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White House Pressing Ukraine To Draft 18-Year-Olds for War

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan recently hinted that the US was pressuring Ukraine to expand conscription, saying Ukraine’s biggest problem in the war was the lack of manpower.

The pressure from the US comes as polling shows the majority of Ukrainians want peace talks to end the war,

by Dave DeCamp November 27, 2024 , https://news.antiwar.com/2024/11/27/white-house-pressing-ukraine-to-draft-18-year-olds-for-war/

The White House is pressuring Ukraine to increase the size of its military by lowering the minimum age of conscription from 25 to 18, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

A senior Biden administration official said the outgoing administration wants Ukraine to start drafting 18-year-olds to expand the current pool of fighting-age males. The pressure from the US comes as polling shows the majority of Ukrainians want peace talks with Russia to end the war.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan recently hinted that the US was pressuring Ukraine to expand conscription, saying Ukraine’s biggest problem in the war was the lack of manpower.

“Our view has been that there’s not one weapon system that makes a difference in this battle. It’s about manpower, and Ukraine needs to do more, in our view, to firm up its lines in terms of the number of forces it has on the front lines,” Sullivan said on PBS News Hour last week.

Last month, Serhiy Leshchenko, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Ukraine was under pressure from US politicians to lower the conscription age. “American politicians from both parties are putting pressure on President Zelensky to explain why there is no mobilization of those aged 18 to 25 in Ukraine,” he said.

Zelensky signed a mobilization bill into law back in April that lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25. A few weeks before the mobilization bill became law, Zelensky received a visit from US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who complained that not enough young Ukrainian med were being sent to the frontline.

“I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe it’s at 27,” Graham said. “You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27. We need more people in the line.”

The Biden administration’s push for Ukraine to draft younger men comes as it is doing everything it can to escalate the proxy war before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20. President Biden is seeking another $24 billion to spend on the conflict even though it’s clear there’s no path to a Ukrainian military victory.

December 1, 2024 Posted by | Ukraine, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Tepco eyes second test removal of Fukushima nuclear fuel debris

 Japan Times 29th Nov 2024, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/29/japan/tepco-debris-removal-plan/

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings is considering conducting a second test to remove nuclear fuel debris from one of the three meltdown-hit reactors at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, company officials said Thursday.

As in the previous test, Tepco plans to use a fishing rod-shaped device to remove the debris from the plant’s No. 2 reactor.

Tepco collected 0.7 gram of debris in the first test, which started in September and ended on Nov. 7. The debris is currently under analysis at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.

Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairperson Shinsuke Yamanaka has asked the company to collect more debris to gather more data.

Some 880 tons of nuclear debris, a mixture of melted fuel and reactor parts, is estimated to remain in the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 reactors at the plant, which was crippled by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

December 1, 2024 Posted by | Fukushima continuing, wastes | Leave a comment

Biden administration advancing $680m arms sale to Israel, source says

November 27, 2024,  https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241127-biden-administration-advancing-680m-arms-sale-to-israel-source-says/

The Biden administration is pushing ahead with a $680 million arms sales package to Israel, a US official familiar with the plan said on Wednesday, even as a US-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah has come into effect, Reuters reports.

The package, which was first reported by the Financial Times, includes thousands of joint direct attack munition kits (JDAM) and hundreds of small-diameter bombs, according to the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The news comes less than a day after the ceasefire agreement ended the deadliest confrontation in years between Israel and the Hezbollah group, but Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian group, Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.

However, the package has been in the works for several months. It was first previewed to the congressional committees in September then submitted for review in October, the official said.

The package follows a $20 billion sale in August of fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel.

Reuters reported in June that Washington, Israel’s biggest ally and weapons supplier, has sent Israel more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

The conversations about the latest arms package had been going on even as a group of progressive US senators, including Bernie Sanders introduced resolutions to block the sale of some US weapons to Israel over concerns about the human rights catastrophe faced by Palestinians in Gaza.

The legislation was shot down in the Senate.


Biden, whose term ends in January, has strongly backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

However, since then, it has been revealed by Haaretz that helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army had, in fact, killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians claimed by Israel to have been killed by the Palestinian Resistance.

Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people has been displaced and the enclave is at risk of famine, more than a year into Israel’s war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave. Gaza health officials say more than 43,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive.

