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Marco Rubio declares West must dominate world, praises colonialism, erases history

This, in fact, is exactly how many conservative elites in Latin America see themselves. This is a major reason why they so strongly support imperialism: In addition to the fact that they receive bribes, investments, and other economic benefits from large US corporations, they also culturally identify with the United States and Western Europe, not with the Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples of Latin America.

By Ben Norton, 13 Oct 26, https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2026/10/13/marco-rubio-greece-western-civilization-colonialism/

The second-most powerful official in the US government, foreign-policy chief Marco Rubio, delivered a speech that openly praised colonialism, engaged in egregious erasures of history, and demanded a return to Western domination of the world.

Rubio asserted that the West must use military force to “maintain its place at the head of the world”.

The West is “the greatest civilization in the world”, he declared, emphasizing that it is a “civilization that we must fight to defend today with the same passion as our forefathers did”.

Rubio warned that “Western civilization” must “choose to act now or lose the choice to act at all”.

“Under President Trump, the United States has made its choice: We choose the unapologetic pursuit of national power”, he added.

Rubio is simultaneously serving as both the secretary of state, overseeing US foreign policy, and the national security advisor, crafting national-security policy. He is only the second person in US history to hold both roles at the same time, after notorious imperial strategist Henry Kissinger.

Rubio delivered his pro-colonialist diatribe in front of the Acropolis in Athens, the capital of Greece, on 7 October.

He used the address not only to lay the groundwork for his likely future presidential campaign, but also to clearly articulate his hyper-imperialist vision of and for the world.

Marco Rubio erases Native Americans, heroizes European colonizers, claims North America was an “open and wild land”

The US secretary of state’s speech in Greece was a veritable paean to empire.

Marco Rubio proudly referred to the United States as a “continental empire”.

“The civilization of Athens and Rome transformed an infant seaboard republic into a continental empire”, he stated.

Rubio glorified the European conquistadores who violently colonized the Americas, specifically naming Hernán Cortés and Christopher Columbus.

At the same time, the US foreign-policy chief completely ignored the existence of Native Americans. He erased the American Holocaust of Indigenous peoples, which was by far the largest genocide in human history.

Rubio praised the “American frontier spirit”, claiming North America was an “open and wild land” when European settlers arrived and (through genocide and ethnic cleansing) transformed it into what he called a “great revival of Western imagination and ambition”.

Marco Rubio combines warmongering neoconservative foreign policy with MAGA’s Western chauvinism, white supremacy, and Christian nationalism

Marco Rubio is a lifelong neoconservative hawk. However, during Trump’s first administration, he began to cynically rebrand himself as a MAGA-compatible right-wing “populist”.

What Rubio has done is use MAGA’s not so subtly racist rhetoric about “defending Western civilization” (from Muslims and non-white peoples) in order to justify neoconservative foreign policy, including the war of aggression against Iran, steadfast support for Israeli colonialism, the attack on Yemen, the invasion and looting of Venezuela, the blockade of Cuba, and the bombing of fishermen in the Caribbean Sea.

He has effectively combined the warmongering neoconservativism of the old-school Republican Party with the supposedly “populist” MAGA GOP’s overt Western chauvinism, white supremacy, and Christian nationalism.

In his speech in Greece, Rubio glorified what he called “the empire of Christendom” and the colonialist “architects of European Christendom” who spread Christianity throughout the world (at the barrel of a gun).

At the same time, he demonized “the radical mullahs of Iran”, claiming they constitute a “cult of death”.

While he spoke in front of the Acropolis in Athens, Rubio lamented that Western global dominance has declined in recent decades, as Global South countries (namely China and Iran) have grown in influence.

He stated (all emphasis added):

[In recent decades] others were all too happy to fill the vacuum that we left – the vacuum left behind by our weakness. And as the West’s confidence faltered, its adversaries and its rivals only grew more assertive, building up their own wealth and their own power in our stead.

And now, today, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Because the next decade and the decisions we make will write the story of the next century. The course we take will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world or resigns itself to a future of atrophy and servitude and decline. We will either choose to act now or lose the choice to act at all.

Under President Trump, the United States has made its choice: We choose the unapologetic pursuit of national power.

Marco Rubio praises European countries for re-militarizing

At the same time, Rubio praised European countries for pursuing a historic rearmament and massively expanding their military budgets, in order to prepare for more war.

The Trump administration has forced NATO members to boost their military spending to 5% of GDP, meaning some EU member states have more than doubled their expenditures.

Trump dubbed this a “big win for the US, Europe, and Western civilization”.

In Athens, Rubio used the same rhetoric, declaring:

We believe that Europe can awaken from its long slumber and rekindle the fire that was lit here millennia ago.

There are already signs.

Across this continent, we are witnessing what we hope will be the beginnings of a generational shift: skyrocketing defense spending, a flurry of new partnerships and programs, expanded manufacturing and production, following on the historic defense commitments made last year in The Hague.

Marco Rubio’s Fox News op-ed asserts the West “must fight”

Following his speech in Greece, Rubio published an op-ed at Fox News in which he regurgitated the same talking points.

“The West is at a crossroads”, Rubio wrote. “The decisions we make in the next decade will define the next century – and determine whether our civilization maintains its place at the head of the world, or resigns itself to a future of servitude and decline”.

He lamented that “too much of the West has come to feel ashamed of the very things that made us exceptional”.

While erasing the historical crimes of Western colonialism, Rubio complained that “we began to view our achievements as an embarrassment; our power and prosperity became a source of guilt”.

“The story of our civilization is the greatest story ever known to man. But we must fight to defend it”, he maintained.

In another speech, Marco Rubio called for the West to reverse decolonization

Read more: Marco Rubio declares West must dominate world, praises colonialism, erases history

This is not the first time that Rubio has delivered explicitly pro-colonialist remarks like this.

At the 2026 Munich Security Conference this February, Rubio made very similar remarks, praising “the great Western empires” that “settle[d] new continents” as part of “the greatest civilization in human history”.

The US foreign-policy chief insisted that North America and Europe must unite to “build a new Western century”.

Rubio openly called on the West to reverse the decolonization of the Global South, which he portrayed as a nefarious communist plot.

In this previous speech, he said:

For five centuries, before the end of the Second World War, the West had been expanding – its missionaries, its pilgrims, its soldiers, its explorers pouring out from its shores to cross oceans, settle new continents, build vast empires extending out across the globe.

But in 1945, for the first time since the age of Columbus, it was contracting. Europe was in ruins. Half of it lived behind an Iron Curtain and the rest looked like it would soon follow. The great Western empires had entered into terminal decline, accelerated by godless communist revolutions and by anti-colonial uprisings that would transform the world and drape the red hammer and sickle across vast swaths of the map in the years to come.

Against that backdrop, then, as now, many came to believe that the West’s age of dominance had come to an end and that our future was destined to be a faint and feeble echo of our past. But together, our predecessors recognized that decline was a choice, and it was a choice they refused to make. This is what we did together once before, and this is what President Trump and the United States want to do again now, together with you.

And this is why we do not want our allies to be weak, because that makes us weaker. We want allies who can defend themselves so that no adversary will ever be tempted to test our collective strength. This is why we do not want our allies to be shackled by guilt and shame. We want allies who are proud of their culture and of their heritage, who understand that we are heirs to the same great and noble civilization, and who, together with us, are willing and able to defend it.

And this is why we do not want allies to rationalize the broken status quo rather than reckon with what is necessary to fix it, for we in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline. We do not seek to separate, but to revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history. What we want is a reinvigorated alliance that recognizes that what has ailed our societies is not just a set of bad policies but a malaise of hopelessness and complacency. An alliance – the alliance that we want is one that is not paralyzed into inaction by fear – fear of climate change, fear of war, fear of technology. Instead, we want an alliance that boldly races into the future. And the only fear we have is the fear of the shame of not leaving our nations prouder, stronger, and wealthier for our children.

Why Marco Rubio and right-wing elites in Latin America love Western colonialism

Some people do not understand why Marco Rubio is so extremely pro-colonialist, given that he is technically of Cuban descent. But it is important to understand that Rubio does not see himself primarily as Cuban.

In his speeches, Rubio constantly emphasizes that he is of European descent, tracing his heritage back to Spain and Italy.

This October in Greece, Rubio proudly described himself as “a great-grandson of settlers who arrived in the new world from Spain”.

In his February remarks in Germany, Rubio again mentioned his ancestors in Spain and Italy, stating:

And do you know that in the year that my country was founded, Lorenzo and Catalina Geroldi lived in Casale Monferrato in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. And Jose and Manuela Reina lived in Sevilla, Spain. I don’t know what, if anything, they knew about the 13 colonies which had gained their independence from the British empire, but here’s what I am certain of: They could have never imagined that 250 years later, one of their direct descendants would be back here today on this continent as the chief diplomat of that infant nation. And yet here I am, reminded by my own story that both our histories and our fates will always be linked.

At the Munich Security Conference, Rubio also stressed, “for us Americans, our home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe”.

These remarks make it clear that he does not identify with the vast majority of Cubans and Latinos, who are of Indigenous and African descent.

Instead, Rubio sees his family as European settlers who temporarily lived in Cuba — as light-skinned elites who supported the right-wing US puppet dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista — before re-settling in Florida.

This, in fact, is exactly how many conservative elites in Latin America see themselves. This is a major reason why they so strongly support imperialism: In addition to the fact that they receive bribes, investments, and other economic benefits from large US corporations, they also culturally identify with the United States and Western Europe, not with the Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples of Latin America.

October 19, 2026 Posted by | PERSONAL STORIES, USA | Leave a comment

Beware White Nationalists Like Trump Branding Jews A “Separate Race”

H. Scott Prosterman Informed Comment, https://scheerpost.com/2026/10/13/beware-white-nationalists-like-trump-branding-jews-a-separate-race/

On December 11, 2019, convicted felon Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13899, which declared Judaism to be a separate “race” and “ethnicity;” and all Jews of common “national origin.” The purpose was to twist Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act into a tool for speech suppression. It had the “hat trick” effect of patronizing Jews and persecuting Palestinians; and prosecuting an attack on free speech. Indirectly, this was a misappropriation of the Civil Rights Act, and it also undermines the prospects for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians.

Despite 1000 years of pogroms, culminating with the Holocaust, most Jews have resisted being categorized as a specific race. Jews are known to be in 99 countries, spanning the full spectrum of human ethnicity. Judaism is a religion and a culture of shared ancestry. Many non-observant Jews are fiercely proud of their culture and heritage, as well as taking a deep pride in Jewish humor; and our accomplishments in the entertainment industries, financial sectors and academia. Iconic athletes such as Sandy Koufax, Mark Spitz and Deni Avdija are also part of that equation. Judaism is not a race, nor a nationality outside of Israel. But globally, fewer Jews identify with Israel than any time since its founding.

As for Israel, a recent AP/NORC opinion poll found that “for many U.S. Jews, support for Israel remains a bedrock of their religious identity, its existence a guarantee of Jewish self-determination and safety.” Yet it found profound discomfort with the policies of the extreme-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party, which many feel has perverted Zionism into a genocidal ideology that is an anathema to its founding ideals. Author Rich Forer and others argue, however, that “ethnic cleansing and genocide are the inevitable culmination of the Zionist project.”

Among Jews who are religious, about 70% of the American community, the poll discovered that around half see Israel’s actions in Gaza as unjustified, and 25% are willing to characterize them as genocidal.

About a third of U.S. Jews are not religiously observant, and fully 40 percent of this group agrees that Israel committed a genocide in Gaza. Only six percent of these secular-minded American Jews identify as Zionists. Three-quarters of non-religious Jews say that they are “not too” or “not at all” emotionally attached to Israel.

David Crary and his colleagues at AP write, “Anna Constant, 56, of Seattle identifies as culturally Jewish and says she doesn’t feel closely connected to Israel. ‘I kind of think of myself as an American version of a Jew. I do have a homeland,’ she said, referring to the United States.”  Ms. Constant has been recategorized by Donald Trump as having a separate race and identity, whether she likes it or not.

The Likud Party under PM Benjamin Netanyahu has generated more anti-Semitism than any dynamic since WWII. While illegal settlements have been built in the West Bank during the tenure of every Israeli prime minister since 1967, Netanyahu’s agenda has been a steroid-fueled explosion of settlements, with a blind eye toward squatter violence.

The increasing rightward shift of Zionism and Israel has transformed the notion of “liberal Zionism” into an oxymoronic anachronism for those still holding on. American and Israeli Jews, along with Christian Zionists, are notorious for supporting human rights for all people, except Palestinians. I once heard the great singer Mary Travis essentially say that “the hammer of justice and bell of freedom” applies to everyone in the world, except Palestinians. When I spoke to her after her talk to a Zionist group in Memphis, she didn’t back down.

Trump issued that Executive Order two days after he had told the America-Israel Council, “You’re brutal killers; you’re not nice people, but you have to vote for me; you have no choice . . .” The context was the alarming rise of anti-Semitism as a result of the failure to distinguish Judaism, the religion; from Zionism, the political ideology. Worldwide, Jews are being unfairly demonized for the sins of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, which has prosecuted genocide in Gaza, as a diversion from the pogroms in the West Bank.

The unfolding tragedy of Zionism is that it has been hijacked and taken down a rabbit hole, driven by the Siamese twin criminal conspiracy of Trump and Netanyahu. The intent of EO 13899 was to require schools to declare the Boycott Divest Sanction (BDS) movement and other advocacy groups as discriminatory towards Jews. That’s a long reach with no grasp or logical traction.

Now comes California Senate Bill (SB) 1387, authored by Jewish California State Sen. Henry Stern, which exacerbates this problem in a big way. It’s another broadside against free speech, as was California Assembly Bill (AB) California AB 715, which criminalizes any criticism of Israel in a public academic setting. “Jewish California” supports both, despite those laws’ origins in the MAGA-driven agenda. Their reach of logic argues that, “SB 1387 applies the same approach to Jewish Californians as the LGBTQ+ community and Black American subgroups, and it makes California the first state in the nation to recognize Jewish identity as an ethnicity in statute.”

But this legislation plays right into the MAGA agenda to suppress free speech and academic freedom. Its sponsors try to argue that this bill protects Jews from anti-Semitism, through some ghostly, undefined mechanism. The objection is that this promotes the wrong kind of exceptionalism that will backfire. Don’t we already have too much technology gathering too much information on us, with no clue as to who is collecting it and for what application?

Writer Seth Morrison pointed out, “SB 1387 exceptionalizes Judaism over other religions by making it the only group tracked as both a religion and an ethnicity.” Thus we have another exception to “Jewish exceptionalism.”

Why is it that so many Jews are fervent advocates of the Civil Rights Movement except when it comes to Palestinians? When I posed this question to writer Steve Bhaerman (who assumes the guise of comic alter ego Swami Beyondananda), he said, “The issue boils down to three things: fear, tribalism and denial. Jewish exceptionalism. Victimhood makes you an exceptional victimizer.” SB 1387 elevates that dynamic, making Jews the only demographic to be tracked as a religion and ethnicity. It is a poorly conceived notion, similar to California AB 715, which is an attempt by right-wing elements to co-opt and misapply the Free Speech Movement (FSM), in defense of the Likud-MAGA agenda and Israel.

The worst elements of MAGA are already coming for the Black and Brown-skinned people on the basis of their ethnic profiles. Who is to say they won’t be coming for the Jews again, based on publishing, intellectual or academic profiles? They’re already coming for professors and students who are not Jewish, but come from majority Black or Muslim countries, because of what they write and publish. Paranoid? No, this fear and suspicion is well-founded in our MAGA-dominated political climate. Rev. Martin Niemöller said, “ . . . Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” Are you listening Gaza genocide deniers?

Israel’s political direction under the far-right Likud Party has driven millions of Jews away from Israel, and we are less of a monolith than ever. Sen. Stern has an admirable record of progressive legislation. His introduction of this bill seems counterintuitive to his legislative history. I might condescend to him by saying, “He means well,” but ‘tis indeed a puzzlement why a progressive, Jewish state senator would introduce something that is gift-wrapped for MAGA and Likud. Haven’t we learned by now that nothing fuels anti-Semitism like expressions and manifestations of Jewish exceptionalism do? This is a provocative piece of legislation that feeds into the white nationalist agenda and reinforces anti-Semitism across the board.

October 19, 2026 Posted by | Religion and ethics, USA | Leave a comment

The Push for Nuclear Power Plants on the Moon

NASA’s use of nuclear power in space was being done in parallel with the plan for nuclear-powered weaponry in space.

”The nuclear industry views space as a new market. They don’t give a damn about the dangers involved. These greedy aerospace corporations are salivating as they look at the profits to be made.”

“Nuclear fuel would need to be transported to the moon on a regular basis and there is never a mention of how lunar nuclear waste will be dealt with. Lunar bases are, however, a way of establishing the ultimate military high ground.”

Karl Grossman, October 13, 2026, https://freepress.org/article/push-nuclear-power-plants-moon

The lead front page story in the New York Times last week was headlined: “Superpowers Racing to Put Nuclear Reactors on Moon.” The nations involved: the U.S., China and Russia. And there was a subhead: “Experts Warn of Radioactive Risks From a Rocket Mishap or Lunar Meltdown.”

The reporter, Selam Gebrekidan, wrote: “Failures could cause a chain reaction with dire consequences. Falling reactor debris could scatter radioactive material….An explosion or a meltdown on the moon’s surface could risk turning entire regions into no-go zones.”

The extensive story quoted Edward Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, saying: “There will always be a space race going on, and if you enter nuclear power into that mix, then it could take a potentially more dangerous turn.”

Nuclear power and weapons in space have been an unexpectedly extensive part of my journalistic journey. Because of having been deeply involved in reporting about the plans of the Long Island Lighting Company to construct seven to 11 nuclear power plants on Long Island, where I live, I became knowledgeable about atomic energy.

I wrote a book titled “Power Crazy” about this scheme to turn the island into what nuclear promoters termed then a “nuclear park.” I wrote many columns and did television reporting on it.

So, back in 1985, with that experience, I was struck by a piece in the U.S. Department of Energy’s publication, “Energy Insider,” saying that DOE and NASA were partners in the sending up in 1986 two space shuttles—one being the Challenger—with space probes onboard fueled by plutonium, considered the most toxic of all radioactive substances.

Once the shuttles achieved orbit, the probes would be released, the one Challenger carried to survey Jupiter. The plutonium would be in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), not for propulsion but to provide electric power for instruments.

In “Energy Insider” there was notice that the government had looked into various sorts of accidents that might happen on the missions. So, I sent Freedom of Information Act requests to DOE, NASA, and the DOE national laboratories involved in these studies asking to learn what was determined.

As the months passed, I began to realize I had hit upon a hot potato. I was denied the information on the grounds it was “technical” which is not a legitimate FOIA exemption. I appealed and won. Finally, to my post office came a box of documents, including a government projection that the likelihood of a “catastrophic” shuttle accident was 1-in-100,00. Those were very high odds, so I didn’t do anything.

That was until January 28, 1986, when on my way to teach my Investigative Reporting class at the State University of New York at Old Westbury, I heard on the car radio that the Challenger had exploded on launch.

I stopped at an appliance store and saw that terrible image on TV and telephoned The Nation magazine to tell them that the next mission of the Challenger, in May, was to involve a nuclear system—and if the accident occurred then and plutonium released as dust, the disaster could have been a massive catastrophe.

The Nation asked me to write a piece, which I did. Other media picked up on it and I was pretty widely interviewed. A publisher called resulting in a book I wrote that he titled “The Wrong Stuff.” Meanwhile, NASA and DOE changed the odds of a catastrophic shuttle accident from 1-in-100,000 to 1-in 7 6.

And I began to “follow the money” as Bob Woodward’s source “Deep Throat” instructed in the film about the Watergate investigation.

I did, and found the then “Star Wars” program of President Reagan was predicated on orbiting battle platforms with onboard hypervelocity guns, particle beams and laser weapons and, also onboard, nuclear reactors and “super plutonium” systems providing the high energy they needed. The latter would be built by General Electric, manufacturer of the RTGs on the space probe that Challenger was to loft.

NASA’s use of nuclear power in space was being done in parallel with the plan for nuclear-powered weaponry in space.

This resulted in another book I authored, “Weapons in Space,” its foreword by Dr. Michio Kaku, and an hour-long TV documentary I wrote and presented, “Nukes in Space: The Nuclearization and Weaponization of the Heavens.” And there have been many articles on this and more TV programs during the ensuing four decades including “Star Wars Returns” (viewable at www.envirovideo.com).

I gave two presentations on this before members of the British Parliament in London, presentations at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and elsewhere around the U.S. and world.

My most recent articles on it, last month, involved the announcement by the Air Force secretary acknowledging that the U.S. has deployed weapons in space.

In 1992, the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space was formed in Washington, D.C. and is active worldwide. Bruce Gagnon is coordinator of the Maine-based organization.

He said from India, where he is speaking at a conference during a “Keep Space for Peace Week” that the Global Network is sponsoring, this about the Times story: “Here in India they say that their government is all in on the U.S. Artemis-led coalition to establish a base on the moon with nuclear reactors. So, the new ‘nuclear space race’ is on—the U.S. team versus Russia and China. What are they after? Helium-3 for potential power back on Earth and using the moon as a military staging base to control the ‘Earth-Moon gravity well’ as a way to decide which nations and private corporations can move into space to mine the planetary bodies.”

“We should recall that Obama signed a law to give American companies and wealthy individuals the ‘right’ to mine planetary bodies essentially in violation of the Outer Space and Moon treaties that say that the planetary bodies are the province of all humankind.”

“This is the kick-off of the race to carry the ‘bad seed’ of greed, domination, and colonization that was long ago planted into the soil on Earth into the heavens,” continued Gagnon. “The taxpayers have paid the R & D for these programs and now that the space tech has advanced, the self-centered capitalists are intent on grabbing all they can for themselves.”

“This will move the Earth-bound global war system into the heavens. When they add nuclear power into the equation these people are asking for trouble.”

“In addition to reactors on the moon, they will next want nuclear reactors to power orbiting battle stations to ‘protect their assets’ on these planetary bodies. This is largely what Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ is all about. Not so much about protecting us from attack back on Earth. It’s more about controlling the pathway on and off our planet Earth. Deciding who can go out and mine the sky. Like the front gate of a military base.”

“In the end it’s a disaster in the making. From the Earth, where the Department of Energy has a horrible track record of worker air and water contamination while fabricating space nuclear devices, and into space, this entire nuclear system is a tragic mistake,” said Gagnon. ”The nuclear industry views space as a new market. They don’t give a damn about the dangers involved. These greedy aerospace corporations are salivating as they look at the profits to be made.”

Commenting from England, Dave Webb, convenor of the Global Network and Emeritus Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Leeds Beckett University. said: “The Global Network has argued against nuclear power in space for over 35 years. Apart from the dangers of launching nuclear materials on top of a powerful rocket that could fail and spread nuclear materials over the planet, the setting up of nuclear power stations on the moon would be a catastrophe for the lunar environment.”

“Nuclear fuel would need to be transported to the moon on a regular basis and there is never a mention of how lunar nuclear waste will be dealt with. Lunar bases are, however, a way of establishing the ultimate military high ground.”

“We now know what we have suspected for many years, that the U.S. military has weapons stationed in space. There can be no doubt that the U.S. military wants to extend their presence to control the use of cislunar space [between Earth and the moon] and establish permanent military bases on the moon. U.S. nuclear-powered lunar bases will not be totally for scientific purposes or to extend the human presence beyond Earth, they will primarily be to control and dominate so that the U.S. alone can extract valuable resources from the moon and other celestial bodies.”

Webb continued: “The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Cain has declared that the Pentagon must prepare for war around or even on the moon. The U.S. military’s  lust for power and control is rapidly destroying life on Earth and must not be extended into space and the heavenly bodies. The U.S. is a signatory to the Outer Space Treaty and should set an example to others by signing the Moon Treaty that declares the moon and its natural resources a ‘common heritage of mankind.’”

“We are in the middle of Keep Space for Peace Week with demonstrations by groups across the planet who want to see the rush to militarize everything, including the heavens, to be stopped and reversed,” said Webb.

And Alice Slater, a member of the board of the Global Network, an attorney, and also a

board member of the group World BEYOND War, noted that the New York Times article reported the U.S. is planning to build a nuclear reactor on the moon that could “survive a space voyage and run without maintenance near the moon’s south pole by 2030.” The Times, she added, acknowledged this may sound like “science fiction” but NASA and the U.S. National Space Academy are serious as it would enable the U.S. to compete with Russia and China which are making similar plans to place a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2036. And she cited the passage in the Times article beginning with: “Failures could cause a chain reaction with dire consequences.”

Said Slater of New York City: “We should remind ourselves and our corrupt government that beginning in the 1960s President Kennedy and Premier Kruschev started a process for the U.S. and Russia to end their space competition and move toward cooperation. In the 1970s, the two nations began discussion to develop a common system and during a Moscow summit meeting in 1972, President Nixon and Premier Kosygin signed an agreement on cooperation in space allowing for the development of a joint system to allow their spacecraft to dock with each other in orbit, which became known as the Apollo-Soyuz project.”

“Over the years,” she went on, “cooperation has waned or increased at different times, with the U.S. actually helping the Russians and relying on Russia’s advanced space technology after the end of the Cold War. However, with the Ukraine war, the U.S. cut off all cooperation with Russia except for maintenance of the International Space Station  which relies on a Russian module for control, and even the continuation of that effort is doubtful given Russia’s new cooperation with China.”

Said Slater: “It’s clear that we need international guardrails on this new global competition to dominate the moon with power provided by dangerous nuclear reactors. Insanity is being raised to new heights. The United Nations should take the lead making any exploration and exploitation of space an international effort based on global cooperation by nations for the welfare of life on earth. To go down this dark path of competition as to who can be first to put toxic nuclear reactors poisons on the moon, with all the dark consequences that would entail should there be the inevitable space accidents on the way to the moon, is the essence of folly.”

“The rush to install a lunar reactor has nothing to do with science or exploration,” says the sponsors of the petition. “It’s about geopolitics and ‘claiming’ space. Experts warn this move risks undermining international treaties that are supposed to keep space peaceful and shared. And while  NASA is promising only a small reactor, nuclear power is never simple or safe. Especially in such an untested and fragile environment….Instead of rushing nuclear power into space, NASA should focus on sustainable alternatives like solar energy and international cooperation. Pushing forward with this dangerous plan risks creating conflict, environmental hazards and a ‘gold rush’ mentality on the moon….Sign the petition to tell NASA and the Department of Transportation: stop the lunar nuclear reactor projects before it creates irreversible problems for the moon, for space law, and for all of us on Earth.” The petition is at https://www.thepetitionsite.com/223/416/093/say-no-to-nasas-reckless-nuclear-reactor-on-the-moon/

There are websites online proposing solar power devices for the moon. Blue Origin, the company of Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, is advancing “Power Towers.”

Lockheed Martin has a similar system termed “Vertical Solar Arrays” and says: “The moon’s south pole presents unique opportunities and challenges for solar energy capture. Certain locations receive sunlight 80% to 90% of the time, making them ideal for solar power generation.”

There’s an online petition headed “Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon” with nearly 47,000 signatories.” It says NASA’s “accelerated plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon, framing it as a race against China and Russia…is nothing more than a dangerous, costly, and shortsighted gamble—one that could leave behind radioactive waste, spark international conflicts and waste billions of taxpayer dollars.”

October 19, 2026 Posted by | space travel, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

The Nuclear-NASA Era?

Karl Grossman, October 13, 2026, https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/10/13/the-nuclear-nasa-era/

“We are entering the ‘Nuclear NASA-era’ which represents a major transformation for space exploration,” said the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, Jared Isaacman, last week as he and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed an agreement titled “Accelerating American Leadership in Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion.”

Announcing the signing on October 8th in Washington, D.C., NASA issued a news release headed “NASA, Energy Department Advance New Era of Nuclear-Powered Exploration.” It further quoted Issacman as saying: “Nuclear power will allow us to go farther, operate longer, and field more capable spacecraft and instruments than ever before. The work we’re doing today is laying the foundation for the fission-powered spacecraft of tomorrow and opening an entirely new frontier for exploration and discovery.”

Ahead, however, would be accidents involving the expanded use of space nuclear power—notably in launches and fallbacks to Earth. The U.S. and also Russia have both had accidents in their use of nuclear power in space, detailed in my book “The Wrong Stuff.”

An early serious U.S. accident occurred on April 21, 1964 when a satellite powered by plutonium failed to achieve orbit and disintegrated as it fell back to Earth, spreading plutonium worldwide. Dr. John Gofman, an M.D. and Ph.D. and professor at the University of California at Berkeley who was involved in early work with plutonium for the Manhattan Project, linked the fall-out to a spike in lung cancer on Earth. It was a spur for NASA developing solar power for space and all satellites launched now utilize solar energy as does the International Space Station.

The signing followed news earlier in the week of the U.S., China and Russia “Racing to Put Nuclear Reactors on Moon,” as the New York Times headlined its lead front page story, with a subhead: “Experts Warn of Radioactive Risks From a Rocket Mishap or Lunar Meltdown.”

The NASA release said the pact “establishes a framework for end-to-end collaboration. The agreement unites both agencies across the full spectrum of space nuclear development, spanning advanced research and fuel production to rigorous testing, launch integration, and operations.”

The signing happened at what was named, said the release, “Science: A Golden Age Summit, hosted by the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington.”

The release quoted Wright as saying: “Thanks to President Trump, America’s nuclear renaissance is reaching a new frontier. The Energy Department is proud to partner with NASA as we help American space missions reach uncharted territory.”

The release continued: “President Trump’s December 25 Executive Order on Ensuring American Space Superiority directs NASA to develop a launch-ready lunar surface reactor by 2030, a goal toward which NASA, partnering with DOE, is making steady progress. This pivotal agreement fortifies existing collaborations on fission and radioisotope power systems propelling NASA’s vision for a sustained human presence on the Moon and accelerating the breakthrough technologies to enable our mission.”

It went on: “When NASA’s Space Reactor-1 Freedom launches in 2028, nuclear propulsion will advance from laboratory research to operational deep-space application This milestone paves the way for Lunar Reactor-1….Nuclear power will energize habitats, communications, instruments, rovers, resource usage, and critical lunar infrastructure, and it will be essential for the demanding energy needs for future Mars missions.”

The Space Reactor-1 Freedom and the Lunar Reactor-1 “form the foundation of a robust domestic nuclear-space industrial base. These programs are poised to power permanent lunar outposts, enable exploration of distant worlds, and cement American leadership in space for generations,” it said.

Further, it said, “NASA continues to expand its use of radioisotope power systems. The Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan, scheduled for launch in 2028, will rely on a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator and 24 Light Weight Heater Units [using atomic energy] to power and warm the car-sized rotorcraft.”

World Nuclear News, in its coverage of the NASA-DOE memorandum, began its article with: “Deep-space exploration is trading chemical rockets for nuclear fission.”

Karl Grossman, professor of journalism at State University of New York/College at Old Westbury, and is the author of the book, The Wrong Stuff: The Space’s Program’s Nuclear Threat to Our Planet, and the Beyond Nuclear handbook, The U.S. Space Force and the dangers of nuclear power and nuclear war in space. Grossman is an associate of the media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion.

October 19, 2026 Posted by | space travel, USA | Leave a comment

Work begins on Coulport building for Dreadnought submarines a cost of £7.75bn each

15th October, https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26637101.work-begins-coulport-building-dreadnought-submarines/

Built at a cost of £7.75bn per unit, four Dreadnought submarines will replace the current Vanguard ships

Work has started on a building which will arm the Royal Navy’s new multi-billion-pound nuclear submarines.

Naval Base Commander Clyde and Commodore Andy Bray recently broke ground on a new facility at Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) Coulport to support future classes of Royal Navy submarines.

Building 300 at the Royal Naval Armament Depot will house the Vertical Embarkation System, or VES, a new facility used to load tactical weapons onto future Dreadnought-class deterrent submarines.

The House of Commons approved replacing the current submarines in 2016, despite opposition from anti-nuclear groups and campaigners concerned about the cost.

Built at a cost of £7.75bn per unit, four Dreadnought submarines will replace the current Vanguard ships, which constantly patrol the seas carrying ballistic missiles equipped with thermonuclear warheads.

October 19, 2026 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Europe chooses economic suicide

The inconvenient truth is that Europe needs Russia economically to power its industry but Russia can live without Europe.

A conversation with Professor Michael Hudson

Ian Proud, Oct 16, 2026, https://thepeacemonger.substack.com/p/europe-chooses-economic-suicide?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=3221990&post_id=220664518&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

In a new conversation with Professor Michael Hudson, we examine one of the more striking recent examples of Western policy incoherence: Europe’s willingness to lock itself into high-cost American energy while simultaneously pursuing sanctions that do little to constrain Russia and a great deal to damage its own industrial base

The immediate trigger is the diesel arrangement between the United States and Europe. Under the deal, Europe is selling petroleum from its national reserves at current prices. At the end of the negotiated period it will then have to replenish those reserves by buying diesel back—potentially at roughly double the cost. This is an ill-conceived economic and political choice.

European governments are accepting a higher long-term energy cost in exchange for continued alignment with U.S. priorities on Russia and, increasingly, on China.

Hudson argues that the arrangement is best understood as part of a broader pattern. Since 2022, European leaders have treated the severing of low-cost Russian energy as a strategic necessity rather than an economic trade-off. The result has been rising input costs for industry, pressure on living standards, and a structural deterioration in Europe’s competitive position.

Cheap energy as an ‘addiction’ is a bemusing soundbite for industrial workers across Europe who have found themselves out of a job because their factories have closed.

At the same time, the United States has used Europe’s growing energy dependence as leverage across multiple fronts—trade policy, technology taxation, and the broader contest with China.

What makes the episode particularly nonsensical is the contrast with Russia’s position. Total Russian goods exports since the war began amount to over $2 trillion to date, higher than the pre-war average. Cutting Europe off of Russian energy might have been more defensible politically had Russia borne a greater cost, but it manifestly has not. The occasional oil tanker seizure or a new set of shadow fleet sanctions look good on the TV but make absolutely no difference.

Sanctions that were intended to isolate Moscow have only accelerated the reorientation of its energy exports to other markets while leaving Europe more exposed, in circumstances where global energy supply is already constrained because of the war against Iran.

The inconvenient truth is that Europe needs Russia economically to power its industry but Russia can live without Europe.

Hudson notes that European industry and governments once maintained substantial commercial ties with Russia; those links were dismantled by political decision, not by market failure.

The deeper issue, in Hudson’s view, is the difference between industrial and financial capitalism. China continues to prioritize long-term investment in productive capacity and technology. Much of the West, by contrast, has subordinated industrial strategy to short-term financial returns and geopolitical alignment.

Europe’s current energy policy is a concrete illustration of that shift: higher costs are accepted, industrial capacity is allowed to erode, and the resulting dependence is then used to shape further policy choices. European leaders live in detail and blame everyone except themselves. If you wondered why voters across Europe are increasingly turning to nationalist political parties, it is because they are recognising that their globalist leaders do not have their interests in mind.

The conversation covers the mechanics of the diesel deal, the historical context of European energy strategy, the limits of sanctions, and the structural reasons European governments continue to prioritize U.S. preferences over domestic economic outcomes.

It is a clear-eyed account of how policy choices made in the name of security are producing negative economic consequences while at the same time making the continent much less safe.

October 19, 2026 Posted by | business and costs, EUROPE, politics international | Leave a comment

Panic in Kiev as AFU’s Starlink “Mysteriously” Throttled One Day After Intelligence Blackout

Simplicius, Oct 15, 2026

A day after Zelensky accused the US of cutting “intelligence support” and not providing early warning against Russia’s ballistic missile strikes on Kiev, pandemonium has ensued in Ukraine.

Now the country’s leadership has accused the US of cutting its Starlink support as well.

It all began with a post by prominent Ukrainian figure Serhii Sternenko who detailed how Starlink terminals in Ukraine were throttled when they passed a certain speed restriction:

As can be seen (on original), he accuses Elon Musk’s SpaceX of meddling, which began a firestorm of hate directed toward Musk from the Ukrainian-aligned side of social media.

Musk immediately responded with a clarification: the military version of Starlink is infact operated by the US DOD under the name Starshield and is not controlled by Musk or SpaceX. You can see him responding directly to the star ex-Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov himself—note that Fedorov claims connectivity was already being restored at the time:

Musk was forced to divest himself of this arm of his company early in the war in order to continue presenting a “neutral” face for his enterprise and not have it messily linked to offensive military actions which he likely knew would be pushed into very ethically “gray” areas of striking Russian civilian and dual-use infrastructure.

Despite all that however, we must admit the timing is a tad suspicious given that Musk had some very strong words about Zelensky only days ago:

First, it should be mentioned that despite Fedorov’s claims of restoration, there were other counter-claims that his announcement was premature and service was in fact still widely failing.

Several Ukrainian brigades had also posted of their issues. Here the 7th Airborne Assault Corps of the AFU: (on original)

The Ukrainian 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces reports that Starlink disruptions are occurring in the Hulyaipole/Orikhiv direction, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, this morning.

The so-called Starshield package, which conducts data transferring for drone flights, has received limitations on speeds of 110-120+ km/h, where the connection can be lost for 10-20 seconds making it difficult to control the drones. Additionally, the launch of high-speed mid-range drones has become almost impossible.

Already, since this morning, some missions of the 7th Corps have had to be cancelled due to these Starlink restrictions and communications problems.

Ukraine’s most authoritative figure on these topics, Serhiy Flash, also confirmed that Starlink restrictions had come into force:

On his TG channel he went into further detail:

Everyone is writing about how the “Starlink” restrictions have impacted long-range missions and frontline logistics, but there’s another major problem for us.

“Starlink” is being used in the most effective current solution (interceptors) for protecting our airspace from jet-powered “Shahed” drones.

In fact, with their actions, our partners are depriving us of one of the few chances we have to defend the country from these jet-powered “Shaheds.”

He points out an important and under-appreciated part of the saga: that Starlink is used not just offensively by Ukrainian long-range drones but also defensively in interceptors that target Russia’s own strike assets which have been hitting Kiev. As such, Russia’s recent crippling strikes on Kiev’s facilities now stand to become even worse if these disruptions continue.

In light of the above, today WaPo dropped the bombshell that the US has in fact been threatening key Ukrainian personnel with an intelligence cut-off should Zelensky continue to hit Russian oil sites………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

the US has been juggling its finite space resources between the various theaters of conflict it has provoked and is trying to simultaneously manage………………………………………………

No matter what really happened with the early warning and Starlink fiasco, the fact remains that the US appears to have sent Ukraine a final ultimatum that intelligence will be completely cut off if Ukraine continues to hit Russian energy, at least according to the earlier reports…………………………

In the meantime, Russia has been devastating Kiev, with another massive strike reportedly being planned for the coming days or sooner.

Last night a record 6 sites related to energy infrastructure were hit around Kiev and Kharkov……………………………..https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/panic-in-kiev-as-afus-starlink-mysteriously?publication_id=1351274&post_id=220385664&isFreemail=false&r=3alev&triedRedirect=true&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

October 19, 2026 Posted by | Russia, Ukraine, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now

Petition – https://www.change.org/p/shut-down-the-radiation-damaged-heysham-nuclear-reactors-now

The issue

On December 3rd, 2025, at 11:23 pm our house shook and we heard an explosive, grinding noise.  We learnt it was an earthquake of 3.3 magnitude on the Lancashire and Cumbria border that was felt across the whole region.  The nuclear power plants of Heysham 1 and 2 on the coast opposite Silverdale and on a geological fault line, were at the epicentre.  Another lucky escape….

We the undersigned urge the closure of Heysham 1 and 2 nuclear power stations. These nuclear reactors are now 36 years old and have been given repeated life extensions above and beyond their ‘safe’ lifetime of under 30 years. The graphite cores are cracking due to 36 years of bombardment with radiation.

For many years Heysham’s nuclear reactors have not been fit for purpose, with embrittlement and cracking due to radiation bombardment. The solution from the Office for Nuclear Regulation has been to reluctantly adjust safety limits year on year to accommodate this increasing graphite degradation.

Given what is at stake – the safety of Lancashire, Cumbria and even our overseas neighbours – safety should override the monetary concerns of closure of 2 nuclear plants. But at Heysham, safety isn’t paramount.

The graphite has repeatedly come close to breaching safety levels, in which case the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) would have to prosecute or even shut down the plant. Instead, each time, the regulators have bent to requests from EDF energy, to increase the volume of “allowed” cracks.

What could go wrong?

Dr Ian Fairlie   a consultant on radiation in the environment has said the worst case scenario could be that:

“cracks in graphite bricks affect stability of reactor core

● if sudden blockage of cooling channel, or outages, or sudden steam surges, or earth tremors – could result in a serious accident – ie releases of radioactive gases

● + if other safety systems failed at same time there could be a catastrophic accident – ie Chornobyl”

Every single minute that Heysham 1 and 2 operates is a gamble.

A major accident at Heysham would more than tip the balance of any financial concerns over closure. The fallout would cause enormous hardship in the rural and urban conurbations of Lancaster and the South Lakes with potentially disastrous impacts including financial, environmental and public wellbeing.

We urge the protection of Lancashire, Cumbria and our overseas neighbours by the closure of Heysham 1 and 2 now.

Notes:

Shutting down Heysham 1 and 2 reactors would not mean a major loss of jobs (there may even be more jobs) as the shut reactors would have to be looked after for another decade at least, even before the long process of decommissioning could begin.

December 3rd 2025 Earthquake https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/25671677.everything-know-house-shaking-earthquake-south-cumbria/

Geological Fault rules out new nuclear build at Heysham say British Energy -2002 https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/5973788.fault-rules-new-build-heysham/

Office for Nuclear Regulation “Graphite Brick Cracking Network” https://www.onr.org.uk/our-expertise/our-research/graphite-brick-cracking-network

Heysham 1 Justifications for Life Extensions despite graphite degradation https://impact.ref.ac.uk/casestudies/CaseStudy.aspx?Id=37232#:~:text=The%20lifetimes%20of%20Hartlepool%20and,accurate%20determination%20of%20residual%20stresses

Office for Nuclear Regulation – Heysham 2 “Review and Consideration of EC 371321/371221 – Safety Case for Operation with Keyway Root Cracking Beyond a Core Burn-up of 16.5 TWd” https://www.onr.org.uk/media/voiegdi3/202406022-2.pdf

Heysham extension “deeply irresponsible” say Green Party councillors – Lancaster City Council https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/greens-concerned-over-extension-of-lives-of-heysham-nuclear-plants/

October 19, 2026 Posted by | Events, UK | Leave a comment

Silverdale is UK hotspot for earthquakes – with nearby Heysham and its Dodgy Nuclear Reactors on the fault line.

Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now

On By mariannewildart, https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2026/10/14/silverdale-is-uk-hotspot-for-earthquakes-with-nearby-heysham-and-its-dodgy-nuclear-reactors-on-the-fault-line/

Nuclear Roulette is ON – let switch it OFF.

An Update on our Petition to Shut Heysham’s Radiation Damaged Reactors NOW!

Please do sign and share and lets get the word out about the ticking time bomb at Heysham a stones throw from the urban conurbation of the City of Lancaster.

Thanks to everyone who has signed the petition. We have been working away behind the scenes contacting the local MP Lizzie Collinge who continues to accuse those concerned about the state of Heysham’s radiation damaged reactors of “alarmist rhetoric.”

The latest news to report is from the British Geological Society who have named the Silverdale area a UK hotspot for earthquakes with 25 earthquakes reported in the last year. Many of these were ‘felt’ earthquakes. The photograph illustrating this update shows the area of Silverdale the earthquakes are originating as you can see it is a really attractive bay (part of Morecambe Bay) with Heysham 1 and 2 sat like a giant toxic toad (sorry toads!) at the head.

The local press has reported:

“In September three earthquakes struck Silverdale in September, with shaking reported across Lancashire and Cumbria.

Two of these were felt by the public with magnitudes of 2.7 and 1.5 on September 21 and 22.

The third was not felt by the public at a magnitude of 0.9 on September 13.

Reports came from Carnforth, Warton, Morecambe, Bolton-le-Sands, Burton-in-Kendal, Borwick, Holme, Grange and Arnside.

Residents described houses, floors, furniture and household items moving. Some heard a rumble, while others said walls or buildings shook.

The BGS recorded all three earthquakes at a depth of 3km.

The seaside village also felt earthquakes in May and June, both with a magnitude over 2, one being described as a ‘small explosion’.

The BGS said: “The activity in Silverdale is likely related to the magnitude 3.2 event that occurred in the same area on the 3 December 2025. When an earthquake occurs, it redistributes stress within the surrounding crust, promoting the occurrence of more earthquakes (aftershocks) on nearby faults.

“In slowly deforming regions such as the UK, crustal stresses – and therefore seismicity rates – may take a long time to return to normal following an earthquake.”

So as well as Heysham’s graphite reactor core’s being cracked the area is an earthquake hotspot.

Please share the petition and get the word out that the North West is playing Nuclear Roulette with our safety by continuing to run these old reactors well past their ‘safe’ lifetime.

October 19, 2026 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

FISN Investors Have Opportunity to Join Deep Fission, Inc. Fraud Investigation with SBS Law

Business Wire, Oct 4, 2026

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Schall, Brown & Schwartz LLP (“SBS”), a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Deep Fission, Inc. (“Deep Fission” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ: FISN) for violations of the securities laws.

INVESTIGATION DETAILS: The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. Deep Fission conducted its initial public offering (“IPO”) on June 18, 2026, selling 2.5 million shares of stock at $16.00 per share. The Company is the subject of a report published by Iceberg Research on September 26, 2026, that claims the Company’s technology is overhyped and unlikely to become commercially viable. Based on this news, shares of Deep Fission fell sharply.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate……………………………………………….. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261004164639/en/FISN-Investors-Have-Opportunity-to-Join-Deep-Fission-Inc.-Fraud-Investigation-with-SBS-Law

October 19, 2026 Posted by | legal, USA | Leave a comment