Israeli minister Amichai Eliyahu says nuclear attack on Gaza is ‘an option’
The New Arab Staff, 05 November, 2023, https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-minister-says-nuclear-attack-gaza-option
While the Israeli military pounds Gaza without relent, Israel’s far-right Minister for Heritage has said that a nuclear attack on Gaza is ‘an option’.
An Israeli minister said on Sunday that using a nuclear weapon on Gaza is “an option” in Tel Aviv’s ongoing war on the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Amichai Eliyahu belongs to the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, led by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and has been the Minister for Heritage in the Israeli government since 2022.
‘There are no non-combatants in Gaza,” Eliyahu told Radio Kol Berama as the death toll from Israel’s bombardment of Gaza nears 10,000 – including 3,900 children.
Asked if it was therefore permissible to launch a nuclear attack on Gaza, he replied: “that’s one way … that’s an option.”
Eliyahu also likened Palestinians to Nazis and openly endorsed collective punishment, telling the radio station “we would not have provided humanitarian aid to the Nazis… there is no such thing as uninvolved people in Gaza.”
The far-right politician further claimed that Gaza had no right to exist, and said that anyone waving a Palestinian or Hamas flag “shouldn’t continue living on the face of the earth.”
He said the rest of the population in Gaza “can go to Ireland or deserts,” in what appears to be a jab at the steadfast support that much of the Irish public and government have lent Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected calls for Israel to stop bombing Gaza, dismissed his minister’s nuclear strike comments as “divorced from reality” and has suspended him from cabinet meetings.
Israel has dropped thousands of bombs on the Gaza Strip, killing almost 10,000 people in less than a month and flattening much of the enclave, which is home to more than two million people.
Even Israel’s unshakeable ally, the US, has allegedly been pushing Tel Aviv to use smaller bombs to lessen the number of civilian deaths in Gaza.
While Israel using nuclear weapons in Gaza is hugely unlikely, a senior US official told The New York Times that since the bombardment began on 7 October, nearly 90 percent of Israeli bombs dropped on the enclave have been satellite-guided bombs weighing between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds, which the US claims are not suitable for attacks in densely populated urban areas such as Gaza.
This accounts for the horrific scale of Israel’s attacks and the unprecedented number of Palestinian civilian deaths. #Israel #Palestine
Israel Rejects US-Proposed Temporary Halt to Fighting
Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed Tel Aviv to allow a humanitarian pause to allow aid into Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the proposal.
SCHEERPOST, By Kyle Anzalone / Antiwar.com November 5, 2023
During a trip to Israel, America’s top diplomat pushed Tel Aviv to agree to limited “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid into Gaza and facilitate negotiations for Hamas to release prisoners. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said there would not be a temporary pause in the fighting.
On Friday, Secretary of State Blinken met with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv for the second time since Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7. During the face-to-face with Netanyahu, the American diplomat requested that Israel allow for humanitarian pauses to take place in Gaza.
After the Hamas attack, Tel Aviv ordered a complete siege of the Gaza Strip. The region’s 2.3 million residents have had their communication, food, water, and fuel cut off by Israel. Tel Aviv has allowed only a small percentage of humanitarian assistance needed to sustain the enclave’s population.
Blinken explained that humanitarian pauses could be utilized to deliver crucial aid to the Palestinian people and facilitate the release of prisoners held by Hamas. …………………………………………….
A humanitarian pause is different from a ceasefire. While a ceasefire would bring an end to fighting, the pause proposed by the White House would only halt fighting in select areas of Gaza for a few hours at a time. Still, Netanyahu rejected the proposal. “Israel refuses a temporary ceasefire that does not include the return of our hostages,” he said.
On Thursday, White House National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration remains firmly against a ceasefire……………..
Blinken suggests a pausing in fighting is a slight shift in White House policy. After the Hamas attack, Biden offered his full-throated support for Israel. “We stand with Israel. And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack,” Biden said at the time, adding that “if the United States experienced what Israel is experiencing, our response would be swift, decisive and overwhelming.”
However, Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed thousands of civilians and created a humanitarian catastrophe. The death toll in Gaza has crossed 9,000, including nearly 4,000 children. Israeli strikes have targeted communication centers, ambulances, densely populated refugee camps, and bakeries distributing humanitarian aid.
………………………If Washington sought to exert pressure on Israel, it could curtail the billions in military assistance it provides to Tel Aviv. Israel receives $3.8 billion in security assistance annually. Additionally, The White House has proposed a $14 billion aid package for Tel Aviv in response to the Hamas attack. On Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “We are not going to create any conditions on the support that we are giving Israel to defend itself.” https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/05/israel-rejects-us-proposed-temporary-halt-to-fighting/ #Israel #Palestine
Defense Department announces $425M aid package for Ukraine, cleaning out USA’s long-term assistance fund
By Tony Bertuca / November 3, 2023 https://insidedefense.com/insider/dod-announces-425m-aid-package-ukraine-cleaning-out-long-term-assistance-fund
The Pentagon today announced a $425 million military aid package for Ukraine, with $125 million accounting for immediate weapons transfers from U.S. stocks and the remaining $300 million exhausting what is left of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative meant for long-term defense needs.
The weapons transfer package funded via presidential “drawdown” authority includes:
- Additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS);
- Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
- 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
- Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
- Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
- More than 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades;
- Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing;
- M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions;
- 12 trucks to transport heavy equipment;
- Cold weather gear; and
- Spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment.
The USAI portion of the package, which includes contracts for “additional laser-guided munitions to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems,” makes use of $300 million provided under a continuing resolution that Congress recently passed and “exhausts the remaining USAI funds currently available to support Ukraine,” according to the Pentagon.
Senior defense officials said the department’s weapons transfer authority is also nearly spent.
“The administration continues to call on Congress to meet its commitment to the people of Ukraine by passing additional funding to ensure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself against Russia’s brutal war of choice,” the Pentagon said.
Congress, meanwhile, has not yet approved additional aid for Ukraine as some House Republicans oppose it. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #Israel #Palestine
UK poised to brand dissent as ‘extremism’ – Guardian
Rt.com 5 Nov 23
Anyone who “undermines” the country’s institutions or values could be targeted under controversial proposed regulations
The UK is considering adopting a new definition of “extremism” that includes anyone who “undermines” British institutions or values, The Guardian reported on Saturday, citing internal government documents.
“Extremism is the promotion or advancement of any ideology which aims to overturn or undermine the UK’s system of parliamentary democracy, its institutions and values,” reads the new definition, reportedly drafted as part of a national counterextremism plan announced by cabinet minister Michael Gove’s Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities earlier this year.
The source documents, marked “official – sensitive,” trumpet its potential to “frame a new, unified response to extremism.” The lack of public debate or consultation regarding the new definition has worried activists, who fear it will effectively criminalize dissent.
Index on Censorship editor Martin Bright called the move “an unwarranted attack on freedom of expression [that] would potentially criminalize every student radical and revolutionary dissident.”
Even government officials are reportedly concerned the new definition constitutes “a crackdown on freedom of speech.” One unnamed Whitehall official told The Guardian, “The definition is too broad and will capture legitimate organizations and individuals.”
Amnesty International UK racial justice director Ilyas Nagdee pointed out that a similar definition was already in use under the government’s counterterrorism project Prevent, where it was already hampering attempts to organize.
Prevent, which defines extremism as the “active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs,” has been criticized as both Islamophobic and soft on Islamic extremism………………………………………………………..
As thousands of Britons took to the streets last month to demand Israel halt its bombardment of Gaza, Home Secretary Suella Braverman denounced the pro-Palestinian demonstrations as “hate marches,” demanding police officers re-examine whether waving Palestinian flags or chanting slogans could constitute hate crimes. On Friday, two women were charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 for carrying signs depicting paragliders like those used by Hamas to enter Israel. https://www.rt.com/news/586636-uk-redefines-extremism-dissent-protest/ #Israel #Palestine
Worldwide protests against Israel’s ethnic cleansing in Palestine
BY OLEG CETINIC AND FATIMA HUSSEIN, 10, November 5, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — From Washington to Milan to Paris, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched Saturday, calling for a halt to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
The marches reflected growing disquiet about the mounting civilian casualty toll and suffering from the Israel-Hamas war. Protesters, particularly in countries with large Muslim populations, including the U.S., U.K. and France, expressed disillusionment with their governments for supporting Israel while its bombardments of hospitals and residential areas in the Gaza strip intensify.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 9,448, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In Israel, more than 1,400 people have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the war.
In the U.S., thousands converged on the nation’s capital to protest the Biden administration’s support of Israel and its continued military campaign in Gaza. “Palestine will be free,” demonstrators donning black and white keffiyehs chanted as an enormous Palestinian flag was unfurled by a crowd that filled Pennsylvania Avenue — the street leading up to the White House.
Leveling direct criticism of President Joe Biden, Renad Dayem of Cleveland said she made the trip with her family so her children would know “the Palestinian people are resilient — and we want a leader who won’t be a puppet to the Israeli government.”
Dozens of small white body bags with the names of children killed by Israeli missiles lined the street and demonstrators held signs calling for an immediate cease-fire……………………. more https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-palestinians-protests-europe-193a9aaca97df2c5c6a515f756a40a34 #Israel #Palestine
US Congress wildly out of sync with voters on Gaza ceasefire.
Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 5 Nov 23
A recent Data For Progress poll showed the following voter support for immediate ceasefire to end civilian deaths in Gaza
ALL VOTERS 66%
INDEENDENTS 57%
REPUBLICANS 56% #Israel #Palestine #USA
Russia test-fires ballistic missile from new nuclear sub
9 News, By Associated Press, Nov 6, 2023
The Russian military has reported a successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to carry nuclear warheads from a new nuclear submarine.
The report comes as tensions are soaring between Russia and the West over the fighting in Ukraine.
Adding to those tensions, President Vladimir Putin last week signed a bill revoking Russia’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban in a move that Moscow said was needed to establish parity with the United States…………………… more https://www.9news.com.au/world/russia-says-it-testfired-an-intercontinental-ballistic-missile-from-a-new-nuclear-submarine/34b2c5e9-8dfb-4455-92d9-910ce20d205e #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
US nuclear submarine has arrived at the Middle East – The Pentagon
By HAIM ISROVITCH/MAARIV ONLINENOVEMBER 6, 2023 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-771860
The US issued an unusual announcement that an Ohio-type nuclear submarine had arrived in the operational area of the US Central Command, and the command published a photo of it passing through the Suez Canal, on Monday.
The identity of the submarine was not disclosed and it is not known whether it is one of the four submarines that carry Tomahawk cruise missiles or of the 14 submarines that carry the Trident-II ballistic missiles, but it is still a significant addition to the American deterrence force in the region, and the ability to attack if necessary.
Meanwhile, in the New York Times, it was reported earlier that following the announcement of the visit that was supposed to take place this week – the head of the CIA William Burns has already arrived in Israel. Burns is expected to hold talks on the continuation of the fighting against Hamas and the issue of the abductees. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #Israel #Palestine
Business complications for SMR companies X-energy and NuScale – 6 November last day of trading in public shares
NEI Magazine, 3 November 2023
US-based X-Energy Reactor Company and publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company Ares Acquisition Corporation (AAC), have mutually agreed to terminate their previously announced business combination agreement with immediate effect. ……. X-energy and AAC agreed not to proceed with the transaction citing “challenging market conditions, peer-company trading performance and a balancing of the benefits and drawbacks”.
……………………………………….Neither party is required to pay the other a termination fee as a result of the mutual decision to terminate the agreement. AAC determined that it will not be able to consummate an initial business combination within the time period required by its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and intends to dissolve and liquidate. AAC anticipates that the last day of trading in the public shares will be 6 November…………………….
NuScale is also facing difficulties after a lengthy report by Iceberg Research entitled “Nuscale Power ($SMR): A fake customer and a major contract in peril cast doubt on NuScale’s viability”. Iceberg alleged that NuScale had sold 24 reactors to a “fake customer”. This referenced a deal NuScale announced in October to supply Standard Power with 1,848 MWe of power provided by 24 SMRs to power two US data centre sites. Iceberg predicts Standard Power will be unable to support the contract.
……………………………….. The Standard Power deal is bigger than NuScale’s other contract, with the government-backed Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) to provide Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) with 462 MWe. Iceberg said NuScale has “around 15 months before its cash runs out” and that the UAMPS contract is reaching a crucial stage. Overall shares in NuScale have fallen around 75% since their peak in late 2022, from around $14 to around $3.5……………………………………………………………………………… https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsbusiness-complications-for-smr-companies-x-energy-and-nuscale-11268599. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #smr
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament : Nuclear war, conventional war and climate change are linked
Herald Scotland, By Lynn Jamieson, 2nd November
Peace and environmental issues are now firmly on the radar of many people who have never thought of themselves as members of a peace or environmental movement.
Vladimir Putin’s conduct towards Ukraine has heightened awareness of the threat of nuclear annihilation.
If the war has distracted attention from the other existential threat – human-induced climate change and mass extinctions – regular bleak news from environmental scientists and the recent drenching from Storm Babet causes a refocus.
Tragic events in Israel and Gaza raise new fears of war, reminding us that ‘violence begets violence’ even when innocent civilians are in the firing line.
It’s clear that the triple threats of war, nuclear war, and climate change are inextricably linked. Action to defuse this unholy trinity can most effectively be shaped through an understanding of the way in which they interplay.
Beyond the obvious common threat of our extinction, the three threats can share similar causes and chronic injustices…………………………………….
…………………………………………………………The doctrine of ‘nuclear deterrence’ starts from a presumption that ‘our defence’ involves the suicidal right to end the world for half the planet. That would be the consequence of a UK nuclear-armed submarine launching its weapons.
If enabling the nuclear states to divest from that arrogance seems like an unattainable mirage, remember that a network of civil society organisations, ICAN, working with key governments like our neighbour Ireland, nevertheless managed to deliver the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
This treaty is slowly but surely undermining the legitimacy of nuclear weapons and making it harder for financial institutions to invest in anything connected with them.
By 2024 it is expected that more than half of all sovereign states will be openly declaring the unacceptability of the world being held on the trigger point of nuclear death.
Resources that could be spent on nuclear weapons are surely better channelled toward measures for mitigating climate change.
Meanwhile, the Festival for Survival in Glasgow this Saturday, puts a sharp focus on the twin existential threats of nuclear war and the environmental catastrophe of climate change and loss of biodiversity. The many themed workshops include a session on the current situation in the Middle East. The gathering, hosted by the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in cooperation with several organisations aligned with the environmental movement, is open to all citizens of the planet who care about our continued peaceful and sustainable existence……………………………………………………………………..Festival for Survival, November 4, 10.30-16.45 at the Renfield Centre & Adelaide Baptist Church, 260 Bath Street Glasgow G2 4JP. See festivalforsurvival.com.
more https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/23894555.cnd-nuclear-war-conventional-war-climate-change-linked/?fbclid=IwAR35HFEl-jF5C3K3HksBzvH2Z7SWeuUsI66Wwzdsjrg4jNNDUpg1zUIvU8U #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Nuclear is not part of the plan -CEO of Hydro-Québec.
Hydro-Québec CEO Michael Sabia cautious on the nuclear issue. “Nuclear
is not part of this plan, period,” retorted the CEO of Hydro-Québec,
Michael Sabia, after having written in black and white in his action plan
presented Thursday that he wanted to study “the potential of the existing
Gentilly-2 site to accommodate a nuclear power plant. “In the figures
that we clearly presented concerning the increase in production, nuclear
power is not there,” assured Hydro-Québec’s number 1, walking on
eggshells, at a press conference on Thursday at its head office in
Montreal.