December 1, 2024 Posted by | Israel, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Is Europe Ready for a Nuclear Renaissance?

27 November 2024, By Claire Mauduit-Le Clercq and Emmanuel Dubois-Pelerin, S&P Global

Highlights

From the current limited nuclear power construction activity, with about 3 GW in progress, Europe seems ready to accelerate again, but only in countries already operating nuclear reactors. This comes amid increased geopolitical tensions, energy security concerns, aging existing nuclear fleet and increased need for firm and low-carbon power to deliver on electrification and decarbonization ambitions.

We estimate that the total cost for new build could be up to €15 million/MW, well above most other clean energy sources. This estimation notably considers overnight costs, cost of capital, and time — all of which can result in significant variations and add to unpredictability.

We believe the economics of the projects and the credit quality of the involved utilities will therefore rely on the efficiency and credibility of the frameworks that will govern these assets. Economic viability depends on dedicated remuneration schemes, risk-sharing mechanisms and government support. The need for robust frameworks is exacerbated by the substantial upfront investment funding needs of each project and a negative track record of significant time and cost overruns we observed on recent projects.

In any case, any nuclear new build will take years to become operational and connect to the grid, creating ongoing tensions on projected economics and future power market dynamics. Managing these will be key to attract investors while protecting consumers.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………… The European Parliament also approved the classification of nuclear as “green” under the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities, making nuclear power an eligible option to bridge Europe’s decarbonization trajectory. This is key, as this contributes to alleviating pressure on funding (see the discussion Nuclear as a bridge to 2050 in the European Union in this report for more details).

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….  The level and unpredictability of costs of new nuclear builds are a major obstacle to the renaissance.

…………….. In this report, we do not focus on lifetime extensions, which are indisputably cheaper than a new build, whose levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), even with mild assumptions, is probably at least three to four times French energy regulator CRE’s estimate of €30-€40 per MWh for EDF’s 12-year, approximately €68 billion “Grand Carénage” investment program. Reciprocally, one could embed in a new EPR LCOE the optional value of a future extension beyond the assumed lifetime — but most projects already target 60 years from the start (versus typically 40 years in the past), so that optional value beyond 60 years is very uncertain and at any rate stands so many years away (around 2090 for new construction starting now) that its net present value is relatively modest. We see lifetime extensions as supporting the related utilities’ credit quality only for existing reactors.

……………………………………….The construction costs of all recent new nuclear reactors, in Europe and the US, remain massive: we see the starting point of overnight costs (that is, ignoring the cost of capital during construction as if the project was completed “overnight”) at about or above an order of magnitude of €10 million/MW for Europe-built EPRs (it is unclear whether SMRs would be cheaper per MW; the real credit mitigant would be the three to four times lesser single-asset exposure if a utility is building just one).

…………The costliest of all by far is the very latest build, the UK’s HPC. As per the latest (January 2024) public communication on current costing, we see about €202415 million/MW.

For clarity, we include in “overnight costs,” beyond those capitalized by the developer, certain items which, given the magnitudes involved, can be very relevant:

Supplier losses, like Toshiba’s $3.68 billion loss on Vogtle or Areva’s several-billion-euros loss on OLK-3. They are typically hard to assess (and typically excluded from the LCOE). The appropriate baseline for assessment is an arguable point: the downside from the reasonable return the supplier expected versus from a break-even point. Nevertheless, net losses should be factored into the analysis.

Pre-COD operating costs, which some developers expense, rather than capitalize, and nonetheless represent monies sunk before cash flows in. For example, for FLA-3 construction, operating expenditures (opex) of €1.14 billion (€0.7 million/MW) were expensed over 2022–2023 alone.

Certain post-COD costs (e.g., the FLA-3’s vessel-head repair under first big planned outage) were an ASN (France’s Nuclear Safety Authority) precondition for commissioning in the first place. Both repair costs and the opportunity cost of not producing power during repair are not yet known.

……………………………………………………………………………………...The lack of cost competitiveness for nuclear technology construction in Europe is obvious versus other technologies and other regions

LCOEs are the highest for nuclear, highlighting its lack of cost competitiveness in construction in Europe.

……………………………………………….All current funding mechanisms envisaged for NNBs include strong taxpayer or consumer support

In our view, no funding on NNBs during the construction phase can be structured absent taxpayer or consumer support. This support can take the following forms:

  • A subsidized state loan during construction and a CfD support during operations, as envisaged by the Czech Republic for Dukovany 5.
  • State ownership, even when the state was previously absent from nuclear (e.g., SZC, where the UK government is and would remain the largest shareholder), combined with Regulated Asset Base (RAB) support starting from Day 1 of the construction phase. The objective is to reduce WACC and to share cost overrun risks.
  • State-owned bank funding and intergovernmental loans, such as for Paks II in Hungary.

………………………………………………………………………………………….. Conclusion

Massive new build projects have gained momentum in some European countries, but financing them remains fraught with challenges. To sustain the development of these key decarbonization projects, countries are looking at innovative funding mechanisms to mitigate the heavy cost burden on operators. Construction risks will remain key concerns for the ratings trajectory of the involved utilities, and we will monitor the implementation of credit-supportive funding solutions that often require strong state involvement.  https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/special-reports/is-europe-ready-for-a-nuclear-renaissance

December 1, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Small nuclear reactors are at risk from military attacks, so should be built underground

 Small modular reactors (SMRs) should be built underground, including in
city centres, to protect them from military attacks, seismic activity and
other natural hazards, according to a new academic study.

 Nucnet 27th Nov 2024
https://www.nucnet.org/news/underground-plants-could-be-built-in-city-centres-11-3-2024

December 1, 2024 Posted by | safety, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors | Leave a comment

  Plans to turn land in Somerset into a saltmarsh should be scrapped.

Plans to flood 1500 acres of farmland along the Severn Estuary to create
saltmarsh won’t be effective in saving fish affected by a nuclear power
station – that’s according to ecosystems expert Dr Mark Everard of the
University of the West of England. EDF is building the station at Hinkley
Point in Somerset and had agreed to install and maintain an acoustic fish
deterrent to prevent fish being sucked into the site’s cooling systems. But
they now say it’s dangerous to build and the technology is untested, and
want to flood farmland instead to create saltmarsh habitats. Dr Everard
says most fish – including migrating salmon – won’t benefit from this, and
the deterrent system is already used effectively worldwide.

 BBC Farming Today 25th Nov 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0025cyx

December 1, 2024 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

TODAY. SMRs underground – long drop nuclear toilets? – a chance to use that beaut new word – enshittification

Yes, I learned that Word of the Year 2024 – Macquarie only yesterday, and have been dying to use it. So, thanks to NucNet – Small Modular Reactors / Underground Plants ‘Could Be Built In City Centres’ 27/11/24 – I have now got a most appropriate opportunity.

 “Small modular reactors (SMRs) should be built underground, including in city centres, to protect them from military attacks, seismic activity and other natural hazards, according to a new academic study.“

Gee, that’s nice.  Deep Fission, a startup based in Berkeley, California, has raised funding to start this idea – “The concept is simple yet groundbreaking: build a small nuclear reactor just 30 inches wide and lower it into a mile-deep drill shaft. This approach could sidestep the immense costs and safety concerns that have long plagued traditional nuclear power.”

Yay! It’s a simple idea – a “small” nuclear reactor, a mile under the city centre, doesn’t need a containment cover –  “a cost-effective, scalable solution to the world’s energy needs“.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defines ‘small’ as under 300 MWe, – but that’s got a bit blurry lately. NuScale’s (failed) small nuclear reactor project was for 462 MWe.

But anyway, isn’t it a relief to know that our cities can have the Artificial Intelligence data centres quite handily placed with the “small” nuclear reactors tucked away underneath us? And of course, it’s all going to be so very cheap. Although, If the SMRs are really only 30 inches wide, we might need quite a lot of them, to meet all our energy needs, not just the data centre’s needs. Will that be cheap?

But – wait a minute? Why do they need to be a mile underground? I thought that the beloved, though not yet existing, small nuclear reactors were already so very safe and so cheap.

Safety has been the big selling point for SMRs. The top nuclear marketing body – The International Atomic Energy Agency tells us of their wonderful safety features – Passive cooling systems , Fewer mechanical parts , Auto fail safe , Increased safety margins . Lower power output. The IAEA means that SMRs are safer than big reactors. (Oh dear – it does not mean that they are safer than wind and solar power.!)

So – everybody has been enthused over the safety of these not-yet-existing nuclear gimmicks – but now we’re being told that they might be a target for military or terrorist attacks and natural hazards.

