nuclear weapons « nuclear-news

Nuclear weapons in Italy and other European countries

ITALIE HAS NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Argue with everyone, 12 April, 2010, Pentagon confirms Italie has nuclear weapons From a report by U.S. environmental association Natural Resources Defense Council [1], we had already learned that the United States store 90 nuclear bombs on two Italian bases: 50 in Aviano (Pordenone) and 40 in Ghedi Torre (Brescia). Continue reading →

April 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Italy, weapons and war | AUSTRALIA, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Iran not technically up to nuclear capability

Iran not yet “nuclear capable,” Gates say POLITICO Liveby Glenn Thrush April 11, 2010 Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Iran is not yet “nuclear capable” – and denied that U.S. officials have given up on being able to prevent Tehran from being able to produce and refine fissionable material.Speaking in a joint appearance with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in interviews aired Sunday, Gates said “it’s our judgment here, they are not nuclear capable,” citing Iran’s trouble with processing nuclear fuel in centrifuges.

Iran not yet “nuclear capable,” Gates says – POLITICO Live – POLITICO.com

April 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

As nuclear industry materials proliferate, the threat of nuclear terrorism is real

More than 1600 tonnes of highly enriched uranium and 500 tonnes of plutonium are estimated to have been produced worldwide for civilian and military use – enough material to build 120,000 nuclear bombs. Estimates vary as to how much of it remains unsecured and at risk of falling into terrorist hands……

Obama wrestles with nuclear nightmare that won’t go away Sydney Morning Herald ,SIMON MANN IN WASHINGTON, April 10, 2010 So, what if terrorists did get their hands on a nuclear weapon? It doesn’t bear thinking about. Except, thousands of people are thinking about it now. Continue reading →

April 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Iran scorns U.S. nuclear strategy, hosts alternative disarmament conference

Iran dismisses new U.S. nuclear strategy as propaganda. China News TEHRAN, April 7 (Xinhua) — Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Wednesday dismissed the new U.S. nuclear strategy as ” propaganda” and urged Washington to fulfill its promise on nuclear disarmament.

“We consider the latest position and comment of the United States as propaganda … We urge the United States to fulfill its promise on nuclear disarmament in the whole world,” Mottaki said at a press conference in Tehran…..He also said that the upcoming international conference of nuclear disarmament, dubbed “nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for none,” scheduled to held in Tehran on April 17 and 18, will push for a global nuclear disarmament. Iran dismisses new U.S. nuclear strategy as propaganda

April 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

U.S. Nuclear Posture Review strengthens North Korea’s defiance

[the US “Nuclear Posture Review”] left open all options, including a nuclear attack, on countries such as North Korea or Iran

N. Korea blasts new US nuclear policy Yemen news Agency ]TOKYO, April 9 (Saba) — North Korea criticized the new US nuclear policy, saying it showed Washington’s continued hostility toward Pyongyang, and vowed to strengthen its own atomic arsenal, Continue reading →

April 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | North Korea, politics international | AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Australian doctor, Tilman Ruff – another international anti nuclear campaigner

The idealist in Ruff is frustrated that it is not going further, happening faster. ”But I am enormously encouraged because we are seeing movement on multiple fronts.

Nuclear nemesis, The Age, JO CHANDLER, April 10, 2010A WHAT makes an activist “……Associate Professor Tilman Ruff, part-time physician, full-time campaigner against nuclear arms, and cancer survivor – a doctor who considers protecting the world from nuclear arms as fundamental to public health as the vaccines he dispenses……. Continue reading →

April 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

al-Qaida seeking to have atomic bomb

US: al-Qaida exemplifies new-age nuclear threat, Google hosted news, By ROBERT BURNS (AP) – 10 April 2010, WASHINGTON The Associated Press: US: al-Qaida exemplifies new-age nuclear threat— The White House on Friday warned that al-Qaida is quietly hunting for an atomic bomb, Continue reading →

April 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Spread of radioactive materials increases nuclear danger

Radiation poisoning a reminder of need for better ‘nuclear security, The Hindu , ‘Siddharth Varadarajan and R. Ramachandran, Apr 10, 2010, The Hindu : Front Page : Radiation poisoning a reminder of need for better ‘nuclear security’ New Delhi: Coming on the eve of next week’s Nuclear Security Summit, the news of people being sickened by cobalt-60 in a Delhi market is an embarrassing reminder of weaknesses in the Indian system of tracking minor radioactive substances………. Continue reading →

April 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, safety | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

New arms control treaty gives nuclear armed bombers free rein

It is a ballistic missile focused treaty that essentially removes strategic bombers from arms control.

The dodgy accounting of nuclear diplomacy, guardian.co.uk, Julian Borger, 9 April 2010, The new arms control treaty signed in Prague contains new counting methods that call into question its real scope Take down the flags, put away the champagne, etc. The text of the new Start treaty is out on the US state department website, and the small print confirms the warnings of its sternest critics. Dodgy new counting rules mean that the real reductions in deployed nuclear weapons could turn out to be far less than the 30% advertised. Indeed, they could add up to nothing at all. Continue reading →

April 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, Russia, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

‘Third Generation’ Nuclear Reactors have same old problems – wastes, weapons proliferation

Why James Hansen is wrong on nuclear power | Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal, By Renfrey Clarke April 8, 2010 “….. Third-generation reactors are in essence evolved versions of the pressurised-water installations that provide almost all of today’s nuclear energy. Now being built for the first time, “third-generation” plants are arguably still at the pre-commercial stage…. Continue reading →

April 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, technology | antinuclear, climate change, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Doubtful that U.S. Senate will pass the U.S. – Russia Disarmament Treaty

Unclear As Of Now if Senate Will Have Votes to Ratify New Disarmament Treaty ABC News, Political Punch April 08, 2010 Senate sources tell ABC News that it’s unclear if the Senate has the votes to pass the nuclear disarmament treaty that President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed just hours ago.

The ambiguity confirms what has seemed a constant refrain of concern from the White House about whether the votes are there.

Unclear As Of Now if Senate Will Have Votes to Ratify New Disarmament Treaty – Political Punch

April 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

USA’s nuclear weapons New START and its dodgy arithmetic

New START and Nuclear Midnight, RealClearWorld, By Daniel McGroarty 8 April 2010, What accounts for the dampening of enthusiasm of pro-disarmament groups for New START? Call it a kind of fuzzy math: The White House has been careful to characterize the new warhead levels as 30 percent below the warhead limit of the 2002 Moscow Treaty. But both the U.S. and Russian arsenals are well below those limits now, having retired weapons without replacing them…..

Add to that a new rule for counting nuclear-capable strategic bombers: Under New START, each bomber counts as one warhead – regardless of how many nuclear weapons it can deliver. With U.S. and Russian bomber capacities varying from 6 to 20 nuclear warheads, that’s a quick way to cut the warhead count without scrapping any weapons…….As the Federation of American Scientists’ Hans Kristensen reports: “… The [New START] counting rule would ‘hide’ approximately 450 and 860 warheads, respectively, or 1,310 warheads. That’s more warheads than Britain, China, France, India, Israel, and Pakistan possess combined!” Expect to hear more about that from the world’s non-nuclear nations at next month’s Non-Proliferation Treaty conference……As the Atomic Scientists like to say, the clock is ticking.

RealClearWorld – New START and Nuclear Midnight

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

USA’s poor security of its own enriched uranium and dead nuke weapons

Will U.S. Inaction on its own Nuclear Security Issues Compromise Summit Success?Across the Aisle: The PSA Blog, by Peter Stockton and Ingrid Drake | April 7th, 2010 “…..Frankly, if we want other nations to follow, we have to lead by example. Highly enriched uranium (HEU) is a prime target for nuclear terrorists: with about 100 pounds it is possible to make an improvised nuclear device that could create a blast on par with the one that devastated Hiroshima. Yet, the U.S. has the world’s second largest stock of HEU and plutonium. Continue reading →

April 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, plutonium, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear Weapons Proliferation is the biggest risk with Integral Fast Reactors

Why James Hansen is wrong on nuclear power | Links April 8, 2010 Hansen Nuclear Power ….. Renfrey’s article understates the WMD proliferation risks associated with integral fast reactors (IFRs). The plutonium/waste mixture from IFRs could be processed in a conventional reprocessing plant without too much trouble, especially since proliferators would take simple steps (reducing the irradiation time) to maximise the proportion of plutonium-239 and to reduce the difficulty and hazards of transporting and processing the material. Continue reading →

April 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | antinuclear, depleted, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Israeli Prime Minister pulls out of nuclear summit

Netanyahu Said to Cancel U.S. Trip for Nuclear Summit By Calev Ben-David April 9 (Bloomberg) –– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned visit to the U.S. next week to attend a nuclear summit, a government official said. Continue reading →

April 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment