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On the hook! Taxpayers to foot much of £38 billion bill for Sizewell C farce.

“It is astounding that it is only now, as contracts are being signed, that the government has confessed that Sizewell C’s cost has almost doubled to an eye watering £38bn – a figure that will only go up”.


 NFLA 22nd July 2025, https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/on-the-hook-taxpayers-to-foot-much-of-38-billion-bill-for-sizewell-c-farce/


As Energy Secretary Ed Miliband signals the go ahead to the Sizewell C nuclear power plant with today’s approval of the Financial Investment Decision,[i] it is notable that the estimated cost of building the UK’s latest nuclear white elephant has already almost doubled to £38 billion.

Taxpayers will be on the hook for billions, as Ministers have failed to secure the full private sector funding that they desperately wanted and as France has reined in its own commitment.

The UK government’s stake is now 44.9%, whilst Amber Infrastructure (7.6%), Centrica (15%), EDF Energy (12.5%), and La Caisse (20%) will also take stakes. The National Wealth Fund – the government’s principal investor and policy bank – is also making its first investment in nuclear energy.

Interestingly, although much was made of continued French Government involvement through its sole ownership of EDF, President Macron cannot have been very impressed with the hospitality he received on his recent visit to the UK as the French subsequently reduced their stake to 12.5%. Originally both the UK and French Government had each committed to taking a near 20% stake.

The previously published official cost for the project was £20 billion, with the plant expected to be generating in the mid to late 2030s. But sceptics never believed the claimed £20 billion figure and they placed little faith that the delivery date will be met given that Sizewell C is largely a remake of her older sister, Hinkley Point C, which is massively over budget and behind schedule.

This plant under construction in Somerset is now expected to cost £46 billion to complete, and it will be delivered up to six years late; but at least in the case of Hinkley Point C it is French-state owned EDF Energy that must stump up the extra cash.

Clearly some prospective investors baulked at the cost unknowns and project risks of the Suffolk white elephant, and Alison Downes, Director of Stop Sizewell C, said that consequently the latest project had “only crawled over the line thanks to guarantees that the public purse, not private investors, will carry the can for the inevitable cost overruns”.

Whitehall and industry insiders have previously revealed to the press that the £20 billion only represented half the true cost and Julia Pyke, Sizewell C’s Managing Director had conceded that the earlier £20 billion cost estimate failed to account for inflation or risk.

In Sizewell C’s media release today, Ms Pyke revealed the price hike:

“Our plan is to deliver Sizewell C at a capital cost of around £38bn. Our estimate is the result of very detailed scrutiny of costs at Hinkley Point C and long negotiations with our suppliers. It has been subject to third-party peer review and has been scrutinised by investors and lenders and has been subject to extensive due diligence as part of the financing process. A capital cost of £38bn represents around 20% saving compared with Hinkley Point C and demonstrates the value of the UK’s fleet approach.”[ii]

In response, Ms Downes added: “It is astounding that it is only now, as contracts are being signed, that the government has confessed that Sizewell C’s cost has almost doubled to an eye watering £38bn – a figure that will only go up”.

Also commenting, the Chair of a second local campaign group, Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), Jenny Kirtley, said,

“This decision is a financial and environmental disaster for the UK and a betrayal of future generations.

“We are in a climate crisis that needs immediate action, yet this government has chosen to squander billions of public funds on a project that will not be operational until the late 2030s and has already seen a staggering 90% uplift in cost over the last 5 years.

“At nearly double the original £20bn price tag, a figure still being touted by joint managing director Julia Pyke until recently, how can anyone believe that £38bn Sizewell C will provide ‘value for money’ for consumers and taxpayers. The scale of potential exposure of public funds to the Sizewell C project is revealed as a staggering £54.589 billion in the government’s Financial Investment Decision subsidy scheme[iii].

“So much for claims made by EDF and government that there would be huge cost savings from ‘lessons learned’ from the Hinkley Point C build.

“In TASC’s view, the cost of this risky project can only increase as there are still many unresolved issues, including the recently revealed hidden sea defences which were not included by EDF in the 2020 DCO planning application even though EDF knew they would be needed in 2017.[iv] Future generations will have the responsibility to protect the Sizewell C site until the late 2100s and are depending on us to get it right.”

Although disappointing, the news was not unexpected by campaigners. The Nuclear Free Local Authorities are therefore confident that they shall soon pick themselves up and continue the fight, and we shall stand alongside them as the battle continues.

July 24, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

In a historic gathering, 12 countries announce Israel sanctions and renewed legal action to end Gaza genocide

Meeting in Bogotá, Colombia, representatives of Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, and South Africa announced sanctions against Israel to cut the flow of weapons facilitating genocide and war crimes in Gaza.

By María F. Fitzgerald  July 17, 2025  https://mondoweiss.net/2025/07/30-countries-announce-israel-sanctions-and-renewed-legal-action-to-end-gaza-genocide/

Speaking about Palestine is speaking about resistance in the heart of horror. That is how Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, summed it up at an emergency conference in Bogotá, Colombia. The same Albanese who is currently facing sanctions imposed by the U.S. government for, according to them, making antisemitic remarks, after repeatedly denouncing the brutalities committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.

Despite these accusations, Albanese remains firm in her denunciations. She reiterated on several occasions that we must not allow these actions to distract us from what truly matters: the genocide that, for the past twenty months, has escalated against the people of Gaza, and the massive human rights violations taking place across Palestine, which have left more than 60,000 people dead, most of them women and children.

“The global majority [also known as the Global South] has been the driving force behind actions against Israel’s genocide, with South Africa and Colombia playing key roles in this process,” she told Mondoweiss during a press conference on the first day of the Emergency Conference for Gaza, convened by the governments of Colombia and South Africa. “These actions have led to the creation of spaces for sanctions and resistance. What we’ve been insisting on all along is that more and more countries must join these efforts.”

The Hague Group coordinated this Emergency Conference, which brought together representatives from over 30 states, including China, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, and Qatar. Initially formed by Colombia and South Africa, the group seeks to establish specific sanctions against Israel that, according to Colombia’s Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs, Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir, aim to move beyond discourse and into action.

Heads of state and their representatives emphasized that these sanctions are not retaliatory but are in full compliance with international humanitarian law. They are part of the international community’s commitment to ending the genocide. One of the central calls made was for more nations to join this effort and uphold their duty to defend human rights.

All 30 participating states unanimously agreed that “the era of impunity must end— and that international law must be enforced.” To begin this effort, 12 states from across the world — Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and South Africa — committed to implementing six key points:

1. Prevent the provision or transfer of arms, munitions, military fuel, related military equipment, and dual-use items to Israel, as appropriate, to ensure that our industry does not contribute the tools to enable or facilitate genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of international law.

2. Prevent the transit, docking, and servicing of vessels at any port, if applicable, within our territorial jurisdiction, while being fully compliant with applicable international law, including UNCLOS, in all cases where there is a clear risk of the vessel being used to carry arms, munitions, military fuel, related military equipment, and dual-use items to Israel, to ensure that our territorial waters and ports do not serve as conduits for activities that enable or facilitate genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of international law.

3. Prevent the carriage of arms, munitions, military fuel, related military equipment, and dual-use items to Israel on vessels bearing our flag, while being fully compliant with applicable international law, including UNCLOS, ensuring full accountability, including de-flagging, for non-compliance with this prohibition, not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

4. Commence an urgent review of all public contracts, in order to prevent public institutions and public funds, where applicable, from supporting Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territory which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory, to ensure that our nationals, and companies and entities under our jurisdiction, as well as our authorities, do not act in any way that would entail recognition or provide aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

5. Comply with our obligations to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law through robust, impartial and independent investigations and prosecutions at national or international levels, in compliance with our obligation to ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes.

6. Support universal jurisdiction mandates, as and where applicable in our legal constitutional frameworks and judiciaries, to ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Both Jaramillo and Zane Dangor, Director-General of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, emphasized that these actions must not be seen as reprisals, but rather as part of an international effort to break the global silence that has enabled atrocities in Palestine.

This decision is aligned with Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s renewed order to halt all coal exports from Colombia to Israel: “My government was betrayed, and that betrayal, among other things, cast doubt on my order to stop exporting coal to Israel. We are the world’s fifth-largest coal exporter, which means the country of life is helping to kill humanity. Colombian coal is still being shipped to Israel. We prohibited it, and yet we are being tricked into violating that decision. We cannot allow Colombian coal to be turned into bombs that help Israel kill children.”

In his closing speech, Petro reaffirmed that Colombia would break all arms trade relations with Israel and would continue to support the Palestinian people’s right to resist.

The legitimacy of the Hague Group and these decisions has also been backed by several multilateral organizations that have denounced the genocide. As Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, Executive Secretary of the Hague Group, stated: “The International Criminal Court (ICC) has already clearly denounced the genocide. The United Nations has stated that Gaza is the hungriest place on Earth. What we lack now is not clarity, it’s courage. We need the bravery to take the necessary actions”.

These words were echoed by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Mansour, who emphasized that, together with the Madrid Group (a coalition of over 20 European and Arab countries also taking action against Israel and led by Spain), they could be the key to breaking Israel’s siege of horror: “This will not be an exercise in theatrical politics. The time has come for concrete, effective action to stop the crimes and end the profiteering from genocide. We will defeat these crimes against humanity and give the children who are still alive in Palestine a future full of promise, independence, and dignity. Recognizing Palestine is not a symbolic gesture, it is a concrete act of resistance against colonial expansion”.

His statement was followed by that of Palestinian-American doctor Thaer Ahmad, who worked in Nasser Hospital in Gaza and left the territory two months ago. In his testimony, he said he is certain that official death tolls do not even come close to reality, that Gaza is currently hell on Earth, and that every day the genocide continues brings devastating consequences for Palestinian children: “How can we look ourselves in the mirror? When this ends, if it ends, what will we say? ‘Sorry, we did everything we could’? They can’t afford to keep waiting for vague responses. They are surviving genocide every day. So now, how do we ensure that the effort to erase Palestinians from history does not succeed?”

Although the agreed-upon actions are significant, even the attending delegations acknowledge that their efforts will not be enough. Broader and more forceful measures are required. Yet, one day earlier, standing at the podium of Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Francesca Albanese reaffirmed the historic importance of this event. She stated it could be: “A historical turning point that ends, with concrete measures, the genocide-based economy that has sustained Israel. I came to this meeting believing that the narrative is shifting. Hope must be a discipline that we all preserve.”

Correction: The original version of this article said that all 30 countries participating in the gathering had endorsed the six action points. The article has been updated to make clear that only 12 of the participating countries have committed to implementing the measures at this time.

July 20, 2025 Posted by | politics | Leave a comment

Call for evidence on building nuclear for a new UK “golden age of clean energy abundance”

The UK is embarking on an ambitious programme of
investment in nuclear energy, seeking to reverse decades of declining
capacity. The Government is counting on new nuclear to help deliver energy
security and decarbonise electricity generation. Announcing funding for the
Sizewell C nuclear power plant in June, the Energy Secretary said “we
need new nuclear to deliver a golden age of clean energy abundance.”

But past promises of a golden age of nuclear energy have failed to materialise.
A new reactor has not been connected to the grid for 30 years. Nuclear
projects have historically faced unique barriers, including complex
regulatory and planning processes. The Government now aims to deliver
reforms to streamline planning approvals and give greater certainty to
developers. The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee is now inviting
written submissions to help assess whether EN-7 provides a coherent and
effective framework for enabling the UK’s nuclear ambitions.

 Energy Security and Net Zero Committee 17th July 2025, https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/664/energy-security-and-net-zero-committee/news/208378/call-for-evidence-on-building-nuclear-for-a-new-uk-golden-age-of-clean-energy-abundance/

July 20, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

We’ll stop Nimbys from blocking nuclear power stations, say Tories.

The rule changes would see planning officers ignore all environmental
considerations when building a new nuclear site,

Party wants to make it impossible to challenge plans using environmental impact assessments or habitat regulations

 Nimbys will be stopped from blocking nuclear power stations in their area
under Tory plans. The party wants to end the “absurd” blocking of new
nuclear sites through environmental impact assessments or regulations on
habitats, and would make it impossible to challenge a new power station in
court.

The Tories have submitted amendments to the Government’s Planning
and Infrastructure Bill that would exempt nuclear power stations from being
blocked or delayed on environmental grounds, to speed up energy production
in the UK. They accused Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, of presiding
over “the highest prices for offshore wind in a decade” and called for
more nuclear power to meet the UK’s growing demand for electricity.

The rule changes would see planning officers ignore all environmental
considerations when building a new nuclear site, which is likely to anger
locals and lead to public opposition. Writing for The Telegraph, Claire
Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said the new Hinkley Point C power
station in Somerset is set to be the most expensive in history because of
“bureaucracy and rampant lawfarism”. “[There is] Endless lawfare,
environmental paperwork, and legal challenges that do little to protect
nature but create plenty of expensive work for planning consultants and
pencil-pushing bureaucrats,” she said. “Every single delay and absurd
mitigation measure adds more cost.”

The amendments would only become law
with the support of Labour MPs, which is not expected to happen. Labour has
previously said it will reform the same rules raised by the Conservatives,
but will not exempt them from judicial review or all environmental
assessments.

Responding to the Conservative proposal, Sam Richards, chief
executive of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, said the UK had the
“worst of both worlds” with a planning system that does not protect
nature and slows down infrastructure projects. “These amendments are
radical, but the status quo where safe, clean nuclear power projects are
delayed and made more expensive due to repeated legal challenges and poorly
drafted environmental legislation is intolerable,” he said.

 Telegraph 18th July 2025, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/18/tories-stop-nimbys-block-nuclear-power-hinkley-fish-disco/

July 20, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

THE END FOR ZELENSKY?

Washington wants the Ukrainian president to leave office—will it happen?

Seymour Hersh, Jul 19, 2025

In fall of 2023, Ukrainian General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of the country’s armed forces, gave an interview to the Economist and declared the war with Russia had become a “stalemate.” It took three months for President Volodymyr Zelensky to fire him. The general, who is the most popular public figure in Ukraine, was named ambassador to London a month later and has served there with distinction, if quietly.

Zaluzhnyi is now seen as the most credible successor to Zelensky. I have been told by knowledgeable officials in Washington that that job could be his within a few months. Zelensky is on a short list for exile, if President Donald Trump decides to make the call. If Zelensky refuses to leave his office, as is most likely, an involved US official told me: “He’s going to go by force. The ball is in his court.” There are many in Washington and in Ukraine who believe that the escalating air war with Russia must end soon, while there’s still a chance to make a settlement with its president, Vladimir Putin………………………………………………………… (Subscribers only) https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/the-end-for-zelensky?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1377040&post_id=168643905&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=ln98x&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

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July 19, 2025 Posted by | politics, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Tehran stands by Leader’s fatwa banning nuclear weapons: Parliament

July 13, 2025. https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/515569/Tehran-stands-by-Leader-s-fatwa-banning-nuclear-weapons-Parliament

TEHRAN — The Iranian Parliament has once again underlined the country’s unwavering commitment to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, with top lawmakers emphasizing that Iran’s nuclear doctrine remains fully aligned with the Leader’s religious decree prohibiting nuclear weapons.

Speaking on Sunday, Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, stated that both the Islamic Republic and the Parliament—as a central institution in national decision-making—remain firmly opposed to the development or use of nuclear arms.

“The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Parliament, including the Speaker, is clear: we categorically reject the use of nuclear weapons,” Rezaei said.

He added that even during the recent 12-day conflict, while the committee adopted motions such as suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it never endorsed the idea of pursuing nuclear weapons. On the contrary, he said, the committee has consistently reaffirmed the Leader’s binding fatwa against such weapons.

In a recent televised interview, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf also reiterated Iran’s official position: “We have consistently told the international community and international organizations that we have never sought nuclear weapons. But uranium enrichment is our right.”

Qalibaf added that Iran’s nuclear policy is grounded in international law: “Our stance is clear. Nuclear technology is our legitimate right, not just a red line but beyond it. This right is guaranteed under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which allows all signatories to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.”

Rezaei emphasized that Iran remains committed to the NPT, and that the temporary suspension of cooperation with the IAEA should not be interpreted as a step toward abandoning the treaty or seeking nuclear arms.

He concluded by reaffirming Ayatollah Khamenei’s well-established position: “The Leader of the Islamic Revolution has clearly and repeatedly declared that the use of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons is religiously forbidden. That fatwa stands. There has been no shift in Iran’s nuclear doctrine.”

July 15, 2025 Posted by | Iran, politics | Leave a comment

Atomic bomb survivors in Japan fear nuclear weapons could be used again: poll

Newly released survey shows close to 70 percent of survivors fear a resurgence in nuclear risks as Japan readies for the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

14 July 25 https://trt.global/world/article/0c8b4e3aec45

Nearly 70 percent of atomic bomb survivors in Japan believe nuclear weapons could be used again, citing growing global tensions, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and North Korea’s weapons development, a survey by Kyodo News Agency revealed on Sunday, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the US atomic bombings.

Around 1,500 survivors took part in the survey, with 68.6 percent saying the risk of nuclear weapons being used again is increasing.

Some 45.7 percent of respondents said they “cannot forgive” the US for the bombings, while 24.3 percent said they have “no special feelings” and 16.9 percent said they “did not know.”

This year marks 80 years since the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in western Japan near the end of World War II.

On August 6, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing an estimated 140,000 people.

A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later, resulting in about 70,000 additional deaths.

Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, officially marking the end of World War II.

July 14, 2025 Posted by | Japan, public opinion | Leave a comment

Iran says cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog will take ‘new form’

Iran said Saturday its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy
Agency “will take on a new form”, expressing a desire for a diplomatic
solution to resolve concerns over its nuclear programme.

Iran’s 12-day war
with Israel last month, sparked by an Israeli bombing campaign that hit
military and nuclear sites as well as residential areas, rattled its
already shaky relationship with the UN nuclear watchdog.

The attacks began
days before a planned meeting between Tehran and Washington aimed at
reviving nuclear negotiations, which have since stalled. Iran has blamed
the IAEA in part for the June attacks on its nuclear facilities, which
Israel says it launched to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon —
an ambition Tehran has repeatedly denied. Araghchi said requests to monitor
nuclear sites “will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis… taking into
account safety and security issues”, and be managed by Iran’s Supreme
National Security Council.

Daily Mail 12th July 2025,
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202507120964

July 14, 2025 Posted by | Iran, politics | Leave a comment

UK Moves Closer to Approving Sizewell C Nuclear Plant Project

 The UK government has reached a deal with French authorities, allowing
Electricite de France SA (EDF) to retain a 12.5% stake in the Sizewell C
nuclear reactor project. The UK government and other investors will hold
the remaining stake, with the UK investing £14.2 billion in the project to
replace aging atomic plants and provide low-carbon electricity. EDF is set
to hold a board meeting to greenlight its participation in Sizewell C,
which will help the UK government make a final investment decision on the
project soon after.

 Bloomberg 7th July 2025, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-07/uk-moves-closer-to-approving-sizewell-c-nuclear-plant-project

July 13, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Trawsfynydd unlikely for new nuclear development, council hears.

 Gwynedd Council indicates it’s highly unlikely Trawsfynydd will see new nuclear
projects soon, focusing instead on a science park. It is “highly
unlikely” that Trawsfynydd will be considered for new nuclear development
in the near future. Gwynedd Council’s full meeting on 3 July heard that
despite “uncertainty” over the site, work was underway with partners to
establish a science park and future jobs. Decommissioning work was
programmed until 2060, according to Nuclear Restoration Services plans.
“There is considerable uncertainty about the direction of government’s
policy, funding and priorities, which means that it is highly unlikely that
the Trawsfynydd site will be considered by government and the private
sector for new nuclear development in the near future”.

 Cambrian News 8th July 2025, https://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/trawsfynydd-unlikely-for-new-nuclear-development-council-hears-810243

July 13, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Rep. Green cracks open America’s decades long denial of Israel’s illegal nuclear arsenal 

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL, 12 July 25

Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) became 1 in 535 congresspersons with the guts to call out Israel’s lawless nuclear weapons arsenal containing between 100 and 300 nukes.

She plans to introduce an amendment to strip $500 million from the 2026 NDAA (defense budget) for Israel. “I’m entering amendments to strike $500 million more for nuclear-armed Israel. And it’s important to say nuclear-armed Israel, because they do have nuclear weapons. And we already give them $3.4 billion every single year from the State Department. They don’t need another $500 million in our defense budget. That’s for the American people’s defense.”

Green represents the first serious crack in US administration, Congress and mainstream media’s lockstep denial of Israel’s nukes to avoid complying with US law. The Symington Amendment, a foreign assistance law, forbids military aid to countries trafficking in nuclear enrichment or technology outside of International Atomic Energy Administration (IAEA) safeguards

If the US admitted to Israel’s illegal nukes, it couldn’t give penny in military aid, much less the $3.4 billion Congress gifts to Israel every year on top of the roughly $20 billion we’ve given them to conduct their genocidal ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza. US aid represents nearly three quarters of Israel’s military spending since their genocide began in October, 2023.

Green, long a critic of the Israel Lobby, is likely to continue receiving her yearly bribe from the Lobby to support their genocidal ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the West Bank….$0.

When the Lobby comes calling to the other 534 congresspersons, nearly all sputter ‘Step right up.’ None dare not utter one word against Israel’s illegal, destabilizing, dangerous nuclear arsenal.

Back in February 2009 at his first presidential press conference, Obama said this when Helen Thomas asked him if any Middle East countries possess nuclear weapons. “When it comes to nuclear weapons….I do not wish to speculate.” What Obama really said was ‘When it come to nuclear weapons, I do not wish to tell the truth.’ A big reason was Obama’ senseless plan to guarantee Israel $3.4 billion annually for 10 years, something he could not do if he did tell the truth.

It’s been 16 years, but we finally heard a governmental leader, albeit just a relatively powerless congressperson, answer that question truthfully.

Let’s hope the crack Green opened up on Israel’s nukes will expand into a Grand Canyon of nuclear sanity.

July 12, 2025 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Republicans and Democrats Finally Agree on Nuclear. It’s the Industry That’s the Problem.

The atomic age is perpetually on the verge of dawning.

 Nuclear power is a political winner — but not a money saver. Just ask
Tim Echols. Echols’ term on the Georgia Public Service Commission is up
this year, and unlike most states, his position is an elected one.

He says the Vogtle nuclear plant has been a campaign issue — it’s hiked
customers’ bills by about 12 percent since coming fully online last year,
$21 billion over budget and seven years behind schedule — but that his
opponents haven’t been able to weaponize it. He won his Republican
primary resoundingly last month.

“All the Democratic opponents are saying
that they would build Vogtle,” he said. “They’re just not saying how
they would pay for it. Or they’re saying they’re going to lower bills,
but they’re going to build nuclear, and those two things don’t go
together.”

The hippies are dying out, and with them the memories of
Shoreham, San Onofre, V.C. Summer, Three Mile Island and other nuclear
plants that didn’t pan out, suffered radiation leaks or otherwise closed
before their time. It’s not the policy that’s holding nuclear back:
It’s the industry.

All the incentives and permitting reforms the
government can muster won’t change the basic economics that have led to
just three new nuclear plants getting built in the U.S. this century: It
takes too long, is too expensive and is only getting pricier. “In terms
of new nuclear, it’s a nonstarter,” said Stanford engineering professor
Mark Z. Jacobson, a longtime skeptic of nuclear power. “They can spend as
much money as they want, it’s never going to happen.”

 Politico 9th July 2025, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/07/09/gop-dems-nuclear-energy-industry-problems-debra-kahn-column-00344370

July 12, 2025 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

New nuclear power plant in Switzerland not before 2050

 The possible construction of new nuclear power plants in Switzerland, as currently
discussed, depends on many factors. Even if the ban on new construction
were lifted, there would still be numerous other political, technological,
economic, and social uncertainties, as the Energy Commission of the Swiss
Academies of Arts and Sciences outlines in a new report.

Even if the ban on
new construction is lifted, commissioning a new nuclear power plant is
unlikely before approximately 2050. Before connecting to the power grid,
various political, administrative, and economic decisions must be made.
Several referendums and even appeals are expected. The majorities are
uncertain from today’s perspective and could change due to individual
events such as Fukushima.

Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences 1st July 2025, https://akademien-schweiz.ch/news/neues-kernkraftwerk-in-der-schweiz-fruehestens-2050

July 12, 2025 Posted by | politics, Switzerland | Leave a comment

Nuclear comeback? Japan’s plans to restart reactors hit resistance over radioactive waste

 The Japanese government wants to turn its nuclear power
stations back on – but some local residents and Indigenous Ainu people
don’t want nuclear waste stored near them. Fourteen years after the
Fukushima disaster, Japan is restarting its nuclear reactors – and two
wind-blown near-deserted fishing villages on the northern island of
Hokkaido could be the destination for all their radioactive waste. But,
while some residents of Suttsu and Kamoenai welcome the government money
that volunteering to store the waste will bring, others are fiercely
opposed due to fears that the nuclear waste will contaminate their land and
water. The controversy could delay Japan’s goals to use carbon-free
nuclear energy to replace electricity generation from expensive imported
fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions on the way to net zero by
2050.

 Climate Home News 6th July 2025, https://www.climatechangenews.com/2025/07/06/nuclear-comeback-japans-plans-to-restart-reactors-hit-resistance-over-radioactive-waste/

July 12, 2025 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Three Blows Against Zionism in a Single Day

A court ruling in Australia, an election result in New York and a military setback for Israel, all coming on Tuesday this week, signaled a serious turn of events for Zionism and its supporters, writes Joe Lauria.

By Joe Lauria, Consortium News, https://consortiumnews.com/2025/06/26/three-blows-against-zionism-in-a-single-day/

The impunity with which Zionism invades and bombs its neighbors and shuts up its critics in Western nations was thrown into question perhaps as never before on Tuesday as Zionism suffered a legal, a political and a military defeat all in one day.

A Military Defeat in the Morning

On Tuesday morning Washington time, President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a cessation of hostilities after an 11-day war that saw Israel seriously deplete its air defenses, undermine its economy and suffer the worst damage from enemy fire in memory.  

A war that Israel — and especially its prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu — had lusted after for three decades had finally been launched. Netanyahu at last found an American president willing to join him in unprovoked aggression against Iran to extend Israel’s regional dominance well beyond the Jordan River.

That would require the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and the overthrow of the Iranian government to be replaced by a puppet regime led by Israel and the United States.  

Instead, Israel had to cut short the operation despite U.S. involvement because it was not going to plan.  U.S. intelligence says the so-far merely civilian nuclear program was only set back a few months and the Iranian government has never been made more secure.

As it touts itself as the most invincible (and “moral”) army, the failure to achieve its goals in Iran and the physical damage it took from Iranian missile and drone attacks makes what just transpired a humiliating military defeat for Zionism. 

And though U.S. presidents have privately groused about Israeli leaders before, never has Israel been cursed out before in public by a president, as Trump did on Tuesday morning.

A Legal Defeat in the Evening

Then at 8:15 pm Tuesday, U.S. East Coast time (10:15 am Wednesday in Australia), a federal judge in Sydney found the courage to stand up to the organized thuggery of Zionist lobbies by ruling that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) had succumbed to intense pressure from Israel lobbyists to sack a radio presenter because she shared an instagram post from Human Rights Watch which accurately reported that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war.

That is the exact charge formally leveled in Netanyahu’s arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Australian judge ruled that the presenter, Antoinette Lattouf, was wrongly dismissed and that the ABC must pay her restitution.

Judge Daryl Rangiah said the ABC had “appease[d] … pro-Israel lobbyists” because Lattouf “held political opinions opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.” Rangiah said that “the complaints [to the ABC] were an orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists to have Ms Lattouf taken off air.”

ABC managing director Hugh Marks apologized to the public on air, saying, “Any undue influence or pressure on ABC management or any of its employees must always be guarded against.”

It was a major setback for a powerful Israel Lobby in a Western nation. These lobbies have been untouchable until now no matter what underhanded tactics they employ to create cover for genocide and wars of aggression by smearing and silencing legitimate critics of Israel. 

A Political Defeat in the Night

Still on Tuesday, at around 11 pm in New York City, a Muslim politician who has vowed to arrest Netanyahu based on the ICC warrant if he steps foot in the city while he is mayor, defeated a Democratic Party machine politician in the party’s primary election for mayor.

Despite being repeatedly smeared as an anti-semite, Zohran Mamdani has refused to renounce his strong support for Palestinians, including refusing to retract his labelling of Israel’s war on Gaza “genocide.”

Mamdani’s electoral victory has incensed Zionists everywhere, setting off gnashing of teeth. “NY Democrats have fully embraced Marxism, antisemitism, anti-capitalism, and sheer insanity,” said fanatical Zionist Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler called Mamdani “a radical, antisemitic socialist.”

The election result shows that a sizeable number of voters in the city with the largest population of Jews after Tel Aviv don’t care anymore about the taboos constructed and enforced against criticizing Israel.  Israel has their live-streamed genocide to thank for that. 

A Beginning, Not an End

Anyone of these events alone would signify a momentous turning of the tide against decades of built-up injustice committed by Israel and its lobby. The baseless smears of anti-semitism are losing their effect. The image of an all-powerful Israeli military is tarnished. 

June 24, 2025 may be seen as the day in which fear of Israel was overcome on a scale not seen before. There is a long road ahead filled with enormous obstacles, but this day could usher in an era in which Israel and its enablers are at last held accountable for their many crimes. 

Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former U.N. correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and other newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette, the London Daily Mail and The Star of Johannesburg. He was an investigative reporter for the Sunday Times of London, a financial reporter for Bloomberg News and began his professional work as a 19-year old stringer for The New York Times. He is the author of two books, A Political Odyssey, with Sen. Mike Gravel, foreword by Daniel Ellsberg; and How I Lost By Hillary Clinton, foreword by Julian Assange. 

June 28, 2025 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, Legal, politics, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

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