nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

TODAY. Nuclear weasel words, for example “challenge” when it’s really a “ghastly insoluble problem.”

“Challenge” pops up quite often these days. It’s the one to use instead of a more accurate one like “a worry” “a problem” “an awful dangerous situation”

“Challenge” is a good word to use – it’s calming, becalming – carries that comfortable notion that everything is OK, really. Soon to be solved. No need to think about it any more.

So – no surprise that the nuclear industry uses it – a lot.

Today’s weasel word “challenge” popped up in an article “The Navy Finally Figured Out How to Scrap the First-Ever Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier: USS”

Sounds alright — except that they didn’t really figure it out “finally”. The nuclear fuel, and the used reactor, and the hull, will be radioactive for many thousands of years. And after the author outlines the hugely expensive and dangerous process of scrapping it all, there will be many more deadly dangerous nuclear carriers to be scrapped.

This is described as facing “challenges”.

But it’s not just a challenge. It really is another insoluble danger. They don’t know what to do with the used fuel. The Hanford graveyard pictured above is going to remain permanently dangerous.

This is so typical of this noxious industry, run by men who have no concern for the harmful results of their clever gimmicks, and no concern for the future’s people who will inherit this horrible waste problem.

So – theyr’e making a new fleet of nuclear aircraft carriers, – and not worrying about things like safety, health dangers, weapons proliferation………….. they’re just challenges to be overcome, for sure. No worries.

November 28, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Mercifully shorter nuclear news this week

This news roundup has become too long. I am going to try to limit the headlines about the Israeli and Ukraine wars, as not being actually “nuclear” news. That’s harder than you might think, as in each case we are brought closer to the brink of nuclear wars. (Those excluded items will still appear on nuclear-news.net. 

*********************************

Some bits of good news.   Blue whales have returned to a region of the Indian Ocean, where they were wiped out by commercial whalers.    Millionaires implored the UK government to tax them.

Some Good News About Climate: Costs for renewables have plummeted and growth is exceeding expectations

************************

TOP STORIES. A new Palestinian state could never be free as long as its neighbor, Israel, possesses nuclear weapons.     

What Would It Mean to ‘Absorb’ a Nuclear Attack?- nuclear missile silos as a “sponge”. 

The Shape of Nuclear Abolition. 

Soaring death rates raise concerns about Portsmouth nuclear plant .

Climate. COP28 must stick to 1.5°C target to save ice sheets, urge scientists. The great carbon divide: On the trail of the super-polluters.

Christina notes. The international political system of nuclear bullying must change, or it will kill us all. Rafael Grossi’s and the IAEA’s breath-taking hypocrisy , as the nuclear lobby revs up for COP 28.

***********************

CLIMATE. For climate summit the desperate nuclear lobby will pretend that nuclear fusion is a real solution . Energy and Climate Scenarios Paradoxically Assume Considerable Nuclear Energy Growth.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. First Tel Aviv Anti-War Demonstration Reveals the Limits on Protest in Today’s Israel.

ECONOMICS. 

ENVIRONMENT. Oceans. Japan’s Fukushima plant completes third water release.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES. The Members of This Reservation Learned They Live with Nuclear Weapons. Can Their Reality Ever Be the Same?

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) : Failed U.S. Nuclear Project Raises Cost Concerns for Canadian SMR Development .      Small nuclear reactors are NOT emissions-free.       Military revokes planned contract for small nuclear reactor plant at Eielson AFB.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . South Texans are publicly fighting SpaceX after second Starship launch.

POLITICS. New Brunswick Premier Higgs says Canada’s federal government should give funding for small nuclear reactor projects.            Malaysian Govt urged to halt Australian company Lynas’ thorium extraction plan.            Revealed: Biden’s ‘nuclear football’ contains BOOK that tells president how to launch attack by contacting ‘Looking Glass’ plane and spherical bunker where four keys ignite missiles

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

SAFETY. Incidents. Nuclear submarine scare for 140 British crew due to ‘faulty’ gauge. Hacktivists breach U.S. nuclear research lab, steal employee data. K-219: Russia’s Worst Submarine Ever (And a Nuclear Disaster)?

SECRETS and LIES. Possibly irradiated items stolen at site 3 km from Fukushima plant.

WASTES. The Deeper Dig: A plan for what’s left of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Decommissioning: Nuclear Power: UK’s Financial Challenge Unveiled. Tories, Labour clash over Milton Keynes nuclear waste claims. A Photographer Goes Inside the Ruins of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.    

WAR and CONFLICT. Israel expands Gaza operation amid hostage deal talks.  Gaza Massacre could lead to Nuclear War. 

   We’re long past nuclear deterrence: Bring on mutually assured prevention.     Disarmament Grows More Distant as US Plans Another “Upgrade” to Nuclear Bomb.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Why is the US ramping up production of plutonium ‘pits’ for nuclear weapons? 

What do we know about Israel’s nuclear weapons? Nuclear tinderbox’: Kim’s threats put North Korea on wrong side of history. South Korea does not need nuclear subs. Beyond Current Chaos: The Escalating Risks of Nuclear War.

November 27, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. The international political system of nuclear bullying must change, or it will kill us all

The normalisation of mass killing of civilians really got underway in February 1945, with the fire-bombing of Dresden. This normalisation was re-authorised in August 1945 with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Mass killing can be done in other ways – “normal” bombing, starvation, … and behind all that, the threat that nuclear weapons can be used if the victims resist.

Ray Acheson has beautifully explained this. So – we all live under that threat – at any time a so-called political leader might decide to use nuclear weapons.

So we live under the “international rules-based order” – which is backed up by this nuclear threat.

*******************************************

It all doesn’t make sense.

Not only do we have to accept that it’s OK for our side to massacre civilians of the other side. We’re also agreeing to the massacre of our own civilians, because the USA has set up numerous missile bases as targets ,so that some of them will attract the nuclear bombing by the enemy. That’s supposed to “dilute” the power of the enemy’s nuclear attack across the nation.

That’s just one bit of the craziness of an international relationship system that is based on nuclear bullying.

********************************

Further insanity, illogic of the system – Ray Acheson quotes Martin Amis:

What is the only provocation that could bring about the use of nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons. What is the priority target for nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons. What is the only established defence against nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons. How do we prevent the use of nuclear weapons? By threatening to use nuclear weapons. And we can’t get rid of nuclear weapons, because of nuclear weapons.

They call it “deterrence”, but as Acheson points out – the possession of nuclear weapons does not deter war and violence. In fact it enables war. The nation possessing nuclear weapons (and there are more of such nations now) can intimidate others – cower them into not standing up to aggression and war crimes.

*****************************

Not to be forgotten in our consumer society, with its gospel of eternal growth, and profit as the most virtuous goal – the success of the nuclear business. Financial investments in nuclear weapons provide profits for weapons manufacturers that also build conventional bombs, missiles, guns, fighter jets, and other technologies of war.

********************************

Can the world change from this madness?

Surely so. Let’s remember the conclusion of Anne Frank, 13 year old victim of the Nazi death chambers- “I still believe that people are really good at heart “

The Second Meeting of States Parties (2MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will take place from 27 November to 1 December 2023 at UN Headquarters in New York City.

November 25, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. Nuclear lobby busting to control COP 28 – now their stooge John Kerry is touting the fantasy of nuclear fusion

Yeah yeah – we all know that nuclear fusion is theoretically “carbon-emissions-free”

Great! BUT:

Time. “The reality is that fusion energy will not be viable at scale anytime within the next decade, a time frame over which carbon emissions must be reduced by 50% to avoid catastrophic warming of more than 1.5°C,”  – climate expert Michael Mann

 Energy. Nuclear fusion requires 100 times more energy to charge than the energy it ends up producing.

Cost. Requires highly expensive tritium and lithium.

Space. Current efforts have taken up a huge area – how much space would be needed to do fusion on a commercial scale? 

Wastes. tritium is the radioactive form of hydrogen. Its little isotopes are great at permeating metals and finding ways to escape tight enclosures. Obviously, this will pose a significant problem for those who want to continuously breed tritium in a fusion reactor.

Weapons connection. Since first tried out in that monstrous Marshall Islands explosion, fusion has been intended as a tool of war. the American government is interested not in using fusion technology to power the energy grid, but in using it to further strengthen this country’s already massive arsenal of atomic weapons.

November 21, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear news- week to 20th November

  Some bits of good news.   Dominica Creates World’s First Sperm Whale Reserve–for the 200 That Call the Island Home .       Wave-Powered Desalination System Produces 13,000 Gallons of Drinking Water a Day From Each Buoy.    China’s CO2 emissions are forecast to start shrinking next year, with fossil fuel use predicted to head into an era of structural decline, along with surging investment in solar in the country.

************************************************************

TOP STORIES. *‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 37: Al-Shifa Hospital No Longer Functioning as Israeli Ground Troops Surround the Hospital. 

*Zelensky Headed For DISASTER, Ukraine’s FAILED Counteroffensive COVERED UP: David Sacks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaJCUDOE6UA. 

*Who Would Take the Brunt of an Attack on U.S. Nuclear Missile Silos? 

*US, UK to Push Pledge to Triple Nuclear Power by 2050 at COP28. 

*The End of DOE’s Flagship Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMR) — A Cautionary Tale.

***********************

Climate. 1.5C Limit ‘Only Option’ For Saving Earth’s Ice And Snow. Is the world warming faster than expected?.

Christina notes. The onslaught formally begins. The ruthless, morally bankrupt nuclear lobby moves to take over the COP 28 climate summit. Nuclear lobby targets young women, in the leadup to their propaganda blitz at COP 28.

AUSTRALIA. Whistleblower David McBride – his Trial Tests Australian Justice. A Duty to Obey: David McBride, Whistleblowing and Following Orders. The Militarised University: Where Secrecy Goes to Thrive. 

AUKUS Submarine Revelations Compel a Rethink. $31m fines, 25 years jail for nuclear submarine safety breaches. 

Barngarla traditional owners win national conservation award for successful radioactive waste campaign news on radioactive waste.

*********************************************

ART and CULTURE. Art Exhibition inspired by concerns over Sizewell C nuclear plan.

CLIMATE. Frozen fallout: radioactive dust from accidents and weapons testing accumulates on glaciers.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. UK gov’t departments compiling ‘secret files’ on its critics to prevent them speaking at official events.

ECONOMICS.   

EDUCATION. Over 1,200 ‘Educators for Palestine’ Sign Open Letter Demanding Ceasefire. UK nuclear lobby brainwashing young students, especially women.

EMPLOYMENT. Are staff shortages at Sellafield nuclear power plant affecting safety at the site?

ENERGY. Chernobyl, site of world’s worst nuclear disaster, could soon be home to an exciting new project: ‘Tolerable exposure levels for limited periods of time’.

ENVIRONMENT. Frozen fallout: radioactive dust from accidents and weapons testing accumulates on glaciers.         Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant starts 3rd round of wastewater release, potentially impacting seafood quality in U.S.

ETHICS and RELIGION. Wars end in defeat for everyone: A reflection on Gaza. What a Catholic peace studies expert thinks is the way out of war in Gaza.    Birthplace of Jesus dismantling all Christmas decorations ‘in solidarity with our people in Gaza’.     ‘Burn Gaza now’ – top Israeli MP.

HEALTH. Exposure to CT Radiation and Risk of Blood Cancers in Young Patients.

HISTORY. The U.S. Army tried to build a secret military nuclear city under Greenland’s ice.

LEGAL. CND mounts legal challenge against US nuclear weapons storage at RAF Lakenheath.

MEDIA. Israelis Keep Hurting Their Own Public Relations Interests By Talking. How a hasbara group’s sham investigation put Gaza journalists in the firing line. Smearing Photojournalists as Hamas Collaborators – Gets Them Added to a Hit List.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. UK small #nuclear competition: Rolls Royce in, Bill Gates snubbed. U.S. military quietly revokes planned contract for small nuclear plant at Alaska Air Force base.        Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission queried on proposal for untested small nuclear reactors in Ontario. Why the Godfather of A.I.  Fears What He’s Built.             Finland’s OL3 nuclear reactor suffers unexpected outage.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Council urged to review plans that could lead to UK hosting US nuclear bombs.

POLITICS. 

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

PUBLIC OPINION. Poll: Majority of Americans Support a Ceasefire in Gaza.

SAFETY.

SECRETS and LIES. Deadly alliance: Why has the CIA decided to allow US media to confirm its involvement in Ukraine’s brutal assassination campaign?               Don’t be fooled. Biden is fully signed up to genocide in Gaza. Biden and Israel Refuse to Provide Proof of Hamas Base at Gaza Hospital. Biden Admin Justifies Israel’s Assault on Gaza Hospitals With Recycled Israeli ‘Intelligence’. Lies Surrounding Al-Shifa Hospital Recall Those Preceding the Iraq Invasion.

WASTES. Decommissioning. Uncharted waters: Navy navigating first-ever dismantling of nuclear-powered carrier. UK Has £10 Billion Per Nuclear Reactor Decommissioning Bottomless Pit.

WAR and CONFLICT. Israel demolishes Gaza parliament (VIDEO). Netanyahu Says Israel ‘Not Successful’ in Minimizing Civilian Casualties in Gaza. Amnesty International Calls Israel’s War on Gaza a ‘Graveyard of Children’. ‘This Is Not a War, but a Mass Murder Tragedy,’ Says Charles Freeman, Former US Assistant Secretary of Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRb4QhZi2MA&t=860s Mainstream 

Narrative On Ukraine-Russia War CRUMBLING, Conflict Is Unwinnable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S8Kaq0POOs .        Zelensky comments on ‘frozen conflict’ prospects.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. The U.S.’s Plans to Modernize Nuclear Weapons Are Dangerous and Unnecessary. The Latest Nuclear Boondoggle? The Missiles on Our Land: New Research Reveals Growing Risks of America’s Land-Based Nuclear Missiles. Behind the Scenes at a U.S. Factory Building New Nuclear Bombs. 

Nuclear weapons sharing, 2023. Armed With B61-12 Nuclear Bombs, Dutch F-35A Fighters Get Close To Nuke Strike Mission.         Israel’s Nuclear Weapons in the Spotlight. US Is Quietly Sending Israel More Ammunition, Missiles. EU’s Ukraine weapons goal ‘unattainable’ – Germany .

November 20, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. Nuclear lobby targets young women, in the leadup to their propaganda blitz at COP 28

Women are more concerned about global heating than men are. They also often face higher risks and greater burdens from the impacts of climate change in situations of poverty and due to existing roles, responsibilities and cultural norms. 

Happily for the completely amoral nuclear lobby, this suits them very well. Already this year, they were targeting young women anyway – as part of their campaign “for the cool young people, not the fuddy duddy old nuclear sceptics“

Apart from their rather wacky publicists like Zion Lights, the nuke lobby has a few female champions to tote their toxic wares. There’s Kamala Harris, pushing nuclear to the Philippines, and the individual women being promoted to high office in nuclear industries.

 The Nuclear Energy Agency’s report this year focussed on women, with its top recommendation:

“Attract women into the sector through public communications campaigns, enhancing the educational pipeline“

Of course, the nuke lobby is a huge fan of STEM education (Science Technology, Engineering and Maths) And, don’t get me wrong – girls definitely do need STEM education.

But they also need the humanities education – now downgraded in the current educational unbalanced glorification of the “hard science”

As for the “softer” sciences – biology, ecology …. the worrying thing is that for women, ionising radiation is more harmful than it is for men. A woman’s risk of cancer, especially breast cancer is a real hazard. And the risk to a pregnant woman is great, too, for damage to the foetus.

November 18, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

TODAY. The onslaught formally begins: the ruthless, morally bankrupt nuclear lobby moves to take over the COP 28 Climate Summit

Never mind that the nuclear fuel chain emits greenhouse gases at every stage (including a minimal output from the actual reactor).

Never mind that nuclear power is itself very vulnerable to climate change – quite the opposite thing to nuclear being a fix for climate change,

As if they care about the facts, about the truth!

The nuclear industry lives on for really just one reason – the same reason for which it was started – it is essential for the nuclear weapons industry. Where it’s not directly applied to weapons-making – it still provides the “respectability” – and the training, expertise, technical developments, that provide a benign cover for its real purpose,

The current hype about nuclear as a cure for climate change is just a brilliant stroke of dishonest opportunism.

You’ve got to hand it to these well-funded lobbies, and their army of dishonest Stink Tanks, and servile media. Like their despicable mates, the fossil fuel lobbies – they’ ll be there in style sabotaging the COP 28, hypocritically flaunting their crooked wares. Not a shred of honesty. Not a shred of integrity. No shame about their crooked agenda.

November 16, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear news (still too long) this week

  Some bits of good news  –   An Indigenous-led effort in Canada offers a hopeful alternative to traditional conservation practices. Kauai, Hawaii rapidly transitioned to greener energy by shifting from a for-profit utility to a locally owned cooperative.        Portugal made great strides in renewable energy.   

TOP STORIES.        Classified! The secret radiation files. 

‘We’re a War Machine as a Nation’: The Truth About American Politics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTP-W9VoFKA US Says It’s Powerless To Stop The Genocide That It Is Directly Funding And Supplying. Israel Wages War Against Gaza’s Remaining Hospitals. 

‘Buying influence’: top US nuclear board advisers are tied to arms business. 

NuScale Power, UAMPS agree to terminate small modular nuclear reactor project.         Failed U.S. Nuclear Project Raises Cost Concerns for Canadian Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Development.  Small Nuclear Reactor Contract Fails, Signaling Larger Issues with Nuclear Energy Development in U.S.Climate. THE CRISIS IN OUR OCEANS THREATENS ALL LIFE AS WE KNOW IT – INCLUDING OUR OWN.

Nuclear. Industry in crisis as NuScale’s small nuclear reactor fails.

Christina notes. “Suspicious website” -Hooray -I have earned this award. The absurdity, and the sinister situation, surrounding small nuclear reactors (SMRs).

*********************************************

 CLIMATE. Is Nuclear Energy Really the Solution for a Greener Future? Investing in nuclear energy is bad for the climate, NGOs say.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. Detained Under UK Terrorism Law, Whistleblower Says Police Questioned His Support for Assange.         ‘Israel targets journalists intentionally’: Gaza reporters share their stories with RT.          Alison McDermott’s Courageous Whistleblower Journey at Sellafield Nuclear Site https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsIxR5gVFnQ

ECONOMICS. NuScale shares plunge as it cancels flagship small nuclear reactor project. The First Small-Scale Nuclear Plant in the US Died Before It Could Live. Deal to build pint-size nuclear reactors canceled, ‘avoiding a giant financial debacle.’ Uncertainties in estimating production costs of future nuclear technologies: A model-based analysis of small modular reactors.            No American money left for Ukraine – USAID.

EDUCATION. Nuclear lobby and NASA propagandising to schoolkids.

EMPLOYMENT. Accident proves Japan’s toxic water plan dubious.

ENERGY. Portugal made great strides in renewable energy.

ENVIRONMENT. Oceans. Pacific island nations express concern over Fukushima water release.

ETHICS and RELIGION. Chris Hedges: The Horror, The Horror. Getting Called A Nazi For Opposing A Genocide.

LEGAL. Court of Appeal: Together Against Sizewell v Sec of State for Energy Security. Anti-Nuclear Activist Goes on Trial Amid the Fallout of Oppenheimer’s Legacy.

MEDIA. Propaganda Blitz: How Mainstream Media Is Pushing Fake Palestine Stories. ‘Movement Media Has Really Emerged in Its Own Right’. ABC journalists criticise broadcaster’s coverage of Gaza invasion – not allowed to use the word “Palestine“.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. UK small nuclear competition: Rolls Royce in, Bill Gates snubbed.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . 20 years after campaign began, the fight to ban deadly depleted uranium weapons goes on.

POLITICS. 

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

  

PROTESTS. 300,000 March in Washington, D.C. for Palestine.

SAFETY. Disputes over safety, cost, swirl a year after California OK’d plan to keep last nuke plant running. Accidents/Incidents. Top 9 Worst Nuclear Disasters of All Time

SECRETS and LIES. Wikileaks cable: Israeli intelligence chief encouraged Hamas takeover of Gaza Strip.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Book Review: Are We Ready to Head to Mars? Not So Fast. At SpaceX, worker injuries soar in Elon Musk’s rush to Mars. U.S. Space Force and the dangerous clutter of human-produced stuff in space. US military gives Lockheed Martin $33.7 million to develop nuclear spacecraft.

SPINBUSTER. Nuclear energy is not ‘clean’ or ‘green’ in the European Union’s taxonomy.

WASTES. Russia raises alarm about nuclear waste storage in Ukraine reaching unsafe levels.

WAR and CONFLICT . No possibility of Gaza ceasefire – Biden. ‘Can You Hear the Screams?’     Physician Says Western Leaders Complicit in Israeli Attacks on Gaza Hospitals.          ‘We Are Being Killed Here, Please Do Something’: Nurses and Doctors Plead for Gaza Cease-Fire.                                                    Iran warning: Israel provoking ‘inevitable expansion’ of war after IDF conducts flag-raising ceremony in Gaza .     The moniker ‘Genocide Joe’ beginning to fit President Biden. Biden’s Pathetic Response to Israel’s Bombing of Gaza (w/ Chris Hedges). Biden Could End All This With One Phone Call.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is finished – governor. 

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

November 14, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. The absurdity, and the sinister situation, surrounding small nuclear reactors (SMRs)

Absurdity. In one fell swoop, the American commercial dream of a booming future for small nuclear reactors has just been blown out of the water.

NuScale’s much hyped contract with the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) for small modular nuclear reactors has suddenly ended, because of rising costs.

This project was the poster boy for the future of the whole nuclear energy industry world-wide. Governments and media slavishly promoted NuScale’s publicity handouts, It’s been as if the whole world swallowed the story that small nuclear reactors are the solution to global energy needs and to the climate crisis

The NuScale project was the first commercialisation of SMRs, was due for $billions in tax credits. Lawyers are now investigating NuScale on behalf of investors over “possible violations of federal securities laws.”  It looks like “it’s over, red rover” for commercial nuclear power.

Sinister side

Sinister side. The real usefulness of SMRs has always been military. But the rage for commercial SMRs has been a fine cover for its weapons industry use. Governments could happily subsidise this peaceful private industry, subsidise universities for nuclear training , courses, convince enthusiastic young students to go for this “public benefit” “climate action” type profession.

The other sinister thing is – what happens from now on? The blanket mainstream government and media endorsement of small nuclear reactors to fight climate change has been a big bet on getting private investment to pay for it all.

Are we now going to see a blanket government and media endorsement of a tax-payer funded small nuclear reactor industry?

Today, the corporate media is still awash with articles promoting SMRs. But from now on, they’ll have to work harder, and much more deceptively to get that pearl of great price – public acceptance .

November 11, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. “Suspicious website” -Hooray -I have earned this award.

I’m pretty chuffed to have at last been included in this elite honoured group.

At least Google now has recognised my status. When I send an email, with a link to my Substack website, Google has kindly coloured it red, with the announcement that it is a SUSPICIOUS WEBSITE.

Little me! Up in the echelons of Chris Hedges and Caitlin Johnstone – the highly honoured few who dare to tell the truth, or even make fun of the mighty!

While we’re on about this, I have to acknowledge that some websites surely deserve this award from our corporate masters. For example Scheerpost does a great job in busting corporate propaganda.

I couldn’t resist pinching this one, today from https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/08/shooting-gallery/

There are so many truth-tellers: their message is not acceptable in the “mainstream” media – but they are out there – still fighting the good fight. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #Israel #Palestine

November 9, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear (and other) news this week

Some bits of good news:  Abandoned Ohio Golf Course Being Rewilded into Public Land with Native Fish and Wildlife Returning.  There was an ‘outbreak of common sense’ in England.    A teen started an ambitious coral reef restoration project that’s planted more than 50,000 corals in French Polynesia and Fiji.   The world has made substantial progress in increasing basic levels of education.

TOP STORIES. The Invisible Slaughter of Palestinian Children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBmM5fvQWE8     Leaked: Israeli plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza. Israel in Search of Its Hiroshima: Massive Bomb Wipes Out 20 Apt. Buildings, Kills, Wounds 400 Civilians. 

Book review of “Too Hot to Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste”.

Climate. Deep divisions could hamper progress at the UN’s crucial COP28 climate summit. Future of fossil fuels leaves nations at odds ahead of UN climate summit. We can now stay under 1.5°C target only if we achieve net zero by 2034

Nuclear -sort of off the radar at the moment, though the Middle East could soon be on the brink.  But -nuclear power – no connection with weapons?   As the media hypes up small nuclear reactors.

Christina Notes. Let’s just bust all those comfortable Panglossian lies and stupidities.  The Atlas Network and its toxic messages to the Stink Tanks.   (Wow – at last my site is now labelled “suspicious”)

**************************************

ARTS and CULTURE. As The Lights Go Out In Gaza.

CLIMATE. Storm Ciarán: Hinkley Point C workers transported off site.Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament : Nuclear war, conventional war and climate change are linked.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. UK poised to brand dissent as ‘extremism’ .

ECONOMICS. 

ENERGY. Nuclear plays minor role in IEA World Energy Outlook 2023.          Environmental Advocates fear New Hampshire “clean” nuclear energy proposal would pit nuclear against solar, wind.        Solar panel advances will see millions go off grid, scientists predict.

ENVIRONMENT. Ocean. China calls for a long-term international monitoring mechanism for Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater . Dounreay: New two radioactive particles found at Sandside beach.

ETHICS and RELIGION. The Moral Complexities Of Bombing A Concentration Camp Full Of Children.

LEGAL. 1,500+ Israelis Urge International Criminal Court Action on ‘War Crimes and Genocide’ in Gaza. Together Against Sizewell C wait on outcome of battle with government over new nuclear power plant. Sizewell C campaigners wait for ruling on latest court fight over nuclear plant. Court of Appeal hearing into Sizewell C set to begin. Sizewell C nuclear plant project disputed at Court of Appeal.

MEDIA. Media Manufactures Consent for Gaza Genocide. When the Journalists are Gone, the Stories Will Disappear.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Bad guys and bombs: The nuclear risks of small modular reactors.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Nuclear Ban Treaty Members to Meet in November.

PERSONAL STORIES ‘Nobody Believes in Our Victory Like I Do.’ Inside Volodymyr Zelensky’s Struggle to Keep Ukraine in the Fight. The cost of America’s nuclear arsenal: Taking care of our atomic veterans.

POLITICS. 

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. U.S., European officials broach topic of peace negotiations with Ukraine. EU may become complicit in ‘genocide’ – Spanish official. China agrees to nuclear arms-control talks with US -WSJ. Macron pursues nuclear deals in Russia’s back yard. A small victory for nuclear justice. And international cooperation.

PROTESTS. Worldwide protests against Israel’s ethnic cleansing in Palestine.

SAFETY. Nuclear plant problems have happened across the planet, and aging facilities across USA still pose a major threat. How well protected are Ukraine’s nuclear power plants? 3-day evacuation drill at Niigata nuclear plant called ‘useless’. Two more Japanese nuclear reactors granted 20-year extensions. Switzerland continues its nuclear safety awareness with iodine pills distributed to the population .

SECRETS and LIES. Biden Wants Arms Deals With Israel to Be Done in Complete Secrecy. Chris Hedges: Israel’s Final Solution for the Palestinians.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Number of planned low-orbit satellites NOW EXCEEDS ONE MILLION.

SPINBUSTER. There’s Only So Much Propaganda Spin You Can Put On The Murder Of Thousands Of Children.

WASTES. Nuclear Waste Management market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 1.4% by 2034: Visiongain. Deb Katz: There’s no end in sight to the crisis in nuclear waste. Decommissioning: Magnox rebrands to Nuclear Restoration Services as its decommissioning portfolio expands. 300 scientists call for finding safe site to store nuclear waste.

WAR and CONFLICT. Israel Rejects US-Proposed Temporary Halt to Fighting.  Netanyahu Rejects Calls for Ceasefire as Gaza Death Toll Surpasses 8,300.       A Dangerous Conflation -an open letter from Jewish writers. Rights group: Israel dropped equivalent to 2 nuclear bombs on Gaza.       Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 29: Israel Hits Hospitals, Ambulances, and Schools Across Gaza.      Israeli minister Amichai Eliyahu says nuclear attack on Gaza is ‘an option‘.      NewsReal: Ukraine War Ends, Mid-East War Begins? Why America is Shifting Gears.  Targeting Gaza From US Spy Hub in Australia. 

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

November 7, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. The Atlas Network and its toxic messages to the Stink Tanks

Who are the the Stink Tanks?

Posing as impartial advisers, these “Think Tanks” provide reports and articles designed to direct governments, and educational and other social organisations, towards policies that improve the profits of big corporations, and remove barriers to their profits, The barriers would be regulations, especially those involved with protecting the environment, and the rights of indigenous people.

How does the Atlas Network operate to spread these messages?

Apart from some funding, and training support, the real focus of the Atlas Network is on LANGUAGE –teaching the stink tanks how to use words to manipulate thinking. George Orwell alerted the world to the way in which fascism uses language, and wrote of Newspeak. Now the Atlas Network perfects the method – repetitively using vague and deceptive words to convey a lying message that is aimed at molding public opinion.

Sometimes these words are straightout lies: sometimes just vague words in which the meaning is distorted. The word “Elite” is a good example – now used to discredit scientists and other experts, so that the public comes to distrust them, and to rubbish their opinions, and their reports, particularly about regulations to protect the environment and indigenous rights.

FEAR is indeed the currency of the Atlas Network. Fear and distrust of regulations, of officers and organisations involved in human rights and environmental protection. So these stink tanks work to weaken laws, and discredit agencies of human support – such as the United Nations.

Side by side with those messages of fear, come the lying messages of reassurance – for example the story that global heating is not happening, or, if it is, it has nothing to do with human activities, -greenhouse gas emissions. So we don’t need to worry, or to do anything to stop these emissions. So we are reassured that nuclear power is “clean “green” “safe” “cheap” “nothing to do with weapons” .

What is the motive of the Atlas Network?

Are they evil? Wanting to harm people? Hating the environment?

NO – it’s just one simple thing – company profits. Freedom – defined as – Nothing should impede corporate profits.

This month we shall no doubt see some wonderful activity by the hundreds of stink tanks affiliated with the Atlas Network, leading up to, and beyond, the COP 28 Climate Summit, as they parrot out soothing messages about how all is well, in control, we don’t need to act on climate change.

And who funds the Atlas Network?

 Fossil fuel companies and tobacco firms. Atlas has received funding from Koch Family Foundations,  the Bradley Foundation. DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund. The Atlas Network receives much of its funding from libertarian and right-wing organizations and individuals

What can we do about this?

Well, I don’t know – but at least we can be alert to their language – alert to those repetitive, misleading words:

There are the “hooray” words – “justice”, “life”, “freedom” and those “positives” – “clean” “green” etc.

There are the “negatives” -“Hitler, “taxes” – and words used negatively “elites” “bureaucrat”, “government official” and “public servant “.

And as well, there are vague, really, almost meaningless words – that waffle, weaken, and obscure the argument- “may” “can” “could” “might” , “arguably”.

November 5, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

TODAY. Colonial extermination- Israel the modern exponent of the old European game

Indigenous people were “savages”, “animals” then. They were “fair game” then, – but now the world is watching.

British massacre of Indians, Punjab 1919

The game was played with gusto, from the 15th Century through to the 20th Century. The Portuguese got it going, then any self-respecting European nation invaded other lands, plundered resources, exterminated indigenous peoples, and toted righteousness, culture and religion as their justification.

Twas easier then – witnesses and reports of their cruelties were few, and the news reached fewer people and much later.

Imperialism and colonialism got more sophisticated with 20th Century technology spreading news more quickly and to more people. It all still works today, – but harmful impacts are more hidden – deliberate genocide is old hat now.

I truly cannot help feeling sad for the Israelis. Jews have had a rotten time, over many centuries of 0persecutions, pogroms, every kind of discrimination across Europe – culminating in the 20th Century horror of Nazism. Europeans did this.

And then – as an ultimate bit of meanness, The European and American leaders sort of got rid of Jews out of Europe, by pretending that Palestine was pretty empty really – let’s just give it to the Jews. Never mind about a few Arabs.

So – like an abused child, Israel went on to become an abuser. And the poisoned relay race went on- Hamas now taking up the abusing baton.

Israel might get away with the genocide of the Palestinians, if only it were the 15th, or even the 20th Century, But the deliberate extermination game is over, and it’s just not going to work this time. #Israel #Palestine

November 1, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

Nuclear news – week to 31st October

A bit of good news – Young Europeans are willing to put the planet first.  

TOP STORIES       Australians Call to End Long Persecution of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange.     Atoms for Peace was never the plan.

Climate. Earth close to ‘risk tipping points’ that will damage our ability to deal with climate crisis, warns UN. Al Gore on why the ‘deck is stacked against’ COP28.

Nuclear. The Israel-Gaza situation might be bringing the world ever-closer to nuclear war. Colonial genocide – conducted in the past by European nations without being apparent to the whole world, now happens as the whole world watches in horror.

Christina notes.   Australia’s democracy betrayed – by its pathetic subservient-to-USA Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

*******************************************************

The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) steps up drive to keep U.S. military expansion out of Australia.                   

South Australia takes another bold leap into deep green energy future.

****************************************

ECONOMICS. 

ENERGY. Is Energy Efficiency our Panacea for Power? Bitcoin mining consumes more electricity than most countries, study suggests.

ENVIRONMENT. Oceans: Mechanism for toxic radioactive water release sought. Tepco not a trustworthy judge of radiation levels in Fukushima nuclear wastewater. Decontaminating Fukushima: have the billions spent been worth it?

ETHICS and RELIGION. Ghoulish White House response to genocidal ethnic cleansing of Gaza. White House Says Continued Civilian Slaughter “Is Going To Happen” In Gaza. World Council of Churches head meets with new director of International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons .

HEALTH. Fukushima nuclear plant workers sent to hospital after being splashed with radiactively tainted water.

HUMAN RIGHTS.  Australians Call to end the long persecution of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange.   Assange Freedom May Be Pivotal in Australia’s Support for US Cold War With China. 

LEGAL. Rolls-Royce facing £350m class action lawsuit from investors.  

US Government & NewsGuard Sued by Consortium News.    Lawyers circle nuclear startup NuScale over claims a 24-reactor deal will fail. Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, to investigate allegations that NuScale may have issued misleading business information. 

Rights Lawyers Release Legal Analysis of U.S. Complicity in Israel’s Unfolding Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza.

MEDIA. Israeli Attacks on Journalists Stifle Reporting on Gaza Horrors. Israel Cut Off Gaza’s Communications Because Murderers Don’t Like Witnesses. Propaganda War: Pro-Israel Trolls are Mobbing Twitter’s Community Notes. 

Sizewell Nuclear Court Case on 1st and 2nd November will be available to watch online. Short film explores nuclear legacy through the lens of the Marshallese community.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Welsh campaigners call for nuclear sponsorship ban at National Eisteddfod.

PERSONAL STORIES. Blinken Rejects Idea of Gaza Ceasefire Despite Massive Child Casualties.     Chernobyl hero who was “first on the scene” in nuclear reactor meltdown takes own life..

POLITICS. Kazakhstan: Government does hard sell on nuclear, but public remains wary. 

Amid rising cost worries, UK government promises “practical nuclear roadmap” British Nuclear Fuels resurrected as Great British Nuclear. UK’s new Energy Act gives Energy Security Secretary the power to oversee and give funding to Great British Nuclear (? the poisoned chalice). Lawmakers urged to keep moratorium on new nuclear power plants in Illinois – avoid the fantasy of small modular reactors.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Israel to refuse visas to UN officials after Guterres speech on Gaza war.        US Forbade Ukraine to Make Peace With Russia in March 2022 – Former German Chancellor. USA and Australia oceans apart on nuclear-powered submarines 

SAFETY. IAEA warning after explosions heard near Khmelnitsky nuclear power stations. War Against Renewables Takes Terrifying Turn in Newsom’s Nuke-Powered California .

SECRETS and LIES. A wall of silence: atom bosses remain tight-lipped over Fukushima whistleblower claims.       Ohio House bill would declare nuclear power as ‘green energy.       Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara have decamped to a luxury mansion with a deep nuclear bunker.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Space debris

SPINBUSTER. Nuclear power would be “clean”! but not renewable under Michigan legislation. Before They Launch Missiles, They Launch Propaganda Campaigns. Israel Has Permanently Lost The Argument.

WASTES. Hanford’s pre-treated nuclear waste might not meet vital plant criteria. Decommission: What happens after a nuclear power station is closed? Thunder Bay Council to debate nuclear waste position. Allowing Lynas to extract thorium from radioactive waste not a practical solution, say activists

WAR and CONFLICT. UN Agency Warns Humanitarian Operations in Gaza on Verge of Total Collapse. Israel-Palestine: Names released of 7,028 Palestinians killed, 2,913 of which are children, after Biden questions death toll. Gaza deaths surpass 5,000 amid UN and EU calls for ceasefire; US increases ‘deterrence’ force near Israel. Why Is Biden Enabling Genocidal Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF7qndyvmEE    They Let Humanitarian Aid In. Then They Bombed It So That Gaza Would Starve. Zionist think tank publishes blueprint for Palestinian genocide. The World’s Only Muslim Nuclear Power Warns Israel’s War in Gaza Must Stop. NewsReal: Israel and US Implementing ‘Final Solutions’ to End Palestine and Multipolar World. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xULgoxqDGxo&t=198s With Hamas gone, Gaza still wouldn’t be free.      Russia says Ukrainian drone rammed nuclear waste storage facility of Kursk nuclear power plant.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Israel-Hamas war fuels fears of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. Why the US fixation on increased nuclear capability won’t deter China but could lead to instability and nuclear war. Experts fear Ukraine will run out of ammo in 2024 – Le Monde. US to build new nuclear gravity bomb.

October 30, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

TODAY. Australia’s democracy betrayed – by its pathetic subservient-to-USA Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has once again exercised his snivelling sycophantic subservience to the USA. Albanese explained that he wouldn’t ask U.S. President Jo Biden to interfere in the justice system, in order to free Australian citizen Julian Assange.

Meanwhile Albanese is enthusiastically promising to boost the American military industries to the tune of way beyond $300Billion for (almost certainly useless) nuclear submarines, and any other bits of deadly hardware that the USA wants to flog off.

If this pathetic cringing about Assange’s persecution is not enough to convince you of how pathetic is the Australian government – what about its behaviour at the United Nations?

Australia has abstained from casting a vote in a UN resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza, arguing it was “incomplete” because it did not mention Hamas as the perpetrator of the 7 October attack. In the face of the atrocity now being perpetrated in Gaza – the Albanese government is again cowardly in its subservience to USA.

The Obama administration did not pursue Julian Assange.

It was the Trump administration which indicted Julian Assange under the Espionage Act

In 2013, The Washington Post reported that the Obama administration had all but concluded it would not pursue Assange because they could not do so without also pursuing media outlets that published WikiLeaks cables, including The New York Times, the Post and Britain’s Guardian newspaper.In 2013, The Washington Post reported that the Obama administration had all but concluded it would not pursue Assange because they could not do so without also pursuing media outlets that published WikiLeaks cables, including The New York Times, the Post and Britain’s Guardian newspaper. https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/assange-defence-questions-why-obama-didn-t-seek-to-prosecute-him-20200915-p55w09.html

October 29, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »