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Nuclear Repression, not Nuclear Renaissance, in Jaitapur, India

Jaitapur’s people are more concerned about being treated as sub-humans by the state, which has unleashed savage repression, including hundreds of arrests, illegal detentions and orders prohibiting peaceful assemblies. Eminent citizens keen to express solidarity with protesters were banned, including a former supreme court judge, the Communist party’s secretary and a former Navy chief. Gadgil too was prevented. A former high court judge was detained illegally for five days. Worse, a Maharashtra minister recently threatened that “outsiders” who visit Jaitapur wouldn’t be “allowed to come out” (alive).

This hasn’t broken the people’s resolve or resistance.

The truth behind India’s nuclear renaissance Jaitapur’s French-built nuclear plant is a disaster in waiting, jeopardising biodiversity and local livelihoods   Praful Bidwai  guardian.co.uk,  8 February 2011 The global “nuclear renaissance” touted a decade ago has not materialised. Continue reading →

February 10, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, environment, India | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Freedom of Speech: Peace Award to Julian Assange

“Assange has championed people’s right to know and has challenged the centuries-old tradition that governments are entitled to keep the public in a state of ignorance.”…….Mr Assange’s work was in the tradition of Tom Paine’s Rights of Man and Daniel Ellsberg’s Pentagon Papers – “challenging the old order of power in politics and in journalism”.

Julian Assange awarded Sydney peace medal, Sydney Morning Herald, February 2, 2011 In the estimation of the Sydney Peace Foundation, Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stands alongside the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. Continue reading →

February 10, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, civil liberties | Leave a comment

Assange just one example: unjust extradition in Europe’s arrest system

Assange’s extradition is only the tip of the iceberg Flawed European arrest warrant system means thousands face unjust extradition each year  Jago Russell   guardian.co.uk, 9 Feb 2011, Julian Assange is fighting extradition to Sweden. Many suffer unjustified extradition ordeals under the present system. Continue reading →

February 10, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, EUROPE | Leave a comment

Public’s right to know about airport scanners’ radiation hazards

the TSA had previously been unable to detect incidents when excessive doses of radiation were emitted by  X-ray machines used to inspect baggage. Furthermore, TSA officials failed to detect machines whose safety protections were missing or disabled.

(USA) Lawmaker Presses TSA to Release Reports on Airport Scanner Radiation | FairWarning, By Patrick Corcoran  February 9, 2011 Members of Congress two months ago started demanding the release of inspection reports regarding the possible ill effects of radiation from full-body X-ray scanners widely used for airport security. Continue reading →

February 10, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Unfair treatment of Australia’s nuclear whistleblower

Nuclear whistleblower treated unfairly, investigation finds Herald Sun, AAP   February 09, 2011 A MAN who went public with safety concerns about Australia’s only nuclear reactor was denied procedural fairness when he was suspended from his job on bullying claims, an investigation has found.Australia’s commonwealth workplace regulator, Comcare, investigated the case of Dave Reid, a health and safety representative for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Radiopharmaceuticals.It found ANSTO breached health and safety laws in its handling of the case. n the report, obtained by ABC Television, the investigator found Mr Reid was denied procedural fairness when he was suspended from his role after bullying allegations were made against him by other employees. Nuclear whistleblower treated unfairly, investigation finds | Herald Sun

February 10, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, civil liberties | Leave a comment

Censorship of Dr Helen Caldicott in Port Hope, Ontario

Last November, Dr. Caldicott was due to speak in Port Hope, Ont., when she found herself persona non grata there. Cameco, a producer of uranium fuel for nuclear power plants around the world, is a major employer in this town of 16,000 on Lake Ontario.

‘Barred’ from Port Hope: An interview with Dr. Helen Caldicott, rabble.ca, By Cathryn Atkinson| February 8, 2011 Renowned Australian physician and anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott has for four decades lectured around the world about the medical dangers inherent in the use of radioactive materials for nuclear energy and weapons. Her work was captured in the 1982 National Film Board of Canada short documentary, If You Love This Planet, which won an Oscar. Continue reading →

February 10, 2011 Posted by | Canada, civil liberties | 2 Comments

Misleading testimony by nuclear company Entergy about radiation leaks

NEC: Entergy’s misleading testimony, again | Vtdigger.org, Clay Turnbull, 8 Feb 2011, Entergy Vermont Yankee explained in a letter to the Vermont Public Service Board (Jan 28) why their witness, under oath before the Board, gave false, misleading and inaccurate testimony.During January technical hearings in Docket 7600 (the docket opened following leaks-from-non-existent underground pipes) Entergy witnesses led the board and intervenors to believe they had bound the tritium leaks; the leaks were identified, under control and remediation was going well.We now learn tritium had contaminated more wells than discussed at the hearings…… Continue reading →

February 10, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

UK’s plutonium stockpile could be used in new subsidy to nuclear industry

This could easily end up as yet another black hole for taxpayers’ money. The use of the UK plutonium stockpile in reactors could be yet another subsidy for new nuclear.”

Mox proposal would pay nuclear firms to use recycled plutonium• French group Areva wants to build a Mox plant at Sellafield• Greenpeace fears ‘yet another subsidy for new nuclear’   Tim Webb guardian.co.uk, 7 February 2011  Areva submitted a proposal to the government to build a Mox plant at Sellafield.

Nuclear companies could be paid by the government to buy recycled nuclear fuel from a new taxpayer-funded plant, to reduce the country’s stockpile of plutonium. Continue reading →

February 8, 2011 Posted by | reprocessing, secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | Leave a comment

Illegal surveillance of Americans in the time of Patriot Act

the civil liberties of Americans are at a greater risk of being compromised than civil libertarians previously thought.

Report shows how FBI chronically compromised civil liberties | CAIVN, by Chris Hinyub 4 Feb 2011, A relatively ignored study has put into stark relief the cons of an emerging surveillance culture in America. According to information uncovered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation has a startling track record of illegal and intrusive intelligence investigation practices. Continue reading →

February 7, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

“Pre-emptve” arrests of environmental campaigners

(UK) Undercover police scandal: why we urgently need a judge-led inquiry, The Ecologist,  Dan Glass 21st January, 2011 With daily revelations about police spying on activists, we need an independent judicial investigation into the scale and nature of infiltration and use of agents provocateurs, says Ratcliffe defendant Dan Glass
It started with the 26 individuals who had been charged with planning to shut down Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station for one week. The individuals were part of the 114 arrested at the Iona School in Nottingham on Easter Monday, 2009. The incident was the largest pre-emptive arrest of environmental campaigners in recent history and prompted widespread concerns for civil liberties. Now these concerns have deepened to unimagined depths………
They had a trial late last November, and were found guilty after being accused by the prosecution of merely seeking publicity. Undercover police scandal: why we urgently need a judge-led inquiry – Comment – The Ecologist

February 7, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, UK | Leave a comment

Surveillance of USA by unmanned drones

Unmanned drones, controlled by Air National Guard from Hancock Airfield, will fly over the Adirondacks syracuse.com February 06, 2011, If you feel like you’re being watched while floating in a canoe or driving along some lonely road in the Adirondacks this summer, you might be right. Continue reading →

February 7, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties | Leave a comment

Wikileaks reveal secret deal between USA and Russia

The fact that the Americans used British nuclear secrets as a bargaining chip also sheds new light on the so-called “special relationship”, which is shown often to be a one-sided affair by US diplomatic communications obtained by the WikiLeaks website.

WikiLeaks cables: US agrees to tell Russia Britain’s nuclear secrets, The US secretly agreed to give the Russians sensitive information on Britain’s nuclear deterrent to persuade them to sign a key treaty, By Matthew Moore, Gordon Rayner and Christopher Hope   04 Feb 2011 Information about every Trident missile the US supplies to Britain will be given to Russia as part of an arms control deal signed by President Barack Obama next week. Continue reading →

February 5, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA, Wikileaks | Leave a comment

Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Julian Assange

Liu Xiabao was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his struggle for human rights, democracy and freedom of speech in China, Likewise: WikiLeaks have contributed to the struggle for those very values globally, by exposing (among many other things) corruption, war crimes and torture.”

Julian Assange nominated for Peace Prize TECHWATCH, by Tom Coyne, February 3, 2011, Julian Assange, founder of the whistle blowing website, Wikileaks, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by a member of the Norwegian government. Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, civil liberties | Leave a comment

Virginia Uranium gives big bucks to legislators

Top givers by amount ……. Virginia Uranium, ($27,489); Dominion Resources, which runs the largest electric company in the state ($22,673);

Va. legislators accepted more than $255,000 in gifts last year, Virginia Politics Blog By Anita Kumar 02/ 3/2011 Lobbyists, companies and trade associations gave Virginia legislators international trips, tickets to Redskins football games and the Richmond Ballet and meals last year, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in politics. Continue reading →

February 4, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Unprecedented repression of anti nuclear protest in India

The state has unleashed savage repression on Jaitapur’s people. It routinely arrests and serves externment notices to peaceful protesters, and promulgates prohibitory orders, under which eminent citizens like former Navy chief L. Ramdas and former Supreme Court judge P.B. Sawant were barred from Jaitapur, and former Bombay High Court judge B.G. Kolse-Patil was detained for five days without being produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. Others have had false charges framed against them,

Nuclear trouble in Maharashtra, The Daily Star, 3 Feb 2011, Praful Bidwai Continue reading →

February 3, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, India | Leave a comment

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