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What? Peace in Our Time in Ukraine?

Whad’ya mean we don’t get to dictate a settlement just because we’re the losers?

This, in a single sentence, is the position shared across the West and in Kiev. Trump’s latest sin — and this plan counts as another in many quarters — is that what he and his people now propose favors simple realities over elaborate illusions. 

The Trump regime’s 28–point Ukraine peace plan accepts Moscow’s core concerns as legitimate. That’s essential for any possible settlement of the war, or the broader crisis between Russia and the West.

by Patrick Lawrence, Consortium News, November 26, 2025, https://consortiumnews.com/2025/11/24/patrick-lawrence-what-peace-in-our-time/

There are any number of reasons you may not like, or may even condemn, the 28–point peace plan the Trump regime has drafted to advance toward a settlement of the war in Ukraine. 

You may be among those many all across the Western capitals who simply cannot accept defeat on the reasoning — is this my word? — that the West never loses anything, and it certainly cannot lose anything to “Putin’s Russia.” 

You may think that President Donald Trump and those who produced this interesting document, which leaked out in the course of some days last week, have once again “caved” to the Kremlin.

The outstanding contribution in this line comes from the ever-mixed-up Tom Friedman, who argued in last Sunday’s editions of The New York Times that Trump is to be compared with Neville Chamberlain and Trump’s plan with the much-reviled British prime minister’s “appeasement” of Hitler via the Munich Agreement of September 1938. 

I cannot think of a klutzier interpretation of history or a more useless comparison, given it sheds not one sliver of light on what the document to hand is about.

Or you may stand on principle and attempt the well-worn case that Ukraine is a liberal democracy — let me write that phrase again just for fun — Ukraine is a liberal democracy, altogether “just like us,” and must be defended at all costs in the name of freedom, the rights of the individual, free markets, etc.

Or you may think this is no time for the United States and its European clients to relent in their unceasing effort to destabilize the Russian Federation. Those of this persuasion cannot, of course, acknowledge that Ukraine is nothing more than a battering ram in this dreadful cause, at this point much-bloodied. This dodge tends to swell the ranks of those professing the defense of democracy against autocracy as their creed. 

Anyone paying attention to the reactions to the Trump plan among the trans–Atlantic policy cliques and the media that serve them has heard all of this and more these past few days. I find it all somewhere between pitiful and amusing.  

Pitiful because those who so wildly overinvested in the corrupt, Nazi-infested regime in Kiev prove incapable of acknowledging that Ukraine lost its war with Russia long ago, and this attempt to subvert Russia now proves a bust.

Amusing because those who so wildly over-invested in the corrupt, Nazi-infested regime in Kiev now squirm at the thought that the victor will have more to say about the terms of peace than the vanquished. 

Whad’ya mean we don’t get to dictate a settlement just because we’re the losers?

This, in a single sentence, is the position shared across the West and in Kiev. Trump’s latest sin — and this plan counts as another in many quarters — is that what he and his people now propose favors simple realities over elaborate illusions. 

Those asserting that the Trump plan caters to the Kremlin are not altogether wrong, to put this point another way. They are merely wrong in their objections. These 28 points, with many elaborations —No. 12 is followed by 12a, 12b, 12c and so on — indeed give Russia a lot — but not all — of what it has spent years attempting to negotiate.  

The missed point is plainly stated: It is a very wise and fine thing finally to recognize the legitimacy of Russia’s perspective. At this point what will serve Russia’s interests will also serve Ukraine’s and the interests of anyone who thinks an orderly world is a good idea.

 couple of things to note before briefly considering the contents of the Trump plan. I am working from a copy of the text apparently leaked to the Financial Times last Thursday. 

One, it is a working document, nothing more. Trump’s people, notably Marco Rubio, Trump’s secretary of state, and Steve Witkoff, the New York property investor now serving as Trump’s special envoy, had extensive negotiations with Ukrainian and European delegations in Geneva over the weekend. These are to continue.

Trump earlier gave the Kiev regime until Thanksgiving, this Thursday, to accept or reject its terms, and he has not since said anything differently. But the Trumpster has already stated that if things are going well this deadline can be superseded. All is subjective. 

Two, Rubio and Witkoff take credit for drafting this plan, reportedly in consultation with Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, who seems sometimes to serve as a diplomat close to the Kremlin. But it has Trump’s name on it, and anything with the Trumpster’s name on it is subject to radical and unpredictable revision or withdrawal at any time.  

Promise of Enduring Settlement

Setting these matters aside:

There are numerous on-the-ground provisions among its 28 clauses. No. 19 specifies that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant along the Dnieper River, controlled by Russian forces since March 2022, less than a month into the war, will be restarted under the authority of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the electricity it generates will go equally to Russia and Ukraine. Russia is to allow Ukrainians to use the Dnieper “for commercial activities” (No. 23). 

There is to be a prisoner swap (No. 24a) and, a family reunion program (24c). A general amnesty will extend to “all parties involved in the conflict” (No. 26). “Measures will be taken,” No. 24d states, “to alleviate the suffering of victims of the conflict.”

These clauses, boilerplate humanitarian provisions and low-hanging fruit, are worthy enough, but read to me as greeting-card niceties next to the weightier items in this plan. 

There is the much-discussed, much-disputed question of territory. Crimea and the Donbas — Luhansk and Donetsk — will be recognized as Russian territory, but de facto as against de jure. Why this distinction, the Russians would be perfectly right to ask. 

The land from which Ukrainian forces will be required to withdraw will be designated a demilitarized zone that belongs to Russia, but the Russians will not be permitted to enter it. Again, what is this all about? As to Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the southerly provinces Russia and Ukraine each partially control, they are to be divided and fixed at the current line of contact. 

No. 22: “After agreeing on future territorial arrangements, the Russian Federation and Ukraine undertake not to change these arrangements by force.”

It is hard to say how either side will view these proposed divisions of territory. They award Moscow much of what it has demanded for some time, but in qualified fashion, and take away from Kiev much of what it has long said it will never surrender. So: Not enough for the Russians? Too much for the Ukrainians? 

In my read the drafters’ intent here is to set down working language on the territory question as the basis of a lot of horse-trading. If I am correct, the U.S. side is not saying Kiev must accept or reject these terms as written so much as Kiev must agree finally to stop striking poses and do serious business at the mahogany table.

To be noted in this connection: It is long past time to dismiss all the rubbish of the past three years to the effect that Moscow’s intent has been to seize and occupy all of Ukraine. It is as ridiculous as the Europeans’ preposterous assertions — more cynical than paranoiac —that if the Russians are not stopped in Ukraine they will soon be in London and Lisbon. 

November 28, 2025 Posted by | politics international, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant needs cooperation agreement in event of Ukraine peace, says IAEA

MANILA, Nov 25 (Reuters) – https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-needs-cooperation-agreement-event-ukraine-peace-says-2025-11-25/

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will need a “special status” and a cooperation agreement between Russia and Ukraine if a peace deal is reached.

Russian forces seized the plant, Europe’s largest with six reactors, in the first weeks of Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The plant produces no electricity, but each side regularly accuses the other of military actions compromising nuclear safety.

“Whatever side of the line it ends up, you will have to have a cooperative arrangement or a cooperative atmosphere,” he said.

Grossi’s comments come as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration makes an intense new push to end the war.

U.S. and Ukrainian officials are trying to narrow the gaps between them over a draft peace plan that includes provisions for Zaporizhzhia’s future.

Without peace, there is danger of a nuclear accident, Grossi said.

“Until the war stops or there is a ceasefire or the guns are silenced, there is always a possibility of something going very, very wrong,” he said in an interview.

“No single operator can use a nuclear power plant when across the river there is another country which is resisting this and may take action against that.”

A draft version of the U.S.-backed 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, according to a copy seen by Reuters, proposes restarting the plant under IAEA supervision, with electricity output split equally between Russia and Ukraine.

“Shared, not shared – and I don’t want to get into that because it’s political – …it’s something that Ukraine and Russia will be deciding at some point,” Grossi said. “But one thing is clear, the IAEA is indispensable in this situation.”

Zaporizhzhia’s six reactors have been in cold shutdown since 2022, relying on external power lines and emergency systems to prevent a station blackout. The IAEA maintains a continued presence at the site to monitor safety amid ongoing shelling.

November 28, 2025 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

We must embrace reality with cheap green energy

Critics will say we can’t afford to transition away from fossil fuels.
When you come face to face with the impacts, it’s reasonable to argue
that we can’t afford not to. But something interesting is starting to
happen. Around four or five years ago, it became cheaper to generate
electricity from the sun and wind than it is by setting things on fire.

Renewable energy has been getting so plentiful, to the point that some
governments are literally giving it away. In Australia, where almost 40% of
homes have solar panels on their roof, the government announced that they
have so much solar energy that from January next year, Australians will get
three free hours of electricity every single day. Whether you have a solar
panel or not, for those three hours, you can charge your car, run the
washing machine or even store up your home battery and run the house for
free all night.

At a time when it was announced that the energy price cap
is set to rise slightly here in the UK, and when the average cost of
heating and running a home is close to £1800, it’s hard not to feel
jealous of those Australians who can look forward to free power for three
hours a day.

Even more astonishingly it’s China which is driving this
change towards cleaner energy. When I lived in China back in the early
2000s, we had toxic smog so thick you couldn’t see the apartment block
across the road. Chinese cities used to dominate the top 10 most-polluted
cities in the world, today they barely feature in that most grubby of
lists.

