Strong police presence at Paladin’s Malawi uranium mine; five arrests
the development has stunned most workers who think management’s move is aimed at eliminating workers deemed to be fighting for the employees’ welfare.Management already eliminated other employees through “unfair dismissals and retrenchment” of 25th January 2013.
Five held for ‘bomb’ threats at Paladin’s Malawi uranium mine, Nyasa Times By Nyasa Times Reporter, June 19, 2013 Malawi Police in the northern border district of Karonga are keeping in custody five Kayelekera Uranium Mine workers on allegations they threatened management to blow up the mine.
The five, arrested last Friday, are also suspected of being linked to the theft of explosives worth US$5780.76 (about K2, 150, 600) belonging to China Road and Bridge Construction Company in Chitipa.
There was no immediate comment from Karonga Police as officers said they are “still investigating”. But Nyasa Times sources said the five were arrested on orders from Paladin Energy Limited (owners of Kayelekera). The five, who are production plant operators, are reported to have threatened Kayelekera management that they would blow up the process plant if their salaries were not increased and foreign workers laid off…….. Continue reading
Institute of Public Affairs vilifies climate scientists
Much of the climate change scepticism in Australia can be traced back to the free-market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), a prominent news source and intellectual role model for conservative politicians, industry magnates, religious leaders and opinion makers in the media.
The mining industry is a major IPA sponsor and occupies senior positions on its board of directors. The IPA opposes regulations on GHG emissions and rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. It vilifies climate scientists, environmentalists and the political left.
Think tank a false climate prophet, SMH June 20, 2013 – Elaine McKewon A free-market think tank has 
been heavily pushing climate change scepticism. “…….What began as an almost universal acceptance of the science and the need for action has become a false debate between climate change scientists and ideologically driven climate change “sceptics”.
On one side, we have 97 per cent of climate scientists who endorse the empirically based reality that Earth has been warming since the mid-20th century, that human-induced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the main cause, and that deep and rapid reductions in global emissions are necessary to avoid the worst impacts.
Then there’s the alternative reality in which there’s no scientific consensus and the idea that human-induced GHG emissions cause global warming is either a hoax, a religion or a scare tactic cooked up to justify higher taxes and restrictions on personal freedoms. This is the “reality” in which many Australians, including several of our political and religious leaders, appear to live. Continue reading
Don’t underestimate the clever tactics of the anti wind farm lobby
Disciplined and on-message, wind farm opponents are a force to be reckoned with The Conversation, Will J Grant, 19 June 13, “…Much of the reporting of the rally has talked of it as a failure…..I’m not so sanguine……This rally showed skilled political organisation, connected directly with key on-the-ground communities. You could describe Stop These Things as an astroturf organisation guided by skilled political operators in the Institute for Public Affairs, in turn connected with a wider array of anti-environmental industries. Many others have done so, and I don’t particularly care to add to that discussion here. (Indeed, critiques like this are often used in precisely the wrong way: to damn the group in their potential supporters’ eyes, rather than change our own behaviour. The potential supporters of Stop These Things couldn’t care less about the IPA.)
What I do want to say is that those in favour of renewables should recognise groups like Stop These Things for the skilled – and dangerous – political operators they are.
In essence, the anti-wind turbine movement already has the near ineluctable force of nimbyism on its side: I don’t want them near me because they make me sick/ruin my sleep/kill birds I like/ruin my view/trample the lands of my ancestors/make me pee funny/make my neighbour rich. (Scientific friends, please note that I am making no argument about the veracity of these claims, except to say that those who believe such things certainly do believe such things). Stop These Things is now adding a layer of networking, guidance, strategic support and, potentially, funding.
You could call this nimbyism 2.0 … Or you could just call this just another strand of modern environmental political activism.
Here’s the thing: unless those in favour of wind turbines recognise and deal with this threat, networks like Stop These Things will add significantly – and perhaps ruinously – to the risk profile of every potential wind farm development….. http://theconversation.com/disciplined-and-on-message-wind-farm-opponents-are-a-force-to-be-reckoned-with-15258?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+20+June+2013&utm_content=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+20+June+2013+CID_06ee2f136721194be78210c407225a91&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Disciplined%20and%20on-message%20wind%20farm%20opponents%20are%20a%20force%20to%20be%20reckoned%20with
Fukushima’s radioactive forest
Fukushima forests found to be radioactive 9 Mar 2013
Two years after the triple calamities of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster ravaged Japan’s northeastern Pacific coast, forests that cover 70 percent of the Fukushima Prefecture have been found to contain high concentrations of radioactive cesium. With traces revealed not only in the fallen leaves and soil, but in the trees themselves, the findings suggest that radiation has permanently found its way into the ecosystem. The government is already spending billions of dollars decontaminating various towns in Fukushima, but the forests continue to emit radioactivity, putting the residents at risk. Scientists suggest cutting down the trees as soon as possible because the cesium will gradually be transferred to the earth itself. Many residents are now suing TEPCO, the nuclear plant’s operator, for the impact the disaster has had on surrounding communities. It is estimated the power company will pay some about $400bn in cleanup costs and compensation. Al Jazeera’s Steve Chao reports from Fukushima.
Groundwater near Fukushima has high level of radioactive strontium 90
(includes video )Radioactive Strontium-90 found in groundwater near Fukushima nuclear reactor Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant reports a toxic substance in groundwater as the country’s new guidelines for nuclear reactivation are approved. NBCNews.com’s Dara Brown reports. By Arata Yamamoto, Producer, NBC News
TOKYO, Japan – High levels of toxic Strontium-90 have been found in groundwater at the tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, its operator said Wednesday.
Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), which has been struggling to clean up the plant, said nearly 30 times the permitted level of the radioactive isotope was discovered in a well dug last month outside the turbine hall of Reactor No.2.
The company said it had not detected any rise in the levels of Strontium-90 in sea water, and that it believed the substance was trapped during the initial 2011 nuclear fallout.
It plans to inject chemicals into the ground between the well and shore to prevent any leaks into the ocean…..
Removing Aborigines from Homelands was the purpose of the Northern Territory Intervention
Intervention marks 6 years, as community questions impact http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/news/in-australia/intervention-marks-6-years-as-community-questions-psychological-impact.htm By Paul Bleakley 19 June, 2013 INDIGENOUS leaders have marked the sixth anniversary of the controversial 2007 government intervention in the Northern Territory by questioning the psychological repercussions of regulating the day-to-day management of Aboriginal communities.
Indigenous advocacy group Concerned Australians have published an article alleging that the ultimate aim of the intervention was to “empty the homelands” in the Northern Territory. The article’s writer Michele Harris claims that federal government claims that the intervention was needed to protect Indigenous children were an attempt to make the plan more palatable to the Australian public.
Ms Harris said: “Even before the Intervention began in June 2007, government had long planned a new approach to the ‘management’ of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. It was no longer part of government thinking that self-determination and Aboriginal control over land could be allowed to continue. These were the Whitlam notions of 1975 and they were no longer acceptable.
“The plan was to empty the homelands, and this has not changed. Continue reading
Charging your mobile phone for free- street solar energy units
Street Charge – Free Mobile Phone Solar Charging http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3800 20 June 13 Australian telcos take note – AT&T’s Street Charge is providing free solar mobile charging stations in locations throughout New York City.
Inspired by the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy when New Yorkers without power flocked to solar poweredcharging stations, AT&T will deploy approximately 25Street Charge solar mobile charging units across the five boroughs of the city. Two units are already operational at Fort Greene Park, four more will be in place by the end of this week and the remainder will be rolled out over the next couple of months.
The units are powered by three 15 watt monocrystaline solar panels and energy is stored in 16 amp-hour internal lithium batteries, so handheld device users can get a recharge fix at any time of the day. Built in cords accommodate up to six devices at a time and include dedicated ports for iPhones, Androids, Blackberries and standard USB charging cables. Costing approximately USD $8,000 each and weighing around 90 kilograms, the Street Charge unit is tamperproof and weather proof.
AT&T teamed up with solar company Goal Zero and Brooklyn-based design firm Pensa to develop the initiative. Goal Zero, which provides the units, says Street Charge has the potential for lighting, Wi-Fi, signage for ads, and way finding.
Street Charge complements Wi-Fi in the Parks, an ongoing joint initiative between AT&T, the City of New York and the New York Parks Department offering free Wi-Fi access to New Yorkers.The City of New York has taken a special interest in renewables since Sandy, when solar power proved invaluable in helping to restore communications.
“After Hurricane Sandy, I asked our private sector partners to step up and help improve the resiliency of New York City. AT&T is doing just that, and we’re grateful for their efforts,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 