Tonight on Political Analysis, BeastBusting Broadcaster Sandy LeonVest is joined by activist, inventor and solar industry insider Chuck McCune for a conversation about energy democracy, solar power and paradigm shifts. They discuss why the solar industry needs to get back to its original, egalitarian vision, extract itself from the old energy paradigm and shift its focus from Wall Street to Main Street.
There was a time when the movement for clean, safe, renewable energy was part of a larger movement — one that sought to create a “better world” for our children — and for our children’s children. The clean energy movement, which initially seemed to take its inspiration from the peace and civil rights movements of the 1960s and the anti-nuclear movement of the 1970s and 80s, nurtured and promoted a vision that solar power could be a huge part of “saving the world.” After all, it was a movement made up of idealists, “progressives” and visionaries.
It was a movement which wholeheartedly believed its own PR, embracing the idea that energy produced from the sun was “free” and infinitely abundant — and that the technology itself was inherently “more democratic.” It was not so long ago (only a few decades), that egalitarianism was the driving force of the clean energy movement. There was the sense that solar power — as opposed to power derived from nuclear or fossil-based sources — was intrinsically good, and that the clean energy movement would forever change the way energy was produced distributed and consumed.
But, what happened to the “Sea of Green” and the idealism that once inspired the movement? And how can the clean energy movement get back to its once noble vision of energy democracy and “free sun power for all” at a time when, according to a growing number of insiders, the solar industry itself feels more like a “shark tank” than a Sea of Green?
You’ll find out on “GREEN SLIME: The Slippery Side of the Solar Industry” — the seventh in PRN’s MEET THE BEAST series.
…In short, as the Wikipedia entry does mention, the Insurance industry does not expect any major losses. I think that is the most honest statement within the Wikipeadia entry that actually speaks in volumes to us…..
Op Ed by Arclight2011part2
Date 8 May 2014
Posted to nuclear-news.net
Main reference is from the program “Contact”, hosted by “Our Planet TV”, Japan.
Four months after the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daichi NPP, the presenter Hajime Shiraishi interviewed Mika Noro who was the president of The Bridge to Chernobyl and who also founded the National Parents Network to Protect the Children From Radiation in Japan in response to the nuclear disaster there.
Because she was engaged in bringing children from Chernobyl to Hakkaido before Japans own nuclear disaster, she noticed that symptoms being reported concerning the children of Fukushima seemed to resemble the symptoms that the Chernobyl children suffer from.
Miss Shiraishi noted on the program that the media in Japan were not documenting these health effects. As a result of this Miss Noro organised pediatric doctors and with Our Planet TV`s help set about trying to get more data on this phenomena.
By Mid June 2011 they were ready to check out 500 children. Some of the health effects they found were;
“Torrential nosebleeds”
“Continuing Diarrhea”
“Irritation of the throat”
“Severe Fatigue”
“Swollen Lymph Glands”
Interestingly, they noted that it was not only children that had these symptoms.
@7.06 mins
Then Dr Masamichi Nishio who was chief of the Hokkaido Cancer Centre responded to these findings by saying that:
“If this many people are having these symptoms, I think doctors need to recognise these as new clinical symptoms of low dose radiation exposure”
In response to the Fukushima Hospitals response to the concerns of the Parents he said;
“I don`t think they can simply dismiss them as symptoms of a mere cold”
Both Doctors Yablakov and Nesterenko found that, in Chernobyl, these combined symptoms were likely due to a “considerable amount of radiation exposure”. And four months after the disaster CRIIRAD of France showed the high levels still existing in the general area of Fukushima city in a dramatic way;
CRIIRAD shows heavy radiation levels not accepted by UNSCEAR and the ICRP in this video.
(…Radiation rates are given in counts per second (c/s). With this device, normal values should be about 50 to 150 c/s depending on natural radiation.
The powerful gamma radiations emitted by radioactive caesium deposited on the ground of the parking located in front of the building give a radiation rate about 10 times above normal values inside the building (at the centre of the office), and 15 times above near the window. This radiation will decrease only very slowly. After one year, the decrease should be about 23 % only….)
Of course the World Health Organisations 2013 report underpinned by the UNSCEAR findings show that only 4,000 people are expected to get cancer throughout the whole of Europe as a result of Chernobyl. However, Dr Ian Fairlie recently analysed UNSCEAR`s own contrived figures and actually found the number of cases, based on their own contrived figures to be actually 40,000 cancer deaths as a result of Chernobyl.
Dr Fairlie also projected the figures that UNSCEAR used to come up with what Nature.com reported as being as a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster as;
“Very few cancer cases would be expected as a result of accumulated radiation exposures” G. Brumfield 2013 ( Who even had the temerity to state that this was “Good news” ).
Dr Fairlie`s findings showed that the actual figure, using the contrived figures of the Japanese nuclear lobby, would be 1,500 cases as a result of the Japanese disaster.
If you go to the wikipedia entry for the Fukushima disaster you will see that they do not give actual figures for the section entitled “Risks from radiation” but give percentages. These percentages include the whole population of Japan and the beginning of this section starts of with G Brumfiel`s quote above. This gives a very reassuring complexion on the disaster and with the evidence I have submitted above, a very distorted and biased view emerges.
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, Atmospheric removal times of aerosol-bound radionuclides, May 2012: Hot particles (e.g., fragments of the nuclear fuel) were present in the FD-NPP plume.
(Paatero et al. 2012) Airborne fission products in the High Arctic after the Fukushima nuclear accident: The plume arriving in Svalbard did not come from Europe but directly from North America […] [Hot particles are] either fragments of the nuclear fuel or particles formed by the interactions between condensed radionuclides, nuclear fuel, and structural materials of the reactor […] a significant part of the activity related to Fukushima was in hot particles. So far the authors are not aware of any other reports concerning hot particles from the Fukushima accident. […] radionuclides emitted into the atmosphere were quickly dispersed around practically the whole northern hemisphere within a couple of weeks.
It was just a matter of time before the kinds of people who vandalized brand symbols at world economic summits resorted to brand cyber-vandalism. The Wikileaks hacktivists have targeted and threatened global brands like Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, Amazon, Twitter and Shell. http://merriamassociates.com/2010/12/wikileaks-hacktivism-and-brands-as-political-symbols/
Today I refunded all the supports (up to 60days ago) that people expected to change the world.
The Paypal account of Fukushima Diary has been suspended since last week.
Today, they decided to close it.
The only “reason” was this (From their last email)
“Dear IORI MOCHIZUKI,
Important information:
We regret to inform you that we’re initiating the closure of your Paypal account because of certain activity that took place relating to your account. This measure is necessary to protect us from potential financial losses.”
In short, they will hold up the balance for 180 days. Meanwhile, I cannot withdraw / send / accept any money.
Because it was a business account, it’s impossible to have another account though I actually don’t want to open another account. I cannot use a personal one cause I pay tax as Fukushima Diary SRL.
so I lost “our” money, and lost the means of accepting your supports.
It started with one phone call.
This day of last week, I was at a lawyer’s office in Cyprus. I and a few other Japanese people are trying to incorporate in Cyprus and Netherlands, and I went there to make a contract.
Exactly when I held the pen, I received the call. It was from Paypal. The guy said my account was under review.
So I couldn’t make a contract that day. I apologized to other Japanese people and also explained the situation to Paypal.
They required me some documents, but these were shipping proof, supplier invoice, profit and loss & Balance sheet of Fukushima Diary. Also the proof of company registration.
The only document that I could send was the proof of company registration.
I’m not the type of “merchant” to send box. Because this is still the first year, Fukushima Diary hasn’t published P/L or B/S yet. and I submitted the proof of company registration last year when I opened the account.
I did my best to get it fixed before I left Cyprus but it didn’t work.
Their treatment was far from being organized. I called them several times a day, but some of the agents say the reviewing takes 24 ~ 72 hours. Others say it’s 4~5 business days. One of the agent even sent me an email so say “I’m glad to know your case was resolved.”. and it wasn’t resolved actually.
When the first 72 hours passed, they called me to say ”it takes up to 14 days.”
The reason of “reviewing” and suspending my account wasn’t clear. They picked up 5 transactions for the ”shipping proof” but because I refunded them immediately, they mustn’t have any reason to investigate it anymore.
They said it doesn’t lead to closure of an account or anything, everything is ok, it was just a routine investigation, until this week.
I came back from Cyprus to Bucharest last night though I couldn’t make a contract with the lawyers.
Just before the flight, I called them again. and the agent said,
“The case wasn’t under review.”
I had called them more than everyday, and they always said the case was under review, they even escalated it.
I asked the agent “so were you telling a lie ?”. They started saying “I don’t know, I don’t have an access to the information.”.
Today I had a meeting with my Romanian lawyer and accountant. I called Paypal again and asked the lawyer to have a say on the phone. The agents sounded scared.
The email was sent 1 hour after the phone call to say they are initiating to close the account.
This is not just a loss of a Paypal account.
In addition to the fact that I cannot make alternative account, I lost my first salary until April of 2015.
I have been receiving donations from many people since I left Japan.
I “donated” it to the business account to start up the company, and I wasn’t paid anything from my own company through 2013.
Because I’m supposed to be a sole shareholder, my only income is “dividend”. It’s paid only in April.
Today, 5/6/2014, was supposed to be my first “payday”, and the dividend was supposed to be my one year living expense until April of 2015.
Paypal is going to hold the fund up to 180 days. I can’t survive that long.
I don’t even trust that Paypal would release “our money” then, from the communication since last week.
People say I should have moved money to the bank.
Easier said than done.
I thought I shouldn’t put too much money in the bank from looking at the financial crisis.
The reason why they put the account under review suddenly is not clear.
In the beginning, I thought that was because I receive larger sum of money for the capital of new company in Cyprus and their algorithm detected it.
Anyway, their sudden decision to close the account has no reason.
One of my readers said, ”You were Assanged.”
Unfortunately, I have no evidence to deny it.
Iori Mochizuki
You read this now because we’ve been surviving until today.
Francis Boyle, Professor of International Law, former Amnesty board member: I was involved in trying to prevent their publication of the dead babies report on Iraq that was so warmongering. I couldn’t do it. Certainly, Amnesty works as an adjunct to the State Department.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which tries to make it appear as if they’re the “high holy priesthood” of human rights movements – the ex-CIA agent Ralph McGehee he established they were penetrated by the CIA, I myself found them ferrying guerrillas in then-south Sudan to work against the government of Sudan. I sent them a demarche, they never bothered to respond.Likewise,Médecins Sans Frontières, again Ralph McGehee proving that they were penetrated by French intelligence agents. So I think it’s fair to say that that’s true for all of them.
Arlight20111 notes this extract from the Amnesty website has no mention of the new secrets law or the measures the Japanese government is taking to force people back into the contaminated areas to live, no mention of the childrens thyroid cancers nor any health effects, forcing the homeless, unemployed and disabled to work in hazardous conditions at the destroyed nuclear power plant site nor do they mention any of the imprisoned citizens that rescued animals in the contaminated zones etc etc;
Extract from Amnesty Internationals Japan website reads like the pro nuclear UNSCEAR report on Fukushima…???
It remains to be seen how the government will rebuilt its trust with people in Japan. But there are specific actions the government can take. First, it must ensure that oversight of private industry, including the nuclear power industry, is truly independent and effective. Second, it can commit to transparency in the evaluation of the current nuclear plans and commission studies by truly independent experts on the potential impact of the plants and any possible accidents on the people in the area and the environment. Based on these studies the government should take appropriate action to prevent negative impacts. Third the government can set up a system for sharing information in a crisis that facilitates timely communication from the state to the local government and to the people. Finally, the government can support vigorous debate in government and promote the freedom of expression in civil society, including for people who challenge the government and corporate actors.
Amnesty International
Secretary General
Salil Shetty
15 March 2012
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT
NGOs caught forging documents for war, insider warns all NGOs infiltrated; ‘Independent military observers’ for EU-based group OSCE again turned away in Crimea, OSCE branded one more ‘vulgar instrument’ for foreign interests; and CNN buys the latest State Department hoax.
Seek truth from facts with Illinois University Professor of International Law and former Amnesty board member Francis Boyle; Infowars Editor Paul Joseph Watson; Eric Draitser of Boiling Frogs Post; Ron Paul Institute Executive Director Daniel McAdams; Ukraine protest organizers; Sliman Bouchuiguir, whose NGO fabricated the claims against Libya; and Asst. Secretary of State Vic Nuland.
Watch live on RT:
Sunday March 9 at 0445, 0845, 1245, 1645, 2045 GMT.
Monday March 10 at 0045 GMT.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
RT:Groups meant to bring peace are running the scams that start war. Coming up.
Announcer: NGOs accused of the hoaxes pushing Ukraine to war.
Former Amnesty board member warns all human rights groups have been infiltrated.
And CNN buys the latest State Department scam.
I Am A Ukrainian viral video: I am the Ukrainian, the native of Kiev.
RT:This viral video hyped by the mainstream is the latest exposed as a State Department hoax. The opposite of the stated ‘grassroots’ expression by Ukrainians, it’s actually by a California firm and produced by a man called Larry Diamond of the US State Department and its NGO the National Endowment for Democracy.
The video’s designed notes Activist Post to con the public to back more foreign intervention, by associating Ukraine’s shockingly violent coup with some peaceful, fragrant girl called Julia, instead of Nazi insurgents who’ve murdered their way to power, or Assistant State Secretary Vic Nuland, caught revealing she’d plotted this coup against the elected government, long before the protests started.
Investigative reporter Paul Joseph Watson notes CNN’s Anderson Cooper for some reason is often the point-man for these State Department hoaxes.
Paul joins us, great to speak to you. What’s going on?
Paul Joseph Watson, Infowars Editor: So you could look at the example of Anderson Cooper, he sold the Kony 2012 scam, which was similar to this I Am A Ukrainian scam, and he quickly had to abandon that once in became obvious that that was a contrived agenda to justify US military intervention in Africa.
And then even after that he sold the Syria Danny scam, which was the situation involving a, quote, “Syrian activist”, who was in fact staging YouTube videos to blame atrocities on the Assad regime as a mean to discrediting demonizing the Syrian government and justifying US military intervention.
And what’s interesting is the mainstream media interviews of Yulia that occurred in the past couple of weeks credit her with being the creator of the video, when in fact it was created by a production company linked directly to the US State Department. So the key man behind the video, according to the production company itself, was Larry Diamond.
This is an anti nuclear video by Journalist Mari Takenouchi who is trying to let people know about the plight of the children living in the contaminated areas of Japan..
Lyrics/Vocals/Guitar by Zara Gladman
Animation by Greg Moodie
Sound editing by Steven Gladman
Camera by Jeremy Kelly
Styling by Gemma Jennings
With special thanks to Clare and Grace Cooney from Progressive Broadcast
Music by The Beatles (no copyright infringement intended).
