Ukraine could get long-range missiles armed with U.S. cluster bombs.
WASHINGTON, Sept 11 (Reuters)
The Biden administration is close to approving the shipment of longer-range missiles packed with cluster bombs to Ukraine, giving Kyiv the ability to cause significant damage deeper within Russian-occupied territory, according to four U.S. officials.After seeing the success of cluster munitions delivered <https://www.reuters.com/world/us-cluster-munitions-ukraine-expected-fridays-800m-aid-package-2023-07-07/> in 155 mm artillery rounds in recent months, the U.S. is considering shipping either or both Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) that can fly up to 190 miles (306 km), or Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles with a 45-mile range packed with cluster bombs, three U.S. officials said.
If approved, either option would be available for rapid shipment to Kyiv.
Ukraine is currently equipped with 155 mm artillery with a maximum range of 18 miles carrying up to 48 bomblets. The ATACMS under consideration would propel around 300 or more bomblets. The GMLRS rocket system, a version of which Ukraine has had in its arsenal for months, would be able to disperse up to 404 cluster munitions.
With Ukraine’s push against Russian forces showing signs of progress, the administration is keen to boost the Ukrainian military at a vital moment, two of the sources said.
The White House declined to comment on the Reuters report.
The decision to send ATACMS or GMLRS, or both, is not final and could still fall through, the four sources said. The Biden administration has for months struggled with a decision on ATACMS, fearing their shipment would be perceived as an overly aggressive move against Russia.
Kyiv has repeatedly asked the Biden administration for ATACMS to help attack and disrupt supply lines, air bases, and rail networks in Russian occupied territory.
Last week Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he and Secretary of State Antony Blinken had discussed the U.S. providing the long-range missiles and he hoped for a positive decision.
“Now is the time,” one of the U.S. officials said as Ukraine’s forces are attempting to pierce Russian lines just south of the city of Orikhiv in an attempt to divide Russian forces and put its main supply lines under threat. ATACMS or GMLRS with this capability would not only boost Ukrainian morale but deliver a needed tactical punch to the fight, the official said.
The U.S. plan is to include the grenade-packed weapons in an upcoming draw from U.S. stockpiles of munitions, according to the four U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the plan.
At present Ukraine has only one U.S.-furnished cluster munitions, the 155 mm rounds that were announced in July.
The new weapons would augment Ukraine’s current 45-mile range GMLRS rounds, a version that blasts out more than 100,000 sharp tungsten fragments, but not bomblets.
Made by Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), ATACMS come in several versions some of which can fly four times GMLRS’ range, and their use could reset battlefield calculus……………………………………………..
President Joe Biden may ultimately decide against, or delay a decision on the transfer.
Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. Russia, Ukraine and the United States have not signed onto the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans production, stockpiling, use and transfer of the weapons.
They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades after a conflict ends.
Washington has committed more than $40 billion in military assistance to Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022.
Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Chris Sanders and Lisa Shumaker https://www.reuters.com/world/us-eyes-long-range-missiles-armed-with-cluster-bombs-ukraine-officials-2023-09-11
Global South won’t back Kiev as West demands – WSJ
A push-back against Western influence is reportedly prompting countries to reject the pro-Ukraine agenda
https://www.rt.com/russia/582948-kiev-support-un-wsj/ 17 Sept 23
Western officials have overestimated the willingness of neutral nations to join anti-Russia policies in support of Ukraine, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“It’s clear that the West overall has been surprised by the pretty widespread reluctance by many of the countries in the so-called Global South… to come on board,” Jan Techau of the consulting firm Eurasia Group told the newspaper, as quoted on Thursday.
He cited “animosity toward the US and Europe” in some parts of the world and the desire of rising powers, such as Brazil and South Africa, to “assert their independence”, the article said.
The WSJ detailed purported successes and failures of Western diplomacy to rally the support of neutral nations for what it called “a fair peace settlement for Ukraine” ahead of next week’s gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has been internationally promoting his “peace formula” with Western backing. It includes Ukraine regaining control over all former territories, war reparations from Russia, and a tribunal for the Russian leadership. Moscow has dismissed the Zelensky plan as being detached from reality.
The newspaper noted that many “emerging countries” have resisted demands for reparations and a tribunal, while “the international willingness to call out Russia publicly has diminished.” In particular, the final statement of the G20 leaders after the summit in India last week did not condemn Russia or even call the conflict a war “against Ukraine.”
The newspaper asserted that the G20 meeting was a “success for the West too,” because Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the event in person.
“Factually, Russia is much more isolated than before,” a senior European official told The WSJ.
At the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting, non-Western participants are likely “to shift the global focus onto their priorities: global inequality and debt relief,” the report predicted.
Moscow has described the Ukraine crisis as part of a Western proxy war against Russia. It has also accused the US of mismanaging the global economy for selfish goals, while trying to preserve its dominance and resisting the emergence of a multipolar world.
UK launches search for private investment in Sizewell C nuclear project
Reuters. September 18, 2023
LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Britain on Monday opened the search for private investment in the Sizewell C nuclear project, inviting potential investors to register their interest.
………. The government, the Sizewell C Company and EDF, the project’s lead developer, are looking for companies with substantial experience in the delivery of major infrastructure projects,” a statement from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said.
The British government announced last year that it would support Sizewell C with around 700 million pounds ($895 million) while taking a 50% stake during its development phase. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uk-launches-search-private-investment-sizewell-c-nuclear-project-2023-09-18/
Russia shows N Korea’s Kim hypersonic missiles, nuclear-capable bombers
North Korean leader continues tour of Russia with visit to airbase where he inspected latest Russian missiles, bombers.
Aljazeera 16 Sept 23
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected Russia’s hypersonic “Kinzhal” missiles as well as strategic, nuclear-capable bombers in the latest stop on his tour of Russian space, military and other technological facilities in the country’s Far East, according to Russian-language news media reports…………………………..
After arriving in Artyom, Kim then travelled to the Vladivostok airport just outside the city where he was shown Russia’s nuclear-capable strategic bombers and other warplanes by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and other senior military officials.
Shoigu introduced Kim to Russia’s latest missile, the hypersonic Kinzhal – which means “dagger” in Russian – an air-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads.
The Kinzhal has a reported range of 1,500 to 2,000 km (930-1,240 miles) while carrying a payload of 480kg (1,100 pounds). It may travel at up to 10 times the speed of sound (12,000 kph or 7,700 mph)…………………………………………
Experts have said that potential military cooperation between Russia and North Korea following Kim’s visit could include efforts to modernise North Korea’s outdated air force, which relies on warplanes sent from the Soviet Union in the 1980s………….
Putin and Kim discussed military matters, the war in Ukraine, and deepening cooperation when they met on Wednesday, but the Russian leader told reporters that Moscow was “not going to violate anything”, referring to longstanding sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United Nations. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/16/russia-shows-n-koreas-kim-hypersonic-missiles-nuclear-capable-bombers
Activists want California nuclear reactor closed over safety concerns
EHN Staff September 17, 2023 https://www.ehn.org/activists-want-california-nuclear-reactor-closed-over-safety-concerns-2665541415.html
Washington Post journalist Anumita Kaur reports about environmental groups that have demanded the federal government immediately shut down one of two reactors at California’s last nuclear power plant, stating that until tests are conducted on critical components, there is risk of “nuclear meltdown.”
In a nutshell:
The groups, Friends of the Earth and Mothers for Peace, filed a petition with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, citing concerns about the risk of a nuclear meltdown due to delayed inspections of critical components, specifically the Unit 1 reactor’s pressure vessel. They are calling for comprehensive testing and inspection using ultrasound equipment and other methods to assess the vessel’s structural integrity before resuming operations. PG&E, the plant’s operator, asserts compliance with regulatory standards and safety measures.
Key quote:
“We will not sit idly by while PG&E and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission rubber stamp and streamline Diablo Canyon’s extension,” said Hallie Templeton, legal director at Friends of the Earth. “Our latest filing targets unlawful, delayed inspections of the nuclear power plant’s crumbling, dangerous pressure vessel.”
The big picture:
A nuclear meltdown could have severe health and environmental consequences. In the event of a meltdown, radioactive materials can be released into the environment, posing a significant risk to human health. Exposure to radiation can lead to acute and long-term health issues, including cancer, radiation sickness, and genetic mutations. The environmental impact also includes contamination of air, soil, and water, affecting ecosystems and potentially requiring long-term evacuation of affected areas.
Read the article in the Washington Post.
Last year, Peter Dykstra wrote about utilities whose nuke plants are facing early closure because they’re aging and priced out of the market can apply to the DOE for relief.
UN nuclear agency slams Iran for barring inspectors from monitoring program
The UN nuclear watchdog has criticised Iran for effectively barring several of its most experienced inspectors from monitoring the country’s program.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi on Saturday condemned Iran’s “disproportionate and unprecedented” move to bar multiple inspectors assigned to the country, hindering its oversight of Tehran’s atomic activities.
Iran’s move is a response to a call led by the United States, Britain, France and Germany at the IAEA’s Board of Governors this week for Tehran to cooperate immediately with the agency on issues including explaining uranium traces found at undeclared sites.
Grossi made clear, however, that he believed Iran had overreacted.
“I strongly condemn this disproportionate and unprecedented unilateral measure which affects the normal planning and conduct of agency verification activities in Iran and openly contradicts the cooperation that should exist between the agency and Iran,” he said in a statement.
The strongly worded statement came amid longstanding tensions between Iran and the agency, which is tasked with monitoring a nuclear program that Western nations have long suspected is aimed at eventually developing a nuclear weapon. Iran insists the program is peaceful.
Iran’s move, known as “de-designation” of inspectors, is allowed; member states can generally veto inspectors assigned to visit their nuclear facilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and each country’s safeguards agreement with the agency governing inspections.
But the IAEA said Tehran’s decision went beyond normal practice. It said Iran had told it that it would bar “several” inspectors, without giving a number.
“These inspectors are among the most experienced agency experts with unique knowledge in enrichment technology,” the agency said. “With today’s decision, Iran has effectively removed about one third of the core group of the agency’s most experienced inspectors designated for Iran.”
Iran’s foreign ministry linked the move to what it said was an attempt by the US and three European countries to misuse the body “for their own political purposes”. He appeared to be referring to Britain, France and Germany, which said on Thursday they would maintain sanctions on Iran related to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
“Of course, Iran will continue its positive cooperation within the framework of the agreements that have been made, and emphasise the necessity of the agency’s neutrality,” he added.
A Vienna-based diplomat said Iran had de-designated all the French and German members of the IAEA inspection team. There were already no US or British members.
The Vienna-based IAEA reported earlier this month that Iran had slowed the pace at which it is enriching uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels. That was seen as a sign that Tehran was trying to ease tensions after years of strain between it and the US.
Iran and the US are negotiating a prisoner swap and the release of billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen in South Korea.
Then-President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the accord in 2018, restoring crippling sanctions. Iran began breaking the terms a year later. Formal talks in Vienna to try to restart the deal collapsed in August 2022.
Renewables boost in Germany: turning the corner after a bad year?
DAVID TOKE, SEP 15, 2023 https://davidtoke.substack.com/p/renewables-boost-in-germany-turning
Germany could be turning a corner after a bad year in 2022 as renewables increase and solar power deployment dramatically increases. 2022 saw coal electricity production increase driven by a mixture of the need to substitute for Russian natural gas and the phase-out of nuclear power. In the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 coal production as a proportion of electricity fell back from 31 per cent to 27 per cent. Renewable energy increased from 48 per cent to 53 per cent. See here.
On top of that solar pv deployment is surging ahead at the rate of over 1 GW a month according to PVMagazine. To put this in context this means that solar pv’s share of electricity production increases by somewhat over 2 per cent per annum. Of course, that’s certainly not enough on its own, but it is a start. Energy Minister Habeck hopes that planning reforms he oversaw will dramatically increase wind power deployment rates. These have been flagging in recent years.
