allowing a Russian victory in the conflict would deprive America of access to vast mineral resources, Lindsey Graham says.

Washington “cannot afford” to allow Russia to achieve victory in the Ukraine conflict as this would mean losing direct access to vast mineral assets, US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has said.

In an interview with ‘Face the Nation’ on CBS on Sunday, Graham accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being a “megalomaniac” who is attempting to “re-create the Russian Empire by force of arms,” starting with Ukraine. He further claimed that if Moscow wins the current conflict, it will then take over Ukraine’s wealth and share it with China. Graham described that prospect as “ridiculous,” suggesting it would be better if this “gold mine” were available to the US instead.

They’re sitting on 10 to $12 trillion of critical minerals in Ukraine. They could be the richest country in all of Europe… If we help Ukraine now, they can become the best business partner we ever dreamed of, that $10 to $12 trillion of critical mineral assets could be used by Ukraine and the West, not given to Putin and China,” Graham stated.

Graham, a longtime Russia hawk and one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in the US Senate, also called on the West to speed up the seizure of $300 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets. He reiterated his demands for Russia to be designated “a state sponsor of terrorism” under US law, a suggestion which earlier this year landed the senator on Moscow’s list of extremists and terrorists.

One day prior to Graham’s remarks, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban argued that the West wants Kiev to win the conflict with Russia so that it can control Ukraine’s wealth. In an interview with Hir TV, Orban accused the US and its allies of seeing Ukraine as a potentially huge source of revenue which they will be able to control, provided Russia is defeated. He also said the conflict is a major boost for Western “arms suppliers, creditors, and speculators,” arguing that this is the reason it has dragged on for so long.

Moscow has repeatedly stated throughout the conflict that its goals are to protect the largely Russian-speaking population of Donbass against persecution by Kiev, and to ensure Russia’s own security in light of NATO expansion toward its borders. Moscow has never spoken of any intention to take over Ukraine’s resources, but has repeatedly stressed that the former Ukrainian regions which have chosen to join Russia, including Crimea, must remain under its control.

June 11, 2024 Posted by | politics international, Ukraine, USA | Leave a comment

Why a substantive and verifiable no-first-use treaty for nuclear weapons is possible

a no-first-use treaty could prohibit verbal threats of first use of nuclear weapons by the governments and militaries of states parties. Threatening to use nuclear weapons first is a means of sending a coercive signal. Such threats can be a major cause of escalation of nuclear confrontation and constitute a dangerous nuclear risk that must be reduced. A no-first-use treaty can consider any verbal threat of first use of nuclear weapons as a violation that is not only harmful but also detectable. A clause prohibiting the threat of first use of nuclear weapons, if included in the treaty, is verifiable. With a no-first-use treaty in place, if a state party intends to threaten to use nuclear weapons first would mean it can only withdraw from the treaty or violate its no-first-use commitment, raising the cost of signaling a nuclear threat. In this way, a no-first-use treaty could play a significant role in nuclear risk reduction

By Li Bin | June 4, 2024  https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/us-issues-major-nuclear-weapons-alert-amid-fears-of-all-out-war-if-that-day-comes-101717854501474.html

Since conducting its first nuclear detonation in 1964, China has pledged to never be the first to use nuclear weapons and has urged other nuclear weapon states to make the same commitment by proposing that they negotiate a no-first-use treaty.

In the United States, there have also been domestic policy initiatives, including in 2017 when US Vice-President Joe Biden commented that “deterring—and if necessary, retaliating against—a nuclear attack should be the sole purpose of the US nuclear arsenal.” However, successive US administrations have failed to formally adopt a “sole-purpose” policy, nor have they responded positively to China’s no-first-use proposals. And there is little hope that President Biden will move forward with this policy before the US presidential election in November.

But silence is consent: Both presidential candidates, Biden and Donald Trump, need now to explain to their domestic and international audiences why the United States should not adopt the “sole-purpose” policy and why they refused as presidents to negotiate a no-first-use treaty with China.

Criticism. The “sole purpose” and “no-first-use” policies may differ in some details, but in general they are very similar (and I don’t distinguish between the two here). There are two sets of reasons for criticizing the idea of no-first-use. First, for some, a no-first-use policy is not considered credible or verifiable. Others argue that the United States must retain the option of first use of nuclear weapons and that a no-first-use policy is not in the United States’ interest. This second argument, however, should be judged and debated by US experts and lawmakers.

Continue reading →

June 11, 2024 Posted by | China, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Russia nuclear-powered submarine to visit Cuba amid rising tensions with US

Guardian, 7 June 24

Russian sub – joined by three other naval vessels – will not be carrying nuclear weapons, authorities in Havana said as they announced the visit

A Russian nuclear-powered submarine – which will not be carrying nuclear weapons – will visit Havana next week, Cuba’s communist authorities have announced, amid rising tensions with the US over the war in Ukraine.

The nuclear submarine Kazan and three other Russian naval vessels, including the missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov, an oil tanker and a salvage tug, will dock in the Cuban capital from 12-17 June, Cuba’s ministry of the revolutionary armed forces said in a statement.

“None of the vessels is carrying nuclear weapons, so their stopover in our country does not represent a threat to the region,” the ministry said.

The announcement came a day after US officials said that Washington had been tracking Russian warships and aircraft that were expected to arrive in the Caribbean for a military exercise. They said the exercise would be part of a broader Russian response to US support for Ukraine.

The US officials said that the Russian military presence was notable but not concerning. However, it comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Moscow could take “asymmetrical steps” elsewhere in the world in response to President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US-provided weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city………………………………… more https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/07/russia-nuclear-powered-submarine-kazan-to-visit-cuba

June 11, 2024 Posted by | Russia, water | Leave a comment

We should aim for nuclear disarmament – Plaid leader, UK

By Nick Bourne, BBC News, 9 June 24

Nuclear disarmament of the UK is something “we all should be aiming for”, according to Plaid Cymru’s leader Rhun ap Iorwerth.

But he said the UK’s defence force should be “well-funded”, able to “play their part in defending ourselves in peacekeeping roles” and ensures the welfare of military personnel after they leave service.

His comments come after Conservative minister Penny Mordaunt said in a general election debate Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin would doubt Labour’s willingness to use nuclear arms.

“I’m against the nuclear deterrent because I don’t think that is the kind of defence that we need and should be building in the 21st Century,” Mr ap Iorwerth told BBC Radio Wales’ Sunday Supplement……………………………

The Plaid leader shared a stage with leading figures from other political parties in Friday’s BBC general election debate……………………………….

The Green Party and the SNP both confirmed they opposed renewing Trident – arguing the money could be better spent on other areas of defence.  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj551318ejlo

June 11, 2024 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Dutch government is socialist when it comes to funding nuclear power.

Dutch Government supports construction of four new nuclear reactors

The incoming coalition government is looking to triple the funding available for new nuclear projects.

Alfie Shaw, June 7, 2024,  https://www.power-technology.com/news/dutch-government-supports-new-nuclear-projects/

The Netherlands’ incoming government is looking to support the construction of four new utility-scale nuclear power reactors as part of a plan to triple government funding available for nuclear projects.

According to Power Magazine, Silvio Erkens, a member of the centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which will be part of the new government, said that officials already have a tender planned to determine the technology for the first two nuclear plants.

The incoming government has also said it will consider acquiring a stake in the Borssele nuclear power plant should a decision be made to extend the operation of the single-unit plant beyond 2033.

In December 2022, the Dutch Council of Ministers designated the Borssele site as the preferred location for two new reactors and called for a feasibility study into extending the operation of the existing plant beyond 2033.

The new coalition government is now investigating with the plant’s operator and shareholders what will render its extended operation possible, providing a subsidy “to investigate whether it is technically feasible and safe to keep the nuclear power plant in production for longer”.

Borselle, which currently has one pressurised water reactor, has operated since 1973. In 2022, the power plant provided around 3.3% of the country’s electricity.

Zeeuwse Energie Houdstermaatschappij, a public limited company comprised of groups such as the province of Zeeland and various municipalities in the province, owns 70% of the plant, while German utility RWE owns the remaining 30%.

The incoming government reportedly will also earmark €14bn ($15.2bn) for the nuclear power construction programme, which currently has around €4.5bn in funding. Dutch officials created the programme last year, alongside efforts to extend Borssele’s life, to build new nuclear power generation as part of the country’s climate initiatives.

June 11, 2024 Posted by | EUROPE, politics | Leave a comment

Report From Gaza: “Devastating” Israeli Raid to Free 4 Hostages Kills 270+ Palestinians

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CVfJnZAR5P4%3Fsi%3DP2NeTIgRcBZEbP2P

June 11, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment