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Nuclear waste to be dumped into Cape Cod and turn ocean radioactive

by Lauren Acton-Taylor For Dailymail.Com, 11 Dec 24,  https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/nuclear-waste-to-be-dumped-into-cape-cod-and-turn-ocean-radioactive/ar-AA1vG9iC?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=8b954ae3ae4e46e9868246df57f356c5&ei=13

he pristine waters off Cape Cod could become radioactive for as long as a month after a new study found that nuclear waste being dumped from the tony peninsula has a ‘high probability’ of lingering. 

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution conducted the study to find out how likely it would be that discharged wastewater from the Pilgrim Nuclear PowerStation in Plymouth, Massachusetts would spread into Cape Cod Bay, whose surrounding communities include multimillion-dollar mansions.

‘Our numerical simulations suggest it is unlikely that the bulk of plume waters will leave the Bay in less than a month,’ said the study’s leader Irina Rypina. 

The dumping comes as part of the power station’s decommissioning, and the study found that its wastewaters could drift near the shores and coastal waters of Dennis, Wellfleet, and Provincetown. Expand article logo  Continue reading

‘If the release were to happen in the spring and summer, a small portion of a plume might leave the bay in less than a month, passing north of Provincetown and then flowing southward along the outer Cape,’ the study said.

‘We found virtually no out-of-the-Bay transport in winter and fall and slightly larger, but still low, probability of some of the plume exiting the Bay in spring and summer,’ Rypina said. 

In response to the study, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, who chairs the Senate‘s Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, said that the findings confirm concerns expressed by the residents of the Cape. 

According to Markey, residents have been questioning the wisdom of dumping plant wastewater into the Bay ‘for years.’ 

Nuclear wastewater discharge is a normal occurrence during both the operation and decommissioning of power plants, according to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

‘The controlled release of liquid effluents at nuclear power plants, within specified regulatory limits, is an activity that occurs throughout the operation and decommissioning of a facility,’ said the NRC. 

While the study did not explore the health risks that such a dump could pose to marine life or local fishing or recreation, a 2023 analysis by Florida-based Holtec International, the plant’s owner, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health included alarming findings. 

It determined that the roughly 900,000 gallons of wastewater stored at Pilgrim is contaminated with ‘four gamma emitters (Maganese-54, Cobalt-60, Zinc-65 and Cesium-137) and Tritium (H-3 a beta radiation emitter).’ 

A spokesperson for Holtec told the Boston Herald that Pilgrim had ‘safely’ discharged millions of gallons of water over the decades with little environmental impact. 

‘Those discharges were done within the safe federal and state limits and reported to the NRC and publicly available on their website. 

‘This includes studies to determine any potential impact to sea life and the Bay which showed that safety has always remained, and plant impact has been negligible,’ the spokesperson told the outlet. 

The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station shut down in May 2019 after 47 years of operation and was then owned by Louisiana-based Entergy Corporation. The plant was purchased by a subsidiary of Holtec in 2019 with an aim toward cleaning up the 1,700-acre site for industrial and commercial development, according to the Herald.

When the plant was bought, Holtec President and CEO Kris Singh assured residents that the project would ‘replicate the superb record of public health and safety and environmental protection that typified the plant’s 47 years of operations.’

In a statement, Markey said that Singh had promised both the senator and impacted communities that the process of decommissioning would be ‘open and transparent.’ 

‘In the years since, Holtec has fallen woefully short on this commitment. In light of these recent findings, I urge Holtec to develop a wastewater discharge plan that is informed and guided by scientific fact and community input,’ Markey said. 

Local residents have continued to show concern for the wastewater dumping into Cape Cod Bay – identified as a’ protected ocean sanctuary’, according to the Massachusetts Government website. 

The state Department of Environmental Protection determined on July 18 that Holtec was prohibited from ‘the dumping or discharge of industrial wastes into protected state waters’, the Cape Cod Times reported. 

Holtec is reportedly hoping to discharge up to 1.1 million gallons of industrial wastewater and filed an appeal to the agency’s prohibition on August 16. 

In a statement, the company said: ‘The appeal explains that the permits granting liquid discharge were issued prior to the Ocean Sanctuary Act legislation, which grandfathers these types of liquid discharges.’ 

December 13, 2024 Posted by | oceans, wastes | Leave a comment

Drone strikes UN vehicle on way to inspect Ukrainian nuclear plant

An armored vehicle belonging to the UN’s atomic watchdog was hit by a
drone strike on its way to inspect a Ukrainian nuclear power plant on
Tuesday, in an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky has blamed on Russia.
The strike took place as the vehicle traveled in a convoy to the
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, as part of efforts by the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to safeguard the facility amid fears it could
be caught in the crossfire of Russia’s war on Ukraine, sparking a nuclear
disaster. The IAEA said the strike destroyed the back of its armored
vehicle but the two people on board were not harmed.

 CNN 10th Dec 2024 https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/10/europe/drone-attack-iaea-ukraine-russia-intl-latam/index.html

December 13, 2024 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

‘Shambolic’ plans for Severn saltmarshes blasted

EDF’s “shambolic” attempt to “wriggle out of” installing a key
eco-saving measure at Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant has been blasted
by a wildlife charity amid fears it could lead to an ecological disaster in
the Severn Estuary. In a series of shambolic engagement events with local
communities, EDF has failed to make a clear case for the removal of the AFD
or provide evidence for why the proposals would adequately compensate for
the types of fish that will be killed, according to the Gloucestershire
Wildlife Trust.