In May of this year, China installed new solar and wind energy
systems that generated as much electricity as Poland generates all-year
round, from all available sources, and while they continue to construct
more coal-fired power stations, those stations run at most at 50% capacity,
and the country’s carbon emissions are thought to have peaked.

These power stations are used almost as back-up power, because they’re more
expensive to run than solar or wind farms, and once the next breakthrough
comes in the form of battery storage, experts argue that dirty power
stations will grow obsolete. China has figured out that clean energy and
renewables are the way forward, because they will ultimately prove to be
cheaper and more profitable.

They’ve made more money exporting green tech
in the past 18 months than the US has made in exporting oil and gas in that
same period. While America is betting the house on AI being the future,
China has gambled on renewable energy and clean tech being the way forward.

In Europe, people are nipping down to their equivalent of B&Q to pick up
plug-in solar panels they can hang off their balconies. These cheap and
cheerful solutions can provide up to 25% of an apartment’s energy usage,
and are as easy to use as plugging in a toaster. It’s such an innovative
– and useful – development that the UK Government has launched a study
to see if it could be rolled out here.

Regulations would need to be
reformed, but if this could be achieved, we could soon access the kind of
cheap and convenient solution that close to 1.5 million Germans enjoy.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when faced with the challenge of a warming
planet, and dither and delay from those in power. But ultimately we’ve
got more power than we think. Environmentalist Bill McKibben argues that
economics dictate that in 30 years’ time we’ll be running this planet
on solar and wind energy anyway. It’s up to us to determine how long we
want to wait to embrace reality, and cheaper energy bills.

 The National 26th Nov 2025,
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/25650532.must-embrace-reality-lower-bills-cheap-green-energy/

November 28, 2025 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Update Behind Trump’s Peace Spin: Leaks, Concessions, and a Ukraine Not Ready to Bend

November 26, 2025, By: Joshua S, https://scheerpost.com/2025/11/26/behind-trumps-peace-spin-leaks-concessions-and-a-ukraine-not-ready-to-bend/

Update: In a surprising turn of events, former President Donald Trump has decided to step back from the decision-making process, entrusting his advisers to navigate the current political landscape.

As of this morning, the GOP has pushed back on a deal they say overly favored Russian interests. The Hill reports: “The complaints from GOP senators — combined with blowback from Kyiv and across Europe — apparently spurred Trump to direct his negotiators to work more closely with Ukraine to get a balanced deal, after initially saying Ukraine had until Thanksgiving to agree to a 28-point plan that favored Russia.”

With Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) saying: “Putin is a pirate, he’s got Stalin’s taste for blood, that’s clear. The man’s got blood under his fingernails. He is not going to come to the table, in my opinion, until you make it more costly for him not to settle than it is to continue to prosecute the war,”

Russian response: Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow next week to meet with Putin, with his aide Yuri Ushakov saying — as reported by NBC News — that “We, the Russian side, have not yet discussed any documents with anyone specifically… We’ve agreed to a meeting with Mr. Witkoff. I hope he won’t be alone. Other representatives of the U.S. team working on the Ukrainian dossier will be there.”

Needless to say, with the Russians not getting documents or signing anything yet, the Ukrainians needing more guarantees, and President Trump stepping back, peace at this moment doesn’t look bright. But we will be keeping our eyes open for whatever developments may come.

Despite a sunny spin from the Trump administration about the peace deal, obstacles remain, with Zelensky wanting to meet with Trump and Trump writing this on his social media account. “I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this war is FINAL or in its final stages,”

CNN sources within the Ukrainian government say “there are still significant gaps between what the Trump administration is asking of Ukraine and what the embattled authorities in Kyiv are prepared to accept.”

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg reported—through leaked audio—that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, a Trump ally, suggested Putin call Trump to congratulate him on a recent Gaza ceasefire and propose a similar 20-point Ukraine plan. In the leaked recording, Witkoff referenced potential concessions like Donetsk and a land swap, urging an optimistic tone to build momentum.

Here is Trump discussing that report and the peace plan.

November 28, 2025 Posted by | politics international, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Navy made legal threats to try and keep nuclear pollution secret

Emails reveal that naval chiefs piled pressure on environment watchdog to hide details of radioactive contamination on the Clyde.

Rob Edwards, November 23 2025, https://www.theferret.scot/navy-try-keep-nuclear-pollution-secret/

The Royal Navy threatened legal action as part of a fierce, high-level, behind-the-scenes battle to block publication of information about radioactive pollution at the Coulport nuclear bomb base on the Clyde.

Files released to The Ferret reveal that over nine days in July and August the navy sent 130 emails, held five meetings and made numerous phone calls urging the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) to keep details of the pollution secret.

Naval officials repeatedly warned of legal action, spoke of the need to “calm some nerves” and said they were “deeply uncomfortable” with information proposed for release. One was anxious to avoid “another crazy Friday”, while another complained of becoming a “zombie” after a long week.

Top naval commanders also had an online meeting with the Scottish Information Commissioner, David Hamilton, late one evening to try and persuade him to reverse his decision to reject most of their pleas for secrecy.

But all these eleventh-hour efforts failed. As The Ferret reported on 9 August, Sepa released 33 files revealing that Coulport had polluted Loch Long on the Clyde with radioactive waste after old water pipes burst and caused a flood in 2019.

Campaigners accused the navy of “harassing” Sepa, and praised Hamilton for refusing to be “intimidated”. Politicians demanded less secrecy from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The MoD said it had to “balance” the public’s right to know with releasing information which would compromise national security. Sepa insisted it was firmly committed to transparency.

Naval commanders ‘getting concerned’

The Ferret first made a freedom of information request for files on radioactive problems at Coulport and Faslane in 2019, and then again in 2023 and 2024. But despite multiple reviews, most files were kept secret for national security reasons, after Sepa consulted the MoD.

The secrecy was overturned, however, after we appealed to Hamilton. In June 2025 he ordered Sepa to release most of the files by 28 July, saying they threatened “reputations” not national security.

But the release was delayed to 4 August after the MoD pleaded for more time to assess “additional national security considerations”. Sepa eventually released the 33 files to The Ferret late on 5 August.

Now emails released by Sepa and Hamilton in response to further freedom of information requests from The Ferret have disclosed what was happening behind the scenes. 

On working days between 24 July and 5 August the Royal Navy sent an average of more than 14 emails a day to Sepa, to try and limit the amount of information released. Naval officials also frequently phoned and met with Sepa. 

On 30 July the MoD proposed a series of redactions to the documents that were scheduled to be released. They “represent the minimal changes which are required in order to protect national security,” it argued.

The MoD tried to add to their shameful history of nuclear cover-ups by harassing officials with false claims of national security, hoping we’d never know radioactivity was negligently leaked from Coulport.

Early on 31 July a naval official asked Sepa to forward the MoD’s proposed redactions to Hamilton, apologising for failing to make that clearer earlier. “It’s been a long week and I resemble a zombie!” the official wrote.

Sepa assured the MoD it had included “all MoD redactions” in a submission to Hamilton.

But then an email from a naval official later on 31 July said the “chain of command are getting concerned” about “timelines” if Hamilton rejected the redactions. The official warned of legal action, adding: “Grateful for your advice to calm some nerves.”

The kind of legal action the navy was considering is unclear, as key text has been redacted. But the only way of challenging Hamilton’s decisions is by appealing to the Court of Session in Edinburgh on a point of law.

Another email on 1 August again warned Sepa that the MoD was “likely to challenge” the release of information that “adversely prejudiced” national security. It asked Sepa to “withhold release of the relevant documents while we follow due process”.

On 4 August Hamilton rejected the majority of the MoD’s proposed redactions. The MoD again told Sepa that it was considering action “to prevent disclosure of the documents”, and asked Sepa not to release them “until this decision has been  made”.

But Sepa responded saying that it was planning to release the information as ordered by Hamilton. It was not “tenable” to further delay the release “from a reputational risk perspective”, Sepa said.

MoD meetings with Hamilton

The MoD also requested an “urgent” meeting with Hamilton and his staff on 25 July to consider MoD “concerns”. Another meeting was requested by the MoD on Thursday 31 July, with one official keen to “prevent another crazy Friday”.

On 1 August the navy’s director of submarines, Rear Admiral Andy Perks, told Hamilton that he had spoken directly to Sepa’s chief executive, Nicole Paterson, to try and find “a pragmatic way forward”. He stressed the need to “maintain national security backstops throughout”.

Perks praised Hamilton’s “continued support and pragmatism”, adding that it had been “greatly appreciated” by the First Sea Lord, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins.

On 4 August, after learning that Hamilton had rejected most of the MoD proposed redactions, Perks emailed again asking for another meeting that evening “to find a pragmatic way forward”.

In reply Hamilton said he was legally not allowed to discuss the case with third parties. “Much of the information that the Royal Navy would like to withhold is already in the public domain,” he said.

“As a courtesy I am happy to speak later tonight but with the understanding that I can’t discuss the case in detail.” A meeting took place just after 8pm that evening, after Hamilton had returned from a karate class.

After Sepa released files to The Ferret on 5 August, Hamilton pointed out that a few details had been wrongly redacted. Sepa then had to re-release the files with those redactions removed. 

