A Nuclear Attack by Design — or by Accident — Must Never Happen
InDepthNews by Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS | 27 November 2023 (IDN) — As two of the world’s nuclear powers—Russia and Israel—are engaged in two devastating conflicts, a lingering question remains: could the military tension looming over both countries trigger a nuclear attack either by design or by accident?
“That is one scenario that must never happen”, warns Hirotsugu Terasaki, Director General of Peace and Global Issues, Soka Gakkai International (SGI), which represents a diverse Buddhist community of over 12 million people that promotes peace, culture and education, and is an NGO in consultative status with the United Nations.
In an interview with IDN, he said, much effort has been made and must continue to be made to ensure that this will never become a reality by all concerned—the United Nations, international organizations, and civil society.
“Needless to say, the background and circumstances of the two crises are different and should be discussed separately, and any discourse on nuclear weapons should be cautious and restrained,” he pointed out.
Excerpts from the interview:
Israel is considered to be a de facto nuclear weapon state, although it has never confirmed or denied possessing nuclear weapons. It has been reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reprimanded a cabinet member for suggesting a nuclear weapons option and suspended him from cabinet meetings until further notice because his remarks were “disconnected from reality”.
The armed conflict in the Gaza Strip has already caused too many civilian casualties and destroyed neighborhoods and livelihoods. Hate is causing more hatred, deepening division, and I am deeply concerned day after day. To prevent further tragedy, we strongly call for a humanitarian ceasefire and humanitarian aid to save lives.
In the Ukraine crisis, repeated threats to use nuclear weapons have been made. Prior to the G7 Hiroshima Summit held in May 2023, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda urged the nuclear weapon states to make pledges of “No First Use” of nuclear weapons to reduce risk, which would serve as the basis on which states could together transform the challenging security environments.
The SGI, co-sponsored with other NGOs, a side event on this theme at the 2023 NPT Preparatory Committee in August. Unfortunately, international norms for nuclear disarmament have since been further disrupted.
Humanity is now staring into the abyss of annihilation. Therefore, we must take the right steps toward a future that we choose and build a sustainable world. We should deal with the crises, constantly reminding ourselves of the true horrors of the atomic bombings, bearing in mind the voices of the global hibakusha, and facing up to inhumane and catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons.
Let us take this opportunity to once again take to heart the Russell-Einstein Manifesto: “We appeal, as human beings, to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death.”
UN as a peacemaker?…………………………………………………………………………………… more https://indepthnews.net/a-nuclear-attack-by-design-or-by-accident-must-never-happen/
French nuclear tax is leap into the dark – analysts
SOPHIE TETREL, Paris, MURIEL BOSELLI, Paris, France, 28 Nov 2023
(Montel) France’s plan to replace the Arenh regulation with a nuclear tax is a “leap into the unknown” and does not guarantee that EDF will sell atomic output at EUR 70/MWh, analysts told Montel.
“We are switching to a full market system. It is a bit of a leap into the unknown and no longer a regulated system in which you know beforehand how much you are paying,” said Nicolas Goldberg, energy consultant at Colombus.
EDF and the government reached an agreement a fortnight ago that they would allow EDF to sell its atomic power at an average of EUR………………..…(subscribers only) more https://www.montelnews.com/news/1531984/french-nuclear-tax-is-leap-into-the-dark–analysts
Musk’s Lawsuit Is About Destroying Free Speech
The point of this lawsuit is to intimidate anyone who speaks out against antisemitism, white supremacy and other forms of bigotry.
SCHEERPOST, By Ari Paul / Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) November 27, 2023
He wasn’t bluffing.
After threatening to sue liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America (CNBC, 11/18/23), Twitter’s principal owner Elon Musk did just that, arguing in papers filed in a Texas court that the group “manipulated” data in an effort to “destroy” the social media platform, causing major advertisers to pull back (BBC, 11/20/23
The world’s richest human was responding to an MMFA report (11/16/23) about Twitter—which Musk has rebranded as X since purchasing the once publicly traded company—and its promotion of far-right, antisemitic content. It said that while “Musk continues his descent into white nationalist and antisemitic conspiracy theories,” the social media network has been “placing ads for major brands like Apple, Bravo (NBCUniversal), IBM, Oracle and Xfinity (Comcast) next to content that touts Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party.”
The report came just as the world stood in shock of Musk’s latest outburst of antisemitism: Just before the lawsuit was filed, he “publicly endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory popular among white supremacists: that Jewish communities push ‘hatred against whites’” (CNN, 11/17/23). This received widespread condemnation, including from the White House (Reuters, 11/17/23).
A few weeks earlier, the South African–born billionaire had endorsed the “white genocide” conspiracy theory (Mediaite, 10/27/23), a central myth of white supremacy: “They absolutely want your extinction,” he replied to a Twitter user who claimed that the melting down of a statue of Robert E. Lee was proof that “many seek our extinction.” The reported exodus of advertisers from Twitter in such a brief time span has been enormous (AP, 11/18/23).
The AP (11/20/23) reported that Twitter’s lawsuit claims MMFA “manipulated algorithms on the platform to create images of advertisers’ paid posts next to racist, incendiary content,” and that the lawsuit states that the instances of hateful content near such advertisements were “manufactured, inorganic and extraordinarily rare.” (By “manufactured,” Musk means that MMFA got its results by following far-right accounts on Twitter as well as the accounts of Twitter‘s major advertisers.)
Antisemitic vitriol
It isn’t a secret that antisemitic vitriol has increased on the site under Musk’s management (New York Times, 12/2/22; Washington Post, 3/20/23; Vice, 5/18/23). What’s different now is that the MMFA report and the anger toward his last outburst happened as he is losing the business he desperately needs, as the brand has been rapidly tanking since he spent $44 billion to acquire it (Fortune, 5/30/23).
The case was filed in Texas, although Twitter is based in California and MMFA is in Washington, DC. Musk’s choice of venue has everything to do with his right-wing politics and nothing to do with compliance with the law. …………………………………………………………………
I have written for several years about the right’s attempt to use the courts and legislatures to destroy press freedom to suppress reporting and opinions the rich and powerful don’t like (FAIR.org, 3/26/21, 5/25/22, 11/2/22, 3/1/23). The lawsuit sends a warning to reporters and advocates that can be easily interpreted: Musk isn’t just interested in taking over one social media network, but also drowning out the voices of anyone who challenges him. The point of this lawsuit is to intimidate anyone who speaks out against antisemitism, white supremacy and other forms of bigotry.
For those of us who care deeply about free speech and a free press, let’s hope this lawsuit is swiftly tossed out. https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/27/musks-lawsuit-is-about-destroying-free-speech/
The Myth that Putin Was Bent on Conquering Ukraine and Creating a Greater Russia
By John J Measheimer / Substack https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/27/the-myth-that-putin-was-bent-on-conquering-ukraine-and-creating-a-greater-russia/
There is a growing body of compelling evidence showing that Russia and Ukraine were involved in serious negotiations to end the war in Ukraine right after it started on 24 February 2022 (see below). These talks were facilitated by Turkish President Recep Erdogan and former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and featured detailed and candid discussions on the terms of a possible settlement.
By all accounts, these negotiations, which took place in March-April 2022, were making real progress when Britain and the US told Ukrainian President Zelensky to abandon them, which he did.
Coverage of these events has focused on how foolish and irresponsible it was for President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson to put an end to these negotiations, given all the death and destruction that Ukraine has suffered since then – in a war that Kyiv is likely to lose.
Yet an especially important aspect of this story regarding the causes of the Ukraine war has received little attention. The well-entrenched conventional wisdom in the West is that President Putin invaded Ukraine to conquer that country and make it part of a Greater Russia. Then, he would move on and conquer other countries in eastern Europe. The counter-argument, which enjoys little support in the West, is that Putin was mainly motivated to invade by the threat of Ukraine joining NATO and becoming a Western bulwark on Russia’s border. For him and other Russian elites, Ukraine in NATO was an existential threat.
The negotiations in March-April 2022 make it clear that the conventional wisdom on the war’s causes is wrong, and the counter-argument is right, for two main reasons. First, the talks were directly focused on satisfying Russia’s demand that Ukraine not become part of NATO and instead become a neutral state. Everyone involved in the negotiations understood that Ukraine’s relationship with NATO was Russia’s core concern. Second, if Putin was bent on conquering all of Ukraine, he would not have agreed to these talks, as their very essence contradicted any possibility of Russia conquering all of Ukraine. One might argue that he participated in these negotiations and talked a lot about neutrality to mask his larger ambitions. There is no evidence, however, to support this line of argument, not to mention that: 1) Russia’s small invasion force was not capable of conquering and occupying all of Ukraine; and 2) it would have made no sense to delay a larger offensive, as it would afford Ukraine time to build up its defenses.
In short, Putin launched a limited attack into Ukraine for the purpose of coercing Zelensky into abandoning Kyiv’s policy of aligning with the West and eventually bringing Ukraine into NATO. Had Britain and the West not intervened to scotch the negotiations, there is good reason to think Putin would have achieved this limited objective and agreed to end the war.
It is also worth remembering that Russia did not annex the Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia until September 2022, well after the talks had ended. Had a deal been reached, Ukraine would almost certainly control a far greater share of its original territory than it does now.
It is becoming increasingly clear that in the case of Ukraine, the level of foolishness and dishonesty among Western elites and the mainstream Western media is stunning.
President Biden has morphed into the Murder Monster.
Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 27 Nov 23
What is going on in the 81 year old soul of Joe Biden?
He looks out from his privileged life in safe America and sees about half of Gaza’s buildings turned into rubble. Over 14,000 mainly innocents dead with likely thousands more buried under the rubble. Food, water, medicine, electricity largely denied the 2.3 million Palestinians with over three quarters now refugees.
All of this enabled and supported by President Biden. He’s sent billions in weapons to Israel to complete the removal of Palestinians from Gaza.
Even the NY Times acknowledges the historical mass killing in Gaza. “People are being killed in Gaza more quickly, than in even the deadliest moments of US-led attacks in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, which were themselves widely criticized by human rights groups.”
They quote former former Pentagon analyst Marc Garlasco, “It’s beyond anything that I’ve seen in my career.” He cited Israel’s use of US 2,000 lb. bombs as being the worst use of superpower bombs in densely crowed areas “since Vietnam or World War II.”
But those two thousand pounders are not enough for Biden. He’s moved to lift restrictions on additional weapons to Israel prevented by government regulations. Current restrictions only allow transfer of weapons to Israel that are obsolete or surplus. Biden wants a blank check to send any weapons, surplus/obsolete or not. He also calls for reducing the concessions Israel must offer for such weapons, eliminate the 30 day waiting period for weapons transfers and scrap the $200 million annual cap on the US replenishing weapons transfers.
Pivoting to Ukraine, Biden is demanding another $61 billion in weapons for Ukraine. His first $113 billion simply extended the US proxy war against Russia for 20 months, causing hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian deaths. In one of the most murderous acts in presidential history, Biden torpedoed the Zelensky-Putin peace agreement in the first month of the war to ‘weaken Russia.’
Biden made one wonderful move for peace in his first seven months by ending our illegal and criminal 20 year Afghan war. In the 28 months since it’s been ocean of blood drowning Biden’s legacy and shaming America, possibly beyond redemption.
Possibly irradiated items stolen at site 3 km from Fukushima plant
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, November 26, 2023
OKUMA, Fukushima Prefecture–Potentially highly radiated items have been stolen from a temporary storage site for contaminated waste here and were likely put up for sale, The Asahi Shinbun has learned.
Although the site is strictly controlled, managers on the front line said there is a limit in what they can do to monitor the waste. So it is unknown if or how many possibly dangerous goods have been sold to unsuspecting buyers.
The site, located about 3 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, features a home improvement center that was abandoned after the triple meltdown in March 2011. The building and merchandise inside were left untouched.
The site and the surrounding area are now used for temporary storage.
Nishimatsu Construction Co., a second-tier general contractor, has been commissioned to demolish the commercial facility.
The special measures law concerning the handling of radioactive materials states that contaminated waste should be taken to temporary storage sites to measure their radiation levels before deciding where they should be disposed of………………………………………
The ministry has yet to announce the theft.
RISK OF RESALE
Each entrance to the temporary storage site has a gate to keep out unregistered workers and vehicles.
But an on-site manager said it was practically impossible to check all the comings and goings of people and vehicles.
“A total of 1,000 workers were involved in the demolition project, with 30 to 40 of them coming in and going out of the site on a steady basis,” the manager said. “Frankly speaking, if they put merchandise into their pockets and took them outside, I wouldn’t know.”…………………………………….
A worker said several 4-ton trucks have entered the demolition site on a few occasions after employees of Nishimatsu Construction, which oversees the site, finished their shifts and left their posts.
“The truck beds were covered with tarps, so I don’t know what was inside,” the worker said.
He added that a rumor was going around that merchandise taken from the demolition site was being sold on flea market app Mercari…………………………..
Recently, four former workers were arrested on suspicion of stealing iron scraps from a demolition site of a library and folklore museum, which lie within the “difficult-to-return zone” in Okuma.
It is impossible to recover the iron scraps because they were already sold and distributed in the market, according to the Environment Ministry.
(This story was written by Yukiko Sakamoto, Nobuyuki Takiguchi and Takaoki Yamamoto.) https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15045134
COP28: UAE planned to use climate talks to make oil deals
By Justin Rowlatt, Climate editor, BBC News 27 Nov 23
The United Arab Emirates planned to use its role as the host of UN climate talks as an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals, the BBC has learned.
Leaked briefing documents reveal plans to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations.
The UN body responsible for the COP28 summit told the BBC hosts were expected to act without bias or self-interest.
The UAE team did not deny using COP28 meetings for business talks, and said “private meetings are private”.
It declined to comment on what was discussed in the meetings and said its work has been focused on “meaningful climate action”.
The documents – obtained by independent journalists at the Centre for Climate Reporting working alongside the BBC – were prepared by the UAE’s COP28 team for meetings with at least 27 foreign governments ahead of the COP28 summit, which starts on 30 November.
They included proposed “talking points”, such as one for China which says Adnoc, the UAE’s state oil company, is “willing to jointly evaluate international LNG [liquefied natural gas] opportunities” in Mozambique, Canada and Australia.
The documents suggest telling a Colombian minister that Adnoc “stands ready” to support Colombia to develop its fossil fuel resources.
There are talking points for 13 other countries, including Germany and Egypt, which suggest telling them Adnoc wants to work with their governments to develop fossil fuel projects………………………………………………….
COP28 is the UN’s latest round of global climate talks. This year it is being hosted by the UAE in Dubai and is due to be attended by 167 world leaders, including the Pope and King Charles III.
These summits are the world’s most important meetings to discuss how to tackle climate change.
The hope is COP28 will help limit the long-term global temperature rise to 1.5C, which the UN’s climate science body says is crucial to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. But that will require drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, it says – a 43% reduction by 2030 from 2019 levels.
As part of the preparations for the conference, the UAE’s COP28 team arranged a series of ministerial meetings with governments from around the world.
The meetings were to be hosted by the president of COP28, Dr Sultan al-Jaber. Each year the host nation appoints a representative to be the COP president.
Meeting representatives of foreign governments is one of the core responsibilities of COP presidents. It is the president’s job to encourage countries to be as ambitious as possible in their efforts to cut emissions.
The leaked briefing documents seen by the BBC were prepared for Dr Jaber – who is also CEO of the UAE’s giant state oil company, Adnoc, and of the state renewables business, Masdar.
Israel’s Genocidal Antisemitism Against the Arab Civilians of Gaza
Netanyahu has unleashed a “unifying” genocidal war against every child, woman and man that comprise the 2.3 million population of Gaza.
By Ralph Nader / CounterPunch, https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/27/israels-genocidal-antisemitism-against-the-arab-civilians-of-gaza-2/
“It should never have happened,” an elderly Holocaust survivor of a Nazi death camp told the New York Times. He was referring to the colossal failure on October 7th, of Israel’s touted high-tech military and intelligence operations that opened the door to Hamas’ attack on Israeli soldiers and civilians. In many parliamentary countries, the government ministers who are responsible for this kind of failure would have immediately been forced to resign. Not so with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ministers.
Instead, Netanyahu’s coalition of extremists, who know that the Israeli people are enraged about their government’s failure to defend the border, has unleashed a “unifying” genocidal war against every child, woman and man that comprise the 2.3 million population of Gaza. “No electricity, no food, no fuel, no water. … We are fighting human animals and will act accordingly” was the opening genocidal war cry from defense minister Yoav Gallant to defend the onslaught that massive military forces are implementing against the long-illegally blockaded Gazan population.
Israeli leaders declare that there are Hamas fighters possibly in and under every building in Gaza. Israel has long made computer models using their unprecedented surveillance technology (see Antony Loewenstein’s interview in the November/December 2023 issue of the Capitol Hill Citizen). Nothing and no one is off limits for the Israeli bombing.
Keep in mind that Israel is an ultra-modern military superpower, with hundreds of thousands of fighters on land, air and sea, going after the few thousand Hamas fighters who have limited supplies of rifles, grenade launchers and anti-tank weapons. Moreover, all of Israel’s supplies are being replenished daily from the U.S. stockpiles in Israel and new shipments arriving by sea, compliments of President Biden. The invasion is a “piece of cake” an experienced U.S. government official told reporter Sy Hersh.
Contradictions abound. First, Netanyahu has always referred to Hamas as a “terrorist organization.” Yet he told his own Likud party for years that his “strategy” to block a two-state solution was to “support and fund Hamas.” (See, the October 22, 2023 article by prominent journalist Roger Cohen in the New York Times).
If Netanyahu believes dropping over 20,000 bombs and missiles on the civilian infrastructure of this tiny crowded enclave and its people, nearly half of whom are children, is so restrained, why has he kept Western and Israeli journalists out of Gaza, other than a few recently embedded reporters restricted to their seats in Israeli armored vehicles? Why has he ordered four nightmarish total telecommunications and electricity blackouts, with excruciating consequences, over the whole Gaza Strip for as long as 30 hours at a time?
None of this or international laws matter to the prime minister whose top priority is to keep his job, with his coalition parties, as long as the invasion continues. And before an outraged majority in Israel ousts him from power for not defending their country on October 7th from some two thousand urban guerrilla fighters on a homicide/suicide mission.
As the slaughter of defenseless babies, children, mothers, fathers and grandparents in Gaza continues to drive the death, injury and disease toll to higher numbers each day, the observant world wonders what the Israeli government, which regularly blocks humanitarian aid, intends to do with Gaza and its destitute, homeless, starving, wounded, sick, dying and abandoned civilian Palestinians.
After all, Gaza has only so many hospitals, clinics, schools, apartment buildings, homes, water mains, ambulances, bakeries, markets, electricity networks, solar panels, shelters, refugee camps, mosques, churches, and the clearly marked remaining United Nations’ facilities left, to bomb to smithereens. Endless American tax dollars are funding the carnage. Israel has also killed over 50 journalists, including some of their families, in the past seven weeks – a record.
Why will it take months to clear out the tunnels? Not so, say military experts in urban warfare. Flooding the tunnels with water, gas, napalm and robotic explosives are quick and lethal and would be deployed were it not for the Israeli hostages.
In addition to the reality that all Gazans are now hostages, over 7,000 Palestinians are languishing in Israeli jails without charges. Many are youngsters and women who were abducted over the years to extort information and to control their extended families in Gaza and the West Bank. What’s holding up an exchange, as Israel did twice before in 2004 and 2011? Again, the Netanyahu coalition stays in power by postponing the pending official inquiries into their October 7th collapse, that Israelis are awaiting.
Meanwhile, the hapless Joe Biden dittoheaded the previously hapless presidential pleas for a two-state solution. The dominant politicians in Israel have always sought “a Greater Israel” using the phrase “from the river to the sea,” meaning all of Palestine. Year after year Israel has stolen more and more land and water from the twenty-two percent left of original Palestine, inhabited by five million Palestinians under oppressive military occupation.
With Congress overwhelmingly in Israel’s pocket, Israeli politicians laugh at proposals for a two-state solution by U.S. presidents. Recall when Obama was president, Netanyahu went around him and addressed a joint session of Congress whose members exhausted themselves with standing ovations – a brazen insult to a U.S. president, unheard of in U.S. diplomatic history!
Day after day, the surviving Palestinian families are trapped in what is widely called “an open-air prison” being pulverized by Israel and its aggressive co-belligerent, the Biden regime. A regime in Washington that urges Netanyahu to comply with “the laws of war,” while enabling Israel with more weapons and UN vetoes to violate daily “the laws of war” and the Genocide Convention. (See our October 24, 2023 Letter to President Joe Biden and the Declarations from genocide scholars William Schabas and other expert historians).
Consider the plight of these innocent civilians, caught in the deadly crossfire of F-16s, helicopter gunships, and thousands of precision 155mm artillery shells. Whether huddled in their homes and schools or fleeing to nowhere under Israeli orders, the IDF is still bombing them.
Palestinians cannot escape their blockaded prison. They cannot surrender because the Israeli army does not want to be responsible for prisoners of war. They cannot bury their dead, so their families’ corpses pile up, rotting in the sun being eaten by stray dogs.
They cannot even find water to drink, since Israel has destroyed the water infrastructure – another of its many war crimes.
For years under Israel’s occupation law, collection of rainwater with rainwater harvesting cisterns has not been permitted. Rain is considered the property of the Israeli authorities and Palestinians have been forbidden to gather rainwater!
The Israeli armed forces will soon control the entire Gaza Strip. Under international law, Israel would become responsible for the protection of the civilian population as well as the essential conditions for Palestinian safety and survival. Will they at last abide by just one international law? Or will they establish obstructive checkpoints to restrict humanitarian charities trying to save lives while Israel continues to push the Gazans into the desert or neighboring countries?
The Israeli operation precisely fits the Genocide Convention’s definition by “intentionally creating conditions of life calculated to physically destroy a racial, religious, ethnic, or national group in whole or in part.” Netanyahu’s regime further incriminates itself by defining the targets for annihilation as being between 21st-century progress and “the barbaric fanaticism of the Middle Ages” and a “struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness.”
France goes for its own costly small nuclear reactor, following the USA NuScale flop, and UK’s lagging Rolls Royce one.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/french-nuclear-startup-seeks-150-million-for-reactor-prototype-1.2003704 27 Nov 23
Naarea, a three-year-old French nuclear startup, is looking to raise €150 million ($164 million) as it seeks to develop a small reactor that would meet growing industrial decarbonization needs from the start of the next decade.
The company, which already raised €50 million from a handful of French family offices such as Eren Groupe SA and €10 million from the government, is reaching out to venture capital, industrial and institutional investors, and sovereign wealth funds for a Series A funding round with the help of Rothschild & Co., co-founder Jean-Luc Alexandre said in an interview in Paris Friday. He hopes to close the fundraising in the first quarter next year.
Naarea, which stands for Nuclear Abundant Affordable Resourceful Energy for All, is part of a growing wave of companies from Europe to North America promoting smaller, cheaper (?) and safer(?) designs for reactors. The burgeoning(?) sector of small modular and advanced nuclear reactors — which have a wide array of sizes and technologies — suffered a setback this month when NuScale Power Corp. canceled a plan to build a plant in the US amid mounting costs.
“NuScale isn’t dead, and still has projects,” the Naarea CEO said, while pointing out that the French startup, which employs 175 people, has a different business model and is developing another technology. Naarea aims “to produce power and heat, as close as possible to industrial companies, to relieve the grid.”
The startup, which is working with the French nuclear industry and foreign laboratories, is seeking to build a reactor that would produce 40 megawatts of electricity — enough to power a car factory or some of the biggest desalination plants — as well as heat, according to Alexandre.
Naarea is working on so-called molten salt fast neutron reactors that would be the size of a bus. It would burn plutonium and highly toxic radioactive waste that’s currently stored in France. It has found a ceramic that would prevent corrosion from the liquid fuel, something that has hampered the development of such reactors in the past, the company’s boss said.
The nuclear startup and Automotive Cells Co. — the electric-car battery venture of Stellantis NV, Mercedes-Benz Group AG and TotalEnergies SE — signed a memorandum of understanding to study whether Naarea’s mini-reactors might meet the future needs of ACC’s factories, Naarea said in a statement Monday.
If all goes according to plan, there would be a full-scale prototype in 2028. By 2030, a total of €2 billion would be required to complete the reactor development, build a fuel plant at or near Orano SA’s nuclear-waste recycling facility in La Hague, and a separate reactor factory elsewhere in France. The startup also needs to convince nuclear safety and regulatory authorities about the project.
These reactors “are competitive because they are small,” and safe by design, Alexandre said.
REVEALED: Biden’s ‘nuclear football’ contains BOOK that tells president how to launch attack by contacting ‘Looking Glass’ plane and spherical bunker where four keys ignite missiles
- The ‘nuclear football’ contains attack plans for the president to pick
- Once selected, the command gets set to a ‘Looking Glass’ plane always in the air
- Then, officers in a bunker use multiple keys to launch the nuclear attack
By RACHEL BOWMAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM, 27 November 2023 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12792663/Nuclear-football-book-launch-nuclear-attack-plane-bunker.html
The most important football in the world is not a ball at all, rather it is the ‘nuclear football’ carried with the President of the United States that tells them how to launch a nuclear attack – and its contents may surprise most Americans.
Moran Cerf, 46, a neuroscience professor who studies the procedures of how a president can order a nuclear attack, told The Sunday Times what steps the leader of the free world has to take to launch a strike.
Cerf said the satchel does not contain the technology to directly launch missiles. Instead, it holds a number of plans for the president to pick through.
‘There’s a book, a really thick book with all the nuclear options. Essentially it’s like Choose Your Own Adventure,’ said Cerf.
‘You open the book and it says, “If you want to bomb North Korea, go to page 470. And if you want to bomb North Korea and you’re going to focus on Pyongyang, go to 471.”‘
Next, the commander in chief will tell an aide what plan they have selected and that begins moving through a chain of command.
‘[This aide] has a communications device that he uses to have the president connect the command and control center, of which there are two,’ said Cerf.
One of these command posts is aboard a plane that is constantly in the air as three planes fly in shifts.
‘There’s always a plane in the air. It’s called the “Looking Glass,”‘ said Cerf.
The command then goes to a military bunker that is ‘spherical, floating on springs in a hollow cavity in the ground’ where two officers are required to launch the missiles.
Cerf said: ‘Someone reads to them the authentication code, so that they know it’s a real thing. Each one of them has a chain with a key round his neck and they both go to a safe and insert the keys, and then they unlock the safe that has in it two other keys. And those are the keys that are actually the keys.’
‘They have to turn the keys at the same time and hold for eight seconds. And then it launches and from then on, no one can stop it.’
One of five military aides to the president – one from each branch of the armed forces: army, navy, air forces, marines and coast guard – always carries the ‘nuclear football’ in close proximity to the leader.
It has been carried by every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s.
The president authenticates their identity with codes found on a small plastic card carried with them. In case the president is incapacitated or has died, an identical nuclear football is assigned to the vice president.
In the event of a devastating attack on the US, the president – or vice president as backup – would confirm their identity to the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon over a secure phone by reading codes from the Sealed Authenticator System card – also known as the ‘biscuit’ – that they are supposed to carry with them at all times.
Military leaders and White House national security advisors would then brief the president or vice president on the nature of the threat and the options for retaliating. If either person wanted to consult the written options, they could do so.
Then, the president would choose a retaliatory option and the command would be read back to them. Once confirmed, the command center would use the military’s launch authorization codes to release nuclear missiles.
‘In the U.S. protocol you have to rehearse the entire process every four months, so three times a year,’ Cerf said.
However, Cerf said modern presidents rarely run through the drill.
‘The answer is zero times — [Biden] never does it. He always says, “I’m going to send someone else instead. Not a good time for me…” What about Trump? How often do you think Trump did it? And the answer is zero.’
‘The last person to have done it is Carter in the Seventies,’ Cerf said.
Nuclear energy in Philippines? Group says there’s not even a Filipino expert on safety, radiation.
By: Cristina Eloisa Baclig – Content Researcher Writer / @inquirerdotnet, INQUIRER.net / 03:08 PM November 27, 2023
MANILA, Philippines—In a convergence of scientific and environmental dissent, progressive groups, scientists, and climate activists expressed strong opposition to the newly signed nuclear deal between the Philippines and the United States (US).
Last Nov. 17, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken signed the 123 agreement, or the “peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement,” on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation (Apec) Summit.
It took a year to negotiate the breakthrough agreement between the two countries. Blinken described it as “the fastest that the United States has ever negotiated this kind of agreement.”
The deal, which awaits approval by the US Congress, establishes a legally binding framework allowing the transfer of nuclear material and the export of nuclear fuel, reactors, and equipment from the US to the Philippines…………………………
A ‘reckless decision’
The group Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM) said the government’s decision to “impulsively” enter into the agreement was a “reckless decision that lacks careful consideration.”
The group explained that despite its promised and expected benefits, there is still no detailed study on whether nuclear power is necessary and appropriate for the country.
“This omission leaves the Marcos administration without a solid foundation to justify their nuclear aspirations, as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) emphasizes the importance of such studies in assessing a country’s needs and potential for nuclear energy,” the group added.
AGHAM argued that nuclear energy will only worsen the energy crisis in the country, where, according to the group, other indigenous sources of energy remain largely untapped or with inefficient and incomplete distribution systems.
It also described the agreement as “dangerously premature,” considering that the science and technology sector in the country remains severely underfunded and understaffed.
“To illustrate, as of this moment, there is no Filipino expert in nuclear safety or in radiological environmental impact assessment in the country,” the group explained.
“This means that we will have to disproportionately rely on the US nuclear regulatory mechanism, which will lead to us being clueless guinea pigs for their new nuclear technologies; since we do not have our own way of technically assessing future implementations.”
Not a solution for clean energy security
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who witnessed the signing of the pact, said the deal would ensure a “more energy secure and green Philippines.”
“We see nuclear energy becoming a part of the Philippine energy mix by 2032, and we would be more than happy to pursue this path with the United States as one of our partners,” said Marcos Jr. in a speech.
“The signing of the Philippines-United States Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, or the 123 Agreement, is the first major step in this regard, taking our cooperation on capacity building further and actually opening the doors for U.S. companies to invest and participate in nuclear power projects in the country,” he added.
However, according to the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), the 123 Agreement poses a threat by acquiring risky nuclear technologies, misleadingly promoted as a remedy for clean energy security.
“[T]he agreement’s purported benefits are debunked. Nuclear energy, touted for clean energy, releases pollutants worsening the planet’s temperature. The resulting radioactive waste persists for years, often irresponsibly dumped or stored, lacking proper technology for disposal,” PMCJ said in a statement.
PMCJ said that it “vehemently opposes nuclear energy in the country, advocating for a shift towards sustainable solutions.”
Despite the supposed benefits, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP-US), along with progressive groups — Bayan USA, Malaya Movement USA, Kabataan Alliance — demanded that members of the US Congress halt the nuclear deal, citing five reasons:
- In a country already prone to climate disaster, vulnerable communities in the Philippines will be further at risk.
- Nuclear energy poses a threat to the health and safety of communities in the Philippines.
- Fashioned in the style of the Marcos Sr. regime, this deal benefits only the US and Philippine elite.
- The so-called “peaceful transfer” of nuclear materials thwarts the Filipino people’s right to peace, development, and self-determination.
- As tensions with China escalate, the storage of nuclear materials will set a precedent for the US to allow a nuclear arsenal to be stored in the Philippines.
Renewable vs nuclear energy
Both PMCJ and AGHAM questioned Marcos Jr. and his administration’s plans to use more renewable energy while also pushing for the use of nuclear power……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“As with his other policies, this will just be an edifice to be used as a talking point for the purposes of extending the Marcoses’ cling to power; with no real positive contribution, and even potentially dangerous, to the Filipino people,” the group continued.
Environmental group Greenpeace Philippines has previously called out Marcos Jr. for showing mixed signals on his stance on energy.
“He used renewable energy when he ran for president, and continues to talk about it like he means it, but it’s all a game of pretend. If you look at his actions, he’s actually out to promote nuclear energy and fossil gas–both of which will block major RE development,” said Greenpeace Philippines country director Lea Guerrero.
“Greenpeace believes this is climate hypocrisy at its most dangerous,” she added.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1866612/nuclear-energy-in-ph-group-says-theres-not-even-a-filipino-expert-on-safety-radiation#ixzz8KL4mjfe6
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The President of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission spent $288,000 on travel in 19 months
Luxury hotel, $12,000 plane tickets:
a senior public servant even had her luggage carrier reimbursed
PASCAL DUGAS BOURDON and CHARLES MATHIEU , Journal de Montréal, Monday, November 27, 2023 https://tinyurl.com/ydmpyaa3
$1,000 per night accommodation in a luxury hotel with luggage porter, business-class airfare
to Tokyo, Dubai and Vienna: the outgoing President of the Canadian Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has multiplied her expensive trips at taxpayers’ expense. According to a compilation by our Bureau of Investigation, Rumina Velshi was reimbursed $288,000 in business travel in 19 months between January 2022 and July 2023.
She is by far the biggest spender in the senior federal civil service, spending $100,000 more than any other publicly employed executive… (more)
UK’s Sizewell C Nuclear stake seized from China may go to United Arab Emirates
The UK government is seeking backers for the nuclear power station in Suffolk. Ministers have
lined up Abu Dhabi investors to take a significant stake in the Sizewell C
nuclear power plant, as concerns grow among Conservative MPs over a
separate Emirati bid for The Daily Telegraph.
The government is looking for backers for the £20 billion power station in Suffolk, after China General Nuclear was removed from the project last year.
Britain spent nearly £100million buying the Chinese state-owned company out of its 20 per cent stake, amid concerns over Beijing having access to critical national
infrastructure.
Ministers are searching for investors to fill the shortfall
in funding. A United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth fund run by Sheikh
Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the owner of Manchester City, has been
approached before a decision expected early next year, The Times
understands. A government source confirmed that Mubadala, which controls
assets worth £219 billion, was being considered.
“They are part of the
mix of options but not the only viable one,” a source said. The
government has put more than £1.2 billion into developing the plant in
Suffolk, but the state and the energy company EDF want to retain stakes of
about 20 per cent in the construction phase and are seeking to bring in
private investors. They have been working with bankers from Barclays and
Rothschild to sound out potential backers. Centrica, the energy group that
owns British Gas, is among bidders that took part in an initial
pre-qualification process, which was run by the government last month.
Nuclear projects have long struggled to attract private investment because
of the huge up-front construction costs and the industry’s record of
delays and going over budget.
Times 27th Nov 2023
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uae-state-energy-company-china-stake-sizewell-c-q7vk8jbtd
Why Nuclear Power Expansion Predictions Failed
A University of Reading team of researchers looked back at a model that
predicted nuclear power would expand dramatically in order to assess the
efficacy of energy policies implemented today. Results published in the
journal Risk Analysis showed the team found simulations that inform energy
policy had unreliable assumptions built into them and that they need more
transparency about their limitations. To improve this they recommend new
ways to test simulations and be upfront about their uncertainties. This
includes methods like ‘sensitivity auditing’, which evaluates model
assumptions. The goal is to improve modeling and open up decision-making.
The widespread adoption of nuclear power was predicted by computer
simulations more than four decades ago.
Oil Price 26th Nov 2023
NuScale cancels first planned SMR nuclear project due to lack of interest
The Chemical Engineer, by Adam Duckett, 27 Nov 23
NUSCALE has cancelled the first project for its pioneering small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technology because too few customers signed up to receive its power amid rising costs.
NuScale is the only company to have received design approval from US regulators for an SMR, a smaller form of reactor that can be fully fabricated in a factory to reduce the costly overruns that occur with larger conventional nuclear plants.
The first plant, known as the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), was set for construction at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. It would have included six reactor modules generating a combined 462 MW of low carbon energy and had planned to begin operations in 2030. However, the company says there has not been enough interest from utilities across western states to continue the project.
The DoE has provided more than US$600m in funding since 2014 for NuScale and others to develop SMR technology. A spokesperson said: “We believe the work accomplished to date on CFPP will be valuable for future nuclear energy projects,” Reuters reports……………………
Critics argue that the technology is unproved, produces radioactive waste, and will be too slow and costly compared to renewable options which are available to deploy now. NuScale announced at the start of the year that the target cost of power from CFPP had climbed 53% since 2021 to US$89/ MWh.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis warned that “no one should fool themselves into believing this will be the last cost increase” given the additional design, licensing and testing needed, on top of inflation. https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/nuscale-cancels-first-planned-smr-nuclear-project-due-to-lack-of-interest/
1 This Month
19 November – Webinar – The Reality of Reprocessing
Time: 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) / 2:00 PM Eastern / 7:00 PM UK / 8:00 PM CET
Register for the Zoom Event Here
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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