nuclear-news

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

Nuclear news as the Trump chaos world begins

Now we enter the chaos of Trump World. It means lies, manipulations, news that you can’t trust. I cannot keep up with the Israel, Ukraine, monster China etc stuff – though it’s all on the brink of nuclear disaster.

So, from now on, I’m confining this newsletter more narrowly to NUCLEAR news. And with an emphasis on Australia, as it now faces a nuclear industry takeover, and becoming the USA’s proxy for nuclear war against China.

TOP STORIES  

California wildfires: a warning to Nuclear Regulatory Commission on climate change.

 Chris Hedges: The Ceasefire Charade. Report: Israel and Hamas Agree ‘in Principle’ to Ceasefire and Hostage Deal .

Becoming a responsible ancestor – about America’s nuclear wastes. 

The EPR nuclear sector: new dynamics show persistent risks -La cour des comptes . 

Former nuclear energy executives face federal charges in massive Ohio bribery scheme

Noel’s notes.   2025 – Australia’s dangerous nuclear dance with Dutton?      The world’s blind eye to the nightmare problem of nuclear waste disposal.

AUSTRALIA. Dutton’s new nuclear nightmare: construction costs continue to explode. Virginia, we have a problem. More Australian nuclear news at https://antinuclear.net/2025/01/20/australian-nuclear-news-13-20-january-2025/

CLIMATE. Trump’s got a radioactive time bomb under Greenland’s ice. Wildfire risks high at nuclear plants.Weatherwatch: Could small nuclear reactors help curb extreme weather? There’s a credibility gap.
ECONOMICS. French energy giant EDF launches search for Hinkley Point finance after damning audit report – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2025/01/19/2-b1-french-energy-giant-edf-launches-search-for-hinkley-point-finance-after-damning-audit-report/. 
French auditor recommends EDF delays UK Sizewell investment decision ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2025/01/17/2-b1-french-auditor-recommends-edf-delays-uk-sizewell-investment-decision/Sizewell C’s future in doubt as EDF told to prioritise French nuclear power. 
Cost of Sizewell C nuclear project expected to reach close to £40bn. EDF Energy Juggles Maintenance Amid UK’s Nuclear Energy Challenges.

Ukraine’s parliament has given the go-ahead for the purchase of two old Russian nuclear reactors.
ENERGY. Renewable energy sets global record…but it’s not enough.
EVENTS. Petition/email: Save Billions, Cancel Sizewell C
HEALTH. Nukes kill kids.
HUMAN RIGHTS. Amazon Is Censoring My Most Recent Magazine Issue.
LEGAL. Last Energy, Texas, Utah allege NRC overstepping in SMR regulation

MEDIA. CBS’ 60 Minutes Exposes the Biden Administration’s Complicity in Gaza Genocid. 

Interviews the Whistleblowers. ‘National scandal’: The BBC’s Gaza cover-up.

Told you so: Financial Times follows Nuclear Free Local Authorities’s lead on Sizewell C cost estimate.

How Canada supplied uranium for the Manhattan Project- documentary “Atomic Reaction“

PERSONAL STORIES. Patrick Lawrence: The Nihilism of Antony Blinken.
POLITICS. Over time, over budget… will our new nuclear plants ever be built? – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2025/01/20/1-a-over-time-over-budget-will-our-new-nuclear-plants-ever-be-built/
POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. The UK military’s secret visits to Israel.
URANIUM. Saudi Arabia plans to enrich and sell uranium as Iran commences nuclear talks with E3.
WASTES. Ask the locals: NFLA Chair says it is ‘prudent and proper’ for Nuclear Waste Services to consult residents over South Copeland flooding risk. Dunfermline MP Graeme Downie calls for MoD commitment to dismantle dead nuclear submarines.
WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Are AI defense firms about to eat the Pentagon? Outgoing CIA director says ‘no sign’ Iran developing nuclear weapons. Submarine nuclear core project faces ‘challenges’.

January 21, 2025 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY 2025 – Australia’s dangerous nuclear dance with Dutton?

20 January 2025 https://theaimn.net/2025-australias-dangerous-nuclear-dance-with-dutton/

Why I must now focus on Australia’s nuclear question.

For the past 18 years, I have been running two websites dedicated to the nuclear-free cause. I started these when John Howard was proposing nuclear power for Australia. The hazards then were obvious, environmental and health damage, further oppression of Aboriginal people, threats to civil liberties, proliferation of nuclear weapons, and more.

Over the last few years, the threat of nuclear war has increased. It’s become clear that men in power have come to believe that a nuclear war can be won, despite what the scientists tell us. The idea of nuclear disarmament has gone out the window, as ever new, cleverer, bigger nuclear weapons are devised by our fine “defenders”.

While danger has increased, knowledge and understanding of history has decreased. So we have a Western world that pays no attention to the background to the war in Ukraine, and confidently believes that it is all about one “evil” man – Putin, and nothing to do with the complex story of the Donbass region of Ukraine, and its quest for autonomy.

Meanwhile the horror of the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza continues, and the Netanyahu government’s ruthless oppression there is backed by Western weapons, and moral support, – because we “don’t want to be anti-semitic, do we?” And again, the history of the region is ignored.

These two situations could so easily tip the world over the brink – to nuclear war.

But as if that were not enough – there’s more on-the-brink background. We must now hate not only Russia, but also China, and Iran, and be ready to nuclear bomb them. We must build up more nuclear weapons, – to the gratification of those lovely armaments companies and their happy shareholders.

And if that all is not enough to have us now teetering on that brink, we have the most powerful nation in the world run by a deranged President Trump, who is supported, perhaps himself controlled, by a small group of obscenely rich men of brilliant minds but lopsided morals, including the ketamine-dependent Elon Musk.

So, to get back to the point. In this crazy new world, the new USA government will destroy or control political, judicial, educational and social institutions, with the aid of Murdoch media and social media. Misinformation and lies will be rife, and it will be a struggle to find media sources that can be trusted. But decent people, with the will for co-operation and for collective action continue – we just have to find them.

I have tried, through my websites to cover those international political issues that bring nuclear war ever closer. But now, it is just too hard.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, here in Australia, we have the unique situation of an entire continent being taken over, militarily, by the USA. Liberal and Labor governments have let it happen. Labor Prime Ministers, terrified by what happened to the one Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, who dared to stand up to the USA, continue to kowtow to America.

If the “tech bros” and the shadowy Atlas Foundation can play a role in bringing the chaotic Donald Trump to power in the USA, they could well do the same thing here, helping to bring Dutton’s nuclear madness to Australia. However, I must give Dutton some credit, too. He now looks likely to offer all sorts of other enticements to Australian voters, and perhaps just soft pedal on the nuclear propaganda, and hope we forget about it..

It is up to those of us who are aware, and perhaps have the time, to explore the scenario of what the nuclear industry would mean for this country.

Australia is somewhat scarred by the nuclear industry already, with the abomination of the British nuclear bombing of aboriginal land in the 1950s, and with the environmental and health destruction of uranium mining. But Australia now has this unique opportunity – to be the world leader in renewable energy, and energy conservation.

Australia does not have to be “USA’s beachfront against China” as one American politician said recently. Australia does not have to be the Southern Hemisphere base for USA’s nuclear-armed bombers, and nuclear submarines.

So, anyway, I reckon that the job for aware Australians is to keep the focus on Dutton’s nuclear nuttiness, exposing its lies. For my own part, I’m narrowing the scope of my websites and newsletter, taking them back to their original theme – for a nuclear-free world.

“

January 20, 2025 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. The world’s blind eye to the nightmare problem of nuclear waste disposal.

18 Jan 2025 https://theaimn.net/the-worlds-blind-eye-to-the-nightmare-problem-of-nuclear-waste-disposal/

Now if you were to ask an old-fashioned housewife, to prepare a complicated dinner with strong-smelling crayfish, seafoods and vegetables, , she would probably first make sure that there was a suitable garbage bin at hand.

But that’s not the way that the magnificent men in their nuclear machines thought, about the garbage from their concoctions. The American (pro-nuclear) historian Spencer Weart explains how, in the 1950s:

“the press and the public gave the matter only passing attention, preferring to leave nuclear sanitary engineering to officials. Officials left it to nuclear experts, and most nuclear experts left it alone.” 

So, they left it alone for a long time.

The authority on matters nuclear – the Atomic Energy Commission – mentioned atomic wastes as a “cumbersome” problem, – going along with the view that it was not a major issue, and technolological development would solve it in the future. The British Ministry of Supply, in 1949, concluded that  nuclear waste dumped into sea was “only slightly radioactive and the amount too small ‘to have any harmful effect on fish or on human life.’

Still, even in 1950, one report in the New York Times – “Atomic ‘Cemetery’ Needed for Waste,” a argued that “some kind of national burying place will be needed for the lethal substances;”  and warned of the dangers of dumping atomic wastes into the oceans.-  “[i]f fish ate the material, scientists fear it might find its way into food used by humans.”

“Expert” thinking about nuclear waste moved on , in the 1950s, to the idea that it could be beneficial. It could be used to generate electricity. It could have a military use -it could be used to create “a lethal radioactive ‘ line’ along a frontier. behind a river, across a peninsula, that would deny an area to the enemy.” In 1956, Lewis L. “Strauss, the head of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission  said the term ‘atomic waste’ is a misnomer”.

So developed one of the nuclear lobby’s favourite themes over the decades – “Not a Waste, but a Resource”.

However, from 1957 onwards, there was a growing public realisation especially in Europe, that nuclear wastes are dangerous, especially to health, and opposition increased to the dumping of wastes at sea..

It was not until 1993 that nuclear waste dumping at sea was banned, by international treaties – and it’s still not enforced everywhere. So, it has taken the nuclear experts and the various authorities, world-wide, a very long time to take action against the nuclear industry’s most egregious crime against nature

So, where are we today?

Writing in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, “Becoming a responsible ancestor“– Daniel Metlay gives the most comprehensive account of the USA’s policies, and the authorities’ continuing struggles to tackle the Gordian knot of nuclear wastes. And that’s just from the peaceful nuclear power industry.

On the nuclear weapons industry, also in the Bulletin, Cameron Tracy writes on the- Risks of geologic disposal of weapons plutonium.

Apart from the American experience, the media tells us, generally in glowing, optimistic terms, of the progress of super-costly deep underground facilities in Finland, and soon to come, in Sweden and France.

As if the American or “Western” history of nuclear waste were the whole story, we learn little or nothing about nuclear waste management in Russia, China, India, North Korea, South Korea, Japan (except for Fukushima). On the rare occasions when the Western media has mentioned Russia’s nuclear waste history, it is to gloat over what a mess Russia has made of it.

However, the US National Academy of Science and its Russian counterpart met in 1992 , leading to a U.S-Russia  pledge in 2000 to reciprocally dispose of 34 metric tons of excess weapons plutonium. It was a complicated co-operative effort which fell apart completely by 2016.

The nuclear waste industry bumbles on, with prospects of profits for waste management companies like Holtec, and of “jobs , jobs’, Jobs”. Is the nuclear behometh just too big to be stopped?

There are two questions about nuclear wastes that are never asked by the “experts”, let alone answered by them:

  1. Why not stop making more nuclear trash?
  2. Why do the nuclear-power countries not work together, co-operate, in getting rid of the existing global problem of nuclear trash?

January 18, 2025 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear and related news -week to 14 January

Some bits of good news.   World’s largest free meal program, aimed at children and pregnant women.   Thai tiger numbers swell as prey populations stabilize in western forests. ‘Extinct’ trees found in Tanzania spark hope for ecosystem recovery.

TOP STORIES. Genocide: The New Normal.
Drone Warfare Has Exploded the Myth of Nuclear Reactor Safety.
 Radioactive nightmare: A community’s fight for survival amid soaring cancer rates.

While Los Angeles burns, AI fans the flames.

From the archives. 40 Years Ago: US President Jimmy Carter Pushed For Renewable Energy Funding After Three Mile Island Nuclear Disaster — 

Climate. State of the Cryosphere Report 2024.

 LA wildfire damages set to cost record $135bn. 

Climate crisis ‘wreaking havoc’ on Earth’s water cycle, report finds, Energy efficiency, the forgotten tool for dealing with climate change.

Noel’s notes. The California wildfires and the unmentioned threat of nuclear radiation. The polar playground for a suicidal species?

AUSTRALIA. 

NUCLEAR ITEMS

CLIMATE. World’s climate fight needs fundamental reform, UN expert says: ‘Some states are not acting in good faith’. Energy efficiency, the forgotten tool for dealing with climate change.
ECONOMICS. Lepreau nuclear plant’s costs will continue to balloon: critic -ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2025/01/09/1-b1-lepreau-nuclear-plants-costs-will-continue-to-balloon-critic/Together Against Sizewell C letter to National Audit Office SZC Value for Money concerns 06.01.25.
EMPLOYMENT. No more buckets and spades – would nuke dump end West Cumbrian tourism?
ENERGY. Germany deploys 16.2 GW of solar in 2024 .Trump’s war on wind power: Plans to stop windmill construction nationwide.Schneider Electric warns of future where datacenters eat the grid.Is the Haverigg wind project once more under a nuclear threat?
ENVIRONMENT. CANDU reactors release WASTE HEAT as well as RADIOACTIVITY.EDF’s UK nuclear plan – salt marsh consultation delay reaction.
ETHICS and RELIGION. Are Blinken and Biden’s Gaza genocide denials any different than Nazi WWII genocide denials?
EVENTS. WEBINAR: 17 January : Exposed – New book sheds light on radiation science
HEALTH. Ohio Community Faces Cancer Crisis from Radioactive Contamination
HISTORY. When Carter met Kim – and stopped a nuclear war.
INDIGENOUS ISSUES. First Nations chiefs shouldn’t be duped by ‘nuclear-is-green’ deception.