Journal de Montreal 2nd Nov 2023
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/11/02/le-pdg-dhydro-quebec-michael-sabia-prudent-sur-la-question-du-nucleaire #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
TODAY. The Atlas Network and its toxic messages to the Stink Tanks
Who are the the Stink Tanks?
Posing as impartial advisers, these “Think Tanks” provide reports and articles designed to direct governments, and educational and other social organisations, towards policies that improve the profits of big corporations, and remove barriers to their profits, The barriers would be regulations, especially those involved with protecting the environment, and the rights of indigenous people.
How does the Atlas Network operate to spread these messages?
Apart from some funding, and training support, the real focus of the Atlas Network is on LANGUAGE –teaching the stink tanks how to use words to manipulate thinking. George Orwell alerted the world to the way in which fascism uses language, and wrote of Newspeak. Now the Atlas Network perfects the method – repetitively using vague and deceptive words to convey a lying message that is aimed at molding public opinion.
Sometimes these words are straightout lies: sometimes just vague words in which the meaning is distorted. The word “Elite” is a good example – now used to discredit scientists and other experts, so that the public comes to distrust them, and to rubbish their opinions, and their reports, particularly about regulations to protect the environment and indigenous rights.
FEAR is indeed the currency of the Atlas Network. Fear and distrust of regulations, of officers and organisations involved in human rights and environmental protection. So these stink tanks work to weaken laws, and discredit agencies of human support – such as the United Nations.
Side by side with those messages of fear, come the lying messages of reassurance – for example the story that global heating is not happening, or, if it is, it has nothing to do with human activities, -greenhouse gas emissions. So we don’t need to worry, or to do anything to stop these emissions. So we are reassured that nuclear power is “clean “green” “safe” “cheap” “nothing to do with weapons” .
What is the motive of the Atlas Network?
Are they evil? Wanting to harm people? Hating the environment?
NO – it’s just one simple thing – company profits. Freedom – defined as – Nothing should impede corporate profits.
This month we shall no doubt see some wonderful activity by the hundreds of stink tanks affiliated with the Atlas Network, leading up to, and beyond, the COP 28 Climate Summit, as they parrot out soothing messages about how all is well, in control, we don’t need to act on climate change.
And who funds the Atlas Network?
Fossil fuel companies and tobacco firms. Atlas has received funding from Koch Family Foundations, the Bradley Foundation. DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund. The Atlas Network receives much of its funding from libertarian and right-wing organizations and individuals
What can we do about this?
Well, I don’t know – but at least we can be alert to their language – alert to those repetitive, misleading words:
There are the “hooray” words – “justice”, “life”, “freedom” and those “positives” – “clean” “green” etc.
There are the “negatives” -“Hitler, “taxes” – and words used negatively “elites” “bureaucrat”, “government official” and “public servant “.
And as well, there are vague, really, almost meaningless words – that waffle, weaken, and obscure the argument- “may” “can” “could” “might” , “arguably”.
A Dangerous Conflation -an open letter from Jewish writers
n+1 magazine, 25 Oct 23
WE ARE JEWISH WRITERS, artists, and activists who wish to disavow the widespread narrative that any criticism of Israel is inherently antisemitic. Israel and its defenders have long used this rhetorical tactic to shield Israel from accountability, dignify the US’s multibillion-dollar investment in Israel’s military, obscure the deadly reality of occupation, and deny Palestinian sovereignty. Now, this insidious gagging of free speech is being used to justify Israel’s ongoing military bombardment of Gaza and to silence criticism from the international community.
We condemn the recent attacks on Israeli and Palestinian civilians and mourn such harrowing loss of life. In our grief, we are horrified to see the fight against antisemitism weaponized as a pretext for war crimes with stated genocidal intent.
Antisemitism is an excruciatingly painful part of our community’s past and present. Our families have escaped wars, harassment, pogroms, and concentration camps. We have studied the long histories of persecution and violence against Jews, and we take seriously the ongoing antisemitism that jeopardizes the safety of Jews around the world. This October just marked the five-year anniversary of the worst antisemitic attack ever committed in the United States: the eleven worshipers at Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha in Pittsburgh, who were murdered by a gunman who espoused conspiracy theories that blamed Jews for the arrival of Central American migrants, and in so doing, dehumanized both groups. We reject antisemitism in all its forms, including when it masquerades as criticism of Zionism or Israel’s policies. We also recognize that, as journalist Peter Beinart wrote in 2019, “Anti-Zionism is not inherently antisemitic—and claiming it is uses Jewish suffering to erase Palestinian experience.”
We find this rhetorical tactic antithetical to Jewish values, which teach us to repair the world, question authority, and champion the oppressed over the oppressor. It is precisely because of the painful history of antisemitism and lessons of Jewish texts that we advocate for the dignity and sovereignty of the Palestinian people. We refuse the false choice between Jewish safety and Palestinian freedom; between Jewish identity and ending the oppression of Palestinians. In fact, we believe the rights of Jews and Palestinians go hand-in-hand. The safety of each people depends on the other’s. We are certainly not the first to say so, and we admire those who have modeled this line of thinking in the wake of so much violence. …………………………………………………………………………..
We call for a ceasefire in Gaza, a solution for the safe return of the hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and an end to Israel’s ongoing occupation. We also call on governments and civil society in the United States and across the West to stand up against the repression of support for Palestine.
And we refuse to allow such urgent, necessary demands to be suppressed in our names. When we say never again, we mean it.
Names: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. more https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/a-dangerous-conflation/ #Israel #Palestine
Nuclear Bomb Map Shows Impact if Biden’s New Weapon Dropped on Russia
NewsWeek, Nov 03, 2023 By Giulia Carbonaro, US News Reporter
nuclear bomb being developed by the Biden administration could wreak havoc in Moscow, according to a simulation analyzed by Newsweek.
The creation of a new U.S. bomb, a variation of the B61 gravity bomb developed in the 1960s during the Cold War, was announced by the Department of Defense (DoD) last week. A news release by the Pentagon said that the B61-13 is intended to “strengthen deterrence of adversaries and assurance of allies” by providing President Joe Biden “with additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets.”
While the Pentagon has not yet revealed exactly how powerful the bomb will be, officials said it would be capable of an explosive yield similar to an older model, the B61-7. That nuclear bomb had a maximum yield equivalent to 360 kilotons of TNT, roughly 24 times the explosive power of the 15-kiloton bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II.
A visual representation was created using Nukemap, an online tool created by historian of science and nuclear technology Alex Wellerstein. It shows that a B61-13 bomb exploding over Moscow at an estimated maximum yield of 360 kilotons of TNT would cause significant devastation and kill more than 300,000 people.
Anything within roughly a half-mile radius from the bomb’s detonation site would be vaporized by a fireball, while heavy damage would demolish buildings and likely kill everyone else within a mile.
Anyone within about 2 miles from the detonation site would suffer levels of radiation exposure so high that they would be dead within a month, while 15 percent of survivors would die of cancer later in life.
Some 2 miles out from the point of the bomb’s explosion, buildings would collapse, chances of a fire starting would be high, fatalities would be widespread and injuries “universal,” according to Nukemap. Several people would suffer life-altering burns. Additional radiation-related deaths would likely occur in the larger region.
The simulation shows that fatalities in Moscow would be estimated around 311,480, while the number of those injured would be as high as 868,860. The Russian capital’s population is estimated at over 12.6 million.
If launched on St. Petersburg, the B61-13 bomb could be even more devastating, killing an estimated 360,150 and injuring another 685,930, according to the simulation created by Nukemap…………………………………………….. more https://www.newsweek.com/nuclear-bomb-map-shows-impact-if-b61-13-dropped-russia-1840606 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
A small victory for nuclear justice. And international cooperation.
By Ivana Nikolić Hughes, Christian Ciobanu | November 3, 2023 https://thebulletin.org/2023/11/a-small-victory-for-nuclear-justice-and-international-cooperation/
In contrast with the grandeur of the General Assembly Hall, the uplifting design of the Trusteeship Council room, and the stunning circular table in the Security Council Chamber, Conference Room 4 at the UN Headquarters is modest and unassuming. And yet, magic can happen there. When the heads of state are long gone and even the ministers have departed New York, diplomats push forward agendas to advance international cooperation on any number of international issues. They give statements, engage in debates publicly and privately, and vote for resolutions and more, often late into the night.
A kind of diplomatic magic took place last Friday night. Voting on a series of resolutions in what is referred to as the “nuclear weapons cluster” of the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee (which deals with disarmament and international security), diplomats considered for the first time a resolution entitled: “Addressing the Legacy of Nuclear Weapons: Providing Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation to Member States Affected by the Use or Testing of Nuclear Weapons.” The first such victims came into being when the United States conducted its first nuclear weapons test in New Mexico and then used nuclear weapons in attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945.
But nuclear explosions continued over the decades and around the world, in the form of nuclear weapon tests. The victim counts are easily in the millions.
Two of the countries affected by nuclear weapons testing, the Republics of Kazakhstan and Kiribati (from Soviet Union and United Kingdom/United States tests, respectively), brought the resolution forward and advocated broadly for its adoption. The result of their work became obvious when the voting began at roughly 6:30 p.m., and a sea of green checks began to fill the screens displaying the results. With 40 co-sponsors and many countries confirming in advance that they would vote in support of the resolution, the adoption was inevitable.
Still, it would be hard to overstate what a victory it was to have 171 countries vote in support of this resolution, with only four no votes and six abstentions. This was not only a triumph for those impacted by nuclear weapons use and testing but also for international cooperation. Especially at a time when UN resolutions seem to be supported on the basis of who likes whom (or perhaps even more so, who doesn’t like whom), having 171 states stand for those who have been harmed by nuclear weapons and whose environments may still be contaminated is welcome and long overdue.
In an unlikely alliance under most other circumstances, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (that is, North Korea), France, Russia, and the United Kingdom all voted no. Their stance is shameful, given the context of nuclear colonialism embodied by the French nuclear testing program in Algeria and French Polynesia and the United Kingdom’s testing in Australia and Kiribati. Better than voting no, the other nuclear weapon possessors—China, India, Israel, Pakistan, and the United States—all abstained. (So did the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a non-nuclear weapons country that supports the nuclear ban treaty.) It was encouraging to see that the United States abstained rather than voting no alongside France and the United Kingdom.
None of the nine countries that possess nuclear weapons voted in favor of the resolution, leaving them isolated. Since they caused the harm and the contamination that are the topic of the resolution, voting yes on this resolution at the earliest opportunity could become the first step towards redeeming themselves and righting these historical wrongs. When the resolution comes up for a vote in December in the General Assembly, they should all reverse their votes and vote yes. They owe it to the victims and their descendants.
Upon adoption in the General Assembly in December, this resolution will pave the way for the long and hard process of information gathering and needs appraisal in affected states, followed by actual steps to assist victims and assess and remediate contaminated environments. Such work has already begun within the context of the Treaty on the Prohibiton of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), but bringing these conversations into the broader sphere is critical. Future versions of the resolution can build in further binding steps.
The world cannot afford to create more victims of nuclear weapons or to contaminate more environments. In fact, indications are that all of humanity and life on the planet would become a victim in case of nuclear war using today’s arsenals. Therefore, while they’re deciding to come around and help victims of past nuclear weapons use and testing, the nuclear weapons countries should also recommit to nuclear disarmament in a verifiable and time-bound manner. There are lots of options for them to do so—through numerous resolutions that were also voted upon on Friday, but also through joining and/or meeting their existing obligations under key treaties, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and the TPNW. Helping existing victims is but one step. Getting rid of nuclear weapons is the only way to ensure there will be no more. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
1 This Month
PLEASE OPPOSE HR 8255 AND S.3639 – bills would accelerate satellite deployment, with no environmental review or safeguards – https://ncstd5li.quorum.us/campaign/169331/
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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