Western Australia’s premier enthusiastic for nuclear power, (just not in W.A.!)
Mr Barnett did not nominate a preferred site for a reactor but has previously ruled out WA…….
State Labor leader Eric Ripper strongly rejected the push,..“Even setting aside the environmental and waste disposal arguments, nuclear power is just too expensive,” Mr Ripper said……..
Barnett pushes nuclear future Amanda O’Brien The Australian December 28, 2010 WEST Australian Premier Colin Barnett has stepped up his call for the nation to start planning for a nuclear future. Continue reading
Trident nuclear missile plan – designed to kill 10 million Russians
Secret files from 70s reveal Trident strike needed ‘to kill 10m Russians’, Whitehall documents written in 1970s and marked ‘personal and top secret’ show logic of British Cold War deterrent *Rob Edwards * guardian.co.uk, 26 December 2010
The British government opted for the Trident nuclear weapons system because it estimated it could kill up to 10 million Russians and inflict “unacceptable damage” on the former Soviet Union, according to secret Whitehall documents written in the 1970s. Continue reading
Australia’s uranium sales relate to nuclear weapons
The New START treaty comes at a time when Australia has recently agreed to supply uranium to Russia, despite it being notoriously non-transparent to outside observers of its weapons programs.
Nuclear arms treaty merely a start | The Australian James Norman December 28, 2010 “………….The New START treaty also poses questions for Australia and its place in contributing towards a world constantly threatened by the spectre of nuclear weapons. Continue reading
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is a START towards nuclear disarmament
Cooperating on these mutual verification checks will build trust between the US and Russia and could portend effective cooperation on other security challenges, such as nuclear terrorism or Iran.
START-ing a New Security, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Rhianna Tyson Kreger: 24 Dec 10, “…………….The hugely important verification systems that START will maintain are indeed helping to build the cooperative infrastructure that a verified nuclear weapons-free world will require. Continue reading
Behind closed doors: the so-called “nuclear debate” in Australia is really all about selling uranium
The Australian Conservation Foundation is agreeable to the matter being discussed at the ALP’s conference but says there should be an open debate, not one where factions decided the matter behind closed doors….
Uranium industry claims nuclear attitudes are changing | The Australian, 27 Dec 10, ….…………anti-nuclear campaigners say the industry’s claim that nuclear power can help address climate change problems is a cover for trying to increase exports……..
……Australia’s main environmental groups have signed a statement declaring nuclear power was unsafe, as there was not yet sufficient safeguards to dispose of waste safely while the industry was not commercially feasible and would require large public subsidies. Continue reading
Airport scanners not only radiation risk, but are not effective security either
Australia is one of several nations that have begun to test or install full-body scanners
[Australia will be getting the “backscatter” ionising radiation type, (at left below) not the safer radio-wave type, (at right below) ]
Fears over fatal flaws in full-body airport scanners The Age Derek Kravitz, Washington December 27, 2010 US SECURITY experts have questioned the ability of full-body scanners to detect modern chemical explosives taped to a passenger’s abdomen or hidden in a cavity. Continue reading
Cancers, birth defects, – soldiers’ legacy from depleted uranium
They too have fathered children with stunted arms, and rare abnormalities classically associated with radiation damage. They too seem prone to cancer and leukemia. Tellingly, so are EU soldiers who served as peacekeepers in the Balkans, where DU was also used. Indeed their leukemia rate has been so high that several EU governments have protested at the use of DU…..
massive whitewashing of DU over the past 12 years
Depleted Uranium linked to birth defects and cancers among U.S. troops The Canadian , 27 Dec 10 Doctors in Iraq have estimated that birth defects have increased by 2-6 times, and 3-12 times as many children have developed cancer and leukaemia since 1991. Moreover, a report published in The Lancet in 1998 said that as many as 500 children a day are dying from these sequels to war and sanctions and that the death rate for Iraqi children under 5 years of age increased from 23 per 1000 in 1989 to 166 per thousand in 1993. Overall, cases of lymphoblastic leukemia more than quadrupled with other cancers also increasing ‘at an alarming rate’. In men, lung, bladder, bronchus, skin, and stomach cancers showed the highest increase. In women, the highest increases were in breast and bladder cancer, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Continue reading
Success in projects that are run by Aboriginals
Report found projects run by the Central Land Council showed a better chance of creating ongoing community benefits.
Projects under Aboriginal control reap rewards, ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), By Tom Nightingale Dec 22, 2010 An Australian National University report argues Indigenous people are less likely to benefit from current government policies that do not empower Aboriginal groups. Continue reading
Danger and corruption in uranium industry in Africa
Wikileaks: Africa Offers Easy Uranium Global Issues by Julio Godoy (paris), December 25, 2010 Wikileaks cables have revealed a disturbing development in the African uranium mining industry: abysmal safety and security standards in the mines, nuclear research centres, and border customs are enabling international companies to exploit the mines and smuggle dangerous radioactive material across continents. Continue reading
Queensland Premier redirects money to solar power
Anna Bligh ….saying it would help develop two new solar plants that power over 50,000 homes.
Anna Bligh culls coal to fund solar Courier Mail Patrick Lion (Qld) December 25, 2010 The Sunday Mail has learnt the Premier recently redirected one-third of the clean coal allocation in the Queensland Future Growth Fund towards the development of two new commercial-scale solar power projects. Continue reading
Small, beautiful, solar power in Africa
There is no reliable data on the spread of off-grid renewable energy on a small scale, in part because the projects are often installed by individuals or tiny nongovernmental organizations.
Beyond Fossil Fuels African Huts Far From the Grid Glow With Renewable Power – NYTimes.com, by Elisabeth Rosenthal 27 dec 10, “………As small-scale renewable energy becomes cheaper, more reliable and more efficient, it is providing the first drops of modern power to people who live far from slow-growing electricity grids and fuel pipelines in developing countries. Continue reading
Games and education win kids over to renewable energy
Older children and teenagers learn about renewable energy and climate change in the new video game Fate of the World,….94% said that offshore wind was the ‘fairest’ energy technology and 81% identified onshore wind. Ninety four percent supported solar energy while only 2.2% supported coal energy
Growing up Solar – Solar Novus Today, by Nancy Lamontagne, 19 Dec 10, Today’s children are growing up with solar power and other renewable sources of energy as part of their every day lives, but does this mean they view it as important? Continue reading
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 