nuclear weapons « nuclear-news

USA’s problem with Jordan’s nuclear power plans

Jordan’s Nuclear Ambitions Pose Quandary for the U.S. WSJ.com – By JAY SOLOMON SAWAQA, Jordan—The Kingdom of Jordan is in a sprint to become the Arab world’s next nuclear power. And America wants to help it succeed. U.S. and Jordanian officials are negotiating a nuclear-cooperation agreement that would allow American firms to export nuclear components and know-how to the Mideast country, America’s closest Arab ally in the volatile region…. it’s a partnership that puts the Obama administration in a bind: It is trying to make good on its pledge to promote greater civilian use of atomic energy, without angering Israel and risking a Mideast arms race. Continue reading →

June 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | MIDDLE EAST, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, reactors | Leave a comment

Queen Noor promoting “Global Zero” in USA

Queen Noor Aims To Reach The World On Nuclear Proliferation Through “Countdown To Zero” Thaindian News, June 14, 2010 “….Queen Noor of Jordan; the widow of King Hussein is one of the chief brains behind the concept of “Countdown to Zero” a documentary which deals with the alarming topic of nuclear bomb proliferation. The Queen was attending the lunch at the Beverly Hills “Four Seasons Hotel” as the founder member of “Global Zero”. As a matter of fact “Global Zero” happens to be a movement which aims at phasing out all nuclear weapons all around the globe.

Queen Noor Aims To Reach The World On Nuclear Proliferation Through “Countdown To Zero”

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

Spectre of nuclear testing again raised in Nevada

Candidates in Senate race sound off on nuclear testing, ksl.com -May 20th, 2010 By John Hollenhorst SALT LAKE CITY — A surprise issue has emerged in Utah’s U.S. Senate race: testing of nuclear weapons in Nevada. Continue reading →

June 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | nuclear weapons | 1 Comment

Burma developing nuclear power, funded by multinational oil companies

how could Burma, Southeast Asia’s poorest country, possibly afford to finance a nuclear program? The answer involves the military regime’s partnerships with multinational companies, including some of the world’s largest and best known oil firms

Oil Companies Financing Nuclear Threat in Burma, Refusing Transparency, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Mathew Smith, June 10, 2010 , The world has a new nuclear threat on its hands; the first ever in Southeast Asia.According to a disturbing five-year study released Friday by the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), carried on Al Jazeera, and vetted by a nuclear scientist and former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the ruling military junta in Burma (Myanmar) is “mining uranium, converting it to uranium compounds for reactors and bombs, and is trying to build a reactor and or an enrichment plant that could only be useful for a bomb.” Continue reading →

June 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Burma, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty – USA now to join up

POLITICS: US MOVES TO SUPPORT NUCLEAR FREE ZONE TREATY, Islands Business, Nic Maclellan, 11 June 2010, In a major policy change, the US government has announced it will move to support the Rarotonga Treaty for a South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone (SPNFZ)—25 years after the treaty was first signed by Pacific nations. Continue reading →

June 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | OCEANIA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

National Anti-Nuclear Gathering at USA Weapons Complex

Nukewatch – July 4th weekend, 2010At Maryville College and the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex, Tennessee.

The Nuclear Resister, Nukewatch and the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA) invite you to join us for a national gathering, culminating with nonviolent anti-nuclear direct action, July 3-5, 2010, to declare our independence from nuclear weapons and nuclear power. The gathering will be held at Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee (tentative), with protest and action at the Y-12 nuclear weapons complex in nearby Oak Ridge, where OREPA has sustained a nonviolent campaign for over 20 years. Nukewatch

June 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, peace, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Resistance to pro Nuclear Bills now in USA Congress

If there are going to be voices to counter the insanity of new bomb plants in the name of arms control, they will have to be ours. If there are going to be people standing to say NO!, they will have to be us.”

Bills making their way through Congress right now include the largest single increasein nuclear weapons funding in history.

(USA) Morning of Resistance’ at Y-12 July 5 | Frank Munger, knoxnews.com, 9 June 2010, “The timing is right–and not just because2010 marks the anniversaries of such auspiciousorganizations and actions. Last year, President BarackObama declared himself committed to a world freeof nuclear weapons. Whatever his ambitions mayhave been, they have gotten waylaid by the statusquo power brokers who are determined to maintain nuclear dominance and a highly funded industry that is determined to build more nuclear reactors at taxpayer expense. Continue reading →

June 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Churches give mixed report after Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty review conference

Majority puts new pressure on minority’s nuclear weapons, Ekklesia, By Jonathan Frerichs, 9 Jun 2010 Is it time to start work on banning nuclear weapons? “Yes” says a growing majority of governments and civil society groups. “No” insists a tiny nuclear-armed minority. “Premature” say some of their closest allies.That is the barest summary of what happened at the United Nations when 189 countries met recently on what to do about nuclear weapons. Churches seeking specific steps to stop nuclear arms shared long-standing disappointments – plus a few new grounds for hope – with many governments and most of the 120 civil society organisations in New York during May for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference. Continue reading →

June 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom involved in Iran, France, Australia

Rosatom Agrees to First Asset Sale to Foreign Investor, The Moscow Times, 09 June 2010By Anatoly Medetsky “…..Kiriyenko (pictured) announced that Russia and Iran would jointly run Iran’s first nuclear power plant that Rosatom plans to launch in August. Iran agreed to establish a joint venture with Rosatom to operate the plant because the country doesn’t have enough experience in maintaining such facilities, he said.In other news, Rosatom signed an agreement with the French Atomic Energy Commission to expand cooperation on reprocessing, decommissioning and isotopes technology.

