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North Korea says Seoul-US submarine deal will trigger ‘nuclear domino’ effect

Daily Mail. By AFP, 18 November 2025

North Korea denounced an agreement between Seoul and Washington to build nuclear-powered submarines, saying in a state media commentary on Tuesday that the deal would cause a “nuclear domino” effect.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced the finalisation of a long-awaited security and trade agreement with the United States last week, including plans to move forward with developing atomic-powered vessels.

Seoul said it had secured “support for expanding our authority over uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing”.

In its first comments responding to the deal, the nuclear-armed North fired back that the submarine programme was a “dangerous attempt at confrontation”.

The agreement is a “serious development that destabilises the military security situation in the Asia-Pacific region beyond the Korean peninsula and causes the situation of impossible nuclear control in the global sphere,” said the commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday.

South Korea’s possession of nuclear submarines “is bound to cause a ‘nuclear domino phenomenon’ in the region and spark a hot arms race”, Pyongyang added. It also said “the DPRK (North Korea) will take more justified and realistic countermeasures,” due to the two countries’ “confrontational intention”.

North Korea’s state media said in October that it had fired the ninth and final test of a ballistic engine, indicating that a full launch of a new ICBM could be conducted in coming months.

The commentary comes just a day after Seoul proposed military talks with Pyongyang to prevent border clashes, the first such offer in seven years.

President Lee has also offered to hold broader discussions with the North without preconditions, a sharp reversal from the hawkish stance taken by his conservative predecessor…………………..

North Korea’s comments show concerns from the nuclear-armed state that if South Korea acquires nuclear-powered submarines, “it could become a stepping stone to the country achieving a semi-nuclear-weapon-state status”, Yang Moo- jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.

“The move is likely to negatively affect the prospects for holding inter-Korean military talks,” added Yang.

North Korea has yet to respond to Lee’s overtures.

Beijing also voiced caution over the Washington-Seoul deal on nuclear submarine technology on Thursday.

The partnership “goes beyond a purely commercial partnership, directly touching on the global non-proliferation regime and the stability of the Korean Peninsula and the wider region”, Dai Bing, China’s ambassador to Seoul, told reporters last week. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-15300649/North-Korea-says-Seoul-US-sub-deal-trigger-nuclear-domino-effect.html

November 21, 2025 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Iran’s foreign minister says his nation is no longer enriching uranium

“All of our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring” of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Abbas Araghchi said.

Politico, By Associated Press, 11/16/2025

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday said that Tehran is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program.

Answering a question from an Associated Press journalist visiting Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi offered the most direct response yet from the Iranian government regarding its nuclear program following Israel and the United States’ bombing of its enrichment sites in June during its 12-day war.

“There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran. All of our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring” of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Araghchi said. “There is no enrichment right now because our facilities — our enrichment facilities — have been attacked.”

Asked what it would take for Iran to continue negotiations with the U.S. and others, Araghchi said that Iran’s message on its nuclear program remains “clear.”

“Iran’s right for enrichment, for peaceful use of nuclear technology, including enrichment, is undeniable,” the foreign minister continued. “We have this right and we continue to exercise that and we hope that the international community, including the United States, recognize our rights and understand that this is an inalienable right of Iran and we would never give up our rights.”

Iran’s government issued a three-day visa for the AP reporter to attend a summit alongside other journalists from major British outlets and other media.

Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, also attended the summit and told those gathered there that Tehran had been threatened over potentially accessing the bombed enrichment sites. Satellite pictures analyzed by the AP over the months since the attack show that Iran hasn’t done any major work at the sites at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.

“Our security situation hasn’t yet changed. If you watch the news, you see that every day we are being threatened with another attack,” Eslami said. “Every day we are told if you touch anything you’ll be attacked.”

Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity — a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels — after U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Tehran long has maintained its atomic program is peaceful, though the West and the IAEA say Iran had an organized nuclear weapons program up until 2003.

European nations also pushed through a measure to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over the nuclear program in September.

The IAEA’s Board of Governors is set to meet this week, during which there could be a vote on a new resolution targeting Iran over its failure to cooperate fully with the agency.

But Araghchi left open the possibility of further negotiations with the U.S. should Washington’s demands change.

He told journalists at the summit that the U.S. administration’s approach does not suggest they are ready for “equal, fair negotiations to reach mutual interests.”

“What we have seen from the Americans so far has actually been an effort to dictate their demands, which are maximalist and excessive. We see no chance for dialogue in the face of such demands.”………………………………………………………………………… https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/16/irans-foreign-minister-says-his-nation-is-no-longer-enriching-uranium-00653702

November 21, 2025 Posted by | Iran, Uranium | Leave a comment

Greenpeace claims French resumption of nuclear trade with Russia

Environmental campaign group Greenpeace hit out at the resumption of nuclear trade between France and Russia during its war with Ukraine after activists observed the loading of a tanker in northern France with reprocessed uranium bound for Russia.

RFI  18/11/2025

Greenpeace published video that it said its activists shot on Saturday of around 10 containers with radioactive labels going onto a cargo ship in Dunkirk.

The Panamanian-registered ship, the Mikhail Dudin, is regularly used to carry enriched or natural uranium from France to St Petersburg, according to Greenpeace.

Saturday’s consignment was the first of reprocessed uranium to be observed for three years, it added.

“The resumption of this trade once again shows France’s dependence on Russia,” Pauline Boyer, the head of Greenpeace France’s nuclear campaign, told RFI.

The images released by Greenpeace came two days ahead of a meeting in Paris between the French president, Emmanuel Macron and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to discuss Ukraine’s air defence systems.

“Despite the French government’s commitments to support Ukraine — which is, fortunately, the case — on the other hand, there is ongoing collaboration with Rosatom, the Russian nuclear company, which is indirectly contributing to the financing of the war.”

…………………………..”It is outrageous that French nuclear companies — EDF, Orano, Framatome — continue to collaborate with Rosatom.” 

French state-controlled energy giant Electricité de France (EDF) signed a 600-million-euro deal in 2018 with a Rosatom subsidiary, Tenex, for the recycling of reprocessed uranium.

These operations have not been affected by international sanctions over the Ukraine war.

Rosatom has the only facility in the world – at Seversk in Siberia – capable of carrying out key parts of the conversion of reprocessed uranium to enriched reprocessed uranium……………..

Only about 10 percent of the reenriched uranium sent back to France by Russia is used at its Cruas nuclear power plant, in southern France, the only one in the country that can use enriched reprocessed uranium, according to Greenpeace.  

France’s energy ministry and EDF have yet to respond publicly to questions on the consignment or trade.

Top politicians in France ordered EDF chiefs to halt uranium trade with Rosatom in 2022 when Greenpeace France revealed the contracts in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine……
https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20251118-greenpeace-claims-french-resumption-of-nuclear-trade-with-russia

November 21, 2025 Posted by | France, politics international | Leave a comment

Campaigners come together to challenge Britain’s disastrous nuclear expansion.

CND 17th Nov 2025

  • Political leaders, MPs, Trade Union leaders and faith communities urge Prime Minister to reverse decision to purchase US nuclear-capable fighter jets
  • Purchase breaches international law, heightens nuclear risks and ties Britain closer to the Trump administration
  • Call comes as report show chaos and spiralling costs of fighter jet programme

On Monday, 17 November, MPs, trade unionists and civil society figures handed in a letter to Downing Street calling on the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, to rethink his decision to purchase 12 nuclear-capable F-35A jets, to be stationed at RAF Marham. The jets have been designed to launch deadly US nuclear bombs, now very likely deployed across Europe and in Britain. 

This comes amidst increasing nuclear threats and breaches of international disarmament treaties. In the letter, signatories argue, “[f]ar from protecting the British population, your decision to buy US nuclear capable fighter jets, that can launch US B61-12 nuclear bombs, ties Britain even closer to the dangerous leadership of US President Donald Trump” and “increases the risk of such weapons being used in war.” 

It goes on to state, “[w]e see this nuclear expansion as part of the war drive which is draining public funds away from essential public services and making the population poorer.” 

The letter hand-in follows a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that has exposed the chaos and spiralling costs already associated with government’s decision to buy nuclear-capable fighter jets from the Trump administration. The Committee’s report reveals that the Ministry of Defence had little understanding of the technical and financial implications of Britain joining NATO’s nuclear mission when Starmer announced the purchase at the NATO summit in June. PAC Chair described the MoD’s spending forecasts as “unrealistic.” The National Audit Office now calculates the full programme of 138 fighter jets could cost at least £71 billion, with even more – as yet unknown – costs involved in joining NATO’s nuclear missions. 

The letter states, “[g]iven the grave consequences of this expansion, including Britain’s breach of international law, it is also deeply concerning that no opportunity was given for parliament to debate or vote on this decision before it was announced.”

The letter concludes by urging that “[i]nstead of pouring hundreds of billions into lethal weapons, action needs to be focused on tackling the underlying causes threatening our human security. This means reversing the devastating poverty, deprivation and crumbling public services that mark our communities, investing in sustainable homes, rebuilding our health and education systems, and funding a just transition through green jobs, skills and infrastructure.”

CND will be bringing together a powerful alliance of campaigners, trade unionists, student activists, environmentalists, and more this Saturday, 22 November, to discuss the next steps for the campaign to halt this disastrous nuclear expansionism. For an agenda and how to register, click here. ………………………………………………………………………………… https://cnduk.org/campaigners-come-together-to-challenge-britains-disastrous-nuclear-expansion/

November 21, 2025 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, UK | Leave a comment

‘Radioactive patriarchy’ documentary: Women examine the impact of Soviet nuclear testing

During the time of the detonations, approximately 1.5 million people lived near the sites, despite Soviet claims that the area was uninhabited.

In the ensuing decades, diagnoses of cancers, congenital anomalies and thyroid disease affected the surrounding communities at an alarming rate, particularly for women.

November 17, 2025, Rebecca H. Hogue, Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Toronto https://theconversation.com/radioactive-patriarchy-documentary-women-examine-the-impact-of-soviet-nuclear-testing-256775

Following recent comments on nuclear testing by United States President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, it’s more important than ever to remember that nuclear detonations — whether in war or apparent peace time — have long-lasting impacts.

Over a 40-year period, up to 1989, the Soviet Union detonated 456 nuclear weapons in present-day Kazakhstan (or Qazaqstan, in the decolonized spelling)

During the time of the detonations, approximately 1.5 million people lived near the sites, despite Soviet claims that the area was uninhabited.

In the ensuing decades, diagnoses of cancers, congenital anomalies and thyroid disease affected the surrounding communities at an alarming rate, particularly for women.

A new independent documentary, JARA Radioactive Patriarchy: Women of Qazaqstan, examines the impacts of nuclear weapons in Qazaqstan. Jara means “wound” in the Qazaq language.

The film is directed by Aigerim Seitenova, a nuclear disarmament activist with a post-graduate degree in international human rights law who co-founded the Qazaq Nuclear Frontline Coalition. Seitenova grew up in Semey (formerly called Semipalatinsk), Qazaqstan.

Close to Semey is the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, also known as The Polygon, in Qazaqstan’s northeastern region. It’s an area slightly smaller than the size of Belgium — approximately 18,000 square kilometres — in the former Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.

Nuclear Truth Project

Seitenova introduced her film in March 2025 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, hosted by the Nuclear Truth Project. The documentary premiere was a side event at the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

As a literary and cultural historian who examines narratives of the nuclear age, I attended the standing-room-only event alongside many delegates from civil society organizations.

Nuclear disarmament activist

Seitenova, who wrote, directed and produced JARA Radioactive Patriarchy on location in Semey, aims to bring women’s nuclear stories to Qazaqstan and international audiences.

The 30-minute documentary features intimate interviews with five Qazaq women. The film shares the women’s fears, grief and the ways they have learned to cope, as well as reflections from Seitenova filmed at the ground-zero site.

For Seitenova, it was essential that the film be in Qazaq language.

“Qazaq language, like Qazaq bodies,” she said in an interview after the premiere, “were considered ‘other’ or not valuable.” Seitenova acknowledged it was also important to show a Qazaq-language film at the UN, as Qazaq is not an official UN language like Russian.

Women consensually share experiences

One of Seitenova’s directorial choices was not just what or who would be seen, but specifically what would not be seen in her film.

“I’m really against sensationalism,” said Seitenova. “If you Google ‘Semipalatinsk’ you will see all of these terrible images of children and fetuses.”

Seitenova accordingly does not show any of these images in her film, and instead focuses on women consensually sharing their experiences.

Seitenova explained how narratives regarding the health effects in Semey are often disparaged. When others learn she is from Semey, Seitenova shared, some will make insensitive jokes like “are you luminescent at night?” — making nuclear impact into spectacle, instead of taking it as a serious health issue.

These experiences have propelled her to take back the narrative of her community by correcting misconceptions or the minimization of harms. Instead, she brings attention to the larger structural issues.

“Everything was done by me because I did not want to invite someone who would not take care of the stories of these women,” said Seitenova.

Likewise, Seitenova only interviewed participants who had already made decisions to speak out about nuclear weapons. She did this so as not to risk retraumatizing someone by asking them to discuss their illnesses, especially for the first time on camera.

Global legacy of anti-nuclear art, advocacy

Seitenova also wanted to show a genealogy of women speaking out about nuclear issues in Qazaqstan, contributing to a global legacy of anti-nuclear art and advocacy.

The film features three generations of women, including Seitenova’s great aunt, Zura Rustemova, who was 12 at the time of the first detonations.

As part of this genealogy of nuclear resistance, the film includes footage of a speech from the Qazaq singer Roza Baglanova (1922-2011), who rose to prominence singing songs of hope during the Second World War.

Effects felt into today

JARA Radioactive Patriarchy shows how the impacts of nuclear weapons are felt intergenerationally into the present.

“Many women lost their ability to experience the happiness of motherhood,” interviewee Maira Abenova says in the film. Abenova co-founded an advocacy group representing survivors of the detonations, Committee Polygon 21.

Other interviewees shared how often men left their wives and children who were affected by nuclear weapons to begin a new family with someone else.

Seitenova looks at the roles of women and mothers not just as protectors, but also as those who have launched formidable advocacy.

The film highlights the towering monument in Semey, “Stronger than Death,” dedicated to those affected by nuclear weapons.

The Semey monument depicts a mother using her whole body to protect her child from a mushroom cloud. Just like the monument, Seitenova and the women in her documentary use the film to show how women have been doing this advocacy work in the private and public spheres, with their bodies and with their words.

“I want to show them as being leaders in the community, as changing the game,” Seitenova said.

While the film brings a much-needed attention to the gendered impact of nuclear weapons in Qazaqstan, she makes clear that this is, unfortunately, not an issue unique to her homeland or just to women.

“The next time you think about expanding the nuclear sector in any country” Seitenova said, “you can think about how it impacts people of all genders.”

November 19, 2025 Posted by | Kazakhstan, media, Women | Leave a comment

US senator accuses Trump of ‘silence’ on huge Ukraine corruption scandal.

17 Nov, 2025, https://www.rt.com/news/627874-us-senator-slams-trump-silence/

Rand Paul had long called for oversight on aid to Kiev.

US Senator Rand Paul has accused President Donald Trump of staying silent on a major corruption scandal involving a close associate of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

Last week, Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies alleged that Timur Mindich, Zelensky’s former longtime business partner, led a scheme that siphoned $100 million in kickbacks from contracts with the country’s nuclear power operator Energoatom, which depends on foreign aid. Two government ministers have since resigned, while Mindich fled the country to evade arrest.

“Remember when the Ukraine first Uniparty opposed my call for an Investigator General for Ukraine? Trump silent on $100M Ukraine corruption scandal resignations,” Paul wrote on X on Saturday, commenting on a news story about the affair.

Paul, who frequently attacks what he calls “wasteful spending” of American taxpayers’ money on foreign projects, has repeatedly pushed for a watchdog to supervise funds directed to Ukraine “in order to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.”

Trump has criticized unconditional aid to Kiev in the past, calling Zelensky “the greatest salesman on earth.” In August, he said the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, had “fleeced” America by committing $350 billion to Ukraine. He has since argued that the US is profiting from the conflict by selling Ukraine-bound weapons to NATO.

Kiev’s European backers have also raised concerns about corruption. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the affair “extremely unfortunate,” while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Zelensky to “press ahead with anti-corruption measures and reforms.”

The scandal erupted just months after Zelensky had unsuccessfully tried to strip the country’s anti-corruption bodies, NABU and SAPO, of their independence – relenting only after protests in Kiev and outcry from Western supporters. He has since imposed sanctions on Mindich, who is reportedly hiding in Israel.

November 19, 2025 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Ukraine, USA | Leave a comment

Ukraine’s ‘EnergyGate’ scandal explained: Why it spells danger for Vladimir Zelensky.

12 Nov, 2025, https://www.rt.com/russia/627713-energygate-corruption-scandal-ukraine/

What began as an inquiry into kickbacks at the state’s energy company has become a political firestorm circling the Kiev regime itself.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption detectives have opened Pandora’s Box. What started as a routine audit of the nuclear energy monopoly Energoatom has spiraled into a full-scale probe into embezzlement, implicating ministers, businessmen – and the man long known as Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s personal “wallet.” The affair now raises the question of how much longer the formally acting but no longer legitimate president can maintain control over his own system.

The case that has shaken the Kiev establishment

This week, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) raided the homes of several senior officials and businessmen, including Timur Mindich – a longtime friend and financial backer of Zelensky, whom Ukrainian media openly call the president’s “wallet.” Mindich fled the country before investigators arrived, while several of his associates have been detained.

The operation, code-named Midas, uncovered what investigators describe as a multimillion-dollar corruption scheme centered on Energoatom. According to NABU, officials demanded bribes of between 10% and 15% from private contractors supplying or building protective infrastructure for power facilities. Those who refused allegedly faced blocked payments or exclusion from tenders.

Wiretaps obtained by NABU include over a thousand hours of recorded conversations – excerpts of which have been released. In them, individuals identified by code names Carlson, Professor, Rocket, and Tenor discuss distributing kickbacks, pressuring business partners, and profiting from projects tied to nuclear plant protection during wartime. Ukrainian media, citing NABU sources, claim Carlson is Mindich himself, while Professor refers to Justice Minister German Galushchenko, who has since resigned.

The money trail and the missing “wallet”

NABU investigators allege that about $100 million passed through offshore accounts and shell companies abroad. Part of the funds were laundered through an office in central Kiev linked to state contract proceeds.

Mindich and several partners allegedly oversaw the network via intermediaries: Tenor – a former prosecutor turned Energoatom security chief – and Rocket, a one-time adviser to the energy minister. When the raids began, Mindich fled Ukraine with financier Mikhail Zuckerman, believed to have helped run the scheme.

While five people have been arrested, the alleged mastermind remains at large. NABU officials have hinted that further charges could follow, possibly reaching other ministries – including the Defense Ministry, where Mindich’s firms reportedly obtained lucrative contracts for drones and missile systems.

From energy to defense

At hearings before Kiev’s High Anti-Corruption Court, prosecutors argued that Mindich’s network also extended into military procurement. One company linked to him, Fire Point, manufactures Flamingo rockets and long-range drones, and has received major government contracts. If proven, these allegations would shift the case from financial misconduct to crimes threatening national security – drawing the probe dangerously close to Zelensky’s inner circle.

Rumors persist that among the intercepted recordings are fragments featuring Zelensky’s own voice. None have been released publicly, but NABU’s gradual publication strategy has fueled speculation that the most explosive revelations are still to come.

Imprisoned Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoysky, held in connection with a $5.5 billion hole in his bank’s accounts, has told a court that beyond Mindich there are “bigger forces” in play.

Not their first rodeo

The EnergyGate case is the latest in a string of high-profile corruption scandals to erupt under Zelensky’s rule.

In January 2023, journalists from Ukrainskaya Pravda exposed inflated food procurement contracts at the Defense Ministry, leading to the resignation of Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov and several officials. In May 2023, Supreme Court chairman Vsevolod Knyazev was arrested for allegedly accepting a $2.7 million bribe. In 2024, the State Audit Service found large-scale violations in reconstruction projects financed by Western aid, with billions of hryvnia missing.

The European Court of Auditors, in its 2024 report on EU assistance, concluded that corruption in Ukraine “remains a serious challenge” and that anti-corruption institutions “require greater independence and enforcement capacity.”

Political consequences

The scandal has deepened Ukraine’s internal political crisis. Earlier this year, Zelensky sought to curb the independence of anti-corruption bodies such as NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) through legislation that would have placed them under presidential control. The move triggered protests in Kiev and drew criticism from Brussels and Western donors, who fund much of Ukraine’s wartime budget.

Under EU pressure, lawmakers ultimately reversed the measure, but the episode further strained Zelensky’s relations with Western partners.

Meanwhile, an informal anti-Zelensky coalition has reportedly taken shape, uniting figures connected to Western-funded NGOs, opposition leaders such as ex-President Pyotr Poroshenko and Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, and senior officials in NABU and SAPO. Their shared goal, according to Ukrainian analysts, is to strip Zelensky of real authority and establish a “national unity government.”

The EU steps in

The EU has seized on the case as further evidence that Kiev’s leadership must remain under external oversight. The latest European Commission report on Ukraine’s EU accession progress explicitly demands that anti-corruption bodies stay free of presidential control and that top law-enforcement appointments involve “international experts.”

For Brussels, scrambling to finance Kiev’s $50 billion 2026 deficit, the scandal serves as both a warning to all potential backers that corruption is inevitable, while giving the EU leverage to tighten control over Kiev’s internal governance. For Zelensky it is another reminder that his ability to act independently is slipping away.

The stakes for Zelensky

The revelations of large-scale corruption in the energy sector weeks before winter sets could prove politically devastating for the Ukrainian leader. Public anger is mounting, while Western media have begun publishing increasingly critical coverage of his administration and its shrinking democratic space. Old allies of Zelensky’s such as Donald Tusk have claimed that they warned him of the damage such scandals will do.

With the country still under martial law and elections suspended, Zelensky remains president in name – but his legitimacy is under growing scrutiny. The EnergyGate affair has exposed the fragility of his position. If upcoming NABU disclosures implicate him directly, the fallout could be fatal to his political future.

For now, NABU’s latest video ends with a hint that more revelations are yet to come.

November 19, 2025 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Japan edges towards hosting nuclear weapons

The Strategist, 18 Nov 2025, Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan

It looks like Japan will finally cast aside its ban on hosting nuclear weapons—specifically, those of the United States.

Moving towards action she called for last year, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is  reviewing the three principles that have kept Japan at arm’s length from nuclear weapons since 1967. The ban is the third of those principles, the other two holding that Japan must neither own nor produce nuclear weapons.

Japan is responding to what it perceives as worsening security dynamics in the region, surrounded as it is by three nuclear powers—China, Russia and North Korea—all of which are engaging in aggressive behaviour.

A 14 November Kyodo news report citing government sources noted that any changes in the three principles would constitute a major shift in Japan’s security policy in line with the ‘tough security environment.’ According to the report, the Japanese government sees the ban on placement of nuclear weapons within its territory as ‘weakening the effectiveness of the nuclear deterrence provided by its ally, the United States.’ This is particularly relevant as US considers developing a nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile, known as SLCM-N, to strengthened deterrence against China.

Japan’s third nuclear principle was a non-issue after the end of the Cold War, when the US withdrew its tactical nuclear weapons. But Tokyo may need to re-think its position if Washington seeks to field SLCM-Ns………………………..

Any shift in Japan’s non-nuclear principles could invite reactions from the region. China has already responded to news of Japan’s review. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said on 14 November that China remained ‘seriously concerned over Japan’s military and security moves recently …. The Sanae Takaichi administration has been making ambiguous statements about the three non-nuclear principles and implying the possibility of quitting the principles.’ The spokesperson added that China was also concerned about the claims by senior Japanese officials that Japan ‘has not ruled out the possibility of possessing nuclear submarines.’……..https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/japan-edges-towards-hosting-nuclear-weapons/

November 19, 2025 Posted by | Japan, weapons and war | Leave a comment

The Sandoval County Rocket and Missile Complex Deal Was Done Before the Public Ever Had a Say

By Elaine Cimino, 17 Nov 25

Sandoval County residents woke up Monday to the Rio Rancho Observer declaring that Castelion Corporation has “selected” Sandoval County as the site for its massive 1,000-acre solid-rocket-motor and missile assembly complex. But anyone who has followed the paper trail knows this wasn’t breaking news—it was political theater.

The State Land Office signed the leases months ago. County officials, the City of Rio Rancho, and the Economic Development Department all coordinated a tightly scripted rollout long before the public ever heard the words “Project Ranger.” Monday’s headline simply confirmed what insiders already knew: the “selection” was locked in before a single required hearing, study, or disclosure ever took place.

The Observer framed the announcement as a triumph of economic development. But it left out the most important fact—the legal process was reversed and violated at nearly every stage. LEDA requires a public hearing before an approval hearing. Necessary documents must be accessible before a vote. Environmental and hazard studies must be available. None of those requirements were met.

We now know that the 16-page “Sandia safety report” withheld from the public was not a safety review at all—Sandia explicitly warns it is “not an approved explosives safety document.” Meanwhile, the Project Participation Agreement reveals that land purchases, leases, and even LEDA financial structures were already in place. By the time the public meeting occurred, the outcome was predetermined.

This isn’t transparency. It’s not even bad governance. It is a deliberate circumvention of state law.

What’s Ahead for Sandoval County

The public is being told this project brings “high-paying jobs” and a “$650 million economic impact.” But buried in the PPA is the truth: Castelion commits to only 300 jobs and can close operations after five years. If they walk away after collecting public subsidies, the clawback penalties total just $10 million—far less than the public investment that enabled them to arrive here in the first place.

More concerning is what’s missing from every public statement:
• No federal NEPA environmental review.
• No ammonium perchlorate plume model—although the PPA references a “plume study.”
• No wildfire, evacuation, or transportation risk analysis despite half-mile blast zones and multi-thousand-foot withdrawal zones for trucks carrying explosives.
• No groundwater contamination modeling, even though perchlorate and combustion byproducts travel miles and persist for decades.

These aren’t hypotheticals. This is the same class of toxins that has contaminated groundwater around multiple rocket-motor test sites nationwide. This is the same wildfire-prone mesa where residents already face evacuation challenges. And this is the same water-stressed aquifer basin that state leadership claims to be protecting through its Strategic Water Supply agenda.

The public deserves science, not slogans.

A Statewide Pattern of Back-Room Deals

What happened here follows a now-familiar pattern: announcements made first, studies done later—or never. Whether it’s hydrogen hubs, produced-water schemes, data-center subsidies, or now hypersonic missile manufacturing, New Mexico’s political class increasingly treats residents as obstacles rather than constituents.

The Observer bought into the narrative that this facility represents innovation and opportunity. But what it really represents is a democratic bypass—one where decisions with generational consequences are made behind closed doors, backed by the voices of military contractors rather than the people who must live with the fallout.

What Comes Next

New Mexicans must demand independent environmental review, legally compliant public hearings, and a reset of the approval process—not a rubber-stamped after-the-fact validation of a deal already done.

We deserve leadership willing to follow the law, not bend it. We deserve economic development that strengthens communities, not exposes them to explosive hazards and toxic plumes. And we deserve a press willing to ask questions rather than repeat talking points.

The truth is simple: the public was cut out. But the fight is not over.

This is only the beginning.

