There is little doubt that South Australia is leading the world on the integration of wind and solar. Now, it’s about to take an even bolder leap into a deep green energy future through its hydrogen jobs plan.
The state has sourced more than 70 per cent of its electricity demand from wind and solar over the past year, and when RenewEconomy interviewed state energy minister Tom Koutsantonis on Sunday afternoon for its Energy Insiders podcast, it was nearing the end of a 60-hour period where it average more than 100 per cent wind and solar. Earlier that day, the state had reached a stunning new peak of 264 per cent “potential” wind and solar, the combination of renewable energy actually produced, and the renewable energy curtailed by the lack of a market.
South Australia response to the this excess of green energy is to encourage even more, with another bold step that it hopes will make it a global leader in green hydrogen, just as it has done with renewables.
Renew Economy 25th Oct 2023 #Australia #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
The differences between the government and EDF, which are currently discussing the future regulatory framework for electricity prices, make several officials of the public company fear a possible resignation of Luc Rémont, the group’s CEO.
I focus on the lies of the nuclear lobby – because these are the most blatant, pervasive, of the lies that are swallowed up and regurgitated by political leaders and the media.
Lies about “cheap” “clean” “safe” “nothing-to-do-with-weapons” nuclear power, – especially the (non-existent) SMRs – Small Modular Nuclear Reactors.
Dr Pangloss, (from Voltaire’s 17th Century satirical novel “Candide” ) is the essence of foolish, gullible optimism. And a model – for our age – not to be.
But there are so many other prevailing lies that need to be busted, too.
My current top favourite is “The Cloud”. Wottlehell is The Cloud anyway? Clean? Pretty? Up in the sky?.
No, The Cloud is a vast number of “farms” containing dirty great steel skyscraper-like containers, powered by huge amounts of fossil-fuel electricity, requiring great lagoons of water for cooling.
And inside them? Every bit of digital anything that happens from great important dissertations, youtubes, whatever, and everybody’s pointless little emails, tweets, emojis – the world’s ever-increasing digital rubbish.
Renewable energy – big wind and solar – are the answer?
Not really. They require huge amounts of energy to build. They use lots of rare minerals, and plastic. Putting big wind turbines into the oceans is damaging to the marine ecology.
We’re reducing greenhouse emissions. No – they’re still rising
Cop 28 UN Climate Change Conference will lead the way for real climate action. Really?
The United Arab Emirates is hosting the UN climate summit in November and the president of Cop28 is Sultan Al Jaber, who is also chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. At least a dozen employees from the United Arab Emirate’s state-owned oil company have apparently taken up roles with the office .
Debunking Degrowth. – We learn that reducing energy use, reducing consumption, living more simply – there has been a fair bit of propaganda about – telling the world that these methods are just not feasible. (But they might be the only answer)
Dr Pangloss would say that now “Everything is the best, in the best of all possible worlds“
Well, it’s not. I mean, apart from global overheating, biodiversity loss, diminishing resources, deforestation, water shortages, plastic pollution, climate refugees, pandemics, increasing conflicts – everything’s fine – yes?
Thousands of satellites orbit the Earth, gathering and distributing vital information for weather monitoring, disaster early warning systems and communications. Recent technological advancements have made it easier and more affordable for countries, companies and even individuals to put satellites into space. Satellites make our lives safer, more convenient and connected, and represent critical infrastructure that is now essential for a functioning society. However, as the number of satellites increases, so does the problem of space debris, which poses a threat to both functioning satellites and the future of our orbit.
Space debris consists of various objects, from minuscule flecks of paint to massive chunks of metal. Out of 34,260 objects tracked in orbit, only around 25 per cent are working satellites while the rest are junk, such as broken satellites or discarded rocket stages. Additionally, there are likely around 130 million pieces of debris too small to be tracked, measuring between 1 mm and 1 cm. Given that these objects travel over 25,000 kilometres per hour, even the smallest debris can cause significant damage. Each piece of debris becomes an obstacle in the orbital “highway”, making it increasingly difficult for functional satellites to avoid collisions.
Key Numbers
8,300 functioning satellites in orbit
34,260 tracked objects in orbit
25,000 kilometres per hour travel speed
The danger is more than just theoretical. In 2009, a collision between a defunct satellite and an active communications satellite created thousands of debris pieces that still orbit Earth today. This debris can impact other objects, such as the International Space Station, which conducts manoeuvres around once per year to avoid such debris. Satellites can be warned of impending collisions; in fact, the European Sentinel-2 satellite registered more than 8,000 alerts between 2015 and 2017. Collision avoidance even between active satellites can also be difficult since agencies often need to communicate and quickly come to agreements. For example, in 2019, a European Space Agency satellite had to perform an emergency manoeuvre to avoid colliding with a communications satellite after an agreement with the operator could not be reached.
More than 100,000 new spacecraft could be launched into orbit by 2030, compared to the approximately 8,000 we have now. As more satellites are launched, the orbit becomes more crowded, increasing the risk of collisions. Each collision creates millions more pieces of debris, which can then collide with other debris or satellites, creating even more shrapnel. Eventually, this will reach a point where one crash sets off a chain reaction, causing our orbit to become so dense with shrapnel that it becomes unusable. The existing space infrastructure would eventually be destroyed and future activities in space could become impossible.
Space is the final frontier, and with countries and companies racing to stake their claim, we must consider what kind of future we want to create. If we continue on the current trajectory, we risk sacrificing Earth’s orbits and the opportunities they offer to society now and in the future. Importantly, we must regulate space launches more strictly and ensure that satellites and other spacecraft are disposed of responsibly, while also investing in technologies for tracking and removing orbital debris. By coming together as a global community to treat Earth’s orbits as a precious common good, we can safeguard our future in space before it is too late. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Listening to the Australian government and the local media, one would be entitled to think that it’s now a simple question of when will we receive nuclear-powered submarines, not if.
However, this is not the perspective of various parties in the US, with even the basic enabling legislation stuck in the Senate since June.
Called drily the “May 2023 DOD Legislative Package Regarding Proposed Sale of Virginia-class Boats Under AUKUS Agreement”, its aim seems to have been widely misunderstood in Australia.
Assuming that it is passed at some stage, it does not guarantee that we will be sold anything – it puts in place various measures and milestones that define how the process needs to work. Ultimately, the sale will still depend on the attitude of a future secretary of the Navy, who must advise congress for final approval.
One of the first things the legislation will do is clear the way for our government to transfer $3.326bn to the Pentagon coffers, seemingly with no visibility on how the US will spend it. We know the precise amount because it appears in a small footnote in the Defence Department’s annual budget papers. A change in the law is necessary because this transfer is unprecedented in US history and there are no existing mechanisms that allow it to happen.
There is also no mechanism for the money to be returned if the sale of submarines does not happen, and everyone from Defence Minister Richard Marles downwards has been mute about why we are handing over such a huge amount of money – something apparently volunteered by Australian officials during early negotiations. The intent is supposedly to strengthen US industry so that it reaches a point where it is producing so many Virginia-class submarines that some will be available for export.
Even determining when that point will be reached is speculative – and the legislation is no help because amendments include statements such as Australia will receive two submarines within 15 years, or they will be available for export when the US is launching them at a rate of three per year. Commentators have spoken of the need to be building them at two, or 2½ a year. The current pattern is barely 1½.
Nuclear-powered submarines are one of the most complex things ever constructed by humans, with about five million discrete components in each one. An 8000-tonne Virginia-class boat – the weight of 20 A380 passenger jets – requires a massive supply chain. Trying to ramp up production is a huge undertaking, which might work – but it also might not.
According to US officials, an extra 100,000 skilled workers are going to be needed in the next decade to meet even the two-per-year target. This is because the highest priority for the US Navy is the new Columbia-class ballistic missile firing submarines under construction. In addition, the Virginia-class – the first of which was launched in 2003 – is proving to be more maintenance intensive than expected, with close to 40 per cent of the current fleet tied up because of worker and spare parts shortages.
Some of this is spelled out in a section rather ominously titled: Limitation on Transfer of Submarines to Australia pending certification on domestic production capacity.
The government has no idea what to do, only a hope that it will all work out at a point in the distant future, preferably in a galaxy far away
The legislation also requires reporting requirements that appear incompatible with how our secretive Defence Department does things, with the connivance of the government. It says that within 90 days of passage, the Secretary of Defense – currently Lloyd Austin – must report to Congress on the cost, schedule, milestones and funding requirements involved in the sale of a Virginia-class submarine. This needs to be done in a way that will not adversely affect the capabilities of the USN. Since the US has a level of transparency we can only dream of, there are numerous other reporting requirements. One of these states: “A description of progress by the Government of Australia in building a new submarine facility to support the basing and disposition of a nuclear-attack submarine on the east coast of Australia.”
As Richard Marles has ruled out making a decision on the location of the base until next decade – after all, no one wants to live adjacent to a nuclear target with a consequent fall in house prices – it seems we will be in early breach of one of the conditions.
Another is that we will need to show that plans for other Australian military acquisitions will not be distorted – in other words the US is expecting to see evidence of a major increase in Defence spending, not just a vague promise.
If not before, this is likely to come to a head when the US asks for detailed plans for how we dispose locally of the highly radioactive SG9 reactors containing bomb grade material – U235 has a half-life of 704 million years – on Australian soil. At the moment, the government has no idea what to do, only a hope that it will all work out at a point in the distant future, preferably in a galaxy far away. Why we agreed to this provision when the US already has a system in place for decommissioning their own submarines is unknown.
