Human Rights and the Marshall Islands victims of atomic bomb testing
United Nations Report Reveals the Ongoing Legacy of Nuclear Colonialism in the Marshall Islands Asia Pacific Journal, 11 Dec 12, Robert Jacobs & Mick Broderick In September of 2012, Dr. Calin Georgescu, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and waste, submitted his report on the legacy of the nuclear weapon testing
program of the United States in the Marshall Islands to the Human Rights Council of the UN.1
This long overdue report offers a harsh assessment of the history of American nuclear testing in the Pacific and the subsequent underplaying of both the health and welfare of the
Marshallese, and the radiological contamination wrought by the 67 nuclear weapon tests (atmospheric and underwater) conducted there between 1946 and 1958. Continue reading
America’s latest nuclear bomb test – an act of hypocrisy
American Nuclear Hypocrisy , 09 December 2012 By Elias Akleh“…….The American nuclear hypocrisy was lately demonstrated when the US National Nuclear Security Administration had detonated plutonium in a deep shaft in Nevada National Security Site on Wednesday 12/5/2012, allegedly to test the safety and effectiveness of the American nuclear weapons. The test, known as Pollux, was conducted jointly by the Nevada National Security Site, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories. International inspectors were not allowed to witness the test since the US had prevented access to its test sites since late 1990s.
Let us not forget that the US is the only country that used nuclear bombs against civilians in 1945. The US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima incinerating at least 140 thousand civilians in seconds. Three days later the US dropped another nuclear bomb on Nagazaki incinerating further 70 thousand civilians. Hundreds of thousands others died later due to radiation. http://mwcnews.net/focus/editorial/23374-eliasakleh-nuclear-hypocrisy.html
UK’s secret plan to move its nuclear submarines out of Scotland
Angus Robertson, the SNP’s defence spokesman, said: “Anti-independence
politicians have repeatedly tried to claim that the process of removing Trident from Scottish waters would be a problem but now we have yet more confirmation from the Ministry of Defence that these arguments do not stack up.
PLAN B WILL TAKE NUCLEAR SUBS TO DEVON. EXPRESS.co.uk, December 9,2012 By Greg Christison WHITEHALL is secretly preparing a contingency plan to move the UK’s nuclear arsenal south of the Border if Scotland votes for independence, it was claimed last night. Continue reading
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
Is USA’s drone weapons use legal?
America’s Use of Drones: The Legality Issue http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/opinion/americas-use-of-drones-the-legality-issue.html November 30, 2012 SUZANNE NOSSEL Executive Director
Amnesty International USA “Election Spurred a Move to Codify U.S. Drone Policy” (front page,
Nov. 25) raises the issue of the legality of the United States’ ever-changing drone policy.
As his first term in office draws to a close, and with a vacancy to
fill at the top of the Central Intelligence Agency, President Obama
has an opportunity to press the reset button on American drone policy.
Over the last four years the use of drones has become ever more
permissive. Lethal strikes are no longer restricted to “high-value
targets,” Guilt, not innocence, is the apparent presumption.
Administration sources have told the media that in the tribal areas of
Pakistan, men of fighting age are assumed to be combatant targets in
the absence of intelligence to the contrary. If true, this is both
unconscionable and a violation of the laws of war.
This can’t go on. American drones have taken lives in Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and the Philippines. Meaningful public review
of this most secretive of government programs is long overdue. We
don’t need a new rule book; we just need the existing rules —
international human rights and humanitarian law — to be applied.
COLEEN ROWLEY ( The writer is the retired F.B.I. agent who exposed intelligence
failures before the 9/11 attacks.)You report that President Obama is finally expressing some “wariness
of the powerful temptation drones pose to policy makers. ‘There’s a
remoteness to it that makes it tempting to think that somehow we can,
without any mess on our hands, solve vexing security problems,’ he
said.”
What an understatement of the “mess on our hands” given how 76
countries now possess drones, having discovered how cheap and easy
they are to develop and use! Whose hands will they fall into? More and
more people in foreign countries living under American drone strikes
have understandably become radicalized. Didn’t anyone consider how
they would make the perfect weapon of asymmetrical warfare?
Pandora’s box has opened wide, adding to our “vexing security
problems.” We should never have forgotten what Sir Peter Ustinov is
credited as saying: Terrorism is the poor man’s war, and war is
terrorism of the rich.
Pakistan’s growing arsenal
Nuclear nightmare: Book hints at disturbing conclusion that Pak’s arsenal will continue to grow without restraint India Today 2 Dec 12, This is the definitive study of the Pakistani nuclear weapons programme written by a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army who has worked in the Strategic Plans Division, the secretariat of that country’s National Command Authority, and who has had unprecedented access its top personnel.
Its title comes from the famous statement of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, undoubtedly the key architect of programme, who had famously declared that if India makes an atom bomb, then “even if we have feed on grass and leaves”, Pakistan will follow suit. :http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/manoj-joshi-eating-grass-the-making-of-pakistani-bomb/1/235680.html
Depleted uranium’s radioactive dust – the forgotten pollutant
The problem is, when DU armor piercing projectiles penetrate their targets, they become incendiary spewing radioactive dust
The Toxic Legacy of Depleted Uranium Weapons 11-26-2012, EcoWatch, By Paul E McGinniss “……… how many of us know about the current manufacturing and active use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons? DU (Uranium 238) is a radioactive waste by-product of the uranium enrichment process. It results from making fuel for nuclear reactors and the manufacturing of nuclear weapons.
In a frightening adaptation of the “Cradle to Cradle” philosophy in manufacturing, which seeks to use waste in the manufacturing process to create other “useful” products, militaries around the world have come up with the “brilliant” idea of taking DU and making “conventional” weapons with it.
According to BanDepletedUranium.org, approximately 20 countries are thought to have DU weapons in their arsenals. Nations known to have produced these weapons include UK, U.S., France, Russia, China and Pakistan.
DU is well liked by armed forces Continue reading
Warning on danger of Middle East war
Russian expert warns of possibility of large-scale war in Middle East Voice of Russia, 26 Nov 12 Turkey has asked NATO to deploy “Patriot” missiles on the Turkish side near the Turkish-Syrian border.
In an interview with the Voice of Russia, Russian analyst Konstantin Sivkov said: “Deploying these missiles in Turkey will be dangerous for Syrian military planes – this is obvious. A lesser obvious thing is that Turkey is getting ready for a war against Syria. If an attack on Syria from the territory of Turkey does take place, this will most likely be an attack not of the Turkish army, but of NATO’s forces.”
“The Middle East is getting ready for a large-sale battle which will very likely affect the Russian part of the Caucasus, and this, in its turn, will be reflected on the entire Russia,” Mr. Sivkov added…… http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_11_24/Russian-expert-warns-of-possibility-of-large-scale-war-in-Middle-East/
Palestine getting bombed by Israel
“It is very hard to think about Israel calling what it is doing defending itself when it is occupying Palestinian territory. It’s collective punishment.
The answer is simple, and increases the chances of security on all sides: End the occupation.
In Gaza, It’s the Occupation, Stupid,http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/in_gaza_its_the_occupationg_stupid_20121121/? Nov 21, 2012 By Amy Goodman “The Palestinian people want to be free of the occupation,” award-winning Israeli journalist Gideon Levy summed up this week. It is that simple. This latest Israeli military assault on the people of Gaza is not an isolated event, but part of a 45-year occupation of the sliver of land wedged between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, where 1.6 million people live under a brutal Israeli blockade that denies them most of the basic necessities of life.
Without the unwavering bipartisan support of the United States for the Israeli military, the occupation of Palestine could not exist. 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
Australia joins in USA’s militarisation of space
AUSMIN confirms Australia’s subservience to US military, The Guardian, Denis Doherty, 20 Nov 12,”…..In the AUSMIN talks Australia has agreed to establish a space surveillance station which has the aim of detecting space debris. It will be established at the US North West Cape facility in WA. Efforts to stop space debris hitting commercial satellites are welcome. However, the station will also have the capability to gather intelligence to target other satellites and will be configured to provide an interface for anti-satellite warfare.
In its headlong drive to control the planet, the US is also working to control space – and Australia is complicit in this.
Space should be used for the benefit of all humanity and Australia should promote the UN resolution on the prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS)….. http://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2012/1574/06-ausmin-confirms.html
Former Tokyo Governor calls for nuclear weapons for Japan
Possible kingmaker calls for nuclear-armed Japan Sunday Times Sri Lanka, 20 NOVEMBER 2012 TOKYO, (AFP) – Firebrand former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, a potential kingmaker in next month’s general election, said Tuesday Japan must acquire nuclear weapons if it wants to be taken seriously.
At very least, avowedly pacifist Japan should examine what it would need to do to join the club of declared nuclear powers, the 80-year-old arch conservative told foreign journalists in Tokyo. “I think Japan should at least carry out an analysis on going nuclear,” Ishihara said.
“The diplomatic voice of countries without nuclear weapons is overwhelmingly weak,” he said.
Ishihara has a long track record of saying controversial things and breaking cultural taboos. He has previously expressed the same thoughts on Japan — the only country on which a nuclear attack has ever taken place — getting atomic weapons.
But his comments Tuesday come just days after he was declared leader of a populist party forged ahead of the December 16 general election with the express aim of challenging the two major forces in Japanese politics.
Next month’s poll is expected to end without a clear result, with prime minister Yoshihiko Noda’s Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party seen likely to fall short
of a majority.
Commentators expect a period of horse trading as a coalition is forged, with Ishihara’s Japan Restoration Party (JRP) a leading contender for a post-election political marriage…….
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27076:-possible-kingmaker-calls-for-nuclear-armed-japan&catid=81:news&Itemid=625
Britain’s jinxed nuclear-killer submarines
it was unacceptable for the MoD to spend £10bn of taxpayers’ money on the submarines, and still produce a boat with potentially fundamental design flaws that could, in theory, threaten the UK’s ability to defend itself.
“Even though they know some things are wrong, they keep on building them.
Britain’s nuclear hunter-killer submarines were doomed from the start The flawed thinking and design behind the fleet at the heart of Britain’s navy is now coming to the fore Nick Hopkins The Guardian, 15 Nov The problems with the cost and delivery of Britain’s new nuclear-powered hunter-killer submarines were set out in uncompromising detail in a report published by the National Audit Office this time last year.
But the performance and safety problems of HMS Astute and its sister boats are only now coming to the fore, and that is only because people who know about submarines have been prepared to express their concerns. Continue reading
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
The latest global nuclear weapons danger – drones
Drones: The New Nuclear Arms Race? (VIDEO) Everyone’s got a drone, or so it seems, HUFFINGTON POST, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, 14 Nov 12 It wasn’t long ago that the US had a monopoly on drones, but that is no longer the case. In fact, Israel – not the U.S. – is reportedly the world’s largest exporter of drones , selling Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and the technology to build them to Nigeria, Russia, Mexico, and most recently to Azerbaijan as part of a $1.6-billion arms deal involving dozens of drones.
In 2004, 41 countries had acquired UAVs according to a report by the Council on Foreign Relations. As of 2011, the number climbed to at least 76 countries. While only a small number of them have armed drones, many are beginning to invest in weaponizing drones. Continue reading
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Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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