A big week in nuclear news
Unfortunately, right now when alternative news on nuclear issues is needed more than ever, our international website, nuclear-news.net is not available. This is due to a domain name problem, which I hope will soon be fixed. Nuclear-news.net has, for over 12 years, been gathering together those few news items that show the ‘other side’ of nuclear news – in a media landscape dominated by glossy spin from the nuclear lobby – regurgitated by the corporate media.
Indeed – right now – it borders on the hilariously funny – as corporate media pushes nuclear power as safe and clean, while Ukraine, Belarus, even Europe anxiously fear catastrophe at Zaporizhia.
A bit of good news – Humanity’s Moment: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope by Joëlle GergisReviewed by Kara Nicholson
AUSTRALIA.
Our Air Force is already ‘operating against China’. Anti-AUKUS campaign ramps up over U.S.-China war talk.
US admiral issues blunt warning on building Australian submarines in overstretched shipyards. Australian submariners to train onboard British nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS deal. Britain supports Australia’s nuclear submarines – (UK and USA vying for the sale to Oz?)
AI Group Unveiled: a propaganda service for Defence, big business and the Coalition.
INTERNATIONAL.
Russia and the U.S. are entering ‘dangerous and uncharted’ nuclear territory.
Podcast – How the Western Press has become a propaganda tool of the war industry and the Ukrainian government.
Infographic: The impact of nuclear tests around the world. Can the testing on anti-satellite weapons be banned?.
No energy solution without a radical rethink — World leaders suck in the fossil-nuclear mindset.
$Multibillion costs in the struggle to deal with nuclear wastes across the globe.
Global fossil fuel subsidies rocket to almost $US700 billion in 2021
UKRAINE.
Zaporizhia. Collective madness — Zaporizhzhia is the poster child for abandoning the use of nuclear power. Very real risks of nuclear catastrophe at Zaporizhia nuclear station, with the memory of Chernobyl ever present. A1 IAEA at Zaporizhia nuclear station: Dr Paul Dorfman assesses the risks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7jdMlL3Ohc Ukraine’s nuclear plant partly goes offline amid fighting. Fighting goes on near Ukraine nuclear plant; IAEA on site. Nikopol under attack: Residents flee fighting near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
UN thanks Russia for keeping nuclear team safe. Fighting at Ukraine nuclear plant brings chances of a meltdown to a ‘coin toss’, expert says. U.S. Calls For ‘Controlled Shutdown’ Of Zaporizhzhya Plant As IAEA Inspectors Seek Access. New artillery attack as IAEA heads to Ukraine nuclear plant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ooAMfR7PrQ
Pentagon admits ‘likelihood’ of Ukrainian shelling near nuclear plant. Ukraine accused of targeting possible route of nuclear inspectors. Russia accuses Ukraine of fresh shelling of nuclear plant. Satellite images show damage to buildings right next to Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactors. Russia blames Ukrainian forces for potential disaster.
European Union providing Ukraine with over 5 million doses of potassium iodide tablets. Zelensky aide says UN nuclear watchdog should be mistrusted ‘by default’. If people take part in referendums in Donbass region, Ukraine government will prosecute them as criminal offenders. Ukrainian government wants to sell nuclear energy to Germany .
Moscow says – US Afraid Inhumane Acts Committed by Azov Terrorists Will Be Made Public. International Atomic Energy Agency inspection team on its way to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
JAPAN. Fukushima town lifts evacuation order, but few former residents want to come back. Fukushima Plants Showing ‘Unusual Growing Patterns’.
PACIFIC ISLANDS. As Japan builds nuclear dumping facilities, Pacific groups say ‘stop‘.
RUSSIA. Gorbachev Ended Cold War, Eased Nuclear Tensions But Trusted US Too Much – Experts.
UK. New nuclear bases and nuclear submarines in Scotland deemed “unachievable” by a UK Government watchdog. Navy officer opposed to nuclear weapons sues UK Ministry of Defence .
You can’t trust Liz Truss (oil and gas devotee) on energy policy for Britain Nuclear power: the accumulating problems. Boris Johnson unveils £1.45billion nuclear submarine. Boris Johnson’s parting gift – a £30 billion nuclear debt. Boris Johnson locking the next Prime Minister into unsustainable nuclear debt. High Court legal challenge to UK government against decision to build Sizewell C nuclear station.
Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion condemns decision for massively costly Sizewell C nuclear station. Boris Johnson’s legacy of the nuclear fantasy. Compulsory purchase orders of land for Sizewell C nuclear project . Stop Sizewell C urges Boris Johnson’s successor to totally review this costly nuclear project. £3.3 million tax-payer boost for untried non-existent technology . Nuclear power for Britain – a “financial basket case “. UK’s Nuclear Gambit Faces Long Odds Even With Sizewell Approval.
GDF Community Partnership promotes “feel good” books to children., making nuclear waste dump ‘cute and safe’. A concerted push now for renewable energy would save Britons billions of pounds.
USA. Mothers For Peace disappointed that California Governor supports ”lifeline” for Diablo Canyon nuclear power station. USA’s Inflation Reduction Act a tidy little bonanza for the nuclear industry . City of Aiken will receive more than $168M in plutonium storage settlement. Radioactive Waste ‘Everywhere’ at Ohio Oilfield Facility, Says Former Worker.
CANADA. Walk in Ignace protests nuclear waste storage site.
EUROPE. Gas prices and nuclear outages put European grid at breaking point.
SWITZERLAND. Future threat to Europe’s water supplies as Switzerland’s glaciers are rapidly thawing . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-18HL-dpWw
FRANCE. France braces for uncertain winter as nuclear power shortage looms.
PAKISTAN. The ‘horrors of climate change‘ hit Pakistan . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGvggMbBfWY
SOUTH ASIA. South Asian countries facing devastating extreme weather events – seek reparation from rich countries.
IRAN. Iran does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, says President Ebrahim Raisi. Iran seeks stronger U.S. guarantees for revival of 2015 nuclear deal.
Australian nuclear news, and more
Some bits of good news – With all the various omnicidal threats to our planet, it’s a temptation to just give up. But giving up is just not an option. This week, there’ve been two reminders -powerful messages of why we can still hope, and more importantly, still act – in a myriad of ways. Radio Ecoshock replayed It’s wrong to wreck the world. In this broadcast, Kathleen Dean Moore delivers an artful talk about our attack on Nature, and hope of reviving love instead. Alex Smith comments: “Morality” sounds boring. This speech surprised and moved me. It will do the same for you.”Then there’s Dr Jane Goodall – still hopeful about the Earth’s future.
Coronavirus. No it hasn’t gone away – a slight drop in cases and deaths world-wide.
Climate change. The climate crisis is a hunger crisis.
AUSTRALIA.
Australia and China policy- David Bradbury interviews strategy expert Hugh White – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT8bbdOAog8 . Australian government working with pro-nuclear zealot Jonathon Mead to plan US/UK nuclear submarines for Western Australia. Nuclear bomb tests at Emu Field remain obscured by Maralinga and the mists of time. Terrifying nuclear bomb prediction as world tensions rise.
Refuting the nonsense by Sam Usher of the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency in favour of dumping nuclear waste at Kimba, South Australia. Ranger Mine uranium-contaminated waste trucked to Darwin suburb.
The climate bores. If we want to replace fossil fuels with renewables, we must cut energy consumption.
INTERNATIONAL.
The only thing keeping US and China from war is running dangerously thin.
The West’s false narrative about Russia and China. The blind side to western wars and western war crimes. Civilian casualties in Ukraine-5,000? In Yemen-380,000? But Western Media tells a different story! Ukraine and the Politics of Permanent War – Permanent war requires permanent censorship.
Are Russia and NATO trying to destroy the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?. Meeting on Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty ends in failure, as Russia blocks final draft.
Commemorate August 29: International Day against Nuclear Tests .
Astronauts Going to Mars Will Receive Many Lifetimes Worth of Radiation.
Busting the absurd pro-nuclear spin of “Ecomodernism”.
Digital damage: Is your online life polluting planet?
UKRAINE.
Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 186 of the invasion. Imperiled Ukrainian nuclear power plant has the world on edge – a safety expert explains what could go wrong. The cost of Ukraine’s de-Russification. The Hidden Truth about the War in Ukraine, and about Crimea and Donbass – Jacques Baud.
Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine announces mandatory evacuations . Fears of ‘radiation cloud through Europe’ if Ukraine plant blows. Fears of a radiation leak mount near Ukrainian nuclear plant’. Anti-radiation-sickness pills given out amid shelling near Ukrainian nuclear station. UN chief demands halt to “nuclear saber-rattling” at Ukrainian nuke plant. Russia says it destroyed howitzer used to shell Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
Zelensky ‘troubled’ as he questions inner circle’s loyalties – Erdogan. Zelensky warns “no more peace talks”, if Donetsk People’s Republic prosecutes captured Neo Nazi fighters for war crimes. ‘We should kill as many Russians as we can’ – Ukrainian envoy. Ukrainian Hit List – targets Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, Daria Dugina, Kissinger and 1000s of journalists. ‘Peacemaker’ of death: This Ukrainian website threatens hundreds of thousands with extrajudicial killings — some are Americans.
EUROPE.NATO Abandons Diplomacy, Says No Longer ‘At Peace’.
NEW ZEALAND. The world stands on a nuclear precipice – we must avoid catastrophe- Jacinda Ardern.
Nuclear news – Australia and more – this week
A bit of good news – Antibody “master key” discovery could neutralize all COVID variants.
Climate change- The Social, Cultural, and Economic Implications
Nuclear. A strange contradiction going on – with double messaging coming from the nuclear lobby and IAEA. We must bear in mind that the goal of the IAEA is to “assist its Member States, in the context of social and economic goals, in planning for and using nuclear science and technology for various peaceful purposes, including the generation of electricity, and facilitates the transfer of such technology and knowledge in a sustainable manner to developing Member States” – in other words – to promote nuclear power.
So -we are being told that the safe way towards climate action is nuclear power, and especially now , as we need to avoid Russian gas. (Apparently Russian uranium is OK. ) At the same time, the IAEA is warning that the presence of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant in a military zone is a threat to European, even global safety. So – nuclear reactors are safe, but in some circumstances, very unsafe.
AUSTRALIA.
Gem Romuld – ‘Reject the deadly logic of nuclear deterrence’. Richard Marles reaffirms Australia’s commitment to the one-China policy and ‘stabilising’ Canberra-Beijing relations.
Australia is failing to deliver on the UN Rights of Indigenous people.
INTERNATIONAL.
The Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a fraud as the nuclear Mafia continue to spend $billions on their nuclear arsenals
” The New Space Race is Going Nuclear”. As Threat of Militarisation Rises, International Community Races to Set Standards for Responsible Behaviour in Outer Space. (without much luck!)
Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the world – new research. ‘Off the charts’: Glaciers in Europe experience extreme melt.
UKRAINE.
- Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant: Analysing safety of nuclear power in conflict zones. Is Ukraine ready for another Chernobyl-like catastrophe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGxQBeQp0FQ Ukraine nuclear accident fears heightened. IAEA reiterates need for all military action to stop near Zaporizhzya Nuclear PP. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Macron that Ukrainian shelling of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant risks disaster. Russia agrees to allow investigators to inspect Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
- Ukraine using very advanced long range rockets to strike Russian air base in Crimea? Why Crimea matters. Russia shoots down Ukrainian drone over Crimea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6rwj_Qk6ws
- Russian Military From Nuclear Plant Showing Signs Of Radiation Sickness – Paramedic.
- Why Am I Banned in Ukraine?
- War Propaganda About Ukraine Starting to Wear Thin.
- Putin Claim U.S. Is Dragging Out War Isn’t Crazy, Military Expert Says.
PACIFIC ISLANDS. Pacific Alliance of Municipal Councils starts Petition against dumping nuclear wastewater in Pacific.
Australian nuclear news, and more
Some bits of good news – 100% renewables is feasible worldwide at low cost.
A big increase in numbers of the beautiful chameleon-like giant cuttlefish (above). The Spencer Gulf is home to the only known large breeding colony of Giant Australian Cuttlefish. The increase is due to the re-imposition of a temporary fishing ban in the area . But in 2012, the federal government subtly changed law to enable BHP to expand its uranium mine, and to build a desalination plant that would alter the breeding area, and eliminate this species. Work of the Conservation Council of South Australia, a public outcry, and a petition, helped to prevent the extinction of this species
Covid-19 . It’s not as if the pandemic has gone away – does anybody care any more? How COVID-19 is affecting the globe.
Climate change hasn’t gone away either. It is here world wide. Red Cross and Red Crescent care.
AUSTRALIA
Taiwan not worth a mushroom cloud. How even small nuclear war would kill billions in apocalyptic famine. Bob Carr puts Peter Dutton on the spot -calls for detail on Dutton’s plans for nuclear power in Australia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaJLF7co5Q8 Nuclear power – never a realistic option for Australia.
Traditional owners seek documents in nuclear dump case.
Nuclear bomb tests at Maralinga triggered Hedley Marston to study fallout over Australia.
Groups join together to sign WA Nuclear Free Charter against uranium mining.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX now leaving junk in our own backyard.
The United States, in decline but still able to kill us all.
INTERNATIONAL.
Attacking a nuclear plant ‘suicidal,’ UN chief tells journalists in Japan.
Nuclear war between two nations could spark global famine. The Lessons We Haven’t Learned. Connecting Toxic Memories: Hiroshima and Nuremberg.
Storage of nuclear wastes and of dead nuclear reactors is becoming a political nightmare.
Risk of death rises as climate change causes nighttime temperatures to climb
MARS ASTRONAUTS WOULD GET HORRIFYING DOSE OF RADIATION, STUDY FINDS.
UKRAINE.
Ukraine Plant Under Fire Showcases ‘Dangerous’ Nature of Nuclear Power, Experts Say.
- More shelling near Ukraine nuclear plant. Very high radiation risks amid shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukraine calls for demilitarised zone around the shelled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Ukraine and its Western backers should be held accountable for the ‘suicidal’ attack on Europe’s largest nuclear powerplant. Russia summons session of UN Security Council over nuclear emergency. Ukraine targets Russian soldiers accused of threatening nuclear plant. 70% of Western weapons sent to Ukraine don’t reach troops – CBS.
The week’s nuclear news
Some bits of good news Needles of Hope in the Ukraine War Haystack. Renewables are booming – REN21 Global Review.
The pro Trump forces are going allout to blame and damage Joe Biden and his administration. I keep getting stuff from the non-corporate media. And some of it is in colourful and extreme language. And I know that some of it is from the Trumpians. My problem is that in some of the Trumpian propaganda – the facts have a disturbing habit of sounding like they’re true. No – I do not want to support Trump’s ambitions. But yes, I do want the truth to come out. Especially about Ukraine and Taiwan. And the West is hiding it.
AUSTRALIA.
Australian Prime Minister Albanese refuses to meet with Assange’s family .
Hard-Wired for Corruption -The arms trade and Australia’s lax monitoring regimes.
Does Australia actually need nuclear submarines?
US and Australia to launch second joint spy satellite from site in New Zealand.
Photos: Hiroshima Day protests call on Albanese government to scrap AUKUS, nuclear subs
Indonesia’s nuclear subs protest shows Australian relations will be no easy ride.
Peter Dutton has reached into the weeds of the climate wars and pulled out nuclear energy. It’s beyond ludicrous. The National Party’s false claim about nuclear power. France’s troubled nuclear fleet a bigger problem for Europe than Russia gas.
Australian War Memorial needs to own Australian frontier wars.
INTERNATIONAL
Why Is There More Media Talk About Using Nuclear Weapons Than About Banning Them?
The lost nuclear bombs that no one can find.
Poland rewrites or obscures the history of the Russians’ liberation of Auschwitz.
Anti-Nuclear Protest at U.S. Mission to United Nations.
Is nuclear disarmament possible? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsz5fQm00Qs World one misstep from ‘nuclear annihilation’: UN chief. Biden, Putin strike conciliatory tones as nuclear arms talks start at U.N. If we are to survive…we must change course.
Nuclear weapons will not bring peace or security, only dangers.
The Anti-China Brainwashing Is Working: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit Stoked Tensions With China. What Comes Next?
Washington Is Making the Same Blunder Regarding Taiwan That It Did in Ukraine.
Russia’s very profitable nuclear industry – NO SANCTIONS on that!
Small nuclear reactors produce more radioactive trash than large ones do – American Academy of Sciences
Nuclear energy vs renewables: which is the best solution for the climate crisis? It’s all about public perception. Can the crooked nuclear industry convince the world?
‘Climate endgame’ warning: Scientists warn global warming could trigger nuclear war, financial crisis or an extinction-level pandemic. Climate Endgame: Risk of Human Extinction ‘Dangerously Underexplored’ .Climate breakdown is super-charging extreme weather.
UKRAINE.
- Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station “completely out of control” – IAEA Parts of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant damaged when struck by shelling. Evacuation would be almost impossible in the event of an accident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. IAEA alarmed at danger to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as shelling continues in Ukraine war. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of shelling Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in the Zaporizhzhia region.
- Only 30% of the Weapons Are Even Making it to the Frontlines.
- Ukraine wants to export nuclear-generated electricity to European states – but is that safe?
- A French volunteer described how he witnessed the dramatizations in Bucha Amnesty has stuck by its report that Ukrainian forces endangered civilians.Door-to-door searches are being conducted to find pro-Russian “collaborators” in Nikolaev, a local official has said. Ukraine turns Donetsk into a minefield using banned ‘butterfly’ mines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6wJbPJv0kk
- Russia the most popular national destination for refugees from Ukraine.
- Whitewashing Ukraine’s Corruption and Authoritarianism.
POLAND. Poland’s double standard on how it treats refugees, and the prospect of exhaustion by those housing Ukrainians.
TAIWAN. Is Taiwan’s Independence Worth War?
JAPAN. Hiroshima marks 77th anniversary of atomic bombing amid nuclear threat.
Fukushima Prefecture seeks government help in preventing reputational damage to its marine products. Construction begins at Fukushima plant for water release. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant “Treated Water” Discharged TEPCO Announces Undersea Tunnel Construction to Begin in 4 Days “Already Started? Citizens were in a state of exasperation. Ironic for Tokyo to caution others on nuclear issue despite Fukushima plan.
USA.
- Chinese expert from Peace Centre points out America’s hypocrisy, double standards, on Nuclear Non Proliferation. USA hostility to China on yet another front – India. Joe Biden offers to negotiate a new arms control framework with Russia to replace New START.
- Senator Manchin Democrats Bill to give $30 billion lifeline to save America’s moribund nuclear industry. Why investors should be wary of NuScale’s small nuclear reactors. Nuclear energy for Colorado? The cost is one very big obstacle. US regulators approve small nuclear reactors – BUT – costs, delays, too late for climate help.
- Beatty Nevada Nuclear waste explosions, in the desert. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VHylGDOvwU Prairie Island Indian Community planning to set up large renewable energy project, keen to be rid of nuclear power plant and nuclear wastes. Nuclear waste isn’t an isolated problem with nuclear power.
- “Unprecedented:” US Senate passes landmark bill to tax billionaires to fund clean energy.
CANADA. Lantern ceremony in Winnipeg calls attention to threat of nuclear weapons.
UK.
- A worsening situation of cracks in Britain’s ageing nuclear reactors.
- Hinkley Point B leaves radioactive waste to be expensively managed for many generations to come.
- Over 50,000 petition against seismic testing to find ocean nuclear dump site. Damage to marine life from seismic testing, and from dumping of radioactive waste. A fake ‘community partnership’ on ocean nuclear waste dumping. To join UK’s Nuclear Waste ‘Community Partnership’ one is required to have a ‘commitment to exploring development‘ of an ocean nuclear waste dump.
- Danger of nuclear weapons convoys on the UK’s M6.
- Peace campaigners gather in Aberdeen on anniversary of Hiroshima nuclear bombing.
FRANCE. Reduced electricity output from France’s nuclear reactors due to high temperatures. EDF cuts output at nuclear power plants as French rivers get too warm. Bad luck for the river environment – nuclear reactors allowed to release hotter water. France importing power, as nuclear stations cut output because of global heating, Drought may force nuclear power production cut. France’s problems with nuclear corporation EDF.
RUSSIA. No one can win a nuclear war: Putin.
ISRAEL. Israel, secretly having nuclear weapons, will not join the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.
IRAN. Iran says ‘optimistic’ after EU proposal for nuclear deal. Eu, Iran Russia optmistic.
TODAY. All the fuss about Taiwan doesn’t make sense. Has anyone noticed?
Since 1979, USA, and its minions like Australia, have recognised that Taiwan is part of the Republic of China, and is NOT an independent nation.
Since 1997 USA and its minions have recognised that Hong Kong is part of the Republic of China and is NOT an independent nation. When China cracked down on the Hong Kong administration, USA, Australia tut-tutted, and there was no suggestion of doing anything about it – let alone go to war.
Now, we’ve got Nancy Pelosi, the Congress Speaker, leading the push to provoke the Chinese government to a militaristic response.
Now you might wonder why on Earth countries so far way, USA, Australia would want to invite nuclear war and destruction if China cracks down on the Taiwan administration.
I can’t see China wanting to invite nuclear war and destruction if USA cracked down on Hawaii, or Australia on Tasmania.
But of course, I forgot – American authorities are in the grip of Pentagon war hawks, and of Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Boeing – and all the rest of the weapons corporation. And they just gotta have a war – or at least – an enemy to get to the brink – and keep the profitable business going.
The whole apparently unstoppable procession towards war makes no sense. But that doesn’t matter – the mindless corporate media loves it. Roll on – Ukraine catastrophe – and then we’ll move on to Taiwan catastrophe!
This week’s nuclear news
I had trouble finding “good news” for today. So, I’ll put in a thought of my own. My own country, Australia, today gives some hope, For the first time, we have a government really trying to include our First Nations people in decision-making. Not only is Australia headed for a referendum to bring indigenous voices into our Parliament – with hope to redress the wrongs of 200 years, but also the hope that indigenous knowledge and culture will advise and further the mighty task of healing our damaged environment.
Coronavirus and Climate – it’s all drastically bad- the mind boggles – best for readers to do their homework on these.
Nuclear. Ironically, as nations ramp up their nuclear weaponry – comes the anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZSENcK-en4 At some commemorations. survivors like Setsuko Thurlow will be speaking. Like the survivors of Auschwitz, these first witnesses may not be with us much longer. It is all-important that their message is remembered, and that denialism of these truly awful horrors does not prevail.
AUSTRALIA
Labor should halt plans to dump nuclear waste on South Australia – Greens Senator Barbara Pocock. Alarm on nuclear waste transport.
Australia urged to prove it is a safe nuclear custodian as Aukus comes under scrutiny at UN. Fleet of nuclear submarines will be sent by Britain to Australia as a warning to China. Indonesia warns of perils of nuclear-powered submarines in submission to the UN.
Busting the poorly informed pro-nuclear hype of Spectator Australia. Jenny Ware -A Liberal MP happily in the grip of the nuclear lobby.
Nancy Pelosi’s planned trip to Taiwan – ‘Unprecedented, foolish, dangerous’ -says former Australian Prime Minister.
Government to rewrite climate bill to win over Greens.
INTERNATIONAL
The World Does Not Want a Global NATO.
Deterrencelessness: Nuclear threats neither credible nor viable.
UN Nuclear Review: a prime time to stop the new arms race. Ukraine War Hangs Over UN Meeting on Nuclear Treaty’s Legacy. U.N. nuclear conference to start Monday as Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya plant in “alarming” state, watchdog says.
For Warmongers It’s Always 1938. US airman who rescued film of A-bomb horrors is honoured at last.
Small nuclear reactors will bleed us dry and won’t solve climate change – unfounded promises.
The future of global catastrophic risk events from climate change.
UKRAINE. Russia accused of waging war out of working nuclear power plant in Ukraine. How professional lobbyists have worked to generate enthusiasm in Washington for a long proxy military conflict in Ukraine. High risks at
TODAY Busting the poorly informed pro-nuclear hype of Spectator Australia
Today I encountered, for the first time the magazine “Spectator Australia”. I was drawn to it by the tantalising title of its article (25/7/22) “Politicians destroy nuclear when the world needs it most.”, by Alan Moran. The main message of the article seems to be that the stringent safety regulations are an unnecessary handicap to the nuclear industry, and cause unnecessary costs.
I was tempted to check on what sort of a magazine ”Spectator Australia” is. Crikey reported that :
”The Spectator presents a stridently — often rabidly — ideological conservative perspective on Australian politics and society. ”
Much earlier, The Guardian reported on its British parent:
”The magazine cleaves to a purple-faced, right-wing, pro-fox-hunting, climate-change-denying, insidiously Islamophobic worldview”
Ah well – that helps to explain this article. Here are just a few of my reflections on the article:
“Nuclear power is reliable and safe” – as long as you don’t count Mayak, Santa Susanna, Church Rock, Chornobyl, submarine accidents, Windscale. Three Mile Island, Tokaimura, Fukushima …
“Deaths related to the industry are small” – yeah, when you don’t count the deaths caused by persistent exposure to radiation – especially amongst nuclear workers. Later-developing cancers are not as newsworthy as sudden accidental deaths.
”Demonisation”, presumably by fanatic anti-nuclear people , has caused the downfall of the nuclear industry? Well, well – I had no idea that we were so effective. I thought that it was caused by the unaffordable costs. the intractible waste problem, the nuclear weapons proliferation problem.
“risk aversiveness to whatever safety problems there may be” – that phrase speaks volumes – this mansplaining macho author isn’t even interested in knowing about risks!
Costs? Well the Fin Review and CSIRO don’t agree with this author https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/nuclear-energy-too-expensive-to-replace-fossil-fuels-20220711-p5b0pd
He quotes France – does he not know that France is in one hell of a pickle – nationalising the industry, shutting down reactors because of the heat, and the corrosion?
UK – he quotes Rishi Sunak – as Chancellor Sunak advised Boris against the big nuclear spend ! This article is a load of ignorant poppycock!
This week in nuclear news
So much news, so overwhelming – the pandemic, climate extremes in China. South Asia, USA, Europe, UK. In the middle of all the gloom, quite an inspiring article from science writer Julian Cribb, with a method to save the world. He argues, passionately and persuasively for putting the ”weaker” sex in charge. In The Age of Women, Cribb says that If humanity is to survive the vast and growing threats it faces, women must assume the leadership of government, business, religion and social institutions around the world.
Some bits of good news – Overwhelmed by environmental disaster? Here’s a scorecard to inspire optimism. The bright spots in the State of the Environment report.
AUSTRALIA.
Documents show Australian Labor government supports Assange’s extradition to the US. INSIDE LABOR’S ASSANGE GAME PLAN.
Militarism and submarines: The tragic obsession with the Chinese threat. AUKUS – contrived to foster the unrealistic and unattainable aims of American foreign policy. Defence Minister Richard Marles is confident about AUKUS, nuclear submarines, and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Not everyone is so sure. Ask Fuzzy: Will Australia’s nuclear-propelled attack submarines require weapons grade fuel?
Military chiefs to hold talks on basing UK nuclear submarines in Perth. Australia’s price tag for nuclear submarines could soar by $billions. Nonsense to say ‘Australia needs nuclear submarines to defend itself.
British soldiers used as radiation guinea pigs in nuclear bomb tests in Australia.
Climate: Climate protesters criminalised as climate crisis escalates.
Environment: A scientist reacts to State of Environment report. Be scared, very scared, as the environment goes from disaster to utter catastrophe. State of the Environment: Blinky Bill is in intensive care. Thousands of dead and dying frogs found across Australia. What the bald eagle and a tiny bat can tell us about Australia’s broken system for protecting nature.
‘Poor and deteriorating’: Australia’s environment is sick and getting sicker. Plibersek says Morrison government hid ‘shocking document’ outlining the state of Australia’s environment. ‘We do need to change our laws’: Environment Minister. It’s about time we acted like we’re in a crisis”: Greens to push Labor ‘further and faster’.
INTERNATIONAL
War wins the ‘big bucks’ while climate gets the ‘change’
Calling Putin ‘Hitler’ to Smear Diplomacy as ‘Appeasement’.
NATO: The Most Dangerous Military Alliance on the Planet. Phil Wilayto column: The provocations behind the ‘unprovoked’ war. The Biggest Lie The Hawks Ever Sold. In Ukraine, a proxy war on the planet. US Military Analyst: West Can’t Afford Ukraine Spending, Will Run Out of Ammo to Send to Kiev. Global action urged to block AUKUS plan on transfer of nuclear materials.
Nuclear Power Plants Are Struggling to Stay Cool.
Baseload nuclear power not needed in an all-renewable future – Claverton Energy Research Group.
Death toll rises above 1,500 as temperatures soar across Europe.
As Europe burns, the world’s climate plan, such as it is, unravels.
UKRAINE.
- Russia is using captured Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station as a launch pad for military attacks .
- Greenpeace radiation investigation at Chornobyl to assess accuracy of IAEA data. Greenpeace investigation challenges nuclear agency on Chornobyl radiation levels. Greenpeace experts find Chornobyl under Russian occupation – radiation levels much higher than the IAEA estimated.
- Russia says Ukrainian drone struck nuclear plant, but caused no damage.
- Ukraine Defense Minister Offers Ukraine as a ‘Testing Ground’ for NATO Weapons.
- Money Pit: Zelensky govt signals intent to default on tens of billions in foreign
TODAY. Omnicide threatens this planet: the loss of small, ”weak”, vulnerable, species is the warning.
In today’s list of news, there were some little bits of hope. The State of the Environment Report detailed the success stories of indigenous rangers, and of privately run conservation groups.
But there was sadness, too. The native animals disappearing, including tiny bats, and frogs. Ecologists talk about ”key species”, that indicate the health level of an ecosystem,. If ever there was a ”key species” for the whole ecosystem, it’s the frog.
I felt sad, thinking that these small, vulnerable. ”weaker” creatures have no say, in the big decisions made by the out-of-control world’s top predator to dig, mine, clear forests, poison, pollute, blow things up, blow up and kill other species, and its suicidal rush to kill its own species.
But science writer Julian Cribb has come up with a method to save the world. He argues, passionately and persuasively for putting the ”weaker” sex in charge. In The Age of Women, Cribb says that If humanity is to survive the vast and growing threats it faces, women must assume the leadership of government, business, religion and social institutions around the world.
Nuclear news -week to 18 July
A bit of god news – On the Hudson River, a New Model of Environmental Stewardship
AUSTRALIA
Australia ‘Punctures’ US-UK Nuclear Submarine Proposal Under AUKUS; Says Hi-Tech Arms Better Than Nuke Subs. Michael West busts the spin of Murdoch media’s nuclear marketing.
- Australia should show leadership in nuclear disarmament – a resolution in the UN General Assembly on the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine would help.
- Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (ANFA) meeting across the nation, via Zoom
- David Littlebrain and the Nationals still pushing for nuclear power. Liberals to seek ‘social licence’ for nuclear power. Australian local governments vote to retain prohibitions on nuclear power.
- Mining lobby exaggerates taxes and royalties paid by $45 billion.
Climate.
- Everything has to change’: Decades of ignored warnings are leaving towns with flood ‘refugees’. Pressure on Australia over climate case. Labor climate bill guarantees ‘weak’ emissions target: Greens .
- Robbing Australia: profits soar for gas giants, royalties and tax languish.
- Our villages, our islands, our young people’ need action on climate change, Vanuatu PM says. Australia prepares for likelihood of climate refugees, backs push for UN justice. Labor in diplomatic climate flurry, at home and overseas, before parliament sits .
- ‘Greatest peace plan of all’: US, Australia say renewable energy cannot be ‘weaponised’. Albanese just laid out a radical new vision for Australia in the region: clean energy exporter and green manufacturer. CSIRO energy report highlights opportunity for farmers and regions
INTERNATIONAL
How social media is censored by algorithms to effectively throttle dissent.
‘Big guns’ keep the world on nuclear high alert. Atomic Lies: New York’s bizarre Nuclear Preparedness PSA
This proxy war has no exit strategy – the West’s desired outcome – a long and gruelling war?
World population to peak and decline sooner than previously thought . 8 billion morons on an orbiting sewer – World population rises as quality of life crashes.
Humanity is on track to cause one million species to go extinct, according to UN report. Fed up with net-zero climate goals, activists call for ‘real zero’. Radioactive portents on a burning earth.
The Nuclear Ban Treaty Had a Conference. Now it Has a Plan. The prohibition of nuclear weapons: a public health priority.
NATO’S 2022 PLAN DECLARES SECOND COLD WAR ON RUSSIA AND CHINA. NASA and Roscosmos Russian space agency sign deal to share space station flights.
Nuclear power is racist, sexist and ageist.
Uranium is losing the new energy market battle. Uranium, conflict and Indigenous lives .
No need for miracle technologies to rapidly decarbonise energy
UKRAINE. Danger intensifies around Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine. Unconfirmed reports that Russian forces at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station might drain the cooling ponds . There Is No ‘Magic Bullet’ That Can Turn The Tide For Ukraine. How To End the War in Ukraine? Ukraine reveals negotiation ‘end point‘.
RUSSIA. Russia’s will to win in Ukraine.
USA.
- U.S. China policy: a perilous arms race instead of waging critical co-operation. Biden moves US closer to confrontation with Russia.Heatwave? No, it’s a national emergency, disrupting lives and threatening our health.
UK. Heatwave? No, it’s a national emergency, disrupting lives and threatening our health.
TODAY. Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (ANFA) meeting across the nation, via Zoom.
Nobody wants the Covid-19 pandemic, but at the same time, it has resulted in enabling people across the continent to meet digitally, to build their awareness, and collaboration for action on nuclear issues.
Leading activists met on 16th July for the national ANFA meeting via Zoom – representing groups such as Friends of The Earth, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Medical Association for the Prevention of War, Conservation Council of Western Australia – and with people from at least 4 States and the Northern Territory.
These groups are working away quietly, informing communities, and encouraging governments to promote clean energy. and to protect Australia from the hazards of the nuclear industry.
These are some of the areas that they are working on:
Uranium mining: Preventing uranium mining in Western Australia, the rehabilitation of The Ranger and Rum Jungle closed mines, Olympic Dam’s problems of water guzzling, dangerous tailings wates, injustice to Aboriginal people. Australia sends uranium to Russia, and to Ukraine.
Nuclear Weapons: – some political support for Australia to join the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, from Labor. the Greens. the Teals, and even some Liberals
Nuclear submarines: The former Morrison government’s $170 billion plan to get them is by no means a done deal – how it can be scrapped or altered.
Nuclear wastes: the coming court case in which the Bargarla people oppose the plan for a nuclear waste dump at Kimba, South Australia – a plan in which they, and the wider South Australian community, were excluded from decision making.
The new Labor governments – federal and South Australian, have inherited these very poor decisions from the previous Liberal Coalition administration. ANFA is working to advise and influence the Albanese government to review these decisions.
Australian and other nuclear news this week
I had a hard time finding good news this week – I’m sure that it’s happening, and very many good people are doing good things – just not seen as newsworthy. Here is one little bit of good news – India outlawed scores of plastic products.
I had a hard time finding good news this week – I’m sure that it’s happening, and very many good people are doing good things – just not seen as newsworthy. Here is one little bit of good news – India outlawed scores of plastic products.
Coronavirus numbers, and deaths, continue to increase worldwide – and the scary thing is that many cases are nor reported and recorded.
Climate – also a whole nother story – of extreme weather events in many countries – check out Radio Ecoshock and also latest news on heat, wildfires, floods……..
There’s so much going on – I didn’t know where to start on things nuclear this week. I got a bit fed up with all the space colonisation fervour going on, so – I wrote my own little bit about it.
AUSTRALIA
Why Australia’s Labor government refuses to defend Julian Assange.
Labor must reverse Morrison’s nuclear submarine bungle to protect the nation. AUKUS submarines: Beasts of nuclear proliferation.
Albanese’s extreme language against China is out of place now, and against Labor tradition.
Slow, expensive and no good for 1.5° target: CSIRO crushes Coalition nuclear fantasy. Forget nuclear and simplify electrification:” The message from energy experts. A Liberal National Party, led by Dutton and Littleproud vote on support for Queensland nuclear plants.
Scientist sheds doubt on the viability of Australia’s planned Kimba nuclear waste dump. Kimba nuclear waste dump – phase 3 in progress, but the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency (ARWA) has not completed phase 2 !
Time to speak up: water apartheid is Australia’s dirty secret.
Climate emergency actions are needed not just promises.
Australia has key role to play as clean energy reshapes Indo-Pacific relations
‘A human rights crisis in the making’: Climate activists rally in Fiji ahead of Pacific Islands Forum. ‘Far from adequate’: former Pacific leaders group urges Australia to increase 43% emissions cut.
Climate change modelling abandoned by Abbott nine years ago restarted by government.
INTERNATIONAL
Nuclear war would turn oceans upside down, crash food web.
Russia and other nuclear-armed parties must be held to account for violations of non-proliferation treaty.
NO TO NATO IN MADRID.
Following Turkish blackmail, 30 NATO states sign accession protocols for Finland, Sweden .
Nuclear myopia — Promoting nuclear power as a solution to climate change is short-sighted
Enthusiastic space travel publicity avoids mentioning radiation danger. The Corporatisation of Space.
UKRAINE. Ukrainians have sold two French-donated 155mm Caesar howitzers to Russia. Not only Russian: Ukrainian forces also are killing children. U.N. report on crimes, human rights violations in Ukraine-Russia war includes abuses done by the Ukrainian side. Ukraine Reform Conference – name changed to Ukraine Recovery Conference – to hide the reality of Ukraine’s endemic corruption.
JAPAN. Nuclear plant cooling system stops working for 8 hours. Nuclear power in Japan may be a mistake we are doomed to repeat. Fukushima nuclear plant compensation burden was secretly reduced. Where to in 2045? Contaminated Soil from the Nuclear Power Plant Accident: The Present Location of Interim Storage Facilities, Fukushima. Decadal trends in 137Cs concentrations in the bark and wood of trees contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear accident.
Criminal assassination of Shinzo Abe. But let us not forget Shinzo Abe’s full record as PM. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pretending that all is well at Fukushima, using this lie to promote Olympics. Japan could change pacifist constitution after Shinzo Abe victory. Japan’s Constitution Allows Nuclear Weapons, Says Shinzo Abe.
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The week in nuclear news Australia
A bit of good news – Marc Jacobson: No miracle tech needed: How to switch to renewables now and lower costs doing it.
In my newsletters and on my websites, there are a lot of articles critical of, indeed condemning, NATO and the USA. There are also articles critical of Ukraine, and some revealing the Russian point of view. This isn’t because I’m a Putin supporter. I’m not, and certainly don’t support his illegal invasion of Ukraine. I have publicised some atrocities by the Ukrainians – but I don’t doubt that there have been some atrocities by the Russian side.
The pro-Ukraine, pro NATO/USA side is fulsomely covered by the mainstream media. My reason is simply that the mainstream media is blanketing us with a very biased coverage of the Ukraine war – we are being brainwashed to believe that Ukraine is winning this war, – there’s no case for a negotiated settlement, and that the might of NATO/USA is the solution to this problem, and to pretty much every other problem on the planet. China is evil, but NATO will fix everything. The message is, as a notoriously corrupt Australian Premier used to answer questions , – ” Don’t you worry about THAT” – (ie. ”don’t think. just cheer us on.”)
AUSTRALIA.
Oh, for a Prime Minister honest about Australia’s security! Mr Albanese goes to Madrid: Australia on the alliance path to Global Nato
Nuclear. Spinbusting the propaganda of SMR Nuclear Technology’s Tony Irwin as he spruiks for Small Nuclear Reactors for Australia.
ERA looks for funding options for cleaning up Ranger uranium mine.
Fast-tracking Australia toward nuclear subs. ( I like this one: it is appealingly silly ) AUKUS nuclear submarine plan to be revealed by March 2023.
Harsher anti-protest laws targeting environmentalists are putting greed before green .
Climate. The Greens are our best hope for the urgent climate action we need. Labor to introduce legislation for climate targets and EV tax cuts in first week of parliament. Europe saw Morrison’s Australia as “handbrake” on global climate action, Albanese says. Climate change poses ‘real and substantial’ threat to Torres Strait Islanders, Chris Bowen says
Tanya Plibersek declares environment ‘is back front and centre’ in Australia at UN ocean conference.
Gas Lies: as super profits ramp up so too does the fossil fuel propaganda war
INTERNATIONAL
Assange’s wife sounds alarm over his treatment. Julian Assange files new appeal fighting extradition to US. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRNpsNCPXvA Extradition of Julian Assange – a travesty of justice.
Atoms and Ashes—lessons from six of the world’s worst nuclear disasters. (this is a terrific article – covers every aspect about nuclear safety). Is Nuclear Power Just Too Dangerous?
ABOUT NATO and WAR NATO and a War Foretold . While Biden Gives Ukrainian Army “The Most Lethal Weapon,” War Profiteer BAE Systems Stock Soars.
Empire To Expand NATO In Response To War Caused By NATO Expansion.
NATO has completed its post-Cold War transformation from Europe’s guard dog into America’s attack dog. If you want to be accepted as ”Western” – best to be white. NATO to add Finland, Sweden, prepare Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea .
NATO pressures Finland, Sweden to back “Türkiye’s” war against Kurds as price of admission. Finland, Sweden join Turkey’s war against Kurds to get NATO pass. New, aspiring NATO members must adhere to Anglo-American pieties, dogmas, articles of faith . NATO summit: Pentagon to establish permanent military bases in Central, Eastern Europe. Military social media campaigns promote the war in Ukraine, and attack any ”wrongthink” that dares criticise role of USA and NATO.
Nuclear warheads expected to increase in next 10 years.
Small modular nukes fall short on climate promises, new study suggests.
Lost in space: Astronauts struggle to regain bone density.
Gun Violence: A Public Health Crisis — IPPNW peace and health blog
Put women’s rights ‘front and centre’ of climate policies: Bachelet.
CLIMATE. Greta Thunberg has warned that the world faces “total natural catastrophe” unless citizens take urgent action. World is not going to avoid 1.5C global warming ‘tipping point’, researchers warn. The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Expansion Plans Will Be the Death of Us! — Mother Jones
UKRAINE. Biden officials privately doubt that Ukraine can win back all of its territory . The IAEA Needs Access to Ukraine’s Nuclear Power Plant. Biden Can Help. Ukraine says link restored to Zaporizhzhia nuclear station. As West blames Moscow for ‘food crisis’, ships sail from Mariupol with Moscow’s help while Ukraine holds vessels in its ports. ‘Russian-speakers will be second-class citizens unless they give up their language’: A view on Ukraine’s future from Donbass.
TODAY. Australia slides into the grip of the global nuclear lobby
It sounds so good doesn’t it? The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, (IAEA) is coming to Australia, to make sure that our new you-beaut nuclear submarines will be safe and healthy!
But let’s be clear on the purpose of the IAEA. It is not a neutral, independent, body. It is not primarily about safety.
The clear and prime purpose of the IAEA is to promote and develop the nuclear industry -it says so in its mission statement.
A 50-year-old agreement with the IAEA has effectively gagged the WHO from telling the truth about the health risks of radiation.
Don’t expect Mr Grossi to mention any of these basic problems. The IAEA is NOT objective – sure – it wants the nuclear submarines to be just safe enough to go ahead. There’ll be no emphasis on wottheheck will be done with the toxic wastes (IAEA has no idea about that), or on the risks to our Pacific neighbours in having these subs go through their supposedly nuclear-free waters.
The IAEA will be another nice-looking con job by the nuclear lobby – furthering our slide into this toxic industry
1 This month
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
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