Nuclear news – week to 27 March

A hand reaches down to six other hands reaching up.

Some bits of good news: What went right this week: ‘a surge in benevolence’, plus more
Coronavirus. A hidden pandemic: the orphans Covid has left behind.

Climate.  Climate change: 5 charts from the IPCC report that show why every increment of warming matters.  Why Normal Is Never Coming Back.

Nuclear.  Apologies – this newsletter is getting out of hand.  It’s good if people can just read the stories in large bold green type – usually selected because of their particular importance.  Sorry – so much Australian stuff –  AUKUS remains a very big deal here.

Worldwide – economics matter – the rampaging costs of weapons, the ever-more apparent unaffordability of small nuclear reactors.

Christina notes. Two ways of looking at the world.   Here we go again. Depleted uranium weapons for Ukraine to use against Russia.      Everything’s OK – depleted uranium is just a pretty harmless “common type of munition”.    NuScam – the sad little canary that’s scared of a tweet . Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles is a master of “weasel words”

AUSTRALIA. 

• AUKUS and Nuclear Submarines.  Senator Barbara Pocock demolishes the arguments put up for small nuclear reactors, and for nuclear submarines. Greens attack Albanese government’s ‘deeply unsettling’ secrecy on submarine nuclear waste plans. May Day March planned – against AUKUS. Some Labor and Independent members of parliament not happy with AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.     AUKUS, the Australian Labor Party, and Growing Dissent.   In Australian conventional media, when it comes to discussion on AUKUS, only certain limited views are permissable.   Richard Marles’ ill-advised spending on completely inappropriate Tomahawk missiles for Australia’s existing submarines. Australia’s defence policy explained  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTCqXlDjx18
• Big Tech, weapons, tax havens, even Rupert Murdoch – secrets from the Future Fund investment vault. Australian military looks to build crucial space capabilities that will support Aukus nuclear subs. Guardian Essential Poll: AUKUS support collapses, 3-in-4 oppose. AUKUS nuclear subs deal should torpedo Kimba radioactive waste plan. 
• The cost and unnecessary suffering of military spending. National Party MPs seek nuclear submarine base in central Qld. PM flags nuclear prohibition treaty still on agenda despite AUKUS subs deal. Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) flexes its muscles – forces the ABC to back down on a Media Watch show that dared to criticise ASPI.  Nuclear power costs prohibitive.

Submissions to Senate. 

• Ivan Quail – a devastating fact-filled critique of the costly, dangerous, unhealthy, nuclear industry. 
• Judy Schneider – keep Australia’s nuclear bans, use renewables, including tidal energy. 
• Ray Tauss = for health, safety, and future generations’ well-being – Australia’s nuclear bans should NOT be repealed. 
• Greg Chapman – Nuclear power is dirty and its fallout lasts forever.

CLIMATE. World on ‘thin ice’ as UN climate report gives stark warning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gKGcWqzH1Y Samoa’s desperate plea for world climate action. What is the IPCC AR6 synthesis report and why does it matter? Burning down the house — Climate options are available now- Nuclear power isn’t one of them. Lethal underwater nuclear submarines –their power to devastate the climate.         Nuclear energy will not halt the climate crisis. Climate change may pose key risk to French reactors – said the country’s Court of Auditors.

Briefing Paper on Nuclear Weapons, the Environment, and the Climate Crisis.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. UN Rights Official Concerned Over Summary Executions Of POWs By Both Russia, Ukraine.

CULTURE. Rebooting memories of life before the nuclear devastation of Hiroshima. France in national denial– rejecting renewable energy, clinging to out-dated nuclear.

ECONOMICS. Bad news for NuScale. Author of controversial memo puts the final nail in the coffin: Nuclear power in Denmark is not cost-effective. Tiny Modular Reactor Deal Starts With Absurdly Expensive Electricity.

Marketing. U.S. government marketing nuclear power to Indonesia. Thorium fake charity group cons El Salvador into joining the “Nuclear Power Club”. South Korea coming for a slice of Africa’s emerging nuclear power market. Mini nuclear reactors all the rage, but are they the answer? Rolls Royce marketing its mini nuclear reactors to Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, but deals could collapse.

EMPLOYMENT Strikes hit French nuclear output, disrupt EDF maintenance plans.

ENVIRONMENT. Campaigners claim permit change at Hinkley Point would kill billions of fish.

HEALTH. Radiation Low-dose Radiation Linked to Heart Disease

LEGAL. Second U.S. Citizen Headed to German Prison for Anti-Nuclear Weapons Actions. Legal case begins against Sizewell C nuclear project.  “Together Against Sizewell” argue in UK’s High Court against this nuclear development’s impact on environment . Lawsuit over internal records of 2018 ‘near miss’ at San Onofre nuclear plant moves forward.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. NuScale Power the canary in the small modular nuclear reactor market. European 

OPPOSITION TO NUCLEAR. Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament condemns UK decision to send depleted uranium shells to Ukraine. Restarting Michigan Nuclear Power Plant Risks ‘Chernobyl-Scale Catastrophe,’ Coalition Warns. Bi -Partisan measure opposes Canadian plan to store nuclear waste long term near Lake Huron.

POLITICS. Mixed messages to the nuclear industry as Biden’s budget cuts funding for nuclear energy . The UK Budget pushes nuclear and CCS, and the military link with small nuclear reactors is now overt.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

• Macron’s nuclear power plan hits trouble. Seven countries reject nuclear-derived hydrogen from EU renewables law. EU leaders remain deadlocked on classification of nuclear energy.  France trying to “sell off its old nukes” to the Netherlands? 
• Imperial Visits: US Emissaries in the Pacific. 
• US won’t let Ukraine even consider peace talks – Moscow. Xi Jinping’s Russia trip reduced chance of nuclear war, says EU foreign policy chief.

SAFETY. 12 years later, evacuation orders lifted in parts of two towns near the crippled Fukushima nuclear power station . Fears that France’s nuclear safety system may now fail – from Nuclear Transparency Watch, 11 French and European NGOs and 23 members of European Parliament. Minnesota nuclear plant shuts down for leak; residents worry.      Incidents. Russian Factory That Makes Nuclear Missile Engines Catches Fire.

SECRETS and LIES. UK says no nuclear escalation in Ukraine after row over depleted uranium munitions. US and UK deny harmful effects of depleted uranium.

WASTES. US regulators delay decision on nuclear fuel storage license. Will Scotland’s next Chief Minister heed the warnings of Dounreay?

WAR and CONFLICT. 

• Sung-HeeChoi reports on U.S.-NATO military expansion in South Korea. 
• UK’s depleted uranium plan threatens all of Europe – Moscow. The West has ‘brought humankind to the brink of nuclear Armageddon’ with its decision to use depleted uranium ammo in Ukraine, says Russia’s US envoy.
• Stolen Valor: The U.S. Volunteers in Ukraine Who Lie, Waste and Bicker. 
• NATO pushes European Socialists for thirty more years, eternity of new wars. 
• Strengthening the international maritime force: NATO gathers global fleet commanders to study Ukraine war. 
• Declassified Video Shows How B-52 Crews Would Conduct Nuclear Strikes During Cold War.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

• A $1 trillion defense budget would be madness. Where the $1.3 Trillion Per Year U.S. Military Budget Goes. 
• EU to ship $2 billion more in shells, other ammunition to Ukraine . Poland’s prime minister boasted of “very good compensation” from the European Union for Polish weapons sent to Ukraine.  Baltic to Black Sea: NATO deploys Portuguese, Romanian F-16s to Russian border .
• Britain supplying depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine.  UK could fuel radioactive disaster in Ukraine – Russia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6FjWEPAGWw 
• The world needs Japan to rally the G-7 against nuclear weapons. 
• North Korea tests new nuclear-capable underwater drone. 

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This week’s nuclear news

A bit of good news Sir David Attenborough urges people to unite to save ‘nature in crisis’

Premiere of this so timely movie –

The Road to War – new film premiering in Australia is just so very timely – as Australia is currently foremost in nuclear news. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEU02LTJBxI&t=6s

World premiere–   Melbourne at 6.30pm on 22 March at the Nova in Carlton.  Then in Hobart on 23 March (not 24th as stated in trailer) at the State Cinema .    Q & A panel with Bradbury and special guest, Bob Brown. Capri Theatre in Adelaide 29 March. Other cities and regional centres yet to be announced.        

Christina notes. Australia’s splendid nuclear submarine goat rodeo – funny, but it’s really serious.    Isn’t it wonderful how the men in opposing political parties can unite in hate and belligerence? Nuclear wastes 30 years away. So -no problem for present decision-makers – happily superannuated when the shit hits the fan.

AUSTRALIA.What the nuclear-powered submarine deal really means. Editorial Geppetto logic. AUKUS subs deal binds us to a country that can change its mind on whim. Port Kembla a nuclear submarine hub? Not such a great idea! Australian Strategic Policy Institute among the group of crooked “Think Tanks” funded by weapons companies in order to promote war. Sub-standard: AUKUS plan means more risks for Australia. Australian nuclear submarine program to cost up to $368b as AUKUS details unveiled in the US. Uncle Sam, can you target my Tomahawk, please?.

Australia hasn’t figured out low-level nuclear waste storage yet – let alone high-level waste from submarines. Australia news live: Aukus subs deal includes commitment to dispose of nuclear waste; Greens say plan is ‘mortgaging our future’. Nuclear dump to be built on Defence land. Labor Premiers’ dispute over location for AUKUS nuclear wastes, – but planned Kimba waste dump is”now dead in the water”? ‘Send it to Woomera’: Premier McGowan cold on nuclear waste being stored in Western Australia. Spent Matters: The AUKUS Nuclear Waste Problem. Aukus nuclear submarine deal loophole prompts proliferation fears. Porky pies and half-truths from our USA- captured Prime Minister Albanese . Are these wildly expensive nuclear-powered submarines really in Australia’s best interests? Paul Keating savages AUKUS nuclear submarine deal as Labor’s worst since conscription in World War 1. Why is the Labor government determined to silence the Barngarla people, at the same time as Labor promotes the indigenous Voice to Parliament ?. 

CLIMATE. Wiped out: Scientist’s ‘gigantic tsunami’ warning signals ‘grave threat’ to Sizewell C.. UN Secretary-General’s video message to the 58th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

CULTURE. Permission to speak?– Who gets to talk about nuclear power should not be controlled by the nuclear lobby

ECONOMICS. Despite UK government’s enthusiasm, nuclear power is just not a good investment. UK government is urged to “come clean” over the real cost of Sizewell C nuclear power station . EDF confirms nuclear power target for 2023, despite corrosion problems, and plummeting output in 2022. 

A $18 million a job? The AUKUS subs plan will cost Australia way more than that. Australia’s Productivity Commission casts doubt on the federal government’s decision to build nuclear-powered submarines.

ETHICS and RELIGION. Grief – Japan marks 12 years since Fukushima nuclear disaster as concerns grow over treated radioactive water release.

ENERGY. Taiwan phasing out nuclear power.

ENVIRONMENT. Campaigners claim permit change at Hinkley Point would kill billions of fish. UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt wants nuclear power classified as ‘environmentally sustainable’ . But is it?

HEALTH. Life on a nuclear submarine takes its toll.

MEDIA. “Atomic Bamboozle” Probes False Hopes for the Future of Nuclear Power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUsPt_xUt7I

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Britain does not have the capacity to support Australia’s plan to build its own nuclear submarine fleet – Rear Admiral. Transparent oceans – Technologies for detection of nuclear submarines will still be all too successful by 2050. Georgia’s big new nuclear reactors could be the ‘last built in the US‘ . World’s largest nuclear fusion reactor promises clean energy, but the challenges are huge.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. Japanese students’ nuclear abolition petition tops 2.5 million signatures. New Mexico says no to storing spent nuclear fuel as Biden touts nuclear energy: ‘The trouble is this is a forever decision’.

POLITICS.

• Fukushima victims feel left out.
• UK political row over ‘expensive and unnecessary ‘ spending on nuclear power stations. UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt accused of ‘£20bn gamble’ on nuclear energy and carbon capture . UK Chancellor blocks cheap renewable energy , while promoting expensive nuclear power. Scotland’s not-so-Green Freeports: Minister’s equivocal response leaves way open to nuclear manufacturing facility. Sizewell C nuclear plan slammed, despite the UK government’s greenwashing.
• Illinois grapples with the future of nuclear power.
• Ukraine aims to produce full cycle of nuclear nuclear fuel production by 2026, exports to follow.
• The AUKUS nuclear deal “stinks” – Australia’s former environment minister Peter Garret.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.

• Nuclear power eliminated from European Commission’s text on funding rules, amid heated disagreements between Europe’s nations.
• Changing dynamics of US nuclear alliances, and a brazen violation of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. Watchdog Rafael Grossi pledges ‘demanding’ oversight of nuclear sub deal.  Aukus nuclear submarine deal will be ‘too big to fail’, Richard Marles says. AUKUS nuclear submarine plan brings danger as it uses a loophole in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Chinese official asks if Australia’s Aukus nuclear submarines intended for ‘sightseeing’.   Australia needs to rethink plan to buy nuclear submarines. 
• Sociologist urges Japan to stop perpetuating nuclear colonialism.
•   Saudi crown prince is plotting to get US nuclear secrets by playing the White House, Russia, and China off against each other, report says.

PUBLIC OPINION. Something Is Missing From Americans’ Greatest Fears. It’s the Bomb..

SAFETY. Incident. 400,000 gallons of radioactive water leaked from a nuclear plant in Minnesota.

SECRETS and LIES. Libyan general says uranium reported missing by UN nuclear watchdog IAEA has been recovered. Tons of uranium missing from Libyan site, UN nuclear watchdog tells member states. Alarm over 10 drums of uranium missing in Libya.

SPINBUSTER. SIX WAR MONGERING THINK TANKS AND THE MILITARY CONTRACTORS THAT FUND THEM. Lesson from Fukushima: Collusion in the nuclear domain. “Great British Nuclear” launch – an eccentric fraud by the UK government.

WASTES. The (Vancouver) Columbian Editorial Board: Congress must recognize urgency at Hanford. Dumping Fukushima contaminated water is a “cheap and dirty” approach that must be stopped. 

From the archives. No country in the world has worked out what to do with its old dead, radioactive, nuclear submarines. UK’s costly struggle to deal with dead nuclear submarines. The daunting, long and untested effort to deal with UK’s dead nuclear submarines. What to do with dead nuclear submarines? A cautionary tale for Australia.

WAR and CONFLICT. Some countries plan to decentralize control of nuclear weapons in a crisis. Here’s why that’s dangerous. Seymour Hersh warns of potential US plan B in Ukraine. U.S. Army launches new headquarters in Poland . North Korea’s Kim led drills ‘simulating nuclear counterattack.’ 

Nuclear news this week – as we remember Fukushima

Some bits of good news – It’s time for some good news about protections for mother Earth.

Climate. 60 Climate Feedbacks & “A Better Catastrophe”.

Coronavirus. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Weekly Epidemiological Update.

Nuclear. 11 March was the 12 year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe. The Japanese government would prefer that this should be forgotten. Trouble is – the catastrophe is not over.

As an Australian, I am finding our media – TV, radio, newspapers – quite nauseating. All falling over themselves in an orgasmic joy over the decision to pay $squillions for motley USA-UK-pretend-Australian nuclear submarines, that will be useless for monitoring our coast, but useful for feeding the coffers of USA-UK weapons-makers who now seem to own their governments. Everyone’s on the bandwagon – even former PM Kevin Rudd, supposedly a friend of China, now twisting himself in knots with weasel words about China, as he’s about to be Australia’s ambassador to Washington.  We need a Diogenes, to go about Australian politics and media,  in daylight, with a lighted lantern, trying to find an honest person.

AUSTRALIA. Australian Media Are Outright Telling Us They Are Feeding Us War Propaganda About China. Rare admission from Australia’s corporate media that hosting America’s Pine

. War over Taiwan: Australia’s Gang of Five. For Australia, horror of war over Taiwan is not inevitable. ‘Red Alert’ is a paper tiger.

The British-American coup that ended Australian independence.

Australia to buy 5 nuclear-powered submarines as part of AUKUS in violation of previous commitments to China. Albanese and the subs: a looming “Goat Rodeo”.

Aukus submarine deal: Australia expected to choose UK design, sources say. Nuclear submarine zealot Jonathon Mead tries hard to reassure Australians about the “sovereignty” safety etc of the $171 billion submarine purchase, (avoids mention of costs and wastes). Fixing a fatal, nuclear flaw in AUKUS. Port Kembla to be the target! – with nuclear submarines.

On anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, Australia must stand firm against nuclear. Meet the man who uncovered the scandal of nuclear testing in South Australia. Benjamin Cronshaw Submission – nuclear power a bad choice – would delay real climate action.

ECONOMICS

• Why Russia has such a strong grip on Europe’s nuclear power. 
•  Costs for safety measures necessary to restart Japan’s idle nuclear reactors keep ballooning.
•  Britain’s Public Accounts Committee reveals that UK’s nuclear reactors have been a poor investment .  . Britain’s “Regulated Asset Base” funding method for nuclear power is deemed not likely to work.    British government poised to label nuclear as “green”, but investors are not impressed  
• Former top U.S. admiral cashes in on nuclear sub deal with Australia.
•  US Department of Energy announces a $1.2 billion fund to save America’s aged nuclear power stations.
• Marketing. China marketing nuclear power to Uganda

EDUCATION. Nuclear and space lobbies increase their grip on universities, a new example in UK . The extraordinary popularity of renewable energy university courses.

ENVIRONMENT. Campaigners claim permit change at Hinkley Point would kill billions of fish.

HEALTH. Why were studies canceled? . The voices of the victims . Social effects. 2 yrs after Fukushima nuclear disaster, gov’t not facing evacuees’ hardship.

LEGAL. Another executive goes to prison for lying about doomed nuclear project. National remembrance day , and huge civil case penalty for Tepco executives, but memory of Fukushima now fading in Japan.

OPPOSITION To NUCLEAR. In Taiwan, strong opposition to extending life of nuclear reactor.

PERSONAL STORIES. Fukushima’s first responders recall the disaster 12 years on.

PLUTONIUM. DOE wanted to quadruple plutonium pit production. For now, activists have stopped them.

POLITICS. The Nightmare Espionage Act That is Killing Julian Assange and the First Amendment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shvZy_95uOg. Some ‘sober thinking’ remains in Ukraine as portions of population are in favor of peace talks.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Saudi Arabia Seeks U.S. Security Pledges, Nuclear Help. Saudi Arabia seeks US security guarantees, nuclear assistance in return for Israel normalisation.

PROTESTS. Fukushima Vigil Outside the UK’s Uranium Fuel Manufacturing Factory .

RADIATION. Low-dose radiation linked to increased lifetime risk of heart disease. Dr Ian Fairlie -Low-dose radiation a health danger in the nuclear industry , as well as in medicine.

SAFETY. 

•   “Thermal fatigue” is causing flaws in the cooling pipes of France’s nuclear reactors. EDF ordered to inspect 200 nuclear pipe weldings after more cracks discovered. Electricite De France (EDF) discovers a “significant defect” on a weld in Penly nuclear reactor. Nuclear reactor: a deep crack discovered at Penly 1 risks destabilizing EDF. Crack in piping of Penly nuclear reactor further complicates EDF’s situation. 
• The narrow field of options for safely managing Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. 
•  Lessons from Chernobyl and Fukushima: Is Europe prepared for another nuclear disaster?
•   Why are the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the corporate media ignoring the safety problems of Holtec’s thin-walled nuclear waste canisters? 
•   Britain’s Office for Nuclear Regulation warns on the need for a safety case, as EDF wants to extend the life of 2 nuclear power Stations . Nuclear crash exercise beset by blunders, says UK’s Ministry of Defence. 
• Nuclear research center reiterates need for separate regulatory body.

SECRETS and LIES. Fake ‘nuclear bomb’ alert on TV and radio scares Russians.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS.  War in space: U.S. officials debating rules for a conflict in orbit.

SPINBUSTER. How the nuclear lobby scuttled the EU’s anti-greenwashing tool.

WASTES. Twelve years after 3/11, dispute grows over Fukushima’s radioactive soil. What´s happening at Fukushima plant 12 years after meltdown? Massive amounts of fatally radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside the reactors. Pacific island leaders urge Japan to stop dumping nuclear waste into ocean: report. Graphite – deadly dirt or dusty diamonds? Ocean discharge is the worst plan for Fukushima waste water.  new blow to fishermen.

WAR and CONFLICT Observations on the NATO-Russia Ukrainian War. Ukraine: A war to end all wars in Europe. The Foreseeable End of Ukraine. Netanyahu justifies strikes on nuclear facilities. Romania: airborne troops among 100,000 U.S. forces in Europe poised for war with Russia.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES .  

• China is competing in a great Asian arms race because it has no other choice.  
• Biden’s $1 trillion budget for world war.   
•  Australia ‘to buy up to five US nuclear submarines’ under AUKUS pact. US Navy Wants to Turn Australia Into a Full-Service Submarine Hub.
•   EU steps up “wareconomy” to rush arms to Ukraine .
•   NATO chief orders EU cohorts to boost arms purchases, stockpiles for Ukraine war . 
•   Ukraine: Pentagon delivers precision-guided bombs . 
•   Pentagon delivers first long-range Patriot interceptors for Polish air defense system. Ukraine demands “incredible amount” of new Turkish combat drones – DM. 
•   U.S. to deliver first of 116 Abrams tanks to Poland soon. 
•   Kosovo participates in NATO multinational war games for “wide-area ground combat” throughout Europe .
• UK/NATO air combat exercise includes India, Saudi Arabia, Finland for first time.
•  China increasing the number of nuclear warheads, aiming to match USA’s nuclear arsenal .

Wouldn’t it be sane, if Australia just cancelled this absurd nuclear submarine mess?

Why do I call it a mess? Let me count the ways:

1. Australia does not need nuclear submarines. They’re suitable for the USA to make long distance attacks on China, but not suitable for Australia’s need – which is to monitor our coastline.
2. They will be obsolete before they’re able to be operational.
3. They are an absurd expense $171 billion and upwards, depriving Australia’s regular military of needed funds, and adding to Australia’s economic woes, and national debt
4. They are to be fuelled by Highly Enriched Uranium, meaning that regional and global nuclear proliferation norms are overturned, causing tensions and problems with Australia’s near neighbours . Not only New Zealand, but also several South East Asian and South Pacific States are members of nuclear-free zone treaties.
5. The  decision on the nuclear submarines was made with no real debate in Parliament . On the only occasion when Australians were able to give their views on this issue to the parliament’s treaties committee, more than 100 submissions were made, even though only five days’ notice was given for these to be received. These submissions were overwhelmingly against the proposal.
6. There has been little or no discussion on the toxic wastes from the nuclear submarines, nor on the final disposal of the submarines themselves – there seems to be no plan for this, nor on other safety aspects.
7. It is clear, to the point of mirth, that the uK and UK are competing with each other to market the subs to Australia.
8. The process of deciding on the subs is full of conflicts of interest and corruption
9. The subs are now being “sold” to the Australian public on the premise of “jobs, jobs jobs” – when it’s likely that the bulk of jobs, especially high career ones, will go to USA or UK workers
10. The Australian public is being fed a media barrage of enthusiasm for the subs, with rare mention of any downsides.

I am utterly fed up with Australia’s political leaders –    quite a nauseating spectacle on ABC TV news tonight, with Defence Minister Richard Marles fawning all over that dreadful previous PM Morrison, and the warmongering Liberal leader Peter Dutton.

This week’s nuclear news

Some bits of good news. International Women’s Day: 15 trailblazing women making the world better.    Historic treaty to protect oceans’ biodiversity.

Coronavirus. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Weekly Epidemiological Update ( March 2023)

Climate.   The 2023 Climate Risk Landscape

Nuclear. Where to start?  Well, the danger of nuclear war is the most urgent thing.  There’s Ukraine – with Zelensky wanting to attack Crimea, and with Biden surrounded by his warmongering advisors Victoria Nuland, Jake Sullivan and more- “whatever it takes“.

The USA warhawks are getting smarter. Instead of starting a war, with USA troops, as in Iraq, Afghanistan etc – the system now is to goad another country into an invasion –   Russia invading Iraq,  That not only preserves USA troops from any danger, but is a business coup for US weapons company, – as in Ukraine buying $billions of weapons. Intended result –  a weakened Russia

Next step, even cleverer  –   get Australia to buy $171 billions of nuclear submarines, goad China into attacking its own province, Taiwan, and let Australia as China’s adversary and target, take the human and financial brunt of it all . Intended result – a weakened China.  USA is in dire need of some intelligent leaders and advisors.

Christina notes. Pauvre chere Agnes – unhappy about “discrimination” against nuclear energy!

AUSTRALIA. Movie Premiere -“The Road to War”– Australia is being set up to be the US proxy in its coming war with China  –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEU02LTJBxI–Don’t ask the government about the next war. Former Prime Minister Keating lashes Nine newspapers over ‘news abuse’ in China coverage. 

  Richard Marles and the betrayal of Australian sovereignty. Avalon Military Bonanza. If the nuclear submarines aren’t ready in time – no worries – Australia will get lots of fun weaponry against China. Isn’t it exciting? UK, US or a hybrid? Intense speculation as Australia’s $170bn nuclear submarine choice looms. AUKUS nuclear sub announcement surfaces as PM heads to India. The USA is letting Australia buy air-to ground missile for attacking China. 

 Barngarla women warn Kimba nuclear waste plan will ‘destroy’ sacred site, Dreaming stories. Traditional owners fight to stop SA nuclear waste dump.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. Der Spiegel asks: “Is the CIA hunting Assange’s supporters?”

ECONOMICS. France Sees ‘No Problem’ Funding Macron’s New Nuclear Reactors. Marketing: South Korea, France keen to sell nuclear reactors to Saudi Arabia (no connection with nuclear weapons OF COURSE!)

ENVIRONMENT. Spain renews call for US to remove soil from nuclear accident site. Campaigners claim permit change at Hinkley Point would kill billions of fish. Ministry to delay trial on reusing Fukushima soil in Kanto area.

HEALTH. Compensation sought for victims of nuclear weapons development. Scientists: Fukushima’s nuclear wastewater capable of producing cancers after release.

LEGAL. ‘David and Goliath’ – legal case, as indigenous group fights the Australian government to stop a nuclear waste dump on their traditional land. Idaho county challenges spent nuclear fuel storage.

MEDIA. It Is The Mass Media’s Job To Help Suppress Anti-War Movements. DieDieBooks releases nuclear horror Threads essay, with plenty of nods to Lawrence’s The Day After – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG-e52yAxfs

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. The Dream of NuScale Small Nuclear Reactors Hangs in the Balance. Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor project running out of cash.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. Nuclear Free Local Authorities call on Secretary of State to end ‘wanton vandalism’ of environment at Sizewell. Canadian environmental watchdog group ROEE does not support expansion of nuclear power.

POLITICS. Japan’s Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center Protest the Cabinet Decision on the Nuclear Power Promotion Bundle Bill.     Many Fukushima mayors reluctant to take stand on nuke energy shift. Fukushima residents feel left out in TEPCO’s water plan. 

  Boris Johnson champions small nuclear reactors, UK government’s commitment to nuclear power wavering, as Hinkley Point C’s costs and delays escalate? French MPs pave way to dropping legal limit on nuclear in energy mix.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

•   Biden’s “Fools-Based International Order” – a network to bring about war against China. The world returns to an era of nuclear angst. 
•   The West hasn’t gone after Russia’s nuclear energy- Here’s why. 
•  SCOTT RITTER: Reimagining Arms Control After Ukraine. Zelensky warns Americans that US will lose global influence if it stops backing war.
• France mounts battle for nuclear energy in Europe. France pushing hard to make the European Union a pro-nuclear organisation. A “nuclear alliance” in Europe, as France leads a pack of EU member states to count nuclear energy as “green and renewable” Others disagree. EU rewrites climate diplomacy deal to resolve nuclear sticking point.
•   Russian nuclear energy diplomacy and its implications for energy security in the context of the war in Ukraine. 
•   Saudi Arabia Aiming for Complete Nuclear Fuel Cycle. 
• UN nuclear chief says Iran pledges more access for inspectors. Is nuclear power in a global death spiral
• Fighting for Earth – South Koreans protest Japan’s plan of dumping Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea .

PROTESTS. Fukushima Anniversary Vigil Outside UK’s Nuclear Fuel Manufacturing Plant Near Preston — RADIATION FREE LAKELAND

SAFETY. The Nuclear “War” in Ukraine May Not Be the One We Expect. Belgian nuclear regulator tells govt not to extend oldest reactors. Evacuation plans still missing around 6 of Japan’s nuclear power plants.

SECRETS and LIES. US has spent billions on Ukraine war aid. But is that money landing in corrupt pockets? The West has fostered the creeping “nazification” of Ukraine, to increase hostility to Russia – philospher Aleksandr Dugin.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Space dangers: Contested orbits and mounting space junk.

SPINBUSTER. Jennifer Granholm was Pwned (Pwned = utterly and humiliatingly defeated in a game) in the continuing Edward Teller tradition.

WASTES 

• The Fukushima controversy. Japan to Delay Ocean Dumping of Contaminated Waste Water from Fukushima. Little progress seen in removing fuel debris at Fukushima plant.  China urges Japan not to arbitrarily dump nuclear-contaminated water: Chinese officials at IAEA meeting.
•  Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization looks to First Nations to back waste storage, AND small nuclear reactors. 
• The nuclear war for Lincolnshire – a toxic plan for a bucolic village.  
• Nuclear Waste Is Piling Up.-Does the U.S. Have a Plan?.

WAR and CONFLICT. The ninth anniversary of the Ukraine war. A coming wider war with Crimea in US sights. Ukraine preparing attack on Crimea – Zelensky. ‘Ukrainian kamikaze drone’ crashes down near gas plant just 68 miles from the Kremlin as Putin demands tighter security. Ukrainian Army War Crimes Include Shelling of Ambulances, Firetrucks, and Rescue Workers in the Donbass Republics. Viktor Orban: “In A War Taking Place In Europe The Americans Have The Final Word“.   NATO conducts massive submarine warfare exercise in Mediterranean   

Pentagon Prepares for Island Combat in the Pacific as US-China Tensions Rise. G7 should declare ‘no first use‘ of nuclear weapons: ex-Hiroshima mayor.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Trudeau sends more German tanks to Ukraine F-16 Aircraft Delivery To Ukraine Only Matter Of Time – Merezhko. Scholz vows to ‘permanently’ increase Germany’s military output to aid Ukraine: CNN. U.S. to train NATO eastern flank allies on HIMARS Preparing for war with Russia: Texas air base has trained over 8,000 NATO pilots. 

This week in Australian and other nuclear news

Bits of good news?

 – hard to find this week. There are “good news” sites, but these tend to focus on individual stories – about cute kittens, or kind teenagers. Still, I know that there are wonderful groups of people all over, collectively doing good things. I’m seeing my own examples of this, while reading through so many excellent submissions to Parliament from Australian environmental groups opposing nuclear power.

Nuclear.  It is getting more bizarre – as the USA contemplates artificial intelligence for launching nuclear weapons. As one of the very most “progressive” Democrats wants more opportunities for small companies to benefit in the weapons sales boom.

The propaganda tsunami – always a part of a war- is upon us.  But is this a war– between Russia and the entire world?  I have no doubt that some Russian soldiers have committed atrocities – and we’re told this every day.  But – really – are there no Ukrainian- committed atrocities?   Does Saint Zelensky really know what he is doing – or is he just following the USA line? Truth isn’t just the first casualty in this war – – it’s the second, third and so on casualty.

AUSTRALIA

• Margaret Beavis | Here’s how to tone down the nuclear threat. 
• The US Can Secretly Rotate Nuclear Warheads Through Australia. 
• Sacred site and nuclear target Pine Gap are neighbours. 
• Anthony Albanese insists that Australia will control AUKUS nuclear submarines, but others doubt this . Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles Attempts to Reassure Thailand Over Nuclear Subs. Strict new security rules for Adelaide nuclear submarine-building facility in bid to protect military secrets. 
• NSW Ports boss backs offshore wind farm plant ahead of nuclear base.
• Submissions to Senate: Electrical Trades Union of Australia Submission to Senate : Nuclear power a dangerous and costly distraction. Noel Wauchope. Submission to Senate calls for retaining Australia’s nuclear bans. Environment House  – Nuclear power unwanted, will delay climate action, is expensive and dangerous. Friends of the Earth Adelaide –  nuclear power an unrealistic distraction. Australia’s top 11 Environmental Organisations  – Nuclear power has no role to play in Australia’s energy future.

Christina’s notes. TODAY. Painful realisation that our Labor defence minister is even more stupid and subservient to USA than the Liberals were!   Media determined to ignore the intrinsic connection between “new small nuclear reactors” and nuclear weapons.

CLIMATE. Temperature rise can be stopped. It is a dangerous myth to say that it’s too late to act. 

ECONOMICS. Yet another £6 billion cost hike for UK’s Hinkley Point C nuclear project. Cost of EDF’s new UK nuclear project rises to $40 billion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owfj0gSeAbw Debt-ridden EDF’s woes increase, with big rise in costs of Hinkley and Sizewell nuclear projects .  UK: big talk about small nuclear reactors, but not much is happening, really.     Russia’s nuclear industry is making great money – thanks to customers in Europe. Marketing: Seoul aims to use strengthened US ties to expand nuclear plant exports.

ENERGY. ‘No miracles needed’: Prof. Mark Jacobson on how much wind, sun and water can power the world. The Unholy Alliance – nuclear power, endless data centers, and endless energy use.

ENVIRONMENT. Groundwater carries radiation risk for North Korean cities near nuke test site – rights group . Toxic US-Japan collusion on nuke wastewater taints global environment.

ETHICS and RELIGION. Japan not only dumps wastewater but also morality.

HEALTH. Health appeal: avert nuclear war and respect international humanitarian law,

LEGAL. Linda Pentz Gunter on the Nuclear Corruption Cases. World dreads Japan’s date with disaster.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Spreading the Bomb – Will Ottawa revisit Canada’s support for plutonium reprocessing?. Belarus’ second nuclear reactor is far behind schedule, while Unit 1 reactor remains unstable. .

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. Fury as Japan plans to dump a million tonnes of contaminated water in the Pacific. Group calls for the stoppage of works at Sizewell C nuclear site, as Sizewell project is not yet authorised, and works are damaging the environment.

POLITICS.   Biden team has ‘deeply rooted hatred for Russia’ – US congressman. How US and Ukraine’s far-right made pro-peace Zelensky a ‘no peace’ president . Caitlin Johnstone – The Empire Gives People The Illusion Of Fighting The Power Without Ever Endangering Real Power. Democrats Praise Bush, Want More Small-Business War Profiteers. 

Canada launches $30 million small modular reactor funding program. USA’ Inflation Reduction Act is a game-changer for the nuclear industry -says Public Service Enterprise Group. 

Hinkley Point Nuclear Megaproject is really a colossal miscalculation of risk management. Do not bring nuclear energy plants to Scotland, SNP tells new UK energy minister.  Boris Johnson demands that UK government declares nuclear to be “a green energy” source, and boosts the industry .   Nuclear power – carbon intensive and environmentally damaging –NOT GREEN – Nuclear Free Local Authorities.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Reckless or rhetoric? — Putin suspends New START nuclear treaty. The New START nuclear treaty, and why Vladimir Putin is walking away from it. Scott Ritter: Anyone Who Doesn’t Get How Serious New START Suspension is ‘Doesn’t Appreciate Life’.       Vladimir Putin says the US-led military alliance in Ukraine seeks defeat and liquidation of Russia. 

Chomsky: A Stronger NATO Is the Last Thing We Need as Russia-Ukraine War Turns 1. China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis. India, China may have averted nuclear war in Ukraine by influencing Russia- US.   Tamara Lorincz: Canada’s Support For Ukraine’s War on the Donbass & Canada’s Anti-Russia Policies — In Gaza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpEaovhVois.   China calls for Russia to not go down the ‘nuclear weapons route’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRr4HuXsTQ8 .

France mounts ‘aggressive’ nuclear push with eye on EU industrial plan. Poland to buy 1st nuclear power plant with Westinghouse.           Japan beefs up moves in seeking G7 support for wastewater dump.

RADIATION. Our Global Surveillance System on NUKE TESTING is inadequate . Seoul offers radiation tests to N Korea defectors as group flags nuclear risks. Japan slammed for loosening test standards on Fukushima radioactive water.

SAFETY. Courting disaster —Missiles have been passing too close to Ukraine’s reactors.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Russia Sends Ship To Space Station To Rescue “Stranded Crew”  .

SPINBUSTER. B1 Officials reveal cost of shooting down ‘UFOs’ – WSJ

WASTES. Japan postponing its controversial plan for trials to reuse radioactively contaminated soil . World Insights: Science should guide Fukushima wastewater release plan, Pacific leaders say.       Academic speaks out against Japan’s wastewater plan for Pacific.       800,000 cubic meters of new radioactive waste to be generated as a result of decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

WAR and CONFLICT. There has never in history been a greater need for a large Anti-War Movement . More Evidence Emerges That US Wanted Russia to Invade. Thousands rally in Berlin, Paris to call for peace in Ukraine. Forgotten heroes of Britain’s nuclear tests to FINALLY get long-awaited medal this summer. Should Algorithms Control Nuclear Launch Codes?.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

• Stop or START? — Shouldn’t we ban, rather than limit, nuclear weapons? 
• Nuclear weapons consortium enthusiastically revving up their business. 
• Vladimir Putin vows to strengthen Russia’s nuclear forces to guarantee its sovereignty. U.S. floods Ukraine with $2 billion more in arms, ammunition for second year of war . 
• U.S. to deliver 500 more HIMARS launchers to Poland .    Poland delivers first Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Sweden to follow.
• Nuclear-capable U.S. B-52s join allied warplanes over Estonia .  North Korea test-fires four missiles to show ability to launch nuclear attack.

This week’s nuclear news

Some bits of good news –  What went right this week: relief for the Great Barrier Reef, plus more. Man Finally Meets Family That Hid Him During Nazi Holocaust 80 Years Ago–And Visits the House.

Coronavirus. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Weekly Epidemiological Update. Current trends in reported COVID-19 cases are underestimates of the true number of global infections and reinfections.

Climate.China provinces top list of regions at risk from climate change.  Australian states among world’s most at risk from climate change, extreme weather.

Nuclear.  Much the same as last week. USA warmongers panicking about balloons. Nuclear safety issues being downplayed. The media faithfully regurgitating gushing nuclear lobby handouts about small nuclear reactors.

Christina notes:  Complacency about nuclear safety – a killer waiting to strike!  Bewdy! It’s gonna happen sooner than we thought. Just like Ukraine does against Russia, Australia will fight America’s war against China.

 AUSTRALIA

•  Submissions to Senate Committee on move to remove Australia’s bans on the nuclear industry – now published. 
• Nuclear zealout Jonathan Mead touts nuclear-powered submarines- Australia to have “full control” – (oh yeah?). 7.30 Report: Sarah Ferguson Opens Up New Perspectives on the AUKUS Nuclear Submarine Deal.
•  Australian government OK with not knowing whether or not visiting US aircraft carry nuclear weapons! With weasel words, Australia’s top military brass, and sycophant Richard Marles, justify allowing U.S. nuclear weapons in Australia.        Irresponsible Politics: Australia’s B-52 Nuclear Weapons Problem, and weasel words from Foreign Minister Penny Wong. The Defence Strategic Review and Australia’s ‘Alliance’ obsession.    
• Murdoch Propaganda Pushes Australia To Double Its Military Budget For War With China. Sky News presents rubbishy programme on “preparing Australia for war against China”.
• Kazzi Jai comments on ARPANSA ( The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency) and the issue of the mislaid highly radioactive device. 
• ANSTO Chief blowing hot air on radioactive waste. French nuclear giant EDF buys massive Australian floating offshore wind project

CLIMATE. Global leaders are dropping the ball on climate change. Rising seas threaten ‘mass exodus on a biblical scale’, UN chief warns. Judge commends Just Stop Oil activists. “No regrets” as UK government portrays nuclear power as “clean” and “green”. 

The ‘Icefin’ bore deep into an Antarctic glacier. What it found were temperatures warmer than melting point. Antarctic sea ice level now lowest on record. War is a climate killer.

EARTH EVENTS. Earth Changes Summary – January 2023: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs.

ECONOMICS. Russia’s Grip on Nuclear-Power Trade Is Only Getting Stronger. EDF’s historic $13.5 billion loss in 2022 – as France became an importer of electricity. Zelensky is literally selling Ukraine to US corporations on Wall Street. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fHZCfRE3n4

EDUCATION. We’ve Forgotton The Potential Horrors of What a Nuclear Winter Would Be Like. Pentagon-Funded Plymouth University Cancels Anti-War Academic: the militarization of higher education.

EMPLOYMENT. Renewable energy workers are in high demand, global survey reveals. At Sellafield nuclear site workers ready to go on strike .

ENERGY.  Thousands of solar panels sent to power recovery effort in earthquake devastated Türkiye . France’s nuclear output plummeted in 2022. Small scale renewable technology installations being deployed rapidly in Britain without government subsidies.

ECONOMY. 

•  EDF posts record net loss after nuclear fleet hit by repairs.  Financial disaster looms for France’s nuclear corporation EDF.
• Southern Co boosts cost estimate, delays timing for nuclear reactors. 
• Spiralling cost of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. 
• Rolls Royce’s financial problems, as it plans to make small nuclear reactors for the British government. 

ENVIRONMENT. Fukushima: Japan insists release of 1.3m tonnes of ‘treated’ water is safe. Campaigners claim permit change at Hinkley Point would kill billions of fish.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES. Some, but not all, First Nations support small nuclear reactors in New Brunswick.

MEDIA. Microsoft Puts New Limits On Bing’s AI Chatbot After It Expressed Desire To Steal Nuclear Secrets.  Media Ignores Evidence That West Opposed Ukraine Peace Deal. Pro nuclear film.

NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Checking Back in on China’s Nuclear Icebreaker. Rolls Royce’s “small” nuclear reactor will occupy 5.3 acres..

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. Scotland’s campaign groups call on government to reject plans for nuclear power at new Green Freeports.

POLITICS. Coalition for Responsible Energy Development in New Brunswick (CRED-NB) informs Senate with analysis of “advanced” small nuclear reactors. Scotland’s Minister Matheson reassures the Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) that no small nuclear power station will be permitted near Grangemouth refinery.   Small modular nuclear reactors: a good deal for Southwest Virginia? Despite massive losses of nuclear company EDF, and reactor corrosions, France plans to build a new fleet of EPR reactors. France’s government may switch funds from social housing to the cause of propping up the nuclear industry.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Biden says three aerial ‘objects’ US shot down likely not related to China surveillance. EU Commission abandons plans to sanction Russia’s nuclear industry. Ukraine approves second sanctions package targeting Russian nuclear industry Post-war Ukraine – a triumphal land owned by Western business corporations. Iran denies enriching uranium to 84 percent purity amid IAEA row. Iranians Caught Between Optimism, Pessimism Over Nuclear Talks.

SAFETY. Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear power plant – a useless and dangerous prestige project?. Concerns over the construction of a nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, Turkey, due to its proximity to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake’s epicentre. Quake revives debate over Turkey’s nuclear plant Japan to extend life of nuclear power stations, and also. remove rules specifying the operational periods of reactors. Operational life of Finland’s nuclear reactors extended till 2050, and wastes to be stored onsite till 2090. Sizewell B nuclear station switched off for 66 days for maintenance work. Extending more than two nuclear reactors is dangerous, says deputy prime minister Gilkinet.

SECRETS and LIES. Pentagon testing mass surveillance balloons across the US. Watchdogs File FOIA Request for Holtec’s Secretive “Regulatory Path to Reauthorize Power Operations at Palisades Nuclear Plant”. Ukraine Hawk Who Heads European Commission Has a Nazi Pedigree She Does Not Want You to Know About.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. NASA Gets High on Its Nuclear Supply. NATO reveals new space fleet.

SPINBUSTER. Japan PM Kishida tells ministers to assuage public concerns over nuclear policy. Object downed by US missile may have been amateur hobbyists’ $12 balloon. What We Know About The US Air Force’s Balloon Party So Far.

WASTES. The World’s Dumping Ground for Nuclear Waste Doesn’t Want Fukushima’s Wastewater. Dumping 1M gallons of radioactive water in Hudson is ‘best option,’ per Indian Point nuclear plant owner.

WAR and CONFLICT. The Horrifying Endgame in Ukraine. Betting on Ukraine victory was ‘suicidal’ – Seymour Hersh. Ukraine ‘peace petition’ backed by nearly half a million Germans.    American Architect of the Ukraine War Gives Go Ahead to Attack Crimea. NATO to participate in Ukraine war “for as long as it takes”.     Why the US seeks War with China by 2025.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. 

• U.S. military’s newest weapon against China and Russia: Hot air balloon. Alien Balloon Malarkey! 
• Setting The Stage For Proxy War Against China? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42MGfBIVjkI&t=63s 
• U.S. compensates Czech Republic for arms shipments to Ukraine 
• Munich: Germany rallies NATO allies, partners to send more tanks to Ukraine 
• Germany: Pentagon trains Ukrainian troops on Bradley, Stryker combat vehicles — 
• Ukraine Presses US Congress Members for F-16 Jetfighters.     
• South Korea’s Nuclear Flirtations Highlight the Growing Risks of Allied Proliferation. South Korea’s First Attempt at Going Nuclear. 
• Cities must not be targets. 
• N Korea confirms ICBM test, touts nuclear counterattack ability. 
• Saudi Arabia says nuclear arms race in the Middle East ‘cannot be ruled out’.

This week in nuclear news

Matavai Pacific Cultural Arts activist holds a sign asking Pacific governments to “Vote YES for Climate Justice” as the Vanuatu Government and civil society organisations seek an advisory opinion at the International Court of Justice. Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC) and the Pacific Island Climate Action Network (PICAN) were joined by 40 climate activists for two days of mobilisation training in Suva, Fiji. The training was held in the lead up to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Fiji, where activists will call on PIF leaders to endorse an advisory opinion on climate change from the International Court of Justice.

A bit of good news. Good news about global warming: The public’s paying attention.

Coronavirus. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Weekly Epidemiological Update

Climate. 

Climate change is triggering more earthquakes. Big Oil’s interests are a factor.

Nuclear. Insanity rules?  America going gaga about a balloon. Turkey pressing on with nuclear reactor build – all too handy to the earthquake zone.   Australia looking forward to its war against China. Ukraine thinking it would be nice to bomb Crimea – and that’s OK with the Yanks.  

Christina notes. Hooray – Australia’s cultural cringe is over! We’re gonna be important, like Ukraine! The evil of the nuclear industry – France to transfer public interest savings funds to the nuclear industry?

AUSTRALIA. 

• Australia safest country to survive nuclear apocalypse – except for it being a military target.   The US is preparing Australia to fight its war against China. Australia’s Taiwan nightmare.  Aukus fallout: as US-China tensions grow, Australians reveal mixed feelings about nuclear submarine pact.      We need a plan B’: Unions have ‘deep concerns’ about AUKUS pact.    Defence Minister insists nuclear submarine deal will not damage Australia’s sovereignty.     Kiwis firmly remain anti-nuclear as AUKUS submarines draw near.       Growing signs Australia’s new nuclear submarine will be British design.  
• Labor criticises Coalition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien for filming nuclear power videos at Hiroshima. Penny Wong overruled department by sending observer to anti-nuclear treaty meeting. 
• Newcastle radiation risk: Police call in EPA to help remove radioactive device from burnt out vehicle at Merewether. 
• The US shooting down a Chinese spy balloon is a risk for Australia’s tired submarine fleet. 
•  ‘Save the only planet we have’: Tony Abbott joins climate-sceptic think tank.

   ************************************************************

CLIMATE. Ann Darling: Nuclear power is no answer to anything our ailing planet needs. France in new row with Germany and Spain.   Leak: France wins recognition for nuclear in EU’s green hydrogen rules.      France wants to call nuclear-derived hydrogen “clean”. When the Great Tide returns. Twice as Much Land in Developing Nations Will be Swamped by Rising Seas than Previously Projected, New Research Shows.

CIVIL LIBERTIES. Night carnival in London calls for Julian Assange’s release. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJaq08VHJk4    Ukraine purges libraries of Russian-language books – official.

ECONOMICS. Poland might have tax-payer fund its ambitious nuclear plans, and hope that investors might come in later. Marketing: Russia marketing nuclear reactors to Myanmar. Cameco Agrees to New Deal With Ukraine’s Nuclear Energy Utility.

EMPLOYMENT. Young people want to work in genuinely clean industries.

ENERGY. Renewables In China Trend Upward While Nuclear Trends Flat. US announces first transfer of seized Russian assets to Kiev. Solar’s stunning journey from lab curiosity to global juggernaut wiping out fossil fuels.

ENVIRONMENT. Campaigners claim permit change at Hinkley Point would kill billions of fish. Fear for fish: EDF plan for Hinkley project means ‘enormous tragedy’ for ecosystem. Japan Plans to Dump Fukushima Wastewater Into a Pacific With a Toxic Nuclear History.

HEALTH. Health status of the population living in the zone of influence of radioactive waste repositories . Radioactive releases from the nuclear power sector and implications for child health. ‘Downwind’: How Did America Create Its Own Nuclear Disaster?

HUMAN RIGHTS. Emerging Environmental Justice Issues in Nuclear Power and Radioactive Contamination.

LEGAL. Neo-Nazi previously implicated in plot to attack nuclear plants now arrested for planning grid sabotage around Baltimore. U.S. Court of Appeals rejects New Mexico’s challenge to Nuclear Waste License . Greenpeace will sue the European Commission over its decision to include gas and nuclear as “clean”. Outline of Greenpeace’s legal arguments against including gas and nuclear in the EU Taxonomy.

MEDIA. Media ‘Spy Balloon’ Obsession a Gift to China Hawks.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR. Highlands Against Nuclear Power (HANP).

POLITICS. 

• Rep. Matt Gaetz introduces resolution to end military and financial aid to Ukraine, urge peace deal. 
• “The devil is always in the details”: Nuclear watchdog urges public to attend Diablo Canyon meetings.
• France’s Latest Nuclear Halt Is a Reminder of Long-Lasting Nature of Problem. France considers tapping public interest savings accounts for nuclear reactor funding. 
• Poland wants the European Union to push for more investment in nuclear energy. 
• Spain upholds decision to reject plan for uranium mine. 
• Signs of madness? —in the rarefied air of the British Parliament, Westinghouse spouts nuclear lies, without being challenged. UK’s Nuclear Free Local Authorities send seven magnificent suggestions to the new Secretary of State.  

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Setting the Record Straight; Stuff You Should Know About Ukraine. Ballooning paranoia: The China threat hits the skies.   The United States and China Still Need to Talk About Nuclear Weapons.   China’s spy balloon can help deflate US nuclear tensions with Beijing.     
The US Department of Energy has made it

 easier to share nuclear information with Mexico and harder to do so for Colombia and Egypt.  EU’s Top Diplomat Says 

Iranian Deal Is Only Way to Stop Tehran’s Nuclear Program.

PROTESTS. No to US nukes in Britain: CND is returning to Lakenheath, 20 May 2023!

SAFETY. French minister confirms plans to extend nuclear lifetimes. Continuing with Akkuyu nuclear plant in seismic Turkey would be reckless. Fears of ‘catastrophic’ nuclear horror as Turkey’s reactor rocked by horror earthquake. Japan: Cabinet adopts policy of using nuclear reactors beyond 60-year limit. Incident. That time Northern California had a near nuclear accident.

SECRETS and LIES. Illegal organ market is a lucrative business in war-torn Ukraine.

SPINBUSTER. High-altitude surveillance — even balloons — is nothing new. So why the fuss?

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Another sign of madness? – thermonuclear propulsion technology to power a rocket to Mars. 

WAR and CONFLICT. We’ve Never Been Closer to Nuclear Catastrophe—Who Gains by Ignoring It?Endgame is going on in Ukraine crisis. US defense official flags ‘no objections’ to Kiev attacking Crimea.Here’s eight reasons why the US has no interest in pushing for peace in Ukraine. Did Volodymyr Zelensky call for ‘preventive nuclear strikes’ against Russia? Not exactly. US role in Kiev’s artillery warfare identified – media. 

CNN video: NATO rehearses war with Russia in neighboring Estonia Dr. Helen Caldicott Says The World Is Closer To Nuclear Annihilation Than Ever Before. Would YOUR neighborhood be targeted in a nuclear attack? Official map shows the 2,000 locations across the US most at risk. 

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Russia closes down the world’s largest nuclear-powered strategic submarine (they don’t say where the radioactive wastes go). U.S. Test Launches ICBM Into Pacific as Part of Nuclear ‘Deterrence Mission’ If Arms Control Collapses, US and Russian Strategic Nuclear Arsenals Could Double In Size. 

New Report Unpacks Dangers of Emerging Military Tech, From AI Nukes to Killer Robots. US takes another step toward gearing up nuclear plutonium weapons core factory. Much-hyped tanks for Ukraine are in short supply. Elon Musk’s SpaceX Cuts Support for Ukrainian Military but continues work for U.S. military. North Korea shows off largest-ever number of nuclear missiles at anniversary parade. Three years without one single on-site US nuclear weapons inspection at base for Northern Fleet ballistic missile submarines.

Hooray – Australia’s cultural cringe is over! We’re gonna be important, like Ukraine!

Bewdy, mate!

For a long time, we thought we wasn’t as good as other countries. I mean – we have to live near to all those yellow and brown people, who speak Asian languages and can’t even talk proper Strine (that’s Australian lingo)

But we have shown we was tough, – we wiped out heaps of blackfellas.

However, lately the blacks have got uppity, and so have the women. Hell, we even had a woman Prime Minister for a while. Things haven’t been real good for real blokes.

By the way, good to see the back of that Jacinda Adern, back in the bedroom and kitchen, where a woman belongs

Anyway, proper Australian blokes can hold their heads up high, now. Australia’s not frittering away its money on soppy stuff – education, health, welfare. Nah – we’re buying $171 billion of nuclear submarines, and lots of secret stuff for Pine Gap. And we’re welcoming American tough guys and their stuff to Northern Australia – and buying everything we can from our favourite shops – Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Thales, NorthropGrumman. (check this all out at The US is preparing Australia to fight its war against China)

Best of all – we’re learning something we’d forgotten during the namby-pamby decades – how to hate the Chinks.

And, thanks to our best mate the USA, we’re gonna run a war against China. USA will sell us all the weapons, and we’ll show that we can do the brave fighting. And Australia will at last really be BigTime.

Our Prime Minister will be adored by the Western world, and strut around the world in the limelight, just like Zelensky.

Though I’m not sure that P.M Anthony Albanese will be up to it. Bring back Scott Morrison, or better still, Peter Dutton.

Nuclear news – week to 7 February

Some bits of good news. What went right this week: reviving Britain’s ‘lost’ rainforests, Europe embraced slow travel, and the UK’s green sector defied the economic gloom, plus more.Coronavirus. When will COVID stop being a global emergency?

Climate. How Ocean Heat Ends The Human Experiment.   An apology to my grandkids for not fighting in the war of our times.

Nuclear.  What can I say?  Nations. led by the gun-obsessed, belligerent, America – prepare for war, and spend $squillions on nuclear weapons. We all know that Ukraine is a tinder-box of nuclear reactors –   and yet the USA is busily organising for Westinghouse to build a fleet of nuclear reactors there –   because we all know, don’t we, that nuclear power is so safe?

AUSTRALIA.  

• Combined Environmental Non Government Organisations submission to the Australian Senate recommends keeping the existing and prudent federal nuclear prohibitions.  Medical Association for Prevention of War recommends that Australia keep its nuclear prohibitions  
• Missing radioactive capsule found in Western Australia. Bill Gates’ profitable involvement in the nuclear industry, even in radiation detection equipment. Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) sends specialist team to Western Australia in search for missing radioactive capsule.. Should never have been lost’: Big questions after miracle radioactive find. 
• Aukus: Biden urged to fast-track research into submarines using non-weapons grade uranium. 
• France, NATO enhanced partner Australia to send 1,000s of artillery shells to Ukraine. 
• Kimba’s “brand” – up till now – praised as Agricultural – but could change to The Nuclear Dump – if the government’s planned facility goes ahead. 

                                         ***************************

ART and CULTURE. Twin threats to the Marshallese.

CLIMATE. Sea level rise will threaten UK coastal towns.   Climate hypocrisy: UAE oil company employees given roles in office hosting Cop28.

ECONOMICS. 

Top UK pension funds refuse to invest in Sizewell C nuclear plan, despite government enticements. Nuclear too expensive and not needed. 

Marketing. Death and Japan’s nuclear shelter salesman.      Ukraine planning for two $5 billion Westinghouse AP 1000 reactors, part of USA marketing a fleet of new nuclear reactors to Ukraine!       South Korea to sell 40 trilion won ($32.55 billion) nuclear power plant to Turkey. China marketing nuclear reactors to Pakistan.

EMPLOYMENT. French nuclear availability reduced by 1.1 GW as strike gets under way– EDF.

ENVIRONMENT. International group of scientists warns nuclear radiation has devastating impacts on ecosystems.

ETHICS and RELIGION. Roundtable: Making nuclear injustice an agenda for change.

HEALTH. Military probing link between nuclear silo work, cancers.

MEDIA. Why the western media is afraid of Julian Assange. The dark truths WikiLeaks revealed w/Stefania Maurizi | The Chris Hedges Report – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nbTlZRin78         Facebook Protects Nazis to Protect Ukraine Proxy War. Celebrities Protect The Interests Of The Empire– Caitlin Johnstone.

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Nuclear must not be part of Cromartry Firth freeport vision.

POLITICS. 

• Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance refuses to guarantee funding for expansion of nuclear power.
• ‘Delays and broken promises’ as flagship UK nuclear agency stalls.  Despite failure to refit nuclear submarine, UK senior defence officials get £200,000 in performance bonuses! 
• Belgium to shut down second nuclear reactor. 
• California’s plan to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant online hits regulatory snag. 
• One Year After Russia Annexed Crimea, Locals Preferred Moscow To Kiev. 
• Saudi Arabia: The Next Nuclear Power?

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. 

African states meet in South Africa to discuss UN Nuclear Ban Treaty. Morocco committed to elimination of nuclear weapons – Envoy speaks at African seminar on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, in Pretoria.

The Last Existing U.S.-Russia Nuclear Treaty Could Soon Fail.  NATO recruits South Korea for war against Russia. 

Tulsi Gabbard on the Truth of President Zelensky – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A2Gmiya-Uk             Ukraine is sinking. Is the West about to bail out? West Blocked Ukraine Peace Deal, Says Former Israeli PM. 

US Surrounds China With War Machinery While Freaking Out About Balloons. China expresses dissatisfaction and protest over US shooting down civilian airship; US sets bad precedent.     US makes diplomatic move targeting China. China objects to more nuclear sub talks among UK, U.S, Australia. 

 France tries to label nuclear as “renewable” in push to the EU for nuclear-produced hydrogen. 

Iran and the West clash over IAEA report on Fordow nuclear plant. UK, France, Germany, USA urge Iran to meet all reporting obligations on its nuclear facilities. 

USA to set up 4 new military bases in the Philippines. 

RADIATION. Indian Point Expert Forum: Dr. Helen Caldicott –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M27YdJ3pbD4&t=165s         Australia radioactive capsule: Missing material more common than you think.

SAFETY. Blasts near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Takahama nuclear reactor in Fukui halted after alert goes off, Incompetence in the nuclear submarine industry. Belgium looks to extend lives of oldest nuclear reactors. France approves study on extending nuclear reactors’ life.

SECRETS and LIES. Taking up Hilda’s Torch: Robert Green’s account of his contribution to the 1988/9 Hinkley C Inquiry – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7lSnFdWxUY Iran says France should inform the world how Israel obtained nuclear arms.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. There’s no planet B. NASA and DARPA are working on a nuclear-powered rocket that could go to Mars.

SPINBUSTER. NewsReal: Chinese Balloon: It’s All About The Optics – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM-4DieQHlE&t=100s

  TECHNOLOGY  . GE Hitachi group announce contract for grid-scale small nuclear reactor, requiring large taxpayer subsidy .   Scepticism on the enthusiastic claims about nuclear fusion.

WASTES. France: what to do as its nuclear waste site risks saturation point?

WAR and CONFLICT. Avoiding a Long War- the RAND corporation report. Chris Hedges: Ukraine: The War That Went Wrong. The Unwarranted Ukraine Proxy War: A Year Later. The logic behind the terror: Why does Ukraine keep attacking civilian areas in Donetsk? Victory or Valhalla: NATO troops in “huge war games” 80 miles from Russia.  Pentagon will allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles at will.

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. This Time It’s Different. A Costly and Prolonged Cold War Now Seems a Certainty. 324 Tanks, Now NATO Readies Warplanes and Entire Domestic Economies for Ukraine. Ukraine’s Tank Problem – a “game changer” – REALLY?. Target Crimea: U.S. to send Ukraine missiles with twice previous range . Budget cuts have left UK’s military’s stores bare: General says Britain would run out of ammo in a day if it fought Russia -Britain buying ammo from South Asia to support Ukraine.