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

TODAY. Canadians are waking up to the nuclear scam. Why are the media and other nations pretending that nuclear is just dandy?

I do read quite a few criticisms of the nuclear industry, from various non-profit groups. But lately, there’s a whole heap of them from Canada. And the unnerving thing is that these pesky Canadians are giving “chapter and verse” – facts and figures on how bad things really are, for the nuclear industry.

Of course, the Canadian, and indeed, the global nuclear lobby too, are pretending not to notice this. (But they must be a tad worried, lest too many intelligent people in other countries catch on to this annoying attention to detail)

Susan O’Donnell writes about New Brunswick’s nuclear fantasies – the history of successive governments pouring tax-payers’ money into “advanced” reactor designs that are known by reputable scientists to be commercially unviable. -The Higgs government passing legislation forcing NB Power to buy electricity, at any price, from SMRs if they are ever built and actually work.

The companies involved have been unable to entice private investors, and are unlikely to get federal funding. NB Power’s $5.4-billion debt is mainly due to the poor performance of its Point Lepreau nuclear reactor. New Brunswickers are facing a 19.4 per cent increase in electricity rates. “Keeping the Point Lepreau and SMR fantasies alive will require considerable effort from the new government. “

Another recent example – from the Seniors for Climate Action Now! (SCAN):

They point out :

  • the scandal-ridden nuclear history. 
  • the revolving door between government officials and nuclear industry well-paid jobs.  
  • the government/industry nuclear pitch to NATO-  “Ontario is selling itself as the nuclear North Star to guide the direction of American power”. 
  • the failure of theNuScale SMR project.  
  • OPG’s lengthy submission on small nuclear reactors is full of the things that could go wrong.
  •  the over $40billion cost of refurbishing old end-of-life reactors. 
  • New nuclear reactors at over $60billion

They raise such awkward questions about “Ontario’s journey to becoming an energy superpower”

But then, I forgot that this comes from Seniors. And I’ve just remembered that the nuclear industry is all about the young cool and trendy.

There are so many views from Canadians exploding the nuclear propaganda. And they’re not all old fogeys.

November 2, 2024 Posted by | business and costs, Canada, Christina's notes, politics | Leave a comment

This week: countering the nuclear-military-industrial news.

A bit of good news. UNICEF highlights four proven policy solutions for children 

TOP STORIES 

Israel’s War on Journalism.   Israel’s Iran reprisal, Middle East destabilized.    ‘This is an extermination’: Israel’s assault on north Gaza’s last functioning hospital. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wKluf25Or0 

Sellafield cleanup cost rises to £136bn amid tensions with Treasury. 

 Japan struggles to find nuclear waste disposal site.

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Climate. Climate Goal “Will Be Dead Within a Few Years” Unless World Acts, UN Warns.     UNEP: New climate pledges need ‘quantum leap’ in ambition to deliver Paris goals.‘Climate crunch time’: UN warns world risks over 3C warming without urgent action this decade. 

‘We have emotions too’: Climate scientists respond to attacks on objectivity. 

Cop29 host Azerbaijan set for major fossil gas expansion, report says.

Biodiversity. Humanity is on the verge of ‘shattering Earth’s natural limits’, say experts in biodiversity warning

Noel’s notes.  Weep for Gaza, the Palestinians, weep for the Jews- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wKluf25Or0    Behind the really nasty “NICE” nuclear energy push to control the November COP Climate Change Conference. The world’s top lying nuclear salesman is after your climate action money.

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AUSTRALIA. Top Australian honour (whaa-at !!!!) for American politician who helped push Australia into the AUKUS agreement.    Union slams “false hope” in nuclear push, warns energy jobs at risk. Matt Kean lambasts ‘wild fantasy’ of former Coalition colleagues to extend coal power and build nuclear plants. Drink up: Peter Dutton needs one billion empty Coke cans to store his nuclear waste.     More nuclear news headlines at https://antinuclear.net/2024/10/24/australian-nuclear-news-21-28-october/

NUCLEAR ITEMS.

ATROCITIES. The Gazafication of Lebanon: Israel Blows up Nabatieh City Hall, kills Mayor and Aid Workers. When The Holocaust Returned It Came Denouncing Anti-Semitism And Wearing A Star Of David.
CLIMATE. Nuclear lobby on track to sabotage COP29 . Book: Meltdown nightmares: silent spring for climate change.
CIVIL LIBERTIES. Literary Institutions Are Pressuring Authors to Remain Silent About Gaza.
ECONOMICS. Cost overruns at Sellafield nuclear waste site to hit £136bn ALSO AT …..
EDUCATION. Nuclear lobby continues to infiltrate education. Nuclear lobby propagandises to kids AGAIN!
EMPLOYMENT. Green jobs and green skills – the state of play.
ENERGY. How data centres will cut carbon emissions, not increase them. Will AI’s huge energy demands spur a nuclear renaissance?
ENVIRONMENT. ‘Millions of fish could die’ under current Hinkley Point C plan. Fears salt marsh plan could lead to ‘destruction’ of Severn Vale.   Somerset village would be devastated by salt marsh plans.  Navy ‘Innovation’ Center  for “warfighting capabilities” will harm the Monterey Peninsula and ocean. Wildlife Refuge’s Toxic Past Still A Colorado Concern. Inside the radioactive island with mutant sharks that was used to test nuclear bombs.
EVENTS. Petition (UK). Scrutinise Sizewell C
HEALTH. Crew members on Royal Navy nuclear submarine left with ‘low supplies’ and suffering fatigue.
LEGAL. UK Snubs Council of Europe Over Assange Inquiry. Fighting for More Evidence of Assange’s Political Prosecution.
MEDIA. Media Hawks Make Case for War Against Iran. Israel Continues Its War On Journalism. Let’s talk about…Mainstream Media (MSM) Coverage of Israeli War Crimes. Western Press Scramble To Frame Israel’s Attack On Iran As Self Defense. Ha ha – Facebook removed my post AGAIN!
OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . ‘Nuclear waste would be disaster for our seaside’.
PLUTONIUM. Isotopic signature of plutonium accumulated in cryoconite on glaciers worldwide.

POLITICS.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Path to peace in Ukraine is thru negotiated settlement, not escalatory war that could go nuclear.

Iran complains to IAEA about possible Israeli attack on nuclear sites. Biden to Bibi: ‘OK to continue Gaza genocide till after election’. President Biden’s depraved last 15 months enables Israel’s genocidal destruction of Gaza.

SAFETY.Iran complains to UN nuclear watchdog about Israeli threats against its nuclear sites.US nuclear regulator kicks off review on Three Mile Island restart.Letter laments the unscientific assurances of safety by spokesmen from the nuclear industry.Are Royal Navy nuclear deterrent submarines being re-supplied mid-patrol?
SECRETS and LIES. Mini-Nukes, Big Bucks: The Interests Behind the SMR Push.US authorizes CIA mercenaries to run biometric concentration camps in Gaza Strip.Secrecy over radioactive pollution from nuclear bases.
SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Space Tech Is How Israel Targets Doctors’ & Journalists’ Homes For Bombing.
SPINBUSTER. Alistair Osborne – nuclear is waste of time and money– ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/10/25/2-a-alistair-osborne-nuclear-is-waste-of-time-and-money/‘You couldn’t make this up’: Expert pans Ontario nuclear option.
TECHNOLOGY. Three Mile Island nuclear plant gears up for Big Tech reboot.
URANIUM. Nuclear Energy Firm Orano Halts Niger Uranium Production

WASTES.

WAR and CONFLICT. Israel strikes Iran military targets amid fears of a wider war.
WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. CND condemns ‘outrageous railroading’ of US-UK nuclear agreement renewal through Parliament.

October 28, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Weep for Gaza, the Palestinians, weep for the Jews

It has now become so horrible – is the world turning away? Is it atrocity fatigue?

Look at the courage of the Jewish people in B’Tselem –  The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, based in Jerusalem. If they have the guts to speak out – why is everybody else – especially the Biden administration and the corporate media pretending it’s all OK?

As I’ve pointed out before – there was some excuse for the Western world pretending not to notice the atrocity- the genocide – going on in Germany 1936 – 1945, because it was not so widely known – no big media coverage in the press and radio then available.

There’s no excuse now – with extraordinary journalistic evidence coming out daily – first hand videos, audios, – the courage of ordinary people and those few journalists still able to report from Gaza. Israel stops journalists from entering Gaza, and kills those who are there.

Apart from the small matter of Israel’s military aggression leading to World War 3, the Israeli government’s systematic killing of Gazans has reached a point where it is so horrendous and should be stopped now while there are still some Gazans left.

How can the world continue to believe the blitherings of Blinken and Biden?

Biden could stop the Gaza killings today – could stop supplying the weapons to Israel

Apart from the horrors suffered by the Palestinians right now – what’s going to happen to the Jews after all this?

In the USA, we have the absurdity of the arresting of Jews who protested against this Gaza genocide – and these Jews are being called “anti-semitic”.

In fact – anti-semitism is on the rise – because people are confusing the barbarity of the Netanyahu government with true Jewish religion.

While many of us – distant onlookers – feel for the suffering of the Palestinians – we may later also feel for Jews worldwide – perhaps victims of a new wave of anti-semitism.

October 26, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. Behind the really nasty “NICE” nuclear energy push to control the November COP Climate Change Conference.

Prepare to be dangerously greenwashed.”

The billionaires and other manipulators have been planning this for years

Their goal is to direct United Nations policy, and the finances for climate action, towards the nuclear industry . Their motives are mixed, but MONEY is the big one.

The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP29, will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 11 to 22 November, 2024. 

The nuclear push is led by a relatively small phalanx of wealthy, powerful individuals – not many in number, compared to the many thousands of people who have qualms about the nuclear lobby running the show at Azerbaijan . But of course, the nuke lobby will be helped along by the fossil fuel giants. If nuclear is accepted as the cure for climate change, there will be a delay of decades for nuclear power to get going again – which means that oil, gas, coal will have full sway.

Nuclear and fossil fuel energies are partners in this crime against our planet.

Even at the 2015 COP  Paris Climate Agreement, nuclear ‘influencers’ like Ernest Moniz and Bill Gates were touting the plan – nuclear as the cheap way to fund climate action. A plan quickly taken up by Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Marc Benioff (Salesforce), Michael Bloomberg, Richard Branson, Jack Ma (Alibaba), David Rubenstein (Carlyle Group), Tom Steyer, George Soros, and Mark Zuckerberg – forming the Breakthrough Institute

Now it was time to really go for the tax-payers’ money, as Bill Gates launched Mission Innovation – to “increase government support” for new generation nuclear technologies. Mission Innovation involves 24 national governments, including the USA, Canada, China and India, the World Economic Forum, the International Energy Agency, and the World Bank.

Joyce Nelson has outlined the development of this “nuclear for climate” push, kicking off the new enthusiasm for small nuclear reactors, especially in Canada, around 2018. No surprise that the scandal-ridden company SNC-Lavalin jumped onto this bandwagon, forming a consortium the Canadian National Energy Alliance (CNEA)

By 2018, Gates was launching Breakthrough Energy Europe, a collaboration with the European Commission. In 1919 Canada hosted the Clean Energy Ministerial/Mission Innovation summit launching NICE -the “Nuclear Innovation Clean Energy Future”

M.V. Ramana warned in advance of the summit, “Note to Ministers from 25 countries: Prepare to be dangerously greenwashed.”

I doubt that the COP 29 summit has any credibility with intelligent people. Held in Azerbaijan, one of the world’s worst petrochemical autocracies, this supposed climate action meeting will be one blatant front for the fossil fuel lobby, as well as the nuclear one.

Sad to have the United Nations sponsoring this pack of liars.

October 24, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes, climate change | Leave a comment

This week – countering the nuclear-military-industrial -complex

Some bits of good news –  Powering Up the Global South    Elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in India. A powerful new film shows nature restoration in action.

TOP STORIES. 

Is it worse to have no climate solutions – or to have them but refuse to use them?

Israel attacks the United Nations . 

Secrets and Lies: This is how the West doomed Ukraine.Senior U.S. Diplomats, Journalists, Academics and Secretaries of Defense Say: the U.S. Provoked Russia in Ukraine.
Nuclear disarmament is an urgent cause in a world on the brink.
The Energy Department just made one plutonium pit. -making more is uncertain.


Making “Australia a Global Nuclear Waste Dump”: Senator Shoebridge on Labor’s Latest Betrayal.

Climate. The Atlantic Ocean’s currents are on the verge of collapse. This is what it means for the planet.

Noel’s notes.   All the way with AI – up, up, then -into the abyss?  Media enthusiasm for dodgy “cutting edge Lego-like micro-nuclear power plants” , (but doubts creep in).