In what could further extend Rosatom’s international reach, the State Duma is scheduled to ratify an accord between Russia and Australia on peaceful nuclear cooperation on Wednesday. Continue reading →

June 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, Russia | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, enriched, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, reactors, recycling, reprocessing, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear waste casks, pools, piles, are ticking time bombs

(USA) Ticking time bombs: what should we do with nuclear waste?, SmartPlanet, By Andrew Nusca | Jun 8, 2010 “……..the WSJ report outlines some scary figures:

More than 800 filled casks await a final destination, holding 14,000 metric tons of waste.
Another 49,000 metric tons is being held in spent-fuel pools, waiting to be placed in vessels.
A further 2,000 metric tons of nuclear reactor waste is created every year.

The problem is that the next wave of nuclear reactors are already on the drawing board.

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation | Leave a comment

Far from being deterrence, nuclear weapons are a lethal liability

The George W. Bush administration was the first to admit nuclear deterrence would not work against terrorists, now perceived to be the greatest threat to Americans…The key is to see nuclear disarmament as a security-building process, moving from an outdated adversarial mindset to a co-operative one where nuclear weapons are recognized as a lethal liability….

Nuclear Deterrence Scam Blocking Progress to a Safer World, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Robert Green, 7 June 2010, “……………The nuclear weapon states’ blocking of any serious moves towards honoring their obligation in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to get rid of their nuclear arsenals is driven by their uncritical acceptance of nuclear deterrence. Yet my carefully considered conclusion is that nuclear deterrence is a huge confidence trick – an outrageous scam cooked up fifty years ago by the US military industrial monster created by the Manhattan Project and now dominating US politics. Continue reading →

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Stockpiles of nuclear weapons form increasing terrorist risk

Forward Observer: Nuclear Time Bomb, GovExec.com, By George C. Wilson, CongressDaily June 7, 2010Standing up like a red lighthouse of warning above the otherwise murky prose in President Obama’s new National Security Strategy document is this statement: “The American people face no greater or more urgent danger than a terrorist attack with a nuclear weapon.”……
“Indeed,” continues the white paper, “since the end of the Cold War the risk of a nuclear attack has increased. Excessive Cold War stockpiles remain. More nations have acquired nuclear weapons. Testing has continued. Black markets trade in nuclear secrets and materials. Terrorists are determined to buy, build or steal a nuclear weapon. Our efforts to contain these dangers are centered in a global nonproliferation regime that has frayed as more people and nations break the rules.”………….If nothing else can inspire a bipartisan response this election year, that presidential warning should.

Forward Observer: Nuclear Time Bomb (6/7/10) — GovExec.com

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Western powers now hoping that poverty will stop Iran’s nukes

The theory now is that rather than leading directly to a change of policy, the effect of the latest sanctions package will be to underline the cost of maintaining the nuclear programme. The positive message is that compliance with international demands would mean a scramble for western investment

Ahmadinejad may have to choose between uranium and butter, guardian.co.uk, Ian Black, 9 June 2010, Iranian president faces having to raid the coffers to fund his nuclear ambitions, but how will the jobless and hungry react? Iran‘s economy is in serious trouble even without new UN sanctions Continue reading →

June 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, politics international | enriched, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

A nuclear bomb on the oil gusher would NOT be OK!

Nuclear Follies: How Not To Stem the BP Oil Gusher, Daily Kos:, by Page van der Linden, 7 June 2010, “…….Never has it been more apparent that there’s a lot of misunderstanding (deliberate or otherwise) regarding nuclear weapons than recently. I’m talking about the appalling, misguided idea that we can “just nuke” the BP oil gusher and it will some how “be okay”.Here’s the Global Security Newswire’s “Quote of the Day” from June 3, 2010:
The use of a nuclear weapon to stop the BP oil gusher is not an option. It is, in fact, the worst possible thing we could do. Here’s why. Continue reading →

June 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radioactive | 1 Comment

Russia did not use nuclear explosions to fix oil leaks

all these Soviet nuclear blasts were on land and did not involve oil. Eventually, both superpowers gave up trying to use nukes for peaceful purposes, and one of the reasons was the environmental hazards.

Just Because Someone Else Did It, Doesn’t Mean It’ll Work As the New York Times pointed out, the whole idea came from something the Russians tried back in the 1960s to stop a natural gas fire. Historian and nuclear non-proliferation expert David E. Hoffman tears down the idea that “if it worked for them it’ll work for us”: But didn’t the Soviet Union once use nukes for this? Not exactly. Continue reading →

June 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment