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Disconnecting War from Its Consequences, (cut welfare spending, increase weapons)

Common Wonders, By Robert C. Koehler, 31 May 23

Twenty-two years ago, Congress put sanity up for a vote. Sanity lost in the House, 420-1. It lost in the Senate, 98-0.

Barbara Lee’s lone vote for sanity — that is to say, her vote against the Authorization for the Use of Military Force resolution, allowing the president to make war against . . . uh, evil . . . without congressional approval — remains a tiny light of courageous hope flickering in a chaotic world, which is on the brink of self-annihilation.

Militarism keeps expanding, at least here in the USA. If there’s a problem out there, option one is to kill it quickly. Problem solved! This simplistic (and utterly false) mindset, which is always present — the companion of fear — may have a grip on American politics like never before, as demonstrated in the recent debt-ceiling standoff, in which President Biden came to an agreement with the Republicans that social spending will be slashed but “defense” spending must continue to expand.

You know. It’s the only thing that’s truly crucial. Poverty? Collapsing infrastructure? Underfunded schools? Climate disaster? We can worry about that stuff later, but as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy explained to reporters recently:

“Look, we’re always looking where we could find savings . . . but we live in a very dangerous world. I think the Pentagon has to actually have more resources.”

In other words, the USA is not a country with the maturity to discuss and analyze complex issues, such as the future of the world. Hey, it’s dangerous out there! It’s full of terrorists and dictators. That’s all you need to know. “Weak on defense” is the equivalent of “wants to defund the police” — a politician’s death sentence by advertising. No matter how much hell war creates — no matter how many families it displaces, no matter how many children it kills — we’ve got to be ready wage it, you know, whenever we feel like it. And the mainstream media, in its basic coverage, doesn’t question this or delve into a complex analysis of the world.

But we are still a country that is slowly and complexly evolving — no matter that the powers that be, for the most part, don’t know it. Let’s return to that AUMF vote, passed in the wake of the 9/11 devastation. Barbara Lee, whose father was in the Army, serving in both World War II and the Korean War, knew about the human costs of war. After 9/11 she was deeply uncertain what the nation’s immediate response should be. She attended the memorial service at the capital, held the day of the vote (and attended by four former presidents plus the sitting president, GWB).

There, as she told Politico, the Rev, Nathan Baxter, as he led the attendees in prayer, called on the nation’s leaders, as they considered how to respond, to “not become the evil we deplore.”…………………………………………………………… more http://commonwonders.com/disconnecting-war-from-its-consequences/

June 1, 2023 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Proximity principle – nuclear waste should be stored as near as possible to the point of generation

Groups opposed to nuclear waste burial go to Queens Park, Toronto

Two anti-nuclear waste activist groups present a petition calling for the Ford government to implement a proximity principle for nuclear waste storage.

Clint Fleury 31 May 23 NWONewsWatch,

TORONTO — Two activist groups opposing the storage of nuclear waste in a deep geological repository are calling on the Ford government to mandate that a proximity principle to have the material stored cosser to where it is generated.

Members of We the Nuclear Free North in Northern Ontario from Northwestern Ontario and Protect Our Waterways – No Nuclear Waste in Southwestern Ontario have collected 1,141 signatures, with the petition presented in Queens Park on tuesday by Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois, Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.

“Their plan is not very well defined for the deep geological repository and it has several questionable areas. One of which is an option for a shallow cavern, which if approved, could see nuclear waste being moved into the area before the deep geological repository is complete and in operation,” said Charles Faust, a representative with We the Nuclear Free North.

Faust argued that the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s plan to transport nuclear waste from power plants to a deep geological repository is “questionable.”

“I want you to remember 1,694. That’s the number of kilometres that it takes for a one-way trip from the average site of nuclear waste storage in Southern Ontario to the Ignace area — 1,694 kilometres,” Faust said. “They’re proposing two to three trucks a day, every day, for 50 years. That’s to deal with the 50,000 tonnes that are out there right now that they are looking for a place to be deposited.”

According to Faust, the concern with the transportation of nuclear waste is that Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s transportation phase is still in the early stages of development.

Bill Noll, a representative with Protect Our Waterways, expressed concern that once the nuclear waste reaches its destination, the fuel bundles will be sent to a repackaged facility and then stored in the repository.

“The repackaging facility is really unique. No other countries, Sweden, Finland, or any other country that I am aware of, is actually thinking about repackaging capability in what is a very small container,” said Noll.

Noll claimed the issue with nuclear waste is the spent heat that is generated.

“This is one of the real issues with the whole idea of how long it will last. It is a function of how much heat will be generated and how much damage that heat will do to not only the rock, but the container itself,” Noll said.

Both activist groups proposed that the solution to their concern would be for the Ford government to implement a proximity principle.

“Nuclear fuel waste should be managed at the point of generation by making on-site storage more robust and adopting a program of rolling stewardship for the long-term management of radioactive at or near its current location,” said Faust……………………………………

During the press conference, Vaugeois called the process of managing Canada’s nuclear waste “undemocratic.” https://www.nwonewswatch.com/local-news/groups-opposed-to-nuclear-waste-burial-go-to-queens-park-7073336

June 1, 2023 Posted by | Canada, wastes | Leave a comment

Bill to extend operating period of nuclear plants passes Japan’s Upper House

BY GABRIELE NINIVAGGI, Japan Times, May 31, 2023

A bill to extend the operating period of nuclear power plants to over 60 years — providing safety conditions are met — passed the Upper House on Wednesday, paving the way for a comprehensive overhaul of Japan’s nuclear policy.

The ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party, with the external support of two opposition parties — the Democratic Party for the People and Nippon Ishin no Kai — voted in favor of the bill, while other opposition forces on the left and center-left vocally opposed the legislation, saying that proposals to guarantee the safety of nuclear power plants were insufficient………..(Subscribers only)  https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/05/31/national/nuclear-plant-operating-period-bill-pass/

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June 1, 2023 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Nuclear waste disposal site could be built next to power plant, Estonia

ERR News Editor: Mari Peegel, Helen Wright,  https://news.err.ee/1608994484/nuclear-waste-disposal-site-could-be-built-next-to-power-plant, 31 May 23

Waste produced by a future nuclear power plant could be stored on the same site, newly published analysis carried out by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Finance shows.

The government is studying several sites across the country to see if any are suitable for a future small reactor.

After the announcement was made in April, additional research was carried out into the plant’s waste disposal at sites in Loksa, Kunda, Toila, and Varbla.

Now the results show it would be possible to build storage sites for nuclear waste at these locations, said Anna-Helena Purre from Steiger OÜ, who undertook the study.

“We carried out a spatial analysis: We looked at the location of the plant itself in open and closed cooling systems. Secondly, we looked at waste disposal – the low- and intermediate-level waste scenarios – and spent fuel disposal – the high-level waste scenario. These can be buried in deep boreholes, for example,” she said.

The government has not yet decided whether it will build a nuclear power plant and a decision is likely to be made in 2024. Production would start in 2035 at the earliest.

The U.S., France, Canada, UK, Japan, and Germany have stepped up to cooperate with Estonia.

Initially, 15 sites in Toila, Kunda, Loksa, Kuusalu, Viimsi, Paljaassaare, Kakumäe, Saare and Hiiumaa, Varbla and Harku municipalities were under consideration. But taking into account the plant’s socio-economic aspects, sites in places with a decreasing and below-average population far from the capital are preferred.

June 1, 2023 Posted by | EUROPE, wastes | Leave a comment

Neither Russia nor Ukraine committed to the IAEA’s 5 principles to protect Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine committed to respect five principles laid out
by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi on Tuesday
(30 May) to try to safeguard Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia
nuclear power plant.

Grossi, who spoke at the UN Security Council, has
tried for months to craft an agreement to reduce the risk of a catastrophic
nuclear accident from military activity like shelling at Europe’s biggest
nuclear power plant.

His five principles included that there should be no
attack on or from the plant and that no heavy weapons such as multiple
rocket launchers, artillery systems and munitions, and tanks or military
personnel be housed there. Grossi also called for off-site power to the
plant to remain available and secure; for all its essential systems to be
protected from attacks or sabotage; and for no actions that undermine these
principles.

 EU Reporter 1st June 2023

Russia and Ukraine fail to embrace IAEA plan to protect nuclear plant

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June 1, 2023 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

TEPCO faces new crisis over pedestal blow at Fukushima plant

May 30, 2023  https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14920197

Damage to a pedestal inside the No. 1 reactor at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is more critical than previously believed, triggering a more intricate assessment of its resistance to a major earthquake. 

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has no time to waste in confronting the issue. It must swiftly assess the damage and take effective action to prevent an accident or leak of radioactive materials.

An underwater robotic probe detected the damage in late March. It found that the metal framework lies exposed along the inner side of the pedestal’s wall for about 1 meter from its bottom and for the entire inner circumference as concrete in these areas has been lost.

There are fears the containment vessel that houses the pressure vessel could crack if the pedestal collapses in a severe earthquake. That could cause radioactive materials to leak.

Referring to the structure’s current earthquake resistance, TEPCO stressed that the pedestal has managed to support the reactor vessel even though the plant “has experienced strong earthquakes.” The utility cited one last year that registered lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7.

Although the possibility of the pressure vessel tilting or sinking cannot be ruled out, the company asserts the impact will be limited with no risk of radioactive material leaking to the outside.

 the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said last week it could not decide whether the assumptions underlying TEPCO’s risk assessment are accurate as the extent of damage and condition of the structural materials are not yet fully understood. The nuclear safety watchdog also said it would be difficult to reinforce the pedestal because of high radiation levels inside the containment vessel.

For this reason, the NRA called on the utility to evaluate the impact of a possible release of radioactive material into the environment and consider steps to deal with such an emergency.

As one NRA official put it, “I should say (TEPCO’s evaluation) is too optimistic, and it is difficult to say that is very reassuring.”

NRA Chairman Shinsuke Yamanaka said at a news conference, “It is TEPCO’s responsibility to swiftly assess what risks could impact the surrounding environment and its residents.”

Conditions surrounding the reactors that suffered core meltdowns in the nuclear disaster 12 years ago are only now finally being clarified. This has led to the discovery of additional problems that are already difficult to deal with, making the outlook of progress toward decommissioning the reactors even more uncertain.

The degradation of plant parts and materials will continue in the coming years. There is always the risk of a major earthquake striking the plant. Each time it is hit by a strong quake, the damage accumulates and the danger increases. If a radioactive leak occurs, it will seriously compromise the safety of residents, the reconstruction of the local communities and the local fishing industry.

The NRA this month decided not to lift a ban on the movement of nuclear fuel within TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, citing flawed measures to protect the facility against terrorist attacks. There are growing concerns about whether TEPCO is equipped to operate nuclear power plants.

There is absolutely no room for complacency when it comes to the consequences of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. TEPCO must always remain vigilant to a worst-case scenario in tackling related challenges.

June 1, 2023 Posted by | Fukushima continuing, safety | Leave a comment

China firmly opposes Japan’s discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into sea

Source: Xinhua, Editor: huaxia, 2023-05-30 https://english.news.cn/20230530/5bdd921cc81744ffbcfd0eb7b76dd09b/c.html

GENEVA, May 28 (Xinhua) — A Chinese delegate on Saturday expressed firm opposition to Japan’s unilateral decision to discharge the nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima into the sea, when attending related discussions at the 76th World Health Assembly (WHA) held here.

Given the strong currents along Fukushima’s coast, the radionuclides will spread to waters worldwide in 10 years after a discharge, the delegate said, adding that this move is to shift the risks to all mankind, and is not Japan’s private matter, but a crucial issue affecting global public health.

Noting many countries and stakeholders have expressed serious concerns, the delegate urged Japan not to unilaterally discharge the nuclear-contaminated water before reaching an agreement with all parties.

In response to a Japanese delegate’s defense, the Chinese side said that the defense can be summed up as “the water quality is non-toxic and the discharge is reasonable,” but what the Japanese side said is completely untenable and they must give convincing answers to a series of questions.

The Chinese delegate raised three questions: First, if the nuclear-contaminated water is safe, why doesn’t Japan itself use the water? Why not use the water for domestic agriculture and manufacturing, or discharge it into domestic lakes? Second, is discharging the nuclear-contaminated water into the sea the only feasible solution? Third, what kind of long-term impact will such a discharge have on the world?

When it comes to the disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water, the Chinese delegate pointed out that Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has proposed five plans. The Japanese government’s expert committee has admitted that compared to such options as emitting the water into the atmosphere through vaporization, building new storage tanks and solidifying the water with cement, a discharge into the sea is the cheapest option with minimum risk of pollution to Japan itself.

Japan’s current choice is to save itself trouble and money by pushing the world to suffer consequences, the delegate said, emphasizing that such actions, which only serve the short-term interests of Japan but harm the common interests of all mankind, must be severely condemned and resolutely resisted, and that the Pacific Ocean is not a sewer into which Japan can dump nuclear-contaminated water.

In April 2021, Japan announced that it would discharge the polluted water from the Fukushima nuclear accident into the ocean. Many countries, including China, have expressed firm opposition, and Russia also expressed serious concerns at this WHA. However, Japan has disregarded the reasonable appeals and demands of the international community.

May 31, 2023 Posted by | China, oceans | 1 Comment

Government’s nuclear-free policy remains unchanged: Cabinet

05/29/2023, Focus Taiwan, By Chen Chun-hua, Kuo Chien-shen, Wang Yang-yu, Wang Cheng-chung, Liu Chien-ling and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, May 29 (CNA) The government’s policy of creating a “nuclear-free homeland” has not changed, and there is no consideration of extending the service of Taiwan’s nuclear power plants, Cabinet spokesman Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) said Monday.

Lin was responding to comments by Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德) that Taiwan’s nuclear reactors might be reactivated in an emergency situation, seemingly contradicting the DPP’s policy.

Lin said in a post to reporters that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) are carrying out the phasing out of Taiwan’s nuclear plants in line with the original plans and are not considering extending their lifespan……

Taiwan currently has only one nuclear power plant still producing power, the third nuclear power plant near the southern tip of the island. It is scheduled to be shut down by 2025 and be decommissioned.

The first and second nuclear plants along Taiwan’s northern coast have started their decommissioning processes. The fourth nuclear plant in Gongliao in northeastern Taiwan was nearly completed but never operated, and the DPP government shipped away its unused fuel rods……………………………………….more https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202305290012

May 31, 2023 Posted by | politics, Taiwan | Leave a comment

IAEA team in Japan for final review before planned discharge of Fukushima nuclear plant water.

abc news, 29 May 23

An International Atomic Energy Agency team has arrived in Tokyo for a final review before Japan begins releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water into the sea from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, a plan that has been strongly opposed b…

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press, May 29, 2023

TOKYO — An International Atomic Energy Agency team arrived in Tokyo on Monday for a final review before Japan begins releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water into the sea from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, a plan that has been strongly opposed by local fishing communities and neighboring countries.

The team, which includes experts from 11 countries, will meet with officials from the government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, and visit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant during their five-day visit, the economy and industry ministry said………………………………

Some scientists say the impact of long-term, low-dose exposure to radionuclides is unknown and the release should be delayed.

Japan’s government has stepped up campaigns in Japanese media and at food fairs to promote the safety of seafood from Fukushima, while providing regular briefings to foreign governments including South Korea and members of the Pacific Islands Forum.

…………………. Japanese officials say the water stored in the tanks needs to be removed to prevent accidental leaks in case of another disaster and to make room for the plant’s decommissioning. https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/iaea-team-japan-final-review-planned-discharge-fukushima-99669696

May 31, 2023 Posted by | Fukushima continuing, oceans | Leave a comment

A Mothers Day protest: Activists blockaded the entrance to the US 2 Navy’s west-coast nuclear submarine base

No survivors. Protestors bring their annual message for peace to the gates of hell

By Leonard Eiger  by beyondnuclearinternational

Activists blockaded the entrance to the US Navy’s west-coast nuclear submarine base, which is home to the largest operational concentration of deployed nuclear weapons, in a nonviolent direct action the day before Mother’s Day.

Eight peace activists from the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, holding banners reading “The Earth is Our Mother Treat Her With Respect”  and “Nuclear Weapons are Immoral to Use, Immoral to Have, Immoral to Make,” briefly blocked all incoming traffic at the Main Gate at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Silverdale, Washington as part of a May 13th Mothers Day observance. 

Traffic was diverted as the 15 member Seattle Peace Chorus Action Ensemble, facing the Navy’s security detail, sang “The Lucky Ones”, an original composition by their director, Doug Balcom of Seattle, to the assembled guards and Navy personnel. 

The song describes the different stages of personal, regional and global destruction that a nuclear war would inflict on humanity and the earth’s biosphere, and posits whether survivors to later stages of the devastation would wish they’d perished earlier; it ends with a call to save us from this fate by eliminating all nuclear weapons.  …………………………………

Tom Rogers, a retired Navy captain and former nuclear submarine commanding officer, stated: “The destructive power of the nuclear weapons deployed here on board Trident submarines is beyond human imagination. The simple fact is, that a nuclear exchange between the great powers would end civilization on our planet. I understand this. If I fail to protest the existence of these evil weapons, then I am complicit.”

The civil disobedience was part of Ground Zero’s annual observance of Mothers Day, first suggested in the United States in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace.  Howe saw the effects on both sides of the Civil War and realized destruction from warfare goes beyond the killing of soldiers in battle. …………………………………….

The Navy is currently in the process of building a new generation of ballistic missile submarines — called the Columbia-class — to replace the current OHIO-class “Trident” fleet. The Columbia-class submarines are part of a massive “modernization” of all three legs of the nuclear triad that also include the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, which will replace the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the new B-21 stealth bomber. 

The Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action was founded in 1977. The center is on 3.8 acres adjoining the Trident submarine base at Bangor, Washington. We resist all nuclear weapons, especially the Trident ballistic missile system.

Leonard Eiger is with Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action.

May 31, 2023 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, USA | Leave a comment

Israel’s New Minister for Nuclear Absurdity

Yossi Melman, HAARETZ, 28 May 23

Shortly after the cabinet approves David Amsalem’s appointment as minister in charge of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, which will happen soon, he’ll head south to visit the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona.

Amsalem will be accompanied by Dr. Gil Dagan, the research center’s director, and Moshe Edri, the IAEC’s director general. They will go down a few floors, to an underground level, and arrive at the “Golda Balcony.”

Based on what nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu told the Sunday Times in 1986, this balcony is located two floors below ground level, in the research center’s Building 2. From it, senior Israeli officials can observe the center’s production facilities, which are commonly known as the Dimona nuclear reactor. Ever since Prime Minister Golda Meir visited the reactor roughly half a century ago, reactor workers have called this observation platform the Golda Balcony.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to appease and flatter Amsalem, who is constantly angry and bitter, by appointing him as minister in charge of the Holy of Holies of Israeli security.

………………………………….. It’s impossible to understand Netanyahu’s decision to appoint one of his most loquacious, loudmouthed and irritable ministers to Israel’s most sensitive position, thereby making him privy to the country’s most classified secrets. Dealing with Israel’s nuclear program requires someone with very fine tuning, who walks on tiptoe and scrupulously maintains maximum secrecy. All these are traits seemingly far beyond Amsalem’s ability. He acts like a bull in a china shop.

………………..Way back in 1952, Ben-Gurion set up the IAEC and put chemistry professor Ernst David Bergmann in charge of it. Bergmann is considered the father of Israel’s nuclear program, which, according to foreign reports, is primarily a military nuclear program.

………………..According to foreign reports, in 1966, Israel became the sixth country in the world to acquire nuclear weapons, following the five big powers. It did so thanks to France, which provided it with a nuclear reactor, the equipment needed to run it and the uranium needed to fuel it between 1958 and 1962.

According to those reports, Israel has at least several dozen nuclear bombs based on both uranium and plutonium, as well as planes, missiles and submarines capable of launching them. Israel, which initially agreed to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but later backtracked on this promise, also refuses to allow international supervision of the Dimona reactor.

………………… Other agencies include the air force, whose planes, according to foreign reports, are supposed to carry the bombs, and the navy, whose submarines can also be armed with missiles carrying nuclear warheads.

Foreign reports about Israel’s nuclear program also describe a facility called Kanaf 2, located west of Beit Shemesh, where Jericho surface-to-surface missiles armed with nuclear warheads are stored deep underground.

Amsalem, in his usual offensive language, called demonstrators against the government’s planned legal overhaul “anarchists.” These “anarchists” include reservist pilots and submariners, reservists from the air force’s special operations unit, and scientists from Rafael and the Dimona reactor who are responsible for Israel’s nuclear program. Now, when there’s no limit to absurdity, at least the official kind, he will be the minister in charge of them.

Clearly, ultimate responsibility was and remains in Netanyahu’s hands, and the powers he has granted his irascible minister are limited. Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi and everyone else privy to the secrets of Israel’s nuclear program will continue running it in practice.

Nevertheless, Amsalem’s addition to the elite circle of people in the know sends a symbolic message:…………………. https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-05-28/ty-article-opinion/.premium/this-is-israels-new-minister-for-atomic-absurdity/00000188-638e-dde3-abf9-fb8fa1570000

May 31, 2023 Posted by | Israel, politics | Leave a comment

Belarusian president offers nuclear weapons to those willing to join his alliance

29 May 23

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is offering nuclear weapons to countries willing to join the Union State of Russia and Belarus. CNN’s Laila Harrak reports. https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/05/29/exp-nuclear-weapons-belarus-lukashenko-putin-laila-harrak-fst-05292aseg3-cnni-world.cnn

May 31, 2023 Posted by | Belarus, weapons and war | Leave a comment

A reader is fed up with this website’s defence of Joe Biden – and tells us why !

As Biden admitted, the fake fight over the Debt Ceiling was really fight over the budget, in which there were 2 sides making demands: rightwing GOP and far right GOP. The Dems asked for nothing & got less. The Far Right demanded all they could think of, got it & now wants more

The point is. The debt ceiling only exists to provide BIDEN an excuse for imposing austerity on social & environmental programs while funding an ever-expanding defense budget.
Both Trump and Biden are old right wing warmongers. Biden supported the Iraq war. Biden made it so poor people could not declare bankruptsy on stupid hi interest credit card debts. Biden sold out poor Americans just this week when we were promised more over trump.Biden said he protested for Nelson Mandela in 1980 which is a total lie. Biden openly affiliated with racists while in congress. We expected more when he promised to help us after Trump’s reign of terror. Trump says African Americans are inferior and Biden African Americans corn pops. We can see his true colors now and he has sold America and the world down the sewer. Biden was Great friends with arch kulkluxklan member byrd and strom thurmond from 1973 on . Biden just sold several disabled friends of mine down the sewer by taking away their medical benefits and ability to buy food. 3 of my friends will not be able to buy insulin anymore and they will die. Biden is paving the way for fascist devil Trump to win in 2024. It is so grotesque
Biden and his fellow neoliberal masters of Hollow Resistance and inauthentic opposition always have good reasons for engaging in their favorite hobby: caving.

Are we supposed to be surprised that Biden has recently weakened his supposed firm line on the debt-ceiling crisis? His whole long Senatorial and Vice-Presidential career was a deeply conservative monument to corporate and imperialist collaboration “across the aisle.” His 2021 infrastructure bill was an epic cave: Biden accepted a watered down $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal with Republicans which coldly slashed trillions of dollars originally designated for climate action and social programs. He sold this miserable surrender as a vindication of his longstanding commitment to “reach across the political aisle.” Never mind that the party to his right had gone fascist and that many Republicans in Congress had absurdly voted against the certification of his election on January 6.

Joe Biden is 80 years old.  When he runs for reelection in 2024 he will be 81.  If he is elected again he will be 82 years old when he is sworn in and 86 years old when his new term comes to an end.  Joe Biden is well beyond the competence needed to be president physically and mentally  As someone who has is close to passing both of those milestones,  I can tell the president from my own experience, that,  his self-confidence notwithstanding, age takes its toll and it will affect him just as it affects  all the others who have passed those milestones. He has been a creepy rightwing democrat since he got into congress in 1973 with borderline competence even caught plagiarizing speechs several times when younger. He is responsible for stricter sentencing guidelines for petty drug offences with his idol Ronald Reagan that ballooned the prison population of young black me in the 80s . 

Why should people in the USA only have the choice of two incompetent old rightwing devils Trump and Biden Sadly, the price to be paid for the toll age takes on Joe will be paid not only by Joe and his family, but by the United States of America. So sad.

Biden went into Ukraine wholeheartedly with Repuplicans like Lindsay Graham. My friend is disabled and on food stamps – her kids will not have health insurance or enough food for her kids because of what this cowardly sell out has done so that 1.1 trillion can be allocated for more nukes and hell and destruction around the world and possible WW3 in Ukraine with China what the hell is the matter w u Christina?

May 31, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Too many insulting comments coming in.

I may disagree with some policies of the Joe Biden administration – and I do. But that does not mean that I agree with the vicious personal attacks that people make on Biden.

It’s great to get comments critiquing the USA war economy, but please stop the nastiness.

Biden is probably doing his best, according to his lights, though I think that he is terribly mistaken, and is manipulated by the military-industrial complex.

May 30, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

The week in nuclear news (but climate news is Big)

Some bits of good news:     What went right this week? The good news you should know about –  It was a good week for green energy –   money deserting fossil fuels –  An English city prepared to host a refugee festival.

Climate. Insurance giant halts sale of new home policies in California due to wildfires. Sea level rise will “disappear” California’s famed beaches . Thawing glaciers around Everest show critical need to stop greenhouse emissions . More than 1,500 arrested at Extinction Rebellion protest in The Hague.

Christina notes: It’s the CLIMATE, stupid!

Nuclear. News on climate is so genuinely awesome –  to use the proper meaning of the word –  that it really does dwarf nuclear news.   But the nuclear lying goes on – the pretense that small reactors will be economic and will solve global heating. THat’s such a distraction from real action. 

TOP STORIES

Slowing ocean current caused by melting Antarctic ice could have drastic climate impact, study says. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KlpKq3YEdM

America’s Wars and the US Debt Crisis.

G7 Leaders Falter Over Nuclear Disarmament in Hiroshima.

Sending F-16 planes to Ukraine will create a new Cuban Missile -style nuclear crisis .

Ukraine’s neighbors push for Zelensky to pursue peace as millions of displaced people flow into Europe. ‘Independent’ Ukrainian ‘kill list’ actually run by Kiev, backed by Washington.

Ukraine: Power loss at nuclear plant underscores ‘highly vulnerable’ safety situation.

Atmospheric Testing of Nuclear Weapons in the 1950s and 1960s

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CIVIL LIBERTIES. Australian Prime Minister Albanese refuses to meet with Assange’s wife.

CLIMATE. Hinkley Point C – Why nuclear power accelerates carbon emissions. A clean energy transition means moving away from nuclear power.

CULTURE and ARTS. Everything’s Getting Way More Dangerous And Way More Stupid.

ECONOMICS.  

ENERGY. US Electricity From Renewable Energy Beat Electricity From Coal Or Nuclear In 2022. Taiwan Considers Keeping Nuclear Reactors on Emergency Standby.

ENVIRONMENT. China firmly opposes Japan’s discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into sea. South Korean experts to continue analysis of Fukushima water discharge. South Korean nuclear experts to tour Fukushima plant amid water concerns. Pacific islanders are not convinced that the release of Fukushima wastewater is safe . Nuclear & Toxic Chemicals.

HEALTH. Public health expert says Fukushima waste water release a retrograde step, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_WcZZq9JTU

LEGAL.Court rejects case opposing restart of Miyagi Prefecture nuclear plant.

MEDIA. 60 Minutes Australia Keeps Churning Out War-With-China Propaganda. Review | Netflix drama review: The Days – Netflix Fukushima nuclear disaster series starring Koji Yakusho is an enthralling account of the 2011 event, with strong hints of HBO’s Chernobyl.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQkb7fCr2bQ

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Canadian reactors that “recycle” plutonium would create more problems than they solve. Nuke Power’s “Renaissance 4.0” Has Already Melted. No,        There Won’t Be Nuclear-Powered Commercial Shipping This Time Either.

POLITICS. 

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

PROTESTS. A Mothers Day protest: Activists blockaded the entrance to the US 2 Navy’s west-coast nuclear submarine base.

RADIATION. Trident: Ministry of Defence confirms more than 50 radiation leaks this year.

SAFETY.    Fukushima reactor 1 found to have damaged pedestal supporting nuclear core. Japan Nuclear Watchdog Asks Fukushima Plant Operator to Assess Reactor Risk.          World’s Biggest Nuclear Plant Kashiwazaki-Kariwa May Stay Closed Due to Papers Left on Car Roof.             Groups Warn Biden that Ukraine War Shows Attacks on Nuclear Plants ‘Could Happen Here’.         Nuclear Security: Department Of Energy Should Take Actions to Fully Implement Insider Threat Program.

SECRETS and LIES. Ukraine admits to murdering “quite a few” Russian civilians. Ukraine claims Russia is plotting ‘a provocation’ at nuclear plant, offers no evidence.

SPINBUSTER. Clean energy transition sparks nuclear reaction. Nuclear Turns Fashionable.

URANIUM. U.S. planning test reactor to run on weapons-grade uranium.

WASTES. IAEA team in Japan for final review before planned discharge of Fukushima nuclear plant water.      What we know about the federal government’s ongoing nuclear waste plans in New Mexico.       Gordon Edwards explains, and comments on. Canada’s policy on radioactive waste and nuclear decommissioning. In Australia civil cociety faces imposition of an AUKUS military High Level nuclear waste dump.

Since Cold War. Russia Issues Dire Warning After US Approves Ukrainian Strikes On Crimea. Russia moves ahead with deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Russia Claims Group Crossed Border From Ukraine In Attack. Russia evacuates nuclear munitions due to incursion from Ukraine into Belgorodoblast-Ukraine’s Intel. Belgorod Attacks | Russia Removes Nuclear Warheads From Grayvoron Amid Attacks

Russian vessel attacked by Ukrainian sea drones off Bosporus. Ex-Pentagon Analyst: Biden Faces Shrinking Options on Ukraine. A grim vision of nuclear warfare in Ukraine. Russia warns about nuclear power war risk.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES.

May 30, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | 5 Comments

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