nuclear-news

Nuclear, and climate, news to 4th December

Some bits of good news.   England’s rainforests breathed easier.       Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: A Bright Constellation in a Very Dark Sky.

TOP STORIES 

Plot to Triple Nuclear Power by 2050 Decried as ‘Dangerous Distraction’ at COP28. 

Ralph Nader -on Israel’s Genocidal Antisemitism Against the Arab Civilians of Gaza. 

Small modular nuclear reactors: a history of failure. 

Drones Target Ukrainian, Russian Nuclear Facilities.

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Climate. “We cannot afford to have a bad COP” – Mary Robinson.      COP28: UAE planned to use climate talks to make oil deals. Climate summit in an oil state: can COP28 change anything?Bah Humbug!– to COP Climate Conference sponsored by Dubai, an oil & natural gas nation.  COP28: Hopes of fossil fuel ‘phase out’ hit by revelations of Saudi plan to boost oil demand.       Cop28: what to expect from the Dubai climate change conference- (behind a pay wall, but read it on nuclear-news.net)      How wealthy countries, l(ike U.S., Canada, Australia, and Norway), evade responsibility for their fossil fuel exports. Why the UN Report is right to say we’re heading for at least 3 degrees of warming. ‘Progress this decade is critical’: Why a 1.5C world hinges on doubling down on energy efficiency.

Christina notes.   Have you noticed? The nuclear lobby is swamping the news media with its false “nuclear for climate”message.     COP 28 A sorry tale of climate hypocrisy. 

Nuclear. It’s full on nuclear propaganda time.  It’s all in the wording. At COP 28,   20 countries signed up to promote nuclear. 179 COUNTRIES DID NOT SIGN UP TO PROMOTE NUCLEAR.

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  CLIMATE. DOUBLING DOWN ON NUCLEAR POWER IS NO SOLUTION TO CLIMATE CRISIS. Nuclear vs. Climate: Is nuclear power needed to contain the climate crisis?                                 John Kerry at Cop28 to lobby for the nuclear industry.             Nuclear lobby’s big push to ‘shine’ at COP28.

ECONOMICS. 

• The nuclear power renaissance has some way to run. 
• France goes for its own costly small nuclear reactor, following the USA NuScale flop, and UK’s lagging Rolls Royce one.          French nuclear tax is leap into the dark – analysts. EDF to “build 1 reactor a year in 2030s” – CEO. 
• The President of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission spent $288,000 on travel in 19 months. Hydro- Quebec decides against restarting Gentilly 2 nuclear station. 
• NuScale cancels first planned SMR nuclear project due to lack of interest. 
• Why Britain’s mini-nukes dream is hanging by a thread. Failure of USA’s NuScale small nuclear reactors (SMRs) not a good omen for Rolls Royce and other UK SMR developers. UK’s first small nuclear reactor deal ‘poised’ for signing but not with Rolls-Royce. 
• Operators extend Finnish, Swedish nuclear reactor outages.

EMPLOYMENT. Swiss nuclear power plants are running out of staff.

ETHICS and RELIGION. Holy See advocates collaboration on nuclear disarmament.

LEGAL. Musk’s Lawsuit Is About Destroying Free Speech.      Portland nuclear power startup NuScale hit with investor lawsuit.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Nuclear Power Expansion Predictions Failed. SMRs two examples: NuScale in the US, NUWARD in France . Can thorium solve the nuclear problem? That’s doubtful.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Halt the US-Philippines Nuclear Deal –Sign on to Letter to US Congress – Full statement and sign on: tinyurl.com/haltUSPHdeal

PERSONAL STORIES. ‘Let us be a lesson’, say Kazakhs wary of return to nuclear testing.

POLITICS. UK government hopes that United Arab Emirates will invest in Sizewell C nuclear power plan. Energy-rich Scotland does not require any nuclear power stations. Nuclear energy in Philippines? Group says there’s not even a Filipino expert on safety, radiation. Sweden to slug tax-payers for the costs of small nuclear reactors, and big ones. Sovereignty Surrendered: Subordinating Australia’s Defence Industry

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Second meeting of states parties agrees nuclear deterrence is the problem. UK’s Sizewell C Nuclear stake seized from China may go to United Arab Emirates. (behind a pay wall, but read it on nuclear-news.net) TELL THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES NOT TO INVEST IN SIZEWELL C.

PUBLIC OPINION. Renewable or nuclear? What your energy preference says about you – public opinion.

SAFETY. Closer to nuclear plant than ever, latest Korean quake renews calls to retire aging reactors.       Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power station shuts down again. Incidents.       IAEA experts record explosions near two Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant suffered power outage, energy ministry says. Freezing consequences for Mississippi River as nuclear units down.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. SpaceX rockets keep tearing blood-red ‘atmospheric holes’ in the sky, and scientists are concerned.

SPINBUSTER. Nuclear lobby’s latest gimmick – making nuclear BEAUTIFUL !

WASTES. A blank cheque for France’s Industrial Centre for Geological Disposal (Cigéo) does not prove that it is safe.     How to Scrap the First-Ever Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier: USS Enterprise?          A sobering analysis of the Canadian plan for small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) and their toxic waste problem..

WAR and CONFLICT. President Biden has morphed into the Murder Monster. The New York Times Reports Gaza Civilians ‘Are Being Killed at Historic Pace’. Israel’s Savagery Is So Shocking It’s Sometimes Hard To Take In. 

A Nuclear Attack by Design — or by Accident — Must Never Happen. A planned US-Israeli attack on Iran is contemplated. AI and the Bomb: Nuclear Strategy and Risk in the Digital Age.    URANIUM WARHEAD POISONING IS THE SPECIALTY OF US AGAINST RUSSIANS, ISRAEL AGAINST PALESTINIANS.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. US nuclear bombs ‘set to return to UK‘ for first time in 15 years – making Lakenheath a “nuclear target”.       U.S. to Develop Unanticipated New Nuclear Bomb. Pentagon struggling to pay for Middle East buildup – Politico.        The Military’s Big Bet on Artificial Intelligence.       ‘The Gospel’: how Israel uses AI to select bombing targets in Gaza.     US Sent Israel 15,000 Bombs Since October 7. Australia’s AUKUS nuclear submarines could fuel regional arms race despite assurance.

December 4, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Have you noticed? The nuclear lobby is swamping the news media with its false “nuclear for climate”message

It’s a concerted effort.

It’s all over the media. Despite the obvious failure of small nuclear reactors.

Despite the fact that new nuclear reactors of any size will not be up and running in time to have any effect on global heating.

Yet the corporate media dutifully regurgitates these nuclear lies, all outlets using the same wording, the same optimistic “nuclear renaissance” lies

Who orchestrates this media blitz ? It could be the Atlas Network?

December 3, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

TODAY. Nuclear “sacrifice zones” and “sponges”- a new revelation

Only recently revealed: – “The silos are basically meant to divert and absorb the incoming nuclear missiles from important and critical areas in the country, like cities.”

OnFrom its beginning in the 1940s the global nuclear industry set up “sacrifice zones”- Nevada nuclear test sites, though the residents didn’t know this – a sort of “unconscious” one – where the outcomes of cancer and birth defects were not fully understood.

Twas the Russians who first put the concept clearly into practice – setting up City 40, Ozersk the birthplace of the Soviet nuclear weapons programme . City 40’s inhabitants were told they were “the nuclear shield and saviours of the world”. This was absolute nuclear sacrifice. The residents of this secret city knew that their role was to accept both the cancerous consequences of nuclear weapons-making and their status as a nuclear target – all for the supposed glory of making all of Russia “safe”.

The residents were compensated –  financial stability, private apartments, plenty of food – including exotic delicacies such as bananas, condensed milk and caviar – good schools and healthcare, a plethora of entertainment and cultural activities.

In exchange, the residents were ordered to maintain secrets about their lives and work. For the first eight years, residents were forbidden from leaving the city, writing letters or making any contact with the outside world.

The Americans did it more subtly. They chose areas where the indigenous population would would have little awareness of the issues – a much cheaper system than the Russian one. The US military set up nuclear silos of  InterContinental Ballistic Missile (ICBMs.) as “sponges”  “The role  of the ICBM is to force an adversary to use many nuclear weapons if they decided to attack the U.S. The silos are basically meant to divert and absorb the incoming nuclear missiles from important and critical areas in the country, like cities.”

Wherever there are nuclear weapons systems, there are these “sponges”, – places where the uninformed local community, preferably indigenous are put in danger. for the presumed safety of the more important city residents.

The very latest one is in the UK, in Suffolk, where the US is about to bring back nuclear weapons,

The women of Greenham Common previously got rid of American nuclear weapons bases.

UK needs a new Greenham Common to fight this new nuclear target, sponge, sacrifice zone.

November 30, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

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 Macpherson | 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. 

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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

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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.

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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. 

• Rolls Royce panicking, as UK government and investors are lukewarm about its small nuclear reactor project? Poor nuclear prospects in UK. 
• Finland extends nuclear reactor outage, pushing up power price. 
• The Russian nuclear industry during wartime, 2022 and early 2023. 
• Etopia Report: the nuclear problem – economic realities. 
• Engie demands close scrutiny of French nuclear power deal to ensure competition. 
• Xcel’s Prairie Island nuclear plant will be out of commission until January.

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. 

• Czech Republic, France and others will use “Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy” to push for EU funding to the nuclear industry.
• UK’s Foreign Secretary urged to send observers to nuclear ban meeting in New York. 
• IAEA urges Countries in Mideast, Israel to join nuclear ban treaty, open facilities for inspection. 
• Second Meeting of State Parties to Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to Be Held at Headquarters, 27 November–1 December. 
• In softening on China, the West may be trying to avoid a nuclear arms race. 
• Japanese and Chinese top envoys eye more talks on Fukushima row.

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 Macpherson | 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 Macpherson | 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 Macpherson | 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.   

• Small nuclear reactors in Canada: at what cost?      America’s first Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMR) fizzles out as uranium continues to ride high. THE COLLAPSE OF THE UAMPS small nuclear reactor DEAL RAISES THE PROSPECT OF BANKRUPTCY FOR NUSCALE. U.S. Bets on Small Nuclear Reactors – But major obstacles loom. Consortium green lights European NuScale style (!) small nuclear reactors. 
• EDF won’t make ‘massive fortune’ from Hinkley, says director. 
• The U.S. Is Paying Billions to Russia’s Nuclear Agency. 
• French government, EDF agree on €70 MWh for nuclear power.
• World Nuclear Industry Status Report due on 6 December.

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. 

• Zelensky may be ousted – ex-presidential aide. Ukraine war a ‘good investment’ for US – Trump rival . 
• White House, Senate, House all out of sync with electorate on Gaza. Internal State Dept. memo blasts Biden, U.S. policy on Israel-Hamas war. Over 400 of Biden’s Own Administration Officials Demand Ceasefire in Gaza. Jill Stein’s Ominous Warning on Growing Threat of Nuclear War. 
• USA’s Energy Department’s nuclear commercialization ‘small nuclear‘ adventures are burning holes in the taxpayers’ pockets. A small modular reactor’s demise calls for big change in Energy Department policy. 
• Something fishy: Welsh Councils excluded from latest Hinkley Point C Consultation.  UK MPs say that Wylfa big nuclear power project should go ahead, locals not so sure The Sir John Armitt interview: ‘I’m not sure the government is really serious about nuclear’. 
• A four-decade-old Pacific treaty was meant to preserve the ‘peaceful region’. Now experts say it’s being exploited.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

• Biden and Xi will sign a deal to keep AI out of control systems for nuclear weapons: report. The US and China re-engage on arms control. What may come next. 
• How the United States and its NATO allies sabotaged a peace between Russia and Ukraine. Washington raises stakes on ‘losing hand’ in Ukraine. EU media names member states against Ukrainian membership. 
• Time’s Up for Netanyahu and Biden. Patrick Lawrence: ‘The Hinge of History’- Palestine and the New World Order. Herzog: Israel will maintain ‘very strong force’ in Gaza, Translation: We’re not leaving. Ever. First Ladies make joint call on the world about Palestine. 

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

SAFETY.

• The Uzbek nuclear endeavour: Boon or bane for Central Asia? 
• Russia Shuts Down Nuclear Plant Reactor Unit After Malfunction. 
• Greenpeace installs radiation sensors in Ukraine and calls for EU sanctions against Rosatom.
• Simon Daigle lists the public concerns that must be addressed in planned development of BWRX-300 small nuclear reactors – Submission to Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. 
• Incident: Major malfunction on Royal navy nuclear submarine plunges warship into ‘danger zone’

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 Macpherson | 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 Macpherson | 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 Macpherson | 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).

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 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. 

• Republicans and Democrats Unite to Push for Assange’s Freedom.
• Senator Durbin did not call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.             
• White House Aides “Simply Cannot Stomach” Biden’s Israel Policy, Dissent Memos Leak, Revolt At State Dept. 
• Small nuclear reactors are a bad bet for the British government. EU to launch industrial alliance on small nuclear reactors – great timing! – NOT. 
• Taiwan ELECTION 2024/Presidential aspirants agree on renewables, diverge on nuclear energy.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

• European Commission to create SMR Industrial Alliance dedicated to small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). 
• Why France’s Emmanuel Macron is courting Central Asia. 
• Showboating for War: Johnson and Morrison in Israel. Patrick Lawrence: Biden’s Frankenstein. 
• Biden Moves To Reduce U.S. Reliance On Russian Nuclear Supply Chain. 
• Collective calls on Pacific leaders to oppose Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge
• Pacific Islands Forum – time to reinvigorate the Treaty of Rarotonga, the nuclear weapons-free pact ? 

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. 

• “Doomsday weapon” Israel’s worst kept secret . Does Israel pose a nuclear threat to the world? Why are US weapons transfers to Israel shrouded in secrecy — but not the weapons to Ukraine? 
• Chess, cards and catnaps in the heart of America’s nuclear weapons complex. 
• Preventing AI Nuclear Armageddon.
•  A Middle East Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Utopia? 
• China’s Misunderstood Nuclear Expansion,

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