Religion and ethics « nuclear-news

Japan’s religious leaders call for an end to nuclear power

Religious figures call for future free of atomic energy http://www.japan-press.co.jp/modules/news/index.php?id=3629July 14, 2012 Regardless of differences in faiths, 51 religious figures on July 13 jointly published a statement calling for an end to nuclear power generation.

Initiators of this statement, including the former president of the
Japan Buddhist Federation (JBF) and a reverend of the Anglican
Episcopal Church in Japan, met in Kyoto City to seek broader support
to the statement from other religious leaders.

Kono Taitsu, the former JBF president and now the chief priest of the Myoshinn-ji branch of the Rinzai Zen Denomination, said, “As a religious leader who speaks to the value of life, I came to feel obliged to say something” about the nuclear energy issue.

The statement asserts that the Fukushima accident has proven that all beings and creatures cannot coexist with atomic energy, and points out that as nuclear power plants “inevitably accumulate radioactive wastes, they will endanger ‘all living things’ and pass on a negative legacy to future generations.”

The statement requests that the government and nuclear establishment complete the earliest possible decontamination, provide long-term healthcare for victims, and sincerely fulfill compensation obligations.

Regarding the resumption of operations and export of nuclear power plants with the cause of the Fukushima accident still remaining unknown, the statement criticizes these moves as “giving preference on ‘making money’ over safeguarding ‘lives’.”

July 25, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Chief temple priest of Fukui Prefecture speaks out against nuclear reactor restarts

The myth about the safety of nuclear energy did not collapse with the Fukushima accident. It had already collapsed when nuclear plants were forced on isolated villages in various parts of Japan because there was the understanding that those plants were dangerous facilities that could not be built close to major urban centers.

Tetsuen Nakajima: Japan must thoroughly re-examine nuclear energy policy THE ASAHI SHIMBUN 16 June 12, When I was a student, I was only interested in literature and the arts. Then in 1963, a friend took me to a peace march against nuclear weapons.

There I met a hibakusha who had been exposed to radiation after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Continue reading →

June 16, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Pro uranium mining bias in Nunuvat’s supposedly independent report

“It is not clear why the GN chose to have its background document prepared by Golder and Associates, a consultancy that depends on the mining industry (including uranium mining), rather than either developing it internally or seeking an independent consultant,”

Nunavut group says uranium policy process biased, Questions hiring of consultant with mining industry clients CBC News Jun 8, 2012 A Nunavut group opposed to uranium mining says the territorial government’s consultation process for forming its official uranium policy , which supports mining — with conditions, was biased. Continue reading →

June 11, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

“Malicious” anti nuclear nun gets some support from top military man

last week some of her views gained traction from a surprise and formidable source, retired General James Cartwright, the former Vice Chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff who also used to oversee the entire American nuclear arsenal.

Recently, Sister Anne and the other Bangor 5 appealed their conviction for “willfully and maliciously” destroying federal property by cutting through the fences on the Kitsap-Bangor naval base. The five defended their actions by claiming they were upholding international humanitarian law which deems nuclear weapons illegal.

A Malicious Nun? HUFFINGTON POST, Helen Young, 05/31/2012 There are many words that come to mind to describe Sister Anne Montgomery, and her work but “malicious” is certainly not one of them. Sister Anne, an 85-year-old Roman Catholic nun from the Society of the Sacred Heart who once taught students in Spanish Harlem and high school dropouts in Albany, also spent years working for Christian Peacemakers, an ecumenical anti-war group.

She has put her life on the line in some of the world’s most war-torn regions, including the Balkans in the 1990’s, the Middle East, and more recently in Iraq. Her life has been devoted to working for peace and on nuclear disarmament.

It’s not work for the fainthearted. This diminutive woman, who is still razor sharp in her thinking, and who barely weighs 90 pounds soaking wet, has spent more than three years in prison because of her non- violent protests against nuclear weapons. Continue reading →

June 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, Religion and ethics, USA | Leave a comment

Denouncing the Doctrine of Discovery as the basis for exploitation of indigenous peoples

Papal bull that granted those European monarchs the right to claim sovereignty over these newly “discovered” lands occupied by non-Christian “barbarous nations.”

the Doctrine of Discovery is the basis for all Indian land law in this country, and it has imposed similar burdens on indigenous peoples all over the world — in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in Africa, in Latin America and in the island nations of the Caribbean and Oceania.

Stand for Human Rights for Indigenous Peoples and Renounce the ’Doctrine of Discovery’ HUFFINGTON POST, Tadodaho Sid HillSpiritual Leader, Haudenosaunee (Six Nations/Iroquois Confederacy), 15 May 12,
When the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues convened on May 7th in New York, native peoples around the world turned their eyes to the most important effort to renounce the Doctrine of Discovery, a 15th century Papal bull that has been exploited for five centuries to deny the human rights of hundreds of millions of people who continue to be subject to its power. Continue reading →

May 17, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, history, indigenous issues, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Heroism of Japan’s saviour of Fukushima’s animals

Man stays to help animals left to die in Japan nuclear zone, by Susan Wyatt King 5.com May 2, 2012 This is truly a heartbreaking story – a 52-year-old man who lives in the shadow of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant is struggling – all alone – to help the animals left behind after the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster.

CNN reported in January that Naoto Matsumura, a life-long resident and fifth generation farmer, has refused to heed the mandatory evacuation since the nuclear meltdown. The government evacuated 78,000 residents around the exploding plant without a plan to rescue pets and livestock. As Matsumura began to feed his own animals, the neighborhood’s desperate cats and dogs started showing up. He started to feed them too and decided he couldn’t leave them behind to die. When Matsumura ran out of food, he slipped out of the exclusion zone and bought dog and cat food and then snuck back into town….. Matsumura has been tested for radiation and said his body is “completely contaminated.” But he said he will die in his hometown.

A ChipIn page has been set up to raise funds for Matsumura. Click here to help
You can get updates about Matsumura via a Facebook page http://www.king5.com/community/blogs/the-pet-dish/Man-stays-in–149917285.html?c=n

May 5, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Nuclear power will make South African society even more unequal

The only conclusion is that there is an immense amount of money in the nuclear industry for those involved and in power. They will reap the financial benefits, not the majority of South Africans. This will exacerbate the poverty-wealth gap.

Nuclear power will worsen the wealth gap Bishop Geoff Davies:Mail & Guardian, Apr 20 2012 “…..In the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute, we believe we have to apply moral principles of justice and equity when making energy choices. We made this call at the COP17 climate talks in Durban in our Act Now for Climate Justice campaign — that is, justice for people and planet. ….

We are deeply concerned about the government’s nuclear plans because it is the wrong direction to take. Nuclear energy requires a centralised grid system and is extremely costly. Taking into account the mining of uranium, its transport and the construction of power plants, nuclear energy is certainly neither carbon-neutral nor “clean”. Continue reading →

April 21, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Religion and ethics, South Africa | Leave a comment

A really INDEPENDENT radiation expert in Fukushima

Radiation expert takes on red tape in disaster zone, Japan Times, 5 April 12, Kyodo Shinzo Kimura, a radiation hygiene expert combating the nuclear contamination in Fukushima, is a man of action who stops at nothing to accomplish his mission Continue reading →

April 5, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Muslims, Christians join other religions in opposing Kudankulam nuclear powerr

Religions unite in fight against nuclear plant, TNN | Mar 5, 2012, TIRUNELVELI: In a strong message that all religions are united in the fight against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), protesters offered special prayers at the Viswamithrar temple situated at Vijayapathi village near Kudankulam, on Sunday.

About 250 villagers, both men and women fasted from Friday onwards to prepare themselves for the ritual of carrying milk pots to the temple. At the break of day on Sunday, people from coastal villages like Chettikulam, Kudankulam, Idinthakarai, Vairavikinaru, Avudayapuram, Thillainagar, Koothankuli gathered at the Pathrakaliamman temple at Kudankulam where special prayers were offered before commencing the rally. After the prayers, 207 women carried the milk pots and went on a rally through Kudankulam, Vairavikinaru, Idinthakarai, Mela Vijayapathi and Keela Vijayapathi to reach the Viswamithrar temple situated on the sea shore at Vijayapathi village.

The rally, which started from Kudankulam at 6am, reached the temple by 7.15am after which special poojas were performed. The villagers, who hailed from all religious denominations, received the ‘prasad’ at the temple and prayed that the KKNPP will be abandoned…..

“People from every religion, including Muslims from Keela Vijayapathi participated in the ceremony and offered prayers at the temple. Among the 207 milk pots, 13 of them were carried by Christians from Idinthakarai. We are together in our fight against the nuclear power plant that will endanger our lives,” said Peter Milton from Idinthakarai, who is also a member of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)…. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/Religions-unite-in-fight-against-nuclear-plant/articleshow/12140823.cms

March 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Japanese farmers caring for their radioactive cows

“Rebel Farmers” Feed Cows Condemned To Death After Fukushima, by Kristina Chew, March 3, 2012 http://www.care2.com/causes/rebel-farmers-feed-cows-condemned-to-death-after-fukushima.html#ixzz1oHTSSaAM “….. 69-year-old Yukio Yamamoto is one of ten farmers from Namie, which is within the “no go zone,” who is defying government orders to euthanize his 36 black-haired wagyu cows. The cows — once prized for their high-quality beef; each was once worth $10,000 — ingested radioactive caesium and Yamamoto was supposed to kill them by lethal injection. In an interview with the Guardian, Yamamoto discussed getting a permit to enter the zone to feed his animalion. Says Yamamoto about the six-hour trip he now routinely makes:

“I left like everyone else after 11 March, “I couldn’t stop worrying about my cows, so I started coming back in every other day to feed them.”…

“Straight after the disaster, my cows had nothing to eat or drink … many of them starved to death right where they were tethered.I had to decide whether to leave the ones still alive or keep them healthy, even though we were separated.”

But Yamamoto, who is very likely the last of generations of his family to raise wagyu cows, has not received any feed from the Japanese government. Private donors, including farmers in Australia, have provided him with food for his cows.

“Eventually the feed will run out, and the government has said it will kill every last cow. But that is something I can’t allow to happen. “I could never kill these cows. They are like members of my family.”

Yamamoto is pinning his hopes on studies that can properly measure the level of contamination among his cows. As Ryoichi Harada, another “rebel farmer” helping Yamamoto feed his cows, says “We accept that the meat will never go on sale, but the cows could be put to some other commercial use.”

March 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Japanese monks store radioactive waste near their temple

Abe said he and the other monks are storing the soil on a hill behind the temple as neither the government nor the nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) are helping with the clean-up.

“No-one else would take the soil. If there’s nobody to take care of it, the decontamination can’t get going because there’s nowhere to get rid of it,” Abe said.

Japan priest fights invisible demon: radiation Feb 10 (Reuters) – On the snowy fringes of Japan’s Fukushima city, now notorious as a byword for nuclear crisis, Zen monk Koyu Abe offers prayers for the souls of thousands left dead or missing after the earthquake and tsunami nearly one year ago.

But away from the ceremonial drums and the incense swirling around the Joenji temple altar, Abe has undertaken another task, no less
harrowing — to search out radioactive “hot spots” and clean them up, storing irradiated earth on temple grounds….

Radiation, carried on winds and by snow, spread far beyond the 20 km (12 miles) evacuation zone around the plant, nestling in hot spots across the region and contaminating the ground in what remains a largely agricultural region. Continue reading →

February 11, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, Religion and ethics, wastes | Leave a comment

A rather murderous nuclear weapons cult – Aum Shinrikyo

Aum Shinrikyo In Pursuit Of Nuclear Weapons – Analysis, Eurasia Review by: Muhammad Jawad Hashmi February 2, 2012 Aum Shinrikyo has an apocalyptic belief structure where the world is divided into two opposing forces, good and evil. Shoko Asahara, who is leader of the cult, firmly believes that they will prevail after the apocalypse and are motivated to trigger the apocalypse because their own salvation depends upon fighting the final fight and eliminating the enemy. The prospect of nuclear war shaped Shoko Asahara’s concerns to preach that Aum followers would be the only survivors of a coming Armageddon.

It has been reported that Asahara’s obsession with nuclear weapons formed the foundation for all of his actions related to these weapons. He published several ‘symposia’ during his time as leader in which he made statements about surviving a nuclear holocaust….. Asahara began viewing Japanese and Western society as the enemy and advocated pursuing violent means to bring about Armageddon…. Continue reading →

February 3, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, Religion and ethics, weapons and war | Leave a comment

A nuclear world in peace – the peace of death

As they said in the streets of Delhi in 1998: “No food, no clothing, no shelter? No worry, we have the bomb.”….

not one country that had an atomic bomb in 1968 when the NPT was signed has given it up. Judging by their actions rather than the rhetoric, all are determined to remain nuclear-armed.

The U.S. has a special responsibility to lead the way to nuclear abolition as the only country to have used atomic bombs and as the world’s biggest military power

Within our lifetime, we will either achieve nuclear abolition or have to live with nuclear proliferation and die with the use of nuclear weapons.

To prepare for nuclear war is to seek the peace of death, Japan Times, By RAMESH THAKUR , 31 Jan 12, CANBERRA — The world faces two existential threats: climate change, and nuclear Armageddon. Action on both is required urgently. Tackling the first will impose significant economic costs and lifestyle adjustments, while tackling the second will bring economic benefits without any lifestyle implications.

Those who reject the first are derided as denialists; those dismissive of the second are praised as realists. Although action is needed now in order to keep the world on this side of the tipping point, a climate change-induced apocalypse will not occur until decades into the future.

A nuclear catastrophe could destroy us at any time, although, if our luck holds out, it could be delayed for another six decades. The uncomfortable reality is that nuclear peace has been upheld, owing as much to good luck as to sound stewardship. Continue reading →

February 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Unethical and unwise killing of Iranian nuclear scientist

The bomb blast that killed chemist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan this week seemed to be designed to limit the scope of the damage, unlike most terrorist attacks. But it did nonetheless kill his driver and wound a third person, which shows how easily an overly flexible definition of “civilian” can stretch to reprehensible lengths.

A utilitarian calculation that suggests killing a few individuals now might save more lives later is not only ethically dubious; it’s also wrong. ..also counter-productive

Killing civilians, Ottawa Citizen JANUARY 12, 2012 If the definition of “terrorism” is violence targeting civilians to spread fear in furtherance of a political motive, then the assassination of Iranian scientists certainly qualifies as terrorism. It should be condemned as such. It’s also an unwise strategy.

Although no one can say for sure who’s behind the attacks, the main motivation behind this string of assassinations seems clear: to slow down Iran’s efforts to become a nuclear power, not only by eliminating some skilled experts, but also by intimidating their peers. Continue reading →

January 13, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, Religion and ethics, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear bombing of Hiroshima immoral and unnecessary

the Americans and British had long crossed the moral frontier about terror-bombing civilians…

The Americans didn’t want the Japanese to surrender before they had a chance to drop the bomb.

Weapon of choice, Review By Hamish Mcdonald,December 17, 2011 “……. Now Paul Ham, already established as the best of Australia’s popular war historians, has painted more detail on a wider canvas. Through individual stories, he doesn’t spare us the horrifying reality on the
ground. Almost as excruciatingly, he takes us through the practical and moral decisions about using the bomb……..
Many of the scientists who had urged the development of the atomic bomb to pre-empt Hitler became opposed to its use against Japan. Some petitioned for a demonstration explosion instead. ….. Continue reading →