USA extends corporate and military power with Trans Pacific Partnership
The U.S. has also pledged to put 2,500 marines in northern Australia, as well as regional missile-defense systems
Obama’s hawkish anti-Chinese rhetoric on the campaign trail coincided closely with U.S.complaints before the World Trade Organization over China’s allegedly illegal subsidization of its auto industry. And only a couple weeks ago, the U.S. International Trade Commission levied sizeable punitive tariffs against Chinese solar companies.
All of which will certainly cast a long shadow over Obama’s Pacific visit.
Asia pivot a go-go, Online opinion, By Marc-William Palen , 28 November 2012 Barack Obama’s speedy post election pivot to Asia has left the world in a tizzy. With the U.S. elections safely behind him, Obama promptly headed off to Asia in advance of this week’s East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh.
100 years ago, American businessmen and diplomats had obsessed over gaining access to the fabled China Market. With intense U.S. involvement in the trade-oriented Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the once mythical Asia Market is fast becoming even more of a reality…. But, American interest in Asian markets brings with it sizeable Sino-American tensions, much as it did 100 years before.
Particularly, like the United States, China is also aggressively seeking to expand its economic influence in the region. For example, it is even now moving forward with its own trilateral trade agreement with South Korea and Japan.
Further American military expansion in the Asia-Pacific will only heighten these tensions, and U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta only just finished up a visit to Cambodia for the purpose of expanding U.S. military ties there. This move closely followed his announcement that the Pentagon will be enlarging the size of its military exercises in the region, ostensibly to put pressure on North Korea.
The U.S. has also pledged to put 2,500 marines in northern Australia, as well as regional missile-defense systems with the stated purpose of further deterring North Korea.
These alleged North Korean maneuvers nevertheless have “spooked” Australia, according to Peter Jennings, the head of the government-funded Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He views China to be at the heart of any U.S. military buildup in the region. Continue reading
Understandably, Japan doesn’t like India’s Nuclear Liability Law
Japan also sought some clarifications about India’s nuclear liability law that prevents suppliers from making themselves immune to compensation claims in the event of an accident.
PM revives nuclear energy talks with Japan By Sachin
Parashar, TNN | Nov 26, 2012 NEW DELHI: PM Manmohan Singh sought to revive with Japan negotiations for peaceful use of nuclear energy, which has remained stalled since the Fukushima nuclear accident in March, 2011, in a meeting with his counterpart Yoshihiko Noda in Phnom Penh last week.
Sources said Singh expressed hope before Noda that Japan would soon share its nuclear technology and expertise with India. Continue reading
Still time for a diplomacy solution to nuclear power problem in Ira
Window for nuclear diplomacy on Iran is now open but not for
long, guardian UK Julian Borger, 23 Nov 12 IAEA inspectors say Iran may soon speed up its uranium enrichment, making the search for a deal even more urgent Having delivered its latest quarterly report on Iran’s nuclear programme to its board, the nuclear safeguards department of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave a technical briefing on Wednesday to an audience of ambassadors in Vienna about the same material but with some pictures to make the whole thing clearer. At such briefings, ambassadors can also ask questions to sound out the head of safeguards, Herman Nackaerts, on his impressions.
On this occasion, the main message western ambassadors came away with was that Iran appears to be just days away from starting feeding uranium hexafluoride gas into four new cascades of centrifuges at its underground enrichment site at Fordow. Continue reading
Australia kow tows, joining USA’s aggressive military stance in Asia Pacific
why is the Australian government co-operating in United States planning for the military containment of China? There is no threat to Australia
Stirling naval base south of Perth is set to become a major base for US operations in the region although details are not yet confirmed. Some reports suggest that US nuclear submarines may be based in Stirling.
The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) was set up recently with the expressed aim of organising against this gathering rush by the Australian government further into an unquestioning and subservient relationship with the US and its arms corporations.
AUSMIN confirms Australia’s subservience to US military, The Guardian, Denis Doherty, 20 Nov 12, AUSMIN, the annual talks between the Australian and US foreign and defence ministers, have come and gone for another year and the agreement reached makes depressing reading for Australians who want to live in peace and prosperity.
The AUSMIN communiqué outlines plans for the future benefit for US corporations at the expense of the people of
the Indo Pacific region. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta and their Australian counterparts Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Defence Minister Stephen Smith met for the AUSMIN talks on November 14 in Perth.
Before AUSMIN, elements of the US government leaked that the US was unhappy with Australian cuts to the military budget. The Guardian pointed out that this was bullying and asked how much does the US want? According to Minister Smith, Australia is already the second largest per capita spender on the military in the world. Australia spends $1.3 billion per annum on the Afghan war and provides almost 50 bases plus training areas for the US military at no cost.
Containing China The AUSMIN communiqué’s sweet language disguises the iron fist within. Continue reading
Iran continuing with uranium enrichment program
Iran nuclear work at constant pace despite sanctions -IAEA
* Iran stockpiling enriched uranium despite economic isolation
* U.N. nuclear chief sees “quite constant” enrichment pace
* Six world powers to discuss strategy towards Iran in Brussels
* New meeting may take place before end-year – Western official
By Alexandria Sage and Fredrik Dahl
PARIS/VIENNA, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Iran is enriching uranium at a
constant pace and international sanctions aimed at making Tehran
suspend the activity are having no visible impact, the U.N. nuclear
watchdog chief said in unusually blunt remarks on Tuesday.
The point made by Yukiya Amano, director-general of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, reinforced the view of many analysts that
increased Western economic pressure on Iran has failed to make it
change its nuclear course.
He spoke a day before senior officials from six world powers were to
meet in Brussels to weigh strategy towards Iran amid signs of a
renewed push to resolve the dispute diplomatically after U.S.
President Barack Obama’s re-election.
World powers, which first ushered in U.N. sanctions on Iran back in
2006, are concerned Israel may try to bomb Iranian nuclear sites
without a peaceful resolution to the row soon…..
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/20/nuclear-iran-idUSL5E8MKA6720121120
The Palestine – Israel struggle
When Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing… You can’t defend yourself when you’re militarily occupying someone else’s land. That’s not defense. Call it what you like, it’s not defense.” ~ Noam Chomsky — with Paula Johnson Francesshelli.
Myanmar to go “respectable” about things nuclear
Myanmar to sign new nuclear safeguards, Herald Sun, AAP November 19, 2012 MYANMAR (Burma) says it will agree to new atomic safeguards that allow inspections of suspected clandestine nuclear sites, ahead of a milestone visit by US President Barack Obama.
The news comes hours after the White House said Myanmar has taken “positive steps” to reduce its military relationship with North Korea. Myanmar was suspected of pursuing military and nuclear co-operation with Pyongyang during long years of junta rule, which ended last year.
A Myanmar government statement said the country would sign the International Atomic Energy Agency’s “additional protocol”, which grants the UN nuclear agency right of access to possible undeclared activities. President Thein Sein has approved the measure, which will now be forwarded to parliament for approval, the statement said.
Allegations of nuclear co-operation between Myanmar and North Korea have been a top concern for Washington. Thein Sein’s government has denied any covert effort to obtain nuclear weapons technology from North Korea, which is locked in a prolonged
atomic showdown with the United States…..
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/myanmar-to-sign-new-nuclear-safeguards/story-e6frf7k6-1226519238353
Canada gives up on nuclear non proliferation, in deal with India
Canada joined the queue of nuclear suitors by concluding its own bilateral cooperation agreement with India in June 2010. Article V of this agreement formalized Canada’s turning a blind eye to India’s nuclear weapon programs,
India and the meltdown of Canada’s nuclear non-proliferation policy http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1288649–india-and-the-meltdown-of-canada-s-nuclear-non-proliferation-policy Paul Meyer 15 Nov 12, Canada and India both want to start a new chapter in the history of our bilateral nuclear relations. This new chapter is meant to put behind us the bitterness of the past, when a Canadian-supplied research reactor was exploited to produce India’s first “peaceful” nuclear explosion in 1974 and subsequently to help create India’s nuclear weapon arsenal that was made overt through a series of nuclear tests in May 1998.
Also to be erased in this revisionist history is reference to UN Security Council Resolution 1172 of June 1998, which demanded that India and Pakistan foreswear further tests and reverse their nuclear weapon ambitions. Despite the resolution’s unanimous adoption and threat of sanctions, states led by most of the Security Council’s Permanent Five were soon privileging their own bilateral relations with India over any effort at maintaining a united front to counter this blatant act of nuclear proliferation. Continue reading
Japan pressured by USA right wing to keep nuclear power
Henry Kissinger-linked think tank pressuring Japanese to keep nuclear power (VIDEO) November 9th, 2012 By ENENews
Title: U.S. needs Japan to remain nuclear, expert says (Video)
Source: Japan Times
Author: TAKASHI KITAZUME
Date: Nov. 3, 2012
A “zero-nuclear” Japan will be a serious concern for the United States as its key ally both from economic and security standpoints, the chief of an influential U.S. think tank said at a recent seminar on Japan-U.S. relations. […]
[John Hamre, president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington] noted there is “too much of a romantic idea about alternative energy in this country as a substitute for nuclear power.” […]
Hamre also said the policy poses a security concern from the viewpoint of international control for nonproliferation of nuclear materials.
[…]
A recent issue of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists is not in agreement with many of the conclusions asserted by Hamre. See: “Probable Game-Changer”: Special issue of Bulletin of Atomic Scientists shows exiting nuclear power brings economic and
environmental benefits — ‘Startling’ findings
CSIS Board of Trustees (Selected Trustees):
Richard Armitage — President, Armitage International
Zbigniew K. Brzezinski — Counselor and Trustee, CSIS
William S. Cohen — Chairman & CEO, The Cohen Group
Henry A. Kissinger — Counselor and Trustee, CSIS
Brent Scowcroft — President, The Scowcroft Group
http://enenews.com/kissinger-linked-think-tank-pressuring-japanese-to-keep-nuclear-power-video
New diplomacy push for relations between Iran and the West
Iran, UN nuclear agency plan December talks Jerusalem Post, By REUTERS11/09/2012 IAEA announces plans to hold nuke talks with Iran; diplomatic mission to be headed by Nackaerts, chief UN nuclear inspector. Iran will return to talks with the International Atomic
Energy Agency next month, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday, the latest push to seek a peaceful end to a dispute that has raised fears of a new Middle East war.
The IAEA announcement came days after US President Barack Obama’s re-election, which some analysts say may give fresh impetus to diplomatic efforts to end to a decade-old standoff with a country the West accuses of working towards nuclear weapons capability…..
http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=291163
Changing nature of Israel – Iran nuclear standoff
The Drone in the Desert http://isnblog.ethz.ch/ Itamar Rabinovich, 8 November 2012 TEL AVIV – A drone recently penetrated Israel’s airspace from the Mediterranean. It was allowed to fly for about half an hour over southern Israel before being shot down by the Israeli air force over a sparsely populated area.
It is still not known who dispatched the drone and from where, but it is now assumed that it was launched from Lebanon, either by Hezbollah, acting in Iran’s service, or by forces of the Iranian regime itself.
If that is indeed the case, the episode should not be regarded as yet another incident in a region fraught by conflict and violence. On the contrary, it is a significant window into the arena in which the conflict over the future of Iran’s nuclear program is being waged.
Several developments and forces are now shaping this arena. One is by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision, announced in his
speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, to suspend his threat to launch unilateral military action against Iran’s nuclear installations. He has said that Israel will give the US and the rest of the international community an opportunity to stop Iran’s progress through other means by the spring or early summer of 2013. (more…)
Iran’s Supreme Leader adopting a cautious path, about nuclear weapons
Instead of treading a straight Roman Road to a nuclear weapon, he has twice veered off course.
Could Iran’s Supreme Leader be more cautious than we think?
Telegraph, By David Blair November 1st, 2012 My interview with Ehud Barak in London on Tuesday attracted a good deal of attention and comment. The Israeli defence minister’s most striking statement concerned Iran’s decision to convert much of its stockpile of 20 per cent enriched uranium into harmless fuel rods. Without that event, Barak confirmed that the crisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions would “probably” have peaked about now. Instead, Iran’s decision “allows contemplating delaying the moment of truth by eight to ten months”. Continue reading
USA pressure on Japan to keep with nuclear energy
U.S. needs Japan to remain nuclear, US expert says Relations in region not likely to change with Obama or Romney, even in China tiesJapan Times, By TAKASHI KITAZUME, 3 Nov 12 A “zero-nuclear” Japan will be a serious concern for the United States as its key ally both from economic and security standpoints, the chief of an influential U.S. think tank said at a recent seminar on Japan-U.S. relations.
The policy set out in September by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s Cabinet seeking to phase out nuclear power generation in Japan by the end of the 2030s — in response to strong anti-nuclear sentiments in the country following the triple meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011 — is not viable given Japan’s vast economic needs, said John Hamre, president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Hamre, a former deputy U.S. defense secretary, and his CSIS colleague Michael Green were speaking at a seminar organized by the Keizai Koho Center on Oct. 25 to discuss American policy on East Asia ahead of the U.S. presidential election as well as the imminent change in leadership in China.
Nuclear power generation in Japan over the past four decades has been an important part of Japan’s economic success that provided “a strong, reliable supply of base energy” for the historically energy-poor country, Hamre said.
While he said he understood that the Fukushima crisis shook people’s confidence in nuclear power — just as the 1979 Three Mile Island incident did for Americans — he noted there is “too much of a romantic idea about alternative energy in this country as a substitute for nuclear power.”
The Democratic Party of Japan-led government’s policy does not include a specific road map to achieve the goal, but assumes that renewable sources like wind and solar power will account for a greater portion of the nation’s energy mix in coming decades.
Citing U.S. experience in wind and solar power generation, Hamre said the low efficiency and output of these sources that rely on natural conditions will not “replace the base capacity of nuclear power generation.”……
Hamre said. “There can’t be any romanticism about alternative energy. If you’re going to be a modern, sophisticated economy, you have to address this question of making nuclear power a legitimate source of energy.”
Hamre also said the policy poses a security concern from the viewpoint of international control for nonproliferation of nuclear materials…..
If Japan is to give up nuclear energy — and if nuclear power is to wither in the U.S. due to competition with cheap natural gas and in Europe as in the case of Germany — “the countries that have given us the security system are going to diminish, and who’s going to replace them?” he said. “Americans cannot afford from a security standpoint to have Japan abandon nuclear power. It’s too important to us.”.….. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20121103d1.html
Iran and Israel – moderate responses on nuclear issue
Could Iran’s Supreme Leader be more cautious than we think?
The Telegraph, By David Blair World November 1st, 2012 My interview with Ehud Barak in London on Tuesday attracted a good deal of attention and comment. The Israeli defence minister’s most striking statement concerned Iran’s decision to convert much of its stockpile of 20 per cent enriched uranium into harmless fuel rods. Without that event, Barak confirmed that the crisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions would “probably” have peaked about now. Instead, Iran’s decision “allows contemplating delaying the moment of truth by eight to ten months”.
In his speech before the UN General Assembly in September, Benjamin Netanyahu softened Israel’s position on the possibility of an imminent military strike, saying that the critical moment would arrive next spring or summer. Barak told me that Iran’s move was “in the background of our decision”.
So the figures tucked away on page 8 of the last IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear programme turned out to be of vital importance. They showed that Iran took 71.25 kg of its stockpile of 20 per cent enriched uranium and converted it into fuel rods for the Tehran Research Reactor, a civilian facility. The uranium enriched to 20 per cent purity is the material that is closest to weapons-grade. Out of a total holding of 189.4 kg, Iran has devoted 37.6 per cent to a peaceful purpose…..
In 2003, we know that Iran suspended its research on how to build a nuclear warhead (although the evidence suggests that some work was restarted later). Now we know that during the course of this year, Iran took a big chunk of the uranium that was closest to weapons-grade and used it for a harmless purpose. Thanks to Barak’s candour, we also know that this decision probably averted a crisis.
Could Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, be more cautious than we think? Instead of treading a straight Roman Road to a nuclear weapon, he has twice veered off course. To me, that suggests that he is nervous and feeling the pressure. Is the ultimate destination of Iran’s nuclear programme still an open question? http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/davidblair/100187473/could-irans-supreme-leader-be-more-cautious-than-we-think/
India’s Attorney General not happy about waiving nuclear liability law for Russian nuclear reactors
‘Why nuclear liability waiver for Russian company’
Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN | Nov 1, 2012 NEW DELHI: Attorney general G E Vahanvati has reservations over the ministry of external affairs’ backing for grant of a nuclear liability law waiver to the Russian
manufacturer for Units 3 and 4 of Kudankulam nuclear power plant on the ground that while this could be legal under a 2008 inter-governmental agreement, it might not be prudent. Continue reading
1 This Month
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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