In related news, a team in the UK led by BAE Systems has been awarded a $7.5bn contract for early work on the future AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine, with construction starting in the late 2030s.
This does not seem to involve Australia, indicating that we will either have to take whatever the British decide to sell us, or our specific modifications – such as for US weapons – will have to be made at a later point, increasing cost and risk. #Australia #auspol #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
After a long period of disagreement, France and Germany finally reached a deal on electricity markets.
The Germans and French seized on a solution used in the UK for a quarter century to give the appearance of a functioning market: the contract for differences.
In an effort to find equilibrium between the European Union’s two biggest members, ministers reached a consensus that governments “have the option” to implement CfD’s for established nuclear reactors.
“……………………………………….. . France depends heavily on nuclear power generated by state-owned EDF. Existing French nuclear plants will require major capital improvements and the plants under construction are enormously expensive. The French government wants to subsidize its nuclear program, but other European Union (EU) countries (especially Germany) objected, because state subsidies are not in the spirit of the EU’s energy markets.
The market should determine prices, and should determine the appropriate means to supply the demand, the opponents argue. ……………………………
Europeans woke up to the likelihood that their unsubsidized firms would have to compete with heavily subsidized Chinese and American competitors. Furthermore, European firms looking at those American subsidies started talking about moving their facilities to the US, to qualify for the subsidies.
………………………………….. the risks of building a big nuclear plant are too great for any private enterprise to undertake. So the government has to step up to provide funds for the project.
The Germans and French seized on a solution used in the UK for a quarter century to give the appearance of a functioning market: the contract for differences. It works like this. The power producer sets a strike price with the buyer (who has signed a multiyear year agreement to buy the electricity). When the market price the generator can collect exceeds the strike price, the generator has to refund the surplus to the buyer. When the market price falls below the strike price, the buyer has to give the difference to the generator. Now here is the key to the deal. The strike price does not result from market forces but rather from the revenue needed to cover the cost of building or maintaining a nuclear unit, which the buyers cannot evade unless the nuke stops operating. The state, in the end, sets the price, and determines the terms of what really is a long term fixed contract made with a buyer that has no choice but to buy. In other words, this is not a commercial transaction, because in free markets, buyers have a choice: to buy or not buy.
To us, this deal, if it gets approval from the EU, signals that the EU fully acknowledges that choosing nuclear power is a political decision. And that expanding nuclear power requires government actions and explicit government financial support. That clears the air. Now let’s see what the policymakers do. https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Germany-And-France-Finally-Compromise-On-Nuclear.html #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Over 5,000 dead, mostly civilians, from 2 weeks of relentless Israeli bombing, turning much of the 139 square miles of Gaza into rubble, is a genocidal act of ethnic cleansing. It is designed to diminish, if not eliminate the 2.3 million Gazans. The many who have died from lack of food, water, medicine and electricity, while unknown, may be in the thousands as well. It is a monumental crime against humanity.
Much of the world is repulsed, including many in Israel. Yesterday, dozens from local Chicago Jewish groups, If Not Now, Never Again Action, and Jewish Voice for Peace, held up traffic in the Loop for over an hour during rush hour in their call for immediate ceasefire. Bravo.
But not President Biden who is arming Israel and giving it a virtual blank check for an imminent invasion likely to further kill, degrade and ethnically cleanse those 2.3 million Palestinians. That imminent invasion may unleash blowback that could involve Iran, Lebanon and Syria; a regional conflict that may be uncontainable.
Biden preaches aid for starving, dying Palestinians but what has arrived is a pittance that will make no difference in their ongoing destruction from the worst collective punishment inflicted upon a civilian population in our lifetime. His aid lip service is not soothing…. it is deadly.
Biden’s cruel greenlighting of Gaza’s impending demise is no surprise. He’s simply following US policy for the last 18 years supporting Israel’s blockade of Gaza since they withdrew in 2005. But he has the opportunity. It requires true, humane statesmanship to lead the world in confronting the need for a Palestinian state prevented by Israeli intransigence and enabled by the US for 75 years now. Biden should demand an immediate ceasefire. He should suspend all aid to Israel including the proposed $10 billion in weaponry to conduct their impending invasion.
A more destructive US policy destroying peace and bringing needless death and suffering to millions is hard to imagine. But it is happening, which requires every American to demand Biden, his administration and Congress pivot from supporting relentless war to promoting a lasting peace in Israel and Gaza/West Bank. #Israel #Palestine
October 18, 2023, Geneva, Switzerland – On the heels of President Biden’s visit to Israel and as the Palestinian death toll in Gaza passes 3,300, expert attorneys from the U.S.-based Center for Constitutional Rights released a legal and factual analysis of Israel’s unfolding crime of genocide against the Palestinian people and U.S. complicity in this grave international law violation. The emergency briefing paper comes soon after the U.S veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning both Hamas’s attack on Israel and all violence against civilians and calling for humanitarian access to Gaza. It also comes as President Biden seeks to secure additional, unconditional military support for Israel.