November 19, 2025 Posted by | technology, USA | Leave a comment

Rio Rancho residents sound alarm over hypersonic missile plant

by Kevin Hendricks, Sandoval Signpost, 17 Nov 25

Rio Rancho residents packed a Nov. 13 city council meeting to voice sharp divisions over a resolution that would provide water services to a controversial hypersonic missile manufacturing facility, with speakers citing both national security imperatives and environmental risks.

The resolution, which authorizes the city manager to negotiate water and potentially wastewater services for Castelion’s Project Ranger facility, represents an exception to Rio Rancho’s longstanding policy against providing utilities outside city limits.

Four days after the meeting, on Nov. 17, California-based Castelion officially announced it had selected Sandoval County for the 1,000-acre manufacturing campus, which will be located about 3 miles west of Rio Rancho city limits on unincorporated county land.

The facility is projected to generate more than $650 million in economic output over the next decade and create more than 300 jobs with average salaries of $100,000, according to the New Mexico Economic Development Department.

Safety and environmental concerns

Several residents raised an alarm about potential risks to public health and the environment. Steven Van Horn noted that KRQE had announced just hours before the meeting that a toxic chromium plume from Los Alamos National Laboratory had spread to Pueblo land, with contamination levels exceeding state groundwater standards.

“This plant is going to be near three of our wells, transporting stuff that has no limitation on transport,” Van Horn said, warning of flood risks and water contamination.

Michael Farrell submitted a detailed written comment opposing the resolutions, arguing that Sandoval County advanced the project on county land while asking the city to fund access roads and deliver water without a guaranteed tax base or annexation. He said the move would break Rio Rancho’s policy since 2009 of limiting water and wastewater service to inside city boundaries.

Farrell expressed concern about water usage, citing a presentation from an Oct. 21 public meeting that indicated the facility would use water equivalent to approximately 50 households, or nearly 8 million gallons of water annually.

He also noted that the city dissolved its Utilities Commission in 2017, removing what he called “the public’s most technically qualified watchdog over major water and infrastructure decisions.”

Elaine Cimino filed a 10-page written objection citing procedural defects in the approval process and concerns about ammonium perchlorate, a toxic oxidizer used in rocket motors that can contaminate groundwater. She said no baseline groundwater, air or soil testing had been conducted before approval.

Cimino also raised concerns about impacts on mortgage insurance, noting that roughly 24 percent of Rio Rancho homeowners hold FHA-insured mortgages and could face rate increases of 20 to 100 percent if the area is reclassified as a high-fire-risk zone. She cited a wildfire report estimating potential public losses between $515 million and $2.5 billion from a wildfire or detonation incident.

“This project operates without active federal, state, or municipal oversight, relying instead on self-certification by a private weapons manufacturer,” Cimino wrote.

Connie Hoffman, a resident of Nicklaus Drive SE, said the facility is too close to residential areas and expressed concerns about unknown impacts on land, air and water supply.

“This belongs somewhere else, farther away from civilization,” Hoffman wrote. “I love the sunsets, the weather, the safe feeling — this will not be the same if this is allowed to go forward.”

Zachary Darden, a Bernalillo County Open Space employee who lives in Rio Rancho, questioned the impacts on property owners in the area and raised concerns about national security, given the facility’s proximity to Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base.

Technical documents reviewed by the Sandoval Signpost in October showed that emergency explosion scenarios could affect structures up to 5 miles away, with 5,933 buildings and structures within that radius. The site sits 2.9 miles from Rio Rancho’s Northern Meadows neighborhood.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Procedural concerns

Cimino’s written comment alleged multiple procedural violations in the approval process, including what she described as back-dating of the intergovernmental agreement between the city and county.

She noted that Sandoval County approved the agreement on Oct. 22, with an effective date of Nov. 1, even though the Rio Rancho City Council was not scheduled to vote on it until Nov. 13.

“This creates a chronological impossibility — an agreement cannot take effect before one of the contracting parties lawfully adopts it,” Cimino wrote.

She also alleged violations of the state’s Open Meetings Act, claiming that three lease agreements were added to a county agenda less than 24 hours before a vote in September, and that the company’s identity was withheld from the public until after county bonds were announced.

Farrell noted that the March city elections are approaching and said the Nov. 13 vote would have “enormous implications.”

“We’ve already seen how Sandoval County commissioners failed residents by fast-tracking this project without adequate notice, safeguards, or accountability — and voters will remember that,” Farrell wrote…………. https://sandovalsignpost.com/2025/11/rio-rancho-residents-sound-alarm-over-hypersonic-missile-plant/

November 19, 2025 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, USA | Leave a comment

Environmentalists FILE FEDERAL LAWSUITAGAINST HOLTEC’S UNPRECEDENTED PALISADES ATOMIC REACTOR RESTART.

Coalition Challenges Lawfulness of Exemption Request Key to High-Risk Scheme.

COVERT TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN and WASHINGTON, D.C., NOVEMBER 17, 2025–An environmental coalition opposed to Holtec’s unprecedented and high-risk scheme to restart the Palisades atomic reactor on the Lake Michigan shoreline has filed a federal lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction against the impending return to nuclear power operations. The Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on November 17, 2025. The Court is headquartered in Grand Rapids, but the case will very likely be transferred to a federal judge in Kalamazoo, who has jurisdiction over Van Buren County, where Palisades is located.

The case is entitled Beyond Nuclear, Don’t Waste Michigan, and Michigan Safe Energy Future (Plaintiffs) versus the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Holtec Decommissioning International (Defendants). Attorneys Terry Lodge of Toledo, Ohio and Wallace Taylor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa serve as co-counsel for the environmental coalition.

Arnold Gundersen, the coalition’s expert witness, a nuclear engineer with 54 years of experience, stated: “Holtec wanted its cake while eating it too on Palisades since 2022. They claimed that regulations like technical specifications, such as on anti-corrosion water chemistry, did not apply because the plant was in decommissioning mode. At the same time, they claimed that the plant still had an active legal license, the supposed legal basis for their NRC-approved regulatory pathway to restart. So Holtec is claiming that Palisades was both dead and alive at the same time. For the last three years, it has been both dead and alive simultaneously.”

“Holtec’s hiding behind decommissioning phase regulatory relief and waivers, and NRC compliantly allowing and enabling it, has resulted in serious, negative safety consequences, which could lead to a reactor core meltdown on the Great Lakes shore,” said Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear, who resides in Kalamazoo, Michigan, 35 miles downwind.

On January 14, 2025, an NRC staff person affirmed that Holtec did not implement the proper “wet layup” on Palisades’ steam generator tubes, from 2022 to 2024. This resulted in widespread, accelerated degradation, with potentially very serious safety implications.

Wallace Taylor, Iowa-based co-counsel for the environmental coalition, said: “This lawsuit alleges that the NRC and Holtec didn’t just bend the regulations. They both broke the law to resurrect a reactor that was fifty plus years old, poorly maintained and could not compete in the open market. Palisades is not needed, way too expensive even with massive public subsidies, and unsafe.” 

Holtec took over from the previous owner, Entergy, at Palisades on June 28, 2022. On September 9, 2022, Holtec and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer jointly announced Palisades would be restarted by Holtec, breaking the promise made years earlier that Holtec would decommission Palisades instead. 

“This bait and switch trick, con job, and big lie is how Holtec got ahold of Palisades in the first place, even though we had officially resisted it from the get-go, because we knew Holtec could not be trusted, even with decommissioning, let alone the zombie reactor restart,” said Kamps of Beyond Nuclear. “Now it is clear the NRC likewise cannot be trusted to obey, uphold, and enforce applicable laws and even its own regulations and mandates,” Kamps added.

On September 28, 2023, Holtec applied to NRC for an exemption from regulations in order to rescind the permanent shutdown certifications filed by Entergy, and docketed by NRC, in June 2022, after Entergy had shut down Palisades for good on May 20, 2022. The permanent shutdown had been announced in and planned since early December 2016.

The three environmental organizations, along with allies Nuclear Energy Information Service of Chicago and Three Mile Island Alert of Pennsylvania, have contested Holtec’s Palisades restart before the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) ever since. Ironically, in early 2025 the coalition and Holtec actually agreed that the contested Exemption Request should not be included as a part of ASLB proceedings. However, the ASLB panel, by a 2-1 split decision, sided with NRC staff, and retained the Exemption Request as part of the licensing proceeding, effectively blessing NRC staff’s ultimate approval of the Exemption Request on July 24, 2025, “despite the exemption not qualifying for approval pursuant to the provisions of [10 Code of Federal Regulations Part] 50.12,” the coalition lawsuit argues. 

The Complaint begins: “Plaintiffs seek a declaration from the Court that an ‘exemption’ granted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission from the requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954…which would allow the owner of a permanently shutdown commercial nuclear power plant to be restored to commercial generation is unlawful.”

The coalition alleges violations of the Atomic Energy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and NRC’s own implementing regulations.

“When those certifications were provided in connection with the decommissioning of a reactor, they legally prohibited any further operation of the Palisades reactor or replacement of the fuel into the Palisades reactor vessel,” the coalition argues in its lawsuit.

The coalition cited NRC’s 10 CFR Part 50.82, “Termination of license” regulations. At (a)(2), the regulation states: “Upon docketing of the certifications for permanent cessation of operations and permanent removal of fuel from the reactor vessel…the 10 CFR part 50 license no longer authorizes operation of the reactor or emplacement or retention of fuel into the reactor vessel.”

The environmental groups have brought the lawsuit on behalf of their members and supporters, some of whom live just 0.75 miles from the Palisades atomic reactor. The standing declarants are concerned the restart, especially considering Palisades’ age-related degradation and the high risks of a release of catastrophic amounts of hazardous radioactivity, could significantly and irreparably harm their health, safety, security, property, and the environment. Radioactivity releases even during so-called routine operations, Holtec’s lack of experience operating a reactor, and the company’s controversial history, were also cited as reasons for the lawsuit. 

The coalition’s co-counsel argue:

“Before NRC grants the exemption Holtec seeks…it must be analyzed under the explicit limitations imposed…Additionally, the District of Columbia Circuit has limited the granting of exemptions to exigent circumstances…

Section 50.12 provides a mechanism for obtaining an exemption from the procedures incorporated in section 50.10, but one that may be invoked only in extraordinary circumstances. The Commission has made clear that section 50.12 is available “only in the presence of exigent circumstances, such as emergency situations in which time is of the essence and relief from the Licensing Board is impossible or highly unlikely…

The Commission has similarly emphasized that [Part] 50.12 exemptions are to be granted sparingly and only in cases of undue hardship…So Holtec bears an extremely heavy burden to justify its request for an exemption.” (Emphasis added)

The suit contends: “The underlying statutory intention is that a new license application must be sought post-shutdown to ensure that a ‘new’ nuclear power plant meets all contemporary licensing requirements and expectation.”

Along similar lines, in a February 7, 2023 ExchangeMonitor article entitled “To restart shuttered Palisades plant, Holtec would need to start ‘from scratch,’ NRC commissioner Crowell says,” Bradley Crowell, who is still serving as a commissioner at the agency, was quoted:

As for NRC’s role in a potential restart, Crowell — who joined the commission in August [of 2022] — said it would be difficult for the safety regulator to prepare for such a development because of the uncertainty surrounding Palisades’ fate.

I feel like it’s difficult to get our ducks in a row for that because it changes almost on a monthly basis,” Crowell said. “I understand they [Holtec] are in a posture of wanting to find a buyer to do it… but I think at this stage of the game, you’re gonna have to start from scratch.” (Emphasis added)

The lawsuit concludes:

“WHEREFORE…Plaintiffs request that the Court find and declare that the granting of the exemption by the NRC was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right; and without observance of procedure required by law; and that consequently, Plaintiffs further request that the Court issue preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting the approval of the exemption requested by Holtec because Plaintiffs have suffered an irreparable injury…of having a dangerous nuclear plant being allowed to restart, in violation of the law and regulations.”

For its part, Holtec has continued to say it will restart Palisades by the end of 2025, in the lead up to an announced Initial Public Offering in early 2026, where it hopes to raise $10 billion in private investment.

For more information, see Beyond Nuclear’s “Newest Nuke Nightmares at Palisades, 2022 to Present”. It is a one-stop-shop of web posts dating back to April 2022, when Holtec CEO Krishna Singh first floated “Small Modular Reactor” construction and operation at Palisades, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer first floated restarting the closed-for-good reactor.

November 19, 2025 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

For New York Times, Trump’s Gulf Corruption Is the New Normal.

“the negotiations are the latest example of Mr. Trump blending governance and family business, particularly in Persian Gulf countries,”

it’s well past time for the kind of journalism that raises a lazy eyebrow at blatant corruption.

Ari Paul, November 17, 2025, https://fair.org/home/for-nyt-trumps-gulf-corruption-is-the-new-normal/

If any Onion opinion piece fully captures the corruption and venality of Donald Trump’s administrations, it’s one “authored” by former President Jimmy Carter (1/25/17) headlined, “You People Made Me Give Up My Peanut Farm Before I Got to Be President.” To be accurate, the farm was put into a blind trust (USA Today, 2/24/23), but contrasting the urgency of the potential conflicts with Carter’s humble agricultural asset to the unrestrained wheeling and dealing of the Trump machine paints the whole scene.

Trump had barely started his first term when the Onion piece came out, but nearly a year into his second administration, the satirical piece truly illustrates the degree to which the Washington establishment has seemed to accept that there will always be conflicts of interest in the White House, and that Trump’s policies will always be intertwined with his family’s profiteering.

It is a hallmark of corrupt societies that institutions like the media simply accept that payoffs and the personal business interests of politicians supersede public service. A good example of this casual resignation to a corrupt regime came from the New York Times (11/15/25) under the headline “Trump Organization Is Said to Be in Talks on a Saudi Government Real Estate Deal.” The subhead: “The chief executive of a Saudi firm says a Trump-branded project is ‘just a matter of time.’ The Trump Organization’s major foreign partner is also signaling new Saudi deals.”

The front-page report by Vivian Nereim and Rebecca Ruiz focused on Trump’s relationship with Dar Global, his business’ “most important foreign business partner and a key conduit to Arab governments and Gulf companies.” The Times matter-of-factly said that Dar “paid the Trump Organization $21.9 million in license fees last year,” noting that “some of that money goes to the president himself.”

The entire piece, in fact, presented this development in Saudi Arabia with a lackadaisical editorial attitude toward the president using the federal government that he administers as a channel for his family’s businesses, without much commentary from experts about the conflicts of interest. “The Trump Organization is in talks that could bring a Trump-branded property to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest government-owned real estate developments,” it began. It went on to say that “the negotiations are the latest example of Mr. Trump blending governance and family business, particularly in Persian Gulf countries,” without ever raising a question how that “blending” might undermine the presidency.

‘Maybe a little bit clever’

Earlier this year, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut (5/13/25) said after Trump accepted the gift of a $400 million luxury plane from Qatar: “Usually, public corruption happens in secret.” But Trump “isn’t hiding it like other corrupt officials are,” Murphy noted, because “his corruption is wildly public, and his hope is that by doing it publicly, he can con the American people into thinking that it’s not corruption because he’s not hiding it.”

The New Republic (5/13/25) didn’t mince words on Trump’s business in the Gulf: “America Has Never Seen a President This Corrupt,” it announced in a headline, with the subhead, “Trump’s brazen use of the White House to advance his family businesses should be one of the biggest scandals in the country’s history.”

The New York Times reported:

“Nothing announced yet, but soon to be,” Jerry Inzerillo, chief executive of the Diriyah development and a longtime friend of President Trump, said in an interview. He said it was “just a matter of time” before the Trump Organization sealed a deal.

Saudi officials toured the Diriyah development with Mr. Trump during the president’s official state visit in May, with the goal of piquing his interest in the project, Mr. Inzerillo said.

“It turned out to be a good stroke of luck and maybe a little bit clever of us to say, ‘OK, let’s appeal to him as a developer’—and he loved it,” Mr. Inzerillo said.

Next week, Prince Mohammed is expected to make his first visit to the United States in seven years. He hopes to sign a mutual defense agreement with Washington and potentially advance a deal to transfer American nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia.

This is friendly, pro-business portraiture that basically repurposes Trump family public relations for the news page. The report only faintly touched on the ethical, saying that the situation creates a “scenario in which Mr. Trump discusses matters of national security with a foreign leader who is also a key figure in a potential business deal with the president’s family.”

The Times perhaps believes that simply narrating these things, without highlighting their egregious nature, is pushback enough. But it’s well past time for the kind of journalism that raises a lazy eyebrow at blatant corruption.

‘Ordinary in the Gulf’

A related New York Times piece (11/15/25) published the same day by the same reporters carried the headline “A Mideast Development Firm Has Set Up Shop in Trump Tower,” with the subhead: “Dar Global bet big on the Trump name. It is now an essential foreign partner for the Trump Organization.” Ruiz and Nereim in passing admitted that Trump’s Gulf deals “have shattered American norms,” but offered no other commentary about the potential corruption. They gave the last word to the president’s son, Eric, who said, We have the greatest partners in the world in Dar Global.”

The Times reporters used the same “shattered norms” expression in their other piece that day to indicate that some people in the democratic West might not approve of this kind of governance, but then reminded us that in the oil-rich Wahhabist monarchy, this is just how things are done. “The recent blending of business and politics has shattered American norms,” the article said, adding, “but is ordinary in the Gulf, where hereditary ruling families hold nearly absolute power and the phrase ‘conflict of interest’ carries little weight.”

It also wrote that “Dar would later call finalizing its first Trump collaboration ‘a straightforward but pivotal moment.’”

A keener editor would have seen the problem with nonchalantly passing off the corrupt practices of self-serving theocracy as normal. Saudi Arabia receives an abysmal score of 9/100 on the Freedom House index, and ranks 162 on the Reporters Without Borders press freedom list, behind Cambodia and Turkey.

No journalist can forget that Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul (Guardian, 10/2/20). The country has a terrible record on workers rights (Human Rights Watch, 5/14/25) and free speech (UN News, 9/15/23). While it has lifted its notorious ban on women driving (BBC, 6/24/18), a coalition of rights groups last year highlighted the “targeting of women human rights defenders, use of the death penalty, lack of protection for women migrant domestic workers, the persistence of a de facto male guardianship system,” and other concerns (Amnesty International, 11/18/24).

‘Likely unconstitutional’

The New York Times (3/27/24, 1/17/25, 2/17/25, 5/13/25) has reported on Trump’s potential conflicts of interest in the past. As the Times editorial board (6/7/25) said last spring, Trump

and his family have created several ways for people to enrich them—and government policy then changes in ways that benefit those who have helped the Trumps profit. Often Mr. Trump does not even try to hide the situation. As the historian Matthew Dallek recently put it, “Trump is the most brazenly corrupt national politician in modern times, and his openness about it is sui generis.” He is proud of his avarice, wearing it as a sign of success and savvy.

All of this might spark some curiosity at the Times about Trump’s objectives in the Gulf, and what consequences his policies and personal dealings could have for the broader region. Alas, nothing.

“The whole point of the piece is—or should be—that making multi-billion dollar real estate deals with the Saudis represents a huge conflict of interest that is likely unconstitutional,” said Craig Unger, author of several books on Republican presidents and their ties to corrupt regimes, including the Saudi monarchy. He told FAIR that Trump’s “family is raking in millions, if not billions, from a country that has played a huge role in fostering terrorism and has a history of extraordinary human rights abuses.”

He added, “It’s striking that the Times didn’t bother to interview Richard Painter, the White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, or a comparable figure to spell out precisely what those conflicts are.”

In Unger’s view, the Times has shrugged off a glaring crisis of legitimacy.

“Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution prohibits any US official from accepting titles, gifts, or payments from foreign monarchs or states without congressional approval,” he said. “How is it that they don’t mention the fact that the deal is likely unconstitutional?”

November 19, 2025 Posted by | media, USA | Leave a comment

‘National Security Threat’? 95-Year-Old Human Rights Scholar Richard Falk Interrogated for Hours by Canada.

“Clearly, the international repression of the Palestinian cause knows no bounds.”

Jon Queally, Common Dreams, Nov 15, 2025

Ninety-five-year-old Richard Falk—world renowned scholar of international law and former UN special rapporteur focused on Palestinian rights—was detained and interrogated for several hours along with his wife, legal scholar Hilal Elver, as the pair entered Canada for a conference focused on that nation’s complicity with Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

“A security person came and said, ‘We’ve detained you both because we’re concerned that you pose a national security threat to Canada,’” Falk explained to Al-Jazeera in a Saturday interview from Ottawa in the wake of the incident that happened at the international airport in Toronto ahead of the scheduled event.

“It was my first experience of this sort–ever–in my life,” said Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, author or editor of more than 20 books, and formerly the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories.

Falk, who is American, has been an outspoken critic of the foreign policy of Canada, the United States, and other Western nations on the subject of Israel-Palestine as well as other issues. He told media outlets that he and his wife, also an American, were held for over four hours after their arrival in Toronto. They were in the country to speak and participate at the Palestine Tribunal on Canadian Responsibility, an event scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Ottawa, the nation’s capital.

The event, according to the program notes on the website, was designed to “document the multiple ways that Canadian entities – including government bodies, corporations, universities, charities, media, and other cultural institutions–have enabled and continue to enable the settler colonization and genocide of Palestinians, and to articulate what justice and reparations would require.”………………………………………………….. https://www.commondreams.org/news/richard-falk-canada-gaza

November 18, 2025 Posted by | Canada, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Health Care Workers Spoke Out for Their Peers in Gaza. Then Came Backlash.

Medical institutions are silencing their staff and impeding efforts to build solidarity with medical workers in Gaza.

By Marianne Dhenin , Truthout, November 17, 2025

handra Hassan, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine, spent three weeks in Gaza in January 2024, treating patients who had survived tank shelling, drone strikes, and sniper fire amid Israel’s ongoing genocide. When Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis came under siege, Hassan and the MedGlobal doctors he was serving with were forced to flee. “We were evacuated when they bombed just across the street from the hospital [and] tanks were rolling in,” Hassan told Truth

When Hassan returned home to Chicago, he was eager to share his experiences and advocate for an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has killed an estimated 68,000 Palestinians since October 2023. Among the dead are over 1,500 health care workers, including doctors and nurses Hassan worked alongside.

But instead of being welcomed like he had been after previous missions to conflict zones in Ukraine and Syria, Hassan soon found himself on the receiving end of a doxxing and harassment campaign.  StopAntisemitism, a pro-Israel group that doxxes people it accuses of antisemitism, shared screenshots of some of Hassan’s LinkedIn posts to its X account. Hassan said his employer received around 1,500 emailed complaints the day StopAntisemitism posted his information.

“I was speaking up for the human rights of Palestinians [because] it’s like, you’re witnessing another genocide, you need to talk about it,” Hassan told Truthout. But StopAntisemitism “put my picture, and they wrote that I’m [an] antisemite.”

Hassan is one of more than 15 health care workers in eight states who told Truthout they faced silencing, harassment, or workplace retaliation for Palestine-related speech, including giving a talk on health issues in Palestine, endorsing statements condemning the killing of health care workers in Gaza, or wearing a keffiyeh or other symbols of Palestine solidarity at work. Many said they felt that their hospitals, clinics, or professional societies had become increasingly hostile working environments since October 2023.

The experiences that health care workers shared suggest that organized campaigns of complaints and harassment from pro-Israel groups against health care workers have intensified, and that anti-Palestinian racism is entrenched across health care institutions nationwide. In a 2024 survey, the Institute for the Understanding of Anti-Palestinian Racism (IUAPR) also found widespread anti-Palestinian racism in health care: More than half of the 387 health care provider respondents “reported experiencing silencing, exclusion, harassment, physical threat or harm, or defamation while advocating for Gaza and/or Palestinian human rights.” Half said they were “afraid to speak out.”

Many of those who spoke to Truthout shared that fear and expressed concerns for their patients and profession: “The reality on the ground is that racism is running unchecked throughout our medical institutions, and as a result, health care workers don’t have the training they need, accountability is not happening at the level of the medical institutions, and our communities are not being served,” Asfia Qaadir, a psychiatrist specialized in trauma-informed care for BIPOC youth, told Truthout. “Racism is about erasure, and ultimately, our patients are paying the price.”

A Pattern of Censorship……………………………..

https://truthout.org/articles/these-health-care-workers-spoke-out-for-their-peers-in-gaza-then-came-backlash/?utm_source=Truthout&utm_campaign=5511502921-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_11_17_10_28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbb541a1db-5511502921-650192793

November 18, 2025 Posted by | employment, health, USA | Leave a comment

OpenAI Oligarch Pre-Emptively Demands Government Bailout When AI Bubble Bursts.

Benjamin Bartee, Nov 15, 2025, https://www.sott.net/article/503004-OpenAI-oligarch-Altman-pre-emptively-demands-government-bailout-when-AI-bubble-finally-bursts

AI hype may soon meet fiscal reality — and, if history is any guide, the American taxpayer will be left raped, holding the bag, while the perpetrators of the bubble will face no real consequences whatsoever.

On the contrary, they’ll be rewarded for their recklessness — the classic “moral hazard.”

Via DW (emphasis added):

“Signs of a hangover are getting harder to ignore. AI usage by corporations is slipping, spending is tightening and the machine learning hype has massively outpaced the profits.

Many economists think usage concerns, barely three years into AI going mainstream, dropkick the prevailing narrative that AI would revolutionize how businesses operate by streamlining repetitive tasks and improving forecasting.

“The vast bet on AI infrastructure assumes surging usage, yet multiple US surveys show adoption has actually declined since the summer,” Carl-Benedikt Frey, professor of AI & work at the UK’s University of Oxford, told DW. “Unless new, durable use cases emerge quickly, something will give — and the bubble could burst.”…

As the gap widens between sky-high expectations and commercial reality, investor enthusiasm for AI is starting to fade.

n the third quarter of the year, venture-capital deals with private AI firms dropped by 22% quarter on quarter to 1,295, although funding levels remained above $45 billion for the fourth consecutive quarter, market intelligence firm CB Insights wrote last month.

“What perturbs me is the scale of the money being invested compared to the amount of revenue flowing from AI,” economist Stuart Mills, a senior fellow at the London School of Economics, told DW.”

In his characteristically weasely manner, in which coming out and saying anything straightforwardly is too toxically masculine or whatever, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, currently being sued by his sister for allegedly molesting her for the better part of a decade, has issued a pre-emptive demand that the government come to his company’s rescue when the financial speculation bonanza bubble around AI inevitably bursts.

“When something gets sufficiently huge, whether or not they are on paper, the federal government is kind of the insurer of last resort…So, I guess, given the magnitude of what I expect AI economic impact to look like, sort of, I do think the government ends up as, like, the insurer of last resort.”

“Like, totally! I’m just, like, sort of, a Valley Girl [upward vocal inflection] in a Valley world! Where’s, like, the cash, Sugar Daddy Warbucks?”

(Let’s not forget that OpenAI was founded as a “nonprofit” philanthropic organization that quietly morphed into a “public benefit corporation” before making Sam Altman a billionaire, much in the same way that Google quietly nixed its “Don’t Be Evil” slogan in the dead of night, like a scene out of Animal Farm, and now commits its evil in broad daylight because it knows no force on Earth is going to restrain it.)

Comment: Altman is a weasel, to be sure, and with AI heading for a cliff, he wants to be able to bail before it goes over:

November 18, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

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