***************************************************************** 01/21/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.16 ***************************************************************** 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 Antiwar.com: Lying About Lying - (The Iraq yellowcake Story) 2 US: ICH: Jorge Hirsch : How Congress Can Stop the Iran Attack 3 [progchat_action] First bomb Carter, then nuke Iran! 4 Reporter Claims Israeli Nuke Strike On Iran Averted By U.S. Fighters 5 Ahmadinejad wants Iran to reconsider ties with IAEA 6 Guardian Unlimited: Gates: Iranians 'Overplaying Their Hand' 7 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: 5 diplomats to be freed this week 8 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: PGCC stresses on IRI Nuclear rights 9 AFP: Iran says forces ready for any threat 10 AFP: Iranian lawmakers feared 'social upheaval' from sanctions - 11 AFP: Iran on the defensive: top US official 12 AFP: Iran vows not to bow to UN resolutions 13 AFP: Ahmadinejad seeks spending hike in new Iran budget 14 Guardian Unlimited: Musharraf, Ahmadinejad Discuss Mideast 15 UPI: Iran stands firm on nuclear policy 16 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Plans to Conduct Missile War Games 17 [NYTr] China, US to Resume Talks on Korean Peninsula Nukes 18 UPI: U.N. to halt cash payments to N.Korea 19 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Envoy Working to Set Nuke Talks 20 AFP: US envoy hopeful for progress in NKorea talks - 21 Japan Times: Tougher rules eyed for N. Korea trade 22 UPI: U.N. calls for redoubling N.Korea talks 23 Guardian Unlimited: U.S., N. Korea Agree to Hold Nuke Talks 24 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Says U.N. Agency Aided N. Korea 25 US: SF Chronicle: Top Dems rebuke Bush on war plan 26 US: Reid: REID FOCUSES SENATE ON ENERGY POLICY 27 BBC NEWS: SNP unveils 'Trident toll' plans 28 The Hindu: Pakistan building new N-facilities - report 29 AFP: Gulf states to hold nuclear talks with UN watchdog 30 AFP: Merkel, Putin end Russia talks at odds on energy security - NUCLEAR REACTORS 31 US: Portland Press Herald: State, Maine Yankee agree on compensation 32 Gauntlet Opinions: Reactor reaction 33 US: Columbia Tribune: Nuke plant photos result in two arrests 34 US: APP.COM: Foes blast nuclear plant, NRC | 35 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Nuclear power advocate has a green pedigree 36 US: Lawrence Journal-World: Lawmakers to consider bill for building 37 US: globeandmail.com: Dion shifts nuclear stand NUCLEAR SECURITY 38 RIA Novosti: Energy security to dominate Putin-Merkel talks in Sochi NUCLEAR SAFETY 39 US: Spectrum: Strake may get county support 40 US: Tracy Press: Letter: Fulk overstates facts NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 41 US: Bradenton Herald: Testing reveals Tallevast plume expanding east 42 Sun News: Waste disposal at Yucca Mountain unsafe 43 US: POAC: Small town wages war on nuclear waste plan 44 US: San Bernardino County Sun: Plutonium transit uproar 45 US: courier-journal: Railroad risks hit home with Bullitt accident 46 Sunday Herald: Threat To 500 Cleanup Jobs PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 47 AP Wire: Survey finds no radiation danger from dirt around Paducah p 48 SF New Mexican: LANL: Lab funding increase in jeopardy 49 The Enquirer: Fernald cleanup marked close of era 50 Amarillo Globe News: Pantex performance outstanding, according to Fe 51 Carlsbad Current-Argus: Domenici cautions against possible change 52 KnoxNews: Future of ORNL may lie in East ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Antiwar.com: Lying About Lying - (The Iraq yellowcake Story) by Gordon Prather January 20, 2007 Jury selection has begun for the trial of Lewis Libby, with lying to the Feds about lies Libby claims he didn’t tell to sycophantic "reporters." Since the lies Libby is alleged to have told – and the circumstances of their telling – are unlikely to become an issue at trial, it is perhaps worthwhile explicating them a bit. In late 2001 the Italian Military Intelligence and Security Service had informed the CIA that the Iraqi ambassador to the Vatican had reportedly attempted on a visit to Niger to arrange the purchase of "yellowcake" – a mixture of natural uranium oxides. At that time no documentation was provided. In February 2002, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and , independently, to Niger. All reported back to the CIA and the State Department that the Italian report – still undocumented – was without foundation. So, months after we now know (from the ) that Bush-Cheney had been busy "fixing the intelligence" to support the decision that had already been made to invade and occupy Iraq, CIA Director Tenet asked that a reference to the alleged purchase of yellowcake by Iraq be removed from a speech President Bush was to give on Oct. 7, 2002. Guess what happened next. The "documentation" for the alleged purchase of yellowcake by Iraq from Niger was delivered to our Embassy in Rome on Oct. 9, 2002. The next day, Congress approved the – conditional on a Presidential Determination that "reliance on peaceful means alone will not adequately protect the national security of the United States." So, Bush, Cheney, and Condi Rice immediately began referring to the Niger documents just obtained as proof that Saddam Hussein was reconstructing his nuclear weapons program and that the next "intelligence" we got might be in the shape of a "mushroom shaped cloud." In November, 2002, Saddam Hussein acquiesced to , allowing UN inspectors – including members of the International Atomic Energy Agency Action Team on Iraq – unfettered access to Iraq. The IAEA had reported to the Security Council as early as 1998 that Saddam had his attempt to produce nuclear weapons way back in 1991 and under UNSCR 1441 reported that he had made no attempt since to resurrect that program. In particular, Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei that + There is no indication of resumed nuclear activities in those buildings that were identified through the use of satellite imagery as being reconstructed or newly erected since 1998, nor any indication of nuclear-related prohibited activities at any inspected sites. + There is no indication that Iraq has attempted to import uranium since 1990. + There is no indication that Iraq has attempted to import aluminium tubes for use in centrifuge enrichment. Moreover, even had Iraq pursued such a plan, it would have encountered practical difficulties in manufacturing centrifuges out of the aluminium tubes in question. + Although we are still reviewing issues related to magnets and magnet production, there is no indication to date that Iraq imported magnets for use in a centrifuge enrichment programme. After Bush, Cheney, Rice and Colin Powell began citing the Niger documents in October, 2002, as a casus belli, the IAEA asked to see them. Finally, on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the IAEA was faxed a copy. they were determined by the IAEA to be forgeries! Hence, on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom, thanks to the IAEA, if there was any nation on earth certified to not have a nuclear weapons program, it was Iraq. Nevertheless, on March 19 – the day Parliament authorized Prime Minister Tony Blair to use force against Iraq – Bush that no "further diplomatic or other peaceful means will adequately protect the national security of the United States from the continuing threat posed by Iraq." Then, on May 6, 2003, while the and all the neocrazies were celebrating , the New York Times published a column by Nicholas Kristof, which contained : "I rejoice in the newfound freedoms in Iraq. But there are indications that the U.S. government souped up intelligence, leaned on spooks to change their conclusions, and concealed contrary information to deceive people at home and around the world. "Let's fervently hope that tomorrow we find an Iraqi superdome filled with 500 tons of mustard gas and nerve gas, 25,000 liters of anthrax, 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin, 29,984 prohibited munitions capable of delivering chemical agents, several dozen Scud missiles, gas centrifuges to enrich uranium, 18 mobile biological warfare factories, long-range unmanned aerial vehicles to dispense anthrax, and proof of close ties with al-Qaeda." Most of what Kristof itemizes above had been "reported" – beginning in September 2002 – to exist in Iraq by Judith Miller of the New York Times. "Jail Bird" Miller has since admitted that her reports – all of which turned out to be – were based upon "intelligence" provided to her by Ahmed Chalabi. But Miller claims she got confirmation of that "intelligence" from various high-level Bush-Cheney administration officials. Various high-level Bush-Cheney administration officials? Like members of the White House Iraq Group, founded in September 2002 to promote "support" for war against Iraq amongst the general populace? Yep. According to , the WHIG met weekly in the Situation Room. "Among the regular participants were Karl Rove, the president's senior political adviser; communications strategists Karen Hughes, Mary Matalin and James R. Wilkinson; legislative liaison Nicholas E. Calio; and policy advisers led by Rice and her deputy, Stephen J. Hadley, along with I. Lewis Libby, Cheney's chief of staff." Lewis Libby? Cheney’s chief of staff? Yep. Do you suppose that’s going to be Scooter’s defense? That he was – like other war criminals – merely following orders? That he was merely "confirming" to various media sycophants the "intelligence" that WHIG had "fixed" the year before to promote a war that would otherwise not be sanctioned by either Congress or the Security Council? And that he was merely following orders when he continued to "confirm" that "intelligence" months after the war of aggression – unsanctioned by either Congress of the Security Council – had begun? "Intelligence" that Libby (and all members of the Security Council and most Congresspersons, if not all members of the sycophantic media) knew had been totally discredited months before the war actually began? Well, it might work. By the time Bush’s war of aggression began, many targeted media recipients realized Libby had been lying to them, and on whose behalf. Physicist James Gordon Prather has served as a policy implementing official for national security-related technical matters in the Federal Energy Agency, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army. Dr. Prather also served as legislative assistant for national security affairs to U.S. Sen. Henry Bellmon, R-Okla. -- ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and member of the Senate Energy Committee and Appropriations Committee. Dr. Prather had earlier worked as a nuclear weapons physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico. Copyright 2007 Antiwar.com ***************************************************************** 2 ICH: Jorge Hirsch : How Congress Can Stop the Iran Attack Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2007 23:04:41 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is the history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it: Woodrow Wilson = The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: >From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complaceny to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependency back again into bondage. Sir Alex Fraser Tyler: (1742-1813) Scottish jurist and historian === Read this newsletter online http://tinyurl.com/dy6yy === Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War On Iraq - At Least 655,000 + + http://tinyurl.com/usq4x Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3,041 http://icasualties.org/oif/ The U.S. War On Iraq Costs $359,821,930,371 See the cost in your community http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182 === How Congress Can Stop the Iran Attack Or be complicit in nuclear war crimes By Jorge Hirsch President Bush is invoking his "commander in chief" authority to escalate the war in Iraq, and he will likely also invoke it to launch an aerial attack against Iran. Congress has long ago abdicated and delegated to the President its constitutional responsibility to initiate wars. Yet Congress still has one surefire way to influence events: it has the constitutional authority to make the "nuclear option" against Iran illegal. In so doing, it would stop the relentless drive to war against Iran dead in its tracks. http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/31/1/ === Show Me The Intelligence By Ray McGovern Have you noticed? Neither President George W. Bush nor Vice President Dick Cheney have cited any U.S. intelligence assessments to support their fateful decision to send 21,500 more troops to referee the civil war in Iraq. This is a far cry from October 2002, when a formal National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was rushed through in order to trick Congress into giving its nihil obstat for the attack on Iraq. http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/28/1/ === Bushs War on Perception The bombing of the Golden Mosque By Mike Whitney Weve heard a lot about the bombing of Samarras Golden Mosque lately. Bush has brought it up twice in the last week alone. Its a critical part of the administrations rationale for the occupation of Iraq, so we can expect to be reminded of it nearly as often as 9-11. http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/32/1/ === The Central Question By Charley Reese Government routinely lies, and so do many corporations. That mysterious commitment to the public good, which once joined Americans from many different classes and positions, seems to have dissolved. Integrity, which simply means being true regardless of consequences to one's own beliefs, seems to have no market value in America today. http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/30/2/ === Agents of Influence By Robert Dreyfuss Did Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel, run a covert program with operatives in high-level US government positions to influence the Bush Administration's decision to go to war in Iraq? The FBI wants to know. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16234.htm === Rogue State America By John B. Judis What exactly are we doing in the horn of Africa, where we have encouraged the Christian government of Ethiopia to invade Somalia and replace its Islamic government? As far as I can tell, we have violated international law, committed war crimes, helped Al Qaeda recruit new members, and involved ourselves in a guerrilla war that could last decades. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16223.htm === One Hundred Years of Jewish Solitude BY Gilad Atzmon Zionism is no longer a young movement. It has been almost one hundred and ten years since the 1st Zionist Congress was held and nearly ninety years have passed since the Balfour Declaration (1917) was issued. Its been just under six decades since the formation of the Jewish State and the mass ethnic cleansing of the vast majority of the indigenous Palestinian population took place. http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/29/1/ === Israel / Palastine : One Country: Reviewing an Alternative Vision By Remi Kanazi A new line of thinking transpired during Ariel Sharon's administration. The iron-fisted military man, once fixated on annexing the remainder of occupied Palestine, came to grips with Israel's demographic reality: Israel could not forever control the occupied territories without eventually assuming responsibility of its inhabitants. http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/27/1/ === At least 73 killed as U.S occupation continues: Police found 29 bodies with gunshot wounds to the head and signs of torture in various parts of Baghdad in the 24 hours to Saturday evening http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20547671.htm === 18 Bodies Found: Police patrols recovered the bodies of 18 people, including a politician from Sunni Arab-dominated Fallouja. Some of the corpses bore signs of torture. http://snipurl.com/17y52 === Deadliest days for US troops in Iraq: The U.S. military announced the deaths of 16 soldiers, including 13 killed on Saturday when a helicopter went down northeast of Baghdad. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02103499.htm === Let them kill us says Sadr : Iraq's radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr said in an interview published yesterday in an Italian newspaper that his Mahdi Army militia would not resist the Iraqi prime minister's planned security crackdown during the month of Muharram. http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=167791&Sn=WORL&IssueID=29306 === Kurdish Iraqi soldiers are deserting to avoid the conflict in Baghdad: Kurdish soldiers from northern Iraq, who are mostly Sunnis but not Arabs, are deserting the army to avoid the civil war in Baghdad, a conflict they consider someone else's problem. http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16502266.htm === Andrea heeded America's call, and paid with her life: All foreigners are targets in Iraq, Americans especially. Even those who come to the country to do good share the fate of those who come to kill. http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2169224.ece === Bush Vs. War Powers Act: The Iraq resolution invoked the War Powers Clause, therefore requiring the President of the United States to gain congressional approval for all troop deployment, as stated in Section 2(b) of the War Powers Act, which points to the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution as the basis for legislation on the war powers. http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=340251&rel_no=1 === War costs to hit $8.4bn per month : The steadily rising Iraq war price tag will reach about $8.4 billion a month this year, Pentagon spokesmen said http://snipurl.com/17y57 === US plans envision broad attack on Iran -analyst: U.S. contingency planning for military action against Iran's nuclear program goes beyond limited strikes and would effectively unleash a war against the country, a former U.S. intelligence analyst said on Friday. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16233.htm === Iran masses troops along borders with Iraq -- source : A Pishmerga source said that Iran has beefed up its troops stationed along the main border crossing (Pashmakh), midway between the Kurdish Penjavin city and the Iranian Miriwan city. http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=944040 === Palestinians Abbas and Meshaal to meet in Damascus : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal are due to meet late on Saturday in the Syrian capital to try to solve the political crisis between them, a high level Hamas member said. http://snipurl.com/l00v === Mr Benn where has our #400m Afghan aid money gone?: Hundreds of millions of pounds in British aid has been pumped into Afghanistan to help children like little Dawoud. And yet he is dying. http://snipurl.com/11zwd === China Shows Assertiveness in Weapons Test: Chinas apparent success in destroying one of its own orbiting satellites with a ballistic missile signals that its rising military intends to contest American supremacy in space, a realm many here consider increasingly crucial to national security. http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070120/ZNYT03/701200476 === Chinese missile destroys satellite in space: Britain today joined the US, Japan and Australias condemnation of China after the communist country used a ballistic missile to destroy a orbiting satellite. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/19/wchina19.xml === In case you missed it: Beijing secretly fires lasers to disable US satellites: China has secretly fired powerful laser weapons designed to disable American spy satellites by "blinding" their sensitive surveillance devices, it was reported yesterday. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/26/wchina226.xml === Robert Fisk : Award-winning writer shot by assassin in Istanbul street: He tried to create a dialogue between the two nations to reach a common narrative of the 20th centurys first holocaust. And he paid the price : two bullets shot into his head and two into his body by an assassin in the streets of Istanbul yesterday afternoon. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16235.htm === The Future of Food : Video: The Future of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled grocery store shelves for the past decade http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16236.htm === Peace & Joy Tom Feeley === Liberty can not be preserved without general knowledge among people." (August 1765) John Adams _____________________________ Change address / Leave mailing list: http://ymlp.com/u.php?feminine+rich@math.missouri.edu Hosting by YourMailingListProvider ***************************************************************** 3 [progchat_action] First bomb Carter, then nuke Iran! Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2007 01:15:15 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Whitelisted"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM CoubterPunch/Weekend Edition January 20/21 2007 First Bomb Carter; Then Nuke Iran! The Israel Lobby Trips and Tilts By Alexander Cockburn Suppose the movers and shakers in the Israel lobby here -- Abe Foxman, Alan Dershowitz and the rest of the crew -- had simply decided to leave Jimmy Carter's Palestine Peace Not Apartheid alone. How long before the book would have been gathering dust on the remainder shelves? Suppose even that Dershowitz had rounded up his unacknowledged co-authors in all their tens of thousands and sallied forth to buy up every copy of Carter's book and toss each one into the Charles River, would not that have been a more successful suppressor than the blitzkrieg strategy they did adopt? Of course it would. For weeks now the lobby has hurled its legions into battle against Carter. He has been stigmatized as an anti-Semite, a Holocaust denier, a patron of former concentration camp killers, a Christian madman, a pawn of the Arabs who "flatly condones mass murder" of Israeli Jews. (This last was from Murdoch's New York Post editorial, relayed to its mailing list by the Zionist Organization of America.) Any day now I expect some janitors at the Carter Center to resign, declaring that they can no longer in all conscience mop bathrooms that might have been used by the former President, their letter of protest duly front-paged by the New York Times, just like the famous fourteen members of the Carter Center's Board of Councilors. Actually there were, at the time of resignations, 224 people on this board, where membership is mostly a thank you for a financial donation to the center. So the headlines could be saying, "Nearly 95 per cent of Carter Center Board Members Back Former President." But the assault on Carter is all to no avail. With each gust of abuse, Carter's book soars higher and higher on the bestseller lists, reaching number 4 on Amazon itself. This doesn't prove the lobby has no power. It proves the lobby can be dumb. Adroit lobbying consists in preventing unpleasing material reaching the light of day. Lobbying thrives in furtive darkness: slipping language into a bill at the last moment, threatening to back a campaign opponent, making quiet phone calls to the Polish embassy. Pressure is now being exerted on Farrar, Straus and Giroux to abandon its impending publication of Mearsheimer and Walt's attack on the lobby. The Israel lobby retains its grip inside the Beltway, but it's starting to lose its hold on the broader public debate. Why? You can't brutalize the Palestinian people in the full light of day, decade after decade, without claims that Israel is a light among the nations getting more than a few serious dents. In the old days, Mearsheimer and Walt's tract would have been deep-sixed by the University of Chicago and the Kennedy School long before it reached its final draft, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux wouldn't have considered offering a six-figure advance for it. Simon & Schuster would have told President Carter that his manuscript had run into insurmountable objections from a distinguished board of internal reviewers. But once a book by a former president with weighty humanitarian credentials makes it into bookstores, it's hard to shoot it down with volleys of wild abuse. The trouble with the lobby and the Christian zealots who act as its echo chamber is that they believe their own propaganda about Israel's equitable social arrangements and immaculate political and legal record in its relations with the Palestinians. Use the word apartheid and they howl with indignation. The shock is about thirty years out of date. Israeli writers have used the word apartheid to describe arrangements in the occupied territories for years. Hundreds of prominent South African Jews issued a statement six years ago making the same link. As in so many things, conventional elite opinion lives in a bubble, believing mere assertion and ranting about anti-Semitism will carry the day. The New York Times featured a spectacularly disingenuous hatchet job by its deputy foreign editor, Ethan Bronner, and another assault by former Clinton-era Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross. The latter rolled out the ritual accusations about Arafat's rejection of Clinton's proposals in December 2000, which is nonsense, as Ross surely knows. Clinton himself acknowledged in 2001 what later historians have substantiated, that both sides accepted his proposals in principle, while filing reservations. (Israel's amounted to 20 single-spaced pages.) The Times' attacks were matched in the Washington Post by Jeffrey Goldberg, formerly of the IDF and a notorious trafficker in fictions, such as the supposed terror ties between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Amazon ran his vulgar ravings under the "Editorial Reviews" heading-a space usually reserved for short blurbs from Publishers Weekly and the like. But if the lobby is fighting rearguard and increasingly futile actions to suppress all discussion here of what Israel is doing to Palestinians, it continues to exercise very serious clout in such enclaves of timidity as the U.S. Congress. Bush was not foolish in singling out Iran for threats in his January 10 address. The Democratic reaction to Bush's escalation against Iraq and Iran has mostly been confined to nervous talk of "symbolic votes." This temperate posture is surely not unconnected to the fact that the lobby's prime foreign policy task, joined by Israeli hawks like Bibi Netanyahu, has been to rally support for an assault on Iran. What an irony! Desperate for an end to the war, the voters hand Congress to the Democrats. Barely more than two months later Bush is kidnapping Iranian diplomats from in their consulate in Irbil, Iraq -- a calculated provocation arousing scant tumult here. Bush is also deploying a larger naval force to the Persian Gulf, as Israel plants stories about its possible recourse to nuclear weapons. Some provocation, maybe a seizure by the U.S. of an Iranian tanker, is easy to imagine in February. In the Congress, there's barely a whimper out of the Democrats amid these terrifying prospects. It may have made a mess of its war against Carter's book, but as a ferryman across the Styx toward Armageddon the lobby is doing a competent job. http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn01202007.html This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm ***************************************************************** 4 Reporter Claims Israeli Nuke Strike On Iran Averted By U.S. Fighters Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2007 08:20:55 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY Reporter Claims Israeli Nuke Strike On Iran Averted By U.S. Fighters http://www.infowars.com/articles/ww3/iran_israeli_nuke_strike_averted_by_us_f ighters.htm Reporter Claims Israeli Nuke Strike On Iran Averted By U.S. Fighters Sources say F16 suicide mission armed with 20-kiloton bomb recalled by Israelis under threat of U.S. Sidewinder missile shootdown Prison Planet | January 19, 2007 Paul Joseph Watson As escalation towards a war with Iran reaches fever pitch, an online journalist today breaks the astounding news that Israeli fighter jets have already attempted to bomb tactical locations in Iran with nuclear weapons nearly twice as powerful as the one dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, only to be turned back by U.S. warplanes over Iraq. William Thomas, familiar to many for his work in ascertaining the true nature of chemtrails, cites two sources with U.S. and other military contacts who told him that on two recent occasions Israeli fighter bombers armed with both conventional and nuclear weapons were turned back by U.S. planes under threat of missile interception. RELATED: Printer Friendly Version Read/Post Comments on this Article The latest incident occurred on January 7th, claims Thomas, in which jets trespassed beyond the authorized zone over Iraq "Before being recalled by Israeli authorities." Sources told Thomas that the attack squadron "Comprised three IAF F-16s. Each carried conventional munitions-as well as a single 20-kiloton nuclear bomb." Thomas goes into great depth about the circumstances behind the attempted raid in a near 5,000 word article posted on his website . According to Thomas' source, Israeli warplanes "Are routinely "topped off" by American aerial refueling tankers, but only on condition that the Israeli jets fly a "racetrack" holding pattern-and do not continue "downtown" toward Iran." The target of the January 7 raid was purported to be Iran's 3rd Tactical Air Base at Hamadan, where Revolutionary Guard troops and substantial weapons deposits are stationed. The source even suggested that the attack was designed to be a one way kamikaze mission whereby, "Volunteer pilots are prepared to fly their nuclear bombs "into their targets" if necessary." The news dovetails yesterday's scare, briefly provoked by a rumor that an Iranian missile had struck a U.S. naval vessel in the Gulf. "The bond market briefly pared losses on talk of possible military engagement between the United States and Iran, but turned back down after the Defense Department said the incident did not occur," reported Reuters . This followed reports on Wednesday that Iran had shot down a U.S. drone near its border. Get 5 months free at Prison Planet.tv when you sign up for our New Years Special! TV shows, conference footage, field reports, protest clips, in studio camera and audio interviews, books, every Alex Jones film, dozens of other documentaries! Click here to subscribe! It also comes after Iranian officials condemned a U.S. raid on a consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, during which five Iranian diplomats were kidnapped. Many saw the raid, which was directly authorized by the White House, as an outright attempt on behalf of the U.S. to provoke a heavy handed Iranian response that would boost the Neo-Con's justification for war. Republican Congressman and Presidential candidate Ron Paul recently expressed his fear during a speech on the House floor that the Bush administration could contrive a staged Gulf of Tonkin style incident to garner domestic and international support for an air strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Over the last two weeks events have accelerated a seemingly inevitable path to conflict. American aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines are multiplying in the Persian Gulf and Bush recently appointed Adm. William Fallon, a Navy veteran, to oversee the ground war in Iraq, a contradiction many fear betrays preparation for an attack on Iran's uranium enrichment facilities which could take place as soon as next month according to several analysts. A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress is attempting to rush though legislation that would bar President Bush from authorizing an attack on Iran without House approval but it all seems to be too little too late. Bush's entire Presidency has characterized itself as a unitary dictatorship and his administration has proven itself time and time again perfectly willing to completely ignore the will of Congress and the people in pursuing its preset agenda. In addition, Bush could avoid having to go to Congress by simply providing tacit support for an Israeli strike portrayed as a lone action, as happened this past summer in Lebanon. The most interesting aspect of such an attack if it does take place will undoubtedly be the response of Russia. Having taken measures to protect their investment in the growth of Iranian nuclear facilities by providing state of the art missile defense systems, the Russians have received severe condemnation from both the U.S. and Israel. The Turkish Weekly quoted a senior Israeli official in Jerusalem who took a bold swipe at Russia by stating, "We hope they understand that this is a threat that could come back to them as well." ***************************************************************************** ********** "The war in Iraq was conceived by 25 neoconservatives, most of them Jewish, who are pushing President Bush to change the course of history." --- Ari Shavit, Ha'aretz News Service (Israel) April 5, 2003 [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of 160306iran1.jpg] ***************************************************************** 5 Ahmadinejad wants Iran to reconsider ties with IAEA Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2007 07:27:57 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=152054 Ahmadinejad wants Iran to reconsider ties with IAEA Posted online: Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 0004 hours IST Send Feedback E-mail this story Print this story JAN 17: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered his government to reconsider ties with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, while calling for an acceleration of the country's nuclear programme. The instruction, issued yesterday, requires the government to ``accelerate the country's nuclear activities and revise its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency based on Iran's national interests,'' state-run Fars News agency reported. The president's decision comes less than a month after the UN Security Council unanimously voted to impose sanctions on Iran over its atomic program, including a ban on the acquisition of materials and technology that might be used to build nuclear weapons. Ads By Google One Sponsor, One Child Build a lasting relationship with a child in need. www.fh.org/sponsor Aid World One Billion Children Face Extreme Poverty. Sponsor a Child to Help! www.WorldVision.org Buy Gum or Save a Child? Save Child's Life for Price of Gum! We Review Sponsor-a-Child Charities www.ReviewsNest.net/Charities United Children's Fund The official website of United Children's Fund www.unchildren.org The UN resolution, passed on December 23, also froze the financial assets of named individuals and groups associated with the program and gave 60 days for Iran to halt uranium enrichment. Iran will start producing nuclear fuel on an industrial scale soon, Ahmadinejad, pronounced ah-ma-deen-ah-ZHAD, and has said on January 3. Iranian scientists in April 2006 successfully produced nuclear fuel on a laboratory scale, using two cascades each made up of 164 centrifuges. The country later announced plans to install an additional 3,000 centrifuges by March this year, paving the way for industrial-scale production in the face of opposition from the US and European partners. "Three thousand centrifuges, once operating successfully, could produce enough highly-enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in less than a year,'' US envoy to the IAEA, Gregory Schulte, said in a speech in Rabat, Morocco. -Bloomberg ------------------------------------------------- Progchat_action is a non-partisan and progressive political news weblog, chat, and action discussion alternative in cyberspace: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/progchat_action/ ***************************************************************** 6 Guardian Unlimited: Gates: Iranians 'Overplaying Their Hand' [UP] Friday January 19, 2007 2:16 AM AP Photo XHJ101 By ROBERT BURNS AP Military Writer MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) - The Iranians are ``overplaying their hand'' on the world stage in a belief that setbacks in Iraq have weakened the United States, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday. He said that now is not the time to negotiate with Iran because the U.S. lacks leverage but that talks probably would make sense at some point. The U.S. has been applying growing pressure on Iran, blaming Tehran for providing bombs and other help used against American troops by militants in Iraq. President Bush has warned the U.S. will ``seek out and destroy'' the networks providing that help. In addition, American raids inside Iraq have netted Iranian prisoners, and the U.S. is sending a second aircraft carrier and missiles to the region. The bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended including Iran in regional talks on ending the violence in Iraq, a path the Bush administration has so far declined to take. Gates said he had told the leaders of U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar that the Iranians ``believe they have the United States at some disadvantage because of the situation in Iraq.'' ``To be precise, I told them both that I thought the Iranians were overplaying their hand and that one of the consequences of that is that they have raised real concerns on the part of a number of countries in the region and beyond about their intentions,'' he told reporters. Many Gulf nations are worried about a rising Iranian influence - a concern made more acute by the prospect for a further slide toward civil war in Iraq. With regard to U.S. failure thus far to achieve stability in Iraq, Gates said, ``I think that our difficulties have given them (the Iranians) a tactical opportunity in the short term, but the United States is a very powerful country.'' Asked about the prospects for military conflict with Iran, whose nuclear program is seen by the Bush administration as a growing threat to U.S. interests, Gates said, ``There are many courses of action available that do not involve an open conflict with Iran - there's no need for that.'' Gates said that although he had publicly advocated negotiating with Iran as recently as 2004, he now advises against that. ``Right at this moment, there's really nothing the Iranians want from us,'' he said. ``And so, in any negotiation right now we would be the supplicant,'' asking Iran to stop doing such things as enriching uranium for its nuclear program. ``We need some leverage, it seems to me, before we engage with the Iranians,'' Gates added. ``And I think at some point engagement probably makes sense.'' Until the Iranians are persuaded that, despite being bogged down in Iraq, ``the United States is in fact a formidable adversary, there's not much advantage for us in engaging with them,'' he said. That assessment may explain, at least in part, the decision announced last week to send a second U.S. aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf region, along with a Patriot missile battalion capable of shooting down shorter-range ballistic missiles of the type Iran has in its arsenal. In Bahrain, a British Royal Navy officer who is the No. 2 commander for coalition naval forces in the Central Command area of responsibility told reporters that the exact role and missions of the aircraft carrier USS John Stennis, which is due to arrive in the Gulf area next month, have not yet been worked out. British Commodore Keith Winstanley said the Stennis deployment should not be seen entirely as a move aimed at Iran, but he added, ``I'm sure there's a message there for Iran.'' He said Iranian naval operations have not changed in any significant way since Bush announced the extra carrier deployment, and Winstanley said at-sea contacts with the Iranian navy have been ``extremely cordial.'' On his second overseas trip since replacing Donald H. Rumsfeld as Pentagon chief, Gates visited the headquarters of Central Command's naval staff, which is located here with the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Then he flew to Qatar for a meeting with that tiny Gulf state's top leader, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Afterward, he visited an air base from which Central Command's air staff plans, runs and monitors air operations throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. Under ground rules imposed by U.S. officials, reporters traveling with Gates were prohibited from identifying the base or the country in which it is located. Gates also met with Gen. John Abizaid, the head of Central Command, whose forward headquarters is in Qatar. Abizaid is due to retire in March; Adm. William Fallon has been nominated to replace him. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 7 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: 5 diplomats to be freed this week 2007/01/20 Five Iranian diplomats kidnapped in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil nine days ago could be released this week, an Iranian envoy said on Saturday. Iranian ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Kazemi Qomi told IRNA that the Iraqi government has promised to free the diplomats. "The host country is responsible for safeguarding diplomatic bureaus and missions. The Iraqi government has made efforts to release the Iranian consular officials since the early hours of this incident," he said. American forces broke into the Islamic Republic of Iran's consulate in Erbil on January 11 after disarming its guards and using force to break open the gate of the consulate building. They ransacked the place, kidnapped six consular staff (one of which has since been released) which they took away along with the consulate's computers and documents to an unknown place. The Islamic Republic of Iran friday wrote a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon protesting against the storming of the consulate and kidnapping of its diplomats. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sayed Mohammad-Ali Hosseini on January 14 said that all activities of its consulate in Erbil were legal, official and endorsed by Iraqi officials, and recalled that the consulate in Erbil was officially inaugurated in 1992 upon an agreement signed by Iranian and Iraqi officials. M/D Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 8 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: PGCC stresses on IRI Nuclear rights 2007/01/20 Secretary General of Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) on Saturday stressed on the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to have peaceful nuclear energy. In an interview with Kuwaiti News Agency, Abdul-Rahman al-Atiyyah stressed that any country whose nuclear activities are based on international rules and standards and works within the IAEA framework has the right to access peaceful nuclear energy. Al-Atiyyah criticized the international community's ignorance of the Zionist regime's nuclear activities. He asked the world to press the Zionist regime to become a member of IAEA and to open its nuclear reactors' doors for the Agency's inspectors. PGCC Secretary General stressed that negotiations could have a positive effect on the issue. He said that the PGCC leaders reiterated on the importance of more negotiations with Iran through IAEA. sam Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 9 AFP: Iran says forces ready for any threat by Farhad Pouladi Sat Jan 20, 3:35 PM ET TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran" /> Iran's top nuclear negotiator has declared that the nation's armed forces are ready to face any threat to its nuclear installations, local media reported, amid speculation Washington may be planning a military strike. "The Islamic republic's armed forces are completely ready to confront any probable threats by the enemies," Ali Larijani was quoted as saying Thursday after meeting top clerics in the religious center of Qom. However, he downplayed the possibility of Iranian nuclear facilities being hit, insisting: "Our enemies do not have such power." "Our enemies have waged a psychological war in order to make us retreat from our nuclear positions," he said. It is the second time this week that officials involved in the Islamic republic's nuclear program have sought to dismiss the likelihood of a military strike against atomic installations. Earlier this week, Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said a military strike was highly unlikely, but that Tehran had nevertheless taken the necessary precautions. The United States and Israel" /> Israel, Iran's two arch-enemies, have never ruled out military action to thwart its nuclear program, which they allege is aimed at making an atomic weapon. But US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this week that the United States did not want a conflict with Iran, but voiced concern about its actions. "I don't think anyone wants another military conflict in this region, but there clearly is concern about Iranian ambitions, and they certainly expect the United States to play a role in containing those ambitions," he said during a Middle East tour aimed at rallying Arab allies against Iran. The United States, whose forces are battling insurgents in Iraq" /> Iraq, accuses both Iran and Syria" /> Syriaof fomenting violence there and earlier this month seized five Iranians whom Tehran insists are diplomats. Larijani's comments came as Washington on Friday stuck by its demand that Iran freeze uranium enrichment, a key phase of the nuclear fuel cycle, before any bilateral talks. "As soon as the Iranians stop their nuclear enrichment and reprocessing activities, the United States will sit down with them for discussions," US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe told AFP. EU officials also said they would call next week for the full and rapid implementation of UN Security Council sanctions. The Security Council passed Resolution 1737 on December 23 imposing sanctions on Iran for its refusal to suspend enrichment -- the process which can make nuclear fuel as well as the fissile core of an atom bomb in highly purified forms. Iran, OPEC" /> OPEC's second largest oil exporter, insists its nuclear program is solely aimed at meeting peaceful energy needs. Both major US political parties have backed a legislation requiring US President George W. Bush" /> President George W. Bushto get congressional approval for using military force against Iran. Tehran and Washington severed diplomatic ties in 1980 after students stormed the US embassy in Tehran following the 1979 Islamic revolution which toppled the US-backed Shah. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 10 AFP: Iranian lawmakers feared 'social upheaval' from sanctions - Sat Jan 20, 3:39 PM ET PARIS (AFP) - An Iranian parliamentary report several months ago warned the powers in Tehran that heavy international sanctions could trigger internal instability and a social upheaval, it was reported. The French newspaper Le Monde said it learnt the text of the document, which was produced by the Iranian parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Commission, "from Middle Eastern sources." Stretching to more than 100 pages and published at the beginning of September, the report was the result of six months of work by economic and oil experts, Le Monde said in its edition dated Sunday-Monday. The report, which reached President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Iran" /> should "make all political efforts to prevent the imposition of sanctions, while preserving the interests of the country and national honour." If Iran faced heavy sanctions it "would be forced to modify its national priorities and devote most of its resources to prevent a major social upheaval, which could lead to a deterioration in the quality of life for a large section of the population." According to the text, "the members of the regime who had been heard by the commission indicated that any worsening of the economic situation could cause social troubles that could lead to a deterioration and a weakening of internal stability." The report's authors feared the effects of a combined trade embargo on oil heading into and out of Iran. The report was published -- but hardly circulated at all according to Le Monde -- nearly three months before the adoption by the UN Security Council of a resolution sanctioning Iran's nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes because of the enrichment of uranium. The UN sanctions called for a suspension of all exports of materials and technologies linked to those activities as well as a freeze of assets and restrictions on foreign travel by people tied to the programmes. The day after the vote, which took place on December 23, Tehran defied the United Nations" /> , saying it was going to start work on installing 3,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium, which can be used for nuclear energy fuel but also to develop atomic weapons. Washington wanted tougher sanctions against Iran but backed down in the face of opposition from China and Russia. Iran insists that its nuclear drive is peaceful and solely aimed at generating energy for a growing population. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 11 AFP: Iran on the defensive: top US official Sun Jan 21, 1:38 PM ET HERZLIYA, Israel (AFP) - The pressure exerted by the United States and the international community on Iran" /> over its nuclear programme has put the Islamic republic on the defensive, a senior US official said. "Iran is no longer on the offensive but on the defensive and we have to keep it on the defensive," US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said at the annual conference on the Balance of Israel" /> 's national security in the town of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv. "Iran has to learn how to respect the power and the will of the international community," he said. The United States and Israel accuse Iran of developing an atomic bomb through its nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is solely for civil means. Last month the United Nations" /> Security Council unanimously passed its first resolution threatening concrete steps if Iran continues to develop its nuclear programme. Burns said that "if by February 21 Iran does not suspend its nuclear activity in Natanz (its main nuclear research centre), it will face a second round of sanctions." Although very cautious on the possibility of the US taking military action against Iran, Burns said that "we leave all options on the table, but we are seeking a diplomatic solution to these problems. "Iran has to make a choice if it is going to work with us or against all of us in the world today... we do not seek confrontation with Iran, but Iran has to expect that our countries (the US and Israel) and other countries will defend our interests," Burns said. He was in Israel for talks with senior Israeli officials on strategic cooperation between the two countries, which focused on regional "challenges" including Lebanon, Syria" /> , the Palestinians and the situation in Iraq" /> and Iran, he said. Israel's deputy prime minister and Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said at the conference that 2007 would be a crucial year in trying to stop Iran's nuclear programme, which he qualified as an "existential threat" to Israel. "Strong words are not enough and we are called to take action. The free world has the power to provide an answer to the Iranian threat and the answer exists. 2007 is a decisive year," the former defence minister told the conference. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 12 AFP: Iran vows not to bow to UN resolutions Sun Jan 21, 3:26 AM ET TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has insisted that Tehran will go on with its controversial nuclear programme and will not cave in to more UN resolutions. "Even if they adopt 10 other resolutions it will not have any effect," Ahamdinejad told lawmakers as he introduced the budget for the next Iranian year starting March 21. The Security Council passed Resolution 1737 on December 23 imposing sanctions on Iran" /> for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment -- the process which can make nuclear fuel as well as the fissile core of an atom bomb in highly purified forms. "As our supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) said, no Iranian official has the right to back down on Iran's nuclear right," he added. On January 8, Khamenei emphatically rejected the UN resolution, vowing that the Islamic republic would not back down in its nuclear drive. Iran, OPEC" /> 's second largest oil exporter, insists its nuclear programme is solely aimed at meeting peaceful energy needs. However, the West fears that it could diverted towards building a bomb. On Saturday, Iran's top nuclear negotiator Larijani said the nation's armed forces were ready to face any threat to its nuclear installations, amid speculation Washington may be planning a military strike. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 13 AFP: Ahmadinejad seeks spending hike in new Iran budget by Siavosh Ghazi Sun Jan 21, 8:11 AM ET TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has unveiled his second annual budget, forecasting a sharp 20 percent increase in spending but lower oil revenues for OPEC" /> OPEC's second largest exporter. He asked parliament to approve a budget of 2,290 trillion rials (about 248 billion dollars) for the next Iranian year starting on March 21, a 19.6 percent rise on current expenditure. It was based on projections that Iranian oil will sell for 33.7 dollars a barrel, compared to 40 dollars in the current year's budget. Ahmadinejad has come under sharp domestic criticism over his government's increasing dependence on petrodollars and its inability to control inflation, which is officially at 12 percent but which economists believe is at least 20 percent. "The future is not predictable. It is possible that our enemies want to reduce oil prices to hurt us, that is why we have set the price at 33.7 dollars per barrel to show we are ready for anything," Ahmadinejad told parliament SUnday. "Even if they reduce oil prices we will be ready to handle it." Crude prices have plummeted from 68 dollars to about 50 dollars per barrel in the past six months. Iranian oil usually sells for about 10 dollars less. Iran" /> Iran's economy is heavily dependent on oil revenue, which accounts for 80 percent of total exports earnings and covers more than 50 percent of the state budget. The country is also grappling with UN sanctions imposed last month over its disupted nuclear programme and has been under unilateral US trade sanctions for almost three decades. Ahmadinejad swept to power in a June 2005 election on the back of promises to "bring oil money on to people's tables" and remove the gap between rich and poor. But in a public statement last week 150 lawmakers in the conservative-controlled parliament issued a budget warning, calling on Ahmadinejad to cut down on government spending and reduce reliance on oil revenues. The move was considered by the Iranian press as an sign of growing concerns which could encourage MPs to demand major changes to the budget. MPs have also expressed concern over rising housing prices which according to independent experts have increased by 25 percent in the past few months. Presenting his budget bill on Sunday, Ahmadinejad said the government would reduce its foreign currency spending from a current 38 billion dollars to 29.5 dollars in the next Iranian year. "Oil revenues will constitute 42.9 percent of the state budget, lowered from a current 58.3 percent," he said. In addition to falling global crude prices, Iran is faced with UN Security Council sanctions imposed on Tehran for its refusal to suspend controversial uranium enrichment work -- a process in nuclear fuel cycle which the West fears could be diverted towards weapons development. The sanctions include a ban on selling materials and technology that could be used in Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and the freezing of assets of Iranian companies and individuals involved in these programmes. Iran's economy has been suffering from unilateral US trade sanctions since 1979 Islamic revolution and in the past few months several international banks have restricted their dealings with Iran under US pressure. But a defiant Ahmadinejad on Sunday vowed Iran will never bow to UN resolutions, saying "even if they adopt 10 other resolutions it will not have any effect". Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 14 Guardian Unlimited: Musharraf, Ahmadinejad Discuss Mideast From the Associated Press [UP] Saturday January 20, 2007 7:01 AM ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan's president discussed the ``deteriorating situation'' in the Middle East with his Iranian counterpart ahead of his tour of the region, the foreign ministry said Saturday. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday to inform him of his forthcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Jordan, the ministry said in a statement. Musharraf spoke of the need to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and ``shared his deep concern with the Iranian president over the deteriorating situation in the Middle East,'' the statement said. Ahmadinejad welcomed his iniin his tour Saturday. Tehran is under pressure from the U.S. and some of its European allies to give up its nuclear program. Pakistan is a key ally of the United States in its war on terror. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 15 UPI: Iran stands firm on nuclear policy United Press International - NewsTrack - 1/21/2007 3:43:00 PM -0500 TEHRAN, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- An Iranian official told reporters Sunday his nation would not cease its uranium enrichment efforts. Iran's Fars News Agency reported Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has no plans to alter his nation's nuclear policies despite international criticism. Hosseini said Iran has announced all ongoing nuclear programs to the international community, but suggested officials would study any U.S. requests for further nuclear talks. Western nations suspect Iran's program is designed to produce nuclear weapons, not nuclear energy. Hosseini blamed the United States for Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari's recent comments that the two countries were considering limiting diplomatic ties. "Iran and Iraq enjoy high level of bilateral ties based on mutual interests and the two countries' senior officials are decisive to promote the existing relations," he said. "This is the U.S. which seeks to damage or limit mutual ties between Tehran and Baghdad." The news agency said Hosseini offered similar criticism of the proposed increase of U.S. troops in Iraq, saying it will only increase tension throughout the Middle East. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 16 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Plans to Conduct Missile War Games From the Associated Press [UP] Sunday January 21, 2007 12:16 PM By NASSER KARIMI Associated Press Writer TEHRAN, Iran (AP)- Iran plans three days of military maneuvers, including short-range missile tests, beginning Sunday - its first since the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions against it in late December, state-run television said. ``The elite Revolutionary Guards plans to begin a three-day missile maneuver on Sunday near Garmsar city,'' said the broadcast. The city is located in northern Iran on the edge of Kavir desert, about 60 miles southeast of Tehran. ``Zalzal and Fajr-5 missiles will be test fired in the war game,'' the television quoted an unnamed commander of the guards, as saying. Both are considered short-range missiles. Iran conducted three large-scale military exercises last year as tensions with the West and the United States rose. In November, for example, it test-fired dozens of missiles, including the Shahab-3 that can reach Israel, in military maneuvers that it said were aimed at putting a stop to the role of world powers in the Persian Gulf region. Sunday's maneuvers are to be the first by Iran since the U.N. Security Council imposed limited sanctions on the country on Dec. 23, banning selling materials and technology that could be used in Iran's nuclear and missile programs and freezing assets abroad of 10 Iranian companies and individuals. Iran regularly holds large maneuvers, often using them to test weapons developed by its arms industry. The latest Iranian maneuvers also come just days after the U.S. announced it would deploy a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf, the USS Stennis. That appeared to have alarmed some in Iran's hard-line leadership. A prominent member of a powerful cleric-run body this week warned that the U.S. plans to attack Iran in the coming months, possibly by striking its nuclear facilities. The United States has said it is focusing on diplomacy but will not rule out other options. Washington has accused Iran of backing militants fueling Iraq's violence and has tried to rally its Arab allies in isolating Tehran. Last year, Iran held three large-scale military exercises. In April, Iran tested what it called an ``ultra-horizon'' missile, fired from helicopters and jet fighters, and the Fajr-3 missile, which can reportedly evade radar and use multiple warheads to hit several targets simultaneously. While U.S. officials have suggested that Iran is exaggerating the capabilities of its newly developed weapons, Washington and its allies have been watching the country's progress in missile technology with concern. In October, the U.S. led maneuvers of its own in the Gulf, focusing on surveillance, with warships tracking a ship suspected of carrying components of illegal weapons. In December 2005, Israel successfully tested its Arrow missile defense system against a rocket similar to Iran's Shahab-3. The Arrow was developed jointly with the United States. While the Zalzal is a solid fuel missile, the Fajr-5 missile, from the Persian word meaning dawn, is an artillery rocket developed by Iran in early 2006. It includes a mobile platform and its primary role is to engage land targets, with a range of 50 miles. Iran has recently urged Arab Gulf nations to kick the U.S. military out of the region and join Iran in a new regional security alliance, an offer mostly ignored by the Gulf states. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 17 [NYTr] China, US to Resume Talks on Korean Peninsula Nukes Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:41:33 -0600 (CST) X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Prensa Latina, Havana http://www.plenglish.com China, US to Resume Talks on Korean Peninsula Nukes Beijing, Jan 21 (Prensa Latina) China and the US will discuss resuming the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula with the US. US Assistant Secretary of States Christopher Hill -that already discussed the issue with Tokyo and Seoul- is to brief Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei on last week talks in Berlin with PDRK Counterpart Kim Kye Gwan. The six-party talks started in 2003 in Beijing involve the US, China, Japan, Russia, and the PDRK and South Korea. Last December sessions ended without an accord due to US refusal to meet the PDRK demands to raise the financial sanctions imposed September 2005 arguing that they are not related to the N-issue. Yet the US insists on the PDRK resignation to N-weapons and related programs. hr emw jhb PL-12 *** DPRK Urges South Korea to Normalize Bonds Seoul, Jan 21 (Prensa Latina) The Democratic People4s Republic of Korea urged South Korean authorities on Sunday to normalize bilateral relations and boost reunification. In declarations to the oficial news agency KCNA, Kim Ki-nam, secretary of the Korean Labor Party, said that national reunification is facing a serious challenge by the hostile forces inside and outside the peninsula. The leader urged all Koreans to defend peace and thwart US war plans and South Korea's warmonger forces. He pointed out that Seoul instead of getting involved in the sanctions against its northern compatriots, it should rake measures to normalize the north-south ties and opt for reconciliation, cooperation and reunification. In addition, Kim Ki-nam stressed that South Korean political parties and organizations should flatly reject and oppose any action that damages the national dignity and hinders efforts towards the development of intre Korean relations. hr ymr jhb PL-4 * ================================================================ .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 ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 18 UPI: U.N. to halt cash payments to N.Korea United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - 1/19/2007 8:19:00 PM -0500 UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Facing allegations the U.N. Development Program indirectly funded North Korea's nuclear program, the agency has announced a series of management reforms. Speaking Friday to reporters at U.N. World Headquarters in New York, Ad Melkert, the U.N. undersecretary-general and the associate administrator of UNDP, announced plans to seek an independent, external audit. As of March 1, Melkert also said UNDP would no longer pay hard currency for its programs there and it will hire employees independently. UNDP funnels between $2 million and $3 million to North Korea each year to fund development and humanitarian initiatives. The money is given to Pyongyang in cash, and the government then recruits UNDP staff and pays salaries. Critics have speculated North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may be skimming off a portion of this money to fund his nuclear weapons program. Last July, the regime's missile tests earned it U.N. Security Council sanctions. In a Jan. 16 letter to UNDP, U.S. Ambassador Mark Wallace, the representative for U.N. Management and Reform, wrote the North Korean program was operating in gross violation of UNDP rules. Melkert defended the agency Friday, saying the scheme, while not ideal, enabled the United Nations to remain active in North Korea during humanitarian emergencies. In 1998 and 1999 flooding and severe drought resulted in devastating crop shortfalls and the loss of 2 million to 3 million lives. U.N. relief agencies, including UNDP, entered the country to help. Then, in September 1998, North Korea launched a test missile over Japan, alerting the world to its military ambitions. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who also met Friday with Malkert, issued a call for "an urgent, system-wide and external inquiry into all activities done around the globe by the U.N. funds and programs." © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 19 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Envoy Working to Set Nuke Talks From the Associated Press [UP] Sunday January 21, 2007 10:31 AM By JOE McDONALD Associated Press Writer BEIJING (AP) - U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill arrived in China Sunday to work on finding a date to restart talks North Korean talks, while a report indicated the North has agreed to discuss the disarmament of its nuclear weapons. Hill was on a tour to brief Japan, South Korea and China about promising talks he had last week in Berlin with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan. South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing unidentified ``multiple diplomatic sources,'' reported Sunday that North Korea agreed to address moves to disarm when Kim and Hill met in Germany. The reported agreement would mark a shift in North Korea's stance. Previously, Pyongyang said it would not discuss nuclear disarmament unless the U.S. first lifted financial restrictions imposed for the North's alleged counterfeiting and money laundering. In Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov, his nation's envoy to the talks, and North Korea's Kim began talks on the nuclear issue early Sunday, a Ministry official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media. In Beijing, Hill was to meet officials including China's delegate to the talks, Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei. ``I will ask him about his thoughts on when we can schedule the next round of six-party talks, because we'd like to do that as soon as possible,'' Hill said. The Chinese-organized international talks took on added urgency after North Korea alarmed its neighbors in October by testing a nuclear bomb. But the latest round ended in December in Beijing with no breakthroughs. Hill told officials in Tokyo this week that the United States and North Korea agreed to restart talks as soon as possible and strive for concrete progress. The participants are North Korea, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China and Russia. Hill said Saturday he was aiming to resume the disarmament talks this month or in early February. He said he hoped the next round of six-party talks would yield progress on implementing steps agreed to in September 2005, when the North pledged to disarm in exchange for aid and security guarantees. A key stumbling block has been sanctions imposed by Washington on a Macau bank that did business with North Korean companies. Hill said Saturday that U.S. and North Korean officials agreed in Berlin to hold talks on the sanctions soon, possibly as early as next week. --- Associated Press writers Maria Danilova in Moscow and Hans Greimel in Tokyo contributed to this report. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 20 AFP: US envoy hopeful for progress in NKorea talks - by Kyoko Hasegawa Sat Jan 20, 6:03 AM ET TOKYO (AFP) - US envoy Christopher Hill has said he was hopeful for progress from North Korea" /> North Koreain giving up its nuclear weapons in the upcoming round of six-nation talks. Visiting Japan on a regional tour Saturday, Hill described rare one-on-one talks he held with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan in Berlin as "more substantial" than a previous meeting. "They were very concrete. We discussed some of the specific issues that we would need to negotiate in the six-party talks, but in no way are those meetings in Berlin a substitute for the six-party talks," Hill said. Hill, however, played down North Korea's assertion on Friday that the Berlin talks had yielded "a certain agreement." "I'm glad they have a positive assessment because we believe our discussions were very useful," Hill told reporters after talks at the Japanese foreign ministry. Hill said that China, the host of the six-nation talks where he will head on Sunday, was sounding out capitals for the date of the next negotiations. He declined to confirm a report from Russia's Interfax that the talks would likely resume on February 6. He voiced hope that "the next session, whether it's a late January or an early February session, does achieve more progress." Progress, Hill said, would mean implementing a September 2005 agreement under which North Korea agreed in general terms to give up its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees. North Korea walked out of the talks two months later to protest a set of US financial sanctions. It returned to the table only last month after testing its first nuclear bomb, which triggered security concerns around the world. "It's a big agreement, there are a lot of elements to it," Hill said at Tokyo's Haneda airport after arriving from South Korea" /> South Korea. "So we can't do it all at once, but we'd hope to implement some of them," he said of his expectations for the next session. "Obviously if you look at the text of the September 05 agreement you'll see they need to abandon all those weapons and the existing nuclear programs. So we would look forward to getting some progress," he said. The six-way talks involve China, Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the United States. The last session saw no tangible progress, with an emboldened North Korea sticking to its demands that the United States stop blacklisting a Macau bank accused of laundering money on behalf of the impoverished state. Hill said the US Treasury Department" /> Treasury Departmentwould resume talks in the coming week or the week after with Pyongyang about Macau's Banco Delta Asia, which holds 24 million dollars in frozen North Korea funds. Hill also said "it is very important" that North Korea and Japan hold bilateral talks over the past abductions of Japanese civilians by Pyongyang agents, an emotionally charged issue for Tokyo. Japan has championed a hard line against North Korea, which has repeatedly called for Tokyo to be expelled from the six-party talks. "The Japanese government also hopes to have six-party talks as soon as possible and see some progress, including on the abduction issue," Kenichiro Sasae, Japan's envoy to the talks, said after meeting with Hill. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 21 Japan Times: Tougher rules eyed for N. Korea trade Sunday, Jan. 21, 2007 The government is seeking harsher punishment for violators of the Customs Law to curb illegal trade with North Korea and increase the effectiveness of economic sanctions, sources said Saturday. The government wants a new penalty of imprisonment for up to a year for refusal to allow cargo inspections by customs officers, the sources said. The current penalty is a maximum fine of 500,000 yen. Stricter controls will also be sought on exports of machinery that can be diverted to military programs, including the development of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction, they said. Currently, exporters who make false declarations about shipments are subject to imprisonment of up to a year or a fine of up to 1 million yen. Under the proposed revisions, this would be changed to up to five years in prison or a fine of 5 million yen. The government also wants to raise the maximum prison term to seven years from the current five for importing banned goods such as narcotics or guns, the sources said. The revised legislation would be applied to all shipments in and out of Japan, but the checks would be tougher for trade involving North Korea, the sources said. The government hopes to present a bill to revise the Customs Law to the Diet for passage during the 150-day legislative session that starts Thursday. Following Pyongyang's missile launches in July and nuclear test in October, Japan has imposed a series of economic and financial sanctions, including a total ban on imports and an export ban on luxury goods to the North. The Japan Times (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 22 UPI: U.N. calls for redoubling N.Korea talks United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - 1/19/2007 8:31:00 PM -0500 UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Welcoming the resumption of U.S.-North Korea talks, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for redoubled efforts to de-nuclearize the Korean peninsula. "The secretary-general welcomes reports of active preparations for the next round of the six-party talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," his spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said Friday. "He is encouraged in particular by the recent positive discussions in Berlin between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and United States negotiators. "As consultations continue with other countries participating in the six-party talks, the Secretary-General calls on all involved to redouble their efforts toward implementation of the Joint Statement of Sept. 19, 2005," she added, referring to a commitment to denuclearize the peninsula that has so far not been acted upon. The talks involve North Korea, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States. They have been on and off in Beijing for several years, but have so far failed to remove nuclear weapons from the peninsula. North Korea carried out its first proclaimed nuclear test in October, after which the Security Council imposed various sanctions on the communist country. © Copyright 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 23 Guardian Unlimited: U.S., N. Korea Agree to Hold Nuke Talks From the Associated Press [UP] Saturday January 20, 2007 9:16 AP Photo KSX102, XLEE106 By HANS GREIMEL Associated Press Writer TOKYO (AP) - The U.S. and North Korea have agreed to ``get going'' on a new round of six-nation nuclear talks after ``useful'' meetings in Berlin, the top U.S. envoy on North Korea said Saturday, amid new hopes for a breakthrough in the standoff. The comments spur optimism about progress in the long-stalled negotiations on dismantling the communist country's nuclear facilities and come days after North Korea said it struck an unspecified agreement with the United States in Germany. ``We certainly agreed that we would go forward with the six-party talks. We agreed on the need to get going on the next round,'' Hill said after arriving in Tokyo on a regional trip to brief allies on the four-day negotiations, which ended Thursday. ``With regard to the actual meetings with Mr. Kim Kye-gwan in Berlin, I would say they were very useful discussions. They were substantive,'' Hill said of the talks with North Korea's main nuclear negotiator. After the Berlin talks, North Korea said it reached an unspecified agreement with the United States, and Hill said the meeting laid the foundations for progress when the six-nation talks reconvene. The negotiations are aimed at persuading the isolated communist regime into giving up its nuclear ambitions in exchange for aid, and include North Korea, the United States, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia. Negotiations have taken on added urgency since North Korea rattled the region by testing its first nuclear bomb in October. The last six-way round, held in Beijing in December, ended without any breakthroughs. Hill said he hope for progress on implementing some of the steps agreed to in September 2005, where the North pledged to disarm in exchange for aid and security guarantees. ``I think we'd be looking to try to implement some of that agreement,'' Hill said. ``We can't do it all at once, but we'd hope to implement some of it.'' Hill said Sunday he hoped the next round could begin later this month or in early February. Exact timing depends on China, the expected host of the meeting, and Hill will be traveling next to Beijing before returning to Washington, the U.S. envoy said. In South Korea, he said he was aiming for a meeting before the Lunar New Year holiday, which falls on Feb. 18 this year. ``We would like to get going as soon as possible,'' Hill said. North Korea offered a rare, upbeat assessment of the Germany meetings. ``We paid attention to the direct dialogue held by the (North) and the U.S. in a bid to settle knotty problems in resolving the nuclear issue,'' the North's ministry said in a statement released by the country's official Korean Central News Agency. The U.S. State Department said the meetings allowed Hill to gain a better sense of where North Korea stands on the future of its nuclear weapons program, but added that no issues were resolved. The countries had been seeking to outline how to implement the September 2005 agreement. But the key stumbling block has been Washington's blacklisting of a Macau bank that held North Korean accounts. The U.S. and Pyongyang have agreed to discuss the financial issue, and Hill said Saturday that both countries agreed in Berlin to hold talks on the issue soon. The discussions have not yet been scheduled, but could convene as early as next week, Hill said. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 24 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Says U.N. Agency Aided N. Korea From the Associated Press [UP] Saturday January 20, 2007 8:31 AP Photo XLEE106 By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Writer UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon responded quickly to U.S. accusations that the U.N. development agency funneled millions of dollars in cash aid to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, calling on all U.N. funds and programs to conduct an urgent outside investigation into their operations. Ban's decision to press for outside audits not only of the U.N. Development Program's activities in North Korea but of all U.N. programs indicated he was determined to avoid a repetition of the scandal over the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq which bubbled for months before former Secretary-General Kofi Annan agreed to an independent investigation. In the North Korean case, U.S. officials questioned whether funds intended to help the country's impoverished people had been used for other activities including nuclear weapons development. The U.N. program, known as UNDP, said it has operated in North Korea since 1979 and no concerns have been raised about its funds being used for the North's nuclear arms program. U.S. deputy ambassador Mark Wallace charged Friday that the U.N. agency operated ``in blatant violation of U.N. rules'' for years in North Korea. He demanded an immediate outside audit, focusing on concerns that Pyongyang converted development funds ``to its own illicit purposes.'' UNDP Associate Administrator Ad Melkert disputed allegations that the agency violated U.N. rules, insisting it followed UNDP financial rules. The use of hard currency was approved by the agency's executive board, he said, adding that UNDP would welcome an external audit and would ask the board to approve it when it meets here next week. In response to U.N. sanctions against North Korea in October for conducting a nuclear test, UNDP said it was taking measures to prevent ``unintended consequences'' of the program's activities. Melkert said that by March 1, all hard currency payments to the government, national partners, local staff and suppliers would be replaced by payments in North Korean won. The North Korean won is not a hard currency that can be easily used to buy luxury goods or weapons parts, but Melkert stressed that the only place to buy the local currency was from the country's central bank - which means hard currency will continue to reach Kim's regime. Neither the U.S. nor UNDP would give a figure of how much money was involved, but Melkert said it was not hundreds of millions of dollars. UNDP said late Friday that in the 10 years from 1997 through 2006, the executive board authorized $59.35 million for North Korea but only $27.66 million was delivered. Ban called for an urgent ``external inquiry'' into U.N. funds and programs around the globe, U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said. Many of the agencies, like UNDP, operate semi-independently and have their own boards. Montas said the external audits will cover all funds and programs including the U.N. Children's Fund, the U.N. refugee agency, the World Food Program and the World Health Organization. An exchange of letters between Wallace and senior UNDP officials goes back to November and was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. U.S. officials said they first received indications there might be some irregularities in UNDP's North Korea program in the second half of 2006, and raised concerns that the cash might be misused, possibly for Pyongyang's nuclear program. A Jan. 4 letter from Wallace to UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis raised ``U.S. concerns that UNDP has transferred hard currency directly to the regime of Kim Jong Il.'' He pressed UNDP for copies of internal audits. A U.S. team was allowed to look at audits for 1999, 2001 and 2004 on Jan. 11, but not photocopy them. Wallace's harshest letter, dated Jan. 16, said that after examining the internal audits, the U.S. concluded that UNDP's local staff is dominated by North Korean government employees who have managed the agency's programs and finances in violation of UNDP rules. He cited three other violations of U.N. rules - the government's insistence that UNDP pay cash to North Korean government suppliers and UNDP's failure to oversee projects it funds in the country or to audit its programs. ``The UNDP program has laudable goals of providing assistance to the North Korean peoples,'' said Wallace, who focuses on U.N. management issues. ``Unfortunately, because of the actions of the DPRK (North Korean) government and the complicity of UNDP, at least since 1998, the UNDP DPRK program has been systematically perverted for the benefit of the Kim Jong Il regime - rather than the people of North Korea.'' Acting U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the United States is still seeking answers and does not know the extent of the problem, or how much money was involved. ``It simply boggles the imagination that they simply dole out cash without controls,'' he said. UNDP's Melkert said the agency was operating in North Korea in an environment reminiscent of the Cold War when many communist bloc countries selected staff employed by U.N. agencies, which often operated under severe financial and travel restrictions. In addition to ending cash payments, he said, UNDP will discontinue government recruitment of national staff ``and we will put the right monitoring and audits in place addressing the issue of national execution.'' Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 25 SF Chronicle: Top Dems rebuke Bush on war plan Saturday, January 20, 2007 (01-20) 04:00 PST Washington -- The two top Democratic leaders of the new Congress blasted President Bush on his decision to send more troops to Iraq and warned him not to take military action against Iran without their approval, but they offered their bipartisan cooperation on domestic issues. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada also indicated Friday in their annual "pre-buttal" to Bush's State of the Union speech that they want Congress to take strong action on global warming, an issue that until recently the Bush administration has downplayed. The Democratic leaders' comments on Iraq, however, left little doubt that the debate over the war will overshadow everything else this year on Capitol Hill. That impression was reinforced by a sharp exchange of words between the White House and Pelosi. Pelosi, appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America," reiterated her tough stand against Bush's handling of the war. The president "has to answer for his war. He has dug a hole so deep he can't even see the light on this. It's a tragedy. It's a stark blunder," the speaker said. Pelosi also said that keeping troops in Iraq in the midst of sectarian fighting "is not an obligation of the American people in perpetuity." The president has said he will send 21,500 more troops to Iraq, while many congressional Democrats have called for troop withdrawals. Pelosi indicated she thought Bush was rushing some of the extra troops to Iraq quickly to pre-empt possible congressional resolutions opposing such new deployments. "The president knows that because the troops are in harm's way that we won't cut off the resources. That's why he's moving so quickly to put them in harm's way," Pelosi said. Those comments set off Dana Perino, deputy White House press secretary. She called Pelosi's comments "poisonous," especially for implying that Bush was using troops for political purposes. "Speaker Pelosi was arguing in essence that the president is putting young men and women in harm's way for tactical political reasons. And she's questioning his motivations rather than questioning his policies," Perino told reporters. "The one thing you can say about President Bush is that he's not moving forward with this new plan because he thinks it is popular. He is doing it because he thinks it is right," she added. Opinion polls show fewer than 3 in 10 Americans support the president's announced policy to increase troop levels in Iraq. In her appearance with Reid at the National Press Club, Pelosi again voiced support for the bipartisan, nonbinding Senate resolution introduced this week that opposes Bush's troop increase. The House will take up the resolution if it gets through the Senate. Reid said "the president's new plan can be summed up in four words: more of the same. Like our military generals, the American people and a growing bipartisan chorus in Congress, I believe escalation is a serious mistake." The Senate majority leader also warned Bush about recent speculation that the administration is considering military action against Iran because of its meddling in Iraq and because of its nuclear program. "I'd like to be clear: The president does not have the authority to launch military action in Iran without first seeking congressional authorization," Reid said. At the White House, Perino repeated the president's position that no military operations are contemplated against Iran. "There seems to be fanning of flames where there's no fire," she said of Reid's comments. The atmosphere over cooperation on some domestic issues is brighter going into Tuesday's scheduled State of the Union, given comments by the two Democrats and the White House. Pelosi listed numerous issues -- such as developing alternative energy sources, immigration policy, reauthorizing the "No Child Left Behind" education program, funding basic scientific research, curbing the federal budget deficit, reforming health care policy, helping the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Katrina, and combatting global warming -- on which Democrats will push legislation that she hopes can be bipartisan and get Bush's support. She said Americans "want to see their leaders focus on American priorities, and they want us to work together for the American people." Bush plans to address many of those topics in his annual speech -- the first the president will deliver before a Congress controlled by the opposition Democrats. "Americans should expect a discussion of the commonsense principles that will provide the basis for President Bush's approach to governing with a new Congress," Perino said. She said the speech will differ from the usual State of the Union in that it won't be the usual "laundry list of proposals." Since the November election, Bush has shown a more conciliatory approach toward the Democratic Congress. The president replaced Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and United Nations Ambassador John Bolton. This week, he reversed his policy on warrantless wiretaps and has indicated he would sign a minimum wage increase, which was one of Pelosi's top priorities. But if Bush hopes to move the focus off Iraq, he probably will be disappointed. His speech will be followed immediately on network television by the Democratic response, which this year will be delivered by new Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, who defeated Republican Sen. George Allen in November in part on an anti-war platform. Webb campaigned carrying the combat boots worn by his son, a Marine serving in Iraq. E-mail Edward Epstein at . The San Francisco Chronicle] ***************************************************************** 26 Reid: REID FOCUSES SENATE ON ENERGY POLICY : 01/17/2007 US Senator Harry Reid for Nevada Effort will enhance America’s energy and environmental security Washington, DC—Standing alongside the new Committee Chairs who will be key in transforming the nation's energy policies and moving legislation through the United States Senate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada today announced the new Senate Democratic majority is moving forward to bring dramatic change to America’s energy policy. “Nevadans and Americans alike are ready to confront the enormous challenge of energy independence,” said Reid. “I am making better energy policy a top priority of the Senate to make our country safer, lower energy rates, create domestic jobs, and protect the environment. In Nevada, more than 3,300 jobs would be created—primarily in rural areas—if we invested more in renewable energy solutions.” Reid, Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, Homeland and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, and Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer announced that their Committees will begin working right away on new legislation to begin to deliver results for the American people. America’s national security and economic prosperity, not to mention the future health of the planet, demand a radically new course. The Senators today made clear their commitment represented a paradigm shift for how Congress will address America’s energy future. From now on, energy legislation will not be a means to prolong the failed policies of the past. Instead, Congress will direct its attention to investing new strategies and new alternative energy technologies to bring about the change the American people expect and demand. This new commitment represents the first—and critical—step toward freeing America from its dependence on foreign oil and the national security threat it represents, tackling the growing problem of global climate change, and developing the new and job creating technologies that will power America’s economy in the 21st Century. A recent study by the nonpartisan Apollo Alliance suggests that a major investment in alternative energy technologies could add more than 3.3 million new jobs to America’s economy, stimulate $1.4 trillion dollars in new Gross Domestic Product, and pay for itself within 10 years. For the past six years, despite mounting evidence of the threat of global warming, growing evidence of the threat posed by our dependence on foreign oil, and massive profit growth by OPEC and Big Oil on the backs of American consumers, little has been accomplished in Washington to address our nation’s energy security. The new Democratic Congress is committed to changing course, delivering results, and taking America in a new direction. ### Reno Bruce R. Thompson Courthouse & Federal Bldg 400 S. Virginia St, Site 902 Reno, NV 89501 Phone: 775-686-5750 Fax: 775-686-5757 [ /] Las Vegas Lloyd D. George Building 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Suite 8016 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Phone: 702-388-5020 Fax: 702-388-5030 [ /] Carson City 600 East William St, #302 Carson City, NV 89701 Phone: 775-882-REID (7343) Fax: 775-883-1980 [ /] Washington, DC 528 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-3542 Fax: 202-224-7327 Toll Free for Nevadans: 1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343) ***************************************************************** 27 BBC NEWS: SNP unveils 'Trident toll' plans | UK | Scotland | Glasgow and West | Last Updated: Sunday, 21 January 2007, 16:13 GMT [Trident submarine] The Trident submarine fleet is based at Faslane on the Clyde A toll on the transportation of nuclear warheads in Scotland could raise up to Ł85m, according to the Nationalists. The Scottish National Party's leaders say they will seek to impose a levy on Trident if the party leads the Scottish Executive after May's election. But the plans were dismissed as a diversionary tactic by Labour. Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram questioned the legality of such a move and said taxpayers would end up footing the bill. The SNP wants to impose a Ł1m toll on every nuclear weapon which is brought into Scotland. SNP leader Alex Salmond said the "Trident toll" would use devolved powers over local taxation. 'Think again' The scheme would aim to raise Ł85m a year, which he said was Scotland's share of the cost of Britain's nuclear weapons. "I believe that most Scots would rather see the government spend money making Scotland a safer, healthier and fairer country than wasting it on nuclear weapons," he said. "This Trident toll will be a powerful new deterrent, and we hope will make the UK Government think again about bringing a new generation of nuclear bombs to Scotland's shores." What they are effectively now saying is that it is going to be a cash crop Adam Ingram Armed Forces Minister The Trident submarine fleet is based at the Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde. However, Mr Ingram told the BBC's Politics Show that there were questions over the legality of the SNP's proposals. "The other aspect is that I thought the SNP policy was one of total opposition to Trident, and to the nuclear civil programme as well," he said. "What they are effectively now saying is that it is going to be a cash crop. "Is it a principle or is it a way of making money? They have got to make their minds up." He added that the cost would be borne by taxpayers as the money would come out of defence expenditure. ***************************************************************** 28 The Hindu: Pakistan building new N-facilities - report Sunday, January 21, 2007 : 0300 Hrs Islamabad, Jan. 21 (PTI): Pakistan could be in the advanced stage of building a new reactor at its Chashma nuclear site capable of separating weapons-grade plutonium from spent reactor fuel, and it could go into operation soon, a US think-tank has said. The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), has said that it has obtained commercial satellite imagery of Pakistan's Chashma nuclear industrial park showing what appears to be the construction of a new reactor and its associated facilities, the Daily Times reported from Washington Saturday. Although it is unclear whether the facility is operational, the nature and rate of the construction suggests that it may soon start operation, if it has not done so already, the ISIS said. The ISIS believes that the imagery raises the question of whether Pakistan intends to operationalise the facility capable of separating weapons-grade plutonium out of spent reactor fuel. Such a capability, combined with Pakistan's ability to make large quantities of highly enriched uranium (HEU) for nuclear weapons, would facilitate Islamabad in developing thermonuclear weapons as well as increasing the size of its nuclear arsenal. The reprocessing facility at Chashma would significantly facilitate Pakistan's plutonium separation capability and lead to an expanded plutonium production capacity, the think-tank said. Given New Delhi's intensified efforts to increase uranium enrichment capabilities at the Rare Materials Plant, the two neigbours could be engaged in expanding the size and quality of their nuclear arsenals, the ISIS report warned. Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. ***************************************************************** 29 AFP: Gulf states to hold nuclear talks with UN watchdog Sat Jan 20, 4:01 PM ET DUBAI (AFP) - Gulf states plan to hold talks with the UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency" /> over their plans for a regional nuclear programme, a Gulf official said in remarks. "There are preparations underway for meetings in the coming weeks with officials from the IAEA about the GCC nuclear programme," Gulf Cooperation Council secretary general Abderrahman Al-Attiya told UAE newspaper Al-Khaleej. At a summit in Riyadh last month, leaders of the oil-rich Arab monarchies in the Gulf outlined plans for a joint programme for the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, all neighbours of Iran" /> . But the Gulf states have denied their desire for nuclear development is a result of Iran's own atomic programme, which the West fears could be a cover for plans to build the nuclear bomb. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 30 AFP: Merkel, Putin end Russia talks at odds on energy security - by Valerie Leroux Sun Jan 21, 2:48 PM ET SOCHI, Russia (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin" /> Vladimir Putinwere at odds after talks on energy relations amid EU doubts over Moscow's reliability as a supplier. Merkel stressed the importance of "relations of trust" and called for improved communication on energy between the European Union" /> European Unionand Russia "in order to avoid tensions, misunderstandings or disappointments." But Putin defended Russian moves to drastically increase energy prices for neighbouring former Soviet countries -- a policy that has led to supply disruptions to Europe through Belarus and Ukraine in the past 12 months. "Russia is aiming to create common, transparent rules for cooperating with our partners. Our European customers have an interest in this," Putin said, referring to transit through Ukraine and Belarus. The European Union depends on Russia for a quarter of its energy needs. Much of the supply, particularly of natural gas, travels through the neighbouring former Soviet republics. Putin also said, however, that Russia would redouble efforts to build new transport networks to export oil and gas in order to reduce the country's reliance on transit countries. A Russian embargo on meat imports from Poland -- another issue clouding relations between the European Union and Russia -- remained unresolved, despite hopes of a possible breakthrough ahead of the Putin-Merkel meeting. Poland has vetoed the start of partnership talks between the EU and Russia until the embargo is lifted. Merkel said the meat trade issues "have still not been resolved," while Putin said: "We have to come to an agreement." Putin also voiced hope for improved ties with the European Union under the six-month presidency of Germany, which this year also holds the chairmanship of the Group of Eight leading economies. "Taking into account our good... relations with Germany, we very much expect your presidency of the EU will help us build relations with other countries and the organisation as a whole," Putin said. During an oil dispute between Russia and Belarus this month, Merkel had criticised Moscow's sudden suspension of oil deliveries, saying: "That repeatedly destroys confidence." Germany has been Russia's main ally in the European Union and the two are key trade partners but relations appear cooler than under Merkel's predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder" /> Gerhard Schroeder, who was openly friendly with Putin. "The disputes with Ukraine and Belarus have raised concern. Moscow cannot be indifferent," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a recent interview with the German daily General Anzeiger. "Escalations like the ones we have seen must be avoided," Steinmeier said. Merkel and Putin also discussed the future status of the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo" /> Kosovo, efforts to revive the Middle East peace process and Iran" /> Iran's nuclear ambitions. On Kosovo, where UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari is expected next week to propose a form of independence, Putin said that any decision on the province's future should not be "imposed from the outside." "A long-term resolution of the problem can be achieved only if it is acceptable both to Belgrade and to Pristina," Putin said, adding that the Serbian people should not have to accept a "humiliating" decision. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 31 Portland Press Herald: State, Maine Yankee agree on compensation Six projects are proposed to make up for water contamination caused by the former power plant. --> CORRECTION: By DENNIS HOEY, Staff Writer [Maine Sunday Telegram] © Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Sunday, January 21, 2007 Sheepscot Valley Conservation would receive $125,000 to help protect 250 acres of land adjacent to its 35-acre Bass Falls Preserve in Alna. The project increases the size of the preserve and protects a rare plant community. Some of the funds would help pay for a conservation easement on a 250-acre tree farm in Newcastle across the Sheepscot River from the preserve. Trout Unlimited would receive $200,000 to create a fish passage through the Coopers Mill dam in Whitefield. The proposed design would involve placing rocks on the dam wall to allow Atlantic salmon and other fish to climb over it while preserving the retention pond to fight fires. It would open up 27 miles of the Sheepscot River to Atlantic salmon, Chewonki Foundation would receive $55,000 to acquire Berry Island in the Sheepscot River. The island would be added to the Maine Island Trail system. Chewonki Foundation would receive $150,000 to acquire a parcel of land just north of the Cushman Mountain Preserve in Wiscasset. The land would allow Chewonki to complete its Back River Trail. The State Planning Office would receive $300,000 to help restore 216 acres of saltwater marsh on land that was once known as Sherman Lake. The lake drained in 2005 after a storm destroyed a dam that separated the lake from a saltwater river. Chewonki Foundation would receive $100,000 to help pay for removal of the Montsweag Brook Dam. The project would restore two miles of free-running stream to species such as eels, alewives, smelt and sea-run brook trout. Midcoast Maine will get an expanded nature preserve, a restored salt marsh and several other conservation projects under a proposed $930,000 agreement between the state and Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co. that closes the books on state environmental violations at the former nuclear plant in Wiscasset. Four state agencies and Maine Yankee officials negotiated for a year to reach the tentative settlement, which compensates for damages the plant caused to groundwater supplies during its 24 years of operation. Maine Yankee fired up in 1972 and stopped producing electricity in December 1996. Though the state will continue to monitor groundwater wells for the next 30 years, officials from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection said the agreement puts to rest any environmental issues related to non-radiological contamination on the property, at Bailey Point in Wiscasset. Most of the contamination was caused by oil spills and solvents. "Overall, I think it's a good deal for the state of Maine and an excellent natural resources initiative," DEP Commissioner David Littell said Friday. The settlement would fund six projects, including expansion of a nature preserve in Alna, restoration of a salt marsh in Newcastle and dam removal or fish passage installation in Wiscasset and Whitefield. Gov. John Baldacci designated the DEP as lead trustee for settling damages to groundwater supplies about a year ago. The agency worked with three other trustees - the departments of Conservation, Marine Resources and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife - to negotiate the deal. The proposal includes environmental restoration benefits and increased public access to lands once owned by Maine Yankee. The trustees could modify the agreement because of concerns raised by the towns of Wiscasset and Woolwich. Both towns oppose the removal of a dam on lower Montsweag Brook, which forms a natural boundary between the communities. The dam was installed in 1968 by Maine Yankee to provide a water source for the plant. The agreement calls for the payment of $100,000 to the Chewonki Foundation, a Wiscasset-based environmental education center that borders the former power plant site, to help fund the dam's removal. Removing the dam would open two miles of potential habitat for such species as eel, smelt and sea-run brook trout. But Woolwich opposes the project because the town would lose more than $3,500 in property taxes Maine Yankee pays annually on the dam and six acres of adjacent land. "We do not believe that any taxpayer of any town should be penalized by increased property taxes in exchange for a settlement," Woolwich selectmen wrote in a letter to the DEP last week. "We believe the town of Woolwich has been damaged and should be included in the settlement agreement." Wiscasset would like to see the retention pond behind the dam preserved as a backup water supply in case the town ever loses its main drinking water source ­ Nequasset Lake in Woolwich. "It could be a secondary source of water for us in the event of an emergency," Wiscasset's Water District superintendent, Chris Cossette, said. Don Hudson, the Chewonki Foundation's executive director, said he is confident a compromise can be worked out with the towns He said a fish ladder could be installed on both sides of the dam, so the water could still be impounded, but fish would be able to move past the dam. Under the agreement, Chewonki is also in line to receive $55,000 to acquire six-acre Berry Island, located in the Sheepscot River just south of the Westport Island Bridge. Chewonki will add the island to the Maine Island Trails system. The foundation would also receive $150,000 to acquire a parcel of land near the Cushman Mountain Preserve in Wiscasset. The purchase would allow Chewonki to complete its new Back River Trail. Though it might seem like Chewonki will significantly benefit from the settlement, Hudson said it is important to note that "We will not be using these properties for our own private interest or gain. They will be open for the public benefit." Built at a cost of $231 million, Maine Yankee was the focus of referendum campaigns in 1980, 1982 and 1987 to force the plant to shut down. All three campaigns failed. In 1994, cracks were discovered in the plant's steam generator tubes, and subsequent repairs and testing proved the damage was too costly to fix. Maine Yankee shut down for the last time in 1996. A decade later, spent fuel rods remain on the site, stored aboveground in special casks on a 12-acre site, pending approval of a federally licensed, long-term storage facility. Decommissioning of the plant began in 1997, and federal officials declared the job complete in late 2005. All buildings have since been removed except for the spent fuel storage operation, which the state will continue to monitor. Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be reached at 725-8795 or at: dhoey@pressherald.com Copyright © 2005, Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 32 Gauntlet Opinions: Reactor reaction [The University of Calgary Gauntlet] Jon Roe Sports Editor January 18, 2007 Recently-elected federal Liberal leader Stephane Dion dropped by Calgary for a visit Fri., Jan. 12 and weighed in on the issue of building nuclear plants to power the oilsands. As it stands now, a massive amount of natural gas is being used in the extraction of bitumen. There are concerns when erecting nuclear power plants and those were brought up not only by Dion, but by prominent environmental organizations in Calgary. Marlo Reynolds, executive director of the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based environmental think-tank, expressed concern about increasing the oilsands' prominence as a terrorist target. Though terrorism is a harsh reality, the potential for terrorism is thrown around too eagerly and often amounts to little more than fear-mongering. Despite 9/11 proving that a large-scale terrorist attack can occur on North American soil, throughout nuclear power's 50-year history in North America, no attack has managed to successfully target a nuclear plant despite the existence of people, organizations and countries with the motive. Another legitimate concern expressed by Dion and Reynolds was the difficulty of nuclear waste disposal. But as reactors improve and technology advances, the waste produced will be diminished and the facilities used to safeguard them will improve. There are many safe storage options that are being explored throughout the world as nuclear power has been considered a viable option by plenty of countries. What really should be of concern are the substantial emissions produced by the oilsands. If gas use continues at the same pace, there's no hope for Canada to reach its Kyoto goals. Nuclear power produces very little emissions--especially compared with the amount being pumped into the air now. The probability of a nuclear power plant being built in Alberta in the near future is high, concerns over waste or not. Though they're legitimate concerns, high emission levels should be a higher priority. © Copyright 1998-2006 Gauntlet Publications Society. ***************************************************************** 33 Columbia Tribune: Nuke plant photos result in two arrests http://www.columbiatribune.com Published Saturday, January 20, 2007 Two Westminster College students were arrested Tuesday night after allegedly trespassing near the Callaway Nuclear Plant to take pictures. Security guards for AmerenUE, which operates the plant south of Fulton, alerted the Callaway County Sheriff’s Department that Shawn K. Milligan, 22, of St. Louis, and Corey A. Meyer, 19, of Cape Girardeau, had driven inside a fenced area and were taking pictures of the plant with a cell phone, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The two were arrested and on suspicion of first-degree trespassing. Taken to the Callaway County Jail, they were released after each posted a $500 bond. Milligan yesterday declined to tell the Tribune what he and Meyer were doing at the power plant, referring questions to his attorney. Meyer could not be reached for comment. Sheriff’s deputies said they did not believe the incident was related to a terrorist act. Copyright © 2007 The Columbia Daily Tribune. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 34 APP.COM: Foes blast nuclear plant, NRC | Asbury Park Press Online January 21, 2007 FORUM: Oyster Creek relicensing opponents speak at area library CRITICS: Say regulatory agency too close to nuclear industry BY TRISTAN J. SCHWEIGER TOMS RIVER BUREAU BERKELEY — George Cox doesn't see the relicensing of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant as a local issue. Rather, the township resident sees the concerns many have about the plant and other nuclear facilities -- such as safety and security from terrorism -- as issues that could potentially affect the entire globe. "We're all in the same boat," Cox said. "The whole planet could be affected by this." Cox was one of more than 50 people who turned out Saturday morning to hear a discussion by three activists who oppose the relicensing. The forum, held at the Ocean County Library's Berkeley branch, was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Ocean County. The organization's leaders have also taken a stand against extending the plant's operations. The speakers raised many of the issues that opponents of the plant have cited, such as the contention that the plant is no longer safe due to corrosion of its radiation barrier and other factors and that it is ill-prepared for a terrorist attack. But they also said there are problems in the relicensing process itself. For instance, Paul Gunter, who directs the reactor watchdog project of the Nuclear Information and Resources Service, accused the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission of being too sympathetic to the nuclear industry to objectively evaluate plant safety. "The issue of lack of federal regulatory oversight, not just at Oyster Creek but as a national issue, is as compelling as the deterioration of containment at Oyster Creek," Gunter told the audience. Corrosion of the drywell liner -- or radiation barrier -- has been one of the most scrutinized issues of the relicensing application. Portions of the liner have been found to be significantly thinner than when the plant was constructed in the late 1960s, which opponents of the plant have argued poses an unacceptable safety risk. Richard Webster, an attorney with the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic who is representing renewal opponents from the Shore area, also said on Saturday that Oyster Creek's design is fundamentally unsafe. As the first commercial nuclear plant in the nation, the plant was built at a time when there was still much to be learned about nuclear power and that the federal government no longer allows plants of Oyster Creek's design to be constructed, Webster said. "You can be in favor of nuclear power and still want to see Oyster Creek closed down," he said. AmerGen officials weren't invited to the forum. However, the company maintains that the plant operates safely and can continue to do for another 20 years. Rachelle Benson, a plant spokeswoman, said $1.2 billion in upgrades have been made to the plant since it was built. "Oyster Creek is safe," she said. "If we weren't safe, we wouldn't continue to operate." Tristan J. Schweiger: (732) 557-5734 or tschweiger@app.com ***************************************************************** 35 Salt Lake Tribune: Nuclear power advocate has a green pedigree Nuke debate By Judy Fahys The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated: 01/20/2007 01:33:09 PM MST Gary Herbert Utah Lt. Gov. + »Patrick Moore helped found the environmental group Greenpeace. Now the nuclear-power industry's trade association lines up speeches for him. He embraced ecology as a student but jokes now that global warming would be good for his native Canada. He attacks the science on climate change, yet touts nuclear energy as a solution to the atmosphere pollution driving it. Moore visited Salt Lake City last week to speak at the annual customer conference hosted each year by EnergySolutions. He was a big hit, casting himself as an ardent environmentalist who is too smart to be an environmentalist. "I decided I'd like to be for something for a change," said the onetime Rainbow Warrior. EnergySolutions is the Salt Lake City-based company trying to become the nation's - and perhaps the world's - largest nuclear waste company. It operates treatment facilities and government cleanups at nuclear hotspots nationwide, as well as disposal at two of the nation's three commercial sites. In Utah, its best-known facility is 80 miles west of Salt Lake City, a mile-square hazardous and low-level radioactive waste site formerly called Envirocare of Utah that takes most of its waste from government cleanups and nuclear reactors. With its expansion into a variety of new nuclear services in the past 15 months, the company has set itself on shifting its image as a blight on Utah's environment to being the solution to nation's environmental problems. Seeking federal contracts to reprocess nuclear waste is part of that effort, as was hiring Moore to rally for a more nuclear future. Not everyone is buying into the effort. "Patrick Moore is to nuclear power what the Tobacco Institute was to Big Tobacco," said Vanessa Pierce, executive director of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah [HEAL Utah], an environmental group and frequent critic of EnergySolutions. "Nuclear power and reprocessing are no more promising solutions for global warming than smoking is for leading a healthy lifestyle. "Promoting nuclear power is in EnergySolutions' self-interest because it will boost their bottom line. It means more taxpayer-funded contracts for the company, and more nuclear waste for Utah. If the company really wants to be part of the solution, it would invest in efficiency, conservation and developing our state's renewable energy resources." For his part, Moore skewered environmentalists for being opposed to the "realistic" energy sources needed to maintain Western lifestyles. "They are against 99.2 percent of the world's energy resources," he said. "And that's not a viable approach to energy in the future." He jabbed at scientists for being "alarmist," quoting fiction writer Michael Crichton's novel State of Fear: "I am certain there is too much certainty in the world." But, in the end, Moore seemed to share the main conclusions of both - that climate change is real, humans have a role in it and that it makes good sense for people to take measures to lessen their impacts. Conservation and using more renewable-energy sources are one step toward that, he said. So is nuclear power. The United States gets about 20 percent of its electricity from 103 nuclear plants. Twenty more would not be enough, Moore said. "We have to talk about 100 or 200 new plants in the U.S." Utah has none now. But an energy policy adopted by state lawmakers last year includes a provision to study such a step. Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, was among the lawmakers who pushed for the nuclear provision, proposing the use of school trust land near Lake Powell as a good location for a Utah plant. One of more than a dozen lawmakers who attended the Moore dinner and speech at Little America, Noel was energized. "That was great!" Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert recalled hearing about Moore in his Rainbow Warrior days and appreciated the opportunity to listen to "a counterpoint" to former Vice President Al Gore's popular movie on climate change, "An Inconvenient Truth." He left the speech with a few energy-saving ideas for buildings. "This," he said of Moore's speech, "is important for anyone who's concerned about the future." fahys@sltrib.com ***************************************************************** 36 Lawrence Journal-World: Lawmakers to consider bill for building new nuclear plan LJWorld.com By Scott Rothschild (Contact) Sunday, January 21, 2007 Topeka — As the state tries to chart an energy course, Kansas lawmakers will consider a measure aimed at providing incentives to build a nuclear power plant. The legislation — HB 2038 — is one of numerous proposals in the hopper on energy issues, which has become a major topic for the 2007 Legislature. A public hearing on the measure is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday before the House Energy and Utilities Committee. State Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, a member of the committee, said there are no plans currently to build a nuclear plant in Kansas. The bill, he said, “is a recognition that as we look at energy independence for the state, nuclear, renewable energy and coal all have a place,” Sloan said. He added that for the first time in years, “there are noises nationally of restarting this nation’s nuclear program.” Driving that in part is the rising cost of fossil fuels and the health implications of building new plants powered by climate changing sources, such as coal. State officials currently are reviewing a request to build three 700-megawatt coal-fired plants in western Kansas. The legislation would exempt from property taxes any new nuclear generation or new facility at the Wolf Creek nuclear plant near Burlington. The owners of Wolf Creek, which started operating in 1985, have recently applied for a 20-year extension of its operating license, but say there are no plans to build additional capacity there. “We are not looking at any kind of expansion at Wolf Creek,” said Gina Penzig, a spokeswoman for Westar Energy, which owns 47 percent of the plant. “The capital costs are just too large for a utility our size.” An extension of the plant’s license would extend the facility’s use from 2025 to 2045. Energy in Kansas + Westar Energy to build new transmission line (01-18-07) + Energy initiatives encouraged (01-17-07) + Officials urge rise of wind energy, conservation in Kansas (01-16-07) + Sebelius to pursue energy strategy in second term (01-03-07) + Westar delays decision on building coal-burning plant (12-29-06) + Proposed coal plants spark broad response (12-24-06) + Energy at the forefront (12-03-06) + Power potential (09-05-06) Sloan said if nuclear energy becomes economically and politically feasible, then the legislation would help lay the groundwork for an effort to expand nuclear power. While many countries have increased dependence on nuclear power, nuclear energy development practically halted in the United States because of the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in Pennsylvania and the problem of where to store high-level nuclear waste. Wolf Creek officials have said the plant site has enough space to store its waste through 2025, and hope that by then the federal government will have approved a national storage site. However, a proposed nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been stalled for years by environmental groups and Nevada officials. Bill Griffith, president of the Kansas chapter of the Sierra Club, said the group is adamantly opposed to nuclear energy. He said the expense of nuclear power and the unresolved issue of a permanent storage site make it untenable. "So much can be done with efficiency and renewables," Griffith said. We have just barely touched energy efficiency and wind. Why even talk about nuclear? so many solutions looking for a problem. Posted by merrill (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 7:17 a.m. (Suggest removal) It is said that nuclear power is emission-free. The truth is very different. In the US, where much of the world's uranium is enriched, including Australia's, the enrichment facility at Paducah, Kentucky, requires the electrical output of two 1000-megawatt coal-fired plants, which emit large quantities of carbon dioxide, the gas responsible for 50per cent of global warming. Also, this enrichment facility and another at Portsmouth, Ohio, release from leaky pipes 93per cent of the chlorofluorocarbon gas emitted yearly in the US. The production and release of CFC gas is now banned internationally by the Montreal Protocol because it is the main culprit responsible for stratospheric ozone depletion. But CFC is also a global warmer, 10,000 to 20,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In fact, the nuclear fuel cycle utilises large quantities of fossil fuel at all of its stages - the mining and milling of uranium, the construction of the nuclear reactor and cooling towers, robotic decommissioning of the intensely radioactive reactor at the end of its 20 to 40-year operating lifetime, and transportation and long-term storage of massive quantities of radioactive waste. In summary, nuclear power produces, according to a 2004 study by Jan Willem Storm van Leeuwen and Philip Smith, only three times fewer greenhouse gases than modern natural-gas power stations. Contrary to the nuclear industry's propaganda, nuclear power is therefore not green and it is certainly not clean. Nuclear reactors consistently release millions of curies of radioactive isotopes into the air and water each year. These releases are unregulated because the nuclear industry considers these particular radioactive elements to be biologically inconsequential. This is not so. These unregulated isotopes include the noble gases krypton, xenon and argon, which are fat-soluble and if inhaled by persons living near a nuclear reactor, are absorbed through the lungs, migrating to the fatty tissues of the body, including the abdominal fat pad and upper thighs, near the reproductive organs. These radioactive elements, which emit high-energy gamma radiation, can mutate the genes in the eggs and sperm and cause genetic disease. Tritium, another biologically significant gas, is also routinely emitted from nuclear reactors. Tritium is composed of three atoms of hydrogen, which combine with oxygen, forming radioactive water, which is absorbed through the skin, lungs and digestive system. It is incorporated into the DNA molecule, where it is mutagenic. The dire subject of massive quantities of radioactive waste accruing at the 442 nuclear reactors across the world is also rarely, if ever, addressed by the nuclear industry. Each typical 1000-megawatt nuclear reactor manufactures 33tonnes of thermally hot, intensely radioactive waste per year. Posted by average (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 7:45 a.m. (Suggest removal) Yes, the US needs to get with the program on enrichment. Gaseous diffusion (Portsmouth and Paducah) is 30+ years out-of-date. Notice that sum total, nuclear puts out 1/4 as much greenhouse gas as natural-gas. Then, realize that natural gas is at a dead-end. North American gas production is down, year on year, for several years now. Prices will continue to rise, because we've really run through most of it, and it's just not worthwhile to ship from overseas. Outside of "peaking" stations (to cover the peak minutes of energy demand), natural gas fired power plants aren't happening. The comparison, then is nuke versus coal. Coal requires every bit as much energy to mine. It burns hundreds of times more diesel to haul. It emits far more greenhouse gas than natural gas (if we had enough). And, it puts out mercury, sulfur compounds, and radioactive isotopes inherent in the coal (more curies than the tritium emissions from a similar sized nuclear plant). Posted by merrill (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 7:52 a.m. Merill: "In the US, where much of the world's uranium is enriched, including Australia's, the enrichment facility at Paducah, Kentucky, requires the electrical output of two 1000-megawatt coal-fired plants, which emit large quantities of carbon dioxide, the gas responsible for 50per cent of global warming." How the hell much CO2 do you think is emitted in the digging, trucking, processing, and shipping by train of COAL? Let alone that if you burn 20 million tons of Coal you get 15 million tons of CO2. No merrill, NUke plants are MUCH MORE efficient at producing power because there is so much energy in the bonds of Uranium and other nuke fuels. And when it is coerced in emitting energy, CO2 is NOT one of the emissions. Posted by hipper_than_hip (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 8:14 a.m. (Suggest removal) "Outside of "peaking" stations (to cover the peak minutes of energy demand), natural gas fired power plants aren't happening." Do you have any documentation to support this? Let's see your numbers of how many combustion turbines are in design or being constructed in the US. There's at least three LNG terminal facilities under construction in the US, so for something that you think isn't worthwhile to import, there's a lot of money being spent to facilitate its import. Posted by ASBESTOS (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal) "Do you have any documentation to support this? Let's see your numbers of how many combustion turbines are in design or being constructed in the US." The Sunflower furror is the best example of this. They want to build 3 700 MW Power plants in Southwestern Kansas. IF Natural Gas was feasible or economically sound they would use the gas there in the Hugoton gas fields. The LNG facilities are being bult in the East, and it is mainly Propane, not methane that is called "Natural Gas". There is money being spent on oil shale too. BUt all of thes are noe even close to nuke power in terms of generating emission free energy, as well as the amount of energy you get per unit of energy put in to develope said energy. NUKE is king as far as supplying more energy per unit put in as in mining processing and using. YEs it is dangerous, energetic materials always are dangerous. That is why we need functioning state and federal agencies to provide proper oversight. Posted by merrill (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 8:44 a.m. (Suggest removal) • More nuclear power means more disasters like Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Since 1986, the year of the Chernobyl accident, there have been 200 near nuclear accidents at 50 reactors in the U.S. • Radioactive contamination could spread across 40,000 square miles in the event of an accident • Nuclear power is expensive. The first 75 reactors in the U.S. cost $100 billion over budget and U.S. tax dollars paid for much of it. • Nuclear power provides the material and know- how for nuclear weapons. • There is still no safe way to take care of nuclear waste which will remain dangerous for 240,000 years. SOLUTION: • No New Nukes! Shut down nuclear reactors and phase out nuclear power. • More renewable energy such as wind and solar power. These options combined could meet 40 percent of America’s energy needs. • Increase energy efficiency and cut the massive waste of electricity. “The idea that the atom is safe is just a public relations trick.” James Watson, Nobel Prize winner and co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule https://www.greentagsusa.org/GreenTags/ Posted by logicsound04 (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 8:57 a.m. (Suggest removal) "BUt all of thes are noe even close to nuke power in terms of generating emission free energy" ------------------ Forgive me for playing devil's advocate, but nuclear power is technically NOT emission free. Sure, no poisonous gas is being pumped into our atmosphere, but nuclear waste is an emission in spirit, if not literally. I suppose we can you your backyard to store the radioactive material, eh ASBESTOS? Just because we can seal it in a container does not make it less dangerous in the long run. Posted by OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 9:09 a.m. (Suggest removal) "the mining and milling of uranium, the construction of the nuclear reactor and cooling towers, robotic decommissioning of the intensely radioactive reactor at the end of its 20 to 40-year operating lifetime, and transportation and long-term storage of massive quantities of radioactive waste." How can you complain about the emissions from CONSTRUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION? That's taking tree hugging to a new level. You don't think you'd get those emissions from constructing wind tubines and solar panels? "More renewable energy such as wind and solar power. These options combined could meet 40 percent of America’s energy needs." Now THAT is propaganda. Wind and solar would only meet 40% of our needs if we all turned off our computers and if we rode bikes on our commutes into KC. Wind and solar could meet 40% if we RADICALLY changed our consumption needs, which is not realistic. "Nuclear power provides the material and know- how for nuclear weapons." Correction: Not "provides" but "provided". That horse has already escaped the barn; like 30 years ago. Imagine this: half of Americans getting around in electric cars, and doing so without the burning of any fossil fuels (zero impact on air quality). Only nuke power can do that for us. Posted by merrill (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal) We all know that fossil fuels contribute to pollution and global warming. Now that we have clean alternatives like wind power, it's time to flip the switch! Wind power does not pollute, it is domestically produced and it is renewable. It is the fastest growing source of energy in the world, and its prices are competitive with the cost of electricity from new coal-fired power plants. With additional investment in research and development, the cost of wind power could drop even more to as little as 2.5 cents a kilowatt-hour within the next few years. In fact, wind could supply more than three times the total amount of electricity currently produced in the United States. =============================== Additionally solar and hydro are also sources for renewable energy. A combination of sources will be necessary as always. Back in the Reagan/Bush days Wall Street had a dim view of Nuclear Power due it's cost in general. It is high maintenance and requires huge subsidies to provide the appearance of "affordable". Wall Street was actually the nail in the coffin...a little known secret. They were a bad investment. Economics also played a huge role in the death of a nuclear power project near Tulsa. Ratepayers were not impressed with the high price of nuclear power. Posted by Marion (Marion Lynn) on January 21, 2007 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal) Wait until a VLLNGC (Very Large Liquid Natural Gas Carrier) grounds in the channel in New York, goes into collision or has a main holding tank blowoff if you think that LNG is safe. One such ship, losing its cargo could well destroy most of Manhattan and environs. It is not a question of "if" but rather only "when" such an accident will occur. LNG technology is lagging and the transport of the stuff is far more dangerous than most people can even envision. Scenarios of LNG disaster: http://www.wildcalifornia.org/cgi-files/... http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2006/... http://www.greenparty.org/LNG.html http://jordancoveretort.com/Safety.htm We have the nuclear thing down really well and we should go that way. Thanks. Marion. Posted by JackRipper (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 10:06 a.m. (Suggest removal) Just curious, why don't we look at the largest untapped energy reserves easily available to us--the unused energy stored around our waist. If we did, wouldn't we be working to solve two major issues-health and energy? Kind of strange to complain about the cost of health care, drugs, and energy when something as simple as walking and biking could be part of the solution. Posted by innocuous_posts (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 10:44 a.m. (Suggest removal) merrill seems to have forgotten to enclose quoted material in quotes. His 7:17AM post is a word-for-word copy/paste from http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0415... Posted by merrill (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 11:56 a.m. (Suggest removal) FYI: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/... Posted by Jamesaust (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 12:03 p.m. (Suggest removal) While a bit of an agnostic on the whole subject, I find it curious that the "environmentalists" on the subject of global warming paint a picture of the most dire, time-sensitive threat to biological survival disallowing normal scientific scrutiny and understanding but when an obvious alternative such as nuclear power is suggested the response is close to "nah, we're not that desperate." Posted by ASBESTOS (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal) NOW that James I can agree with. Posted by just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 12:22 p.m. (Suggest removal) "an obvious alternative such as nuclear power is suggested the response is close to "nah, we're not that desperate."" If that were the only alternative, you might have a point. But it's not, so you don't. Posted by Jamesaust (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 1:03 p.m. (Suggest removal) "If that were the only alternative, you might have a point. But it's not, so you don't." Back in the world of Reality, nations around the world continue to pursue the "non" alternative of nuclear power. I was prepared that some might judge nuclear power as an objectionable alternative. I wasn't aware that any of the extremists on here was so wacko as to claim that nuclear power wasn't and couldn't be an alternative AT ALL. Who would have believed that the U.S., Canada, Japan, China, Germany, Brazil, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, South Africa, Argentina, and Britain would be simultaneously insane? Bozo, much like George Bush, seems to believe that if you ignore reality and cling to faith, that you can indeed exercise a Will to Power, making up into down and black into white. You know you've met an ideologue when he stands staring up at the sun at noon and insists "I don't see anything." Posted by bisky1 (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 1:11 p.m. (Suggest removal) as thomas sowell sez re the environment and global warming the problem is always capitalism and the solution is always socialism, show me the money. let econmics fix energy production Posted by just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 1:25 p.m. (Suggest removal) "Bozo, much like George Bush, seems to believe that if you ignore reality and cling to faith," Hmm, I was going to say the same about you. BTW, Germany is phasing out all of its nuclear power plants. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/... And just because you and the nuke industry haven't totally accepted its obsolescence doesn't mean the rest of us haven't figured it out. Posted by Jamesaust (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 2:07 p.m. (Suggest removal) Thanks bozo for the link to the news story ..... from 2000! Google "Germany" and "nuclear power" and all you find are articles about the German government not implementing this scheme. Errr...maybe because Germany has no other energy sources other than a little dirty coal and a Russia that has - AGAIN - shutoff gas supplies in the dead of winter (do you read the newspapers?). Here's a leftwing German one that is *current*: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spie... And if you're married to the BBC as a news source, their CURRENT headline on this subject is "Germany May Retain Nuclear Power": http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6249... Australia, which has pointedly never developed any nuclear energy, now calls nuclear power an "inevitable" choice, as does Ghana (of all places). Today, so many countries are either building nuclear plants or thinking about it that the term "renaissance" is being tied to "nuclear" (Google current(!) news stories on the subject: 144.), including Newsweek, from Friday(!) "Yes, In My Backyard", and another leftwing German one "A Nuclear Power Renaissance": http://www.spiegel.de/international/spie... So the question is: why do you think you can pull an "Arminius" on us and mis-cite the plain facts? Posted by JackRipper (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 2:35 p.m. (Suggest removal) It is curious to me expecting Libertarian economic ideas to fix the problem when the momentum of government road building machine allows so many of the problems to develop in the first place. If business is going to fix the problem let's be sure we pull the government out of all aspects of economic life. Funny the bus and train systems are expected to make a profit yet no one discusses whether the road system or the car in the garage is making a profit. Posted by just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 2:56 p.m. (Suggest removal) "So the question is: why do you think you can pull an "Arminius" on us and mis-cite the plain facts?" All your "facts" show is that there are a lot of misguided people who are willing to damn the torpedoes and use the "easy answer" of nuclear, and hope that its very obvious negative aspects never bite us in the ass. BTW, decommissioning nuclear is still official German policy. Posted by salad (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 3:44 p.m. (Suggest removal) Economics are driving the entire decision wrt energy. There are two main considerations: 1. cost of the fuel 2. cost of the plant Fuel cost is by far the biggest consideration, and is measured in $/million BTU. so to make 1 million BTU's of heat for power generation, the fuel costs currently are: natural gas: $6.50 coal; $1.40 nuclear: $0.75 The cost of the plant is the main factor for nukes, since they easily run over a BILLION dollars each. But they are quite safe. Other than Chernobyl, which exploded because the opperators were conducting a wacky experiment on it, there hasn't been a release of nuclear material from inside the containment structure ever. TMI released a small quantity of steam that was slightly radioactive, and the result of an unbelieveably convoluted series of unlikely events and a stuck valve. Again, if the opperators had simply left the automated control systems alone, the accident wouldn't have happened. Control systems are much much better today, BTW. Natural gas exists in abundance, but it's almost all in gas hydrate form and too expensive to mine from the seafloor. someday..... Wind is a great supplement, but is highly unreliable, even in a windy place like KS. Most of the time, there is not enough wind to generate power. I personally don't mind what you guys decide to build to make the power you're going to need, either way, Black & Veatch will design and build it for you and I'll have steady work. Posted by just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 3:52 p.m. (Suggest removal) "The cost of the plant is the main factor for nukes, since they easily run over a BILLION dollars each." They can easily run ten-fold of that. And for you to say they operate safely requires ignoring everything that's dangerous about them. "Wind is a great supplement, but is highly unreliable, even in a windy place like KS. Most of the time, there is not enough wind to generate power." Self-serving BS. Posted by ASBESTOS (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 4:14 p.m. (Suggest removal) Additionally why are we letting Iran build nuke plants, but refuse to build them here??? WHY did we subsidise the N. Korean Nuke plants and refuse to build them here?? WHY does France used Nuke plants for 80% of their national power generation? The truth is that burning Coal is bad, but it is cheap and the "safety issues" are dilute. Such as a certian health penalty to hundereds of people in the form as increased disease and death from the effluent in air. However, outside of Cherynoble (sp) and TMI, there are fewer problems with Nuke plants than the Coal. Additionally install huundred thousand or so WInd Turbines and see how many fatalties you have from tipping towers ans Ice accumulation. Look at all the Electrical towers that failed and the TV and Comm. towers that collapsed. NUKE is the way to go. Posted by just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 4:23 p.m. (Suggest removal) "However, outside of Cherynoble (sp) and TMI, there are fewer problems with Nuke plants than the Coal." There is no shortage of problems-- overcoming the denial of them is the biggest challenge in preventing a dangerous escalation in the use of nuclear power. "Additionally install huundred thousand or so WInd Turbines and see how many fatalties you have from tipping towers ans Ice accumulation." Yea, that's a really frightening prospect. "Look at all the Electrical towers that failed and the TV and Comm. towers that collapsed." Well, I'm looking. Not saying it never happens, but you're grasping mighty hard here, ASBESTOS. There is absolutely no comparison between the dangers presented by wind generation and those by nuclear generation. Posted by delta77 (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 4:28 p.m. (Suggest removal) "[The Paducah] enrichment facility and another at Portsmouth, Ohio, release from leaky pipes 93per cent of the chlorofluorocarbon gas emitted yearly in the US." Since 2001, when this statistic was calculated, the Ohio plant has been closed and improvements made to the Paducah facility have resulted in a reduction of CFC emissions by about two thirds. In addition, the company that operates the facility plans to replace the Paducah plant with one using a newer technology by 2010. Posted by Jamesaust (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 6:53 p.m. (Suggest removal) Bozo: "a lot of misguided people". Translation: "everyone but me" "decommissioning nuclear is still official German policy" And bringing democracy to Iraq remains official U.S. policy. Only the fanatics believe either policy will play out. Posted by Newell_Post (anonymous) on January 21, 2007 at 8:10 p.m. (Suggest removal) FWIW, I used to work for a utility in another part of the country that had all of the usual suspects: hydro, coal, nuclear, gas turbine, pumped storage, and wind. I worked with all of those plants, but I’m not even in the power industry at all any more, so I don’t really have a dog in this fight. But here’s some things to think about... 1. The real world answer is that unless you want to radically scale back civilization, you’re going to need all of them for the foreseeable future. Conservation programs have been going on for quite a while and they have helped hold down the growth in power demand, but they won’t reverse it any time soon. 2. Uranium is a naturally occurring trace element in some coal. Some actuaries figured that as much as 40 POUNDS of uranium went up the stack of a 1,000MW coal plant every year. They figured that a 1,000MW coal plant created about 100 deaths per plant operating year and that a 1,000MW nuclear plant created about 2 deaths per plant operating year. (Believe it or not, that is a standard statistic in the power industry – deaths per plant operating year.) Obviously, you can’t sort out which 100 people, but that’s what they calculated. 3. The obvious counter argument is “how many lives did the power from those plants make POSSIBLE?” A 1,000 MW plant produces enough power for something like 2,000,000 houses. It also has to support businesses, industry, transportation, hospitals, street lights, etc. so let’s say it supports something like maybe 500,000 people, depending on the area. If that plant goes away only a handful of people can live in the same area and they will be living in stone age conditions. Post a comment (Requires free LJWorld.com registration. Your lawrence.comaccount will also work, if you have one.) Contents of this site are © Copyright2007 The Lawrence Journal-World. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 37 globeandmail.com: Dion shifts nuclear stand KAREN HOWLETT TORONTO -- Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion appears to have changed his tune about nuclear power and the question of how to tackle the waste that remains radioactive for thousands of years. Mr. Dion told a business audience in Toronto this week that he cannot support an expansion of nuclear power in Canada unless Ottawa comes up with a plan for dealing with waste from reactors. However, the discomfort he expressed during his first major speech in Toronto since winning the Liberal leadership is at odds with his own energy and climate change plan released in September. In that document, Mr. Dion endorsed a nuclear industry proposal to spend $24-billion to permanently bury the waste 1,000 metres underground. The industry-run Nuclear Waste Management Organization submitted its recommendations to the previous Liberal government in November, 2005. "As Prime Minister, I would work to ensure that Canada's existing nuclear infrastructure is as safe and efficient as possible by supporting the implementation of the NWMO recommendations," Mr. Dion said in the policy document entitled Building a Sustainable Future for Canada, the centrepiece of his leadership campaign. Mr. Dion now appears to be outright rejecting the recommendations of the NWMO. "As long as I have not received a convincing strategy for the waste, I am not able to look Canadians in the eye and say, 'I'm comfortable with the waste,' I will not recommend it," he said this week at the Economic Club of Toronto, in response to a question from the audience. His comments left executives in the nuclear industry mystified. "I think a lot of people were saying, 'Is he completely discounting a report he basically accepts on Page 25 of his platform documents?' " said one industry executive who asked not to be identified. "The last thing we expected was criticism of the plans to safely store high-level nuclear waste," added another executive, who also asked not to be identified. Elizabeth Whiting, a spokeswoman for Mr. Dion, sought to clarify his position on nuclear waste in an e-mail yesterday. "As noted at the Economic Club in Toronto, Mr. Dion has concerns regarding the disposal of nuclear waste," she wrote. "In his policy document he states that as PM he would work to relieve those concerns by ensuring Canada's existing nuclear infrastructure is as safe and efficient as possible." Ms. Whiting said Mr. Dion made a commitment in his policy platform to support the implementation of the NWMO recommendations. Mr. Dion says in the policy document that nuclear energy will form an important part of Canada's electricity mix down the road. He says the former Liberal government created the NWMO in recognition of this reality and the public's concerns about nuclear energy. The document also says he would support investments in alternative and renewable energy sources, such as wind power. ***************************************************************** 38 RIA Novosti: Energy security to dominate Putin-Merkel talks in Sochi - experts 20/ 01/ 2007 MOSCOW, January 20 (RIA Novosti) - Energy security will be the focus of this year's first meeting between President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian experts said Saturday. The meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 21 will be Putin's sixth with the German leader since she took office in November 2005, and comes during Germany's presidency of both the EU and the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations. "I believe that the main topic of the discussion during the [Merkel's] visit will be energy issues, and in particular the search for a compromise on Energy Charter," said Alexander Shatilov, deputy director of the Center for Current Politics in Russia. Russia has been unwilling to ratify the charter, which was drawn up as a cooperation mechanism between Western and Eastern Europe on energy issues and signed at The Hague in 1991, as the document would force it to give foreign investors free access to the country's oil and gas deposits and export pipelines. "The Energy Charter, in a broad sense, will hinder the activities of Russian energy companies on European markets," Shatilov said. "It would be hard to reach a compromise on this issue." The expert said Russia has a solid position in the energy dialogue with Europe will be able to strengthen it even further during the upcoming talks because "Russia has an enormous energy potential and it would be wrong not to use it to protect the country's political interests." Valentin Fedorov, deputy director of the Institute of Europe, said Europe and Germany in particular will become even more dependant on Russian energy supplies in the future. He said Germany had decided to fold its nuclear energy program in thirty years and find alternative energy sources, but the sought capacity will satisfy only 7-10% of the country's demand. "Where they are going to get the rest [of energy supplies]? Of course, form us [Russia]," Fedorov said. "They [the Europeans] will have to stick with us." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in December last year that Russia and the European Union should use the Energy Charter as a basis for developing uniform rules of energy cooperation. "We will not ratify the current version of the Energy Charter Treaty, but we are not against developing uniform rules for energy cooperation along the principles set down in the document," Sergei Lavrov said during a meeting with students at Moscow State University. Moscow's refusal to ratify the Energy Charter Treaty was used by Poland as a pretext to veto talks on a new partnership agreement, which were to be launched at the Russia-EU summit in Helsinki November 24. Lavrov said Russia-EU relations would make considerable progress without being excessively politicized. © 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 39 Spectrum: Strake may get county support www.thespectrum.com - The Spectrum, St. George, UT Saturday, January 20, 2007 By SCOTT DAVID JOHNSON sjohnson@thespectrum.com ST. GEORGE - While leaders from the governor to the St. George mayor oppose Divine Strake, the Washington County Commission chairman said Friday he is not afraid to make an unpopular stand. Commissioner Jim Eardley told The Spectrum &Daily News he has written a position statement on the 700-ton non-nuclear blast slated for the Nevada Test Site, 150 miles from St. George. Eardley only hinted at the letter's contents, but said it could be released by Wednesday if it clears the other two commissioners. While not an endorsement of the test, Eardley acknowledged the letter's recommendations may not be well-received. "It may be unpopular, but you've got to do what you think is in the best interest of the community, and certainly we're part of a greater community," Eardley said. An environmental assessment released in December confirmed critics' fears that the open-air experiment could sweep radiation from previous nuclear tests into the atmosphere to be carried by wind to populated areas. But the "radiological dose" would not reach dangerous levels or require further environmental scrutiny, the study said. In separate meetings Thursday, Springdale and St. George leaders firmly denounced Divine Strake. St. George Mayor Daniel D. McArthur said before a City Council meeting the Pentagon's assurances that the experiment would pose no risk "sound too familiar" to a city that has already suffered "incalculable loss" from previous nuclear tests. "Thousands of early deaths of those living in Southern Utah and the surrounding areas have been attributed to nuclear testing during the 1950s and '60s at the site," McArthur said. Scarcely a mile away, at a Divine Strake hearing hosted by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Springdale Mayor Pat Cluff read a letter critical of the Pentagon's plans. But Eardley said his concerns about the test were "pretty much" allayed by an information session held last week in St. George by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The county puts a high priority on public health and safety, but it also must recognize the nation's need to develop weapons for defense, Eardley said. A lifelong resident of St. George, he remembers staying indoors as a child when clouds of radiation from nuclear tests passed over the city. "We've all been very concerned and alert to that, and we don't want any more of that repeated, but the possible emissions from this test are so minimal," he said. He said he could not speak for the other commissioners, but he discussed the issue with them Friday. "It may be that I'm being premature," he said. "Maybe there won't be a unanimous opinion on this and there'll have to be more discussion, more discovery, but my feeling is that we've done a lot of inquiry and we've listened to a lot of folks." Commissioner Dennis Drake said he would not support Divine Strake without more information. "Until I feel comfortable about it, I would not be in favor of it," he said. But Commissioner Alan Gardner appeared to side more with Eardley. "Some of the information that was presented to the public by those opposed was not real accurate, and I found some of that down there (at DTRA's meeting), as well," Gardner said. For example, claims that the blast would create a 10,000-foot mushroom cloud are overblown, he said. The cloud would rise 4,000 feet above the ground, although it would be 10,000 feet above sea level. "I think a lot of things have been blown out of proportion," he said. Gardner said Divine Strake has not come up in public commission meetings. "We've talked about it," he said. "We haven't had any formal discussions in any commission meeting. It's just been among ourselves." St. George resident Michelle Thomas, a downwinder who has suffered severe health problems linked to radiation exposure, had strong words for Eardley and Gardner. "I would expect that of Jim Eardley and Alan Gardner because they have had their heads so deeply buried in the radioactive sand for so long that they are poster children for the severity of the damage," she said. Comments by: A Man Called E Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 6:42 pm But they're Republicans. They must be right? Right? Well, the city of St. George has issued an opinion against Divine Strake and though the City Council is non-partisan, I would guess that most, if not all, of them are Republicans. Even Orrin Hatch has expressed some concern about this, which is one of the scariest prospects. If Hatch is going to break with the Bush Administration on something he has to feel pretty strongly about it. And I would be careful about lumping all Mormons together as a group of unquestioning sheep. I have many Mormon friends who do not blindly follow leaders simply because they are Republican. Our own congressman, and Divine Strake opponent, is a Mormon Democrat, albeit a conservative Democrat. Also I believe the scriptural references listed earlier stand mostly to encourage Mormons to be law-abiding citizens. Mormons believe the Constitution and Bill of Rights were inspired by God so they must have a sense of the importance of freedom of speech. Originally published January 20, 2007 Print this article CITY OF ST. GEORGE STATEMENT + Read by Mayor Daniel D. McArthur on Thursday before a regularly scheduled City Council meeting. The City of St. George has a unique history due to its proximity to the Nevada nuclear test site during the atomic age. Thousands of early deaths of those living in Southern Utah and the surrounding areas have been attributed to nuclear testing during the 1950s and '60s at the site. Many St. George residents and others have suffered incalculable loss as a result of radioactive fallout exposure from the detonations at the site. The Divine Strake project entails detonating a 700-ton non-nuclear bomb that could potentially disturb radioactive materials left over from earlier testing. Once airborne, this particulate matter could once again be extremely dangerous to those living in the region. Assurances from those involved in the testing this time around sound too familiar to those made years ago. Therefore, the City of St. George strongly opposes the Divine Strake project and any related testing at the Nevada test site. Copyright ©2007 The Spectrum. ***************************************************************** 40 Tracy Press: Letter: Fulk overstates facts By Steve Hall EDITOR, When formulating a dose risk assessment, how much damage a radionuclide can do is only part of the equation. Equally important aspects are how much contamination would pose a significant risk, and the likelihood of that level of contamination being reached. Marion Fulk either knows, or should know, this. The fact that he did not include this in his Jan. 9 commentary, “Uranium a big threat to Tracy” leads the reader to wonder just what his agenda is. Clearly, it is not public education. Fulk states that depleted uranium “poses a serious health threat, especially if inhaled in finely divided particles like those created by open-air explosives testing.” No mention is made of the likelihood of these particles remaining suspended long enough inhaled by Tracy residents, or anyone else for that matter. He correctly labels uranium-238 an alpha emitter and describes the damage it can do “if lodged in the body.” However, Fulk fails to mention that since alpha radiation can’t penetrate the body’s outer layer of dead corneous cells, it can only cause damage from inside the body. Fulk cites the “nearly fourfold” increase, from 2.5 person-rem per year to 9.8 person-rem per year, but neglects to inform the reader as to whether either of these levels is significant relative to normal background exposure. By comparison, the population dose from cosmic radiation alone is 213,000 person-rem, and the total dose from all natural background sources (i.e. cosmic, terrestrial, food consumption and radon) is more than 2 million person-rem. If it “pains” Fulk “when lab employees seek to understate the very real health risks that stem from inhalation of radioactive and toxic materials,” why does he not find it equally disturbing when a former lab employee overstates the risk of inhalation of those materials Steve Hall, Tracy ***************************************************************** 41 Bradenton Herald: Testing reveals Tallevast plume expanding east 01/20/2007 | HERALD EXCLUSIVE: DONNA WRIGHT Herald Staff Writer TALLEVAST - The Tallevast contamination plume map is about to change. The toxic underground waste has spread farther east than current maps show and could affect plans for a retail-office complex called The Forum, according to an attorney representing developer Trey Desenberg. New tests have confirmed that Desenberg's property at the northwest corner of U.S. 301 and Tallevast Road is contaminated, said Ralph A. DeMeo, of the Tallahassee firm Hopping Green & Sams. State-approved plume maps drawn by Lockheed Martin Corp., which is responsible for cleaning up the pollution traced back to a beryllium plant the company purchased, put Desenberg's property beyond the eastern edge of the known 200-acre plume. But Desenberg's own surveys indicate the toxic waste has spread much farther east, according to a memo DeMeo sent to the Department of Environmental Protection on Sept. 12. After DEP approved Lockheed's plume maps as adequate to begin the cleanup design phase in late September, DeMeo filed a legal challenge Oct. 19 asking the courts to decide if further testing was necessary to find out how far the toxic, cancer-causing solvents and degreasers had spread underground. In the months that followed, DEP and Lockheed worked closely with Desenberg to run more tests on Desenberg's property, DeMeo said. Results showed Desenberg's data was correct; his property is contaminated with 1,4-dioxane, one of more than a dozen toxic chemicals found in the plume, DeMeo said. "We are very close to resolving our concerns," DeMeo said. "We are pleased with responses from both the Department of Environmental Protection and Lockheed Martin, and we are confident we will resolve the issues related to our petition before the hearing." The contamination originally was discovered in 2000 while Lockheed was preparing the former Loral American Beryllium Co. property for sale to WPI Inc. As owner of the facility when the contamination was found, Lockheed is responsible for the cleanup. "The new data will definitely change the plume map, but whether it is pinched or expanded or moving in a different direction, we do not know," DeMeo said. And those changes will have some effect on Desenberg's plans, DeMeo added. "It's too early to be able to say if the degree of contamination is enough to change his plans," he said, "but yes, the contamination of groundwater will have some impact on his ability to use the property." Tallevast residents, who, in November, chose not to challenge the DEP's acceptance of Lockheed's data even though they felt the state-approved plume maps were wrong, were surprised and angered to learn late last week that Desenberg had asked the courts in October to intervene. Laura Ward and Wanda Washington, officers with the Tallevast advocacy group, FOCUS, felt DEP should have informed the community of Desenberg's decision at the time they were weighing whether to file their own challenge. FOCUS leaders met with DEP leaders for more than four hours Nov. 8 to address what they described as a total breakdown in communications and trust. That meeting resulted in written promises to improve communication. But DEP never revealed during the meeting that Desenberg's challenge had already been filed. Instead DEP officials convinced Tallevast leaders that challenging the state's approval of Lockheed's data would hold up progress on designing a cleanup plan, said Ward. "They were not being up front with us," said Ward. "Had we known, we would have made a different decision. It would have made a stronger case for both of us to challenge the state's decision." Pam Vazquez, DEP spokeswoman, said she can understand Tallevast residents' concerns over not being told of Desenberg's petition, but she hopes that the community understands DEP was trying to work with the developer in the same way the agency worked with residents - to keep the challenges out of court. Vazquez admitted DEP did not see the situation through the eyes of Tallevast residents. "We weren't looking through their lens," said Vazquez. "We can appreciate that, but we want them to trust us. We didn't on purpose leave them out." Independent consultants for Tallevast and those who reviewed Lockheed's data for the Bradenton Herald last summer also concluded Lockheed's data does not support its claim that the plume has been adequately defined. Desenberg's challenge pushed back Lockheed's 90-day deadline for developing a cleanup plan, Vazquez said. The clock won't start running again until the challenge is either withdrawn or else resolved by a court. Nonetheless, Lockheed is continuing to develop the final cleanup plan, said spokeswoman Gail Rymer. If Desenberg does indeed withdraw his petition before the Feb. 13 hearing, presentation of Lockheed's design plan could come sooner than expected. Both Desenberg and Tallevast residents will have opportunities at that time to further challenge Lockheed's data. Donna Wright, health and social services reporter, can be reached at 745-7049 or at dwright@HeraldToday.com. Bradenton.com ***************************************************************** 42 Sun News: Waste disposal at Yucca Mountain unsafe 01/21/2007 NUCLEAR ENERGY By Joseph Strolin The Jan. 6 opinion piece by State Sen. William Mescher, "Nuclear energy could ease power concerns," is just plain wrong when it states that the reason the federal government's Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository program for spent nuclear fuel is on the brink of collapse is a NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard) reaction on the part of the state of Nevada. In fact, it is Yucca Mountain's intrinsic and unfixable flaws and the federal government's shoddy and politically motivated science that have left the nation and Nevada with a site that is incapable of isolating deadly radioactive waste for the long time period necessary. Another fact Mescher missed is the reality that Yucca Mountain is not needed for the so-called nuclear renaissance. Spent fuel is perfectly safe and secure at existing and new power plants, with improved dry storage technologies making such storage even safer and more economical. It is certainly much safer than having tens of thousands of shipments of deadly radioactive waste traversing the nation's highways and railroads over a period of three decades or more to an unsafe disposal site in Nevada. If NIMBY is, in fact, at work in this regard, the irrational push by commercial nuclear utility companies to get spent fuel out of their backyards and into an unsuitable and unsafe site in Nevada is a prime example. The writer lives in Carson City, Nev. ***************************************************************** 43 POAC: Small town wages war on nuclear waste plan [The Press of Atlantic City On The Web] In this town, it's hard to miss 33,000 cubic meters of low-level radioactive waste. The uranium and thorium rocks and dust — byproducts of the process that makes steel stronger — are sitting out in the open in a storage yard on Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corp.'s grounds. Shieldalloy plan to bury slag in Gloucester fuels verbal, legal opposition By TOM NAMAKO Staff Writer, (856) 794-5115 Published: Sunday, January 21, 2007 NEWFIELD — This 600-household borough in Gloucester County has waged nuclear war — and the enemy is almost literally in the backyard. In this town, it's hard to miss 33,000 cubic meters of low-level radioactive waste. The uranium and thorium rocks and dust — byproducts of the process that makes steel stronger — are sitting out in the open in a storage yard on Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corp.'s grounds. Almost everyone — from federal senators to local mayors, from environmentalists to attorneys and residents in Newfield, Vineland and dozens of surrounding areas — wants the nuclear waste out of the borough. Shieldalloy officials, on the other hand, want it in the ground, forever. That would make Newfield, which takes up barely two square miles, the first official nuclear waste dump in the state. It's a plan that is being carried out in Cambridge, Ohio, at another Shieldalloy site. And if the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives the OK in October 2008, the same could happen in Gloucester County. The plan is being fought every way imaginable, creating a rare union of politicians, residents, lawyers and home-grown activists. People are being vocal at meetings, filing hundreds of pages of legal documents and attracting as much attention to the site as possible. Under the plan, the buried slag would be sealed and fenced off for 1,000 years. The problem, according to the state, is that the waste will remain active for billions of years afterward. “If it's going to be around for 1,000 years, why not bury it for 100,000 years, or 1 million years?” Newfield resident Robert Moynihan asked at a public hearing in December, sarcastically challenging the plan's logic. “If I put a piece of trash on the street, I'd be fined and I'd have to clean it up,” Newfield resident Barbara Marcyniuk said at another public hearing with the NRC. “Why doesn't Shieldalloy have to do the same thing?” Marcyniuk was holding a pin that had an X over a nuclear symbol. It read, “Newfield Says No!” There's only one facility in the country — Utah-based Energy Solutions — that will take the waste from Shieldalloy. But at more than $50 million, the cost of shipping the material would cause Shieldalloy to go bankrupt, the company has said. So officials want to set up a $5 million trust for the local disposal instead. Mayor James Curcio disagreed with that plan just days after he took office. “If there's only one site that can take this waste material,” he said, “why is it safe here?” Shieldalloy said the site will be monitored. They will pay to maintain the fence. They will make sure no one builds over top of the nuclear grave. According to the text of the plan, “... a rock cover for intruder and erosion protection will be installed pursuant to strict specifications.” But in the past month, the state has aggressively attacked the details in Shieldalloy's plan and the NRC for even considering it. The Department of Environmental Protection recently filed a lawsuit against the NRC to stop the review of Shieldalloy's plan. NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said there's no set time frame for when the hearing requests will be answered by a three-judge panel. The department has also filed a hearing request with the NRC in the meantime, claiming the Shieldalloy plan does not show the right finances to back the plan, does consider the accidental destruction of the barriers covering the waste and does not address whether burying the slag will cause further groundwater contamination. Such technical arguments are not reserved only to DEP scientists. Newfield Borough and residents Loretta Williams and Terry Ragone have filed their own requests with the NRC. Part of the borough's request asks who will want to do business or live in Newfield next to a radioactive dump. “Either way, it's got to go,” Williams said in a previous interview. “Who wants to open a business near a nuclear site?” ***************************************************************** 44 San Bernardino County Sun: Plutonium transit uproar Crash of truck with radioactive waste in desert stirs concerns Andrew Silva, Staff Writer Article Launched: 01/21/2007 12:00:00 AM PST Baking soda, bunk beds, fire extinguishers - and a drum with plutonium-238. The truck that crashed Tuesday near Needles with a load of radioactive waste was a plain old commercial truck carrying plain old products. When emergency workers checked the truck's manifest they were surprised that radioactive material was being shipped with ordinary goods. "This, in and of itself, is very alarming," said San Bernardino County Fire Marshal Peter Brierty, who also directs his agency's hazardous materials unit. Government and industry officials say shipping radioactive materials by commercial carriers is a perfectly safe, perfectly routine practice. The containers, the routes and the shipping companies are Plutonium info THE BASICSfrom the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: + What is plutonium? What is it used for? Where does it come from? How can it affect a person's health? How can a person protect himself? What is EPA doing about plutonium? ABOUT RADIATION + EPA Radiation Protection Program + Nuclear Information Resource Service booklet and fact sheets about the NIRS and waste transportation YUCCA MOUNTAIN REPOSITORY + Frequently asked questions about the site, the disposal of nuclear waste there, when it is scheduled to open + U.S. nuclear waste transportation routes + California routes to Yucca Mountain + U.S. Department of Energy, Civilian Radioactive Waste Management on yucca mountain, transporting and receiving nuclear waste at + Report on disposal canister system performance, November 2006(60 pages, .PDF format) + Report: "Safe Passage: An overview of plans for the railroad to Yucca Mountainand fact sheet on the transportation of spent nuclear fuel all heavily regulated, and there has never been an accident that resulted in a release of radiation, they said. The radiation emitted by the truck's amount of plutonium-238 is trillions of times more than is allowed in drinking water, Brierty said. The four grams of plutonium involved in the crash would be roughly the volume of a pencil eraser. But that amount kicks out more than 60 curies, a measure of radioactivity. In contrast, the drinking water standard is 15 picocuries per liter, or 15 trillionths of one curie. "That's quite a lot of plutonium," said Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute of Energy and Environmental Research. "If nothing spilled, it's not a big issue &. I think it's appalling they had flammable materials on this truck." The truck, pulling two trailers, crashed into a guardrail on eastbound Interstate 40, rupturing the tractor's fuel tank and causing the rear trailer to overturn and split open. The driver was unhurt. Part of the freeway was shut down for 18 hours. The heavily shielded, 500-pound, 55-gallon drum with the plutonium was in the front of the damaged trailer, California Highway Patrol Officer Michael Callahan said. The entire cargo had to be unloaded to get at the drum. The drum was undamaged, and there was no leakage of radiation. "What the hell is that doing in that truck?" said Robert Halstead, an expert in the transportation of nuclear waste. He's been working with the state of Nevada in battling the proposal to build a repository for highly radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, northwest of Las Vegas. If the Yucca Mountain repository is built, it will hold extremely radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. Much of the waste on its way there will have to come through San Bernardino County. Even in the unlikely event that the containment drum in Tuesday's crash had been breached, it would be almost impossible for that bit of plutonium to pose a major threat, government officials said. "There is no way the material can be spread because it's encapsulated," said Kevin Roark, a spokesman for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where the shipment was headed. The plutonium in this case was a "sealed source," meaning the material was blended in a solid mix that would make it difficult or nearly impossible to be broken up, he said. The material was on its way from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. The lab is near Hanford on the Columbia River, a key facility in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II and now the scene of one of the world's largest environmental cleanups. Plutonium-238 is only a health threat if it's inhaled, and to a lesser degree if it's ingested. But a microscopic speck floating inside the body could lead to cancer. That's why some groups were up in arms over NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn. The spacecraft, launched in 1997, uses plutonium-238 as a heat source. They worried that in case of a disaster, the plutonium could be widely dispersed in the atmosphere, leading to untold future cancers. NASA countered that the small containers, each about the size of bullet, were designed to remain intact no matter what happened. Plutonium-238 emits alpha particles, the least energetic form of radiation, unable to pass through even a sheet of paper. A person could stand next to a chunk of plutonium-238 with virtually no risk unless a fine particle was floating in the air and he or she inhaled it. Plutonium-238 until a few years ago was even used to power cardiac pacemakers. "People have an irrational fear of radiation," Los Alamos' Roark said. "As long as it's in an approved container, it's OK to use regular shipping." The shipping containers and trucking companies must meet strict standards imposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The containers must be impervious to high-velocity collisions and intense fires. After arriving at Los Alamos, the material will eventually be shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, a half-mile-deep waste storage facility near Carlsbad, N.M. Once on its way to WIPP, the plutonium is handled very differently. Special trucks are monitored with Global Positioning System satellites and carry only radioactive waste destined for disposal, unlike the commercial truck that crashed. "I think people should be worried this stuff is being handled so cavalierly," said Don Hancock of the Southwest Research and Information Center in New Mexico, which has followed WIPP for 30 years. "If it were going to WIPP, they couldn't have shipped it the way they were shipping it." For example, no tandem trailers would be allowed, he said. Once emergency officials at the scene of Tuesday's crash looked at the truck's manifest and realized there was plutonium aboard, the U.S. Department of Energy was notified. A four-person team from the National Nuclear Security Administration based at the Nevada Test Site, where scores of nuclear bombs were detonated, arrived at the crash site within hours. Fire Marshal Brierty praised the quick response and professionalism of the team. All fire stations and CHP officers who work in the commercial division are equipped with radiation detectors. "I'd rather be next to (a truck carrying radioactive waste) than a propane truck," said CHP Officer Matt Dietz, who's based in San Bernardino. He's done numerous escorts of radioactive shipments and is trained to respond to accidents involving radiation. "More radioactive material is going down the road than you realize," he said. "I trust the way these things are packaged more than other stuff. The biggest thing is public perception." Another expert who's worked on transport issues for 30 years had a fair amount of confidence in the shipping containers but worried more about terrorism. "I'm floored that they're actually moving this stuff around without a little more security," said Marvin Resnikoff, a physicist with Radioactive Waste Management Associates, based in New York. "You could do tremendous havoc. You could spread this stuff around." Los Angeles Newspaper Group ***************************************************************** 45 courier-journal: Railroad risks hit home with Bullitt accident Sunday, January 21, 2007 Residents return for 45-minute visits By Brandy Warren bwarren@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal Loaded into pickups, about a dozen Bullitt County families with homes near the site of last week's fiery train wreck were allowed to return briefly yesterday. For some, it was a bittersweet visit. "It felt good to go home and see it. It was a relief to see everything was still in place," said Brenda Burden, whose home has some exterior smoke damage but no damage inside. "But having to leave was really hard." Still, many said they were relieved by what they saw. "Where the accident happened, it looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off," said resident Steve Smith. "But our house, it looked fine." No one was killed or had to be hospitalized overnight as a result of last Tuesday's wreck, which involved 25 of the train's 80 cars. Smith and others living along Angela Drive and Huber Station Road attended an hourlong private meeting yesterday at the Zoneton Fire District Station, where officials from CSX, the Environmental Protection Agency and the county's health department briefed them on what they would see and smell at the site. Residents, who were driven to their homes by local fire officials, didn't have to wear masks or take special precautions for the 45-minute visits. Zoneton Fire Chief Rob Orkies said families were allowed to retrieve necessary items and check on animals left behind. Some brought cages to take the pets. John Bastin of the state's emergency management division said officials have received no reports of dead animals. Cleaners, paid by CSX, will come later. "We've offered to clean their homes so that their home, when they move back into it, is exactly like it was before the incident happened," said Michael Lunsford, director of hazardous material for CSX. Still, Bill and Lillian Sutherland said they'll replace some things, such as bedding. The Sutherlands said their house has some buckled siding and smoke damage on the roof. "It's just a real nasty smell," Bill Sutherland said. Officials said there is no timetable for getting everyone back home permanently. Since the derailment, some area residents who live near rail lines have said that they worry about a similar accident. In western Louisville's Rubbertown neighborhood, Lakeshia Brittle's children saw television footage of the wreck and expressed worry about the trains at the Norfolk Southern yard that serve nearby chemical plants. "If that would have happened next to us, we'd be blown up for sure," said Brittle, who lives on Algonquin Parkway. Sylvester Lunsford of Crescent Hill said the Bullitt derailment brought home the potential danger of the 90-ton cars that bring chlorine to the Louisville Water Co.'s treatment facilities. "If that would have happened here, God forbid, it would have wiped out Crescent Hill," said Lunsford, who has lived on Pennsylvania Avenue next to tracks for 27 years. Jeremy Nance of New Albany, Ind., said he worries about hazardous materials on trains that pass as close as 40 feet to his house on a CSX line. "I wish we could get something done to reroute this train (track) out of town," said Nance, who lives at 15th and Beeler streets. The Association of American Railroads says on its Web site that rerouting tracks only "increases risk by lengthening the route distances and transit times." Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman said the company is "operating as safely as possible" at its Rubbertown rail yard, patrolling it regularly and following federal safety regulations. "We are conscious of the neighbors' concerns there and we make every effort to reduce the amount of time that tank cars are placed in that area," he said. Similar efforts at Norfolk Southern's 30-track switching station in Portland reassure longtime resident Herb Brodarick. "I feel safe, at least when it comes to the trains," he said. The Louisville Water Co. says CSX has greatly improved tracks leading to its Crescent Hill plant, but it is seeking a safer alternative to bringing chlorine by rail. The water company is planning a $12 million facility to produce a diluted chlorine bleach solution, which would replace the pure chlorine as a disinfectant. It's expected to be built by summer 2009, spokeswoman Barbara Crow said. Jefferson County Public Schools has extensive plans for rail and other emergencies, said Chuck Fleischer, director of safety and environmental services. Several schools are near industrial sites. Kennedy Montessori Elementary School, for example, sits close to the Norfolk Southern rail yard. "I feel we're prepared," Fleischer said. If a chemical leak occurred near a school, that school would be instructed first to shelter the children indoors and seal all windows, doors and air-intake vents, he said. Many residents have found that they, too, have to monitor the safety of trains near their homes. Chad Welsh, a research scientist at the University of Louisville, said he didn't give much thought to the CSX tracks 30 yards away when he bought a home three years ago near Anchorage. Since then, he has taken note of news accounts across the country whenever there is a derailment. A microbiologist, he understands what some of the chemicals carried by the tanker cars can do. "I read what they are and say, 'Oh, man, that's bad. That's really bad,' " he said. Mary L. Perry, who owns the Pet School and Hotel in Berrytown, said she hardly notices the trains that pass. "This place has been here 20 years and nothing's happened yet," she said. Reporters Peter Smith, Katya Cengel, Andrea Uhde, Sheryl Edelen, Martha Elson, Ben Zion Hershberg and Joseph Gerth contributed to this story. Copyright 2005 The Courier-Journal. ***************************************************************** 46 Sunday Herald: Threat To 500 Cleanup Jobs January 22, 2007 Est 1999 Scotland's award-winning independent By Rob Edwards, Environment Editor THE Ł3 billion clean-up of the defunct nuclear complex at Dounreay in Caithness is facing prolonged delays and the loss of up to 500 jobs because of a government financial crisis. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the agency that funds the dismantling of all the UK's nuclear plants, has a shortfall of Ł450 million. As a result, Dounreay could see its budget cut by Ł40 million in 2007-08, drastically reducing the sum available for spending on decommissioning. That would mean the postponement of a series of projects vital for making Dounreay safe, including the emptying of the shoreline radioactive waste shaft which exploded in 1977. Officials fear the date for finishing the site clean-up - 2033 - may be pushed back "several years".continued... They also said the 2000-strong workforce of staff and contractors at Dounreay could be reduced by between 200 and 500. Staff at Dounreay have reacted with "absolute disbelief and anger", said Ian Clark, the trade union co-ordinator for the site's operator, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). The funding shortfall has arisen as the NDA's income from operating nuclear plants has been much lower than expected. A reprocessing plant at Sellafield has been closed because of a leak, and a plutonium fuel plant and ageing reactors are performing badly. The NDA relies on these plants to provide half of its Ł2bn annual budget. The NDA is understood to have asked the Treasury for an extra Ł290m. But it is also telling contractors, such as the UKAEA, to cut Ł160m from their clean-up programmes. Dounreay has been required to make cuts of nearly Ł6m by the end of March. The site had planned for a budget of Ł170m in 2007-08, but now staff fear this may be reduced to Ł130m. Cutbacks are also being required at Hunterston A in North Ayrshire, and Chapelcross, near Annan, in Dumfries and Galloway. ©2007 newsquest (sunday herald) limited. all rights reserved ***************************************************************** 47 AP Wire: Survey finds no radiation danger from dirt around Paducah plant 01/20/2007 | Associated Press PADUCAH, Ky. - The dirt and rubble piles in the creeks and ditches around the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant are not contaminated by radiation that could endanger the public, the U.S. Department of Energy said. Surveyors from the federal agency inspected more than 30 miles around the plant and, in most cases, found no contamination above natural radiation in the soil, said Bill Murphie, manager of the Energy Department's project office overseeing the nuclear plants in Paducah and Piketon, Ohio. "None of these piles have shown any evidence of levels of potential contamination unacceptable to and threatening the public," Murphie said. The investigation, done with state and federal environmental regulators, grew out of a discovery in November of seven mounds of low-level radioactive dirt east of the plant in the West Kentucky Wildlife Area. Those mounds had the highest radioactivity levels of any found, but were essentially harmless, Murphie said. "If you sat there on the dirt continuously for three days, your dose (exposure) would be equivalent to a dental X-ray," he said. The dirt piles also had traces of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Both PCBs and radiation are common contaminants of the uranium enrichment plant. Before they were banned, PCBs were in oily insulators for the plant's massive electrical system. The search has found 100 dirt piles and 50 mounds of concrete rubble either around the plant or in the surrounding wildlife area, Murphie said. Much of the dirt is believed to have come from dredging Little and Big Bayou creeks 20 to 30 years ago, and some of the rubble piles came from old plant construction work, he said. "In most cases, no contamination was found," he said. "There were a few detectable levels above background (natural radiation)." Information from: The Paducah Sun, http://www.paducahsun.com ***************************************************************** 48 SF New Mexican: LANL: Lab funding increase in jeopardy By ANDY LENDERMAN | The New Mexican January 20, 2007 Domenici: State could lose $494 million The $188 million funding increase that Los Alamos National Laboratory would have seen this year will not arrive if Congress sticks with plans to keep funding flat, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said Friday. Lab Director Michael Anastasio has been planning for a flat federal budget for some time now. The lab has announced cost-cutting measures but has not laid off anyone in its permanent work force. Democrats, who now control both houses of Congress, have announced plans to fund the federal government at 2006 levels. When they were in the majority last fall, Republicans were in the middle of dealing with the 2007 fiscal year appropriations bills. But after the November elections, work on those Republican-led measures stopped, and a Congress controlled by the Democrats will pass its own appropriations bills reflecting their priorities. For now, just two of the 13 appropriations bills -- Defense and Homeland Security -- have passed Congress. The big measure in terms of its impact on New Mexico -- Energy and Water -- is among those that didn't get to President Bush's desk. As a result, Domenici says, the state could lose out on $494 million. In a letter to constituents warning of "possible cutbacks," he wrote: "I have said publicly and privately to the Senate leadership that the handling of the FY 2007 appropriations bills has been a travesty." The lab's current budget is about $2.2 billion. Los Alamos National Security LLC, which operates the lab for the government, has roughly 8,920 permanent employees. In addition, 2,500 contractors and 1,617 students and researchers work there. Last year, the Department of Energy spent $4.4 billion in New Mexico. Comments are not allowed on this story at this time. Please check the open for comments page for details. Terms of Use | ©2007, Santa Fe New Mexican, ***************************************************************** 49 The Enquirer: Fernald cleanup marked close of era Last Updated: 9:19 pm | Saturday, January 20, 2007 BY SAMUEL W. BODMAN On Friday, we closed a significant chapter in the history of the Cold War as we celebrated the successful completion of clean-up efforts at three former nuclear weapons facilities in the State of Ohio - at Columbus, Ashtabula and Fernald. Now, wetlands that provide a refuge for endangered wildlife and pristine plains have replaced contaminated warehouses, storage tanks and industrial facilities. The juxtaposition of the two is truly remarkable. These achievements reflect a critical part of DOE's mission: to provide a responsible resolution to the environmental legacy of nuclear weapons production. Restoring these sites to their natural states was our duty... to both the immediate and surrounding communities, and to future generations. During the Cold War era, Columbus, Ashtabula, and Fernald were vital to America's national security infrastructure and our nuclear weapons program. At Columbus, R work in areas including nuclear fuel fabrication, reactor development and nuclear propulsion technologies was conducted. The Fernald site produced high purity uranium metal products for use throughout the nuclear weapons complex. And at Ashtabula, DOE and its predecessor agencies processed uranium products from Fernald for use at weapons production sites. In the late 1980s, cleanup work began in Columbus. We demolished contaminated buildings and shipped nearly 1.7 million metric tons of waste out of Ohio. Today the 31 acres once used for atomic energy R is ready for commercial reuse. In Ashtabula, over the past ten years, we have safely transported over 1.1 million metric tons of waste to off-site commercial facilities. The 42 acres that the Department cleaned up at Ashtabula will soon be available for commercial use. At Fernald, over the past 15 years, our contractor cleaned up the contents of six waste pits. We have reduced contamination in the soil and groundwater, demolished over 300 buildings, and brought about the ecological restoration of 900 acres of the site to be used as a future nature reserve. All of this work at Fernald was completed ahead of schedule and for almost $8 billion less than originally estimated. While principal clean up operations have come to an end in Fernald, our commitment to its long term protection continues. DOE will monitor and test samples of surface water and on-site wells at Fernald for decades to come and we will operate a groundwater treatment plant that will safely pump and treat the water in the Great Miami Aquifer. Later this year, we will open a center for education, offering visitors a place to learn about the rich history of this site. Since the Department was founded in 1977, we have restored 84 sites that played a role in Cold War era production across the nation. In the past two years alone, we have completed nine sites and we are on track to close five more sites by the time President Bush leaves office. Today we honor the rich past of these sites and celebrate the work that restored their environmental health without erasing their past. This is a legacy of which we can be proud. Samuel W. Bodman is secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. ***************************************************************** 50 Amarillo Globe News: Pantex performance outstanding, according to Feds amarillo.com 01/21/07 amarillo.com BWXT Pantex reaped $27.5 million from its Pantex management and operating contract last fiscal year, earning an "outstanding" performance rating from the National Nuclear Security Administration.--> By Jim McBride jim.mcbride@amarillo.com BWXT Pantex reaped $27.5 million from its Pantex management and operating contract last fiscal year, earning an "outstanding" performance rating from the National Nuclear Security Administration. A government evaluation said the contractor exceeded expected contract performance last year and beat anticipated delivery goals for nuclear weapons work, but evaluators also cited concerns about its project management and ability to deliver projects on schedule within budget. The report also praised BWXT for making Pantex the first site in the nuclear weapons complex to implement the Design Basis Threat, a series of post-9/11 security requirements for facilities that protect the nation's nuclear materials from potential terrorist attacks. "In the area of safeguards and security, BWXT Pantex set the complex standard in providing world-class security for NNSA assets," the contract's general management summary said. Pantex completed dismantlement of all W56 warheads, an older warhead designed to be launched on intercontinental ballistic missiles, and finished a backlog of disassemblies and inspections of W78 warheads, a weapon type carried on the Minuteman III ICBM. The plant also scrapped numerous components for the W70, a warhead designed to be used with the Lance mobile field artillery surface-to-surface missile system. The NNSA also praised BWXT for producing its first modernized B-61 bomb under the Life Extension program, which removes aging warheads from the stockpile, retrofits them with new equipment and returns them to the U.S. atomic arsenal. A contract performance evaluation said BWXT earned 92 percent of available contract award fees, including $15.8 million for its award fee, $6.3 million in performance-based incentive fees, $3.8 million in stretch incentive fees and $1.4 million in multi-site incentive fees. Performance-based incentive fees are government bonuses for meeting specific production goals negotiated with the NNSA, dubbed "deliverables." Stretch incentive fees are similar bonuses based on meeting objectives that are challenging because of budget issues, technical problems or time constraints. Multi-site incentives are bonuses awarded for projects that must be coordinated closely with other weapons sites. BWXT's evaluation also said the company completed 828 deliverables linked to nuclear weapons work in fiscal year 2006, a 40 percent increase from 2005. The company also earned high marks for business management, records management and community outreach, including firefighting assistance to area communities during last year's massive wildfire outbreak. The company didn't meet government expectations for worker safety and health and electrical safety. The report said the BWXT continued to struggle with electrical safety issues and had three potentially serious electrical safety incidents in 2006. BWXT Pantex President and General Manager Dan Swaim said the company was very pleased with its evaluation. "The NNSA recognized that the company met significant goals and improved overall performance. In the coming year, BWXT Pantex will emphasize work planning and execution, sustained and reliable production, and superior leadership and teamwork," Swaim said. "The company received the superior evaluation because of exceptional delivery performance, overcoming several technical obstacles and completing the W56 dismantlement two months early. Also, the manufacture of the First Production Unit of the B61 Life Extension Program was the culmination of a six-year effort requiring cooperation across the nuclear weapons complex." Swaim also said the plant's worker safety record was among the best in the nuclear weapons complex and that BWXT Pantex will remain committed to its target goal of zero injuries. "Looking ahead, the company will continue to improve in the area of construction project management. The company recognizes that this is an area in which our client expects improvement, and we have already taken steps to better our performance," he said. In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, NNSA began censoring its contractor performance reports, citing heightened security concerns. The reports, once released in public libraries, are now considered "Official Use Only" by the NNSA, but the Pantex Site Office released a contract performance summary at the request of the Amarillo Globe-News. GLOBE-NEWS ***************************************************************** 51 Carlsbad Current-Argus: Domenici cautions against possible change in appropriations process Article Launched: 01/19/2007 09:09:26 PM MST WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Pete Domenici has begun to warn constituents in New Mexico to prepare for the possibility of cutbacks if a proposed FY2007 appropriations plan by Senate and House Democratic leaders is enacted, according to a press release from the senator's office. Democratic leaders, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. and Speaker Nancy Pelosi D-Calif., have announced plans to drop the FY2007 Appropriations process in favor of a long term Continuing Resolution, which would fund the government at 2006 levels for the year. That would mean the loss of an estimated $494 million in federal appropriations for individual projects and payments in New Mexico, including several projects in Carlsbad. Domenici, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today sent a letter to organizations that were slated to receive federal funding for specific projects as part of the FY2007 Appropriations process. These groups, ranging from the Head Start program in Aztec-Bloomfield to programs at Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, had been selected to receive federal funding for FY2007, but would not if the Democratic plan is enacted. "As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I still strongly support your project. I have said publicly and privately to the Senate leadership that the handling of the FY 2007 appropriations bills has been a travesty," the letter reads. "I have long advocated the individual completion of each of the annual appropriations bills, and continue to vigorously fight for this approach. At this time, the only FY2007 appropriations bills signed into law are those funding the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. "The Democratic leadership of the House and Senate has decided to provide FY2007 funding for the remaining departments through a continuing resolution covering the duration of the fiscal year. This proposal would forgo all the funding priorities set this year by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. I strongly oppose this plan, as it would have serious negative consequences on a large number of New Mexico projects and activities. "Instead of the current proposal, I advocate an approach that would allow Congress to work its will, as the Constitution requires, on each of the remaining individual FY2007 bills. This would mean that many New Mexico initiatives would have a chance to become law, including additional funding for our national laboratories, schools, and individual New Mexico community projects. "Instead of preserving important priorities like these, set through the regular appropriations process, the Democratic plan will give the Executive Branch almost carte blanch to do whatever it wants in spending for FY2007. I continue to warn my colleagues about the adverse effects the Democratic plan will have on Congress' prerogative to set funding priorities representing the needs of the country." Except for the Defense and Homeland Security departments, the federal government is currently being funded through a short term Continuing Resolution, which expires Feb. 15. At that point, Congress must decide how to fund the government through FY2007. The funds for New Mexico are contained in the following bills, all of which have yet to be acted on by Congress: Agriculture; Commerce, Justice and Science; Energy and Water; Interior; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary and Housing and Urban Development. Carlsbad projects with funding at risk include the WIPP records archive, the Center for Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management and future WIPP acceleration funds, which are awarded on a year-by-year basis from the federal government to help offset the economic impact of the nuclear waste repository closing at the conclusion of its mission and anticipation that it will be ahead of schedule in its role in processing the nation's nuclear waste. Earlier this week, Carlsbad Mayor Bob Forrest said he has not given up on obtaining the funds. "We're going to go back (to Washington D.C.) after next week and visit with them," he said. "Right now it's all kind of up in limbo." In an absolute worst-case scenario, the records archive and center for excellence still have some funding in place and could survive for some period of time, Forrest said, and would not have to shut down. The organizations would then seek to obtain future federal funding after FY2007. "But we're not going to give up," Forrest said. Copyright © 2005 Carlsbad Current Argus, a MediaNews Group Newspaper. ***************************************************************** 52 KnoxNews: Future of ORNL may lie in East India's marketplace, technology are promising resources for laboratory By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com January 21, 2007 OAK RIDGE - If it's hard to imagine an Oak Ridge presence in India today, it's even harder to imagine a future without it. Members of a delegation from Oak Ridge National Laboratory came to that conclusion during a December visit to the world's second most populated country. The two-week experience was provocative and humbling, tiring and oh, so rewarding. Perhaps more than anything, it reinforced the need for change to remain internationally competitive in the 21st century. "I don't think we're going to be doing business this way in 2015, and either we're going to do a lot more with China or India or with South Korea or somewhere," ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth said in an interview at his office a couple of weeks after the group's return. "We're starting the process of investigating what that future might look like." American companies like IBM and Intel already have set up shop in India, which is fertile ground for information technology with a fabulously deep work force that's educated, eager and - by U.S. standards - inexpensive. Wadsworth said it's not clear whether it would be practical or legal for ORNL, a federal laboratory operated by a partnership of Battelle and the University of Tennessee, to "off-shore" some of its support services to India to take advantage of the lower costs - reported to be 20 or 30 cents on the dollar. But there are plenty of other possibilities, ranging from joint research projects with Indian institutions to planting an ORNL satellite campus in one of India's burgeoning technology centers. Billy Stair, the lab's communications director, who was part of the group, said he could envision ORNL bidding on future research projects with a partnership of Vanderbilt, Duke or other prestigious U.S. universities and - here's the twist - the Indian Institute of Science. Regardless of whether there are any direct business transactions with ORNL, India is too big and far too important on the science and technology front to ignore, Wadsworth said. Besides Wadsworth and Stair, other members of the lab's leadership team who went to India were: Thomas Zacharia, associate lab director for computing and computational sciences; Dana Christensen, associate lab director for energy and engineering sciences; and Alex Fischer, director of technology transfer and economic development. Zacharia is a native of India and provided special insights. Among the trip highlights was a 40-minute meeting with India's president, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Kalam, a scientist and engineer by training, welcomed the American visitors and discussed India's three-pronged energy strategy, focusing on bioenergy, solar and nuclear. The visit coincided with President Bush's signing of a U.S.-India agreement for nuclear cooperation that's controversial in both countries, and it was front-page news and hotly debated in every city the ORNL group visited. Wadsworth said the Oak Ridge officials tried to stay out of the fray - politely declining interview requests - even though nuclear expertise may ultimately facilitate ORNL's entry into India. The exploratory trip included a series of meetings with government and scientific leaders in New Delhi; a tour of the Oak Ridge-like Bhabha Atomic Research Center at Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay; and extended stays at Bangalore, a high-tech hub where Wadsworth delivered a keynote speech at an international computing conference; and Trivandrum and Cochin, high-growth cities in the southern part of India. There remains a staggering amount of poverty in the country of 1.1 billion residents, but the sheer size of the country means there's also an oversized middle class and intellectual elite. The Oak Ridge visitors were awed by high-tech parks and gated "cities within cities" where thousands of workers live, work and play in a pristine environment reminiscent of something from "The Truman Show." One stop in Bangalore was at Infosys Technologies. The once-fledgling services company has grown explosively since the early 1980s and is now one of the world's most respected information-technology companies. "What you're struck by is what your competition is doing and where they're doing it," Fischer said. "We've got to be smart about where the world's going businesswise. Specifically, I think as a national lab, we need to understand the dynamics that are taking place and how we respond to those." Fischer said it was the best trip he'd ever taken, marveling at India's culture and resources. On the downside, he noted the massive traffic jams and infrastructure problems, including pollution in the capital city. But Fischer recalled a time when downtown Chattanooga's air was so dirty that one needed to bring a change of shirts, and he said those problems were turned around rather quickly. Wadsworth, who spent two years of his childhood in Calcutta (his father was in the British Army), explained why India appears to be an easy place to do business. "They're a longstanding democracy, which may sound like, 'So what?' Well, so what is they debate things openly, they have processes we understand, they have a legal system that's based on the British legal system, and how they think about everything from a stock market to parliament looks very parallel to ours. It's very comfortable. You don't feel like you're really having to do something dramatically different to work with India." Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. © 2007 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 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. 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