When this was flagged to the MoD on 8 August, it said it was “deeply uncomfortable”. But it added: “We have objections but we won’t appeal further.”

Aggressive manoeuvres

The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland was pleased that Hamilton “refused to be intimidated” by the MoD’s “aggressive manoeuvres”. The public interest had finally been served by disclosure, said campaign director, Carole Ewart. 

She thought the MoD might have “overlooked” the fact that Scotland’s environmental information law is tougher than that south of the border. Details can only be kept secret in Scotland if they “prejudice substantially” national security, but UK law says they can remain hidden if they just “adversely affect” national security.

The Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament thanked Hamilton for acting “without fear or favour” in the public interest. “The MoD tried to add to their shameful history of nuclear cover-ups by harassing officials with false claims of national security, hoping we’d never know radioactivity was negligently leaked from Coulport,” said campaign chair, Lynn Jamieson.

The SNP MSP and chair of the cross-party group on nuclear disarmament, Bill Kidd, said that the Scottish Parliament’s net zero and energy committee would be investigating transparency over pollution at Coulport and the neighbouring Faslane nuclear submarine base.

There were “worrying undercurrents of MoD behaviour in relation to secrecy over radioactive pollution” that needed to be investigated, he added.

The former Scottish Green leader, Patrick Harvie MSP, accused the MoD of making a “totally inappropriate intervention” in an attempt “to cover up and distract from what were very serious failures.”

We must balance the public’s right to know with releasing information which would compromise national security into the possession of our adversaries.

The MoD defended its intervention as “legitimate”, pointing out that it was “voluntarily” regulated by Sepa and welcomed the scrutiny. “We must balance the public’s right to know with releasing information which would compromise national security into the possession of our adversaries,” said an MoD spokesperson.

“We explored in a professional way a range of options to ensure we struck the right balance while maintaining the security of the British people which is imperative. The redaction of certain information highlights the importance of consulting us to ensure the protection of national security-sensitive information.”

Sepa stressed that it was “firmly committed” to transparency. “Our approach is always that publication is the default and withholding information is the exception, only when it is necessary, proportionate and legally justified,” said the agency’s chief officer, Kirsty-Louise Campbell.

“This includes careful consideration of national security and public safety – particularly for sites handling radioactive substances, whether military or civilian.”

The Scottish Information Commissioner, David Hamilton, pointed out it was Sepa’s responsibility to make representations to him on The Ferret’s FoI appeal. “In the unusual circumstances of this case, however, and, as a responsible regulator, I also spoke with Royal Navy commanders to ensure I was fully aware of any relevant national security issues,” he said.

“After these discussions, I advised Sepa that I was agreeable to a small number of minor redactions in the interests of national security. I should note that, throughout this process, I felt under no pressure to review my decision or make redactions – all of which were founded in Scotland’s environmental transparency laws.”

The 109 files released by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency can be accessed on its disclosure log by searching for F0199867. The 13 files released by the Scottish Information Commissioner are available here.

November 28, 2025 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | Leave a comment

Oldbury nuclear reactor plans spark safety concerns at Lydney meeting.

Residents gathered at a public meeting in Lydney to discuss the safety implications of proposed Small Modular Reactors at Oldbury, highlighting flooding risks and renewable energy alternatives.

STAND (Severnside Together against Nuclear Development) held a public meeting in Lydney on October 17th to look at the prospect of Small Modular (nuclear) Reactors (SMRs) being built at Oldbury. There were four speakers including two fromSTAND, Sue Haverly and John French. who have been sharing information about the two nuclear installations at Oldbury and Berkeley since the 1980s and monitoring safety since the two stations were decommissioned.

The other speakers were former Friends of the Earth director Sir Jonathan Porritt and renewable energy expert Dr David Toke.

 The Forester 25th Nov 2025, https://www.theforester.co.uk/news/oldbury-nuclear-reactor-plans-spark-safety-concerns-at-lydney-meeting-854643

November 28, 2025 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, UK | Leave a comment

British military trained in Israel amid Gaza genocide

Armed forces personnel have ‘studied on educational staff courses’ since October 2023, Ministry of Defence discloses

JOHN McEVOY, DECLASSIFIED UK, 26 November 2025

British military personnel trained in Israel amid the Gaza genocide, Declassified can reveal.

The information comes in response to a parliamentary question tabled by Zarah Sultana MP.

On 18 November, Sultana asked the Ministry of Defence “whether any British armed forces officers have studied or trained at Israeli military colleges since October 2023”.

Defence minister Al Carns responded earlier today, saying: “Fewer than five British Armed Forces personnel have studied on educational staff courses in Israel since October 2023”.

It remains unclear where the troops studied or which branches of the military they came from.

But the revelation exposes a new layer of British military collaboration with Israel amid what the UN commission of inquiry has described as a genocide.

Charlie Herbert, a retired British army general, told Declassified: “It is absolutely extraordinary to think that UK military personnel have been undertaking military education or training courses in Israel over the past two years.

“Given the credible allegations of war crimes against the political and military leadership of the IDF, all such exchanges should have immediately ceased.

“It does our armed forces a huge disservice to be associated with the IDF, given the conduct of the IDF in Gaza since late 2023 and to think that we are training in Israel only adds to the accusations of UK complicity in this genocide”…………………….

Military training

The disclosure about British military officers training in Israel comes after Declassified revealed how Israeli soldiers have trained in Britain over the past two years…………………………………………………………………….. https://www.declassifieduk.org/british-military-trained-in-israel-amid-gaza-genocide/

November 28, 2025 Posted by | Israel, secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | Leave a comment

UK ‘most expensive’ in the world for nuclear projects due to complex regulation, taskforce finds.

“However, it is absolutely critical that we do not pursue cost reduction at the expense of health and safety standards”

 The UK has become the “most expensive” nation in the world to
construct new nuclear projects and an overhaul to planning is needed to
remedy this, according to a new report published by the Nuclear Regulatory
Taskforce.

Examples of the delays and cost overruns are apparent in the
UK’s current nuclear construction projects, Hinkley Point C and Sizewell
C. Namely, the construction of Hinkley Point C has faced several issues
including health and safety concerns, structural faults, as well as
significant cost overruns and delays.

Financially, the project’s
estimated costs have risen to between £31bn and £34bn, up from an initial
£25bn to £26bn in 2015 prices. These cost increases are attributed to
civil engineering price hikes and delays in the electromechanical phase.
Consequently, the operational date for Unit 1 has been pushed back, with
scenarios suggesting completion between 2029 and 2031, partly due to
slower-than-anticipated civil construction, inflation, labour, and material
shortages, as well as disruptions from Covid-19 and Brexit.

The government’s Office for Value for Money (OVfM) noted that these cost
overruns and delays at Hinkley Point C complicated the development of the
Sizewell C project. While the huge costs involved with nuclear projects in
the UK are apparent, law firm Browne Jacobson has argued that, with time
and efficiencies being realised in their construction, costs will start to
go down. Browne Jacobson partner Zoe Stollard said: “Whilst the current
costs of nuclear power station construction in the UK may appear
substantial, it’s important to recognise that these figures will likely
decrease as efficiencies are realised in future projects.

“However, it is absolutely critical that we do not pursue cost reduction at the expense of health and safety standards. Maintaining the highest levels of nuclear safety, security, and safety culture are imperative. “Investing wisely in these projects now is essential to reduce the potential for significant
incidents further down the line. The upfront investment in robust safety
measures and regulatory compliance is not merely a cost, it is a necessary
safeguard for public welfare and long-term operational success.”

 New Civil Engineer 25th Nov 2025

November 28, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

Officials make alarming discovery outside of shutdown nuclear facility: ‘Significant’

“A legacy of industrial practices.”

by Veronica Booth, November 26, 2025

 A dangerous fragment of radioactive debris was found outside of a
decommissioned nuclear facility in Scotland. The BBC reported that a
radioactive fragment categorized as “significant” was discovered around the Dounreay nuclear facility on April 7.

Radioactive particles can be
classified as minor, relevant, or significant. This is the first
“significant” particle found near Thurso since March 2022. The Dounreay
facility was an experimental nuclear site until particles of irradiated
nuclear fuel contaminated the drainage system. Now, the shores and seabed around Dounreay are heavily contaminated. According to the BBC, the decontamination of the site is expected to be complete by 2333.

The significant fragment serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of responsible radioactive waste management. According to the BBC, these
radioactive particles and fragments around Dounreay are not a threat to
people. Highly contaminated areas are not used by the public. Nearby public beaches have not contained any significant or large particles that would cause concern for people. In this instance, the U.K. government’s Nuclear Restoration Services and other entities are taking proper action to
decontaminate the site.

 TCD 26th Nov 2025, https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/dounreay-nuclear-facility-scotland-radioactive-waste/

November 28, 2025 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

Sir Keir Starmer to create commission with power to overrule environmental regulators through environmental red tape.

Matt Oliver, Industry Editor, 24 November 2025 

Environmental quangos that object to nuclear power stations could have
their concerns overruled under Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to unleash a golden
age of nuclear. Under new proposals submitted to the Prime Minister, a new
commission would be created with the power to reconsider “novel or
contentious decisions” – overruling individual regulators if necessary.

In the report, the nuclear regulatory taskforce accused Natural England and
the Environment Agency of adding “disproportionate” costs to projects
by demanding design changes aimed at protecting nature.

Instead of addressing individual environmental concerns, developers could also be allowed to pay a large sum of money into a nature restoration fund. It comes after Sir Keir pledged to usher in a “golden age” of nuclear power following a major agreement between Britain and the US during Donald Trump’s state visit in September.

Telegraph 24th Nov 2025, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/11/24/nuclear-power-boom-forced-through-environmental-red-tape/

November 27, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

  Does ‘fish disco’ show we’re dancing to the wrong tune on regulations?

“confected outrage about a fish disco”.

 Hinkley Point C’s fish protections have been criticised as a
waste of money but environmental charities said the outrage was
manufactured.

For the twaite shad of the Bristol Channel, it has been a
strange few months. Ordinarily, few people bother with shad. Smallish,
silverish, a little like a less charismatic herring, generally they are
left alone. Not this year. Starting in May they have been tracked. They
have been chipped. They have been played some really odd sounds. And now, as they somewhat bemusedly navigate what has become known as the Hinkley Point C fish disco, they have been presented to the prime minister as an exemplar of all that is wrong with our nuclear regulations.

The Fingleton report on nuclear regulation is long and considered. Its 162 pages take in capital financing, nuclear risks and decommissioning obligations. But it was just a few paragraphs about fish that ended up catching the headlines.

“Hinkley Point C will have more fish protection measures than any other
power station in the world,” wrote John Fingleton, commissioned by the
government to find ways to make nuclear cheaper. “It has spent £700
million on their design and implementation,” he said. The outcome on
protected fish? “These measures would save 0.083 salmon per year, along
with 0.028 sea trout, 6 river lamprey, 18 allis shad, and 528 twaite
shad.”

“The government’s propaganda machine is working overtime to
perpetuate the false narrative that nature blocks development,” Joan
Edwards, from the Wildlife Trusts, said. It is, she said, “confected
outrage about a fish disco”. Every second it is running, Hinkley Point C,
which is still under construction, will suck in 134 cubic metres of
seawater. From three kilometres out, in the murky estuary, the water will
rush along pipes towards the reactor. There, the cold waters of the Bristol
Channel will meet the superheated waters of a steam turbine………………………………………………………………………………………….

 Times 25th Nov 2025, https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/does-fish-disco-show-were-dancing-to-the-wrong-tune-on-regulations-99v2tsnvs

November 27, 2025 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

“Ukraine Agrees on ‘Essence’ of Peace Deal; Trump Meeting Expected Soon”

By: Joshua S, November 25, 2025, https://scheerpost.com/2025/11/25/ukraine-agrees-on-essence-of-peace-deal-trump-meeting-expected-soon/

More updates will obviously follow, as context is everything. Ukraine has reportedly agreed to the “essence” of a peace deal with Russia, though President Zelensky has said more work remains to be done.

According to reporting from the UK Independent, Ukraine’s national security adviser Rustem Umerov said the country had reached a “common understanding” with the White House over a deal to end the war.

“Umerov also noted that Zelensky is likely to visit the U.S. in the coming days to finalize a deal with President Donald Trump aimed at ending Ukraine’s war with Russia.”

Needless to say more to come.

I found this to be an excellent summary of the current situation, highlighting that the United States cannot be considered blameless after a lifetime of empire-building. This analysis comes from Thomas I. Palley in Janata Weekly, India’s oldest socialist weekly, published on June 15, 2025.

“The external and internal factors come into play at different moments and take time to work their full effect, which is why history is so important to understanding the conflict. The two sets of factors play out over a timeline involving three key events. The first is Ukraine’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991. The second is the Maidan coup in February 2014 that overthrew democratically elected Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych, who advocated Ukrainian autonomy and a nonaligned defense policy. The third is Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, launched on February 24, 2022.”

For that article by Thomas Palley get it here

November 27, 2025 Posted by | politics international, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Britain will have to obey US orders on nuclear jets, CND conference hears.

23 November 2025, https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/britain-will-have-obey-us-orders-nuclear-jets-cnd-conference-hears

BRITAIN would need permission from the United States in order to use its nuclear deterrent, experts say, as the government goes forward with a £71 billion purchase of nuke-carrying US jets.

And increasing Britain’s nuclear arms stock will tie the country to President Donald Trump’s foreign policy goals, which disarmament campaigners say could bring us closer to the brink of disaster.

Speaking at an event organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in London on Saturday, experts, campaigners, and politicians condemned Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to buy at least 12 F15-A jets.

The planes, capable of carrying so-called tactical nuclear bombs, were not “properly costed” when the government first laid out the deal, only later revealing that their price was some £71 billion, CND general secretary Sophie Bolt said.

Describing Sir Keir’s “mad scramble” to increase spending after Mr Trump requested Nato members increase arms expenditure to 5 per cent of their GDP, Ms Bolt said: “There is a blank-cheque approach to nuclear weapons.

“There was no real proper costing for how much this would be. The health sector is constantly having to save here, save there. Whereas the [Ministry of Defence] will later just say: ‘Oh sorry, we’ve overspent.’

“This will not make us safer. They are US fighter jets. All the money is going to the US. And the planes launch US nuclear bombs, so that means they are basically under Nato command, meaning they are under the US nuclear umbrella of Nato.

“It’s the US that decides when and where these bombs will be dropped. And we are concerned that Trump is going to be gung-ho for these bombs.”

Discussing the planes’ so-called tactical nuclear bombs, she said: “They make the threat of nuclear war being made much more likely and the British government is totally at the heart of this.”

Okopi Ajonye, a researcher at Nuclear Information Service (NIS), agreed that there were many issues with the F35-A deal, saying the government “rushed into the decision” to buy the jets.

He said: “Acquiring these aircrafts was to show that the UK is contributing to NATO. That’s actually what drove this decision.”

Outlining the link between the genocide in Gaza and the campaign against nukes, Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal said the British public should “resist the process to renormalise Israel” after the October ceasefire.

And Your Party co-leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “The new nuclear weapons being promoted and proposed by the UK are intrinsically dangerous: the more weapons there are, the more danger there is that they will be used.

“Instead we should invest the funds into housing, health and education — and increasing, not cutting overseas spending.”

November 27, 2025 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

  Navy’s legal threats in bid to keep nuclear pollution secret. 

THE Royal Navy threatened legal action as part of a fierce, high-level,
behind-the-scenes battle to block publication of information about
radioactive pollution at the Coulport nuclear bomb base on the Clyde.

Files released to The Ferret reveal that over nine days in July and August, the navy sent 130 emails, held five meetings and made numerous phone calls urging the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) to keep ­details of the pollution secret. Naval officials repeatedly warned of legal action, spoke of the need to “calm some nerves” and said they were “deeply uncomfortable” with ­information proposed for release.

 The National 23rd Nov 2025, https://www.thenational.scot/news/25642969.navys-legal-threats-bid-keep-nuclear-pollution-secret/

November 27, 2025 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | Leave a comment

The EU counter-proposal to Trump’s peace plan keeps the door ajar for Ukraine to join NATO.

One of several reasons why Russia will likely refuse to commit to peace

Ian Proud, Nov 25, 2025, https://thepeacemonger.substack.com/p/the-eu-counter-proposal-to-trumps?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=3221990&post_id=179824409&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

After my last video, I decided to do a clause by clause review of the so-called US peace plan for Ukraine with the European counter-proposal that has appeared in western newspapers. This was apparently drafted by the German, French and British National Security Advisers who joined the talks in Geneva.

If you look at both documents side by side, they appear remarkably similar. However, some big gaps exist, the largest being NATO membership for Ukraine. The European wording will be seen in Moscow as keeping the door open to future NATO membership for Ukraine while also allowing for the deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine. This, I’m afraid, will be a massive red line for the Kremlin, and I can’t see that they will agree.

Other controversial pieces of text from the Europeans:

  • water down the commitment to Ukrine joinoing the EU;
  • hold the line of keeping Russia’s sovereign assets immobilised after the war has ended;
  • increases the cap on Ukraine’s military to 800,000 personnel, from 600,000 (althogh I frankly don’t thnk Ukraine can afford either number without massive inflows of financial aid from European States, which they can ill afford);
  • removes the specific commitment by Ukraine to elections after 100 days;
  • defers the issue of territory – which Zelensky has described as the most difficult issue – until after a peace deal is agreed;

  • removes the clause on amnesties. The amnesty issue appears as important to Russia and Ukraine for different reasons For Russia to avoid the much-called-for international war crimes tribunal, and for Ukraine, to enable corrupt figures around Zelensky to avoid imprisonment for massive embezzlement. However, I wasn’t sure reading the online version that I saw, whether the amnesty clause had been removed by accident.

While looking at the amnesty clause, I seem to have terminated my video recording early!

But to conclude, the European counter-proposal is helpful in that it engages with the US text as a starting point. Any final peace deal will look different to the versions we see today.

Yet, the European counter-proposal makes it almost impossible to Russia to get on board with peace, with NATO still very much on the table, and with the Europeans wanting to hold on to Russian afters after the fighting stops.

All that being said, US talks with Ukraine appear to have been positive so far. Right now, the emphasis is on Trump maintaining the focus and pressure on European leaders to get on board with compromises that will enable Putin to sue for peace, so that the fighting can end.

As of today, we still seem some way from that point.

I hope you find the video [on original] interesting.

November 27, 2025 Posted by | EUROPE, politics international | Leave a comment

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