US-NATO "Strategic Concept": Global Warfare
- by Rick Rozoff - 2010-03-15
Missile Shield And Nuclear Weapons
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18121
Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire - Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Activities
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Deadly Current Toward Nuclear Arms by James Carroll
The Deadly Current Toward Nuclear Arms
by James Carroll
Think of Niagara Falls. Think of the onrushing current as the river pours itself toward the massive cascade. Imagine a lone swimmer a hundred yards or so upstream, desperately stroking against the current to keep from being swept over the precipice. That swimmer is President Obama, the river is the world, and the falls is the threat of unchecked nuclear weapons.
Henry James used the image of Niagara to describe the rush into World War I: ". . .the tide that bore us along.'' Hannah Arendt defined the wars of the 20th century as events "cascading like a Niagara Falls of history.'' Jonathan Schell used Niagara as an organizing metaphor for his indispensable critique of war, "The Unconquerable World.''
But now the image has entered the lexicon of strategic experts who warn of a coming "cascade of proliferation,'' one nation following another into the deadly chasm of nuclear weapons unless present nuclear powers find a way to reverse the current. The main burden is on Russia and the United States, which together possess the vast majority of the world's nuclear weapons, but President Obama deliberately made himself central to the challenge when he said in Prague, "I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.''
Now the Niagara current is taking him the other way. Here are the landmarks that define the swimmer's momentum.
■The US-Russia Treaty. Negotiators in Geneva are late in reaching agreement on a nuclear arms treaty to replace START, which expired last December. Obama is threading a needle, having to meet Russian requirements (for example, on missile defense) while anticipating Republican objections in the US Senate (for example, on missile defense). Warning: Bill Clinton was humiliated when the Senate rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1999. Republicans' recalcitrance on health care is peanuts compared to the damage their rejection of a new START treaty would do.
■The Nuclear Posture Review, the Congress-mandated report on how the administration defines nuclear needs today. This, too, is overdue, probably because the White House has been pushing back against the Pentagon on numerous issues. Are nukes for deterrence only? Will the United States renounce first use? Having stopped the Bush-era program to build a new nuclear weapon, will Obama allow further research and development? What nations will be named as potential nuclear threats? Warning: The 1994 Nuclear Posture Review was Clinton's Pentagon Waterloo. It affirmed the Cold War status quo, killing serious arms reduction until now.
■Although usually considered apart, the broader US defense posture has turned into a key motivator for other nations to go nuclear. The current Pentagon budget ($5 trillion for 2010-2017) is so far beyond any other country, and the conventional military capacity it buys is so dominant, as to reinforce the nuclear option abroad as the sole protection against potential US attack. This is new.
■In April, a world leaders nuclear summit will be held in Washington, but both nuclear haves and have-nots will be taking positions based on the US-Russia Treaty (and its prospects for ratification) and the Nuclear Posture Review. Warning: if China sees US missile defense as potentially aimed its way, a new nuclear arms race is on.
■In May, the signatories to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty will hold their eighth regular review session in New York. Since the nations that agreed to forego nuclear weapons did so on the condition that the nuclear nations work steadily toward abolition, the key question will be whether Obama has in fact begun to deliver on his declared intention. If not, get ready for the cascade.
In truth, the current rushing toward Niagara cannot be resisted. Not seven nuclear nations, therefore, but 17, or, ultimately, 70. But beware an analysis like this. The falls are an analogy, not a fact. Obama warned of such fatalism, calling it in Prague, "a deadly adversary, for if we believe that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable, then in some way we are admitting to ourselves that the use of nuclear weapons is inevitable.'' Therefore, reject the analogy. Obama is not a lone swimmer, but a voice of all humanity. The nuclear future is not pre-determined. Human choices are being made right now to define it anew.
© 2010 The Boston Globe
James Carroll is a frequent contributor to the Globe.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/15-5
by James Carroll
Think of Niagara Falls. Think of the onrushing current as the river pours itself toward the massive cascade. Imagine a lone swimmer a hundred yards or so upstream, desperately stroking against the current to keep from being swept over the precipice. That swimmer is President Obama, the river is the world, and the falls is the threat of unchecked nuclear weapons.
Henry James used the image of Niagara to describe the rush into World War I: ". . .the tide that bore us along.'' Hannah Arendt defined the wars of the 20th century as events "cascading like a Niagara Falls of history.'' Jonathan Schell used Niagara as an organizing metaphor for his indispensable critique of war, "The Unconquerable World.''
But now the image has entered the lexicon of strategic experts who warn of a coming "cascade of proliferation,'' one nation following another into the deadly chasm of nuclear weapons unless present nuclear powers find a way to reverse the current. The main burden is on Russia and the United States, which together possess the vast majority of the world's nuclear weapons, but President Obama deliberately made himself central to the challenge when he said in Prague, "I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.''
Now the Niagara current is taking him the other way. Here are the landmarks that define the swimmer's momentum.
■The US-Russia Treaty. Negotiators in Geneva are late in reaching agreement on a nuclear arms treaty to replace START, which expired last December. Obama is threading a needle, having to meet Russian requirements (for example, on missile defense) while anticipating Republican objections in the US Senate (for example, on missile defense). Warning: Bill Clinton was humiliated when the Senate rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1999. Republicans' recalcitrance on health care is peanuts compared to the damage their rejection of a new START treaty would do.
■The Nuclear Posture Review, the Congress-mandated report on how the administration defines nuclear needs today. This, too, is overdue, probably because the White House has been pushing back against the Pentagon on numerous issues. Are nukes for deterrence only? Will the United States renounce first use? Having stopped the Bush-era program to build a new nuclear weapon, will Obama allow further research and development? What nations will be named as potential nuclear threats? Warning: The 1994 Nuclear Posture Review was Clinton's Pentagon Waterloo. It affirmed the Cold War status quo, killing serious arms reduction until now.
■Although usually considered apart, the broader US defense posture has turned into a key motivator for other nations to go nuclear. The current Pentagon budget ($5 trillion for 2010-2017) is so far beyond any other country, and the conventional military capacity it buys is so dominant, as to reinforce the nuclear option abroad as the sole protection against potential US attack. This is new.
■In April, a world leaders nuclear summit will be held in Washington, but both nuclear haves and have-nots will be taking positions based on the US-Russia Treaty (and its prospects for ratification) and the Nuclear Posture Review. Warning: if China sees US missile defense as potentially aimed its way, a new nuclear arms race is on.
■In May, the signatories to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty will hold their eighth regular review session in New York. Since the nations that agreed to forego nuclear weapons did so on the condition that the nuclear nations work steadily toward abolition, the key question will be whether Obama has in fact begun to deliver on his declared intention. If not, get ready for the cascade.
In truth, the current rushing toward Niagara cannot be resisted. Not seven nuclear nations, therefore, but 17, or, ultimately, 70. But beware an analysis like this. The falls are an analogy, not a fact. Obama warned of such fatalism, calling it in Prague, "a deadly adversary, for if we believe that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable, then in some way we are admitting to ourselves that the use of nuclear weapons is inevitable.'' Therefore, reject the analogy. Obama is not a lone swimmer, but a voice of all humanity. The nuclear future is not pre-determined. Human choices are being made right now to define it anew.
© 2010 The Boston Globe
James Carroll is a frequent contributor to the Globe.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/15-5
Nuclear-power bill suffers setback in India
Nuclear-power bill suffers setback in India
India's ruling coalition has decided to withdraw a measure that would limit liability payouts by foreign plant operators and the Indian government in the event of a nuclear accident. This comes after the opposition asserted that the legislation was being advanced under U.S. pressure and did not protect Indians. U.S. nuclear-plant companies have viewed the bill as a prerequisite for entering the Indian market. Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-india-nukes16-2010mar16,0,5900645.story
India's ruling coalition has decided to withdraw a measure that would limit liability payouts by foreign plant operators and the Indian government in the event of a nuclear accident. This comes after the opposition asserted that the legislation was being advanced under U.S. pressure and did not protect Indians. U.S. nuclear-plant companies have viewed the bill as a prerequisite for entering the Indian market. Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-india-nukes16-2010mar16,0,5900645.story
Feds say tritium cleanup dependent on a number of factors
Feds say tritium cleanup dependent on a number of factors
The potential cost to clean up tritium-contaminated groundwater at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant depends on several conditions, said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Among the factors are the tritium's decay rate, groundwater conditions and estimations of the maximum amount of radiation exposure the public could receive, he added. "[Plant owner] Entergy is still developing that information," Sheehan said. Brattleboro Reformer (Vt.)
http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_14677980
The potential cost to clean up tritium-contaminated groundwater at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant depends on several conditions, said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Among the factors are the tritium's decay rate, groundwater conditions and estimations of the maximum amount of radiation exposure the public could receive, he added. "[Plant owner] Entergy is still developing that information," Sheehan said. Brattleboro Reformer (Vt.)
http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_14677980
High cost, waste storage are hurdles for nuclear revival The Obama administration needs to address concerns tied to the high cost of nuclear plants an
High cost, waste storage are hurdles for nuclear revival
The Obama administration needs to address concerns tied to the high cost of nuclear plants and long-term storage of spent fuel before nuclear can become a major part of U.S. energy policy, according to this editorial by the San Jose Mercury News. The U.S. needs to develop nuclear to cut dependence on foreign oil and reduce carbon emissions. San Jose Mercury News (Calif.)
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_14680930?nclick_check=1
The Obama administration needs to address concerns tied to the high cost of nuclear plants and long-term storage of spent fuel before nuclear can become a major part of U.S. energy policy, according to this editorial by the San Jose Mercury News. The U.S. needs to develop nuclear to cut dependence on foreign oil and reduce carbon emissions. San Jose Mercury News (Calif.)
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_14680930?nclick_check=1
The Defense Strategy Review Page
http://www.comw.org/wordpress/dsr/obama-nuclear-policy-a-debate
Critical Perspectives on the Pentagon Budget and US Military Spending
An Undisciplined Defense: Understanding the $2 Trillion Surge in US Defense Spending
The President's Dilemma: Debt, Deficits, and Defense Spending
Obama Nuclear Weapons Policy – a debate
Assessing the 2010 QDR: a guide to key issues
Critical Perspectives on the Pentagon Budget and US Military Spending
An Undisciplined Defense: Understanding the $2 Trillion Surge in US Defense Spending
The President's Dilemma: Debt, Deficits, and Defense Spending
Obama Nuclear Weapons Policy – a debate
Assessing the 2010 QDR: a guide to key issues
Monday, March 15, 2010
President Obama's commitment to seek peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons
A year ago in Prague President Obama confirmed an American "commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons." This statement was applauded by many in the U.S. and around the world. Since that time the administration has been working on a Nuclear Posture Review (now overdue and expected within weeks) which many hope will provide insight into the Obama plans for a pathway from the current nuclear posture, to deep reductions in nuclear armaments (through treaties and other means) and to the eventual elimination of this class of weapons.
Paul Ingram on February 15th said, "...when a President gets up and makes a speech that contains within it commitments to a world free of nuclear weapons, proposing a number of initiatives, and looking forward to concrete commitments in the near term, it pays to be hopeful, but not gullible. And we have the first test of this hope in the very near future when the President comes to publish a version of his long awaited Nuclear Posture Review."
Some evidence regarding nuclear posture planning appeared with the budget on February 1st. On February 10th Greg Mello pointed out in a commentary in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that the budget request includes some of the largest increases in the history of warhead spending and will create new capacities that will allow production of new weapons in some years from now.
Martin Senn immediately added the concern that moves by the U.S. to connect theater missile defense systems (TMD) to advanced remote sensor capabilities will create serious strategic vulnerabilities for Russia and China when considering future reductions in numbers of strategic delivery systems.
On February 18th Todd Fine wrote, "...if the President fails to inspire others to adopt his 'vision' and work toward elimination concretely, he may miss a singular opportunity. If CTBT... is not ratified by the [NPT] conference in May, these [weapons complex] budget requests alone may devastate U.S. credibility."
The above are from just four of the ten voices (to date) in an important new debate among disarmament advocates and nuclear policy experts collected on the Defense Strategy Review web page. You can find them all at:
http://www.comw.org/wordpress/dsr/obama-nuclear-policy-a-debate
If you think this exchange is a useful contribution to making progress toward the elimination of nuclear weapons (or more simply, better national policy) please pass the link along to others who may be interested.
Sincerely yours,
Charles
Charles Knight
co-director
Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA)
Commonwealth Institute
Cambridge, MA USA
617-547-4474
www.comw.org/pda/
Paul Ingram on February 15th said, "...when a President gets up and makes a speech that contains within it commitments to a world free of nuclear weapons, proposing a number of initiatives, and looking forward to concrete commitments in the near term, it pays to be hopeful, but not gullible. And we have the first test of this hope in the very near future when the President comes to publish a version of his long awaited Nuclear Posture Review."
Some evidence regarding nuclear posture planning appeared with the budget on February 1st. On February 10th Greg Mello pointed out in a commentary in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that the budget request includes some of the largest increases in the history of warhead spending and will create new capacities that will allow production of new weapons in some years from now.
Martin Senn immediately added the concern that moves by the U.S. to connect theater missile defense systems (TMD) to advanced remote sensor capabilities will create serious strategic vulnerabilities for Russia and China when considering future reductions in numbers of strategic delivery systems.
On February 18th Todd Fine wrote, "...if the President fails to inspire others to adopt his 'vision' and work toward elimination concretely, he may miss a singular opportunity. If CTBT... is not ratified by the [NPT] conference in May, these [weapons complex] budget requests alone may devastate U.S. credibility."
The above are from just four of the ten voices (to date) in an important new debate among disarmament advocates and nuclear policy experts collected on the Defense Strategy Review web page. You can find them all at:
http://www.comw.org/wordpress/dsr/obama-nuclear-policy-a-debate
If you think this exchange is a useful contribution to making progress toward the elimination of nuclear weapons (or more simply, better national policy) please pass the link along to others who may be interested.
Sincerely yours,
Charles
Charles Knight
co-director
Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA)
Commonwealth Institute
Cambridge, MA USA
617-547-4474
www.comw.org/pda/
The deadly current toward nuclear arms By James Carroll
The deadly current toward nuclear arms
By James Carroll
March 15, 2010
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/03/15/the_deadly_current_toward_nuclear_arms/
THINK OF Niagara Falls. Think of the onrushing current as the river pours itself toward the massive cascade. Imagine a lone swimmer a hundred yards or so upstream, desperately stroking against the current to keep from being swept over the precipice. That swimmer is President Obama, the river is the world, and the falls is the threat of unchecked nuclear weapons.
Henry James used the image of Niagara to describe the rush into World War I: “. . .the tide that bore us along.’’ Hannah Arendt defined the wars of the 20th century as events “cascading like a Niagara Falls of history.’’ Jonathan Schell used Niagara as an organizing metaphor for his indispensable critique of war, “The Unconquerable World.’’
But now the image has entered the lexicon of strategic experts who warn of a coming “cascade of proliferation,’’ one nation following another into the deadly chasm of nuclear weapons unless present nuclear powers find a way to reverse the current. The main burden is on Russia and the United States, which together possess the vast majority of the world’s nuclear weapons, but President Obama deliberately made himself central to the challenge when he said in Prague, “I state clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.’’
Now the Niagara current is taking him the other way. Here are the landmarks that define the swimmer’s momentum.
■The US-Russia Treaty. Negotiators in Geneva are late in reaching agreement on a nuclear arms treaty to replace START, which expired last December. Obama is threading a needle, having to meet Russian requirements (for example, on missile defense) while anticipating Republican objections in the US Senate (for example, on missile defense). Warning: Bill Clinton was humiliated when the Senate rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1999. Republicans’ recalcitrance on health care is peanuts compared to the damage their rejection of a new START treaty would do.
■The Nuclear Posture Review, the Congress-mandated report on how the administration defines nuclear needs today. This, too, is overdue, probably because the White House has been pushing back against the Pentagon on numerous issues. Are nukes for deterrence only? Will the United States renounce first use? Having stopped the Bush-era program to build a new nuclear weapon, will Obama allow further research and development? What nations will be named as potential nuclear threats? Warning: The 1994 Nuclear Posture Review was Clinton’s Pentagon Waterloo. It affirmed the Cold War status quo, killing serious arms reduction until now.
■Although usually considered apart, the broader US defense posture has turned into a key motivator for other nations to go nuclear. The current Pentagon budget ($5 trillion for 2010-2017) is so far beyond any other country, and the conventional military capacity it buys is so dominant, as to reinforce the nuclear option abroad as the sole protection against potential US attack. This is new.
■In April, a world leaders nuclear summit will be held in Washington, but both nuclear haves and have-nots will be taking positions based on the US-Russia Treaty (and its prospects for ratification) and the Nuclear Posture Review. Warning: if China sees US missile defense as potentially aimed its way, a new nuclear arms race is on.
■In May, the signatories to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty will hold their eighth regular review session in New York. Since the nations that agreed to forego nuclear weapons did so on the condition that the nuclear nations work steadily toward abolition, the key question will be whether Obama has in fact begun to deliver on his declared intention. If not, get ready for the cascade.
In truth, the current rushing toward Niagara cannot be resisted. Not seven nuclear nations, therefore, but 17, or, ultimately, 70. But beware an analysis like this. The falls are an analogy, not a fact. Obama warned of such fatalism, calling it in Prague, “a deadly adversary, for if we believe that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable, then in some way we are admitting to ourselves that the use of nuclear weapons is inevitable.’’ Therefore, reject the analogy. Obama is not a lone swimmer, but a voice of all humanity. The nuclear future is not pre-determined. Human choices are being made right now to define it anew.
James Carroll is a frequent contributor to the Globe.
By James Carroll
March 15, 2010
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/03/15/the_deadly_current_toward_nuclear_arms/
THINK OF Niagara Falls. Think of the onrushing current as the river pours itself toward the massive cascade. Imagine a lone swimmer a hundred yards or so upstream, desperately stroking against the current to keep from being swept over the precipice. That swimmer is President Obama, the river is the world, and the falls is the threat of unchecked nuclear weapons.
Henry James used the image of Niagara to describe the rush into World War I: “. . .the tide that bore us along.’’ Hannah Arendt defined the wars of the 20th century as events “cascading like a Niagara Falls of history.’’ Jonathan Schell used Niagara as an organizing metaphor for his indispensable critique of war, “The Unconquerable World.’’
But now the image has entered the lexicon of strategic experts who warn of a coming “cascade of proliferation,’’ one nation following another into the deadly chasm of nuclear weapons unless present nuclear powers find a way to reverse the current. The main burden is on Russia and the United States, which together possess the vast majority of the world’s nuclear weapons, but President Obama deliberately made himself central to the challenge when he said in Prague, “I state clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.’’
Now the Niagara current is taking him the other way. Here are the landmarks that define the swimmer’s momentum.
■The US-Russia Treaty. Negotiators in Geneva are late in reaching agreement on a nuclear arms treaty to replace START, which expired last December. Obama is threading a needle, having to meet Russian requirements (for example, on missile defense) while anticipating Republican objections in the US Senate (for example, on missile defense). Warning: Bill Clinton was humiliated when the Senate rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1999. Republicans’ recalcitrance on health care is peanuts compared to the damage their rejection of a new START treaty would do.
■The Nuclear Posture Review, the Congress-mandated report on how the administration defines nuclear needs today. This, too, is overdue, probably because the White House has been pushing back against the Pentagon on numerous issues. Are nukes for deterrence only? Will the United States renounce first use? Having stopped the Bush-era program to build a new nuclear weapon, will Obama allow further research and development? What nations will be named as potential nuclear threats? Warning: The 1994 Nuclear Posture Review was Clinton’s Pentagon Waterloo. It affirmed the Cold War status quo, killing serious arms reduction until now.
■Although usually considered apart, the broader US defense posture has turned into a key motivator for other nations to go nuclear. The current Pentagon budget ($5 trillion for 2010-2017) is so far beyond any other country, and the conventional military capacity it buys is so dominant, as to reinforce the nuclear option abroad as the sole protection against potential US attack. This is new.
■In April, a world leaders nuclear summit will be held in Washington, but both nuclear haves and have-nots will be taking positions based on the US-Russia Treaty (and its prospects for ratification) and the Nuclear Posture Review. Warning: if China sees US missile defense as potentially aimed its way, a new nuclear arms race is on.
■In May, the signatories to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty will hold their eighth regular review session in New York. Since the nations that agreed to forego nuclear weapons did so on the condition that the nuclear nations work steadily toward abolition, the key question will be whether Obama has in fact begun to deliver on his declared intention. If not, get ready for the cascade.
In truth, the current rushing toward Niagara cannot be resisted. Not seven nuclear nations, therefore, but 17, or, ultimately, 70. But beware an analysis like this. The falls are an analogy, not a fact. Obama warned of such fatalism, calling it in Prague, “a deadly adversary, for if we believe that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable, then in some way we are admitting to ourselves that the use of nuclear weapons is inevitable.’’ Therefore, reject the analogy. Obama is not a lone swimmer, but a voice of all humanity. The nuclear future is not pre-determined. Human choices are being made right now to define it anew.
James Carroll is a frequent contributor to the Globe.
The World's Arm Trade Is Booming
The World's Arm Trade Is Booming
ARMSFLOW.org is a data visualization project that shows international arms transactions between 1950 and 2006. The site (a big ole Java applet) was created by Jeffrey Warren of Vestal Design, based on data from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Worldwide Arms Trade Flourishing Despite Recession, Report Warns -- The Guardian
Average volume of sales increased by 22%, with South America and south-east Asia seeing the biggest rises
The worldwide arms race has accelerated, most dramatically in South America and south-east Asia, despite the economic and financial slump, according to a report published today.
The average volume of arms sales increased by 22% over the past five years, compared to the previous five-year period, says the report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The last two of these years were marked by worldwide economic turbulence which has far from stabilised, yet the arms trade is booming, it finds.
Read more ....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/15/worldwide-arms-trade-flourishing-recession
More News On The World's Growing Arms Trade
Developing world has launched 'arms race': think-tank -- AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jNJOivSfBzBzab7r3YSyW7Kjxq9w
Surging global weapons transfers raise concerns -- AP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gSw1ChS6yerw8OZTUdMdOIBp81tQD9EER4600
'Arms drive' in South East Asia -- BBC
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62D24O20100314
Big rise in arms imports threatens SE Asia: report -- Reuters
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8567750.stm
US No. 1 arms exporter, China, India top importers: SIPRI -- Economic Times of India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/US-No-1-arms-exporter-China-India-top-importers-SIPRI/articleshow/5686779.cms
US, Russia account for half of world arms sales: report -- Sify
http://sify.com/news/us-russia-account-for-half-of-world-arms-sales-report-news-international-kdps4cbdifh.html
Russian arms transfers to North Africa: Fuelling an arms race? -- RIA Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20100315/158200374.html
Global Arms Sales up 22% during '05-'09: Think Tank -- CriEnglish
http://english.cri.cn/6966/2010/03/15/1781s556789.htm
New SIPRI data on international arms transfers reflect arms race concerns -- Defpro
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/13767/
USA Steals 'Largest Death Seller' Title from Russia -- Pravda
http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/15-03-2010/112583-arms_export-0
ARMSFLOW.org is a data visualization project that shows international arms transactions between 1950 and 2006. The site (a big ole Java applet) was created by Jeffrey Warren of Vestal Design, based on data from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Worldwide Arms Trade Flourishing Despite Recession, Report Warns -- The Guardian
Average volume of sales increased by 22%, with South America and south-east Asia seeing the biggest rises
The worldwide arms race has accelerated, most dramatically in South America and south-east Asia, despite the economic and financial slump, according to a report published today.
The average volume of arms sales increased by 22% over the past five years, compared to the previous five-year period, says the report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The last two of these years were marked by worldwide economic turbulence which has far from stabilised, yet the arms trade is booming, it finds.
Read more ....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/15/worldwide-arms-trade-flourishing-recession
More News On The World's Growing Arms Trade
Developing world has launched 'arms race': think-tank -- AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jNJOivSfBzBzab7r3YSyW7Kjxq9w
Surging global weapons transfers raise concerns -- AP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gSw1ChS6yerw8OZTUdMdOIBp81tQD9EER4600
'Arms drive' in South East Asia -- BBC
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62D24O20100314
Big rise in arms imports threatens SE Asia: report -- Reuters
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8567750.stm
US No. 1 arms exporter, China, India top importers: SIPRI -- Economic Times of India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/US-No-1-arms-exporter-China-India-top-importers-SIPRI/articleshow/5686779.cms
US, Russia account for half of world arms sales: report -- Sify
http://sify.com/news/us-russia-account-for-half-of-world-arms-sales-report-news-international-kdps4cbdifh.html
Russian arms transfers to North Africa: Fuelling an arms race? -- RIA Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20100315/158200374.html
Global Arms Sales up 22% during '05-'09: Think Tank -- CriEnglish
http://english.cri.cn/6966/2010/03/15/1781s556789.htm
New SIPRI data on international arms transfers reflect arms race concerns -- Defpro
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/13767/
USA Steals 'Largest Death Seller' Title from Russia -- Pravda
http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/15-03-2010/112583-arms_export-0
Nuclear 'roadmap' in latest Russia-India accords from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon
Nuclear 'roadmap' in latest Russia-India accords
from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon
Putin and Singh (Image: Prime Minister's Office)New agreements between Russia and India cover cooperation in nuclear power and a roadmap for this year's work by the two countries. Meanwhile, the Indian government has deferred a bill that could be vital to opening nuclear trade with the USA.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Nuclear_roadmap_in_latest_Russia-India_accords-1503107.html
from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon
Putin and Singh (Image: Prime Minister's Office)New agreements between Russia and India cover cooperation in nuclear power and a roadmap for this year's work by the two countries. Meanwhile, the Indian government has deferred a bill that could be vital to opening nuclear trade with the USA.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Nuclear_roadmap_in_latest_Russia-India_accords-1503107.html
Russia eyes construction of nuclear fuel-production plant in India
Russia eyes construction of nuclear fuel-production plant in India
India and Russia are planning to form a partnership to build a nuclear fuel-production facility in India, said Sergei Kiriyenko, chief of Russia's state nuclear corporation, Rosatom. The possibility of such a plant was included in the nuclear-cooperation deal the two countries signed last week in New Delhi. The Hindu (India)
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article244473.ece
India and Russia are planning to form a partnership to build a nuclear fuel-production facility in India, said Sergei Kiriyenko, chief of Russia's state nuclear corporation, Rosatom. The possibility of such a plant was included in the nuclear-cooperation deal the two countries signed last week in New Delhi. The Hindu (India)
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article244473.ece
Mass. lawmaker says new energy bill to focus on job creation
Mass. lawmaker says new energy bill to focus on job creation
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is crafting legislation focused on generating jobs and triggering energy independence. By advancing energy sources such as nuclear, solar and wind, the measure could create more than 1 million jobs while cleaning the air and curbing emissions, he said during an interview. Google/The Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hM1DYWlWj8EbMAj-WOC1Nui69qSgD9EDB6S80
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is crafting legislation focused on generating jobs and triggering energy independence. By advancing energy sources such as nuclear, solar and wind, the measure could create more than 1 million jobs while cleaning the air and curbing emissions, he said during an interview. Google/The Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hM1DYWlWj8EbMAj-WOC1Nui69qSgD9EDB6S80
Departing NRC commissioner calls Yucca Mountain action "unfortunate"
Departing NRC commissioner calls Yucca Mountain action "unfortunate"
Departing Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Dale Klein criticized the Obama administration's handling of Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Klein made his remarks at a meeting of more than 2,700 industry officials, saying the move has injured the government's credibility on nuclear issues. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Stephens Washington News Bureau
http://www.lvrj.com/news/yucca-mountain-shutdown-criticized-87612692.html
Departing Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Dale Klein criticized the Obama administration's handling of Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Klein made his remarks at a meeting of more than 2,700 industry officials, saying the move has injured the government's credibility on nuclear issues. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Stephens Washington News Bureau
http://www.lvrj.com/news/yucca-mountain-shutdown-criticized-87612692.html
Nuclear power revival needs state support, execs say
Nuclear power revival needs state support, execs say
Full assistance from states is essential to keep the U.S. nuclear renaissance up and running, utility executives said last week at a Houston energy conference. Though the country succeeded in awarding the first loan guarantee for nuclear power, it will not be enough to convince utilities to invest in new facilities, executives said. Some states have approved laws to back nuclear construction, but they must also support nuclear efforts over the long run, said Jeff Lyash, a Progress Energy official. Reuters
Full assistance from states is essential to keep the U.S. nuclear renaissance up and running, utility executives said last week at a Houston energy conference. Though the country succeeded in awarding the first loan guarantee for nuclear power, it will not be enough to convince utilities to invest in new facilities, executives said. Some states have approved laws to back nuclear construction, but they must also support nuclear efforts over the long run, said Jeff Lyash, a Progress Energy official. Reuters
U.S. - Russian Nuclear Agreement To Be Concluded Soon
U.S. - Russian Nuclear Agreement To Be Concluded Soon
US And Russia Claim They Are On Brink Of Nuclear Deal -- The Guardian
More than three months late, Obama and Medvedev dive for the finish line in a bid to maintain momentum on disarmament.
Apologies if you have read this somewhere before many times, but Washington and Moscow are once again saying they are really, really close to a new START nuclear arms control treaty.
Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev spoke on the telephone on Saturday and agreed to give their negotiators in Geneva "new instructions" to conclude a draft treaty that would cut each sides deployed strategic arsenal from well over 2,000 warheads apiece to somewhere between 1,500 and 1,675. Launch vehicles (missiles and bombers) would be cut from 1600 to a range of 500 to 1,100.
Read more ....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/julian-borger-global-security-blog/2010/mar/14/nuclear-weapons-obama-administration
More News On U.S. - Russia Nuclear Negotiations
Russia-US nuclear treaty ready soon: Kremlin -- AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hfp1miYgr5vwBIxHmR9tJklhCYhg
Obama, Medvedev encouraged on arms talks accord -- AP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5isOusq88XaFLQSKVrHn_wRfUSvAgD9EE50M04
Obama, Medvedev happy on arms pact, signing seen near -- Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62C1GK20100313
US and Russia 'near' new nuclear arms treaty -- BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8566579.stm
Obama and Medvedev Talk About Arms Treaty -- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/world/europe/14start.html
Hillary Clinton upbeat on arms treaty with Russia -- The Hindu
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article245778.ece
Russia, U.S. look to date for signing new arms treaty -- Xinhuanet
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-03/14/c_13209642.htm
Russia, US close to signing arms reduction pact: Kremlin -- Economic Times of India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Russia-US-close-to-signing-arms-reduction-pact-Kremlin/articleshow/5681737.cms
US And Russia Claim They Are On Brink Of Nuclear Deal -- The Guardian
More than three months late, Obama and Medvedev dive for the finish line in a bid to maintain momentum on disarmament.
Apologies if you have read this somewhere before many times, but Washington and Moscow are once again saying they are really, really close to a new START nuclear arms control treaty.
Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev spoke on the telephone on Saturday and agreed to give their negotiators in Geneva "new instructions" to conclude a draft treaty that would cut each sides deployed strategic arsenal from well over 2,000 warheads apiece to somewhere between 1,500 and 1,675. Launch vehicles (missiles and bombers) would be cut from 1600 to a range of 500 to 1,100.
Read more ....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/julian-borger-global-security-blog/2010/mar/14/nuclear-weapons-obama-administration
More News On U.S. - Russia Nuclear Negotiations
Russia-US nuclear treaty ready soon: Kremlin -- AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hfp1miYgr5vwBIxHmR9tJklhCYhg
Obama, Medvedev encouraged on arms talks accord -- AP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5isOusq88XaFLQSKVrHn_wRfUSvAgD9EE50M04
Obama, Medvedev happy on arms pact, signing seen near -- Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62C1GK20100313
US and Russia 'near' new nuclear arms treaty -- BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8566579.stm
Obama and Medvedev Talk About Arms Treaty -- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/world/europe/14start.html
Hillary Clinton upbeat on arms treaty with Russia -- The Hindu
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article245778.ece
Russia, U.S. look to date for signing new arms treaty -- Xinhuanet
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-03/14/c_13209642.htm
Russia, US close to signing arms reduction pact: Kremlin -- Economic Times of India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Russia-US-close-to-signing-arms-reduction-pact-Kremlin/articleshow/5681737.cms
NATO Boss: Nuclear Weapons Still Needed for 'Credible Deterrence' Preemptive Nuclear War prevails
NATO Boss: Nuclear Weapons Still Needed for 'Credible Deterrence'
Preemptive Nuclear War prevails
- 2010-03-13
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18088
Preemptive Nuclear War prevails
- 2010-03-13
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18088
Joshua Frank / Jeffrey St. Clair Obama and Nuclear Power: Resurrecting a Failed Industry
Joshua Frank /
Jeffrey St. Clair
Obama and Nuclear Power: Resurrecting a Failed Industry
http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair03122010.html
Jeffrey St. Clair
Obama and Nuclear Power: Resurrecting a Failed Industry
http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair03122010.html
SPENGLER Obama in more trouble than Netanyahu over Iran
SPENGLER
Obama in more trouble
than Netanyahu over Iran
If the Barack Obama administration attempts to punish Israel for doing what American public opinion seems to favor - striking Iran's nuclear program - then Obama is likely to pay the political price. The US administration is hamstrung by the investment it made in rapprochement with Tehran, which it hoped would become the pillar on which American regional policy would rest. (Mar 15, '10)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LC16Ak01.html
Obama in more trouble
than Netanyahu over Iran
If the Barack Obama administration attempts to punish Israel for doing what American public opinion seems to favor - striking Iran's nuclear program - then Obama is likely to pay the political price. The US administration is hamstrung by the investment it made in rapprochement with Tehran, which it hoped would become the pillar on which American regional policy would rest. (Mar 15, '10)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LC16Ak01.html
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Nuclear Posture Review to Reduce Regional Role of Nuclear Weapons from FAS Strategic Security
Nuclear Posture Review to Reduce Regional Role of Nuclear Weapons
from FAS Strategic Security Blog by hkristensen
2 people liked this
The Quadrennial Deference Review forecasts reduction in regional role of nuclear weapons. By Hans M. Kristensen A little-noticed section of the Quadrennial Defense Review recently published by the Pentagon suggests that that the Obama administration’s forthcoming Nuclear Posture Review will reduce the role of nuclear weapons in regional scenarios.
http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2010/02/nukemission.php
from FAS Strategic Security Blog by hkristensen
2 people liked this
The Quadrennial Deference Review forecasts reduction in regional role of nuclear weapons. By Hans M. Kristensen A little-noticed section of the Quadrennial Defense Review recently published by the Pentagon suggests that that the Obama administration’s forthcoming Nuclear Posture Review will reduce the role of nuclear weapons in regional scenarios.
http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2010/02/nukemission.php
Obama and the Nuclear War Plan from FAS Strategic Security Blog
Obama and the Nuclear War Plan
from FAS Strategic Security Blog by hkristensen
The current U.S. strategic war plan is directed against six adversaries. Guess who. . By Hans M. Kristensen While the completion of the Obama administration’s Nuclear Posture Review continues to slide, FAS today published an issue paper on how a decision to reduce the role of nuclear weapons might influence the U.S. strategic war plan. President Obama pledged in [...]
http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2010/02/warplan.php
from FAS Strategic Security Blog by hkristensen
The current U.S. strategic war plan is directed against six adversaries. Guess who. . By Hans M. Kristensen While the completion of the Obama administration’s Nuclear Posture Review continues to slide, FAS today published an issue paper on how a decision to reduce the role of nuclear weapons might influence the U.S. strategic war plan. President Obama pledged in [...]
http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2010/02/warplan.php
Did Chomsky Say? Iran Pursuing Nuclear Weapons Out of Fear Scholar assails U.S. for hypocritical application of Non-Proliferation Treaty
Did Chomsky Say?
Iran Pursuing Nuclear Weapons Out of Fear
Scholar assails U.S. for hypocritical application of Non-Proliferation Treaty
By Matthew W. Hutchins
March 11. 2010 "Harvard Law Record" -- Even the most radical conservative can agree with Noam Chomsky on at least one thing. “No one in their right mind wants Iran to develop nuclear weapons.” But to Chomsky, nonproliferation requires reciprocal action, rather than international condemnation. Chomsky's reputation as a prolific author of books on subjects including linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, political science, and media might lead one to believe that his views stem from esoteric theoretical arguments, but Chomsky takes a pragmatic view of international relations. His conclusion is that Iran is developing nuclear weapons out of a rational fear for its national safety because of the systematically threatening posture of the United States and Israel.
Speaking at Harvard's Memorial Church on Saturday, March 6th, Chomsky critiqued the foreign policy of President Obama '91 and explained the historical reasons that Iran would perceive a need to develop nuclear weapons. “If they're not developing a nuclear deterrent, they are crazy.” The problem, said Chomsky, is the defiant and hypocritical insistence of the United States on holding the constant threat of military action over Iran as a punishment for its noncompliance with United Nations mandates. “Hostile actions of the United States and its Israeli client are a major factor in Iran's decisions of whether or not to develop a nuclear deterrent.”
In Chomsky's eyes, Security Council Resolution 1887, which was strongly endorsed by President Obama, calls upon all nations to peacefully participate in the international regimes for nonproliferation. The resolution encourages nations to develop civilian nuclear technology, while stressing the need for conformity to the IAEA's inspection system, and Chomsky said that the inclusion of language about peaceful action was primarily directed at the United States and its veiled threats that, “We must keep all options open.” Indeed, with its nuclear missile submarines positioned within striking distance of Iran, Chomsky estimates that there is effectively no chance that Iran would ever use a future nuclear weapon for offensive purposes. But he warned, “The threats do have the effect of inducing Iran to develop a deterrent.”
The escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States is entirely absurd to Chomsky in light of the widespread acceptance of the rights of Iranians to develop civilian nuclear technology. He sees the cult of American Empire in the government's condemnations of Iran for refusing to follow the demands of the international community, because the definition of “international community” used in such rhetoric amounts to little more than the opinion in Washington, D.C. and among its allies. He cited to the hypocrisy of the U.S. position in its historical relationships with the three nations that did not ratify the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty: Israel, India, and Pakistan. These three nations, said Chomsky, have all received nuclear technology from the United States in violation of security council resolutions, but most Americans would not realize this, given the pro-government bias of the media.
Essentially, Chomsky believes that President Obama's foreign policy has embodied a continuation of the policies of George W. Bush's second term in office. But he believes we are fortunate to be living in a time when the anti-war movement is much stronger than it was during the 1960's. He recalled a demonstration he was involved in during 1965, when state police violently dispersed a crowd from Boston Common. The next day, the Boston Globe, one of the most liberal newspapers in the country, denounced the protesters. Just three years later, following the Tet Offensive, public sentiment had moved enough that protests became common, but he ascribed this to a growing sentiment on Wall Street that the country had paid too high a price in Vietnam. Looking back at the lessons of that war, Chomsky said that the United States had essentially achieved its goal of “innoculating” the region from the domino-theory chain reaction by 1970 by installing dictators in neighboring countries and helping Suharto come to power in Indonesia.
Prize-winning journalist Amy Goodman noted in her introduction of Chomsky that he had played a crucial role in bringing the attention of the world to the oppression of the people of East Timor by Indonesia. She recounted the beatings and massacres she witnessed while traveling there as a journalist, as well as the elation when the nation achieved independence. “This nation of survivors had prevailed. They had resisted, and they had won.” Chomsky, when speaking about activism and civil disobedience, stressed the need for determined persistence. “You're not going to win tomorrow. You are going to have a lot of defeats, but you have to keep at it.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24973.htm
Iran Pursuing Nuclear Weapons Out of Fear
Scholar assails U.S. for hypocritical application of Non-Proliferation Treaty
By Matthew W. Hutchins
March 11. 2010 "Harvard Law Record" -- Even the most radical conservative can agree with Noam Chomsky on at least one thing. “No one in their right mind wants Iran to develop nuclear weapons.” But to Chomsky, nonproliferation requires reciprocal action, rather than international condemnation. Chomsky's reputation as a prolific author of books on subjects including linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, political science, and media might lead one to believe that his views stem from esoteric theoretical arguments, but Chomsky takes a pragmatic view of international relations. His conclusion is that Iran is developing nuclear weapons out of a rational fear for its national safety because of the systematically threatening posture of the United States and Israel.
Speaking at Harvard's Memorial Church on Saturday, March 6th, Chomsky critiqued the foreign policy of President Obama '91 and explained the historical reasons that Iran would perceive a need to develop nuclear weapons. “If they're not developing a nuclear deterrent, they are crazy.” The problem, said Chomsky, is the defiant and hypocritical insistence of the United States on holding the constant threat of military action over Iran as a punishment for its noncompliance with United Nations mandates. “Hostile actions of the United States and its Israeli client are a major factor in Iran's decisions of whether or not to develop a nuclear deterrent.”
In Chomsky's eyes, Security Council Resolution 1887, which was strongly endorsed by President Obama, calls upon all nations to peacefully participate in the international regimes for nonproliferation. The resolution encourages nations to develop civilian nuclear technology, while stressing the need for conformity to the IAEA's inspection system, and Chomsky said that the inclusion of language about peaceful action was primarily directed at the United States and its veiled threats that, “We must keep all options open.” Indeed, with its nuclear missile submarines positioned within striking distance of Iran, Chomsky estimates that there is effectively no chance that Iran would ever use a future nuclear weapon for offensive purposes. But he warned, “The threats do have the effect of inducing Iran to develop a deterrent.”
The escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States is entirely absurd to Chomsky in light of the widespread acceptance of the rights of Iranians to develop civilian nuclear technology. He sees the cult of American Empire in the government's condemnations of Iran for refusing to follow the demands of the international community, because the definition of “international community” used in such rhetoric amounts to little more than the opinion in Washington, D.C. and among its allies. He cited to the hypocrisy of the U.S. position in its historical relationships with the three nations that did not ratify the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty: Israel, India, and Pakistan. These three nations, said Chomsky, have all received nuclear technology from the United States in violation of security council resolutions, but most Americans would not realize this, given the pro-government bias of the media.
Essentially, Chomsky believes that President Obama's foreign policy has embodied a continuation of the policies of George W. Bush's second term in office. But he believes we are fortunate to be living in a time when the anti-war movement is much stronger than it was during the 1960's. He recalled a demonstration he was involved in during 1965, when state police violently dispersed a crowd from Boston Common. The next day, the Boston Globe, one of the most liberal newspapers in the country, denounced the protesters. Just three years later, following the Tet Offensive, public sentiment had moved enough that protests became common, but he ascribed this to a growing sentiment on Wall Street that the country had paid too high a price in Vietnam. Looking back at the lessons of that war, Chomsky said that the United States had essentially achieved its goal of “innoculating” the region from the domino-theory chain reaction by 1970 by installing dictators in neighboring countries and helping Suharto come to power in Indonesia.
Prize-winning journalist Amy Goodman noted in her introduction of Chomsky that he had played a crucial role in bringing the attention of the world to the oppression of the people of East Timor by Indonesia. She recounted the beatings and massacres she witnessed while traveling there as a journalist, as well as the elation when the nation achieved independence. “This nation of survivors had prevailed. They had resisted, and they had won.” Chomsky, when speaking about activism and civil disobedience, stressed the need for determined persistence. “You're not going to win tomorrow. You are going to have a lot of defeats, but you have to keep at it.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24973.htm
Did Chomsky Say Iran Pursuing Nuclear Weapons Out of Fear By Matthew W. Hutchins
Did Chomsky Say
Iran Pursuing Nuclear Weapons Out of Fear
By Matthew W. Hutchins
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24973.htm
Iran Pursuing Nuclear Weapons Out of Fear
By Matthew W. Hutchins
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24973.htm
Saturday, March 13, 2010
India Embraces Russian Weapons And Nuclear Reactors
India Embraces Russian Weapons And Nuclear Reactors
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (R) and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin address the media and release the joint statement after their meeting at Hyderabad house in New Delhi, capital of India, March 12, 2010.(Xinhua/Stringer)
India Embraces Russia Arms -- L.A. Times
New Delhi signs five deals, buying fighter jets, an aircraft carrier and nuclear reactors.
India signed five deals Friday to purchase more than $7 billion in hardware and expertise from Russia, including an aircraft carrier, a fleet of MIG-29 fighters, defense and space technology and at least 12 civilian nuclear reactors.
On the minds of both parties, analysts said, was a nation not present at the signing. "China will be the ghost in the room," wrote analyst C. Raja Mohan in an opinion piece this week in the Indian Express.
Read more ....
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-russia-india13-2010mar13,0,7959861.story
More News On The India - Russian Relationship
Russia and India sign major military, nuclear deals -- RIA Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/world/20100312/158177812.html
India and Russia Build Ties With Pacts -- New York Times
Russia signs India nuclear reactor deal -- BBC
Putin visit seals arms, nuke deals with India -- AFP
Nuclear cooperation will cover all areas: Putin -- The Hindu
India, Russia ink 19 pacts on defense, nuclear energy and space cooperation -- Xinhuanet
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (R) and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin address the media and release the joint statement after their meeting at Hyderabad house in New Delhi, capital of India, March 12, 2010.(Xinhua/Stringer)
India Embraces Russia Arms -- L.A. Times
New Delhi signs five deals, buying fighter jets, an aircraft carrier and nuclear reactors.
India signed five deals Friday to purchase more than $7 billion in hardware and expertise from Russia, including an aircraft carrier, a fleet of MIG-29 fighters, defense and space technology and at least 12 civilian nuclear reactors.
On the minds of both parties, analysts said, was a nation not present at the signing. "China will be the ghost in the room," wrote analyst C. Raja Mohan in an opinion piece this week in the Indian Express.
Read more ....
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-russia-india13-2010mar13,0,7959861.story
More News On The India - Russian Relationship
Russia and India sign major military, nuclear deals -- RIA Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/world/20100312/158177812.html
India and Russia Build Ties With Pacts -- New York Times
Russia signs India nuclear reactor deal -- BBC
Putin visit seals arms, nuke deals with India -- AFP
Nuclear cooperation will cover all areas: Putin -- The Hindu
India, Russia ink 19 pacts on defense, nuclear energy and space cooperation -- Xinhuanet
Al-Qaeda Suspect From NJ Worked At 6 Nuke Plants
Just what the industry needs now:
Al-Qaeda Suspect From NJ Worked At 6 Nuke Plants
HADDONFIELD, N.J. (AP) ―
Sharif Mobley, seen in this undated photo, is being held in Yemen and accused of being an al Qaeda member. The FBI is investigating the 26-year-old New Jersey man's case.
An American seized in Yemen in a sweep of suspected al-Qaida members had been a laborer at six U.S. nuclear power plants, and authorities are investigating whether he had access to sensitive information or materials that would be useful to terrorists.
Sharif Mobley, 26, worked for contractors at plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland from 2002 to 2008, mostly hauling materials and setting up scaffolding, plant officials said.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said Friday that investigations are under way into which areas Mobley entered. But he noted that areas containing nuclear fuel are tightly controlled, and that a laborer typically would not have access to security information or other sensitive matters.
The plants are also checking areas where Mobley worked to ensure everything is in order, said NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci.
Mobley, a U.S. citizen of Somali descent, has not been linked to any wrongdoing at any of the plants. And officials said nothing he did when he worked there aroused any suspicion.
Officials said Mobley passed the necessary screenings, which include criminal background checks, drug testing, psychological assessments and identity verification.
Nevertheless, Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, an industry watchdog, said the case raises questions about security at the nation's nuclear plants.
"The real question is: Was there information that the NRC or utilities could have seen that would have led to his disqualification?" Lyman said.
Mobley, a Muslim who grew up in Buena, N.J., was among 11 al-Qaida suspects rounded up earlier this month in Yemen. He was taken to a hospital there over the weekend after he complained of feeling ill. Yemeni officials said he snatched a gun and shot a security guard to death in an attempt to escape from the hospital.
He has not been accused by authorities in the U.S. or Yemen of attempting to make a bomb or attack a nuclear plant.
His parents have said he is not a terrorist, though former friend Roman Castro said Mobley was becoming increasingly radical in his Muslim beliefs before he moved to Yemen about two years ago.
Mobley worked for contractors at the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear plants in New Jersey from 2002 to 2008; the Peach Bottom, Limerick and Three Mile Island plants in Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2007; and Calvert Cliffs in Maryland for two weeks in 2006, operators said.
Company officials said most of his work came during periodic refueling outages, when hundreds of contract employees descend on the plants. The workers do a variety of jobs, but "nothing technical," said Curt Jenkins, business manager at Mobley's union, Local 222 of the New Jersey Laborers Council.
Mobley had "vital access" that allowed him into any area of the plants where he worked in New Jersey, Jenkins said. But guards were posted in the most sensitive places, and "anywhere that you might be able to do anything, they pretty well got that pretty secure."
Every worker entering a plant has to clear security, explosives and radiation checkpoints, and that information is recorded, the NRC's Sheehan said. The plants also teach employees to recognize and report suspicious behavior.
Jenkins said that he never saw any sign of trouble from Mobley and that he was a union member in good standing. "He always treated us with respect," he said. "Very well-mannered."
Mobley's work came during a period in which nuclear plant security was increased in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Steve Kerekes, a spokesman for the industry group the Nuclear Energy Institute, said that before regulations changed in 2003, workers could gain temporary access to plants before their screening was complete. It was not immediately clear whether Mobley had access before he was completely cleared.
"To the best of our knowledge, with the regard to this individual, there was nothing to suggest any kind of problem with him," Kerekes said. "We have a personnel database that's in place that lets all our companies across the industry know instantaneously if someone is for some reason denied access or flagged for some other kind of reason related to their behavior."
However, the information shared between nuclear power companies is sometimes incomplete, said Lyman, of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
A law enforcement official says Mobley traveled to Yemen with the goal of joining a terrorist group. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still going on.
A second official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, says the U.S. government was aware of Mobley's potential extremist ties long before his arrest. The official did not say how long the government had been paying attention to him.
http://cbs3.com/local/sharif.mobley.yemen.2.1556982.html
Al-Qaeda Suspect From NJ Worked At 6 Nuke Plants
HADDONFIELD, N.J. (AP) ―
Sharif Mobley, seen in this undated photo, is being held in Yemen and accused of being an al Qaeda member. The FBI is investigating the 26-year-old New Jersey man's case.
An American seized in Yemen in a sweep of suspected al-Qaida members had been a laborer at six U.S. nuclear power plants, and authorities are investigating whether he had access to sensitive information or materials that would be useful to terrorists.
Sharif Mobley, 26, worked for contractors at plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland from 2002 to 2008, mostly hauling materials and setting up scaffolding, plant officials said.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said Friday that investigations are under way into which areas Mobley entered. But he noted that areas containing nuclear fuel are tightly controlled, and that a laborer typically would not have access to security information or other sensitive matters.
The plants are also checking areas where Mobley worked to ensure everything is in order, said NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci.
Mobley, a U.S. citizen of Somali descent, has not been linked to any wrongdoing at any of the plants. And officials said nothing he did when he worked there aroused any suspicion.
Officials said Mobley passed the necessary screenings, which include criminal background checks, drug testing, psychological assessments and identity verification.
Nevertheless, Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, an industry watchdog, said the case raises questions about security at the nation's nuclear plants.
"The real question is: Was there information that the NRC or utilities could have seen that would have led to his disqualification?" Lyman said.
Mobley, a Muslim who grew up in Buena, N.J., was among 11 al-Qaida suspects rounded up earlier this month in Yemen. He was taken to a hospital there over the weekend after he complained of feeling ill. Yemeni officials said he snatched a gun and shot a security guard to death in an attempt to escape from the hospital.
He has not been accused by authorities in the U.S. or Yemen of attempting to make a bomb or attack a nuclear plant.
His parents have said he is not a terrorist, though former friend Roman Castro said Mobley was becoming increasingly radical in his Muslim beliefs before he moved to Yemen about two years ago.
Mobley worked for contractors at the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear plants in New Jersey from 2002 to 2008; the Peach Bottom, Limerick and Three Mile Island plants in Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2007; and Calvert Cliffs in Maryland for two weeks in 2006, operators said.
Company officials said most of his work came during periodic refueling outages, when hundreds of contract employees descend on the plants. The workers do a variety of jobs, but "nothing technical," said Curt Jenkins, business manager at Mobley's union, Local 222 of the New Jersey Laborers Council.
Mobley had "vital access" that allowed him into any area of the plants where he worked in New Jersey, Jenkins said. But guards were posted in the most sensitive places, and "anywhere that you might be able to do anything, they pretty well got that pretty secure."
Every worker entering a plant has to clear security, explosives and radiation checkpoints, and that information is recorded, the NRC's Sheehan said. The plants also teach employees to recognize and report suspicious behavior.
Jenkins said that he never saw any sign of trouble from Mobley and that he was a union member in good standing. "He always treated us with respect," he said. "Very well-mannered."
Mobley's work came during a period in which nuclear plant security was increased in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Steve Kerekes, a spokesman for the industry group the Nuclear Energy Institute, said that before regulations changed in 2003, workers could gain temporary access to plants before their screening was complete. It was not immediately clear whether Mobley had access before he was completely cleared.
"To the best of our knowledge, with the regard to this individual, there was nothing to suggest any kind of problem with him," Kerekes said. "We have a personnel database that's in place that lets all our companies across the industry know instantaneously if someone is for some reason denied access or flagged for some other kind of reason related to their behavior."
However, the information shared between nuclear power companies is sometimes incomplete, said Lyman, of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
A law enforcement official says Mobley traveled to Yemen with the goal of joining a terrorist group. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still going on.
A second official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, says the U.S. government was aware of Mobley's potential extremist ties long before his arrest. The official did not say how long the government had been paying attention to him.
http://cbs3.com/local/sharif.mobley.yemen.2.1556982.html
* NRC to look closer at long-term storage at reactor sites
Agency needs new plan after Yucca decision
Long-term storage of nuclear waste still an issue
* NRC to look closer at long-term storage at reactor sites
Because the White House has indicated that it does not want to continue with the Yucca Mountain project in Nevada, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will need to turn its attention to determining whether used fuel can remain stored for long periods at reactor sites around the country, said Jack Davis, an NRC official. The agency's safety regulations are "not really optimized for long-term storage," he added. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Stephens Washington News Bureau
http://www.lvrj.com/news/agency-needs-new-plan-after-yucca-decision-87321152.html
Long-term storage of nuclear waste still an issue
* NRC to look closer at long-term storage at reactor sites
Because the White House has indicated that it does not want to continue with the Yucca Mountain project in Nevada, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will need to turn its attention to determining whether used fuel can remain stored for long periods at reactor sites around the country, said Jack Davis, an NRC official. The agency's safety regulations are "not really optimized for long-term storage," he added. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Stephens Washington News Bureau
http://www.lvrj.com/news/agency-needs-new-plan-after-yucca-decision-87321152.html
Obama adviser pushes multi-pronged energy policy By MONICA HATCHER HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Obama adviser pushes multi-pronged energy policy
By MONICA HATCHER HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Investments in renewable power, as well as in nuclear energy and fossil fuels, must be part of plans to revise the country's energy policy, White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said. "If ever there was an issue where we should move from 'either or' to 'both and,' I would suggest it is with energy," he said during an energy conference in Houston. Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6909517.html
By MONICA HATCHER HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Investments in renewable power, as well as in nuclear energy and fossil fuels, must be part of plans to revise the country's energy policy, White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said. "If ever there was an issue where we should move from 'either or' to 'both and,' I would suggest it is with energy," he said during an energy conference in Houston. Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6909517.html
EnergySolutions lands waste-processing contract for Chinese reactors
EnergySolutions lands waste-processing contract for Chinese reactors
EnergySolutions has secured a contract to provide waste-management systems for two CPR-1000 reactors under construction in Yangjiang, China. The company will design and supply the processing systems for liquid and solid wastes for the reactors, which are being built by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding. Nuclear Engineering International
http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=132&storyCode=2055700
EnergySolutions has secured a contract to provide waste-management systems for two CPR-1000 reactors under construction in Yangjiang, China. The company will design and supply the processing systems for liquid and solid wastes for the reactors, which are being built by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding. Nuclear Engineering International
http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=132&storyCode=2055700
FPL reconsiders applying for nuclear loan guarantee, exec says
FPL reconsiders applying for nuclear loan guarantee, exec says
Florida Power & Light seeks to push back its project to build two nuclear reactors in the state and may apply for a federal loan guarantee, company executive Moray Dewhurst said. The company will also continue efforts to secure a license for construction and operation for the project from federal regulators, he added. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1123143220100311
Florida Power & Light seeks to push back its project to build two nuclear reactors in the state and may apply for a federal loan guarantee, company executive Moray Dewhurst said. The company will also continue efforts to secure a license for construction and operation for the project from federal regulators, he added. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1123143220100311
Friday, March 12, 2010
China's Nuclear Forces And The Development Of A Conventional Warhead Missile
China's Nuclear Forces And The Development Of A Conventional Warhead Missile Visitors walk past China's second nuclear missile on display as they visit
the Military Museum in Beijing Photo: GETTY
China Nuclear Arms -- Washington Times
China's strategic nuclear forces remain shrouded in secrecy, but a new report this week identified the key location of Beijing's tightly guarded underground nuclear-weapons storage base.
The report by the Project 2049 Institute, a private China affairs research group, also suggests the Chinese military is working on a long-range conventional warhead missile capability. The conclusion is based on indicators that China is not building nuclear warheads as fast as it is deploying large numbers of long-range missiles.
Read more ....
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/11/inside-the-ring-76465603/
the Military Museum in Beijing Photo: GETTY
China Nuclear Arms -- Washington Times
China's strategic nuclear forces remain shrouded in secrecy, but a new report this week identified the key location of Beijing's tightly guarded underground nuclear-weapons storage base.
The report by the Project 2049 Institute, a private China affairs research group, also suggests the Chinese military is working on a long-range conventional warhead missile capability. The conclusion is based on indicators that China is not building nuclear warheads as fast as it is deploying large numbers of long-range missiles.
Read more ....
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/11/inside-the-ring-76465603/
Senior Lawmakers Question Obama’s Nuclear Security Goal -- Global Security Newswire
Senior Lawmakers Question Obama’s Nuclear Security Goal -- Global Security Newswire
WASHINGTON -- Leaders of a key congressional panel yesterday expressed skepticism that the U.S. government would be able to met President Barack Obama's goal of securing all of the world's loose nuclear material within four years (see GSN, Feb. 26).
"Securing all vulnerable nuclear material is a laudable goal that this committee supports," House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Vice Chairman Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.) said in his opening statement during a hearing on the administration's nuclear nonproliferation efforts.
Read more ....
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100311_7671.php
More On President Obama's Nuclear Security Goals
Obama Faces Decision on Nuke Policy -- Global Security Newswire
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100308_2195.php
President Obama, Robert Gates nuke war brewing? -- Politico
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34010.html
President Obama Reaffirms Committment to Nonproliferation -- FOX News
http://whitehouse.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/03/05/president-obama-reaffirms-committment-to-nonproliferation/
Obama must decide degree to which U.S. swears off nuclear weapons -- Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/05/AR2010030502260.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Obama calls for global fuel bank -- The Hindu
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article201554.ece
Nuclear Policy in a Changed World -- Sen. James Inhofe, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/opinion/l07nuclear.html
The Obama bid to rid the world of nuclear weapons boosts US security -- minus the threat of Armageddon -- Robert Dujarric, Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0304/The-Obama-bid-to-rid-the-world-of-nuclear-weapons-boosts-US-security-minus-the-threat-of-Armageddon
WASHINGTON -- Leaders of a key congressional panel yesterday expressed skepticism that the U.S. government would be able to met President Barack Obama's goal of securing all of the world's loose nuclear material within four years (see GSN, Feb. 26).
"Securing all vulnerable nuclear material is a laudable goal that this committee supports," House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Vice Chairman Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.) said in his opening statement during a hearing on the administration's nuclear nonproliferation efforts.
Read more ....
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100311_7671.php
More On President Obama's Nuclear Security Goals
Obama Faces Decision on Nuke Policy -- Global Security Newswire
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100308_2195.php
President Obama, Robert Gates nuke war brewing? -- Politico
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34010.html
President Obama Reaffirms Committment to Nonproliferation -- FOX News
http://whitehouse.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/03/05/president-obama-reaffirms-committment-to-nonproliferation/
Obama must decide degree to which U.S. swears off nuclear weapons -- Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/05/AR2010030502260.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Obama calls for global fuel bank -- The Hindu
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article201554.ece
Nuclear Policy in a Changed World -- Sen. James Inhofe, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/opinion/l07nuclear.html
The Obama bid to rid the world of nuclear weapons boosts US security -- minus the threat of Armageddon -- Robert Dujarric, Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0304/The-Obama-bid-to-rid-the-world-of-nuclear-weapons-boosts-US-security-minus-the-threat-of-Armageddon
Thursday, March 11, 2010
NRC says Indian Point "preserved public health and safety"
NRC says Indian Point "preserved public health and safety"
from NEI SmartBrief
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has said the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York met all safety standards in 2009; -More-
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/nei/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=46F94A74-0098-4A27-B0A9-EBE090AA3137©id=232FC837-F047-4D08-BFD6-9CD5FA4F6A59&brief=NEI&sb_code=rss&&campaign=rss
from NEI SmartBrief
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has said the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York met all safety standards in 2009; -More-
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/nei/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=46F94A74-0098-4A27-B0A9-EBE090AA3137©id=232FC837-F047-4D08-BFD6-9CD5FA4F6A59&brief=NEI&sb_code=rss&&campaign=rss
Sources: Turkey, South Korea to forge nuclear-cooperation pact
Sources: Turkey, South Korea to forge nuclear-cooperation pact
Turkey's Elektrik Uretim will reportedly sign a nuclear energy deal with South Korea's Kepco. Work on the nuclear project could begin in the near term, South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Young Hak Kim said. Reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE6290HI20100310
Turkey's Elektrik Uretim will reportedly sign a nuclear energy deal with South Korea's Kepco. Work on the nuclear project could begin in the near term, South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Young Hak Kim said. Reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE6290HI20100310
Russia plans construction of more nuclear plants in India
Russia plans construction of more nuclear plants in India
Russia is prepared to construct more nuclear-power facilities in India over the next decade, Russian Ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin said. Russia also plans to increase capacity at the Kudankulam nuclear plant, which it is building for Nuclear Power Corp. of India. EasyBourse/Dow Jones Newswires
http://www.easybourse.com/bourse/actualite/russia-official-willing-to-build-up-to-15000mw-nuclear-plants-in-india-808435
Russia is prepared to construct more nuclear-power facilities in India over the next decade, Russian Ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin said. Russia also plans to increase capacity at the Kudankulam nuclear plant, which it is building for Nuclear Power Corp. of India. EasyBourse/Dow Jones Newswires
http://www.easybourse.com/bourse/actualite/russia-official-willing-to-build-up-to-15000mw-nuclear-plants-in-india-808435
Report: Development of nuclear plants needed to meet emissions target
Report: Development of nuclear plants needed to meet emissions target
Though the abundance of North America's unconventional gas supplies will likely alter the continent's energy landscape, that would not be enough to meet a goal to cut carbon emissions by 80% in 2050, according to report by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. To achieve that target, more nuclear and renewable-energy facilities must be built, the report added. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100310-711383.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
Though the abundance of North America's unconventional gas supplies will likely alter the continent's energy landscape, that would not be enough to meet a goal to cut carbon emissions by 80% in 2050, according to report by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. To achieve that target, more nuclear and renewable-energy facilities must be built, the report added. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100310-711383.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
Administration not honoring pledge to promote nuclear, offshore drilling
Administration not honoring pledge to promote nuclear, offshore drilling
The administration has yet to make good on the President Obama's January promise to find local sources of oil and gas and promote nuclear power plants, says this editorial in the Wall Street Journal. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has been stonewalling the leasing of oil-rich areas for offshore drilling, the editorial argues, while Energy Secretary Steven Chu is stalling on naming a permanent nuclear repository by convening another blue-ribbon panel. "The president says he wants new supplies of home-grown energy, but the government's actions suggest continuing hostility to oil drilling and nuclear power," the editorial adds. The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704784904575112144130306052.html?KEYWORDS=energy+head+fake
The administration has yet to make good on the President Obama's January promise to find local sources of oil and gas and promote nuclear power plants, says this editorial in the Wall Street Journal. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has been stonewalling the leasing of oil-rich areas for offshore drilling, the editorial argues, while Energy Secretary Steven Chu is stalling on naming a permanent nuclear repository by convening another blue-ribbon panel. "The president says he wants new supplies of home-grown energy, but the government's actions suggest continuing hostility to oil drilling and nuclear power," the editorial adds. The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704784904575112144130306052.html?KEYWORDS=energy+head+fake
South Korea Eyes Nuclear Push in Turkey
South Korea Eyes Nuclear Push in Turkey
Delphine Strauss and Funja Guler, Financial Times
South Korea's plans to become a global player in the nuclear industry were boosted on Wednesday by the signing of a co-operation agreement between Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and Turkey's Elektrik Üretim (EUAS), the two countries' state power companies.
Full Article http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b94f512e-2c97-11df-8abb-00144feabdc0.html
Delphine Strauss and Funja Guler, Financial Times
South Korea's plans to become a global player in the nuclear industry were boosted on Wednesday by the signing of a co-operation agreement between Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and Turkey's Elektrik Üretim (EUAS), the two countries' state power companies.
Full Article http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b94f512e-2c97-11df-8abb-00144feabdc0.html
India May Join Russia in Establishing Angarsk Nuclear Fuel Bank
India May Join Russia in Establishing Angarsk Nuclear Fuel Bank
RIA Novosti
Editor's Note: This article appears to conflate two Russian projects, both of which are being undertaken at Angarsk: the low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel reserve (a fuel bank of last resort) and the International Uranium Enrichment Center (IUEC) (a multinationally-owned commercial supplier of enriched uranium). Indian interest is presumably in the IUEC, although this is unclear from the article.
Full Article
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100310/158147430.html
RIA Novosti
Editor's Note: This article appears to conflate two Russian projects, both of which are being undertaken at Angarsk: the low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel reserve (a fuel bank of last resort) and the International Uranium Enrichment Center (IUEC) (a multinationally-owned commercial supplier of enriched uranium). Indian interest is presumably in the IUEC, although this is unclear from the article.
Full Article
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100310/158147430.html
Brazil, Germany Clash on Iran Nuclear Sanctions
Brazil, Germany Clash on Iran Nuclear Sanctions
Deborah Cole, Agence France-Presse
Brazil and Germany differed sharply Wednesday on whether to threaten Iran with fresh United Nations sanctions in a bid to rein in its disputed nuclear program.
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g2kb3E9JqYyb59mx1mNbf_kTMbog
Deborah Cole, Agence France-Presse
Brazil and Germany differed sharply Wednesday on whether to threaten Iran with fresh United Nations sanctions in a bid to rein in its disputed nuclear program.
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g2kb3E9JqYyb59mx1mNbf_kTMbog
Delay on Arms Pact Slows Reset of U.S.-Russia Ties
Delay on Arms Pact Slows Reset of U.S.-Russia Ties
Peter Baker and Mark Landler, The New York Times
STARTWhen President Obama got on the telephone with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia last month, he was under the impression that they were finally close to wrapping up a long-delayed arms control treaty that he had originally expected to sign in December.
But to Mr. Obama's surprise, Mr. Medvedev was not ready to sign off on a deal and raised issues that required more discussion, American officials said. As he hung up, the officials said, a frustrated Mr. Obama realized that the two sides were not as close as he had thought and sent negotiators back to the table.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/world/europe/10start.html
Peter Baker and Mark Landler, The New York Times
STARTWhen President Obama got on the telephone with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia last month, he was under the impression that they were finally close to wrapping up a long-delayed arms control treaty that he had originally expected to sign in December.
But to Mr. Obama's surprise, Mr. Medvedev was not ready to sign off on a deal and raised issues that required more discussion, American officials said. As he hung up, the officials said, a frustrated Mr. Obama realized that the two sides were not as close as he had thought and sent negotiators back to the table.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/world/europe/10start.html
NRC commissioner questions decision to withdraw Yucca licensing bid
NRC commissioner questions decision to withdraw Yucca licensing bid
Dale Klein of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission challenged the U.S. government's decision to revoke the license application for the Yucca Mountain project in Nevada, stating that politics fueled the move. "The administration's stated rationale for changing course does not seem to rest on factual findings and thus does not bolster the credibility of our government to handle this matter competently," he said. The Heritage Foundation/The Foundry blog
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/03/10/nrc-commissioner-takes-a-stand-on-obama%E2%80%99s-yucca-decision/
Dale Klein of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission challenged the U.S. government's decision to revoke the license application for the Yucca Mountain project in Nevada, stating that politics fueled the move. "The administration's stated rationale for changing course does not seem to rest on factual findings and thus does not bolster the credibility of our government to handle this matter competently," he said. The Heritage Foundation/The Foundry blog
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/03/10/nrc-commissioner-takes-a-stand-on-obama%E2%80%99s-yucca-decision/
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
U.S. May Circumvent START Restrictions With Britain's Help - Analyst - 2010-03-10
U.S. May Circumvent START Restrictions With Britain's Help - Analyst
- 2010-03-10
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18040
- 2010-03-10
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18040
Global Geopolitical Crisis to Hit Within Next Decade - 2010-03-10
Global Geopolitical Crisis to Hit Within Next Decade
- 2010-03-10
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18041
- 2010-03-10
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18041
Iranian Missiles Pose no Threat to U.S. and Europe - Lavrov - 2010-03-10
Iranian Missiles Pose no Threat to U.S. and Europe - Lavrov
- 2010-03-10
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18039
- 2010-03-10
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18039
Japan Confirms Secret Nuclear Pacts With U.S. During Cold War - 2010-03-09
Japan Confirms Secret Nuclear Pacts With U.S. During Cold War
- 2010-03-09
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18024
- 2010-03-09
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18024
Syria eyes nuclear to meet rising demand for energy
Syria eyes nuclear to meet rising demand for energy
Syria is seeking alternative energy sources, including nuclear power, to meet growing demand, Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad said during a conference in Paris. While the country's goal seems distant, it reflects increasing regional interest in the power source. Google/The Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5giyNlhzvHO3iOjo5LYc1gL7eFRxgD9EBEHM03
Syria is seeking alternative energy sources, including nuclear power, to meet growing demand, Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad said during a conference in Paris. While the country's goal seems distant, it reflects increasing regional interest in the power source. Google/The Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5giyNlhzvHO3iOjo5LYc1gL7eFRxgD9EBEHM03
Living with the bomb Israel will need new security doctrine to cope with Iranian nukes Eitan Haber
Living with the bomb
Israel will need new security doctrine to cope with Iranian nukes
Eitan Haber
Towards the end of the War of Attrition between Israel and Egypt, in the summer of 1970, a Sagger missile was fired at an Israeli tank on the banks of the Suez Canal. I don’t remember whether the missile hit its target or not, yet back then some IDF commanders were already taking note.
The Sagger was more accurate than the missiles of that time and possessed a longer range; it was clear that a new era in anti-tank combat was underway, yet as only one missile was fired until the ceasefire in August of that year, it did not prompt a commotion. The armored corps issued a guide, but it collected dust.
On that cursed Yom Kippur in 1973, the surprise was great: Hundreds and some say thousands of Egyptian teams armed with Saggers stopped the IDF’s tanks and pulverized them. They learned something in the wake of the armored corps’ rush forward in the Six-Day War.
After every war, the other side learns the lessons and seeks ways to overcome the IDF’s advantages. And so, for example, the missile arsenals across the border grew exponentially in order to overcome the Israeli Air Force’s clear advantage.
The Iranian nuclear bomb, which is expected to be produced in our region in the coming months or years, is the direct result of drawing lessons, and it is of course unlike any other weapon currently found in the Islamic world. The view that we are too late in preventing the production of such bomb is increasingly taking root, and not only among Israel’s leaders. Some people say the point-of-no-return passed two years ago.
One way or another, all the zealous supporters of a strike who see in their mind’s eye the ruins of Iran’s nuclear sites should know that even a massive operation would only serve to delay the project by two or three years. And then what? In other words, Israel’s leaders must put their heads together, and maybe they already did, in order to determine the policy and possibly even Israel’s way of life in respect to the new situation: Life under the shadow of the bomb.
New era approaching
There is no reason to panic. A large part of the world, and certainly the United States, Russia, and all European nations lived under the shadow of atomic bombs for almost 40 years – a period that political scientists and journalists characterized as the balance of terror. Nonetheless, in most areas of life the citizens did not feel it and continued to live their lives normally.
However, and for us this is a big “however,” the policies and security doctrines changed. Nothing remained as it was. In our case, we can already see the buds of an alliance (not just yet, not just yet) being formed among Iran, Syria, and Turkey (some generals apparently noticed it in Ankara too, and when they wanted to do something about it they were immediately transferred to a vacation in prison.) Such alliance, if it indeed materialized, will completely change the balance of power in the Mediterranean region, and not in Israel’s favor.
Life under the shadow of the bomb will require us to listen more closely to (and in fact, accept) America’s words of advice, and we should be quick to sign (if it agrees) a defense pact with it. Thus far, our leaders refrained from signing such pact for fear that it would limit our freedom to maneuver. Yet now there will apparently be no other choice.
With life under the bomb, the Americans and Europeans will likely make demands – which are being presented at this time already – in respect to Israel’s presence in what they refer to as the occupied territories, and there is no need to say much here. Life under the bomb’s shadow will also have implications on the daily life here, yet these deserve a separate discussion.
As noted, there is no reason to panic. There is hope, yet our government would do well to shift to an up-to-date and upgraded doctrine. A new era in Israel’s history is apparently approaching. We will still remain unique and the chosen people in the view of some of us, yet we’ll be talking about it in a lower voice.
Israel will need new security doctrine to cope with Iranian nukes
Eitan Haber
Towards the end of the War of Attrition between Israel and Egypt, in the summer of 1970, a Sagger missile was fired at an Israeli tank on the banks of the Suez Canal. I don’t remember whether the missile hit its target or not, yet back then some IDF commanders were already taking note.
The Sagger was more accurate than the missiles of that time and possessed a longer range; it was clear that a new era in anti-tank combat was underway, yet as only one missile was fired until the ceasefire in August of that year, it did not prompt a commotion. The armored corps issued a guide, but it collected dust.
On that cursed Yom Kippur in 1973, the surprise was great: Hundreds and some say thousands of Egyptian teams armed with Saggers stopped the IDF’s tanks and pulverized them. They learned something in the wake of the armored corps’ rush forward in the Six-Day War.
After every war, the other side learns the lessons and seeks ways to overcome the IDF’s advantages. And so, for example, the missile arsenals across the border grew exponentially in order to overcome the Israeli Air Force’s clear advantage.
The Iranian nuclear bomb, which is expected to be produced in our region in the coming months or years, is the direct result of drawing lessons, and it is of course unlike any other weapon currently found in the Islamic world. The view that we are too late in preventing the production of such bomb is increasingly taking root, and not only among Israel’s leaders. Some people say the point-of-no-return passed two years ago.
One way or another, all the zealous supporters of a strike who see in their mind’s eye the ruins of Iran’s nuclear sites should know that even a massive operation would only serve to delay the project by two or three years. And then what? In other words, Israel’s leaders must put their heads together, and maybe they already did, in order to determine the policy and possibly even Israel’s way of life in respect to the new situation: Life under the shadow of the bomb.
New era approaching
There is no reason to panic. A large part of the world, and certainly the United States, Russia, and all European nations lived under the shadow of atomic bombs for almost 40 years – a period that political scientists and journalists characterized as the balance of terror. Nonetheless, in most areas of life the citizens did not feel it and continued to live their lives normally.
However, and for us this is a big “however,” the policies and security doctrines changed. Nothing remained as it was. In our case, we can already see the buds of an alliance (not just yet, not just yet) being formed among Iran, Syria, and Turkey (some generals apparently noticed it in Ankara too, and when they wanted to do something about it they were immediately transferred to a vacation in prison.) Such alliance, if it indeed materialized, will completely change the balance of power in the Mediterranean region, and not in Israel’s favor.
Life under the shadow of the bomb will require us to listen more closely to (and in fact, accept) America’s words of advice, and we should be quick to sign (if it agrees) a defense pact with it. Thus far, our leaders refrained from signing such pact for fear that it would limit our freedom to maneuver. Yet now there will apparently be no other choice.
With life under the bomb, the Americans and Europeans will likely make demands – which are being presented at this time already – in respect to Israel’s presence in what they refer to as the occupied territories, and there is no need to say much here. Life under the bomb’s shadow will also have implications on the daily life here, yet these deserve a separate discussion.
As noted, there is no reason to panic. There is hope, yet our government would do well to shift to an up-to-date and upgraded doctrine. A new era in Israel’s history is apparently approaching. We will still remain unique and the chosen people in the view of some of us, yet we’ll be talking about it in a lower voice.
It Will Take Years For US to Get off Fossil Fuels: Chu
It Will Take Years For US to Get off Fossil Fuels: Chu
Feds are working to develop safer nuclear technologies, Chu says
The country is continuing to work on a long-term strategy to develop safer nuclear technology, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said. In February, the department began a loan guarantee program to help finance the construction of the nation's first new nuclear plant in three decades. "We are doing this to get the nuclear industry going and hope the private sector picks up and runs with it," he said. CNBC
http://www.cnbc.com/id/35783780
Feds are working to develop safer nuclear technologies, Chu says
The country is continuing to work on a long-term strategy to develop safer nuclear technology, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said. In February, the department began a loan guarantee program to help finance the construction of the nation's first new nuclear plant in three decades. "We are doing this to get the nuclear industry going and hope the private sector picks up and runs with it," he said. CNBC
http://www.cnbc.com/id/35783780
President Obama wants lawmakers to act on climate-and-energy bill
President Obama wants lawmakers to act on climate-and-energy bill
President Barack Obama met with top White House officials and senior lawmakers to reiterate his commitment to a climate-and-energy bill. Obama reportedly expressed support in the meeting for "clean-energy incentives" that would lead to jobs and reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil, a source said. The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...dist_smartbrief
President Barack Obama met with top White House officials and senior lawmakers to reiterate his commitment to a climate-and-energy bill. Obama reportedly expressed support in the meeting for "clean-energy incentives" that would lead to jobs and reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil, a source said. The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...dist_smartbrief
Search for permanent waste repository could last a long time
Debating the Nuclear Waste Problem
By MATTHEW L. WALD
earch for permanent waste repository could last a long time
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is examining how long nuclear waste can be stored in the interim before a permanent repository is selected, said Gregory B. Jaczko, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Jaczko did not think a new policy should predict when a new repository would become available, only determine "the limits of safe and secure storage of fuel." The New York Times/Green Inc. blog
By MATTHEW L. WALD
earch for permanent waste repository could last a long time
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is examining how long nuclear waste can be stored in the interim before a permanent repository is selected, said Gregory B. Jaczko, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Jaczko did not think a new policy should predict when a new repository would become available, only determine "the limits of safe and secure storage of fuel." The New York Times/Green Inc. blog
GE Hitachi eyes sale of up to 15 reactors in Europe
GE Hitachi eyes sale of up to 15 reactors in Europe
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy intends to sell up to 15 of its ESBWR reactors in Europe over the next decade, company executive Daniel Roderick said. The reactor "resonates very well in Europe because it has the lowest core-damage frequency of any plant design in the world," he added during a nuclear conference. The company also forged a nuclear-cooperation deal with Italy's EnergyLab Foundation. ForexYard/Reuters
http://www.forexyard.com/en/news/GE-Hitachi-wants-to-sell-reactors-to-Europe-2010-03-09T171855Z-INTERVIEW-UPDATE-1
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy intends to sell up to 15 of its ESBWR reactors in Europe over the next decade, company executive Daniel Roderick said. The reactor "resonates very well in Europe because it has the lowest core-damage frequency of any plant design in the world," he added during a nuclear conference. The company also forged a nuclear-cooperation deal with Italy's EnergyLab Foundation. ForexYard/Reuters
http://www.forexyard.com/en/news/GE-Hitachi-wants-to-sell-reactors-to-Europe-2010-03-09T171855Z-INTERVIEW-UPDATE-1
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Panel Confirms Japan-U.S. Secret Pacts, Leads to Gov't Policy Shift
Panel Confirms Japan-U.S. Secret Pacts, Leads to Gov't Policy Shift
Kyodo News
A Foreign Ministry panel concluded Tuesday that secret pacts on nuclear arms and other issues were reached by Japan and the United States in the Cold War era, leading the Japanese government to end its decades-long official denial that any such agreements existed.
Full Article
http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=489664
Kyodo News
A Foreign Ministry panel concluded Tuesday that secret pacts on nuclear arms and other issues were reached by Japan and the United States in the Cold War era, leading the Japanese government to end its decades-long official denial that any such agreements existed.
Full Article
http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=489664
Nuclear Liability Law Has Sting in Tail for the U.S. Too
Nuclear Liability Law Has Sting in Tail for the U.S. Too
Siddharth Varadarajan, The Hindu
The Manmohan Singh government may be courting trouble at home by pushing a controversial new law to limit the financial exposure of nuclear companies in the event of a nuclear accident.
Full Article
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article202534.ece
Siddharth Varadarajan, The Hindu
The Manmohan Singh government may be courting trouble at home by pushing a controversial new law to limit the financial exposure of nuclear companies in the event of a nuclear accident.
Full Article
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article202534.ece
E.U. to Begin Press on Nuclear Standards
E.U. to Begin Press on Nuclear Standards
James Kanter, The New York Times
The head of the European Commission was to begin a push Monday for European safety standards for nuclear power plants to become binding worldwide, a development that might benefit France as it competes to sell its expensive technology and expertise against countries offering cheaper alternatives.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/business/global/08nuclear.html
James Kanter, The New York Times
The head of the European Commission was to begin a push Monday for European safety standards for nuclear power plants to become binding worldwide, a development that might benefit France as it competes to sell its expensive technology and expertise against countries offering cheaper alternatives.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/business/global/08nuclear.html
Israel, Syria Announce Nuclear Energy Ambitions
Israel, Syria Announce Nuclear Energy Ambitions
Angela Charlton, Associated Press
Mideast rivals Israel and Syria on Tuesday each announced ambitions to develop nuclear energy, with Israel facing the prospect that its plan could bring new attention to its secretive nuclear activities.
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5giyNlhzvHO3iOjo5LYc1gL7eFRxgD9EB2I680
Angela Charlton, Associated Press
Mideast rivals Israel and Syria on Tuesday each announced ambitions to develop nuclear energy, with Israel facing the prospect that its plan could bring new attention to its secretive nuclear activities.
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5giyNlhzvHO3iOjo5LYc1gL7eFRxgD9EB2I680
U.S. Enriches Companies Defying Its Policy on Iran
U.S. Enriches Companies Defying Its Policy on Iran
Jo Becker and Ron Nixon, The New York Times
The federal government has awarded more than $107 billion in contract payments, grants and other benefits over the past decade to foreign and multinational American companies while they were doing business in Iran, despite Washington's efforts to discourage investment there, records show.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/world/middleeast/07sanctions.html
Jo Becker and Ron Nixon, The New York Times
The federal government has awarded more than $107 billion in contract payments, grants and other benefits over the past decade to foreign and multinational American companies while they were doing business in Iran, despite Washington's efforts to discourage investment there, records show.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/world/middleeast/07sanctions.html
Obama Must Decide Degree to Which U.S. Swears Off Nuclear Weapons
Obama Must Decide Degree to Which U.S. Swears Off Nuclear Weapons
Mary Beth Sheridan and Walter Pincus, The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/05/AR2010030502260.html
Obama President Obama's top national security advisers will within days present him with an agonizing choice on how to guide U.S. nuclear weapons policy for the rest of his term.
Does he substantially advance his bold pledge to seek a world free of nuclear weapons by declaring that the "sole purpose" of the U.S. arsenal is to deter other nations from using them? Or does he embrace a more modest option, supported by some senior military officials, that deterrence is the "primary purpose"?
Full Article
* Statement by President Obama on the 40th Anniversary of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-president-obama-40th-anniversary-nuclear-nonproliferation-treaty
Mary Beth Sheridan and Walter Pincus, The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/05/AR2010030502260.html
Obama President Obama's top national security advisers will within days present him with an agonizing choice on how to guide U.S. nuclear weapons policy for the rest of his term.
Does he substantially advance his bold pledge to seek a world free of nuclear weapons by declaring that the "sole purpose" of the U.S. arsenal is to deter other nations from using them? Or does he embrace a more modest option, supported by some senior military officials, that deterrence is the "primary purpose"?
Full Article
* Statement by President Obama on the 40th Anniversary of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-president-obama-40th-anniversary-nuclear-nonproliferation-treaty
Sarkozy urges international banks to help finance nuclear projects
Sarkozy urges international banks to help finance nuclear projects
Global financial institutions should make a "wholehearted commitment" to fund civilian nuclear projects to help countries construct energy plants, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. "I do not understand and I do not accept the ostracization of nuclear projects by international financing," he said during a nuclear energy summit. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6273D920100308
Global financial institutions should make a "wholehearted commitment" to fund civilian nuclear projects to help countries construct energy plants, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. "I do not understand and I do not accept the ostracization of nuclear projects by international financing," he said during a nuclear energy summit. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6273D920100308
Official: Israel is seeking a partner in nuclear energy project
Official: Israel is seeking a partner in nuclear energy project
Uzi Landau, Israel's infrastructure minister, will announce today that the country is studying the construction of a nuclear-power facility to diversify its energy industry. The country has the capability to build a reactor, but its preference is to collaborate with other countries, he said. The Washington Post/Reuters
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030802100.html
Uzi Landau, Israel's infrastructure minister, will announce today that the country is studying the construction of a nuclear-power facility to diversify its energy industry. The country has the capability to build a reactor, but its preference is to collaborate with other countries, he said. The Washington Post/Reuters
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030802100.html
GAO urged to review permit process for nuclear plants
GAO urged to review permit process for nuclear plants
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., is calling on the Government Accountability Office to review the policies and procedures in the permitting process for nuclear projects. In a letter to the acting comptroller general, Markey wrote that he wants the GAO to examine whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has adequately weighed the safety and financial aspects of nuclear power plants. The Hill/E2 Wire blog
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/85463-house-democrat-asks-gao-to-investigate-nuclear-licensing-process
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., is calling on the Government Accountability Office to review the policies and procedures in the permitting process for nuclear projects. In a letter to the acting comptroller general, Markey wrote that he wants the GAO to examine whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has adequately weighed the safety and financial aspects of nuclear power plants. The Hill/E2 Wire blog
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/85463-house-democrat-asks-gao-to-investigate-nuclear-licensing-process
Calif. county considering delay in license renewal for nuclear plant
Calif. county considering delay in license renewal for nuclear plant
The San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors may ask federal regulators to push back the relicensing process for the Diablo Canyon nuclear facility until its owner completes additional high-tech seismic studies. The board will also vote whether to ask the California Public Utilities Commission to clear Pacific Gas and Electric's plan to have ratepayers cover the $16.73 million cost of such studies. The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/03/07/1058240/diablo-license-renewal-may-be.html
The San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors may ask federal regulators to push back the relicensing process for the Diablo Canyon nuclear facility until its owner completes additional high-tech seismic studies. The board will also vote whether to ask the California Public Utilities Commission to clear Pacific Gas and Electric's plan to have ratepayers cover the $16.73 million cost of such studies. The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/03/07/1058240/diablo-license-renewal-may-be.html
Energy Dept. awards $40M for development of advanced reactor
Energy Dept. awards $40M for development of advanced reactor
The Energy Department has granted $20 million each to Westinghouse Electric and General Atomics for the development of the department's Next Generation Nuclear Plant project. The designs from the two teams will help the department choose whether to move forward with a demonstration reactor that can generate power and process heat for industrial purposes. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100308-709846.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
The Energy Department has granted $20 million each to Westinghouse Electric and General Atomics for the development of the department's Next Generation Nuclear Plant project. The designs from the two teams will help the department choose whether to move forward with a demonstration reactor that can generate power and process heat for industrial purposes. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100308-709846.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
Obama Faces Decision on Nuke Policy -- Global Security Newswire
Obama Faces Decision on Nuke Policy -- Global Security Newswire
U.S. President Barack Obama has to make a choice shortly on the exact role of U.S. nuclear weapons, the Washington Post reported Saturday (see GSN, March 3).
In the forthcoming Nuclear Posture Review, Obama could adopt a policy that says the "primary purpose" of the U.S. nuclear stockpile is to deter a nuclear attack. That stance has the support of some ranking military officials.
Read more ....
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100308_2195.php
U.S. President Barack Obama has to make a choice shortly on the exact role of U.S. nuclear weapons, the Washington Post reported Saturday (see GSN, March 3).
In the forthcoming Nuclear Posture Review, Obama could adopt a policy that says the "primary purpose" of the U.S. nuclear stockpile is to deter a nuclear attack. That stance has the support of some ranking military officials.
Read more ....
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100308_2195.php
The 'Peace President' Wants To Keep America's Nukes by Eric Margolis
The 'Peace President' Wants To Keep America's Nukes
by Eric Margolis
http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis182.html
NEW YORK – As if President Barack Obama did not have enough on his plate, he will shortly issue a Nuclear Posture Review – which is, in fact, a month overdue.
Each new American president must by law review his nation's nuclear weapons and strategy.
Accordingly, Nobel Peace Laureate Obama will decide what to do with America's 5,500 strategic nuclear weapons – that possess enough destructive power to destroy the planet at least five times over. Some experts say it's 50 times over.
Obama, strongly influenced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, is expected to decide to spend US $7 billion modernizing US nuclear weapons and plants. Maintaining US nuclear weapons cost some $52 billion annually. Nuclear weapons deteriorate over time, so require regular maintenance and refurbishment.
Still, this is a huge amount at a time when the nation is bankrupt and running on borrowed money. President Obama just can't seem to escape the shadow of his bellicose predecessor.
The president is also expected to reject a "no first use" policy demanded by senior Democrats, led by California senator Diane Feinstein. Such a pledge would reaffirm the sole purpose of the US arsenal is deterring nuclear attack. Offensive use of US nuclear weapons would be banned under a "no first use" doctrine.
Russia made such a declaration in the 1990's, but today its position is ambiguous. China, Pakistan, India, and North Korea have made no first use declarations. The NATO powers appear to favor a first strike policy. Israel denies having nuclear weapons, but promises not to be the first to introduce them into the Mideast – which it did decades ago.
Deeply disturbing many liberals, President Obama will likely assert the option to use nuclear weapons against other non-nuclear nations or anti-American groups – particularly so if the US is attacked by chemical or biological weapons. He is following the policy of preemption established by President George W. Bush.
The US and Russia are nearing agreement to cut their deployed strategic warheads by a 1,000 units down to 1,500–1,675 each. But much of these reductions would come by storing rather than dismantling active warheads.
Thousands more tactical nuclear warheads will remain, though Washington hints it might remove some from Western Europe and Asia. Tactical nuclear weapons would play a key role in halting a North Korean attack on South Korea.
Nuclear weapons are widely accepted in the West as a legitimate defense against nuclear attack.
But since the Bush administration, the hard right has been pushing for using small nuclear weapons against deeply buried targets – like Iranian nuclear plants – or guerilla groups.
A new, small tactical nuclear warhead, aka "Muslim-buster" – was evaluated and almost went into production before it was stopped by the US Congress.
Republicans are again beating the war drums over the supposed nuclear threat from North Korea and Iran. They accuse Obama of near treason for having even considered scrapping part or all of America's huge nuclear arsenal, as he once promised to do.
These low-IQ Republican scaremongers don't know, or don't care that North Korea has no long-ranged nuclear capability, or wants nukes for defense against possible US nuclear attack – and as a way of extorting funds from the US, Japan and South Korea. Or that Iran has no nuclear weapons as of now, and poses no threat to the distant US.
Retired US generals and admirals have repeatedly advocated junking all nuclear weapons, calling them ruinously expensive and of no military value.
The 1970 UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty mandated all signatories to quickly dismantle their nuclear weapons. The US, Britain, France, Russia, China are in treaty violation. Israel, Pakistan, North Korea, and India refused to sign and secretly built their own nuclear arsenals.
In the 1980's, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made sweeping proposals for total nuclear disarmament, but President Ronald Reagan foolishly refused to scrap the US nuclear arsenal or his beloved Star Wars antimissile system. The Soviet military-industrial complex was no happier than its American counterpart to see nuclear arsenals dismantled.
"Peace president" Barack Obama has the chance to get rid of America's largely useless nukes, or at least reduce them to a dozen or so strategic missiles. But while Obama may slightly narrow nuclear doctrine, it appears America's increasingly potent national security complex and angry Republicans have pushed him into retaining and even expanding the nation's nuclear capability.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is promoting its new "Prompt Global Response" system: US-based missiles with conventional warheads that can rapidly strike anywhere on the planet.
When one of these missiles is fired at some Muslim malefactors in, say Pakistan or Afghanistan, one hopes Russia or China will not confuse it for a nuclear strike aimed at them.
In 1995, Russian air defenses mistook a Norwegian scientific missile for a US nuclear strike. Russian nuclear missiles came within minutes of being fired at North America. The Cold War was filled with such terrifying nuclear false alarms and close calls.
Global nuclear disarmament means intensive inspections of all nuclear-capable powers, including Brazil, Iran, Israel, India, Pakistan, both Koreas, and Taiwan as well as the nuclear great powers. Even Switzerland and Japan could produce nuclear weapons within 90 days.
President Obama should have led the way by sharply reducing, then scrapping America's nuclear arsenal. What thwarts this sensible policy is not verification, but political willpower and courage.
The only nation to ever use horrific nuclear weapons should take the lead in freeing humanity from their curse and setting an example for others.
March 9, 2010
Eric Margolis [send him mail] is contributing foreign editor for Sun National Media Canada. He is the author of War at the Top of the World and the new book, American Raj: Liberation or Domination?: Resolving the Conflict Between the West and the Muslim World. See his website.
Copyright © 2010 Eric Margolis
by Eric Margolis
http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis182.html
NEW YORK – As if President Barack Obama did not have enough on his plate, he will shortly issue a Nuclear Posture Review – which is, in fact, a month overdue.
Each new American president must by law review his nation's nuclear weapons and strategy.
Accordingly, Nobel Peace Laureate Obama will decide what to do with America's 5,500 strategic nuclear weapons – that possess enough destructive power to destroy the planet at least five times over. Some experts say it's 50 times over.
Obama, strongly influenced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, is expected to decide to spend US $7 billion modernizing US nuclear weapons and plants. Maintaining US nuclear weapons cost some $52 billion annually. Nuclear weapons deteriorate over time, so require regular maintenance and refurbishment.
Still, this is a huge amount at a time when the nation is bankrupt and running on borrowed money. President Obama just can't seem to escape the shadow of his bellicose predecessor.
The president is also expected to reject a "no first use" policy demanded by senior Democrats, led by California senator Diane Feinstein. Such a pledge would reaffirm the sole purpose of the US arsenal is deterring nuclear attack. Offensive use of US nuclear weapons would be banned under a "no first use" doctrine.
Russia made such a declaration in the 1990's, but today its position is ambiguous. China, Pakistan, India, and North Korea have made no first use declarations. The NATO powers appear to favor a first strike policy. Israel denies having nuclear weapons, but promises not to be the first to introduce them into the Mideast – which it did decades ago.
Deeply disturbing many liberals, President Obama will likely assert the option to use nuclear weapons against other non-nuclear nations or anti-American groups – particularly so if the US is attacked by chemical or biological weapons. He is following the policy of preemption established by President George W. Bush.
The US and Russia are nearing agreement to cut their deployed strategic warheads by a 1,000 units down to 1,500–1,675 each. But much of these reductions would come by storing rather than dismantling active warheads.
Thousands more tactical nuclear warheads will remain, though Washington hints it might remove some from Western Europe and Asia. Tactical nuclear weapons would play a key role in halting a North Korean attack on South Korea.
Nuclear weapons are widely accepted in the West as a legitimate defense against nuclear attack.
But since the Bush administration, the hard right has been pushing for using small nuclear weapons against deeply buried targets – like Iranian nuclear plants – or guerilla groups.
A new, small tactical nuclear warhead, aka "Muslim-buster" – was evaluated and almost went into production before it was stopped by the US Congress.
Republicans are again beating the war drums over the supposed nuclear threat from North Korea and Iran. They accuse Obama of near treason for having even considered scrapping part or all of America's huge nuclear arsenal, as he once promised to do.
These low-IQ Republican scaremongers don't know, or don't care that North Korea has no long-ranged nuclear capability, or wants nukes for defense against possible US nuclear attack – and as a way of extorting funds from the US, Japan and South Korea. Or that Iran has no nuclear weapons as of now, and poses no threat to the distant US.
Retired US generals and admirals have repeatedly advocated junking all nuclear weapons, calling them ruinously expensive and of no military value.
The 1970 UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty mandated all signatories to quickly dismantle their nuclear weapons. The US, Britain, France, Russia, China are in treaty violation. Israel, Pakistan, North Korea, and India refused to sign and secretly built their own nuclear arsenals.
In the 1980's, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made sweeping proposals for total nuclear disarmament, but President Ronald Reagan foolishly refused to scrap the US nuclear arsenal or his beloved Star Wars antimissile system. The Soviet military-industrial complex was no happier than its American counterpart to see nuclear arsenals dismantled.
"Peace president" Barack Obama has the chance to get rid of America's largely useless nukes, or at least reduce them to a dozen or so strategic missiles. But while Obama may slightly narrow nuclear doctrine, it appears America's increasingly potent national security complex and angry Republicans have pushed him into retaining and even expanding the nation's nuclear capability.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is promoting its new "Prompt Global Response" system: US-based missiles with conventional warheads that can rapidly strike anywhere on the planet.
When one of these missiles is fired at some Muslim malefactors in, say Pakistan or Afghanistan, one hopes Russia or China will not confuse it for a nuclear strike aimed at them.
In 1995, Russian air defenses mistook a Norwegian scientific missile for a US nuclear strike. Russian nuclear missiles came within minutes of being fired at North America. The Cold War was filled with such terrifying nuclear false alarms and close calls.
Global nuclear disarmament means intensive inspections of all nuclear-capable powers, including Brazil, Iran, Israel, India, Pakistan, both Koreas, and Taiwan as well as the nuclear great powers. Even Switzerland and Japan could produce nuclear weapons within 90 days.
President Obama should have led the way by sharply reducing, then scrapping America's nuclear arsenal. What thwarts this sensible policy is not verification, but political willpower and courage.
The only nation to ever use horrific nuclear weapons should take the lead in freeing humanity from their curse and setting an example for others.
March 9, 2010
Eric Margolis [send him mail] is contributing foreign editor for Sun National Media Canada. He is the author of War at the Top of the World and the new book, American Raj: Liberation or Domination?: Resolving the Conflict Between the West and the Muslim World. See his website.
Copyright © 2010 Eric Margolis
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Iran begins cruise-missile production
Iran begins cruise-missile production
from The Washington Times stories: News by Nasser Karimi ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEHRAN -- Iran announced Sunday it has started a new production line of highly accurate short-range cruise missiles, which would add a new element to the country's already imposing arsenal. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, Iran's defense minister, told Iranian state TV that the cruise missile, called Nasr 1, would be capable of destroying targets up to 3,000 tons in size. The minister said the missile can be fired from ground-based launchers as well as ships but eventually would be modified to be fired from helicopters and submarines. Western powers already are concerned about Iran's military capabilities, especially the implications of its ...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/07/iran-begins-cruise-missile-production/
from The Washington Times stories: News by Nasser Karimi ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEHRAN -- Iran announced Sunday it has started a new production line of highly accurate short-range cruise missiles, which would add a new element to the country's already imposing arsenal. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, Iran's defense minister, told Iranian state TV that the cruise missile, called Nasr 1, would be capable of destroying targets up to 3,000 tons in size. The minister said the missile can be fired from ground-based launchers as well as ships but eventually would be modified to be fired from helicopters and submarines. Western powers already are concerned about Iran's military capabilities, especially the implications of its ...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/07/iran-begins-cruise-missile-production/
Iran unveils first cruise missile before Ahmadinejad trip to Kabul from DEBKAfile
Iran unveils first cruise missile before Ahmadinejad trip to Kabul
from DEBKAfile
The short-range Nasr 1 (Victory 1) was claimed to be capable of destroying warships of up to 3,000 tons when launched from the ground or sea. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced a visit Monday, March 8, to Kabul, after a provocative statement calling 9/11 "a big fabrication" to justify the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
http://www.debka.com/article/8635/
from DEBKAfile
The short-range Nasr 1 (Victory 1) was claimed to be capable of destroying warships of up to 3,000 tons when launched from the ground or sea. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced a visit Monday, March 8, to Kabul, after a provocative statement calling 9/11 "a big fabrication" to justify the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
http://www.debka.com/article/8635/
The $62M Pickens Project: Natural Gas Legislation by Memorial Day?
The $62M Pickens Project: Natural Gas Legislation by Memorial Day?
from SeekingAlpha.com: Home Page by Greentech Media
Greentech Media submits:
By Eric Wesoff
T. Boone Pickens, the Chairman of BP Capital Management, spoke at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics event on Thursday afternoon. The 81-year-old oilman and geologist is on a mission to get the U.S. off of OPEC oil and on to natural gas -- and he doesn't have a lot of time. He insists he doesn't have time for Research and Development. In his words, he doesn't "have ten years for R or ten years for D." Despite that claim, at his current level of feisty -- I have little doubt he'll live to 101.
Complete Story
http://seekingalpha.com/article/192284-the-62m-pickens-project-natural-gas-legislation-by-memorial-day?source=feed
from SeekingAlpha.com: Home Page by Greentech Media
Greentech Media submits:
By Eric Wesoff
T. Boone Pickens, the Chairman of BP Capital Management, spoke at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics event on Thursday afternoon. The 81-year-old oilman and geologist is on a mission to get the U.S. off of OPEC oil and on to natural gas -- and he doesn't have a lot of time. He insists he doesn't have time for Research and Development. In his words, he doesn't "have ten years for R or ten years for D." Despite that claim, at his current level of feisty -- I have little doubt he'll live to 101.
Complete Story
http://seekingalpha.com/article/192284-the-62m-pickens-project-natural-gas-legislation-by-memorial-day?source=feed
AEP, FPL: U.S. Utilities Agree on Nukes, CCS and CO2
AEP, FPL: U.S. Utilities Agree on Nukes, CCS and CO2
from SeekingAlpha.com: Home Page by Greentech Media
Greentech Media submits:
The CEOs and Chairmen of two of the largest utilities in the United States were brought together on stage Friday morning in Southern California at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics event. Although there are large differences in where and how they source their respective fuels and feedstocks, when it comes to the subject of nuclear power, clean coal, carbon capture, carbon and government sloth -- they tended to be in violent agreement.
American Electric Power (AEP) gets about 80% of their electricity from coal while FPL gets only 4% of their energy from coal. FPL Group (FPL) is the biggest U.S. producer of wind power, operates in 27 states and generates about $16 billion in annual revenue.
Complete Story
http://seekingalpha.com/article/192286-aep-fpl-u-s-utilities-agree-on-nukes-ccs-and-co2?source=feed
from SeekingAlpha.com: Home Page by Greentech Media
Greentech Media submits:
The CEOs and Chairmen of two of the largest utilities in the United States were brought together on stage Friday morning in Southern California at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics event. Although there are large differences in where and how they source their respective fuels and feedstocks, when it comes to the subject of nuclear power, clean coal, carbon capture, carbon and government sloth -- they tended to be in violent agreement.
American Electric Power (AEP) gets about 80% of their electricity from coal while FPL gets only 4% of their energy from coal. FPL Group (FPL) is the biggest U.S. producer of wind power, operates in 27 states and generates about $16 billion in annual revenue.
Complete Story
http://seekingalpha.com/article/192286-aep-fpl-u-s-utilities-agree-on-nukes-ccs-and-co2?source=feed
Friday, March 5, 2010
Armenian Genocide Vote Threatens US-Turkish Ties at Key Moment
Armenian Genocide Vote Threatens US-Turkish Ties at Key Moment
from Antiwar.com Original by Jim Lobe
Thursday’s vote by a Congressional committee condemning the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as "genocide" is almost certain to complicate U.S. ties with Turkey, a long-time strategic ally and increasingly influential player in the Middle East and central and southwest Asia.The 23-22 vote by [...]
http://original.antiwar.com/lobe/2010/03/05/armenian-genocide-vote-threatens-us-turkish-ties-at-key-moment/
from Antiwar.com Original by Jim Lobe
Thursday’s vote by a Congressional committee condemning the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as "genocide" is almost certain to complicate U.S. ties with Turkey, a long-time strategic ally and increasingly influential player in the Middle East and central and southwest Asia.The 23-22 vote by [...]
http://original.antiwar.com/lobe/2010/03/05/armenian-genocide-vote-threatens-us-turkish-ties-at-key-moment/
Why This Sunday's Election Will Create Major Problems For Iraqi Oil from Green Sheet by Oilprice.com
Why This Sunday's Election Will Create Major Problems For Iraqi Oil
from Green Sheet by Oilprice.com
(This guest post originally appeared at OilPrice.com)
The elections in Iraq on March 7, 2010, are likely to serve as an important indicator of the prospects for a resolution of the long-running dispute over the administration of the ethnically mixed and resource-rich province of Kirkuk in the north of the country.
The Iraqi Kurds have repeatedly called for Kirkuk to be transferred to the control of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which already administers three provinces in the predominantly Kurdish north of Iraq. The other ethnic groups in Iraq – including the Arab-dominated government in Baghdad – are equally insistent that Kirkuk should remain under central control and that any oil or gas revenues should be divided between the entire population of the country rather than all going to the KRG.
The failure to resolve the issue of the eventual status of Kirkuk threatens not only prospects for permanent political stability in Iraq but also hopes of extracting the province’s huge reserves and building new oil and gas pipelines from Kirkuk to Turkey, and from there to energy-hungry Western markets.
“We are very interested in the oil and gas reserves in Kirkuk. Who wouldn’t be?” said one executive from a leading European energy company. “We would like to invest in the region, perhaps even become involved in building one of the pipelines. But we can’t do anything unless this issue is resolved. At the moment, the risk of political instability is just too great.”
The Iraqi Kurds have long maintained that, historically, Kirkuk is a Kurdish province but that it was subjected to a process of Arabization under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who deported a significant proportion of its indigenous Kurds and replaced them with ethnic Arabs. No one doubts that such a campaign was launched, although the scale of the deportations is hotly disputed.
Since the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, the KRG has assumed de facto control of education and security in Kirkuk. Other ethnic groups have accused the KRG of resettling hundreds of thousands of ethnic Kurds in the province, including not only those who were originally from Kirkuk but also a large number of Kurds from other areas. They claim that the KRG’s ultimate aim is to change the demographic balance in the province in the run-up to a constitutionally required – but long overdue – referendum on the status of Kirkuk. They fear that, if a referendum results in a vote for union with the KRG, the Iraqi Kurds will attempt to use the revenue from the province’s oil and gas reserves as the economic foundations for their long-held dream of an independent Kurdish state. It is a prospect which alarms not only the Iraqi government in Baghdad but also several of the country’s neighbors. Syria, Iran and – particularly – Turkey all worry that the creation of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq will further fuel secessionist tendencies amongst their own already restive Kurdish minorities.
The evidence on the ground in Kirkuk suggests that there is some truth to the allegations of demographic manipulation. In September 2009, local officials in Kirkuk estimated that the population of the province stood at 1.4 million, up from 850,000 at the time of the US invasion in March 2003. More significantly, the voter registry in Kirkuk has increased from 400,000 in 2004 to 900,000 for the March 7 elections. A dispute between Kurds and other ethnic groups over how many seats to allocate to Kirkuk to accommodate this huge increase in voters resulted in the entire election being put back two months after originally being scheduled for January 2010.
Although a compromise was eventually agreed, the real test is likely to come after the election itself. As happened at the last Iraqi general election, the two main Kurdish parties – the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – are running on a joint ticket, the so-called Kurdistani Alliance, together with five minor parties. However, this time they will face a challenge from a new party called “Goran” (meaning “Change”), which is dominated by former members of the PUK who had become exasperated by the widespread corruption and misuse of resources in the three provinces under the KRG’s control.
In the July 2009 elections for the KRG, Goran picked up 23.5 percent of the vote. It is also expected to perform well in Kirkuk on March 7, 2010. But Goran has already declared that, however much it may be opposed to the KDP/PUK in other areas, it is in complete agreement with them on iconic issues such as the transfer or Kirkuk to KRG control. As a result, the predominance of ethnic Kurds in Kirkuk means that the main hope for those opposed to the transfer of Kirkuk to the KRG is that voters break with the pattern of previous elections in Iraq and vote across ethnic lines. If the Kurdish parties fail to win an overwhelming majority in the province, then it will be much more difficult for them to push for the inclusion of Kirkuk in the territory administered by the KRG and they may be more prepared to reach a compromise with other ethnic groups on the division of revenue from Kirkuk’s oil and gas. But, for the moment at least, the signs are that the Kurds of Kirkuk will again vote along ethnic lines – which is likely to encourage the Iraq Kurds to renew their calls for a referendum and the eventual transfer of both the province and its oil and gas to the KRG.
Even if the Kurdish parties sweep Kirkuk, there is still no indication that any of the other ethnic groups in Iraq or the central government in Baghdad is prepared to allow the KRG to take over Kirkuk. Consequently, the most likely outcome of the March 7 general election in Kirkuk appears to be an increase in political tensions; and, as long as the standoff remains unresolved, energy companies are likely to continue to be reluctant to make substantial investments in extracting the province’s hydrocarbons and transferring them to Western markets.
This article written by Gareth Jenkins for Oilprice.com
from Green Sheet by Oilprice.com
(This guest post originally appeared at OilPrice.com)
The elections in Iraq on March 7, 2010, are likely to serve as an important indicator of the prospects for a resolution of the long-running dispute over the administration of the ethnically mixed and resource-rich province of Kirkuk in the north of the country.
The Iraqi Kurds have repeatedly called for Kirkuk to be transferred to the control of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which already administers three provinces in the predominantly Kurdish north of Iraq. The other ethnic groups in Iraq – including the Arab-dominated government in Baghdad – are equally insistent that Kirkuk should remain under central control and that any oil or gas revenues should be divided between the entire population of the country rather than all going to the KRG.
The failure to resolve the issue of the eventual status of Kirkuk threatens not only prospects for permanent political stability in Iraq but also hopes of extracting the province’s huge reserves and building new oil and gas pipelines from Kirkuk to Turkey, and from there to energy-hungry Western markets.
“We are very interested in the oil and gas reserves in Kirkuk. Who wouldn’t be?” said one executive from a leading European energy company. “We would like to invest in the region, perhaps even become involved in building one of the pipelines. But we can’t do anything unless this issue is resolved. At the moment, the risk of political instability is just too great.”
The Iraqi Kurds have long maintained that, historically, Kirkuk is a Kurdish province but that it was subjected to a process of Arabization under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who deported a significant proportion of its indigenous Kurds and replaced them with ethnic Arabs. No one doubts that such a campaign was launched, although the scale of the deportations is hotly disputed.
Since the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, the KRG has assumed de facto control of education and security in Kirkuk. Other ethnic groups have accused the KRG of resettling hundreds of thousands of ethnic Kurds in the province, including not only those who were originally from Kirkuk but also a large number of Kurds from other areas. They claim that the KRG’s ultimate aim is to change the demographic balance in the province in the run-up to a constitutionally required – but long overdue – referendum on the status of Kirkuk. They fear that, if a referendum results in a vote for union with the KRG, the Iraqi Kurds will attempt to use the revenue from the province’s oil and gas reserves as the economic foundations for their long-held dream of an independent Kurdish state. It is a prospect which alarms not only the Iraqi government in Baghdad but also several of the country’s neighbors. Syria, Iran and – particularly – Turkey all worry that the creation of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq will further fuel secessionist tendencies amongst their own already restive Kurdish minorities.
The evidence on the ground in Kirkuk suggests that there is some truth to the allegations of demographic manipulation. In September 2009, local officials in Kirkuk estimated that the population of the province stood at 1.4 million, up from 850,000 at the time of the US invasion in March 2003. More significantly, the voter registry in Kirkuk has increased from 400,000 in 2004 to 900,000 for the March 7 elections. A dispute between Kurds and other ethnic groups over how many seats to allocate to Kirkuk to accommodate this huge increase in voters resulted in the entire election being put back two months after originally being scheduled for January 2010.
Although a compromise was eventually agreed, the real test is likely to come after the election itself. As happened at the last Iraqi general election, the two main Kurdish parties – the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – are running on a joint ticket, the so-called Kurdistani Alliance, together with five minor parties. However, this time they will face a challenge from a new party called “Goran” (meaning “Change”), which is dominated by former members of the PUK who had become exasperated by the widespread corruption and misuse of resources in the three provinces under the KRG’s control.
In the July 2009 elections for the KRG, Goran picked up 23.5 percent of the vote. It is also expected to perform well in Kirkuk on March 7, 2010. But Goran has already declared that, however much it may be opposed to the KDP/PUK in other areas, it is in complete agreement with them on iconic issues such as the transfer or Kirkuk to KRG control. As a result, the predominance of ethnic Kurds in Kirkuk means that the main hope for those opposed to the transfer of Kirkuk to the KRG is that voters break with the pattern of previous elections in Iraq and vote across ethnic lines. If the Kurdish parties fail to win an overwhelming majority in the province, then it will be much more difficult for them to push for the inclusion of Kirkuk in the territory administered by the KRG and they may be more prepared to reach a compromise with other ethnic groups on the division of revenue from Kirkuk’s oil and gas. But, for the moment at least, the signs are that the Kurds of Kirkuk will again vote along ethnic lines – which is likely to encourage the Iraq Kurds to renew their calls for a referendum and the eventual transfer of both the province and its oil and gas to the KRG.
Even if the Kurdish parties sweep Kirkuk, there is still no indication that any of the other ethnic groups in Iraq or the central government in Baghdad is prepared to allow the KRG to take over Kirkuk. Consequently, the most likely outcome of the March 7 general election in Kirkuk appears to be an increase in political tensions; and, as long as the standoff remains unresolved, energy companies are likely to continue to be reluctant to make substantial investments in extracting the province’s hydrocarbons and transferring them to Western markets.
This article written by Gareth Jenkins for Oilprice.com
Yucca Mountain shutdown brings legal blowback
Yucca Mountain shutdown brings legal blowback
from National Law Journal
For more than 20 years, the state of Nevada, environmental groups and residents living near the planned nuclear waste storage site known as Yucca Mountain battled the federal government in courts and in Congress to halt the project. But now that the Obama Administration has abandoned the Yucca Mountain plan, it faces legal action aimed at forcing it to go ahead at the site.
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202445690022&rss=nlj&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1
from National Law Journal
For more than 20 years, the state of Nevada, environmental groups and residents living near the planned nuclear waste storage site known as Yucca Mountain battled the federal government in courts and in Congress to halt the project. But now that the Obama Administration has abandoned the Yucca Mountain plan, it faces legal action aimed at forcing it to go ahead at the site.
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202445690022&rss=nlj&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1
"Provocative" Iran Invites More Sanctions Mark Heinrich, Reuters
"Provocative" Iran Invites More Sanctions
Mark Heinrich, Reuters
KhameneiThe United States and European Union accused Iran of breaking nuclear transparency rules by escalating uranium enrichment without proper U.N. surveillance and said its "provocative" behaviour invited tougher sanctions. They spoke at a tense meeting Wednesday of governors of the United Nations nuclear agency, a day after the U.N. Security Council said it was ready to tackle Western powers' proposals for new sanctions on Iran, which China has so far resisted.
Full Article
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE6223PW20100303?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
Mark Heinrich, Reuters
KhameneiThe United States and European Union accused Iran of breaking nuclear transparency rules by escalating uranium enrichment without proper U.N. surveillance and said its "provocative" behaviour invited tougher sanctions. They spoke at a tense meeting Wednesday of governors of the United Nations nuclear agency, a day after the U.N. Security Council said it was ready to tackle Western powers' proposals for new sanctions on Iran, which China has so far resisted.
Full Article
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE6223PW20100303?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
* EPA to raise threshold for major GHG sources in initial regulations
* EPA to raise threshold for major GHG sources in initial regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency will raise the reporting threshold to at least 75,000 tons annually and maybe more than 100,000 tons annually for stationary sources of greenhouse gases during the first stage of regulations between 2011 and 2012, according to Administrator Lisa Jackson. Speaking before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Jackson said that "it will probably be at least two years before we would look at something like, say, a 50,000 [tons-per-year] threshold." The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703862704575099571772922744.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
The Environmental Protection Agency will raise the reporting threshold to at least 75,000 tons annually and maybe more than 100,000 tons annually for stationary sources of greenhouse gases during the first stage of regulations between 2011 and 2012, according to Administrator Lisa Jackson. Speaking before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Jackson said that "it will probably be at least two years before we would look at something like, say, a 50,000 [tons-per-year] threshold." The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703862704575099571772922744.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
ntergy modifies nuclear spinoff plan for N.Y. clearance
ntergy modifies nuclear spinoff plan for N.Y. clearance
Entergy is revising its nuclear spinoff plan in an effort to secure approval from New York regulators. Entergy said it will further cut the planned debt of the new company by $500 million, place limitations on dividend payments and hand over as much as $300 million to state efficiency funds if certain conditions are met. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (3/3)
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100303-712415.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
Entergy is revising its nuclear spinoff plan in an effort to secure approval from New York regulators. Entergy said it will further cut the planned debt of the new company by $500 million, place limitations on dividend payments and hand over as much as $300 million to state efficiency funds if certain conditions are met. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (3/3)
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100303-712415.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
NEI to protest Yucca Mountain permit withdrawal
NEI to protest Yucca Mountain permit withdrawal
Attorneys for the Energy Department on Wednesday filed a motion with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to withdraw the license application for a nuclear-waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Nuclear Energy Institute senior director Steve Kraft said the department failed to provide a reason for ending the program, and he promised that NEI will formally object. Experts say the nuclear industry could make a case that utilities, ratepayers and taxpayers will be deprived of their rights if the Yucca Mountain plans are withdrawn and not permitted to be resubmitted. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Stephens Washington News Bureau (
http://www.lvrj.com/news/nuclear-waste-blue-ribbon-panel-to-start-work-86253967.html
Attorneys for the Energy Department on Wednesday filed a motion with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to withdraw the license application for a nuclear-waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Nuclear Energy Institute senior director Steve Kraft said the department failed to provide a reason for ending the program, and he promised that NEI will formally object. Experts say the nuclear industry could make a case that utilities, ratepayers and taxpayers will be deprived of their rights if the Yucca Mountain plans are withdrawn and not permitted to be resubmitted. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Stephens Washington News Bureau (
http://www.lvrj.com/news/nuclear-waste-blue-ribbon-panel-to-start-work-86253967.html
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The U.S. Needs A Nuke/"Dirty Bomb" Recovery Plan
The U.S. Needs A Nuke/"Dirty Bomb" Recovery Plan
U.S. Needs to Develop Nuke, "Dirty Bomb" Recovery Plan, GAO Finds -- Global Security Newswire
The U.S. Homeland Security Department has not met an executive mandate to produce a national recovery plan to deal with the lingering effects of a terrorist assault involving a radiological "dirty bomb" or a crude nuclear device, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Friday (see GSN, Jan. 25).
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, "the DHS agency responsible for developing a comprehensive emergency management system, has not developed a national disaster recovery strategy, as required by law, or issued specific guidance to coordinate federal, state, and local government recovery planning for" radiological dispersal device or improvised nuclear device events, "as directed by executive guidance," the report finds.
Read more ....
You would think that after all of this time .... there would be a basic plan to confront such a nuclear disaster.
I guess our leaders do not want to spend time on the unimaginable.
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100301_9173.php
U.S. Needs to Develop Nuke, "Dirty Bomb" Recovery Plan, GAO Finds -- Global Security Newswire
The U.S. Homeland Security Department has not met an executive mandate to produce a national recovery plan to deal with the lingering effects of a terrorist assault involving a radiological "dirty bomb" or a crude nuclear device, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Friday (see GSN, Jan. 25).
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, "the DHS agency responsible for developing a comprehensive emergency management system, has not developed a national disaster recovery strategy, as required by law, or issued specific guidance to coordinate federal, state, and local government recovery planning for" radiological dispersal device or improvised nuclear device events, "as directed by executive guidance," the report finds.
Read more ....
You would think that after all of this time .... there would be a basic plan to confront such a nuclear disaster.
I guess our leaders do not want to spend time on the unimaginable.
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100301_9173.php
Japan, Kazakhstan forge nuclear-cooperation deal
Japan, Kazakhstan forge nuclear-cooperation deal
Japan can now acquire stable uranium supplies from Kazakhstan in exchange for nuclear technology after the countries signed a nuclear-cooperation deal. A similar agreement was reached between Japan and Russia last year that allowed trading in technology and uranium. Reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTOE62107I20100302
Japan can now acquire stable uranium supplies from Kazakhstan in exchange for nuclear technology after the countries signed a nuclear-cooperation deal. A similar agreement was reached between Japan and Russia last year that allowed trading in technology and uranium. Reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTOE62107I20100302
India to tackle bill needed to advance nuclear deal with U.S.
India to tackle bill needed to advance nuclear deal with U.S.
from NEI SmartBrief
India during the next month will discuss legislation to reduce the liability of nuclear companies during industrial accidents -More-
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/nei/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=EBC3F02E-69D5-41A2-A5C6-43EB5959AE60©id=50D7F189-3C7B-45A9-9631-9CD4602F2CBD&brief=nei&sb_code=rss&&campaign=rss
from NEI SmartBrief
India during the next month will discuss legislation to reduce the liability of nuclear companies during industrial accidents -More-
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/nei/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=EBC3F02E-69D5-41A2-A5C6-43EB5959AE60©id=50D7F189-3C7B-45A9-9631-9CD4602F2CBD&brief=nei&sb_code=rss&&campaign=rss
Obama decision on Yucca Mountain in Nevada is "bad news"
Obama decision on Yucca Mountain in Nevada is "bad news"
from NEI SmartBrief
President Barack Obama's move to withdraw the application for a nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain is bad news for the rest -More-
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/nei/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=EBC3F02E-69D5-41A2-A5C6-43EB5959AE60©id=85A73F3A-DA59-4021-B613-6A1AEDB4EAA7&brief=NEI&sb_code=rss&&campaign=rss
from NEI SmartBrief
President Barack Obama's move to withdraw the application for a nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain is bad news for the rest -More-
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/nei/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=EBC3F02E-69D5-41A2-A5C6-43EB5959AE60©id=85A73F3A-DA59-4021-B613-6A1AEDB4EAA7&brief=NEI&sb_code=rss&&campaign=rss
Minn. Senate panel to vote on bill to repeal nuclear ban
Minn. Senate panel to vote on bill to repeal nuclear ban
from NEI SmartBrief
A Minnesota Senate panel Tuesday heard testimony on a bill authored by Sen. -More-
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/nei/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=EBC3F02E-69D5-41A2-A5C6-43EB5959AE60©id=F415EF35-1EEE-4CD8-B5F1-04D70170D0C7&brief=NEI&sb_code=rss&&campaign=rss
from NEI SmartBrief
A Minnesota Senate panel Tuesday heard testimony on a bill authored by Sen. -More-
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/nei/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=EBC3F02E-69D5-41A2-A5C6-43EB5959AE60©id=F415EF35-1EEE-4CD8-B5F1-04D70170D0C7&brief=NEI&sb_code=rss&&campaign=rss
Uranium in the Grand Canyon: 1 Million Acres that Could Help Fuel a U.S. Nuclear Energy Revival
Uranium in the Grand Canyon: 1 Million Acres that Could Help Fuel a U.S. Nuclear Energy Revival
from AlterNet.org by David Levitan, SolveClimate
The United States imports the bulk of its nuclear fuel, but there are large deposits of uranium, mostly in the western part of the country, that could be mined.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/145880/uranium_in_the_grand_canyon:_1_million_acres_that_could_help_fuel_a_u.s._nuclear_energy_revival_?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=alternet
from AlterNet.org by David Levitan, SolveClimate
The United States imports the bulk of its nuclear fuel, but there are large deposits of uranium, mostly in the western part of the country, that could be mined.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/145880/uranium_in_the_grand_canyon:_1_million_acres_that_could_help_fuel_a_u.s._nuclear_energy_revival_?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=alternet
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Do Not Even Think about Bombing Iran Michael O'Hanlon and Bruce Riedel, Financial Times
Do Not Even Think about Bombing Iran
Michael O'Hanlon and Bruce Riedel, Financial Times
For years, the US has retained the option of a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. Not preferred by either George W. Bush or Barack Obama, it has nonetheless survived the US presidential transition as a last resort should diplomacy and economic sanctions fail to persuade Tehran to put its nuclear programme back under proper restrictions and inspections.
Full Article
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a5af1b8-24a3-11df-8be0-00144feab49a.html
Michael O'Hanlon and Bruce Riedel, Financial Times
For years, the US has retained the option of a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. Not preferred by either George W. Bush or Barack Obama, it has nonetheless survived the US presidential transition as a last resort should diplomacy and economic sanctions fail to persuade Tehran to put its nuclear programme back under proper restrictions and inspections.
Full Article
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a5af1b8-24a3-11df-8be0-00144feab49a.html
N. Korea Provided Raw Uranium to Syria in 2007: Sources Kyodo News
N. Korea Provided Raw Uranium to Syria in 2007: Sources
Kyodo News
North Korea provided about 45 tons of "yellowcake" uranium to Syria in September 2007 for production of fuel for an undeclared nuclear reactor, diplomatic and military sources knowledgeable on North Korean issues said Saturday.
Full Article
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/international/news/20100228p2g00m0in001000c.html
Kyodo News
North Korea provided about 45 tons of "yellowcake" uranium to Syria in September 2007 for production of fuel for an undeclared nuclear reactor, diplomatic and military sources knowledgeable on North Korean issues said Saturday.
Full Article
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/international/news/20100228p2g00m0in001000c.html
India Moves on U.S. Nuclear Deal with New Law Krittivas Mukherjee, Reuters
India Moves on U.S. Nuclear Deal with New Law
Krittivas Mukherjee, Reuters
India's parliament will debate over the next month a new law to limit nuclear firms' liability in the case of industrial accidents, a move crucial for U.S. firms to tap into India's estimated $150 billion nuclear market.
Full Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE61B05820100302?type=marketsNews
Krittivas Mukherjee, Reuters
India's parliament will debate over the next month a new law to limit nuclear firms' liability in the case of industrial accidents, a move crucial for U.S. firms to tap into India's estimated $150 billion nuclear market.
Full Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE61B05820100302?type=marketsNews
Two U.S. Power Plants Could Use Converted Weapons Plutonium Global Security Newswire
Two U.S. Power Plants Could Use Converted Weapons Plutonium
Global Security Newswire
The United States plans to study the possibility of using mixed-oxide fuel converted from nuclear-weapon material to operate two nuclear power plants, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced yesterday.
Full Article
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100226_9685.php
Global Security Newswire
The United States plans to study the possibility of using mixed-oxide fuel converted from nuclear-weapon material to operate two nuclear power plants, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced yesterday.
Full Article
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100226_9685.php
White House Is Rethinking Nuclear Policy David E. Sanger and Thom Shanker, The New York Times
White House Is Rethinking Nuclear Policy
David E. Sanger and Thom Shanker, The New York Times
As President Obama begins making final decisions on a broad new nuclear strategy for the United States, senior aides say he will permanently reduce America's arsenal by thousands of weapons. But the administration has rejected proposals that the United States declare it would never be the first to use nuclear weapons, aides said.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/us/politics/01nuke.html
David E. Sanger and Thom Shanker, The New York Times
As President Obama begins making final decisions on a broad new nuclear strategy for the United States, senior aides say he will permanently reduce America's arsenal by thousands of weapons. But the administration has rejected proposals that the United States declare it would never be the first to use nuclear weapons, aides said.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/us/politics/01nuke.html
Managing Vulnerability James M. Acton, Foreign Affairs
Managing Vulnerability
James M. Acton, Foreign Affairs
DF-31Editor's Note: In the November/December 2009 issue of Foreign Affairs, Keir Lieber and Daryl Press make the case for the United States developing a new generation of low-yield, high-accuracy nuclear weapons to maintain deterrence against current and future nuclear-armed states. In response, James M. Acton contends that adversaries' increasingly mobile forces make such a strategy ineffective and that instead the United States should reduce nuclear dangers by giving potential adversaries' strong incentives for restraint in a crisis and by devaluing nuclear weapons. This article appears in the March/April 2010 issue of Foreign Affairs.
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=40264
James M. Acton, Foreign Affairs
DF-31Editor's Note: In the November/December 2009 issue of Foreign Affairs, Keir Lieber and Daryl Press make the case for the United States developing a new generation of low-yield, high-accuracy nuclear weapons to maintain deterrence against current and future nuclear-armed states. In response, James M. Acton contends that adversaries' increasingly mobile forces make such a strategy ineffective and that instead the United States should reduce nuclear dangers by giving potential adversaries' strong incentives for restraint in a crisis and by devaluing nuclear weapons. This article appears in the March/April 2010 issue of Foreign Affairs.
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=40264
Feds seek input from Vt. nuclear plant operator
Feds seek input from Vt. nuclear plant operator
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given Entergy 30 days to provide input on the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, a week after Vermont's Senate voted to shut down the facility. The agency noted that it has not come across instances of the plant's personnel supplying incomplete or inaccurate data. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0110955720100301?type=marketsNews
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given Entergy 30 days to provide input on the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, a week after Vermont's Senate voted to shut down the facility. The agency noted that it has not come across instances of the plant's personnel supplying incomplete or inaccurate data. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0110955720100301?type=marketsNews
Monday, March 1, 2010
Read the IAEA Reports on Iran They don't jibe with media reports, says Peter Casey
Read the IAEA Reports on Iran
They don't jibe with media reports, says Peter Casey
http://original.antiwar.com/peter-casey/2010/02/28/read-the-iaea-reports-on-iran/
They don't jibe with media reports, says Peter Casey
http://original.antiwar.com/peter-casey/2010/02/28/read-the-iaea-reports-on-iran/
UAE considers relocation of planned nuclear facilities
UAE considers relocation of planned nuclear facilities
The United Arab Emirates is expected to move the construction site for its proposed nuclear facilities after at the request of Saudi Arabia, South Korean authorities said. A Korean group last year secured a $40 billion contract to construct four reactors in Sila, which is near the border of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The Korea Herald (Seoul)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/27/201002270035.asp
The United Arab Emirates is expected to move the construction site for its proposed nuclear facilities after at the request of Saudi Arabia, South Korean authorities said. A Korean group last year secured a $40 billion contract to construct four reactors in Sila, which is near the border of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The Korea Herald (Seoul)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/27/201002270035.asp
White House Is Rethinking Nuclear Policy
White House Is Rethinking Nuclear Policy
by By DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER
Aides to President Obama say he will permanently reduce America’s arsenal by thousands of weapons.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/us/politics/01nuke.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
by By DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER
Aides to President Obama say he will permanently reduce America’s arsenal by thousands of weapons.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/us/politics/01nuke.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Mordechai Vanunu: The Sunday Times articles
Mordechai Vanunu: The Sunday Times articles
The Sunday Times' Insight Team was the first to reveal Israel's nuclear secrets to the world after the paper published leaks from Morechai Vanunu. Here is how the newspaper chronicled the story, from Vanunu's original claims, to how he was captured.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article830147.ece
The Sunday Times' Insight Team was the first to reveal Israel's nuclear secrets to the world after the paper published leaks from Morechai Vanunu. Here is how the newspaper chronicled the story, from Vanunu's original claims, to how he was captured.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article830147.ece
Israeli Nobel candidate rejects nomination
Israeli Nobel candidate rejects nomination
FILE - This April 21, 2004 file photo shows Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu following his release outside Shikma Prison in the coastal city ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/24/AR2010022401730.html
FILE - This April 21, 2004 file photo shows Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu following his release outside Shikma Prison in the coastal city ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/24/AR2010022401730.html
Saturday, February 27, 2010
When It Comes To Nuclear Enrichment, What Are The Iranians Thinking?
When It Comes To Nuclear Enrichment, What Are The Iranians Thinking?
from War News Updates by Bookyards
Another Puzzle in Iran After Nuclear Fuel Is Moved -- New York Times
WASHINGTON — When Iran was caught last September building a secret, underground nuclear enrichment plant at a military base near the city of Qum, the country’s leaders insisted they had no other choice. With its nuclear facilities under constant threat of attack, they said, only a fool would leave them out in the open.
So imagine the surprise of international inspectors almost two weeks ago when they watched as Iran moved nearly its entire stockpile of low-enriched nuclear fuel to an above-ground plant. It was as if, one official noted, a bull’s-eye had been painted on it.
Why take such a huge risk?
Read more ....
My Comment: When it comes to Iran there is one simple rule that everyone should follow .... do not trust them. Iran has a terrible history in the international arena of diplomacy and respecting the sovereignty of other countries and negotiated agreements. Death to America and threatening the annihilation of Israel in every speech and demonstration tends to get dry after a while ... but they are listed as a state sponsor of terror for a reason and every threat and comment made by the regime in Tehran must be taken seriously. So .... moving their nuclear fuel may be a puzzle to the New York Times .... but trust me .... there is a very blunt reason on why they are doing this ..... it is just that we have not figured it out yet.
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-it-comes-to-nuclear-enrichment.html
from War News Updates by Bookyards
Another Puzzle in Iran After Nuclear Fuel Is Moved -- New York Times
WASHINGTON — When Iran was caught last September building a secret, underground nuclear enrichment plant at a military base near the city of Qum, the country’s leaders insisted they had no other choice. With its nuclear facilities under constant threat of attack, they said, only a fool would leave them out in the open.
So imagine the surprise of international inspectors almost two weeks ago when they watched as Iran moved nearly its entire stockpile of low-enriched nuclear fuel to an above-ground plant. It was as if, one official noted, a bull’s-eye had been painted on it.
Why take such a huge risk?
Read more ....
My Comment: When it comes to Iran there is one simple rule that everyone should follow .... do not trust them. Iran has a terrible history in the international arena of diplomacy and respecting the sovereignty of other countries and negotiated agreements. Death to America and threatening the annihilation of Israel in every speech and demonstration tends to get dry after a while ... but they are listed as a state sponsor of terror for a reason and every threat and comment made by the regime in Tehran must be taken seriously. So .... moving their nuclear fuel may be a puzzle to the New York Times .... but trust me .... there is a very blunt reason on why they are doing this ..... it is just that we have not figured it out yet.
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-it-comes-to-nuclear-enrichment.html
Friday, February 26, 2010
Another Puzzle in Iran After Nuclear Fuel Is Moved
Another Puzzle in Iran After Nuclear Fuel Is Moved
from NYT > Home Page by By DAVID E. SANGER
Officials in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East have been trying to determine why Iran moved much of its low-enriched nuclear fuel out in the open, where it could easily be attacked.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/world/middleeast/27iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
from NYT > Home Page by By DAVID E. SANGER
Officials in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East have been trying to determine why Iran moved much of its low-enriched nuclear fuel out in the open, where it could easily be attacked.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/world/middleeast/27iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Russia planning to offer investors 49% stake in nuclear project
Russia planning to offer investors 49% stake in nuclear project
Russia is willing to offer investors a 49% interest as well as long-term supply deals in the country's first nuclear plant since the Soviet period, Rosatom said. The company is holding discussions with multiple European companies for the project. The Moscow Times/Bloomberg
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/investors-to-be-offered-49-of-baltic-plant/400463.html
Russia is willing to offer investors a 49% interest as well as long-term supply deals in the country's first nuclear plant since the Soviet period, Rosatom said. The company is holding discussions with multiple European companies for the project. The Moscow Times/Bloomberg
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/investors-to-be-offered-49-of-baltic-plant/400463.html
Ariz. lawmakers drop bill to identify nuclear energy as renewable
Ariz. lawmakers drop bill to identify nuclear energy as renewable
Protests from a number of solar companies have prompted Arizona's Legislature to drop a bill that would have placed lawmakers in charge of the state's renewable-energy standard. Provisions in the proposed measure included declaring nuclear a renewable-energy source. American City Business Journals/Phoenix
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2010/02/22/daily51.html
My comment: This is where the nuclear industry falls short in its PR/long range business planning activities: They should be cultivating a coalition with the Solar Boys, rather than competing against them.
Protests from a number of solar companies have prompted Arizona's Legislature to drop a bill that would have placed lawmakers in charge of the state's renewable-energy standard. Provisions in the proposed measure included declaring nuclear a renewable-energy source. American City Business Journals/Phoenix
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2010/02/22/daily51.html
My comment: This is where the nuclear industry falls short in its PR/long range business planning activities: They should be cultivating a coalition with the Solar Boys, rather than competing against them.
W. Va. lawmakers vote down bill to lift nuclear-construction ban
W. Va. lawmakers vote down bill to lift nuclear-construction ban
A Senate panel in West Virginia rejected legislation seeking to lift a moratorium on the construction of nuclear plants. The bill would have erased language in state code prohibiting new nuclear facilities until a waste-storage facility is built. "We are a coal and natural gas state," said state Sen. Richard Browning, who opposed the measure. WBOY-TV (Clarksburg, W.Va.)
http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=75844
My Comment: I wouldn't expect anything else from a coal state.
A Senate panel in West Virginia rejected legislation seeking to lift a moratorium on the construction of nuclear plants. The bill would have erased language in state code prohibiting new nuclear facilities until a waste-storage facility is built. "We are a coal and natural gas state," said state Sen. Richard Browning, who opposed the measure. WBOY-TV (Clarksburg, W.Va.)
http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=75844
My Comment: I wouldn't expect anything else from a coal state.
Nuclear must be developed to meet rising energy demand
Nuclear must be developed to meet rising energy demand
Carbon-free and cost-competitive nuclear power must be developed alongside renewable sources to better meet the country's growing energy needs, according to this opinion article. Renewable power sources such as wind and solar will not be enough to meet baseload demand, the writer argues, as well as being expensive compared with other sources in terms of cost per megawatt-hour. The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.)
http://www.theolympian.com/2010/02/25/1151166/we-must-keep-nuclear-power-as.html
Carbon-free and cost-competitive nuclear power must be developed alongside renewable sources to better meet the country's growing energy needs, according to this opinion article. Renewable power sources such as wind and solar will not be enough to meet baseload demand, the writer argues, as well as being expensive compared with other sources in terms of cost per megawatt-hour. The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.)
http://www.theolympian.com/2010/02/25/1151166/we-must-keep-nuclear-power-as.html
Feds cite progress in N.M. uranium-enrichment plant
Feds cite progress in N.M. uranium-enrichment plant
Louisiana Energy Services' uranium-enrichment site worth $3 billion is nearly operational. Centrifuges at the facility will generate enriched uranium for commercial nuclear plants once the facility has received Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. KVIA-TV (El Paso, Texas)/The Associated Press
http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=12044603
Louisiana Energy Services' uranium-enrichment site worth $3 billion is nearly operational. Centrifuges at the facility will generate enriched uranium for commercial nuclear plants once the facility has received Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. KVIA-TV (El Paso, Texas)/The Associated Press
http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=12044603
TVA to consider converting plutonium into fuel for nuclear plants
TVA to consider converting plutonium into fuel for nuclear plants
The Tennessee Valley Authority will consider using weapons-grade plutonium as nuclear fuel at its facilities after it struck a deal with the National Nuclear Security Administration to study the concept. Although the utility still needs to secure federal approval for the plan, the agreement moves it closer toward converting nuclear warheads into an electricity-generating source. Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tenn.)
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/feb/25/tva-may-use-bomb-material-nuclear-plants/?breakingnews
The Tennessee Valley Authority will consider using weapons-grade plutonium as nuclear fuel at its facilities after it struck a deal with the National Nuclear Security Administration to study the concept. Although the utility still needs to secure federal approval for the plan, the agreement moves it closer toward converting nuclear warheads into an electricity-generating source. Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tenn.)
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/feb/25/tva-may-use-bomb-material-nuclear-plants/?breakingnews
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