TODAY. Japan – the return of the “Nuclear Village”?
A first in Japan – The municipal assembly of Genkai in southwestern Japan will request a survey to see if their area is suitable for an underground disposal site for highly radioactive waste. When the Mayor approves this survey, the Saga Prefecture town, will receive up to 2 billion yen ($12.9 million) in state subsidies for allowing the survey.
Local business associations had submitted separate requests for the survey to the assembly, hoping the subsidies and survey activity will prop up the local economy. The associations called on the town, as already a host of a nuclear power plant, to proactively cooperate with the central government.
That would be just the start. The nuclear lobby everywhere is well experienced in arranging “community benefits”. And in nowhere better than Japan.
It starts with the catch-cry of “Jobs Jobs” – first in the construction industry, then in the operations of the nuclear facility, local contractors, and then onward – to the promise of enlivening the local economy. But this wonderful goal is also to be achieved by all sorts of grants and subsidies – “incentives for acceptance” -in Japan Japan: “siting promotion subsidy” – community funds for local development.
For Japan, this could be back to the bad old days.
in the late 1990s, Iida Tetsunari3 coined the term ‘nuclear village’ to describe the ‘syndicate’ of actors pushing Japan’s nuclear power program – institutional and individual pro-nuclear advocates in the utilities, the nuclear industry, the bureaucracy, the Diet (Japan’s parliament), business federations, the media, and academia.
The influence of the nuclear industry over government and the judiciary was powerful and involved ‘regulatory capture’ – industry influence over safety regulation. In safety-related class-action lawsuits, the courts tended to decide in line with government interests to further develop Japan’s nuclear power program
Beyond just “normalisation” of areas hosting nuclear facilities, the “nuclear village” became a celebration of the wonderful, positive role of the nuclear industry in Japanese life, lauded in politics, business, and. education.
That worked out well for Japan, (and for the USA) – in Japan’s great industrial leap forward, and in overcoming and atoning for that old nuclear disaster – the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan’s success became a pointer towards other nuclear villages.
But then came the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in 2011, – and it all ground nearly to a halt. Public opposition to nuclear power has held the industry back over the years since.
But the small global phalanx of nuclear promoters continues to work assiduously to control public opinion. It preys on people’s fear of global heating, and on fears of economic downturn, and promotes nuclear facilities as ‘the answer”. It looks as if that message might now be being heard by at least one municipality in Japan.
Could this be the start of Japan’s nuclear village all over again?
TODAY. Saint Rafael Grossi on the road to Damascus.
On the road to Damascus is where you get an epiphany. Well, Saint Paul did, anyway. He was on his way to Damascus to do punishing stuff to Christians, when he had a divine revelation and was transformed into an apostle, all aglow with Christian love.
Well, I don’t know that Rafael Grossi had any such revelation, in going to Damascus. But it seems clear that he decided that the proliferation of nuclear weapons is really nothing to worry about, certainly not when compared with the mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is to promote the nuclear industry.
We always knew that countries that get nuclear weapons first get a “civil” nuclear industry. Except for the USA, which started the whole thing off the other way around, with the atrocity of the bombs for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They then launched enthusiastically into the hypocrisy of the “peaceful nuke.
Britain’s leader Rishi Sunak, and France’s Emmanuel Macron have both publicly made it clear that “commercial” nuclear power is essential for their nuclear weapons industry. (So it doesn’t matter if commercial nuclear is a financial catastrophe.) The USA and Russia don’t seem to care, as long as they can sell all kinds of nuclear technology to anybody, really.
The new “advanced” small nuclear reactors make the problem worse, as they use enriched uranium, and reprocessing technologies that provide a great cover for making weapons grade fuel .
Rafael Grossi is well known for his earnest and pious statements about nuclear safety. Indeed, didn’t we all think that this is his job, to ensure the safety and non-weapons-proliferation of the world’s reactors?
But when did Rafael’s epiphany happen? When did he realise that safety and non-weapons proliferation did not matter now?
Rafael doesn’t seem to understand that all nuclear facilities become a target for terrorism, and a target in war-time. He has said a few cautionary words about the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Ukraine, but he’s quite OK with Ukraine setting up new nuclear power stations.
Rafael has expressed worthy worries about Saudi Arabia and nuclear weapons, but nevertheless “expressed his delight and admiration for Saudi Arabia’s nuclear capabilities” – and promoted them .
Syria is a place, and with a leader, prone to military disruptions, and , like Saudi Arabia, to human rights abuses, but that doesn’t seem to worry Grossi, over there to arrange for a Syrian nuclear industry.
An epiphany? Or did Rafael know all the time that his job is to be a nuclear salesman ?
Blatant hypocrisy
TODAY. The failed social species – Homo-not-sapiens-at-all
‘We’re supposed to be “social animals”, but I wonder about that.
Especially the “advanced” world, the predominantly white people, and particularly the anglophone world are directing their attention, their energy, and above all their MONEY. into ways to kill each other. More importantly perhaps, to kill “less white” people – Arabs and Chinese.
In Pakistan, melting of glaciers and extreme rain is causing heavy loss of life.
Today I read that millions of people in China are threatened by record-breaking floods – tens of thousands evacuated.
European villages are suffering unprecedented extreme heat stress, with rising numbers of heat deaths, as well as having experiencing months of drought and wildfires
One might think that the most important task for a social species would be to help these victims of global heating, and indeed to put a stop to, or at least slow down global heating.
But perhaps, the not-very-bright leaders of the advanced countries do not understand that we are all in fact one species, that for example, Palestinians are not a separate species of untermenschen. That even Russians and Chinese are people, too.
And that we’re all in the same perilous boat -and the job is to deal with climate change – not to enrich weapons manufacturers.
