In the West’s grab for resources, it’s convenient to blame Al Qaeda
RT: Africa has plenty of untapped natural resources. Which countries appear most interested in securing and possibly expanding their interests there? And how could those interests clash?
NC: Very possibly, because I think obviously France from Mr. Hollande’s point of view – their economy is in a very bad state in France – and I think that he is hoping that a successful intervention in Mali would boost his popularity ratings back home. So, it’s a uranium issue and how France needs uranium there. And Mali is a big producer of uranium.
the west wants resources, the west wants to get control of resources in this region
‘Al-Qaeda threat used by NATO as smoke screen for re-colonization of Northern Africa’, RT 21 Jan 13,
The UK is providing logistical air assistance, while the United States is providing surveillance and other intelligence help. Continue reading
In Mali – a war for grabbing resources – especially uranium
Uranium: encouraging signs and exploration in full swing. Exploration is currently being carried out by several companies with clear indications of deposits of uranium in Mali. Uranium potential is located in the Falea area which covers 150 km² of the Falea- North Guinea basin, a Neoproterozoic sedimentary basin marked by significant radiometric anomalies. Uranium potential in Falea is thought to be 5000 tonnes. The Kidal Project, in the north eastern part of Mali, with an area of 19,930 km2, the project covers a large crystalline geological province known as L’Adrar Des Iforas. Uranium potential in the Samit deposit, Gao region alone is thought to be 200 tonnes.
The War on Mali What You Should Know: An Eldorado of Uranium, Gold, Petroleum, Strategic Minerals SPY GhanaBy 4thmedia.org R. Teichman, News Beacon Ireland, 17 Jan 13
The French government has stated that: …… We have one goal. To ensure that when we leave, when we end our intervention, Mali is safe, has legitimate authorities, an electoral process and there are no more terrorists threatening its territory.” [1]
So this is the official narrative of France and those who support it. And of course this is what is widely reported by the mainstrem media.
France is supported by other NATO members. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed that the US was providing intelligence to French forces in Mali. [2] Canada, Belgium, Denmark and Germany have also publicly backed the French incursion, pledging logistical support in the crackdown on the rebels. [3]
If we are to believe this narrative we are misled again about the real reasons. A look at Mali’s natural resources reveals what this is really about. Continue reading
It’s the uranium, stupid! France’s war in Mali
Although Niger has been France’s primary uranium trading partner in the region, investors are currently estimating 5,200 tonnes of untapped uranium sources in Mali, making the requirements of a favourable government and a suppressed civil society all the more urgent.
The curbs on civil liberties in the West which the so-called War on Terror forces upon citizens is part of the same struggle that activists in West Africa are fighting against uranium mining corporations
Blood for Uranium: France’s Mali intervention has little to do with terrorism http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/blood-uranium-frances-mali-intervention-terrorism/ Adam Elliott-Cooper looks at the geo-strategic and economic interests shaping the current French intervention in Mali. 17 Jan 13, France opened 2013 with a series of airstrikes on Northern Mali to prevent “the establishment of a terrorist state”. At the time of writing, 11 civilians (including two children) have been killed, and according to the UN, an estimated 30,000 have been displaced. The morbid irony of the France’s leaders bombing people in order to prevent a “terrorist state” appears to be lost on them, but this may be due to their eyes being on something far more important – Mali’s economy. (Picture: Activists in Niger protesting uranium mining company AREVA) Continue reading
Russia to make $squillions out of its nuclear sales to India
India-Russia nuclear ambitions and mounting tensions in Sri Lanka,
Daily Mirror, by Dulip Jayawardena, 08 JANUARY 2013
KUNDANKULAM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT “……. the Russian President
Vladimir Putin paid a stand –alone visit to India on December 25 ,2012
for 15 hours to sign an agreement to collaborate to construct another
16 to 18 nuclear energy plants in India of 1000 MW each. At present
prices the total cost of these plants is a staggering US $ 45 billion! Continue reading
UK’s Hinkley Point nuclear plans could be derailed by France’s probe into EDF
Reports: EDF inquiry could disrupt UK nuclear plans Financial Times suggests investigation could complicate strike price negotiations and unsettle investors
BusinessGreen 03 Jan 2013 The UK’s ambitions for a new fleet of nuclear reactors could be disrupted by a French government probe into state-owned generator EDF, whose UK arm is currently in negotiations to build a £14bn nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
The formal inquiry established in the last days of 2012 is billed as an industry-wide investigation, but French media are reporting it is specifically focused on EDF and its relationships with China.
The Financial Times said yesterday that the inquiry casts doubt over the future of EDF chief executive Henri Proglio, who has been unable to replicate the close relationship he enjoyed with former President Nicolas Sarkozy with his successor, François Hollande. , observers are concerned the probe could have a knock-on effect on EDF’s stance towards building a new reactor at Hinkley Point, especially if the French government decides it should not take the risk of subsidising UK energy consumers. Any shift in EDF’s position would further complicate ongoing negotiations with the UK government over the level of subsidy, or strike price, that will be provided to support the Hinkley Point plant.
Last year, it was reported EDF Energy was looking for a payment of between £100 per megawatt hour (MWh) and £140/MWh to go ahead with the plant and that a final investment decision had been delayed from the end of 2012 to April 2013….. http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2233578/reports-edf-inquiry-could-disrupt-uk-nuclear-plans
Big nuclear powers not really motivated towards a diplomatic solution regarding Iran’s nuclear program
‘No real determination in P5+1 to resolve Iran nuclear issue’
http://presstv.com/detail/2013/01/02/281467/no-real-will-to-solve-ncase-in-p51/
An Iranian lawmaker says the P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia,
and the United States plus Germany — lacks the determination to
resolve Iran’s nuclear issue. Continue reading
UN may be able to inspect Iran’s Parchin military site
Iran may open military site to UN nuclear watchdog
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/27/3158283/iran-may-open-military-site-to.html
27 Dec 12,
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian official is saying the country may open a
controversial military site to inspectors of the United Nations
nuclear watchdog.
A Thursday report by independent Mardomsalari daily quotes Deputy
Foreign Minister Hasan Qashqavi as saying the inspectors from the
International Atomic Energy Agency may visit Parchin military site “if
the foreign threats weaken”. He did not elaborate.
As high government officials rarely speak out on such sensitive
issues, Qashqavi’s remarks were seen as echoing the views of Iran’s
leadership.
Earlier this month IAEA inspectors on a trip to Tehran failed to visit
Parchin, where they believe Iran has carried out some nuclear
experiments.
Iran says Parchin is only a conventional military site and denies the
West’s claims its nuclear program has a military dimension.
Use practical diplomacy with Iran, says USA Conference of Catholic Bishops
The international community should affirm Iran’s “right to enrich uranium” in exchange for an Iranian commitment to “limit enrichment convincingly short of weapons-grade potential, as confirmed by verifiable inspections,” he said.
U.S. Bishops Call for Nuclear Negotiations With Iran http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/u.s.-bishops-call-for-nuclear-negotiations-with-iran/ Bishop Richard Pates, chairman of USCCB’s justice and peace committee, voices ‘deep concern’ over the current ‘dangerous situation.’ 20 Dec 12, ASHINGTON — The U.S. bishops’ leader on international peace issues said that dialogue is the path to a peaceful resolution of nuclear concerns between the United States and Iran.
“Bold steps must be considered to counter this unfortunate and continually rising tide of aggressive posturing between our own nation and Iran,” said Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, Iowa. In a Dec. 18 letter to Thomas Donilon, national security advisor to the Obama administration, he explained that a “peaceful resolution will require direct, sustained negotiations over a considerable period of time.”
The bishop, who chairs the Committee on International Justice and Peace for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, voiced “deep concern” over the “dangerous situation facing our nation, the international community and Iran.”
Speaking on behalf of his committee, he urged the U.S. to immediately begin direct negotiations with the nation in order to avoid further escalation. “Initiating such talks should be done without preconditions and might include extending to Iran some relief from current international sanctions,” he said. Continue reading
A compelling argument against stopping Iran’s nuclear research
proliferation has proven to be historically rare, with the number of nuclear weapons states expanding only slightly from five in 1964 to nine in 2006 following North Korea’s nuclear test.
Ironically, the Middle East itself offers further evidence that nuclear proliferation is not inevitable. …….. Israel acquired nuclear weapons in the late 1960s and over four decades later still remains the only nuclear power in the region
One Of The Biggest Arguments For Stopping Iran’s Nuclear Research Is Just Plain Wrong
Christopher Hobbs and Matthew Moran, The Guardian | Dec. 19, 2012, Much of 2012 has seen a steady rise in tensions with regard to Iran’s nuclear programme and its possible military dimensions. Iran has continued to increase its stockpile of 20%-enriched uranium, moving closer to Israel’s red line for military action
Successive rounds of negotiations between Tehran, the P5+1 and the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) have failed to yield tangible results and economic sanctions are now crippling the Iranian economy. Yet the country’s nuclear programme marches on, stoking fears that Iran may indeed be seeking to cross the nuclear weapons threshold.
The regime in Tehran has consistently stressed Iran’s opposition to the acquisition of nuclear weapons, primarily on religious grounds – Supreme Leader Khamenei’s fatwa prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons is held up as evidence of this position.
However, there is widespread agreement that Iran’s nuclear activities extend well beyond what is necessary to meet their civil nuclear needs.
Inevitably, Iran’s nuclear defiance has provided ammunition for the war-mongerers advocating a pre-emptive attack on Iran. Prominent commentators such as Matthew Kroenig, claim that, at the very least, a nuclear-armed Iran would prompt a ‘proliferation cascade’ in the Middle East.
If Iran acquires nuclear weapons – whatever form that scenario may take — its regional rivals will follow suit. The argument here is seductive; it is easier to assume the worst than to hope for the best. The problem is, we find that the counter-argument is more compelling……. Continue reading
IAEA and Iran will clinch a deal next month
IAEA confident of nuclear deal with Iran http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/iaea-confident-of-nuclear-deal-with-iran/story-fn3dxix6-1226537224857 BY: SIMON STURDEE AAP December 14, 2012 THE UN nuclear agency has expressed confidence that it will clinch a deal with Iran next month under which Tehran will at last answer “credible” evidence that it has conducted atomic weapons research. Continue reading
United Nations wants Israel to come clean about its nuclear weapons, but USA does not agree
UN call on Israel to open its nuclear program is opposed by US 
MONDOWEISS, by Annie Robbins December 10, 2012 Last month, four days after Iran announced that it planned to attend a high-profile meeting on the banning of WMD’s in the Middle East, the
US backed out, saying that the “time is not opportune.”
But along with Russia and the UK, the U.S. was one of the key sponsors of the conference, set to take place in Helsinki, Finland, by the end of 2012. 189 member nations of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty had agreed to attend, but not Israel. Now the meeting has been called off.
That is the backdrop behind the UN General Assembly’s approval of a resolution last week calling on Israel to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and open its nuclear program for
inspection:…. http://mondoweiss.net/2012/12/un-call-on-israel-to-open-its-nuclear-program-is-opposed-by-us.html
India standing firm against USA pressure to weaken its Nuclear Liability Law
Won’t bow to US on nuclear liability law: Salman Khurshid Jayanth Jacob,Hindustan Times New Delhi, December 10, 2012 India has strongly rejected mounting US pressure to tweak its nuclear liability law — including suggestions that the legislation be interpreted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and revisited by Parliament.
Washington, DC, says the Indian law with stringent supplier international regimes on nuclear liability. If the IAEA says it is not compliant with the international system — as the Americans believe — they want India to “rework the law”, passed by Parliament. “The law (the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010) has to be interpreted by our courts. Our courts are not subservient to any international organisation. They take into account our international obligations,” external affairs minister Salman Khurshid told HT in an exclusive interview……
The tough negotiations between India and the US also implies that commercial agreements for American companies to sell reactors to India are not likely any time soon, making operationalisation of the historic nuclear deal stuck in the last lap…..
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Won-t-bow-to-US-on-nuclear-liability-law-Salman-Khurshid/Article1-970731.aspx
USA cancelled Middle East nuclear weapons-free zone conference
The US and Israel should welcome the conference if curbing Iranian nuclear programme is their real concern. Iran had explicitly welcomed the conference and vowed its full participation and cooperation. During his August 2012 visit to Iran UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Ayatollah Khamenei, who reiterated Iran’s stand on a ME nuclear weapons-free zone and that the UN should make serious efforts to allay the concerns regarding nuclear weapons. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to the UN IAEA told reporters: “Iran is determined to participate actively in the Helsinki conference … We are of the strong belief that all countries should be mobilizing themselves to make sure that this noble goal of a Middle East free from all the weapons of mass destruction will be realized.” Iran is the present Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and is very active in pushing for nuclear-free zone in the ME. The NAM, the largest international organization after the UN, with 120 members, had dismissed the US allegations for cancelling the conference, and has demanded that Israel join the NPT.
American Nuclear Hypocrisy http://mwcnews.net/focus/editorial/23374-eliasakleh-nuclear-hypocrisy.html, 09 December 2012 By Elias Akleh Hypocrisy is the most prominent characteristic of the successive American administrations. The observer could easily detect this hypocrisy when it comes to administration’s policies towards the Middle Eastern countries generally and towards the Palestinians specifically.
One of the administration’s latest hypocritical acts was the cancellation of the Middle East nuclear weapons-free zone conference that was scheduled mid this month in Helsinki, Finland. Continue reading
USA bullying Japan into keeping nuclear power
On 22 September the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported that the US Government had demanded that no cabinet decision endorsing the strategy be made. Other newspapers reported that the US Government was pressuring Japan to abandon its nuclear phase out aspirations.
More recently a series of statements by former senior US officials and advisors suggests a concerted campaign could be underway to intimidate the Japanese Government
whatever the outcome [of Japan’s election], Japan is undergoing a historic shift in its energy policy. The Japanese people need international support in this process, but they don’t need to be bullied.
Why America Wants A Nuclear Japan, New Matilda, 7 Dec 12 In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, most Japanese voters want the country’s nuclear power plants to be permanently closed down – but the US has other ideas, writes Philip White
On 14 September this year, one and a half years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, the Japanese Government released an unprecedented document.
The “Innovative Energy and Environment Strategy”, the culmination of a year-long policy review process, set the previously unthinkable target of zero nuclear energy by the end of the 2030s. In resolving to phase out nuclear energy, the Japanese Government did what it had never done before in the energy policy field: it allowed itself to be influenced
by the will of the people.
The backlash was immediate. Business groups banded together to condemn the strategy, governors of prefectures hosting nuclear facilities expressed concern about the future of these facilities and, perhaps equally significant, the governments of France, the UK and the United States communicated their displeasure. In the face of this onslaught the government went weak at the knees and failed to give the strategy formal cabinet endorsement…… Continue reading
Hillary Clinton lobbyist for USA nuclear industry
Clinton in Prague to Lobby for Westinghouse Nuclear Bid, December 2, 2012 PRAGUE (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will seek to convince Czech leaders of the advantages of picking U.S. firm Westinghouse over a Russian rival as the contractor for a $10 billion nuclear reactor project in meetings in Prague on Monday…..
Westinghouse, a unit of Japanese firm Toshiba Corp, is competing with
Russia’s Atomstroyexport, which is bidding in a consortium with a
Russian-owned Czech group.
U.S. officials said formal negotiations between the two bidders and
the Czech government are expected to start in December, with a
decision on the contractor expected in the spring.
Clinton is due to meet Prime Minister Petr Necas and Foreign Minister
Karel Schwarzenberg on Monday morning.
“There will be the opportunity for the Secretary to support …
Westinghouse,” a senior State Department official told reporters……
Clinton’s visit to Prague follows one by U.S. Assistant Secretary of
Commerce Nicole Lamb-Hale last week. Lamb-Hale said the U.S.
Export-Import Bank was interested in financing the deal if
Westinghouse were picked.
The Czech Republic’s bid to expand its nuclear capacity has run into
opposition from neighbors Austria and Germany. Clinton will share a
conference table with the foreign ministers of these countries, as
well as with Russia, when she attends a meeting of the NATO military
alliance in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/12/02/world/europe/02reuters-czech-energy-clinton.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0
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of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
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