The production of renewable energy is higher in Germany compared to other countries. Rapid progress in renewables growth is set to resume with reforms introduced by the current Government in which the Green Party’s Robert Habeck holds the Economic Affairs and Climate Action portfolio. However Germany is still to recover from the impact of the shutdown of Nordstream 1 gas pipeline from Russia and the big increase in energy costs involved in the pivot away from Russian gas.
Certainly, the embrace of Russia was not a choice favoured by Greens, who argued for energy conservation and renewables instead. But the geopolitical blunder, led by the the SDP’s former Chancellor, Gerhard Schroader, is costing Germany dearly. By contrast there was much greater consensus on phasing out nuclear power after the Fukushima accident in 2011.
The strength of coal interest in Germany has continued, with a completed phase-out now set for 2038. The strength of coal interests in Germany has been much higher compared to the UK because the UK has had (at least in the past) greater availability of cheap gas from the North Sea. Natural gas prices rose for the UK after 2006, but by then most of the coal electricity production had been replaced by natural gas.
There has been a big struggle recently over a heating law. The opposition was fiercely opposed to a mandatory phase-out of gas boilers by 2025. This was ultimately watered down so that, in effect, consumers can still replace gas boilers if there is no provision for local district heating networks.
The provision of district heatimng networks, already a lot more common than in the UK, is to be radically increased. They will be supplied by large-scale heat pumps. It should be mentioned that a law since 2021 effectively bans gas boilers in new buildings – something that is not yet the case in the UK.
Ex-Ukrainian president pictured wearing Nazi symbol (PHOTOS)
https://www.rt.com/russia/583014-poroshenko-nazi-patch-ukraine/
https://www.rt.com/russia/583014-poroshenko-nazi-patch-ukraine/ 17 Sept 23
Pyotr Poroshenko, the former president of Ukraine, was photographed wearing a symbol on his military fatigues that was created by the Nazis, during a meeting with Ukrainian troops last week.
The politician often showcases supplies such as quadcopter drones, household equipment, or even armored vehicles in his social media and PR, to emphasize his personal contribution to the war effort against Russia.
The images posted on his social media accounts last Saturday show him wearing a military patch with the so-called Black Sun, or ‘Sonnenrad.’ The symbol originates from Nazi Germany and is extensively used by various neo-Nazi groups around the world to denote their political leanings.
The infamous Ukrainian military unit, the Azov Batallion, for example, featured the Sonnenrad in its original insignia but later removed it as it attempted to downplay its association with far-right ideologies.
The controversial patch appears to come from the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. An earlier photo of the ex-president showed him clasping hands with Valery Prozapas, a member of Poroshenko’s European Solidarity party and a captain serving in the 36th Brigade, who wore an identical emblem.
The 10th Mountain Assault Brigade, which Poroshenko was visiting while sporting the patch on his jacket shoulder, is called ‘Edelweiss’ after Zelensky formally assigned the designation to the unit in February.
The Ukrainian military denies that the name has anything to do with the Nazi-era 1st Mountain Division of the Wehrmacht, which is notorious for war crimes committed by its troops on the Eastern front, and used the Edelweiss as an insignia.
The prevalence of neo-Nazi sympathizers among Ukrainian troops after the 2014 coup in Kiev has been thoroughly documented by researchers and the international press. However, this has been largely ignored by the Western media since the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine broke out last year.
In June, the New York Times contended that the widespread use of Nazi iconography in Ukraine was a “thorny issue,” emphasizing it does not reflect the true ideology of those displaying them.
Moscow, on the other hand, has called the empowerment of far-right nationalists in modern Ukraine one of the key reasons for the ongoing conflict.
‘War Is Good for Business,’ Declares Executive at London’s Global Arms Fair
16 Sept 23 By Brett Wilkins / Common Dreams
“Deals done at DSEI will cause misery across the world, causing global instability, and devastate people’s lives,” one peace activist lamented.
Military-industrial complex players big and small gathered in London this week, hawking everything from long-range missiles to gold-plated pistols to arms fair attendees—including representatives of horrific human rights violators—as weapon-makers and other merchants of the machinery of death reap record profits.
“War is good for business,” one defense executive attending the biennial Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) conference at ExCel London flat-out told Reuters. “We are extremely busy,” Michael Elmore, head of sales at the U.K.-based armored steelmaker MTL Advanced, told the media agency.
Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the West’s scramble to arm Ukrainian homeland defenders have been a bonanza for arms-makers.
“Ukraine is a very interesting combination of First and Second World War technologies and very modern technology,” Kuldar Vaarsi, CEO of the Estonian unmanned ground vehicle firm MILREM, told Reuters.
Saber-rattling and fearmongering by government, media, and business figures amid rising tensions between the U.S. and its allies on one side, and a fast-rising China on the other, have also spurred military spending, including Japan’s $320 billion buildup announced last December.
“We think this is a longer-term essentially ‘sea change’ in national defense strategy for the U.S. and for our Western allies,” Jim Taiclet, CEO of U.S. arms giant Lockheed Martin, told investors during a call earlier this summer announcing higher-than-expected sales and profit outlooks.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the United States, Russia, France, China, and Germany were the world’s top arms exporters from 2018-22, with the five nations accounting for 76% of all weapons exports during that period. The U.S. accounted for nearly 40% of such exports during those five years, while increasing its dominance in the arms trade. The U.S. also remains by far the world’s biggest military spender.
In addition to major corporations, middlemen like Marc Morales have also been profiting handsomely from wars in countries including Ukraine. Morales happened to have a warehouse full of ammunition in Bulgaria that the Pentagon originally intended for Afghanistan when Russia invaded its neighbor, and he has been richly rewarded as the U.S. spends tens of billions of dollars arming Ukrainian forces. He named his new $10 million yacht Trigger Happy.
Outside the sprawling ExCel convention center in London’s Docklands, anti-war protesters rallied against the global arms trade and the death and destruction it fuels. The Guardianreported that at least a dozen demonstrators were arrested during the course of the conference, including nine on Thursday for blocking a road outside the venue.
Sam Perlo-Freeman, a researcher at the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), told The Guardian that “a lot of countries that are being talked about as new arms export markets are ones we would be concerned about.”…………………………………
“Deals done at DSEI will cause misery across the world, causing global instability, and devastate people’s lives,” Apple added.
Inside ExCel, it was business as usual. Pressed by Declassified U.K. chief reporter Phil Miller on why Britain’s right-wing government supports “selling arms to the Saudi dictatorship that sentences someone to death for tweeting,” Minister of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey deflected.
Private sector leaders, however, have been more forthcoming. As Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes opined during a 2021 investor call touting the company’s “solid” growth: “Peace is not going to break out in the Middle East anytime soon.” https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/16/war-is-good-for-business-declares-executive-at-londons-global-arms-fair/
Israel’s nuclear commission head refuses to side by High Court – in the case of a constitutional crisis
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Moshe Edri, unofficially affiliated with the ruling Likud party, has not committed to siding with the court in case of a constitutional crisis.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF SEPTEMBER 17, 2023 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-759427
The head of Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) as of Sunday has yet to address a request by other members of the commission to adhere to the High Court of Justice in the case that the government refuses to respect any of its rulings, N12 reported on September 17.
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Moshe Edri, unofficially affiliated with the ruling Likud party, was asked by his fellow IAEC members to announce along with other Israeli security establishment heads to “choose the kingdom over the king,” if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government does not respect a potential High Court ruling on the reasonableness standard amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary.
Edri, who formerly headed the Defense Ministry’s Special Measures Division, has been acting as IAEC director-general since July 2022.
Nuclear scientists are against Israel’s judicial reform
Senior nuclear scientists in the Israel Atomic Energy Commission are considering resigning in protest against the government’s judicial reform plan, Channel 13 reported two months ago.
The groups of scientists, dozens as per the report, are still discussing whether or not to resign.
These scientists are reportedly targeted across the globe due to the nature of their occupation and have had security detail attached following Iranian threats on their lives.
The report continues, adding that any decision is unlikely to be taken as a united group, but rather as individuals.
Why this Ukrainian nuclear plant is now on brink of a ‘Fukushima’ disaster.
The chance of a serious disaster at the Russian-occupied nuclear power
plant in Ukraine has risen to one in five, a leading engineer at the
Soviet-era facility has warned. A recent exodus of top staff and the power
station’s use as a military base by Chechen troops are among the reasons
why a “Fukushima scenario” could happen at any time, according to one
of the ten most senior engineers at the plant near Zaporizhzhia, which had
a prewar workforce of 11,000.
The shortage of expertise is so acute that
janitors, secretaries and “blue-collar” workers are posing as engineers
in lab coats to dupe international observers into believing that the
Russians have the necessary staff to avert disaster, according to sources
with knowledge of conditions inside the facility. The Zaporizhzhia plant is
the largest in Europe. Before Russian soldiers arrived last year, only 160
senior staff members were licensed to supervise its six reactors. Of these,
about 30 agreed to collaborate with the Russians, while the remaining 80
per cent stayed in the adjoining occupied town of Enerhodar, ready to work
in an emergency. But a brutal crackdown over the summer against any
residents yet to obtain Russian passports forced 100 of those engineers to
take the perilous journey to escape.
Times 16th Sept 2023
September 14, 2023: Dounreay decommissioning end date that proved to be unachievable
By Alan Hendry – alan.hendry@hnmedia.co.uk, 14 September 2023
The end of an era for Caithness… the last chapter in a pioneering
industrial story that began in the black-and-white world of the 1950s… a
final farewell to our great atomic age… Or at least, it would have been
if a prediction made 11 years ago had proved to be accurate.
It was in May 2012 that Roger Hardy, then managing director of Dounreay Site Restoration
Ltd (DSRL), announced a target for the demolition of the nuclear site that
had transformed the county’s socio-economic landscape over the course of
six decades. Dounreay’s operators were setting a specific end date of
September 14, 2023.
That was when all redundant facilities needed to be
flattened and the waste sorted, segregated and made safe for the long term,
according to Mr Hardy. It was a big ask, he acknowledged at the time, but
staff were responding to the challenge: “No-one seems hugely surprised by
what we think is achievable.”
It was destined not to be achievable after
all. The current deadline for the clean-up is 2033, a full decade beyond
that 2012 forecast – although questions have been raised as to whether
even this revised schedule is a realistic one. Earlier this year,
ex-councillor Roger Saxon, a former chairman of Dounreay Stakeholder Group,
expressed the view that 2033 would be unachievable. He was concerned that
momentum had been lost on the decommissioning programme.
John O’Groat Journal 14th Sept 2023
The U.K.’s Goldilocks Moment For Nuclear Power
Christine Ro. Forbes, 17 Sept 23
You hear it up and down the U.K.: the future of nuclear energy will be small and flexible. Of course, people have been claiming for years now that small modular reactors (SMRs) are just about ready. As with so many technological breakthroughs, the reality has lagged behind the optimism.
Scale is not just a matter of technical preference, as the heated debates over the Sizewell C proposal indicate.
Alison Downes is a campaigner with Stop Sizewell C, an organization attempting to put the brakes on a nuclear mega-project on the eastern coast of England. Like the also-contested Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, Sizewell C would be a two-reactor, 3.2-gigawatt power station. It would be located near the smaller Sizewell B plant currently in operation. According to the operator, EDF, Sizewell C would produce enough electricity for around 6 million homes. EDF expects it to be operational in 2034, but construction has already lagged behind expectations.
Stop Sizewell C has a number of reasons for opposing the proposed Sizewell C plant. First, the project is expensive. The estimated price tag is £20 to 30 billion, and the projected expenses have continued to tick up.
Then there are the ecological concerns. The plant would be sited in a picturesque conservation area next to a bird reserve. Some are worried about coastal erosion. There are also uncertainties about the exact source of the water that will be critical to the plant’s operations, which has led to legal challenges.
Compared to large-scale nuclear in an ecologically delicate area, Downes argues that “there are alternative ways of making progress on our climate objectives”. She’s in favour of cheaper, quicker investments in renewable energy………………………………………….
Downes also believes that the massive Sizewell C project is politically popular partly because of its size. “Any big infrastructure project creates jobs,” as she points out.
The U.K. government is supporting nuclear in both big and small forms. At the launch of the Net Zero Nuclear initiative on September 7, Andrew Bowie, the U.K.’s minister for nuclear and networks, said, “We have launched a nuclear power revival in the UK, with projects like Hinkley and Sizewell C, but also with Great British Nuclear supporting the latest cutting-edge technologies like small modular reactors.”
Great British Nuclear is not an energy-focused reality show, but a young government unit that has kicked off its work with a technical selection process for SMRs. The hope is that these will be operational in the mid-2030s. In other words, the earliest SMRs could come online around the same time as Sizewell C, which complicates discussions of which would be developed faster.
Once they become viable, SMRs would be cheaper and faster to build, while using less fuel and generating less waste (although this is contested). Nuclear waste remains a prime concern for nuclear skeptics like Downes, given the almost inconceivably long timescales and uncertainty about what to actually do with the stuff.
Of course, the trade-off is that SMRs would generate less electricity – about 1/3 of the capacity of conventional big nuclear reactors. The sheer amount of energy supply is of course important. Yet conversations about the scale of nuclear energy production have tended to lack parallel discussion of energy consumption, and how to encourage energy conservation………………………………………………
For the time being, the U.K. is hedging its bets by investing in both big (controversial) and small (nonexistent) nuclear reactors. Other countries are looking to this corner of Europe for clues as to whether they too should be scaling up or down their nuclear prospects.
It’s not an either/or situation, of course, as the U.K.’s diversified nuclear options suggest. But there are limits to both budgets and political room for maneuver, as well as limited time to get the energy mix right as the climate transforms for the worse……………………………….. https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinero/2023/09/17/the-uks-goldilocks-moment-for-nuclear-power/?sh=794417ee39a3
A nuclear bomb is still missing after it was dropped off the Georgia coastline 65 years ago
Since 1950, the US military has been involved in 32 “broken arrow” incidents, where they lost or dropped nuclear weapons or other issues, like fires, were involved.
In his book “Command and Control,” Eric Schlosser wrote that in 1957 Air Force planes unintentionally dropped a nuclear weapon once every 320 flights. Coupled with the high rate of B-52 bomber crashes, there was the potential for about 19 incidents involving nuclear weapons each year.
Jenny McGrath Sep 16, 2023, Business Insider
- In 1958, two Air Force jets collided over Georgia, and one was carrying a nuclear weapon.
- The plane dropped the bomb off the coast of Tybee Island and landed safely.
- Several searches have failed to find the weapon in the decades since.
Every once in a while, a high reading of radioactivity off the coast of Tybee Island, Georgia, sends the US government scrambling to look for a nuclear weapon that’s likely hidden 13 to 55 feet below the ocean and sand, buried in the seafloor.
On February 5, 1958, two Air Force jets collided in mid-air during a training mission. The B-47 strategic bomber carried a Mark 15 thermonuclear bomb.
For over two months, the Air Force and Navy divers searched a 24-square-mile area in the Wassaw Sound, a bay of the Atlantic Ocean near Savannah. They never found the nuclear bomb.
Forty years later, a retired Air Force officer who remembered newspaper stories about the lost bomb from his childhood started a search for it.
“It’s this legacy of the Cold War,” said Stephen Schwartz, author of “Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of US Nuclear Weapons Since 1940.” “This is kind of hanging out there as a reminder of how untidy things were and how dangerous things were.”
But some experts say that even if someone finds the bomb, it may be better to leave it buried.
An armed training mission
At the time of the collision, it was “common practice” for the Air Force pilots on training missions to carry bombs on board, according to a 2001 report about the Tybee accident.
The purpose of the training mission was to simulate a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. They practiced flying over different US cities and towns to see whether the electronic beam would reach its target…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
In 2004, Richardson told CBS News he regretted dropping the bomb because of all the trouble it caused.
“What I should be remembered for is landing that plane safely,” he said. “I guess this bomb is what I’m going to be remembered for.”
The question of the plutonium capsule………………………………………………………………
The US government and military have repeatedly said the Tybee weapon didn’t contain a plutonium capsule when Richardson jettisoned it. A receipt for the bomb that Richardson signed at the time said he wouldn’t allow the insertion of an “active capsule” into the weapon.
A 1966 letter declassified in 1994 complicated the picture. It referred to then-Assistant Defense Secretary Jack Howard’s testimony before a congressional committee calling the Tybee bomb a complete nuclear weapon, with plutonium included. In 2001, a military spokesman told The Atlantic that they had recently spoken with Howard, and “he agreed that his memo was in error.”……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
One mishap among many
Less than a month after Richardson jettisoned the Tybee bomb, another B-47 accidentally dropped a nuclear weapon on South Carolina. It didn’t contain plutonium but left a 50-foot crater in a family’s yard. A few family members had minor injuries but everyone survived.
Since 1950, the US military has been involved in 32 “broken arrow” incidents, where they lost or dropped nuclear weapons or other issues, like fires, were involved.
In his book “Command and Control,” Eric Schlosser wrote that in 1957 Air Force planes unintentionally dropped a nuclear weapon once every 320 flights. Coupled with the high rate of B-52 bomber crashes, there was the potential for about 19 incidents involving nuclear weapons each year.
Between 1960 and 1968, the US military kept jets armed with nuclear weapons at the ready in case of a surprise nuclear attack. A series of near misses and serious accidents with nuclear weapons caused the Air Force to end the program.
“I don’t think we’re going to go back to the bad old days of putting our nuclear weapons on aircraft,” Schwartz said…………………………. https://www.businessinsider.com/missing-nuclear-bomb-georgia-coast-still-not-found-2023-9
—
Zelensky Implies Ukrainian Refugees in Europe Will Resort to Terrorism If West Curtails Aid
Despite Ukraine’s faltering counteroffensive, the Ukrainian leader said he was preparing for a long war and rejected the idea of diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He told The Economist it would not be a ‘good story’ for Europe if it were to ‘drive these people into a corner’
By Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com September 16, 2023 https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/16/zelensky-implies-ukrainian-refugees-in-europe-will-resort-to-terrorism-if-west-curtails-aid/
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky implied in an interview with The Economist that Ukrainian refugees in Europe might resort to terrorism if Western aid to Ukraine is curtailed.
The Economist report reads: “Curtailing aid to Ukraine will only prolong the war, Mr Zelensky argues. And it would create risks for the West in its own backyard. There is no way of predicting how the millions of Ukrainian refugees in European countries would react to their country being abandoned. Ukrainians have generally ‘behaved well’ and are ‘very grateful’ to those who sheltered them. They will not forget that generosity. But it would not be a ‘good story’ for Europe if it were to ‘drive these people into a corner.’”
Zelensky also said in the interview, published on September 10, that anyone who is not supporting Ukraine is with Russia. “If you are not with Ukraine, you are with Russia, and if you are not with Russia, you are with Ukraine. And if partners do not help us, it means they will help Russia to win. That is it,” he said.
Despite Ukraine’s faltering counteroffensive, the Ukrainian leader said he was preparing for a long war and rejected the idea of diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The report reads: “Tapping loudly on the table, Mr. Zelensky rejects outright the idea of compromise with Vladimir Putin. War will continue for ‘as long as Russia remains on Ukrainian territory,’ he says.”
While worried about sustaining support from the West for the long-term, Zelensky said he does not expect to lose US backing if former President Trump is elected in 2024. He said Trump would “never” support Putin. “That isn’t what strong Americans do,” he added.
The Biden administration seems happy to support an open-ended conflict and is looking to tie the hands of a future president by negotiating a deal with Ukraine for long-term military support. The US and other G7 nations vowed at the recent NATO summit in Vilnius to negotiate their own bilateral security deals with Ukraine.
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