*****************************************************************
08/09/06 ****     RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL)       **** VOL 14.188
*****************************************************************
   RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE
*****************************************************************
Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject
line and first line of body

                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 [southnews] Israel to clear path for US War on Iran?
2 IRNA: Iranian envoy stresses Iran's right to nuclear energy 
3 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea Asks South for Flood Help
4 AFP: North Korea seeks aid from South despite chills over missile te
5 Japan Times: Nagasaki: U.S., N. Korea should disarm
6 US: DOI: BIA: Energy Right of way on tribal lands
7 The end of the beginning
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
8 IPS-English EUROPE: Swedish Nuclear Incident Sparks Safety
9 [NukeNet] A Close Call With Swedish Nuclear Catastrophe?
10 RIA Novosti: SUAL, Russian nuclear agency ink cooperation memo
11 Grist Magazine: Blair's rigged energy review 
12 US: The Enquirer: U.S. should embrace nuclear power
13 IAEA: Reports & Reviews Highlight Changing Nuclear World
14 US: Hudson Valley News: Beacon supports independent assessment of In
15 US: Brattleboro Reformer: VY tax assessment upheld by Vernon board
16 US: BBJ: Calvert County gives Constellation tax incentives for nucle
17 US: NRC: South Texas request for action
18 US: NRC: Shearon Harris proposed amendment
19 US: NRC: ACRS Meeting 8-23/4
20 US: NRC: 9Mile Pt corporate merger
21 US: NRC: Calvert Cliffs spent fuel storage 
22 US: NRC: Ginna Corporate Merger -CEG/FPL
23 US: NRC: Rancho Seco LTP termination plan comments
24 People's Daily: Brazilian nuclear power plant halts operation
25 ITAR-TASS: Reactor restarted at Novovoronezh NPP after maintenance h
26 IPS: EUROPE: Swedish Nuclear Incident Sparks Safety Concern
27 Russia Newswire: RUSAL and ROSATOM Sign Memorandum of Cooperation
28 Scotsman.com: Nuclear plant could face legal action over particles
29 US: SEIU: NRC Says Wackenhut Security Failures at Seabrook Nuclear
30 UPI: Analysis: India sets up new energy group
31 HindustanTimes.com: Nuke deal: Left warns of serious confrontation
 
                          NUCLEAR SECURITY
 
32 International Herald Tribune: Uranium moved from Poland to Russia - 
33 Guardian Unlimited: Russian Colonel Convicted of Spying
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
34 US: theday.com: Critic Of Goat's Milk Study Faults DEP For Avoiding 
35 US: Huffington Post: Smiling Buddha (Divine Strake)
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
36 Deseret News: Nevada dealt a blow over Yucca
37 US: Deseret News: Some governors want Congress to reject plan to mov
38 BBC NEWS: Legal move on Dounreay particles
39 BBC NEWS: Highlands and Islands | Ł2m penalty for Dounreay spillage
40 US: Platts: US court rejects Nevada's request for review of waste si
41 reviewjournal.com: YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT: Judges reject Nevada laws
42 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Governors group attacks plan to keep nuclear
43 US: NRC: ACNW Meeting 8-15/6
44 US: AU ABC: No uranium mining on my watch, Carpenter says. 
45 US: Bradenton Herald: Contaminated construction at Tallevast
 
                           PEACE
 
46 [NYTr] Cubans Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki Victims
47 [NYTr] Nagasaki Commemorates 61st Anniversary of US Atomic Attack
48 A Day in the Life: Nagasaki Day 2006
49 Las Vegas SUN: Survivor recalls atomic bomb blast in Japan 61 years 
50 US: RGJ.com: Hiroshima, Nagasaki memorial to be held
51 Reuters: Japan's Nagasaki marks 61st anniversary of A-bomb
52 AFP: Nagasaki warns against nuclear arms on A-bomb anniversary -
53 Guardian Unlimited: Nagasaki Marks 61 Years Since Bombing
54 US: KCPW: Atomic Anniversary
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
55 Livermore Lab on Dept. of Homeland Security list for massive
56 DOE: USDA and DOE Fund Genomics Projects For Bioenergy Fuels Researc
57 DOE: USDA and DOE Name Biomass Research and Development Technical 
58 Santa Fe New Mexican: Public can weigh in on lab's future - 
59 KnoxNews: Munger: Did Building 1916 T-1 make workers sick?
60 DOE: High Energy Physics Advisroy Panel meeting
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
                         FULL NEWS STORIES
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
 1 [southnews] Israel to clear path for US War on Iran?
 
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 02:04:13 -0500 (CDT)

X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY

In planning for the destruction of most of Hezbollah's arsenal and 
prevention of any resupply from Iran, Israel appears to have hoped to 
eliminate a major reason the George W. Bush administration had shelved 
the military option for dealing with Iran's nuclear program  the fear 
that Israel would suffer massive casualties from Hezbollah's rockets in 
retaliation for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Was Israel's Aim to Clear Path for US War on Iran?
by Gareth Porter
(Inter Press Service) August 9, 2006

Israel has argued that the war against Hezbollah's rocket arsenal was a 
defensive response to the Shi'ite organization's threat to Israeli 
security, but the evidence points to a much more ambitious objective  
the weakening of Iran's deterrent to an attack on its nuclear sites.

In planning for the destruction of most of Hezbollah's arsenal and 
prevention of any resupply from Iran, Israel appears to have hoped to 
eliminate a major reason the George W. Bush administration had shelved 
the military option for dealing with Iran's nuclear program  the fear 
that Israel would suffer massive casualties from Hezbollah's rockets in 
retaliation for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

One leading expert on Israeli national defense policy issues believes 
the aim of the Israeli campaign against Hezbollah was to change the Bush 
administration's mind about attacking Iran. Edward Luttwak, senior 
adviser to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International 
Studies, says Bush administration officials have privately dismissed the 
option of air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities in the past, 
citing estimates that a Hezbollah rocket attack in retaliation would 
kill thousands of people in northern Israel.

But Israeli officials saw a war in Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah's 
arsenal and prevent further resupply in the future as a way to eliminate 
that objection to the military option, says Luttwak.

The risk to Israel of launching such an offensive was that it would 
unleash the very rain of Hezbollah rockets on Israel that it sought to 
avert. But Luttwak believes the Israelis calculated that they could 
degrade Hezbollah's rocket forces without too many casualties by 
striking preemptively.

"They knew that a carefully prepared and coordinated rocket attack by 
Hezbollah would be much more catastrophic than one carried out under 
attack by Israel," he says.

Gerald M. Steinberg, an Israeli specialist on security affairs at Bar 
Ilon University who reflects Israeli government thinking, did not allude 
to the link between destruction of Hezbollah's rocket arsenal and a 
possible attack on Iran in an interview with Bernard Gwertzman of the 
Council on Foreign Relations in New York last week. But he did say there 
is "some expectation" in Israel that after the U.S. congressional 
elections, Bush "will decide that he has to do what he has to do."

Steinberg said Israel wanted to "get an assessment" of whether the 
United States would "present a military attack against the Iranian 
nuclear sites as the only option." If not, he suggested that Israel was 
still considering its own options.

Specialists on Iran and Hezbollah have long believed that the missiles 
Iran has supplied to Hezbollah were explicitly intended to deter an 
Israeli attack on Iran. Ephraim Kam, a specialist on Iran at Israel's 
Jaffe Center for Strategic Studies, wrote in December 2004 that 
Hezbollah's threat against northern Israel was a key element of Iran's 
deterrent to a U.S. attack.

Ali Ansari, an associate professor at the University of St. Andrews in 
Scotland and author of a new book on the U.S. confrontation with Iran, 
was quoted in the Toronto Star July 30 as saying, "Hezbollah was always 
Iran's deterrent force against Israel."

Iran has also threatened direct retaliation against Israel with the 
Shahab-3 missile from Iranian territory. However, Iran may be concerned 
about the possibility that Israel's Arrow system could intercept most of 
them, as the Jaffe Center's Kam observed in 2004. That elevates the 
importance to Iran of Hezbollah's ability to threaten retaliation.

Hezbollah received some Soviet-era Katyusha rockets, with a range of 
only five miles, and a hundreds of longer-range missiles after Israel 
withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. But Israel's daily Ha'aretz, 
citing a report by Israeli military intelligence at the time, has 
reported that the number of missiles and rockets in Hezbollah hands grew 
to more 12,000 in 2004.

That was when Iranian officials felt that the Bush administration might 
seriously consider an attack on their nuclear sites, because it knew 
Iran was poised to begin enrichment of uranium. It was also when Iranian 
officials began to imply that Hezbollah could retaliate against any 
attack on Iran, although they have never stated that explicitly.

The first hint of Iranian concern about the possible strategic 
implications of the Israeli campaign to degrade the Hezbollah missile 
force in southern Lebanon came in a report by Michael Slackman in the 
New York Times July 25. Slackman quoted an Iranian official with "close 
ties to the highest levels of government" as saying, "They want to cut 
off one of Iran's arms."

The same story quoted Mohsen Rezai, the former head of Iran's 
Revolutionary Guard, as saying, "Israel and the U.S. knew that as long 
as Hamas and Hezbollah were there, confronting Iran would be costly"  
an obvious reference to the deterrent value of the missiles in Lebanon. 
"So, to deal with Iran, they first want to eliminate forces close to 
Iran that are in Lebanon and Palestine."

Israel has been planning its campaign against Hezbollah's missile 
arsenal for many months. As Matthew Kalman reported from Tel Aviv in the 
San Francisco Chronicle on July 21, "More than a year ago, a senior 
Israeli army officer began giving PowerPoint presentations, on an 
off-the-record basis, to U.S. and other diplomats, journalists, and 
think tanks, setting out the plan for the current operation in revealing 
detail."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's main purpose in meeting with Bush 
on May 25 was clearly to push the United States to agree to use force, 
if necessary, to stop Iran's uranium enrichment program. Four days 
before the meeting, Olmert told CNN that Iran's "technological 
threshold" is "very close." In response to a question about U.S. and 
European diplomacy on the issue, Olmert replied: "I prefer to take the 
necessary measures to stop it, rather than find out later that my 
indifference was so dangerous."

At his meeting with Bush, according to Yitzhak Benhorin of Israel's 
YnetNews, Olmert pressed Bush on Israel's intelligence assessment that 
Iran would gain the technology necessary to build a bomb within a year 
and expressed fears that diplomatic efforts were not going to work.

It seems likely that Olmert discussed Israel's plans for degrading 
Hezbollah's missile capabilities as a means of dramatically reducing the 
risk of an air campaign against Iran's nuclear sites, and that Bush gave 
his approval. That would account for Olmert's comment to Israeli 
reporters after the meeting, reported by the Israel's YnetNews, but not 
by U.S. news media: "I am very, very, very satisfied."

Bush's refusal to do anything to curb Israel's freedom to wreak havoc on 
Lebanon further suggests that he encouraged the Israelis to take 
advantage of any pretext to launch the offensive. The Israeli plan may 
have given Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald 
Rumsfeld new ammunition for advocating a strike on Iran's nuclear sites.

Rumsfeld was the voice of administration policy toward Iran from 2002 to 
2004, and he often appeared to be laying the political groundwork for an 
eventual military attack on Iran. But he has been silenced on the 
subject of Iran since Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took over Iran 
policy in January 2005.

The archives of South News can be found at
http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/ 
*****************************************************************
 2 IRNA: Iranian envoy stresses Iran's right to nuclear energy 

, Aug 9, IRNA

-- 

Iran will seriously continue its efforts to access technologies
on nuclear fuel production, Iran's Ambassador to Russia
Gholam-Reza Ansari said here Wednesday.

 "Iranian officials believe that development of nuclear energy
is directly linked to preservation of the country's
independence," Ansari said in an interview with Itar-Tass news
agency.

 "Like Russia, Iran is committed to defending and promoting the
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

 He said Russia's proposal to establish a joint center with Iran
for enriching uranium remains on the negotiating table.

 Iranian officials had repeatedly raised the proposal in the
past," he said.

 "But, unfortunately, the hue and cry raised regarding Iran's
nuclear program prevented talks from being held to discuss its
details," Ansari added.

 Asked about Iran's stance on the Zionist regime's missile
attacks on Lebanon, the envoy said that the Lebanese Hezbollah
"is a powerful movement which has no need for Iran's military
aid.

 "The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly supports the Lebanese
nation and resistance against the atrocities of the Zionist
regime and condemns measures adopted by the United States and
Israel," he said.
*****************************************************************
 3 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea Asks South for Flood Help
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Wednesday August 9, 2006 12:31 PM

AP Photo SEL102 

By KWANG-TAE KIM 

Associated Press Writer 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea has requested help from
South Korea to cope with devastating floods, a South Korean
citizens' group said Wednesday, a move that could improve
inter-Korean relations chilled by the North's recent missile
launches. 

It was the first time the communist nation has officially
requested South Korean aid since flooding in mid-July spawned by
heavy rains left at least 549 people dead and 295 missing. 

The North asked South Korea to provide food, blankets, medical
supplies and construction materials and equipment including
cement and trucks to help it recover from the disaster, said
Park Ji-yong, an official at a South Korean committee working
for reconciliation between the Koreas. 

The first South Korean private relief group sent flood relief to
the North last week. 

North Korea had initially said it would handle the disaster on
its own and rejected aid from South Korea's Red Cross, but a
North Korean official said last week the country was in urgent
need of food and would accept aid from South Korea. 

The South has said recently it would consider contributing to
private aid missions for North Korean flood victims amid growing
calls at home to help those in the North. 

South Korea's Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok told a meeting
of civic leaders Wednesday that Seoul plans to match and
contribute more than the funds that civic groups raise for the
North, an aid official said on condition of anonymity because of
the sensitivity of issue. 

South and North Korean committee officials were also scheduled
Friday to meet at North Korea's Diamond Mountain resort to
discuss ways to help the North, according to the South's
committee. 

Seoul refused last month to discuss regular humanitarian aid
during high-level talks with North Korea, after the North
Koreans refused to address the country's missile or nuclear
programs. The North test-launched seven missiles last month,
raising regional tensions and drawing U.N. Security Council
sanctions. 

The North has told international aid groups operating in the
country that it does not want them to launch an emergency appeal
on its behalf. Such aid would likely come with requirements of
strict monitoring to ensure those affected are benefiting,
unlike with past South Korean aid that is virtually unmonitored. 

North Korea last year demanded a halt to international food aid
it had been receiving since the mid-1990s, when natural
disasters and mismanagement led to famine that killed an
estimated 2 million people. Pyongyang claimed it did not want to
develop a culture of dependency, but nonetheless still accepted
aid from China and South Korea. 	 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 4 AFP: North Korea seeks aid from South despite chills over missile tests - 

 by Park Chan-Kyong Wed Aug 9, 4:09 AM ET 		 	 

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea" /> has for the first time appealed to 
South Korean groups for help in recovering from devastating 
floods despite chills in relations caused by its missile tests 
last month, aid officials said. 

 The North Korean Committee for the Implementation of the June
15 Declaration -- named after the historic inter-Korean summit
in 2000 -- expressed its gratitude for South Koreans' efforts to
help flood victims. 

"We hope that the relief aid, instead of instant noodles or
clothing, should be mainly composed of construction materials
such as cement and steel, construction vehicles as well as food,
blankets and medicines," the committee said. 

"We request your side to inform other groups (of what we want)." 

The request was contained in a letter faxed to the committee's
South Korean counterpart. 

The committee also thanked its southern counterpart and other
South Korean civilian groups "for their efforts to help overcome
the losses inflicted by the heavy rains." 

It was the first time the communist state had asked for help
from South Korea" /> since last month's heavy rain. Up to 10,000
people are dead or missing, according to South Korean aid group
Good Friends. 

The North had rejected an aid offer from the South's Red Cross
after Seoul suspended official government assistance in a
dispute over the missile tests. 

Lee Jae-Gyu, spokesman for the South's committee, said it was
noteworthy that Pyongyang made a public appeal for aid from the
South despite chills in ties caused by the North's missile tests
and drive for nuclear weapons. 

"Pyongyang knows well that it is beyond the means of private aid
groups to meet such demands for construction vehicles and
materials. This is an indirect appeal for assistance and help
from the government and business firms," he said. 

He said the head of the South's committee, Paik Nak-Chung, would
urge the government to resume its aid when he meets Unification
Minister Lee Jong-Seok later Wednesday. 

"Minister Lee and other ministry officials have been meeting
with NGOs to listen to public opinions about the issue of
government aid to the North," a senior ministry official told
AFP. 

South Korea's government on July 8 indefinitely postponed
crucial food and fertilizer aid to the North in response to its
missile tests three days earlier. 

It shelved 100,000 tonnes of fertilizer aid and 500,000 tonnes
of rice aid pending any breakthrough on the missile issue. 

Last week a Seoul-based Buddhist relief agency sent flour,
instant noodles and clothing -- the first shipment of emergency
aid from South Korea to the North since the flooding. 

Serious floods helped cause a famine in the mid-1990s in which
aid groups say some two million North Koreans died. 

The country still cannot afford to feed its 23 million people.
Damage to farmland from the latest flooding has sparked concerns
that chronic food shortages may worsen again this year. 

Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 5 Japan Times: Nagasaki: U.S., N. Korea should disarm

japantimes.co.jp               

Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006

NAGASAKI (Kyodo) Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito called Wednesday on the 
United States and North Korea to move toward nuclear abolishment 
to help fend off a collapse of the global nuclear 
nonproliferation regime. 

  [News photo]   
  People attend morning Mass at Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki on
Wednesday to pray for victims of the 1945 atomic bombing. KYODO


"Voices of anger and frustration are echoing throughout the
city," Ito said. "The time has come for those nations that rely
on the force of nuclear arms to respectfully heed the voices of
peace-loving people, not least the atomic bomb survivors." 

The speech was delivered as part of the Peace Declaration for
the 61st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki in
World War II that ultimately claimed the lives of an estimated
70,000 people by the end of 1945. 

Among those in attendance at the ceremony were Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi and government delegates from seven countries,
including Russia. 

With some 30,000 nuclear weapons "ready to annihilate humanity,"
Ito expressed concern over seeing "no progress" in disarmament
since the Review Conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty in May 2005 ended without result. 

His criticism was directed especially at the U.S., which agreed
on a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation pact with India in
March, even though India has stayed out of the NPT regime and
conducted nuclear tests in 1998. 

  [News photo]   

  Junior high school girls hang paper cranes, which have become
a symbol of peace and nuclear disarmament, Wednesday at
Nagasaki's Peace Memorial Park.   

"The nuclear weapon states have not demonstrated sincerity in
their efforts at disarmament; the United States of America in
particular has issued a tacit approval of nuclear weapons
development by India," Ito said. 

Under the NPT, nations with nuclear arms are banned from
transferring atomic weapons or nuclear technology to any
nonnuclear weapons state. 

Ito also cited North Korea as "threatening the peace and
security" of Japan and the world. 

"The very structure of nonproliferation is facing a crisis," Ito
said, also referring to Pakistan, a declared nuclear power,
Israel, widely considered to possess nuclear arms, and Iran,
whose nuclear enrichment activities are a source of global
concern. 

The Japan Times (C) All rights reserved 

*****************************************************************
 6 DOI: BIA: Energy Right of way on tribal lands


                        FR Doc E6-13089 
[Federal Register: August 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 153)] 
[Notices] [Page 45575] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09au06-106] [[Page 45575]]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Indian Affairs
 
Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 1813, Draft Report to Congress 
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior. ACTION: Notice of 
Publication of Draft Report to Congress.

SUMMARY: Section 1813 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 
109-58) requires the Department of the Interior and the 
Department of Energy (Departments) to jointly conduct a study of 
issues related to energy rights-of-way (ROWs) on tribal lands. 
The Act further directs the Departments to submit a report to 
Congress on the findings of the study. The Draft Report to 
Congress is available for review on the Section 1813 Web site 
(http://1813.anl.gov).

    The Departments will hold several meetings to receive 
comments and suggestions on the Draft Report to Congress. Meeting 
locations and schedules have not been finalized; details will be 
provided on the Section 1813 Web site (http://1813.anl.gov). 
DATES: Comments and suggestions on the Draft Report to Congress 
will be accepted through September 1, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following 
methods:

    Mail, personal, or messenger delivery: Attention: Section 
1813 ROW Study, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, 
Room 20--South Interior Building, 1951 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20245.

    E-mail: IEED@bia.edu (please include the phrase ``Section 
1813 Comments'' in the subject line). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT: Darryl Francois (DOI Office of Indian Energy and 
Economic Development) at (202) 219-0740, or Rollie Wilson (DOE 
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability) at (202) 
586-3946. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) 
at 1-800- 877-8339, to contact the above individuals during 
business hours. FIRS is available twenty-four hours a day, seven 
days a week.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Comment Procedures Commenting on the Draft Report to 
Congress

    Written comments or suggestions should:

     Be specific and substantive;

     Explain the reasoning behind your comments and suggestions; 
and

     Where possible, reference the specific section or paragraph 
you are addressing.

    Comments, including names and street addresses of 
respondents, will be available for public review at the address 
listed under

``ADDRESSES: Mail, personal, or messenger delivery'' during 
regular business hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through Friday, 
except holidays. Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality, which will be honored to the extent allowable by 
law. Those wishing to withhold their name or address (except for 
the city or town) must state this prominently at the beginning of 
their comment. Submissions from organizations or businesses, and 
from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or 
officials of organizations or businesses, will be made available 
for public inspection in their entirety.

II. Background

    Section 1813 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 
109-58) requires the Department of the Interior and the 
Department of Energy (Departments) to jointly conduct a study of 
issues regarding grants, expansions, and renewals of energy 
rights-of-way (ROWs) on tribal lands. The Act further directs the 
Departments to submit a report to Congress on the findings of the 
study, including:

    (1) An analysis of historic rates of compensation paid for 
energy ROWs on tribal land;

    (2) Recommendations for appropriate standards and procedures 
for determining fair and appropriate compensation to Indian 
tribes for grants, expansions, and renewals of energy ROWs on 
tribal land;

    (3) An assessment of the tribal self-determination and 
sovereignty interests implicated by applications for the grant, 
expansion, or renewal of energy ROWs on tribal land; and

    (4) An analysis of relevant national energy transportation 
policies relating to grants, expansions, and renewals of energy 
ROWs on tribal land.

    The Draft Report to Congress is available for review on the 
Section 1813 Web site (http://1813.anl.gov).

III. Description of Planned Meetings

    The Departments will hold several public meetings and tribal 
consultation meetings to receive comments and suggestions on the 
Draft Report to Congress. The meetings are scheduled as follows:

    August 24, 2006: Sheraton Denver West, 360 Union Boulevard, 
Lakewood, CO.

    August 25, 2006: Radisson Salt Lake City Downtown, 215 West 
South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT.

    August 28, 2006: Morongo Casino, Resort and Spa Hotel, 49750 
Seminole Drive, Cabazon, CA.

    August 30, 2006: Carlisle Hotel and Conference Center, 2500 
Carlisle Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM.

    Meetings will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The 
meeting in Denver/Lakewood, CO will be an all-day public meeting 
open to all stakeholders. The meetings in Salt Lake City, UT; 
Cabazon, CA; and Albuquerque, NM will consist of short one-or 
two-hour public meetings followed by government-to-government 
meetings. These government-to- government meetings will allow for 
consultation between tribal representatives and Federal 
officials, as called for in the Act, and in Executive Order No. 
13175, [65 FR 67429 (Nov. 9, 2000)], ``Consultation and 
Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments.''

    Dated: August 3, 2006. Abraham E. Haspel, Assistant Deputy 
Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-13089 Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 
4310-96-P
 
*****************************************************************
 7 The end of the beginning
 
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 17:32:42 -0500 (CDT)

X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY

8 August 2006
The Guardian (UK)
www.guardian.co.uk

The end of the beginning

Regardless of any impending ceasefire, the removal of Hizbullah and the
Iranian nuclear position sets up the prospect of an US war against Iran.

By

Dan Plesch

US forces are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in the Middle East in a
few hours. US readiness for more war is just one indicator that the present
war is likely to spread and intensify in the coming months.

Unnoticed amidst coverage of the war, Iran has rejected a UN resolution
demanding it halt uranium enrichment. Condoleezza Rice anticipates that on
the nuclear issue: "when the Iranians get past this August 31 deadline, I
think they're going to see sanctions from the international system that are
going to start to make life pretty miserable." Ehud Olmert, the Israeli
prime minister, stated back in April that the decisive point in Iran's
development of nuclear arms would come in months.

Both the Iranian and US governments regard the fighting in Lebanon and
Israel as related to their own conflict. President Bush made the end of
Iranian and Syrian support of Hizbullah a condition of any ceasefire, though
he has since softened his stance at the UN. Condoleezza Rice remarked that
"we do know that this is more than just Hizbullah in Lebanon. This is an
extension of Iranian power through a proxy war." 

US Intelligence Chief, John Negroponte, told the US Senate Intelligence
Committee earlier this year that Iran regarded Hizbullah as "a critical
regime safeguard by deterring US and Israeli attacks". With Hezbollah
already at war, this "safeguard" is in the process of being removed.

Iran has threatened a world oil price crisis in response to UN sanctions. We
do not now know if China, France and Russia will support sanctions or if US
will once more regard the UN's failure as a license to act militarily. These
"ifs" require a close look at the US, Israeli and Iranian political
intentions and military capabilities.

American intentions towards Iran are fairly clear. If diplomacy and
sanctions fail to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions then military force must be
used. No one should be shocked that William Kristol, the neoconservative
leader, has already called for a military strike on Iran in response to
Hizbullah's attack on Israel.

Seymour Hersh's articles claim that President Bush ordered war against Iran
shortly after the President's re-election in 2004. His claim that Bush is
determined not to leave Iran to a future president and that he has support
from leading Democrats is born out by numerous conversations I have had with
colleagues in Washington. As a senior staffer to Senator Kerry put it: "why
should people object if we carry out disarmament militarily?"

There are plenty more reports that war with Iran is either underway or in
preparation. Special forces "prepare for Iran attack" wrote Robert Fox back
in 2003. Pat Buchanan's American Conservative argues along with Hersh that
vice-president Cheney has prepared a war plan for Iran including the use of
nuclear weapons by summer 2005. Scott Ritter has claimed that President Bush
ordered that the US be ready to attack Iran at any point after June 2005 and
Newsweek reported that the administration was considering options for regime
change. The Atlantic Monthly concluded after conducting a wargame that
attacking Iran was too risky. The powerpoint slides from that game provide a
glimpse into the world of war planning. Their analysis assumes a large
ground invasion, clearly not a favoured option of either Don Rumsfeld or the
American public. Most recently, the eminent investigative writer, James
Bamford, has described a neoconservative push for regime change.

Speculation aside, we do know that Don Rumsfeld has placed US forces on
alert. "We're now at the point where we are essentially on alert,"
lieutenant-colonel Bruce Carlson, commander of the 8th Air Force, said. "We
have the capacity to plan and execute global strikes in half a day or less."

Under the command of marine-general James Cartwright, US Global Strike
planning has the potential to destroy over 10,000 targets in Iran in one
mission with "smart" conventional weapons. US government documents obtained
by Hans Kristensen and analysed by William Arkin has described the
development of this Global Strike capability.

Awaiting his orders, George Bush has more than 200 strategic bombers
(B52-B1-B2-F117A) and US Navy Tomahawk cruise missiles. One B2 bomber
dropped 80,500lb bombs on separate targets in 22 seconds in a test flight.
Using just half the available force, 10,000 targets could be attacked almost
simultaneously. This strike power alone is sufficient to destroy all major
Iranian political, military, economic and transport capabilities.

Such a strike would take "shock and awe" to a new level and leave Iran with
few if any conventional military capabilities to block the straights of
Hormuz or provide conventional military support to insurgents in Iraq. If
this was not enough, the latest generation of smart bombs now being
delivered to the US air force quadruples the number of weapons all US
warplanes can carry.

Placing forces on high alert, no more means that the US will actually use
them. However, in combination with an increasing crisis, high alert levels
mean we should be extra careful how we move forward. We should heed Tony
Blair. When Mike Gapes MP, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, queried
the prime minister's equivocation over pre-emptive war on Iran, asking:
"Does that mean, then, we are just left with sanctions? Mr Blair replied:
"It means that you take this a step at a time."

=========

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/dan_plesch/2006/08/post_288.html

=========
*****************************************************************
 8 IPS-English EUROPE: Swedish Nuclear Incident Sparks Safety
 
Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 15:35:13 -0700

X-Nohoney: yes white-hard - relay H=adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net (borg.energy-net.org) [63.203.231.61]
X-Sender-Host-Address: 63.203.231.61
X-Sender-Host-Name: adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST

<x-flowed>
ROMAIPS EU IP EN=20
EUROPE: Swedish Nuclear Incident Sparks Safety Concern
By Lisa Monique S=F6derlindh=20

STOCKHOLM, Aug 9 (IPS) - While the sudden scram of a Swedish nuclear reac=
tor Jul. 25 is yet to be thoroughly clarified, the incident has fuelled a=
  longstanding rift between opponent voices on Swedish nuclear power safet=
y.

Atomic experts have declared an end to emergency proceedings prompted by =
the incident at the Forsmark 1 reactor, located some 200 kilometres north=
  of Stockholm. But the revealed deficiencies in the electric system, foll=
owing a short circuit in a unit that supplies power to the reactor, must =
be taken seriously, states the initial report launched Friday last week b=
y the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI).

=94No more reactors need to be shut down but it is important to realise t=
hat the Forsmark incident may occur at other Swedish and international nu=
clear power reactors with the same safety construction,=94 director-gener=
al of SKI Judith Melin told IPS after the nuclear authority's primary ana=
lyses.

Four of Sweden's ten nuclear reactors using the same backup power system =
as the scrammed reactor have been shut down for review and will remain of=
f the grid until their safety is secured and the root causes of the subse=
quent disturbances have been completely clarified.

While the responsibility for safety is regulated by Swedish law and rests=
  entirely with the holder of the licence to operate a nuclear facility, S=
KI ensures that each license takes its responsibility and supervises all =
nuclear activities in Sweden.

=94We are awaiting Forsmark's own report on the incident and it will take=
  at least another week until we are done with our investigation,=94 said =
Melin. =94Any possibly needed changes at international nuclear plants mus=
t be investigated individually.=94

While the complete fault analyses and an action plan is yet to be determi=
ned by SKI, environmentalists have deemed the Forsmark incident another n=
ail in the coffin of nuclear safety.

=94We have long known that security at Swedish nuclear power plants is no=
t as good as the SKI and the industry claim it to be,=94 Swedish Green Pa=
rty Speaker Maria Wetterstrand told IPS.

The Forsmark incident has clearly reaffirmed that =94nuclear power is not=
  a safe energy resource -- neither the operation of the nuclear plants ca=
n be trusted, nor the security of nuclear energy supply,=94 said Wetterst=
rand.

She further argued that the incident would not have occurred if Swedish n=
uclear safety control had been better. She welcomed Green Party speaker P=
eter Eriksson's call for the Swedish government to appoint an independent=
  commission with international experts to investigate safety at Swedish n=
uclear power plants.

The leaders of other Swedish political parties, the Left, the Liberal and=
  the Centre Party, have also echoed the need for an independent investiga=
tion. The environmental group Greenpeace has made a similar demand.

According to SKI's initial assessments and Claes-Inge Andersson, head of =
communications at Forsmark's Kraftgrupp, which runs the plant, the incide=
nt could most probably not have been foreseen through any form of investi=
gation, or avoided by more extensive nuclear safety research.

Unexpected technical issues at nuclear plants are expected -- that is why=
  they are equipped with several back-up systems, both parties stressed in=
  interviews with IPS.

=94Two of the four back-up diesel generators failed to start automaticall=
y following on the short circuit, but the two functioning generators were=
  sufficient to run the cooling system, which proves that the reactor safe=
ty functioned successfully,=94 said Andersson.

He also noted that Forsmark will be receiving a review, supposedly this w=
eek, by the German company AEG, which stands behind the design of the uni=
nterrupted power supply (UPS) used at the scrammed reactor. =94We are hop=
ing that this will thoroughly clarify the faults,=94 said Andersson.

=94Incidents like this can always occur, and the international nuclear sa=
fety system is based on the exchange of experiences and information on wh=
at changes needs to be done when incidents happen,=94 argued Melin, also =
underlining that there had never been any risk of a meltdown.

SKI ranked the Forsmark incident as a number two on the 0-7 International=
  Nuclear Event Scale (INES), with 7 being the most serious kind of accide=
nt.

The INES scale is used by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a=
nd was launched in 1990 as a tool to communicate the safety significance =
of nuclear accidents.

=94A number two means that the incident was unexpected and entailed a saf=
ety significance but that it did not endanger life or health in practice,=
=94 Janne Wallenius, associate professor of nuclear and reactor physics a=
t the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm told IPS.

Incidents ranked number two is nothing unique for Sweden, added Wallenius=
. =94It is a regular occurring level of incidents at worldwide nuclear po=
wer plants, and happens once every second year, according to IAEA statist=
ics.=94

The Swedish nuclear power reactors are built on the same basic design and=
  safety principle as some 300 of the 442 nuclear plants currently in oper=
ation worldwide. Wallenius said they are therefore neither more or less s=
afe than the majority of the world's reactors used for energy production.

But even though no damage was done, the Forsmark incident exposed a serio=
us construction weakness that must be built away.

=94The follow-up work is now very important, we must learn from the curre=
nt investigation and effectively undertake the needed measures for contin=
ued safety at Swedish and international nuclear plants,=94 Carl-Erik Wikd=
ahl, senior consultant at the Swedish Nuclear Safety and Training Centre'=
s (KSU) analysis group told IPS.

He also pointed to the vital need for maintaining highly competent operat=
ional staff at the Swedish nuclear reactors to uphold safety -- a challen=
ge that has grown with the politically intensified pressure on phasing ou=
t nuclear energy.

=94The longstanding discussion about the nuclear phase-out makes it more =
and more difficult to recruit competent staff,=94 said Wikdahl, noting th=
at there has been a big drop of newly educated engineers over the last ye=
ars.

Sweden has been producing nuclear power since the early 1970s, during whi=
ch decade the Centre Party started its anti-nuclear debate, and demonstra=
tors began roaming the streets.

The Swedish government is today bound to phase out nuclear power followin=
g a referendum in 1980. It is empowered to take such a decision after the=
  Law on Nuclear Phase-Out was passed in 1997.

Since then, two of the original 12 reactors have been closed, leaving ten=
  power-producing reactors at three sites: Forsmark, Oskarshamn and Ringha=
ls.

While pressure to speed up the planned phase-out of nuclear power in Swed=
en has intensified since the law of 1997, Sweden's electricity consumptio=
n has been rising, and Sweden has one of the highest per capita level of =
consumption in Europe today. Nuclear power accounts for nearly half of th=
e electricity generated in Sweden.
*****
+ Forsmark Kraftgrupp (http://www.forsmark.com/)
+ International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA (http://www.iaea.org/)
+ Swedish Green Party, MP (http://mp.se/)
+ Greenpeace (http://www.greenpeace.org/sweden/)
+ Swedish Nuclear Inspectorate, SKI (http://www.ski.se)
+ Swedish Nuclear Safety and Training Center, KSU (http://www.ksu.se/)
+ The Royal Institute of Technology, KTH (http://www.kth.se/)

(END/IPS/EU/IP/EN/LS/SS/06)





=20
=3D 08091131 ORP007
NNNN

</x-flowed>
*****************************************************************
 9 [NukeNet] A Close Call With Swedish Nuclear Catastrophe?
 
Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 15:38:43 -0700

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Nuclear Mishap: A Close Call
with Catastrophe in Sweden?

   August 4, 2006

An observer has called last week's mishap in Sweden the worst 
incident to befall a nuclear power plant since the accident at 
Chernobyl. Nobody was injured, but for 22 minutes, workers had no 
idea what was happening in the reactor's core. Swedish officials 
have taken half the country's nuclear power plants offline until 
it can ensure their safe operation.

Sweden's nuclear power station in Forsmark: the worst nuclear 
incident since Chernobyl and Harrisburg?

DPASweden's nuclear power station in Forsmark: the worst nuclear 
incident since Chernobyl and Harrisburg?

Sweden's nuclear energy authority, SKI, has largely completed its 
reconstruction of events in an accident last week that led to the 
closure of a nuclear power plant in the city of Forsmark and, 
ultimately, the shutdown of half the country's nuclear plants as 
a precautionary measure. In the incident, two of the plant's four 
backup generators malfunctioned when the plant experienced a 
major power outage on July 25. According to officials, who 
described the event as "serious," a short-circuit triggered the 
accident, which caused a cut in power to the nuclear facility. 
Plant workers told Swedish media that it came close to a 
meltdown.

In fact, the only thing that appears to have stopped a 
catastrophe is the fact that two diesel backup generators kicked 
in, enabling the Forsmark facility to operate at least part of 
its emergency cooling system. Still, for 20 minutes, workers were 
unable to obtain information about the condition of the reactor 
and they were only able to respond after 21 minutes and 41 
seconds, according to a report in Germany's Hamburger Abendblatt 
newspaper.

Swedish media are reporting that a previously unknown technical 
problem emerged during the emergency that could also be present 
in all other Swedish nuclear reactors.

3 Posts,<br />Latest Post: 07/04<br />By

In its first report, nuclear authority SKI claimed that operators 
of the nuclear plant had reacted correctly during the emergency. 
"In my opinion, the media is exaggerating the issue," said Jan 
Blomstrang, a member of SKI's committee for reactor security. The 
two generators that were still operating, he said, could have 
provided sufficient energy for the reactors if it had been 
necessary. The agency is expected to release a comprehensive 
report in the coming days.

On Thursday, Swedish officials shut down two further nuclear 
power plants as a safety precaution. Plant operators said the 
move was necessary because they could not guarantee the security 
of nuclear facilities in the city of Oskarshamm. A spokesman for 
the company that operates the Oskarshamm plant said he could not 
rule out the possibility of an incident happening like that at 
Forsmark.

After an emergency meeting of SKI officials, spokesman Anders 
Bredfall said that both nuclear power plants in Oskarshamm would 
be taken offline until investigators were able to deteremine 
whether the backup generators at that plant could fail in the 
same way as those in Forsmark.

Official: Worst incident since Chernobyl

Swedish nuclear energy expert Lars-Olov H?nd, head of the 
construction department at Swedish utility company Vattenfall -- 
and onetime boss at the Forsmark reactor -- has described last 
week's problems as the "worst incident since Chernobyl and 
Harrisburg," a reference to the 1979 meltdown at Three-Mile 
Island in Pennsylvania. He accused the plant's operators of 
trying to play down the seriousness of the event. For their part, 
officials at Swedish nuclear authority SKI have rejected H?nd's 
assessment, describing it as "exaggerated."



Following the latest shutdowns, only five of Sweden's 10 nuclear 
power plants are still operating. Nuclear power accounts for 
close to half of the electricity produced in Sweden and the 
shutdowns triggered record price increases. But the Swedish 
government's energy agency said the nation's electricity supply 
was not currently at great risk because it can rely more on 
hydropower during the summer months.

Sweden is in the process of abandoning nuclear energy -- a policy 
that has led to the shut down of two of the country's total of 12 
plants since 1999. However, against a backdrop of concerns about 
climate change and energy dependency, recent public opinion polls 
indicate that an increasing number of Swedes would like to go on 
using nuclear power.

dsl/reuters/afp/ap

? SPIEGEL ONLINE 2006
*****************************************************************
 10 RIA Novosti: SUAL, Russian nuclear agency ink cooperation memo
 
09/ 08/ 2006

MOSCOW, August 9 (RIA Novosti) - SUAL and the Federal Agency for
Nuclear Power have signed a memorandum of cooperation in
building aluminum production and energy generating facilities,
the Russian aluminum producer said Wednesday.

 The agreement follows a similar memorandum signed by the
nuclear agency and another Russian aluminum giant, Rusal,
earlier in the day.

 The memo signed with SUAL focuses on joint long-term investment
projects.

 Under the document, SUAL and the agency-controlled Research
Institute for Nuclear Power Plant Operation (VNIIAES) will set
up a headquarters for talks on implementing joint projects,
determining construction sites, developing mechanisms for
cooperation and setting the terms of project contracts.

 One of the world's top 10 aluminum companies, SUAL has
enterprises in nine Russian regions and in Ukraine, and annually
mines over 5.4 million metric tons of bauxite, some 2.3 mln
metric tons of alumina, over 1 mln tons of primary aluminum, and
about 60,000 metric tons of silicon. It also manufactures
aluminum products, including foil, wire, and wheel rims, and
exports 80% of its production. 

© 2005 RIA Novosti   
*****************************************************************
 11 Grist Magazine: Blair's rigged energy review 

| Gristmill: The environmental news blog | 

Posted by David Roberts at 11:48 AM on 09 Aug 2006 

Remember the (PDF) done by Tony Blair's UK government about a 
month ago? The one that , which coincidentally was a position 
Blair had been propounding for months beforehand? 

Well, : 

Key consultants working on the government's controversial energy 
review, which recommended a new generation of nuclear power 
stations, have strong links to the nuclear industry, The Observer 
can reveal.
 
Experts on both sides of the debate criticised the use of AEA
Technology, formed by the privatisation of the Atomic Energy
Authority, to handle hundreds of submissions to the review's
public consultation earlier this year. The company has sold most
of its nuclear businesses, but still has a nuclear waste unit,
and senior executives and staff have links to the old authority
and other parts of the nuclear industry.
 
Critics claim objections to nuclear energy were ignored or
misrepresented in AEA Technology's report. However, The Observer
can reveal that the report found nuclear power got by far the
lowest support of 15 energy options. The revelations will add to
widespread criticism that the review, published last month, was
a 'sham', designed to push through nuclear energy because it was
favoured by the Prime Minister. 

Read the whole story. It's not pretty. 

Grist Magazine: Environmental News and Commentary
 [a beacon in the smog (tm)] ©2006. Grist Magazine, Inc. All
*****************************************************************
 12 The Enquirer: U.S. should embrace nuclear power

Opinion

Last Updated: 5:32 am | Wednesday, August 9, 2006
 					   				 			
William M. Selenke

Is the current heat wave part of a global warming? If there is 
global warming, is that part of the regular cycles of nature, or 
has man affected climate by releasing CO2?

Whatever the answer to this question, there is no doubt that with 
the industrialization and material advance of the peoples of 
India and China will cause a long-term shortage of oil. Gasoline 
prices will only go up except for short times.

Al Gore is famously preaching that CO2 is causing global warming, 
and that if CO2 does not lessen, the Earth is 
doomed.

The U.S. Navy has operated hundreds of nuclear-powered vessels 
for decades using sailors trained just out of high school. The 
Navy has a record of thousands of reactor years without a serious 
incident. Many of the reactors were of unique design, so we have 
a huge backlog of design experience with nuclear reactors. In 
addition, the advent of modern electronics has created a 
situation in which human error is minimized.

If Gore is serious about the death of civilization as we know it, 
what harm can nuclear power do?
z Note that energy is fungible in the long term. As new nuclear 
plants come on line, the amount of natural gas burned for 
electrical power will be lessened.

If we replace coal-burning plants with uranium plants, the CO2 
goes down and the environment is not raped. A huge amount of 
diesel is burned to extract surface coal and to transport it over 
thousands of miles in trains of hundreds of cars.

Likewise, if enough nuclear power is available, it can be used to 
run cars. That is, one would modify hybrid cars to have larger 
batteries. At night the nuclear electricity would charge the 
vehicle for the morning commute. At work the vehicle is recharged 
for the drive home. Note, no CO2 and minimal gasoline burned.

Either our public officials are ignorant, gutless or don't 
believe in global warning. France has been generating most of its 
electricity from nuclear plants for decades.

The United States should start on a crash program to build 
nuclear plants as quickly as possible to lessen the emission of 
CO2, reduce the burning of natural gas, and to replace our 
currently aging nuclear plants. Democrats, here is a winning 
issue for you.

William M. Selenke is a registered patent agent who received his 
doctorate in environmental health from the University of 
Cincinnati. He lives in Greenhills. 

Copyright © 1995-2006:

updated June 7, 2005.
*****************************************************************
 13 IAEA: Reports & Reviews Highlight Changing Nuclear World
 
+ [IAEA.ORG :: Atoms for Peace] 

Staff Report
 7 August 2006 [IAEA Annual Report 2005] 
IAEA Annual Report for 2005. 
  + Story Resources 
  + IAEA Annual Report 2005 
  + Nuclear Technology Review [pdf] 
  + Safeguards Implementation 
  + Coordinated Research Report
  + Reports & Reviews 
  + IAEA General Conference 

Recently released IAEA annual reports and reviews take stock of
the changing nuclear world, and highlight safety, security, and
development issues heavily influencing the Agency´s agenda. 

The reports are issued annually in advance of the IAEA General
Conference of Member States, which this year opens 18 September
in Vienna. 

The reports include the Annual Report for 2005 and Nuclear
Technology Review 2006. Also issued recently was a summary of
the latest Safeguards Implementation Report and the annual
report of the IAEA Coordinated Research Activities. In the
coming weeks, the Nuclear Safety Review and the Technical
Cooperation Annual Report for 2005 will be issued, among other
documents being submitted to the General Conference. 

For more information, see Story Resources. Copyright ©,
International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer
Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria 
Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail:
Official.Mail@iaea.org


*****************************************************************
 14 Hudson Valley News: Beacon supports independent assessment of Indian Point   

Wednesday, August 9, 2006 

  Beacon  The Beacon City Council has gone on record in support
of a proposal to conduct an independent safety assessment of the
Indian Point 2 and 3 nuclear power plants in Buchanan. 

City Administrator Joseph Braun said Beacon is only 17 miles
from the facilities, and the members want to make sure the plant
is operating as it should. 

There are a number of people that want to have the NRC have an
unbiased assessment made or both Indian Point 2 and 3, and have
voted for a resolution supporting the action by Congress to have
an analysis similar to the one done on the Maine Yankee
facility, which was subsequently closed as a result of that
analysis, he said. 

Braun said it is hoped that such an analysis would prove Indian
Point to be operating safely, something its parent company,
Entergy maintains is the case. 

  HEAR today's news on MidHudsonRadio.com, the Hudson Valley's
                only Internet radio news report. 
  
*****************************************************************
 15 Brattleboro Reformer: VY tax assessment upheld by Vernon board

By ANDY ROSEN, Reformer Staff  

Wednesday, August 9 VERNON -- The town's Board of Civil Authority 
has rejected Vermont Yankee's appeal of its property tax 
assessment, which rose by more than 25 percent this year. 

After board members toured the plant, they ruled that the
plant's property value should remain at recent assessment of
$239.4 million. The decision also to maintains an additional $35
million assessed for the plant's fuel. 

The decision was approved at a meeting Tuesday, and will likely
be signed today. 

Now that the board has made its decision, the matter is
essentially out of the town's hands. If plant officials want to
further contest the assessment, they'll have to take it up with
a state assessor or at Vermont District Court. Vermont Yankee
has 30 days to decide whether to appeal the decision. 

The town and plant have been wrangling over the plant's value
since early June, when Vernon released its updated grand list.
Vermont Yankee's value jumped from $180 million last year, after
the town decided that a 2000 tax agreement with plant owners was
no longer valid. 

Entergy Nuclear, the company that owns the plant, has now asked
both the Board of Listers and the Board of Civil Authority to
reconsider the new value. Both requests were denied. 

The town and plant owners had been engaged a "tax stabilization
agreement," which set the plant's value from year to year at a
declining rate. 

But this year, the Selectboard decided Vermont Yankee's recent
20 percent uprate had nullified the agreement, figuring the
plant's increased outpout meant the plant had an increased
worth. The Selectboard directed the Board of Listers to set a
new value. 

comment 

 » Vernon rejects Vermont YankeeÂąs appeal to lower value of
nuclear plant   

Since the agreement was signed in 2000, the plant's value had
been set by the terms of the deal -- not the Board of Listers,
like other properties in Vernon. 

The tax agreement calls for the plant's value to decline
steadily through 2010, from $165 million this year, to $150
million next year, to $130 million the following year, to $120
million in 2010. The deal was actually drawn between the town
and Amergen, a company that tried unsuccessfully to buy the
plant in 2000. The agreement was transferred to Entergy when it
bought Vermont Yankee. 

Last year, the Vermont Yankee paid Vernon $1,224,900 in
municipal taxes on the $180 million assessment, which included
all of the plant's real and personal property, including fuel. 

Jim Polhemus, chairman of the Board of Civil Authority, said the
board didn't take the tax stabilization agreement into account
when it weighed Entergy's appeal. 

"We were just dealing with the grieved assessment. That's the
only thing that we as a board can deal with." he said. "We don't
have anything to do with whether (the agreement) comes into
play." 

Rob Williams, spokesman for Vermont Yankee, declined to comment
on the decision before seeing it in writing. Plant officials did
not attend Tuesday's meeting. And he reiterated Vermont Yankee's
position on the matter. 

"Our view has been that the stabilization agreement remains in
effect and is valid," Williams said. 

The plant pays its education tax directly to the state, which
sends money back to Vernon. That tax rate is unaffected by this
issue. 

But as far as municipal taxes go, Vermont Yankee's increase in
value has a significant effect on the rest of the property in
town. 

The town tax rate for this year has gone down from 68 to about
46 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Treasurer Sally
Brassor said about 7 cents of that decrease came from last
year's budget surplus. 

The remainder of the reduction came from the rising assessments
of Vermont Yankee and other properties in town, and most of that
can be attributed to the plant. 

Andy Rosen can be reached at or (802) 254-2311, ext. 275. 

» (802) 254-2311 » 62 Black Mountain Road » Brattleboro, VT 
05301-9242                    
*****************************************************************
 16 BBJ: Calvert County gives Constellation tax incentives for nuclear expansion - 

Baltimore Business Journal: 

Calvert County, which reaps millions in taxes from Constellation 
Energy Group Inc.'s Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant, voted Tuesday 
to give financial assistance to support the construction of a 
third reactor at the Southern Maryland facility. 

In a statement announcing the decision to grant property tax 
credit incentives to Baltimore-based Constellation, the Calvert 
County commissioners cited the "staggering" tax benefits that 
could come with the project. 

The existing plant, located in Lusby, has two reactors. It has
paid more than $173 million in taxes since it opened in 1973,
Calvert County officials said. Constellation is the county's
biggest taxpayer. The two existing reactors at Calvert Cliffs
have received extended licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission. One license runs through 2034 and the other through
2036. 

Construction of a new reactor at Calvert Cliffs is expected to
bring about 400 new jobs and 3,200 construction jobs over a
five-year building period. 

The announcement comes as several power companies, including
Constellation (NYSE: CEG), are launching efforts to build new
nuclear plants. 

Last September, Constellation announced a joint venture with
Areva Inc., a Bethesda-based subsidiary of France's state-owned
nuclear power company, to build at least four new nuclear
reactors at sites around the country including Calvert Cliffs. 

The Annapolis-based partnership, called UniStar Nuclear,
announced Aug. 3 that the key components for its joint venture
will be made at an Indiana-based manufacturing plant. 

 bizjournals| BizSpace.com| Jobs| bizwomen.com

© 2006 American City Business Journals, Inc. and its licensors.
*****************************************************************
 17 NRC: South Texas request for action

                        FR Doc E6-12912 

[Federal Register: August 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 153)] 
[Notices] [Page 45586-45587] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09au06-126]                         

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499; License Nos. NPF-76 and NPF-80]
 
STP Nuclear Operating Company; Receipt of Request for Action 

Under 10 CFR 2.206

    Notice is hereby given that by petition dated May 16, 2006, 
and its supplement dated June 26, 2006, Mr. Glenn Adler 
(petitioner) has requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) take action with regard to South Texas Project 
Electric Generating Station. The petitioner requests that NRC 
take enforcement action in the form of a Demand for Information 
that would require the STP Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC), 
the licensee for the South Texas Project Electric Generating 
Station (STP), to provide NRC with docketed copies of the 
following:

     Any assessments of the safety conscious work environment 
(SCWE) at STP conducted since January 1, 2004;

     Summaries of any associated action plans and the results of 
any efforts to remedy problems revealed by these surveys, 
including the following documents mentioned at an August 2005 
meeting apparently convened to discuss the plant's SCWE, which 
contains--

--a [strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats] SWOT 
analysis to assess the issues and actions required and follow-up 
on these actions to improve station alignment,

--outsourcing lessons learned, and

--an evaluation of information technology, supply chain, 
technical training, and Wackenhut to assess the issues and 
recommended actions;

     Summaries of any associated action plans and the results of 
efforts to remedy problems revealed by such surveys in 2001 and 
2003; and

     All correspondence between NRC, STPNOC, and Wackenhut 
Corporation concerning the 2001, 2003, and 2005 Comprehensive 
Cultural Assessments (CCAs).

    As a basis for this request, the petitioner states that NRC 
issued an order in 1998 requiring STP to conduct periodic surveys 
by an independent survey research firm, after NRC found that the 
licensee had violated Federal law by subjecting four employees to 
a ``hostile work environment'' after the employees raised safety 
concerns. The licensee hired Synergy Consulting Services 
Corporation to conduct surveys. The Wackenhut Corporation took 
over security at STP in July 2001, after winning a 3-year 
contract for security, with an option for an additional 2 years. 
The petitioner further states that in the 2001 and 2003 CCAs, 
Wackenhut scored poorly on independent surveys assessing the 
STPNOC's nuclear safety culture, safety conscious work 
environment, general culture and work environment, leadership, 
management, and supervisory skills and practices at STP. The 
petitioner states that the STPNOC's performance deteriorated 
below its 2001 performance and that Wackenhut's performance 
problems continued as indicated in the 2005 CCA. The petitioner 
also states that STPNOC's action plans apparently were not 
successful in respect to Wackenhut and other entities and it is 
important for NRC to scrutinize the steps taken by STPNOC to 
rectify problems identified in the 2001, 2003, and 2005 cultural 
surveys. The petitioner concludes that, by obtaining the 
documents identified, NRC will be better informed about any 
improvements in STPNOC's SCWE. The petitioner also concludes that 
NRC will be better able to assess the effectiveness of previous 
redresses with Wackenhut and other entities, for whom problems 
persisted, despite STPNOC's apparently repeated efforts to remedy 
them.

    The request is being treated pursuant to Title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations Section 2.206 (10 CFR 2.206) of the 
Commission's regulations. As provided by 10 CFR 2.206, the agency 
will take appropriate action on this petition within a reasonable 
time. A copy of the petition is available for inspection at the 
Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White 
Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first 
floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be 
accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at 
the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

 Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter 
problems in accessing the documents located in [[Page 45587]] 
ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 
1-800- 397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of July 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. J.E. Dyer, Director, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-12912 Filed 
8-8-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
 
*****************************************************************
 18 NRC: Shearon Harris proposed amendment

                        FR Doc E6-12913
 
[Federal Register: August 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 153)] 
[Notices] [Page 45583-45584] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09au06-122]                         

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-400]
 
Carolina Power & Light Company; Notice of Partial Withdrawal of 
Application for Amendment to Facility Operating License

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has 
granted the request of Carolina Power & Light Company (the 
licensee) to partially withdraw its August 18, 2005, application 
for proposed amendment to Facility Operating License No. NPF-63 
for Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 1 (HNP), located 
in Wake and Chatham Counties, North Carolina.

    The proposed amendment would have allowed the use of 
fire-resistive electrical cable at HNP for protection of safe 
shutdown electrical cables. On May 1, 2006, the NRC staff issued 
Amendment No. 123 to the HNP Facility Operating License 
authorizing the use of fire-resistive electrical cable for the 
specific application of the volume control tank outlet valves, 
1CS-165 and 1CS-166, in certain fire areas. In addition, the NRC 
staff stated that it would continue to review the proposed 
changes in the final safety analysis report to reflect the use of 
the fire-resistive electrical cable in other applications. The 
licensee requested to discontinue the review of the proposed 
changes to reflect the use of the fire-resistive electrical cable 
in other applications.

    The Commission had previously issued a Notice of 
Consideration of Issuance of Amendment published in [[Page 
45584]] the Federal Register on November 8, 2005 (70 FR 67745). 
However, by letter dated June 5, 2006, the licensee partially 
withdrew the proposed change.

    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for amendment dated August 18, 2005, as supplemented 
by letter dated February 15, 2006, and the licensee's letter 
dated June 5, 2006, which withdrew the application for license 
amendment. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at 
the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint 
North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first 
floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be 
accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on 
the Internet at the NRC Web site, 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html.

 Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter 
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should 
contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 
1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of July, 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. L. Raghavan, Chief, 
Plant Licensing Branch II-2, Division of Operating Reactor 
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

 [FR Doc. E6-12913 Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
 
*****************************************************************
 19 NRC: ACRS Meeting 8-23/4

                        FR Doc E6-12914 

[Federal Register: August 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 153)] 
[Notices] [Page 45587] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09au06-128]                         

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
 
Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Subcommittee Meeting on 
Thermal-Hydraulic Phenomena; Notice of Meeting

    The ACRS Subcommittee on Thermal-Hydraulic Phenomena will 
hold a meeting on August 23-24, 2006, 11545 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland in Room T-2B3.

    The entire meeting will be open to public attendance, with 
the exception of portions that may be closed to discuss 
proprietary information of General Electric and other screen 
vendors pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b( c)(4).

    The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: 
Wednesday, August 23, 2006--8:30 a.m. until the conclusion of 
business; Thursday, August 24, 2006--8:30 a.m. until the 
conclusion of business.

    The Subcommittee will hear presentations from the Nuclear 
Energy Institute, the PWR Owners Group and several PWR sump 
screen vendors concerning their response to GSI-191 issues, 
including sump screen designs and testing, chemical effects, and 
downstream effects. The Subcommittee will also hear presentations 
by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff, 
their contractors and other interested persons regarding this 
matter. The Subcommittee will gather information, analyze 
relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and 
actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee.

    Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements 
and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal 
Official, Mr. Ralph Caruso (Telephone: 301-415-8065) five days 
prior to the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate 
arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings will be permitted 
only during those portions of the meeting that are open to the 
public.

    Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by 
contacting the Designated Federal Official between 7:30 a.m. and 
4:15 p.m. (ET). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged 
to contact the above named individual at least two working days 
prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes to 
the agenda.

    Dated: August 2, 2006.

Michael R. Snodderly, Branch Chief, ACRS/ACNW. [FR Doc. E6-12914 
Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
 
*****************************************************************
 20 NRC: 9Mile Pt corporate merger

                        FR Doc E6-12923 
[Federal Register: August 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 153)] 
[Notices] [Page 45584] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09au06-123]                         

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-220 and 50-410; License Nos. DPR-63 and NPF-69]
 
 In the Matter of Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC (Nine Mile 
Point Nuclear Station, Units Nos. 1 and 2); Order Approving 
Application Regarding Proposed Corporate Merger

I.

    Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC (NMP LLC or the 
licensee) holds Facility Operating License No. DPR-63 and 
co-holds Facility Operating License No. NPF-69, which authorize 
the possession, use, and operation of the Nine Mile Point Nuclear 
Station (the facility or NMP). NMP LLC is licensed by the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) to operate NMP. 
The facility is located at the licensee's site in Oswego County, 
New York.

II.

    By application dated January 23, 2006, as supplemented by 
letters dated April 25 and May 25, 2006 (collectively referred to 
herein as the application), Constellation Generation Group, LLC 
(CGG LLC), acting on behalf of NMP LLC, requested that the NRC, 
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, consent to the proposed indirect 
transfer of control of the licenses to the extent currently held 
by NMP LLC. Long Island Power Authority holds a 18-percent 
ownership interest in NMP Unit 2, but is not involved in this 
action.

    According to the application filed by CGG LLC, NMP Unit 1 is 
wholly owned by NMP LLC, and NMP Unit 2 is 82% owned by NMP LLC. 
NMP LLC is wholly owned by Constellation Nuclear Power Plants, 
Inc., which is wholly-owned by CGG LLC.

    As stated in the application, in connection with the merger 
of CGG LLC's parent company, Constellation Energy Group, Inc. 
(CEG, Inc.), and FPL Group, Inc. (FPL Group), FPL Group will 
become a wholly owned subsidiary of CEG, Inc. At the closing of 
the merger, the former shareholders of FPL Group will own 
approximately 60% of the outstanding stock of CEG, Inc., and the 
pre-merger shareholders of CEG, Inc., will own the remaining 
approximately 40%. In addition, the CEG, Inc., board of directors 
will be composed of fifteen members, nine of whom will be named 
by FPL Group, and six of whom will be named by the current CEG, 
Inc. NMP LLC will continue to own its current interests in and 
operate the facility and hold the licenses.

    Approval of the indirect transfer of the facility operating 
licenses was requested by CGG LLC pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80. 
Notice of the request for approval and an opportunity for a 
hearing was published in the Federal Register on February 22, 
2006 (71 FR 9175). Comments and a petition to intervene were 
received from the Maryland Office of the People's Counsel. 
However, the petition to intervene was dismissed by the Secretary 
of the Commission by order dated March 17, 2006.

    Under 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder, 
shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of 
control of the license, unless the Commission shall give its 
consent in writing. Upon review of the information in the 
application by CGG LLC and other information before the 
Commission, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed merger and 
resulting indirect transfer of control of the licenses will not 
affect the qualifications of NMP LLC as holder of the NMP 
licenses, and that the indirect transfer of control of the 
licenses as held by NMP LLC, is otherwise consistent with the 
applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by 
the Commission pursuant thereto.

    The findings set forth above are supported by a safety 
evaluation dated August 3, 2006.

III.

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), 42 U.S.C. 
2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, it is hereby 
ordered that the application regarding the proposed merger and 
indirect license transfers is approved, subject to the following 
condition:

    Should the proposed merger not be completed within one year 
from the date of issuance, this Order shall become null and void, 
provided, however, upon written application and good cause shown, 
such date may in writing be extended.

    This Order is effective upon issuance.

    For further details with respect to this Order, see the 
initial application dated January 23, 2006, as supplemented by 
letter dated April 25 and May 25, 2006, and the safety evaluation 
dated August 3, 2006, which are available for public inspection 
at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One 
White Flint North, Public File Area 01 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland and accessible electronically 
from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC 
Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

 Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter 
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should 
contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415- 4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 3rd day of August 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Catherine Haney, 
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-12923 Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 
am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
 
*****************************************************************
 21 NRC: Calvert Cliffs spent fuel storage 

                        FR Doc E6-12924 

[Federal Register: August 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 153)] 
[Notices] [Page 45583] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09au06-121] [[Page 45583]]

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-317, 50-318, and 72-8; Renewed License Nos. 
DPR-53 and DPR-69, and Materials License No. SNM-2505]
 
In the Matter of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc. 
(Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, and 
Calvert Cliffs Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation); 
Order Approving Application Regarding Proposed Corporate Merger

I.
    Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc. (CCNPP Inc. or the 
licensee) is the holder of Renewed Facility Operating Licenses 
Nos. DPR-53 and DPR-69, which authorize the possession, use, and 
operation of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (the facility 
or CCNPP), and Materials License No. SNM-2505, which authorizes 
the possession, use, and operation of the Calvert Cliffs 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (CCISFSI). CCNPP Inc. 
is licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or 
Commission) to operate CCNPP and CCISFSI. The facility is located 
at the licensee's site in Calvert County, Maryland.

II.

    By application dated January 23, 2006, as supplemented by 
letters dated April 25 and May 25, 2006 (collectively referred to 
herein as the application), Constellation Generation Group, LLC 
(CGG LLC), acting on behalf of CCNPP Inc., requested that the 
NRC, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, consent to the 
proposed indirect transfer of control of the licenses.

    According to the application filed by CGG LLC, on behalf of 
CCNPP Inc., CCNPP and CCISFSI are wholly owned by CCNPP Inc. 
CCNPP Inc. is wholly owned by Constellation Nuclear Power Plants, 
Inc.

    As stated in the application, in connection with the merger 
of CGG LLC's parent company, Constellation Energy Group, Inc. 
(CEG, Inc.), and FPL Group, Inc. (FPL Group), FPL Group will 
become a wholly owned subsidiary of CEG, Inc. At the closing of 
the merger, the former shareholders of FPL Group will own 
approximately 60% of the outstanding stock of CEG, Inc., and the 
pre-merger shareholders of CEG, Inc., will own the remaining 
approximately 40%. In addition, the CEG, Inc., board of directors 
will be composed of fifteen members, nine of whom will be named 
by FPL Group, and six of whom will be named by the current CEG, 
Inc. CCNPP Inc. will continue to own and operate the facility and 
the ISFSI and hold the licenses.

    Approval of the indirect transfer of the facility operating 
licenses and material license was requested by CGG LLC pursuant 
to 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50. Notice of the request for 
approval and an opportunity for a hearing was published in the 
Federal Register on February 22, 2006 (71 FR 9168). Comments and 
a petition to intervene were received from the Maryland Office of 
the People's Counsel. However, the petition to intervene was 
dismissed by the Secretary of the Commission by order dated March 
17, 2006.

    Under 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, no license, or any right 
thereunder, shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through 
transfer of control of the license, unless the Commission shall 
give its consent in writing. Upon review of the information in 
the application by CGG LLC and other information before the 
Commission, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed merger and 
resulting indirect transfer of control of the licenses will not 
affect the qualifications of CCNPP Inc. as a holder of the CCNPP 
and CCISFSI licenses, and that the indirect transfer of control 
of the licenses as held by CCNPP Inc., is otherwise consistent 
with the applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders 
issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.

    The findings set forth above are supported by a safety 
evaluation dated August 3, 2006.

III.

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), 42 U.S.C. 
2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, it 
is hereby ordered that the application regarding the proposed 
merger and indirect license transfer is approved, subject to the 
following condition:

    Should the proposed merger not be completed within one year 
from the date of issuance, this Order shall become null and void, 
provided, however, upon written application and good cause shown, 
such date may in writing be extended.

    This Order is effective upon issuance.

    For further details with respect to this Order, see the 
initial application dated January 23, 2006, as supplemented by 
letters dated April 25 and May 25, 2006, and the safety 
evaluation dated August 3, 2006, which are available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, Public File Area 01 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland and accessible 
electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet at the NRC Web site, 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

 Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter 
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should 
contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415- 4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 3rd day of August 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Catherine Haney, 
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-12924 Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 
am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
 
*****************************************************************
 22 NRC: Ginna Corporate Merger -CEG/FPL

                        FR Doc E6-12925 
[Federal Register: August 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 153)] 
[Notices] [Page 45585] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09au06-124] [[Page 45585]]

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-244; Renewed License No. DPR-18]
 
In the Matter of R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC (R.E. Ginna 
Nuclear Power Plant); Order Approving Application Regarding 
Proposed Corporate Merger

I. R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC (Ginna LLC or the 
licensee) is the holder of Renewed Facility Operating License No. 
DPR-18, which authorizes the possession, use, and operation of 
the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (the facility or Ginna). Ginna 
LLC is licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or 
Commission) to operate Ginna. The facility is located at the 
licensee's site in Wayne County, New York.

II.

    By application dated January 23, 2006, as supplemented by 
letters dated April 25 and May 25, 2006, (collectively referred 
to herein as the application), Constellation Generation Group, 
LLC (CGG LLC), acting on behalf of Ginna LLC, requested that the 
NRC, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, consent to the proposed indirect 
transfer of control of the license.

    According to the application filed by CGG LLC, Ginna is 
wholly owned by Ginna LLC. Ginna LLC is wholly owned by 
Constellation Nuclear Power Plants, Inc.

    As stated in the application, in connection with the proposed 
merger of CGG LLC's parent company, Constellation Energy Group, 
Inc. (CEG, Inc.), and FPL Group, Inc. (FPL Group), FPL Group will 
become a wholly owned subsidiary of CEG, Inc. At the closing of 
the merger, the former shareholders of FPL Group will own 
approximately 60% of the outstanding stock of CEG, Inc., and the 
pre-merger shareholders of CEG, Inc., will own the remaining 
approximately 40%. In addition, the CEG, Inc., board of directors 
will be composed of fifteen members, nine of whom will be named 
by FPL Group, and six of whom will be named by the current CEG, 
Inc. Ginna LLC will continue to own and operate the facility and 
hold the license.

    Approval of the indirect transfer of the facility operating 
license was requested by CGG LLC pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80. Notice 
of the request for approval and an opportunity for a hearing was 
published in the Federal Register on February 22, 2006 (71 FR 
9176). Comments and a petition to intervene were received from 
the Maryland Office of the People's Counsel. However, the 
petition to intervene was dismissed by the Secretary of the 
Commission by order dated March 17, 2006.

    Under 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder, 
shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of 
control of the license, unless the Commission shall give its 
consent in writing. Upon review of the information in the 
application by CGG LLC and other information before the 
Commission, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed merger and 
resulting indirect transfer of control of the license will not 
affect the qualifications of Ginna LLC as a holder of the Ginna 
license, and that the indirect transfer of control of the license 
as held by Ginna LLC, is otherwise consistent with the applicable 
provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the 
Commission pursuant thereto.

    The findings set forth above are supported by a safety 
evaluation dated August 3, 2006. III.

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), 42 U.S.C. 
2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, it is hereby 
ordered that the application regarding the proposed merger and 
indirect license transfer is approved, subject to the following 
condition:

    Should the proposed merger not be completed within one year 
from the date of issuance, this Order shall become null and void, 
provided, however, upon written application and good cause shown, 
such date may in writing be extended.

    This Order is effective upon issuance.

    For further details with respect to this Order, see the 
initial application dated January 23, 2006, supplemented by 
letters dated April 25 and May 25, 2006, and the safety 
evaluation dated August 3, 2006, which are available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, Public File Area 01 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland and accessible 
electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet at the NRC Web site, . Persons who do not have access to 
ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents 
located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by 
telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by E- mail to .

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 3rd day of August 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Catherine Haney, 
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-12925 Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 
am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
 
*****************************************************************
 23 NRC: Rancho Seco LTP termination plan comments

                        FR Doc E6-12926 
[Federal Register: August 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 153)] 
[Notices] [Page 45585-45586] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09au06-125]                         

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-312]
 
Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Rancho Seco Nuclear 
Generating Station; Notice of Receipt and Availability for
Comment of 
License Termination Plan

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is in receipt of and 
is making available for public inspection and comment the License 
Termination Plan (LTP) for the Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating 
Station (Rancho Seco) located in Sacramento County, California.

    Rancho Seco was a 913-MWe pressurized water reactor designed 
by Babcock and Wilcox Company. The Sacramento Municipal Utility 
District (SMUD) shut down Rancho Seco permanently on June 7, 1989 
after approximately 15 years of operation. On August 29, 1989, 
SMUD formally notified the NRC that the plant was shut down 
permanently.

    On May 20, 1991, SMUD submitted the Rancho Seco 
Decommissioning Plan and on March 20, 1995, the NRC issued an 
Order approving the Decommissioning Plan and authorizing the 
decommissioning of Rancho Seco. In March 1997, SMUD submitted its 
Post Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR), in 
accordance with 10 CFR 50.82. The PSDAR superseded the original 
Decommissioning Plan and provided the information required by 10 
CFR 50.82(a)(4).

    SMUD began actively decommissioning Rancho Seco in February 
1997, and completed the transfer of all of the spent nuclear fuel 
to the 10 CFR part 72 ISFSI on August 21, 2002. Plant 
dismantlement is substantially complete and most of the systems, 
structures and components that were safety-related or 
important-to-safety have been removed from the plant and shipped 
for disposal.

    In accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(9), all power reactor 
licensees must submit an application for [[Page 45586]] 
termination of their license. The application for termination of 
license must be accompanied or preceded by an LTP to be submitted 
for NRC approval. If found acceptable by the NRC staff, the LTP 
is approved by license amendment, subject to such conditions and 
limitations as the NRC staff deems appropriate and necessary. 
SMUD submitted the proposed LTP for Rancho Seco by application 
dated April 12, 2006. In accordance with 10 CFR 20.1405 and 10 
CFR 50.82(a)(9)(iii), the NRC is providing notice to individuals 
in the vicinity of the site that the NRC is in receipt of the 
Rancho Seco LTP, and will accept comments from affected parties.

    The Rancho Seco LTP is available for public viewing at the 
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) or electronically through the 
NRC Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at 
accession numbers ML061460052, ML061460053, ML061460093, 
ML061460095, ML061460097, ML061460098, ML061460100, ML061460101, 
ML061460103, ML061460105, ML061460107, ML061460109, ML061460110, 
ML061460113, ML061460116, ML061460129, ML061460152, ML061460154, 
ML061460157. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, 
at the PDR, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 
Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available 
records will be accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public 
Library component on the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov (the 
Public Electronic Reading Room). Persons who do not have access 
to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents 
located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by 
telephone at 1-800- 397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by E-mail at 
pdr@nrc.gov.

    Comments regarding the Rancho Seco LTP may be submitted in 
writing and addressed to Mr. John B. Hickman, Mail Stop T-7E18, 
Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste Management and 
Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone (301) 415- 3017 or E-mail jbh@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of July 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Claudia Craig, Chief, 
Reactor Decommissioning Section, Decommissioning Directorate, 
Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office 
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. E6-12926 
Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
 
*****************************************************************
 24 People's Daily: Brazilian nuclear power plant halts operation
 
UPDATED: 11:17, August 09, 2006   

Brazilian nuclear power plant Angra 2 had to stop operation on 
Monday afternoon due to a system failure, state-owned nuclear 
energy company Eletronuclear stated on Tuesday.

 According to a communique from Eletronuclear, a malfunctioning
in the engine's fluid control system caused the plant to cease
its operation.

 The engine was under repair, but the company did not say when
the plant would resume operation.

 Angra 2 produces 1,350 megawatts per hour to the country's
integrated electrical system, more than twice of Angra 1's 657
megawatts per hour.

 According to the federal government's National Operator Agency,
the plant provided energy to the country's southern region,
which depends much on its hydroelectric power to fight drought.
However, the agency added Angra 2's suspension of power supply
would not cause a blackout.

 The operational Angra 2, Angra 1 and Angra 3 that is in
construction and licensing phase are all located in the Southern
coast of Rio de Janeiro state, close to a town called Angra dos
Reis, with several tourist resorts and hotels nearby.

 The Eletronuclear's communique said that the affected system is
not related to any kind of radioactive material, and that there
was no leak of radioactive material to internal or external
surroundings.

 However, local environmentalists have warned that a leak of
radioactive material will cause an environmental catastrophe.

Source: Xinhua

  Copyright by People's Daily Online
*****************************************************************
 25 ITAR-TASS: Reactor restarted at Novovoronezh NPP after maintenance halt

09.08.2006, 09.48


NOVOVORONEZH, Voronezh Reg, August 9 (Itar-Tass) -- Reactor No.
Four at the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant has been switched
on this Wednesday after the scheduled repair. 
The reactor was restarted five days ahead of the planned time, a
plant source told Itar-Tass. 

Part of the fuel was replaced, maintenance operations were
conducted and all the systems were tested during the 35-day
halt. 

The VVER-440 reactor was put into operation in December 1972. In
2002, after its 30-year work period expired, its service life
was prolonged for 15 years. 

Reactors No. Three and Four are working at the plant now. Their
total capacity is 834,000 kwatt. The fifth one-million-kwatt
reactor is under scheduled repair. 

The radiation at the station is within the normal levels. 

       
© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 26 IPS: EUROPE: Swedish Nuclear Incident Sparks Safety Concern

Inter Press Service News Agency     

Thursday, August 10, 2006 05:07 GMT       

Lisa Monique Söderlindh
 
STOCKHOLM, Aug 9 (IPS) - While the sudden scram of a Swedish
nuclear reactor Jul. 25 is yet to be thoroughly clarified, the
incident has fuelled a longstanding rift between opponent voices
on Swedish nuclear power safety.

Atomic experts have declared an end to emergency proceedings
prompted by the incident at the Forsmark 1 reactor, located some
200 kilometres north of Stockholm. But the revealed deficiencies
in the electric system, following a short circuit in a unit that
supplies power to the reactor, must be taken seriously, states
the initial report launched Friday last week by the Swedish
Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI).

 "No more reactors need to be shut down but it is important to
realise that the Forsmark incident may occur at other Swedish
and international nuclear power reactors with the same safety
construction," director-general of SKI Judith Melin told IPS
after the nuclear authority's primary analyses.

 Four of Sweden's ten nuclear reactors using the same backup
power system as the scrammed reactor have been shut down for
review and will remain off the grid until their safety is
secured and the root causes of the subsequent disturbances have
been completely clarified.

 While the responsibility for safety is regulated by Swedish law
and rests entirely with the holder of the licence to operate a
nuclear facility, SKI ensures that each license takes its
responsibility and supervises all nuclear activities in Sweden.

 "We are awaiting Forsmark's own report on the incident and it
will take at least another week until we are done with our
investigation," said Melin. "Any possibly needed changes at
international nuclear plants must be investigated individually."

 While the complete fault analyses and an action plan is yet to
be determined by SKI, environmentalists have deemed the Forsmark
incident another nail in the coffin of nuclear safety.

 "We have long known that security at Swedish nuclear power
plants is not as good as the SKI and the industry claim it to
be," Swedish Green Party Speaker Maria Wetterstrand told IPS.

 The Forsmark incident has clearly reaffirmed that "nuclear
power is not a safe energy resource -- neither the operation of
the nuclear plants can be trusted, nor the security of nuclear
energy supply," said Wetterstrand.

 She further argued that the incident would not have occurred if
Swedish nuclear safety control had been better. She welcomed
Green Party speaker Peter Eriksson's call for the Swedish
government to appoint an independent commission with
international experts to investigate safety at Swedish nuclear
power plants.

 The leaders of other Swedish political parties, the Left, the
Liberal and the Centre Party, have also echoed the need for an
independent investigation. The environmental group Greenpeace
has made a similar demand.

 According to SKI's initial assessments and Claes-Inge
Andersson, head of communications at Forsmark's Kraftgrupp,
which runs the plant, the incident could most probably not have
been foreseen through any form of investigation, or avoided by
more extensive nuclear safety research.

 Unexpected technical issues at nuclear plants are expected --
that is why they are equipped with several back-up systems, both
parties stressed in interviews with IPS.

 "Two of the four back-up diesel generators failed to start
automatically following on the short circuit, but the two
functioning generators were sufficient to run the cooling
system, which proves that the reactor safety functioned
successfully," said Andersson.

 He also noted that Forsmark will be receiving a review,
supposedly this week, by the German company AEG, which stands
behind the design of the uninterrupted power supply (UPS) used
at the scrammed reactor. "We are hoping that this will
thoroughly clarify the faults," said Andersson.

 "Incidents like this can always occur, and the international
nuclear safety system is based on the exchange of experiences
and information on what changes needs to be done when incidents
happen," argued Melin, also underlining that there had never
been any risk of a meltdown.

 SKI ranked the Forsmark incident as a number two on the 0-7
International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), with 7 being the most
serious kind of accident.

 The INES scale is used by the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) and was launched in 1990 as a tool to communicate
the safety significance of nuclear accidents.

 "A number two means that the incident was unexpected and
entailed a safety significance but that it did not endanger life
or health in practice," Janne Wallenius, associate professor of
nuclear and reactor physics at the Royal Institute of Technology
in Stockholm told IPS.

 Incidents ranked number two is nothing unique for Sweden, added
Wallenius. "It is a regular occurring level of incidents at
worldwide nuclear power plants, and happens once every second
year, according to IAEA statistics."

 The Swedish nuclear power reactors are built on the same basic
design and safety principle as some 300 of the 442 nuclear
plants currently in operation worldwide. Wallenius said they are
therefore neither more or less safe than the majority of the
world's reactors used for energy production.

 But even though no damage was done, the Forsmark incident
exposed a serious construction weakness that must be built away.

 "The follow-up work is now very important, we must learn from
the current investigation and effectively undertake the needed
measures for continued safety at Swedish and international
nuclear plants," Carl-Erik Wikdahl, senior consultant at the
Swedish Nuclear Safety and Training Centre's (KSU) analysis
group told IPS.

 He also pointed to the vital need for maintaining highly
competent operational staff at the Swedish nuclear reactors to
uphold safety -- a challenge that has grown with the politically
intensified pressure on phasing out nuclear energy.

 "The longstanding discussion about the nuclear phase-out makes
it more and more difficult to recruit competent staff," said
Wikdahl, noting that there has been a big drop of newly educated
engineers over the last years.

 Sweden has been producing nuclear power since the early 1970s,
during which decade the Centre Party started its anti-nuclear
debate, and demonstrators began roaming the streets.

 The Swedish government is today bound to phase out nuclear
power following a referendum in 1980. It is empowered to take
such a decision after the Law on Nuclear Phase-Out was passed in
1997.

 Since then, two of the original 12 reactors have been closed,
leaving ten power-producing reactors at three sites: Forsmark,
Oskarshamn and Ringhals.

 While pressure to speed up the planned phase-out of nuclear
power in Sweden has intensified since the law of 1997, Sweden's
electricity consumption has been rising, and Sweden has one of
the highest per capita level of consumption in Europe today.
Nuclear power accounts for nearly half of the electricity
generated in Sweden. (END/2006) 

  Copyright © 2006 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 27 Russia Newswire: RUSAL and ROSATOM Sign Memorandum of Cooperation
 
09/08/2006

MOSCOW (RNWire) â€” RUSAL, the world's third largest aluminium 
producer, and Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency (ROSATOM) 
have signed a memorandum of cooperation over plans to build 
facilities for aluminium production and energy generation.
 
The Memorandum outlines an agreement for pooling research into
long-term investment projects, including the construction of new
nuclear power stations and modernising existing facilities.
Prospects for further cooperation are also included, within an
overall program for developing nuclear power in Russia.
 
As a global leader and national champion in Russia's fast
evolving and highly energy-intensive aluminium industry, RUSAL
is an ideal partner in this venture. The Company has the
capability for securing a high level of investment and a stable
consumption schedule â€” the two key factors vital in supporting
Russia's plans for developing its nuclear energy industry.
 
RUSAL's strategy as a dual energy and metals company centers on
boosting aluminium production to 5 million tones/yr, through
both the expansion of present capacities and the construction of
greenfield smelters assured by long-term energy supply contracts.
 
RUSAL and ROSATOM are to establish a joint Project Office to
coordinate activities and deal with issues such as preparing a
project feasibility study, the selection of possible sites and
devising the terms of future cooperation. Following the
completion of the necessary feasibility studies, the two parties
will develop a scheme to deliver the project and finalise
appropriate agreements.					   							 								 								 				

© 2004-2006 Russia Newswire   
*****************************************************************
 28 Scotsman.com: Nuclear plant could face legal action over particles
 
Thu 10 Aug 2006        

IAN JOHNSTON 

THE operators of the Dounreay nuclear plant have incurred a ÂŁ2 
million penalty after a radioactive spillage during 
decommissioning work. 

In September last year 266 litres of hazardous, dissolved spent 
fuel spilled on to a laboratory floor at its cementation plant. 

The liquid, which is kept in underground tanks, was being pumped
to the plant where it is mixed with cement then stored in
500-litre drums. 

No employees were injured or exposed to radiation during the
scare, but it led to the plant being temporarily closed. 

The Nuclear Decommission Authority (NDA) revealed it has
deducted the sum from the fee it pays to the UK Atomic Energy
Authority as a result of the spillage. The penalty, thought to
be the biggest suffered after a safety breach at Dounreay, is
detailed in the NDA's annual review for 2005/06. 

It has also emerged the plant's operators could face legal
action over the release of radioactive particles. 

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) said
yesterday it had submitted reports to the procurator-fiscal and
was waiting to see if legal action would be taken against the UK
Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). 

More than 1,000 radioactive particles, fragments of spent
uranium fuel rods about the size of a grain of sand, have been
found on beaches and the sea bed around the facility. 

Last updated: 09-Aug-06 00:34 BST 	 	 	
 	
*****************************************************************
 29 SEIU: NRC Says Wackenhut Security Failures at Seabrook Nuclear
Plant Draw Possible Fine for Florida Power &Light 

  Third Wackenhut-Guarded FP Nuclear Plant under NRC 
Investigation This Year

 DOE Also Investigating Wackenhut for Falsification of Training 
Records at Oak Ridge Reservation Nuclear Facility
    
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) has proposed to fine Florida Power and Light 
(FP) $65,000 for a violation of security requirements at New 
Hampshire's Seabrook Station nuclear power plant. FP, which owns 
and operates Seabrook Station, contracts out security to the 
Wackenhut Corporation, a subsidiary of London-based Group 4 
Securicor. Wackenhut is the U.S. government's largest supplier of 
private guards, holding multimillion dollar contracts with the 
Department of Energy and other agencies. The company guards 
nearly half the nation's commercial nuclear power plants and 
highly sensitive nuclear weapons sites where there have been 
numerous security problems. This NRC fine was issued for failure 
to "maintain complete and accurate records of test results."

    News of security failures at Seabrook follows the Department 
of Homeland Security dropping Wackenhut's $9.6 million/yr. 
contract to protect its Washington, D.C. headquarters and the 
Department of Defense cutting short contracts to protect U.S. 
Army bases -- including one where Wackenhut is eligible to 
receive an estimated $47 million/yr. as a subcontractor -- to put 
them out for competitive bidding. Wackenhut was a loser in 2003 
when a portion of the Army base security work had been put out to 
competitive bidding.

    "Wackenhut has again demonstrated an inability to play by the 
rules and provide adequate security. Until the NRC takes action 
against this irresponsible contractor, the public can have little 
confidence that our nation's nuclear facilities are safe and 
secure," said Stephen Lerner, Director of Property Services of 
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation's 
largest security officers' union working to raise standards in 
the security industry.

    Alleged Homeland Security Lapses at Seabrook

    United States Representatives Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and 
John Tierney (D- MA) raised questions about Seabrook's security 
in a May, 2005 letter to NRC chairman Nils Diaz noting alleged 
homeland security lapses at the nuclear power plant. Among the 
problems cited in the letter and subsequent press reports were:

    *  A perimeter intrusion detection system was never correctly 
installed and had never been operational;

    *  Security guards used to compensate for the broken 
detection system were forced to work excessive amounts of 
overtime;

    *  A security fence intended to prevent outside threats to 
Seabrook Station failed an NRC inspection and was declared 
inoperable, according to an internal plant document obtained by 
Seacoast Newspapers;

    *  There was "inadequate monitoring of system performance," 
"no evidence of management oversight of system testing," and 
"security human performance observations are performed almost 
exclusively by Wackenhut personnel and are not self-critical."

    Additionally, NRC Conditions Reports from 2005 document 
further security lapses at the site, including:

    *  Excessive overtime, including 17 instances of supervisors 
working shifts that exceeded 13 hours between 5/29/2005 and 
06/03/2005;

    *  A newly appointed Security Manager had no security 
background/expertise;

    *  No objective evidence that four Armed Security Officers 
completed the annual written examination.

    Third Wackenhut-Guarded FP Site under NRC Investigation This 
Year

    Seabrook is the third Wackenhut-guarded FP plant to be under 
investigation by the NRC this year.

    "Significant issues" drew an Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) 
to Florida's Turkey Point nuclear power plant in February. Three 
months later, a local news crew visiting the site found "a single 
(Wackenhut) guard working the front gate at the plant, sporting 
an M-16 without ammunition." The report generated a response from 
elected officials across the state, including Florida governor 
Jeb Bush who questioned security protocols at the facility.

    Earlier this year the NRC completed a special investigation 
into "security-related concerns" at FP's St. Lucie nuclear power 
plant in Florida. In 2004 six Wackenhut security officers and 
their supervisor were removed from duty by FP after they took 
shortcuts during patrols and allowed unescorted visitors to enter 
protected areas. In 2003 a number of unsearched new fuel 
containers were transported into St. Lucie's protected area on a 
flat bed truck where they were left unattended near the Unit 2 
Fuel Handling Building.

    DOE also Investigating Wackenhut for Falsification of 
Training Records

    Wackenhut is also facing investigation concerning 
falsification of training records at the Department of Energy's 
Oak Ridge Reservation, according to the DOE Inspector General. A 
conviction or civil judgment for falsification of records may be 
grounds for suspension or debarment of contracts under the U.S. 
government's federal acquisitions regulations.

    Wackenhut security practices at a number of nuclear 
facilities have come under fire.

    *  Wackenhut was caught cheating on an anti-terrorism drill 
at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

    *  Wackenhut "systematically" violated weapons inventory and 
handling policies and performed poorly on an anti-terrorism drill 
at the Nevada Test Site.

    *  Wackenhut had employees showing new hires at the Three 
Mile Island nuclear power plant where they could take naps while 
on duty.

    *  Wackenhut's involvement -- through a contract with the 
Nuclear Energy

       Institute -- in testing security forces at 
Wackenhut-guarded plants has come under fire as a clear conflict 
of interest.

    For more information, visit http://www.EyeonWackenhut.com 
SOURCE Service Employees International Union

Related links:

+ http://www.seiu.org

+ http://www.EyeonWackenhut.com
 
Copyright © 1996- PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights 
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 30 UPI: Analysis: India sets up new energy group
     
United Press International - Energy - 

8/9/2006 9:06:00 AM -0400                                                                                                                        

Analysis: India sets up new energy group

 By KUSHAL JEENA UPI Energy Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- In a move to boost the energy sector,
India has created a new institutional mechanism, the Energy
Coordination Committee, to guide the government's policies, a
move energy analysts say was long overdue. 

"The constitution of a high-level committee relating to the
energy sector was an overdue step, as the country lacked a
comprehensive energy policy to tap all available sources of
energy," said Sudha Mahalingam, a senior energy analyst. 

She said the government must ensure that the committee meets
regularly to review the energy situation and prepare strategic
papers that would provide a basis for the proposed energy
policy. 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heads the Energy Coordination
Committee that has been set up to formulate a coordinated policy
response, cutting across ministries, to the energy scenario. 

The panel has been assigned the task of identifying key areas
requiring energy policy initiatives to meet the objectives of
economic development and energy efficiency. The committee will
monitor vulnerabilities that directly impinge on energy
security; outline the follow-up action needed for implementing
identified policy initiatives; and identify institutional
mechanisms for implementing policies and decisions. 

The first meeting of the committee was held Aug. 6. Although the
meeting was called to discuss energy security, the disputes
among Power, Coal and Petroleum Ministries over the availability
of coal dominated the deliberations of the meeting. 

Singh directed his officials to resolve all pending
inter-ministerial issues to improve the availability of gas and
coal for power generation. 

In view of the continuing steep increase in the prices of
international crude oil, India, which imports 70 percent of its
crude, is trying to diversify its energy supplies, manage energy
resources more economically and pursue rational pricing
policies. 

But the country has not been able to achieve this goal because
of the conflict between the Petroleum Ministry and the
oil-marketing companies, which are not being allowed to raise
the prices of petroleum products in accordance with the increase
in the global crude price. 

"We have to ensure that we build up adequate energy security to
insulate the economy from any future shock," Singh said. "The
tapping all sources of energy, including petroleum, natural gas,
coal, biomass, solar, hydro and nuclear requires adequate
investment." 

Amid tensions in the Middle East, India is worried about its
fuel and gas supplies as it imports 67 percent of its crude oil
and gas from the region. For that reason, New Delhi has stressed
nuclear energy and other alternative resources of energy. 

"India must invest in nuclear energy and the recent steps the
country has taken to end India's global isolation in this regard
should help the country increase the share of nuclear energy in
overall energy mix of the economy," said Jayanta Roy Chowdhury,
another expert in energy sector. 

The Energy Coordination Committee is preparing a strategy paper
on the energy sector and another paper on coal and gas
availability for power generation to be discussed at its next
meeting in three months. 

These two papers and the outcome of the discussion of the
meeting will lay the foundation of a comprehensive energy policy
to be presented before Parliament during next session likely to
begin in November. 

India faces severe problem in power, oil and gas sectors because
its demand has outstripped supply. The failure of successive
governments to explore alternative sources of energy have led to
a situation where an increasing number of vehicles are on the
roads, but the oil reserves are falling and the increased use of
natural gas for domestic purposes is squeezing reserves. 

The government has been making a concerted effort to diversify
energy resources, but the move has yielded few results. India's
power sector is the major cause of concern and hours of power
cuts in almost every part of the country are frequent. 

The hemorrhage involved in power transmission and distribution
losses are as high as 40 to 50 percent. The government has been
unable to develop public-private partnerships that attract the
needed investment and provide affordable energy services to the
consumers. 

"We need to promote economy in the use of energy in public and
private transport and for domestic and industrial use," Singh
told a conclave on energy in New Delhi. 

The pricing policy has also played an important role in
consumers' selection of energy sources. The government has not
attended to this aspect of the energy crisis. There is a need to
examine the relevance of taxes and subsidies on various energy
forms and energy-using devices to send the positive signals to
consumers and energy producers. 

(Comments to energy@upi.com)

 Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
 31 HindustanTimes.com: Nuke deal: Left warns of serious confrontation

Wednesday, August 9, 2006|23:56 IST   

Press Trust of India

Left parties on Wednesday warned the UPA government of an
imminent confrontation if it failed to address their concerns on
the Indo-US nuclear deal, toughening their stand on the
sensitive issue.

"We don't want any more suo motu statements from the Prime
Minister on the nuclear deal. We want a discussion on the issue
in Parliament after which the government can come out with a
statement which says we are not ready to go beyond what we have
said in the initial deal," CPI (M) Polit Buro member Sitaram
Yechury said at a meeting on the occasion of the Nagasaki atom
bomb explosion anniversary.

"Let them make it a declaration of the House which expresses the
sense of the House. Or let the Prime Minister make a statement
which could be endorsed by the Parliament," he said.

If the Government continues with its reluctance to discuss the
details of the deal the Left parties will have to decide on our
future plans, Yechury said adding "the next week of the
Parliament session will be crucial for the Government regarding
the deal."

Union Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Iyer said the issue
of global disarmament should be the "core concern" of the
government and raised at all international fora.

CPI leader D Raja did not mince his words and warned that the
"Government have to be ready to face serious consequences if it
is not willing to discuss the deal on the floor of Parliament
and express the opinion of the House."

He said there will be serious confrontation between Government
and Left parties if the government fails to address their
concerns.   
    
  © HT Media Ltd. 2006. 
*****************************************************************
 32 International Herald Tribune: Uranium moved from Poland to Russia - Europe - 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2006

Atomic Energy Agency secretly completed the removal of 40
kilograms of highly enriched uranium from a nuclear reactor near
Warsaw on Wednesday and transferred the material to a secure
site in Russia for disposal, according to an IAEA document.  

The operation is part of an ongoing effort by American and United 
Nations officials to secure and recover high-risk nuclear and 
radiological materials around the world. Similar operations over 
the past three years have returned material from Libya, Romania, 
Serbia, Bulgaria, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Uzbekistan to 
Russia, where it was first made during the Soviet era.  

The IAEA wants to reduce the number of reactors around the world 
that still use weapons-grade uranium. The agency says that more 
than 100 are still in operation, including in the United States, 
China and India, though numbers are concentrated in Eastern and 
Central Europe. 

It wants them converted to use low-enriched uranium and to 
eliminate the commerce in highly enriched uranium for research 
reactors.  According to the IAEA document obtained by the 
International Herald Tribune, the operation to remove the uranium 
from the nuclear research reactor at Otwock-Swierk, outside 
Warsaw, began Tuesday. 

It was monitored by officials from the IAEA and the U.S. National 
Nuclear Security Administration.  The document stated that the 
material was "airlifted by cargo plane in an early-morning 
operation that safely returned the nuclear fuel to a secure 
facility close to Novosibirsk. The Russian facility will dilute 
the fissile material to low-enriched uranium that cannot be used 
to make a bomb."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
						 					   				 				
Herald Tribune All rights reserved   [IHT]    
*****************************************************************
 33 Guardian Unlimited: Russian Colonel Convicted of Spying
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Wednesday August 9, 2006 11:01 AM

By HENRY MEYER Associated Press Writer 

MOSCOW (AP) - A retired Russian colonel was sentenced Wednesday
by a military court in Moscow to 13 years imprisonment for
spying for Britain, officials said. 

Sergei Skripal was found guilty of passing along state secrets
to Britain, Anton Yeliseyev, an official at the Moscow District
Military Court said. 

The newspaper Izvestia reported Wednesday that Skripal was
charged with spying for Britain's MI6 foreign intelligence
agency. 

The 55-year-old was accused of working over a period of several
years for MI6 and of revealing the names of several dozen
Russian agents working in Europe, Izvestia reported. 

The Federal Security Service, known by its Russian acronym FSB,
said Skripal had been recruited by British intelligence in the
1990s when he was working in the Russian armed forces. The FSB,
the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, said that the
colonel had passed on state secrets. 

The FSB did not give further details about Skripal, but military
intelligence activities in Russia are carried out by the Defense
Ministry's Main Intelligence Department, known by its
abbreviation GRU. 

Izvestia, which did not name its sources, said Skripal's spying
for MI6 had seriously disrupted Russian espionage activities in
Europe. The report said he had continued to work for British
intelligence after his return to Russia. 

Russian investigators believe Skripal received around $100,000
from MI6, which he started working for during a foreign posting
in the latter half of the 1990s, the newspaper reported. 

Russia's chief military prosecutor expressed satisfaction at the
trial's outcome. 

``The conviction of Skripal is lawful and justified,'' Sergei
Fridinsky was quoted as saying by the RIA-Novosti news agency. 

The colonel's prosecution and trial had not been made public
until Wednesday. He was detained in December 2004, according to
Izvestia. 

Earlier this year, Britain was caught up in a spying scandal in
Russia. 

The Federal Security Service accused four British diplomats of
espionage and said one of them had provided money for
nongovernment organizations - accusations dismissed by Kremlin
critics as part of a campaign to discredit NGOs. 

The FSB also said that a Russian citizen who allegedly had
contacts with British agents had been detained and confessed to
espionage. 

Since the election in 2000 of President Vladimir Putin, a former
KGB colonel and one-time head of the FSB, prosecutions for
espionage have markedly increased in Russia. 

In 2004, arms control researcher Igor Sutyagin was convicted of
treason for allegedly selling information on nuclear submarines
and missile-warning systems to a British company that
investigators claimed was a CIA cover. 

A physicist, Valentin Danilov, was also convicted that year of
selling classified information on space technology to China. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 34 theday.com: Critic Of Goat's Milk Study Faults DEP For Avoiding Discussion
 
By Patricia Daddona Day Staff Writer\, Millstone\/business 
trends E-mail: p.daddona@theday.com Phone No.: (860) 701 - 4324   
  
  Published on 8/9/2006 in Business » Business Local

The critic of a state study has accused state officials of 
pressuring a watchdog group to skip discussion of the report. 

Earlier this year, the study found that Millstone Power Station 
is not the source of elevated levels of radiation in past samples 
of goat's milk used for testing by the state Department of 
Environmental Protection and Millstone owner Dominion. The report 
also found that the higher levels of radioactivity are not 
harmful to the public.

 The watchdog group, the Nuclear Energy Advisory Council, is 
comprised of representatives from towns surrounding Millstone 
Power Station in Waterford. The council provides a forum to air 
public concerns, and reports to the governor and legislature on 
matters of public health and safety at Millstone.

 The council's co-chairman, John Sheehan of Waterford, had 
initially included discussion of the study on an Aug. 16 meeting 
agenda, but then removed it at the request of the study's author, 
Dr. Ed Wilds, a radiological expert with the DEP. Wilds, who has 
a seat on the panel, said he would not attend the meeting if the 
item were on the agenda, Sheehan said.

 The original agenda did not call for action to accept or reject 
the report, but only for discussion.

 Paul Blanch, a former Millstone whistleblower who works today as 
a consultant to the nuclear industry, said Tuesday that Wilds' 
request was inappropriate. Blanch has written a critique of the 
report's findings that he says Wilds refuses to discuss.

 I believe (the DEP) is hiding behind an extremely faulted 
study, and it needs an independent review, Blanch said.

 The state Department of Public Health reviewed Wilds' report and 
confirmed its findings. 

DEP officials agreed with Wilds that the council did not need to 
review the study, said spokesman Dennis Schain. 

We have fully explored the goat's milk issue, Schain said. DEP 
responded to concerns that were raised in a comprehensive and 
scientific manner. The report has been fully vetted, is widely 
accepted, and we stand behind it. We would be glad to discuss any 
issues Mr. Blanch or any other NEAC member has. We did not 
believe it was an item that needed to be debated at this 
meeting.

 Sheehan said anyone from the public can bring up the topic under 
the public discussion portion of the agenda. Blanch said he 
plans to raise the issue because NEAC has a responsibility to 
address the matter.

 The meeting begins at 5:45 p.m. at Millstone with a bus tour, 
also open to the public, of the nuclear complex's storage site, 
which should be completed in about an hour. Council members will 
then take a short meal break at Waterford Town Hall and start the 
regular meeting at 7:30 p.m., according to the agenda.

 Also on the agenda is a presentation by Millstone owner Dominion 
about its safety-conscious work environment. The company is the 
subject of two separate whistleblower complaints alleging 
retaliation for raising health-and-safety concerns at the nuclear 
power complex. Dominion has argued before state agencies that the 
two employees who lost their jobs were not victims of 
retaliation.

 Those complaints are still pending before three separate 
government agencies.   
    
  Contact Us at 1 (860) 442-2200  |  New London, CT  |  Â© 
1998-2006 The Day Publishing Co. [Beacon Locator] ~ EL ~                   
*****************************************************************
 35 Huffington Post: Smiling Buddha (Divine Strake)
	 	
 The Blog | Robert Koehler: 

August 10, 2006  [The Huffington Post]

[Robert Koehler]                                                                      Robert Koehler                                          
			   	 
08.09.2006              
 			 			 				 (1 comments )			 		
Everyone in Utah can tell you a story or take you to a
cemetery and show you where loved ones are buried . . .


Alyson Heyrend, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, was 
talking about the experience of being a â€śdownwinder,â€ť and she 
could have been speaking for residents of Nevada, Idaho, Montana 
and other places as well, where large segments of the population 
were exposed to fallout from U.S. nuclear testing over the years; 
suffered dire health consequences and the premture deaths of 
loved ones despite glib assurances from the government that they 
were in no danger; who have finally cried, loudly enough to 
disrupt, at least temporily, the governmentâ€™s oblivious, 
WMD-smitten agenda, â€śNo more!â€ť 

â€śWe have stood down the experiment site and the workforce that 
was preparing the site for the experiment,â€ť read the dry, 
tersely worded statement issued by the Defense Threat Reduction 
Agency last week, referring to the â€śsubnuclearâ€ť blast known 
as Divine Strake, initially slated to go off in early June at the 
Nevada Test Site and twice-postponed because of local uproar and 
environmental challenges. 

Divine Strake would have ignited 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and 
fuel oil, sending up a 10,000-foot mushroom cloud, possibly 
stirring up radioactive dust at the Test Site and spewing an 
array of pollutants into the atmosphere: â€śtwo tons of cyanide 
compounds, 25 tons of particulates, a ton of hexachloroethane, a 
ton each of tetrachloroethylene and tetrachloromethane, a ton and 
a half of phosgene, nearly a ton of sulfur dioxide, more than 31 
tons of carbon monoxide, seven tons of nitrogen oxides, nearly 
two tons of chloroform, and many other noxious compounds,â€ť 
according to environmental writer Valerie Brown, in an article 
published recently in the St. George (Utah) Spectrum. 

Now, though the test isnâ€™t exactly dead, the federal agencies 
hoping to conduct it have gone back to the drawing board. â€śThe 
details of this plan, the sequence of actions, and schedule are 
to be determined,â€ť the government announcement informed us. 
â€śPublic information sessions will be part of this plan.â€ť 

While the announcement added that the test could be revived as
early 2007, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has reported that the
DTRA may have given up on the Nevada Test Site as the place to
do it. Other sites being considered, the paper reports, are
White Sands, N.M., and a limestone quarry near â€” hold onto
your hats, Hoosiers â€” Bedford, Ind., a mere 70 miles from both
Indianapolis and Louisville. 

Nuts, right? Iâ€™d like to see them try. A scheme to bomb the
Midwest â€” to conduct a blast big enough to simulate a small
nuclear explosion â€” might be just the thing to galvanize
nationwide outrage about the U.S. WMD program (remember, we
already have 10,000 nuclear weapons on hand) and create a
movement big enough to stand up to this global threat. 

The point of Divine Strake, according to Department of Defense
budget documents quoted in the St. George Spectrum, is to
â€śdevelop a planning tool that will improve the warfighterâ€™s
confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield
necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing
collateral damage.â€ť 

In other words, weâ€™re trying to develop usable nuclear
weapons. Whoâ€™s running the show here, Kim Jong Il? Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad? What the U.S. is up to is, in my opinion, far
scarier. 

The very insidiousness of our weapons development and testing
â€” the perverse secrecy of it, the extraordinary budget it
commands that makes it a far greater national priority than
health care or education, the momentum that spawns new
generations of unimaginably destructive war machinery free from
public scrutiny and â€ścivilianâ€ť values â€” magnifies the
significance of the effort that derailed Divine Strake. 

Maybe, 61 years into the nuclear age, thereâ€™s a new player in
the game: those whose designated role was to be collateral
damage. 

The downwinders of the Test Site area raised so many angry
questions about Divine Strake, and put so much pressure on their
elected representatives â€” Matheson, for instance, is sponsor
of HR 1194, a wide-ranging bill that would put nuclear testing
under close public scrutiny â€” that the unelected minions of
the military-industrial complex were forced to pay attention. 

By â€śdivineâ€ť coincidence, you might say, the derailing of
Divine Strake occurred just a few days before the anniversary of
the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, enveloping events in a
global context. 

â€śSixty-one years later, the number of nations enamored of evil
and enslaved by nuclear weapons is increasing,â€ť Hiroshima
Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said on Aug. 6, Hiroshima Day, according
to Agence France Presse. â€śI call on the Japanese government to
. . . forcefully insist that the nuclear-weapon states negotiate
in good faith for nuclear disarmament.â€ť 

I recognize the anger and futility in the mayorâ€™s words. The
wreaths, the white cranes, the prayers, the reading of the names
of the dead â€” what crocodile tears such symbolism produces in
the realm of geopolitics. 

Did you know that Indiaâ€™s first nuclear test explosion, in
1974, was code-named Smiling Buddha? A God complex exists at the
level of national leadership that knows no religious or moral
restraint. This is the arrogance the downwinders of Utah, Nevada
and Idaho beat back this month, temporarily, perhaps, but on
behalf of all humanity. 

- - - 

Robert Koehler, an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist, is
an editor at Tribune Media Services and nationally syndicated
writer. You can respond to this column at bkoehler@tribune.com
or visit his Web site at commonwonders.com. 

Â© 2006 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. 			 		 	 	Send to a friend
	
 Copyright 2006 © HuffingtonPost.com, LLC
*****************************************************************
 36 Deseret News: Nevada dealt a blow over Yucca
 
[deseretnews.com] 

Wednesday, August 9, 2006
	 
Some governors want Congress to reject plan to move spent fuel to 
regional sites                                       

Federal appeals court rejects arguments against plans for 
transporting N-waste                                                     

By Erica Werner Associated Press                                             

WASHINGTON — Nevada was dealt a blow in its effort to avoid a 
radioactive waste dump Tuesday as a federal appeals court turned 
aside arguments against transportation plans.

       Nevada contended that the Energy Department overstepped
its authority and violated environmental rules in deciding to
rely mostly on trains to take 77,000 tons of commercial spent
fuel and high-level defense waste from sites around the country
to Yucca Mountain, 90 miles north of Las Vegas.

       The state also raised a series of technical objections to
the department's selection of the 319-mile Caliente Corridor —
stretching from Caliente near the Utah border to Yucca — as its
preferred route for getting nuclear waste to the dump once it
reaches Nevada.

       "We conclude that some of Nevada's claims are unripe for
review and the remaining claims are without merit," said a
decision written by Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson for a
three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia Circuit.

       "We do not think that the inadequacies to which Nevada
points make the (Final Environmental Impact Statement)
inadequate," the opinion said. "The DOE's selection of the
Caliente Corridor therefore was not arbitrary or capricious."

       Energy Department officials welcomed the decision.

       "The court's ruling today upheld the transportation
aspects of the department's comprehensive environmental impact
statement for the Yucca Mountain project," said spokesman Craig
Stevens.

       Joe Egan, an attorney for Nevada, said the state was
considering whether to ask for a rehearing.

       "It just looks to us like the court didn't want another
anti-Yucca decision here. They really went out of their way to
pound this decision into DOE's favor, in our view," Egan said.

       The same court dealt a setback to Yucca Mountain two
years ago by throwing out the government's radiation safety
standards for the dump. The Environmental Protection Agency
still is rewriting those standards.

       The court didn't address some of Nevada's underlying
arguments, saying the time was not right for review as aspects
of the Energy Department's waste-transport plans aren't final.

       Egan also said that some of the ground covered in the
lawsuit may be moot because the Energy Department already has
changed some of its plans, including announcing a new multi-use
canister for waste transportation that will require separate
environmental reviews.

       The department also is considering reviving a possible
alternative to the Caliente Corridor because the Walker River
Paiute Tribe, which has a reservation in the western part of the
state, recently withdrew its long-held opposition to hosting a
rail line for waste. The challenge to the waste transport plan
was just one avenue Nevada is pursuing against the long-delayed
Yucca Mountain project, which is now scheduled to open in 2017 —
19 years late. The state is ready to challenge the Environmental
Protection Agency's new radiation standards as soon as they're
released, and it has sued over nuclear Regulatory Commission
rule-making on the dump.

       Nevada's congressional delegation, led by Senate Minority
Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., also takes every opportunity to cut
funding and create political hurdles.
 			  		 		   
© 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company

*****************************************************************
 37 Deseret News: Some governors want Congress to reject plan to move 
spent fuel to regional sites

[deseretnews.com] 

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

Some governors want Congress to reject plan to move spent fuel
to regional sites                                                        

By Suzanne Struglinski

Deseret Morning News                                          

WASHINGTON — Congress should reject a pending plan to move 
nuclear waste to federal temporary storage sites across the 
country, the governors of Northeastern states have told senators.

       The Senate energy and water spending bill contains a
provision to move nuclear waste to regional or state temporary
storage sites until the permanent federal repository opens at
Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Neither Utah nor Nevada not be home to
one of these sites, according to the bill.

       But Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri, who heads the
Coalition of Northeastern Governors, and Vermont Gov. James
Douglas, the coalition's lead governor for energy, sent a letter
to the Senate Aug. 2 saying no state should be home to a
temporary site and that the government's focus should remain on
Yucca.

       They strongly oppose the pending plan because it would
"suddenly shift long-established national policy on nuclear
waste disposal by requiring commercial spent fuel to be stored
at local or regional federal consolidation storage facilities in
up to 31 states across the nation," according to the letter.

       The governors are worried that if Congress approved this
new plan, it would divert attention — and money — away from the
Yucca project, causing more delays than it has already
experienced. The site was supposed to open in 1998, but the
Energy Department now has a 2017 opening date at the earliest.

       "It is vital that progress continue toward a permanent
solution to the management of commercial spent nuclear fuel,"
according to the letter. "Creating federal consolidated nuclear
waste sites in a location that would never be chosen for such
purpose in a site selection process — while further delaying the
creation of a nuclear waste repository — is unacceptable."

       Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., inserted the provision into
the bill because the Yucca project is so far behind schedule.

       At a hearing last week Domenici said Yucca's delays are
forcing him to look at interim options because waste inventories
will just continue to increase at plants around the country. The
government also faces liability because it breached its contract
by not taking the waste as promised in 1998.

       The House already passed an energy and water bill which
contains an interim storage option, but it is different from the
Senate bill.

       Congress is on its August recess and cannot take up the
bill until it gets back in September, but an exact schedule of
when it would be taken up is not known.

       If approved, the bill would prohibit the government from
using federal money to move waste to Private Fuel Storage, the
private nuclear waste site in Tooele County, but it would not
bar nuclear utilities from paying to move waste there on their
own. PFS is a private consortium now looking for customer to
help with its construction but it has sought out government
funds from the Energy Department in the past.

       The department has repeatedly said that PFS is not part
of its nuclear waste management plan.

E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com
			  		 		   
© 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company           [ /]                                                   
*****************************************************************
 38 BBC NEWS: Legal move on Dounreay particles
 
Last Updated: Wednesday, 9 August 2006, 13:40 GMT 14:40 UK

[Dounreay, Caithness]

The Dounreay nuclear plant is in Caithness

The operators of the Dounreay nuclear plant in Caithness are 
facing the possibility of legal action over the release of 
radioactive particles. 

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said it had 
submitted reports to the procurator fiscal. 

Sepa is now waiting to see whether proceedings are taken against 
the site's operators, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). 

UKAEA declined to comment on the threat of legal proceedings. 

The move has led to a two-month delay in the release of a report 
by an independent body on the monitoring of particles. 

Report delayed 

Statements were issued on Wednesday by Sepa and the Dounreay 
Particle Advisory Group (DPAG), which has postponed the 
publication of its third report. 

Sepa said it considered that DPAG's report contained information
which, if published now, may jeopardise any future court case. 

DPAG said it had agreed to delaying the report's publication. 

The group was convened by Sepa in 2000, but is an independent
body of experts who advise on improving monitoring and research
into particles in the local environment. 		 	 		 	 	 

*****************************************************************
 39 BBC NEWS: Highlands and Islands | Ł2m penalty for Dounreay spillage
 
Last Updated: Wednesday, 9 August 2006, 23:20 GMT 00:20 UK

Radioactive liquid was poured onto a sealed drum                                                                

The operators of the Dounreay nuclear site have been fined Ł2m 
for a spillage of radioactive liquid. 

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority was penalised by the 
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority over the incident last 
September. 

The spill took place as the liquid was being mixed with cement 
and poured into steel drums at the Caithness plant. 

Dounreay's operators are still trying to clear up that part of 
the plant, which remains closed. 

An investigation into the incident found that the automated 
system in the plant tried to fill a 500 litre drum with the 
highly active liquid despite the fact that the lid was already 
on. 

Safety breach 

More than 250 litres of radioactive fluid and 300 kilos of cement 
spilled onto the floor of the heavily shielded area, then set 
solid. 

Officials said nobody had been harmed or exposed to radioactive 
waste as a result of the incident. 

However, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said the incident 
was such a major safety breach that it would be withholding Ł2m 
of the fee it pays Dounreay. 

The incident was regarded as all the more serious because it 
happened after the authority had demanded a safety review be 
conducted at all nuclear plants following a separate incident at 
the Thorp plant at Sellafield.                                                   

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
                 
*****************************************************************
 40 Platts: US court rejects Nevada's request for review of waste site EIS
 
Washington (Platts)--8Aug2006
 
A US appeals court Tuesday rejected the state of Nevada's
request that it review the Department of Energy's final 
environmental impact statement on the proposed high-level nuclear 
waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

     The state, which has been fighting DOE's efforts to build a 
spent fuel disposal facility at the site, roughly 95 miles 
outside of Las Vegas, had alleged that the final EIS was 
procedurally flawed and violated the National Environmental 
Policy Act. It also challenged DOE's record of decision on the 
selection of a rail corridor to the site. 

     But the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 
Circuit said that some of Nevada's claims were not ripe for 
review and that others were without merit. Some of the state's 
claims would be affected by decisions the department has not made 
yet, the court said.

                  --Elaine Hiruo, elaine_hiruo@platts.com
 
Copyright © 2006 - Platts, All Rights Reserved [The McGraw-Hill 
Companies]       
*****************************************************************
 41 reviewjournal.com: YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT: Judges reject Nevada lawsuit
 
Aug. 09, 2006

Federal court panel rules claims without merit   

By STEVE TETREAULT<br>STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- Nevada suffered a setback on Tuesday in its latest 
attempt to derail the government's plans for a Yucca Mountain 
nuclear waste repository. 

A three-judge federal court panel declined a Nevada lawsuit 
charging that the Energy Department had violated environmental 
law and federal procedures when it formed a strategy to ship 
radioactive spent fuel to the Nevada site. 

"We conclude that some of Nevada's claims are unripe for review
and the remaining claims are without merit," Judge Karen LeCraft
Henderson wrote in a 26-page opinion filed in the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 

Henderson was joined in the ruling by Judges Harry Edwards and
A. Raymond Randolph. The judges heard oral arguments last
October. 

The ruling preserves the status quo for the Yucca Mountain
project. The Department of Energy is studying a 318-mile
corridor from Caliente across rural Nevada in which to build a
railroad to the proposed repository site 100 miles northwest of
Las Vegas. 

"We are very pleased with the court's decision," said Craig
Stevens, a DOE spokesman. "The court's ruling today upheld the
transportation aspects of the department's comprehensive
environmental impact statement for the Yucca Mountain Project." 

Joe Egan, Nevada's lead nuclear waste attorney, said state
officials are evaluating whether to appeal the ruling. Egan said
the state disagreed with the court's reasoning that it was
premature to challenge DOE on elements of its railroad plans. 

"It is really clear that having ruled against us in such
Draconian fashion it just seemed they didn't want to do anything
to upset Yucca Mountain," Egan said. 

Stevens said DOE attorneys are evaluating the decision for
possible impacts on other parts of the project. For instance,
the DOE is weighing a possible alternative railroad line to the
repository through the Walker River Paiute reservation in
western Nevada. 

The DOE also has made other changes since the Nevada lawsuit was
filed last year, including initiating redesigns for canisters
that would carry nuclear waste to the repository. 

"DOE has radically altered its transportation plans," Egan said.
"The net effect is that it has gone ahead and started a new
analysis. In a sense they have rendered their previous analysis
moot." 

In the court's ruling, Henderson wrote that the DOE was within
its authority in how it managed environmental impact studies and
other documents that supported its transportation planning. 

"We conclude that DOE's analysis of the environmental impacts of
its rail corridor selection in its (final environmental impact
statement) is adequate," Henderson wrote. 

"It is well settled that the court will not 'flyspeck' an
agency's environmental analysis looking for any deficiency no
matter how minor," the judge wrote. 	 

The court declined to consider other issues raised by the state,
saying it was too early and the DOE had not yet made final
decisions on them. 

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said
the state's options may be limited. 

"I doubt the Supreme Court would take review and I don't think
it would be worth petitioning the entire court," said Tobias,
formerly a professor at the Boyd Law School at UNLV. 

Rulings made by judicial panels may be reconsidered by all the
judges in the appeals circuit. 

But Tobias said Henderson and Randolph, who were placed on the
court by President George H.W. Bush, and Edwards, who was
installed by President Carter, "are very much representative of
the court and I think it is pretty unlikely" that other judges
would reconsider their ruling. 

In the 10 months since the oral arguments, Nevada officials and
attorneys had expressed confidence that the state would prevail
on at least some of its arguments. They said on Tuesday they
were surprised and disappointed. 

"We all thought it was one of our best cases," said Bob Loux,
director of the state Agency for Nuclear Projects. "Obviously
this would have brought everything in the transportation arena
to a halt." 

Loux said the state probably would file new lawsuits later on
the matters that the court said were premature to be considered
at the present time. 

The state has two other active cases pending related to the
Yucca Mountain, although neither are major. 

Oral arguments are set for September in Washington where the
state is challenging a federal regulation dealing with
repository licensing. 

In a second case, state officials have filed a Freedom of
Information Act lawsuit in federal court in Reno seeking to
obtain a copy of the DOE's draft license application for the
repository. 	   

Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2006
 Stephens Media GroupPrivacy Statement
*****************************************************************
 42 Salt Lake Tribune: Governors group attacks plan to keep nuclear
waste in place
 
  Article Last Updated: 08/09/2006 02:05:01 AM MDT  

  By Robert Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune 
  
  WASHINGTON - A group of Northeastern governors are urging
Congress to reject a nuclear waste storage plan that would keep
the materials out of Utah by consolidating them in the states
where they were produced. 

   The provision would allow spent nuclear fuel to be
consolidated at temporary storage sites, as long as it stays in
a state that has commercial nuclear power. Nevada and Utah would
be explicitly ruled out as storage sites. 

   But governors in northeastern states, where many commercial
nuclear reactors are located, don't like the change. 

   “We are deeply concerned and must strongly oppose language .
. . that would suddenly shift long-established national policy
on nuclear waste disposal by requiring commercial spent fuel at
local or regional federal consolidated facilities in up to 31
states across the nation,” Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri and
Vermont Gov. James Douglas wrote on behalf of the Coalition of
Northeastern Governors. 

   The governors also say the bill includes an aggressive
timetable to set up the storage sites that doesn't give enough
time to evaluate safety, security and environmental effects. 

   The interim storage plan in the legislation opposed by the
governors serves as an alternative to Private Fuel Storage's
push to park 44,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel on the Skull
Valley Goshute Indian Reservation, 50 miles from Salt Lake City. 

   The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a license for the
facility last year, but electric utilities backing PFS have
abandoned the project and Congress passed a law complicating
plans to ship waste by rail to the site. 

   In any interim storage scenario, the waste would presumably be 
eventually buried at a permanent repository at Yucca Mountain, 
Nev., or the Energy Department might develop technology to 
recycle the nuclear material. 

   The Northeastern governors argued in their letter last week
that building a system of temporary storage sites could
undermine the push for a permanent repository. 

   There are about 54,000 tons of used commercial nuclear fuel
awaiting disposal in 31 states, according to the Nuclear Energy
Institute. 

   The nuclear storage language was added to the bill by Energy
Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M.; Senate Minority Leader
Harry Reid, D-Nev.; and Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah. 

   Bennett had hoped to have the bill through the Senate before
senators left for their monthlong August recess, but it was
pushed back and Bennett said last week he doesn't anticipate it
will be a top priority when senators return in September. 

   Anti-nuclear and environmental groups also oppose moving the
waste to centralized facilities, arguing that the temporary
sites would become permanent ones lacking necessary security and
safeguards and that state governors would be cut out of the
process. 
    
Â© Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. 
*****************************************************************
 43 NRC: ACNW Meeting 8-15/6

                        FR Doc E6-12915 

[Federal Register: August 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 153)] 
[Notices] [Page 45587] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09au06-127]                         

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
 
 Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste, Meetings of the ACNW Ad Hoc 
Subcommittee on Waste Management and the ACNW Full Committee; 
Notice of Meeting

    The ACNW Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Waste Management will hold a 
meeting on August 15-16, 2006, Room T-2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland.

    The entire meeting will be open to public attendance.

    The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows:

    Tuesday and Wednesday, August 15-16, 2006--8:30 a.m. until 
the conclusion of business.

    The Ad Hoc Subcommittee will discuss the following proposed 
ACNW reports:

    (1) Draft Standard Review Plan for Waste Determinations.
    (2) Predicting the Performance of Cementitious Barriers.
    (3) Draft Rule/Guidance on Preventing Legacy Sites.
    (4) Dry Cask Storage PRA.

    The Ad Hoc Subcommittee will gather information, analyze 
relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and 
actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee 
on Thursday, August 17, 2006.

    Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements 
and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal 
Official, Mr. Antonio F. Dias (telephone 301-415-6805) five days 
prior to the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate 
arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings will be 
permitted.

    Thursday, August 17, 2006--8:30 a.m. until the conclusion of 
business.

    The full Committee will discuss and approve the proposed ACNW 
reports noted above.

    Procedures for the conduct of and participation in ACNW 
meetings were published in the Federal Register on October 11, 
2005 (70 FR 59081). In accordance with these procedures, oral or 
written statements may be presented by members of the public. 
Electronic recordings will be permitted only during those 
portions of the meeting that are open to the public. Persons 
desiring to make oral statements should notify Mr. Antonio F. 
Dias (telephone 301-415-6805), between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 
as far in advance as practicable so that appropriate arrangements 
can be made to schedule the necessary time during the meeting for 
such statements. Use of still, motion picture, and television 
cameras during this meeting will be limited to selected portions 
of the meeting as determined by the ACNW Chairman. Information 
regarding the time to be set aside for taking pictures may be 
obtained by contacting the ACNW office prior to the meeting. In 
view of the possibility that the schedule for ACNW meetings may 
be adjusted by the Chairman as necessary to facilitate the 
conduct of the meeting, persons planning to attend should notify 
Mr. Dias as to their particular needs.

    Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by 
contacting the Designated Federal Official between 7:30 a.m. and 
4:15 p.m. (ET). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged 
to contact the above named individual at least two working days 
prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes to 
the agenda.

    Dated: August 3, 2006. Michael R. Snodderly, Branch Chief, 
ACRS/ACNW. [FR Doc. E6-12915 Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 
7590-01-P
 
*****************************************************************
 44 AU ABC: No uranium mining on my watch, Carpenter says. 

10/08/2006. ABC News Online
 	
Last Update: Thursday, August 10, 2006. 10:02am (AEST) 	 
 
Premier Alan Carpenter says it will take a change of Government
before uranium is mined in Western Australia.

 Mr Carpenter has told the ABC the South Australian Resources
Minister's pro-uranium comments this week only referred to his
state and had no implication on WA's uranium policy. 
Paul Holloway says states like Western Australia are being left
behind in the resources industry because of their anti-uranium
stance.

 Mr Carpenter says the Labor Party has won two state elections
on a anti-uranium policy and will go to the 2009 poll with the
same platform.

 He says WA should be concerned about the current uranium debate.

 "The issue that I think really needs to be addressed in tandem
with uranium mining in Western Australia is that we have been
earmarked already, potentially, as a site for waste disposal,"
he said. 

*****************************************************************
 45 Bradenton Herald: Contaminated construction at Tallevast

08/09/2006 | 

 DONNA WRIGHT Herald Staff Writer [A pile of dirt and concrete 
debris sits dry and uncovered Tuseday afternoon at the WPI 
property in Tallevast.] BRIAN BLANCO/The Herald A pile of dirt 
and concrete debris sits dry and uncovered Tuseday afternoon at 
the WPI property in Tallevast. 

TALLEVAST - County government staff assured Tallevast leaders 
Tuesday that a proposed overlay district to impose special 
requirements on construction in the historic community is still 
in the works. 

But a final overlay district map cannot be drawn until state 
environmental regulators sign off on a final map of the plume of 
toxic waste underneath Tallevast, said Karen Collins, director of 
the Environmental Management Department. 

Collins and other county staff met with Laura Ward and Wanda 
Washington, officers of Family Oriented Community United Strong, 
an advocacy group for residents, to review development projects 
surrounding Tallevast. 

The plume of toxic waste, now known to cover more than 200
acres, has been traced to a former beryllium machining plant in
the heart of century-old village. The plume contains industrial
solvents that have been linked to cancer in humans. 

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection was expected
to release comments on June 26 on the most recent plume
assessment submitted by Lockheed Martin Corp., the former owner
of the beryllium company when the contamination was found six
years ago. 

But DEP is still analyzing Lockheed's data. 

"We are waiting on Lockheed and the Department of Environmental
Protection to agree on a plume map everyone is comfortable
with," Collins said. "Once we get that map, we are ready to go
to public hearings." 

Ward and Washington said residents fear nearby construction may
be threatening their health by disturbing the toxic waste in the
soil and groundwater. 

They questioned why the county is allowing industrial
development to continue around Tallevast, given the fact that
independent assessments of Lockheed's data say the defense
giant's data do not support its conclusions on the size and
depth of the plume. 

County staff said their hands are tied because those projects
are not included in the known area of the plume. 

"We can only do what the planning code allows us to do," said
Bob Pederson, of the Planning Department. 

Collins said the county will wait to propose a new overlay
district until there is a plume map that gains everyone's
confidence, including Tallevast residents'. 

"The overlap map will conform to the plume," said Rob Brown, a
member of Collins' staff. "The planning commission was explicit
that the overlay map be specific and exact to the plume
borders." 

When the overlay district was first proposed in January of 2005,
county staff wanted to include a 500-foot buffer zone extending
out from the plume's edge. If the buffer zone line crossed any
portion of a property, then the special requirements and
safeguards governing construction would have to be followed
during any type of construction for the entire parcel. 

But Collins said 500-foot buffer zone concept is no longer an
option in the overlay plan. 

In the spring, county staff issued a preliminary plume map that
included a wide buffer zone that stretched to the Whitfield
area. The map was drawn much larger than necessary, Collins
said, so that when the final plume delineations were known the
overlay district could be reduced to fit the footprint of the
contamination. 

Whitfield residents objected, saying the mere inclusion of their
properties in a proposed overlay district map negatively
affected their property values. 

The county backed off and withdrew the map, shelving the project
until the final plume map is determined. 

Lockheed's latest composite plume map - a drawing that comprises
dozens of smaller individual plume maps for each toxic
contaminant - does not include Whitfield. 

Donna Wright, health and social services reporter, can be
reached at 745-7049 or at dwright@HeraldToday.com. 

HeraldToday.com 

*****************************************************************
 46 [NYTr] Cubans Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki Victims
 
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 16:09:51 -0500 (CDT)

X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Agencia Cubana de Noticias (AIN)
http://ainch.ain.cu/mailman/listinfo/ingles

Cubans Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki Victims

Havana, August 9 (ACN)BIn memory of the holocausts against Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, the members of the Cuban community project Callejon de la Paz
issued a call on Tuesday in Havana for world peace.

This group, recognized by the United Nations Organization for Education,
Science and Culture, UNESCO, recalled to young people in the Havana
municipality of Central Havana the suffering of the Japanese that died in
the nuclear attacks executed by the United States.

To perpetuate the memory of those that died in that crime against humanity,
Urma Carmona, official from the Cuban Movement for Peace and Solidarity
Among Peoples, read an international call against the proliferation of
nuclear weapons issued by the world community in 1985.

Alma, Mase, president of the Friends of Cuba group in Tieste, Italy handed
over a peace banner elaborated by the organization to the members of the
community project as a sign of the urgent need for unity of all humanity to
struggle against all types of aggression and genocide.

Callejon de la Paz, a community project created 12 years ago to promote a
culture of peace and good will in young people, has among its achievements
the celebration of artistic contests on the issue.

On August 6th and 9th of 1945, the US government launched nuclear bombs
against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
       
                                *
================================================================
.NY Transfer News Collective    *    A Service of Blythe Systems
.          Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us         .
.339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012     http://www.blythe.org
.List Archives:   https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
.Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
================================================================
*****************************************************************
 47 [NYTr] Nagasaki Commemorates 61st Anniversary of US Atomic Attack
 
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 00:41:09 -0500 (CDT)

X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Radio Havana Cuba
http://www.radiohc.cu

Nagasaki Commemorates 61st Anniversary of U.S. Atomic Attack

Nagasaki, August 9 (RHC)-- The Japanese city of Nagasaki commemorates
another anniversary of the atomic bomb that was dropped by the United
States on August 9, 1945. On this date 61 years ago, just three days after
the first atomic bomb was used on Hiroshima, Washington carried out a
second attack -- this time on the Japanese port city of Nagasaki.

On that August 9th morning 61 years ago, two B-29's flew an hour ahead as
weather scouts and two additional B-29's for instrumentation and
photographic support. At around 07:50 Japanese time, an air raid alert was
sounded in Nagasaki, but the "all clear" signal was given at 08:30. When
only two B-29 Superfortresses were sighted at 10:53, the Japanese
apparently assumed that the planes were only on reconnaissance and no
further alarm was given.

A few minutes later, at 11:01 a.m., a last minute break in the clouds over
Nagasaki allowed the bombardier to visually sight the target as ordered.
The "Fat Man" weapon, containing a core of 6.4 kg -- about 14 pounds -- of
plutonium-239, was dropped over the city's industrial valley. About 43
seconds later it exploded 469 meters (1,540 feet) above the ground. The
resulting explosion converted 1.176 kg of fuel to energy with an equivalent
blast yield of 21 kilotons of TNT.

According to most estimates, about 70,000 of Nagasaki's 240,000 residents
were killed instantly, and up to 60,000 were injured. The radius of total
destruction was about 1.6 kilometers (roughly one mile), followed by fires
across the northern portion of the city to 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) south
of the bomb. The total number of residents killed is believed to be as many
as 80,000, including those who died from radiation poisoning in the
following months.

The 61st anniversary of the world's first atomic attacks comes amid fears
that the United States could use what it calls 'limited nuclear weapons' in
one of its so-called 'pre-emptive strikes.'

In related news, survivors of the Hiroshima atomic bombing won a victory in
recent days with a court ruling that the Japanese government was too
inflexible in determining who was eligible for benefits. The Hiroshima
District Court said that 41 plaintiffs, aged from 62 to 94, deserved to be
recognized as survivors, which would pave the way for them to receive the
Japanese government's benefits for their illnesses related to the affects
of radiation.

On this date, August 9th, we at Radio Havana Cuba join all voices of peace
and anti-imperialism around the world in recalling the tragedy of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki -- vowing that such horrible crimes against humanity never
happen again.
       
                                *
================================================================
.NY Transfer News Collective    *    A Service of Blythe Systems
.          Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us         .
.339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012     http://www.blythe.org
.List Archives:   https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
.Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
================================================================
*****************************************************************
 48 A Day in the Life: Nagasaki Day 2006
 
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 17:48:55 -0500 (CDT)

X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST

                                      GOVERNMENT OF THE USA IN EXILE
                                            Free Americans Reaching Out
to Amerika's Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free
          
Via <prez@usa-exile.org>

    Nagasaki Day 2006

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of blank1x1.gif]
Demand an Immediate International Criminal Tribunal for Israel to Stop
Global War!

August 8, 2006

http://www.petitiononline.com/un040806/petition-sign.html?

  View Current Signatures   -   Sign the Petition

 
To:  The United Nations General Assembly

  The brutal bombings and invasion of Lebanon and Gaza are acts of
Israeli state terrorism. The U.S. invasion and occupation of
Afghanistan and Iraq, and the present U.S.-Israeli threat to Syria and
Iran indicate their ruthless struggle for hegemony in the oil-rich
Middle East, which would escalate into a global war.

At least 900 people have been killed in Lebanon, more than one-third
children, and 3,000 wounded. The number of refugees in Lebanon has
already exceeded one million. Whole residential areas, roads, bridges,
ports, power stations, factories and other infra-structure have been
destroyed by Israeli precision bombing. Lebanons economic and
infrastructure damage tops $2.5B as of 4 August 2006.

In Gaza hundreds have been killed. Homes, greenhouses, bridges, water
and sewerage treatment plants and electricity generators have been
destroyed in the latest acts of Israeli genocide sadistically
code-named Operation Summer Rain, which began on 27 June 2006. Israel
continues its brutal air strikes on the Gaza Strip almost daily.

Israel must be prosecuted immediately for its war crimes, crimes
against humanity and genocide against the Peoples of Lebanon and
Palestine to stop the war escalating into a global catastrophe. Frances
A. Boyle, Professor of Law, University of Illinois, has asserted the
legal framework for The United Nations General Assembly to immediately
establish an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel (ICTI).

The United Nations General Assembly must immediately establish an
International Criminal Tribunal for Israel (ICTI) as a subsidiary
organ under U.N. Charter Article 22. The ICTI would be organized along
the lines of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY),
which was established by the Security Council.

The purpose of the ICTI would be to investigate and prosecute Israeli
war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against the Peoples of
Lebanon and Palestine--just as the ICTY did for the victims of
international crimes committed by Serbia and the Milosevic Regime
throughout the Balkans.

The establishment of ICTI would provide some small degree of justice
to the victims of Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity and
genocide against the Peoples of Lebanon and Palestine--just as the ICTY
has done in the Balkans. Furthermore, the establishment of ICTI by the
U.N. General Assembly would serve as a deterrent effect upon Israeli
leaders such as Prime Minister Olmert, Defense Minister Peretz, Chief
of Staff Halutz and Israels other top generals that they will be
prosecuted for their further infliction of international crimes upon
the Lebanese and the Palestinians.

Without such a deterrent, Israel might be emboldened to attack Syria
with the full support of the Likhudnik Bush Jr. Neoconservatives, who
have always viewed Syria as low-hanging fruit ready to be taken out
by means of their joint aggression.

The Israeli press has just reported that the Bush Jr administration is
encouraging Israel to attack Syria. If Israel attacks Syria as it did
when it invaded Lebanon in 1982, Iran has vowed to come to Syrias
defense.

And of course Israel and the Bush Jr administration very much want a
pretext to attack Iran. This scenario could readily degenerate into
World War III.

For the U.N. General Assembly to establish ICTI could stop the further
development of this momentum towards a regional if not global
catastrophe.

We, the undersigned, demand that The United Nations General Assembly
immediately establish an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel
(ICTI) as a subsidiary organ under U.N. Charter Article 22 to
prosecute the Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, Defense Minister Peretz,
Chief of Staff Halutz and Israels other top generals and war criminals
for their infliction of international war crimes, crimes against
humanity and genocide against the Peoples of Lebanon and Palestine.

Sincerely,

  The Undersigned

View Current Signatures

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole
responsibility of the author and do not  necessarily reflect those of
the Centre for Research on Globalization.

To become a Member of Global Research

  The Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) at
www.globalresearch.ca grants permission to cross-post original Global
Research articles in their entirety, or any portions thereof, on
community internet sites, as long as the text & title are not modified.
The source must be acknowledged and an active URL hyperlink address to
the original CRG article must be indicated. The author's copyright note
must be displayed. For publication of Global Research articles in print
or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact:
crgeditor@yahoo.com

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which
has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We
are making such material available to our readers under the provisions
of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of
political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to
use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must
request permission from the copyright owner.

  For media inquiries: crgeditor@yahoo.com

  ) Copyright ,
http://www.petitiononline.com/un040806/petition-sign.html?, 2006

  The url address of this article is:
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?
context=viewArticle&code=20060808&articleId=2925

========================================================================
===============================================

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of blank1x1.gif]

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of blank1x1.gif]

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of blank1x1.gif]
                                     "America Will Attack Iran, Syria in
October",
                           According to Former Head of Pakistan's
Military Intelligence

August 8, 2006

Pakistan Tribune
America will attack Iran, Syria in October: Gul

RAWALPINDI: The former chief of ISI, Maj. Gen (R) Hameed Gul has
"predicted" that America would definitely attack Iran and Syria
simultaneously in October.

  He was talking after attending the Hamdard Majlis Shoora, Tuesday
evening. He also condemned the lackluster and weak reaction of Pakistan
and Islamic bloc about Israels attack of Lebanon.

  Analyzing the current war scenario he observed that war has both
political and strategic factors and despite "using" Israel, America has
lost the war in Lebanon, where masses have united against the recent
Israeli onslaught, and would have been more formidable if the generals
of Saddam had not sold out to American dollars.

  He analyzed that Israel would soon be "forced" to stop its land
strikes but would continue its horrific and heinous air strikes against
Lebanon, converting it to ruins.

  He also "predicted" that after Iran and Syria, Saudi Arabia would also
meet the same fate, followed by Pakistan.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole
responsibility of the author and do not  necessarily reflect those of
the Centre for Research on Globalization.

To become a Member of Global Research

  The Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) at
www.globalresearch.ca grants permission to cross-post original Global
Research articles in their entirety, or any portions thereof, on
community internet sites, as long as the text & title are not modified.
The source must be acknowledged and an active URL hyperlink address to
the original CRG article must be indicated. The author's copyright note
must be displayed. For publication of Global Research articles in print
or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact:
crgeditor@yahoo.com

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which
has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We
are making such material available to our readers under the provisions
of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of
political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to
use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must
request permission from the copyright owner.

  For media inquiries: crgeditor@yahoo.com

  ) Copyright , Pakistan Tribune, 2006

  The url address of this article is:
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?
context=viewArticle&code=20060808&articleId=2923

========================================================================
================================================

From: ufka <ufkartfm@pacific.net>
Date: August 9, 2006 8:56:00 AM EST
To: "President, USA Exile Govt." <prez@usa-exile.org>
Subject: FlyingSnail: News & Views for Remnants of Paradise

http://www.flyingsnail.com/

                                               Presbyterian Church
Publishes 9/11 Conspiracy Theory
Malaysia Sun
Tuesday 8th August, 2006

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s publishing arm has released a book
that says President Bush organized New York's Sept. 11 attacks.

The decision by the 160-year-old Westminster John Knox Press, the trade
and academic publishing imprint of the Presbyterian Publishing Corp.,
to attribute the attacks on the World Trade Center brings into the U.S.
religious mainstream a conspiracy theory long held by the world's
jihadists.

In 'Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and
Action,' author David Ray Griffin calls the United States the world's
'chief embodiment of demonic power, says he initially scoffed at 9/11
conspiracy theories.

But after investigating he concluded that the Twin Towers were brought
down by controlled demolition, military personnel were given stand-down
orders not to intercept hijacked flights and the 9/11 Commission,
ostensibly created to uncover the truth behind the events of 9/11,
'simply ignored evidence' that the administration was involved in the
attacks.

Griffin further asserts that such events such as that of 9/11 are part
of a long history of 'false-flag attacks,' attacks orchestrated by
governments against their own people to garner popular support for
military action.

Griffin is a professor at California's Claremont School of Theology and
Claremont Graduate University, and a codirector of the Center for
Process Studies.

http://story.malaysiasun.com/p.x/ct/9/cid/b8de8e630faf3631/id/
7cca827f00576d2a/

========================================================================
==================================

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of blank1x1.gif]

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of blank1x1.gif]

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of blank1x1.gif]
                                     The End of the Beginning
                               US forces ready to destroy 10,000 targets
in the Middle East in a few hours

by Dan Plesch
August 9, 2006

The Guardian - 2006-08-08

Regardless of any impending ceasefire, the removal of Hizbullah and the
Iranian nuclear position sets up the prospect of an US war against Iran

US forces are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in the Middle East
in a few hours. US readiness for more war is just one indicator that
the present war is likely to spread and intensify in the coming months.

Unnoticed amidst coverage of the war, Iran has rejected a UN resolution
demanding it halt uranium enrichment. Condoleezza Rice anticipates that
on the nuclear issue: "when the Iranians get past this August 31
deadline, I think they're going to see sanctions from the international
system that are going to start to make life pretty miserable." Ehud
Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, stated back in April that the
decisive point in Iran's development of nuclear arms would come in
months.

Both the Iranian and US governments regard the fighting in Lebanon and
Israel as related to their own conflict. President Bush made the end of
Iranian and Syrian support of Hizbullah a condition of any ceasefire,
though he has since softened his stance at the UN. Condoleezza Rice
remarked that "we do know that this is more than just Hizbullah in
Lebanon. This is an extension of Iranian power through a proxy war."

  US Intelligence Chief, John Negroponte, told the US Senate
Intelligence Committee earlier this year that Iran regarded Hizbullah
as "a critical regime safeguard by deterring US and Israeli attacks".
With Hezbollah already at war, this "safeguard" is in the process of
being removed.

Iran has threatened a world oil price crisis in response to UN
sanctions. We do not now know if China, France and Russia will support
sanctions or if US will once more regard the UN's failure as a license
to act militarily. These "ifs" require a close look at the US, Israeli
and Iranian political intentions and military capabilities.

American intentions towards Iran are fairly clear. If diplomacy and
sanctions fail to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions then military force
must be used. No one should be shocked that William Kristol, the
neoconservative leader, has already called for a military strike on
Iran in response to Hizbullah's attack on Israel.

Seymour Hersh's articles claim that President Bush ordered war against
Iran shortly after the President's re-election in 2004. His claim that
Bush is determined not to leave Iran to a future president and that he
has support from leading Democrats is born out by numerous
conversations I have had with colleagues in Washington. As a senior
staffer to Senator Kerry put it: "why should people object if we carry
out disarmament militarily?"

There are plenty more reports that war with Iran is either underway or
in preparation. Special forces "prepare for Iran attack" wrote Robert
Fox back in 2003. Pat Buchanan's American Conservative argues along
with Hersh that vice-president Cheney has prepared a war plan for Iran
including the use of nuclear weapons by summer 2005. Scott Ritter has
claimed that President Bush ordered that the US be ready to attack Iran
at any point after June 2005 and Newsweek reported that the
administration was considering options for regime change. The Atlantic
Monthly concluded after conducting a wargame that attacking Iran was
too risky. The powerpoint slides from that game provide a glimpse into
the world of war planning. Their analysis assumes a large ground
invasion, clearly not a favoured option of either Don Rumsfeld or the
American public. Most recently, the eminent investigative writer, James
Bamford, has described a neoconservative push for regime change.

Speculation aside, we do know that Don Rumsfeld has placed US forces on
alert. "We're now at the point where we are essentially on alert,"
lieutenant-colonel Bruce Carlson, commander of the 8th Air Force, said.
"We have the capacity to plan and execute global strikes in half a day
or less."

Under the command of marine-general James Cartwright, US Global Strike
planning has the potential to destroy over 10,000 targets in Iran in
one mission with "smart" conventional weapons. US government documents
obtained by Hans Kristensen and analysed by William Arkin has described
the development of this Global Strike capability.

Awaiting his orders, George Bush has more than 200 strategic bombers
(B52-B1-B2-F117A) and US Navy Tomahawk cruise missiles. One B2 bomber
dropped 80,500lb bombs on separate targets in 22 seconds in a test
flight. Using just half the available force, 10,000 targets could be
attacked almost simultaneously. This strike power alone is sufficient
to destroy all major Iranian political, military, economic and
transport capabilities.

Such a strike would take "shock and awe" to a new level and leave Iran
with few if any conventional military capabilities to block the
straights of Hormuz or provide conventional military support to
insurgents in Iraq. If this was not enough, the latest generation of
smart bombs now being delivered to the US air force quadruples the
number of weapons all US warplanes can carry.

Placing forces on high alert, no more means that the US will actually
use them. However, in combination with an increasing crisis, high alert
levels mean we should be extra careful how we move forward. We should
heed Tony Blair. When Mike Gapes MP, chair of the Foreign Affairs
Committee, queried the prime minister's equivocation over pre-emptive
war on Iran, asking: "Does that mean, then, we are just left with
sanctions? Mr Blair replied: "It means that you take this a step at a
time."

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole
responsibility of the author and do not  necessarily reflect those of
the Centre for Research on Globalization.

To become a Member of Global Research

  The Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) at
www.globalresearch.ca grants permission to cross-post original Global
Research articles in their entirety, or any portions thereof, on
community internet sites, as long as the text & title are not modified.
The source must be acknowledged and an active URL hyperlink address to
the original CRG article must be indicated. The author's copyright note
must be displayed. For publication of Global Research articles in print
or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact:
crgeditor@yahoo.com

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which
has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We
are making such material available to our readers under the provisions
of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of
political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to
use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must
request permission from the copyright owner.

  For media inquiries: crgeditor@yahoo.com

  ) Copyright Dan Plesch, The Guardian, 2006

  The url address of this article is:
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?
context=viewArticle&code=PLE20060809&articleId=2930

========================================================================
===============================================

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of blank1x1.gif]

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of blank1x1.gif]

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of blank1x1.gif]
     Lebanon government joins forces with bid to have Blair tried in
Scotland for war crimes

by Neil Mackay
August 8, 2006

Sunday Herald (Scotland)

THE Lebanese government is working behind the scenes to bring Tony
Blair before the Scottish courts, charged with war crimes for aiding
and abetting the Israeli onslaught against Lebanon.

Ali Berro, the Lebanese governments special adviser on legal affairs,
is assisting Lebanese nationals living in Scotland, and their legal
team, in their attempt to take the Scottish Executive and the UK
government to court for allowing US aircraft to fly bunker-buster
bombs from America to Israel via Scottish airports.

Berro is providing the legal team, led by the Glasgow-based human
rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, with detailed information about alleged
Israel war crimes, and also forwarding information on the casualty
rates of Lebanese civilians and the type of weapons being deployed by
the Israeli army. In total, some 30 lawyers, including QCs, in Scotland
and England are helping prepare the case against the government.

Along with his briefing, Berro sent Anwar and his clients this message:
We are laying before you all these facts and we count on you to use
all possible means of pressure to put an end to the destruction
targeting civilians. We are counting on you and thank you.

The team is accusing Blair of assisting Israel in carrying out war
crimes against civilians, citing various pieces of international
legislation, including the Geneva Conventions, which say that it is a
war crime to aid and abet a nation carrying out attacks targetted
against civilians.

Berro has said he is angry and astonished that the UK is assisting
Israel, claiming the UK can no longer be seen as an honest broker in
the Middle East.

Anwar said: The Lebanese government have made it clear that they want
this conflict to stop. Both they and us are aware that every time more
weapons are supplied to Israel, more Lebanese civilians will die. We
wish to indict Tony Blair for war crimes as he is complicit in the war
crimes of Israel by allowing the passage of arms through Scotland. This
will take time, and that is why the Lebanese government is helping to
catalogue information.

Berro has also supplied a legal briefing to Anwar and his clients
outlining which pieces of international law have been violated. Berro
said: Since July 12, 2006, the Israeli army, which has the largest and
most advanced military machinery in the region, has committed all kinds
of crimes: crimes against humanity, war crimes and mass killings.

Some 750 Lebanese civilians have died in the attacks  many women and
children. Berro said: Human shreds are scattered amid the
destruction. He also outlined Israeli attacks on petrol stations,
warehouses, electricity companies, places of worship, bridges,
hospitals and ambulances.

Berro said the Israelis were using phosphorous bombs, and sending
ultimatums to the inhabitants of villages, waiting for them to get out
and then hunting them on their way to safety.

International legislation, which Berro said was breached by Israel,
included The Hague Convention, The 1948 Convention Against Mass
Killings and The Geneva Conventions.

Azam Mohamad, one of the Scottish-based Lebanese nationals taking the
case against the Scottish Executive and the UK government, said: We
took this action as US aircraft are going through Prestwick airport
with bombs bound for Israel that will be used to shell our families. We
want to stop those bombs.

Mohamad, the director of Glasgows Middle East Society, added: We are
shocked that Tony Blair has allowed aircraft carrying bombs bound for
Israel to come through this country. These weapons are illegal as they
are used to kill civilians. I cannot find words to explain my
unhappiness at Blairs decision. If we get a chance to take Tony Blair
to court, we will do so.

The Lebanese government will help our cause by giving us as much
information as they can. Even the prime minister of Lebanon will help
us in our attempt to stop these bombs being sent through Britain to
destroy Lebanon. The government in Lebanon appreciates what we are
doing to help protect the freedom and democracy of Lebanon.

The Lebanese community in Scotland and England is now collectively
raising the money needed to fund the legal challenge. Members of the
20-strong group of Lebanese, who have put their names to the suit
against the government, have lost loved ones in the conflict, had
property destroyed and seen their relatives and friends turned into
refugees.

Another Lebanese national living in Scotland who is taking the case
against the government, Mohamad Saadi, lost his aunt, 55-year-old
Khadija, last Friday. She died of a heart attack when her area came
under heavy Israeli bombing.

It is very hard for us, Saadi said. Every family is suffering. This
is not just about my family  everyone in Lebanon is now my family. We
are calling our relatives every hour. While I am talking now something
could be happening to my family back in Lebanon. A humanitarian
disaster is happening.

Blair is helping terrorism because what Israel is doing to Lebanon is
terrorism  they are attacking and killing civilians. He is utterly in
the wrong.

Both Mohamad and Saadi have raised their children in Scotland and
started thriving businesses in Glasgow. They say they have been
overwhelmed by support from the people of Scotland towards the people
of Lebanon, and on Friday launched a Scottish-Lebanese friendship
society. They said that many in the large Christian community in
Lebanon were now supporting Hezbollah as the Islamic militia were the
only ones fighting for us and the country.

Zouheir Swade, another member of Glasgows Lebanese community backing
the legal action, told how he lost nine members of his extended family
just over a week ago when his brother-in-laws house was hit by an
Israeli shell.

This is just one of many massacres in Lebanon, Swade said. A friend
and his wife and two children were also killed in their car by an
Israeli bomb. I sleep for no more than two hours before I get up and
turn on the news. Im phoning my family all the time. When I hear my
mothers voice I cry.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole
responsibility of the author and do not  necessarily reflect those of
the Centre for Research on Globalization.

To become a Member of Global Research

  The Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) at
www.globalresearch.ca grants permission to cross-post original Global
Research articles in their entirety, or any portions thereof, on
community internet sites, as long as the text & title are not modified.
The source must be acknowledged and an active URL hyperlink address to
the original CRG article must be indicated. The author's copyright note
must be displayed. For publication of Global Research articles in print
or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact:
crgeditor@yahoo.com

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which
has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We
are making such material available to our readers under the provisions
of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of
political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to
use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must
request permission from the copyright owner.

  For media inquiries: crgeditor@yahoo.com

  ) Copyright Neil Mackay, Sunday Herald (Scotland), 2006

  The url address of this article is:
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?
context=viewArticle&code=MAC20060808&articleId=2922

========================================================================
================================================

                                                Desperate Lebanese Flee
to Syria on Foot

  By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press Writer  1 hour, 40 minutes ago

ON THE LEBANON-SYRIA BORDER - Carrying luggage and infants, a couple
hundred Lebanese and foreigners stepped around craters left behind from
Israeli airstrikes and debris from a destroyed immigration office as
they fled war-torn Lebanon for Syria on Tuesday.

Desperate for food, shelter and medicine, they risked being hit by
Israeli bombs as they walked along the Beirut-Damascus highway and
through the Masnaa border crossing to escape the escalating violence in
Lebanon.

" Israel's daily attacks of the crossings and roads will not prevent us
from crossing by all means," said Rakan al-Saedi, 45, from the central
Lebanese town of Zahle.

The highway, which links the two countries' capitals, once handled
hundreds of cars, buses and trucks daily. But after Israeli attacks
destroyed large swaths of the road, making traveling by car impossible,
fleeing on foot is the only way to cross the border.

Along with the highway, Israeli airstrikes also have pounded the Masnaa
border crossing several times since the start of the crisis four weeks
ago in an effort to cut off Hezbollah's supply routes.

But the bombing also has put civilians who want to flee the violence at
risk and has prevented trucks from resupplying Lebanon with necessary
items like fuel and food. Some Lebanese say they are now forced to
travel on their own to Syria to get household necessities.

Naser Abdul-Hak said he was going to Syria to bring food back to his
family stranded in Lebanon.

"There is no fuel, no food and no medicine in Lebanon. ... How could we
survive?" said Abdul-Hak, 36, from the Lebanese town of Qibb Elias.

Once people make it across the Masnaa border in Lebanon, they must walk
another 1,000 feet before hiring a Syrian taxi or taking the bus to the
Syrian crossing at Jdeidet Yabous. From there, many travel the 20 miles
to Damascus.

The Syrian government has set up help centers at the border crossings
to assist Lebanese fleeing the war. Some 300,000 Lebanese have come to
Syria during the past four weeks, staying at Syrian hotels, schools and
with families who have opened their homes.

Mazen Sabri, 50, said he was traveling to Syria with his family to
escort them to safety in the neighboring country. But he planned on
returning to his village of Majdel Aanjar in central Lebanon.

"I prefer to die in my homeland," Sabri said.

========================================================================
==============================================

From: "Chihaya" <chihaya@aapt.net.au>
Date: August 8, 2006 5:39:55 AM EST
Subject: Please watch this and forward to everybody!

               George Galloway ROARING for Justice!
from a friend:

YouTube - Galloway on Israel and lebanon 06/08/2006

Watch this, please! Whose lives are more valuable? You decide! Galloway
pulls no punches! Forward it on please! Please!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-brkmfrxrQY&eurl

========================================================================
================================================

                         BRITISH PETROLEUMS SMART PIG

Published by Greg Palast August 8th, 2006 in Articles
The Brilliantly Profitable Timing of the Alaska Oil Pipeline Shutdown

by Greg Palast
For The Guardian (UK)
Tuesday, August 9, 2006

Is the Alaska Pipeline corroded? You bet it is. Has been for more than
a decade. Did British Petroleum shut the pipe yesterday to turn a quick
buck on its negligence, to profit off the disaster it created? Just ask
the smart pig.

Years ago, I had the unhappy job of leading an investigation of British
Petroleums management of the Alaska pipeline system. I was working for
the Chugach villages, the Alaskan Natives who own the shoreline slimed
by the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker grounding.

Even then, courageous government inspectors and pipeline workers were
screaming about corrosion all through the pipeline. I say courageous
because BP, which owns 46% of the pipe and is supposed to manage the
system, had a habit of hunting down and destroying the careers of those
who warn of pipeline problems.

In one case, BPs CEO of Alaskan operations hired a former CIA expert
to break into the home of a whistleblower, Chuck Hamel, who had
complained of conditions at the pipes tanker facility. BP tapped his
phone calls with a US congressman and ran a surveillance and smear
campaign against him. When caught, a US federal judge said BPs acts
were reminiscent of Nazi Germany.

This was not an isolated case. Captain James Woodle, once in charge of
the pipes Valdez terminus, was blackmailed into resigning the post
when he complained of disastrous conditions there. The weapon used on
Woodle was a file of faked evidence of marital infidelity. Nice guys,
eh?

Now lets talk timing. BPs suddenly discovered corrosion necessitating
an emergency shut-down of the line is the same corrosion Dan Lawn has
been screaming about for 15 years. Lawn is a steel-eyed government
inspector who has kept his job only because his unions lawyers have
kept BP from having his head.

Indeed, its pretty darn hard for BP to claim it is surprised to find
corrosion this week when Lawn issued a damning report on corrosion
right after a leak and spill were discovered on March 2 of this year.

Why shut the pipe now? The timing of a sudden inspection and fix of a
decade-long problem has a suspicious smell. A precipitous shutdown in
mid-summer, in the middle of Middle East war(s), is guaranteed to raise
prices and reap monster profits for BP. The price of crude jumped $2.22
a barrel on the shutdown news to over $76. How lucky for BP which sells
four million barrels of oil a day. Had BP completed its inspection and
repairs a couple years back  say, after Dan Lawns tenth warning  the
oil market would have hardly noticed.

But $2 a barrel is just the beginning of BPs shut-down bonus. The
Alaskan oil was destined for the California market which now faces a
supply crisis at the very height of the summer travel season. The big
winner is ARCO petroleum, the largest retailer in the Golden State.
ARCO is a 100%-owned subsidiary of  British Petroleum.

BP could have fixed the pipeline problem this past winter, after their
latest corrosion-caused oil spill. But then ARCO would have lost the
summertime supply-squeeze windfall.

Enron Corporation was infamous for deliberately timing repairs to
maximize profit. Would BP also manipulate the market in such a crude
manner? Some US prosecutors think they did so in the US propane market.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) just six weeks ago
charged the company with approving an Enron-style scheme to crank up
the price of propane sold in poor rural communities in the US. One
former BP exec has pleaded guilty.

Lord Browne, the imperious CEO of BP, has apologized for that scam, for
the Alaska spill, for this weeks shutdown and for the deaths in 2005
of 15 workers at the companys mortally sloppy refinery operation at
Texas City, Texas.

I dont want readers to think BP isnt civic-minded. The companys US
CEO, Bob Malone, was Co-Chairman of the Bush re-election campaign in
Alaska. Mr. Bush, in turn, was so impressed with BPs care of Alaskas
environment that he pushed again to open the states arctic wildlife
refuge (ANWR) to drilling by the BP consortium.

Indeed, you can go to Alaska today and see for yourself the evidence of
BPs care of the wilderness. You can smell it: the crude oil still on
the beaches from the Exxon Valdez spill.

Exxon took all the blame for the spill because they were dumb enough to
have the companys name on the ship. But it was BPs pipeline managers
who filed reports that oil spill containment equipment was sitting
right at the site of the grounding near Bligh Island. However, the
reports were bogus, the equipment wasnt there and so the beaches were
poisoned. At the time, our investigators uncovered four-volumes worth
of faked safety reports and concluded that BP was at least as culpable
as Exxon for the 1,200 miles of oil-destroyed coastline.

Nevertheless, mLord Browne preens himself with his corporations
environmental record. We know BP cares about nature because they have
lots of photos of solar panels in their annual reports  and theyve
painted every one of their gas stations green.

The green paint-job is supposed to represent the oil giants love of
Mother Nature. But the good Lord, Mr. Browne, knows it stands for the
color of the Yankee dollar.

BP claims the profitable timing of its Alaska pipe shutdown can be
explained because theyve only now run a smart pig through the pipes
to locate the corrosion. The pig is an electronic drone that BP
should have been using continuously, though they had not done so for 14
years. The fact that, in the middle of an oil crisis, theyve run it
through now, forcing the shutdown, reminds me, when I consider Lord
Brownes closeness to George Bush, that the companys pig is indeed,
very, very smart.

Greg Palast, an energy economist and investigative reporter, is the
author of Exxon Valdez: A Well-Designed Disaster. His reports can be
seen on BBC Televisions Newsnight, Democracy Now! and in Harpers
Magazine.

========================================================================
=================================================================

  Last Updated: Wednesday, 9 August 2006, 06:21 GMT 07:21 UK

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of o.gif]
                       Venezuela 'to Sever Israel Ties'

  The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, has said his country is
likely to sever ties with Israel in protest at its military offensive
in Lebanon.

Mr Chavez said he had "no interest" in maintaining relations with
Israel, whom he has accused of committing genocide.

  Venezuela recalled its charge d'affaires to Israel last week,
prompting Israel to withdraw its ambassador to Caracas on Monday.

  Mr Chavez recently expressed his support for Israel's arch-foe, Iran.

  In a televised speech, Mr Chavez said he had "no interest in
maintaining diplomatic relations, or offices, or businesses, or
anything with a state like Israel".

  Mr Chavez rounded on Israel at the weekend, accusing the Jewish state
of committing a "new Holocaust".

  "Israel has gone mad. It's attacking, doing the same thing to the
Palestinian and Lebanese people that they have criticised - and with
reason - the Holocaust. But this is a new Holocaust."

  The Venezuelan president has also angered Israel by showing support
for Iran, which backs Hezbollah and has called for Israel's
annihilation.

  During a visit to Tehran at the end of last month, Mr Chavez said
Venezuela would "stand by Iran at any time and under any condition".

  Israel said it had withdrawn its ambassador to Venezuela "as an act of
protest against the one-sided policy of the president of Venezuela and
in light of his wild slurs against the State of Israel".

========================================================================
===============

(3) Non-Jewish Israelis cannot buy or lease land in Israel

Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2006 18:58:54 EDT From: Jazzycatwanda@aol.com From:
"alex james" <alexjames9999@gmail.com>

Did you know that non-Jewish Israelis cannot buy or lease land in
Israel? Did you now that cars owned by Palestinians are colour coded to
distinguish Jews from non-Jews? Did you know Palestinians are not
allowed to move from one city, say Gaza to Bethleham, to another
without first getting a 'visa' from Israel? Did you know that Israel
allots 85% of the water resources for Jews and the remaining 15% is
divided among all Palestinians in the territories? For example in
Hebron, 85% of the water is given to about 400 Jewish settlers, while
15% must be divided among Hebron's 120,000 Palestinians? Did you know
that Israel routinely confiscates Palestinian bank accounts, businesses
and land and refuses to pay compensation to those who suffer
confiscation?...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo:
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25368

Podhoretz calls for genocide Norman Podhoretz makes a passionate call
for a Final Solution to the Iraqi and Palestinian problems

..Can any war be won when one of the combatants voluntarily limits
itself in this manner? Could World War II have been won by Britain and
the United States if the two countries did not have it in them to
firebomb Dresden and nuke Hiroshima and Nagasaki? (...) What if the
tactical mistake we made in Iraq was that we didn't kill enough Sunnis
in the early going to intimidate them and make them so afraid of us
they would go along with anything? Wasn't the survival of Sunni men
between the ages of 15 and 35 the reason there was an insurgency and
the basic cause of the sectarian violence now? If you can't imagine
George W. Bush issuing such an order, is there any American leader you
could imagine doing so? And if America can't do it, can Israel? (...)
What if Israel's caution about casualties among its own soldiers and
Lebanese civilians has demonstrated to Hezbollah and Hamas that as long
as they can duck and cover when the missiles fly and the bombs fall,
they can survive and possibly even thrive?...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo:
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=25423

-- Peter Myers, 381 Goodwood Rd, Childers 4660, Australia ph +61 7
41262296 http://users.cyberone.com.au/myers Mirror:
http://mailstar.net/index.html I use the old Mac OS; being
incompatible, it cannot run Windows viruses or transmit them to you. If
your emails to me bounce, write to me at peter.myers@mailstar.net. To
unsubscribe, reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject line; allow 1 day.

========================================================================
======

From: "Isabelle Delforge" <idelforge@viacampesina.org>
Date: August 7, 2006 11:09:33 PM EST
To: "Via Info Eng" <ViaCampesina-info-english@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [ViaCampesina-info-english] Vma Campesina in Latin America
Will Form an Agro-Ecological Contingent
Reply-To: ViaCampesina-info-english-owner@yahoogroups.com

                                    Vma Campesina in Latin America Will
Form an Agro-Ecological Contingent

by Fausto Torrez

On September 26, 2005 in Sabaneta, Alberto Arvelo Torrealba
municipality, state of Barinas, Venezuela an agreement on agricultural
technical cooperation was signed between the Via Campesina- MST and the
Bolivarian Government of Venezuela.

The signatories were President Hugo Chavez on behalf of the Bolivarian
government of Venezuela, authorities of the state government of
Barinas, the Minister of Agriculture and Land, and Joao Pedro Stedile
on behalf of the Landless Rural Workers Movement of Brazil (MST) and
the Via Campesina. 

One of the planks of this agreement establishes that:  "It is necessary
to develop all possible efforts to defend the principle of food
sovereignty of our peoples, for the protection and multiplication of
native seeds and all productive agricultural species, for affirming the
value of small-scale community and family farming, to strengthen
internal markets and to search for new agricultural techniques adapted
to the environment to produce a high quality of food for our peoples." 

  To put this agreement into effect, a group of leaders and
professionals of Latin American organizations, together with the
authorities of the Bolivarian University and the Ministry for Higher
Education are in the final phase of creating the Institute of
Agro-Ecology including Campesino (Small Scale Community and Family
Farming), Indigenous and Afro-descendant Studies. 

The goal is to train qualified activists for the organization and
development of agro-ecology, contributing to a new ethic in the
relationship between technicians and farmer, indigenous and
afro-descent organizations, in order to construct a new paradigm in the
Latin American countryside. 

The promulgation of scientific, holistic and humanistic values will
provide a new perspective to thousands of youth of both sexes which in
the future will strengthen rural social movements, with the goal of
promoting technologies that are enriched by  traditional knowledge and
return education to a practice of strengthening the food sovereignty of
the peoples.

The first 250 students (50% women) will initiate coursework in this
institute in the month of September 2006, in the Alberto Arvelo
municipality in the State of Barinas.  This center falls within the
framework of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas and the previously
described agreements.  In this first stage students of a high
professional quality from the entire region, both Venezuelan and
foreign, will participate.  A participatory methodology will be
employed that balances school work with community work in a
'social-productive' practice.  The program will last five years and be
completed in a professional graduation.

The Pedagogical Method will focus to advantage on classical scientific
ideas, without side-stepping traditional knowledge or the
socio-cultural cosmovision of Indigenous and Afro-descent America, to
instill a pedagogical and political thought committed to the social
dynamics of popular struggle, an education described by Antsn Makarenco
as one where:  "Each person must be useful to the cause of the working
class."   

The Institute will carry the name of the Brazilian educator Paulo
Freire, universal symbol of popular education, signifying that each
student is the subject of a social project.  Ethical, political, moral,
and ideological values are the basis for the construction of a new
focus, under the assumption that:  "Only knowledge liberates."

The Institute will have the support of the Bolivarian University, the
Ministry for Higher Education of Venezuela, and the methodological
contributions of organizations that for many years have developed the
training methods of the MST, the ATC, the ANAP, etc... in general all
the experiences accumulated by the Latin American Coordination of
Countryside Organizations (CLOC), the Via Campesina and Afro-descendant
and Indigenous Organizations, as well as contributions by the Institute
of Education Josui de Castro of Brazil.

Finally, the Institute will be under the central coordination of the
member Organizations of the Latin American Countryside Coordination
(CLOC), the Via Campesina, and Indigenous and Afro-Descendant
representatives, with a rotating direction and curriculum design
structure to ensure the necessary competencies in order to create new
productive and social spaces for Agro-ecological practice as a new
element required by the socialism of the 21st century. 

Globalize Struggle, Globalize Hope

Latin American Agro-Ecological Institute "Paulo Freire"

for Campesino, Indigenous and Afro-Descendant Studies.

ATC, CLOC-Vma Campesina

Nicaragua, July 2006.
_________________________________
 
Date: August 8, 2006 12:24:06 AM EST

Dear all,
The Movement of Women Peasants (MMC) in Brazil has produced an
excellent folder on the campaign against green deserts and the Aracruz
case. You can download it from our website
http://www.viacampesina.org/main_en/images/stories/pdf/
panfleto_dverde_ing.pdf
Please circulate widely. If you want to keep informed about this
campaign, you can send an e-mail to MMC asking them to be put on their
distribution lists: informa@mmcbrasil.com.br (please mention the
language(s) that you understand).
Best regards,
Isabelle
_________________________________
 
Isabelle Delforge
Communication assistant - La Via Campesina
International Operative Secretariat
Office: + 62-217991890
Mobile: +62-81513224565
Home: +62-217946029
Website :http://www.viacampesina.org
Jln. Mampang Prapatan XIV No. 5
Jakarta Selatan 12790 - Indonesia
 
========================================================================
================================================================
  __,_._,___
From: Henri the Celt <henrithecelt@gci.net>
Date: August 7, 2006 8:40:20 PM EST
To: AAAHenri <henrithecelt@gci.net>
Subject: Fw: 9/11 Commission's Lies Unravelling

From: Stephen M. St. John
To:  Editor USA Today ; Senator Hurley ; Senator Humphries ; Senator
Hogg ; Senator Heffernan ; Senator Forshaw ; Senator Fifield ; Senator
Fierravanti-Wells ; Senator Bob Brown ; Roger ; oscully@hotkey.net.au ;
Michele W ; Mervyn H ; J M Baurelius ; Henri The Celt ; Charlton P
Sent: Monday, August 07, 2006 5:21 PM
Subject:                 9/11 Commission's Lies Unravelling

Text of fax broadcast:

NEW YORK, NEW YORK *** 7 AUGUST 2006   Citizen of the USA Stephen M. St.
John addresses the international community in Washington and here in New
York City, all members of the US Congress as well as other
organizations and
individuals, public and private, and brings to their attention 9/11
Commission Cochairman Thomas H. Kean's recent -- though belated -- 
  revelation of deception on the part of officials of NORAD (North
American
Aerospace Command) in their testimonies about their activities
confronting
  the attacks of 9/11.  Citizen St. John further notes that Kean's
finger-pointing occurs even as his own integrity is again being called
into
  question by the newly released book CHRISTIAN FAITH and the TRUTH
BEHIND
9/11 by David Ray Griffin (now available at www.amazon.com).   Citizen
St.
John senses that Kean, feeling Griffin's heat, is blaming the Pentagon
in a
"limited hangout" revelation so as to head off deeper inquiry. 
Furthermore,
  Citizen St. John notes that Kean is acting in this fashion in the vain
hope
that few will ever learn of Karl Schwarz's revelations that he and seven
  other 9/11 Commissioners had severe conflicts of interest related to
companies wanting to terminate the Taliban's oil pipeline contract with
the
Argentine company Bridas, which was accomplished under the guise of
retaliation for the attacks of 9/11.  According to Karl Schwarz
(www.karlschwarz.com), 9/11 "was an excuse for policies and actions that
  otherwise would not make sense  or would not be condoned by the
American
people."  Citizen St. John adds to the oil motive for carrying out the
false
flag attacks of 9/11 the Zionist motive to put American muscle on
  Mesopotamian patrol.  As the 9/11 Commission's lies continue to
unravel, the
definitive proof of an inside job will be attained by matching 9/11
seismic
readings taken by the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory with the
soundtrack
  of Richard Siegel's "9/11 Eyewitness" video (see
  www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12018.htm).

========================================================================
========================
*****************************************************************
 49 Las Vegas SUN: Survivor recalls atomic bomb blast in Japan 61 years ago 

Today: August 09, 2006 at 17:51:22 PDT 

By FRANCISCA ORTEGA ASSOCIATED PRESS 

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Kazuo Maruta was a 13-year-old junior high
student when a bomb dubbed "Fat Man" exploded about a mile from
the home he shared with his mother. 

On Wednesday, Maruta, now 74, recalled the "hell on earth" the
atomic bomb left behind when it was dropped 61 years ago on
Nagasaki, Japan. Three days before Maruta's world exploded, the
U.S. bomber Enola Gay had dropped the "Little Boy" bomb on
Hiroshima. An estimated 200,000 Japanese died immediately after
the two bombings. 

When the bomb exploded in Nagasaki it appeared as if a second
sun was in the sky, Maruta said. His body was thrown by the
explosion, and he regained consciousness under his collapsed
house. He suffered wounds from glass shrapnel embedded in his
back and skull, and later suffered from high fever and bloody
diarrhea caused by radiation sickness. 

His mother died instantly in the hallway of a neighbor's home,
he said 

After the bombings Maruta said he saw the charred bodies of the
dead and survivors with their skin hanging off in strips. 

"I can still picture it when I close my eyes now," he said at a
speech at the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas on the
anniversary of the bombings. Maruta's appearance was part of a
ceremony opening an exhibition by the Nagasaki National Peace
Memorial Hall from Japan. The exhibit contains photographs of
the bomb's aftermath, artifacts and survivors' poems and
stories. 

"I wish as a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing to call for world
peace and to call for the abolishment of nuclear weapons,"
Maruta said. 

Maruta has been in Las Vegas for the past week, speaking to
audiences about the use of atomic weapons. Before leaving Japan
for the trip he said he was not sure how he would be received by
people living so close to where atomic bombs had been tested. 

"I worried about the opinions and reactions I would meet," he
said. "However we've had many visitors and they have listened
attentively to the speech. I feel we've been able to have a big
affect here." 

William G. Johnson, director of the museum, which traces a
half-century of nuclear weapons development at the nearby Nevada
Test Site, said it has also hosted Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.,
who supports the development of nuclear energy. 

"The museum is trying to maintain neutrality but welcomes
advocacy groups," Johnson said. 

The exhibit will be on display until Aug. 27. 

All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
 50 RGJ.com: Hiroshima, Nagasaki memorial to be held
 
Nevada, USA  775-788-6200

LENITA POWERS RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL -->

Posted: 8/8/2006 
                                                                
+ The Hiroshima Museum's Web site is at www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp 

A memorial for the victims of the World War II bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a call for nuclear disarmament will
be held Wednesday in Reno.

Sponsored by Citizen Alert and the Reno Anti-War Coalition, the
event from 5 to

6:15 p.m. is at the Bruce Thompson Federal Building on Liberty
and South Virginia streets.

"We want to remind people how horrible these weapons are and to
remember the civilians who were the victims of it," said John
Hadder, an event organizer. "In the current climate of the
world, we're frightening close to using them again."

The United States dropped the world's first nuclear bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. Three days later, the U.S.
dropped another nuclear bomb on Nagasaki. By December, an
estimated 140,000 people had died in Hiroshima from the bomb or
its effects and about 74,000 fatalities were reported in
Nagasaki. Most were civilians.

As part of the memorial, there will be a "shadow figure" sand
ceremony.

"Shadow figures are the images that remained after the initial
explosions from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Hadder
said.

The intense flash of radiation bleached areas around people,
leaving the shadows of their bodies on the pavement, he said.

"We'll have a couple of shadow figures outlined, and people can
take a handful of sand and help fill them in," Hadder said.

Wednesday's memorial and peace rally is not a debate about
whether the bombing of the two Japanese cities was wrong or the
only way to prevent more deaths from a military invasion, Hadder
said.

The purpose is to remind congressional representatives to keep
the promise the U.S. made under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty and urge them to stop plans for the Divine Strake test at
the Nevada Test Site in Southern Nevada, he said.

"Divine Strake is not a nuclear weapons test, but we think it is
linked to the development of nuclear weapons," Hadder said.

As a symbol of peace, origami cranes will be sent to each member
of Congress, he said.

The U.S. can lead the world away from a path toward nuclear
destruction by changing the deadly mind-set that the country
with the most bombs can win a nuclear war, Hadder said.

"That was the mentality of the Cold War, and it's time we moved
away from mutually assured destruction and start spending our
valuable resources on food, education and the needs of children
around the world instead of on more weapons and more wars," he
said. 

 Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal
*****************************************************************
 51 Reuters: Japan's Nagasaki marks 61st anniversary of A-bomb
                                
Wed 9 Aug 2006 12:55 AM ET

TOKYO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The mayor of Nagasaki criticised Iran 
and North Korea for their nuclear programmes and had harsh words 
for the United States for failing to halt nuclear proliferation 
as the Japanese city marked the 61st anniversary of its atomic 
bombing.

 Elderly survivors, children and dignitaries bowed their heads
at the city's Peace Park near "ground zero" for a moment of
silence at 11:02 a.m. -- the moment when a U.S. bomber dropped
the world's second atomic bomb on Aug. 9, 1945.

 Earlier, others attended masses at Urakami Cathedral in the
city, home to many of Japan's tiny number of Christians.

 The anniversaries of the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima
three days earlier coincide this year with renewed concerns
about nuclear programmes by Iran and by North Korea, which last
month jolted the region by firing a salvo of missiles.

 "Voices of anger and frustration are echoing throughout the
city," Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito told thousands of people
gathered to mourn the more than 140,000 people known to have
died.

 "The time has come for those nations that rely on the force of
nuclear armaments to respectfully heed the voices of
peace-loving people, not least the atomic bomb survivors."

 Ito also had harsh words for the United States and other
nuclear powers for their failure to halt proliferation.

 "The nuclear weapon states have not demonstrated sincerity in
their efforts at disarmament. The United States of America in
particular has issued a tacit approval of nuclear weapons
development by India," Ito said.

 "At the same time, nuclear weapons declarant North Korea is
threatening the peace and security of Japan and the world as a
whole.

 "In fact, the very structure of nonproliferation is facing a
crisis due to nuclear ambitions by various nations including
Pakistan which announced its possession of nuclear arms, Israel
which is widely considered to possess them, and Iran," Ito said.

 In the closing days of World War Two, the United States dropped
a 10,000-pound plutonium-239 bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man," on
Nagasaki.

 It exploded about 500 metres (1,600 feet) above the ground,
instantly killing about 27,000 of the city's estimated
population of around 200,000. By the end of 1945, the number of
dead due to acute radiation exposure reached about 70,000.

 The names of 2,831 people who died recently were added to the
list of victims, bringing the total number recognised by the
city to 140,144. A few thousand names are added each year.

 Ito called on Japan to protect its postwar pacifist
constitution and keep its pledge never to possess nuclear arms.

 "Once again we call upon the Japanese government ... to ground
itself in reflection upon history and uphold the peaceful
intensions of the constitution," he said.

 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ensured the world that Japan
would maintain its pacifist constitution and non-nuclear policy.

 "Japan, the only country that has suffered atomic bombings in
human history, has the responsibility to keep telling the
international community about its experience," Koizumi told the
crowd.

 Koizumi has stretched the limits of the U.S.-drafted
constitution, sending non-combat troops to Iraq on the
military's riskiest mission since World War Two. The troops have
since pulled out.

 Japan's ruling party and the main opposition party are also
seeking to revise the constitution, whose Article Nine prohibits
maintaining a military but has been interpreted as allowing
armed forces solely for self-defence.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.                                              [ border=] 
*****************************************************************
 52 AFP: Nagasaki warns against nuclear arms on A-bomb anniversary -
    
 by Harumi Ozawa Wed Aug 9, 1:59 AM ET 		 	 

TOKYO (AFP) - The Japanese city of Nagasaki has mourned the 61st 
anniversary of the world's second and last nuclear attack, with 
its mayor voicing anger that non-proliferation efforts were 
"collapsing". 

 Some 4,600 people, ranging from aging survivors to local 
teenagers, offered a minute of silent prayers under hot sunshine 
at 11:02 am (0202 GMT), the moment of the blast in 1945. 

The US nuclear bomb, codenamed "Fat Man" after Winston
Churchill, killed more than 70,000 people in Nagasaki, a
southern port city known for its early openness to foreign trade
and large Christian community. 

The bomb was even larger than "Little Boy" which was dropped
three days earlier on Hiroshima, killing some 140,000 people.
Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II. 

Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Ito offered an impassioned plea to step up
efforts to control nuclear weapons. 

"What is the human race doing?" he said in his address. "The
world's nuclear non-proliferation regime faces the risk of
collapsing." 

"Sixty-one years since the bombing, the city of Nagasaki is
filled with anger and frustration," Ito said. "The nuclear
powers are not making sincere efforts for nuclear arms
reduction." 

He criticized the United States for reaching a civilian-use
nuclear deal with India, which was initially ostracized by
Western powers and Japan for declaring itself an atomic power in
1998. 

"In particular, the United States is giving tacit approval to
India's nuclear arms development," Ito said. 

He also criticized Iran" /> , Israel" /> and Pakistan for their
declared or suspected nuclear programs and singled out
self-declared nuclear neighbor North Korea" /> . 

"North Korea has declared it possesses nuclear arms and is
threatening Japan's and the world's peace and security," Ito
said. 

"I again urge the Japanese government to promote the
denuclearization of northeastern Asia," he said. 

"I also demand the government provide further support for aging
hibakusha at home and abroad," he said, using the Japanese term
for atomic bomb survivors. 

Communist North Korea set off new alarm bells in the region with
its July 5 test-firing of seven ballistic missiles into the Sea
of Japan (East Sea). 

North Korea said it was boosting its defenses and frequently
accuses Japan of failing to atone for its brutal occupation of
the Korean peninsula which ended in 1945. 

More than 20,000 Koreans are believed to have died in the
Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, many of them brought to Japan
as slave laborers. 

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has infuriated neighboring
countries by visiting a controversial war shrine. He has
indicated he will go again next week on the sensitive
anniversary of Japan's surrender. 

Koizumi, who steps down next month, has also attended annual
ceremonies in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki every year since he
took office in 2001. 

He attended his last ceremony wearing a black tie with a white
flower pinned to his chest. 

"We have the responsibility to continue speaking on the
experience to the world as the only country attacked with
nuclear bombs in the history," he said. 	 		 			

Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 53 Guardian Unlimited: Nagasaki Marks 61 Years Since Bombing
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Wednesday August 9, 2006 8:16 PM

AP Photo TOK807 

By CHISAKI WATANABE 

Associated Press Writer 

TOKYO (AP) - The mayor of Nagasaki, the second of the only two
cities attacked with an atomic bomb, marked the 61st anniversary
of the bombing Wednesday by criticizing the world's nuclear
powers for their stalled efforts to disarm. 

Mayor Itcho Ito criticized those countries for not working
earnestly for atomic disarmament. He spoke at a memorial service
attended by about 4,800 survivors, officials and guests at Peace
Memorial Park, just a few hundred yards from the center of the
blast at the end of World War II. 

Ito said the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the international
pact to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, was ``on the
verge of collapsing.'' 

``The U.S. is acquiescing in India's nuclear development and is
in the process of building up a system for nuclear technology
cooperation,'' he said. 

Ito said North Korea, which claims to possess nuclear weapons,
is threatening the peace and stability of Japan, which is a
participant in stalled six-nation talks on curbing North Korea's
atomic program. 

On Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. bomber Enola Gay dropped the ``Little
Boy'' bomb on Hiroshima, killing at least 140,000 people in the
world's first atomic attack. 

Three days later, the B-29 Bock's Car dropped a bomb dubbed
``Fat Man'' on Nagasaki, with estimates of the immediate death
toll ranging from 60,000 to 80,000. 

Japan, whose military had sought to create an empire across Asia
and attacked the United States, surrendered Aug. 15, 1945,
ending the war. 

Participants in Nagasaki observed a moment of silence at 11:02
a.m., the exact time the atomic bomb was dropped on the city. 

Kikuyo Nakamura, 82, said she was concerned the attack could
soon be forgotten because many of those who survived have passed
away. 

``I will never forget what happened 61 years ago,'' she said.
``Now I feel compelled to tell others how stupid, scary and
cruel the war was.'' 

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Japan would honor its
pacifist constitution and uphold the principle of nuclear
nonproliferation. Japan is a signatory to the nuclear treaty but
also has its own moratorium on seeking or developing atomic
arms. 

Wednesday's ceremony followed a memorial service Sunday in
Hiroshima, where about 45,000 people gathered in the city's
peace park. Embassy officials from seven countries, including
Germany, Russia and Australia, were among those who attended in
Nagasaki, city officials said. American diplomats did not
attend, according to a city statement. 

Nagasaki this year added 2,831 people to a list of those who
have died from aftereffects of the attack, raising the total
number of fatalities blamed on the atomic bomb to 140,144. 	 

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 54 KCPW: Atomic Anniversary

On Air At Library Square
 
 
Aug 07, 2006 by Julie Rose (KCPW News) 

Sixty-one years ago this week, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on 
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, signaling the end of World War 
Two. It's an anniversary that resonates with Salt Lake resident 
Darlene Phillips. She's a downwinder:

"I have an early stage of lymphoma, so as long as I am alive I
will speak against nuclear testing," says Phillips. "It's still
a bomb."

Phillips grew up in Salt Lake City, and as a teenager spent two
summers working and hiking in Bryce Canyon where she witnessed
many nuclear explosions at the Nevada Test Site. 

"We could get out on the catwalk and see the lights from the
nuclear blast when they were doing a test. Bryce Canyon is a
place where it rains daily, so unbeknownst to me I was walking
in nuclear fallout," says Phillips.

"Our exposure comes not from a Russian nuclear warhead, but from
our own government."

Phillips has been part of a study group on nuclear fallout at
the National Institutes of Health, where doctors believe her
lymphoma is related to exposure from atomic testing. The U.S.
Department of Defense has been planning to detonate 700-tons of
explosives at the Nevada Test Site, but now says it will wait
until early 2007 out of concern for releasing more nuclear
fallout into the air.

 
Posted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2006 KCPW 

*****************************************************************
 55 Livermore Lab on Dept. of Homeland Security list for massive
 
Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 15:38:45 -0700

X-Nohoney: yes white-hard - relay H=adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net (borg.energy-net.org) [63.203.231.61]
X-Sender-Host-Address: 63.203.231.61
X-Sender-Host-Name: adsl-63-203-231-61.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net
X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST

<x-flowed>
Hi there, TVC members and friends -- This afternoon, some minutes ago, the
Dept. of Homeland Security did release the "short list" for its massive
new biodefense complex. And, as we had been told -- Livermore Lab Site 300
is on that list. Here is the press release we sent out this morning. Read
on for details and Tri-Valley CAREs' perspective ...
-- Marylia Kelley

For more information, contact:
Marylia Kelley, executive director, Tri-Valley CAREs, (925) 443-7148
Loulena Miles, staff attorney, Tri-Valley CAREs, (925) 443-7148

For Immediate Release, August 9, 2006
"MOON SUITS" & MAD COW FOR CENTRAL VALLEY, BAY AREA?

Livermore Lab "Site 300" on Dept. of Homeland Security List to be Announced
Today:
Community Group Opposes "Mixing Bugs and Bombs" at Nuclear Weapons Lab,
Cites Health and Environmental Concerns

LIVERMORE -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is poised to announce
later today that the joint University of Calif.-Livermore Lab bid to
construct and operate a massive biodefense complex at the Livermore Lab's
"Site 300" has been placed on the agency's "short list" of sites under
consideration.

If Livermore Lab's Site 300 is chosen to house this new biodefense
mega-plex, it will, by definition, include agriculture biocontainment labs
for what are euphemistically called "high consequence" bio-agents -
including foreign animal diseases and human pathogens requiring Biosafety
Level-3 (BSL-3) and BSL-4 research space.

500,000 Square Feet of Lab Space: Moon Suits, Mad Cow and Ebola, too?

According to the DHS federal register notice, the mega-complex of biolabs
(e.g., BSL-3s and BSL-4s) would encompass 500,000 square feet - and the
biodefense research would also require a minimum of 30-acres in order to
carry out biological experiments on livestock such as cattle, sheep and
swine. The inclusion of livestock in the proposal makes it extremely likely
that mad cow disease and avian flu will be in the mix of deadly agents to
be handled, and perhaps genetically modified, at the site.

BSL-4 is the highest level of containment, where researchers wear "moon
suits" for protection. The BSL-4 designation is reserved for sites that
experiment with the deadliest agents, such as the Ebola virus, for which
there is no known cure. BSL-3 is the designation that permits sites to
experiment with and aerosolize (spray) potentially fatal pathogens, such as
live anthrax, Q fever and plague. (Note: Tri-Valley CAREs' bio-warfare
agent research lawsuit against the Dept. of Energy involves a planned BSL-3
at the Livermore Lab main site. That suit was filed in 2003, and a decision
is expected soon from the court.)

Tri-Valley CAREs Cites Regional, International Risks

"Tri-Valley CAREs is concerned about the types of experiments that would be
conducted in the Central Valley, which is our state's ranching and
agricultural heartland," stated Loulena Miles, Tri-Valley CAREs' staff
attorney. "A release could devastate the state's economy. Moreover, housing
developments and the Tracy City limits are rapidly expanding out toward
Site 300."

"We believe that advanced bio-warfare agent research should not be located
at nuclear weapons facilities, whether at the Livermore Lab main site or
Site 300, said Tri-Valley CAREs' executive director, Marylia Kelley.
"Mixing 'bugs and bombs' sends the wrong message to the world. How would
the U.S. dispel suspicion about the scope and intent of its bio-warfare
agent research when the activities are carried out at a highly classified
nuclear weapons site?"

Kelley continued: "This situation could result in a weakening of the
Biological Weapons Convention, the international treaty intended to prevent
the development and spread of bioweapons. In particular, it could stymie
negotiations on verification and enforcement protocols for the treaty."

This past spring, Tri-Valley CAREs revealed that the Livermore Lab and UC
had stealthily submitted an "expression of interest," to build a 30-acre
bio mega-mplex at Livermore Lab's Site 300 high explosives testing range
near Tracy. The group challenged the Regents of the University to make
public the details of the bid.

The University rejected Tri-Valley CAREs' public records act request. UC
refused to release a single iota of information, not even the cover page,
claiming the bid was exempt from public disclosure in its entirety.

"In essence, a classified nuclear weapons lab and the University that
manages it have submitted a covert plan to what may be the government's
most secretive agency to build what may be the site's most dangerous
facility," Kelley charged.

Moreover, she noted, "Site 300 has already been heavily contaminated by
nuclear weapons work. It is on the EPA's 'Superfund' list of most polluted
locations in the country."

Tri-Valley CAREs is developing a petition to show community opposition to
this plan. It will be available to the community within the next few days.

Tri-Valley CAREs is sponsoring a community workshop on September 12 at 7
PM, 501 W. Grantline Road, Tracy. We will have expert panelists on
bio-safety and on U.S. biodefense policy.

-- 30 --

Here is the link to Department of Homeland Security
click on Press http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=5790

Marylia Kelley
Executive Director
Tri-Valley CAREs
(Communities Against a Radioactive Environment)
2582 Old First Street
Livermore, CA USA 94551

<http://www.trivalleycares.org> - is our web site address. Please visit us
there!

(925) 443-7148 - is our phone
(925) 443-0177 - is our fax

</x-flowed>
*****************************************************************
 56 DOE: USDA and DOE Fund Genomics Projects For Bioenergy Fuels Research
 
  August 9, 2006
 
WASHINGTON, DC - Aug. 9, 2006  Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman
and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced that the
Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy (DOE)
have jointly awarded nine grants totaling $5.7 million for
biobased fuels research that will accelerate the development of
alternative fuel resources. 

Bodman commented, These research projects build upon DOEs
strategic investments in genomics, to accelerate scientific
discovery and promote the development of alternative energy
sources vital to Americas energy and economic security. 

To be a reliable renewable energy source, farmers and ranchers
will need to be able to grow biomass in large quantities,
Johanns said.  This joint research initiative will address our
nations need for alternative energy resources and improve the
efficiency with which biomass and plant feedstocks are used to
produce renewable fuels such as ethanol. 

USDAs Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension
Service (CSREES) and DOEs Office of Biological and
Environmental Research (OBER) awarded the grants.  CSREES and
OBER jointly initiated this fundamental research program to
facilitate the use of woody plant tissue, specifically
lignocellulosic materials, for bioenergy or biofuels.  The
research projects will focus on poplar, alfalfa, sorghum, wheat
and other grasses. 

This is the first year CSREES and OBER have solicited
competitive grants in this joint program.  DOE is funding six
projects for a total of nearly $3.9 million.  USDA granted more
than $1.8 million to fund three projects.  Initial funding will
support research projects for up to three years. 

Media contact(s): CSREES: Jennifer Martin, (202) 720-7185 DOE: 
Jeff Sherwood, (202) 586-5806     [ ]   

  U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | 
Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | e/General 
*****************************************************************
 57 DOE: USDA and DOE Name Biomass Research and Development Technical 
Advisory Committee Members
 
  August 9, 2006
 
WASHINGTON, DC - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Energy
Secretary Samuel Bodman today announced the appointment of
twelve members to serve on the Biomass Research and Development
Technical Advisory Committee.  Committee members assist the
Departments of Agriculture and Energy in meeting important
national goals of a healthier rural economy and improved
national energy security.   

The Committee provides expert advice to the two secretaries on
strategic planning; the technical focus and direction of
requests for proposals issued under the biomass initiative;
procedures for reviewing and evaluating proposals for funding;
and encouraging closer collaboration among federal and state
agencies, industry and growers. The Biomass Research and
Development Technical Advisory Committee was established by the
Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000. 

Members of the Committee represent backgrounds such as the
biofuels industry, academia with expertise in biobased fuels and
products, commodity trade associations, environmental and
conservations organizations, State governments, and agricultural
economics.  They are appointed to a term of three years and
maybe reappointed to two consecutive terms. 

Media contact(s): DOE: Craig Stevens (202) 586-4940 USDA: Jim 
Brownlee (202) 720-4623     [ ]   
  
  U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | 
Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | e/General 
*****************************************************************
 58 Santa Fe New Mexican: Public can weigh in on lab's future - 

Andy Lenderman

"We do have an interim pit production mission here at the lab,"
NNSA spokesman Bernie Pleau said. "... But it's nowhere near the
capacity of Rocky (Flats). And it's never going to get to that
capacity that we can see right now. And it's based on the needs
of the stockpile."

Pits were produced at the Department of Energy's Rocky Flats
weapons complex during the Cold War. Nuclear-watchdog groups in
New Mexico are concerned that environmental contamination could
accompany a potential increase in pit production here.

"Los Alamos lab is the largest institution in Northern New
Mexico," Greg Mello of the Los Alamos Study Group said. "... And
the character of the laboratory is going to change under these
plans. And the laboratory will become a manufacturing center for
a new generation of nuclear weapons."

Everything from the region's identity to property values could
be affected, Mello said. "We can be assured that accidents will
happen," he said. "We just don't know how severe they'll be."

Also in the draft statement, the amount of transuranic nuclear
waste generated at Los Alamos could rise to 510 cubic yards a
year from 260 cubic yards a year.

Much of that new waste will be collected during environmental
cleanup, said Elizabeth Withers, an NNSA official. Specifically,
she said, the waste could come from three areas, including the
potential for more pit production. 

The other two areas include:

_Replacing old buildings with new ones, which depends on 
Congressional funding. There are proposals to replace a 
radioactive liquid-waste-treatment facility; build a new science 
complex; remodel the plutonium facility and replace a warehouse 
and truck-inspection station, among other projects, Withers said.

"Most of the building up here took place in the '50s," Withers
said.

_Cleaning up 12 major waste disposal areas.

Ultimately, NASA Administrator Linton Brooks will determine the
lab's direction, and he can pick and choose among the various
options in the impact statement, Withers said.

Contact Andy Lenderman at 995-3827 or
alenderman@sfnewmexican.com.		 	   	 	 	 			
 		   			 		   	 		 						
©2006, Santa Fe New Mexican, all rights reserved. Opinions
*****************************************************************
 59 KnoxNews: Munger: Did Building 1916 T-1 make workers sick?

By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com 

August 9, 2006                                                          

For a place that's been studied as much as Oak Ridge, there are 
still plenty of mysteries. 

Jo Nell Barton of Lenoir City thinks one of those mysteries may 
have caused her and many others to get sick. 

"Basically, all we have is hearsay," she freely admits. "We have 
no proof whatsoever." 

Barton formerly worked for the Atomic Energy Commission (a 
predecessor of the U.S. Department of Energy) at the Technical 
Information Center (a predecessor of the Office of Scientific and 
Technical Information) in Building 1916 T-1 in the warehouse 
district on Oak Ridge's east end. 

She worked there from January 1957 to July 1959. 

"In September 1960 at the age of 22, I was diagnosed with
thyroid cancer and had a total thyroidectomy. My son was 9
months old at the time of my surgery, and I was never able to
conceive again," she said in recounting her experience there. 

She went back to work at the Technical Information Center from
February 1963 to December 1965. Twenty years later, she was
diagnosed with breast cancer and had a total mastectomy. 

The federal facility where she worked was used for document
production and storage. It contained a printing plant, photo lab
and various rooms and vaults, including those used for the
safekeeping of classified papers related to early nuclear
programs. 

What wasn't clear to Barton and Doris Henline, another Lenoir
City woman who worked there and later developed cancer, was what
may have taken place in the warehouse before 1916 T-1 became
home to the government's document operation. 

In a presentation early this year to an advisory board on the
government's compensation program for sick nuclear workers,
Barton and Henline said they had investigated illnesses of past
and present workers at Building 1916 T-1. 

"We have identified 75 out of approximately 150 federal workers
who have had catastrophic illnesses," they said in a prepared
statement. "Fifty-six have had cancer, and 14 have had
neurological illnesses (8 of whom worked in the same area of the
building). Thirty of these 75 workers are now deceased. We know
there are (a) number of other sick workers who have not been
identified." 

There was speculation that the warehouse may have been used as
an early staging ground for radioactive materials in Oak Ridge
or that documents brought to the site from nuclear facilities
around the country could have been contaminated. 

"Those secret documents came in from all those test sites,"
Barton said. "Who knows what we were exposed to from those
documents?" 

The women sought the help of U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr.,
R-Tenn., in getting Building 1916 T-1 added to the list of
facilities eligible for workers seeking help under the Energy
Employee Occupational Illness Compensation Program. The facility
did not qualify under an initial review, apparently because
there was no evidence it ever housed nuclear materials or did
work on nuclear weapons. 

Brian Hitson, associate director of DOE's Office of Scientific
and Technical Information, found some early architectural
drawings that indicate the building's construction was completed
in January 1948 and that it was used as a warehouse for the
school system until the transition to a document operation
around 1956-57. 

As for concerns about documents being tainted with radioactive
materials, Hitson said that issue was investigated in the 1990s.
OSTI, with help from radiation specialists at Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, set up a survey program to look for problems, he
said. 

"We did quite a bit of spot-checking, and nothing was ever found
on any of the documents," Hitson said. 

At Duncan's request, the U.S. Department of Labor is reviewing
the case and will determine whether Building 1916 T-1 should be
included in the compensation program. 

"A decision on this issue will be forthcoming shortly after
thorough research of the available information related to this
building," Dolline Hatchett, a Labor spokeswoman, said by e-mail
on July 28. 

At this time, it doesn't appear likely that Building 1916 T-1
will qualify. 

Senior writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for 
the News Sentinel. He may be reached at 865-342-6329 or at 
munger@knews.com. This column is also available in the opinion 
section of knoxnews.com.

© 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel
*****************************************************************
 60 DOE: High Energy Physics Advisroy Panel meeting


                        FR Doc E6-12973 
[Federal Register: August 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 153)] 
[Notices] [Page 45541-45542] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09au06-72]                         

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
 
Office of Science; High Energy Physics Advisory Panel AGENCY: 
Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of open meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the High Energy 
Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP). Federal Advisory Committee Act 
(Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of 
these meetings be announced in the Federal Register. DATES: 
Thursday, October 12, 2006, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, October 
13, 2006, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

[[Page 45542]]

ADDRESSES: The Latham Hotel, Georgetown, 3000 M Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Kogut, Executive Secretary; 
High Energy Physics Advisory Panel; U.S. Department of Energy; 
SC-25/ Germantown Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585-1290; telephone: 301-903-1298.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Purpose of Meeting: To provide advice and guidance on a 
continuing basis with respect to the high energy physics research 
program.

    Tentative Agenda: Agenda will include discussions of the 
following: Thursday, October 12, 2006, and Friday, October 13, 
2006.

     Discussion of Department of Energy High Energy Physics 
Program.

     Discussion of National Science Foundation Elementary 
Particle Physics Program.

     Reports on and Discussions of Topics of General Interest in 
High Energy Physics.

     Public Comment (10-minute rule).

    Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public. If 
you would like to file a written statement with the Panel, you 
may do so either before or after the meeting. If you would like 
to make oral statements regarding any of these items on the 
agenda, you should contact John Kogut, 301-903-1298 or 
John.Kogut@science.doe.gov (e- mail). You must make your request 
for an oral statement at least 5 business days before the 
meeting. Reasonable provision will be made to include the 
scheduled oral statements on the agenda. The Chairperson of the 
Panel will conduct the meeting to facilitate the orderly conduct 
of business. Public comment will follow the 10-minute rule.

    Minutes: The minutes of the meeting will be available for 
public review and copying within 90 days at the Freedom of 
Information Public Reading Room; Room 1E-190; Forrestal Building; 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW.; Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 
4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

    Issued at Washington, DC, on August 4, 2006. Rachel M. 
Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. 
E6-12973 Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
 
    
*****************************************************************

NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this 
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who 
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for 
non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more 
information go to: 
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml> 
    
*****************************************************************