nuclear weapons « nuclear-news

American Indians confront USA’s ‘Blue Ribbon’ Nuclear Waste Commission

Tribes: Nuclear waste can’t be stored at Hanford, Google hosted news, (AP) – 15 July 2010, RICHLAND, Wash. — Northwest American Indian tribes say highly radioactive waste cannot be permanently stored at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site.Members of the Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla and Wanapum tribes on Wednesday addressed a commission appointed by President Barack Obama to examine U.S. disposal of radioactive waste. It was prompted by his decision not to proceed with the Yucca Mountain waste repository in Nevada…..

The Associated Press: Tribes: Nuclear waste can’t be stored at Hanford

July 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | indigenous issues, USA | antinuclear, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

65 years of lies and cover-up about nuclear bomb and radioactivity

When reports of thousands in Hiroshima and Nagasaki afflicted with a strange and horrible new disease emerged, General Groves, at first, called it all a “hoax” and “propaganda” and speculated that the Japanese had different “blood.”

Secrecy, Cover-ups & Deadly Radiation: On the Birth of the Nuclear Age 65 Years Ago The Nation, Greg Mitchell J uly 14, 2010 While most people trace the dawn of the nuclear era to August 6, 1945, and the dropping of the atomic bomb over the center of Hiroshima, it really began three weeks earlier, in the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico, with the top-secret Trinity test. Its sixty-fifth anniversary will be marked—or mourned, if you will—this Friday, July 16. . Continue reading →

July 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

UK’s Trident nuclear weapons – expensive, unnecessary

“Describing this as a ‘value for money’ review is nonsense – the fundamental question is whether Britain needs a cold war weapons system decades after that conflict ended.

(UK) Nuclear weapon review ‘nonsense’ Morning Star, 14 July 2010, by Will Stone Anti Nuclear campaigners have branded the government’s proposed “value-for-money” review of the multibillion-pound renewal of Trident as nonsense. Continue reading →

July 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Pyroprocessed plutonium could quickly become nuclear weapon

a country with South Korea’s nuclear expertise could quickly turn pyroprocessed plutonium into weapons

U.S. Wary of South Korea’s Plan to Reuse Nuclear Fuel, By CHOE SANG-HUN New York Times, July 13, 2010 “……..South Korean engineers are championing a new technology called pyroprocessing, which the Bush administration endorsed. They call it “proliferation-resistant” because the plutonium produced through pyroprocessing is not pure and cannot be used directly for nuclear weapons.
Skeptics say the technology is far more dangerous than leaving the spent fuel intact in storage because a country with South Korea’s nuclear expertise could quickly turn pyroprocessed plutonium into weapons-usable material should it decide to break out of the nonproliferation treaty…….
Washington is wary of South Korea’s motives. Seoul embarked on its short-lived nuclear arms program in the early 1970s when President Richard M. Nixon reduced the number of American troops in South Korea to 40,000 from 60,000. In 2004, South Korea revealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency that its scientists had dabbled in reprocessing and enrichment without first informing the agency. U.S. Wary of South Korea’s Plan to Reuse Nuclear Fuel – NYTimes.com

July 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | South Korea, technology | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, plutonium | Leave a comment

New book on Canada’s complicity in nuclear arms race

Paul McKay is an award-winning journalist, and the author of Atomic Accomplice: How Canada Deals in Deadly Deceit” Copies of his latest book, Atomic Accomplice, can be purchased online at:Website: http://www.paulmckay.comPaul Continue reading →

July 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | resources - print | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Long war would result from Israeli attack on Iran’s nukes

Israel is widely believed to have the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal. The Jewish state neither confirms nor denies this.

Israeli attack on Iran would start long war – report Jul 14, 2010 By Adrian Croft LONDON (Reuters) – An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would start a long war and probably not prevent Iran from eventually acquiring nuclear weapons, a think-tank said on Thursday. Continue reading →

July 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Uranium mining not economic in the long run

Stakeholders need to consider the not-so-obvious long-term costs, as well as the much-touted short-term benefits of permitting uranium development throughout Virginia…….As deposits of economic interest are identified, the people near those deposits will find themselves stakeholders in public policy decisions regarding uranium mining. Who are these stakeholders-to-be?

Who bears the economic and environmental risks of uranium mining? ALTAVISTA JOURNAL, By Katie Whitehead, July 14, 2010Virginia Uranium Inc. (VUI) and its public relations firm have framed uranium mining in Virginia as an opportunity for billions in benefits Continue reading →

July 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Uranium, USA | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

British govt sent compensation to Australia, but not to British nuclear veterans

Veterans are betrayed by double standards, This Is Derbyshire, 14 July 2010, A document discreetly entitled The Australian Treaty Series 1993 No.40 hides a huge untold human story of military service, international diplomacy and, some say, betrayal. Continue reading →

July 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, cancer, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Canada’s uranium to India – a recipe for nuclear weapons proliferation

In a contortion worthy of Houdini, Prime Minister Harper claims Canada can prevent a repeat of the 1974 nuclear betrayal because India has solemnly promised to specify which facilities are military or civilian, and to keep them strictly segregated.

But this is akin to keeping a bucket of water divided in half — fissile materials, knowledge, and budgets are notoriously porous, hidden in secrecy, and immune to meaningful inspection or policing.

Canada courts calamity with India nuclear deal Selling Candus in South Asia only heightens local arms race. Straight Goods -, July 13, 2010by Paul McKay Ten days before Canada inked a nuclear sales pact with India at the G20 summit, the Indian government invited global investors to help finance its $70 billion plan to develop 20,000 Megawatts of solar power plants in that sun-rich country by 2022.That followed an official Indian government estimate that its long windy coastlines and interior deserts can host nearly 50,000 Mw of wind generation. Continue reading →

July 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, renewable energy, solar, wind | Leave a comment

UK govt ignoring public opposition to new Trident nuclear weapons

all the indications are that the will of the people – even including Daily Mail readers this time – is to be ignored yet again. Trident replacement has been excluded from the Strategic Defence Review, which would have forced debate on its actual military value. Instead, a ‘value for money review’ has been hastily cobbled together to give a fig-leaf of legitimacy to the decision to proceed with business as usual.

(UK) So just who does want to replace Trident? Greenpeace UK, by jossc on 13 July 2010. A YouGov poll released today reaffirms what we already knew: a clear majority people simply don’t support government plans to build a ‘like for like’ replacement for the Trident nuclear deterrent.The poll, undertaken on behalf of think tank Chatham House, found that only 29 per cent of the public backed the government’s Trident plans. Amongst opinion formers the level of support fell to a paltry 22 per cent. Continue reading →

July 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Castro warns USA and Israel on nuclear war

Washington policy may result in nuclear war – Comandante Castro, RT, 13 July, 2010, In his first televised appearance in recent years, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro warned that US policies on Iran and North Korea may result in a nuclear war. The leader of the Cuban revolution believes that the policies that Washington and its allies are leading on Iran and North Korea may result in the beginning of a world nuclear war, Itar-Tass writes.Castro noted that earlier he had thought the global conflict would be sparked because of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). However, now he believes that it is a US and Israeli attack on Iran that could trigger a war. Washington policy may result in nuclear war – Comandante Castro – RT

July 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Nuclear weapons numbers to be cut – USA

Obama plans to cut up to 40 percent of nukes, THE HUFFINGTON POST, 13 July 2010, WASHINGTON — A government document reveals that the Obama administration is planning to cut the U.S. nuclear stockpile by up to 40 percent by 2021.The Energy Department document provides details of the reductions that President Barack Obama has called for on a path to eliminating nuclear weapons. The reductions continue a trajectory of cuts that already has reduced U.S. stockpiles by about 75 percent since 1989.In May the administration said that it had 5,113 nuclear warheads.The new document says the administration would like to reduce that number to a range of 3,000 to 3,500. Obama plans to cut up to 40 percent of nukes

July 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

USA’s ‘Blue Ribbon’ Nuclear Waste Commission at Hanford

Even if Yucca had opened as planned 10 years ago, it would not have enough space for all of Hanford’s wastes,……there is no final resting place for these “vitrified” wastes……..

A Watchdog’s Warning on Nuclear Waste, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD, July 12, 2010, “…. a new report suggests that Hanford has a lot more plutonium waste that the Energy Department had acknowledged.This week, a blue-ribbon commission on nuclear waste established to seek alternatives to Yucca will hold two days of hearings near Hanford. Continue reading →

July 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, plutonium, radiation, radioactive, uranium, water | Leave a comment

USA Nuclear Weapons Modernization to Cost $275 Billion

the NNSA intends to spend more than $175 billion (in then-year dollars) over the next two decades on building new nuclear weapons factories, testing and simulation facilities, and modernizing and extending the life of the nuclear weapons in the stockpile…..The plan does not include the more than $100 billion the Department of Defense is expected to spend in 2010-2030 on the platforms needed to deliver the warheads.

Nuclear Plan Shows Cuts and Massive Investments » FAS Strategic Security Blog, By Hans M. Kristensen, 12 July 2010, The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has sent Congress the FY 2011 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan (SSMP) with new information about what the administration plans to spend on maintaining and modernizing nuclear weapons and facilities over the next 15-20 years…. Continue reading →

July 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

Moscow to get 5000 nuclear bomb safety bunkers

Moscow arms against nuclear attack – RT, 12 July, 2010, Nearly 5,000 new emergency bomb shelters will be built in Moscow by 2012 to save people in case of potential attacks. Moscow authorities say the measure is urgent as the shelters currently available in the city can house no more that half of its population.In the last 20 years, the area of air-raid defense has been developed little, and the existing shelters have become outdated. Moreover, they are located mostly in the city center, which makes densely populated Moscow outskirts especially vulnerable in the event of a nuclear attack……. Moscow arms against nuclear attack – RT