In the town where I was born
Live some weapons beside the sea
I was told about their lives
In our yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines
We all live in a yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
Yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
Yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
Yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
It’s gonnae cost a bob or two
To buy new missles for me and you
You can’t afford to feed the weans
But their priority is in Faslane
We all live in a yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
Yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
Yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
Yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
A hundred billion of our pounds
Ignore the misery that’s all around
Let’s buy some nukes! Prepare for war.
While child poverty is one in four.
We all live in a yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
Yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
Yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
Yellow nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
As if showing off some efforts, Prime Minister Abe said that he would tackle more on the issue of certifying A-bomb disease victims. But how many years have been passed since the drop of A-bombs? Many of the sufferers have passed away and now the government has started to work on it more while ignoring the health issues of children after Fukushima accident.
In October 2002, the former ambassador to Switzerland, Mr. Mitsuhei Murata asked Mr. Abe in person, “please relocate children in contaminated areas,” Mr. Abe just ignored his plea. In other words, the government of Japan is not really serious about helping out radiation exposed people, Hibakusha.
Links to the last data showing a confirmed 33 thyroid cancers on links at the bottom of this article (Click “more” if you are seeing this on the home page)
This is a word by a late female Japanese activist who was working alone in Hiroshima. What does this mean? It means that Hiroshima appeals on the cruelty and abolition of nuclear weapons, but never touches upon abolition of nuclear power, and furthermore, the Hiroshima movement is actually hindering the anti-nuclear power movement in Japan.
I totally agreed with her. When I became anti-nuclear power supporter for the first time in 1999, I visited the Japan Conference of A-bomb and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations thinking that basics of nuclear power issue is the radiation exposure issue. However, I was told, “Our organization cannot oppose to nuclear power since there are actually A-bomb sufferers who have been working at nuclear power plants.” I was speechless.
Soon after that, Japan had the its first nuclear accident which had 2 acute radiation symptom deaths at JCO nuclear fuel conversion plant. The following year, I visited Hiroshima as an interpreter for a global environmental organization’s leader to meet the Hiroshima Mayor. At the end of the meeting, the Hiroshima Mayor Mr. Akiba told us, “Never put our photo on a newspaper such as an Anti-Nuclear Power Paper.” I was completely disappointed.
At the end of May this year (2013), 27 child thyroid cancer cases were found among Fukushima children. (You can see the data at the bottom of this page on the link) However, there have been almost no A-bomb sufferers organizations or anti-nuclear power organizations reporting on this most important issue. Again I am totally discouraged. Prior to this, the high rate of cysts and nodules were found, which became quite a big issue among citizens’ organizations, but amazingly when this critical news of thyroid cancer emerged, almost every organization became silent. 8月6日、被爆者の代表たち7人が安倍首相に面会しましたが、彼らの主張は「原発再稼働反対」のみで「福島の子供の27人もの甲状腺がん」については一言も言いませんでした。
On August 6th (2013), 7 representatives of A-bomb sufferers met Prime Minster Abe, and they appealed for suspension of restarting nuclear power plants but they never touched upon 27 thyroid cancer children in Fukushima.
Would you believe it? Last week my emails got blocked whilst i tried to send the hotel i was in an email to sort out the rent.. The hotel computer and wireless system was screwed for a day or so and i had to use another system to access the Internet at all.. Now last week riseup.net at least returned with an “access denied” message whilst gmail did not let me know that the message got blocked ( i had to contact the receiver face to face to find out that the gmail was never received)
So I recommend riseup.net as a great email service!! Well done risep.net for letting me know!! 🙂
I will post the 2 emails that i wanted to send below here (deleting the name on one as to preserve anonymity)
You will see why the powers that be wanted to block these emails as you read them..
I had a cunning plan.. 🙂
Those of you who know me and my research would expect me to come up with some crafty angle to get around a digital Blockade , so here is what the security services of the UK wanted to stop from a poor beleaguered blogger exiled to Ireland..
I got a reply from this guy as i tried to send him this email.. he wanted to see if i knew anyone who had a bank account who he could deposit some money in for me..
Hi (tryh)
I have had a cunning thought.. i have just opened a bitcoin wallet.. i will not be using an exchange to hold it but will have my own wallet
here is the address
1AtPoo3jNJXdjddrMKFocoNMcSxMu9aUYZ
I will transfer to an exchange when i want to pay for a service so as to minimise the risk of losing money to hackers or to exchange fraud.. as i researched this it would appear that it is likely that bitcoin will at the very least remain at its present value but could increase in value relative to the paper currencies, especially if the economy finally takes a dive as the cash printing bubble bursts.. I dont know why i didnt think of this before..
i think i will have a roof over my head for a few weeks more as i found somenone who might be able to put me up for a couple of weeks while i contact human rights people to garner support for housing.. so a smaller amount of euros than you were going to offer will be adequate fir now as i just need money for some rice, fruit and some protein.. a healthy diet and i have lost most of the ribs that were showing.. thanks to you bro!
another reason for using bitcoin is so the banks that are really corrupt will not make much money on them if any at all..
I feel like a salesman for bitcoin now..
for people to donate i only have to give then the “address” shown above and i am good to go.. small amounts can be excepted.. i will let my personal network in on this for now and later as i am a bit more settled i can publisise the address or another address on an another account to gain small donations..
i am feeling a bit less kettled now.. i will see how my trial of bitcoins will work out.. i will let you know how the experiment works out.. take care
talk to you soon
regards sean
And then i tried to send that sexy blogger christina mac phearson my cunning plan so as to ease her worries and as quick that too was blocked
hi christina
i had a bloomin brainwave
the governments hate bitcoin, the banks hate bitcoin and both also hate me.. so 🙂 wait for it :…
then i got my address with which bitcoin could be sent too!
1AtPoo3jNJXdjddrMKFocoNMcSxMu9aUYZ
If my bitcoin is hacked i will be able to give that as good evidence that it must be the security services a s they would be the only ones with the technology to hack a bitcoin wallet.. good evidence for Jennifer Schweppe and others that are trying to help me.. 😉
I have asked my donor if he might put some bitcoin in and will ask others also.. some people like libbe halevey asked for the option to give smaller donations..
as Iori from Fukushima Diary had his pay pal closed like the wikileaks thing (he has all his money in it and has to wait 180 days to get a refund) i wasnt going to go there even if i could have opened a bank account or similar.. the halifax bank (bank of scotland) stitched me up and broke an agreement that they had set up in the UK (the reason i got made homeless btw )
i wish i had thought of this sooner.. at least i should be able to get at some cash to by the essentials in life and may even be able to rent a more affordable room or something.. i could also save any future potential earnings from a job in there too! it looks like bitcoin will increase in value against the boom and bust currencies..
well thats all for now.. take care and i will let you know when i am settled.. i think i have a temporary place to stay on Thursday for a few weeks while i sort something more permanent out..
big hugs
sean
I hope tryh gets this and Chrisstina also..
What a carry on!! huh?
Must have been the human rights posts as fb blocked me on them as well! maybe ??
First of all we would like to emphasize that those who sign this letter consider themselves to be friends of the Bolivian people. We applaud what your government has done over the years for the welfare of the people of Bolivia, for the recovery of control over your natural resources as well as for social justice and the redistribution of wealth. We also support the strong stance you and your government have taken on the protection of the environment, with the institution of the Day of Mother Earth and the acts against the exploitation of food resources for purposes other than the nourishment of the people. Moreover, we have been fighting for years, in our countries and internationally, against military and civilian nuclear energy.
In this light, as friends, we have been surprised by the announcement of your government’s plans to start the process of building a nuclear plant in Bolivia.
We believe this to be a move in the wrong direction and we wish to explain why in the following few points. We also hope that this debate can be continued with the participation of the entire Bolivian society. We therefore welcome positions different from ours and are always available to participate in an open discussion with further contributions.
1) That for nuclear energy is a choice without return, and no visible end! No one knows precisely what it costs to dismantle a nuclear power plant, but it is likely to be comparable to the cost of constructing one; no durable solution for the disposal of radioactive wastes has yet been found. These wastes constitute a heavy legacy that is expensive to store and remains deadly for thousands of years.
2) The idea of acquiring autonomy and independence by the use of nuclear energy is illusory and false: uranium is a finite resource (the most optimistic forecasts count with its depletion in about a century) and supplies of nuclear fuel are held by a handful of rich countries.
3) The costs of a nuclear programme are much higher than those of any other form of energy production; the budgeted cost for nuclear power reactor is around US$8-10 billion and building times are unpredictable. Besides there are huge costs involved in adjusting the connected infrastructure – industrial, technical, medical, etc. – and in training the staff only to make them extremely specialised and in this sector only.
4) The safety of a nuclear plant is a myth, fuelled by industry supporters and industrialists, but clearly denied by the facts: the last half-century shows that we must expect an extremely serious accident every few years. The consequences of a major nuclear accident are worse than those of any other accident. The legacy of the Fukushima accident alone will last for decades to burden Japan and the world!
5) Nuclear energy is a vulnerable target to terrorist attacks and leads to a militarization of the surrounding territory.
6) For all these reasons, the production of energy by nuclear means is in steep decline all around the world and is likely to continue that way; it is reasonable to expect that the construction of new nuclear power plants and their total number will decrease in the future.
7) Nuclear power on planet Earth represents the quintessential “anti-nature” form of energy production. Nature uses nuclear reactions in the creation of new worlds in stars. That however is fusion, not fission; on Earth its use is purely episodic and marginal.
8) There is a tight bond between civil and military nuclear energy production. The materials and basic techniques are the same, with plutonium – the ‘explosive’ material ideal for nuclear power generation as well as nuclear weapons – resulting as a by-product during the chain reaction.
We believe these arguments to be sufficient to dissuade any government from investing a nation’s resources and scientific potential in the nuclear industry, and we wish to see the Bolivian people take a more constructive way forward, prioritizing those renewable forms of energies of which your country is richly endowed. Such a choice and development path would generate infinitely more energy on a sustainable basis, thus bringing more welfare, autonomy and jobs than any nuclear project.
We are ready to provide the scientific details of our statements to your government and we warmly embrace you with love and esteem.
Anna Polo, World without Wars and Violence, Italy
Olivier Turquet, chief editor Pressenza Italy
Angelo Baracca, Professor of Physics, University of Florence, Italy
Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, Ireland
Tony Robinson, International spokeperson of World without Wars and Violence
Carlos Vassaux M.D., USA
Dr. Jouni Ylinen, Finland
Ira Helfand, MD, USA, co-President International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize
Claudio Giangiacomo, Italy
Nnimmo Bassey, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nigeria
Roberto Renzetti, Professor of Physics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Roma 3 and essayist, Italy
People for Nuclear Disarmament, Australia
Human Survival Project, Australia
Dr. Scilla Elworthy, Founder of Oxford Research Group, Founder of Peace Direct, Councillor of the World Future Council, UK
Giorgio Parisi, Professor of Physics, University of Roma I, La Sapienza, Italy
Romi Elnagar, author of “Fukushima: Meltdown on the Ring of Fire” in Green Horizon, USA
Alice Slater, Global Council of Abolition 2000, USA
Dr. Anthony Gronowicz, Green Party, USA
Salvatore Fanara, USA
Jane Milliken, USA
Rachel Clark, Interpreter, Global Coordinator, Language instructor, USA
Bruce K. Gagnon, Coordinator Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, USA
Pauline Tangiora, Member of the World Future Council and the Earth Council, New Zealand
Gerson Lesser, M.D., USA
Debbie Peters, J.D., USA
Prof. Francesco Bottaccioli, Founder and President of the Italian Society of Psiconeuroendocrinoimmunology. Direction and Teaching Master Degree in “PNEI and science of integrated care”, University of L’Aquila, Italy
Roberto Romizi, President of International Society of Doctors for the Environment – ISDE, Italy
Tahia Devisscher, UK
Yukari Saito and Gerard Blaylock, Founders of the Documentation Center “Seeds beneath the snow” Pisa, Italy
Prof. Jürgen Renn, Director of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, Germany
Dr. Celestino Panizza, President ISDE Brescia, Italy
Paola Manduca, ISDE, Italy
Paul Larudee, Free Palestine Movement, USA
Giuseppe Masera, ISDE, Italy
Giuseppe Miserotti, ISDE Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Pedro Portugal Mollinedo, director of Pukara magazine, Bolivia
Pol D’Huyvetter, Mayors for Peace, Brazil
Giorgio Ferrari, Italy
Paolo De Santis, Professor of Physics, University of Roma 3 – Alternativa, Italy
Luisa Memore, president ISDE Torino, Italy
Giuseppe Vitiello, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Salerno, Italy
Antonio M. Calabrò, Aerospace Engineer Researcher, Italy
Marco Caldiroli, Luigi Mara, Chiara Rodeghiero, Fulvio Aurora, Maurizio Marchi, Patrizia Gentilini,
Antonio Valassina, Medicina Democratica, Italy
Kate Hudson, General Secretary of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), UK
Patrick Boylan, NoWar-Rome, Italy
Pax Christi Metro New York, USA
Nelson Arias Ávila, Physic, PhD, Colombia
Takao Takahara, Professor of International Politics and Peace Research, Faculty of International Studies, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Gabriella Filippazzo, ISDE Palermo, Italy
Lee Hsiujung, Vice Secretery General of Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, Taiwan
Under the stated number of participants up to 950 people, at the venue of the event there have been only about 510 people; about 420 people participated in the action on the way to the Druzhby Narodau Park and 30 people took part in the rally.
On the anniversary day of the Chernobyl disaster, 26 April 2014, an authorized rally was held in Minsk. The event is traditional for the Belarusian opposition and non-governmental environmental organizations. During the action a public observation by RHRPA “Belarusian Helsinki Committee” and Human Rights Centre “Viasna” was conducted by 10 observers. The observers filled unified observation charts in order to assess objectively the nature of the event as well as to note the possible human rights violations during it.
According to the information from these charts the course of the mass event and the actions of the law enforcement officers and the participants has been noted. Certain aspects of the results of observation, analysis of compliance with international standards of mass action in the sphere of freedom of peaceful assembly, as well as recommendations for governmental officials and organizers are noted in the following report.
I. Conclusions:
1 – Peaceful nature of the mass event (“if its organizers have professed peaceful intentions and the conduct of the assembly is non-violent”) should be noted during the whole action. 2 – There were cases of limitations of the right to peaceful assembly as one of the organizers was denied to hold the mass event, the time and the route were arbitrary changed and excessively unreasonable security measures have been taken;
3 – The special concern is caused by the cases of arbitrary detentions: preventive ones (8 persons – the names are provided in the list above) as well as detentions after the event (cases of detention of Yury Rubtsou, Leanid Smouzh, Mikalai (the surname is being specified) and other three activists are known), which can be considered as the gross violation of the rights of these persons;
3.1. The detentions of the participants of the mass event were illegal by its nature and were aimed at intimidation of the protesters as well as continuation of the practise of political repressions against political opposition and civil activists.
4 – Inability to identify the law enforcement officers should be noted as most of them are not wearing the uniform and even those who do are not having the ID cards on them.
Besides, it is important to note that regulation of the order of holding mass gatherings by the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Mass Events in the Republic of Belarus” adopted on 30 December 1997 (as amended by 8 November 2011) is not consistent with the international standards. The joint opinion of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR(CDL-AD (2012) 006) notes: “The Law on Mass Events is characterized by a detailed over regulation of the procedural aspects of holding assemblies. The Law creates a complicated procedure of compliance with a rigid and difficult authorization procedure, while at the same time leaving administrative authorities with a very wide discretion on how to apply the Law. This procedure does not reflect the positive obligation of the State to ensure and facilitate the exercise of freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.” Besides, the UN Committee on Human Rights has repeatedly documented violations of the freedom to peaceful assembly from the Belarus side (Art. 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).
II. Context of the mass event
An application for conducting the mass event was filed on 8 April 2014 on behalf of three organizers – Yanukevich A.A., Chairman of BPF Party, Khomich M.U., head of the youth wing of BCD Party) and Dabratvor I.N., political activist. It was originally planned to gather the participants around 11.30 a.m. at the area at the entrance of “Kastrychnik” cinema and then hold the demonstration along the route Khmelnitskaha street – Y.Kolasa street – Lahoiski trakt street – Mirashnichenka street – Kurapaty tract (followed by a rally there). However, Dabratvor I.N. was rejected as an organizer of the mass event by the decision of Minsk city executive committee № 4-3/776 of 17.04.2014 on the grounds that he is responsible for the violation of the law on mass events (24.03.2014 – Art.23.34 of the Administrative code of the Republic of Belarus) and therefore under the Art.4 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Mass Events in the Republic of Belarus” adopted on 30 December 1997 (as amended by 8 November 2011) “cannot be organizer of the mass event, act as an organizer or on behalf of organizers in media, global internet network and other information networks”. Besides, Minsk city executive committee has changed time and venue of the mass event by its decision of 17.04.2014 г. № 4-3/775. The organizers had to obey to this decision.
We consider these decisions as restricting in the context of realisation of the right to freedom of assembly which should not take place in a legal state and do not have a legal basis according to international standards.
It worth mentioning, that previous to this mass event 8 persons were detained: Maksim Viniarsky, Illia Dabratvor, Aliksandr Stsepanenka, Uladzislau Siargeyeu, Dmitry Dashkevich, Aliaksandr Frantskevich, Anatoly Mirashnichenka and Uladzislau Zapasau. Detentions and administrative arrests were carried out on fabricated charges in petty hooliganism and other groundless reasons. These detentions can be classified as arbitrary. Internal affairs bodies as well as courts practically exercise practice of unlawful detentions under fabricated charges, which not only violate national laws, but also international obligations.
What best practices can you mention in the promotion and protection of human rights in post-disaster situations? In Fukushima Prefecture
-Helped to create indoor playgrounds for kids. (They cannot play outdoors as much as they wish due to fears of radiation.)
-Gave support to various children’s programs, aiming to provide them with opportunities to interact with one another and fully enjoy the natural environment in a relaxed manner. In Myiagi Prefecture
– Building of local communities:
Playgrounds with large playing equipment have been constructed. Creating such a playground can attract children as well as parents, facilitates their interaction, and can be a starter for building a new community.
(Extract for the above questions and answers at bottom of this article)
Op Ed by Arclight2011part2
Dated 3 May 2014
Posted to Nuclear-news.net
On the third anniversary of the Fukushima disaster on March 2014 a little mentioned report came out from the ONHCR concerning the update to Anand Grovers findings in 2013. Although recommendations were made concerning the rights of the people of Fukushima it would appear that only the minimal amount of work has been done by the Japanese Government to mitigate the issues raised. There will be more information in June 2014 but I will update you on the recent reports and comments from various sources at the UN. Council holds interactive dialogue with Independent Experts on Human Rights and the Environment and on Foreign Debt. 11 March 2014
The Japanese government is on of the four biggest contributers to the UN Aid program but Cephas Lumina said Japans international development cooperation programme was to be commended, it nonetheless could be strengthened by the integration of a human rights-based approach.This in the context that Illicit financial flows, “including those that derived from corruption and embezzlement by public officials, had considerable negative impacts on the realization of human rights, particularly in developing countries.” The Japanese response was to say “it supported developing countries in setting foundations for good governance and protecting the environment and paid attention to human rights situations in recipient countries”.
However, in the same report, the Japanese Workers’ Committee for Human Rights said that about three years had passed since the Fukushima disaster, but about 100,000 persons were living as internal displaced persons.The Government and Tokyo Electric Power company had not fairly compensated victims.They were still prioritizing profit over life, and promotion and export of atomic power generation.
Human Rights Now expressed grave concern over the human rights situation of people affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The Government’s effort had not been sufficient or effective to protect people’s right to health and had not conducted any health monitoring of affected people outside the so-called evacuation zones, except for children’s thyroid cancer in limited areas.
And in response to the Japanese response Cephas Luminar said that human rights issues were highly politicised and finished by saying that “The Independent Expert said that he was troubled by some countries which thought they had the solution to all the global problems; that attitude needed to change”.
While trawling through the ONHCR website I came across a statement made by Navi Pillay who had some stunning points to make about Japans lack of self assessment and how this could, and indeed has, led to alleged abuses by Japan on its own people due to a lack of Transparency regarding its nuclear program. Extract; “The International Human Rights Treaty System: Impact at the domestic and international levels”: Lecture at the Washington College of Law by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay 1 October 2013
Every State is obliged periodically to furnish a report to treaty bodies on its implementation of the covenant or convention it is party to. The reports must show evidence of honest and rigorous self-assessment as well as serious dialogue with civil society. Unfortunately, some States parties finds all this too onerous, but the record shows that regular reporting can help prevent human rights abuses and even serve as early warning of looming violations.
Prevention is of course notoriously difficult to measure, but the following example is instructive. In 2001, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights indicated its concern about Japan’s nuclear power programme. The Committee, which tends to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, cited lack of transparency, insufficient disclosure of safety-related information as well as the absence of preparation at community and national levels for the prevention and handling of nuclear accidents. Had the State party more actively followed the Committee’s recommendations for improving prevention, the population might have been better prepared and some of the worst aspects of the recent nuclear tragedy in Fukushima might have been avoided.
Full document here;
http://www.ohchr.org/ar/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13939&LangID=C
Navi Pilay finished of his speech with this comment concerning Japans close International partner and the fact that the international rights of the child not being formalised, thereby limiting the legal challenges by NGO`s in Japan to challenge the situation for children living in the contaminated areas in Japan. A recent WHO report backed up with findings from the UNSCEAR denied any health effects although hidden in that report there was some stunning evidence of health effects in Fukushima which was known but still denied publicly throughout the world.
Before concluding, I have another question for you: There are only three countries in the whole world that have not yet ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Do you know which ones?
They are Somalia, South Sudan and the US. Somalia and South Sudan surely have better excuses than the US to explain why their legislative bodies still have not gotten around to ratifying the Convention.- Navi Pillay
Human Rights in post-disaster and post-conflict situations
QUESTIONNAIRE
as part of the consultations undertaken by the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee with States with a view to preparing a research-based report on best practices and main challenges in the promotion and protection of human rights in post-disaster and post-conflict situations, pursuant to Council resolution 22/16.
On April 2, UNSCEAR published its long-awaited Report on Fukushima. Of prime importance are its estimates of collective doses to the Japanese population.
Page 60 of Annex A of the UNSCEAR report contains the following table 8 on estimated collective effective doses and collective absorbed doses to the thyroid for the population of Japan (approximately 128 million in 2010).
Exposure duration
Over first year
Over ten years
Up to age 80 years
Collective effective dose
18,000 man-Sv
36,000 man-Sv
48,000 man-Sv
Collective absorbed dose to thyroid
82,000 man-Gy
100,000 man-Gy
112,000 man-Gy
These estimates are slightly higher than in the draft UNSCEAR report in November 2013. For example, the 80 yr whole body dose was 41,000 man Sv and thyroid dose was 110,000 man Sv in last year’s draft.
In an early preliminary view, these are realistic collective doses, as they are relatively consistent with some independent estimates in Europe. For example, the most detailed model used by the Report published by IPPNW Germany in late March 2013 estimated 95,000 man Sv: ie the UNSCEAR 48,000 man Sv estimate is within a factor of 2 of this, which is good agreement given the uncertainties in the IPPNW’s methodology and in this area generally.
My own estimate in early March 2013 for Fukushima Prefecture (the most contaminated region) alone was 34,000 man Sv. If I were to add an estimate for the rest of Japan of ~13,000[1] man Sv, this would total 47,000 man Sv – very close to UNSCEAR’s estimate of 48,000 man Sv. In fact, the agreement is slightly unnerving!
In terms of the fatal cancers these doses would cause, the new UNSCEAR estimates imply (via the LNT theory) that in future ~5,000 people in Japan will die from Fukushima’s fallout, if we applied a fatal cancer risk of 10% per Sv. (This is because the UNSCEAR report like the previous WHO reports no longer applies a DREFF of 2 to risk estimates.)
However a more detailed scrutiny will be required of the methodologies and assumptions used in the new UNSCEAR report before a final view can be given.
PS. The UNSCEAR report on page 60 adds that “The collective effective dose to the population of Japan due to a lifetime exposure following the FDNPS accident is approximately 10-15% of the corresponding value for European populations exposed to radiation following the Chernobyl accident. Correspondingly, the collective absorbed dose to the thyroid was approximately 5% of that due to the Chernobyl accident.”
From this, one can work out what UNSCEAR now thinks the whole body collective dose to Europe was from Chernobyl: ie 320,000 to 480,000 man Sv, leading to ~32,000 to ~48,000 fatal cancers. This has never been stated before by UNSCEAR. These estimates are close to the 2006 independent TORCH report’s estimates of 30,000 to 60,000 fatal cancers.
[1]UNSCEAR estimates the average whole body dose to the rest of Japan outside Fukushima Prefecture was ~0.1 mSv. Multiplied by 126,000,000 people outside Fukushima gives a collective dose of 12,600 or 13,000 to 2 sig figs.
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