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AUSTRALIA
Congressional report suggests Australia could dump plans to acquire AUKUS nuclear submarines. Australia’s democracy trashed, as Labor government + Liberal opposition join forces to push AUKUS bills through. Queensland Premier Steven Miles is promising to hold a vote on nuclear power. Here’s why. Deadly war for journalists.  More Australian nuclear news at https://antinuclear.net/2024/10/15/australian-nuclear-news-headlines-14-21-october/

NUCLEAR ITEMS

ARTS and CULTURE. “We’re Spending 2 Trillion Dollars on Weapons That Must Never Be Used”
ATROCITIES. Israel Is Routinely Shooting Children in the Head in Gaza: US Surgeon & Palestinian Nurse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgSZ1fTk4r8. We’re Basically Being Asked To Believe That The Palestinians Are Genociding Themselves.       Gabor Mate: ‘It’s like we’re watching Auschwitz on TikTok’.
CLIMATE. The world’s top lying nuclear salesman is after your climate action money. How carbon capture and storage and nuclear are adding little to decarbonisation compared to solar and wind.
ECONOMICS. ‘A catastrophically poor bargain for the UK’: Experts verdict on government plan for new nuclear finance. New investment sought for Hinkley Point C as French twin nuclear reactor switched on. Apollo Global Management Inc in Talks to Partly Finance EDF’s Hinkley UK Nuclear Power Plant.
ENERGY. Open AI Wants to Build Data Centres That Would Consume More Electricity Per Year Than the Whole of the U.K. Small nuclear reactors won’t be ready in time for the needs of energy-guzzling needs of Artificial Intelligence ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/10/18/2-b1-small-nuclear-reactors-wont-be-ready-in-time-for-the-needs-of-energy-guzzling-needs-of-artificisal-intelligence/
ENVIRONMENT. Oceans. A nuclear kettle of fish at Hinkley Point C. North Somerset village urges re-think on EDF salt marshes. Councillors raise concerns over fish populations at Hinkley C.Some Types of Pollution Are More Equal than Others.
LEGAL. Plutonium just had a bad day in court.Environmental groups challenge the nuclear industry’s portrayal of its energy as “clean” and “non-emitting,” citing health risks and long-term radioactive waste.
MEDIA. Revealed: The Israeli Spies Writing America’s News. Book: THE FALL OF ISRAEL: The Degradation of Israel’s Politics, Economy & Military. Deadly war for journalists – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykKth4sEbII
OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Campaigners welcome international investors to UK summit but urge them to boycott “toxic investment” Sizewell C 14.10.24. Open Letter to the Department for Energy Security –new nuclear power ‘a catastrophically poor bargain’
POLITICS. US opens applications for $900 million for small nuclear reactors (article includes a note of caution). Years after nuclear fiasco soaked ratepayers, leaders look at restarting VC Summer project .
POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. “Goodbye Lebanon” – High Israeli Official. Biden Says OK, So Far. “Israel must be expelled from the United Nations”. Israel’s War on the United Nations. Another Phony Biden PR Stunt About Humanitarian Aid In Gaza.Ukraine ‘will seek nuclear weapons’ if it cannot join Nato. Biden should channel Trump and talk to Putin.
North Somerset MP objects to salt marsh at Kingston Seymour.
SAFETY. New phase in safety work on Chernobyl’s original shelter. Incidents. Nuclear Missile Submarines Collided (Armed with Hundreds of Nuclear Weapons).
SECRETS and LIES. Exposed: How Israeli spies control your VPN (Virtual Private Network).Zelensky aide reveals secret clauses of ‘victory plan’.

SPINBUSTER.Refuting myths about nuclear and renewable energy.The Irony of Powering AI on Atomic Energy.Competition Bureau asked to address nuclear industry’s false and misleading claims of “clean” and “non-emitting” energy.
TECHNOLOGY. Google Pivots to Nuclear Reactors to Power Its Artificial Intelligence. What does Google’s move into nuclear power mean for AI – and the world? Amazon bets on nuclear power to fuel AI ambitions.
To make nuclear fusion a reliable energy source one day, scientists will first need to design heat- and radiation-resilient materials
WASTES. How to build a nuclear tomb to last millennia.Decommissioning. First ex-Royal Navy nuclear submarine to be disposed of enters final dismantling phase. Video. Gordon Edwards on Nuclear Fuel Waste Abandonment (South Bruce).
WAR and CONFLICT. Volodomyr’s World: A Delusional ‘Victory Plan’.
Widening the War: The US Sends Troops to Israel. Leaked US Intelligence Documents Outline Israeli Preparations to Strike Iran. Nuclear Fever: War Mongering on Iran. Report: Israel Plans To Strike Iran Before US Presidential Election.  Will Israel cross the red line of targeting Iran’s nuclear sites? An Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities could backfire.
Under the shadow of a NATO-Russia nuclear war, Hibakusha awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 200+ Jewish-Led Protesters Arrested at NY Stock Exchange Say ‘Stop Arming Israel’. U.S. to Deploy Missile Defense System and About 100 Troops to Israel.

Germany Dismisses Ukraine’s Demands for Taurus Missiles and NATO Membership. Ukraine must have nukes or NATO – Zelensky.

NATO Announces Nuclear Drills as Nobel Goes to Atomic Weapon Abolitionists.

China’s openness about its latest nuclear missile test shows growing confidence vis-à-vis the United States. China not part of nuclear arms race, says envoy.

October 21, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. All the way with AI – up, up, then -into the abyss?

In Australia – way back – we used to say “All the way with USA!”. (We still do – can’t help it – it’s our “cultural cringe” – we think we’re a bit stupid).s

But sorry – all the way with AI doesn’t rhyme – which makes the whole thing even gratingly worse.

I’ve been alerted to this global problem by the wonderful article “ Is it worse to have no climate solutions – or to have them but refuse to use them?“, by the heretical Rebecca Solnit. In a previous era, she would have been burnt at the stake. Probably still will be, the way things are going.

At least she’ll have company- there are bound to be many deaths as wildfires become more prevalent and more severe. Yes, I’m talking about climate change – that boring old subject, which shouldn’t get a mention in the media, while we obsess over important stuff, Trump’s caps, and childless cat ladies.

It’s not as if Rebecca Solnit is telling us anything new, really. We all know that big leaps in technology are led by ambitious, technically brilliant, highly competitive men. Somehow or other, we revere these men, even though some of them clearly have a strangely lop-sided cognitive state -with a deficit in integrity and ethics.

That’s why “progress” from way back, then through the industrial revolution, and now the digital revolution has been accompanied by shocking exploitation of millions of people . It’s been the ill-treatment of “the working class”, of indigenous peoples – to develop mines, and progress in transport and modern industries, and of course, in warfare. But still we admired and followed the “captains of industry” who led us all into the mixed bag of “progress”

Today’s captains of industry – Musk, Gates, Bezos, Zuckerberg – and about 7 more digital champions are headed towards becoming trillionaires – with many other clever technical billionaires in the running, too. Along with their obscene wealth goes their power and influence over governments , education, and media.

Rebecca Solnit brings something different to this discussion. She simply points out, using the example of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt  – the mindset that we should not worry about climate change – we should go ahead with AI because somehow Artificial Intelligence will solve the problem.

As Solnit says “decoy is the new denial” , meaning that “we ignore workable present-day solutions in favor of unworkable and nonexistent ones while continuing to burn fossil fuel.”

We know that the solutions are there – thousands of scientists are telling us. But these thousands of men, and women, too – have more normal brains, including qualities of integrity and ethics, and the ability to look at the total picture, and imagine the future.

Sorry, but to me, the tech squillionaires are looking increasingly like the Christian religious figures of the past – who frightened the public with fears of burning in hell, and then sold the public “indulgences” that were supposed to save them from hell.

October 19, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. Media enthusiasm for dodgy “cutting edge Lego-like micro-nuclear power plants” , (but doubts creep in).

modules assembled “like a LEGO kit” and designed to be fabricated, transported, and assembled within 24 months”

BUT -“the tech is still in the early stages and faces a myriad of hurdles.”

“has yet to obtain licensing and planning approvals“

“How the new fleet of SMRs will be funded has yet to be established. The technology is not yet generating power anywhere in the world”

I am fascinated with the way that the media continues to obediently trot out the official dogma that small nuclear reactors are the new great white hope – for everything – jobs, reduce carbon emissions, revitalise the economy, cheap, clean, plentiful energy, – blah blah. The interesting thing is that, in the midst of their enthusiasm, some respectable news outlets occasionally now slip in a little bit of doubt.

A couple of examples of doubt from the UK.:

Guy Taylor, Transport and Infrastructure Correspondent at City A.M. enthuses over a “hotly anticipated tender“ surrounding the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMR)’s in the UK. A micro reactor project in Wales will bring  energy for 244,000 UK homes – “will pump around £30m into the local economy”.

But he also mentions that  “the tech is still in the early stages and faces a myriad of hurdles.”

  Ian Weinfass, in Construction News gives a positive, optimistic, story on this micro nuclear reactor development, but clearly states that the company (Last Energy) “has yet to obtain licensing and planning approvals for its technology.“ He tellingly concludes “How the new fleet of SMRs will be funded has yet to be established. The technology is not yet generating power anywhere in the world”

However, don’t fret, little nuclear rent-seekers! Most of the media is still obedient, and they know which side their bread is buttered on . Sion Barry, writing in Wales Online, describes the same “24/7 clean energy” project as “of national significance“. There’s a reassuring note about wastes, and the barest mention of “planning and licensing approvals“. Business Green discusses the Last Energy plan as “clean energy”  – modules assembled “like a LEGO kit” and designed to be fabricated, transported, and assembled within 24 months”

News media, on the whole, are happy to uncritically trot out a nuclear company’s line – as we find this same project touted in Reuters, in Power, Sustainable Times, in New Civil Engineer. On Google News today, there are 15 similar articles, with only Yahoo! News including a tad of doubt about local public reaction.

And by the way, Tom Pashby in New Civil Engineer also adds to the joy by telling us that the company involved, Last Energy is working with Nato on military applications of micro-reactors.

October 17, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors | Leave a comment

This week’s news – not from the nuclear-military-industrial-complex

Some bits of good news – Australia quadruples the size of marine reserve near Antarctica. The world’s spending to fight global lead poisoning just doubled. Seoul’s Han River is being restored

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TOP STORIES

Michael Hudson and Richard Wolff: Middle East Exploding, Ukraine Crumbling, US to Take Action? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXDz1PdMWao.

“Escalation dominance” and the new nuclear threat: We face more than 1,000 Holocausts.

Israeli retaliation threat sparks call in Iran for nuclear weapons.

Japanese anti-nuclear organisation awarded 2024 Nobel Peace Prize – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCm3CStSao8

Radiation: Updated findings provide insights into radiation exposure’s impact on cancer risk.

Renewable Energy Surge Lowers UK Blackout Risk.

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Climate. Unprecedented peril: disaster lies ahead as we track towards 2.7°C of warming this century. The climate crisis threatens societal collapse—how many more hurricanes will it take for us to wake up?

Biodiversity. WWF: Average wildlife populations have fallen 73 per cent in 50 years.

Noel’s notes. Vitriolic hatred of Arabs and Russians versus THINKING and practical military strategy. The “tech bros” are going to have a global party with AI in warfare. Should we let them be in control?. How in the hell do you cope with Facebook?

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AUSTRALIA. Albanese and Dutton team up on toxic AUKUS nuclear waste deal. One of Australia’s largest unions, the ETU, questions Australia’s billion-dollar nuclear price tag. Australia’s evolving nuclear posture: avoiding a fait accompli (Part 1 of 2).

Labor springs surprise nuclear power committee to call Coalition bluff on energy policy. John Hewson –The opposition leader’s nuclear bullshit. More Australian nuclear news at https://antinuclear.net/2024/10/10/australian-nuclear-news-headlines-oct-7-14/

NUCLEAR ITEMS

ART and CULTURE. One Horrible Year on from October 7 2023, a Bleak Reflection.
ATROCITIES. Israel: Simply no red lines at all.  Let’s remember the365 days of genocide as well as October 7 attack.  Israeli Snipers Routinely, Deliberately Shoot Palestinian Kids In The Head.  As Israel Extends Its Genocide Into the West Bank, It Targets and Kills Children. Patrick Lawrence: Truths That Come Out Like the Sun.
ECONOMICS. Rolls-Royce mini nuke arm posts wider £78mln loss. Rolls-Royce suffers £78m loss on mini-nukes amid UK rollout delays. EDF Seeks to Raise Up to £4 Billion to Help Fund Construction of UK’s Hinkley Nuclear Plant.
EDF reportedly seeking up to £4bn from investors to finish Hinkley Point C.
EDUCATION. Financing new nuclear. Governments paying the price?- ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/10/12/1-b1-financing-new-nuclear-governments-paying-the-price/

 Nuclear lobby takes over tertiary education, with blatant lies about “clean” “green” nuclear.
ENERGY. Nuclear – not the way ahead.
Renewables based systems are reducing blackouts in UK and USA!
China to head green energy boom with 60% of new projects in next six years.
Japan PM Ishiba eyes more renewables, less nuclear in energy mix.
ENVIRONMENT. Farmers warn over Hinkley Point C’s saltmarsh plan. EDF bosses grilled over River Severn salt marsh plans at ‘prickly’ meeting. Nuclear plant ‘will decimate fish stocks’.
LEGAL. Are DOE and NNSA Complying with the National Environmental Policy Act?.
MEDIA. “The First Live-Streamed Genocide”: Al Jazeera Exposes War Crimes Filmed by Israeli Troops Themselves.US-Backed Israeli Military Forces Have Executed Numerous Journalists Since October 7.

Brutal lessons of 1984 nuclear bomb drama Threads. BBC viewers urge everyone to watch ‘bleak’ war film that has only ever been shown four times. “Threads” brings nuclear war fears to a new audience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgT4Y30DkaA&t=11s
OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Planned nuclear plant in a Kenyan top tourist hub and home to endangered species sparks protest. Nuclear power stations are neither wanted nor needed in Scotland.
PEACE. UK and Ireland partners congratulate 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
PERSONAL STORIES. Palestine Talks | Medea Benjamin ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB_OxrjJsRA)
POLITICS. As Milton bears down on Floridians, Joe and Bibi bear down on Iranians. Israeli Protesters Call for Ceasefire in Anti-War Demonstrations – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGw3XTLhIpk.

Kamala Harris’ foreign policy agenda music to war party, anathema to swing state voters.

Hinkley Point C saltmarsh plans ‘a disaster‘, say MPs.
POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Biden Officials Say Ceasefire Talks Are Suspended as Harris Names Iran Top Enemy. Biden Allowing Israel to March US Into War With Iran. 
IAEA Missing in action, on Israeli nuclear strike threats, Iranian outlet argues.

NATO state’s PM pledges to block Ukrainian membership.
SAFETY. Canada’s false ‘solution’ for used nuclear fuel waste. Canada’s nuclear watchdog green-lights operation of aging Pickering reactors to 2026 – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/?s=Canada%E2%80%99s+nuclear+watchdog+green-lights

Ukraine wants UN nuclear watchdog to place foreign observers near all its nuclear plants.
SECRETS and LIES. Is This The Last October 7 Where We’ll Be Able To Speak The Truth?Fulsome bribery to communities – from Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO).
SPINBUSTER. Sellafield’s “Social Impact Multiplied” Wins Greenwash Award for “The Edge” Water Sports Centre in Contaminated Harbour.
TECHNOLOGY. On Army bases, nuclear energy can’t add resilience, just costs and risks.
URANIUM. DoE awards next-gen nuclear fuel contracts backwards.
WASTES. Securing a nuclear waste disposal site for the future. A desire to leave not a ‘compelling need’ under nuke dump compo scheme say Nuclear Waste Services.
WAR and CONFLICT. Slaughter In Gaza And Lebanon As War With Iran Approaches. Report: US Considers Launching Airstrikes Against Iran To Support Israeli Attack.
Carnegie nuclear expert James Acton explains why it would be counterproductive for Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear program.Israel may attack Iran’s nuclear sites to target weapons: See map. 
Blinken approved Israeli attacks on Gaza aid convoys: Report. “Greater Israel:” Cabinet Minister Plots Seizure of Territory from 6 Neighbors, including Lebanon.

‘Russia doesn’t want to use nuclear weapons’: The view from wartime Moscow.
WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. US arms dealers witness ‘record profits’ from Israel’s year-long genocide in Gaza, war on Lebanon.
US’ next-gen nuclear submarines suffer delay with costs soaring past $130 billion.
Could small modular reactors be used to create nuclear warheads?.

October 15, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY: The “tech bros” are going to have a global party with AI in warfare. Should we let them be in control?

Today I waded through a very worthy article – A new military-industrial complex: How tech bros are hyping AI’s role in war. Trouble is – I didn’t really understand it. Written by two highly qualified military experts, – it was couched in military jargon that was mostly impenetrable to me.

Good on them for knowing their stuff. But their underlying assumption seems to me that the world will continue to have whopping great wars, between the great powers, with the conflict being dominated by Artificial Intelligence methods – not only in physical, but also in psychological, warfare.

But, to be fair to these military experts, they do warn about the pitfalls of AI in warfare, and they do repeatedly remind us that the “primrose path” of AI warfare is being laid down, not by political leaders, not by military experts, but by the tech squillionaires:

“The current debate on military AI is largely driven by “tech bros” and other entrepreneurs who stand to profit immensely from militaries’ uptake of AI-enabled capabilities.”…….. “framing the future direction of war, despite their lack of military experience.”

We really are in a strange world – where we can let these ignoramuses (?ignorami) run things. You bristle at the term “ignoramus”? But the tech bros are ignorant – it seems, of all sorts of areas that really matter – ecology, biology, social history, diplomacy, ethics ….. They live in this wonderful STEM world, which is supposed to be the only part of knowledge that matters. Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics – yes those studies do matter – but they are not the only ones that matter.

I am grateful to these authors, Paul Lushenko and Keith Carter for tackling this timely subject.

They’ve done a great job, and I hope that military planners will pay attention to their work.

But even more, I hope that influential leaders of other kinds will also take up this question of should we let the tech squillionaires run things , especially war, for us?

October 12, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY: Vitriolic hatred of Arabs and Russians versus THINKING and practical military strategy

This little post is based on the video above, and the long transcript at “Richard D. Wolff & Michael Hudson: Middle East Exploding, Ukraine Crumbling! the US Take Action?.“

These voices of sanity won’t be heard on the mainstream media – which prefers to obsess over “border incursions and the ingestion of cats and dogs and other minor matters because the big ones aren’t a problem“

While discussing the history of the present crises, Wolff and Hudson show us the danger that we are in: – “the mentality we’re dealing with:

the State Department and the National Security Agency and the Democratic Party leadership, with its basis in the military-industrial complex, is absolutely committed to “if we can’t have our way, then who wants to live in such a world.” …………. what Putin said was, “well, who wants to live in a world without Russia after all?”

The public is being mesmerised into the idea that people of different religions, different languages and ethnicities, cannot get along together. Thus a one-state solution for Israel is seen as impossible, and an autonomous region in the Donbass of Ukraine, or at this stage Donbass as part of Russia, is seen as impossible.

How is this mesmerisation achieved?

The authors outline the background – the individuals within American officialdom, who have, over time, fostered the hatreds that foment conflict.- . “Everything that’s happened today was planned out just 50 years ago back in 1973 and 1974” …… ” Henry ‘Scoop’ Jackson”… “Herman Kahn, the model for Dr. Strange Love” and “the Hudson Institute” ……Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Pearl, Douglas Fife”…

They go on to explain how the USA’s goal of domination can no longer be pursued by U.S. army invasions and occupations of foreign countries.  “today’s tactics are limited to bombing, not occupying, countries” Now it depends on foreign troops to do the fighting – and that needs zealous fanaticism among those foreign countries – to supply the troops :

 “that’s willing to fight to the last member of its country — the last Afghan, the last Israeli, the last Ukrainian — you really need a country whose spirit is one of hatred towards the other”

“The whole idea of the Ukrainians and Israelis is to bomb civilians, not military targets, but civilians. It’s a fight literally to destroy the population under an ideology of genocide. And that is absolutely central. It’s not an accident – it’s built in, built into the program. And Lebanon, even though it’s largely Christian, is part of that.“

“The foreign policy has backed Israel and Ukraine, providing them with arms, bribing their leaders with enormous sums of money, and electronic satellite guidance for everything they’re doing.’

Here’s where Zionism comes in, as distinct from the secular Jews, the successful middle-class assimilationists who are for peace. The Zionists have “that visceral hatred of Islam” . Also there is “the visceral hatred of Russia, specifically for anti-Semitism of past centuries,“

In Ukraine, and in some parts of Europe, there is also that visceral hatred of Russia, with memories of the Stalinist genocidal regime.

But guess what? – religious fervour and hatred is not limited to Jewish Zionists, Islamic theocracies, Ukrainian zealots, – now we have Christian Evangelicals joining in. Now there is:

“a marriage of convenience here between the Zionists …and…it’s in the evangelical community…..The biggest festivals every year of Israeli films are held in mega-churches of the Protestant faith in this country, not in synagogues. “

The only way that these suicidal wars can continue, is if the governments – of Ukraine, of Israel, and especially of the USA, can maintain the public mood of anger and hatred of Russians, of Hamas, of Hezbollah, of China, …. of whoever .

To maintain that mood requires a compliant media.

No problem there: – conflict, hatred – all that brings in far more attention and money, than wimpy, calm, discussion and diplomacy. can ever do. (An interesting example here is the current legal battle in the Murdoch family – a calmer, more reasonable Murdoch media would be less profitable – a prospect that appalls old Rupert Murdoch)

And the corporate media is embedded on the nuclear-military-corporate -industrial -political complex, – so the media owners like things the way they are.

 Here is the irony: “the opponents of all this are the U.S. military“…..….” there is an opposition right now between the army – we’ll call them the realists – who say that if you really want to extend the war, it’s not going to work”

What is to be done? Michael Hudson poses the question: ‘

“Who are the Americans, who, with their donors backing them, who are going to say, “yes, we prefer saving civilization to making money this week and next week for living in the short term. The American point of view is short term; the rest of the world is taking a longer term position – who’s going to win?“

October 10, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

 Nuclear news and more -week to 7 October

Some bits of good news – 

Humanitarian action for children – the work of UNICEF  (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) in 2024 UNICEF a great example of  a caring agency that never gives up.

Tripling renewable energy worldwide by 2030 is within reach. Rooftop solar is trending in Australia.
Barcelona is turning subway trains into power stations.

California bans all plastic bags at grocery stores. 

TOP STORIESMedia Urge Expansion of Ukraine War—Nuclear Risk Be Damned. 
Israel Planning Major Attack on Iran. Biden says he would not back Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.
Pentagon “goes to school” -William Hartung, The Battle for the Soul of American Science.
Russia revisits nuclear doctrine to allow attacks on non-nuclear states in response to Western weapons in Ukraine- ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/?s=Russia+revisits

Finally Free, Assange Receives a Measure of Justice From the Council of Europe.

Unrealisable Justice : Julian Assange in Strasbourg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai34Uxnv_4s

Climate. Huge Arctic wildfires release 100m tonnes of greenhouse gas in a year. EDF summer heat cuts double but below 9-year median.

Noel’s notes.   In praise of Joe Biden – an unfashionable opinion.

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AUSTRALIA. What nuclear power in the United States tells us about the Coalition’s controversial energy policy

Hey Australia, Ontario is no model for energy and climate policy. 

Big Super is still investing in nuclear weapons: report More Australian nuclear news at https://antinuclear.net/2024/09/30/australian-nuclear-news-oct-1-7/

NUCLEAR ITEMS

ATROCITIES. Urgent Action by S. Korean Civil Society in Solidarity with Palestine.
CLIMATE. Sorry, AI won’t “fix” climate change – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/10/03/1-a-sorry-ai-wont-fix-climate-change/
Hurricane Helene Floods Closed Duke Nuclear Plant in Florida. Hurricane Helene sends a warning. Jane Fonda: Nuclear power at Three Mile Island is no climate solution.
Greenpeace warns of flooding risks at France’s biggest nuclear plant.
CIVIL LIBERTIES. ‘Pursuit of truth will live on’: Assange speaks to the world.

ECONOMICS. Sizewell C nuclear project hit by fresh delays as investment talks drag on ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/10/05/1-b1-sizewell-c-nuclear-project-hit-by-fresh-delays-as-investment-talks-drag-on/

Czechs take stake in Rolls-Royce vehicle in boost for SMRs ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/10/07/1-b1-czechs-take-stake-in-rolls-royce-vehicle-in-boost-for-smrs/

NUCLEAR power is a fiscal sinkhole ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/10/07/1-b1-nuclear-power-is-a-fiscal-sinkhole/

ENERGY. Ukrainian energy minister censured over nuclear plan, response to power grid attacks.
South Australia sets spectacular new records for wind, solar and negative demand.
ENVIRONMENT. ‘Environmental impact’ of Hinkley Point C debate due.Oceans: IAEA to have marine sampling near Fukushima plant with China, others,
ETHICS and RELIGION. Israel’s Ideology of Genocide Must be Confronted and Stopped.
Royal Navy chief apologises for ‘intolerable’ misogyny in Submarine Service.
EVENT. 10 October – Space Demilitarization – Live Q&A. Beyond the Battlefield: Demilitarizing Space for Global Peace A Live Q&A on Space Militarization and Demilitarization REGISTER.
HEALTH. Radon, even at levels below EPA guideline for mitigation, is linked to childhood leukemia.
HUMAN RIGHTS. Assange: ‘I’m Free Because I Pled Guilty to Journalism’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vCm6ybW2WA
LEGAL.Trial in New Hampshire of protesters against Elbit Systems – supplier of weapons for Israel..DOE Plutonium Pit Plan Found To Violate Environmental Law.Nuclear Waste Storage Site in Texas Draws Supreme Court Review. US Supreme Court to hear nuclear waste storage dispute.

Sellafield ordered to pay nearly £400,000 over cybersecurity failings.
MEDIA.
‘Western Press Obscured the Sheer Terror of What Israel Had Carried Out’: CounterSpin interview with Mohamad Bazzi on Lebanon pager attacks.
Meta Is Aggressively Censoring Criticism Of US-Israeli Warmongering.
‘Petrobromance,’ Nuclear Priesthood, and Police Repression: Feminist Confrontations of Violent Industries, and Movements to Abolish Them.
POLITICS. Donald Trump encourages Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear sites.
Kazakhstan’s Nuclear Power Vote: Many Questions, But Just One On The Ballot,
POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Israel has given no assurances it won’t target Iran’s nuclear facilities, top State Department official tells CNN. “Hit Iran’s Nuclear Sites First”: Donald Trump’s Advice To Israel.
France asserts itself against Netanyahu over Lebanon: Macron calls for Arms Embargo against Israel.

SAFETY.

SECRETS and LIES. Refurbished Three Mile Island Payment Structure Is Not Quite What It Seems.
SPINBUSTER. It is Time to Expose the Great British Nuclear Fantasy Once and for All. What reports got wrong about China’s ‘sunken nuclear submarine’. At last – one corporate newsmedia admits there is no “cloud” – only dirty great steel structures. ALSO AT …….
WASTES. Decommissioning. First civil nuclear site decommissioned in the UK. UK Government seeks software to track radioactive waste as nuclear site decommissioned.

WAR and CONFLICT. Glenn Greenwald: Who is Really Dragging the US Into Israel’s Wars? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSJh4A_go6E

Nuclear Annihilation Threatened by Revival of 20th Century McCarthy Era Cold War & Red Scare.

The Israeli Government Must Be Stopped. Israel may launch symbolic attack on Iran nuclear-related facilities, says Ehud Barak. Netanyahu’s dangerous gambit to start nuclear war.

Sullivan: US Will Ensure Iran Faces ‘Severe Consequences’ for Attacking Israel.

Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine Change Is More Cautious Than It May Appear. The guns of August killed 15 million…the missiles of October could kill 8 billion. Prof. Jeffrey Sachs: D.C. Doesn’t Care About Ukraine War MASS DEATHS – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho7IOATIf9s

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Recognition of “double madness” at the International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Governments urged to ‘stop gambling with humanity’s future’ and eliminate nuclear weapons. 

Inside the State Department’s Weapons Pipeline to Israel.

October 7, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Today. In praise of Joe Biden – an unfashionable opinion.

Yeah. We’ve all gotta agree. Joe Biden is silly, demented, – blah blah.

Well, I don’t agree. I watched that famous debate, after which everyone affirmed that Biden was a disaster.

The thing is – Biden made a couple of obvious glitches – mixing up names – during this debate (something that could happen to anybody, in the stress of the moment).

So the media, and the rest of the world, blindly agreed on how badly Biden debated. Never mind the fact that he gave a clear and lucid discussion on the achievements and policies of his government.

Meanwhile – the media coverage of the more colourful Trump was much more fun. There was definite disagreement about it between media outlets. The big question was exactly how many lies did Trump tell? Was it 32? No – some argued that it was only 28.

So – now that we’re all convinced that Biden doesn’t matter -we can ignore what he says and does about current urgent issues?

On the present Israeli military crisis – how will Israel punish Iran for its attacks on Israel? There’s this great idea that I’m sure that Netanyahu would love – to attack Iran’s nuclear site. But the Israelis do need the USA’s blessing to do that. But President Biden has said that while he is working with Israel  he wouldn’t support strikes on Iran’s nuclear facility.

On the present Ukraine military crisis, the Western media seems to be in complacent agreement that Ukraine can defeat Russia, and all that Ukraine needs is long-range missiles – supplied by USA/NATO. These missiles could strike deep inside Russia, could potentially strike Moscow. Russia’s President Putin has repeatedly warned against this. Now Putn has changed Russia’s doctrine on using nuclear weapons, making it clear that he is prepared to use them, in the event of Ukrainian attacks deep within Russia.

President Biden, while allowing Ukraine some use of long-range missiles in areas near Ukraine, continues to rule out strikes deep within Russia.

For this attitude, Biden gets criticism, near to ridicule, from the media, almost universally – summed up by the Washington Post editorial board –  “Mr. Biden needs to give permission and set the ground rules quickly.”

Donald Trump has come out with a very sensible-sounding policy on Ukraine. Trouble is – (a) you cannot trust a word that this man says, and (b) Trump’s record as president promotes nuclear war – undoing the Iran nuclear deal and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty with Russia.

It is now perhaps only President Joe Biden who is stalling and preventing the rush to nuclear Armageddon.

I can only conclude that the Western media in general (some exceptions):

 *doesn’t do its homework – check on the facts. 

*likes to please its nuclear-military-industrial-complex sponsors

 *finds Trump much more entertaining to write  about.

I am grateful to Julie Hollar, who clearly set out the case for questioning the corporate media’s judgement in covering this issue of the risk of Ukraine using long-range missiles.

​

October 5, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Week to 30 September- countering the nuclear-military-industrial-political spin.

Some bits of good news.    

– Women Wage Peace .   Countries’ climate obligations could be legally defined at top UN court in December.Vertical Greening Brings Nature to Urban ‘Heat Islands’ Quickly and Easily.

TOP STORIES. How civilisation could end – an all-too-possible nuclear scenario. 

The Israeli nuclear risk no one is talking about.

Cold War II: US Congress passes 25 anti-China laws in 1 week, funds propaganda campaign. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tix5L5qDaNw

Ukraine’s Zelensky arriving in US….to pitch WWIII. 

The Madness of Antony Blinken.  Antony Blinken LIED?! State Dept Caught WITHHOLDING Humanitarian Aid From Gaza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb30Sn6WR-s

Nuclear finance will rely on consumers’ stomach for risk. ALSO AT …… https://nuclear-news.net/2024/09/27/2-a-nuclear-finance-will-rely-on-consumers-stomach-for-risk/

From the archives.   Questions still remain on the suspicious death of nuclear worker Karen SilkwoodWeek to 30 September.

Climate. Green campaigners lambast UN climate summit hosts for clinging to fossil fuels .

Noel’s notes. Hurricane Helene : when global heating collides with our dependence on digital systems. I would rather have tough-guy macho men, than slimy sweet-talk hypocrites.

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AUSTRALIA.

Defence Minister Marles, with all pretension, flogging a dead seahorse. 

Nuclear Concerns – Hiroshima, Maralinga and Dutton’s Australia. 

Climate Change Authority head Matt Kean contradicts Peter Dutton’s claim on nuclear and renewables working together. 

Australians are installing batteries at a record rate, as rooftop solar heads for major new milestone. Renewable and Energy storage jobs will soon overtake those in coal and gas. 

More Australian news headlines at https://antinuclear.net/2024/09/24/australian-nuclear-news-headlines-23-30-september/

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NUCLEAR ITEMS

ATROCITIES. Israel’s Tally of War Crimes in Lebanon Increases in Wake of Exploding Pagers.

CLIMATE.
Hurricane Helene Floods Closed Duke Nuclear Plant in Florida.

ECONOMICS. Nuclear fuel costs soar as conversion and enrichment bottleneck strains supply.

US company eliminated from race to build Britain’s first mini-nuclear. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/09/29/2-b1-us-company-eliminated-from-race-to-build-britains-first-mini-nuclear-plant/ Why NuScale Power Stock Dropped Today.

EDUCATION. “Peaceful” and war-making nuclear industries get together in tertiary education.

ENERGY. Microsoft’s Three Mile Island deal: How big tech is snatching up nuclear power. US nuclear plants won’t power up Big Tech’s AI ambitions right away.


ENVIRONMENT. Charities call for greater transparency over Sizewell C.

ETHICS and RELIGION
Cardinal Parolin: ‘World threatened by irreversible nuclear destruction’.

EVENTS. Sleepwalking into War? IPAN Conference 2024 –– October 4-6 in Perth,Australia or attend online The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network.

HUMAN RIGHTS. Assange to Testify at Council of Europe.

MEDIA. Losing The Narrative War: Israel Illegally Raids and Shuts Down Al Jazeera’s West Bank Bureau. Going From “The Civilian Buildings Are Hamas” To “The Civilian Buildings Are Hezbollah“. The Looming Catastrophe in the Middle East (w/ Gideon Levy) | The Chris Hedges Report.

PLUTONIUM. Japan and 11 other countries call for early start of fissile material ban talks.

POLITICS. A push for compensation for U.S. nuclear testing fallout resumes on Capitol Hill. . Mistaking Militarism for Statecraft, Empire for Democracy and Debt for Prosperity.

Nuclear Weapons and the U.S. Presidential Elections.

Weatherwatch: UK Labour’s stance on nuclear power is worryingly familiar. Scottish National Party blasts Labour for ‘frittering away’ money on nuclear plant instead of winter fuel payment.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.

SAFETY.

SECRETS and LIES

Blinken Lied To Congress About Israeli War Crimes Because He Knows He’ll Get Away With It. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYEBm0eKuo0 

  Karen Silkwood and Kerr-McGee: A Reinvestigation.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. NASA’s uncrewed Artemis mission highlights radiation risk to astronauts.

Woomera Manual: International Law Meets Military Space Activities.

WASTES. Despite vastly different social and political contexts, Finland, Germany and France are all grappling with the question of safe nuclear waste disposal.

Spent nuclear fuel shipped to Japan’s 1st interim storage facility in Aomori.

New developments at Sellafield for endless storage of ever-increasing amounts of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel.

WAR and CONFLICT. After destroying Ukraine and Gaza, Biden seeks a destroyed nation trifecta in Lebanon.

The Illusion of a Solution: Killing Hassan Nasrallah. Netanyahu: Israel Is Fighting a War on Seven Fronts . Israel: ‘Escalate to De-escalate’.

Putin outlines new rules for Russian use of vast nuclear arsenal. Ukraine army attacks nuclear plant substation: Russia.

Ambassadors called upon to refrain from military action involving nuclear plants. Wars, Propaganda Wars and Funding Them.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. US Gives Israel $8.7 Billion in Military Aid for Operations in Gaza and Lebanon. War Forever, Everywhere, War Doesn’t End When It “Ends“.

Japan’s new Prime Minister calls for deployment of US nuclear weapons.

October 1, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. Hurricane Helene : when global heating collides with our dependence on digital systems

It’s going to happen more often – extreme weather events paralysing our digital systems. We had a taste of this with the global digital outage in July.

When digital fails – analogue radio still works, and real money – coins and paper cash still work.

From Thursday, 26 September Millions were without electricity as Hurricane Helene lashed parts of Florida, Georgia , Tennessee, and North Carolina. Many people in Florida were left stranded, without shelter and awaiting rescue, and without communication, even after the hurricane had swept through.

Helene then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains, sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams. Western North Carolina was isolated because of landslides and flooding that closed the Interstate 40 and other roads. Additional heavy rains are likely across portions of the Central Appalachians,

At least 88 people died, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, have been made homeless. Business, education, all organisations and services are disrupted.

If there’s one thing that Americans are good at, it’s helping each other out in times of crisis. And there have been so much on-the ground help from neighbours, and heroic rescues.

But to add to the suffering, is the dreadful loneliness of people in need, but cut off from all communication – no TV, no Internet, no email, no mobile phone, – electricity being cut off, and mobile phone towers downed.

By Sunday, more than 2.1 million customers remained without electricity across several states. Apart from those desperate cases of need, there would be so many situations, even where businesses, shops were safe – but could not function, because of digital systems not working.

It’s not surprising that the tech squillionaires have been rather silent about this, because they like their technology to be in charge of everything

After all – people are so resilient – with repairs swinging into action, and everything digital will be back in function – soon. All can use their apps, their mobile phones, their credit cards

Until next time.

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

TODAY. I would rather have tough-guy macho men, than slimy sweet-talk hypocrites

Well, I’m thinking about the big military leaders, like Austin Lloyd, the USA’s Defense Secretary. He’s no wimp . For one thing – he looks the part – he’s a big tough guy in an imposing uniform. He got lotsa medals for bravery in the invasion of Iraq . A four-star general, he was the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Then he left the military to join the weapons-making firm Raytheon. Lloyd is a strong supporter of Israel, and of Saudi Arabia. He ordered air strikes against Syria. He’s ready to wage war against Iran, when that time is “needed”. Lloyd has declared “America’s commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad. It is not negotiable. And it never will be.”

So – nobody can accuse Lloyd of weakness, of cowardice. We know where he stands – ready to lead the USA into its next war.

And as for the war in Ukraine – Austin has been an allout supporter of Ukraine, and devout American hater of Russia. BUT, he is opposed to the plan to supply Ukraine with long range attack missiles to send deep into Russia. He doesn’t see any military reason for this drastic step that would really provoke Putin. Previously, Austin rejected a plan for a no-fly zone over Ukraine. He saw it as not militarily useful and “to enforce that no-fly zone, you’ll have to engage Russian aircraft. And again, that would put us at war with Russia.”

There’s the clue – a “military reason”. Austin doesn’t mind war. It’s his business. But he’s not keen on unnecessary actions that are not useful militarily, but could bring chaos upon us. We know to be wary of belligerents like Austin, but at least there’s a certain logic in his actions.

Then we come to The case of the good-looking slim and silver-haired Antony Blinken in his lovely suits, (and he even plays the guitar). Here we have the ultimate in what a diplomat should be – well-spoken, charming, calming – just what you need for peaceful communication between nations?

Blinken struts the world stage, making motherhood statements about protecting civilians, promoting peace, human rights, and harmony – and sounding so good! All this lovely talk is a cover-up for what he is really supporting – American military hawkishness and Zionist genocide.

Blinken has consistently promoted US military interventions. During the Obama administration, Blinken pushed strongly for  the overthrow of Libyan president Muammar al-Gaddafi. In the years before he became Secretary of State, Blinken co-founded and worked for the secretive WestExec Advisors firm, which lobbied the Pentagon on behalf of weapons-making companies.

In  Blinken’s Senate confirmation hearing, he affirmed that he would be belligerent towards China and Venezuela. Even while he publicly supported U.S. policy for reviving a deal with Iran, he made belligerent statements against Iran.

And that is the typical Blinken way – say one thing, while promoting the opposite in action.

Blinken supports the plan for long-range missiles to be supplied to Ukraine – according to reports in the Guardian and the New York Times.

Not that I’m a fan of Lloyd Austin. Indeed, just like Blinken, Austin has made $millions from his work for weapons industries. As of October 2020, his Raytheon stock holdings were worth roughly $500,000 and his compensation, including stock, totaled $2.7 million. He was a partner in another weapons investment company Pine Island Capital, in which Antony Blinken is, or was, also involved.

Finally – my point is – I worry about the smarmy types like Antony Blinken. He is the epitome of the liars and hypocrites who cover up for governments. Ever in the media, Blinken lulls the world, including Americans, into the belief that America wants peace, that zealots like Zelensky and Netanyahu are right, that somehow – don’t worry – all will be well.

But ,worse than Lloyd Austin, Blinken doesn’t even grasp the military realities. At least Lloyd Austin doesn’t want to plunge us into World War 3 for the sake of a pointless military exercise like letting Ukraine send long range missiles to Moscow.

September 28, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

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