Yes, why isn’t Rudd at the Nuclear Summit?
Not much Australian media coverage of the Nuclear Summit either. Not a word on ABC Television last night.
Could it be that Rudd’s corporate backers, like BHP Billiton, are not very keen on Obama’s plan to get old nuclear weapons turned into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors? Perhaps Rudd would rather not be seen to be joining in undermining the uranium mining industry?
Obama, Rudd, speak on nuclear security
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Australia’s PM won’t be at world nuclear summit Radio Australia,April 9, 2010 Presenter: Linda Mottram
Speakers: Barack Obama, U-S President; Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Prime Minister; Rory Medcalf, director, International Security Program, Lowy Institute for International Policy
Radio Australia:Connect Asia:Story:Australia’s PM won’t be at world nuclear summit
Why is Australia so quiet about the Nuclear Summit?
It would appear to be irresponsible for Australia not to be represented at leadership level when the full security implications of the nuclear fuel cycle are being debated
Australia’s PM won’t be at world nuclear summit Radio Australia,April 9, 2010 “……… Still, some say it’s crucial that Mr Rudd goes to Washinton next week. Continue reading
Rudd conspicuously absent at Nuclear Summit
Faulkner dismisses any suggestion Rudd’s absence means Australia is not taking the issue seriously
Bombs away, The Age, by Daniel Flitton, April 13, 2010……there is also the remote prospect that terrorists might improvise a nuclear device themselves, either a crude atomic weapon or a ”dirty bomb”, spreading radioactive material with conventional explosives. Continue reading
Megatons to Megawatts will turn old nuclear weapons into fuel for commercial nuclear power!
turns highly enriched uranium into lightly enriched uranium.
Nuclear twist sees Russian warheads warming US homes Herald Sun AFP , April 13, 2010, IN A strange twist of Cold War enmity on the melt, uranium from what once were Russian nuclear warheads is used to heat and light American homes, thanks to the Megatons to Megawatts Program – a successful example of nuclear non-proliferation. Continue reading
Kazakhstan first to join plan to close nuclear weapons
[Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev] was the first foreign leader to renounce the possession and use of nuclear weapons.
Why Kazakhstan Is Front and Center at the Global Nuclear Security Summit THE HUFFINGTON POST, Al Eisele, 11 April 2010, Al Eisele: Why Kazakhstan Is Front and Center at the Global Nuclear Security Summit Continue reading
Nuclear disarmament program could spell the end of uranium mining
Back in 2009, President Obama ordered a measure to help the ailing uranium industry – to lift the price of uranium.
He ordered a halt to the program to use weapons grade uranium from old nuclear weapons as fuel for copmmercial nuclear reactors.
Now, that program is to be re-started, and with the aim of spreading this use of old military uranium as nuclear fuel – to Russia , and the world – as part of the nuclear disarmament program.
In which case, – nobody would need new mined uranium!
U.S. military base in Central Australian to remain (a nuclear target?)
Our bases retain role in US plan, The Age DANIEL FLITTON, April 12, 2010 TOP-SECRET military bases in Australia will remain a key part of America’s nuclear arsenal despite President Barack Obama’s sweeping changes to limit the use of atomic weapons…..Senator Faulkner – ” ..Australia supports that US nuclear deterrence posture by hosting the joint-facilities as well.”
The satellite communication base at Pine Gap near Alice Springs is the largest of the joint US-Australian facilities, believed to monitor possible nuclear missile launches from Russia and China…..
[Obama] stopped short of declaring that America would never again be the first to use nuclear weapons as some arms control activists had hoped….
Senator Faulkner – ”As a major uranium supplier, Australia has got a particular interest in the security of nuclear materials,’‘ he said. Our bases retain role in US plan
Brisbane Palm Sunday Disarmament Rally
Rally calls for peace, refugee rights Jim McIlroy, Green Left , Jim McIlroy, Brisbane April 2010 The annual Palm Sunday peace rally took place in Brisbane on March 28, sponsored by the Rally for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. The main themes of the rally were: Nuclear-free Australia; oppose climate change; no to uranium weapons; and safe havens for refugees…….Anti-nuclear campaigner Pauline Rigby spoke on the danger of weapons derived from uranium.
Tilman Ruff – an Australian anti nuclear hero
Nuclear nemesis, The Age, JO CHANDLER, April 10, 2010Ads WHAT makes an activist “……Associate Professor Tilman Ruff, part-time physician, full-time campaigner against nuclear arms, and cancer survivor – a doctor who considers protecting the world from nuclear arms as fundamental to public health as the vaccines he dispenses……. Continue reading
Nuclear Power Lobby in a Bigger Mess Than I Thought
by Christina Macpherson 9 April 2010, Some big corporations have an obvious interest in Australia promoting nuclear power. But which sort? Better not get Fourth Generation nuclear reactors – or the whole uranium industry is stuffed!
Today, thanks to Renfrey Clarke (3 items from him below) I learned about:
Second Generation Nuclear Reactors – those presently in use (Pressured Water Reactors – uranium-intensive and so ultimately producing lots of greenhouse gases, and not very safe, )
Third Generation Nuclear Reactors – still being built – updated versions of the Second Gen, super-expensive, a bit safer, but same waste and proliferation problems
‘Fast Breeder’ Reactors and Fourth Generation Nuclear Reactors – the latter still at the design stage, carry serious fire and radioactive waste risk. Worst of all, for Australia, they won’t need uranium mining , as they could use existing huge stockpiles of depleted uranium
Australian mainstream media’s pro-nuclear bias
by Christina Macpherson 8 April 2010. Yesterday’ s National Press Club Debate between Ziggy Spinowski, (pro-nuclear) and Bob Brown (anti-nuclear) was duly reported by Australia’s mainstream media.
And all these reports covered both points of view, both arguments.
BUT – look how the mainstream media chose to headline these. You wouldn’t know that Bob Brown was even there, would you?
Ziggy Switkowski: we need nuclear power for climate – THE AUSTRALIAN
Nuclear power ‘won’t fuel arms race’ ABC Online The head of Australia’s nuclear science agency has rejected claims that nuclear power in Australia could lead to nuclear weapons in the region. (surprise, surprise!)
Nuclear technology safer than coal shipping: chief Sydney Morning Herald AN AUSTRALIAN nuclear power industry would bring little risk of an environmental disaster such as the potential oil spill on the Great Barrier Reef, Ziggy Switkowski says.
Nuclear shift ‘likely’ The Age Nuclear energy advocate Ziggy Switkowski says he expects the public mood to shift in favour of nuclear in the next three years.
Plane “upgrade to nuclear weapons” is part of Obama’s Nuclear Posture Review
Nuclear Upgrade for the Pentagon’s Gajillion-Dollar Fighter Wired.com Danger Room By Nathan Hodge April 7, 2010 As part of a newly unveiled Nuclear Posture Review, the Pentagon has made public plans to make its all-purpose stealth fighter capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Continue reading
Secrecy of China’s nuclear programs
U.S. says China nuclear programs lack transparency, NewsDaily: by Phil Stewart and Paul Eckert, Editing by Alan Elsner 2010/04/06 WASHINGTON, Apr. 6, 2010 (Reuters) — Lack of transparency surrounding China’s nuclear programs raises questions about its strategic intentions, the United States said on Tuesday. Continue reading
When it comes to Nuclear Disarmament, Obama’s hands pretty much tied
Obama’s dream of a nuke-free world will encounter the stiffest resistance at home—from the people who make and safeguard nuclear weapons.
Why Obama Can’t End Nukes, The Doomsday Dilemma This Spring, Barack Obama will push toward his goal of a nuclear-free world. But the stiffest resistance may be at home.By John Barry and Evan Thomas | NEWSWEEK Apr 3, 2010 “…..Ever since the dawn of the atomic age at Hiroshima in August 1945, American presidents have been trying to figure out how to climb off the nuclear treadmill…….. Continue reading
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