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The costly reality behind AREVA’s funky nuclear spin

the reality behind this romantic green image of a nuclear panacea to future energy needs is something altogether different….obsessional ad campaign run by the French Areva state-backed nuclear monopoly, under the banner of “semi-private” as portrayed in the business press.

Funky Town Finance Meets The Nuclear Renaissance :: The Market Oracle  by Andrew McKillop (Project Director, GSO Consulting Associates Former chief policy analyst, Division A Policy, DG XVII Energy, European Commission )30 Sept 10, Like a Marlene Dietrich show in a remake of 1945 Berlin, surrounded by Soviet troop hordes, the nuclear sales show has to go on. Continue reading

September 30, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, spinbuster | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Small modular nuclear reactors, costly, dangerous, and proliferation risk

SMRs are not only unlikely live up to the hype, but may well aggravate cost, safety, and environmental problems,….”Amidst the evaporating hopes for a nuclear renaissance, nuclear power proponents are pinning their hopes on small modular reactors without thinking carefully about the new problems they will create

IEER/PSR: ‘Small Modular Reactors’ No Panacea for What Ails Nuclear Power – Fact Sheet Explores Cost, Safety and Waste Issues Glossed Over by IndustryWASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire – The same industry that promised that nuclear power would be “too cheap to meter” is now touting another supposed cure-all for America’s power needs: the small modular reactor (SMR). Continue reading

September 30, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, technology | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Did the Pentagon attack Iran’s nuclear reactor with Stuxnet worm?

Pentagon’s spokesman Colonel David Lapan said the Department of defence can “neither confirm nor deny” reports that it launched this attack

Pentagon Accused Of Launching Supervirus Attack On Iran Gizmodo Australia, By Jesus Diaz on September 28, 2010 Stuxnet – which some experts consider to be the most advanced virus ever – appears to be focusing its attacks on Iranian nuclear plants. Now, the Pentagon and German intelligence are being accused of creating the virus to take down Iran’s atomic weapons program. Continue reading

September 30, 2010 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

A worm delays Iran’s nuclear reactor

officials have acknowledged that a computer worm is mutating and wreaking havoc….Analysts say that the Stuxnet worm may have been designed to target Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iran nuclear plant hit by two-month delay: official(AFP) – Google hosted new, 30 Sept 10, TEHRAN — Iran’s atomic chief said on Wednesday that the country’s first nuclear power plant will be ready to generate electricity by January — two months later than announced……… Continue reading

September 30, 2010 Posted by | general | , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear finance squabble as France’s debt-laden EDF in dispute with USA’s Constellation

Moving up a long way in funky financing, state-to-state bilateral deals in the nuclear power sector are now in high gear. Amounts in play are usually well above US $ 10 billion per project, and very complex mix-and-mingle methods and processes are used for their financing

From Put Options to Development Aid The French EDF ex-monopoly electricity supplier with the biggest number of nuclear reactors of any traded power company in the world, also the most debt-laden traded company in France, and with a share price down about 25% through Jan-Aug 2010, is using financial engineering to keep a foothold in the US nuclear power market. Continue reading

September 30, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Great Lakes nuclear shipment plan opens door for dangerous nuclear trafficking

“There is no policy in place in Canada that supports a proposal to export Canada’s nuclear waste in this case reactor refurbishment waste to a foreign country or to allow the residual waste, which will be even more radioactive, to be imported back into Canada. There is, however a very high level of concern in the Canadian public about the potential for international trafficking in nuclear waste,”

Shipment of Nuclear Waste has Northwatch in Ottawa today, North Bay News, By Kate Adams, September 29, 2010 Northwatch is one of seventy five intervenors in a two day hearing of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission reviewing the controversial proposal by Bruce Power to ship 1600 tonnes of radioactive waste through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River to Sweden, Continue reading

September 30, 2010 Posted by | Canada, wastes | , , , | Leave a comment

North Korea likely to continue “nuclear blackmail”

The best way to squeeze aid from the outside world is to use contradictions between the great powers and a bit of nuclear blackmai

NKorea unlikely to alter strategy toward world, Google hosted news, By KELLY OLSEN (AP) – 30 Sept 10, SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s ailing leader Kim Jong Il has laid the groundwork for a transition of power to his youngest son but it remains to be seen if the reclusive nuclear-armed regime will soften its combative stance toward the international community. Continue reading

September 30, 2010 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | , , , | Leave a comment

How tax-payer money funds the nuclear industry’s expansion

Already marshalled into this private-public ‘Marshall Plan’ for selling US nuclear power and services to India are the US Ex-Im (export-import) Bank, leading Wall Street private banks, and major downstream infrastructure companies such as Bechtel, all primed and ready to go….US state agencies, especially the Ex-Im Bank can in some cases finance up to 85% of the initial sale…….the UN’s nuclear agency the IAEA could be extended to cover nuclear financing.

Like deals between South Korea and Abu Dhabi, Russia and Iran or France and Pakistan, the US-India arrangement targets business opportunities of epic dimensions. On the basis of the 2008 bilateral agreement, U.S. companies—most importantly Toshiba-Westinghouse and GE-Hitachi—are planning to build nuclear power plants in India. Continue reading

September 30, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, politics international | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear power plants are vulnerable to the Stuxnet worm!

after finding a way into a plant’s system, the worm can simply steal data or potentially wreak havoc, causing its systems such as cooling pumps to malfunction.

Analysts: Stuxnet Raises Concerns About Vulnerability of Nuclear, Industrial Facilties , News.com, William Ide , 28 Sept 10, A powerful computer virus called the Stuxnet worm has apparently targeted Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant and infected computer systems from Asia to Europe and the United States. The capability of this malicious software is raising questions about the vulnerability of nuclear, electrical and other types of industrial facilities. Continue reading

September 29, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | , , , , | Leave a comment

Hillary Clinton starts the US govt pressure on India’s Nuclear Liability Bill

Hillary raises nuclear liability issue with Krishna,  The Hindu , 29 Sept 10, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday raised India’s civil nuclear liability issue with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna at a meeting to do the groundwork for President Barack Obama’s visit to India in November……

The bill, which was passed recently by Parliament and which is critical to the full implementation of the India-U.S. civil nuclear deal, has been troubling several American industrialists as it makes equipment suppliers liable in the event of a nuclear accident…….

The Hindu : News / National : Hillary raises nuclear liability issue with Krishna

September 29, 2010 Posted by | politics international, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israel burying nuclear waste in Palestinan farmlands

Burying Nuclear Waste in the Palestinian Territories Special Palestine Cry Blog   28 sept 10, Palestinian farmers from Yatta village south of Hebron in the West Bank have revealed that the Israeli military continues to bury nuclear waste in their farmlands at Al-Masafer near the armistice line in the West Bank. The farmers said that the military forces “IDF” brings trucks loaded with waste suspected to be radioactive waste and is burying it in their lands after they force them to evacuate the area.The farmers said that they were able to hide themselves in some caves and watch the military operation. They stated that the Israeli soldiers who declared the area as a military zone were wearing white overalls over their military uniforms during the burial. The farmers said that they live in Al-Masafer with their animals…….Special Palestine Cry Blog articles: Burying Nuclear Waste in the Palestinian Territories

September 29, 2010 Posted by | MIDDLE EAST, secrets,lies and civil liberties | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium shares plunge due to Al-Qaida terrorism in Niger

on September 16, forces associated with al-Qa’ida kidnapped the seven people employed by French uranium company Areva and its contractor, Vinci, from the town of Arlit in Niger’s uranium mining region.Areva has subsequently evacuated expatriate personnel and France has dispatched anti-terrorism forces to the region……

NGM Resources shares fall as Paladin bid is threatened * Michael Bennet  The Australian * September 29, 2010 NGM Resources shares today plunged 43 per cent on the likelihood Paladin Energy’s takeover offer will fall through… Continue reading

September 29, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, Niger | , , | Leave a comment

Iran’s uranium enrichment plant the likely target of Stuxnet worm

the worm that has infected Iranian nuclear computers was meant to sabotage the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz –

‘Computer virus in Iran actually targeted larger nuclear facility’ Haaretz Daily Newspaper By Yossi Melman, 28 Sept 10, New analysis, based on the characteristic behavior of the Stuxnet worm, contradicts earlier assessments that the target was the nuclear reactor at Bushehr. Continue reading

September 28, 2010 Posted by | Iran, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium | , , , , | Leave a comment

AREVA’s chief heads to Niger as uranium mines security deteriorates

The warning said the security situation in the Arlit region — where Areva runs uranium mines and where the five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan were kidnapped by Al-Qaeda linked militants — was deteriorating.

Hostage crisis: French nuclear boss heads to Niger, Google hosted news, (AFP) – 28 Sept 10, PARIS — The chairwoman of French state-owned nuclear giant Areva is to visit the firm’s operation in Niger, the company said Monday, after Al-Qaeda militants kidnapped several of her employees there.”Anne Lauvergeon plans to visit Niger soon,” a spokesman said, declining to confirm a report that she would travel on Thursday. The purpose of her visit is to visit Areva employees in the region, the spokesman said. Continue reading

September 28, 2010 Posted by | Niger, safety, Uranium | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

China violates Nuclear Suppliers Group rules in sales to Pakistan

Pakistan greatly damaged global security by allowing this rogue (nuclear scientist AQ Khan) free reign in that country. China’s plan to build another two nuclear reactors in Pakistan violates Nuclear Suppliers’ Group rules.

China should be stopped from building N-reactors for Pak’ Hindustan Times, Press Trust Of India Washington, September 25, 2010 China should be stopped from going ahead with its move to transfer new atomic reactors to Pakistan which is “not a responsible nuclear power,” a top American Congressman has said. Continue reading

September 28, 2010 Posted by | China, politics international | , , , | Leave a comment