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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nuclear news (still too long) this week

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

TOP STORIES.        Classified! The secret radiation files. 

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

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

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

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

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

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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. 

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is finished – governor. 

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sinister side

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nuclear (and other) news this week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ECONOMICS. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POLITICS. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

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

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

Who are the the Stink Tanks?

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

How does the Atlas Network operate to spread these messages?

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

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

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

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

What is the motive of the Atlas Network?

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

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

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

And who funds the Atlas Network?

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

What can we do about this?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

British massacre of Indians, Punjab 1919

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nuclear news – week to 31st October

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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ECONOMICS. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Space debris

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Obama administration did not pursue Julian Assange.

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

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

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

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'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'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'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'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. 

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's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. The monstrous lie – that Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians is OK

With its usual snivelling sycophancy, my own country, Australia, and other Western countries go along with this basic lie – and all the other lies that accompany it. Below are just a few of these lies that spring to mind.

*As someone else , (Hamas) committed an atrocity – that makes it OK for us (Israel) to commit an even bigger atrocity.

* “ I have confirmed pictures of (Hamas) terrorists beheading children,” Biden said. (yes – he later went back on that but the damage was done)

* Israel’s massacre of Palestinians is necessary for the security of the United States of America. (Are we supposed to believe that tiny impoverished and oppressed Gaza is a military threat to America?)

* Seeing that Israel’s atrocity (sorry I mean ‘defense‘) is justified, then it’s OK for Israel to use illegal weapons – white phosphorous, and illegal methods – starvation, against the Palestinian people.

* Israel is killing only Hamas members – “human animals” (most adults in Gaza must join Hamas, if only to get a good job, – and what about the children?)

* It’s OK for Israel to have nuclear weapons, and even threaten to nuke Gaza, as long as we pretend that we don’t know .

* Seeing that the Jews were victims of the holocaust, we should let Israel itself do a holocaust

* Those who criticise Israel are just being anti-semitic.

* Those who protest against the genocide in Palestine are terrorist supporters and must be arrested

* Supplying weapons to Israel (and Ukraine, and Taiwan) has nothing to do with promoting USA’s one most prosperous and successful manufacturing industry business – weapons making

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The beauty of lies and dishonest propaganda is that you can go back later, and unsay them, and beat your breast in hypocritical sadness, – once your awful purpose is happening, and can’t be stopped

President Joe Biden on Friday acknowledged the “humanitarian crisis in Gaza”

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Then there are the lies of omission:

With the death toll mounting in Gaza as Israeli jets relentlessly bomb the densely populated territory, Biden did not mention Palestinian casualties. Instead, he focused on Israeli victims of Hamas’s attack. Biden also did not address the root causes of the conflict.

“Let there be no doubt: The United States has Israel’s back. — today, tomorrow, as we always have. It’s as simple as that,” he added. #Israel #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants

October 14, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

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