nuclear-news

Let’s just bust all those comfortable Panglossian lies and stupidities.

I focus on the lies of the nuclear lobby – because these are the most blatant, pervasive, of the lies that are swallowed up and regurgitated by political leaders and the media.

Lies about “cheap” “clean” “safe” “nothing-to-do-with-weapons” nuclear power, – especially the (non-existent) SMRs – Small Modular Nuclear Reactors.

Dr Pangloss, (from Voltaire’s 17th Century satirical novel “Candide” ) is the essence of foolish, gullible optimism. And a model – for our age – not to be.

But there are so many other prevailing lies that need to be busted, too.

My current top favourite is “The Cloud”. Wottlehell is The Cloud anyway? Clean? Pretty? Up in the sky?.

No, The Cloud is a vast number of “farms” containing dirty great steel skyscraper-like containers, powered by huge amounts of fossil-fuel electricity, requiring great lagoons of water for cooling.

And inside them? Every bit of digital anything that happens from great important dissertations, youtubes, whatever, and everybody’s pointless little emails, tweets, emojis – the world’s ever-increasing digital rubbish.

Renewable energy – big wind and solar – are the answer?

Not really. They require huge amounts of energy to build. They use lots of rare minerals, and plastic. Putting big wind turbines into the oceans is damaging to the marine ecology.

We’re reducing greenhouse emissions. No – they’re still rising

Cop 28 UN Climate Change Conference will lead the way for real climate action. Really?

The United Arab Emirates is hosting the UN climate summit in November and the president of Cop28 is Sultan Al Jaber, who is also chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. At least a dozen employees from the United Arab Emirate’s state-owned
oil company have apparently taken up roles with the office .

Debunking Degrowth. – We learn that reducing energy use, reducing consumption, living more simply – there has been a fair bit of propaganda about – telling the world that these methods are just not feasible. (But they might be the only answer)

Dr Pangloss would say that now “Everything is the best, in the best of all possible worlds“

Well, it’s not. I mean, apart from global overheating, biodiversity loss, diminishing resources, deforestation, water shortages, plastic pollution, climate refugees, pandemics, increasing conflicts – everything’s fine – yes?

October 26, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. Voices for decency

As a (recovered) Catholic, I have often pondered on the cruelties done by the Catholic religion, and yet, also on the compassion and kindness of the Catholic communities.

Now we witness the horrors of the Israeli mass execution of Gazans – in this supposedly “advanced” 21st Century era. And, we’re told, it’s being done by the Jews, against the Islamists . Some Jews hold extremist beliefs. And some Muslims hold extremist beliefs. But in either case, they are not the majority.

The genocide of Gaza is not being done on behalf of all Jews, and today, we learn of the desperate call from Jews For Peace, and IfNotNow, for a ceasfire and diplomacy, in the Israeli war, and fairness for the Palestinians. They call for a new system of collective liberalism in place of militant ethnonationalism.

At the same time, do we witness a tiny opening skirmish by journalists, against the prevailing dogma of regurgitating the USA pro Israel line on the Israeli war? Today some mainstream media journalists, like CNN’s Clarissa Ward, daring to contradict the story that Palestinians bombed their own hospital? #Israel #Palestine

October 19, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 3 Comments

TODAY. Atoms4NetZero – the International Atomic Energy Agency is deceiving the world on climate change

I begin with this most telling comment from Japanese journalist Kolin Kobaryashi: “The international nuclear lobby, which represents only a minority, has the influence and money to dominate the world’s population with immense power and has now united the world’s minority nuclear community into one big galaxy.

Many of the citizens who have experienced the world’s three most serious civil nuclear accidents have clearly realized that nuclear energy is too dangerous. These citizens are so divided and conflicted that they feel like a helpless minority.”.

The nuclear lobby, having failed to really convince us with its claims that nuclear energy is “cheap”, “safe”, “clean”, “not at all connected with weapons”, has now concentrated its global lies on just one lie -that nuclear power ill solve climate change.

Along with that lie is that second lie – that nuclear power is the alternative to fossil fuels. Not so. The nuclear and fossil fuel lobbies work in tandem. Nuclear is really slow to build, but that’s OK – the timing is such that the fossil fuels can keep going for years, to be eventually taken over by nuclear power. Both sides are happy, and both rejoicing that the COP28 Climate Summit is to be held in oil-producing Dubai, with its President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, managing director and group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC Group)

From the International Atomic Energy Agency – October 2023:

The UAE will host COP28, the UN’s main climate change conference, starting next month in Dubai, where the IAEA for the second successive year will host a pavilion highlighting the role of nuclear energy in mitigating and adapting to climate change. “This year at COP, countries using nuclear energy will gather around the global convening point of the IAEA to state the reality: they use, they will continue to use, and they will increase the contribution of nuclear energy to the energy mix,” IAEA Director General said in his  opening remarks to this week’s conference. 

“The conference kicked off with a keynote address by Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, who noted that progress on nuclear power is currently not keeping pace and pointed to Europe, where 20 years ago nuclear provided 30% of electricity but will fall to about 15% in the coming years unless national policies change. “This has a lot of implications,” Mr Birol said, “for Europe’s electricity security and how challenging it will be to fight against climate change.” 

“To help governments and financial institutions make data-driven, science-based decisions about their investments in future energy systems, the IAEA last year launched the Atoms4NetZero initiative. In cooperation with a variety of partners, it aims to provide a comprehensive energy scenario modelling service, featuring the full potential of nuclear power in achieving net zero emissions, including providing non-electric applications such as hydrogen production.”

“The weeklong conference included ten high-level panels, a high-level segment, a special session, 18 technical sessions, and seven side events organized by various stakeholders. The panels focused on the role of nuclear power in the global clean energy transition, and how to enable it to fulfil its potential in that role, and mobilize multi-stakeholders, including women and young generation groups, to facilitate the global dialogue about nuclear as a sustainable low-carbon energy source.”  

The nuclear lobby will be pulling out all the stops at COP28- with their spiel aimed especially at younger generations – nuclear looks glamourous, new, young, trendy, feminist …… and no expense will be spared……

October 18, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

My idea about Joe Biden’s visit to Israel

Great cartoon in The Age today

Chaos indeed.

Who knows what will be the end result of the Israel-Palestine thing

I have an idea, based on no evidence whatsoever. Also it’s an idea that no-one else has suggested.

It’s about Joe Biden’s visit to Israel.  I reckon that:

Biden could persuade the Israelis to 

• not make a ground military assault on Hamas, – which would sound good.
• to make it easier for the Gazans to get out – which also would sound good.

Then Biden could appear as a good mediator and even peace-maker.

Meanwhile,USA could provide Israel with heaps more weapons, rockets whatever, so they could bomb the shit out of Gaza, (see great cartoon in today’s print version of The Age)

That would achieve the removal of the whole population of Gaza –   brilliant ethnic cleansing – to the applause of the world.

And as with Ukraine – great profits for the weapons companies – and not a single American soldier lost. #Israel #Palestine #nuclear

October 18, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear news in this week of genocide

Some bits of good news.  Largest Dam Removal in History Begins Restoring Salmon and California Tribal Way of Life.   The world’s largest offshore wind farm powered up.            Global poverty reduction efforts are back on track.

TOP STORIES. This Way for the Genocide, Ladies and Gentlemen.  Some Israeli actions ‘against international law’ – EU. What is Jericho missile system? Israel’s potential ‘doomsday’ nuclear option.   

How “Dumb Money” Nukes Boil & Bankrupt The Earth.  US weapons costs way beyond $886billion: call for nuclear weapons spending blowout -USA congressional commission.   

The case of Yaroslav Hunka, and its echoes in Australia’s history.     

Climate. How criminalisation is being used to silence climate activists across the world.

Christina notes. The monstrous lie – that Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians is OK. Meanwhile, in Australia, Trumpian style lies and subterfuge have undermined a wonderful plan to bring a voice from Australia’s First Nations people into the Parliament. Cunning false arguments from the Opposition Coalition, quietly promoted by mining interests, and their pro-nuclear Aboriginal spokesman, Warren Mundine have prevailed, on Murdoch media and social media to defeat the referendum on an Aboriginal Voice included in the Constitution.  Nuclear and other polluting industries are readily heard by the politicians – but First Nations people – back into their colonial box!

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AUSTRALIA. 

• Seventy years on, Indigenous victims of UK’s nuclear tests in South Australia still await justice. Emu Fields Atomic Bomb 70th Anniversary shines spotlight on Nuclear Weapons Treaty.  
• David McBride facing life sentence as war criminals go unpunished. 
• Coalition are ‘climate charlatans’ making false claims about Australia’s nuclear power potential, energy minister says. 
• Australian government funds pro nuclear propaganda in schools – (even making it “fun”). 
• Two Australian firms want to join in a thorium nuclear power project in the Philippines. ‘Cottage industry’: Gurus say nuclear no match for solar energy. 
• Australia might be better off to cancel the nuclear submarine plan. 
• No charges or fines for Western Australia’s wayward radioactive capsule.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. Israel-Hamas war – another excuse to shut down free speech. France uses teargas on banned pro-Palestinian rally . Glenn Greenwald: Pro-Palestine Protests Outlawed in France/Germany. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsMJVHttAGI&t=6   Past Time to End the Persecution of Julian Assange.

ECONOMICS. Motor fault, legal problems, future delays …. giant costly Vogtle nuclear project struggles on.

ENERGY. Endless electricity and water use: the Artificial-Intelligence-Blockchain-Data Centre -Nuclear-NuScale nightmare to come.

ENVIRONMENT. Deadly radioactive dust. Public comments sought on waste water permit for Fermi 2 nuclear plant. Sunken Nuclear Submarine May Be Leaking Radiation Into The Ocean.

EVENTS. WEBINAR. Thursday, October 19 Is New Nuclear a Good Investment for Ontario.

HEALTH. Fresh stock of iodine tablets for Swiss living near nuclear plants.

HISTORY. The Arab-Israeli war 50 years ago brought us close to nuclear Armageddon. What the media forgets to tell you about Israel and Gaza.

LEGAL. ‘Humanity Must Prevail’ in Gaza, Says UN Official as Refugee Shelters Become IDF Targets. 

Judicial review will hear appeal against UK govt’s consent for Sizewell C nuclear. Boss of Sizewell nuclear project calls for “curbing protestors powers’ to block them in the courts. New Mexico could try again to challenge nuclear waste storage project in court,

MEDIA. Propaganda Blitz: How Mainstream Media is Pushing Fake Palestine Stories. ‘The Day After’ Director Returns to Sound the Alarm with ‘How to Stop a Nuclear War‘. SOS – The San Onofre Syndrome: Nuclear Power’s Legacy.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Ten reasons why nuclear power has no future. New Brunswick small nuclear tech could be used for nuclear war: physicist.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Protest: Keep Space For Peace – Croughton US Base, 7 October 2023. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2dxft1P_XM      PETITION: Stop calling uranium mined fuels “clean energy”.

POLITICS. UK Labour should follow Welsh government and commit to nuclear weapon prohibition, fringe meeting hears.       Skills gap and grid connections key hurdles in UK’s nuclear energy ambitions, says Great British Nuclear chair.           Sweden: Vattenfall going too slow on developing nuclear reactors?.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. US bails on Ukraine…but doesn’t tell Zelensky. Time to implement UN decisions on Palestine – Lavrov. Fascism in the West to Enable Genocide in Palestine . US diplomats told to avoid calls for Gaza ‘ceasefire’. . The nuclear dispute driving a wedge between France and Germany.

PUBLIC OPINION. Ukrainians joining Americans in supporting negotiated end to Russo Ukraine war. Half of China’s people are worried about Fukushima water release: poll.

SAFETY. Zelensky pledged not to directly attack nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia, says IAEA chiefSlovenian nuclear plant to stay closed until leak fixed. South Carolina nuclear plant gets warning over another cracked emergency fuel pipe. Regulators reject request to shutter nuclear reactor. Finland’s government wants to yet again extend the operating licenses of 2 old nuclear reactors – Olkiluoto 1 and 2. Fukushima Up Close, 13 Years Later.Question from Jamaica: are we being the world’s guinea pig for SMR nuclear power?

SECRETS and LIES. Israeli army says it does not have ‘confirmation’ about allegations that ‘Hamas beheaded babies’ Biden says he saw evidence of Hamas ‘beheading’ Israeli children; White House clarifies. How To Explain U.S. Empire’s Support For Israel Right Or Wrong? Was the massacre in a Ukrainian village in fact a false-flag provocation by the Kiev regime?     Are more weapons that USA will send to Ukraine likely to end up in the hands of Hamas ?           Canada funding Ukrainian groups that celebrate WW2 Nazis – media.

  SPINBUSTER. The US Is Just As Culpable As Israel For The Atrocities Committed In Gaza.   Who finances RePlanet and its love for nuclear energy?         Critics are sceptical over County Council’s ‘nuclear engagement officer role’ funded by the industry.       Interest, but skepticism, on nuclear microreactors, fusion , and thorium .

WASTES. Fukui governor accepts utility’s nuclear fuel plan, comes under fire . Decommissioning: Vermont Yankee nuclear plant teardown ahead of schedule, but removal of the spent fuel is a problem. Nuclear reactor that operated for only 9 years will take many (expensive) decades to decommission .          UK’s old nuclear submarines, dead for over 40 years, and a new plan for turning them into “tin cans and razor blades”.

WAR and CONFLICT. Why are we avoiding the ‘what if’ of nuclear war? 

We condemn atrocities from both Hamas and Israel – Veterans for Peace, and Roots Action. It’s Not The ‘Israel-Hamas War’, It’s The Israel-Gaza Massacre. THE PLAN TO WIPE OUT HAMAS. “Collateral damage” is unintentional, but Israel’s bombing of Gaza kids IS INTENTIONAL. Ministry confirms Israel’s deployment of white phosphorous bombs against Gaza. Flashback: Israel’s 2009 firing of white phosphorous mutilated & murdered Palestinian civilians. In 1981, Israel Bombed Nuclear Reactor In Iraq. Why It’s Relevant Today,

Israel Is Using Starvation as a Weapon of War Against the Palestinian People: Jewish Voices for Peace. Report From Gaza: Fears That Israeli Army Is Preparing for Ethnic Cleansing. Israeli Army Bombs a Single Neighborhood in Gaza 450 Times in 24 Hours.       Israel Accused of ‘Blatant War Crime’ as Human Rights Watch Confirms White Phosphorus Used in Gaza.           This is one scary opinion about the Israeli-Palestine war – “Get Ready, Because The U.S. Is Going To War In The Middle East”.        

 Ukraine admits to conducting 3 commando raids against the city that hosts Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Ex-CIA analyst ‘100% sure’ Hamas using US-supplied weapons. Are Hamas fighters using American weapons meant for Ukraine? White House hopes to merge Ukraine and Israel aid – media. Israel’s nuclear weapons and their history. EU facing ‘huge shortage’ of ammunition – media. Zelensky fears Israel will distract from Western weapons aid to Kiev. 

NATO will hold a major nuclear exercise next week as Russia plans to pull out of a test ban treaty.       Drone Warfare in the Nuclear Age.            Entrenched Belief in Nuclear Deterrence as Defence Keeps Fear of Annihilation Alive, UN First Committee Hears in Thematic Debate.

October 17, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

This week – in nuclear news

Some bits of good news.  Rooftop solar capacity has increased by an unprecedented 349% in South Africa in just over a year.    The all-female, grassroots network moving millions away from fossil fuels’       Positive news: A ship powered by rubbish docked in the UK. The pitter patter of tiny beaver feet returned to the UK capital. #antinuclear #nuclear-free #NoNukes

TOP STORIES.      Journalism Itself Is Locked Up In Belmarsh. 

French tax-payers up for €20bn or more per year, in mountain of costs to keep nuclear fleet going. 

Tragic Nuclear Submarine Accident in China Sparks Global Concern. 

Define ‘Nazi’: Western media muddies history to cover up Canada’s SS scandal. 

Depleted Ukrainium: What Comes After Failure? 

5 animal species that became radioactive after being exposed to nuclear fallout zones.

Climate. World could be heading for hottest October on record – after hottest July, August and September ever. World breaches key 1.5C warming mark for record number of days. The Pope speaks out against climate deniers.

Nuclear. Event: 14 October 12-2pm ET Join Us WARHEADS TO WINDMILLS – ONLINE FORUM.  The Palestine -Israel disaster – who knows where this is now headed?

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 CLIMATE. Reconciling With Truth Requires Listening… what about nuclear waste?

ECONOMICS. Aukus: UK defence giant BAE Systems wins Australian £3.95bn nuclear submarine contract. Which Companies Will Benefit Most From Modernization Of The U.S. Nuclear Arsenal? Hyped up uranium investors face political fallout risk.

EDUCATION. Military space groups in New Mexico expand recruitment and STEM education for children.

 ENERGY.  Wind and solar are only forms of power generation rising globally, study finds. Solar oversupply leads southwest Japan utility to offer limited ‘free’ power.

ENVIRONMENT. Oceans. Fukushima nuclear plant starts 2nd release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea. How safe is the release of treated radioactive water from Fukushima plant? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjO4fF68FAQ .          Groups Demand DOE Environmental Impact Statement Before Agency Bails Out Palisades Zombie Reactor Restart.

ETHICS and RELIGION. Ukraine ‘very cheap way’ to fight Russia, NATO state claims.

HEALTH. More Los Alamos National Laboratory Workers Test Positive for Radiation Exposure. Fukushima Study Links Low-Dose Radiation to Diabetes. Low-Dose Radiation Affects Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Human Aortic Endothelial Cells by Altering Gene Expression under Normal and Diabetic Conditions.

HISTORY. The Origins of Ukraine’s Fascists & Why It Matters, w/ Historian Tarik Cyril Amar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C7DE2KFJHs

LEGAL.  Class action launched against British Government over nuclear bomb tests in Australia. Georgia Power will pay $413 million to settle lawsuit over nuclear reactor cost overruns.

MEDIA. New York Times provides American State Propaganda disguised as news. Portland filmmaker on ‘Downwind,’ a powerful documentary about nuclear tests on U.S. soil. All This Death Is The Fault Of The Western Press.

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

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Protest. Protesters call on Scottish Government to withdraw spaceport support.     Environmentalists suffer another setback in fight to shutter California’s last nuclear power plant.

POLITICS. Maybe Branding U.S. Wars Democrat or Republican Wasn’t Such A Good Idea. US Speaker McCarthy’s was ousted, partly due to the Ukraine issue: the next showdown is due on 17 November. US public support declines for arming Ukraine, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows. Zelensky names battalion after 1930s fascist sympathizer.

Senators Express Concerns Over Reports That Saudis Want US Support for Nuclear Program.

Green Party candidate for Waverley Valley pledged to challenge UK Government over Sizewell C nuclear . 

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Nuclear renaissance in Europe ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtCJl4lZ-T8              France seeks European subsidies for its nuclear industry – fears “discrimination against nuclear”

The US deal to normalise relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel brings risks of a Middle East nuclear arms race. In nuclear push, Saudi Arabia could play US, China off each other. Saudi nukes: A desire for energy, weapons, or just leverage?

Mexican president criticizes US aid to Ukraine. Ex-EU boss says Ukraine too corrupt to join.

NATO member calls for ‘security umbrella’ to cover Ukraine. Jeffrey Sachs: Beyond the Neocon Debacle in Ukraine. Russia says Japan did not inform it fully about radioactive Fukushima water.

North Korea slams nuclear watchdog as ‘paid trumpeter’ for USA.

France attempts to pressure Australia to stop engaging with UN nuclear weapons ban treaty. Pacific island States support the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – a problem for Australia in joining AUKUS nuclear military alliance

SAFETY. 

• Incident. A Chinese nuclear-powered submarine has sunk with the loss of 55 sailors. 
• Loud Explosion Heard In Pakistan’s Dera Ghazi Khan City With Nuclear Facility; Officials Say ‘Sonic Boom’. 
• USA. NRC Issues Event Notification for Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant, Pa. Repeated malfunctions reveal safety issues in Fukushima discharge.  Minnesota  State records highlight lack of coordination in nuclear leak response. NRC Commissioners Fail to Take Action on Critical Safety Issue at Diablo Canyon. ‘Substantial’ safety violation alleged at South Carolina nuclear plant after 20 years of problems. 
• Slovenian nuclear plant shut due to leak in containment building. 
• UK. Residents closest to Dounreay and Vulcan to be excluded from the nuclear emergency planning zone.
• Accident on nuclear submarine would leave Australia ‘unavoidably’ responsible, says US report. 

SECRETS and LIES. New Canadian Nazi scandal forces Viceroy to apologize – media. Ukrainians who helped elderly neighbours in Russian occupation are being convicted of collaboration. Why Nazis still call Australia home. Trump blabbed nuclear submarine secrets to Australian billionaire member of Mar-a-Lago club, report claims. The CIA’s “Information War” is Now Globalized?

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Star Wars? Learned professor speaks of threat to peace in space

SPINBUSTER. Really? “Not About Nato” | “Never About NATO” | “Nothing to do with NATO” | UKRAINE WAR – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf5xEBwBhds Lincolnshire: a green and nuclear promised land.

TECHNOLOGY. AI Goes to War.

WASTES. As Japan releases more Fukushima water, what about the rest of the plant? At nuclear power plants around the Pacific, radioactive wastewater is being dumped. UK’s Nuclear Waste Service has said that a willing community could trump unsuitable geology.

WAR and CONFLICT. The Military Industrial Complex Is Making Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars, And They Need A Military Draft In The U.S. To Take Things To The Next Level. Russia not looking for ‘more territory’ – Putin.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Hardening Ourselves into Weapons . No weapons left for Ukraine in Europe – Politico. Britain Has Run Out of Military Equipment to Give to #Ukraine. US is pushing Russia ‘toward using’ nuclear weapons by arming Ukraine, Belarus leader says. Why The US Canceled Project Pluto: The Super Weapon That Never Was.

Why Russia, China, and the U.S. Are Suddenly Expanding Their Nuclear Weapons Test Sites.

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

Nuclear news – week to 2nd October

Some  bits of good news –  Brazil – Major win for the protection of Indigenous Rights. Indonesia – Deforestation halted on Awyu Indigenous Lands

TOP STORIES      It’s Time to Admit the Truth About the War in Ukraine—and Course Correct. People Are Dying For Inches In Ukraine, The “World’s Largest Arms Fair”.   Canada’s Honoring of Nazi Veteran Exposes Ottawa’s Longstanding Ukraine Policy. The Mad Propaganda Push To Normalize War Profiteering In Ukraine.

Is World War III About to Start? Part II: Are the Military-Industrial Complex and Deep State Driving Us to War? 

France pushes pro-nuclear momentum to host global talks at OECD, to get tax-payer funding for the nuclear industry. 

Climate. Antarctic sea ice at lowest winter level ever.   Portuguese youhs sue UK and 32 others for climate change failure. The solar world we might have had. ‘We’re not doomed yet’: climate scientist Michael Mann on our last chance to save human civilisation.

Chistina notes. Don’t let’s be beastly to the Nazis.

Nuclear. Not strictly nuclear – but could lead to nuclear war. All-too easy acceptance of Nazi philosophy, Nazi influence, in Ukraine’s fight against Russia. The recent Canadian experience of national leaders fawning all over a Nazi war criminal is a reminder of Nazi influence around the world – and Australia has its share, too.  Over-zealous hatred of Russia, and Russia’s reaction to this,  could tip things over into nuclear war 

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CLIMATE. A “New Cold War” on an Ever-Hotter Planet.

ECONOMICS. France’s nuclear power sector is not delivering. Governments have unpopular decisions to make to achieve their nuclear aims.

EDUCATION. UK’s nuclear lobby to take over education site?

ENERGY. Solar and wind farms can easily power the UK by 2050, scientists say. Chart: China’s solar export dominance grows with surging European orders.

Microsoft May Go Nuclear to Support Its Energy-Hungry Artificial Intelligence. UK risks power supply crunch in January as nuclear plants halt.

ENVIRONMENT. Water. Microsoft Is Using a Hell of a Lot of Water to Flood the World With AI. Oceans. Japan to release second batch of wastewater from Fukushima nuclear plant next week

ETHICS and RELIGION. Vatican at U.N. : Risk of nuclear war is ‘at its highest in generations’.

HEALTH. Australia does not need a new “nuclear medicine” factory – clean, safe, cyclotrons can do the job.

HISTORY. Monuments to Ukrainian Nazis in Canada.

LEGAL. US Flouts International Law With Pacific Military Claims.

MEDIA. Mainstream “Newsweek” Wakes up to Reality: “$113 Billion in Modern Arms Hardly Dented Russian Lines”. Film examines France’s nuclear history in Algeria.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Trudeau warned of nuclear weapon risk over emerging small modular reactors. A mature design or junk?          EDF plan for Sizewell C continues to rely on controversial EPR reactor.     The Cyber Threat to Nuclear Non-Proliferation.      Microsoft Sees Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Energy as Dynamic Duo.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR : Protests. ‘The World Is at Stake’: Defuse Nuclear War Kicks Off Nationwide Week of Action, Greenpeace disrupts nuclear power meeting in Paris.

PLUTONIUM. Nuclear experts raise new concerns about industry-led policy proposals to separate plutonium in Canada

POLITICS. Editorial: Japan city’s rejection of nuclear waste site probe casts doubt on gov’t stance.

Ottawa yet to decide whether reprocessing spent nuclear fuel should be allowed in Canada. Flagging Support: Zelenskyy Loses Favour in Washington. Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr Will Run For President As An Independent: REPORT.

Democrat congressman Adam Schiff funneled millions to defense contractors after taking donations.    North Korean parliament enshrines nuclear ambitions in constitution.    Scottish independence would end the UK’s nuclear delusion. Byron Blake Critical assessment of nuclear energy in Jamaica’s future

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.

•  European Commission is ‘willing to consider’ subsidies for nuclear technology, says von der Leyen. 
• Polish minister calls for extradition of Ukrainian Nazi honored in Canada. 
• American Meddling Failed To Prevent Robert Fico’s Victory In The Latest Slovak Elections.
• Qatar calls for Israeli nuclear facilities to be subjected to IAEA safeguards. 
• North Korea slams UN nuclear agency as US mouthpiece. 
• US Pacific Security Deal With Marshall Islands at Risk Over Nuclear Payments Description,
• Nuclear Arms Control: U.S. May Face Challenges in Verifying Future Treaty Goals.

SAFETY. Bring radiation regulations up to international standards, say Nuclear Free Local Authorities.    

Fresh concerns over Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: Emerging Europe this week. ‘Unprecedented nuclear crisis’ at Russian-controlled power plant with 148 attacks.

SECRETS and LIES. Canadian Parliament Gives Standing Ovation to Man Who Served in Waffen SS. German ambassador applauded Ukrainian Waffen SS Nazi – Berlin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko3catBWKb8 . Nazigate: Canada’s top general won’t apologize for applauding Ukrainian Waffen-SS vet. The Zelensky lie is coming to an end.

Chinese Balloon Was Not Spying, US Government Admits Months Later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgWv3kXUn10&t=31s

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Star-crossed States: No result from the UN Working Group on Reducing Space Threats. Elon Musk’s satellites litter the heavens as astonishing video shows how 5,000 Starlink aircraft are whizzing around the Earth and will soon outnumber the stars.

SPINBUSTER. New Brunswick Indigenous communities and Canadians need facts about Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, not sales hype.

WASTES. Nuclear waste ship makes unprecedented port call at Novaya Zemlya

What will happen to 140-tonne stockpile of combustible sodium at Dounreay? UK government decides not to take Allerdale further in GDF nuclear waste siting process due to limited suitable geology. Many years for UK government to find a nuclear waste site with suitable geology and a willing community. British communities torn between the lure of government bribes and the realities of hosting toxic radioactive trash virtually forever. 

Japan city forgoes applying for government survey on nuclear waste site. Finland’s nuclear waste: delay in completing the review of operating licence application and safety assessment. Fate of Indian Point Wastewater Still Unclear.

WAR and CONFLICT. Kiev’s counteroffensive is unlikely to achieve its goals – US officials to New York Times. New York Times Says ‘Evidence Suggests’ Ukrainian Missile Misfire To Blame For Market Tragedy. US and UK involved in attack on Crimea – Russia.        Caitlin Johnstone: Neocons Love the Ukraine War.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. UN warns of ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in growing nuclear arms race. Pentagon discloses military deal with Elon Musk. Return of US nuclear weapons to UK would be an escalation, says Russia.        NUCLEAR BRINKMANSHIP IN AI-ENABLED WARFARE: A DANGEROUS ALGORITHMIC GAME OF CHICKEN.

October 2, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 3 Comments

TODAY. Don’t let’s be beastly to the Nazis

We must be sweet-
And tactful and discreet

.…Let’s be meek to them-
And turn the other cheek to them
And try to bring out their latent sense of fun.

They’ve been in floods of tears
Because the poor little dears
Have been so wronged and only longed
To cheat the world,
Deplete the world
And beat
The world to blazes.

– Noel Coward – 1943

We need another Noel Coward today – to sift through all the nonsense.

A Canadian military spokesman explained the need for “ongoing dialogue on the development of a diverse, and inclusive Ukraine.” meaning that we should accept feting a former member of the Waffen-SS  , because after all, the Nazis were against Russia in World War 2.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, German Ambassador, Sabine Sparwasser, and the whole Canadian Parliament gave a long, standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, former member of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS. That division gained international infamy for hunting down anti-Nazi partisans, massacring thousands of civilians, and burning hundreds of Polish villagers alive.

Their excuse for applauding Hunka? They didn’t know, just honoured Hunka as a “war hero”. Were they lying? Or did they just not understand which side he was on?

The plea of ignorance is disturbing.

Is the study of history dead? In this age of glorifying S.T.E.M. education, apparently knowledge of history is irrelevant.

And we have to be “diverse and inclusive”?

Are we all so “woke” these days that we comfortably accept people with the Nazi philosophy, and practical history, of cruelty, anti-semitism, white supremacy ?

And that’s all Ok, as Zelensky seems to think, anyone who is against Russia is to be congratulated.

.

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

Nuclear news – week to 25 September

A bit of good news. Water voles are back in the swim of things on the River Ver.

TOP STORIES. 

 Mission to Free Assange: Australian Parliamentarians in Washington.

A powerful minority makes the nuclear decisions, in a strategy of concealment. 

Alarmed by Risk of Nuclear Escalation among Major Powers, Speakers in General Assembly Warn Growing Distrust, Divisions Are Driving Multilateral System towards Dysfunction.

Andreyeva Bay cleanup slows to a snail’s pace since invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, the risky part of Andreyeva Bay nuclear cleanup starts. 

We’re Being Prepared For The Ukraine War To Last Into The 2030s. 

Top nuclear experts urge Biden to not allow Saudi uranium enrichment in mega-deal.Climate. Introducing Southern Frontlines – news on the climate crisis from Latin America and the Caribbean

Nuclear. So much stuff about impending war – it’s almost exhausting, but little concern for the soldiers,

On the strictly nuclear front –  I’m amazed that the Western media can go on about nuclear submarines, and pretty much ignore their waste problem. The Russian experience – Andreyeva Bay – should give everyone pause to worry about this.

Christina notes. The harrowing truth about the war in Ukraine.    Wonderful nuclear submarines!! Let’s not spoil the joy by thinking about their wastes.

CLIMATE. Elephant In The Climate Room: Rocket Launches.

ECONOMICS. 

• Bidenomics: Millions to Rebuild Maui, Billions for Ukraine. 
• UK launches search for private investment in Sizewell C nuclear project. UK’s Sizewell Nuclear Investors to Face Security Checks. Sizewell nuclear investment may prove radioactive.War 
• Profiteers Are A Sign Of A Profoundly Sick Society. 
• Fukushima: China’s seafood imports from Japan down 67% in August.

ENVIRONMENT. Water. Cooling system at Zaporizhzhya stabilised – but military action in the area continues

ETHICS and RELIGION. On The Idiotic Notion That It’s Brave To Support Nuclear Brinkmanship In Ukraine. Pope says world on brink of nuclear war like 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

HEALTH. Mental health. The Ukrainian Morale in the Battlefield: A Snapshot

HISTORY. Our nuclear legacy and the weight of history.

LEGAL. Sizewell C seeks outside investment as Together Against Sizewell C Limited (TASC) granted permission to appeal against the project. Campaigners win permission to appeal against Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station ruling. Nuclear bomb test veterans relaunch legal action.

MEDIA. New York Time’s Incredibly Low Bar for Labeling Someone ‘Pro-Putin’.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Bill Gates’ nuclear firm Terrapower fears falling behind in Small Nuclear Reactor race.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Floating for Peace on the Golden Rule. Time to arrest deployment of nuclear weapons in Constable’s County, Nuclear Free Local Authorities tell Ministers. If Fukushima water is safe, store it in Japan, says Prime Minister of Solomon Islands. In Kenya, police break up an environmental meeting that was explaining nuclear hazards.

PERSONAL STORIES. Nuclear test veteran from Ipswich among first to receive medal.

POLITICS.   UK. Conflating councils with communities causes confusion in nuclear dump areas. Sizewell C nuclear, if built, will be late and obsolete. Tory MP inexplicably asks for nuclear powered frigates. EDF and French government clash over nuclear strategy. Building Irish nuclear energy plants ‘does not make economic sense’, Eamon Ryan, Green Party leader. USA -another reason to oppose expanding nuclear power.       

USA.  “Republicans for Ukraine”s refreshingly honest Ukraine war ad

Crown prince confirms Saudi Arabia will seek nuclear arsenal if Iran develops one.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.

• U.S. HELPED PAKISTAN GET IMF BAILOUT WITH SECRET ARMS DEAL FOR UKRAINE, LEAKED DOCUMENTS REVEAL. Biden’s Whoppers at UN on Ukraine Burger King worthy. 
• Saudi Arabia Says It Will Get Nuclear Weapon If… 
• Antony Blinken wary on Iran, doesn’t criticise Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu at UN issues ‘nuclear’ threat to Iran, later retracted.  Foundation for the Defense of Democracy and The Nonproliferation Policy Education Center urge Biden against helping Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium.
• Pakistan’s new nuclear brinkmanship.
• Nearly 10 million Ukrainians have fled to EU.   
•   United Nations Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Continues to Gather Strength. 
• Why Japan should stop its Fukushima nuclear wastewater ocean release.
• South Asian leader slams AUKUS pact.

SAFETY. Possibly contaminated iron scraps from near Fukushima plant sold

SECRETS and LIES. This War Wasn’t Just Provoked — It Was Provoked Deliberately.        New York Times exposes Zelensky lie about Donbass missile strike.      US government and media lying about Ukrainian counteroffensive – Seymour Hersh.     Canadian parliament and its visitor Zelensky applaud Nazi Waffen SS veteran (VIDEO).

WASTES. South Korea will expand the number of spots for water testing amid concerns over the release of nuclear waste from Japan’s crippled Fukushima power plant. China not invited to participate in nuclear water testing – Chinese embassy in Japan.

WAR and CONFLICT. The President’s Power To Launch Nuclear Weapons Highlights A Troubling Paradox In U.S. Strategy. ‘Biden’s phase’ of Ukraine war is beginning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KIqR3ORYLE Cannon Fodder: Number of Ukrainian Amputee Soldiers Going Through the Roof. NATO Chief Admits NATO Expansion Was Key to Russian Invasion of Ukraine.      Is World War III About to Start? Part I: Drift Toward War.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Pentagon exempts Ukraine operations from potential government shutdown. The risk that nuclear weapons could be used is tremendous – Finnish President on war in Ukraine. White House Close To Providing Kiev With Cluster-Armed ATACMS.    Ukraine could get long-range missiles armed with U.S. cluster bombs. Poland Says It’s No Longer Arming Ukraine Amid Grain Spat.

Russia shows N Korea’s Kim hypersonic missiles, nuclear-capable bombers. Maintaining the USA nuclear arsenal,  at $750 billion over the next decade. Yes, nuclear weapons are immoral. They’re also, practically speaking, useless. Okinawa Disproves The US Narrative About Overseas Bases.

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

Nuclear news this week – (miles too long)

Some bits of good news.  Why tackling biodiversity loss could solve the climate crisis.     A believed-extinct butterfly flitted back to the Scottish hills

TOP STORIES. Chris Hedges: Craig Murray on the ‘Slow Motion Execution’ of Assange. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x9Bltb7ZYE

Nuclear submarines challenge trains 10 year old children for war. The Discharge of Fukushima’s Radioactive Water could be a Precedent for Similar Actions. 

Hyping Ukraine Counteroffensive, US Press Chose Propaganda Over Journalism. 

What is the Digital Prison?

Climate. Global stocktake UN urges radical changes in climate policy plans at Cop28. Fossil fuel industries have captured global UN negotiations on climate change. Antarctic sea-ice at ‘mind-blowing’ low alarms experts.

Christina notes. Blatant hypocrisy and lies from Rafael Grossi and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Digital confusion.

ART and CULTURE. Nuclear Free Local Authorities back councillor’s call to preserve bunker as museum to folly of nuclear war.

CLIMATE. Don’t underestimate ravages of climate crisis when storing nuclear waste. Kings Bay nuclear submarine hub dodged a bullet named Hurricane Idalia.

ECONOMICS. A new French fairy tale: “Cheap” nuclear electricity in France is not what it appears. Marketing. Top candidate for head of European Investment Bank cautions about defense, nuclear investments. USA can’t get investors for Small Nuclear Reactors: no problem – flog them off to Ghana!       ‘War Is Good for Business,’ Declares Executive at London’s Global Arms Fair.

EDUCATION. The normalisation of nuclear power and militarism in our schools.

EMPLOYMENT. 1000 Sellafield Ltd. contractors to be balloted for strike by Unite.

ENERGY. Ukraine plans up to 1GW wind farm in Chernobyl nuclear disaster zone. Endless energy use needed for endless data storage – so, small nuclear reactors for Sweden. Windfarm bid withdrawn after Ministry of Defence raises nuclear testing station concerns. Solar energy boost for France. Renewables boost in Germany: turning the corner after a bad year?

ENVIRONMENT. Earth ‘well outside safe operating space for humanity’, scientists find. Radioactive discharge from Fukushima nuclear plant raising concerns on California coast. Eating the three-eyed fish: where is Australia on nuclear wastewater in the Pacific?

ETHICS and Religion If The US Really Was What It Pretends To Be. “A world free from nuclear weapons is possible”. The US Air Force Is Clearing Out Jungles In The Pacific To Prepare For War With China.

HUMAN RIGHTS. JULIAN ASSANGE AND THE END OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES. British activists join Nuclear Free Local Authorities in supporting Swedish Sami against uranium mining. Uranium Mining Protections Needed Across the West. Forced removal of Chagos islanders gave the US a nuclear base and the UK a deal on nuclear weapons.

LEGAL. French nuclear cartel fined €31m. Small island nations take high-emitting countries to court to protect the ocean.

MEDIA. Fukushima’s nuclear waste: Stigmatising Russia, approving Japan.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Small modular nuclear reactors for Ukraine (safe?)

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Peace boat’s message is clear: Golden Rule mission urges support for nuclear ban treaty. Activists want California nuclear reactor closed over safety concerns

POLITICS. 

• The U.K.’s Goldilocks Moment For Nuclear Power. Huge nuclear lobbying aimed at British Parliament . Sunak gives China green light to build UK nuclear plants despite nation being ‘threat to our way of life’.   Nuclear Free Local Authorities’ plea to new Energy Secretary: ‘Don’t make Sizewell C Suffolk’s nightmare.’    
• Germany advises against nuclear power in Uganda. 
•  Israel’s nuclear commission head refuses to side by High Court – in the case of a constitutional crisis 
• Public Need Versus the Business of War. 
• 50 US Lawmakers Reintroduce ‘CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act’ to Protect ‘the American Way of Life’.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

• Germany’s Scholz: Fresh nuclear disarmament talks should include China. 
• Guam residents inch closer to compensation for US nuclear testing. 
• How the ‘nuclear football’ remains a potent symbol of the unthinkable. 
• US incapable of negotiating – Russian diplomat. Ukraine joining NATO ‘would not promote peace’ – ex-French president. Zelensky Implies Ukrainian Refugees in Europe Will Resort to Terrorism If West Curtails Aid. 
• Congress should seek ‘poison pills’ for any US-Saudi nuclear agreement.

PUBLIC OPINION. A push-back against Western influence is reportedly prompting countries to reject the pro-Ukraine agenda.

RELIGION. Kiev orders closure of Christian churches

SAFETY. 

• Why this Ukrainian nuclear plant is now on brink of a ‘Fukushima’ disaster. 
• Safety fears : the problem of Britain’s ageing nuclear submarines. Nuclear Free Local Authorities concerned over safety risks regarding nuclear-armed U.S. base planned for RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk. 
• Are They Already Cutting Corners on Worker Protection at DOE’s New Plutonium Processing Plant? Environmental groups urge regulators to shut down California reactor over safety, testing concerns. Cracks at V.C. Summer nuclear plant raise concern from federal regulators. 
• Risk assessment and the nuclear cultists. 
• UN Nuclear Watchdog Risks Running Out of Money on US, China Standoff. UN nuclear agency slams Iran for barring inspectors from monitoring program. 
• A nuclear bomb is still missing after it was dropped off the Georgia coastline 65 years ago.
•   Japan to start old nuclear reactor checks in October. Incidents. Radioactive material leaks detected at Japan’s plutonium nuclear fuel  research facility’.

SECRETS and LIES. 

• Blinken, Assange, And The 20th Anniversary Of The Palestine Hotel Bombing. 
• SNC Lavalin changing its name to AtkinsRéalis in effort to shed parts of its past. From the archives: Crooked Canadian company Lavalin trying to sell ?zombie nuclear technology to China and UK. 
• IAEA sees no problem with depleted uranium weaponry – Grossi. 
• Antony Blinken mouths complacent lies: “very confident in Ukraine’s ultimate success”. 
• The UK Government Knows How Extreme the Online Safety Bill Is. G20 Announces Plan To Impose Digital Currencies And IDs Worldwide.  Elon Musk’s X venture – leading us into a digital prison?
• Ex-Ukrainian president pictured wearing Nazi symbol (PHOTOS).   Ukrainians blame Zelensky for corruption – poll.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Pentagon’s new plan to counter China includes swarms of smart satellites. 7 October – 14 October KEEP SPACE FOR PEACE WEEK.

SPINBUSTER. Blinken: US Does Not Oppose Ukrainian Attacks Inside Russia With US-Supplied Missiles.

WASTES. Decommissioning. September 14, 2023: Dounreay decommissioning end date that proved to be unachievable.

WAR and CONFLICT. NATO’s Steadfast Defender Drills Near Russia Signal Bloc’s Shift to ‘War Footing’, Pentagon blames Russian e-warfare for failed Ukraine counteroffensive.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

• Banish Nuclear Weapons ‘to History Books, Once and for All’, Urges Secretary-General, Marking International Day. 
• With long-range missiles for Ukraine, US crosses own red line.
•  Pakistan nuclear weapons, 2023.   Pakistan has 170 nuclear warheads, and may increase it to 200 by 2025, say American atomic scientists.
• Zelensky Issues Veiled Threat To Destabilize Europe If Weapons Flow Curtailed. 
• Making Britain a target for nuclear retaliation. 
• US to Shift Some Military Aid from Egypt to Taiwan.

WOMEN. Women with medical education to be banned from leaving Ukraine and forced to sign up for military service – Kyiv Post.

September 18, 2023 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. Digital confusion

Yes, it’s a confusing and scary picture isn’t it ? (from What is the Digital Prison?)

Well, today I’m finding quite a few articles about money – how cash will become obsolete, and every financial transaction will be done digitally. And I took a 6 year-old child to the zoo, where you can’t even give a child some money to buy an orange drink, or anything – every purchase must be made digitally, by card.

I thought that this transfer away from cash would take ages, and perhaps not happen at all. But now I’m not so sure.

We love to hate China. China keeps surveillance on every individual, on every aspect of their lives. But the West is now going the same way.

The cashless thing is just one part of it. G20 Announces Plan To Impose Digital Currencies And IDs Worldwide. Elon Musk’s X venture – leading us into a digital prison?

It is indeed a scary thing.

But what complicates it for me, and adds to the confusion, – is considering the sources of my information.

I mean, I had comfortable consistent ideas about whom to take seriously, and whom not. That meant, for example, – Democrats good, Republicans bad. Twitter good, Elon Musk’s X bad. Left wing better than Right wing.

But it’s not like that any more. Social media of all kinds is suspect – with many biases, and no fact-checking. And the motive of every platform seems to be the encouragement of profit-making. Of course Artificial Intelligence is adding to the murk.

Oh well, we can’t give up . Just have to keep on reading stuff, with a critical eye – does it make sense to me? do those facts sound reliable? is the language too inflammatory? Is this source likely to be reliable, or not?

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

TODAY. Blatant hypocrisy and lies from Rafael Grossi and the International Atomic Energy Agency

There are no significant radiological consequences from the use of depleted uranium ammunition in the Ukrainian conflict, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi claimed.

regarding the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine – “the problem there is war, the problem is not nuclear energy,” Grossi said.

Sweden’s renewed commitment to nuclear power highlights growing global interest in this clean source of energy ,  IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said during his official visit.

Actually – you could say that Rafael Grossi’s lies are not blatant. Rather like that other silvery-slimy mealy-mouthed international disaster, Anthony Blinken, Grossi swans around, covering his main message with meaningless “ifs” and “buts” aimed at both confusing the public, and covering his own back – should anyone dare to challenge that essential lie.

Yes – he surrounds his statements – “Maybe in some very specific cases, people near a place that was hit with this kind of ammunition, there could be contamination,” he continued, adding that “this is more of a health issue of a normal nature than a potential radiological crisis.”

In the Sweden visit – Grossi also promoted nuclear medical technology – pushing nuclear energy as therapy for cancer, ignoring the fact that ionising radiation is the major cause of cancer.

Corporate media blathers on about evil dictators Putin, Xi … but is full of praise for these slimy silvery purveyors of nuclear lies – the oh so presentable Grossi and Blinken

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

The week in nuclear news

Park in Beijing April 2023

Some bits of good news.  Chinese people are living two years longer thanks to ‘war on pollution,’ report says.  From Blacktop to Green: Cities Are Depaving for a Cooler Future. 

TOP STORIES. 

• What’s Behind Talk of a Possible Plea Deal for Assange? 
• Crew sailing ‘original peace boat’ reflect on mission to promote end of nuclear weapons. 
• Revisiting John Pilger’s 2016 Warnings About US Warmongering Against Russia And China. 
• Ukraine’s defeat could mean the end of NATO in its current form.
• Biden’s horse-trading on nuclear technology and fuels is an unprecedented proliferation risk. 
• Taiwan’s ‘clear and present’ spent nuclear fuel danger.

Climate. World meteorologists point to ‘vicious cycle’ of heatwaves and air pollution.

Christina notes. Social media is becoming more influential, while corporate media is more than ever in the grip of powerful government and business interests. Trying to make the best use of Substack. Continuing through the maze of social media.  About how to use Substack – (I recommend reading their instructions). The labyrinth of social media – The promise and the pitfalls.

ARTS and CULTURE. Exhibition for nuclear-free world opens online.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. Educating the US Imperium: Australia’s Mission for Assange

CLIMATE. The Bugey and Saint-Alban sites could reduce their production due to the heat. The Pentagon is the Elephant In the Climate Activist Room.

ECONOMICS. Today Hinkley C contract would cost £180 per MWh around 3xs the cost of offshore wind. “A Good Investment”: The Ukraine War and the US Arms Racket

EMPLOYMENT. Unite urges employer to pay a fair wage and avoid nuclear plant shutdown. Health and safety concerns raised with Dounreay management.

ENERGY. How a nuclear disaster spurred Fukushima to become a renewables leader. Could new nuclear kill one of the world’s most promising offshore windmarkets?

ENVIRONMENT. Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons-¹³⁷Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars.

ETHICS and RELIGION. Senators brag that only Ukrainians die in US proxy war against Russia. Act, or die: the climate and nuclear juggernaut.     The Four Billionaires Who Want to Control the Universe.      If Everyone Understood That The US Deliberately Provoked This War.    Japan’s Insane Immoral, Illegal Radioactive Dumping.

HEALTH. Radiation. Important new British Medical Journal article increases our perception of radiation risks.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES. Nuclear Waste Dump Threatens Kichi Sìbì (Ottawa River). The deep roots of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste fight — and why it continues to this day.

LEGAL. RADIOACTIVE TSUNAMIS: NUCLEAR TORPEDO DRONES AND THEIR LEGALITY IN WAR. Japan’s nuclear-contaminated water discharge should consider hazard accountability and compensation mechanisms.        Vinci and Bouygues among six firms fined €31m for bid rigging in nuclear work.        Residents file suit to halt wastewater release from Fukushima plant.

MEDIA. US Intelligence Official: Media Misleading Americans About Ukraine’s Battlefield Success. Lifetime War Abolisher of 2023 award to David Bradbury.

PERSONAL STORIES. Ukrainian POWs Say Families of Dead Denied Compensation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn_671tZmLQ

 POLITICS.  Illinois legislators have a lot to learn about nuclear power.   Nuclear energy touted at West Virginia Chamber forum, but key cost, oversight and waste management questions linger. Oregon hasn’t said never to nuclear power, but it should.

Guam nuclear energy ban focus of hearing. Japan announces emergency relief for seafood exporters hit by China’s ban over Fukushima water. Public opinion. USA & NATO responsible for Ukraine war, German & French public say in poll. Ukrainian Dissident Resists NATO’s Proxy War.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

• Ukraine war: Kyiv denounces G20 declaration. 
• Poland begins to extradite to Ukraine men who left it after February 24, 2022. 
• Germany, Italy highlight growing European nuclear divide. Eastern European NATO Countries Fear Peace Talks Between Ukraine and Russia. Fyodor Lukyanov: Why the ‘world majority’ sees the Ukraine conflict as an example of declining European and North American power. 
• Why Swiss Neutrality is essential for American national security. 
• The West’s blueprint for goading China was laid out in Ukraine.

PROTESTS. South Korea: Mass protests continue against Fukushima nuclear waste dumping.

SAFETY. IAEA warns of nuclear safety threat as combat spikes near Ukraine power plant. Ukraine war realises predictions of nuclear power plant threat, says Leicester civil safety expert.    Nuclear reactors: Malaysia lacks maintenance culture. Generators of Kudangulam nuclear power plant stuck in sea.

SECRETS and LIES. Russian hackers suspected to have leaked sensitive UK military and defence material on the dark web including information about nuclear submarine base and chemical weapons lab.    Ukraine wasted $17 million on faulty drones – media.

URANIUM. Does Europe need Niger’s uranium?

WASTES. UK and Japan’s governments funding research on problem of nuclear waste. Plutonium. UK / ‘No Easy Options’ For Disposal Of Plutonium Stockpile, Says Report

WAR and CONFLICT. America is not worried about the huge losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine . Nation-States as “Business Models”: Ukraine as Another Neoliberal Privatization Exercise. Scott Ritter: A comprehensive Ukrainian defeat is the only possible outcome of its conflict with Russia. NATO isn’t able to help Ukraine win. Ukraine – health care women compulsory military service.      Counter-offensive threatened by slow Western aid – Zelenskyy.

NATO Chief Openly Admits Russia Invaded Ukraine Because Of NATO Expansion. Slow mindless grind towards nuclear Armageddon?

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

• Saudi Arabia could build a nuclear bomb, experts say – and the US might help it. 
• US to Arm Ukraine With Toxic Depleted Uranium Ammunition. Depleted Uranium Won’t Bring Peace to Ukraine. Russia says US supplying depleted-uranium shells to Ukraine could lead to war between nuclear powers. Ukraine used cluster munitions against civilians – Human Rights Watch. 
• 22 Years of Drone Warfare and No End in Sight.
•  Ukraine’s ‘Biggest Arms Supplier’ Orchestrated 2014 Maidan Massacre, Witnesses Say. Is Ukraine’s new long-range missile technology bringing us closer to WW3?
• Russia warns return of US nuclear weapons to UK would be seen as escalation.
•  Senators raise concerns over US missing nuclear submarine target. 
• US Air Force tests nuclear-capable long-range missile.

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

to 4th September – nuclear news this week

Some bits of good news. How UNESCO is supporting Afghan girls and women with literacy classes.    Wind-powered shipping is back as a quiet revolution sweeps the seas.  Plant-based filter removes up to 99.9% of microplastics from water.

TOP STORIES. 

Australian Teachers in boycott of nuclear submarine project. 

US Victim of Own Propaganda in Ukraine War. Sen. Blumenthal: US Getting Its ‘Money’s Worth’ in Ukraine Because Americans Aren’t Dying.    Nuclear “lobbying” blurs into bribery

Climate. The extreme summer weather that scorched and soaked the world.

Nuclear and war. Over the years, I have been surprised, and encouraged, at the interest that people have shown in stories about ETHICS.  Some pretty shocking stories about Ethics have come up this week –  the number of influential politicians and journalists who actually rejoice in the carnage of the Ukraine war –  because it’s all making money for American shareholders while cleverly organised not to risk any American lives – only Ukrainian ones – who apparently don’t matter.

CLIMATE. Chinese government acknowledges problems for nuclear power due to climate change.

ECONOMICS. 

• Nuclear discharge leading tourists to rethink travel plans. 
• US Doubles Imports of Russian Uranium to Largest Amount Since 2005. 
• Nuclear is the new green – (Really?) 
• Tax-payer funding to develop small nuclear reactor business? Easy, get Defense and the Air Force to buy them. New small nuclear reactor company merges with a dubious ‘special purpose acquisition’ company, -reactors for use by USA Air Force in Alaska. 
• UK government announces a further £341m to speed up Sizewell C development.
•  Georgia Power customers could see monthly bills rise to pay for the Vogtle nuclear plant.
• New Brunswick Power has its head stuck in uranium.

ENERGY. The UK Government’s seventh Energy Secretary in the space of four years has “a huge amount of catching up to do” to kickstart a renewables revolution.     Focus on renewables, not nuclear, to fuel Canada’s electric needs

ENVIRONMENT. Radiation. Fukushima floodgates: dilution of the wastewater will not alter the total amount of radionuclides released. Brink of catastrophe: Japan as Pacific polluter. The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Still Casts a Shadow Over Japan. We are all Hibakusha- the global footprint of nuclear fallout.

Nuclear weapons testing cause of radioactivity in wild boars, study says.

ETHICS and RELIGION. US Officials Keep Boasting About How Much The Ukraine War Serves US Interests. Rocket-Launching Billionaires Promise a New Pie in the Sky. Archbishop Caccia recalls harm done by nuclear energy.

LEGAL. Federal appeals court blocks plan to ship nuclear waste to West Texas. Top prosecutors back compensation for those sickened by US nuclear weapons testing.

 MEDIA. Why is The New York Times Burning Peace Activist Jodie Evans at the Stake?        Critics Picked Up on Oppenheimer’s All-Too-Timely Warning on Nuclear War. ‘Then the black rain fell’: survivor’s recollections of Hiroshima inspire new film.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Hinkley Point C Nuclear Station will need daily 4,200 Olympic swimming pools’ amount of cooling water.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . A bottomless pit of public money for the UK government’s nuclear vanity project.          ‘Unrealistic and irrational’: Government announces Sizewell C nuclear station £341m speed-up despite local backlash in Suffolk.    Anger over claims RAF Lakenheath could host US nuclear weapons.

POLITICS. An Argument for the Relevance of RFK, Jr.       ‘Peaceful Atom’ Sparks Fierce Debate In Kazakh Village Slated To Host Nuclear Power Plant.         German Chancellor Scholz speaks out against new nuclear power, Deutschlandfunk reports. Chancellor Scholz dismisses talk of keeping nuclear energy option open in Germany.

UK Government’s investment in Sizewell C nuclear plant passes £1bn. Money thrown at Sizewell C to win hearts and minds.. South Koreans worry about Fukushima water: more disapprove of President Yoon.      Peace a winning strategy for Democrats in ‘24.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

• There should be no Saudi uranium enrichment. Saudi Arabia’s Nuclear Ambitions Have Put The U.S. Into A Bind.
• Young Vietnamese Diplomat, Lê Nguyen An Khanh, Envisions Nuclear-Free World. 
• Rush to accept Ukraine into EU could spell ‘disaster’ – Austrian FM.  Ukraine war: how China can get the world to step back from nuclear Armageddon.
• China Outlines ‘Obstacles’ to Resuming High-Level Military Talks With U.S. 
• The State of Nuclear Instability in South Asia: India, Pakistan, and China. 
• Only Idiots Believe The US Is Protecting Australia From China. Challenging Australia’s blind allegiance to USA against China.

SAFETY. Atomic Blackmail: Ukraine war realises predictions of nuclear power plant threat, says Leicester civil safety expert.     Over 100 security incidents at UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) nuclear weapons body.      USA Nuclear Regulatory Commission ready to remove “barriers” so as to speed up licensing of new untested nuclear reactors.

WASTES. Germany facing up to its nuclear waste problem.

WAR and CONFLICT. Ukraine’s army is running out of men to recruit, and time to win. Ukraine conflict may be lengthy – Canadian PM. The Economist says West enables Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian civilian targets. NATO’s ‘proxy war’ blues: How the US-led campaign to use Ukraine to ‘cripple’ Russia has failed. 

Report: US, Israel to Conduct Joint Drills Simulating Attacks on Iran. Living on a War Planet.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

• Kazakhstan’s 40-Year History of Nuclear Testing: Call to Action for Nonproliferation Education. 
• Vivek Ramaswamy: Cut funding for Ukraine or face ‘post-Zelensky warlord’. Why Ukraine’s Western backers are happy to feed Zelensky’s fantasies about American F-16s. Russia puts advanced Sarmat nuclear missile system on ‘combat duty’. Ukraine war: the implications of Moscow moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. 
• US fighter jets capable of nuclear bombing to be based in UK. 
• North Korea says it has simulated a nuclear missile attack to warn US of ‘nuclear war danger’.

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