WikiLeaks posts huge CIA hacking trove
WikiLeaks posts huge CIA hacking trove | 08 March 2017 | The CIA has suffered what appears to be a massive security breach with WikiLeaks dumping thousands of confidential documents detailing the spy agency’s global hacking abilities. The CIA documents published by WikiLeaks show how the CIA has managed to read popular encrypted apps, signal and telegram by breaking into phones to intercept messages before the encryption is applied. WikiLeaks, headed by Australian Julian Assange, claimed that its leaked data includes hundreds of millions of line of code that includes the CIA’s “entire hacking capability.”
Reserve supply could avert gas crisis
VICTORIA’S gas supplies could be reserved for domestic use under a plan being put to the State Government to deal with the energy crisis.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/victorian-gas-supplies-could-be-reserved-for-domestic-use/news-story/4787736eb11b5a6ec5384f870cef4811
Social housing to get solar lease trial
THE sun is set to shine on some of the Far North’s most vulnerable thanks to a State Government social housing solar energy trial. (subscribers only)
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/sun-shines-on-social-housing-push-to-get-solar-lease-trial/news-story/5325f22b624757ea5637e83f59caed55
Journalism lecturer urges journalistic courage – democracy is in danger
There is a war on media, and it’s time for journalism teachers to suit up, Crikey, 8 Mar 17, The biggest change for journalism lecturers this semester will be a darkly positive one, writes journalism lecturer at Curtin University Glynn Greensmith. “…….Trust in both politicians and the media is not high. This on-the-nosedness is apparently contributing to the rise of parties like One Nation (their unofficial slogan for the upcoming WA election, “Think Polio & Putin, think Pauline”, needs a little work, to be honest), other minor parties, and a polarising and divisive national discourse. Or, as former chief justice of the Australian High Court Robert French said last month:
“The spaces left by lack of awareness and misunderstanding are all too readily filled by snake oil salesmen coming in from the hinterland of our civil and political discourses.”……..
The one word we may be adding or emphasising in our teaching repertoire in 2017 is courage. The challenge against the means and modus of journalism is now more direct and deliberate than at any time in recent history. Fake news is simply the generation and distribution of knowingly untrue stories in order to garner a sense of misunderstanding and/or money. The co-opted Trump version means ‘If your truth conflicts with my politics, you’re a liar’.
Truth, and how to tell it, are the elements of journalism that media educators have long taken for granted, and taught. The real positive now is that audiences may once again be joining us at this base point for our relationship between journalism and democracy.
To start there is to expect — not hope — that better politicians and politics must follow. To start there is to expect — not hope — that journalism teachers across Australia can talk truth once again this semester, without having to duck to avoid flying lumps of coal. https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/03/08/there-is-a-war-on-media-and-its-time-for-journalism-teachers-to-suit-up/
Why millionaire donors like to promote the nuclear industry in South Australia
Paul Richards , Nuclear Fuel Cycle Watch South Australia, 7 Mar 17 ‘…whacky millionaire donors who think that they own the party, and that making SA nuclear will make them richer.’ (Steve Dale)
Whacky, I like the word Dale
Still, deviously clever is closer to the mark, as there is no thinking it will make them richer; they know it it will make them richer
As they intend to tap into the Australian Sovereign wealth and this is the ‘biggest game in town’ metaphorically speaking
Because there would be a guaranteed supply of Government funding for the nuclear industry for their lives
What many fail to grasp about the desperate and greedy grab for this nuclear industry is that because it’s economically unsustainable; once this nuclear cycle even starts and the truth comes out the decommissioning is measured in half centuries, and it literally takes thousands of years of management
This fact is regardless of the sales narrative that creates a sustainable meme, a constructed positive outcome for the ears of the naive and hopeful.
The whole story is nothing more than yet another sales brochure online, pumping out in the media that this is the solution to our species carbon emissions problem, or conversely for the denier of global warming, able to solve the fear of invasion from the North in supporting nuclear weapons.
