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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

This week – exposing and counteracting nuclear-military-industrial spin.

Some bits of good news.  World leaders gathered in the UN headquarters in New York and adopted the Pact for the Future, cementing the shift away from fossil fuels as the fundamental norm for climate action. 
After a two-year project by UNICEF and the German government, Torit, a city in South Sudan, is now efficiently providing clean water to over 80% of its population.

TOP STORIES. Selling War: How Raytheon and Boeing Fund the Push for NATO’s Nuclear Expansion. 

Global status report highlights parlous state of nuclear power sector.Opening Pandora’s Electronic Box.Welcome to Planet Vogtle! The Lessons of Georgia’s Nuclear Boondoggle.

 Tritium into the air?

Sizewell C now: from farce to drama.
 Labour backs nuclear – but at what cost? – ALSO AT  https://nuclear-news.net/2024/09/22/1-a-labour-backs-nuclear-but-at-what-cost/ 

The 2024 World Nuclear Industry Status Report now released.

Climate. Online Misinformation Harming Climate Change Effort: UN Chief.

Hunger. When Will It Be Enough? Humanitarian organizations call for urgent action from World Leaders as the people of Sudan face unprecedented starvation and violence [EN/AR]

Noel’s notes. Nuclear socialism in its glory – in The West?

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AUSTRALIA. Peter Dutton refuses to divulge costs of going nuclear at anticipated ‘could it work’ speech. Peter Dutton and the pursuit of fame . The UK’s nuclear waste problem. Nuclear debate stalls as detail goes missing in action. “Catastrophic:” Coalition plan to stop renewables and push nuclear will result in massive supply gaps. 

AUKUS boss insists project remains on track despite frustrations and staff upheaval within submarine agency.   

 South Australia joins Denmark in elite club of two, “pushing the boundaries” of renewable energy integration. More Australian nuclear news headlines at https://antinuclear.net/2024/09/21/australian-nuclear-news-headlines-16-23-september/        

NUCLEAR ITEMS

ARTS and CULTURE. Nuclear Free Local Authorities want to lament, not ‘celebrate’ nuclear legacy.
ATROCITIES.
 22,500 Palestinians Now Have Life-Changing Injuries Due to Israel’s Genocide.    

CLIMATE. Data center emissions probably 662% higher than big tech claims. Can it keep up the ruse? 

ECONOMICS.

Call for banks to back nuclear energy projects. World’s biggest banks pledge support for nuclear power/                                   

Western, Russian nuclear industries still intertwined, report says.

Nuclear in Australia would increase household power bills.

Hinkley Point C: Building Britain’s first nuclear reactor in 30 years.

Serbia picks EDF, Egis for study on introduction of nuclear energy.

New logo for Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) represents a costly conversation.

MIT Coalition for Palestine Announces Major Divestment Win.

EDUCATION. ‘The Genocide Gentry’: Weapon Execs Sit on Boards of Universities, Institutions

ENERGY.

ENVIRONMENT. Hinkley Point C must deploy mandated protections for fish. A Suffolk wildlife and conservation charity has called for “greater transparency” from Sizewell C in relation to its wildlife compensation schemes.

ETHICS and RELIGION. Jewish Council disappointed at Australia’s UN abstention, calls for strong international action to prevent Israeli war crimes.

New Book Explores the Intersection of God and Nuclear Weapons.

HEALTH. 
Radiation. Radiation levels mysteriously spike along Norway’s border with Russia – as it’s claimed activity has been seen at test site for Putin’s ‘Flying Chernobyl’ nuclear missile

LEGAL. Nuke waste confusion continues with D.C. Circuit ruling.

MEDIA. ‘Genocide Can and Should Never Be Just a Normal Story’ CounterSpin interview with Gregory Shupak on Palestinian genocide.

Australian film-maker refused entry into India.

Nuclear horror still haunts us Threads tapped into our fear of apocalypse.

POLITICS. Patrick Lawrence: The ‘War Party’ Makes Its Plans. Biden, Harris sacrificing endless thousands of Ukrainians to retain presidency November 5. The experts comment: Key nuclear questions that the US presidential candidates should answer.

‘Obvious Conflict of Interest’: Report Reveals 50+ US Lawmakers Hold Military Stocks.

One big factor could decide if one of Wales’ biggest (nuclear) projects can happen.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.

SAFETY. Safety level at Scotland’s largest nuclear site raised to ‘enhanced’ after leaks found. Scottish nuclear base staff using pagers adds to Trident fears.

New iodine tablets for communes near French nuclear power sites.

SPINBUSTER. More nuclear reactors? Denying the risks, IAEA’s Grossi promotes unrealistic nuclear power plans.

The UK government deserves an award for the biggest load of nuclear propaganda BS yet!. Nuclear waste group spends £4,600 on logo to show it IS listening toTheddlethorpe views.

TECHNOLOGY. UK Government designates data centres as Critical National Infrastructure (Whaa-aa-t!).

Microsoft deal propels Three Mile Island restart, with key permits still needed.

Unrealistic expectations for So-Called Novel Nuclear Reactor Concepts. 

URANIUM. Surge in Russian uranium sent to China.

WASTES.

WAR and CONFLICT

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. North Korea inadvertently gives away location of nuclear weapons facility, with pictures of Kim Jong-un visit.

Germany will not lift restrictions on long-range weapons for Kiev.

Turkey needs to acquire nuclear arms to stop Israel, urges Erdogan’s chief fatwa giver.

UN overwhelmingly votes to sanction Israel, impose arms embargo.

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

Peter Dutton and the pursuit of fame.


21 September 24  https://theaimn.com/peter-dutton-and-the-pursuit-of-fame/

Peter Dutton is the leader of Australia’s opposition party – the Liberal-National Coalition.

Which is pretty noteworthy and important, anyway. But of course, he would be more important if he is elected as Prime Minister in 2025. But is that enough fame for him?

Dutton aspires to a greater, global, significance. He would be the first world leader to introduce the commercial, peaceful, advanced nuclear industry to not just a country, but to an entire continent. And not to some “third-world” “undeveloped” country “in need of charity” – but to a prosperous, privileged, purportedly well-educated, and still mainly white population.

For the global nuclear industry – that would be a first! And not just any old first, but an extremely timely one. Just released this week, The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2024 describes an industry on life support. Even back in 2016 Former World Nuclear Association executive Steve Kidd spoke to this problem, noting that “the industry is essentially running to stand still.”

For Australia to adopt a government-run nuclear industry involving both large and small nuclear reactors across a continent – what a wonderful shot in the arm for the global nuclear lobby. And Dutton – what a hero!

Dutton would be famous not just in Australia, but world-wide

Is this why Peter Dutton is promoting his nuclear policy?

I can’t think of any other reason.

Australia, especially in the State of South Australia, is becoming a world leader in renewable energy use – particularly in decentralised household rooftop solar, but also in large solar and wind programmes. Of course, Australia’s mining magnates are pretty happy with Dutton’s plan, as it will mean more mining, not just of uranium, but of coal and gas in the decades before nuclear power actually comes into use.

So – look – it’s a winner for Dutton’s fame.

And if that doesn’t work, there’s fame in another way

The last Liberal Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, is a great contender for the worst Prime Minister in Australian history. Just a few of his achievements to merit this award were:

Economically, the nuclear power programme, added to the continuing AUKUS nuclear deal, could pretty well bankrupt Australia. Although Dutton claims that nuclear power will be cheap, he’s given no costings, and the over-riding opinion of energy and economics experts is that nuclear power would be the most expensive form of energy for Australia.

Environmentally, Dutton’s plan includes advanced nuclear reactors, which will require plutonium or enriched uranium – so this brings virtually eternal radioactive pollution into Australia (something that has been nearly avoided up until now). It also brings the hazards of nuclear weapons proliferation, and terrorism targets.

So – it’s a bold venture for Peter Dutton, to centre his election campaign on promoting the nuclear industry. He is to be commended for bravery in taking such a big risk.

If Dutton carries this through, as Prime Minister, he will rapidly gain world fame.

But also, as far as Australia is concerned, he could beat Scott Morrison into history as the nation’s worst Prime Minister.

Dutton’s big risk is that he might not get elected in 2025, and vanish very quickly from history.

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

TODAY. The West embraces SOCIALISM – first of the nuclear kind, -and then?

Proud defenders of individual liberty, private enterprise , and of the free market solving everything, the West has run into a spot of bother over the nuclear industry.

Good old dictatorships don’t have this problem. Russia , North Korea and China can develop government-run nuclear power programmes faster and cheaper, (though sadly, China is falling behind, due to the success of its renewable energy industry). Saudi Arabia has its  Saudi National Atomic Energy Project (SNAEP). The Saudi one should do very well, as they don’t have pesky women in power, raising objections.

But never fear – things are looking up for nuclear power in the “free” West.

For one thing, everybody’s now realising that the “peaceful” nuclear industry is absolutely essential for the weapons nuclear industry. And as defence, (and attack) are a government responsibility, well, then, the tax-payer must cough up to help the “commercial” unclear industry.

And if we’re going to do the job properly, let’s take up the faster ?cheaper methods of Russia, North Korea, – maybe not China as they’re too much into renewable energy. Saudi Arabia’s system sounds promising – we don’t want silly emotional women bleating about cost and safety.

France has always recognised that the government should run all things nuclear – right from the days of its toxic nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific, and even today, despite a bit of trouble with costs, and the impacts of climate change causing rivers to overheat.

The USA government has always found devious ways to prop up its supposedly private nuclear industry.

Britain has come up with its system of “Regulated Asset Base” . This means that electricity customers are charged a fee from day one of the construction of the nuclear project, and cop the burden of cost overruns (as happened in the USA with the Vogtle nuclear fiasco). The UK government, rather than the developer, underwrites the risk of construction cost overrun “above a remote threshold” – referred to as the “Funding Cap”. – (more https://www.fieldfisher.com/en/insights/rab-and-go-getting-new-nuclear-underway)

The previous Tory UK government set up “Great British Nuclear” – with the tax-payer supporting the nuclear industry. Keir Starmer’s Labour government continued this , with –  a new, publicly owned, energy company, “Great British Energy “.

In Australia, the Liberal-National Coalition Party, led by Peter Dutton, stands for private enterprise, individual freedom, and total opposition to socialism

In 2023 this Party had an amazing success, in turning Australian public opinion around towards an anti-indigenous stance in a referendum intended to give indigenous people a Voice to Parliament. This very right-wing party was helped by the Murdoch media, and also by a powerful social media campaign, and by the Atlas Network – to gain quite a degree of control over public opinion.

Again with the help of the Murdoch media, and the Atlas Network, the global nuclear lobby could have a resounding tax-payer funded success.

So – ironically – it will be a party dedicated to private enterprise and individual liberty that could bring in completely government-run nuclear industry to a whole Western democratic continent.

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

TODAY. The pen is mightier than the sword.

What made me ponder on this was reading an article about the Vogtle Nuclear Power Station. Not that this article contained anything new. really.

Anyone who has bothered to take an interest in this station would probably know that it is the largest power station in the USA, and the only one with 4 reactors. It was designed and eventually built by Westinghouse (which went bankrupt in the process). Southern Nuclear, and later Georgia Power took over the costs, helped by federal loan guarantees up to $12 billion. It was expanded over 11 years at a cost of $36.8 billion.

So – reams have been published about all this. Noticeably high in jargon, are stories about Vogtle’s energy benefits, how it “helps climate action”. There are also many articles criticising the costs, and financial arrangements, and some of these also give complicated details, that are not easy to read.

So – today’s article? “Welcome to Planet Vogtle! The Lessons of Georgia’s Nuclear Boondoggle.”

Well, it is written in easily readable and witty language. Some of the writer’s ideas are novel – but true, too! – “A global race is on to see who will host the next nuclear disaster, and as always the U.S.A. is determined to take the lead”  “ record-breaking profits for utility companies, record-breaking power bills for the rest of us.” “nuclear waste factories like Vogtle “

But within the forceful and witty language, the writer has demolished the nuclear industry’s claims of benefits – about being “economic” “clean” “safe” “low emissions” and noted its euphemisms – like “disposal” of nuclear wastes.

The article actually compresses “Plant Vogtle: The True Cost of Nuclear Power in the United States,” a 35-page report exposing the political maneuvering and cynical profiteering that made the Vogtle project a “success.”

So – although I did enjoy the writing style – this is one article that does both – gives the information, and a bit of fun to read. And the writer sure isn’t scared to give his opinion! Which is good fun. I’m sick of everyone worthily trying to give “balance”

If you’ve waded through stuff about the nuclear industry, whether the stuff is pro or con, it is so refreshing to come upon something that is a pleasure to read.

And if you had any doubts about the whole pro nuclear push being crooked – this Plant Vogtle article should clear up those doubts.

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

News countering the nuclear-military-industrial-political complex this week

Some bits of good news:  UNICEF has helped reduce child mortality all over the world by working to reach the most vulnerable children, everywhere.   After 9 Years of Work, CaliforniaTribe Finally Seas Traditional Land Named a Marine Reserve Bigger Than Yosemite-   picturedCoho Anchorage, part of the proposed reserve

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TOP STORIES. 

The future of new nuclear. 

Zelensky’s Last Hail Mary Gets Off to Rocky Start.

Biden’s Legacy: The Decline of Arms Control and Disarmament. 

How to Make a ‘War Reserve’ Nuclear Bomb.

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Climate. Rich countries silencing climate protest while preaching about rights elsewhere, says study.

Noel’s notes. What is behind all the drama of long range missiles for Ukraine to send to Russia? An avalanche of objections to the latest proposed AUKUS nuclear treaty.

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AUSTRALIA.

 The tangled nuclear web of lies and half-truths – can we believe that Australia will refuse to take USA toxic wastes?       David Noonan confronts Australia’s politicians with critical unanswered questions on the AUKUS agreement – will they pretend not to hear this? 

Albanese has a second chance with AUKUS. 

Protecting the Merchants of Death: The Police Effort for Land Forces 2024. The lucrative charity, yes CHARITY, running the Land Forces weapons expo. From the archives :The fake charity AMDA Foundation is exposed by Michael West Media’s Michelle Fahy. More Australian news at https://antinuclear.net/2024/09/14/australian-nuclear-news-headlines-9-16-september-2/

NUCLEAR ITEMS

ATROCITIES. United Nations relief agency Says 6 Workers Among at Least 18 Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza School. 
Israel kills 40 in Gaza “humanitarian zone”.		CLIMATE. US Militarism Is a Leading Cause of the Climate Catastrophe.
Blackwater – a land in transition.

ECONOMICS.

ENERGY. Nuclear vs Energy Storage. Die Welt predicts a mass exodus of people from Ukraine in winter.ENVIRONMENT. Somerset campaigners celebrate as EDF Energy U-turns on planned Hinkley Point C saltmarshes.
Water: Southern boom town that is just 24 miles away from dangerous canyon contaminated by plutonium		ETHICS and RELIGION. Richard Silverstein: Israel, ‘The Far Right Extremist State That I Can No Longer Identify With
EVENTS:   PETITION Call off World War IIIHEALTH. Christopher Busby: New study: the cause of the cancer epidemic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMauRgvWnIIINDIGENOUS ISSUES. Bloc Québécois backs First Nation fighting nuclear waste site.
POLITICS. Sane foreign policy biggest loser in Harris/Biden debate.  Biden still slouching toward war, possibly nuclear, with Russia over Ukraine.

UK Government considering scrapping Wylfa plans and 24GW nuclear capacity target.		POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Alarm in UK and US over possible Iran-Russia nuclear deal. US and UK press Ukraine before allowing Russia strikes.
‘Blinken, Get Lost!,’ Says Polish MEP Grzegorz Braun. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2HKsBGSlqfI Ukraine will join NATO – Blinken.
The Armageddon Agenda.
PUBLIC OPINION. Opposed to Netanyahu, two-thirds of Israelis want to negotiate with Hamas.SAFETY. Dounreay placed on ‘special measures’ over wide-ranging safety concerns. Letter to New First Minister over South Wales Nuclear Overflights.

‘Its been a battle’: Neighbors worry about Palisades Nuclear Plant restarting.

Japan, to make the biggest mistake in history: nuclear energy with water, and risk of explosion.
SECRETS and LIES. Democracy Dumped in Cumbria. Nuclear Dump Under the Irish Sea Here We Come?! UNLESS…
Boris Johnson goes into business with Steve Bannon, Charlotte Owen and a uranium entrepreneur.

Federal Conflict Rules Would Have Barred New Brunswick, Ontario Cabinet Ministers from New Corporate Posts, Expert Says.		SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. India considers joining Russia, China to build nuclear plant on Moon.
TECHNOLOGY. Flamanville EPR shutdown prompts fresh questions over reactor design.URANIUM. World’s largest uranium miner warns Ukraine war makes it harder to supply west..

WAR and CONFLICT. Putin Warns of ‘Direct’ War as US Mulls Letting Ukraine Use Long-Range Western Missiles .

Ukrainian Tipping Points: UPDATE 3 .x

White House finalizing plans to expand where Ukraine can hit inside Russia. UK approves Ukrainian missile strikes deep inside Russia – Guardian ‘Let’s Just Fight’: How Britain Prefers War Over Peace in Ukraine.

CNN Shared A Glimpse Of Just How Bad Everything Has Become For Ukraine. The NATO/Ukraine Defeat in Kursk (and Beyond). Ukrainian Tipping Points: UPDATE 2.

Neocon Queen Victoria Nuland ADMITS Not Wanting to End Ukraine War Diplomatically.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Playing with nuclear fire. Biden administration split over Ukraine’s use of US weapons inside Russia.

Pentagon orders study of potential nuclear strike in Eastern Europe. Pentagon orders simulation of consequences of nuclear weapons use in Eastern Europe and Russia.

UK sent Kyiv large supplies of old military equipment, watchdog finds.

September 16, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. What is behind all the drama of long range missiles for Ukraine to send to Russia?

 It certainly looks like a dramatic development – as globe-trotting master of ceremonies Antony Blinken, strongly hinted that the US, UK, and NATO might soon allow Ukraine to have long-range missiles attacking deep inside Russia.

Jubilation all round – this is what Zelensky has been clamouring for! It’s the next exciting development, following all the joy of Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian area of Kursk. Best to get over that one quickly, with its huge cost in Ukrainian troops’ lives, without any actual military usefulness to Ukraine.

The dramatic need for these missiles is emphasised as Blinken confirmed that Iran was sending ballistic missiles for Russia to use against Ukraine. These are in fact Project 360 close-range missiles. But no matter – it sounds like a good reason for Ukraine to get long- range ones.

Anyway the point is – we all have to be reassured that Ukraine is winning this war. The Western media dwells on each exciting new development like this, rather than the unpalatable facts that Ukraine is falling back in the critical Donbass area, and that it’s running out of troops, that Zelensky’s survival as president depends on the war continuing a losing fight.

Meanwhile Putin is strongly warning of severe repercussions if the West lets Zelensky attack Russia with long-range missiles. USA and NATO are well aware of the danger of the war expanding into a Russia versus NATO and USA. They don’t want this. Russia doesn’t want this.

The dilemma is for the USA to demonstrate its “iron-clad” support for Ukraine, without actually really upsetting Putin too much. Hence there’s a lot of debate in the West about how to go about sort of sending long-range missiles for Ukraine, but sort of not really using them too much. And how to train and support Ukrainians in the use of them?

To further complicate this issue, it is important for Joe Biden in his last months as President to demonstrate that he’s a tough guy – not some sort of weak sop who would – heaven forfend! sink to negotiations with Putin and end the carnage. So – a forceful decision about long-range missiles for Ukraine would look pretty good in that context.

Only you need some intricate diplomatic footwork to spin it all – which is where the silver-tongued skills of manipulators like Antony Blinken come in. It all has to look very hard and dangerous, without actually being so – without too much provocation of Wladimir Putin, who probably understands all this, underneath his bombastic pronouncements.

So – the war drags on, the deaths continue, Ukraine faces a winter with possibly great suffering, as Russia continues not only its troop attack, but also attacks on Ukraine’s power supply.

But – look on the bright side – it’s great for the USA’s weapons companies and their investors. And we, distant media-watchers continue to be awed with the drama, wait for the next development, and wonder if it’s a dress rehearsal for the Taiwan-China one to follow this.

September 14, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

An avalanche of objections to the latest proposed AUKUS nuclear treaty

Have pity on me. I said I would copy and publish all the submissions to this jargonistic, almost impenetrable latest USA/UK plan to hoodwink Australia into paying $squillions for useless soon-obsolete nuclear submarines, and also taking in their foul radioactive trash.

The proposed Treaty had virtually no publicity, and a short-timed not-publicised call for submissions

So I thought that there’d be only a very few intrepid souls from the usual suspects – Friends of the Earth etc – who would wade through it all, and write an excellent submission.

But – I was wrong – it’s now up to 134 submissions published. Not counting the earliest 2 pro-nuke ones, I’m just coming across angry submission after angry submission saying NO to this AUKUS proposal. I’m sure I will come to the pro-nuclear ones – but not so far.

Anyway – gotta stop now and have A Nice Cup Of Tea.

It is good to know that not all Australians are suckers for American militarism.

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

Nuclear news and more – week to 10 September

Some bits of good news – Norway’s Forests Have More Than Tripled in a Hundred Years.  Zimbabwe’s endangered black rhinos are finally making a comeback.  LIXIL-UNICEF partnership improves sanitation and hygiene for 12.7 million people.
TOP STORIES.

Starmer permanently ties UK nuclear arsenal to Washington.

The billions for Sizewell C show Labour’s shameful nuclear hypocrisy.

The US empire is hidden in plain sight.       The US Empire Can Exist Only In A Continuous State Of Mass Military Violence. 

Climate. Summer 2024 was world’s hottest on record.    African nations are losing up to 5% of their GDP per year with climate change, a new report says.      ‘Dangerously hot’ weather roasts US west as brutal summer continues.

Noel’s notes. Yah wouldn’t know it was happening – USA military might and toxic nuclear waste quietly infiltrating Australia? The Anglophone nations ganging up to dominate the rest of the world, mindlessly obeying the USA.

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    AUSTRALIA  Basing US Nuclear Subs at Stirling on Garden Island makes Western Australia a nuclear target, while risking “catastrophic conditions” in a N-Sub reactor accident.            Submission- G.H. Toll -re new agreement on  Naval Nuclear Propulsion- Australia should pursue an independent non aligned foreign policy.      The massive new projects propelling South Australia towards 100 per cent net renewables.         More Australian news headlines at https://antinuclear.net/2024/09/05/australian-nuclear-news-headlines-sept-5-9/


NUCLEAR ITEMS

CLIMATE. Developing a plan B for nuclear power in Washington, to cope with global heating.ECONOMICS. “Subsidy for UK nuclear build calls funding into question”.

NuScale Power: Cash Burn, Dilution And Insider Selling.		ENERGY. South Australia is aiming for 100% renewable energy by 2027. It’s already internationally ‘remarkable’ Renewables beat nuclear – even with full balancing included.
ENVIRONMENT. How much water does nuclear really need?  ALSO AT https://antinuclear.net/2024/09/05/2-a-how-much-water-does-nuclear-really-need/EVENTS. 20 -22 September #NoWar2024 Conference: Resisting the USA’s Military Empire. 21-22 September. Peace, Nature and Co-operation in the Baltic and Arctic. International Online/Offline Conference & Round Table DiscussionsHEALTH. Leukaemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma mortality after low-level exposure to ionising radiation in nuclear workers (INWORKS): updated findings from an international cohort study.
HISTORY. Declassified files reveal plans for nuclear power plant in Tyrone, Northern Ireland.LEGAL. An arms embargo on Israel is not a radical idea — it’s the law.MEDIA. Chernobyl Roulette by Serhii Plokhy review – gripping account of wartime chaos at Ukraine’s nuclear plant.
Physicist MV Ramana on the problem with nuclear power,
POLITICS.Israel’s plan for Gaza comes into view .
Inside UK Labour’s plans for a new nuclear age -ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/09/05/1-b1-inside-uk-labours-plans-for-a-new-nuclear-age/ A staggering £5.5bn more of UK taxpayers’ money to be thrown at this white elephant, Sizewell C nuclear.  Ed Miliband considers scrapping planned nuclear plant. Ynys Môn MP calls for UK Government clarity on Wylfa site. Will new UK nuclear power station plan be scrapped?
SNP activists whoop as leader John Swinney tells party conference an independent Scotland will give up nuclear deterrent and rejoin the EU.
Controversy Surrounds Kazakhstan’s Nuclear Referendum,		POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.
Iran desperately needs a nuclear deal to save its battered economy.

Netanyahu to Biden…’We can’t complete the genocidal ethnic cleaning of Gaza without you.’

Japan PM hopeful Kono calls for US assurances to deter nuclear ambitions.
RADIATION. Rare photos show Earth’s fatal hotspot that can kill any human standing nearby in just five minutes.

The scientific nature of the linear no-threshold (LNT) model used in the system of radiological protection.		SAFETY.Seismic Showdown Coming at Diablo Canyon.AEA’s Grossi says Zaporizhzhia cooling tower likely to be demolished.
New images raise concerns over state of UK nuclear submarines.
Former Palisades engineering director has misgivings about the plant’s historic restart effort.
SECRETS and LIES. ICC prosecutor says world leaders ‘threatened’ him over Israel arrest warrants.
Boris Johnson faces ‘serious questions’ over new business with uranium entrepreneur.

Victoria Nuland, former US deputy secretary of state, confirms West told Zelensky to abandon peace deal.		SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS.
Whoopsie, SpaceX Blew Up Two Rockets and Punched a Massive Hole in One of Earth’s Layers
ECHNOLOGY.Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) in Canada.
Delays, debts and false promises — inside France’s nuclear nightmare – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/09/06/2-a-delays-debts-and-false-promises-inside-frances-nuclear-nightmare/

Why nuclear-powered commercial ships are a bad idea.
France still faces problems in starting up long-delayed super-expensive Flamanville nuclear reactor.
France’s newest nuclear reactor shuts itself down.
Nuclear Fusion’s public-relations drive is obscuring the challenges that lie ahead.		WASTES.
Complex compensation scheme represents tacit admission that nuke dump causes blight.

Which rural area will take the UK’s nuclear waste?

A robot resumes mission to retrieve a piece of melted fuel from inside a damaged Fukushima reactor.

TEPCO restarts debris extraction attempt at Fukushima plant.
WAR and CONFLICT.
 America’s New Nuclear War Plan: Time to Panic? | Amb. Jack Matlock, Col. Larry Wilkerson, Ted Postol.

Project 2025’s stance on nuclear testing: A dangerous step back.

Netanyahu ‘torpedoed’Palestinian peace talks – CNN.

9700 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed Invading Russia.		WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES.Nuclear Roulette: The U.S. Nuclear Employment Guideline. US arms advantage over Russia and China threatens stability, experts warn. White House pushes for AUKUS to move to ‘pillar two’ weapons focus.
Ukrainian Tipping Points: UPDATE.

Israeli Official: Without US Aid, Israel Couldn’t Sustain Gaza Operations for More Than a Few Months . Israel’s nuclear arsenal poses major threat to global peace’. UK suspends 30 arms exports to Israel over Gaza war crimes concerns.
South Africa halts artillery shells to Poland over fears they will be used against Russia.Indian nuclear weapons, 2024.
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un says country to increase number of nuclear weapons, KCNA says.

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

TODAY. Yah wouldn’t know it was happening. USA military might and toxic nuclear waste quietly infiltrating Australia?

I think that you’ve got to give credit to the corporate media, especially the Australian media.

I dunno about the rest of you, but I am pretty much numbed by the blanketing of all news for weeks on end, with coverage of the Olympics. Former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser wished that politics should be relegated to page 3,with sport at the front page. He would be delighted with today’s situation where sport occupies about the first 37 pages of the news.

In Melbourne, we are about to come up for air after being submerged in Olympics news, only to face the next inundation, which is of course Australian Rules Football.

But the media here will dutifully make an exception for news about an enormous weapons industry fest now being held in Melbourne. No doubt there’ll be condemnation of those evil protestors who want to stop this wonderful industry – that brings in the dollars in weapons sales to places like Israel and Ukraine – so good for the Australian economy!

There are bits of news that just do not surface at all.

There’s a government Review going on – that just about nobody has heard about –  https://www.defence.gov.au/about/reviews-inquiries/review-woomera-prohibited-area-coexistence-framework .

It’s all about how the government uses a large stretch of land in South Australia – almost certainly a quiet introduction to the idea of dumping USA’s AUKUS nuclear waste there. They very quietly called for Submissions by September 6th.

So pretty much nobody knew anything about that. (One investigative nuisance – David Noonan actually managed to get a Submission in)

Australians are pretty much conditioned now, to know that the only important news is sport, preferably with Australia winning, – (because it’s the only thing we’re good at, isn’t it?). Some Aborigines might be anxious to learn that South Australian land, already polluted by British nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s, is going to get another burst of nuclear weapons pollution from our “friends” the UK and USA.

But last year, the Australian media managed to kill off any plan for the Aborigines to have a Voice to Parliament. This year, media silence on the AUKUS nuclear waste plan will probably be even more effective in removing any Aboriginal objection from the process.

September 9, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

TODAY. The Anglophone nations ganging up to dominate the rest of the world, mindlessly obeying the USA

What is it with this sychophantic obedience and grovelling to the USA? Does it come from memories of World War 2, or more likely, memories of how Hollywood portrayed World War 2? Many a Hollywood film, over the decades, told the glorious story of how America won the war, and saved the rest of us. In reality, that just was not true at all, for Britain, but partially true for Australia.

Then there was The Bomb – hastily dropped on Japanese civilians – despite Japan about to surrender anyway. But that wasn’t to save us, to end the war. It was done to intimidate the Russians.

Anyway, 79 years later, the danger is not the evil foreigners who don’t speak English. The danger is above all, the existence of nuclear weaponry itself. And this danger is now being landed especially on the Anglophone nations.

In the UK , only 3 weeks after Keir Starmer and the Labour Party took over, Labour  amended the Eisenhower-era 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement (MDA) that is crucial to Britain’s Trident nuclear missile system. Officials deleted a long-standing sunset clause that required it be renewed every ten years. All references to an “expiry date” have been removed “to make the entirety of the MDA enduring, securing continuing cooperation with the US”

This change, quietly made, with no discussion in Parliament, let alone any public information, ensures that Britain will continue to host American nuclear weapons technology , and as always, slavishly follow the USA into its next military adventure, whatever that may be.

The UK’s most dangerous sites would include Lakenheath , the UK’s largest American air force base , and the Clyde Trident nuclear base. What enticing targets for America’s enemies in time of war!

If the USA is using Britain (and Europe) to position these dangerous nuclear targets, its moves into the whole continent of Australia are even more breath-takingly bold. There’s always been the secret 5 Eye base at Pine Gap – but now – increasing military bases in Northern and Western Australia, and the nuclear submarine sage unfolds -with its potential to turn Australia into a USA/UK nuclear military waste dump.

What these Anglophone peoples don’t seem to “get” – is that nuclear military technology – if it ever was for “defence” has now become the biggest threat to our safety.

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

Nuclear news and more -this week

Some bits of good news:  How Indigenous Peoples are safeguarding Earth’s biodiversity   Federal Court recognises four-nation clan’s 95,000-square-kilometre native title claim in Western NSW, Australia.      French schools to have a long ‘digital pause’

TOP STORIES. 

A Looming Nuclear Catastrophe. Democratic Party platform a catastrophe for world peace.

Fears of ‘serious consequences’ if ‘extremely exposed’ Russian nuclear plant is attacked.

Atomic Tragedy? Plutonium Levels Near US Nuclear Site In Los Alamos Similar To Chernobyl – New Study.

That time when Canada cancelled its nuclear submarine order. 

Recent Events Prove Western Nations Are Highly Vulnerable To Cyber Calamity – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0oZA1B3ooI

Climate. Surging seas are coming for us all, warns UN chief.

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AUSTRALIA

.David Noonan confronts Australia’s politicians with critical unanswered questions on the AUKUS agreement – will they pretend not to hear this?      The AUKUS submarine deal has been exposed as a monumental folly – is it time to abandon ship?

Dutton’s nuclear vision is distorted by ignorance (or worse) Opposing a USA-led international nuclear agreement that is bizarrely unfair to Australia. More Australian nuclear news headlines at https://antinuclear.net/2024/08/27/australian-nuclear-news-from-26-august-to-1st-september/

NUCLEAR ITEMS

ARTS and CULTURE. Farewell, the American CenturyATROCITIES. Israel Launches Major West Bank Raid as Israeli Minister Vows Gaza-Like Attack.
CIVIL LIBERTIES. UK arrests TWO prominent anti-genocide journalists under ‘anti-terrorism’ laws, as West ramps up attacks on dissenters.ECONOMICS. UK unveils GBP 5.5bn subsidy plan for 3.2 GW nuclear plant. Ukraine doubles down on Russian reactors in nuclear power push.
Marketing. South Korea pushes to export nuclear reactors to Europe. Let’s forget NuScale’s small nuclear reactor shambles in America. Now they’re marketing these little boondoggles to Ghana.
ENERGY. Hokkaido more plugged in to renewable energy than rest of JapaENVIRONMENT. Popular US park as radioactive as Chernobyl, says expert: ‘I’ve never seen anything quite like it’ Oceans. Fukushima fishermen not in the clear yet
ETHICS and RELIGION. Zelensky signs law to ban Ukraine’s largest church.EVENTS. September 1 -30 Free viewing of “Atomic Bamboozle“.Lakenheath Alliance for Peace will have an ongoing presence at American air force base..
HEALTH. Labour Government must give ‘absolute commitment’ to nuclear test veteransHISTORY. Declassified files show Northern Ireland’s future reformist PM ‘against nuclear plant in Catholic area’
MEDIA. New York Times Uncritically Reported Israel’s Version of Golan Bombing.

Book: Dirty Secrets of Nuclear Power in an Era of Climate Change.		OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Campaigners against government scheme boost for Sizewell C.
PERSONAL STORIES. I Want to Live On’ Documentary Brings Forward Voices of Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Survivors – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fapgfaBfmFQ. 
People Harmed by Radiation Exposure Can Forget About Any Federal Compensation.		PLUTONIUM. ‘ Extreme’ levels of plutonium contamination found in Los Alamos.
POLITICS.The US presidential candidates are not confronting the nuclear threat that haunts the world.
America’s Nuclear ‘Downwinders’ Deserve Justice.
Russia says it will change nuclear doctrine because of Western role in Ukraine.

UK government’s new scheme to subsidise Sizewell nuclear project with support up to £5.5 billion ! Nuclear power scheme given £5.5bn of funding. Rees-Mogg told Truss to plug nuclear submarine into the grid.		POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.IAEA chief on reviving Iran nuclear deal, preventing Russia-Ukraine nuclear disaster.

North Korea condemns new US nuclear strategic plan

report.Same cast, new script: What’s next in Iran’s nuclear saga?
SAFETY. Russia says UN watchdog must be ‘more objective’ after trip to nuclear plant near fighting . UN fears nuclear incident possible at Russia’s ‘vulnerable’ Kursk plant after drone strikes.
Central Japan nuclear reactor fails to pass safety review.
Sellafield Ltd told to improve after hazardous substance breaches. Acid discharge and risk assessment shortfall at Cheshire nuclear-site.		SECRETS and LIES. How the U.S. Enabled Netanyahu to Sabotage a Gaza Ceasefire.

Waihopai is a Secret U.S. Spy Base in New Zealand Designed for War-fighting.
TECHNOLOGY. Last Energy nabs $40M to realize vision of super-small nuclear reactors.
Plug and play nuclear reactors remain a shot in the dark		WASTES. ‘It stops with us’: After fighting more than a decade, advocates obtain maps of radioactive waste at West Lake Landfill.

Tepco aims to dismantle Fukushima water tanks from 2025.
WAR and CONFLICT.
Ukrainian Tipping Points. Tangible Panic Grows in UkraineAmid Donbass-front Collapse.

Ukraine war briefing: Russia says it will change nuclear doctrine due to western escalation in Ukraine.

The Battle of Kursk probably won’t result in nuclear weapons use against Ukraine: but Russian escalation vis-à-vis NATO can’t be ruled out.

Russia Warns US Will Face ‘Much Harsher’ Consequences for Backing Kursk Invasion.

NATO Ally Sounds Alarm on ‘Risks’ of Nuclear War With Russia.		WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES.
Biden’s ‘new’ nuclear strategy and the super-fuse that sets it off the super-fuse that sets it off ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/09/01/2-a-bidens-new-nuclear-strategy-and-the-super-fuse-that-sets-it-off/
‘Lessons of the past forgotten’ as nuclear proliferation continues. 
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). Co-President Carlos Umaña Explores Making Nuclear Weapons Taboo.
Iran urges elimination of atomic weapons, end to nuclear tests.

Israel Says US Has Delivered 50,000 Tons of Military Aid Since Start of Gaza Slaughter. A Return to Form: Expediting US Arms to Israel.  US Rushes Weapons Shipments To Israel. ‘No,’ Kamala Harris Says to Withholding Arms From Israel.
Ukrainian defense chief visits

 Pentagon. Pentagon rejects Zelensky’s latest weapons plea.

September 2, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

Countering the nuclear lobby spin this week

Some bits of good news.     How Copenhagen cleaned up its harbour. Renewable energy consumption hit a record high. The US finally supported a global plastics treaty

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

TOP STORIES. 

How US Big Tech monopolies colonized the world: Welcome to neo-feudalism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf1wQ9QeaKM 

The heroes who saved the world from Chernobyl Two. 

‘Very serious’ nuclear situation could happen ‘at any moment’ in Ukraine, says IAEA chief. 

Donald Trump and Nuclear Weapons. 

Molten salt reactors were trouble in the 1960s—and they remain trouble today.

From the archives. A new French fairy tale: “Cheap” nuclear electricity in France is not what it appears.

Biodiversity. Capitalism is killing the planet – but curtailing it is the discussion nobody wants to have. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/08/20/2-b1-capitalism-is-killing-the-planet-but-curtailing-it-is-the-discussion-nobody-wants-to-have/ 

Climate. Climate scientist says 2/3rds of the world is under an effective ‘death sentence’ because of global warming. Think we don’t have a choice when it comes to saving the planet? Think again– ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/08/20/2-b1-think-we-dont-have-a-choice-when-it-comes-to-saving-the-planet-think-again/ Project 2025: The right-wing conspiracy to torpedo global climate action. Meeting 1.5C warming limit hinges on governments more than technology, study says.

Plastic pollution. Human brain tissue made up of 0.5 per cent microplastics, study reveals.

Noel’s notes. A whole new way of thinking about nuclear weapons – THEY’RE SILLY! “Churnalism” – that is a timely word that we all need to consider.

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

AUSTRALIA. Is the USA now considering withdrawal from AUKUS? Australia offers U.S. a vast new military launchpad in China conflict. AUKUS 2.0: Albanese Drives It Like He Stole It, and Then Gives It Away to the US. Civil Society faces imposition of an AUKUS military High Level nuclear waste dump. The anti-renewables groups pushing the nuclear option to rural Australia – ALSO AT  https://antinuclear.net/2024/08/26/the-anti-renewables-groups-pushing-the-nuclear-option-to-rural-australia/ Too big to fail? Who cares if there’s no accountability – the Nuclear Lie. 

NUCLEAR ITEMS.

ARTS and CULTURE. The lost world of Chornobyl: inside a nuclear disaster zone – in pictures. The UK nuclear lobby’s festival of joyous propaganda.

CLIMATE. Why Nuclear Energy Is Not the Solution to the Climate Crisis. Why the big push for nuclear power as “green”?

ECONOMICS. Atlantic Canada’s only nuclear power station is offline, again.

Final investment decision on new nuclear plant Sizewell C is delayed. “Final Investment Decision (FID) ” in Sizewell C nuclear station might never happen. Nuclear unicorn Newcleo to move holding company from UK to France to tap EU funds.

China keeps door firmly closed to Japanese seafood imports.

SMRs and nuclear renaissance: Learning from past to avoid over promising on low costs.

ENERGY. AI’s insatiable energy demand is going nuclear.

Global disappointment with the most promising energy: ‘The dream is dead’, and we are in ‘big trouble’

ENVIRONMENT. Sizewell C seeks permit for ‘water vole displacement activities’ ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/08/24/1-b1-sizewell-c-seeks-permit-for-water-vole-displacement-activities/

EVENTS. 1 September, Ontario WALK AGAINST NUCLEAR WASTE  https://www.facebook.com/nonukesontreatylands

MEDIA. Defence Correspondents: The Journalistic Wing of the Military?
POLITICS. Harris’s concluding speech at DNC embraces agenda of global war. Democrats Release Insanely Hawkish Middle East Policy Platform. ‘Strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship’: a look at Tim Walz’s votes on Palestine as a member of Congress.Biden’s Convention Speech Made Absurd Claims About His Gaza Policy.POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Blinken ‘Sentenced Ceasefire Talks to Death’ With Comments on Netanyahu.Hungary again breaks with West: Ukrainian attack on Kursk is ‘wrong‘ .The U.S. and China Can Lead the Way on Nuclear Threat Reduction. White House downplays Chinese concerns over possible US nuclear strategy change,
SAFETY. Rafael Grossi to visit Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia , following reports that remains of a drone were found there Nuclear power risks rising in Russia-Ukraine war. Fire at Zaporizhzhia elevates meltdown risk. IAEA chief to visit Kursk nuclear plant due to Ukraine incursion.
UK’s nuclear facilities ‘at high risk of atomic blackmail’ from Putin. Flight attendant turned author reveals terrible security vulnerability she fears could trigger nuclear apocalypse.
How EDF almost plunged France into darkness .Incident: Fluid leak forces rail shipment to return to the San Onofre nuclear power plant		SECRETS and LIES. Report on nuclear power in Wales is so secret the UK Government won’t even disclose its name
.Labour MP under fire for accepting £2,000 donation from Sizewell C developer. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/08/22/1-b1-labour-mp-under-fire-for-accepting-2000-donation-from-sizewell-c-developer/

Inside the ‘suitably opaque’ response to a toxic sewage spill at Chalk River nuclear lab.
SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Rocket Test on Remote Scottish Island Ends in Flames.SPINBUSTER. Nuclear power on the prairies is a green smokescreen. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/08/21/2-b1-nuclear-power-on-the-prairies-is-a-green-smokescreen/ Why fans of nuclear are a problem today.
TECHNOLOGY. Small modular reactors: Not all that glows is gold.

The Risk of Bringing AI Discussions Into High-Level Nuclear Dialogues.

A robot’s attempt to get a sample of the melted nuclear fuel at Japan’s damaged reactor is suspended		WASTES. Britain’s Dirtiest Beaches – Don’t Mention the Pu! Japan: Removal of nuclear fuel remains in Fukushima will begin on August 22.The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)NDA’s £30 million investment into nuclear research & innovation.We don’t want your garbage‘: Northern township in shock after hearing Ontario is sending it radioactive waste.
WAR and CONFLICT. Blinken Heads to Israel for Gaza Cease-Fire Push as IDF Slaughter Continues.

Moscow Says Ukraine Destroyed Russian Bridge With Western-Provided Missiles. Ukraine could trigger ‘another Chernobyl’ – ex-US Army officer. Zelensky’s Misadventures in Kursk.

Kazakhstan Takes Lead in Global Push for Nuclear Disarmament Amid Heightened Tensions.		WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. From the NPT to the UN Summit of the Future: Cut nuclear weapons budgets and investments.

‘US the primary source of nuclear threat in world’. Biden approved nuclear strategy focusing on China: Report. US crying wolf over China’s ‘nuclear threat’ while expanding nuclear arsenal.

Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt says the Ukraine War turned him into an arms dealer.


August 27, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

TODAY. A whole new way of thinking about nuclear weapons – THEY’RE SILLY!

I’m grateful to Ward Hayes Wilson for giving me this idea. He has noted that Kamala Harris and co have changed the tone of discussion about Donald Trump – from being about fear of Trump, to laughter at Trump.

Then he turns to discussion about nuclear weapons. Why haven’t they been used over almost 80 years of warfare? Because – like Trump, they’re not useful – they’re weird.

Ward Hayes Wilson does not minimise the danger of nuclear weapons. He knows his stuff, and has an impressive record as a writer on matters nuclear. It’s just that he can write clearly about this, without the jargon.

“The truth is nuclear weapons are too big to use on battlefields”

“The truth is that using nuclear weapons to fight a long-range war where you target your adversary’s homeland is simply suicidal.”

“The truth is that nuclear deterrence is fatal over the long run because it’s run by human beings — creatures who make mistakes and are prone to folly.”

“the most important truth about them: they’re ludicrous weapons………….. Their non-use is the result of nuclear weapons being blundering, bumbling, poison-spreading, lousy weapons.”

In the laborious progress towards genuine democracy (we haven’t got there yet), there has been one breakthrough – over a century ago. That is that the political leaders not only have to get voted in – they have to wear more or less “ordinary” clothes. This attire is a very visible symbol that the leader – President, Prime Minister – whoever he (even she!) is called – is not a god, not divinely inspired, but just an ordinary fallible human being.

This type of breakthrough insight has not yet hit the military. In their god-like smart uniforms , bedecked with buttons, ribbons, insignia, jazzy hats – the military, naval, airforce bigwigs look like they are special creatures – super-knowledgeable angels who know what’s best for us, and that the killing of lotsa people is OK, (even if we have to go, too).

Actually, this isn’t really fair. Often you get more sense out of the military toffs that you do out of the politicians, who are beholden to the weapons-making corporations.

Still, tax-payers spend an exorbitant amount not only on nuclear weaponry, but on the whole hierarchy of “experts” of all kinds involved in developing, managing, teaching, publicising and extolling nuclear weapons, and preparing for war.

Much less is spent on genuine diplomacy.

Genuine diplomacy is different from the smarmy hypocrisy of those “diplomats” who swan around a world preparing for nuclear war, and pretending that all will be OK, underneath the American “nuclear umbrella” – that the USA has everything under control.

We don’t need this silly trumpeting about nuclear deterrence etc. It’s time for those more down to earth methods – genuine diplomacy, negotiation, compromise …….

We can swap our fear of nuclear weapons for making fun of how silly the whole thing is .

August 24, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

TODAY “Churnalism” – that is a timely word that we all need to consider;

The days of independent investigative journalism as a well-paid job – are pretty much over .

We get our “mainstream” news from journalists who are toeing the line of the corporate media owners, and of government.

I’m grateful to DES FREEDMAN, who today introduced me to that lovely word “churnalism”. How beautifully it expresses all the joyous news that bombards us, about the wonderful world of militarism, and its exciting new devices for killing! Such a glorious use of our taxes!

However, I’m not all that thrilled to learn of the horrible deaths to be inflicted upon Russian and Chinese human beings, as some kind of compensation for my own horrible death in World War 3. Indeed, I’m quite puzzled at the prevailing patriotic view that belligerence and confrontation are the way to go , with these other countries, whom we are somehow obliged to hate.

Of course, the really hard tasks are apparently just too hard to contemplate – those difficult things like negotiation, diplomacy, compromise……….. Especially if it’s dealing with people whose native language is not English. We barely tolerate the Europeans, (but of course, we make an exception for the Ukrainians as they are willingly sacrificing themselves in the cause of American hegemony).

A few brave souls are still doing objective journalism, either openly, or sort of “between the lines” as they write about political tensions, about international conflicts, – and they hope to hang on to their jobs in the “respectable” media.

Meanwhile – where the real journalism is now happening, where questions are really being asked, is in the “alternative ” media – that depends on the generosity of volunteers, giving their time, some voluntary subscribers – but no funding from government and corporate advertising .

I’m not sure that these alternative voices are going to cut through the miitaristic handouts that are regurgitated in the prevailing churnalism, as well as in the jungle of “social” media.

The questions that need to be asked and answered are so simple and obvious – that somehow by some magical veil thrown over our eyes – they are just never allowed to be seen:  

  • is it a good idea to provoke Putin?  
  • is it a good idea to attack China About Taiwan?
  • why is our tax-payer money going into ever more terrible weapons? 
  • why is it not going into healthcare?
  • why is it not going into education? to helping the homeless? to preserving the environment?

So – the military juggernaut rolls on. Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon etc now censor links to the irregular media, where such questions are asked. So I don’t know whether sensible thinking will ever rise to the surface above the churnalism.

If it doesn’t – we are all doomed.

August 22, 2024 Posted by | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

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