Nuclear news – week to 22 April
Some bits of good news – ‘The Largest Environmental Restoration in History’ Continues to Restart the Heart of the Everglades
Adopting the Aquaculture of the Future in Thailand A sustainable, integrated approach to fish farming has caught on in China and elsewhere. Thailand could be next.
TOP STORIES.
Iran Israel: An audible sigh of relief in the Middle East. The ‘Accepted Insanity’ of World War III
From the archives. How long can Israel defy the world?
Climate. Coral bleaching: Fourth global mass stress episode underway – US scientists. Swiss ruling could pave way for more climate activist cases. Pakistan issues flood alert and warns of heavy loss of life due to glacial melting.
Noel’s notes. Israel v Iran – religious fanaticism or common sense in the atomic age. Ukraine’s going the full Ukraine – no more bilingual nonsense, thank you very much.
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NUCLEAR ISSUES
| ARTS and CUTURE. No more Russian language on air in three months – Kiev | ECONOMICS. Abrdn and two more City giants shun Sizewell C nuclear project. Small reactors don’t add up as a viable energy source. Sizewell C signs multi-billion euro deal with nuclear reactor business Framatome. |
| EMPLOYMENT, Two days of strikes planned at Dounreay nuclear power complex. The size of the workforce at Hunterston B Nuclear is to be cut by nearly a third. | ENERGY. Should we use nuclear energy? | ENVIRONMENT. New Hinkley nuclear power plant expected to kill 46 tonnes of fish a year. – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/04/18/1-b1-new-hinkley-nuclear-power-plant-expected-to-kill-46-tonnes-of-fish-a-year/ Japan starts 5th ocean discharge of Fukushima nuclear-tainted wastewater despite opposition. |
EDUCATION. Universities for AUKUS: The Social License Confidence Trick.
| ETHICS and RELIGION. The climate crisis and nuclear weapons. Is the possibility of a World War real? | HISTORY. Labour and nuclear weapons: a turbulent ideological history. |
| OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Survey by East Lindsay District Councillor and Guardians of the East Coast (GOTEC) say ‘85% don’t want nuclear dump’.Seasoned Clams back – anti-nuclear alliance of the 1970’s revived . | POLITICS 5 Reasons Why What U.S. Congress Just Did Does Not Help UkraineYou will not BELIEVE what the Tories just gave Fujitsu ANOTHER government contract for. Keir Starmer doesn’t speak for Labour members on nuclear weapons.Analysis of Canada’s Budget 2024 provisions related to nuclear. |
| POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. “Rules-Based Order” Means Rules For Thee But Not For We. Washington Syndrome: Australia’s sovereignty sell-out hidden in plain sight. Biden Administration Defies Australia’s Call To End Assange Case, Submits ‘Assurances’ To UK Court. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zwfQX5evbA Iran warns Israel it knows where its nukes are hidden. Iranian commander says Tehran could review ‘nuclear doctrine’ amid Israeli threats. Biden considering a new Iranian nuclear deal. I’ve seen Iran’s nuclear HQ – these are the risks if Israel tries to destroy it,. Kiev demands Israel-style security guarantees. | SAFETY. Attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear plant put world at risk, IAEA warns. An additional eight days for the annual outage of Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor due to new faults. Corrosion found in treated radioactive water tanks at Fukushima plant. Theberton faces nightmare Sizewell C roadworks disruption. Safety probe at Cheshire-based nuclear cargo firm. Continuing safety problems with New Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Shaft. More deficiencies in the @NuScale_Power standard design approval application. |
| ECRETS and LIES.Fujitsu ‘managing top-secret military system’ two years after contract expired. Bombs and viruses: The shadowy history of Israel’s attacks on Iranian soil. Wyden Says Spying Bill Would Force Americans to Become an ‘Agent for Big Brother‘. Facebook designates Grayzone journalist Kit Klarenberg a ‘dangerous individual’ | SPINBUSTER. The fantasy of reviving nuclear energy – ALSO AT …… | TECHNOLOGY.New Fujitsu security research center in Israel to further develop digital identity tools. MPs flag UK’s HM Revenue & Custom’s £1.4bn active contracts with Fujitsu. Nuke authorities approve loading fuel at Niigata’s long-idled Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. Stuxnet – how a simple USB stick sabotaged Iran’s nuclear plan in a ‘world-first’ showdown. Potential for small and micro modular reactors to electrify developing regions. |
WASTES. Decommissioning. EDF wants public views on plans for Hinkley Point B decommissioning.
| WAR and CONFLICT.Under UN Charter, Iran’s Attack Was a Legal Response to Israel’s Illegal Attack. The West now wants ‘restraint’– after months of fuelling a genocide in Gaza. Iran Closes Nuclear Sites Fearing Israeli Attack: IAEA Chief. Eve of destruction.Can war in the Middle East be avoided? Iran President Warns of ‘Massive’ Response if Israel Launches ‘Tiniest Invasion’ . Israel attacking Iran ‘could prompt it to develop nuclear bomb in months’ Israel: the road to Masada. AI-assisted genocide’: Israel reportedly used database for Gaza kill lists. We are closer to nuclear disaster today than at any point in the Cold War. | WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES.U.S. House Passes $95 Billion Foreign War Bills. Missile Defenseless. Israel has nuclear weapons. Iran does not. Frequently Asked Questions about nuclear weapons in the Middle East. US reportedly built missiles that can ruin Iran’s nuclear facilities. The Iron Dome and US-Israel Relations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TBiTNVV4Og The short march to China’s hydrogen bomb.‘ Pakistan advanced nuclear weapons programme despite economic challenges’ No Russian heavy weapons at Zaporozhye plant – IAEA boss. U.S. is building first new nuclear warhead in decades. |
TODAY. Israel v Iran – religious fanaticism or common sense in the atomic age.
Decision to use nuclear bombs could be made for religious reasons, not military strategy.
Trying to understand the culture of other nations, looking from the outside, is a tricky task.
But – as I attempt this, about Israel and Iran, I find some remarkable similarities
Israel is supposed to be a democracy. But the fact that they call it “The Jewish State” immediately sheds doubt on that claim. It is a technocratically advanced state – but with a prevailing religious culture which is quite counter to the ideas of modern secular states. With the current war on Gaza , Israel now functions as a brutal fascism.
Iran makes no pretense of being a democracy. Under the veneer of genuine Islam, the clerics and mullahs run an oppressive, vengeful, misogynist dictatorship.
Yet in both cases, the rulers have twisted religion to suit their cruel aims.
ZIONISM. Jewish tradition abhors violence and reinterprets war episodes, plentiful in the Hebrew Bible, in a pacifist mode. Tradition clearly privileges compromise and accommodation. Albert Einstein was among the Jewish humanists who denounced Beitar, the paramilitary Zionist youth movement, today affiliated with the ruling Likud. He deemed it to be“ as much of a danger to our youth as Hitlerism is to German youth”.
The first Zionist congress in 1897 had to be moved from Germany to Switzerland because German Jewish organizations objected to holding a Zionist event in their country. The Zionist argument that the homeland of the Jews is not the country, where they have lived for centuries and for which many have spilled their blood in wars, but in a land in Western Asia. For many Jews, this message bears disconcerting resemblance to that of the antisemites who resent their social integration.
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM IN IRAN.
From Prophet Muhammad: “Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith.” “Do good to others, and goodness will come back to you.” “He who does not show mercy to others will not be shown mercy.”
The Quran places great emphasis on the dignity of human beings regardless of their gender or race or even status. The dignity also means that human beings have a right to life, right to freedom of religion, right to freedom of lifestyle, right to labor, right to security and right to family
In Iran, The crux of the fundamentalist conflict is not between Islam and Christianity. Nor is it between Islam and the West, and nor between the Shia and the Sunni. The conflict is over freedom versus subjugation and dictatorship, between equality on the one hand and oppression and misogyny on the other.
When it comes to the nuclear bomb – these forms of religious extremism become a critical danger to the world. The idea of martyrdom becomes important – sacrificing oneself, and one’s people become a value, a virtue even. It has been prominent in many wars – a notable example – Japan’s Kamikaze airmen in World War 2.
Martyrdom has been a value for some extremist Islamists. I don’t think it would be so for the mullahs of Iran.
But – when it comes to Israel – there’s a definite strand of martyrdom in Israeli military thinking.
Ultimately, all the nuclear powers have no intention of firing first, as this would undoubtedly lead to their destruction. The exception is Israel, which seems to have adopted the “Samson doctrine” (“Let me die with the Philistines”). It would thus be the only power to imagine the ultimate sacrifice, the “Twilight of the Gods”, dear to the Nazis.
The military atom was never envisaged as a classic form of deterrence, but as an assurance that Israel would not hesitate to commit suicide to kill its enemies rather than be defeated. This is the Masada complex [3]. This way of thinking is in line with the “Hannibal Directive”, according to which the IDF must kill its own soldiers rather than let them become prisoners of the enemy [4].
Fujitsup-ing UK ‘s Post Office IT system, – and now its Nuclear Lab?
The UK government’s National Nuclear Laboratory has given Fujitsu a £155k contract for ‘software support’ IT – for nuclear science and experimental programmes in nuclear power and weapons.
Fujitsu? The Japanese software company that supplied, and apparently is still supplying, the British Post office with software – its bodgy Horizon IT programme being at the root of one of the most widespread miscarriages of justice in UK history.. Yes, that one!
It doesn’t fill you with confidence about the safety of the UK’s nuclear lab activities, does it?
The Post Office’s contract with Fujitsu was, (is) extremely complex, with the Post Office lacking the expertise to understand how the IT system works. Does the nuclear lab have the same problem?
These types of contracts deliberately lock the buyer in, with the supplier having control of all upgrades, fixing of any technical problems. The Post Office contract also limited the amount of information they could get from the system.
This created a dependance by the Post Office on the company Fujitsu. Is the British military and nuclear system also locked into dependance on Fujitsu? A source told the i newspaper that the Japanese firm has been managing a secretive computer system facilitating the “strategic command and control of UK Armed Forces” for decades.
The contract for the National Nuclear Laboratory is the first government contract with Fujitsu in 2024, – to the anger and frustration of many, as the inquiry into the Post Office software scandal is still underway, with more litigation likely to come.
Nuclear – the not so wonderful news this week
Some bits of good news. The Beautiful Place that Stopped Big Bottled Water. A Tidal Wetland Restoration of Epic Proportions.
TOP STORIES.
Annie Jacobsen: ‘What if we had a nuclear war?’
What are the risks at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after drone attack? –ALSO AT … https://nuclear-news.net/2024/04/10/3-a-what-are-the-risks-at-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant-after-drone-attack/
What’s Inside the President’s Nuclear Football?
Climate. Heatwaves now last much longer than they did in the 1980s. What if global emissions went down instead of up?- ALSO AT …… https://nuclear-news.net/2024/04/12/2-b1-what-if-global-emissions-went-down-instead-of-up/ Swiss women win landmark climate victory at European Court of Human Rights.
Nuclear. I’m quite fascinated that the UK is using Fujitsu’s software in its nuclear lab – after the total scandal and shemozzle of Fujitsu’s software in the UK Post Offices – more about that next week.
Noel’s notes. Australia is EVER so grateful to the global nuclear lobby! The nuclear lobby’s new “prime wheeze” – Community Interest Companies.
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AUSTRALIA.
- Coalition nuclear plan flips back to SMRs after latest meeting with lobbyists. Dutton’s decaying nuclear energy plans have the briefest half-life. Dutton proposes higher nuclear energy bills. Nuclear lobby manipulates ABC’s 7.30 Report. Coalition nuclear plan would force consumers to wait 20 years longer for 30% higher electricity bills. Cook by-election candidate Simon Kennedy says locals are ‘comfortable’ living near nuclear reactors.
- Former PM Paul Keating on a craven acceptance of US strategic hegemony in Asia.
- The cost of needless secrecy on nuclear. What’s the scam?
- No decisions on site for nuclear waste dump as spin doctor sought – ALSO AT…https://antinuclear.net/2024/04/15/1-a-no-decisions-on-site-for-nuclear-waste-dump-as-spin-doctor-sought/
- Secret Agreements: The Australian-Israel Defence Memorandum of Understanding.
NUCLEAR ISSUES
| CLIMATE. Nuclear energy ‘now an obstacle to delivering net zero’ – Greenpeace. | CIVIL LIBERTIES. Flicker of Hope: Biden’s Throwaway Lines on Assange. |
ECONOMICS.
- Banks Unwilling To Finance $5 Trillion Global Nuclear Development.
- Fresh blow for UK nuclear as the City snubs Sizewell C. Sizewell C Fiasco Part 4: Much more expensive than renewables- Unknown cost or period for Investors – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ICw23iYY0
- Rolls Royce misses out on government funding for their small nuclear reactors.
- Hinkley Point C Nuclear joins Community Interest Company “Passion for Somerset”. Why you probably shouldn’t become a Community Interest Company.
| EDUCATION. U.S. adds to the $1billion already granted to education for the nuclear industry. | ENERGY. Finland: Grid Limitations Force Olkiluoto-3 to Curtail Output. | HEALTH. St. Louis Residents Seek Compensation for Illnesses Tied to Nuclear Contamination. |
| LEGAL. Kevin Gosztola: Correcting the Record on the Assange Case. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2xPL230qCY UK Government decision to withhold nuclear power plant information unlawful. | MEDIA. Books. Nuclear Lies, Cover-Ups and Secrecy |
| OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Past anti-nuclear activists in Europe speak out against current plans. Non-proliferation experts urge US to not support nuclear fuel project. Tax day and war resistance. Sizewell C Nuclear : too destructive, too costly, too late. | PERSONAL STORIES. Five Years At Belmarsh: A Chronicle Of Julian Assange’s Imprisonment. |
| POLITICS.UK government could still replace Fujitsu in key nuclear contract.UK revamps Sizewell C nuclear funding to avoid delays.Hunterston: Scottish National Party see no nuclear future due to terrorism risk – ALSO AT …https://nuclear-news.net/2024/04/13/1-b1-hunterston-scottish-national-party-see-no-nuclear-future-due-to-terrorism-risk/Keir Starmer slammed over staunch defence of nuclear weapons.The Scottish National Party support signing an international treaty banning nuclear weapons, post independence.In an Ontario town split over a nuclear dump site, the fallout is over how they’ll vote on the future. Ballooning costs and secret projects at Canada’s federal nuclear labs | POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.US Declines Israel’s Invitation To Start WW3 (For Now).There Is No Grudge That Cannot Be Resolved, China’s Xi Jinping Tells Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Momentous Beijing Meeting. The Mutually Reinforcing U.S. and Israeli Empires. The US and Japan’s Mission to Push Next Generation Nuclear Power . Former Australian PM Paul Keating on a craven acceptance of US strategic hegemony in Asia. |
| PUBLIC OPINION. Ukraine fatigue: Kiev and the West are tiring of war and each other | SAFETY. Zaporizhzhia: Russia claims Ukrainian drone hit dome of nuclear powerplant. Nuclear power plants in war zones: Lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. Attacks on Ukrainian nuclear facilities ‘must cease immediately’: UN atomic watchdog. UN nuclear watchdog’s board sets emergency meeting after Zaporizhzhia attacks. Ukraine: Briefing on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: The ‘Sum Of All Fears’. Towards an international regulatory framework for AI safety: lessons from the IAEA’s nuclear safety regulations. |
| SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Not enough war on the ground, the US is taking it to space. U.S. Space Command adopts multipronged approach to prepare for ‘a conflict that has never happened’. Rolls Royce taps funding for nuclear-powered space missions. | TECHNOLOGY. Getting bigger but not safer or cheaper – the myth of Rolls Royce and its very big non-modular reactor.U.S. nuclear industry upbeat on small reactors, despite setback. Death by Algorithm: Israel’s AI War in Gaza. | URANIUM. Production of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) threatens our environment, health, and safety. | WASTES. First Images Inside Fukushima’s Nuclear Reactor Show “Icicle-Like”Structures |
| WAR and CONFLICT. Amid Serious Iran-Israel Tension, The Nuclear Elephant Is In The Room. US, Philippines, Japan, and Australia Conduct First Joint Military Exercise in South China Sea. Brutal, chaotic war – norms, conventions and laws of conduct are being erased. Israel Prepares For Potential Strike On Iranian Nuclear Sites. Will Biden’s zero sum game approach to foreign conflict bumble US into regional/nuclear war in Europe and Middle East? The Longer it Takes the West to Accept that Ukraine is Losing, the Worse Things Will Get for Ukraine. | WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES.Civil and military nuclear mutuality.Increased activity at nuclear test site in northern Russia: expert. Patrick Lawrence: ‘Automated Murder’: Israel’s ‘AI’ in Gaza. ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza. Israel’s ‘Where’s Daddy?’ AI system helps target suspected Hamas militants when they’re at home with their families, report says. BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR BRITAIN’S WEAPONS EXPORTS. The Math on Ukraine Doesn’t Add Up Secret Agreements: The Australian-Israel Defence Memorandum of Understanding. |
TODAY.”Lavender” Where’s Daddy” -Sweet euphemisms for a dehumanized, grotesquely technologized future in “the Cloud”
It’s not really new. It has always been part of the playful little-boy mentality of the clever men who design weapons. Think of “Little Boy” – the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima, and the less fun-named “Fat Man” plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki.
Perhaps, for the servicemen actually dropping those bombs, the fun names might have helped to ease them in any anxiety about killing many thousands of civilians – children, women and men.
Well, no need for servicemen to worry like that nowadays. With Artificial Intelligence making the kill decisions, no human need feel any guilt.
So – why do they bother with the cute sweet names?
Well, apart from the little-boy mentality of the weapons designers, there is the very much more important reason – to deceive the public, to obfuscate, cover-up, veil, the horror of the new AI weaponry. And where better to hide things these days, than in the cloud?
I’ve written before about the cloud. It’s such a light, pretty, concept. Just wafting away into the never-never – nothing to worry about, nothing for mere mortals to try to understand. Leave it to the grown-up little boys to work out what to do with the cloud, and the new cute war toys too.
The cloud is, of course, an ever-increasing set of dirty great data “farms” (another cutesy word) around the world – large areas on land, not in the sky, with huge steel containers, with servers and computers guzzling electricity and water.
There is nothing vague about these things, except for the language used.
“Lavender” – an accurate name would be “Finder for Kill Victims “
“Where’s Daddy” – an accurate name would be “Tracker for Killing Location”
George Orwell would be delighted with this 21st Century obfuscating language. He warned us about vague and meaningless language intended to hide the truth rather than express it.
And – it’s not as if these automatic killing systems are just being perfected so that the evil Hamas can be defeated. There’s another purpose for using them in Gaza . They’re a practise run for trying out this merchandise – a lucrative industry for Israel for the future: –
“intelligent” weapons proven effective in Gaza were major attractions when Israel marketed them last month at the Singapore Airshow, East Asia’s biggest arms bazaar”.
This week – the less positive news about nuclear
Some bits of good news.
Global Life Expectancy Rises by 6.2 Years After Drop in Deaths from Stroke, Diarrhea, and Respiratory Infections Saving Migratory Fish, One Culvert at a Time.
TOP STORIES. Aukusing for War: The Real Target Is China .
The $97 billion mess – spent nuclear fuel reprocessing in Japan.
Xi Jinping’s Thoughts on China’s Nuclear Weapons.
America’s Nuclear War Plan in the 1960s Was Utter Madness. It Still Is.
Inside Sellafield behind the razor wire gun- toting guards and blast barriers at the toxic nuclear site – also at
Nuclear regulators should weigh climate change risk to power plants, report says.
Spent nuclear fuel mismanagement poses a major threat to the United States. Here’s how..
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Climate. Climate change requires kind of collective effort that British people made during Second World War . ‘Simply mind-boggling’: world record temperature jump in Antarctic raises fears of catastrophe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXwmCLqQESQ
Nuclear. I find it overwhelming – the enthusiasm of the world’s leaders for ever more deadly nuclear weaponry – in view of The day of nuclear Armageddon.
Noel’s notes. NATO – dancing macabrely to World War 3? Why I am really a CONSERVATIVE, and you should be, too. Ethics, intelligence, literature, and nuclear reprocessing.
NUCLEAR ISSUES.
| CLIMATE. Nuclear energy cannot lead the global energy transition. Portents of a nuclear war on a burning planet. Climate change and nuclear waste are a toxic stew. Nuclear Power Plants: NRC Should Take Actions to Fully Consider the Potential Effects of Climate Change. Nuclear regulator delinquent on climate. | ECONOMICS. Russia’s state-owned energy company Rosatom is drumming up new nuclear business in Africa. United Arab Emirates in talks to invest in European nuclear power infrastructure. The cost of Europe’s new nuclear power plants. |
ENERGY Fukushima City: 100 MW solar farm. China’s quiet energy revolution: the switch from nuclear to renewable energy.
ENVIRONMENT. Ecocide a ‘Critical Dimension of Israel’s Genocidal Campaign’ in Gaza: Probe. 3 B 1 Say no to small modular reactors: Stop normalizing the exploitation of nature. Radiation. Russia declares ‘state of emergency’ after radiation detected in eastern city of Khabarovsk
ETHICS and RELIGION. Holy See: ‘Nuclear deterrence is an illusion’.
EVENTS. 11 April WEBINAR Nuclear exploitation: how uranium mining harms communities. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iThP7xYKRVy6XxQ46hOwpA#/registration
| HEALTH. St. Louis-area residents make plea for compensation for illnesses tied to nuclear contamination. | LEGAL UK govt lawyers conclude Israel in breach of humanitarian law. Sprawling Sellafield Nuclear Waste Site Prosecuted for Cybersecurity Failings. Lawsuit challenges $1 billion in federal funding to sustain California’s last nuclear power plant. | MEDIA. An interview with Annie Jacobsen, author of ‘Nuclear War: A Scenario’. ‘Oppenheimer’ finally opens in Japan, the only nation to experience horror of nuclear war |
POLITICS. Australia’s Liberal National Coalition “in a panic” about response to confused and unpopular nuclear power plan. U.S. government extends key nuclear power subsidy by another 40 years.
Dennis Kucinich: the US engineered a coup to drag Ukraine into a conflict.
| POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. US Secretary of State Blinken says Ukraine will be NATO member. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddI8OJKTWxc Japan confirms experts met in China to ease concerns over discharge of treated radioactive water. The Case for Nuclear Diplomacy (doesn’t mention the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons!) | SAFETY. M6.0 earthquake hits coast of Japan’s Fukushima: Japan Meteorological Agency. EDF confirms cracks on 1.3 GW Paluel 2 reactor. TEPCO plans new installations at Fukushima nuclear plant, to deal with radioactive leakage. Mystery of America’s first fatal nuclear disaster – explosion of small nuclear reactor. Russia urges IAEA to publicly reveal Ukrainian attacks on nuclear plant. Ukrainian artillery cuts last backup power line to Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. |
SPINBUSTER. Jim Green demolishes Rolls Royce’s claims about so-called “small” and “cheap” nuclear reactors for Australia.
TECHNOLOGY. Nuclear energy is an ugly duckling in every possible respect: Too late, too costly, too toxic. Not content with nuclear wastes to the seas, the nuclear lobby now wants floating nuclear power – (for the environment! they say).
| WAR and CONFLICT. The day of nuclear Armageddon: Newly declassified documents reveal in macabre minute-by-minute detail what the end of the world would like. And why those vaporised instantly by an atomic bomb will be the lucky ones… The Looming Ukraine Debacle. Ukrainian counteroffensive ‘biggest debacle in modern military history’ – David Sacks. West helping Ukraine attack deep inside Russia – CNN. | WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. U.S. Nuclear Weapons Costs, Projections Continue to Rise. ‘Obscene’: Biden Quietly OKs More 2,000-Pound Bombs, Warplanes for Israel. Ukraine aid will bankrupt future US generations – congressman. |
TODAY. NATO/USA – dancing macabrely to World War 3?
The Danse Macabre consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning representatives from all walks of life to dance along to the grave, The effect is both frivolous and terrifying, beseeching its audience to react emotionally. – Wikipedia
I wonder did those lovely well-paid NATO representatives have a nice social time, too, in the Brussels Summit April 3 -4, surely a dinner, perhaps a dance? Well, they did, in a way, do a danse macabre, as they fell in like ninepins to the aims of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and of my favourite sweetly spoken war-monger, Antony Blinken. ( All except Hungary, but they don’t count, as they’re on speaking terms with Russia.)
The danse macabre idea derived from the Middle Ages – when mass deaths happened from famine and plague – it was perhaps some kind of coping mechanism – and a way to face up to the fears of what was coming.
NATO representatives dutifully discussed $107b Ukraine military aid package, a multi-year financial commitment for Ukraine, dutifully agreeing that everyone must do more to ensure a Ukrainian victory against Russia, and “rock solid” that Ukraine will join NATO. “Our purpose at the summit is to help build a bridge to that membership,” – Antony Blinken.
NATO/USA aims to draw in “Indo-Pacific partners” – Australia, NZ. South Korea ,Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan. NATO/USA sees a Ukrainian victory as a necessity for global peace and freedom. And I guess that a Taiwanese victory over China will be visualised in the same way.
Did anyone raise matters like the situation of Ukrainian casualties, the crippling of Ukraine’s environment, economy, and social structure, the Russian success on the ground, the perils of Ukraine striking sites far inside Russia? Apart from Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó , did anyone suggest a negotiated end to the Ukrainian bloodbath?
The Ukrainian people are overwhelmed with the sufferings of fighting Russia on behalf of NATO/USA. But to NATO/USA – is it some sort of game of Russian roulette – how far can they push Russia? And is it preparatory to another game of Taiwan fighting China? And is it fun to toy with the chance of World War 3 ?
TODAY. Why I am really a CONSERVATIVE, and you should be, too.
Years ago, when I was a member of the Australian Labor Party, I was shocked when someone accused me of being really a conservative at heart. Sacrilege! to a Leftie, to be given such an accusation!
Now I know that it is true.
Conservative – “holding traditional values.”
Conservation – “seeking the proper use of nature, a careful preservation and protection of natural resources to prevent exploitation, pollution, destruction, or neglect.”
It is fashionable, and of course, attention-grabbing in the media – to condemn things that are “old” and claim that “youth opinion” and “feelings” (rather than facts) are what matter , to downgrade our institutions of justice, and representative democracy that have served us well over time.
How is it that now there is worldwide acceptance of the idea that Donald Trump, and indeed the USA Republican Party, the Tories in Britain, and the Australian Liberal-National Coalition are CONSERVATIVES?
They are not conservative at all. They are out to wreck the natural environment, in the interests of a few rich corporations. They are out to wreck the social environment in spurning domestic courts and other legal institutions, like the International Court of Justice. They have attitudes of unfairness to non-white people, indigenous people, refugees, at times of suppression of women’s rights, especially, over their own bodies. This is not conservative. This is RADICAL – uprooting Christian values, and the natural world.
Admittedly, there was a time when the Western world held cruel “Christian” values, – like divine right of kings, slavery, racism, severe suppression of women’s rights, of religious and political rights…. Hanging on to those ideas was then conservatism.
But that’s a while back. In Western countries, values like Christian ideas of equal human rights, compassion and fairness, and also proper care of land, water, and animals – have been around for a long time now.
And that’s why we need to be conservatives There’s really no point in being left-wing or right-wing. No point in slavishly supporting your political party. A genuine conservativism is in looking beyond all the guff, and using those common sense traditional values. The political parties seem to get ever closer together, in the radical new doctrine of ever-increasing profit as the main purpose in life.
TODAY. Ethics, intelligence, literature, and nuclear reprocessing
What on Earth has literature got to do with nuclear power? Well, nothing, really, I suppose.
And yet…….
An article today, about nuclear reprocessing, brought to mind the dilemma for Shakespeare’s Macbeth as he continues on the path to his doom.
Macbeth decides to go on, though he knows it is hopeless:
“I am in blood
Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er“
He decides to just keep doing the same thing, rather than to stop, and think about alternatives:
” Strange things I have in head, that will to hand; Which must be acted ere they may be scann’d.”
“They have invested too much money in the program to give up on it halfway“
That’s the reason why the Japanese government will continue with this $97 billion massive white elephant of the Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant.
Even if the reprocessing plant is completed, it can treat only 800 tons of spent nuclear fuel annually at full capacity, compared with 19,250 tons of spent fuel stored nationwide.
Calls have grown over the years to abandon the nuclear fuel cycle project. – The Asahi Shimbun.
What has intelligence got to do with it? Well, meaning common sense, (rather than spying) – it would be intelligent to stop this futile project, and take some different actions, such as stopping making this toxic trash.
Finally – what has ethics got to do with this?
Well, everything. The Japanese government won’t face up to the truth. Neither will world leaders. It’s all too hard – leave it to our great-grandchildren to deal with the radioactive trash, and all the environmental, social, and weapons-and war-dangers of this noxious industry.
Nuclear news for the last week of March.
Some bits of good news. More Teens Than You Think Understand the Positive and Negative Aspects of Smartphones–Survey. India makes significant progress on malaria. Renewables blew gas away in the UK.
TOP STORIES
UK Court Gives Biden Chance to Dodge Assange Appeal by “Assuring” His Rights .
Spending Unlimited – The Pentagon’s Budget Follies Come at a High Price.
Air attacks on Ukraine have again put the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant(ZNPP), under Russian control, in danger. ALSO AT ………
Nuclear waste clean-up company to be prosecuted over alleged cyber blunders, lax security.
THE R.A.F’S NUCLEAR FLIGHTS OVER BRITAIN AND THE ATLANTIC.
Is Nuclear Fusion Really The Ultimate Solution to AI’s Crazy Power Use?
Climate. Oil company chief urges investment in fossil fuels, as world heats at a record pace. Antarctic sea ice ‘behaving strangely’ as Arctic reaches ‘below-average’ winter peak. Copernicus online portal offers a terrifying view of climate emergency.
Noel’s notes. Sellafield scandals – a case study in why the nuclear industry must be shut down. A world run by 11 year-old boys? The tiresome spin of the nuclear lobby in Australia.
******************************************************************
NUCLEAR ISSUES
ART and CULTURE. Decades of Dissent: Anti-Nuclear movement explored in LSE Library exhibition, London.
CIVIL LIBERTIES. The Empire Slowly Suffocates Assange Like It Slowly Suffocates All Its Enemies.
Arrested for peaceful protest against Israeli-owned military technology company.
ECONOMICS.
- UK’s ever more expensive nuclear submarines will torpedo spending plans for years to come.
- ‘Nuclear Dinosaurs’ Roam New Brunswick, Ontario as ‘Jurassic’ Partnership Looms.
- Nuclear energy everywhere costs an arm and a leg.
- EDF Names New Head of Nuclear Plant Projects Amid Cost Overruns.
- United Arab Emirates signals interest in European nuclear energy investments.
- Famous UK seaside town ‘decimated’ by £46bn nuclear power station and huge Pontins change.
| EDUCATION. Nuclear and weapons industry propaganda to schools. Missing Links in Textbook History: War | EMPLOYMENT. Sellafield’s head of information security to step down. | ETHICS and RELIGION. A Genocide Foretold. |
EVENTS. The First Annual Plutonium Trail Caravan is on Saturday April 6th – Join Us!
| LEGAL. Assange Extradition Delayed Unless US Provides ‘Assurances’ He Won’t Be Executed for Revealing the Truth. Chris Hedges: The Crucifixion of Julian Assange. Purgatorial Torments: Assange and the UK High Court. Now there are three court challenges against Ontario nuclear waste disposal facility. The Decision That Wasn’t A Decision. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) will prosecute Sellafield Ltd on charges of security offences. British nuclear site Sellafield to be prosecuted for cybersecurity failures. Court Allows Ageing Japanese Nuclear Plants to Continue Operations. | MEDIA. This is how nuclear war would begin – in terrifying detail. ‘My jaw dropped’: Annie Jacobsen on her scenario for nuclear war. Review: Annie Jacobsen’s ‘Nuclear War: A Scenario’ Will Make You Start Worrying And Hate The Bomb. The Rising Nuclear Threat: Readers respond to the “At the Brink” series of Opinion articles Einstein’s vision for peace. Oppenheimer: Monaghan man, Daniel A. McGovern, who captured nuclear devastation. |
| OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Scotland’s National Party attacks £200m extra for nuclear deterrent and industry. | POLITICS. Whaat! Romania’s state-owned Nuclearelectrica to partner with NuScale to build small nuclear reactors- U.S, government to give $1.52 billion loan guarantee to Holtec to resuscitate Palisades Nuclear Plant. IAEA Warns Of Iraq-Like Scenario For Iran Without Transparency Australian government seeks top quality PR team to persuade Aborigines that a nuclear waste dump is a good thing. |
| POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. New NATO member Finland admits US pact ‘restricts sovereignty’. Biden claims binding UN Security Council Gaza ceasefire resolution is ‘non-binding.’ | PUBLIC OPINION. Most Americans now disapprove of Israel’s military action in Gaza new poll reveals as tensions rise between allies. | SAFETY. Atomic blackmail – Russia-Ukraine war and Ramberg’s theory of vulnerability. NRC admits San Onofre Holtec nuclear waste canisters are all damaged. Special nuclear flights between the US and UK: the dangers involved. Security concerns as UAE Eyeing Investments in Europe’s Nuclear Energy Sector. |
| SECRETS and LIES. IAEA Unaware Of Secret Iranian Nuclear Site Targeted By Israel. | SPINBUSTER.ChatGPT’s boss claims nuclear fusion is the answer to AI’s soaring energy needs. Not so fast, experts say. Cancer “epidemic” in the Young as Radioactive Wastes are Increasingly Dispersed to the Environment meanwhile Nuclear given “green” status in Brussels.. | TECHNOLOGY. Weaponizing Reality: The Dawn of Neurowarfare. New nuclear reactor types will not solve waste and safety issues. |
| WASTES. UK nuclear watchdog takes Sellafield nuclear waste operator to court over alleged IT breaches. Experts from Japan and China held talks on treated radioactive wastewater. Decommissioning. How much will extra decades of nuclear decommissioning work at Dounreay cost? Dounreay decommissioning date ‘never achievable’ says Caithness councillor Also at https://nuclear-news.net/2024/04/01/1-b1-dounreay-decommissioning-date-never-achievable-says-caithness-councillor/. | WAR and CONFLICT. Putin says Russia will not attack NATO, but F-16s will be shot down in Ukraine. Atrocities. Israel Remains Intent on Genocide Despite World Court Orders. Michigan Republican congressman says Gaza should be destroyed with nuclear bomb ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima’, as he slams US for sending humanitarian aid. | WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES.Biden Is Quietly Funding Nuclear Weapons Upgrades That Could Imperil the Planet. The Nuclear Explosion That Makes US Aid to Israel Illegal. US secretly sending more bombs to Israel – Washington Post.. U.S., Germany Supplied 99% of Israel Weapons Import Despite Pressure: Data.France will help Brazil develop nuclear-powered submarines, Macron says.Nabbed Australian Protestors Stopping Military Shipment to Israel.UK to test new ‘Astraea’ nuclear warheads without detonation. |
TODAY. The nuclear lobby’s new “prime wheeze” – Community Interest Companies
The UK, famous for comedy, had a great character, Bertie Wooster, who kept thinking up wonderful (useless and silly) new ideas, that he called “Prime Wheezes”. In true Bertie Wooster tradition, the nuclear lobby does the same.
They usually go for “registered charities” – and there’s any number of these, that the industry creates, really nuclear front groups, that pose as genuinely working for the public good.
So why is the nuclear lobby now going for the non-profit Community Interest Companies (CICs)?
Some of the reasons:
- The nuclear industry can get approval and respectability, “piggy-back” on a lot of genuinely positive and popular businesses in an existing CIC.
- The CIC business model can incorporate a wider range of social aims than are allowed for charities. This is because the definition of community interest within the test applied to a CIC is broader than the Public Benefit Test for charities.
- easier to set up than is a charity..
- murkiness of funding – relatively easy from private donors, grants or community development finance
- can more easily buy and sell commercially.
- It is a lightweight structure, it is unencumbered by bureaucracy. It can be set up in a couple of days
- it is like a standard profit-making company then, but with social objectives supposedly built in.
- it avoids the accountability mechanisms that charities have, e.g a CIC can have just one director. It does have a (poorly funded) government regulator, Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies, but there appears to be no pro-active monitoring of whether CICs are operating for community benefit.
- Directors and functioning can change overtime, not encumbered by rules that ensure its social aims. The directors of a CIC can pay themselves whatever they can argue could reasonably be seen as necessary.
- any money in the organisation can very easily be siphoned out to profit-making enterprises.
- No legal requirement to have a democratic structure
In Somerset UK, where there is community anxiety about the development of Hinkley Point C nuclear station, and its effect on the environment – what better prime wheeze for the nuclear lobby, than to join an existing reputable Community Interest Company?
Hinkley Point C, has teamed up with the CIC Passion for Somerset. as a principal partner.
TODAY. Sellafield scandals – a case study in why the nuclear industry must be shut down.
If you had any illusions about the nuclear industry being “clean” and “safe” and “honest”, the latest bit of news in the tawdry saga of UK’s Sellafield nuclear waste dump might cause you to stop and think.
It doesn’t seem that much – “prosecution for alleged cybersecurity offences” and “no suggestion that public safety has been compromised”.
But if you bother to do your homework on this sprawling rubbish dump, the world’s most complex nuclear site, with the world’s largest stockpile of plutonium – you will find a litany of alarming nuclear stories:
- Sellafield: ‘bottomless pit of hell, money and despair’ at Europe’s most toxic nuclear site
- secrecy valued more than public safety.
- Cracks in ponds holding highly radioactive fuel rods. wastes pumped into the seas. Irish Sea contaminated with plutonium.
- US, Norway and Ireland anxious over risk of a devastating accident.
- sudden changes in security leadership.
- Office for Budget Responsibility – site poses a “material source of fiscal risk” to the country.
- a toxic workplace culture.
- site hacked by groups linked to Russia and China. Dishonesty:
- British authorities knew it was wrong to proceed with the thermal oxide reprocessing plant (Thorp) at Sellafield.
And what does the world nuclear authority, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have to say about all this? –
“World nuclear chief praises Sellafield progress”
Wake up world!
I’m sorry to have to say this, – but you can’t depend on the world leaders and the nuclear authorities to tell you the truth about this ghastly industry. So many depend on it for their livelihood, for their local economy – etc etc. But the truth must be told.
The political and business leaders are waiting till after their retirement – hoping that the shit won’t hit the fan while they might cop the blame. Like the security bosses at Sellafield, they might have to get out in time. I wonder how long Rafael Grossi can last, can keep up the pretense.
Sellafield is arguably the worst case of nuclear danger and corruption. But then there are the horrors of the Russian nuclear industry, including City 40. Then there’s Japan, with its eternal Fukushima calamity, and its many nuclear reactors close to earthquake zones.
It’s really only thanks to Anna Isaac and Alex Lawson, of the Guardian, that we get to find out about Sellafield.
And to others, like Kate Brown. revealing the reality of the nuclear waste-plutonium disaster endangering the planet
And I wonder, as the USA prepares to lock up Julian Assange forever, how long will the powerful allow these intrepid writers to spill the beans on nuclear scandals?
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