Furthermore, it is so desirable an enterprise, even when contracted into national or multinational corporations senior executives have no such guarantee of capital flow. Simply because corporations live on quarterly, six monthly, yearly guaranteed rates of return
Our sovereign wealth commitment needed to start this whole nuclear cycle in Australia means taxpayers paying indefinitely for the infrastructure
Ergo; these ‘whacky millionaires’, if they crack this nuclear industry they will have guaranteed their elitist ‘life conditions’ and any progeny following Infinitum. Clever business
Steve Dale Yes, nuclear is a guaranteed way of tapping into an artery of taxpayer funds. Lucas Heights has proven that. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1021186047913052/
Uranium project: days away from a Western Australian state election, light years away from responsibility
National and state environment groups have described the recent federal conditional approval of the Mulga Rock uranium project in West Australia as irresponsible fast-tracking.
“The project does not have final approval to begin construction, it is not economically viable, it does not have a social license to operate and there is no bipartisan political support for this sector in WA,” said CCWA campaigner Mia Pepper.
“It is a long way from a conditional environmental approval to an operating mine.”
The Mulga Rock project is east of Kalgoorlie in a region classified as ‘pristine’ and upstream from the Queen Victoria Springs Class ‘A’ Nature Reserve. The area is home to rare and endangered species, including the sandhill dunnart, marsupial mole and rainbow bee-eater.
Project proponent Vimy Resources advised the ASX today of conditional federal project approval.
Environmental groups have detailed concerns about long term groundwater and radioactive waste contamination impacts. Representatives of the Spinifex Aboriginal people have also expressed environmental and cultural opposition and concern over the planned mining operation.
“Days out from a state election where there is a stark policy contest on uranium mining federal environment Minister Frydenburg has put industry favours ahead of proper process and effective environmental protection. His race to rubber-stamp a major radioactive risk is deeply irresponsible,” said ACF campaigner Dave Sweeney.
Uranium prices remain deeply depressed and recent times have seen the major WA uranium hopeful Cameco write down the full book value of its Kintyre uranium project in the Pilbara.
“Vimy Resources are trying to clear all the hurdles before this weekend’s state election but they have fallen short,” Ms Pepper said.
“This project and the wider WA uranium sector will be actively contested.”
Fossil fuels have had their day: now we need intelligent action on clean, renewable energy
We need a new narrative, built around our potential to prosper as a low-carbon society. We have the world’s best renewable resources, the science, technology and engineering expertise to seize what is the biggest investment and job-creation opportunity this country has ever seen.
In addition, we need a taskforce which will pull together the resources and expertise required to initiate emergency action, led by statesmen and women from businesses with a concern to create a genuinely sustainable Australia. It is their future which is being thrown away by fossil fuel industry pressure forcing government to remain firmly entrenched in the 20th century.
‘Clean coal’, CCS and CSG will not save fossil fuels – their game is up https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/mar/03/clean-coal-ccs-and-csg-will-not-save-fossil-fuels-their-game-is-up As the Finkel review submission deadline arrives it’s time to accept the inevitable and fix the shambles that is our energy policy, Guardian, Ian Dunlop, Ian Dunlop was formerly an international oil, gas and coal industry executive and Australian Coal Association chair Friday 3 March 2017
Every few years the fossil fuel industry pressures politicians to force “clean coal”, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and more recently coal seam gas (CSG) on an increasingly sceptical community to justify its continued expansion.
This cycle started with the promotion of Adani’s massive Carmichael coalmine in Queensland, for coal export to India. The South Australian blackout followed last September when violent storms blew down transmission towers, prompting instant federal government accusations that excessive reliance on renewable energy was the cause, despite clear advice to the contrary. This also prompted a review of the energy system, led by Dr Alan Finkel, with final submissions due on Friday.
Then, when the long-overdue closure of the Hazelwood brown-coal power station was announced in November, energy security became a political battleground. In passing, Adani was to be offered a $1bn subsidy to construct the Carmichael rail line, and then a further subsidy for a new domestic coal-fired power plant at the mine was mooted to assist the development of northern Australia.
The prime minister’s National Press Club speech in January emphasised the need for “affordable, reliable and secure energy”, denounced the states for their “unrealistic” renewable targets, encouraged energy storage – and then took an evangelical swing back to coal, straight from the fossil fuel industry hymn book. Priority would be given to “clean coal, and carbon capture and storage (CCS and onshore gas (CSG)”, implying that renewables were neither affordable or reliable.
He continued: “The next incarnation of our energy policy should be technology-agnostic – it’s security and cost that matter, not how you deliver it. Policy should be ‘all of the above technologies’ working together to meet the trifecta of secure and affordable power while meeting our substantial emission reduction commitments.”
So what could possibly be wrong with such a sweeping vision? Well, pretty much everything. Continue reading
After Brexit, will UK government pressure Australia to take their plutonium?
WHAT ARE THE PROBABILITIES BREXIT CAUSES THE UK TO PRESSURE OUR GOVERNMENTS TO TAKE THEIR PLUTONIUM? Paul Richards No High Level International Nuclear Waste Dump in South Australia 2 Mar 17
A repository for the world’s nuclear waste anywhere in Australia, is a Trumpian like idea. As just the engineering to store the United Kingdoms plutonium puts the engineering on a level with building the Channel Tunnel. However, the sheer scale of Channel project was created to carry the 50.45-kilometre rail system linking the UK with Northern France creating European trade efficiency
Yet the cost of plutonium storage in the U.K. without the compensatory payback period in economic benefit trading with Europe via the Channel Tunnel seems counter initiative
The idea Australia takes on such an obvious economically disastrous UK plutonium storage need is ludicrous
Furthermore, the nuclear waste storage repository for the whole Nuclear Brotherhoods needs raises the lack of economic benefit by orders of magnitude^ in comparison to the Channel Tunnel Engineering project
Be ready for the next round of nuclear fallout https://www.facebook.com/groups/1314655315214929/ _______
source: nikkei newspaper via its subsidiary, the financial times
https://www.ft.com/con…/9b99159e-ff2a-11e6-96f8-3700c5664d30
^ orders of magnitude – https://goo.gl/mnelvl
New South Wales Greens push to shut down coal
The NSW Greens will today call for the phase-out of all coalmining in Australia over a decade-long period. (subscribers only)
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/in-depth/future-of-resources/greens-push-to-close-coalmining-in-10-years/news-story/59ad2b6246c8944c733dfebf4494b7c1
South Australian govt and Australian Energy Market Operator should be promoting energy conservation
Dennis Matthews 1 Mar 17, Excessive emphasis on electricity supply overlooks the important role of demand in keeping the lights on.
In years of drought the South Australian public showed that it is capable of rising to the challenge by conserving water. Thanks to information and incentives from the SA Government the public demonstrated great resilience and resourcefulness.
What applies to water also applies to electricity but the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is sending the wrong signals (The Advertiser, 1/3/17). Instead of encouraging consumers to conserve electricity AEMO is encouraging business as usual.
As amply demonstrated in the last five months, this is putting SA at the mercy of the electricity industry.
Conserving electricity is as simple as conserving water; in summer, turn up the air-conditioner thermostat by a degree or two, in winter do the opposite.
The SA Government can do its bit by providing information and incentives for electricity conservation measures such as double-glazed windows. This will decrease the demand for air-conditioning in summer and heating in winter.
No place for nuclear enthusiasts in South Australia’s Liberal Party
Valdis Dūnis , Nuclear Fuel Cycle Watch South Australia, 24 Feb 17
No room for nuclear spruikers in the Liberal party anymore, as two such people are fully out of the party now:
‘Former Senator Sean Edwards will not seek state preselection, citing policy differences with Steven Marshall’s partyroom. Edwards, a pro-nuclear advocate who had toyed with the prospect of entering parliament in either Frome or Heysen, today confirmed: “I will not be seeking preselection for the 2018 state election. My long-held position in obtaining cheap baseload energy with zero carbon emissions – desperately required for SA – is likely to put me at odds with the parliamentary team’s newly-stated views on gas exploration and nuclear, and providing a contest of ideas in this space,” he told InDaily.’
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science avoids hard questions on nuclear waste
Paul Waldon Fight To Stop Nuclear Waste Dump In Flinders Ranges SA, February 18 , 17
The sad reality of the push for the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science to promote a nuclear environment in South Australia, comes with NO regard for the future of a community and its residents.
We all know this is a inherently dangerous industry that nobody will insure, but they claim it is safe as long as it is not in their backyard.
However the radiation sales people are busy trying to sell their snake oil, with their program to have meetings and sway what the believe to be ignorant people. We do hear everything they tell us but not everyone of us has the questions to the answers that they don’t want to supply.
Is it just me or do others notice they are quick to shutdown a meeting or redirect issues that need to be addressed. I would rather have questions that can NOT be answered, that answers that can NOT be questioned, and remember they have a duty to convince us, not us to convince them, this may be a tough fight when your adversary manufactures their factoids which should be shown how they are achieved so to please people and show transparency. The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. https://www.facebook.com/groups/344452605899556/
Australia and USA governments under control of vested interests regarding climate change
In Australia and the US, sound climate policy is being held hostage by vested interests https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/07/in-australia-and-the-us-sound-climate-policy-is-being-held-hostage-by-vested-interests
We must shift away from a culture of politically motivated climate change denialism to an acceptance of the truly existential threat now facing humanity, Guardian, Michael Mann and Christopher Wright, 7 Feb 17 It’s been a bad couple of weeks for the world’s climate and environment. The inauguration of billionaire property developer and reality TV star Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States has presaged a new Dark Age of climate politics.
In an opening fortnight of controversial executive orders, President Trump has decreed the expansion of major fossil fuel developments including the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, and the neutering of long-standing environmental protections. In addition, he and his leadership team have made it plain they intend to dismantle many of the Obama administration’s climate initiatives and withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. All this runs in direct counterpoint to the rapid decarbonisation required to avoid dangerous climate change.
For Australian fossil fuel interests, President Trump’s war on climate appears particularly opportune. Just last week, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his senior ministers floated the idea of government backing for new coal-fired power stations as part of the government’s response to Australia’s “energy security” and expressed reticence over the country’s Renewable Energy Target.
For a country that has nurtured world-leading innovations in solar photovoltaic and other renewable energy technologies and that is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change – be it in the form of record heat, devastating floods, more widespread drought, coastal inundation from sea level rise combined with stronger tropical storms, or the demise of the Great Barrier Reef – doubling down on the traditional fossil fuel energy path is particularly short-sighted. Continue reading
Un message pour our French nuclear propaganda visitors
Fight To Stop Nuclear Waste Dump In Flinders Ranges SAJe voudrais simplement faire savoir à la délégation française que nous sommes ici dans les Flinders Ranges ne voulons pas de déchets toxiques DUMP, si la France est heureuse de déverser un tel pays avec des déchets de plutonium toxiques à leur choix, ici dans le Flinders que nous choisissons De dire NON, ne venez pas ici avec deciet dans votre coeur et nous dire des mensonges, nous ne voulons pas la décharge de déchets nucléaires !!!! https://www.facebook.com/groups/344452605899556/
1 This month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
15 April – Zoom –Nuclear Power is Not the Solution
Apr 15, 2026 01:00 AM in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Join the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) on Tuesday, April 14th for a timely webinar exploring the risks associated with nuclear power and challenging the myth that it offers a simple, safe, carbon-free solution to the climate crisis
21 April Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-04-21 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-04-21 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
Event Type: Virtual
A virtual link will be communicated before the event.
Host Contact Info: australia@icanw.org
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 