The trust says the energy firm has effectively destroyed
community support for these alternative measures through a ham-fisted
approach to landowners that threatened compulsory purchase to acquire the
land to enable habitat restoration.

 Gloucestershire Gazette 10th Dec 2024 https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/24782581.shambolic-plans-severn-saltmarshes-blasted/

December 13, 2024 Posted by | environment | Leave a comment

World War II airplanes to blame for radiation halting work on SSEN cable near Dounreay

The radioactive contamination that has suspended work on a
high voltage cable between Orkney and Caithness is being linked to wartime
aircraft. Work on part of the mainland link of SSEN Transmission’s new
cable was halted because of the presence of radioactive contamination.

 John O’Groat Journal 9th Dec 2024
https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/world-war-ii-airplanes-to-blame-for-radiation-halting-work-o-368483/

December 13, 2024 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

Why is Israel attacking Syria?

What does Israel gain by attacking Syria in the wake of al-Assad’s overthrow?

Aljazeera, By Justin Salhani and Simon Speakman Cordall, 11 Dec 2024

After the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, Israel has been encroaching on its neighbour’s territory.

Since al-Assad’s dramatic flight to Russia on Sunday, Israel has attacked Syria more than 400 times and, despite UN protests, launched a military incursion into the buffer zone that has separated the two countries since 1974.

…………………………….Israel has justified its attacks on Syria for years by claiming it is eliminating Iranian military targets. However, Iran has said none of its forces are currently in Syria.

Now, Israel says it is focused on destroying Syrian military infrastructure.

Israel claims that it is trying to stop weapons from landing in the hands of “extremists”, a definition it has applied to a rotating list of actors, most recently Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the primary Syrian opposition group that led the operation to overthrow al-Assad.

srael has also deployed military units to the buffer zone along the Golan Heights separating Syria and Israel. The terrain has been an officially designated demilitarised zone as part of a 1974 UN-brokered ceasefire deal.

Israel occupies approximately two-thirds of the Golan Heights, with the UN-administered buffer zone spanning a narrow, 400-square-kilometre (154-sq-mile) area. The rest has been controlled by Syria.

Syrian security forces have also reported Israeli tanks advancing from the Golan Heights into Qatana, 10km (six miles) into Syrian territory and close to the capital.

Israeli military sources have denied any such incursion……………………………………….

What is Israel’s justification for this latest attack on a sovereign nation?

That it is acting in its defence.

Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Monday that the former Syrian territory along the Golan Heights, which has been classed as a demilitarised zone since 1974, would remain part of Israel “for eternity”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has defended the Israeli strikes since Sunday, saying Israel’s intention had been solely to target suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rocket sites – to prevent their seizure by armed groups opposed to Israel’s ongoing offensives on its neighbours.

At a briefing for foreign media, Sa’ar said Israel was acting “in a precautionary manner”.

What does Israel want from Syria?

That’s not clear yet.

The government has not made any statements outside of “acting in the interest of Israel’s defence” that could indicate its intent.

However, some prominent Israeli figures have spoken about their views of what should happen next…………………..more https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/12/11/israel-attack-syria-explainer

December 13, 2024 Posted by | Israel, Syria, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Canada considers financing for Polish nuclear power plant

Tuesday, 10 December 2024  https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/canada-considers-financing-for-polish-nuclear-power-plant

Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe announced it has received a letter of intent from Export Development Canada, for up to CAD2.02 billion (USD1.45 billion) to potentially support Poland’s first nuclear power plant project.

The letter of intent with Export Development Canada (EDC) – a Canadian Crown corporation – is in support of the sale of goods and services by Canadian suppliers. EDC support is subject to the successful completion of its detailed due diligence process and credit approval.

Westinghouse – jointly owned by Canadian firms Brookfield and Cameco – welcomed the signing of the letter of intent, which it said it helped facilitate.

“Not only does this financing agreement underscore the important role Canada will play in helping Europe secure and diversify its energy future, but it will also help prepare the nation’s nuclear supply chain to support the next AP1000 plant in North America,” said Westinghouse Energy Systems President Dan Lipman. “We appreciate the close cooperation of the EDC in helping Westinghouse make AP1000 projects a reality for its customers while bringing home economic benefits to Canada.”

Westinghouse said the announcement demonstrates its “deep commitment to Canada’s economy by securing work for Canadian firms and trade unions supporting Westinghouse’s global fleet of advanced reactors”. For each AP1000 unit that is built outside of Canada, Westinghouse says it could generate almost CAD1 billion in gross domestic product through local suppliers.

Last month, the US International Development Finance Corporation – the USA’s development bank – signed a letter of interest with Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) to provide more than USD980 million in financing for Poland’s first nuclear power plant. A similar declaration, for the equivalent of about PLN70 billion (USD17.3 billion), was made earlier by the US Export-Import Bank. Westinghouse and Bechtel jointly form a consortium that implements the PEJ investment project in Pomerania.

“We are pleased to see strong interest in our investment project from leading players in the global financial market, with whom we are in constant contact. The letter of intent from Export Development Canada is another confirmation of this fact, and at the same time our next step towards implementation of the strategy for obtaining financing for the entire project,” said PEJ Vice President Piotr Piela. 

PEJ said: “Cooperation with export credit agencies is an important part of the strategy for securing financing for the nuclear power plant in Pomerania – it involves continuing discussions with, among others, entities from countries with extensive nuclear supply chains, in order to maximise and optimise financing opportunities for this key investment project for Poland.”

In November 2022, the then Polish government selected the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology for construction at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania in northern Poland. An agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May last year by Westinghouse, Bechtel and PEJ – a special-purpose vehicle 100% owned by Poland’s State Treasury. The Ministry of Climate and Environment in July issued a decision-in-principle for PEJ to construct the plant. The aim is for Poland’s first AP1000 reactor to enter commercial operation in 2033.

Under an engineering services signed in September last year, in cooperation with PEJ, Westinghouse and Bechtel will finalise a site-specific design for a plant featuring three AP1000 reactors.  The design/engineering documentation includes the main components of the power plant: the nuclear island, the turbine island and the associated installations and auxiliary equipment, as well as administrative buildings and infrastructure related to the safety of the facility. The contract also involves supporting the investment process and bringing it in line with current legal regulations in cooperation with the National Atomic Energy Agency and the Office of Technical Inspection.

In September, the Polish government announced its intention to allocate PLN60 billion to fund the country’s first nuclear power plant.

December 13, 2024 Posted by | Canada, EUROPE, politics international | Leave a comment

The legal decision on the Murdoch media – what does it mean for us?

NOEL WAUCHOPE, DEC 13, 2024,  https://theaimn.com/the-legal-decision-on-the-murdoch-media-what-does-it-mean-for-us/

There is nothing either good or bad, but only thinking makes it so.

Shakespeare’s profound idea applies to that recent legal case, about the Murdoch Family Trust, in the Probate Court in Nevada.

The 93 year-old Rupert Murdoch sought to change the existing “irrevocable trust” which is to govern the arrangements of his media empire, after his death. The issue was that the trust should be in “the best interests” of the Murdoch children.

Rupert Murdoch argued that after his death, his children would benefit best if control of his media empire were to be changed from the existing trust arrangement which gives control to four of his children – Lachlan, Elizabeth, James and Prudence. Murdoch wanted that changed to control by only eldest son Lachlan. The other three disagreed, and took the case to court.

Rupert Murdoch’s given reason was that the whole media enterprise would thus be more profitable, – so all four children would get more money. That way, Elizabeth, James, and Prudence would not have control, but would be richer, and this would be “in their best interest”. Under the present unchanged “irrevocable” trust arrangement, they would share the control with Lachlan, but they would be less rich.

Many commentators are arguing that Rupert Murdoch’s real goal is power and influence – so that is why he wanted the very right-wing Lachlan to be in charge of the media show. Perhaps this is true.

The case was heard in a secret court, but the core of Rupert Murdoch’s argument was that the children’s monetary gain was in their best interest, rather than them having any control of the media and its content.

Apparently the three did not think so, and neither did Commissioner Edmund J Gorman, who ruled in the children’s favour, concluding that Murdoch and his son Lachlan, had acted in “bad faith”, in a “carefully crafted charade”.

Lachlan shares the same right-wing views as his father does, even more so,- while Elizabeth, James and Prudence are reported as having more moderate views. Murdoch has controlling interests in Fox News and News Corp , the Wall Street Journal, in the UK the Times and the Sun, the Australian and others. Apparently it is assumed by all, that the media empire will continue its current record profits only under Lachlan’s leadership. In 2023–24 the Fox Corporation’s net income was US$1.5 billion (A$2.35 billion).

This case raises the question – what is the purpose of the news media ?

According to the Murdoch argument, the purpose is to enrich the owners of the media. That would include all the shareholders, too, I guess. The means by which this is done is to provide entertainment and information to the public. And this is central to Rupert Murdoch’s stated argument.

Some people, including many journalists, and perhaps the Murdoch children, might see the informational role of the news media as its main purpose, with excessive profitability as a secondary concern.

Apparently Elizabeth, James and Prudence preferred to have some control in the media empire, even if that meant less money for them. They thought that “having a say” in the business was in their best interest. It is possible that they might take some pride in news journalism that would be more accurate and balanced than the Murdoch media is now.

Only thinking makes it so

The best example of “Murdoch media thinking” -is in its coverage of climate change. For decades, the Murdoch view was pretty much climate denialism – climate concern seen as a “cult of the elite” and the “effects of global warming have so far proved largely benign”. But more recently, this view was moderated, towards concern that some action should be taken to limit global warming – coinciding with the new right-wing push for nuclear power as the solution to climate change.

In the USA, Murdoch media has a powerful influence, supported by the big corporations, and the right wing in general, and by the Trump publicity machine, but it does have some competition from other right wing outlets like Breitbart and the Daily Wire, and in talk radio, and blogs. It has lost some influence in the UK, following its phone hacking scandal in 2011.

That Murdoch interpretation contradicts the view of thousands of scientists, yet is welcomed by the fossil fuel industries, the nuclear industry, and the right-wing governments that they support. Similarly, the Murdoch media’s view on international politics generally favours military action that the USA supports – on Ukraine’s side, by Israel, and now in Syria. All this is seen to be good – by the USA weapons manufacturers and salesmen, US and UK politicians, and presumably by the public.

In the USA, Murdoch media has a powerful influence, supported by the big corporations, and the right wing in general, and by the Trump publicity machine, but it does have some competition from other right wing outlets like Breitbart and the Daily Wire, and in talk radio, and blogs. It has lost some influence in the UK, following its phone hacking scandal in 2011.

In Australia, Murdoch media is far more pervasive, and has been described as a virtual monopoly – with the only national newspaper, newspapers in each state, (often the only newspaper), and News Corp controls radio and television in Australia through a number of assets.

So – what now, after this remarkable probate court decision?

Commissioner Gorman’s recommendation could still be rejected by a district judge. Murdoch’s lawyers can appeal the decision. Even if the decision is finally upheld, it will be a complicated process to rearrange the control of the media in the event of Rupert Murdoch’s death – and that might not happen for a decade or more. News Corp has a dual-class share structure which gives the family 41% of company votes, despite having just 14% of an overall stake in the company. Shareholders might change this arrangement.

In the meantime – fertile ground for endless speculation on what it all might mean – for the share price, for the future direction of the media, for the Murdoch family relationships.

Only thinking makes it so

Some see this legal decision as such a blow to the Murdoch empire – leading to its fatal collapse. And that thought can be viewed as a bad outcome. Even if Rupert Murdoch overturns the decision on appeal, it might have dealt a big blow to the empire.

Some welcome it, visualising a change in direction, with a more progressive media, directed by the three siblings with their more moderate opinions. For Australians who don’t like Donald Trump, and fear a Peter Dutton election win in 2025, well, it really doesn’t matter much. For the foreseeable future, the political right wing is still hanging on to its grip on news and information across this continent, thanks to the Murdoch empire.

December 12, 2024 Posted by | legal, media, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear sector’s views on second Trump administration mixed as Rogan interview raises questions

Donald Trump enacted pro-nuclear policies during his first term and supported an “all-of-the-above” energy policy during the campaign, but some advocates fear a “divide between words and actions.”

Utility Dive, Nov. 8, 2024, By Brian Martucci

Dive Brief:

  • President-elect Donald Trump in August vowed to “approve new drilling, new pipelines, new refineries, new power plants [and] new reactors” on “day one” of his administration.
  • But Trump has more recently sounded skeptical about federal backing for large-scale nuclear builds like Vogtle, which he said in an Oct. 25 interview with podcaster Joe Rogan “get too big, and too complex and too expensive,” raising questions about his second administration’s willingness to support the industry.
  • The nuclear sector has mixed views on the incoming administration’s potential support, with some expressing optimism that Trump would build on pro-nuclear policies enacted during the Biden and first Trump administrations and others concerned about a pullback in federal funding for advanced nuclear development.

Dive Insight:

The second Trump administration is likely to “pursue an overall domestic energy agenda focused on energy production and dominance in the United States” but may not continue the Biden-Harris administration’s “massive appropriations” to the nuclear sector, American Nuclear Society Director of Public Policy John Starkey said.

At least one prominent Trump ally, environmental lawyer and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has an anti-nuclear track record. Kennedy, a Trump ally who is expected to have an official role in the incoming administration, fought for years to close New York’s Indian Point nuclear plant. More recently, he has voiced opposition to federal nuclear energy subsidies.

“We should have no subsidies … all the companies should internalize their costs in the way that they internalize their profits,” Kennedy told Tesla CEO and fellow Trump backer Elon Musk in an online discussion last year.

But the first Trump administration was broadly supportive of the U.S. nuclear industry. It provided billions in loan guarantees to facilitate construction of Plant Vogtle units 3 and 4; supported the failed Carbon Free Power Project at Idaho National Laboratory, a proposed 462-MW plant that would have used NuScale’s small modular reactor technology; and advanced the pro-nuclear Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation, the Trump presidential campaign said in 2023.

In 2019, Trump signed the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, or NEIMA, which paved the way for the technology-neutral Part 53 advanced reactor licensing pathway. The NRC is expected to finalize Part 53 regulations by 2027.

“We look forward to working with the new administration to advance policies that extend the lives of existing nuclear reactors, usher in a new era of advanced technologies and support a global marketplace for U.S. exports,” Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Maria Korsnick told Utility Dive……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. more https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nuclear-energy-sector-mixed-views-second-trump-administration-joe-rogan/732407/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHFoYpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUakuD2-A16vIr3S063461cig0CymSgxOs5gaAOLJV6GiinQd89Cgy9kBw_aem__hlKjpEPqkmj7Ro11hAMAg

December 12, 2024 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

US Bombs Over 75 Targets in Syria After Assad Falls

“The Western press are waxing lyrical about the new Syria being born—but not a word on the U.S. and Israeli bombs falling from the sky,” said Yanis Varoufakis.

Brett Wilkins, 10 Dec 24,
 https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-bombs-syria-again?utm_source=Common+Dreams&utm_campaign=c2578f3f4f-Top+News%3A+Mon.+12%2F9%2F24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-3b949b3e19-600558179

U.S. military forces launched dozens of airstrikes on more than 75 Islamic State targets in Syria on Sunday after the fall of longtime Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and amid ongoing Israeli and Turkish attacks on the war-torn Middle Eastern nation.

According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), warplanes including B-52 bombers, F-15 fighters, and A-10 ground attack aircraft “conducted dozens of precision airstrikes targeting known ISIS camps and operatives in central Syria.”


CENTCOM called the strikes “part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS in order to prevent the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria.”

The U.S., “together with allies and partners in the region, will continue to carry out operations to degrade ISIS operational capabilities even during this dynamic period in Syria,” CENTCOM added.

“The Biden administration ordering ongoing airstrikes is a disappointing sign that they have no intent on reversing their deadly policy of interventionism.”

Responding Monday to the latest attacks on Syria by U.S. forces, Danaka Katovich, national co-director of the peace group CodePink, told Common Dreams: “We condemn the U.S. airstrikes in Syria. The U.S. has sowed chaos in Syria and the entire region for years and the Biden administration ordering ongoing airstrikes is a disappointing sign that they have no intent on reversing their deadly policy of interventionism.”

U.S. and coalition forces have killed and maimed at least tens of thousands of Syrians and Iraqis during the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations as part of the anti-ISIS campaign and wider so-called War on Terror.

Commenting on the dearth of coverage of the strikes by the corporate media, prominent Greek leftist Yanis Varoufakis said on social media that “the Western press are waxing lyrical about the new Syria being born—but not a word on the U.S. and Israeli bombs falling from the sky.”

“Is there no bottom to the moral void of the Western press?” he added.

Sunday’s U.S. strikes came as al-Assad and relatives fled to Russia—where they have been granted asylum—amid the fall of the capital, Damascus, to rebel forces.

Also on Sunday, Israeli forces seized more territory in Syria’s Golan Heights and ordered residents of five villages to “stay home and not go out until further notice” if they want to remain safe. Israel conquered the western two-thirds of the Golan Heights in 1967 and has unlawfully occupied it ever since. In 1981, Israel illegally annexed the occupied lands.

“We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza—said in a video posted on social media.

Numerous Israelis celebrated the seizure on social media, while others cautioned against boasting about what is almost certainly an illegal conquest.

Meanwhile in northern Syria, Turkish airstrikes in support of Syrian National Army rebels—who are battling U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters in and around the Kurdish-controlled city of Manbij—reportedly killed numerous civilians along with dozens of militants.

In what it called a “horrific massacre,” the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday that 11 civilians from the same family, including women and six children, were killed in a Turkish drone strike on the SDF-controlled village of Al-Mustariha in northern Raqqa Governate.

December 12, 2024 Posted by | Syria, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Why is Biden cheering terrorist takeover of Syria?

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL, 11 Dec 24

President Biden celebrated the ouster of Syrian rular Basha Assad by US designated terrorist organization Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS).

Syria remains one of the longest and bloodiest US regime change operations in history. After 13 years and over a half million dead Syrians, supported by in part by US aid to Islamic Jihadist rebels, America achieved his goal of deposing imagined enemy Bashar Assad.

Biden says Assad’s fall is a “Fundamental Act of Justice.” Justice to Biden is cool even if it involves the US getting in bed with folks who cheered on the 911 attacks. Biden did slip in his congratulations when he inadvertently muttered this colossal understatement, “Some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses.”

The group that led the offensive, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was formed in 2017 by merging al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate al-Nusra Front with other Islamist groups. HTS is a US-designated terrorist organization, and the US had put a $10 million bounty on its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani. Now the US mulls removing HTS from its Terrorist List since al-Julani has ascended to power in Damascus.

With the HTS takeover, Syrian minority groups including Alawite, Druze, Circassian, Armenian, Chechen, Assyrian, Christian and Turkoman, protected by Assad, consider heading for safer climes to escape the repressive, violent religious fanatics who have succeeded Assad while America cheers.

To put lipstick on the pig of US regime change, Biden ordered his thousand solider invasion force used to steal Assad’s oil resources, to stay put in eastern Syria to keep watch on the new extremist Syrian rulers. Indeed, he ordered massive bombings of extremist al Qaeda elements with his ancient B’52’s to show HTS who’s really pulling the strings of Syrian rule.

Back in 2011, President Obama caved to the US war party to add Syria’s Assad to America’s ever-growing regime change hit list, regardless Syria posed no threat whatsoever to US national security interests. That policy continued from Trump to Biden, who finally realized the US war party’s cherished dream.

Biden’s Syrian triumph sets the table for Trump’s return to power in 41 days. Who will be Trump’s first regime change target? Iran? Russia? North Korea? China? The way the US war party rolls…maybe all 4.

December 12, 2024 Posted by | politics international, USA | Leave a comment

New generation must take up fight against nuclear weapons, Nobel laureate group says

 Young people must take up the fight for a nuclear-free world, with such
weapons many times more powerful than in the past, a representative for
this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, an atomic bomb survivors’ group,
said Tuesday. Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of survivors of the
1945 nuclear bombings of Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is
campaigning for a world free of nuclear weapons using witness testimony.


The average age of Japan’s atomic bomb survivors is now 85, Terumi Tanaka,
a co-chair of the group, said when accepting the prize at a ceremony held
at Oslo City Hall attended by Norway’s King Harald, Queen Sonja and other
dignitaries.

 VOA News 10th Dec 2024 https://www.voanews.com/a/new-generation-must-take-up-fight-against-nuclear-weapons-nobel-laureate-group-says/7896005.html

December 12, 2024 Posted by | opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Nuclear Stocks Were Super Hot Just A Month Ago. What’s Changed?

 Oil Price, By Alex Kimani – Dec 10, 2024

  • However, nuclear energy stocks have lately lost momentum, mostly because the sector was seriously overheating.
  • NuScale Power Corp. has lost more than 30% of its share price in the current month.

Over the past couple of years, the nuclear energy sector has enjoyed a renaissance in the U.S. and many Western countries thanks to the global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine, high power demand and nuclear’s status as a low-carbon energy source. Uranium demand has soared thanks to a series of policy “U-turns” with governments from Japan to Germany revising plans to phase out nuclear power. Uranium spot prices hit an all-time high of $81.32 per pound in February, double the level 12 months prior. According to the World Nuclear Association, demand from reactors is expected to climb 28% by 2030, and nearly double by 2040. Not surprisingly, the sector’s popular benchmark, VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NYSEARCA:NLR), recently hit an all-time high.

However, nuclear energy stocks have lately lost momentum, mostly because the sector was seriously overheating. One of the biggest losers has been NuScale Power Corp.(NYSE:SMR), with the stock crashing nearly 30% in the current month. The selloff kicked off about three weeks ago after the company disclosed an agreement with several brokerage firms in which the company may offer and sell from time to time as much as $200M in common stock. NuScale says proceeds from the sale will be used for general corporate purposes, including operating expenses, capital expenditures, R&D costs and working capital.

NuScale is a developer of modular light-water reactor nuclear power plants. Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) are advanced nuclear reactors with power capacities that range from 50-300 MW(e) per unit, compared to 700+ MW(e) per unit for traditional nuclear power reactors. Back in October, we reported that NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) CEO John Ketchum revealed that  he’s “not bullish” on small modular reactors (SMRs), adding that the company’s in-house SMR research unit has so far not drawn favorable conclusions about the technology.

“A lot of [SMR equipment manufacturers] are very strained financially,” he said. “There are only a handful that really have capitalization that could actually carry them through the next several years.”……………………………………………………………………………………………………… https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Nuclear-Stocks-Were-Super-Hot-Just-A-Month-Ago-Whats-Changed.html

December 12, 2024 Posted by | business and costs, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors | Leave a comment

Why Murdoch’s succession case could be major blow to his rightwing legacy

Edward Helmore in New York, 11 Dec 24  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/dec/09/murdoch-succession-case-rightwing-legacy

Court ruling could mean that more liberal Murdochs may have say in content from world’s most powerful conservative media empire.

A Nevada court dealt nonagenarian media mogul Rupert Murdoch a major blow on Monday. And one that could – potentially – shatter his plans to secure his rightwing legacy.

Behind closed doors, Murdoch has been involved in a legal battle for control of the family’s media assets, pitching the mogul and Lachlan Murdoch, his political protege and heir apparent, against the patriarch’s three other oldest children.

The battle isn’t about money – it’s about power. The senior Murdoch wanted to change the family’s trust to ensure that Lachlan, CEO of Fox Corporation and chairman of News Corp, would control the empire after his death rather than sharing power with his siblings James, Elisabeth and Prudence.

But a 96-page ruling obtained by the New York Times blasted the scheme as a “carefully crafted charade” designed to “permanently cement” Lachlan’s control.

The spat will not end here but by failing to secure his eldest as his rightwing successor, Murdoch now faces the prospect that following his death – more liberal Murdochs may want a say in the the content flowing from what is now the world’s most powerful conservative media empire.

That Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the Times, the Sun, the Australian and others under the News Corp umbrella could move in a different political direction would be bad for business, as Murdoch’s attorneys are believed to have argued in court. Fox News is the most-watched cable news show in the US and reported revenues of $14bn for fiscal year 2024. But while that may or may not happen, the business won’t benefit from replacing a media titan like Murdoch with squabbling siblings.

“This is the end of News Corp,” said a former high-level Murdoch lieutenant speaking on condition of anonymity. “The whole point is that unless one person runs it they can’t make decisions so they will fight over the direction of Fox News. Who is the editor of the Wall Street Journal? It will be controlled by the kids, become directionless, and lose its rightwing focus,”

“The trust was obviously rock-tight and the children had good lawyers,” they said. “Now Lachlan won’t be able to run it and that was the whole point.”

But whether James and Elizabeth Murdoch can force Fox News to take a progressive bent against News Corp CEO Lachlan, with eldest daughter Prudence a likely floating vote, is open to question. More likely, said the former lieutenant, News Corp leadership direction would devolve under a power-sharing arrangement.

If this all sounds like an episode of Succession, spare a thought for the Murdochs. Astonishingly, the legal drama had been kicked off when Murdoch’s children watched an episode of the hit HBO show in which the fictional heir of the fictional media empire discussed their PR strategy in the event of the patriarch’s death “where the patriarch of the family dies, leaving his family and business in chaos”.

According to the Times, Elizabeth Murdoch’s lawyer wrote a “‘Succession’ memo” to the trust hoping to prevent fiction turning into reality. Ironically, the memo, and the legal challenge that followed, may have created just that.

The ruling is unlikely to be the final word. Gorman acts as a “special master” who weighs the testimony and evidence and submits a recommended resolution to the probate court. A district judge could still reject Gorman’s recommendation, extending the legal wrangling far into the future.

But shareholders are already unhappy with this small S succession drama. In September, the hedge fund Starboard Value sent a letter to News Corp shareholders calling for the company to eliminate its dual-class share structure – which gives the family 41% of company votes, despite having just 14% of an overall stake in the company.


“This transition of power from Rupert Murdoch to his children has allowed for complicated family dynamics to potentially impact the stability and strategic direction of News Corp”, Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith argued.

Four Murdoch children with voting rights, Smith said, “could be paralyzing to the strategic direction… the company could face real challenges and it becomes a very bumpy road for the other investors who are not part of the drama.”

News Corp’s dual-class voting structure that gives Rupert Murdoch control of the company might not function under equal control of four children with shifting alliances, Charles Elson, a leading authority on US corporate governance issues, told the Guardian in September.

Passing that power on generationally, Elson said, could be problematic. “How do you know the talent is genetic? Simply because they’re the children doesn’t mean they have the same business acumen as the father and it’s not how you pick the leader of a company or a country.”

December 12, 2024 Posted by | media | Leave a comment

Rupert Murdoch loses his legal battle, leaving future of media empire in the balance

The Conversation, Matthew Ricketson and Andrew Dodd, December 10, 2024

In the seemingly never-ending psychodrama surrounding Rupert Murdoch and his family, life has imitated art. Again.

A report on December 9 in The New York Times revealed details of the recent secret hearing in a Nevada probate court that was literally prompted by the epic HBO drama Succession…………………………..

The probate commissioner in Nevada who heard Rupert Murdoch’s application, Edmund Gorman “resoundingly” ruled against his attempt to change his family trust in a way that would have secured Lachlan’s position atop the global media empire.

Gorman was scathing in his ruling, saying father and son had acted in “bad faith” in their bid to change an “irrevocable” family trust that divides control of Fox News and News Corporation equally among Murdoch’s four eldest children from his first and second marriages: Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan and James.

In the 96-page ruling, Gorman described the plan to change the trust as a “carefully crafted charade” to permanently consolidate Lachlan’s executive roles inside News, “regardless of the impacts such control would have over the companies or the beneficiaries” of the family trust……………………………………….

Gorman’s ruling is not the end of the matter, however. It’s technically a recommendation to the Probate Court, which a district judge will ratify or reject.

Whatever the judge decides is open to appeal, which a lawyer for Rupert and Lachlan has already said they plan to do. Meanwhile, the other three siblings have released a statement welcoming the decision and expressing hope that “we can move beyond this litigation to focus on strengthening and rebuilding relationships among all family members”.

Good luck with that. The strongly worded ruling seems likely only to drive the parties further apart………………………………………………………………………………….

Lachlan’s description of James as the trust’s “troublesome beneficiary”.

By “troublesome” the plan was obliquely referring to the split in the family between Lachlan and Rupert – who are wedded to a media empire that is both right-wing and profitable – and James, who severed all ties with the company over its denialist coverage of climate change and its credulous reporting of baseless conspiracy theories about the result of the 2020 US presidential election………………………………………………………………………………….

If Prudence, Elisabeth and James can assert control, sideline Lachlan, and settle on a unified path forward, they can potentially reshape the company and redefine its journalism.

If they have already war-gamed it, and surely by now they have, the three siblings would know their greatest risk is alienating their current audiences, subscribers and advertisers.

In Australia, News operates in a virtual monopoly, so it can shapeshift with fewer consequences. But the US market is awash with emerging right-wing alternatives, each of which is eager to steal a share of the Fox audience. These viewers are the people who make Fox such a valuable commodity, and they’re the reason why it’s been so hard to stand up to Trump and his anti-democratic tactics, even on the odd occasions when Rupert and Lachlan wanted to.

The challenge is to somehow bring those audiences along for whatever transition the siblings envisage for the company. Can it be done, and if so, how?

The company’s own history suggests editorial change can happen quickly and audiences do tend to retain some loyalty. Murdoch’s takeover of The New York Post in the 1970s shows it is possible to radically change a masthead’s editorial position while expanding its audience, in that case from a mostly Democrat-leaning readership to a larger and more conservative one. But that was a moribund newspaper due for a radical makeover. There’s no guarantee it would work in reverse.

Fox News is arguably at the peak of its powers. The incentive to impose change has everything to do with journalistic standards and nothing to do with finances. In 2023–24 the Fox Corporation’s net income was US$1.5 billion (A$2.35 billion).

Even so, it must be possible to introduce incremental changes that reacquaint Fox viewers with more considered and ethical journalism without scaring them off. This wouldn’t work universally. Some of the demagogues who couldn’t cope would have to go – Sean Hannity springs to mind, as does former Fox firebrand Tucker Carlson.

Under new management, News could reintroduce some of the elements lost to Talk-TV in the mid-1980s, when the US scrapped the fairness doctrine that guaranteed balance and greater civility on the airwaves. It could ensure programs canvas different views, ask devil’s-advocate questions, and investigate issues without fear or favour.

Change of this nature wouldn’t be easy. News Corp has an echelon of editors across its global mastheads, most of whom are culture warriors and battle-hardened loyalists. They can and probably would work together to undermine progressive change.

During his tenure as the Australian head of News Corp, well before he became chair of the ABC, Kim Williams saw how the editors sneeringly white-anted his efforts to introduce reform. Even Lachlan Murdoch discovered that senior staff could undercut him. Paddy Manning recounts in his 2022 biography of Lachlan Murdoch, The Successor, that the infamous Roger Ailes did just this as Lachlan was learning the ropes at Fox in the early 2000s.

The three siblings will need resolve to dispense with those who get in their way, and they’ll need to introduce firm but gradual changes that don’t unduly scare their audiences or the market. But if Prudence, James and Elizabeth do share such a vision and are up for a fight, the world could soon be in for a fascinating media transition. more https://theconversation.com/rupert-murdoch-loses-his-legal-battle-leaving-future-of-media-empire-in-the-balance-245665?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20December%2011%202024%20-%203195432592&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20December%2011%202024%20-%203195432592+CID_9d007a3b0e7578f878c65cbd5b463722&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Rupert%20Murdoch%20loses%20his%20legal%20battle%20leaving%20future%20of%20media%20empire%20in%20the%20balance

December 12, 2024 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, media, USA | Leave a comment

Rocket fuel eating away at US, China nuclear weapons

Fast-aging fuel has likely rendered many US and Chinese ICBMs unusable, raising urgent questions about their nuclear arsenals.

Asia Times, by Gabriel Honrada, December 10, 2024

Aging rocket fuel may be quietly crippling the world’s nuclear arsenals, according to a new report exposing the ticking time bomb inside both US and Chinese missiles.

This month, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Chinese rocket scientists have discovered that the solid fuel used in intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) ages much faster than previously known, potentially rendering hundreds of missiles unusable.

Research conducted at China’s National Key Laboratory of Solid Rocket Propulsion in Xian revealed that significant changes in the fuel columns can occur within 30 years, making them unable to withstand the loads during flight. This finding could explain the frequent launch failures experienced by some nuclear powers in recent years.

The study, led by senior engineer Qin Pengju, found that while the aged propellant appeared stable during routine storage, it became significantly more brittle under high pressure. It mentions that the research focused on the solid fuel commonly used in ICBMs: ammonium perchlorate, aluminum powder and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) binder.

SCMP says the study’s findings suggest that the fuel’s ductility under pressure can be compromised after just 27 years, leading to possible rapid fractures during launch. It notes that the issue has raised concerns about the US’s declining nuclear deterrent capability, which relies on Minuteman III missiles manufactured in the 1970s and Trident II missiles that have been operational for nearly three decades.

Perhaps illustrating the unreliability of aging ICBMs, a failed Minuteman III ICBM test in November 2023 has heightened concerns about the US’s aging land-based nuclear arsenal. The unarmed missile was terminated during a launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base due to an anomaly.

While the Minuteman III as a whole is still considered a reliable weapons system, its subcomponents, such as the silo, electronics and warhead, are old and may have been neglected.

Asia Times has previously reported that the US faces mounting pressure to replace its aging Minuteman III ICBMs as delays and cost overruns plague its next-generation LGM-35A Sentinel program.

Budgeted initially at US$95.8 billion, the Sentinel’s cost has surged to an estimated $160 billion, forcing the Pentagon to justify the increase under the Nunn-McCurdy Amendment. Due to Covid-19 disruptions and inflation, production delays have postponed its deployment until 2029. As a result, the US Air Force must extend Minuteman III’s lifespan.

Aside from old delivery systems, Asia Times reported in January 2024 that the aging of plutonium pits in US nuclear weapons poses a significant challenge to the country’s strategic deterrent. Despite plutonium’s 24,000-year half-life, microscopic changes over time can affect the storage safety and explosive yield of nuclear weapons.

The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has struggled to produce new plutonium pits, with current production capacity unlikely to meet the goal of 80 pits annually until 2030 or later. This shortfall is attributed to a post-Cold War culture of complacency, a lack of skilled workers and restrictive environmental regulations.

Existing pits, designed for older weapons, may not perform as required in newer systems, raising concerns about the reliability of the US nuclear arsenal.

Keeping the 1970s-era Minuteman III poses significant challenges. In a February 2014 RAND report, Lauren Caston and other writers mention that central to keeping the aging Minuteman III in service is the aging infrastructure and components that require continuous modernization to maintain operability………………………………………………………………………………….. more https://asiatimes.com/2024/12/rocket-fuel-eating-away-at-us-china-nuclear-weapons/

December 12, 2024 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

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