So – underground will be fine? With climate change – what about flooding? Oh dear – the marketing story for the nuclear industry moves further into confusion. Thank you, Macquarie Dictionary for that so applicable term – “enshittification”. And I like their second choice, too – “brainrot”

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

France is weighing zero-interest loan for 6 nuclear reactors, sources say

  • Summary
  • EDF faces financing challenges due to high debt and project delays
  • French government faces no-confidence vote over budget with spending cuts
  • EU approval needed for state aid in nuclear projects

PARIS, Nov 27(Reuters) Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; additional reporting by Leigh Thomas; writing by Dominique Patton; editing by Nina Chestney and Tomasz Janowski- https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/france-is-weighing-zero-interest-loan-6-nuclear-reactors-sources-say-2024-11-27/

French officials are drawing up plans to provide an interest-free loan to state-owned power utility EDF to finance a significant portion of the construction of six new nuclear reactors, two people familiar with the matter said.

The financing would clear a major hurdle for one of the country’s biggest public projects in years.

The plans are similar to financing agreed recently for a single reactor in the Czech Republic, and although the size of the loan is not yet known, it shows the growing need for state support in financing new nuclear projects in Europe.

The plans also include a long-term guaranteed price for the power generated, known as a contract for difference (CfD), said the people, who declined to be identified because they are not authorised to speak with media.

The Ministry of Finance and EDF declined to comment.

The discussions on financing the projects that could cost well over 50 billion euros ($52.60 billion) come as the French government faces a potential no-confidence vote over a proposed budget that contains measures to cut spending and raise taxes to contain the country’s soaring debt.

President Emmanuel Macron announced plans in early 2022 for six new reactors with a total production capacity of about 10 gigawatts to partly replace an ageing nuclear fleet and secure future energy supplies.

Construction of the first reactor is due to start in 2027 but Macron has never said who would pay for the project, which at the time was estimated to cost around 52 billion euros. Recent media reports suggest costs may be higher, reaching as much as 67 billion euros.

France’s current 57 nuclear reactors in operation were largely financed by EDF, which was a publicly-listed company until it was fully nationalised last year.

But the company is unlikely to be able to secure private financing for new projects, given its already high debt, and there have been multiple delays and cost overruns at recent projects like Flamanville in France and Hinkley Point in England.

CZECH MODEL

While there is general agreement to provide a zero-interest loan to EDF during the construction phase, the amount is not yet decided and there are still “intense discussions” on matters such as the sharing of risk between the utility and the state from any additional costs and delays, one of the sources said.

The plan also needs approval from the finance minister once EDF submits a final costing for the projects, expected early next year.

As a form of state aid, it also needs to be cleared by the European Commission.

French officials have been encouraged, however, by Brussels’ approval for a similar financing structure for one 1 gigawatt Czech unit at Dukovany, the sources said.

Under the Czech arrangement, interest on a state loan increases to at least 2% after the plant begins operating.

Europe is seeing a resurgence of interest in nuclear power projects, with nations including Poland and the UK planning new plants to shore up their energy self-sufficiency after a major energy crisis in the region.

Financing remains a huge challenge, with construction risks weighing on utilities’ balance sheets and credit ratings.

The British government recently pledged more than 5.5 billion pounds ($6.93 billion) to help fund early development of the 3.2 GW Sizewell C project.

Another project in Britain, EDF’s 3.2 GW Hinkley Point C plant, which is expected to cost between 31 billion pounds and 34 billion pounds based on 2015 values, is also backed by a contract for difference scheme.

($1 = 0.9506 euros)

($1 = 0.7931 pounds)

November 30, 2024 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

[Game Changer]:Americans HATE Israel

November 30, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Israel Wants Wars”: Gideon Levy on Lebanon Ceasefire, Gaza & Gov’t Sanctions Against Haaretz

Democracy Now, 27 Nov 24

Gideon LevyIsraeli journalist and author. Lina MounzerLebanese writer and editor.

We’re joined by Israeli journalist Gideon Levy as we continue our conversation on the Israeli-Lebanon ceasefire. We take a look at the mood within Israel, where Levy characterizes the Israeli public as “sour” about what is seen as a premature deal. “They would like to see more blood, more destruction in Lebanon,” says Levy. “Israel wants wars.” This retributive stance is still being felt in Lebanon, adds writer Lina Mounzer, who says Lebanese people are “very terrified of the day after” and do not feel that they have been awarded peace, despite the terms of the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the Israeli government has unanimously voted to sanction the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, claiming that its editorials “have hurt the legitimacy of the state of Israel and its right to self defense.” Haaretz has criticized the move, which comes just months after Israel banned the international media outlet Al Jazeera, as anti-democratic. Levy, a columnist for Haaretz, says the sanction makes it clear that Israelis cannot take the freedom of speech “for granted anymore.”

Media Options

Transcript……………………………………………………………………………………….. more https://www.democracynow.org/2024/11/27/israel_lebanon_ceasefire_haaretz

November 30, 2024 Posted by | Israel, politics international | Leave a comment

The United States Raises a Middle Finger to the International Criminal Court

As the International Criminal Court finally issues arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Netanyahu and Gallant, the United States confirms it has no regard for international law or a genuine rules-based order.

28 November 2024 tricontinental,

Finally, before history ends, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The indictment stated that there ‘are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity’. The court found sufficient reasons to believe that the two men ‘bear criminal responsibility’ for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts, and the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population. Almost immediately, US President Joe Biden condemned the court’s actions, stating that the ‘ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous’. The United States, Biden said, ‘will always stand with Israel’………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… more https://thetricontinental.org/newsletterissue/icc-arrest-warrants-israel/

November 30, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

‘Unprecedented’ climate extremes are everywhere. Our baselines for what’s normal will need to change

November 28, 2024 , https://theconversation.com/unprecedented-climate-extremes-are-everywhere-our-baselines-for-whats-normal-will-need-to-change-244298

Extreme temperature and rainfall events are increasing around the world, including Australia. What makes them extreme is their rarity and severity compared to the typical climate.

A region’s “climate” is defined by a 30-year average of mainly rainfall and temperature. Increasingly, these climate definitions have become less appropriate – we need to look at events over shorter time periods to gain a more accurate picture.

We can see this in the recent worldwide proliferation of extreme flooding and prolonged heatwaves.

Using southern Australia as a prime example, our newly published research in Academia Environmental Sciences and Sustainability shows that machine learning techniques can help identify key climate drivers, supporting a redefinition of climate in a warming world.

Increasing ‘flash’ events

In Australia, eastern coastal regions of Queensland and New South Wales continue to receive record downpours and flash floods, interspersed by dry periods of a few months to a few years.

In stark contrast, southern coastal regions are drying and facing more extreme heatwaves. With already parched vegetation and catastrophic fire dangers, this region is experiencing drought conditions due to decreased cool season rainfall and increased temperatures.

Notably, flash droughts and flash floods have adversely affected both agricultural crop yields and grazing pasture quality. Flash droughts greatly reduce moisture for germination. Flash floods ruin crops close to harvest time.

The problem with these “flash” events is just how difficult they are to forecast. To make more accurate seasonal and annual predictions for rainfall and temperatures, we need to update our climate models. But how do we know which climate drivers need to be included?

Seeking a new normal

To keep track of typical climate conditions and provide context for weather and climate forecasts, the World Meteorological Organization uses a set of data products known as climatological standard normals.

They define climate as averages of monthly, seasonal and annual weather-related variables such as temperature and rainfall, over consecutive 30-year periods.

Climate normals can be used to assess how typical of the current climate a particular event was in a given location. It’s how we arrive at temperature anomalies.

For example, to tell whether a year was relatively “hot” or “cool”, we look at the anomaly – the difference between the average temperature for the calendar year in question, compared to the climate normal.

But extreme variations are now occurring in periods of ten years or even shorter. Consequently, multiple increases and decreases can cancel each other out over a 30-year period. This would hide the large changes in statistics of weather variables within that period.

For example, large rainfall changes in average monthly, seasonal and annual amounts can be hidden within 30-year averages. Global warming often amplifies or diminishes the impacts of multiple climate driver phases within approximately ten-year periods. When averaged over 30 consecutive years, some information is lost.

What did we find?

Over the past decade or so, machine learning (where computers learn from past data to make inferences about the future) has become a powerful tool for detecting potential links between global warming and extreme weather events. This is referred to as attribution.

Machine learning techniques are simple to code and are well-suited to the highly repetitive task of searching through numerous combinations of observational data for possible triggers of severe weather events.

In our new study, machine learning helped us untangle the dominant climate drivers responsible for recent flash flood rainfall on the east coast of Australia, and a lack of rainfall on the southern coast.

Along the southern coast, the cool season from May to October is typically produced by mid-latitude westerly winds. In recent years these winds were farther away from the Australian continents, resulting in the recent drought of 2017–19 and flash drought of 2023–24.

In contrast, after the 2020–22 La Niña, the east coast continues to experience wetter conditions. These come from generally higher than average sea-surface temperatures off the east coast and Pacific Ocean, due to the presence of onshore winds.

Machine learning identified the dominant drivers of the scenario above: the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the Southern Annular Mode, the Indian Ocean Dipole, and both local and global sea surface temperatures.

A key finding was the prominence of global warming as an attribute, both individually and in combination with other climate drivers. Climate drivers and their combinations can change with increasing global warming over shorter periods that contain extremes of climate. Hence, the use of 30-year periods as climate normals becomes less useful.

Finding regional attributes for better forecasting

Climate models often disagree on the climate drivers likely to be relevant to extreme events.

A key feature of machine learning is the ability to deal with multi-source data by identifying regional attributes. We can combine possible climate-driver predictors with high-resolution climate model predictions, especially after the climate model data are downsized to cover specific regions of concern. This can help with extreme event forecasting at a local scale.

Scientists are continuously developing new methods for applying machine learning to weather and climate prediction.

The scientific consensus is that global warming has dramatically increased the frequency of extreme rainfall and temperature events. However, the impacts are not uniform across the world, or even across Australia. Some regions have been more affected than others.

Currently there is no single alternative definition to the traditional 30-year climate normal, given the variable impacts across the planet. Each region will need to determine its own relevant climate time period definition – and machine learning tools can help.

November 30, 2024 Posted by | climate change | Leave a comment

Ceasefire Falters as Israel Launches Airstrikes, Artillery Shelling on Southern Lebanon

 Israel says ‘suspects’ in vehicles violate ceasefire by trying to return home

by Jason Ditz November 28, 2024,  https://news.antiwar.com/2024/11/28/ceasefire-falters-as-israel-launches-airstrikes-artillery-shelling-on-southern-lebanon/

The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire began Wednesday morning. Less than two days later, it seems to be faltering, with multiple reports of Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon, and claims of violations by both sides.

Israel carried out an airstrike against the outskirts of Baysariyeh, which is near Tyre. They confirmed the attack, saying they were targeting a Hezbollah storage facility after seeing “terrorist activity.” They added in their statement that they were “acting to enforce violations of the ceasefire.”

Though the claims of violations are coming from both sides, so far it is only Israeli forces whose violations actually involve firing. Lebanese people continue to try to return to their homes in the south, despite Israel’s military forbidding them to do so.

There are multiple reports of Israel carrying out artillery shelling against towns and villages across southern Lebanon this afternoon. Strikes were reported against the towns of Halta, Taybeh, Khiam, and Rmeish. In Rmeish the attack damaged a supermarket and a home. Three were injured in Taybeh.

There were also reported Israeli tank shellings in several places, including the village of Markaba. In that incident, a car was attacked and multiple civilians were wounded. Israeli ground troops also opened fire on vehicles multiple times across southern Lebanon, incidents which happened both on Wednesday and Thursday.

Israel presented the people they were shooting at as a “number of suspects,” and said that any vehicles in southern Lebanon amount to a ceasefire violation. There is no indication vehicles are actually forbidden by the terms of the ceasefire. Shooting at people, as Israel has been throughout the day, is plainly a violation, however.

November 30, 2024 Posted by | Israel, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Transfer of nukes to Kiev would be viewed as attack on Russia – Medvedev

Rt.com 26 Nov 24

The former president’s warning follows reports that discussions have been held in the US about Ukraine obtaining a nuclear arsenal .

Moscow will consider any threat of nuclear arms being supplied to Ukraine by the US as preparation for a direct war with Russia, former president Dmitry Medvedev has warned. The actual transfer of nuclear weapons would be tantamount to an attack on the country under Russia’s new nuclear doctrine, he added.

In a Telegram post on Tuesday, Medvedev referenced a recent report in the New York Times. In a piece bylined by four of its journalists, the NYT claimed that US and EU officials are “discussing deterrence as a security guarantee” for Ukraine, claiming a conversation is underway to consider giving Ukraine nuclear weapons.

US politicians and journalists are seriously discussing the consequences of providing Kiev with nuclear weapons, said Medvedev, who serves as the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council…………………………………………………………………………………………………… more https://www.rt.com/russia/608212-medvedev-nukes-transfer-ukraine/

November 30, 2024 Posted by | Ukraine, weapons and war | Leave a comment

The Antisemitism Awareness Act Is the Death Knell for Free Speech

Mike Whitney • November 21, 2024, The Unz Review

Freedom of speech is the principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins….Ben Franklin.

The Antisemitism Awareness Act is a wrecking ball designed to pulverize the First Amendment. While the alleged intention of the bill is to make Jewish students feel safer on campus, the real purpose is to put an end to the anti-genocide demonstrations that have broken out across the country and to prevent the criticism of Israel. The proposed bill invokes a dodgy legal mechanism to derail the protests and to silence Israel’s critics. By using a broad and ambiguous definition of antisemitism, the bill compels university administrators to crackdown on free speech invoking sketchy claims of discrimination. Political analyst Paul Craig Roberts summed it up like this: “if universities …don’t suppress student protests against Israel’s massacre of civilians in Gaza and Lebanon they will lose their accreditation and federal financial support.” In short, universities are being encouraged to quash the free expression of political ideas to preserve their federal funding. This helps to illustrate how Zionist lobbyists are now engaged in a full-throated assault on constitutionally protected civil liberties, namely free speech.

The bill—which already passed the House with a sizable majority—shows how the charge of antisemitism can be used as a coercive political tool to silence Israel’s critics. That is why civil liberties organizations—like the ACLU, PEN America, the Alliance Defending Freedom and even Jewish groups like Bend the Arc and T’ruah—strongly oppose the bill based on free speech grounds. Even so, this attack on constitutionally protected rights has a good chance of passing the senate due to the arm twisting of powerful interest groups that have their tentacles wrapped tightly around both houses of congress. Here’s a brief summary from political analyst Guy Christensen:

The House just passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act which will shut down college protests against Israel and silence all future criticism of the state of Israel. The law literally redefines antisemitism as criticizing the state of Israel and makes it a violation of Title 6 to do so. The purpose of this is to allow politicians to pull federal funding from colleges who don’t stop these college protests and let their students continue to criticize Israel.

We must speak out against the Antisemitism Awareness Act. This is insanity. These people are full-on Zionists trying to silence free speech here in America, trying to silence criticism of the oppression of the Palestinians, criticism of the state of Israel that murdered 14,000 children.

Like I said, the guy who wrote the bill, Mike Lawler, is funded by AIPAC $180,000 (he said to NBC News when talking about this bill.) When you hear “River to the sea, Palestine will be free” that is calling for the eradication of the Jews in the state of Israel. (They are) Literally trying to make it illegal to criticize Israel.

If you don’t know how Title 6 works, all federally funded programs and institutions must follow it or they won’t receive any more federal funding. This includes US colleges and K through 12 schools who are very strict about following Title 6 because they need that funding. They can’t go without it. So, if we let this become law, it would force US colleges to shut down all these protests immediately.

This contends for the most outrageous bill for Israel the government has ever tried to pass. I will not vote or say a kind word about any politician who voted in favor of this bill…. (your representative ) care more about Israel than they care about your free speech. What they are doing is incredibly dangerous. Zionists are scared because American public opinion is changing. Students across the country are protesting against Israel. You know they’re scared because this is one of the boldest things they’ve ever tried to do…..AIPAC and the pro-Israel lobby is behind all of this. Ban AIPAC Stop the Antisemitism Awareness Act. We have to protect our free speech and our right to protest against evil. YourFavoriteGuy@guychristensen_

Not surprisingly, President Donald Trump—whose campaign was given $100 million by a strident Zionist donor—confirmed that he will aggressively implement the blatantly unconstitutional law by cancelling the funding of any college that tolerates the anti-genocide protests. He further stated that he will prosecute the universities for, what he calls, “violations of the civil rights law.” In other words, it is not the tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians that have been killed by Israel who are the victims, but the Jewish university students who feel “unsafe.” (Note—Trump refers to the protestors views as “antisemitic propaganda”)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………more https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/the-antisemitism-awareness-act-is-the-death-knell-for-free-speech/

November 30, 2024 Posted by | civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

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