Traditional Aboriginal Owners demand consultation on uranium
6 Sept 12, The Walkatjurra Walkabout started at Yeelirrie on the 24th August, led by Traditional Owner, Kado Muir. Days after leaving Yeelirrie, BHP Billiton announced that they had sold their uranium project to Canadian company, Cameco.
Australia colluded with USA against Iran
WikiLeaks cables show how Australia works with the US to get Iran , September 5, 2012 Green Left By Linda Pearson WikiLeaks cables show Australian officials have colluded with the US to get the IAEA to declare Iran in breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Barely 10 years after false claims about weapons of mass destruction were used to justify the invasion of Iraq, a similar narrative is being used by politicians in the US and Israel to push the case for war with Iran. You might not know it from mainstream media reports, but Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program and, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT ), has an inalienable right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
It’s thought that Israel has up to 400 active warheads but, unlike NPT signatories, the country has never agreed to open up its nuclear program to inspection. The US has about 2000 active warheads and is arguably in violation of the NPT itself for its failure to meet the disarmament requirement enshrined in Article VI of the treaty .
US President Barack Obama’s “Global Zero” initiative to rid the world of nuclear weapons has amounted to little more than rhetoric . A 2011 report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said the US spends more money on nuclear weapons than the rest of the world combined.
In effect, two countries with a combined nuclear arsenal probably greater than any other are threatening war with another country because it may have the capacity to develop nuclear weapons in the future. This would be yet another illegal war of aggression, the “supreme international crime” as defined at Nuremberg.
WikiLeaks has given us unprecedented access to information with which to challenge the self-conferred moral authority of the US and its allies to decide which states can and cannot have nuclear weapons. Diplomatic cables from the US Embassy in Canberra published by WikiLeaks suggest Australia’s role in US relations with Iran is shaped by its slavish support for the US alliance and Israel, and its position as the world’s second biggest seller of uranium. Continue reading
Nuclear spinner Ziggy’s gone quiet, but the Brook keeps babbling on
A curious silence lately, from Australia’s top nuclear salesmen – Ziggy Spinowski, and Michael Angwin. One can only assume that Ziggy, always one to be on the side of the winners, is quietly moving away from nuclear lobbying. Michael Angwin, CEO of the Australian Uranium Association, is now lying low, in view of the disastrous state of Australia’s uranium industry.
So – it is left to Barry Brook now – Australia’s lone pro nuke spruiker to carry that pernicious torch . He’s not awfully good at it – but the nuclear lobby must rejoice that Brook keeps at it, anyway.
Congratulations to Ludwig Heinrich, for nailing Brook’s arguments so convincingly.
And also – to Independent Australia for providing that Brook video, reminding us of the repetitive and rambling Brook. I am indeed reminded of the poem “The Brook” – “I chatter, chatter as I go to join the brimming river, for men may come and men may go, but I go on forever”.
And Brook sure does go on forever – telling us:
– that the tsunami caused the Fukushima disaster, (when it now has been shown that it was set off by the earthquake, before the tsunami arrived.)
– that the Fukushima accident “hasn’t significantly damaged any person” (mmm throat lesions, leukaemia – not significant?)
– that “in the past renewables have not been able to replace fossil fuels”. (What about the present, and the future?)
– that we “need to overcome fear of radiation” (!!!!)
– that he’s morbidly fascinated that people have ignored other disasters – petro chemical industries. (but then, as Brook thinks that increased ionising radiation is fine, then, to him, a nuclear accident is at the same level as any other accident.)
Above all, Brook says that “we already have really safe nuclear power plants”
That statement really shows up Brook’s ignorance of risk analyis. In calculating risk , you weigh up the probability of the risk against the seriousness of the consequences if an accident happens.
That’s exactly what insurance companies all over the world have done, in relation to nuclear power. They’ve found it an unacceptable risk because – although the probability of accident is small, the consequences of a nuclear accident are huge.
Barry Brook just doesn’t get it. – C.M
Independent Australia refutes Barry Brook’s pro nuclear hype
Spruiking nuclear by the Brook, Independent Australia 5 Sept 12, In The Conversation last month, Professor Barry Brook continued a long nuclear industry tradition of spruiking its wares without mentioning all the disturbing facts, says Ludwig Heinrich. In his article ‘Low-carbon electricity must be fit-for-service (and nuclear power is)’ published in The Conversation last month, Professor Barry W. Brook, Professor of Climate Science at the University of Adelaide, puts forward an argument for nuclear energy that appears disingenuous. At the very least, he draws conclusions that are not warranted by the arguments put forward and are contradicted by reality.
The proponents of nuclear energy, like Brook, are very keen to phrase their arguments in terms of a low-carbon option, as they think that this legitimises it as a response to climate change. But, while nuclear energy is a low carbon technology, it is not a practical solution for a number of reasons. These are made clear below where I address the points that Brook makes…. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/environment/spruiking-nuclear-by-the-brook/
Don’t miss this video: the Rogue Weather Girl!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmfcJP_0eMc&feature=share
International Atomic Energy Agency downplays seriousness of Chernobyl and Fukushima
IAEA and TEPCO: The devil is relying on the Bible, blog by Jan Hemmer, http://tekknorg.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/iaea-and-tepco-the-devil-is-relying-on-the-bible/ by Mikkai
Japanese people hear it from Fukshima day One: “Panic and fear of radiation is much worse than radiation itself“
This statement is used by the IAEA for Chernobyl victims.
The IAEA ignores cancer, leukemia, diabetes, trisomy 21, all kinds of illness, all kinds of cancer in connection with radiation, especially low radiation.
The IAEA calls it “Radiophobia”. The present and future victims are perceived as a disturbance to the atomic industry, to the japanese government, to the companies running atomic plants. They are going to end it.
Since the foundation of the IAEA their purpose is: To serve and protect the atomic industry in these five countries: USA, Russia, China, France, Britain.
They also monopolized public health during and after atomic accidents, by the gag contract WHA 12-40 between them and the WHO (1959).
Learn more about the International Atomic Energy Association: Continue reading
Time for South Australia to forget about huge uranium mining, and move on
Olympic Dam expansion blow: ‘Let’s move on’ BY: MICHAEL OWEN : The Australian September 05, 2012 SOUTH Australians need to “get over” a decision by BHP Billiton to indefinitely shelve its proposed $28.7 billion expansion of theOlympic Dam mine, the head of the state’s economic development board says.
Raymond Spencer yesterday said it was time for the state to forget about an expanded Olympic Dam and refocus on other opportunities in the resources sector…. subscription only
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/olympic-dam-expansion-blow-lets-move-on/story-fn59niix-1226465100498
Solar powered railway in Europe
from Occupy the NRC, 5 Sept 12, Paris to Amsterdam – Europe’s first solar powered train tunnel The project, known as the “Solar Tunnel”, is the first of its kind in Europe in that it is the first time the railway infrastructure has been used to generate green energy. The €15.7 million ($21.5 million) project will supply 3300 MWh of electricity annually, enough to power 4,000 trains.
High-efficiency solar panels — 16,000 of them, with a rating of 245W each — were turned on, on the roof of a
Video http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/07/europes-first-solar-powered-train-tunnel-goes-live-on-belgian-h/
How conservative white males, and others, can’t face up to the reality of climate change
Mental blocks contribute to our inaction on climate change, Irish Times, September 3rd, 2012 JOHN GIBBONS The future of our species is under threat – yet we choose not to recognise the danger
IT’S REASSURING to imagine we are, by and large, rational beings who base our judgments and decisions on the best evidence we can muster.
The scientific evidence suggests otherwise.
Nowhere can the limits of human rationality be more forcefully encountered than in how we have collectively failed to respond to the existential threat posed by climate change…..Evidence from behavioural and brain sciences points to the fact that “the human moral judgment system is not well equipped to identify climate change – a complex, large-scale and unintentionally caused phenomenon – as an important moral imperative”, according to a recent article in the science journal, Nature Climate Change.
The researchers identified key reasons why, despite the mountains of hard scientific evidence, we have signally failed to react to the colossal threats posed by climate change.
First, our moral intuitions are strongly driven by emotional responses…..
Second, the harms arising from pollution and resource depletion are a real but largely unintended by-product of economic activity……
Another roadblock is moral tribalism….
The deliberate politicisation of the science of climate change has allowed many otherwise intelligent, educated people (most notably, conservative white males) to reject objective scientific facts from credible sources in favour of shabby but reassuring conspiracy theories.
The final factor at work is the perception that climate change is a threat that affects others who live elsewhere – either people in distant countries or from future generations. We can easily frame them as out-group members, somehow different from us and, so, less deserving of our concern….. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0903/1224323533104.html
An Anthropologist studies the psychology of the nuclear bomb scientists
Designed for Death Guernica , Helen Caldicott interviews Hugh Gusterson September 4, 2012 As we grapple with the legal, political, and cultural implications of drone warfare and targeted killing, the renowned anthropologist draws on an older turning point in military ethics—weapons design at Los Alamos…
…. . A pioneer in the anthropology of science and current professor at George Mason University, Gusterson has studied the culture of nuclear weapons scientists and antinuclear activists in the United Sates and Russia. He is a vocal critic of government recruitment of anthropologists in counterinsurgency projects in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a founding member of the Network of Concerned Anthropologists.
The following interview is excerpted from the forthcoming Loving This Planet: Leading Thinkers Talk About How to Make a Better World, a collection of transcripts from the weekly radio program of physician-turned-activist Dr. Helen Caldicott. …. . A pioneer in the anthropology of science and current professor at George Mason University, Gusterson has studied the culture of nuclear weapons scientists and antinuclear activists in the United Sates and Russia. He is a vocal critic of government recruitment of anthropologists in counterinsurgency projects in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a founding member of the Network of Concerned Anthropologists.
The following interview is excerpted from the forthcoming Loving This Planet: Leading Thinkers Talk About How to Make a Better World, a collection of transcripts from the weekly radio program of physician-turned-activist Dr. Helen Caldicott. ….
Hugh Gusterson: There are two nuclear weapons labs: one is Los Alamos, which developed the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the other is Lawrence Livermore in San Francisco, which was established in 1952. I have done extensive fieldwork at both labs….I vividly remember one weapons scientist telling me that he could never work on conventional weapons, because it would be immoral. He felt much more comfortable working on nuclear weapons, because he was convinced that nuclear weapons would never be used. I was very struck that he felt morally cleaner working on weapons that could destroy a city than he would have felt working on napalm….. most of the weapons scientists didn’t see much conflict between Christianity and designing weapons of mass destruction, and they were quite sure the weapons would never be used……
Hugh Gusterson: They also talk about missiles being connected to the outside world by umbilical cords. The very first bomb tested was referred to as Oppenheimer’s baby. The one dropped on Hiroshima was Little Boy. So there is this language of metaphors of birth that surrounds this bomb enterprise. They talk about the results of radioactive decay processes as being daughter products. So there is this language of fertility and birth….. The language of death is banished from the world of nuclear weapons scientists; they don’t talk about killing people; they talk about collateral damage. People are not incinerated; they’re always carbonized—anesthetizing language from which death is banished. But there’s this very rich set of metaphors about birth. I’ve always wondered if that wasn’t an attempt on their part to say, We’re really about life, we’re not about killing people. Which you can see as a form of denial…..
As an anthropologist, I find it particularly offensive when you talk to weapons scientists, or to other kinds of nuclear weapons professionals, that there’s a uniform assumption that Americans are the only people who can be uniquely trusted with nuclear weapons in a way that black and brown people, non-Christians in particular, cannot. You hear it said that only Americans and Europeans have the strength required of people to have nuclear weapons. This flies in the face of the evidence, since the United States is the only country ever to abuse weapons….. http://www.guernicamag.com/interviews/designed-for-death/
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 