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UN Security Council not taking action on allegations about Syria’s nukes

Security Council Agrees to Disagree About Syria Nuclear Program, IsraelNationalNews.15 July 11  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday brought its allegations of covert atomic work by Syria before the UN Security Council, but the 15-nation body took no immediate action, Reuters reported. Last September, IAEA said that Syria had refused to allow UN inspectors to visitDair Alzour, the nuclear facility that was meant to produce plutonium and which was bombed by the Israeli Air Force while still under construction in 2007.

The IAEA’s report expressed concern that should Syria continue to stonewall the investigation, “some of the necessary information may deteriorate or be lost entirely.”In June, the IAEA’s board of governors voted to report Syria to the Security Council over its behavior.

Reuters reported that during Thursday’s closed-door briefing by Neville Whiting, head of the IAEA safeguards department dealing with Syria and Iran, it was made clear that Syria had a secretnuclear plant.But despite this, Syria’s close allies Russia and China queried whether the Council should be involved, as the Syrian complex no longer exists…..http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/145741

July 15, 2011 Posted by | politics international, Syria | Leave a comment

Israel’s nuclear weapons – a threat to Middle East peace?

Israel: An Impediment To A Nuclear-Free Middle East,By Kourosh Ziabari ,The Public Record,Jun 20th, 2011 “……–According to the Federation of American Scientists, Israel now possesses up to 200 nuclear warheads and since it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), it cannot be held accountable over its military nuclear program. ….Since Israel started the development of nuclear weapons in early 1950s, it adopted a so-called policy of “deliberate ambiguity” and concealed its nuclear activities under this counterfeit label to enjoy immunity and avoid responsibility over its nuclear program, meaning that it neither confirms nor denies the possession of nuclear weapons, while even the U.S.-based scientific and research organizations have admitted that it has a perilous nuclear arsenal which is potentially able to evaporate the whole Middle East in a matter of seconds. Continue reading →

June 21, 2011 Posted by | Israel, weapons and war | 1 Comment

Economist urges Saudi Arabia to wards solar energy,not nuclear

“Spending this amount on solar energy projects will be relatively safer compared with nuclear energy, which is a time bomb that could explode at any time, as with what occurred in Japan.”.

Region urged to embrace renewable energy projects Japan’s Fukushima plant disaster should serve as a warning to Middle East countries bent on spending billions of dollars on nuclear plants Gulf News  By Orlando Crowcroft, Business News Editor  June 13, 2011 “……..Speaking just months after the explosion at Japan’s Fukushima plant in April, Abdul Gani Bin Melaibari, coordinator of scientific collaboration at the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, said that Saudi Arabia intended to build a total of 16 nuclear reactors by the end of 2030. At a cost of some $300 billion..

….. Critics point out that the investment in nuclear power comes at a time when other countries are shying away from nuclear energy, due to risks demonstrated all to clearly at Fukushima. For the kind of money that Saudi Arabia is willing to invest, there are far safer forms of renewable energy avaliable. Economic analyst Omar Al Jutraifani suggests that rather than spend billions of dollars on advancing nuclear energy — with all the risks that it involves — why not spend the money on other forms of renewable energy? ”

I think that the level of risks in such projects will be very high in all criteria,” he said. “Spending this amount on solar energy projects will be relatively safer compared with nuclear energy, which is a time bomb that could explode at any time, as with what occurred in Japan.”….. gulfnews : Region urged to embrace renewable energy projects

June 13, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, MIDDLE EAST | Leave a comment

Danger of unstable nations having nuclear power

A trove of U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and provided to Reuters by a third party provide colorful and sometimes scary commentary on the conditions in developing nations with nuclear power aspirations……Turmoil of the kind sweeping north Africa and the Middle East could affect the security of power plants and nuclear fuel – which some fear could be turned into weapons in case of a coup or if they fell into the hands of terrorists. 

After Japan, Where’s the Next Nuclear Weak Link?, Reuters By Nick Carey, Jun 10, 2011  It may sound alarming but that is what could happen in many developing countries which are either building nuclear power plants or considering doing so – a prospect that raises serious questions after Japan’s experience handling a nuclear crisis.

Imagine a country where corruption is rampant, infrastructure is very poor, or the quality of security is in question. Now what if that country built a nuclear power plant?  Continue reading →

June 11, 2011 Posted by | MIDDLE EAST, safety | Leave a comment

Corrupt authoritarian regimes and nuclear power – example Azerbaijan

Rampant corruption in some developing countries could also lead to corners being cut in everything from plant construction to security,

In Azerbaijan, a cable written in November 2008 describes the man who would have the responsibility for regulation of a proposed nuclear program, Kamaladdin Heydarov, as “ubiquitous, with his hands in everything from construction to customs.”.

After Japan, Where’s the Next Nuclear Weak Link?, Reuters By Nick Carey, Jun 10, 2011″…..REGULATION AND CORRUPTION For many, rule No.1 for a safe nuclear program is a regulator with at least some semblance of independence from government or corporate influence.

Critics worry that authoritarian governments will not tolerate an authority with even pretensions to partial independence or transparency of decision-making. While nuclear authorities in the West have also faced criticism for being too close to the industry they regulate, they are at least open to media and lawmaker scrutiny. Continue reading →

June 11, 2011 Posted by | MIDDLE EAST, safety | Leave a comment

UN reports on Syria’s nuclear program

U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Presses Case Against Syria, NYT, By  June 9, 2011 UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations nuclear watchdog voted Thursday to report Syria to the Security Council, citing Syria’s construction of a covert nuclear reactor and its failure to cooperate with investigators, diplomats said……Citing a lack of confidence that Syria’s nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and pointing to a history of concealment by Damascus, the I.A.E.A. resolution says that the destroyed Dair Alzour site was “very likely a nuclear reactor and should have been declared by Syria.”

The 15-member Security Council has the power to rebuke Syria by urging it to cooperate with the I.A.E.A. and imposing sanctions against the country, as it has done in the case ofIran’s nuclear program. But Russia and China, two veto-wielding members of the Security Council, voted against the resolution, underlining international divisions over how to approach Damascus and signaling that punitive measures against the Syrian government were unlikely.

Syria has said the Dair Alzour site was a non-nuclear facility and has denied having a secret nuclear program. It has urged the I.A.E.A. to focus on Israel and allegations about its own covert nuclear activities…..http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/world/middleeast/10nations.html

June 10, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Syria | Leave a comment

Iran increasing uranium enrichment

Iran Plans High Level of Uranium Enrichment, NYT By  June 8, 2011 Iran declared Wednesday that it aims to triple production of nuclear fuel this year and, at a site that had been secret until 2009, increase enrichment to 20 percent. Enrichment at that level indicates technological progress that experts say would make the weapons-grade level of 90 percent enrichment much closer. Continue reading →

June 9, 2011 Posted by | Iran, Uranium | Leave a comment

Egypt could prosper with solar energy, not nuclear

why is there this insistence on neglecting calls that we should depend more on solar energy for producing electricity, which could be the base for the country’s development, not only for producing the requisite amount of electricity for local consumption but also for having surplus for export? 
   It seems silly to hear some officials justify dropping this option because of its initially high expenses, forgetting the enormous costs of creating and maintaining a nuclear power plant. 
   Furthermore, a solar energy project in particular could be set up through partnership deals between Egypt and some European countries, such as Germany, to produce sufficient electricity for the two countries’ needs that could be transferred via a unified grid.

The costs of nuclear energy By Manal Abdul Aziz – The Egyptian Gazette, June 6, 2011  CAIRO – The difference between humankind, homo sapiens, and other animals is that human beings have experience and learn from their mistakes, while other animals behave according to instinct. For this reason, human beings are the only creatures that have a civilisation.

Therefore, if we come today to seek the development of Egypt, we should review the experience of other nations and learn from them, beginning where they ended and not following the same path from its start to its finish.
   Accordingly, when we consider establishing a nuclear project for generating energy, we should review the nuclear programmes of other countries and clearly assess their positive and negative aspects. …. Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | Egypt, renewable | Leave a comment

Iran’s nuclear program still a nuclear weapons concern

Goldberg: Iran Wants the Bomb, and It’s Well on Its Way Bloomberg, By Jeffrey Goldberg Jun 7, 2011 The Iranian government, which is known neither for transparency nor candor, has insisted for many years that the goal of its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. And for many years, the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose motto is “Atoms for Peace,” has tended to give the ayatollahs the benefit of the doubt on this question.

The agency’s former chairman, Mohamed ElBaradei, now a candidate for the presidency of Egypt, seemed to take the attitude that anxiety about Iran’s nuclear objectives was motivated by the strategic self-interest, even the paranoia, of the U.S., Israel and the Arab states near Iran, rather than by the reality-based worry that bloody-minded mullahs bent on dominating the Middle East aren’t the sort of people who should have the bomb.

The new chairman of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano of Japan, seems more skeptical of Iran’s claim of nuclear virginity. He is, by many accounts, preparing a comprehensive indictment of Iran’s nuclear program to be issued later this year. As an interim step, his agency recently issued a report on Iran’s nuclear activities that might help concentrate the attention of a world that has lately been preoccupied by the revolutions in Libya, Yemen and Syria………http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-06/iran-wants-the-bomb-and-it-s-well-on-its-way-jeffrey-goldberg.html

June 7, 2011 Posted by | Iran, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Depleted uranium and other nasty secrets about Libya battle

There have been reports of depleted uranium, cluster bombs and other illegal substances in the capital city Tripoli, despite NATOs denial of depleted uranium used in its humanitarian efforts in Libya. ……..The American people are not told the truth about what happens in the Middle East, we are not told the truth about all these wars.

West uses depleted uranium in Libya, Press TV Jun 5, 2011  Interview with Randy Short, a human rights activist in TripoliThere is a “significant difference” between what is being covered on the Libyan intervention by Western media outlets and what is happening in the North African country, human right activist says. Continue reading →

June 6, 2011 Posted by | depleted uranium, Libya, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Syria pledges to cooperate with UN on matters nuclear

Syria says it will cooperate on nuclear probe but US pushes for UN referral  The Washington Post 29 May  11,  NEW YORK — In a major turnaround, Syria is pledging full cooperation with U.N. attempts to probe strong evidence that it secretly built a reactor that could have been used to make nuclear arms, according to a confidential document shared with The Associated Press on Sunday.

If Syria fulfills its promise, the move would end three years of stonewalling by Damascus of the International Atomic Energy. Since 2008, the agency has tried in vain to follow up on strong evidence that a target bombed in 2007 by Israeli warplanes was a nearly built nuclear reactor that would have produced plutonium once active……AP Exclusive: Syria says it will cooperate on nuclear probe but US pushes for UN referral – The Washington Post

May 30, 2011 Posted by | politics international, Syria | Leave a comment

Hospital doctors at risk of cancer from medical ionising radiation

radiation can lead to cancer in doctors.

Radiation in hospitals prompts doctors to demand protection,  JPost , By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH  05/26/2011  Doctors say previous wage agreements did not take into account that technological advances make radiation much more widespread and pose greater risk Continue reading →

May 27, 2011 Posted by | health, Israel | Leave a comment

Doubts about any evidence for Iran developing “nuclear triggers”

IAEA Accuses Iran Over ‘Nuclear Triggers,’ But Where Is Evidence? — News from Antiwar.com Past Allegations Centered Around Forged Documentby Jason Ditz, May 25, 2011 The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Iran report featured a totally unsourced allegation that Iran had conducted work on “nuclear triggering technology” that could only be used for nuclear weapons. Continue reading →

May 27, 2011 Posted by | Iran, weapons and war | Leave a comment

IAEA concerned about nuclear developments in Iran and Syria

AUDIO Nuclear Watchdog Details Concerns In Iran, Syria : NPR, 26 May 11, The International Atomic Energy Agency has released troubling new reports on the nuclear activities of Iran and Syria.The Iran report indicates the production of enriched uranium there is increasing and raises more questions about Iran’s possible research into the military applications of nuclear technology. Continue reading →

May 26, 2011 Posted by | Iran, Syria, Uranium, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear power and unstable Middle east regimes

Nuclear Power and Unstable Regimes  Council on Foreign Relations, Jonathon Pearl 23 May 11,  “………However, many of the same regimes that have signed some form of nuclear agreement with a foreign supplier (eg, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Bahrain) have already been toppled or face serious domestic threats to regime survival. Other states in the region such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which are relatively more stable, have witnessed their share of domestic protests and are increasingly concerned about their future. Continue reading →

May 24, 2011 Posted by | MIDDLE EAST, politics international | Leave a comment

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