Nuclear and space lobbies increase their grip on universities, a new example in UK
Bangor University in Wales will develop a nuclear thermal fuel system to
support deep space exploration with funding provided by the UK Space
Agency. It is one of eight projects receiving a total of GBP1.6 million
(USD1.9 million) in funding through the agency’s Enabling Space Exploration
fund.
World Nuclear News 7th March 2023
https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Welsh-university-to-develop-space-nuclear-propulsi
The extraordinary popularity of renewable energy university courses
The number of students on renewables-related courses in Scotland has
soared by 70% in four years, figures reveal. Scottish Renewables found that
22,000 undergraduates were studying subjects which cover the sector,
ranging from engineering to maths. The same survey in 2019 reported around
13,000 young people studying in similar areas. Scottish Renewables said it
demonstrated the attractiveness of the industry.
BBC 7th March 2023
Britain’s Public Accounts Committee reveals that UK’s nuclear reactors have been a poor investment
It’s almost a year since Boris Johnson’s announcement that a new
nuclear power station will be built at Wylfa, Ynys Môn. ‘Wylfa
Newydd’ is part of the proposed new nuclear scheme, Great British Nuclear
(GBN). But GBN, if it goes ahead, will be the third generation of nuclear
reactors in the UK.
Let’s look back at the past two generations of
nuclear power stations in the UK, and see how they’ve performed, and ask
if Wylfa Newydd is really the boon for Cymru that the Tories claim it is.
As Johnson made his Wylfa announcement in April 2022, the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) was busy finalising a report on the economic performance of
Britain’s previous, second generation of reactors. The PAC report,
entitled ‘The Future of Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors [AGRs],’ was
released just a month after Johnson’s announcement.
It revealed: hownthese retirement-age AGR reactors have been a poor investment, not serving
Britain well economically; how the estimated cost of decommissioning them
had nearly doubled since 2004, and would likely climb further; and how
these astronomical, escalating costs of decommissioning the AGR sites (now
at £23.5 billion) is being put onto UK tax-payers.
Nation Cymru 7th March 2023 https://nation.cymru/opinion/great-english-nuclear-should-wales-be-involved/
The nuclear war for Lincolnshire – a toxic nuclear waste plan for a bucolic village
There are certain English villages, wrote Bill Bryson, “whose very names
summon forth an image of lazy summer afternoons”. One example was
Theddlethorpe All Saints. Lying on the quiet Lincolnshire coast north of
Skegness, Theddlethorpe’s approximately 500 residents are served by a
thatched pub and two handsome medieval churches, which stand out against
huge skies.
Yet storm-clouds are building on the horizon; soon, this
obscure corner of England could be the backdrop to a dystopian tale.
Theddlethorpe has always had an industrious underbelly. Between 1972 and
2018, it was known for the Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal, where natural gas
gathered from beneath the North Sea was collected, then fed into the
National Grid. At its peak, Theddlethorpe handled around 5% of the UK’s gas
supply, but with the shift away from fossil fuels, the plant became
redundant.
In 2021, just as locals were feeling grateful for the site’s
long-promised return to agricultural use, came news that the terminal might
have an unwelcome afterlife — as the landward end of an undersea nuclear
waste dump. It is one of four sites being considered by the government for
a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF), the others all being on the far side
of the country, near Sellafield, a huge nuclear site in Cumbria.
The idea s that vast storage caverns would be blasted into bedrock up to 1,000
metres under the sea, several miles offshore. “Higher activity”
radioactive waste would then be transported to Theddlethorpe from 23
surface storage locations across the UK, and trundled out along a tunnel,
to be walled up and forgotten. The immediate vicinity of Sellafield is
already unfit for many other purposes; why contaminate hitherto unaffected
areas?
Especially because it would clearly be much cheaper to store waste
close to its sources. NWS admits: “The transport provisions to the
Theddlethorpe GDF Search Area are currently limited” and “significant
works” would be required. The Government proposal suggests these works
would cost between £20 and £53 billion — although as the tale of HS2
shows, the cost of extending transport networks is liable to gross
underestimation. This throws up a question considered taboo in the
discourse around large infrastructure projects: would expansion of either
railways or roads really “benefit” an area whose residents generally
value its rural character?
Unherd 6th March 2023
https://unherd.com/2023/03/the-nuclear-war-for-lincolnshire/
Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor project running out of cash
3 March 2023 https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsrolls-royce-smr-faces-financial-problems-10648145
UK-based Rolls-Royce SMR says its £500m ($600m) small modular reactor (SMR) programme will run out of cash by the end of 2024, Reuters has reported. Alastair Evans, Government & Corporate Affairs Director at Rolls-Royce SMR noted: “We aren’t asking the government to make an order (for the nuclear units) today but we need to start negotiations on a deployment plan by the middle of this year. We are facing a cliff edge, by December 2024 the money will have run out.” This would put at risk UK government plans to use SMRs to boost energy security and achieve climate targets.
The 470 MWe Rolls-Royce SMR design is based on a small pressurised water reactor. The design was accepted for Generic Design Assessment review in March 2022 and Rolls-Royce SMR expects to receive UK regulatory approval by mid-2024. A Rolls-Royce-led UK SMR consortium aims to build 16 SMRs. The consortium – which includes Assystem, Atkins, BAM Nuttall, Jacobs, Laing O’Rourke, National Nuclear Laboratory, the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and TWI – expects to complete its first unit in the early 2030s and build up to 10 by 2035.
Rolls-Royce’s SMR development business received a commitment of £210m from the UK government in 2021 but talks on how the projects would be funded are yet to start. Rolls-Royce’s new CEO Tufan Erginbilgic said recently that there was a sense of urgency in its engagement with government. “We built a capable team (and) without any project, sustaining that team will be a big challenge,” he told reporters after the group published full-year results. He noted that it was vital to move quickly, given that rival companies were developing similar technology.
“It is important that we engage therefore with the UK government urgently, and for a project that we can deploy as soon as possible,” he said. Rolls Royce and shareholders in the SMR business – advisory firm BNF Resources Ltd, US Energy company Constellation and Qatar Investment Authority have invested a total of around £280m.
This and the government money have been used to build the business, which employs some 600 staff across Derby, Warrington and Manchester. The funds have enabled it to start the regulatory process to approve the reactor design and identify sites for plants and factories. In November 2022, Rolls-Royce identified four sites with the potential to deploy multiple SMR units: Trawsfynydd (requiring agreement with Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) – and the Welsh Government); Sellafield (NDA land availability to be confirmed); Wylfa-South (requiring agreement with Horizon Nuclear Power); and Oldbury-North (also requiring agreement with Horizon Nuclear Power).
Rolls-Royce hopes to build the reactors in UK factories. In July 2022, the company announced six potential locations for the factory, shortlisted from more than 100 submissions from local enterprise partnerships and development agencies. They were: Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, Richmond in North Yorkshire, Deeside in Wales, Ferrybridge in Yorkshire, Stallingborough in Lincolnshire and Carlisle in Cumbria. David White, newly appointed Chief Operating Officer of Rolls-Royce SMR, said another two locations – Shotton in Deeside (Wales) and Teesworks in Redcar (North East) – had been added to the list.
UK government’s commitment to nuclear power wavering, as Hinkley Point C’s costs and delays escalate?
EDF’s reactor for its first nuclear plant in the UK for 30 years arrives by
ship. While the arrival of the reactor could be a positive signal that
progress is being made on the nuclear rollout, some critics say that new
nuclear power will not come online soon enough to ease the current energy
bill crisis.
Hinkley Point C, for instance, is not expected to finish
construction until 2026 at the earliest. Meanwhile, energy bills are at
record highs and the Government has been urged to find a way to quickly
ease the burden of high energy costs.
Hinkley Point C’s repeated delays
have raised concerns as the Government has appeared to hedge its bets on
nuclear. The Somerset project was initially meant supposed to start
producing electricity by 2017 at a cost of £18billion. Now expected to cost
£32billion, the delays have thrown into question whether building more
nuclear plants is an appropriate response to the energy crisis.
Previously
speaking to Express.co.uk, Dr Paul Dorfman, Associate Fellow SPRU
University of Sussex, explained: “The fact is, EDF EPR reactor design costs
have ramped everywhere it’s built with massive delays.”
Express 27th Feb 2023
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1740065/edf-reacotr-hinkley-point-c-somerset-nuclear-energy
Boris Johnson champions small nuclear reactors
Conservative former Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced claims of wanting
his “old job back” as he accused Labour of being anti nuclear. Mr
Johnson urged the Energy Secretary, Grant Shapps, to “accelerate the tech
selection process” as he backed the rollout of British nuclear power. His
comments prompted Labour former Opposition leader, and shadow climate
change secretary, Ed Miliband, to joke: “It’s important to welcome
ex-party leaders to their place, but my only piece of advice is it’s
important to not want your old job back.” Mr Johnson said: “I
congratulate (Grant Shapps) on his continuing commitment to Great British
Nuclear, but is it not vital that we reaffirm the target of 24 gigawatts by
2050 and that we also accelerate the tech selection process, so that small
modular reactors whether made by Rolls Royce or anybody else (can commence
operating). “I think it would be wonderful if they came from this
country, are on contract with Great British Nuclear by the end of the year,
so that we can get back to the nuclear tradition that this country once had
and undo the baleful, luddite, Atomkraft Nein Danke legacy of the party
opposite.” Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle intervened during Mr
Johnson’s comments, saying: “I want to get everybody else in as well.”
Mr Shapps replied: “(Mr Johnson) is of course absolutely right about
this. He will know as the whole House will know that every single nuclear
reactor currently operational in the UK was given permission under the
Conservative Party and he is right to champion Great British nuclear and we
will get the nuclear industry going again. “Indeed, I was the first
energy secretary to put money, £700 million, into nuclear power since
1986.”
Irish News 28th Feb 2023
UK: big talk about small nuclear reactors, but not much is happening, really.
Over 3000GW of renewables are already in place globally, compared to only 394 GW of nuclear, with wind and solar now romping further ahead around the world. By 2050, the BNEF says the global power system will be dominated by wind and solar (75% of production), with nuclear at just 9%, down from 10% now. If it makes it to 24% nuclear by then, the UK will be a bit of an outlier.
“……………………………….Graham Stuart, now a Minister of State at the new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero…..- ‘what I can say is that we are absolutely committed to nuclear as a significant share of our electricity because we need that baseload and are committed to driving it forward.’
So that’s a positive ‘go’ signal, although funding is still a major problem, and, despite much talk, progress on the proposed ‘24 GW of nuclear by 2050’ programme seems to have slipped behind.
As NuClear News 141 reported, at the end of November last year, the Government was said to be about to announce proposals to set up a new body called Great British Nuclear (GBN), which would develop a network of small modular reactors (SMRs), as well as promote new large reactors. Grant Shapps, the Business Secretary, was due to make the announcement on 29th November. But it was delayed because of a row with the Treasury over funding.
And by January, The Times was reporting that a deal on SMR funding was unlikely to materialise for at least another 12 months. A senior government source said the Treasury would not sign off on any orders or significant funding for SMR work until the technology had approval from the Nuclear Regulators Generic Design Assessment, which was not expected, until 2024.
In addition to the proposed Rolls Royce SMRs, four of which are planned initially, several other SMRs are also now in the race for UK deployment, some from overseas. They include GE Hitachi’s 300MW boiling water reactor, and Holtec’s 160MWe pressurised water reactor, developed in collaboration with Mitsubishi and Hyundai. The USA’s NuScale, the most advanced project so far, has also expressed interest in UK sites for its mini PWR.
Potential UK sites for new SMRs include Trawsfynydd in Wales and Heysham and Oldbury in England, but, given the funding issues, it will evidently be a while before anything happens on SMRs, or indeed, in terms of new larger projects, after Sizewell C. Though some help with funding may yet be on hand. According to the Telegraph, nuclear projects may soon to be classed as ‘green’ or ’sustainable’ investments, clearing a way for more institutional investors and environment-focused funds to back them. The Telegraph says there are also hopes that use can be made of the Government’s green gilts green savings bonds.
Is nuclear really green? Not many greens think so, and given the risks, costs and delays associated with it, nuclear is often not popular with investors. There have been some delays with the only currently live new projects in the UK, the Hinkley Point C EPR being built by EdF, although nothing so far on the decade-long delays with the ongoing EPR projects in France and Finland. EDF now say the Hinkley EPR should start up in 2027. However, to be on the safe side, the deadline for starting up its major CfD payment (after which, under the contract rules, it would not be eligible for CfD payments) has been extended to 2036 from 2033.
…………………….. EDF has recently admitted that Hinkley Point C final cost is likely to be £31-32bn, up from the £18 bn estimated initially. Sizewell ought to benefit from construction lessons learned from Hinkley, but, although RAB pushes the financial risks onto consumers, there are still many investment uncertainties about the project.
Finance may be a key issue for EDF in the UK, but it is if anything even more of an issue for it in France, where it is facing major problems, with a huge repair bill and loss of income as plants are shut for safety checks and power has to be imported. As a result, with energy security being a key issue these days, nuclear no longer looks reliable. ………………………
With a handful of other nuclear projects being considered around the world, including some SMRs, and Russia and China also pressing ahead with larger plants, the UK isn’t the only country with ambitions for nuclear expansion. However, globally, the likely scale of nuclear expansion is relatively small in total, compared with the vast scale and rapid pace of renewables expansion.
Over 3000GW of renewables are already in place globally, compared to only 394 GW of nuclear, with wind and solar now romping further ahead around the world. By 2050, the BNEF says the global power system will be dominated by wind and solar (75% of production), with nuclear at just 9%, down from 10% now. If it makes it to 24% nuclear by then, the UK will be a bit of an outlier. https://renewextraweekly.blogspot.com/2023/02/uk-nuclear-news.html
Group calls for the stoppage of works at Sizewell C nuclear site, as Sizewell project is not yet authorised, and works are damaging the environment
EDF continues its programme of eco-vandalism. TASC calls on SoS for Defra
to intervene. Despite an EDF statement on 18th January, claiming that,
“[Its] Advance [preparatory] works [for Sizewell C] are reversible in the
unlikely event Sizewell C will not proceed to a Final Investment Decision
and full construction”, TASC is shocked and disgusted to discover that
EDF will renege on that promise when, on 1st March, EDF begins to destroy
wet woodland, a legally protected priority ‘Biodiversity Action Plan’
habitat, located in Sizewell Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Despite EDF knowing full well that we are now entering the bird, bat and
reptile breeding season, it has already begun felling woodland in Goose
Hill, as part of its plan to clear over 40 hectares – including the
felling of some ancient trees – to make way for Sizewell C’s car park.
TASC’s Chair, Jenny Kirtley said “These actions create permanent and
irreversible environmental loss to East Suffolk’s Heritage Coastal
biodiversity and is in direct contradiction of the government’s ‘green
agenda’. Despite EDF’s claim, it is not possible to reverse such losses
and represents further eco-vandalism which goes hand-in-glove with the
construction of a redundant and unnecessary nuclear plant which may never
commence construction.
Sizewell C has yet to make a Final Investment
Decision, does not have a site licence from the Office for Nuclear
Regulation, nor three outstanding environmental permits needed from the
Environment Agency. Furthermore, the project’s DCO approval is subject to
TASC’s judicial review proceedings scheduled to take place in the High
Court on 22nd and 23rd March.
We have asked the Secretary of State for
Defra and the MP for Suffolk Coastal to intervene and to stop the work at
least until these uncertainties around Sizewell C’s various
authorisations have been granted.’.
TASC 24th Feb 2023
Boris Johnson demands that UK government declares nuclear to be “a green energy” source, and boosts the industry .
Boris Johnson has increased pressure on Rishi Sunak to boost nuclear
capacity with funding for two more large-scale projects before the next
election.
In a new intervention since leaving No 10, Johnson, accompanied
by Priti Patel, the former home secretary, warned that the country had a
“damaging gap in our nuclear capabilities and a weakness in our energy
supply”.
In a letter seen by The Times signed by 57 Tory MPs, Sunak was
urged to fund the development of two more projects before the end of this
parliament. the 57 Tories — including Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Foreign
Office minister, and Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee —
said that more had to be done.
In the letter, organised by Virginia
Crosbie, the MP for Ynys Môn, they said the government needed “at all
costs” to avoid errors they say that Labour made in not recognising the
“good value” of nuclear power.
They demanded that the government
declare nuclear “unambiguously” to be a green energy source, set out
binding nuclear targets for 2035 and 2050 and order officials to start
talks with Rolls-Royce to fund small modular reactors. The letter said:
“We are the only major nuclear nation in the world without a sovereign
reactor design to deploy or export. It is time we changed that.”
Times 23rd Feb 2023
Nuclear power – carbon intensive and environmentally damaging -NOT GREEN – Nuclear Free Local Authorities
NFLAs call on Chancellor not to class nuclear as ‘green’
– 23 Feb 23,
Fearing the UK Government may – for once – follow an unwanted lead set in Europe, the Chair of UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities network has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer requesting that he refrain for reclassifying nuclear as a ‘green investment’ under revised taxonomy rules.
There has been much speculation in the corridors of power, in the press and amongst the anti-nuclear community that Jeremy Hunt may soon choose to reclassify ‘nuclear’ as a green investment to unlock more private investment in the government’s planned future civil nuclear programme.
A reclassification in the revised taxonomy rules would make such investment more ‘attractive’ and ‘acceptable’ to certain large pension funds and investment companies.
The European Commission has previously adopted an identical strategy, but it was one which met with significant political and societal opposition and led to legal challenges from member states.
In his letter, Councillor Lawrence O’Neill outlines how nuclear power is both carbon-intensive and environmentally damaging. Commenting he said:
“It would be a complete misnomer to describe nuclear as ‘green’. From mining the uranium ore through to dealing with the legacy of radioactive waste, civil nuclear power leaves a massive carbon footprint and contaminates all it touches. The NFLAs hope that the Chancellor will see the logic of leaving things as they are and accede to our request, but if not we shall be ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all those opposed to this change. Nuclear is not ‘green’ and never will be.”
The letter sent to the Chancellor reads::…………………………….. https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/nflas-call-on-chancellor-not-to-class-nuclear-as-green/—
Cost of EDF’s new UK nuclear project rises to $40 billion (msn.com).
By America Hernandez, 21 Feb 23 PARIS (Reuters) – EDF’s new nuclear plant in southwest England is likely to cost about 2% more than its last budget estimate as inflation propels the price tag to almost 33 billion pounds ($40 billion), EDF documents show.
Britain plans to build new nuclear plants to boost its energy security and help meet a target for net zero emissions by 2050.
EDF warned in a results presentation on Friday the cost of the Hinkley Point C project, Britain’s first new nuclear plant in more than two decades, “could reach 32.7 billion pounds” based on inflation indexes as of June 30, 2022.
Its previously published cost estimate in May 2022 was 31-32 billion euros when adjusted for inflation.
PARIS (Reuters) – EDF’s new nuclear plant in southwest England is likely to cost about 2% more than its last budget estimate as inflation propels the price tag to almost 33 billion pounds ($40 billion), EDF documents show.
Britain plans to build new nuclear plants to boost its energy security and help meet a target for net zero emissions by 2050.
EDF warned in a results presentation on Friday the cost of the Hinkley Point C project, Britain’s first new nuclear plant in more than two decades, “could reach 32.7 billion pounds” based on inflation indexes as of June 30, 2022.
Its previously published cost estimate in May 2022 was 31-32 billion euros when adjusted for inflation. https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/other/cost-of-edf-s-new-uk-nuclear-project-rises-to-40-billion/ar-AA17IxdK?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=a11054ac2c0c487f9a20627240342227
Yet another £6 billion cost hike for UK’s Hinkley Point C nuclear project
Hinkley C’s £6bn cost hike tests UK’s nuclear resolve. A further £6 billion
cost increase at Hinkley Point C will test the government’s commitment to
funding future large-scale nuclear projects, according to energy industry
experts.
The figure was revealed alongside EDF’s accounts last week, with
construction of the 3.2GW power plant now estimated to cost as much as
£32.7 billion. That is a £6 billion increase on the revised construction
price set last year and is almost double the £18 billion figure set in 2016
when EDF first started work on the project.
The latest cost hike has been
attributed to rising inflation, however engineering problems and complex
ground conditions have previously pushed the cost up, as well as a £500
million cost increase due to Covid-19 and pandemic-related working
restrictions.
Utility Week 21st Feb 2023
https://utilityweek.co.uk/hinkley-cs-6bn-cost-hike-tests-uks-nuclear-resolve/
Do not bring nuclear energy plants to Scotland, SNP tells new UK energy minister
The SNP has warned new energy minister Andrew Bowie to keep new nuclear power out of Scotland.
Energy policy has long been one of the most contentious issues between the UK and Scottish governments, with disagreements around the future of oil and gas and potential new nuclear stations raging in recent years.
Now, the SNP has urged the UK Government to focus on renewables as opposed to the creation of new nuclear power, which they say would not immediately solve the country’s current energy security issues.
According to a report from Politico, Mr Bowie is set to become the UK’s first ever nuclear energy minister, putting the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP at odds with the Government in Edinburgh.
The SNP’s Westminster energy spokesman Alan Brown said: “Andrew Bowie must be taking up one of the most pointless ministerial positions in the UK government.
“If the Tories think they will bring down energy bills by building nuclear power stations that won’t be ready for years to come then they are more delusional than we thought.
“Scotland is awash with renewable energy potential and Andrew Bowie should be focusing his efforts there, as it will create jobs for his constituents for decades to come and will ensure we are using Scotland’s energy potential to the fullest.”
He added: “Households across Scotland are desperate for solutions to sky-high energy bills now and nuclear power will not provide that answer – indeed, the Government has confirmed it will increase our energy bills.
“Scotland is rich with renewable energy potential and we cannot have our resources squandered once again by successive Westminster governments, that is why the only way we can harness the potential of Scotland’s energy is by becoming an independent country.”
The SNP’s energy spokesman added that nuclear projects were “one of the most expensive forms of energy”, with costs for building Hinkley Point C in Somerset rising to £33 billion according to reports this week, and the cost for the Sizewell C site potentially rising above £30 billion……………… https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/decom/484720/uk-trade-boss-touts-massive-potential-for-decom-export-growth-following-release-of-blueprintuk-trade-boss-touts-massive-potential-for-decom-export-growth
Pentagon-Funded Plymouth University Cancels Anti-War Academic: the militarization of higher education.
Pentagon-Funded Plymouth University Cancels Anti-War Academic: Reflections on How the US Empire Conquered Higher Education, CouterPunch BY T.J. COLES 17 Feb 23,
The US Empire is in the final and most dangerous stages of its quest for what the Pentagon calls “full spectrum dominance.” Having invaded and fought proxy wars in the oil-rich Middle East, it is now trying to break nuclear-armed Russia in another proxy war before attempting “regime change” in nuclear-armed China. We need not tarry on the potential consequences. Professor Noam Chomsky called it 20 years ago: this is hegemony or survival. Which one do you choose?
As the Empire races towards its biggest bet, using humanity and all other species on the planet as gambling chips, anti-war comment is tolerated less and less. For those who want to know what happened to me, see the Annex of this article for the leaked emails and background. Meanwhile, consider what is taking shape.
DELETING THE ENEMY
Critics of Western imperialism are silenced by the Empire’s witting and unwitting minions in increasingly knee-jerk ways. Google, which was developed with CIA money, has de-ranked anti-war websites, driving traffic to state-corporate outlets that promote imperialism. After buying YouTube, it then went on a de-platforming spree, banning and de-monetizing “conspiracy theorists,” left and right, who dare deviate from the increasingly narrow orthodoxy of acceptable thought.
Under the new McCarthyism of RussiaGate, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has used the pretext of countering foreign disinformation to suspend and terminate political accounts. In 2020, following an evidence-free CNN report alleging that it was a front for the sanctioned nation of Iran, the FBI and Department of Justice seized the US domain for the website of the American Herald Tribune, founded by Dr. Anthony James Hall, who retired from his Canadian university, Lethbridge, following pressure from the Zionist Lobby and from individuals who accused him of being a “conspiracy theorist”—a cheap smear tactic employed against me by a cabal of staff at Plymouth University.
Meanwhile, the Twitter Files have exploded the myth that “social media” are independent corporate actors. Likewise, journalist Dr. Alan Macleod has documented the dozens of former spies now employed to police content at Facebook.
SHAME IS THE GAME
The opinions of self-described fact-checkers—like the Poynter Institute—are amplified by state-corporate media which engage in public humiliation rituals in the hope that retailers will pull magazines, academic institutions will fire staff, digital providers will demonetize accounts, and web hosts will drop entire sites and/or content……….
As governments contract out censorship to “fact-checkers,” critics of Empire are demonetized. Consortium News and Mint Press have seen their PayPal accounts frozen. PayPal’s pro-Trump co-founder, Peter Thiel, has made many millions of dollars from Pentagon contracts. Between 2007 and ’19, US taxpayers gave his Palantir Technologies $1.5 billion via the Department of Defense, particularly to spy on Afghans and Iraqis.
ACADEMIC OBLIVION
The above examples show how the US military and intelligence continue to influence the infrastructure through which much of today’s information travels. Another target is academia. But how serious is the problem?……………………………………………………..
THE MILITARIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Universities serve a variety of purposes, one of which is the development of new weapons for the US military. In the past, white voices critical of Empire would be tolerated as long as their non-university work did not grind the gears of Empire. That’s how Professor Chomsky, for instance, was able to get arrested protesting mass murder in Vietnam while receiving Pentagon money to undertake his linguistics research.
The technological origins of “full spectrum dominance” can perhaps be traced back to the outgoing Reagan and incoming George H.W. Bush administrations, under whom the Pentagon founded the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative to further integrate with education and develop tools for things like the so-called Star Wars program (Strategic Defense Initiative). One consequence is that higher education became significantly influenced—maybe not full-spectrum dominated—by the eternal war machine.
By 2015, the Department of Defense (DoD), which in more honest times was called the Department of War, was investing $250 million of taxpayer money in universities. In that year, the DoD decided to look for international partners, of which the Britain was a natural first-choice. The Pentagon’s Basic Research Office Director, Robin Staffin, said: “we decided it was time to formalize cooperation between the U.S. and the U.K.”
DARPA is the Pentagon’s taxpayer-funded innovation arm. It used to stand for the Advanced Projects Research Agency, but PR experts realized that they’d better prefix it with the word “Defense.” In 2016, venture capitalist-turned-DARPA Director, Arati Prabhakar, said: “DARPA is reliant on research universities as one part of this huge ecosystem … [We] draw from the deep foundational research, almost always at places like great universities.”
For instance, the DoD recently said that the universities of Alabama-Huntsville, Florida International, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, and others, have received funding to develop solutions for—are you ready?—“monitoring the health and status of hypersonic aeroshells” (heat shields for space systems, which are core elements of “full spectrum dominance.” The “health and status” of ordinary Americans, who still don’t have free coverage, is less important). Other projects include thermodynamic ducts for hypersonic vehicles sponsored by the usual suspects, like Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
FUNDING PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY: DARPA’S DRIVE…………………………………………………
CONCLUSION
As universities continue designing weapons of mass murder, thought criminals in Western countries continue to face deplatforming and public shaming. Are their personal fates as severe as those of dissident academics in US-UK-supported regimes, like Saudi Arabia? Of course not. But that is not the point. An obvious chilling effect is created in which scholars striving for social justice and indeed the survival of the planet are silenced. The witting an unwitting minions of Empire are too obtuse to realize that by issuing penalties for expressing opinions, those penalties may one day be imposed upon them.
ANNEX (HISTORY, EMAIL EVIDENCE, REBUTTAL):
MY STORY……………………………………………………………………………….as I have lost my University position as a result of my political views, it is worth considering exactly what I write for Nexus (article by article) and that my articles give a left-wing voice to the so-called conspiracy research community, which is often dominated by right-wingers and apolitical people.
As one can see below, the bulk of my work for Nexus consists of critiques and exposés of US military and intelligence agencies. …………………………………………………………
T. J. Coles is director of the Plymouth Institute for Peace Research and the author of several books, including Voices for Peace (with Noam Chomsky and others) and Fire and Fury: How the US Isolates North Korea, Encircles China and Risks Nuclear War in Asia (both Clairview Books). https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/02/17/pentagon-funded-plymouth-university-cancels-anti-war-academic-reflections-on-how-the-us-empire-conquered-higher-education/
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of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
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