Julian Assange’s wife Stella Moris reveals how they raise children together while he is in jail waiting an extradition decision
In court, Julian has not been permitted to sit with his lawyers. And despite many applications since January 21, he has not been allowed to attend his own court hearings in person. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-08/stella-moris-my-life-with-julian-assange-extradition/101132624, My Australian husband Julian Assange is fighting for his life from within the confines of a three-by-two-metre cell in Britain’s harshest prison, Belmarsh.
The US has accused him of espionage as a result of his work with WikiLeaks in 2010-2011 and wants to extradite him to face court.
If his extradition goes ahead, Julian faces a maximum 175-year prison sentence. As his wife, I fear he will be buried in the deepest, darkest corner of the US prison system until he dies.
During another extradition hearing last year a UK magistrate blocked Julian’s transfer to the US over fears of “oppressive” conditions that could drive him to take his life.
On July 3, Julian turns 51. It will be the fourth year he has spent his birthday alone in a cell, without conviction.
Is our time together running out?
When Julian is taken from his cell to the prison yard he tilts his head up so his eyes can focus on the distance. If he narrows his eyes, the double razor wire above becomes a blur. Beyond is the open sky.
Julian recently discovered a family of nesting magpies. He spotted their home subversively nestled between the razor wire. I think our family is like those magpies.
When we are together, we are always a few metres from their nest. Our children — Gabriel, who is five, and Max, three — only have memories of their father within the brutal surroundings of Belmarsh prison.
We don’t know how long our children have left with their father. We don’t know if we can visit him or even talk to him on the phone. If the extradition goes ahead, US authorities retain the right to put Julian in conditions so cruel that no one in his position is likely to survive.
It is impossible for Julian and me to escape a feeling that he is on death row. Our weekly visits may be the only time we have left together. But for how much longer? A few months more, a few weeks, a few days and then only a few hours? I fear in the end we will count the minutes and the seconds.
Guards search inside my children’s mouths
Were it not for our children, this approaching catastrophe would be all-consuming. But Julian and I know these may be the only memories that our children will have of their father. We make our visits as joyous as possible.
I don’t need to explain to Gabriel and Max the reality of this place where we go to visit their father. They live it. The children walk under razor wire and past layers and layers of security to reach their daddy.
Guards search inside their mouths, behind their ears and under their feet. The prison dogs sniff them head to toe, front and back.
Last week, Gabriel slipped some daisies he had picked by the prison walls into his pocket to give to his father. After he passed through the metal detector his daisies were confiscated during the pat-down search by one of the guards, albeit reluctantly.
During visits, our family is allowed to embrace at the beginning and end. We can hold each others’ hands across the table. Julian and I are not allowed to kiss. But Julian would rather kiss his wife and be penalised than have that taken away from him too. So, we kiss.
Precious moments for life lessons
The children love visiting their daddy. Julian reads them stories. Gabriel shares his father’s fascination with numbers. Julian teaches them nifty tricks: the best way to peel an orange, how to open chips without losing any of the contents.
These things may sound small to most people, but they are our precious moments together. A canteen selling chips and oranges and the prison’s collection of children’s books are all that is on offer in the visitor’s hall we share with 30-or-so prisoners and their families once or twice a week.
On March 23, we were married in Belmarsh. The prison – normally filled with tragedy and isolation – was turned on its head for a few hours to celebrate our love and commitment. Our nest in the razor wire.
The last time the media photographed Julian was in 2019, through the scratched windows of a prison van. The UK Authorities insist that our wedding photos not be made public ‘on security grounds’. In court, Julian has not been permitted to sit with his lawyers. And despite many applications since January 21, he has not been allowed to attend his own court hearings in person.
Australia’s Energy Minister rejects nuclear power push
Hawkesbury Gazette By Paul Osborne and Dominic Giannini June 9 2022
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has attacked the Nationals for suggesting nuclear power be considered in Australia’s energy mix, saying the party had no credibility after nine years in government.
Mr Bowen says nuclear would be the most expensive form of energy when Australians are already facing rising costs and inflationary pressures.
“Seriously? Nine years in office and then coming up with bright ideas on the other side of the election is point one. No credibility,” he said on Thursday.
“Nuclear is the most expensive form of energy. We have a cost of living crisis, energy prices going through the roof and what’s their big bright idea? Let’s have the most expensive form of energy we can possibly think of.”
………………….. Labor has rejected the technology as too expensive and not a serious solution to reducing power costs or cutting emissions. https://www.hawkesburygazette.com.au/story/7773300/energy-minister-rejects-nuclear-power-push/
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull labels Peter Dutton a ‘belligerent blusterer’ over nuclear submarines claim.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has criticised previous defence minister Peter Dutton over the handling of the nuclear submarine deal with France.
Claims from Opposition leader Peter Dutton he tried to buy two US nuclear submarines to meet a capability shortfall have been labelled as “belligerent” bluster by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Mr Turnbull heavily criticised the former defence minister’s role in the scrapping of a French submarine deal in favour of acquiring nuclear vessels as part of the AUKUS alliance
With Australia set to get its own nuclear submarines by the late 2030s, Mr Dutton said he had planned to buy two Virginia-class subs from the US by 2030 in order to plug a gap for the vessels.
“It was just more blustering from Dutton … he’s a belligerent blusterer who wrecked a submarine contract,” Mr Turnbull told ABC radio on Monday.
“We’re now in a position where we don’t have any submarine program at all.
“Between (former prime minister Scott) Morrison and Dutton they did enormous damage to Australia’s national security.”
Former defence department secretary Dennis Richardson said it was wishful thinking that Australia could have received two American nuclear submarines by the end of the decade.
He took issue with the comments raised about the acquisition of US vessels as part of AUKUS.
“The more the Americans hear senior Australians talk about the possibility of getting them in five years’ time or in 10 years’ time, the more people in the American system scratch their heads and ask themselves whether they’re dealing with a country that seriously understands the depth of the challenge,” he said.
“It’s a long shot to think that we’ll get nuclear-powered submarines from the Americans by 2030.”
Mr Richardson said Australia did not have the port facilities needed to service nuclear submarines from America, even if they were acquired.
“The more the Americans hear senior Australians talk about the possibility of getting them in five years’ time or in 10 years’ time, the more people in the American system scratch their heads and ask themselves whether they’re dealing with a country that seriously understands the depth of the challenge,” he said.
“It’s a long shot to think that we’ll get nuclear-powered submarines from the Americans by 2030.”
Mr Richardson said Australia did not have the port facilities needed to service nuclear submarines from America, even if they were acquired.
“The speed with which we have moved to settle this matter, put a line underneath it and to move forward was very much welcomed by the French minister (for defence Sebastien Lecornu),” Mr Marles said
“France and Australia have so much in common,” he added, noting the European nation’s strong presence in the Pacific region.
Mr Albanese is reportedly planning to visit Paris in the coming weeks to further repair the diplomatic relationship.
Disgraced Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith – quitting politics – backs Dutton’s call for nuclear power
Smith backs Dutton’s nuclear push as colleagues dodge debate, By Annika Smethurst, The Age June 12, 2022 Victorian Coalition leaders won’t endorse calls from their federal counterparts to consider nuclear energy generation, despite the plan having the support of several state MPs.
Following the federal election loss, newly installed Liberal leader Peter Dutton and Nationals leader David Littleproud have both hinted that nuclear energy could be part of the Coalition’s future policy platform…………….
While nuclear power has some support among Victorian Coalition MPs, the state opposition has attempted to distance itself from the federal push, repeatedly refusing to endorse or reject nuclear energy when approached by The Age.
In response to individual questions on the policy, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy, Victorian Nationals’ leader Peter Walsh and shadow minister for energy and renewables Craig Ondarchie issued a joint statement claiming nuclear energy in Australia is regulated by the Commonwealth, and therefore not a state issue.
“As such any move would need to be taken at a federal level,” the Coalition spokesman said.
The statement was slammed by outgoing Liberal MP and former shadow attorney-general Tim Smith, who said: “Any serious opposition or government must at the very least put nuclear energy on the table.”
There is currently a federal ban prohibiting the use of nuclear materials for energy production, while Victorian legislation prohibits uranium and thorium mining and exploration………………………..
Another backbencher told The Age there should be an open conversation about the use of nuclear technologies given soaring energy costs.
Smith, who is quitting politics in November after crashing his car while drink-driving last year, agreed, saying the federal debate was both “timely and welcome” given the state’s baseload energy requirements…………………… https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/smith-backs-dutton-s-nuclear-push-as-colleagues-dodge-debate-20220612-p5at31.html
Sky News Australia is a global hub for climate misinformation, report says
Sky News Australia is a global hub for climate misinformation, report says
Murdoch-owned channel creates and distributes content promoting climate scepticism across the world, analysis finds
”Zero chance of any nuclear power stations in Britain in the next decade”
”…………………. Former Business Energy and Industrial Strategy minister Jesse
Norman was one of the back-bench Tory MPs submitting a letter of no
confidence in the Prime Minister this week. He told Mr Johnson that
“Sensible planning has been replaced by empty rhetoric” under his
leadership. In his letter, Mr Norman poured cold water on hopes
that sites like Moorside in Copeland and Hinkley will see new nuclear in
coming years. “As a former energy minister I can tell you that there is,
for example, zero chance that this or any government will be able to build
a nuclear power station a year at any point in the next decade.” ………….
Labour member of Copeland Council’s Strategic Nuclear Energy Board Joseph
Ghayouba said: “He’s confirmed what local people have been saying for a
long time. The Conservative Party has been lying to the people of Copeland
for years. “Promising new nuclear and none ever appears. To get elected
Trudy Harrison promised to secure Moorside then broke her promise and said
there wasn’t a “magic money tree” for the project. Now it’s clear the
Conservatives have no plan to develop new nuclear in Copeland.”……….. Carlisle News & Star 13th June 2022
Japanese youths at Vienna Nuclear Ban Treaty meeting, call for abolition of nuclear weapons
Japanese youths to call for abolition of nuclear weapons at Vienna meeting, https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220612_14/ Fourteen Japanese youths plan to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons at the first meeting of signatories to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Vienna later this month.
In an online meeting on Sunday, Takahashi Yuta, a university student from Hiroshima, said the younger generation must take over from the atomic-bomb survivors, or hibakusha.
He said many young people will travel to the meeting in Vienna, and he wants to convey the hibakushas’ voices to the world.
Okuno Kako, another university student from Hiroshima, is also working on environmental
Okuno said if nuclear weapons are used, they would cause temperatures to fall globally. She added that nuclear tests and the production of nuclear weapons also adversely affect the environment.
She said she wants to appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons from the viewpoint of both environmental protection and peace, although they may appear to be unrelated.
The students plan to explain the hibakushas’ experiences at events organized by non-governmental organizations, and to give speeches calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
They also hope to convey the hibakushas’ views to representatives of the signatory countries in Vienna.
Pentagon divulges number of US-funded biolabs in Ukraine.
US insists 46 “peaceful” facilities were all about public health and safety. https://www.rt.com/news/556902-pentagon-ukraine-biolabs-wmd/, The US government has supported 46 biological research facilities in Ukraine over the past 20 years, but as part of a peaceful public health project rather than to develop weapons, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The US military accused Russia and China of “spreading disinformation and sowing mistrust” about its efforts to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
This is the first time the US Department of Defense disclosed the exact number of such facilities its government has supported in Ukraine, in a document titled ‘Fact Sheet on WMD Threat Reduction Efforts.’
According to the Pentagon, the US has “worked collaboratively to improve Ukraine’s biological safety, security, and disease surveillance for both human and animal health,” by providing support to “46 peaceful Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities, and disease diagnostic sites over the last two decades.” These programs have focused on “improving public health and agricultural safety measures at the nexus of nonproliferation.”
The work of these biolabs was “often” conducted in partnership with bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and was “consistent with international best practices and norms in publishing research results, partnering with international colleagues and multilateral organizations, and widely distributing their research and public health findings,” the Pentagon insisted.
Last month, the Russian military said only three laboratories in Ukraine had the required safety levels to conduct the kind of research they were engaged in. Head of the Radioactive, Chemical, and Biological Protection Forces Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov cited Ukrainian government reports to point to a series of problems at one of those facilities in Odessa, by way of example.
In a series of briefings starting in March, the Russian military has presented evidence of the Pentagon’s involvement in funding laboratories in Ukraine. In early May, Kirillov accused Kiev of launching a biological attack against the breakaway region of Lugansk and of conducting “inhumane experiments” on Ukrainian patients. Other evidence suggested attempts to weaponize drones to disperse pathogens, and attempts to destroy compromising materials after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February.
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the US has poured more than $224 million into biological research in Ukraine between 2005 and early 2022. Western pharmaceutical giants, nonprofits and even the US Democratic Party were involved in the scheme, Moscow has said.
To hear the Pentagon explain it, the US had “full approval” of the Russian government to engage “thousands of former Russian biological weapons scientists to conduct peaceful biological research projects for public health purposes.” Earlier in the document, the US military points out it was trying to create “sustainable civilian employment” for scientists with “weapons-related knowledge” in order to “remove incentives to seek or accept of terrorist or other state actor employment and financing.”
US involvement with biological laboratories in Ukraine “remain peaceful efforts to improve nuclear and radiological safety and security, disease surveillance, chemical safety and security, and readiness to respond to epidemics and pandemics such as COVID-19,” the Pentagon said.
Meanwhile, it accused Russia – with the help of China – of seeking “to undermine that work by spreading disinformation and sowing mistrust in the people and institutions all over the world that contribute to WMD threat reduction.”
China has responded to Russian briefings by calling for the US to provide a “fair, objective and professional” explanation of its activities.
The Pentagon insists that Ukraine “has no nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons programs” and that the small amount of highly enriched uranium (HEU) that remains at research institutes in Kiev and Kharkov “is well below the amount needed to produce a nuclear device.”
UK set to fork out ‘hundred of millions’ to fix Rolls Royce small nuclear reactor flaw.
Energy crisis: UK set to fork out ‘hundred of millions’ to fix Rolls Royce reactor flaw. THE Government could be forced to spend hundreds of millions of pounds in an effort to tackle a key flaw of Rolls Royce
reactors, Express.co.uk has been told.
As part of the Government’s energy security strategy, the UK has favoured small modular reactors as a way to boost its homegrown energy generation. In April, the Government announced that it is investing £210million to help develop small modular reactors (SMRs), which are said to be much cheaper and easier to deploy than traditional nuclear power stations.
However, a new study has found that SMRs will actually generate far more radioactive waste than conventional nuclear power plants, and governments to spend large amounts to find a safe way to dispose of it. Study lead author Lindsay Krall, a former MacArthur Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) said: “Our results show that most small modular reactor designs will actually increase the volume of nuclear waste in need of management and disposal, by factors of 2 to 30 for the reactors in our case study.
Dr Paul Dorfman, an associate Fellow at SPRU University of Sussex, who was not involved in the study said that the smaller the reactor is, the more neutron leakage would take place. He said: “To cut to the chase, SMRs should without question be producing higher volumes [of waste] than normal reactors. “It may well produce more high-level waste than conventional reactors, but will most definitely produce more low and
intermediate waste than conventional reactors. “
And that’s important, those intermediate and low are huge waste streams. “In terms of the Rolls
Royce, it’s a slightly bigger design, there is no way you can call it an SMR. “It would have fewer problems than the ones in the paper, but nevertheless, it would still produce more waste than a conventional
reactor, whichever way you put it.”
Express 12th June 2022
Boris Johnson’s energy policy ignores energy demand reduction, focuses on costly nuclear power.
Can the UK really build eight nuclear reactors in eight years? In a factory near Edinburgh, Andrew Bissell is overseeing his next batch of space heaters. His start-up, Sunamp, produces thermal batteries that can
warm homes from the power generated by a heat pump. The batteries use a salt solution similar to the flavouring used in salt and vinegar crisps.
“It’s actually a food ingredient, though I wouldn’t encourage people to eat batteries,” Bissell said. Sunamp wants to wean British homes off burning gas, which has rocketed in price, sent bills soaring and plunged
millions into misery. Many such solutions will be needed if the UK is to escape its energy crisis — and Boris Johnson’s future arguably depends on it. Unfortunately, the options at hand are neither quick, easy, or cheap.
Earlier this year, the prime minister set out an energy security strategy that put nuclear at its heart, including plans to build up to eight new reactors to replace a fleet that is coming to the end of its life. That ambition has put critics in a lather.
Last week, the Tory MP Jesse Norman, in a public call for the prime minister to quit, was scathing: “As a former energy minister I can tell you there is zero chance that this or any government will be able to build a nuclear power station a year at any point in the next decade.” Others go further:
Paul Dorfman, a science policy researcher at Sussex University, said Johnson’s nuclear dreams were “laughable … clinging on to nuclear as a quick fix is not only ludicrous, it’s dangerous, as it is too costly and will take too long”.
In the coming weeks, the UK may finally approve a new plant at Sizewell in Suffolk that will use a European pressurised water reactor (EPR) design developed by the French energy giant EDF. But EPRs have run into difficulties wherever they have been built.
One at Taishan in China has been out of action since last July. ASN, the French nuclear regulator, has asked EDF for a report on anomalies found in both Tasihan EPRs. The EPR design is also being used at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, where EDF admitted last month that the project would slip behind schedule yet again and cost an extra £3 billion, taking the total bill to up to £26 billion.
The energy strategy is also betting on small modular reactors (SMRs), in particular a design by Rolls-Royce that would be about a third the size of an EPR. Paul Stein, chairman of the Rolls-Royce SMR partnership, insisted this was “the fastest route to get nuclear power on the grid by the end of the decade”. The Rolls-Royce SMR Consortium is in talks with ministers about securing an order for the first four SMRs by the end of the year, which could be worth up to £8 billion. This would help kick-start
manufacturing of the reactors, which are expected to cost about £2 billion each.
Fans of nuclear have long argued it can provide the “baseload” power to keep the lights on when the wind drops. In the race to cut emissions “we’re going to need a vast amount more electricity than we’ve got at the moment”, said Guy Newey, chief executive of the Energy Systems Catapult, which supports start-ups.
The debate hinges on just how much “big” nuclear is really needed: the strategy calls for a whopping
24GW by 2050, up from 7GW now. ……
Johnson’s strategy, with its focus on power generation, gave scant consideration to “demand-side” measures: helping businesses and households cut back their energy usage. “It’s less sexy than a new nuclear power station, but it’s about making sure that boilers work efficiently and how well insulated people’s homes are,” Newey said. That view finds favour with Bissell in Edinburgh, who dreams of
opening three factories to churn out thermal batteries that could one day replace Britain’s gas boilers.
Times 12th June 2022
Mother Nature: Economic growth is sending her bankrupt
Mother Nature: Economic growth is sending her bankrupt
Keith Presnell
For life as we know it to persist, we must acknowledge there are natural limits to growth. Economic growth equals increased demand, which is simply not sustainable in a finite world.
Human-made heatwaves are getting hotter
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Human-made heatwaves are getting hotter
Guardian editorial
The world’s poorest people ought to be helped to cope with a climate emergency they did little to cause.
AEMO warns of widespread load shedding in Queensland and NSW supply crunch — RenewEconomy
Market operator warns of massive load shedding – or power outages – in Queensland in new supply crunch in Australia’s most coal dependent state. The post AEMO warns of widespread load shedding in Queensland and NSW supply crunch appeared first on RenewEconomy.
AEMO warns of widespread load shedding in Queensland and NSW supply crunch — RenewEconomy
The second cutting of the contaminated pipe was interrupted because the device was stuck again — Fukushima 311 Watchdogs
The cutting equipment is being lowered to remove the pipes (from TEPCO’s live camera) at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant at 0:19 p.m. on June 10, 2022. June 11, 2022On June 10, TEPCO resumed removal work of pipes contaminated with highly radioactive materials between Units 1 and 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power […]
The second cutting of the contaminated pipe was interrupted because the device was stuck again — Fukushima 311 Watchdogs
Areas reopening after Fukushima nuclear disaster need sustained gov’t support — Fukushima 311 Watchdogs
June 10, 2022 Evacuation orders that have been in place since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station disaster are set to be lifted in part of the Fukushima Prefecture village of Katsurao, one of the so-called difficult-to-return zones, on June 12. Difficult-to-return zones, which people are forbidden from entering in principle due to high […]
Areas reopening after Fukushima nuclear disaster need sustained gov’t support — Fukushima 311 Watchdogs
1 This month.
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
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/235274195556
19 May – Webinar- Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-05-19 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-05-19 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 