According to the emergency briefing paper, there is a credible case, based on powerful evidence, that Israel is attempting to commit or committing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory, and specifically against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The United States has a duty under Article 1 of the 1948 Genocide Convention to prevent acts of genocide, an obligation that has been domestically implemented through U.S. criminal law. The legal and factual analysis provided by the Center for Constitutional Rights describes how, through its ongoing unconditional military, diplomatic, and political support to Israel, the United States is not only failing to prevent genocide, but is complicit. Under international law, the United States – and responsible U.S. citizens, including and up to the President – can be held accountable for their role in furthering genocide.
According to the International Court of Justice, “a State’s obligation to prevent [genocide], and the corresponding duty to act, arise at the instant that the State learns of, or should normally have learned of, the existence of a serious risk that genocide will be committed.” States are required to take all measures “reasonably available to them” to prevent this risk from that moment onward, “if the State has available to it means likely to have a deterrent effect on those suspected of preparing genocide, or reasonably suspected of harbouring specific intent.”
As scholars and observers increasingly warn of genocide, and as protestors rise up against Israel’s gravest atrocities against Palestinians since 1948, the Center for Consitutional Rights has been asked by Palestinian partners on the ground to offer this analysis as we strengthen our collective efforts towards accountability and freedom. The emergency briefing paper calls on the United States to take all necessary measures to secure a ceasefire, pressure Israel to end all military operations, end all U.S. military aid to Israel, and ensure the provision to Palestinians in Gaza of urgently needed basic necessities for life. The experts also stress in the briefing paper the urgent need to address the root causes of the current catastrophe, especially the 16-year closure of Gaza, the 56-year illegal occupation, and the apartheid regime across all of historic Palestine.
The emergency briefing paper will be submitted to national and international stakeholders, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. It will also be sent to President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and other U.S. officials and relevant agencies. Read the emergency legal briefing paper here. For more information, see our resource page. #USA #Israel #Palestine
Ukraine’s economy has experienced its sharpest downturn in three decades, financial experts have warned
Kiev expects to receive at least €18 billion ($19 billion) in foreign aid from the European Union (EU) next year, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal has said. The tranche matches the amount the country will receive from the bloc in 2023.
“EU budget support to Ukraine in 2023 already amounts to 15 billion euros – this is one of the most important factors helping Ukraine be economically resilient and stable,” Shmigal wrote on Telegram on Monday.
Kiev has recently received a sum of €1.5 billion ($1.59 billion) in what was a ninth set of EU financial assistance tranches, he added. Two more payments are expected to be completed before the end of the year to bring the total to €18 billion, according to Ukraine’s finance ministry.
Ukraine has become heavily dependent on foreign financial aid since Moscow launched its offensive in the country in February of last year, as millions of people fled due to the conflict and as logistical and supply chain routes became disrupted. Ukraine’s economy shrank by about one-third in 2022, financial experts said, in what was its sharpest economic downturn in more than 30 years.
It was announced earlier this year that the Ukrainian government would be funded by a European Commission long-term program, which will see Kiev receive €50 billion in payments between 2024 and 2027……………………………………………………………………. more https://www.rt.com/news/585631-ukraine-financial-aid-eu/ #Ukraine
The United Nations has revised its grim figure of the rising death toll from Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, saying that it has surpassed 5,000 as of Monday. It stands at 5,087.Separately, over 90 Palestinians have been killed in escalating West Bank violence, which over the weekend included Israel launching a rare airstrike on Jenin. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are still holding at least 222 Israeli and foreign captives – a number which has again been revised upward.
European Union foreign ministers are meanwhile gathered in Brussels for an urgent meeting to take up the contentious issue of a ceasefire. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has been calling on world bodies to back a ceasefire. In response, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said:
“Personally, I think that a humanitarian pause is needed in order to allow the humanitarian support to come in and be distributed, seeing that half of the population of Gaza has been moving from their houses.”
Bloomberg is reporting Monday morning that EU leaders are set to endorse a call for a “humanitarian pause”. “The European Council supports the call of UNSG (U.N. Secretary-General Antonio) Guterres for a humanitarian pause in order to allow for safe humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need,” a draft statement of the summit reads.
But Washington, Israel’s staunchest supporter, isnot expected to back a ceasefire – despite reports President Biden has sought for Israel’s military delay the expected imminent ground invasion, in order to buy more time to negotiate the freedom of more hostages.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Sunday news shows made this clear. Margaret Brennan, the host of CBS News’ Face the Nation, asked him:
“UNICEF says 1,524 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip during these bombings. Why isn’t the US calling for at least a temporary ceasefire?“
Blinken then claimed that children dying on either side has hit him “right in the heart” – but he stopped short of directing any criticism at Israel’s indiscriminate and unrelenting bombing campaign.Instead, he defended it.
Blinken said in reference to October 7 Hamas cross-border attack:
“Israel has to do everything it can to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Freezing things in place where they are now would allow Hamas to remain where it is and to repeat what it’s done some time in the future. No country could accept that.”
He then cited unverified reports that Hamas has actively blocked Palestinians who are also American citizens from leaving the Gaza Strip.
“We’ve had people come to Rafah, the crossing with Egypt. And to date, at least, Hamas has blocked them from leaving, showing once again, its total disregard for civilians of any kind who are — who are stuck in Gaza. So really, the ball is in Hamas’ court, in terms of letting people who want to leave, civilians from third countries, including Americans get out of Gaza.”
There are a reported up to 600 Americans stuck in Gaza, with one Palestinian-American telling NBC that “America’s not helping us, Biden’s not helping us, the embassy is not helping us.”
The United States is still bolstering its military presence in Middle East waters, readying for any contingency, even as it’s said to be pressing for furthering back-channel negotiations and delaying an all-out Israeli assault:
It was becoming increasingly clear Monday that the U.S. wants Israel to not only allow more humanitarian assistance into Gaza, but for the country to let ongoing negotiations over the release of hostages held by Hamas to continue before it launches a ground invasion of the Palestinian territory. Israel said Monday that Hamas was still holding 222 people captive.
Two sources told CBS News the U.S. has sought to slow Israel’s plans for a ground invasion in order to prioritize the release of hostages and the distribution of aid, a message Washington is said to have been conveying primarily through defense channels.
The Pentagon is calling its moving two aircraft carrier strike groups into regional waters an act of “deterrence”.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had announcedSaturday:
“Following detailed discussions with President Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region. These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel.”
The White House has Iran in mind, and its proxies Hezbollah and Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, the latter who days ago tried to fire missiles on Israel, but which were intercepted by a US warship off Yemen’s coast. US THAAD and Patriot missile batteries have been sent to Israel.
Blinken said:
“This is not what we want, not what we’re looking for. We don’t want escalation. We don’t want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, we’re ready for it.”
And Austin simultaneously affirmed the statements, saying:
“What we’re seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region.”
It’s clear Hezbollah has held off committing itself to a major war with Israel, which could very well happen the moment the IDF mounts a major ground assault into Gaza. Hezbollah’s arsenal, with the help of Iran, is far superior to that of Hamas’, and is said to include tens of thousands of rockets of varying sizes.
There’s still been regular exchange of rocket and mortar fire, with Israeli sources reporting Monday that the Iron Dome intercepted an inbound drone from Lebanon via the sea. It was intercepted over Ein Hamifratz, south of Acre. At this point, several dozens of Israeli towns and communities have been evacuated from near the northern border. #Israel #Palestine #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday rejected the idea of the US calling for a ceasefire in Gaza when confronted with the massive number of child casualties in Israel’s onslaught.
“UNICEF says 1,524 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip during these bombings. Why isn’t the US calling for at least a temporary ceasefire?” Margaret Brennan, the host of CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” asked Blinken.
Blinken claimed that the death of children on both sides hits him “right in the heart” but did not criticize Israel’s vicious bombing campaign. He pointed to US efforts to get Israel to allow aid trucks to enter Gaza through Egypt, and Brennan then asked why the US isn’t pushing for at least a temporary ceasefire.
“Israel has to do everything it can to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Blinken said, referring to the October 7 Hamas attack. “Freezing things in place where they are now would allow Hamas to remain where it is and to repeat what it’s done some time in the future. No country could accept that,” Blinken said.
Blinken made a similar argument earlier this year when rejecting the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine ahead of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, saying a pause in fighting would only benefit Russia. Now, it’s clear Ukraine’s counteroffensive has failed after months of brutal fighting and heavy Ukrainian casualties.
During the interview with Brennan, Blinken also claimed it was Hamas’s fault that American citizens in Gaza could not leave despite the fact that the enclave is under Israeli blockade and Egypt has not been letting people enter its territory from its one border crossing with Gaza.
“We’ve had people come to Rafah, the crossing with Egypt. And to date, at least,Hamas has blocked them from leaving, showing once again, its total disregard for civilians of any kind who are — who are stuck in Gaza,” Blinken said. “So really, the ball is in Hamas’ court, in terms of letting people who want to leave, civilians from third countries, including Americans get out of Gaza.”
Despite Blinken’s claim, reports in recent days have said dual citizens were told to go to the Rafah border crossing but were not allowed into Egypt. According to a report from NBC News, there are up to 600 Americans stuck in Gaza, and they say they’re not receiving help from the US to get out. “America’s not helping us, Biden’s not helping us, the embassy is not helping us,” Amir Kaoud, a Palestinian-American at the Rafah crossing, told NBC.
A short-seller report gave investors plenty to worry about with NuScale Power(NYSE: SMR) stock on Thursday. On the back of that document, which criticized the nuclear reactor maker harshly at times, the company’s share price fell at double-digit rates. It ended the day nearly 12% lower, while the gloomy S&P 500 index only sank by 0.9%.
A short seller vented on NuScale
That morning, a firm called Iceberg Research published that NuScale Power report. This came not long after NuScale announced earlier this month that it had signed a contract to build a pair of its reactors for a U.S. company called Standard Power.
Iceberg poured freezing cold water on this arrangement, describing the deal as having no chance of being completed. In its view, Standard Power does not have the means to fulfill contracts of such size; it also said that Standard Power’s managing director, Adam Swickle, was found guilty of securities fraud some time ago.
While NuScale has what Iceberg describes as a “more credible contract” with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, the short seller does not feel that NuScale has a good chance of completing it.
According to Iceberg’s analysis, NuScale has only 15 months or so left of cash to finance its operations — quite a narrow window for a dramatic turnaround in fortunes.
A short-seller report gave investors plenty to worry about with NuScale Power(NYSE: SMR) stock on Thursday. On the back of that document, which criticized the nuclear reactor maker harshly at times, the company’s share price fell at double-digit rates. It ended the day nearly 12% lower, while the gloomy S&P 500 index only sank by 0.9%.
A short seller vented on NuScale
That morning, a firm called Iceberg Research published that NuScale Power report. This came not long after NuScale announced earlier this month that it had signed a contract to build a pair of its reactors for a U.S. company called Standard Power.
Iceberg poured freezing cold water on this arrangement, describing the deal as having no chance of being completed. In its view, Standard Power does not have the means to fulfill contracts of such size; it also said that Standard Power’s managing director, Adam Swickle, was found guilty of securities fraud some time ago.
While NuScale has what Iceberg describes as a “more credible contract” with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, the short seller does not feel that NuScale has a good chance of completing it.
According to Iceberg’s analysis, NuScale has only 15 months or so left of cash to finance its operations — quite a narrow window for a dramatic turnaround in fortunes.
Accusations of low-value equity
Iceberg doesn’t see a good way out with NuScale. It wrote in conclusion that “The company is struggling and we believe its equity has little to no value without government support.”
“Even if that support continues, the DOE’s usual policy is that costs have to be shared with the private sector, meaning that existing shareholders will be diluted,” the short seller added.
The ability of reporters to cover Gaza is jeopardized by the alarming number of newspeople Israel has killed since the crisis began.
he Israeli communications minister’s attempt to shut down Al Jazeera’s bureau in Jerusalem—on the grounds that the Qatari news outlet is biased in favor of Hamas and is actively endangering Israeli troops (Reuters, 10/15/23)—should inspire some déjà vu. In the last war in Gaza, an Israeli air strike destroyed a Gaza building housing both Al Jazeera and Associated Press offices (AP, 5/15/21). And just months ago, Al Jazeera (5/18/23) reported that “the family of Shireen Abu Akleh,” a Palestinian-American AJ journalist killed by Israeli fire while on assignment, “has rebuked Israel for saying it is ‘sorry’ for the Al Jazeera reporter’s death without providing accountability or even acknowledging that its forces killed her.”
Since the launch of the network’s English service, Americans interested in Middle East news beyond what can be found in US broadcasting have often turned to Al Jazeera, and even more so as the BBC’s foreign service has declined (Guardian, 9/29/22).
But the ability of Al Jazeera and other Arab reporters to cover the assault on Gaza is jeopardized by the alarming number of newspeople Israel has killed since the crisis began. The Committee to Protect Journalists (10/18/23) has counted 13 Palestinian journalists killed by Israel in Gaza since the crisis began, with two more missing or detained. Three Israeli journalists were also killed in Hamas’s October 7 attack, with another taken prisoner.
While the primary focus of this conflict is Gaza, journalists have wondered if a second northern front would open between Israel and the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, creating a multifaceted regional war (New York Times, 10/17/23; CNN, 10/17/23). Israeli fire in southern Lebanon injured Al Jazeera staffers, along with Agence France-Presse personnel, and killed a Reuters journalist (Reuters, 10/14/23). Lebanon has planned to file a complaint with the United Nations over the incident (TRT World, 10/14/23), calling the attack deliberate (Telegraph, 10/14/23).
Press advocates fear those numbers will rise, and it is all happening as the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens (UN News, 10/13/23).
The BBC (10/15/23) reported that its own journalists “were assaulted and held at gunpoint after they were stopped by police in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv,” and that they were “dragged from the vehicle—marked ‘TV’ in red tape—searched and pushed against a wall.”
In addition, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said in a statement that the Israeli military caused “severe damage to 48 centers of press institutions,” including “the Palestine and Watan towers, and other buildings that include media institutions,” including the AFP office. It said that the army had also “completely or partially demolished the homes of dozens of journalists.”
‘Terror attack against democracy’
War reporting always carries risk. The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented the deaths of media workers in the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. Middle East conflicts have always been dangerous places for journalists; it’s hard to ignore high-profile deaths of journalists like Marie Colvin of London’s SundayTimes in Syria (CNN, 2/1/19), or freelance photographers Chris Hondros and Tim Hetherington in Libya (Washington Post, 4/21/11). In that sense, the war in Gaza and a possible war in southern Lebanon are no exceptions.
But as FAIR (5/19/21) documented during the previous Israeli military operation against Gaza, Israel has a long history of targeting Palestinian journalists, as well as harassing foreign journalists and human rights activists entering the country. Over the summer, the International Federation of Journalists (7/4/23) reported that “several journalists have been directly targeted by Israeli snipers as they were reporting on Israel’s large-scale military operation in Jenin.”
Inside Israel, the situation for journalists is relatively safer, but the far-right government has—like authoritarian governments in Poland and Hungary—attacked journalists and the ability to critically cover institutions in power. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2019 accused the owners of Israel’s Channel 12 of committing a “terror attack against democracy” for reporting on the corruption charges against him (Times of Israel, 9/1/19).
In 2020, Netanyahu (Ha’aretz, 6/11/20) indicated that “Channel 13 journalist Raviv Drucker should be arrested and jailed” for airing “recordings of Netanyahu crony Shaul Elovich and his wife, which demonstrated how they sought to tilt news coverage in the prime minister’s favor.”
Galit Distel-Atbaryan, who recently resigned from her role as public diplomacy minister (Jerusalem Post, 10/14/23), reportedly said this summer that she wanted the “authority to deny press credentials to foreign journalists critical of Israel” (Ha’aretz, 8/30/23).
‘You better be saying good things’
The threat to journalism has only become more explicit as Israel’s assault on Gaza escalates. An Israeli security officer interrupted a live report by Ahmed Darawsha, correspondent for Qatar-based Al-Araby news (Arab News, 10/15/23):
The officer then shouted at the camera: “Detestable! We’ll turn Gaza to dust. Dust, dust, dust.”
Israel’s siege of Gaza becomes more nightmarish as the days go on, and as that happens, the ability of journalists to document the horror becomes next to impossible. Palestinian journalist Sami Abu Salem told the International Federation of Journalists (10/12/23) about working in Gaza: “We have no internet service, there is a lack of electricity, no transportation, and even the streets are damaged. That’s why we cannot tell lots of stories—thousands of stories.”
Because audiences in the US and the Anglosphere depend on Al Jazeera, as well as local journalists in Israel and the Occupied Territories, to receive news from the region, these attacks do act as filters through which the truth is diluted. In many ways, Americans can see in real time how the powers that be attempt to control information coming out of the region. #Israel #Palestine
Israel’s war with Hamas, renewed fighting with Hezbollah and tensions with Iran have fuelled concerns that the spate of conflicts in the Middle East could turn nuclear.
Israel is thought to have a sizeable arsenal of air and submarine-launched nuclear warheads – while Iran has long denied attempts to develop nuclear weapons, but its true capabilities are largely unknown amid a failed nuclear deal with the US and longstanding tensions with the monitoring body, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Within Israel, there have already been calls by fringe figures for a scorched-earth policy, with the far-right Likud MP Tally Gotliv urging the Israeli government to use “everything in its arsenal” including “doomsday” weapons against Hamas.
Others have pleaded for level heads. “She [Tally Gotliv] is a complete idiot,” says Uri Bar-Joseph, professor emeritus in political science at Haifa University in Israel. “Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on Earth. The suggestion is idiotic.”
He notes that Gotliv is not a minister, and that far-right extremists in government, such as Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir have been excluded from the Israeli war cabinet and thus “will have been excluded from decision-making in the war with Gaza”.
But memories of how then Israeli defence minister Moshe Dayan asked prime minister Golda Meir to increase the readiness of Israeli nuclear weapons on the second day of the 1973 Yom Kippur Arab-Israeli War has led some to question whether Israel, under extreme duress, might resort to the use of such weapons in an expanded Middle East conflict.
“We know from internal cabinet documents that Golda Meir immediately said ‘no’ to that in 1973,” says Professor Bar-Joseph. Although some historians have claimed the mere fact that nuclear weapons were mentioned by Dayan prompted then-president Richard Nixon to order an airlift to Israel days later on 12 October.
If we had Golda Meir in power today, Biden would not have been less concerned,” says Bar-Joseph. “But Biden does not consider Netanyahu to be a responsible player.”
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has said that Israel’s presumed possession of nuclear weapons “significantly increases the risks associated with the conflict”.
……………………………………………….. The Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation thinks Israel possesses 90 plutonium-based nuclear warheads and to have produced enough plutonium for 100-200 weapons, but there have been questions over how ready the Israeli military is to use them in a conflict.
Israel has conducted few, if any, tests. The mystery that surrounds its nuclear programme has sparked questions among military experts about the nation’s actual deterrence capabilities.
But many observers, including Professor Bar-Joseph think that since it first acquired nuclear weapons capability in 1967, Israel has had more than enough time to ensure its military is able to fire them from land and sea………… https://inews.co.uk/news/world/nuclear-weapons-israel-hamas-war-risk-escalation-2706029 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
“What I find problematic is that TEPCO, the Japanese government and the IAEA are not addressing the long-term environmental impacts and the accumulation in the environment resulting from individual data. In the case of long-term releases, there is a concern about accumulation in the marine environment and concentration through the ecosystem, but this aspect is not being adequately evaluated.”
Experts urge long-term intl monitoring and participation of all stakeholders
Experts call for the establishment of a long-term international monitoring mechanism with substantive participation from stakeholders, as Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency are both criticized for not addressing the long-term environmental impacts of the dumping of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.
The IAEA is sending its team to Japan to continue its safety review of the release from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Starting Tuesday, the IAEA will conduct a safety review of the activities carried out at the Fukushima plant to make sure these activities are consistent with the international safety standards, said Lydie Evrard, IAEA deputy director-general and head of the agency’s department of nuclear safety and security.
A report on the review is expected to be finalized by the end of 2023, she told a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Oct 11 said the collection of marine samples near Fukushima, analysis by laboratories and comparison of those samples were carried out by the IAEA Secretariat under its bilateral arrangement with Japan. Therefore, he said, it falls short of an international monitoring arrangement with the full and substantive participation of all stakeholders.
“The international community requires the immediate establishment of an international monitoring arrangement with substantive participation of all stakeholders, including Japan’s neighboring countries, that will stay effective for the long haul,” Wang said, urging the IAEA to play its due role and take the responsibility of providing rigorous supervision on Japan’s discharge.
The key issue is how to establish an international monitoring mechanism for the real-time and long-term effective management of nuclear-contaminated water being discharged, said Zhang Yulai, vice-president of the Japan Institute of Nankai University.
Major challenge
“Information disclosure is a major challenge because the Japanese government and TEPCO share common interests, making genuine monitoring difficult,” he said.
There are also technical challenges, as certain radionuclides that the Advanced Liquid Processing System cannot remove still exist, he said.
Fukushima plant operator TEPCO announced pre-discharge test results on Thursday, showing that the third batch of nuclear-contaminated water to be released during Japan’s next round of ocean discharge contains seven radionuclides, namely tritium, carbon-14, cobalt-60, strontium-90, yttrium-90, iodine-129 and cesium-137. Among them, strontium-90 and yttrium-90 were not detectable before the second round of discharge.
The measured quantity of strontium is relatively low, but given its 29-year half-life, it will persist in the environment to a certain extent. Strontium is a significant radionuclide that tends to accumulate in bones when ingested by fish or humans, said Hideyuki Ban, a renowned Japanese nuclear expert and co-director of the Tokyo-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center.
“What concerns me is the lack of information about the measurement times and methods. I believe that rapid measurements may lack precision,” Ban said.
“What I find problematic is that TEPCO, the Japanese government and the IAEA are not addressing the long-term environmental impacts and the accumulation in the environment resulting from individual data. In the case of long-term releases, there is a concern about accumulation in the marine environment and concentration through the ecosystem, but this aspect is not being adequately evaluated.”
Many Japanese said they do not believe the data disclosed by TEPCO and the Japanese government.
Chiyo Oda, co-director of KOREUMI, also known as the Citizens’ Conference to Condemn Further Pollution of the Ocean, said those who have experienced the nuclear disaster have developed distrust in the government and TEPCO.
The promise not to release the water without first understanding the concerns of fishermen and citizens, as stated just before the release, has been disregarded. Though they have announced monitoring results immediately after the release, the data is not trustworthy, Oda said.
“It is evident that the marine environment will be contaminated over a long period of time, and there is potential for long-term impacts on human health,” she said. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
