Caitlin Johnstone sheds a critical gaze on media reporting on Ukraine, and asks why Julian Assange is criminalised for revealing military atrocities.
If it seems a bit hypocritical to you that the empire is blasting us in the face all day with narratives alleging Russian war crimes while that same empire is imprisoning a journalist for exposing its war crimes, that’s because it absolutely is hypocritical.
If something looks wrong about the fact that we’re about to watch a judge sign off on Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States for practicing journalism while that same United States keeps pushing out narratives about the need to protect Ukraine’s freedom and democracy, that’s because it should.
If It Feels Like You’re Being Manipulated, It’s Because You Are,
more https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/if-it-feels-like-youre-being-manipulated?s=w Caitlin Johnstone, 11 Apr 22, If you’ve got a gut feeling that your rulers are working to control your perception of the war in Ukraine, it is safe to trust that feeling.
If you feel like there’s been a concerted effort from the most powerful government and media institutions in the western world to manipulate your understanding of what’s going on with this war, it’s because that’s exactly what has been happening.
If you can’t recall ever seeing such intense mass media spin about a war before, it’s because you haven’t.
If you get the distinct impression that this may be the most aggressively perception-managed and psyop-intensive war in human history, it’s because it is.
If it looks like Silicon Valley platforms are controlling the content that people see to give them a perspective on this war that is wildly biased in favor of the US narrative, it’s because that is indeed the case.
If it seems like a suspicious coincidence that Russiagate manufactured mainstream consent for all the same shady agendas we’re seeing ramped up now like cold war brinkmanship against Moscow, internet censorship, and being constantly lied to by the mass media for the greater good, it’s because it is a mighty suspicious coincidence.
If it seems weird to you that so many self-styled leftists are responding to this war by fanatically supporting the extremely dangerous unipolarist geostrategic agendas of the most powerful empire that has ever existed, that’s because it is weird. Really, really, really weird.
If it seems a bit hypocritical to you that the empire is blasting us in the face all day with narratives alleging Russian war crimes while that same empire is imprisoning a journalist for exposing its war crimes, that’s because it absolutely is hypocritical.
If something looks wrong about the fact that we’re about to watch a judge sign off on Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States for practicing journalism while that same United States keeps pushing out narratives about the need to protect Ukraine’s freedom and democracy, that’s because it should.
If you’re beginning to get the nagging sense that the mainstream consensus worldview is a construct manufactured by the powerful, for the powerful and everything you were taught about your nation, your government and your world is a lie, that’s definitely a possibility worth considering.
If it’s starting to seem like we’re all being manipulated at mass scale to think, act and vote in a way which benefits a vast power structure that rules over us while hiding its true nature, I’d say that’s a thread worth pulling.
If you’ve a sneaking suspicion that the lies might go even deeper than that, right down to deceptions about who you fundamentally are and what this life is actually about, that suspicion is probably worth exploring.
If you’re feeling a bit like Keanu Reeves in the beginning of The Matrix right before the veil gets ripped away, I’d recommend following the white bunny and seeing how deep that rabbit hole goes.
If it has occurred to you that humanity needs to wake up from the matrix of illusion before our sociopathic rulers drive us to extinction via environmental catastrophe or nuclear armageddon, then your notes match my own.
If you believe it’s possible that these existential crises we’re fast approaching may be the catalyst we need to collectively rip the blindfold from our eyes and begin moving in a truth-based way upon this earth and creating a healthy world, then we are on the same page.
If there’s something in you that whispers there’s a good chance we make it despite the long odds we appear to be facing, I will tell you a secret: I hear it too.
TagEnergy gets $660 million funding boost for wind and battery projects — RenewEconomy
TagEnergy lands $660 million in funds to develop 2GW of renewables and battery storage projects in Australia. The post TagEnergy gets $660 million funding boost for wind and battery projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.
TagEnergy gets $660 million funding boost for wind and battery projects — RenewEconomy
Call for renewable energy revolution to be at heart of election campaign — RenewEconomy
Clean Energy Council says strong clean energy policies will be key to Australia’s future prosperity. The post Call for renewable energy revolution to be at heart of election campaign appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Call for renewable energy revolution to be at heart of election campaign — RenewEconomy
Not fast enough: Australian utilities rate poorly on green energy transition — RenewEconomy
Australia might lead the world in renewables uptake, but a new study shows its major energy utilities still trail their global peers in the transition to green energy. The post Not fast enough: Australian utilities rate poorly on green energy transition appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Not fast enough: Australian utilities rate poorly on green energy transition — RenewEconomy
Bad for coal and good for consumers: Leading rooftop PV critic shifts his views — RenewEconomy
A former critic of incentives to drive household solar has now described Queensland’s world-leading installations as “welfare enhancing.” The post Bad for coal and good for consumers: Leading rooftop PV critic shifts his views appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Bad for coal and good for consumers: Leading rooftop PV critic shifts his views — RenewEconomy
Election diary: Albanese pledges end to climate wars, Liberal campaigns in Tesla — RenewEconomy
Albanese promises end to climate wars, Liberal MP campaigns in Tesla, Greens want balance of power to stop fossil fuels. And more … The post Election diary: Albanese pledges end to climate wars, Liberal campaigns in Tesla appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Election diary: Albanese pledges end to climate wars, Liberal campaigns in Tesla — RenewEconomy
Projects in limbo as Morrison’s promised billions evaporate on election call — RenewEconomy
Dozens of energy projects in limbo as billions in promised funding evaporates, with Morrison heading to polls without passing key legislation. The post Projects in limbo as Morrison’s promised billions evaporate on election call appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Projects in limbo as Morrison’s promised billions evaporate on election call — RenewEconomy
Russian soldiers received ‘shocking amount’ of nuclear exposure at Chernobyl site – some may have less than a year to live.
Ukraine says Russian soldiers stole potentially deadly radioactive substances from Chernobyl,
more – https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-11/russians-stole-radioactive-substance-chernobyl/100981372
Russian forces who occupied the Chernobyl nuclear plant stole potentially deadly radioactive substances from research laboratories, Ukraine’s State Agency for Managing the Exclusion Zone says.
Key points:
- Ukraine recently took back control of the Chernobyl site
- Ukraine’s energy minister says some Russia soldiers have less than a year to live
- Chernobyl plant staff have just been rotated for the second time since Russian forces seized the facilities
Moscow’s troops seized the defunct power plant on the first day of their invasion of Ukraine on February 24. They occupied the highly radioactive zone for over a month, before retreating on March 31.
The agency said on Facebook that Russian soldiers pillaged two laboratories in the area.
It said the Russians entered a storage area of the Ecocentre research base and stole 133 highly radioactive substances.
Even a small part of this activity is deadly if handled unprofessionally,” the agency said.
‘Shocking’ amount of nuclear exposure
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s energy minister German Gulashchenko said Russian soldiers exposed themselves to a “shocking” amount of nuclear radiation, saying some of them may have less than a year to live.
“They dug bare soil contaminated with radiation, collected radioactive sand in bags for fortification, breathed this dust,” Mr Gulashchenko said on Facebook on Friday after visiting the exclusion zone.
“After a month of such exposure, they have a maximum of one year of life. More precisely, not life but a slow death from diseases. “Every Russian soldier will bring a piece of Chernobyl home. Dead or alive.”
He said Russian military equipment was also contaminated.
“The ignorance of Russian soldiers is shocking.”
The Chernobyl power station was the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
Situation ‘far from normal’
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Ukraine had been able to rotate staff at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant for only the second time since Russian forces seized the facility early in the war.
They had to be transported to and from the site by water, with the Pripyat River being the only way for people living in the city of Slavutych to currently reach the plant.
The nuclear agency said the situation around Chernobyl, site of a 1986 nuclear disaster, “remained far from normal” after Russians departed at the end of March.
Ukrainian officials told the agency on Sunday that laboratories for radiation monitoring at the site were destroyed and instruments damaged or stolen.
The automated transmission of radiation monitoring data has been disabled.
Johnson’s ‘nuclear fantasy’ will not reduce rising fuel bills or rising temperatures- UK’s Nuclear Free Local Authorities
Johnson’s ‘nuclear fantasy’ will not reduce rising fuel bills or rising temperatures
The Nuclear Free Local Authorities are ‘incredulous’ that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the UK Government remains wedded to a new Energy Security Strategy that will rely in large part upon the development of 24 GW of new nuclear generation capacity to power Britain, when a plan involving mass investment in renewables and a reduction in electricity demand through retrofitting the nation’s homes with insulation would have been far cheaper and quicker to deliver.
In response to the government’s commitment to build the equivalent of eight new large nuclear power stations by 2050, NFLA National Chair, Councillor David Blackburn said:
The Nuclear Free Local Authorities are ‘incredulous’ that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the UK Government remains wedded to a new Energy Security Strategy that will rely in large part upon the development of 24 GW of new nuclear generation capacity to power Britain, when a plan involving mass investment in renewables and a reduction in electricity demand through retrofitting the nation’s homes with insulation would have been far cheaper and quicker to deliver.
“It defies common sense that the current government is turning to a technology that is too slow to install, too costly to build, remains risky to operate and vulnerable to military and terrorist attack, and leaves a toxic legacy of radioactive waste that has to be safely stored for 100,000 years.”
“In the past, we were told that nuclear-generated electricity would be too cheap to meter customers for. The reality is very different. The plan means building eight power plants the size of Hinkley Point C within 30 years. Hinkley Point C is already costing £23 billion and is years behind schedule, with operator EDF about to announce a further hike in the cost and a further delay in delivery.”
“Nuclear power projects are notorious for being delivered way behind schedule and massively over cost. British taxpayers will end up being saddled with this extra cost as the government has just passed the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act making them liable for the charges.”
All of the plants will rely on a massive subsidy from the British taxpayer and ultimately the taxpayer will also pick up the bill for decommissioning the new plants at their end of their operating lives and for managing and storing the resultant radioactive waste for tens of thousands of years.
In addition to increasing energy bills and being delivered far too late to make a favourable impact in the fight against climate change, Boris Johnson’s ‘big bet’ on nuclear will not improve the nation’s energy independence.
Added Councillor Blackburn: “Nuclear power plants rely on uranium all of which is sourced overseas, with Russia being a major supplier to the world market, and most of the plants will be reliant on foreign reactor designs, one with a dubious safety record, and built and run by foreign-owned operators.
“EDF Energy, the main player, is a company owned by the French state, and newer players to the market are American owned, including one involving billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk. The only UK business, Rolls Royce, which is developing the so-called Small Modular Reactor, is backed by French private money and funding from a Qatari sovereignty fund.
“The NFLA cannot see how nuclear in any way promotes Britain’s energy independence.”
The NFLA is therefore bitterly disappointed that the new strategy did not instead commit to a national programme of retrofitting insulation to Britain’s homes and to providing further funding to support domestic electricity micro-generation, both of which would have reduced energy demand and reduced customers’ fuel bills, as well as to a far greater investment in a range of renewables to generate power, particularly onshore wind projects and tidal power which remain largely neglected despite their huge potential and public support.
“We advocate an emergency national programme of retrofitting homes with insulation to reduce heating bills and energy demand, and to improve public health; a greater emphasis of new and existing homes generating their own power for domestic use; and a huge public investment in a range of renewable technologies to provide domestically-generated, reliable, sustainable electricity. This can be done much more quickly and much more cheaply than continuing to indulge in this nuclear fantasy,” concluded Councillor Blackburn.
In response to the government’s commitment to build the equivalent of eight new large nuclear power stations by 2050, NFLA National Chair, Councillor David Blackburn said:
Protect Indigenous people’s rights or Paris climate goals will fail, says report – The Guardian — Barbara Crane Navarro
Protect Indigenous people’s rights or Paris climate goals will fail, says report – The Guardian https://ift.tt/duKo9Xx Protect Indigenous people’s rights or Paris climate goals will fail, says report The Guardian Superforest via “deforestation” – Google News https://ift.tt/7JTrnhP Protect Indigenous people’s rights or Paris climate goals will fail, says report – The Guardian —
Protect Indigenous people’s rights or Paris climate goals will fail, says report – The Guardian — Barbara Crane Navarro
April 11 Energy News — geoharvey
Science and Technology: ¶ “NREL Researchers Plot Energy Storage Under Our Feet” • US National Renewable Energy Laboratory scientists have been researching the use of depleted oil and gas wells as reservoirs for storing compressed natural gas. The wells can subsequently be used to hold other gases, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or hydrogen, to […]
April 11 Energy News — geoharvey
This week in nuclear news
Some bits of good news . Why the latest UN climate report is positive news . New research shows planting trees and shrubs brings woodland birds back to farms, from superb fairy wrens to spotted pardalotes . Climate change: greener lifestyles linked to greater happiness – in both rich and poor countries. Annual bird count in UK gardens raises hopes for greenfinch .
Pandemic. It’s not as if the coronavirus has gone away – new sub-variants etc…
Climate. It’s not as if global heating has gone away.
Nuclear. While the Ukraine warseems to consume nearly all the news, there is a swamping of UK nuclear news at present. The mainstream media can be depended on for its usual regurgitation of handouts from the nuclear lobby, masquerading as news. All the same, there’s a surprising flow of information, even from conservative sources, warning that Boris Johnson”s nuclear energy dream looks like turning into a nightmare – useless against climate change, increasing the toxic waste problem, of dubious safety. and – shock horror – unaffordable.
AUSTRALIA.
FAST TRACK TO ARMAGEDDON — Declassified Australia. AUKUS hypersonic announcement will ‘escalate global tensions’, warns CND. AUKUS in the hypersonic missile wonderland. Australia’s contribution to global nuclear risks. Defence Dept blocks access to advice on location choice for Australia’s nuclear submarines base. Small nuclear reactors for Australia– a sneaky way to lead to making Australia the world’s nuclear waste dump?
New cyclotron for Australia – to produce medical isotopes, with no need for dangerous nuclear reactor production. Why medical isotopes produced in cyclotrons are so much better than those produced in a nuclear reactor.
Conservation Council of Western Australia continues its long fight for the environment, and to stop uranium mining.
Angus Taylor’s latest intervention – renewables funding could be redirected to fossil fuels and nuclear.
The other half of the climate change debate – adaptation.
Federal budget: $160 million for nature may deliver only pork and a fudge, Climate reality bursts PM’s election campaign bubble. Time’s up: why Australia has to quit stalling and wean itself off fossil fuels
High school student stands against Environment Minister in federal seat. The Greens: We’re eager to hold the balance of power
Latest IPCC report offers key lessons for Australia but is anyone listening? Why renewables are key to Australia’s national security
Stockton residents want solutions as waves whipped up by east coast lows erode their beach
Wittenoom is officially closed, but can it be cleaned up?
INTERNATIONAL
The choices: fight to the last Ukrainian, or choose Macron’s dialogue path. In the midst of war in Ukraine, U.S. and NATO must de-escalate. Questions Abound About Bucha Massacre.
Pundits Who Advocate Hot War With Russia Are Enemies Of Humanity. World leaders must look to peaceful solutions, not more weapons. Who speaks for the world? — IPPNW peace and health blogl Ukraine is ground zero for the expansion of the U.S.-Russia proxy war, (and the war industry is jubilant). Nuclear missiles, bombs market to surge 73% by 2030, report says, industry worried that international treaties ”might hamper growth”. ‘Most Dangerous Point in Human History’ Looming, Warns Noam Chomsky.
NATO is punishing China U.S., NATO push Asia-Pacific bloc against Russia, China, with Ukraine as pretext.
Shortening the kill chain: nuclear-capable U.S. B-52s integrate with NATO Eastern flank states
Protecting the environment to reduce the risk of another pandemic
IPCC ‘s dire warning on climate change is being ignored, amid war and economic turmoil. IPCC new report coming, on limiting global heating. World on ‘fast track to climate disaster’, says UN secretary general – video
We can still avert climate catastrophe – but there is barely time.
Almost everyone now breathing polluted air, warns WHO
Greenpeace maps Ukraine’s nuclear power risks. Zaporizhzhia is a wake-up call demonstrating the vulnerability of nuclear plants to deliberate acts of war. Why Ukraine’s Nuclear Waste Is A Major Threat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r88prlEbtmg&t=33s
ANTARCTICA. New research links Antarctic ice loss to greenhouse gas emissions,
UKRAINE. Ending Ukraine’s suffering. The decision to negotiate this is up to Ukraine, not the USA. Ukraine planning to resume control of Chernobyl nuclear site, as Russians withdraw.
Ukraine: Russian troops took Radioactive ‘souvenirs’ from Chernobyl, says agency Russian soldiers in Chernobyl ‘picked up radioactive material with barehands’ and contaminated inside of plant. Over 70 Russian soldiers suffering from radiation exposure at Chernobyl nuclear site.
Greenpeace maps Ukraine’s nuclear power risks. Zaporizhzhia is a wake-up call demonstrating the vulnerability of nuclear plants to deliberate acts of war. Why Ukraine’s Nuclear Waste Is A Major Threat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r88prlEbtmg&t=33s
Weapons, weapons and more weapons: Ukrainian FM welcomed at NATO headquarters
Today: Media mesmerised by the glory of space research, unaware of its militarism and danger
Once again, ABC Radio National’s programme ”God Forbid” has provided a generally positive and approving discussion of space research and rocketry. Once again, experts potificate , without the slightest mention that the main thrust of all this technology is devoted to military devices, nukes in space etc. (Not a mention of Australia’s latest venture – hypersonic missiles).
Elon Musk, potrayed as such a philanthropist, is very involved in the USA’s space warfare project. These technocrats have no concept of genuine science, no understanding of the fragility of our ecosphere, including space. Just to give one example, one aspect – the many thousands of satellites going up will eventuall produce light pollution in our skes, – with damaging effects on birds, bats, insects – a huge part of the ecology on which we depend for life. The ecological ignorance of these ”science gurus”, is surpassed only by their total disregard for the danger of nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons in space, and plutonium fuelled rockets.
Why medical isotopes produced in cyclotrons are so much better than those produced in a nuclear reactor.
This is probably the best explanation of the difference between the use of nuclear reactor produced isotopes in nuclear medicine, and cyclotron produced isotopes in nuclear medicine. It is a quote from TRIUMF Canada – an internationally recognised establishment which has celebrated 50 years in the world as a leading authority on subatomic physics.
This definition was released by them in 2011… “The field of nuclear medicine has evolved into what can be considered its third generation. Generation-I originated in the 1950s, with several reactors producing large enough quantities of simple radioisotope formulations that could be distributed for use globally. This allowed for the launch of the era of modern nuclear medicine, and for the next thirty years the medical community developed and implemented dedicated cameras needed to image patients injected with gamma-emitting isotopes. Generation-I radiopharmaceuticals were simple, perfusion-based compounds that distributed within the body based on simple properties such as molecular shape, size, and charge; and the isotopes injected were typically single photon emitters. The world came to adopt nuclear medicine as a cheap, yet powerful tool for the non-invasive diagnosis of disease.”
Generation-1 radiopharmaceuticals – That’s your nuclear reactor generated nuclear medicine isotopes – predominately the Technitium-99m (Tc-99m) used in diagnostic imaging. This is what the reactor in ANSTO Lucas Heights is predominately used to produce – the Molybednum-99 (Mo-99) which then decays to Tc-99m.
“Generation-II radiopharmaceuticals evolved during the 1980s and involved the development of compounds targeted to specific cellular biomarkers. With a rapid growth in understanding of the molecular basis of physiology and disease, and the expansion of a global cyclotron infrastructure, new and powerful positron-emitting compounds such as [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose, or FDG for short, were discovered and widely implemented for the safe and accurate diagnosis and evaluation of diseases affecting millions of patients. Over the next thirty years, the radiopharmaceutical research community spent an enormous amount of time and effort developing a myriad of targeted radiopharmaceuticals that have continued to feed our understanding of biology and medicine at the molecular level.”
Generation II radiopharmaceuticals – that’s your cyclotron generated nuclear medicine isotopes – predominately FDG amongst many others now – MET, FET, FLT, FCH, FMISO, FDOPA, Ga isotopes, Oxygen isotopes…the list goes on. There are currently 18 cyclotrons in Australia – this current list is from IAEA: https://nucleus.iaea.org/sites/accelerators/lists/cyclotron%20master%20list/public_cyclotron_db_view.aspx They are normally associated with diagnostic imaging partnerships on site.
“Today we are witnessing the evolution of Generation-III compounds, which have come to include both imaging and therapeutic isotopes. In a nearly synonymous way to which we came to appreciate the power and utility of imaging isotopes, therapeutic isotopes are now entering the active conscience of the medical community.”
This was remember published in 2011. The problem with radioisotopes is that you cannot control their emissions. You can certainly use low energy emitters, but regardless the ultimate aim of medicine now in 2022 is to have as little damage done to normal cells as is possible. That is why immunotherapy and nanotechnology are the foregrounds for cancer treatment now. https://www.triumf.ca/faq-medical-isotopes
AUKUS in the hypersonic missile wonderland
Pearls and Irritations By Binoy Kampmark, Apr 9, 2022,
As this idiotic, servile venture proceeds, Australian territory, sites and facilities will become every more attractive for assault in the fulness of time.
If further clues were needed as to why AUKUS, the security pact comprising the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, was created, the latest announcement on weapons would have given the game away. Australia, just as it became real estate to park British nuclear weapons experiments, is now looking promising as a site for hypersonic missile testing, development, and manufacture.
In a joint statement from US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a commitment was made “to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen cooperation on defence innovation.”
To this can be added February efforts of officials from all three countries to, according to the ABC, scour Australia for sites best suited for the nascent nuclear-powered submarine program that seems all but pie in the sky. To date, the country has no infrastructure to speak of in this field, no skills that merit mention for the development of any such fleet, and a lack of clarity as to when the vessels might make it to sea. Nor is there any clear sign what model of submarine – UK or US – will be preferred…………………
The Morrison government is trying to leave the impression that this will eventually realise the dream of self-sufficiency, a notion repeatedly fed by such think tanks as the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. It describes this as “a major step in delivering a $1 billion Sovereign Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise, officially announcing strategic partners Raytheon Australia and Lockheed Martin Australia.” The Prime Minister also sees such weapons as part of a broader Australia “strategic vision” dealing with long-range strike capabilities.
…………. As this idiotic, servile venture proceeds, Australian territory, sites and facilities will become every more attractive for assault in the fulness of time. That may well be quite a way off and, judging by any military ventures in Australia of this kind, we can hope that this will be more a case of decades rather than years. https://johnmenadue.com/aukus-in-the-hypersonic-missile-wonderland/
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 