LEGAL.

MEDIA. Raffi Berg: BBC Middle East Editor Exposed as CIA, Mossad Collaborator.
OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR .   Campaigners accuse UK government of ‘lack of transparency’ over SizewellC value. – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2025/01/11/1-b1-campaigners-accuse-government-of-lack-of-transparency-over-sizewellc-value/
PERSONAL STORIES. ‘He was prescient’: Jimmy Carter, the environment and the road not taken.
POLITICS. Genocidal President, Genocidal Politics. A new year – but old policies.EDF delays salt marsh consultation for Hinkley Point C.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.

SAFETY. Faslane Peace Camp warns of growing nuclear risks amid rising tensions.
Incidents. ‘Alarming’ environmental breaches at nuclear sites spark calls for tougher action. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) staff reported hearing loud blasts near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)
SECRETS and LIES. How Fukushima’s radioactive fallout in Tokyo was concealed from the public. The Atlas Network has eugenicist roots.
TECHNOLOGY. Could AI soon make dozens of billion-dollar nuclear stealth attack submarines more expensive and obsolete?Deep Fission to supply Endeavour data centers with 2GW of nuclear energy from “mile-deep” SMR.
Nuclear energy groups race to develop ‘microreactors’. UK will explore nuclear power for new AI data centre plan
URANIUM. US to study proliferation risk of HALEU nuclear fuel, after warning by scientists.
WASTES. U.S. nuclear spent fuel liability jumps to $44.5 billion.S. Korea’s nuclear agency launches investigation into abnormal discharge of radioactive waste.
WAR and CONFLICT. Lancet Study: Gaza Health Ministry Undercounted Death Toll By 41%.How the UK and Nato are preparing for spectre of nuclear war in space.
WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Iran has absolutely no intention to build nuclear weapons, president says.There is no such thing as good nuclear proliferation.Trident nuclear submarines leave UK reliant on the US, in lockstep with the US.How to dismantle the deadly arms trade.

January 13, 2025 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. The California wildfires and the unmentioned threat of nuclear radiation

 Australian Independent Media, https://theaimn.net/the-california-wildfires-and-the-unmentioned-threat-of-nuclear-radiation/ 12 January 2025

So far, the corporate media is not mentioning the potential threat of the Los Angeles horror fires to the Santa Susana Field Nuclear Laboratory.

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) is located approximately 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Hollywood and approximately 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Downtown Los Angeles.  The Field Lab was the site of a nuclear meltdown in 1959, and its area is radioactively contaminated. Many locals and doctors condemn inadequate cleanup efforts, and link them to high cancer rates which are 60% higher for those people living within a 2 mile radius of the SSFL. 

In 2018 the Woolsey Fire, devastating swathes of Ventura and northwestern Los Angeles Counties, started at the SSFL. The fire burned 96,949 acres (39,234 hectares) of land, destroyed 1,643 structures, and caused the evacuation of over 295,000 people.

California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control said sampling by multiple agencies found no off-site radiation or other hazardous material attributable to the fire. But another study, using hundreds of samples collected by volunteers, found radioactive microparticles in ash just outside of the lab boundary and at three sites farther away that researchers say were from the fire. Here was a case of a wildfire that started at a nuclear facility, with the danger of ionising radiation affecting surrounding areas.

The Woolsey fire started in a nuclear laboratory, but what about wildfires that start elsewhere and spread to nuclear facilities?

In Texas in February 2024, the largest wildfire in Texas history came within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of the Pantex Plant, the nation’s primary nuclear weapons facility. A 2000 wildfire burned to within a half mile (0.8 kilometers) of a radioactive waste site. the 40-square-mile Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Also in 2000, a wildfire burned one-third of the 580-square-mile (1,502-square-kilometer) of the plutonium-contaminated Hanford nuclear site in Washington

Across the United States there are 94 operating nuclear power reactors, 54 nuclear power plants operating,  42 permanently shut-down ones, and 31 operating research reactors. Also there are nuclear military facilities, including government-owned sites, military bases, and laboratories.

So far, the corporate media is not mentioning the potential threat to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, so here’s hoping that SSFL is not going to be impacted by the current wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area, – with the danger of widespread radioactive fallout.

But how long can the authorities and the media pretend that wildfires, that climate change, are not a huge danger to nuclear sites? For how long is the public supposed to believe the fairy tale that nuclear power is the solution to climate change?

The Los Angeles wildfire is a frightening and dramatic example of the new type of fire – an idea that people have not come to grips with. Our former view of wildfires, bushfires, was that they happen in forests. We’re not used to big grassfires. We’re not used to huge fires that travel at a much greater speed than before, that fling embers for great distances, that themselves create greater wind strength.

California has, over the past few years, experiencing drought, and big wildfires, In 2024 a total of 8,024 wildfires burned a cumulative 1,050,012 acres (424,925 ha). While many structures were destroyed, the current fire is a new development- with the shocking revelation that now, not only grassy areas, but cities can be wiped out.

For Australia -what a warning! It could all happen here. Much of Australia’s southeast coast has similarities with coastal California.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is opening his electoral campaign, with the Liberal Coalition’s plan for a nuclear Australia. And the Labor government in concert with the Opposition, is all for the AUKUS nuclear submarine project, with its nuclear problems of terrorism risks, and waste disposal. Neither political party seems aware of Australia’s great opportunity to be the almost completely nuclear-free continent, avoiding the dangers that global heating brings to nuclear sites.

January 11, 2025 Posted by | Christina's notes, climate change | Leave a comment

TODAY. A genocidal USA President to be followed by another genocidal USA President?

“If those hostages aren’t back, I don’t want to hurt your negotiations, if they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East and it will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out. I don’t have to say anymore, but that’s what it is.”

“Democracy” is becoming a joke. With a sort of gerry-mandered system, the USA Electoral College, not the majority of voters, determines the result of the presidential election. Indeed, the majority of U.S. citizens don’t vote, anyway.

So the USA ends up with a lying, foul-mouthed, misogynist, convicted felon as President. But that really doesn’t matter all that much, as whoever gets in can only do so with the backing of the mega-wealthy owners of corporations and media, and indeed, of the “military industrial complex”. So however the President might want to, personally, avoid militarism, he can’t.

Joe Biden has been allout for promoting and supporting and paying, for the proxy war against Russia, and for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. All the while, he’s had his slimy, silver-tongued Antony Blinken publicly pretending that the USA wants peace.

Donald Trump is an interesting contrast. From all that I could find out, he actually hates war, but has this unusual modus operandi of getting what he wants by bullying – so his weapon, preferably, is the threat of war, rather than war itself. He admires dictators, and likes to pal up with them. In the case of Ukraine, he’d probably go for a peace deal, as long as it somehow helps U.S. trade interests, and of course, his own business interests.

In the case of Gaza, perhaps the same thinking applies? If Trump could get the Gazans to hand over all their Israeli hostages back to Israel, perhaps that war would end, so perhaps Trump is using dire threats, to bully Hamas into that action.

Either way, by Biden’s consistent support and promotion of war, or by Trump’s inflammatory bullying tactics threatening war, – militarism is the way to go. And that’s how American business interests like it.

Both administrations are walking on a tightrope, that at any moment could erupt into World War 3. But that’s OK, – in the meantime, lots of weapons sales, lots of corporate profits, lots of shareholder gains, lots of jobs.

January 9, 2025 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. The polar playground for a suicidal species?

 https://theaimn.net/the-polar-playground-for-a-suicidal-species/ 7 January 25

Where to begin on this mind-boggling story about epic changes on a very small planet?

Well, let’s begin on the fun part. The Australian Antarctic Program encourages some pretty innocuous recreational activities, plus of course, encouragement for tourists to come, and to learn about the polar world. So that’s OK, I suppose. But lately, in the news, there is growing concern that tourists, Australians in particular, are taking such a playful attitude to Antarctica, that they are risking their personal safety.

Interesting that the video above puts the blame on TikTok for encouraging the fun and danger. But tourism itself is good for increasing education about Antarctica. As long as individuals personally behave safely, that’s fine, isn’t it?

But what about planetary safety?

What Australians, and most of the world, learn about Antarctica, is that it’s pretty, and has penguins, Oh, and the ice is melting a bit, too. And that’s about it. The media does not trouble our complacent little minds with information about the thermohaline ocean circulation, the atmospheric circulation patterns, the carbon-sequestration of krill, the polar vortex…. Much too hard for us, in this cricket-tennis season.

Right now, Northern Europe and parts of the USA are experiencing extreme cold weather. No doubt some people would say that this disproves global heating, climate change. Alas, these extremes, emanating from the Arctic, by the polar vortex, are exacerbated by global heating. The polar vortex is a complex system, difficult to grasp, for the average news reader, so it is part of the whole poorly known, global climate system.

Antarctica is at the other end of the world – not connected to all this? Well, not if you ignore the global thermohaline circulation, among other things like sea level rise.

Global thermohaline circulation

​
Professor Elisabeth Leane, Professor of Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania says – What happens in Antarctica doesn’t stay in Antarctica. Its future will shape the future of the planet

Which brings me to the question of safety in relation to Antarctica – planetary, not just personal.

And here’s what the University of Tasmania says about it – Antarctica’s tipping points threaten global climate stability.

The map above is from the University of Tasmania’s report by international climate scientists . It identifies the various cascading tipping points and their interactions and pressures on the ecosystem.

For those who care about the climate change issue, and about Australia and the Antarctic, I would urge them to watch, and persist with, this brilliant report by climate researcher Paul Beckwith – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WccDhnM8R8

Beckwith explains the potential tipping points identified by the study and their interrelationships , and adds the issue of sea ice loss. Critical issues are ice sheets, ocean acidification, ocean circulation, species redistribution, invasive species, permafrost melting, local pollution, chemical impacts, social impacts, local pollution and the Antarctic Treaty System. He goes on to explain with excellent graphics, the global thermohaline circulation, and then, in-depth, the records on sea ice, and then on to his detailed study on the tiny krill or light shrimp, and their global importance. Finally, Beckwith outlines the politics, the various national claims in the Antarctic Treaty System. The scientists’ conclusion – the urgent need for action on climate. Heavy stuff. Fascinating stuff. He finishes with a reminder of the unique role of that amazing critter the krill.

If you want a more concise discussion of the University of Tasmania’s December remarkable workshop of international marine scientists – go to Radio Ecoshock – World-changing Tipping Points – In Antarctica !

The “mainstream media” rarely covers climate change in any depth. For decades, the public has been informed very superficially on this life and death matter for our survival. The dedicated scientists produce their research results, but the media seem to find these too difficult, or too “political” to bother to report on them properly. The December 2024 “emergency summit” of international polar scientists in Tasmania barely got a mention in the Australian or international press.

You have to go to alternative media, to get any real insight into what is happening to the climate of our planet home. For decades now, Paul Beckwith has being producing his highly informative and wonderfully illustrated videos, on Youtube. Meanwhile Alex Smith has been doing the same sort of thing on radio and podcast, and print, – on Radio Ecoshock, which is heard in Australia on Community Radio 3CR.

In 2025, it is ever more urgent for people to wade through the morass of “social” media, and corporate media, and “alternative” media, to find the facts on climate change. Paul Beckwith and Radio Ecoshock are two examples of a rare and endangered human species – journalists who do their homework on climate change.

January 7, 2025 Posted by | ANTARCTICA, Christina's notes, climate change | Leave a comment

Short nuclear news round-up -week to 5 January 2025

Some bits of good news – 86 Stories of Progress from 2024 ,

 A 12-year-old schoolgirl has designed a solar-powered blanket for the homeless. ALSO AT  https://nuclear-news.net/2025/01/04/1-a-12-year-old-schoolgirl-has-designed-a-solar-powered-blanket-for-thehomeless/

TOP STORIES

 2025, Iran is back in the U.S. crosshairs for regime change. 

Japan, US to communicate on possible use of nuclear weapons. 

Arms control is essential to prevent the total devastation of nuclear war. 

Protect your girls: We show that biological sex IS a factor in radiation outcomes, WIDELY. 

JIMMY CARTER: Commemorations by nuke watchdogs

Climate. A snapshot of climate devastation’: Study claims 2024’s biggest climate disasters cost $200bn – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2025/01/01/2-b1-a-snapshot-of-climate-devastation-study-claims-2024s-biggest-climate-disasters-cost-200bn/ Skiing in France is slowly dying ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/12/31/2-b1-skiing-in-france-is-slowly-dying/deal for Ukraine ?

Noel’s notes.  Iran and the “right to have nuclear weapons“.  Is it realistic for Donald Trump to boast of a quick peace deal for Ukraine?

AUSTRALIA. The $80 billion question buried in Dutton’s nuclear power plan. The Coalition’s coal-keeper plan. Can true nuclear independence be achieved without ending the US Alliance? More Australian nuclear news at https://antinuclear.net/2024/12/31/australian-nuclear-news-30-december-6-june/


NUCLEAR ITEMS

ECONOMICS. Sizewell C faces calls for more scrutiny of costs ahead of Final Investment Decision. Government urged to review Sizewell C nuclear plant over ballooning cost.

Armed with Canadian taxpayer support, AtkinsRéalis and Westinghouse are competing to export nuclear reactors. Which one will prevail? -ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2025/01/04/1-b1-armed-with-canadian-taxpayer-support-atkinsrealis-and-westinghouse-are-competing-to-export-nuclear-reactors-which-one-will-prevail/
ENVIRONMENT. Some Types of Pollution Are More Equal than Others.Radiation is normal at Cesar Chavez Park, but it’s a different story underground, tests show.
ETHICS and RELIGION. The Moral Bankruptcy of the West.
EVENTS. Petition: Scrutinise Sizewell C
HEALTH. Where is the ‘mature debate’ about the health impacts of nuclear power? – ALSO AT https://antinuclear.net/2025/01/03/where-is-the-mature-debate-about-the-health-impacts-of-nuclear-power/

Cellphone radiation warning as researchers reveal new risk factor.
MEDIA. Examining Annie Jacobsen’s “Nuclear War: A Scenario”. BBC staffers reveal editor’s ‘entire job’ to whitewash Israeli war crimes.
PERSONAL STORIES. Toshiyuki Mimaki: Let’s save humanity from nuclear weapons.
One Week in the Carter Presidency: Brokering Peace and a Nuclear Crisis -ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/12/31/2-b1-one-week-in-the-carter-presidency-brokering-peace-and-a-nuclear-crisis/
POLITICS.Nuclear power had a strong year in 2024, but uncertainty looms for 2025.

No change in Iran’s nuclear doctrine, top security official says. 

US relaxes green hydrogen rules in race to boost nuclear sector  -ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2025/01/04/2-b1-us-relaxes-green-hydrogen-rules-in-race-to-boost-nuclear-sector/
POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.
Iran says ready to enter talks soon with the West to agree on a new nuclear deal. Next nuclear talks between Iran and three European countries due on Jan 13.With successful Syrian regime change, will US set sights on Iran regime change 2.0? – https://nuclear-news.net/2024/12/31/2-b1-with-successful-syrian-regime-change-will-us-set-sights-on-iran-regime-change-2-0/

A Trump-Putin Deal Over Ukraine Does Not Look Good for Europe.Can Trump Trump China (or Vice Versa)?
RADIATION. Improved way to gauge radiation doses developed for Fukushima, (they studied only 30 people)
SAFETY. Incidents. The Time Navy Lt. Jimmy Carter Was Lowered Into A Partially Melted-Down Nuclear Reactor
SECRETS and LIES. EU officials will claim ignorance of Israel’s war crimes: a leaked document shows what they knew.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS.   The Quiet Crisis Above: Unveiling the Dark Side of Space Militarization

Departing Air Force Secretary Will Leave Space Weaponry as a Legacy.

TECHNOLOGY. Here comes Yakutia, Russia’s newest nuclear icebreaker.

WASTES. WIPP’s Legacy Transuranic Waste Disposal Plan Demonstrates DOE’s Broken Promises. Decommissioning: Pickering A nuclear power plant bites the dust!

WAR and CONFLICT. Biden discussed plans to strike Iran nuclear sites if Tehran speeds toward bomb.
Syrian minorities under threat as security forces carry out raids against ‘remnants of Assad militias’.
WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES.
Trump Wants Greenland to Deploy Medium-Range Missiles Aimed at Russia .
US Has Given Israel $22 Billion in Military Aid Since October 2023.

Biden spending last month shoveling billions to get more Ukrainians killed for nothing. Biden Administration Announces Nearly $6 Billion in New Ukraine Aid.

Canada’s atomic legacy

January 6, 2025 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. Iran and the “right to have nuclear weapons”

Today we learn that  “Biden discussed plans to strike Iran nuclear sites if Tehran speeds toward bomb”. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan presented President Biden with options for a potential U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities if the Iranians move towards a nuclear weapon before Jan. 20, 

Yeah! Fair enough! I hear many cry.

After all, it’s the wicked dictatorial Muslim state that we’re dealing with, isn’t it?

As against us good Western Christian countries, where the bishops bless both sides in every war, and where it was OK to obliterate with nuclear bombs, 2 Japanese cities .

Yes, we’re so righteous, that our great and exceptional defender of freedom, the United States of America has a quiet unspoken policy that it has the right to a pre-emptive nuclear strike on another country,.

The Islamic Republic of Iran regards use of nuclear and chemical weapons as a cardinal and unforgivable sin- with the fatwa that the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons are forbidden under Islam and that Iran shall never acquire these weapons.

The Judeo-Christian beliefs apparently allow for the wholesale killing of civilians, by nuclear bombing.

Currently the world is witnessing a cruel genocide by Israel, and increasing threats by the Israeli government against Iran. We, the good Christian West, say tut tut about the mass killing of Palestinians, but seem ready to support any militancy against Iran.

What I can’t understand, given the USA’s terrible record of starting wars in faraway places, is why on Earth the USA is accepted as the fount of all goodness – able to decide the rights and wrongs of Iran’s defense and foreign policies?

How is it fair that USA, Russia, UK, France are all OK to have nuclear weapons, but no other countries can? (We frown that North Korea has nuclear weapons, but perhaps USA would have bombed them again, if they didn’t).

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the USA, and endorsed by the UN meant that  Iran was banned from transferring, importing, and exporting arms, sensitive nuclear material and equipment. Iran in return got relief from sanctions.

Now that the Israeli government is involved in conflict with other Muslim groups across the Middle East, there is a possibility that Israel will make attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites, even use its nuclear weapons against Iran. With the USA pondering on a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, before 20 January, is it any wonder that the government in Iran is re-examining its nuclear weapons policy?

January 5, 2025 Posted by | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

Military mansplaining dispels any nonsensical ideas about “the sanctity of space”.

Australian Independent Media, 31 Dec 24,  https://theaimn.net/military-mansplaining-dispels-any-nonsensical-ideas-about-the-sanctity-of-space/

Doncha love mansplaining? It simplifies everything, takes away your worries, and you can now complacently forget about any silly way-out anxieties that you might have had about technological progress.

As our military defenders develop advanced and artificial intelligence weaponry for war in space , USA Air Force secretary, and former military contractor, Frank Kendall mansplained all this perfectly for us:

Mr. Kendall said when he first came into office, there was an understandable aversion to weaponizing space, but that now the debate about “the sanctity or purity of space” is effectively over.

“Space is a vacuum that surrounds Earth,” Mr. Kendall said. “It’s a place that can be used for military advantage and it is being used for that. We can’t just ignore that on some obscure, esoteric principle that says we shouldn’t put weapons in space and maintain it.

The threat is there. It’s a domain we have to be competitive in.”

One might ponder on where this threat comes from. It seems pretty clear to me that macho military men of one nation, for example the USA, devise killing machines, and then macho men of another nation, for example China, react by devising killer machines. Then the USA men have to go one better and so on. The cleverness of macho men is the original threat.

Of course many men do not have this blinkered macho attitude to exploiting land, sea, and now space, for weaponry that damages no only humans, but other species, and indeed, the whole ecosphere. Unfortunately these many other men are also not so good at confidently mansplaining the ideas that they might have – about caring for the ecosphere, about negotiation as an alternative to war. That takes a lot of hard work, to present those ideas, and they tend to do it in a careful way, rather than talking down to the rest of us..

It is really a lot easier and simpler to decide that becoming the top killer is the way to solve differences: much harder to really think about solving the problems.

The “sanctity and purity of space”. Where did Kendall get that from?

Well, the phrase contains both a religious and environmental significance. Originally from a very spiritual poem – it has caught the imagination of many – as a theme to respect the beauty of the sky, the environment, and our role as custodians of our ecosphere.

This kind of spiritual waffle is anathema to the mansplaining military macho men.

For one thing, it involves some complicated ideas that they probably can’t understand, with their one-track adversarial thinking. To give just one example: light pollution from spacecraft disrupts the lives of not only many tiny species like moths, but also of birds and sea turtles.

Then there are ethical questions – about space vehicles, weapons, debris crashing in various locations, including neutral, uninvolved countries. And, most concerning of all is the newest technology, artificial-intelligence-enhanced fighter jets and space-based warfare. Missile-carrying robot drones with A.I.-enhanced software will be able to independently decide on flying routes, and on identifying and attacking enemy targets. Robots will be able to make decisions on whom to kill.

For one thing, it involves some complicated ideas that they probably can’t understand, with their one-track adversarial thinking. To give just one example: light pollution from spacecraft disrupts the lives of not only many tiny species like moths, but also of birds and sea turtles.

Then there are ethical questions – about space vehicles, weapons, debris crashing in various locations, including neutral, uninvolved countries. And, most concerning of all is the newest technology, artificial-intelligence-enhanced fighter jets and space-based warfare. Missile-carrying robot drones with A.I.-enhanced software will be able to independently decide on flying routes, and on identifying and attacking enemy targets. Robots will be able to make decisions on whom to kill.

January 1, 2025 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear news in the last week of 2024

So often, art gives us hope, points the way ahead. Over 40 years ago, the Australian folk band Redgum had hit songs, especially opposing war. Above is the cover picture of their first album, depicting the USA’s secret military intelligence hub in Central Australia. In this critical year of 2025, with nuclear war and climate catastrophe dangling over us, Redgum’s message about not giving up, is more pertinent than ever.And people, millions of them, are not giving up, with leadership from so many forward-thinking groups, like the 

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and many anti-nuclear, peace and environmental organisations world-wide. 

What didn’t happen in 2024 – Success on the ground and in court for the nuclear-free movement.

TOP STORIES

Another expert report finds Israel is committing genocide: The West yawns  

Trump suggests Zelensky consider ceding territories – El Pais. 

AI bigwigs want to go all-in on nuclear: they also happen to be behind nuclear companies. 

New Mexico’s Nuclear-Weapons Boom.

From the archives. Big tech, bigger lies.

Climate. We need to be prepared’: China adapts to era of extreme flooding. A year of extreme weather that challenged billions. Scientists should break the ice.

Noel’s notes. As the Gaza genocide continues, it cannot be a happy 2025.  The Australian election as a game of cricket: cost of living is the issue, but does Nature bat last?     The good Germans and the good Jews.

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

AUSTRALIA.  This talk of nuclear is a waste of time: Wind, solar and firming can clearly do the job. More Australian nuclear news at https://antinuclear.net/2024/12/26/australian-nuclear-news-24-30-december/

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

NUCLEAR ITEMS

ATROCITIES. Israeli Attacks in Gaza Kill at Least 32 More Palestinians Over 24 Hours. Israel Is Killing Civilians In Gaza On Purpose, And It’s Not Even Debatable.

Gaza babies ‘freezing to death’ amid Israel’s inhumane blockade: UNRWA. All Of Western Civilization Owns This Genocide.

CULTURE and ART. Philosophy Against Nuclear Power.

ECONOMICS. As construction of first small modular reactor looms, prospective buyers wait for the final tally ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/12/28/1-a-as-construction-of-first-small-modular-reactor-looms-prospective-buyers-wait-for-the-final-tally/

British energy supplier Centrica is prepared to “walk away” from a planned investment in the Sizewell C nuclear plant. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/12/26/1-b1-british-energy-supplier-centrica-is-prepared-to-walk-away-from-a-planned-investment-in-the-sizewell-c-nuclear-plant/

Labour donor Dale Vince urges ‘rigorous financial scrutiny’ of Sizewell C costs.

Fault puts nuclear power station offline over Christmas.

ENERGY. Why tech giants such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta are betting big on nuclear power.
ENVIRONMENT. High tide for Holtec
INDIGENOUS ISSUES. Ontario First Nation challenging selection of underground nuclear waste site in court
OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Villagers oppose proposed nuclear plant in Arasinkeri.
PERSONAL STORIES. Japan’s fishing town of Suttsu faces nuclear waste dilemma amid population decline.
POLITICS. Chris Hedges: How Fascism Came. FRANCE’S NUCLEAR ENERGY POLICY: A CHRONICLE OF FAILURE – FLAMANVILLE 3. Israel to Annex the West Bank – Why Now? And What are the Likely Scenarios?
POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. How Ukraine is Helping the HTS Militants Who Overthrew Assad. The rise and fall of Sweden’s nuclear disarmament advocacy.

RADIATION. Did Israel explode a small nuclear bomb in Syria? Spike in radiation report says…

SAFETY. Jeremy Corbyn speaks out on danger of Trident in Scotland.

There’s a Major Problem With the Nuclear War Bunkers The Rich Are Buying.

Incidents. Workers Seek Shelter As Hanford Nuclear Complex Issues Leak Alert. Earthquake-prone Indonesia considers nuclear power plan as 29 possible plant sites revealed.

SECRETS and LIES.US-Funded Group Removes Report Warning of Famine in North Gaza After Complaint From US Ambassador.Black Money, Black Flags: How USAID Paved the Way for Syria’s Militant Takeover.No more research for genocide at MIT!Pentagon Admits It’s Been Lying About the Number of Troops in Both Iraq and Syria.’ References to ‘inducing a North Korean attack’ found in ex-military official’s notes.
WASTES. Northwestern Ontario nuclear waste site selection raises concerns.Second Fukushima nuclear sample removal eyed for March.Complex plan for dismantling UK’s 27 dead, rusting, radioactive nuclear submarines.
WAR and CONFLICT. US Military Supported Syrian Rebel Offensive That Toppled Assad Government.Who’d want to survive a nuclear war?Iranian lawmaker warns Israeli strike could push Tehran toward nuclear weapons.
WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. The Guardian view on arms control: essential to prevent the total devastation of nuclear war. China sanctions US defense firms.

December 30, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

As the Gaza genocide continues, it cannot be a happy 2025

I’m sorry. I can’t rejoice over the New Year and all that stuff. How can we keep pretending – with bells and whistles and fireworks, and worthy preachings from pulpits and parliaments- that it’s all going to be better?

It’s not. It’s going to be worse. Many atrocities have occurred inthe past – and we’ve been shocked to hear about them – afterwards.

Now the atrocity is going on – in Gaza – and we know all about it, while it is happening.

I just remember, when I was a little kid – seeing pictures of Auschwitz. How could people be so cruel to other people? I couldn’t believe it.

I read The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank , who died at 15 in Auschwitz. Anne Frank had written in her diary “I still believe that people are really good at heart”. That quotation has sustained me for decades.

I wonder what Anne Frank would think about what the Israelis are doing in Gaza. Would she join the many Jews who are trying to make it stop – and are being called “anti-semitic”, some being arrested as “terrorists”?

Jonathon Cook, writing in Middle East Eye, describes how “the wilfully blind, which includes western politicians and their media, are still in denial” .  “The West Yawns” as each new research report spells out the genocide that is continuing:

“Nearly 15 months on, the Gaza genocide has become entirely normal, it has become just another minor, routine news item to be buried on the inside pages.”

” those accounts made no impact on the western political and media consensus. Nothing has stuck, even when it is the soldiers themselves documenting their atrocities, and even when it is Israeli Holocaust experts concluding that these crimes amount to genocide.’

The UN Special Committee found Israel’s warfare methods in Gaza to be consistent with genocide, including use of starvation as weapon of war.

Amnesty published a 296-page report concluding that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Human Rights Watch issued an 185-page report . Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)  issued its report, titled Life in the Death Trap That is Gaza.

Of course the USA government immediately rejected the conclusion that Israel is committing genocide. UK and other allies, and the global corporate media dutifully followed suit, and continue to do so.

In 2025, the genocide in Gaza draws to its final stages. It looks as if the global corporate media is going to sigh about it all, spout politicians’ pious statements about the suffering, remind us of the Hamas’ conducted atrocity in October 2023, and of Israel’s “right to defend itself”.

Billionaire- run corporations already dominate the Western media. In the presidency of Joe Biden, it has been bad enough, as Biden continued to support the export of U.S. weaponry to Israel, while his hypocritical Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said “all the right things” about seeking peace in Gaza.

I wish that I could predict an optimistic development for Gaza, given that there is so much international awareness of the genocide, so many respected researchers who expose it. But there’s the incoming Trump administration in the USA. Trump’s appointees regarding foreign policy and the Middle East form a string of longterm supporters of Israel. Mike Huckabee will be his ambassador to Israel, Marco Rubio his Secretary of State,  Steven Witkoff Special Envoy to the Middle East. A further complication, however, might be Trump’s relationship and strong business connections with Saudi Arabia which is not Israel’s best friend and still does not recognize Israeli sovereignty.

The power and influence of a Trump administration over the media is sure to create confusion in the public mind, about many things, but especially about Israel and Gaza. Trump is supposed to have some sort of complex plan for ending Israel’s war on Gaza, but it seems to boil down to open slather on the people of Gaza.

Amidst the confusion the media has a splendid ability to distract attention away from this Gaza horror, making us all, in away, complicit.

Still there are millions, world-wide, who know that this evil should be named and stopped

There will be continued international efforts, including legal ones, to demand a fair cessation of this war. Michael Lynk writes in AA about support for the Palestinians – “a  global movement of solidarity – particularly among the young – that will continue to inspire courageous thinking and bold acts. Its lasting impact should never be underestimated.”

December 29, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

The good Germans and the good Jews

Right now is supposed to be a great festive time – but it has become a spectacle of consumerism. Yet it’ is still good to spend time with dear friends and family.

But it’s a bit hard to forget what is going on in the world.

And grist to the media’s mill is -all the awful things, and the horrors still being done in Gaza.

A Martian, looking down on this sorry human race (and its media), might conclude that it’s a failed species, with extinction as its best option. But a more thorough examination would reveal so many thousands of people trying to be helpful to each other, and some quite heroically so.

It is a good time to pay tribute to the good people.

First of all, I’m in admiration for all those good people – the doctors, nurses, and humanitarian helpers in Gaza, risking their lives as they try to save the children, women, and men of this persecuted community.

And there are those who risk their jobs, their reputations, even their lives to stand up to the prevailing narrative that the Israeli genocide of Palestinians is OK.

The good Germans.

I bet that there are few people who realise that, back in the 1930s and 40s, there were many Germans who fought, did what they could, to stop the Nazis’ genocide in the holocaust. Catrine Clay has documented this in her book THE GOOD GERMANS:

Many ordinary Germans found the courage to resist, in the full knowledge that they could be sentenced to indefinite incarceration, torture or outright execution. Catrine Clay argues that it was a much greater number than was ever formally recorded: teachers, lawyers, factory and dock workers, housewives, shopkeepers, church members, trade unionists, army officers, aristocrats, Social Democrats, Socialists and Communists.

The Jews were the prime, though not the only, victims of the Nazi atrocities.

The good Jews

It is ironic that now there are Jews, people like the members of Jewish Voice for Peace, who bravely speak up for the best in their religion and culture, and denounce the genocide. They take the risks, and are often the leaders in student and other demonstrations

In Europe Having suffered throughout history, Jewish peace activists told Euronews Jews should identify with the oppressed and defend their rights – “whoever that oppressor may be.”   In Germany there is Jüdische Stimme (Jewish Voice)

In Britain there is Na’amod, a movement of Jews who oppose what they call Israel’s policies of “occupation and apartheid” in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. There’s also the Jewish Council of Australia.

These courageous people face opposition from Western governments that align with Netanyahu’s Israeli government. But that’s not all. They risk alienation from family and friends, and condemnation as “traitors” to the community. In Israel itself, perhaps a very few are aware of the Gaza situation: they would be readers of Haaretz the independent newspaper (which will no doubt soon be shut down by Netanyahu).

We need to honour these brave and intelligent people, and to remember that there are many thousands who, in various ways, resist the prevailing culture of greed and war-mongering.

December 24, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Week to 23 December – news counteracting the nuclear-military-industrial-media complex.

Some bits of good news 

– Incredible progress in reducing infant mortality in South Asia – UNICEF, 

India extended health coverage to millions of elderly citizens, The green economy defied sceptics

TOP STORIES

 Syria Today, Iran Tomorrow, and Inevitably China. 

Finding the Unmentionable: Amnesty International, Israel and Genocide.          Israel’s War on Gaza Is a War on Children. 

AI goes nuclear. 

SpaceX Wants to Increase Launches at Boca Chica Without a Full Environmental Review. 

Olkiluoto 3 has been a financial catastrophe for Areva, Siemens. 

Dutton said a reactor’s waste would fill a Coke can: Try 27,000 of them.

Climate. World’s largest iceberg on the move again after months spinning on the spot.

Noel’s notes. ‘Tis the season to be fake about nuclear power, AI, plastic leaves, and a lot of other things.

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

AUSTRALIA. The LNP’s nuclear policy is working just fine.    Don’t want nuclear power’: Wild scenes as protestors storm Perth’s CBD during inquiry into nuclear energy. 

The Coalition is playing voters for mugs once again with its nuclear costings.      Coalition’s nuclear plan will hit Earth with 1.7bn extra tonnes of CO2 before 2050.         The glaring gaps and unanswered questions in the Coalition’s nuclear plan and costings. More Australian nuclear news headlines at https://antinuclear.net/2024/12/17/australian-nuclear-news-headlines-17-23-december/

NUCLEAR ITEMS

ART and CULTURE. Power, control and symbolic masculinity: How Freud might diagnose the pro nuclear lobby
ATROCITIES. Israel’s Crime of Extermination, Acts of Genocide in Gaza.
CLIMATE. Major report joins dots between world’s nature challenges.
ECONOMICS.Privatizing Syria: US Plans to Sell Off A Nation’s Wealth After Assad.U.S. Corporate Land Grab in Ukraine Underlies War With Russia.France’s most powerful nuclear reactor joins grid after €13bn holdup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32XKveP01x4Foreign company withdraws from plans for Swedish nuclear power. 
ENVIRONMENT. Risky Revival: How Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant could impact agriculture . Will the legacy of nuclear power ever disappear from our coasts?.
LEGAL. Nuclear company Orano seeks arbitration over Niger mining licence.
POLITICS. Martial Law Fiasco Casts Doubt Over Korea’s Nuclear Power Push. Starmer backs minister accused of embezzling billions in Bangladesh.
POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Israel, not the ‘liberators’ of Damascus, will decide Syria’s fate. Blinken Confirms the US Is in Direct Contact With al-Qaeda-Linked HTS. Blinded to Syria. How Washington and Ankara Changed the Regime in Damascus.

SAFETY.

SECRETS and LIES. “I don’t care if its tainted money”: Council leader’s telling admission in Nuclear Waste Services cash grab debate.
SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. US Space Force conducts ‘simulated on-orbit combat’ training.
TECHNOLOGY. Nuclear shipping will face significant challenges.

Decommissioning. ‘Long journey ahead’ for nuclear plant clean-up. Final German nuclear power plant enters dismantling phase.

WAR AND CONFLICT On Ukraine war, will Trump channel JFK or LBJ? Pentagon admits massive surge of US troops in Syria. Overnight Israeli Strike In Syria So Large It Caused Earthquake. Trump And Israel Can’t Wait To Start Bombing Iran.
WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. With no real enemies, US poised to spend $1.8 trillion for national security in 2025. Despite 100% Pentagon Audit Failure Rate, House Passes $883.7 Billion NDAA. Israel’s not-so-secret nuclear weapons.

December 23, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Counteracting the nuclear-corporate- military-media complex -week to 16 December

Some bits of good news – 

Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun, have received a joint Nobel Peace Prize nomination this year.  Growing Corn in the Desert,No Irrigation Required.The Benefits of Gardening Just Keep Sprouting.


TOP STORIES . Trump Transition Team Considering Strikes on Iran.      Inside Israel’s opportunistic invasion of Syria.       Chilling Warnings for Syria: When Foreign Interventions Go Bad.           From ‘Terrorist’ to ‘Freedom Fighter’: How the West Rebranded Al-Qaeda’s Jolani as Syria’s ‘Woke’ New Leader.

Climate. Climate crisis deepens with 2024 ‘certain’ to be hottest year on record. Antarctica is in crisis and we are scrambling to understand its future.

Noel’s notes. Australia’s coming Dutton-deluge of nuclear propaganda. The legal decision on the Murdoch media – what does it mean for us?

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

AUSTRALIA. Solar switch off: Dutton’s nuclear plan amounts to declaration of war against household energy systems. Biggest losers from Coalition’s nuclear plan will be Australia’s 4 million solar households, industry says. The Coalition’s master plan: Bring large scale wind, solar and battery storage installations to a halt. 

Dutton to reveal just how much he’s gambling on nuclear power. Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan: Mad, bad, and extremely dangerous. 

How anger at Australia’s rollout of renewables is being hijacked by a new pro-nuclear network .      Inquiry into nuclear power generation in Australia: Exposing Ted O’Brien’s dishonesty. Advance’s plan to destroy the Greens. Nuclear Neverland: The Lost Boys of Costings | The West Report -masse? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSeaybp9oAA   

 Peter Dutton in his ignorance is pushing nuclear reactors in Australia – including small nuclear reactors.  

Netanyahu and Australia. More Australian nuclear news at https://antinuclear.net/2024/12/13/australian-nuclear-news-10-16-december

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

NUCLEAR ITEMS

ATROCITIES. Finding the Unmentionable: Amnesty International, Israel and Genocide.
CLIMATE. France’s New Nuclear Power Plant Is a Ticking Bomb.
ECONOMICS. Ed Miliband to bring more misery for Brits and send bills skyrocketing. Nuclear Stocks Were Super Hot Just A Month Ago: What’s Changed? France deal raises concerns over EDF dominance – Collective intelligence or failure?
EDUCATION. Congress Revives Cold War Tactics With New Anti-Communism School Curriculum
ENERGY. Murder, mayhem, and minerals: The price of the renewable energy revolution.
A nuclear-free energy future for Hydro-Québec, says Michael Sabia.

ENVIRONMENT.

MEDIA. US mainstream media missed biggest news story of 2024 . Rupert Murdoch loses his legal battle, leaving future of media empire in the balance. Why Murdoch’s succession case could be major blow to his rightwing legacy. Book: The Scientists Who Alerted Us To The Dangers of Radiation.
OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . New generation must take up fight against nuclear weapons, Nobel laureate group says.

POLITICS.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.

SAFETY. Rocket fuel eating away at US, China nuclear weapons. Drone strikes UN vehicle on way to inspect Ukrainian nuclear plant.
SECRETS and LIES. Some Thoughts On The Mystery Drones.Anyone Can Buy Data Tracking US Soldiers and Spies to Nuclear Vaults and Brothels in Germany.
SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Remember the dark skies?
SPINBUSTER. Atomic revival: A new age for nuclear?
URANIUM. How a uranium mine became a pawn in the row between Niger and France.

WAR and CONFLICT.

December 17, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »