***************************************************************** 08/12/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.188 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Los Angeles Times: Fencing with Tehran - 2 The Hindu News: 'US worried over fate of Pak's N-weapons after Musha 3 Daily Times: Pakistan’s consent vital for US influence - governor 4 Deccan Herald: 'Musharraf becoming a dangerous partner of Bush' 5 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: US secretly backs terrorist groups 6 US: antiwar.com: Challenging Bush’s Reality - 7 Indiatimes: US worried over Pak's N-weapons 8 ICH: China's "nuclear option" is real 9 The Hindu: Left steps up pressure; Manmohan to make statement tomorr 10 BBC NEWS: Russia unveils air defence plan 11 Daily Times: Pakistan’s nuclear assets in safe hands - FO 12 Press TV: Pakistan backs Iran's nuclear rights 13 Japan Times: ASEAN turns 40 14 CNN.com: Pakistan dismisses reports about nuclear arms security conc NUCLEAR REACTORS 15 TheStar.com: Long, slow road to meeting nuclear power needs 16 US: Rutland Herald Online: Entergy prefers slower closure 17 US: JOURNAL NEWS: Indian Point gets almost all its sirens working 18 IHT: Report: Closure of Japanese nuclear plant expected to boost gre 19 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Officials: There's enough money for decomm 20 THERECORD.COM: Nuclear power isn't safe 21 YONHAP NEWS: S. Korea, U.S. to cooperate on 4th generation nuclear r 22 UPI: IAEA concurs on Japan nuke plant shutdown 23 Japan Times: Quake-hit N-plant may be shut a year - IAEA 24 Japan Times: Never discount quake danger: nuclear council 25 US: Newsday.com: Test marks 'a big step' for new Indian Point siren 26 asahi.com : Nuclear plants at grave risk of quake damage - 27 asahi.com: Nuke plant repairs may take 1 year - 28 US: NewsBlaze: NRC Seeks Public Input on Environmental Impact Statem 29 Guardian Unlimited: 'Nuclear reactor' aids mild climate NUCLEAR SECURITY 30 US: Reuters: New York City maintains 'radiological threat' alert 31 US: Guardian Unlimited: NYC Police Operations Back to Normal NUCLEAR SAFETY 32 [v911t] REGINA LEADER-POST: Nuclear energy's dirty secrets: Canadian 33 US: NYPD Steps Up Dirty Bomb Precautions 34 US: Countercurrents.org: Bush And DU: A 4.5 Billion Year Legacy NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 35 US: TheStar.com: Can Charter protect Algonquins from uranium rush? 36 US: BBC NEWS: Uranium reserves found in Guinea 37 Slough & Windsor Observer: Secret decision to burn more radioactive 38 US: Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP mission could evolve 39 US: Carlsbad Current-Argus: Infrastructure ordeal 40 US: Murfreesboro Post: Last landfill public meeting 41 US: Saraso Herald Tribune: Send nuclear waste into space 42 Nevada Appeal: Burning Man and Yucca Mountain not what they seem PEACE 43 US: [NukeNet] In the Shadow of the Bomb: Aug 6 at Livermore Lab 44 History News Network: Did We Miss the Lesson of Nagasaki? 45 Japan Times: Failing to learn lessons from a nuclear past 46 asahi.com: A south wind blows in Nagasaki as a reminder - US DEPT. OF ENERGY 47 Knoxville News Sentinel: Problems shut new ETTP facility 48 lamonitor.com: Bigger share, shrinking pie 49 NewsChannel6: INL Clean Up Project ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Los Angeles Times: Fencing with Tehran - A U.S. military strike would be disastrous. But far more must be done to contain a cocky Iran. August 12, 2007 The Iranians are riding high these days. While the United States is hemorrhaging $5 billion a month in Iraq trying to stabilize Iran's flattened former enemy, Tehran is hauling in $5 billion a month in oil revenues. Iran is making life miserable for the United States in Iraq by allowing weapons to flow to Shiite fighters who are attacking U.S. troops there, if it isn't arming and training the insurgents itself. And Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shiite who lived in exile in Iran, held hands with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week during a chummy visit to Tehran, to the annoyance of President Bush. Meanwhile, Iran's centrifuges are probably spinning away, enriching uranium that could be used for nuclear weapons. Although Russia has taken the welcome step of refusing to deliver fuel to Iran's Bushehr civilian nuclear reactor, countries with commercial interests in Iran continue to balk at imposing U.N. Security Council economic sanctions with teeth. People who have met unofficially with senior Iranians recently describe them as self-confident, even cocky, and uninterested in bettering relations with the U.S. In response, the Bush administration has been ratcheting up its rhetoric. On Thursday, the president warned that "there will be consequences" for those delivering the sophisticated explosives that have been killing and maiming U.S. troops. And on Friday, McClatchy newspapers reported that Vice President Dick Cheney has advocated U.S. airstrikes on suspected training camps for Iraqi insurgents in Iran. Whether Cheney's alleged desire to attack isa deliberate administration leak aimed at warning Tehran that it is going too far, or a leak by Cheney foes who fear that the vice president is willing to go too far, the possibility of a U.S. strike cannot be ruled out. But resorting to force while 160,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq would invite disaster. Tehran could easily retaliate with a campaign of terror, and a U.S. strike might be the only thing that would rally the Iranian people around the increasingly unpopular Ahmadinejad and distract them from his ruinous policies. The U.S. must push back against Iranian provocations in Iraq and elsewhere. But it must also be mindful of the unintended consequences of escalation.Battling Iranian operatives inside Iraq is necessary but could lead to clashes on the Iranian-Iraqi border or in the Persian Gulf. As the Iranians proved by their capture and mistreatment of British sailors earlier this year, things could easily get even nastier. U.S. presidential candidates in both parties have seized on Iran to show how tough they'll be on foreign policy. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has already sung "bomb Iran" as a pop ditty. What the candidates probably won't tell the American people is how little leverage the United States has. It is faring badly in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Iranians know it. There is much talk about "containing" Iran, but U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states address only Iran's conventional military threat. Its ability to deploy Hezbollah and other proxies to destabilize its neighbors is undiminished. The most powerful weapon against Iranian adventurism is economic. Perhaps in part because the United States is so disliked at the moment, it has yet to convince the rest of the world that a nuclear-armed Iran is so dangerous as to warrant genuine economic sacrifice. Germany, Russia and China in particular would have to put global security over their national commercial interests to agree to the kind of tough and targeted economic sanctions that would raise the price of Iran's continuing nuclear intransigence. Over time, unilateral U.S. sanctions will limitIran's access to international credit markets and financial services. But without much broader international cooperation, Iran could well succeed in making nuclear weapons long before international sanctions bite. To avoid making an anti-American hero of Ahmadinejad and further alienating allies, U.S. politicians should stop talking about bombing Iran. Instead, they should set about repairing America's international standing and figure out what diplomatic deals could induce other nations to sign up for the serious financial penalties that offer the best chance of stopping Tehran's nuclear breakout. Copyright 2007 Los Angeles Times ***************************************************************** 2 The Hindu News: 'US worried over fate of Pak's N-weapons after Musharraf' Saturday, August 11, 2007 : 1140 Hrs New York, Aug. 11 (PTI): The US is worried about the fate of Pakistan's nuclear weapons if President Pervez Musharraf is killed or overthrown while it feels the General may still impose a state of emergency despite ruling it out a couple of days ago, a media report said here today. American military intelligence officials, it said, are urgently assessing how secure the Pakistani nuclear weapons would be in that scenario - if Musharraf is killed or overthrown. Quoting three American sources, CNN reported that key questions in the assessment include who would control Pakistan's nuclear weapons after a shift in power. It said that the three sources independently confirmed details of the intelligence review but would not allow their names to be used because of the sensitivity of the matter. The United States is pressuring Musharraf, who came to power in a 1999 military coup, not to declare a state of emergency as he faces growing political opposition. Although the Pakistani government ruled out the declaration of emergency on Thursday, the three sources told CNN the US thinks Musharraf may still impose those measures. American analysts, the report said, are watching current Pakistani troop movements closely to see whether Musharraf is making any moves that could indicate he is about to impose emergency. It appears that in recent weeks a large number of troops headed to the Pakistani tribal regions along the Afghan border, officials say. Stating that the sources include military officers and intelligence community analysts, CNN said the assessment is part of a broader review of the military and security situation in Pakistan. Unidentified officials were quoted as saying that Pakistan and its nuclear weapons are always a high intelligence priority for the US. The current review is a result of recent developments in that country, including the prospect that Musharraf could still declare a national emergency that would give him sweeping powers. Afghan officials, CNN noted, have accused Pakistan of allowing Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters to regroup and carve out a new safe haven along Pakistan's largely lawless northwestern frontier. The United States, the report said, has full knowledge about the location of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. But the key questions, officials say, are what would happen and who would control the weapons in the hours after any change in government in case Musharraf were killed or overthrown. Musharraf controls the loyalty of the commanders and senior officials in charge of the nuclear programme, but those loyalties could shift at any point, officials were quoted as saying. The US is not certain who might start controlling nuclear launch codes and weapons if that shift in power were to happen. There is also a growing understanding, according to the US analysis, that Musharraf's control over the military remains limited to certain top commanders and units, raising worries about whether he can maintain control over the long term, CNN said. The US officials also say that one of the key problems for the American military is what restrictions on US-Pakistani military cooperation could be imposed if Musharraf were to impose heavy security restrictions in his country. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 3 Daily Times: Pakistan’s consent vital for US influence - governor Leading News Resource of Pakistan Sunday, August 12, 2007 Staff Report LAHORE: The United States has to get Pakistan’s consent to keep its influence in the region, said Governor Khalid Maqbool while speaking at a seminar ‘Pakistan 60 Years and Getting Stronger’ at Holiday Inn. The seminar was organised by the Press Information Department of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The governor said Pakistan, at present, was stronger than before and its military had the capability to meet any challenge within its borders. He said today Pakistan had the most advanced nuclear and missile programme in the region. He said transparent, free and fair elections would be held in time. The judiciary and media, he said, had unmatched freedom in the country’s history. He said Pakistan’s per capita income had increased from $300 to $1000 in past few years. The industry had boomed in past 60 years, he said. Pakistan had only two textile factories at time of independence but numerous factories were working presently with the best value added textile items in the world, he added. He said Pakistan would be able to export cement and wheat next year. He said the government had paid special attention to education and health sectors while the Punjab government had treated 2.5 million hepatitis patients free of cost last year. Bishop Alexander John Malik said Pakistan was strong enough to resist external threats, but it was facing severe problems of extremism and terrorism. The people had to play their role to eliminate terrorism from the society, he added. He referred to the Quaid’s speech to the first constituent assembly on August 11, 1947, and said the Quaid had protected the rights of minorities in Pakistan. He said no one could impose one’s ideas on others. The people involved in terrorism throughout the country and world had no religion, he added. Former senior vice president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI), Abdul Basit said Pakistan got independence in tough conditions and it had only three hydro-power stations at that time which could cater the need of a few big cities only, he added. He said Pakistan had insufficient resources to run the affairs of the government. The economists were comparing Pakistan with the rapidly developing economies in the region, he added. He suggested the governor to consult local industrialists as the government was inviting huge foreign industries to the country. Warid Telecom regional telecommunications officer Zafar Iqbal praised the efforts of the government in the telecom sector. He said the current mobile subscribers increased to 60 million in Pakistan during last few years. The $6 billion mammoth investment had been made so far in telecom sector, he said. Another $5 billion investment was being expected in the upcoming years, he added. Beautician Mussarat Misbah said women were participating in all professions including army, airforce, banking, engineering and medicine. She mentioned eminent women in Pakistan’s history like Fatima Jinnah, Bilquis Edhi, and Shamshad Akhtar and praised the government’s efforts for development of women in Pakistan. Daily Times - All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 4 Deccan Herald: 'Musharraf becoming a dangerous partner of Bush' Sunday, August 12, 2007 New York, PTI: Asserting that the US advising Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf against imposing emergency is not enough, an influential daily here has asked Washington to tell him to negotiate a rapid return to democracy before it is too late and warned that he is turning into one of the Bush administration's "most dangerous" partners. While stating this, the 'New York Times' in an editorial titled 'High-Maintenance Musharraf' was referring to the midnight call of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday to the General during which she apparently advised him against seizing new powers to suspend Parliament, hamstring courts, curb street demonstration and guarantee himself a new Presidential term. Stating that after eight years of authoritarianism and broken promises, Musharraf has forfeited the support he once enjoyed among ordinary Pakistanis, educated professionals and even fellow military officers, the Times stressed that more than early-morning crisis management will be needed to keep "this very difficult situation from turning drastically worse." Pointing out that the Pakistani military dictator has worked himself and his friends into a tight corner, the paper emphasised that the crisis may only have been postponed. If Musharraf tries to forcibly cling to power over growing protests, the paper warned, the most likely beneficiaries are militant minorities, from armed Islamist groups to conspiratorial military nationalists. Stating that the extremists stand ready to exploit the resulting tensions to their own advantage, the paper added that their political representatives have never attracted majorities when Pakistan has held reasonably fair elections. "But if they managed to seize power in a political crisis, they would gain control not only of Pakistan's strategic frontiers, but of its nuclear arsenal and know-how as well," it said. Pakistan's location, adjoining Afghanistan, Iran, India and China, makes it one of America's most important allies, the Times said but added that General Musharraf's "reckless political trajectory is turning him into one of the Bush administration's most dangerous partners." The paper said while he regularly pleads that he is too weak to crush the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces that find ready sanctuary inside his country, he has shown no lack of enthusiasm for lashing out at Pakistan's reawakening civil society. "Most Pakistanis now want a return to elected civilian government, even if that means bringing back some of the flawed party leaders the General has tried to banish from political life, like two former Prime Ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif," the editorial commented. Copyright 2007, The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd., 75, M.G. Road, Post Box No 5331, Bangalore - 560001 Tel: +91 (80) 25880000 Fax No. +91 (80) 25880523 ***************************************************************** 5 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: US secretly backs terrorist groups 2007/08/12 04:53:17 Č.Ů Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on Sunday that America secretly backs terrorist groups in Iraq and tries to put the blames on others. Speaking to the members of Defense Committee in charge of policy making at the Defense Ministry, he refuted recent allegations made by America president about Iran's involvement in illegal smuggling of arms to Iraq. He said that while America president is now putting blames on others, the classified information obtained by Iran indicates that America is now secretively supporting terrorist groups in Iraq and Washington is masterminding bomb explosions in that country. Iran considers Iraq's security as its own and believes that asecure and united Iraq could play significant role in restoring stability and security to the region, he said. Withdrawal of occupiers and ceasing supports for terrorist groups is the only way to restore tranquility and stability to Iraq, he pointed out. Welfare, security and development would be materialized through formation of an independent and democratic government in Iraq which would live to have good ties with its neighbors, he said. America administration is now concerned about reduction of tension and restoration of tranquility to Iraq and the whole region, because their illegitimate presence in the region and in Iraq will go under question, he said. Iran's strategic and unchangeable policy is to strengthen and expand ties with other countries in the region and its neighbors in particular, he said, adding that given such a policy "We will never let America or the Zionist regime create tension in our relations with regional countries." Expansion of defense and security cooperation with regional countries is among Iran's main defense principles, he said, adding "We are to broaden such ties more than ever before." vm Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 6 antiwar.com: Challenging Bush’s Reality - by Gordon Prather August 11, 2007 Americans increasingly realize – despite a dearth of reporting by the mainstream media – that there is a widening gulf between reality and President Bush’s characterization of it. And what’s scary is that Bush may actually believe his mischaracterizations and act upon them, perhaps even nuking Iran, a signatory to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation Weapons, and practically certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency not to possess nukes or the makings, thereof. So scary is that prospect that last week, Agence France-Presse, until now a consistent neo-crazy media sycophant, uncharacteristically began its report of a news conference held by President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karsai thusly; "U.S. President George W. Bush charged Monday that Iran has openly declared that it seeks nuclear weapons – an inaccurate accusation at a time of sharp tensions between Washington and Tehran." Bush made an inaccurate accusation? Great Zot! What was it? AFP quotes Bush thusly; "It's up to Iran to prove to the world that they're a stabilizing force as opposed to a destabilizing force. After all, this is a government that has proclaimed its desire to build a nuclear weapon." But AFP reporters well knew that the Mullahs running Iran have proclaimed over and over that they have no desire to acquire nukes and that even desiring them, much less using them on their fellow men, would be seriously contrary to Islamic law. So, in an effort to find out whether Bush was a dimwit or simply flat-out lying to them, the AFP reporters accosted White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe, who claimed Bush had been referring to "Iran’s defiance of international calls to freeze sensitive nuclear work." Now, if Bush truly believes that Iran’s refusal to suspend, indefinitely, programs – which the NPT recognizes to be Iran’s "inalienable," God-given, right to conduct – constitutes a proclamation of "its desire to build a nuclear weapon," then he certainly qualifies as a dimwit. Johndroe’s explication of Bush’s charge continues; "After keeping their nuclear program secret for a decade, the Iranian government has refused the offers of the international community to provide [them] nuclear energy and continues to flout the inspectors of the IAEA." Three more "inaccurate accusations," proving that Bush’s spokesman – if not Bush, himself – is either truly ignorant or a bald-faced liar. Iran's Safeguards Agreement – which gave the IAEA the "right and the obligation" to ensure that safeguards are applied on "all source or special fissionable material" in all peaceful nuclear activities "for the exclusive purpose of verifying that such material is not diverted to nuclear weapons" – entered into force in 1974. In the early 1990s, Russia had agreed, inter alia, to complete the nuclear power plants at Bushehr, whose construction had begun under the Shah, and build a gas-centrifuge uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz. Also in the early 1990s, China had agreed, inter alia, to provide Iran two 300 MW nuclear power plants and a uranium-conversion plant at Isfahan. But, in 1995, as a result of intense Clinton-Gore pressure on Russia and China – and on European suppliers of auxiliary equipment – Russia canceled the gas-centrifuge facility contract and China canceled the power plant contract. In 1997, China also canceled the uranium-conversion plant contract. The Russians have continued to honor their contract to complete at least one of the 1,000 MW power plants at Bushehr. Then, in 2002, at the 46th IAEA General Conference, Reza Aghazadeh, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran announced that Iran planned to construct within two decades nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 6,000 MW: "I take this opportunity to invite all the technologically advanced member states to participate in my country's ambitious plan for the construction of nuclear power plants and the associated technologies such as fuel cycle, safety and waste management techniques." It is important to note that under the existing safeguards agreement, the Iranians were then – and are, now – under no obligation to inform the IAEA about any activity unless and until it involves – or will involve within 90 days – the chemical or physical transformation of safeguarded materials. In August 2002, the Iranians subjected the uranium-enrichment pilot plant they had under construction at Natanz to IAEA safeguards. They had already subjected the uranium-conversion facility at Isfahan. Then, in December, 2003, Iran signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and announced it would "cooperate with the Agency in accordance with the [Additional] Protocol in advance of its ratification." In November, 2004, under the so-called Paris Accords, Iran entered into negotiations with the Brits-French-Germans in the hope they could obtain "objective guarantees" the Europeans would defy the United States, would reestablish normal diplomatic and trade relations, and would, inter alia, respect both Iran's "inalienable" rights and European obligations under the NPT. Iran reaffirmed that "it does not and will not seek to acquire nuclear weapons." And, in order to "build further confidence" Iran "decided – on a voluntary basis – to continue and extend its suspension to include all enrichment and reprocessing activities." Since all these activities were already subject to IAEA Safeguards, the IAEA Board of Governors was notified of this voluntary suspension and the IAEA Secretariat asked to "verify and monitor" it. On March 23, 2005, the Iranians made a confidential proposal to the Brits-French-Germans to voluntarily "confine" Iran’s nuclear programs. In particular, the Iranians offered to forego indefinitely the chemical processing of spent fuel to recover unspent uranium and plutonium, and to limit their uranium-enrichment activities to meeting contingency refueling requirements for Iranian nuclear power plants, planned and under construction. The Iranians also offered to submit to "continuous on-site presence of IAEA inspectors at the conversion and enrichment facilities to provide unprecedented added guarantees." As a result of extreme pressure by Bush on the Brits-French-Germans, they never even acknowledged the Iranian offer. So, in July, 2005, the Iranians resumed – subject to IAEA Safeguards – some of the activities they had voluntarily suspended. Now, Iran’s offer of March 23, 2005, made to obtain "objective guarantees" that the Brits-French-Germans would prevent Bush’s nuking them, is essentially compliant with UN Security Council Resolution 1747. So, the reality is that Iran voluntarily offered to do in 2005 what Bush strong-armed the Security Council into requiring them to do in 2007. Or else. 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 ***************************************************************** 7 Indiatimes: US worried over Pak's N-weapons Updated: 13 Aug, 2007, 0607 hrs IST | Powered by Indiatimes 11 Aug, 2007, 1215 hrs IST, PTI NEW YORK: The US is worried about the fate of Pakistan's nuclear weapons if President Pervez Musharraf is killed or overthrown while it feels the General may still impose a state of emergency despite ruling it out a couple of days ago, a media report said here on Saturday. American military intelligence officials, it said, are urgently assessing how secure the Pakistani nuclear weapons would be in that scenario - if Musharraf is killed or overthrown. Quoting three American sources, CNN reported that key questions in the assessment include who would control Pakistan's nuclear weapons after a shift in power. It said that the three sources independently confirmed details of the intelligence review but would not allow their names to be used because of the sensitivity of the matter. The United States is pressuring Musharraf, who came to power in a 1999 military coup, not to declare a state of emergency as he faces growing political opposition. Although the Pakistani government ruled out the declaration of emergency on Thursday, the three sources told CNN the US thinks Musharraf may still impose those measures. American analysts, the report said, are watching current Pakistani troop movements closely to see whether Musharraf is making any moves that could indicate he is about to impose emergency. It appears that in recent weeks a large number of troops headed to the Pakistani tribal regions along the Afghan border, officials say. Stating that the sources include military officers and intelligence community analysts, CNN said the assessment is part of a broader review of the military and security situation in Pakistan. Copyright © 2007 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 8 ICH: China's "nuclear option" is real Resent-Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 11:27:13 -0500 (CDT) We no longer live in a society, we live in an economy, where right and wrong is determined not by fairness, but by profitability -- and where the law no longer dictates corporate behavior, but corporate behavior dictates the law: Kelly Overton, Executive Director of People Protecting Animals & Their Habitats = "Let no man think we can deny civil liberty to others and retain it for ourselves. When zealous agents of the Government arrest suspected "radicals" without warrant, hold them without prompt trial, deny them access to counsel and admission of bail....we have shorn the Bill of Rights of its sanctity..." -- Robert M. Lafollette, Sr. (1855-1925) U.S. Senator - Source: The Progressive, March 1920 = "Whenever justice is uncertain and police spying and terror are at work, human beings fall into isolation, which, of course, is the aim and purpose of the dictator state, since it is based on the greatest possible accumulation of depotentiated social units." -- Carl Gustav Jung - (1875-1961) Source: The Undiscovered Self, 1957 = "Why nationalize industry when you can nationalize the people?": -- Adolf Hitler - (1889-1945) Source: quoted in Robert N. Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), p. 74. === Read this newsletter online http://tinyurl.com/dy6yy === Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq 1,000,985 http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html === Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3684 http://icasualties.org/oif/ The War in Iraq Costs $450,855,536,900 See the cost in your community http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182 === Interview With Pro-resistance Iraqi Nationalist Interview conducted by Willi Langthaler Abduljabbar al Kubaysi, influential political leader of the Iraqi resistance and secretary-general of the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance (IPA) elaborates on the new situation evolving in Iraq. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18155.htm === How the Democrats Blew It in Only 8 Months By Alexander Cockburn The voters put the Democrats in to end the war, and it's escalating. The Democrats voted the money for the surge and the money for the next $459.6 billion military budget. Their latest achievement was to provide enough votes in support of Bush to legalize warrantless wiretapping for "foreign suspects whose communications pass through the United States." Enough Democrats joined Republicans to make this a 227-183 victory for Bush. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18157.htm === Fighting the Democrats' Complicity with Bush By Francis A. Boyle The Democrats in Congress have taken no effective steps to stop, impede, or thwart the Bush Jr. administration's wars of aggression against Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, or anywhere else, including their long-standing threatened war against Iran. To the contrary, the new Democrat-controlled Congress decisively facilitated these serial Nuremberg crimes against peace on May 24, 2007 by enacting a $95 billion supplemental appropriation to fund war operations through September 30, 2007. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18159.htm === China's "nuclear option" is real By Paul Craig Roberts Twenty-four hours after I reported China's announcement that China, not the Federal Reserve, controls US interest rates by its decision to purchase, hold, or dump US Treasury bonds, the news of the announcement appeared in sanitized and unthreatening form in a few US news sources. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18154.htm === The Grim Reaper Pays a Visit to Wall Street By Mike Whitney Alan Greenspan's low-interest, subprime, snake-oil Caravan took another spin down Wall Street today---ripping up pavement, knocking down power-poles and sending traders scampering for safety. When the dust finally settled, "Maestro's" wrecking ball had lopped another 387 points off the Dow Jones leaving markets reeling and investors cringing in fear. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18156.htm === Fighting for the Right to Learn in New Orleans By Bill Quigley There is a massive experiment being performed on thousands of primarily African American children in New Orleans. No one asked the permission of the children. No one asked permission of their parents. This experiment involves a fight for the education of children. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18158.htm === Iraq: At least 19 killed in another bloody day of U.S.occupation: A car bomb killed 11 people and wounded 45 others when it blew up near a market in a Kurdish district of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, police said. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/KHA040382.htm === UN Council OKs bigger UN political role in Iraq: U.S. and British officials have denied that their aim is to offload Iraq's political problems onto the United Nations, then pull their forces out. But they want more U.N. involvement in recruiting nations in the region to help Iraq. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18158.htm === Marine Describes How Squad Gunned Down innocent Iraqi: Magincalda helped as his squad mates dragged Awad to a ditch by the side of a dusty road, then watched as they fatally shot him. The corporal had helped tie the man up and place expended shell casings by his corpse to make it look like he'd been shooting at the Marines. http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/13866215/detail.html === Polls find increased support for Iraq war : The results from a poll conducted last month by the New York Times so surprised top editors that they ordered a new survey, but the results were the same the second time around: More Americans now think that President Bush was right to send troops into Iraq. http://tinyurl.com/3bktng === Need help with a down payment? Ask the Army: Need a down payment for your home? Seed money to start a business? The Army wants to help - if you're willing to join up. Despite spending nearly $1 billion last year on recruiting bonuses and ads, Army leaders say an even bolder approach is needed to fill wartime ranks. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20205033/ == America's Military Kids Are Latest Collateral Damag: The children of the troops serving in Iraq are experiencing significant collateral damage at home, according to two staggering new reports on the occurrence of child maltreatment, neglect, and abuse during combat-related deployments http://www.womensmediacenter.com/ex/080607_a.html === Goodbye Uncle Sam: What does it feel like to turn your back on your country? As increasing numbers of US military personnel head for Canada to escape service in Iraq and Afghanistan, three deserters explain what drove them to such drastic action http://tinyurl.com/2cp5j7 === Unknown terror: What is DU?: Video The president of the United States, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and the prime minister of Israel must acknowledge and accept responsibility for the willfu: l use of uranium munitions-their own "dirty bombs"-resulting in adverse health and environmental effects. It also leaves behind a fine radioactive dust with a half-life of 4.5 billion years. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8703746205082819717&pr=goog-sl === 45 killed in Afghanistan fighting : Fresh fighting across Afghanistan left at least 45 people dead yesterday, including a British soldier, as a council of Pakistani and Afghan tribal leaders debated ways to end extremist violence in the region. http://tinyurl.com/2eobor === Taliban kill British soldier: A British soldier has been killed in southern Afghanistan after his patrol came under fire from Taliban fighters. http://tinyurl.com/yw38qw === Afghanistan more dangerous than Iraq: Howard: A resurgent Taliban has made Afghanistan more dangerous for Australian troops than Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard has warned. http://tinyurl.com/2c4l9m === Korean officials meet Taliban : South Korean negotiators have been meeting Taliban officials in an attempt to secure the release of 21 hostages held in southern Afghanistan, an Afghan official said. http://tinyurl.com/3xar6o === 'Militants abduct 16 Pakistani soldiers': Pakistan is searching for 16 of its paramilitary soldiers believed to have been abducted by pro-Taliban militants near the Afghan border. http://tinyurl.com/2ovml2 === UN troops 'aided smugglers' : UN peacekeepers from Pakistan arranged armed escorts and provided food for illegal gold smugglers in eastern Congo but did not themselves trade weapons for gold, according to a UN report. http://tinyurl.com/yp6aaz === Mahmoud Abbas' war against the Palestinian people: Channel 10's correspondent spoke of the "hospitality and warmth" that marked Abbas' reception of Olmert and his delegation, noting that "Erekat's wife insisted on personally preparing and serving" the banquet. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article7160.shtml === Palestine: a policy of deliberate blindness: Last year President Jacques Chirac asked Rigis Debray to study the situation in the Middle East. On 15 January 2007 Debray sent the French authorities the following document on Palestine. It is an important key to understanding a long policy drift whose results arenow obvious. http://mondediplo.com/2007/08/05palestine === Israeli agent testifies against Muslim charity: Lawyers today clashed over whether a jury in Dallas should see documents that Israeli soldiers seized in raids of Palestinian organizations. http://tinyurl.com/yvngzd === Cheney urging strikes on Iran: At a news conference Thursday, Bush said Iran had been warned of unspecified consequences if it continued its alleged support for anti-American forces in Iraq. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker had conveyed the warning in meetings with his Iranian counterpart in Baghdad, the president said. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/18834.html === The Iran Attack That Wasn't : How reporters trumped up a story about Iranians killing Americans in Iraq. http://tinyurl.com/3x3hno === Juan Cole: Cheney Urges Strike on Iran: McClatchy report that VP Dick Cheney has been urging a military strike on Iran, but that Bush has decided for the moment to hit Shiite allies of Iran inside Iraq. (Since the majority of Iraqi Shiites are allies of Iran, he will have a lot of targets). http://tinyurl.com/2vb9gy === Mr. Hiroshima-san: When it comes to the question of whether the United States was justified in dropping the "Little Boy" atomic bomb on Hiroshima and "Fat Man" on Nagasaki three days later - together instantaneously claiming 210,000 lives - Leeper agrees with Japanese at both ends of the political spectrum that those attacks were inexcusable. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/fl20070805x1.html === Prevent torture equipment sales at arms fairs, say MPs: Arms fairs should be patrolled by customs officers to stop the sale of instruments of torture and other equipment banned in Britain, a cross-party committee of MPs say in a report today http://www.guardian.co.uk/armstrade/story/0,,2143136,00.html === The inside story of British death squads in Northern Ireland : Simon Basketter reveals how a campaign to terrorise Catholics was orchestrated by military intelligence http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=12688 === Declassified sections of Arar report cast blame on CSIS : "I think the U.S. would like to get Arar to Jordan where they can have their way with him," Jack Hooper, assistant director of operations for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, wrote in a memo described in newly disclosed passages of the Arar report. http://tinyurl.com/37nvzk === "Terror War" Terrorizes Spineless Democrats : "Democrats are scrambling to re-brand the fictitious "global war on terror" as their own, and to outdo Republicans in threatening the peace abroad and scaring citizens at home." http://tinyurl.com/2ym265 === Subprime: The Ugly American Hits Europe: French bank BNP suspends subprime-linked funds. Europe's central bank responds; stocks tumble http://tinyurl.com/2hj9xn === The "Plunge Protection Team" (PPT) Working Overtime to Save US Stock Market : The PPT cannot afford to sit back and watch both the US housing market and the stock market sinking at the same time. That might spell the dreaded "R" word, - Recession. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article1771.html === Let Us Work Towards Peace & Joy Tom Feeley ***************************************************************** 9 The Hindu: Left steps up pressure; Manmohan to make statement tomorrow Sunday, August 12, 2007 : 2030 Hrs New Delhi/Thiruvanthapuram, Aug. 12 (PTI): The Left parties today stepped up pressure insisting that the Government should not go ahead with the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and take their support for granted as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh makes a statement on the pact in Parliament tomorrow. CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat asserted in Thiruvananthapuram there was no going back on the Left's opposition to the deal and tersely reminded the UPA that it is running the Government with the support of the Left. "The UPA should consider the fact that it is running the Government with the support of the Left," Karat said, adding the Common Minimum Programme of the ruling alliance did not say a word about the strategic alliance with the US. Singh will make a "factual statement" on the 123 Agreement in both Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, PM's Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru told PTI. "It will draw attention to all the obligations and the benefits of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement." Karat said "It is the responsibility of the Congress to see that the Government does not take any policy which contradicts with the CMP," he said. CPI leader D Raja said the UPA should not take the support of the Left for granted. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee struck an optimistic note saying " we are hopeful about sorting out differences with the Left and discussions can take place at an point of time." The Prime Minister, who had yesterday spoken about resolving issues with the Left on the nuke deal amicably, today telephone CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury to greet him on his birthday. Yechury said he will meet Singh tomorrow. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 10 BBC NEWS: Russia unveils air defence plan Last Updated: Saturday, 11 August 2007, 22:17 GMT 23:17 UK The new radar station was built in just 18 months Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced what he called a vast programme to upgrade the country's missile defence system. Visiting a new radar early-warning station near St Petersburg, Mr Putin said it was the first step in a major construction project lasting till 2015. Russia has grave concerns about plans to deploy parts of a new US missile defence system in Eastern Europe. The US insists its programme is aimed to deal with threats from countries such as Iran and North Korea, and says Russia should have nothing to fear. Russia has offered a compromise solution, which would allow the US to share use of a radar installation in Azerbaijan. Mr Putin described the new early-warning station - at Lekhtusi, 50km north of St Petersburg - as "the first step in the implementation of a major early-warning programme up to the year 2015". The station was built in just 18 months and opened in December last year. It replaces the Soviet Union's Skrunda radar station in Latvia, which was dismantled in 1998. A similar installation is under construction at Armavir in southern Russia. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 11 Daily Times: Pakistan’s nuclear assets in safe hands - FO Leading News Resource of Pakistan Sunday, August 12, 2007 ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday dismissed concerns raised by certain reports in the Western media concerning the safety of Pakistan’s strategic nuclear assets. Speaking to reporters, ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said Pakistan’s nuclear command and control structures were not controlled by any single individual and had been institutionalised and multi-layered to ensure safety and security at multiple levels since 1998. She said the country’s strategic assets are governed by “strong multi-layered decision making, organisational, administrative and command and control structures”. She said Pakistan, as a nuclear weapons state, had formally instituted an elaborate Nuclear Command and Control mechanism in February 2000 consisting of the National Command Authority (NCA), the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), and the Strategic Forces Command. pr Daily Times - All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 12 Press TV: Pakistan backs Iran's nuclear rights Sun, 12 Aug 2007 11:13:07 Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has stressed that using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is an inalienable right for Iran. Aziz made the remark in an interview with 'Al-Arabia' satellite television late Saturday adding that Iran is pursuing a peaceful civilian nuclear program. "Pakistan has always been clear on its stance toward Iran's nuclear case," he said adding that as a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran must remain committed to the pact.” “Like any other country that observes the IAEA regulations, Iran has full right to have access to peaceful and civilian nuclear energy,” Aziz reiterated. The senior official termed Tehran-Islamabad ties 'good' and added that Iran is not only a key player in the region but is Pakistan's neighbor, therefore, Islamabad has always tried to improve its relations with Tehran, as it has with its other neighboring countries. Aziz also called for a diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran's nuclear standoff with the West. MJ/GMA/RA © Press TV 2007. All rights reserved. Our privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 13 Japan Times: ASEAN turns 40 japantimes.co.jp Web Saturday, Aug. 11, 2007 The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) celebrated its 40th anniversary this week. It has grown considerably since its birth: It has doubled in size and taken on new tasks. While there is justifiable pride in its progress, there is also recognition that ASEAN must evolve significantly more if it is to maintain its relevance. It is unclear, however, whether member governments are prepared to make the compromises that are necessary. Over time, the primary driving force for integration among member states became economic, in sharp contrast to Europe, where the push for integration was political. A curious dichotomy was that even as borders became increasingly irrelevant to economic exchange, governments insisted on maintaining their sovereign prerogatives. This resulted in operating principles — most notably decision making by consensus and noninterference in members' internal affairs — that led many to characterize the organization as a "talk shop" of little practical impact on politics. Perhaps, but its economic successes were unmistakable. From the 1970s through the '90s, ASEAN member states set the pace for global growth. Their performance was one of the main reasons the end of the Cold War was thought to herald the beginning of the Pacific Century, and drew the remaining states of the region — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam — into ASEAN as well. For their part, members recognized that ASEAN had to expand to maintain coherence — even if the four new countries comprised a "second tier" — and prosperity, which rested, first and foremost, on development throughout the region. Accommodating the new members was difficult, but largely successful. ASEAN took a blow in 1997 when speculators suddenly withdrew funds from Thailand. A contagious financial crisis spread throughout the region. ASEAN, as an institution, proved unable to cope with the profound level of the crisis, which forced change in several member governments and undermined the political foundations of ASEAN itself. The region has recovered in the decade since, but it is still struggling to absorb all the lessons of 1997. In the aftermath of 1997, ASEAN and three dialogue partners, Japan, China and South Korea, created the ASEAN Plus Three process to push regional integration further. A financial mechanism — the Chiang Mai Initiative — was established to protect against future shocks. An additional political mechanism, the East Asian Summit, was formed two years ago. But critics still charge that ASEAN-centered mechanisms, including the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), an annual Asia-Pacific security meeting that includes world powers, lack the teeth to solve problems. The groups can identify problems but lack the will and the means to solve them. ASEAN is cognizant of its shortcomings. Leaders agreed to write a charter, to be unveiled in November, that will help the group create a real Asian community. A group of "eminent persons" has recommended eliminating reliance on consensus and the principle of noninterference in members' internal affairs. Yet, there remains considerable opposition to voting on decisions and sanctions related to noncompliance with ASEAN directives. Last month, foreign ministers agreed to set up a human rights body, but "agreement" at this point merely means there has been no formal veto of the proposal. The world will have to wait till November to see what emerges, although regional diplomats insist that virtually all the work on the charter has been agreed. Still, the summer meetings produced some results. The ASEAN Plus Three meeting agreed to extend the Chiang Mai Initiative to provide greater protection against economic meltdowns. The ARF agreed to establish a mechanism to cope with regional crises. "Friends of the Chair" will help the ARF chair deal with situations that threaten regional peace and stability. The ARF also agreed to set up a new forum to discuss the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Its declaration gave the usual support to international norms and initiatives: It called on North Korea to comply with its obligations under the six-party-talks agreement; Iran was urged to honor its commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty; and Myanmar was called on to accelerate the pace of national reconciliation and make progress toward the restoration of democracy. Laudable sentiments, all. The only real question is whether ASEAN is prepared to do more than exhort its members. Until it does, the promise of an ASEAN community will remain more imaginary than real. The Japan Times (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 14 CNN.com: Pakistan dismisses reports about nuclear arms security concerns - "Pakistan's strategic assets are completely safe and secure, and the highest level of institutionalized protection is accorded to them," the Foreign Ministry said in a news release. It cited a spokesperson who "dismissed the concerns raised by certain inspired and tendentious reports in the Western media about the safety of Pakistan's strategic assets." "Pakistan's command and control structures are not controlled by individual personalities but are institutionalized and multi-layered to ensure safety and security at multiple levels," the release said. CNN reported Friday that U.S. military intelligence officials were urgently assessing how secure Pakistan's nuclear weapons would be if President Pervez Musharraf were replaced as the nation's leader. The assessment is part of a broader review of the military and security situation in Pakistan Don't Miss * Sources: U.S. assessing Pakistan nukes if Musharraf falls * Rice 'sways Musharraf on emergency' Three U.S. sources have independently confirmed details of the intelligence review to CNN, but would not allow their names to be used because of the sensitivity of the matter. The sources include military officers and intelligence community analysts. Officials say that Pakistan and its nuclear weapons are always a high intelligence priority for the United States. The current review is a result of recent developments in that country, including the prospect that Musharraf could declare a national emergency that would give him sweeping powers. Although the Pakistani government ruled out the emergency declaration Thursday, the three sources told CNN that the United States thinks Musharraf may still impose those measures. Watch a report on whether the U.S.-Pakistani alliance is in trouble » On the issue of nuclear weapons control, the U.S. assessment is that currently, the United States has full knowledge of where Pakistan's nuclear weapons are located. But the key questions, officials say, are what would happen and who would control the weapons in the hours after any change in government in case Musharraf were killed or overthrown. Musharraf controls the loyalty of the commanders and senior officials in charge of the nuclear program, but those loyalties could shift at any point, officials say. The United States is not certain who might start controlling nuclear launch codes and weapons if that shift in power were to happen. According to the U.S. analysis, there is also a growing understanding that Musharraf's control over the military remains limited to certain top commanders and units, raising worries about whether he can maintain control over the long term. U.S. analysts are watching current Pakistani troop movements closely to see whether Musharraf is making any moves that could indicate he is about to impose emergency measures. It appears that in recent weeks, a large number of troops left the Kashmir region to go to the tribal regions along the Afghan border, officials say. The Foreign Ministry news release said the reports "have no basis and are apparently prompted by questionable motives." © 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 15 TheStar.com: Long, slow road to meeting nuclear power needs New reactors may not go into use for a decade Aug 11, 2007 04:30 AM Tyler Hamilton Energy Reporter Getting in the nuclear queue means knowing whether you want to step in the line, and if you do, knowing which line to step into. The Ontario Power Authority has estimated how much nuclear power the province should build to meet requirements in 20 years, but is not so sure who'll provide it. First, Ontario Power Generation has to decide whether there's a business case to refurbishing Pickering B units 5 to 8, which are based on homegrown Candu technology. The poor performance of two Pickering A units, refurbished for $2 billion, could influence decisions. Units 1 and 4 have been offline for maintenance all summer, and this follows a disturbing trend of prior outages. OPG is studying the refurbishment option and a decision is expected in early 2008. The province-owned nuclear operator has also asked Canada's nuclear watchdog for a site preparation licence at Darlington, just east of four existing reactors. OPG wants to build at least 1,000 megawatts of new nuclear capacity at the site, but has applied for up to 4,800 megawatts in case Pickering B refurbishments don't proceed. Bruce Power has applied for a similar licence. OPG still has to choose a reactor technology, and there's no guarantee Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.'s Candu design will win. Queen's Park has insisted it will pick what's best for Ontario ratepayers and the local economy. This has opened the door to nuclear giants such as Areva SA, GE Energy and Westinghouse. OPG and Bruce are jointly studying their options, as is the government, which has hired consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to assess each reactor type. One factor they'll be considering is size. Older Candu 6 models offer 700 megawatts; the next-generation Advanced Candu Reactor is about 1,200 megawatts. Models from Areva, GE and Westinghouse can be up to 1,700 megawatts each. Gregory Smith, senior vice-president of nuclear generation development at OPG, notes economic advantages to larger reactors. "It costs just as much to build a 700-megawatt reactor as it does to build a 1,700-megawatt reactor, and it takes about the same length of time to build ... and about the same number of people to operate. So, your overall cost per megawatt is significantly reduced and operational efficiencies are improved." Smith said reports from OPG/Bruce and McKinsey are likely by year's end, resulting in a short list of reactor types. The power company will negotiate price with each supplier, choose a design, then move to get the design certified by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Smith estimates OPG and its suppliers can begin "moving dirt" in 2011. "Our best conservative estimate is that you'd see the new units come online around 2018." © Copyright Toronto Star 1996-2007 | ***************************************************************** 16 Rutland Herald Online: Entergy prefers slower closure August 12, 2007 The Associated Press VERNON — The owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant would rather take the slower of two approaches to decommissioning the reactor when it's time for the plant to shut down, a company official told a state advisory panel. But the "SAFSTOR" method of decommissioning could mean the plant sitting idle for up to 60 years before it is dismantled, and members of the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel indicated at a meeting Friday that method may be a tough sell. Idling the plant for that long would allow components to become less radioactive over time, said officials with plant owner Entergy Nuclear. Discussion about decommissioning also allowed Entergy to make another pitch for extending Vermont Yankee's operating license for 20 years beyond its currently scheduled shutdown in 2012. Decommissioning using the SAFSTOR method is projected to cost $804 million to $991 million if the process is begun in 2012; the decommissioning fund currently has just $431 million in it. Running the plant until 2032 would allow time for the fund to grow if invested wisely, said John Dreyfuss, Entergy's director of nuclear safety. SAFSTOR is one of two decommissioning methods approved by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The other, DECON, is expected to take just 10 years as opposed to 60. But it would be costlier and could increase the risk of workers being exposed to radiation, said David McElwee, Entergy senior liaison engineer. David O'Brien, commissioner of the Department of Public Service and chairman of the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel, said the state may have an interest in getting Vermont Yankee dismantled more quickly so that the site can be used for a new power plant. He asked Entergy to come to the next VSNAP meeting with more information on the two decommissioning methods. Rep. Sarah Edwards, P-Brattleboro and a member of the advisory panel, said she hoped Entergy's preference for SAFSTOR over DECON wasn't being driven by cost. "I think one of the most revealing parts of the discussion for me was how the NRC has approved both, but (Entergy is) only looking at one seriously. I think, for due process, both of them should be considered, and we need to weigh the relative benefits," she said after the meeting. © 2007 Rutland Herald ***************************************************************** 17 JOURNAL NEWS: Indian Point gets almost all its sirens working Sunday, August 12, 2007 By GREG CLARY BUCHANAN - Indian Point's latest test of its new emergency alert system yesterday found only six out of 155 sirens failing to work properly. That's a 96 percent success rate, and the nuclear plants' officials said it is important because the exercise relied exclusively on radio-activated triggers that haven't worked in previous tests. "This is a big step for us, because the radio-activation method has been a very difficult problem," said Jim Steets, spokesman for Indian Point owner Entergy Nuclear Northeast. "We had a breakthrough a couple of weeks ago - it was essentially a software issue, but this is the first full-volume test we've run to check it." Across the portions of Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange counties within the plants' 10-mile emergency planning zone, the four-minute siren soundings went off about 10 a.m., as expected. One siren failed in Rockland, one in Orange and four in Westchester, though Steets said spotters whom Entergy stationed at 140 of the 155 siren locations said only one of the failing sirens actually was silent. Adam Stiebeling, Putnam's deputy commissioner of emergency services, said the fact that all of his county's sirens worked properly showed promise for the company's making its Aug. 24 deadline to have the system fully operational. "We're on the road," Stiebeling said. Dan Greeley, Stiebeling's counterpart in Rockland, confirmed the siren results, calling the test "a step in the right direction." Another full-volume test is scheduled for Tuesday about 11 a.m. Indian Point has less than two weeks to make sure that its $15 million siren system is working. The system is designed to improve on the decades-old air raid-type sirens, which will remain in place until the new system is fully operational. Entergy has already missed two deadlines - Jan. 30 and April 15 - and had to pay $130,000 for the second transgression. It has yet to be decided what sanctions the Nuclear Regulatory Commission might impose should a third deadline come and go without success. The company has been going back and forth with federal regulators about whether individual siren volumes were loud enough to cover each area as designed. That may end up as the primary stumbling block for Entergy to overcome. NRC officials monitored yesterday's test, and one of them in the field agreed that the volume of the siren he heard was "quite loud." The company also took background noise readings before and after the test, said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan. Steets said nuclear plant officials were working to supply the Federal Emergency Management Agency with volume data that were acceptable to the agency. FEMA must sign off on the project before the NRC will accept it. Steets said company officials remain confident the system will be working properly by Aug. 24. Reach Greg Clary at gclary@lohud.com or 914-696-8566. J WAYNE LEONARD C.E.O. ENTERGY HEADQUATERS 639 LOYOLA AVE NEW ORLEANS ,La 70113 PHONE: 504-576-4000 FAX: 504-576-4428 INDIAN POINT = CANCER Posted by: ball on Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:32 pm Copyright © 2007 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper ***************************************************************** 18 IHT: Report: Closure of Japanese nuclear plant expected to boost greenhouse gas emissions - International Herald Tribune The Associated Press Published: August 11, 2007 TOKYO: The closure a nuclear power plant ravaged in an earthquake last month could boost Japan's carbon dioxide emissions by 2 percent this year, a news report said Saturday. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world's largest nuclear power station by capacity, is expected to remain shuttered for at least several months after suffering a fire, leaks of radioactive water and structural damage in the July 16 quake in northern Japan. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. intends to make up for the resulting electricity shortfall by firing up retired thermal power stations. Assuming the plant stays closed through the end of March, carbon dioxide emissions will rise by 28 million tons — or 2 percent increase in Japan's total emissions for the year to March — public broadcaster NHK reported. Copyright © 2007 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 19 Brattleboro Reformer: Officials: There's enough money for decommission BRATTLEBORO, VT By PAUL H. HEINTZ, Reformer Staff Saturday, August 11 VERNON -- Entergy Vermont Yankee representatives told members of a state advisory board Friday that funds reserved for decommissioning the power plant would be sufficient regardless of whether that happens in 2012 or 2032. A meeting of the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel touched on issues ranging from Entergy's decommissioning plans to its application for license renewal and its installation of dry-cask storage facilities. VSNAP, which consists of representatives from state agencies, the Legislature and members of the public, met for the first time since February at the Vernon town offices Friday afternoon. The meeting drew a small crowd of anti-nuclear advocates and local and state government officials. Entergy senior liaison engineer David McElwee told the panel that in evaluating future decommissioning plans -- as is required every five years by state guidelines -- the company considered a variety of scenarios. Much of the uncertainty revolves around whether and when the federal government plans to remove spent fuel and transport it to a national depository site. According to McElwee, Entergy considered two methods of decommissioning the plant and removing contaminated infrastructure. Both methods have been approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, he said. The first, DECON, could be achieved within 10 years. Workers would immediately break down and demolish facilities and transfer low-level waste elsewhere. McElwee said that though this method would be faster, it would be costlier and could increase the risk of exposure to workers. The second, SAFSTOR, would allow the facility to sit dormant for up to 60 years while its constituent parts slowly decayed. Its complete decommissioning would be timed to the removal and transfer of spent fuel. When McElwee said that Entergy had settled on utilizing the SAFSTOR method, panel members raised objections and requested further information and a comparison of the two. Rep. Sarah Edwards, P-Brattleboro, who recently joined the panel as its representative from the Vermont House, said that Entergy appeared to have based its decision on purely financial considerations and did not factor in the public's interest. "I think one of the most revealing parts of the discussion for me was how the NRC has approved both, but (Entergy is) only looking at one seriously. I think, for due process, both of them should be considered, and we need to weigh the relative benefits," she said after the meeting. "Decommissioning and restoring the land back to what it was and letting it serve other purposes would be in the public's best interest." Department of Public Service Commissioner David O'Brien, who also serves as VSNAP chairman, said the state and rate payers may have an interest in making use of the site for another source of power generation sooner rather than later. He asked Entergy to supply more information about the difference between the methods at VSNAP's next meeting. In calculating the costs of removing waste, Entergy considered scenarios in which the plant closed in 2012 or in 2032. Vermont Yankee is scheduled for closure by the former date, though it has applied to extend its license until the latter. Entergy also considered scenarios in which the Department of Energy began removing waste in 2017 and finishing in 2042 or, alternatively, beginning in 2057 and ending in 2082. The costs of decommissioning the plant using the SAFSTOR option with a closure date of 2012 ranged from $804 million to $991 million, depending on the DOE pickup date. The plant's decommissioning fund currently holds $431 million, and McElwee said it would likely grow to the necessary levels if Entergy continues to invest the fund successfully. The fund was initially generated from New England ratepayers, and any remaining balance would be returned to Vermont rate payers. Entergy director of nuclear safety John Dreyfuss argued that relicensing the plant an additional 20 years would let the fund grow even further and increase the number of options it could pursue. Riley Allen, of the Department of Public Service, told the panel that the department recently hired William Jacobs of Generation Support Services to complete an extensive review of the economic, environmental and public health concerns related to relicensing the plant. That report would form the basis of the state legislature's and the Public Service Board's decision to approve relicensing. Panel members --and later, members of the public -- expressed concern about Jacobs' professional objectivity. "It's curious to me that a person who's been in the industry for 30 years would be the principal person," said New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution President Diana Sidebotham. When Steve Darrow of Dummerston asked whether Jacobs was "neutral" on nuclear energy, Allen said, "I can't characterize him in a nutshell. He's objective is what he is." After the meeting O'Brien defended Jacobs, saying that most nuclear experts have, at one time or another, worked for power plant operators. "We vetted Dr. Jacobs pretty thoroughly," he said. "Our assessment of him is that he's a seasoned professional." DPS attorney Sarah Hofmann outlined the relicensing process at both the state and federal level. In addition to the NRC, Entergy will have to gain approval from the Public Service Board and the Legislature. McElwee also updated the panel on problems with VY's steam dryer and the installation of a dry-cask storage system to hold high-level nuclear waste. He said the plant had reviewed and modified the steam drying system because of problems with similar systems at other plants. "What we found was that there were no issues at all with the stream dryer," he said. When Ed Anthes of Nuclear Free Vermont by 2012 pressed Entergy representatives on the status of the steam dryer during a public comment period, Dreyfuss said the plant identified additional cracks in the dryer during the most recent outage. He also said that because cracks are difficult to detect in certain periods, there may be more present, though they are "nonstructurally significant." Edwards expressed frustration with the limited amount of information on the subject provided by Entergy. "Since the steam dryer is such an important part of what we're talking about, this really doesn't say a whole lot. It would've been nice if this had been more in depth," she said. Paul Heintz can be reached at pheintz@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 275. New England Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 20 THERECORD.COM: Nuclear power isn't safe Opinion/Insight GEORGE FELTHAM What happened in Japan a while ago should be a wake-up call for the nuclear power people. It is possible we could have an earthquake here -- it has happened in the past. Nuclear power is not safe and certainly not clean, since the federal government has admitted there are tons of nuclear waste. Coal burning plants can be made safer for emissions. There are new ways to get rid of soot and make air cleaner. Would the boosters of more nuclear plants feel safe living near one of these plants? George Feltham Guelph 160 King Street East, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, N2G 4E5 519-894-2231 ***************************************************************** 21 YONHAP NEWS: S. Korea, U.S. to cooperate on 4th generation nuclear reactor, fuel reprocessing 2007/08/12 11:00 KST By Lee Joon-seung SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States have agreed to work together in fourth generation nuclear reactors and atomic fuel reprocessing, the Ministry of Science and Technology said Sunday.    The decision to cooperate in sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) and pyro-processing was reached at a meeting between South Korea's Science Minister Kim Woo-sik and U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.    SFR is a U.S.-designed reactor that can better manage high-level wastes like plutonium. It has more safety features than conventional reactors, and is more efficient because it can use a wider range of fuel sources, including depleted uranium.    Pyro-processing is a process designed to store spent nuclear fuel that help could contribute to global non-proliferation efforts.    Kim, who met Bodman in the U.S. last week, also exchanged views on expanding bilateral ties as Washington moves to expand its use of nuclear power generation in accordance with the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) plan, announced in February 2006.    Under the plan, the world's largest atomic energy user will move to increase nuclear power production while simultaneously designing and selling small-sized reactors and related technologies suitable for emerging economies.    The GNEP could allow the export of South Korean nuclear components to the U.S. and foreign markets.    With 19 operational commercial reactors, South Korea has steadily built power plants since the 1970s, meanwhile gaining extensive experience in the nuclear energy field. The country can design its own reactors and is moving to export them abroad.    In addition to nuclear cooperation, the two policymakers discussed details about the "Nuclear Cooperation Agreement" scheduled to be signed by Seoul and Washington in the first half of 2008, as well as the progress being made in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project.    Kim, meanwhile, visited the Kennedy Space Center in Florida earlier in the week to view the rocket launch facilities.    Seoul said it views the U.S. rocket launch facility as a benchmark as it moves to complete its own Naro Space Center. The South Korean space center, located on the southern coast, will launch its first rocket late next year.    yonngong@yna.co.kr (END) ***************************************************************** 22 UPI: IAEA concurs on Japan nuke plant shutdown United Press International - NewsTrack - Top News - Published: Aug. 11, 2007 at 1:35 PM TOKYO, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A Japanese nuclear power plant could remain shut down for another year after being rattled by a July earthquake. Philippe Jamet, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, agreed Friday with the initial estimates of the time needed to repair, inspect and restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture. The plant experienced a radiation leak July 16 when the area was hit by a quake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale. Japanese officials have said the levels of radiation that escaped were very low. The Kyodo news service said Saturday the IAEA’s four-day visit to the stricken plant was in part to reassure the public the situation was not being downplayed. Local officials had insisted on a third-party inspection. © Copyright 2007 United Press International. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 23 Japan Times: Quake-hit N-plant may be shut a year - IAEA japantimes.co.jp Web Saturday, Aug. 11, 2007 Kyodo News The head of an International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts indicated Friday that it could be a year before a Niigata Prefecture nuclear power plant damaged by the July 16 earthquake can resume operations. Philippe Jamet, head of an International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts, speaks to reporters Friday in Tokyo. KYODO PHOTO Speaking to reporters in Tokyo after a four-day inspection of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, Philippe Jamet said the process of restarting the plant could take "months or a year." It is "not something you can do very fast. It was a very big earthquake," he said. Japanese nuclear experts have said it would take at least a year to put the plant back into operation, but it was the first time that a third-party body such as the IAEA has expressed such a forecast. Asked whether a report the IAEA will issue about damage to the plant would contain negative news for Japan, Jamet, director of the IAEA's Nuclear Installation Safety Division, said, "I'm not too worried." Jamet suggested it would take some time before the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog publishes the report, but said, "Some information, I think, will be released fairly shortly," indicating an outline or key part may be made public soon. But he declined comment on what he and five other members saw in the plant, which faced a radiation leak following the magnitude-6.8 quake. The plant will remain idle until the safety of its seven reactors is fully ensured. The mission held talks Friday with plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and Nuclear Safety Commission, and discussed its preliminary conclusions from the survey with the Japanese side. The delegation, consisting of two IAEA experts and four seismic safety specialists, was scheduled to leave Japan on Saturday. Jamet hinted that the mission had heated talks with nuclear regulators and Tepco, saying, "I cannot tell you that we agreed on everything, but we had a very serious, very in-depth, technical and very fruitful confrontation. "To a certain extent, it's our job to push them as far as we can to make sure that what they said is really trustable," he said. "So that's what happened." Jamet said that when the IAEA makes its independent assessment of the quake-hit plant under the leadership of Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, "We are taking into account those discussions where we don't always agree." During the four-day examination of the plant, the delegation looked inside all seven reactor buildings. But it did not see the reactor vessels, as they have remained sealed since the temblor, which killed 11 people and injured about 2,000. Japan had initially been reluctant to allow the IAEA to inspect the plant, but changed its tune following petitions from local officials eager for a third-party assessment to allay public concerns over the safety of nuclear power plants in Japan, which have drawn criticism due to a slew of accidents and coverups. Tepco and the nuclear regulators have emphasized that the amount of radioactivity leaked was extremely low and poses no threat to the environment and local residents. The Japan Times ***************************************************************** 24 Japan Times: Never discount quake danger: nuclear council japantimes.co.jp Web Saturday, Aug. 11, 2007 Kyodo News The Nuclear Safety Commission warned Friday that the quake resistance of nuclear power plants should not be taken for granted, stressing a "humble stance" is needed when assessing their safety. The rare warning contained in an attachment to its 2006 white paper on the safety of nuclear power follows July's powerful earthquake in Niigata Prefecture and its vicinity that damaged and led to the shutdown of Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa atomic plant. The white paper calls on electric power companies to become more accountable for information related to the safety of nuclear plants than currently required by law after the revelation of more than 10,000 cases of concealed or falsified information connected to trouble at atomic plants, including Hokuriku Electric Power Co.'s failure to report a criticality accident at a nuclear plant in Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, in 1999. Noting that coverups and data falsifications were primarily driven by efforts to avoid halting the plants, the paper urges utilities to put safety above all else. The Japan Times ***************************************************************** 25 Newsday.com: Test marks 'a big step' for new Indian Point siren system -- 3:16 AM EDT, August 12, 2007 BUCHANAN, N.Y. (AP) _ A new emergency siren system at the Indian Point nuclear power plant cleared an important hurdle when 96 percent of the sirens sounded properly in a test that had previously failed, plant officials said. All but six of the 155 sirens worked properly in a radio-activated test Saturday morning, two weeks before the date plant owner Nuclear Entergy Northeast has said the system will be fully operational. The radio-trigger method had proven a stubborn problem in previous tests, so Saturday's results marked "a big step," Entergy spokesman Jim Steets said. "We had a breakthrough a few weeks ago _ it was essentially a software issue," he said. The sirens are meant to alert residents within 10 miles to any emergency at the two-reactor plant in Buchanan, 35 miles north of New York City. The alarms are spread through parts of Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Orange counties. The new emergency sirens are due to be fully operational by August 24. In the meantime, an existing 156-siren system with a spotty record is still in place and could be used if needed. The old sirens have had various problems in recent years, leading to the move to replace them. The new system didn't do so well in some early tests, either, and Entergy missed an April 15 deadline to have the new sirens running. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission fined the company $130,000, saying the failure reflected "insufficient management attention at senior levels." Rockland County's emergency services chief, Dan Greeley, called Saturday's test "a step in the right direction." ___ Information from: The Journal News, http://www.thejournalnews.com More articles Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press ***************************************************************** 26 asahi.com : Nuclear plants at grave risk of quake damage - POINT OF VIEW/ Katsuhiko Ishibashi: 08/11/2007 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN I had warned that a major earthquake would strike the Chuetsu region around Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, and about the fundamental vulnerability of nuclear power plants. The 6.8 magnitude temblor of July 16 caused considerable damage to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), proving me right. In the 40 years that Japan had been building nuclear plants, seismic activity was, fortunately or unfortunately, relatively quiet. Not a single nuclear facility was struck by a big quake. The government, along with the power industry and the academic community, all developed the habit of underestimating the potential risks posed by major quakes. Since around the time of the Great Hanshin Earthquake that devastated Kobe in 1995, however, almost the entire Japanese archipelago has entered a period of brisk seismic activity. In the past two years, major quakes took place in close proximity of three nuclear power plants: the Onagawa plant in Miyagi Prefecture (August 2005), the Shika plant in Ishikawa Prefecture (March 2007) and the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. In each case, the maximum ground motion caused by the quake was stronger than the seismic design criteria for the nuclear power plants. The latest temblor near Kashiwazaki generated a peak ground acceleration of 993 gal, compared with the design value of 450 gal. This is the kind of hazardous situation that a very quake-prone nation must expect to occasionally face when it operates so many nuclear reactors. There are, in fact, 55. What happened to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Plant should not be described as "unexpected". What happened there could have been much worse. If the focus of the quake had been a little farther southwest, toward the plant site, and the magnitude had been 7.5--the size of a quake that hit Niigata Prefecture in 1964--and if all seven reactors at the plant had been operating, genpatsu-shinsai, a combination of an earthquake and a nuclear meltdown, could have occurred. That would have been a catastrophic event where the damaging effects of the quake itself and radiation leaked from the plant reinforced each other. The period of high-level seismic activity will continue for another 40 years or more. Unless radical steps are taken now to reduce the vulnerability of nuclear power plants to earthquakes, Japan could experience a true nuclear catastrophe in the near future. The risk of such a nightmare is especially high for the Hamaoka Nuclear Power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture and the cluster of nuclear plants along Wakasa Bay in Fukui Prefecture. A serious accident at these facilities could have a profound effect on the three biggest metropolitan areas around Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. The latest temblor highlighted some fatal flaws in the old seismic design guidelines. But even the new guidelines that took effect last September in the first sweeping revision in 28 years are still seriously flawed because they underestimate design basis earthquake ground motion. I was a member of the expert panel that developed the new seismic design guidelines, but I resigned during the final stage of the work last August to protest the panel's stance on this issue. This defect must be fixed quickly, learning from what happened at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. TEPCO has been criticized for failing to sufficiently consider the submarine active faults near the plant. Many experts argue that thorough seismic research under the new guidelines will prevent such an oversight in future. But a strong earthquake of up to about 7.3 magnitude could directly hit an area where even perfect seismic research could not discover an active fault line. So the guidelines should require that a nuclear power plant, no matter where it is located, should be designed to withstand at least the ground acceleration caused by an earthquake of about a 7.3 magnitude, roughly 1000 gal. In fact, however, the new guidelines require only about 450 gal. This figure should be raised substantially, and all existing nuclear power plants should be examined rigorously according to the revised criteria. The facilities that cannot be improved under the revised criteria should be shut down. The most serious fact is that not only are the new design guidelines defective, but the system to enforce them is in shambles. Much of the blame for the underestimation of the active fault line near the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant rests with the shoddy examination of TEPCO's design for the plant that overlooked the problem. In The Asahi Shimbun's column on Sept. 16 last year, I pointed out that an active fault line had been overlooked in the process of designing the Shimane Nuclear Power Plant in Shimane Prefecture, a serious oversight in the safety inspection. But no action has been taken to address the problem, demonstrating the irresponsibility of the nuclear safety authorities. The expert who advised the power company and took part in the safety inspection--the person responsible for the underestimation of the fault line--is still in an important position on the panel of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. A senior agency official recently said there will be no new review of the seismic design guidelines, at least for the time being. But the guidelines are under the jurisdiction of the Nuclear Safety Commission, which is supposed to be an independent and neutral regulatory organization. By saying so, the official overstepped his authority, and his remarks clearly demonstrated how the commission is susceptible to government intervention. All these facts add up to a policy failure as serious as the blunders that led to the HIV-tainted-blood scandal and the recent pension record-keeping mess. The Diet should take a good look into the government's flawed nuclear safety policy along with the problems caused by the recent earthquake for a radical reform of the government approach to ensuring the safety of nuclear power plants. Otherwise, there can be no viable future for Japan's nuclear safety. * * * The author is a professor of the Research Center for Urban Safety and Security at Kobe University.(IHT/Asahi: August 11,2007) * The Asahi Shimbun Company ***************************************************************** 27 asahi.com: Nuke plant repairs may take 1 year - 08/11/2007 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors indicated Friday that it may take up to a year before operations can resume at the quake-stricken Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture. Philippe Jamet, director of the agency's Nuclear Installation Safety Division, who led the six-member inspection team, told reporters in Tokyo on Friday that it would be months or even up to a year before operations could resume. He said, however, that his team did not discover any leakage of radioactive materials during its four-day on-site inspection. Damage to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility caused by the magnitude 6.8 temblor on July 16 was extensive. As a result, all seven reactors had to be shut down. The IAEA team members met with their counterparts from the central government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency in Tokyo on Friday. A report will be filed with IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday.(IHT/Asahi: August 11,2007) * The Asahi Shimbun Company ***************************************************************** 28 NewsBlaze: NRC Seeks Public Input on Environmental Impact Statement Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct two public meetings on Wednesday, Sept. 19, on the environmental review related to the license renewal application for the Indian Point nuclear power plant. Members of the public are invited to attend and comment on environmental issues they believe the NRC should consider during its review of the applicant's proposal to extend by 20 years the operating licenses for the two reactors at the site, located in Buchanan (Westchester County), N.Y. , and operated by Entergy Nuclear Northeast. There will be two sessions held that day at the Colonial Terrace catering facility, 119 Oregon Road in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. (Directions to the facility are available at: http://www.colonialterracecaterers.com/ .) Attendees are advised that parking may be limited. The first session will begin at 1:30 p.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m. The second session, which will follow the same format as the first meeting, will get under way at 7 p.m. and continue until 10 p.m. The NRC will host an "open house" beginning 1 hour before the start of each meeting to provide members of the public with an opportunity to talk informally with agency staff. However, formal comments must be expressed during the transcribed meetings. Both sessions will start with an overview and an NRC staff presentation on the environmental review process for license renewal applications. After the NRC presentation, audience members will be given the opportunity to present their comments on environmental issues they consider worthy of review as the agency reviews the Indian Point application. "During public meetings we held in Cortlandt Manor on June 27 regarding our overall review process for the application, we explained there will be several opportunities for members of the public to raise concerns or offer comments on the proposed license extension for the Indian Point plant. The meetings scheduled for September 19th will be one such opportunity and we look forward to receiving the public's input," said Bo Pham, the NRC Senior Project Manager who is leading the environmental review. Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant has a term of 40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. The current operating licenses for Indian Point 2 and 3 expire, respectively, on Sept. 28, 2013 and Dec. 12, 2015. Entergy's license renewal application for Indian Point was received by the NRC on April 30, 2007. As part of the application, the company submitted an environmental report, which is posted on the NRC's web site at: www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/indian-p oint.html. It is also available for review at the NRC's Public Document Room in Rockville, Md. , which can be reached by phone at 800-397-4209, and at the following area libraries: The White Plains Public Library, 100 Martine Ave. , White Plains, N.Y. ; the Hendrick Hudson Free Library, 185 Kings Ferry Road, Montrose, N.Y. , and the Field Library, 4 Nelson Ave. , Peekskill, N.Y. An existing NRC document, "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants" (NUREG-1437), assesses the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site. The document for which the NRC will gather information at the Sept. 19th meetings will be a supplement to that generic environmental statement that is specific to Indian Point. It will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability of the license renewal action. At the conclusion of the information-gathering process, the NRC staff will prepare a summary of the conclusions reached and significant issues identified. A copy will be sent to each person who participated in the "scoping" process. The summary will also be available on the NRC's web site through the Public Electronic Reading Room at: www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html and at the libraries previously listed. Help in accessing documents through the Reading Room is available by contacting the NRC's Public Document Room at 800-397-4209 or by e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov. The NRC staff will subsequently prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) supplement for public comment and will hold public meetings at a future date to solicit comments. After consideration of comments on the draft report, the NRC will prepare a final EIS supplement. Interested individuals may register to attend or present oral comments at the Sept. 19th meetings by contacting Bo Pham at 800-368-5642, ext. 8450, or by e-mail to IndianPointEIS@nrc.gov no later than Sept. 10, 2007. Those who wish to comment may also register at the meetings within 15 minutes of the start of each session. Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, depending on the number of persons who register. Source: NRC judythpiazza@newsblaze.com Copyright © 2007, NewsBlaze, Daily News _ _ ***************************************************************** 29 Guardian Unlimited: 'Nuclear reactor' aids mild climate Press Association Sunday August 12, 2007 7:43 AM A "nuclear reactor" one mile beneath the Atlantic ocean helps to maintain Britain's mild climate, scientists have discovered. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, an undersea mountain range that crosses the centre of the Atlantic, is one of the most turbulent places on Earth. Researchers found that water surges through its narrow passages with an energy of five million watts - equivalent to the output of a small nuclear reactor. The currents mix icy cold water from the ocean bottom with warmer water from the surface, said the scientists. This in turn helped control the strength of the Gulf Stream, which keeps Britain warm. Without the Gulf Stream, Britain would be as cold as Labrador in Canada, which is the same distance from the equator. Scientists from the US and France measured ocean floor turbulence at a location close to the Azores using an instrument fitted with special sensors. The islands are formed from a part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which rises above the ocean surface. An energy level of one tenth of a watt per cubic metre of seawater was recorded in the undersea passage where the measurements were made. "This is a huge amount of energy when you add all the seaweater in the passage, equal to around five million watts, which is comparable to the output from a nuclear reactor," said Dr Louis St Laurent, one of the researchers from Florida State University in Tallahassee, US. He compared the flow of seawater through underwater gullies in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to wind gusting between tall buildings or mountain sides on land. He said the work should result in better models for predicting how oceans affect the climate and understanding events that shape weather patterns, such as El Nino. Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2007, All Rights Reserved. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 30 Reuters: New York City maintains 'radiological threat' alert Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:20PM EDT By Chris Michaud NEW YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Police manned checkpoints and set up radiological monitoring equipment in Manhattan and the city's other boroughs over the weekend in response to unverified threats by al Qaeda on the Internet of dirty bomb attacks. The moves stemmed from an "unverified radiological threat," a police department statement said, adding that the city's alert status remained at "orange" and stressing the increased security was precautionary. The checkpoints went up Friday night and continued on Saturday at transit points into and out of Manhattan including the Holland tunnel, which connects lower Manhattan with New Jersey. Police had initially said the increased security was in response to threats of a dirty bomb attack on Friday evening near 34th street, where the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, Penn Station and Macy's draw tourists and commuters. But Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne clarified on Saturday the information the department received was not specific to that neighborhood. Uniformed police officers lined the streets by the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, scanning passing vehicles and questioning some drivers, most of whom seemed to find their presence reassuring. "I'm glad to see them here," said one man behind the wheel of a van. "It means they're aware of any dangers and are doing something about it." "These actions are like those that the NYPD takes every day, precautions against potential but unconfirmed threats that may never materialize," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement, stressing the reality of life since the Sept. 11 attacks, Authorities were responding to Internet chatter reported on Israeli Web site www.debka.com, which reported a rush of chatter on al Qaeda sites in recent days, including one saying there would be an attack "by means of trucks loaded with radioactive material against America's biggest city and financial nerve center." Continued... ***************************************************************** 31 Guardian Unlimited: NYC Police Operations Back to Normal From the Associated Press Saturday August 11, 2007 11:46 PM NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Police Department was reducing its extra security procedures Saturday, a day after an unsubstantiated radiological threat against the nation's largest city. The NYPD had increased radiological monitoring and established checkpoints to examine vehicles in lower Manhattan and at other locations around the city Friday night. By noon Saturday, the department was scaling back its efforts on a relatively quiet August weekend, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne said. The city did not increase its terror alert status in response to online chatter about a truck packed with radioactive material, although police deployed extra radiological sensors on street, water and air patrols. Browne said Friday that the measures were ``strictly precautionary,'' prompted by an Israeli Web site report that online posts were made following a video featuring an American member of al-Qaida threatening foreign diplomats and embassies across the Islamic world. Homeland Security Department officials quickly said Friday that they had no reason to believe the comments presented a credible threat, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the police response was standard procedure for when city officials receive ``potential but unconfirmed threats.'' Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 32 [v911t] REGINA LEADER-POST: Nuclear energy's dirty secrets: Canadian DU in US Weapons Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 09:32:17 -0500 (CDT) [image: canada, canadian search engine, free email, canada news] Wednesday ; August 8 ; 2007 EXCERPT: "Then, there is the undeniable weapons connection. Depleted uranium from enriched Saskatchewan uranium is raw material for the U.S. military. DU bullets have been used in several war zones since 1991 and are responsible for escalating birth deformities and childhood cancers in Iraq." Nuclear energy's dirty secrets The Leader-Post Wednesday, August 08, 2007 It's astonishing that the Canadian Nuclear Association is allowed to falsely advertise nuclear energy as "clean." Pro-nukes want us to believe nuclear energy, in contrast to coal, doesn't produce greenhouse gases (GHGs). This is nonsense. From mining to milling to enrichment, from reactor construction to decommissioning, nuclear uses vast amounts of fossil fuels. Expansion of nuclear power would involve mining lower-grade ore; this would require even more fossil fuels. And consider this: all Saskatchewan uranium exported to its biggest customer -- the U.S. -- is enriched by two dirty coal plants in Kentucky. That nuclear energy is being promoted for the production of Alberta's heavy oil should put to rest the nonsensical view it is a magic bullet for solving global warming. And there is nothing "clean" about the radiation -- of which there is no safe level -- that nuclear spreads, from uranium tailings to reactor wastes. Plutonium remains toxic for 800 generations. Then, there is the undeniable weapons connection. Depleted uranium from enriched Saskatchewan uranium is raw material for the U.S. military. DU bullets have been used in several war zones since 1991 and are responsible for escalating birth deformities and childhood cancers in Iraq. Some business leaders are ignoring all this for short-term economic benefits. "Out of sight, out of mind" for the bottom line. Let's not let them forget that uranium is a non-renewable resource, and will run out not long after oil. So we might as well make the full transition to sustainable energy right now without creating toxic wastes for our children's children. That's the right thing to do! What about the economics? Besides not being clean, nuclear is not cheap. Several studies (e.g., New Scientist) found the true costs of nuclear are underestimated by a factor of three. If the huge subsidies going to nuclear were removed, the cost of electricity from nuclear plants would rise 300 per cent. To reduce GHGs to avert cataclysmic climate change, we need to quickly shift to conservation and no-or-low-carbon energy sources. This means using all the renewables -- wind, solar, tidal, etc. Even without a level playing field, wind and co-generation (using waste heat for electricity) are already the least-cost options to coal. We must stop nuclear from robbing the scarce capital needed to make the conversion to renewables. Building a uranium refinery here is not the responsible thing to do. If Saskatchewan's NDP government and opposition parties got their heads out of the sand and stopped being blinded by the quick buck, we could play a positive role in the necessary conversion to sustainable energy. It seems the broader population must act to bring this about. Jim Harding Harding is a retired professor of environmental and justice studies and author of the forthcoming book Canada's Deadly Secret: Saskatchewan Uranium and the Global Nuclear System. Fort Qu'Appelle (c) The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007 [image: Close] Copyright (c) 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc. . All rights reserved. http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/letters/story.html?id=74f1498b-91 ea-4571-8a48-fb29b66d9323 See Also: Canada's role in depleted uranium weapons worldwide *Alfred Lambremont Webre*, JD, MEd The Government of Canada is in non-compliance with the statutes and regulations of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), prohibiting the use of Canadian uranium in depleted uranium (DU) weapons. Moreover, Canada has a bilateral nuclear co-operation agreement with the US, under which uranium exports to the US may only be used for peaceful purposes, and not in weapons. This includes "control over the high enrichment of Canadian uranium and subsequent storage and use of the highly enriched uranium," a Foreign Affairs document states. The same rules that apply to uranium apply to depleted uranium, according to the CNSC. DU weapons are considered weapons of mass destruction under international law. Thus Canada may be complicit in the US use of weapons of mass destruction in the 1991 Iraq war I, the 1998 Balkans war, the 2001 war in Afghanistan, and the 2003 Iraq war II, where the British medical journal Lancet estimates that one million civilians have died. In each of these wars, it is likely that depleted uranium in the DU weapons used by the U.S. and the UK comes from Canadian uranium exported to the US and processed in US enrichment plants into depleted uranium and subsequently manufactured into DU weapons. Depleted uranium is the uranium by-product that remains after the removal of the isotope U-235 during the enrichment process. For every ton of enriched U-235 uranium for the nuclear weapons and nuclear power industries, seven tons of depleted uranium containing the U-238 isotope are made for the munitions, DU weapons, and military armor industries. "Depleted uranium" is a marketing term of the nuclear industry. U-238 depleted uranium was originally discovered as a poison gas weapon of mass destruction during World War II by the Manhattan Project, at the same time as the atomic bomb and Agent Orange. Because DU is pyrophoric, it bursts into high-temperature decomposition upon impact with military armour, releasing nanoparticles of ionizing radiation that contaminate all living things and the environment with deadly radiation with a half-life of 4.5 billion years. The public military excuse for the use of DU munitions, bombs and kinetic penetrators is that DU is heavy and easily penetrates military armour and other targets. The covert strategic military use of DU munitions, smart bombs, and cruise missiles is radiation contamination of terrain, and low level nuclear war against enemy troops, civilian populations, and all unprotected military troops, for purposes of depopulation. *DU weapons & war crimes* After 3 years of investigation by 60 expert witnesses and jurists at a cost of $1 million raised by Japanese citizens, the International Criminal Tribunal For Afghanistan at Tokyo on March 10, 2004 found President George W. Bush guilty of the war crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for the use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons by US forces in the 2001 war against Afghanistan. Experts agree that a substantial portion of the depleted uranium in the DU weapons used by the US in Afghanistan came from Canadian uranium. Had the Tokyo Tribunal been diligent, it could have found Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chritien, who resigned as Prime Minister on December 12, 2003, guilty as an accessory to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, for failing to enforce Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission regulations, and the Canada-US Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, both of which prohibit Canadian uranium from being used in DU weapons. Dr. Gordon Edwards, president of the Montreal-based Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (CCNR) says, "Canada may have the policy, but it's not enforced. The Canadian government is taking directions and orders from the nuclear industry "The uranium industry has a vested interest in ensuring its depleted uranium waste makes a profit and is not just left in storage. That's why some of Canada's depleted uranium is ending up in weapons, Edwards says. "The Canadian government can't even think for themselves." *Depleted uranium in Hawaii* The depleted uranium that has contaminated the Hawaiian Islands with deadly radiation most probably has a Canadian uranium source. It is highly probably that the depleted uranium in DU munitions fired at bases on the Big Island and at military bases on Oahu, and in the nuclear weapons stored at Pearl Harbour is derived from Canadian uranium, exported to the US and processed into enriched uranium and DU. *Public health effects of DU weapons* The public health and environmental effects of the use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons can be considered per se violations of the war crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes under the Statute of the International Criminal Court. The demonstrated public health effects of depleted uranium (DU) weapons include: diabetes, cancer, birth defects, chronic diseases caused by neurological and neuromuscular radiation damage, mitochondrial diseases (chronic fatigue syndrome, Lou Gehrig's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, heart and brain disorders), global DNA damage in men's sperm, infertility in women, learning disabilities (such as autism and dyslexia), mental illness, infant mortality and low birth weights, increase in death rates and decrease in birth rates. *The Prime Minister stonewalls * So far, the Conservative government and the Liberal opposition have failed to take a public position on Canada's failure to stop the illegal use of its uranium in DU weapons. Stephen Harper refused to allow any Conservative MPs to appear on a June 13, 2007 North American radio special programme on the Canadian DU issue. Despite repeated conversations with Stephane Dion's personal press attachi and attempts to reach Liberal MP and Foreign Affairs critic Ujjal Dosanjh, the Liberal Party chose not to send a representative to the Canadian DU radio programme. Liberal MP Dr. Keith Martin, MD, a physician and former Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Defence in the Paul Martin Government, appeared on a radio programme on the Canadian DU issue and stated that in his opinion, there were no adverse public health consequences to the use of DU weapons. By contrast, at a May 12, 2007 Uranium-free BC Forum at the Brilliant Centre in Castlegar, BC, NDP MP Alex Atamanenko (Southern Interior) publicly stated he was opposed to the use of Canadian uranium in DU weapons. Atamanenko seeks Canadian legislation banning DU weapons, as Belgium has passed. On the June 13, 2007 Canadian DU radio programme, Atamanenko publicly committed to question the Prime Minister in the House of Commons on why Canada was not enforcing its regulations and treaty obligations against the use of its uranium in DU weapons. Connie Fogal, Leader of the Canadian Action Party, which passed a resolution in support of Canadian legislation outlawing DU weapons, committed to work against the use of Canadian DU in American weapons. Adriane Carr, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada likewise committed to demand enforcement of Canada's prohibitions against use of its uranium in DU weapons. ;*What path is Canada taking?* Unbeknownst to the public, the Government of Canada seems to have strayed into aiding and abetting the serious war crimes of DU-induced genocide and crimes against humanity. By contrast, British Columbia has maintained a moratorium on uranium mining since the 1970s. There is substantial community support for a permanent ban on uranium exploration and mining in BC, as the recent Uranium-free BC Forum in Castlegar suggested. The detrimental impacts of uranium exploration and mining on public health and the environment is the driving force behind the ban. Under the guise of combating climate change, the nuclear industry, led by the Bush Administration, is now promoting nuclear power plants to the tiger economies of India, China, Japan, and South Korea. Because of ionizing radiation and the nuclear waste issue, this amounts to a low level nuclear war against these populations. NASA recently reported vast uranium deposits in Khazakhstan and Afghanistan. Khazakhstan is expected to out-produce Canada (now the world's top producer) in uranium production within 12 years. One might rationally ask: Why not ban uranium exploration and mining in BC, and organize collectively to secure a uranium exploration and mining ban in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec? The public policy reasons for the ban on uranium exploration and mining in the rest of Canada public heath and environment are equally valid throughout Canada, as they are in BC. Let's sunset our Canadian uranium industry. That is a practical way to save the health of Canadians, the environment, and innocent victims worldwide. *Alfred Lambremont Webre, JD, MEd is the International Director of the Institute for Cooperation in Space (ICIS), and a Judge on the Kuala Lumpur International War Crimes Tribunal. Alfred can be reached at peace@peaceinspace.org Website at www.peaceinspace.org For nuclear info visit www.ccnr.org* *SUBSCRIBE HERE * [image: Subscribe to Common Ground] Don't miss an issue - get Common Ground delivered to you wherever you are! Subscribe here CommonGround.ca (c) Copyright 1982-2006 Common Ground Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. http://commonground.ca/iss/0707192/cg192_du.shtml -- _________________________________ Alfred Lambremont Webre, JD, MEd ICIS-Institute for Cooperation in Space 3339 West 41 Avenue Vancouver, B.C. V6N3E5 CANADA TEL: 604-733-8134 FAX: 604-733-8135 Email: alw@peaceinspace.com ICIS: http://www.peaceinspace.com CAMPAIGN: http://www.peaceinspace.org NUCLEAR FREE ZONE: http://peaceinspace.blogs.com/nuclear_free_zone/ 9/11 War Crimes Tribunal: http://peaceinspace.blogs.com/911/ ***************************************************************** 33 NYPD Steps Up Dirty Bomb Precautions Resent-Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 11:23:18 -0500 (CDT) News Updates from Citizens for Legitimate Government 11 Aug 2007 http://www.legitgov.org/ http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news NYPD Steps Up Dirty Bomb Precautions 10 Aug 2007 The NYPD has modified its counter-terrorism posture Friday because of unverified intelligence regarding a dirty bomb risk. This change includes an increased deployment of radiological sensors... including those carried by NYPD personnel. In addition, vehicle checkpoints are being established in New York City, including lower Manhattan, and at certain approaches to the city from neighboring areas. Police Deployed In Response to Unverified Radiological Threat 10 Aug 2007 Police, fire and EMT teams have been deployed around the New York City tonight in response to unverified reports of a radiological threat. Authorities stress that the threat is unconfirmed and that the city's terror alert status remained unchanged... Authorities are also examining vehicles at checkpoints in Lower Manhattan and selected Manhattan entry points. Please forward this update to anyone you think might be interested. Those who'd like to be added to the Newsletter list can sign up: http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg. Please write to: signup@legitgov.org for inquiries. CLG Newsletter editor: Lori Price, Manager. Copyright ) 2007, Citizens For Legitimate Government . All rights reserved. CLG Founder and Chair is Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D. ***************************************************************** 34 Countercurrents.org: Bush And DU: A 4.5 Billion Year Legacy By Jeff Berg 12 August, 2007 If the Bush family and their coterie of handlers were looking for a long lasting legacy they most surely have found the longest lasting one possible by their sanctioning of DU munitions. DU stands for Depleted Uranium and is what is left over after one has finished the process of making a nuclear bomb. This poison will remain toxic for 4.5 billion years. The American military has acknowledged having a billion pounds of the stuff, how much more it really has is anybody's guess and at such levels what does it really matter? After all inhaling a couple of microns of this stuff is the equivalent to about 50 times the legal allowable limit of radioactivity for someone who works at a nuclear power plant. It is also the equivalent in one breath of the damage it would take a pack a day smoker 20 years worth of smoky inhales to 'achieve'. The U.S. military keeps this billion pounds worth of material under lock and key in guarded military installations, underground, contained by cement and stored in barrels because they have known since 1943 just how dangerous is this stuff. It is at its most dangerous when broken down into tiny particles and aerosolized. This is how the U.S. Army first used this substance after the Second World War testing its properties as a weaponized gas. The geniuses at DARPA (R&D team for the Pentagon) have however gone that one better. And what has American military science done with this nightmare leftover from the making of tens of thousands of nuclear bombs? It has used it to make ordnance and munitions. You see DU is 1.7 times the density of lead and goes through armour plating like the proverbial hot knife through butter. Simultaneously it is pyroforic (burns) and when it bursts into flames it releases millions of micron sized toxic DU particles into the air. The result of the use of thousands of tons of DU munitions in Gulf Wars I and II has been to spread trillions of micron sized particles of Depleted Uranium into the sands and air of Iraq. At least that is where it started its life or rather better said its death march. The Middle East is after all rather well known for sands and dust and winds and so where it will stop its 4.5 billion year journey nobody knows. Sufficed to say every corner of the world can expect to be visited many upon many times before this unholy waste has run the natural course of its unnatural life. If you'd like to know more about this crime against the planet and humanity simply Google: Leuren Moret DU Dr. Moret is an atomic physicist who used to work for the American military industrial complex and now has lectured in more than 40 countries worldwide about the horrors and hazards of DU munitions. www.pledgeTOgreen.ca ***************************************************************** 35 TheStar.com: Can Charter protect Algonquins from uranium rush? Toronto Star | Star P.M. Aug 11, 2007 04:30 AM Cameron Smith A historical drama – past versus present – is being played out north of Sharbot Lake, about 100 kilometres southwest of Ottawa. The catalyst in the drama is uranium. The past is represented by Ontario's Mining Act; the present by the Algonquin, especially by two Algonquin Indian bands, the Shabot Obaadjiwan and the Ardoch. The Mining Act is a throwback to feudal times, and to the notion that the Crown owned all the land, while nobility and freeholders held only an interest in properties they occupied. These interests were called estates or tenures. The legacy is that under the Mining Act, the Crown continues to own subsurface mineral rights on land across most of Ontario. There's a second legacy from the past, dating from the 1800s. It's the concept that mining is the highest and best use of the land. These two legacies have allowed prospectors and mining companies to swagger across the landscape pretty much ignoring local landowners. Some of this began changing in 1982, when former prime minister Pierre Trudeau enshrined the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution. The Charter said aboriginal rights must be recognized, including rights that might be acquired in future by land claims. It's over this provision that the historical drama at Sharbot Lake is unfolding. Frontenac Ventures Corp., a mining company, decided to explore north of Sharbot Lake for uranium. It built a road and cleared land down to bedrock in preparation for drilling. However, the area is within lands claimed by the Indian bands. When the two bands discovered the drilling preparations, they blockaded the site. In return, Frontenac Ventures sued for damages of $77 million and applied for an injunction to halt the blockade. The Algonquins' claim covers the Ontario watershed of the Ottawa River, a total of 9.8 million square kilometres, although, as Shabot Obaadjiwan chief Doreen Davis points out, the Algonquins have no intention of claiming ownership over Ottawa and other communities. There are 3.5 million square kilometres of unsettled land in the Ottawa Valley, and that's where negotiations will focus. In the meantime, there's the drilling site to deal with. The Supreme Court of Canada has interpreted the Charter section as saying federal and provincial governments must act fairly and with honour "in all (their) dealings with Aboriginal peoples," because they were here when Europeans came, and they were never conquered. This translates into a duty of governments to consult with Indian bands over plans to explore for subsurface minerals on lands natives claim. Indian bands do not have a veto over projects, the court said, but the degree of consultation and accommodation can be profound, depending on the seriousness of the intrusion. As far as the two bands are concerned, drilling for uranium is as serious as it gets, and there were no consultations before Frontenac Ventures began its work. The two bands fiercely oppose the drilling, which, they say, will release uranium from the bedrock into underground water tables. Uranium is highly toxic, says Paula Sherman, co-chief of the Ardoch First Nation, and releasing even minute amounts would be excessively harmful. Frontenac Ventures disputes this, saying uranium ore in the area is low-grade, and drilling and mining pose no hazard to human health. But health is only part of the issue for the Algonquins. They are also concerned with what they consider would be an affront to the land. "Our identity as a people is to have a relationship with the land," Sherman says. Allowing uranium to escape from bedrock, "would fracture that relationship.... We would no longer be observing our responsibility to honour and respect Mother Earth." This classic clash of cultures is what the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was designed to resolve. Cameron Smith can be reached at camsmith@kingston.net © Copyright Toronto Star 1996-2007 | ***************************************************************** 36 BBC NEWS: Uranium reserves found in Guinea Last Updated: Friday, 10 August 2007, 10:13 GMT 11:13 UK Enriched uranium is used for nuclear power generation and weapons Guinea's government says commercially viable reserves of uranium have been discovered for the first time. Information Minister Justin Morel Junior announced that samples of uranium were extracted by a mineral company in Firawa. A BBC correspondent says Guinea is hoping to cash in on the strong global demand for uranium as a nuclear fuel, which has led prices to boom. "The government has the pleasure of officially announcing the discovery of uranium deposits in Guinea," Mr Morel said on national television. 'Beggars' A mine official told the BBC's Alhassan Sillah in Conakry that uranium could be extracted soon, although he could not give any specifics. Our correspondent explained that the discovery could bolster the Guinean economy. "It will be good for a country in which people have been reduced to beggars," he said. Most of the population lives on less than $1 a day. An official told Reuters news agency that Australia-based mineral exploration company Murchison United had made the discovery. Firawa, where the uranium reserves were found, is in the southern region of Kissidougou, about 600km east of the former French colony's capital, Conakry. Murchison had been drilling there in May. "At this stage the genesis and delineation of the uranium mineralisation is unclear," the company said in a statement, last week. Murchison said it had sent samples of the uranium to laboratories in Mali and Canada. "Additional samples have been collected from sections indicating the highest radiation, in order to further examine the clay minerals and assess optimal methods of uranium extraction," the statement explained. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 37 Slough & Windsor Observer: Secret decision to burn more radioactive waste Last Updated: Saturday 11 August 2007 AN INCINERATOR is being allowed to burn more radioactive waste and council chiefs are powerless to stop it. The Environment Agency (EA) has granted Grundon’s Clinical Waste Incinerator at Colnbrook, permission to burn the radioactive materials along with alpha-emitting waste, which has been linked to cancer, from Friday next week. The news, exclusively revealed to the Observer, has been met by strong objection from Slough Borough Council which was not even consulted. Conservative councillor for Colnbrook, Dexter Smith, said: “We are extremely concerned that the legislation controlling this variation does not allow for stakeholder consultation. This is an extremely sensitive issue for the area, particularly the residents of Colnbrook, and therefore there should have been a period of public consultation.” The alpha-emitting waste will include contaminated swabs, packaging and empty containers. The council is seeking specialist advice and has also brought the issue to the attention of the Health Protection Agency. The EA has said that the alpha-emitting waste will only account for 0.002 per cent of waste burned at the incinerator and it will not be released into the environment. The company is building a giant new burner, due to open in 2008. Objectors have until Thursday to lodge their concerns with the EA. Cllr Smith said: “This radioactive waste has the capabilities to penetrate skin.” Chairman of Colnbrook with Poyle Parish Council, Laurie Tucker, said: “This is disgraceful. It will have a major impact on the local area.” There has been a Clinical Waste Incinerator operating in Lakeside Road, Colnbrook, for the past 12 years and it has been upgraded twice to meet new operational and environmental standards. A spokeswoman for Grundon Waste Management said that the plant receives ‘low level’ radioactive waste, mainly from the research and treatment of diseases like cancer, which cannot be safely buried in landfill sites. She said: “Existing clinical waste incinerators are old and unreliable. To make sure this low-level material can be treated safely when these facilities are no longer available, the company applied to the EA to extend its permit. "The application was accompanied by detailed risk assessments demonstrating that the incinerator can treat this waste in accordance with all the relevant standards.” A spokeswoman for the EA, said: “We are happy that there will be no adverse effects to the environment.” Objections can be sent to Slough Borough Council, Town Hall, Bath Road, Slough, SL1 3UQ and these will be passed on to the EA. ***************************************************************** 38 Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP mission could evolve The Current-Argus Article Launched: 08/10/2007 09:32:38 PM MDT The topic may sound complicated, but Carlsbad residents shouldn't let that keep them from turning out to learn more about the latest proposal for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant east of here. At a public meeting beginning at 6 p.m. Monday at the Pecos River Conference Center, residents can not only be informed but also have a chance to express their views on a proposal that could bring a new class of nuclear waste to be stored at the site. Although its name "Greater Than Class C" waste is a mouthful, the material appears to be a normal product of modern life. Experts say it is non-defense waste from sources such as former power plants, medical procedures or food irradiation. As has happened here before, the U.S. Department of Energy is seeking input from local residents as it drafts its environmental impact statement for the possible storage of the new class of waste. The issues surrounding the proposal are complicated ones, even by nuclear industry standards. They include not only the waste material itself, but also the federal land withdrawal act that enabled WIPP in the first place. This is the first chance for residents of this area to hear about the plan from the experts and to raise any questions about procedures, safety or other concerns. We've long been supportive of WIPP. We respect and admire its impeccable safety record. We also view it as a strong component of the local economy, a good neighbor in our community, and a real solution to one of our nation's most vexing challenges. Before the WIPP mission is changed in any way, there will be plenty of study to ensure that the safety record at the site remains good. Whatever your viewpoint, now at the beginning of the discussion is the time to hear and to be heard. Let's take advantage of this opportunity to participate. Copyright © 2005 Carlsbad Current Argus, a MediaNews Group ***************************************************************** 39 Carlsbad Current-Argus: Infrastructure ordeal The Current-Argus Article Launched: 08/11/2007 09:16:59 PM MDT This week, the Carlsbad City Council met with local developers to discuss ways to improve their relationship. Developers say they want to build in Carlsbad, but their efforts have been hampered by a lack of infrastructure in needed areas. During the dialogue, Mayor Bob Forrest suggested a new use of WIPP acceleration funds: five-year, interest-free loans that could be provided to interested developers. The money, which would have to be repaid, would help developers overcome some of the infrastructure hurdles they have faced. Using WIPP acceleration money for infrastructure development that will promote growth isn't a bad idea, in and of itself. But loaning the money out to developers, specifically, does present several problems not the least of which is the question of whether the Department of Energy would even approve such a use of the funds. For the sake of argument, let's assume the DOE would give the loan program its blessing. Given the limited amount of funds available to loan, how could such a program be handled to insure fairness? Do smaller developers or larger developers get priority? Do developers residing in Carlsbad get preference over others? It looks like a recipe for a bureaucratic and political quagmire. Forrest's direct involvement with one developer is also problematic. Forrest has been involved with CARC Inc. since the organization's creation. CARC Inc. recently sold Las Cruces developer Ken Thurston land in north Carlsbad. Since then, Thurston has reportedly been unhappy with some of the fill and drainage issues in that area of which he had apparently been unaware. To his credit, Forrest readily recognizes his connection to Thurston, and he says the city will be fair to all developers. But it doesn't take a conspiracy theorist to see a potential conflict in Forrest handing out a free loan to a developer who purchased land from a company affiliated directly with Forrest. It looks bad a little like retroactive deal sweetening even if Carlsbad's best interests are at its heart and Forrest's motives are pure. All in all, Tuesday's meeting was productive in that it set the stage for a better relationship between developers and the city. And it's worth noting that the developers who spoke up Tuesday asked for improvements, not cash. Where it is agreed by Council that improvements are needed, the city should move to meet those needs directly. Without addressing these needs, it will be nearly impossible for Carlsbad to grow and prosper. Of course, this begs the question: How would the city pay for such work? The most straightforward way would be by letting voters consider a gross receipts tax hike for infrastructure improvements. After all, over the long run, any improvements we make to the city will benefit both current residents and budding subdivisions. Meanwhile, if the city decides to spend WIPP acceleration money directly on infrastructure improvements that will help Carlsbad grow, they must do so as transparently and fairly as possible. Copyright © 2005 Carlsbad Current Argus, a MediaNews Group ***************************************************************** 40 Murfreesboro Post: Last landfill public meeting Welcome Visitor (login), Mon, Aug 13, 2007, 00:34 CST, 159 Readers By Michelle Willard, Post Staff Writer Municipal Solid Waste Advisory Committee holds its last public meeting Thursday before beginning deliberations on the future of dumping low-level radioactive waste at Middle Point Landfill. The meeting is part of the General Assembly mandated review of the Bulk Survey for Release (BSFR) program, the Tennessee sponsored program that allows dumping low-level radioactive waste in commercial landfills. It takes place at 10 in the morning Thursday, Aug. 16 in the 17th floor conference room of the L&C Tower, 401 Church St. in Nashville. The committee held three previous meetings, where it received basic information on radioactivity and BSFR program and public comment on the issue. Thursday, it receives transcripts of these meetings. “Everything that was said will be presented to the members who were not there,” MSWAC Chairman Lewis Bumpus said. “Every member will hear every question.” However, some questions are more suited for departments, such as Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) or Division of Radiological Health, Bumpus added. After reviewing scientific research and community concerns, the committee will advise the state to the “elimination or reduction of radioactive waste … from the Bulk Survey for Release program being disposed in landfills in Rutherford County,” according to the General Assembly bill. The bill also placed a 60-day moratorium on the BSFR program at Middle Point while the committee reviews the program. Recommendations are due Sept. 5. The committee was chosen for the task because it was set up by a1991 law specifically to address and advise on issues surrounding the solid waste industry in Tennessee. “It’s a citizens group, made up by a wide variety of volunteers from different areas,” Bumpus explained. “It’s a real broad committee from all different walks of life. We are strictly advisory.” The committee’s advice and findings may have little bearing on the future of the BSFR program, if State Sen. Jim Tracy has his way. Tracy is developing legislation that would ban dumping any nuclear or radioactive waste in the state. He plans on introducing the bill in the next legislative session. “Any extra (radioactivity) is too much,” said Clint Hall, an official in Tracy’s office. “It’s not so much about you and me, but about our kids and our grandkids.” Michelle Willard can be contacted at 869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com. 615-869-0800 | online@murfreesboropost.com | 630 Broadmore Blvd. Suite 120, P.O. 10008, Murfreesboro, TN 37129 ***************************************************************** 41 Saraso Herald Tribune: Send nuclear waste into space HeraldTribune.com | Joi The promise of nuclear power has always had one drawback: how to dispose of nuclear waste. I would like to make a suggestion (perhaps not original). Why don't we fire up some rockets, probably unmanned, and send the waste off to some hostile environment in space? Certainly this would be better than polluting Earth for an estimated 10,000 years with radioactive waste, as some industrial nations including the U.S. are doing right now. I have not figured out the cost, but assuming the spirit of American initiative and know-how is still alive, I can't help thinking some pugnacious, free-enterprisers, with government support and encouragement, will make it happen, to the lasting benefit of our children and grandchildren. Larry von Hake University Park Last modified: August 11. 2007 12:00AM The promise of nuclear power has always had one drawback: how to dispose of nuclear waste. I would like to make a suggestion (perhaps not original). Why don't we fire up some rockets, probably unmanne . . . Serving the Herald-Tribune newspaper and SNN Channel 6 © Sarasota Herald-Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Member ***************************************************************** 42 Nevada Appeal: Burning Man and Yucca Mountain not what they seem Opinion Guy Farmer For the Appeal August 12, 2007 Burning Man and Yucca Mountain have something in common - both are highly dubious projects in the Nevada desert. Let me explain. Burning Man, the annual naked drug festival co-sponsored by San Francisco-based Black Rock City LLC and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), will take place over the Labor Day weekend in the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach. It will attract some 40,000 "free spirits" who will pay between $250 and $400 apiece for the "privilege" of baking in the sun for three or four days. Doing the math, it's clear that the festival will gross more than $10 million for its aging hippie organizers. And the BLM will rake in about a million dollars - last year's BLM take was approximately $843,000 - for looking the other way as participants do drugs and get naked in the presence of young children. For years the Burners have claimed that their event is nonprofit and non-commercial and that they're dedicated to art and assorted consciousness-raising activities. But seven-time Burner Chris Taylor, who writes for the techie magazine "Business 2.0," has revealed the truth about the festival in the July issue of that magazine. Taylor confirms that Burning Man is a $10 million business that is now seeking corporate sponsorships. So much for the high-minded New Age baloney that Burning Man organizers "lord Larry" Harvey and "Maid Marian" Goodell peddle to the media every summer. "We've got four properties in Nevada totaling more than 200 acres," Goodell told Taylor in an interview, "and three people in accounting managing a budget of $10 million." And, sounding exactly like one of those despised CEOs, she confirmed that Black Rock LLC is now seeking corporate partners who will exhibit their products at this year's event without displaying their logos. This has created a conflict with some old-timers, who believe that the festival "has grown too big and lost touch with its anti-commercial roots," according to Taylor. "We're inviting the Greeks into the heart of Troy," said Burning Man Environmental Director Tom Price. "Burning Man may have to destroy itself to save the planet." How noble! Another veteran Burner, John Law, who co-founded the event in the early 1990s, sued his former partners earlier this year to strip them of their exclusive rights to the festival's name and logo. "Burning Man belongs to everyone," Law told the AP, implying that BLM, Harvey, Ms. Goodell and their co-conspirators are making money (Gasp!) on a "nonprofit" event. When asked about profits, Maid Marian turned coy while acknowledging that the drug festival has earned "comfortably about $50,000" annually in recent years. I suspect that her estimate is way low; nevertheless, I welcome the Burners back to Black Rock and urge them to spend lots of money in Nevada. Thanks in advance. ? ? ? I have often wondered why the federal government continues to pour hundreds of millions of dollars down the Yucca Mountain rat hole even though an overwhelming majority of Nevadans, and most Americans, oppose the toxic project. Today, I offer a possible two-word answer to that question: Dick Cheney. Here's what the Washington Post reported about Cheney's position on the proposed nuclear waste dump: "The vice president ... pushed to make Nevada's Yucca Mountain the nation's repository for nuclear and radioactive waste - a victory for the nuclear power industry over those with long-standing safety concerns." But are we surprised? No, because Cheney has had a cozy relationship with Big Energy ever since he took office in January 2001. Public opposition to Yucca Mountain is strong and growing even as the Nuclear Energy Institute continues to buy politicians and pseudo-journalists. A recent national poll by the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that only 28 percent of 1,200 respondents believed that nuclear waste could be stored safely at the Southern Nevada site, and statewide polls have shown that more than 70 percent of Nevadans oppose the multi-million-dollar boondoggle. As the Appeal noted in a recent editorial, "The people have spoken on Yucca Mountain ... A vast majority of people in Nevada don't want any part of a nuclear waste dump within our borders." Although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, has declared Yucca Mountain "dead," The U.S. Energy Department (DOE) presses forward with construction plans. Gov. Jim Gibbons waffled on the hot-button issue earlier this summer when he allowed DOE to use state water for test drilling at the site and moved to appoint a toxic dump supporter, Nye County Commissioner Joni Eastley, to the Nevada Nuclear Projects Commission. Fortunately, the governor quickly came to his senses, rescinding the Feds' state water permit and canceling Ms. Eastley's appointment. DOE is appealing the permit denial. Note to Gov. Gibbons: Along with most of my fellow Nevadans, I urge you to stay on the right side of this life and death (literally) issue. Your constituents have spoken loudly and clearly on Yucca Mountain and our bipartisan congressional delegation is unanimously opposed to the project. Your predecessor, Kenny Guinn, spoke out early and often against the toxic dump and you'll do the same if you value your political career. Enough said! ? Guy Farmer, of Carson City, is a semi-retired journalist who has been a Nevada resident since 1962. All contents © Copyright 2007 nevadaappeal.com Nevada Appeal - 580 Mallory Way - Carson City, NV 89701 ***************************************************************** 43 [NukeNet] In the Shadow of the Bomb: Aug 6 at Livermore Lab Marylia Kelley Sat, 11 Aug 2007 12:09:26 -0800 August 6, 2007: In the Shadow of the Bomb A report by Jedidjah de Vries >From Tri-Valley CAREs' August 2007 newsletter, Citizen's Watch In Hiroshima, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba opened the ceremony this August 6, noting: "The world's only A-bombed nation is duty bound to humbly learn the philosophy of the hibakusha [survivors] along with the facts of the atomic bombing and to spread this knowledge through the world." Mayor Akiba also spoke of the "obligation to press for nuclear weapons abolition" and of "saying 'No' to obsolete and mistaken U.S. policies." Here, half a world away, bound by history and moral obligation, we gathered in Livermore. Our town is generally hot in August. This year, however, August 6th dawned like a winter morning, with a chill in the air and the hint of drizzle. It was 62 years ago, on the morning of August 6, 1945, that the United States dropped the first atomic bomb used in war on the people of Hiroshima, Japan. Today, we find ourselves at Livermore Lab and still in the shadow of the bomb. More than a 150 people gathered this day at Livermore Lab's West Gate to commemorate the victims and horror of the Hiroshima bomb. Only the tall gate separated us from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which is currently designing the first in a series of new U.S. nuclear weapons. Our commemoration opened with a poem by a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing, Sachiko Kondoh, entitled Nuclear Winter. The haunting power of words honestly written hung in the cold air for the rest of the ceremony, serving as a reminder of the destruction wrought by the bomb. A call and response reading evoked the history of that day and its aftermath, connecting us, and the nuclear lab by which we stood, to the victims and the horror of Hiroshima. The music of robert temple seemed to melt the gates and bring everyone together. Our keynote speaker was Chizu Iiyama, former department chair of early childhood education at Contra Costa College, and co-author of the Teacher's Guide, Making Peace: The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She presently serves on the Board of Nikkei Heritage, a publication of the National Japanese American Historical Society. Standing at the gates of Livermore Lab, telling what happened in Hiroshima, Iiyama presented a powerful challenge to the scientific authority and austerity of the Lab and its continuing development of nuclear weapons. She was followed in the program by the amazing voice and soulful singing of Kaylah Marin. The bomb was dropped at 8:15 AM. We marked the moment with the screaming sound of an air raid siren -- followed by a time of silence to honor the memory of the dead and to reflect on the place of nuclear weapons in our present day world. The microphone was then opened to all who wished to share their thoughts and feelings about Hiroshima and nuclear weapons. Many came up and spoke key truths to power that morning Daniel Ellsberg, the Defense Dept. planner who released the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War, stepped to the microphone and offered his analysis of nuclear weapons in the United States. The tapestry woven by the collective voices of all who spoke made it clear that nuclear weapons are neither merely a relic of the past nor an abstract issue to be dealt with far away in Washington by others. Instead, people took responsibility to act for nuclear weapons abolition in their own lives - here and now. Against the backdrop of voices, many lay down on the asphalt in front of the gate and had their bodies outlined in chalk to symbolize the ashen "shadows" left behind by those incinerated in Hiroshima. The 4-lane roadway at the Lab's west gate was soon covered with the outlines of scores of dead bodies -- men, women and children. Thirty participants chose to physically oppose the ongoing design of nuclear weapons at Livermore Lab by stepping beyond the chalk outlines to peaceably block the gate. They were arrested, cited and released. -- For a list of Bay Area sponsoring organizations, go to the August 6 flier on our website at www.trivalleycares.org or to www.august6.org. -- Our thanks to everyone who helped make the commemoration deeply meaningful. ### Marylia Kelley, Executive Director Tri-Valley CAREs 2582 Old First Street Livermore, CA 94551 Ph: (925) 443-7148 Fx: (925) 443-0177 Web: www.trivalleycares.org Email: marylia@trivalleycares.org or marylia@earthlink.net _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://mail.energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 44 History News Network: Did We Miss the Lesson of Nagasaki? 8-13-07 By William D. Hartung Mr. Hartung is the director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation. He writes frequently on nuclear non-proliferation and U.S. nuclear policy. It has been 62 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the moral and strategic lessons of those devastating acts have still not been fully learned. Despite the efforts of scientists like Leo Szilard and diplomats like John McCloy to promote alternative means for ending the war, the bombings went forward. There are still debates among historians and the public at large about the primary rationale for the use of the weapons. Some interpretations accept the official claim that it was done as a way of ending the war as soon as possible, on allied terms. Others note that the intention of the Roosevelt administration had always been to use the atom bomb once it had been developed, and that in this sense President Truman inherited a policy that already had considerable momentum behind it. Other historians suggest that the bombings were aimed at preventing the Soviet Union from entering the war in the Pacific theater. It is possible that all of these factors were at work to some degree, and they may constitute an explanation - though not a moral justification - for the attack on Hiroshima. But even if one accepts the rationales put forward for the Hiroshima bombing, the use of a second atomic weapon against Nagasaki just three days later seems like an act of gratuitous cruelty on a monumental scale. We now know that Japanese leaders were still reeling from the impact of the first bombing when the second bomb struck. Debates over terms of surrender were deadlocked, but a few more days' time - especially in light of the Soviet Union's imminent entry into the war - may well have produced an agreement acceptable to the United States without the need to destroy Nagasaki. In addition, the sheer destructive power of the Hiroshima bombing -- killing tens of thousands of people immediately while turning the city into a pile of radioactive rubble -- should have raised qualms about launching another strike in such short order. The Nagasaki bombing went forward in any case and subsequent efforts to curb the use of atomic energy for military purposes failed. President Truman apparently believed that the U.S. nuclear monopoly would last indefinitely, telling Robert Oppenheimer that he believed that the Soviets would "never" get the bomb. Just a few years later he was proven wrong, and the nuclear arms race was off and running. With so many factors at play, it is by no means certain that U.S. forbearance over Nagasaki would have changed this tragic outcome, but it might have at least opened the door to other possibilities. Six decades later the United States remains the only nation to have used nuclear arms as a weapon of war. The absence of additional attacks has been driven in part by the moral opprobrium attached to the use of these weapons of mass terror, and in part by the fear of devastating retaliation by another nuclear power -- particularly on the U.S.-Soviet front. But despite this record, the foundations of U.S. nuclear policy remain morally suspect. There has not been another Nagasaki, but it is U.S. policy to engage in veiled threats to launch just such an attack, even if the target nation does not possess nuclear weapons. The immorality of U.S. declaratory nuclear policy was made evident recently when Barack Obama asserted that "it would be a profound mistake to use nuclear weapons under any circumstance . . . involving civilians." This seemingly common sense statement was roundly criticized by rival presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Christopher Dodd, who essentially argued that the nuclear option should never publicly be "taken off the table." Not only is the prospect of using nuclear weapons in circumstances in which civilians will be killed immoral, but the threat of doing so violates international law, as expressed in an historic 1995 advisory opinion by the World Court. This policy is also counterproductive at the strategic level. The threat to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states is only liable to spur them to seek their own. Taking this stance toward Iran -- even if the actual use of the weapons is extremely unlikely -- will undermine prospects for negotiations to curb Teheran's program while giving leverage to officials within Iran who want to go from nuclear enrichment to nuclear weapons. Short of getting a global agreement to abolish nuclear weapons -- a goal worth striving for no matter how difficult it may be to achieve in practice -- one of the most important steps the U.S. could take would be to adopt a policy of "no first use" of nuclear weapons against any nation that is not literally poised to launch a nuclear attack on the United States. This shift in U.S. policy would suggest that it is possible to reverse the mentality that led to the bombing of Nagasaki, even at this late date. Related Links * HNN Hot Topics: Hiroshima ... What People Think Now Center for History and New Media ***************************************************************** 45 Japan Times: Failing to learn lessons from a nuclear past japantimes.co.jp Web Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007 By PHILIP BRASOR What do disgraced yokozuna (sumo grand champion) Asashoryu Akinori and Tokyo Electric Power Co. have in common? Answer: Both are under the delusion that they can get away with lying in plain sight. TEPCO is in no such danger, despite its proven lack of credibility following the Kashiwazaki earthquake on July 16, when officials downplayed the damage done to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station. It has since been shown that the radiation leaks caused by the quake were more serious than TEPCO first reported. Even more damning was the utility's attempt to cover up the seriousness of a transformer fire. You can't help but wonder how long TEPCO believed their coverup would last once reporters found out that outside firefighters had to be brought in to handle the blaze. But maybe "coverup" isn't the best term to describe what TEPCO and the nuclear power industry do when questions arise as to the safety of Japan's atomic power plants. It is widely known that while individual cases of negligence related to nuclear operations can be discussed and condemned, questions about the viability and safety of nuclear energy itself are off limits, since the government decided some time ago that it would be the cornerstone of resource-starved Japan's electric-power policy. That's why the government is so irritated at foreign media coverage of the K-K plant. The mainstream Japanese media, meaning the national vernacular newspapers and TV networks, have played down the K-K dangers in line with the official version, even while they point to a lack of professionalism on the part of its operators. The BBC and CNN have been forthright about those dangers, and have directly questioned the wisdom of building nuclear plants on active earthquake faults. An indication of the difference in reporting is that every foreign news item mentions that K-K is the largest nuclear plant in the world in terms of power output, while local media almost never bring up this fact. TEPCO has called the foreign coverage "irresponsible," which takes nerve considering how completely the utility denied the seriousness of the transformer fire. The weekly magazines, who by their independent nature are less beholden to TEPCO or the government, have pieced together what really happened. Though each of the seven reactors at K-K has its own fire brigade, the one responsible for Reactor 3, where the fire broke out, discovered there were no chemical extinguishers available; and because the water lines were damaged in the quake, there was not enough pressure to use hoses. They decided to call the fire department, but the door to the room with the FD hotline was stuck in its jamb, so they called the public emergency number, 119. Due to the earthquake and the fact that it was a holiday, they had to wait a few hours. The five firemen who showed up (and who had come in on their day off) put out the blaze, but experts say they were lucky — the fire could have been much more serious. Two years ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency warned the K-K plant that its firefighting capabilities were insufficient, and the July 16 fire was the fourth at the plant this year. Still, some media have taken up TEPCO's PR crusade. Shortly after the quake, an Italian soccer team canceled a planned trip to Japan due to nuclear-safety fears. The mainstream media ridiculed the decision as an overreaction caused by "hysterical" coverage overseas. The pundits on the TBS morning wide show actually laughed. One reporter pointed out that following the Chernobyl nuclear accident of 1986, Italy suspended its own nuclear power program, but because of shortages, it often buys electricity from neighboring France, which relies a great deal on nuclear power. What a bunch of hypocrites, they snickered. Though there are organizations that call for the dismantling of Japan's nuclear reactors, the majority of Japanese seem to have accepted them as an indispensable feature of modern life. But that doesn't mean they believe the utilities or the government when they tell them not to worry. The government at first resisted inspections of K-K by the IAEA, presumably because it looked bad having outsiders come in to check whether or not plants overseen by the government were safe. Eventually they backed down because the local government wanted reassurances from someone the public would believe — tourism in the area has declined as much as 90 percent since the earthquake. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant was built in 1977, a year before the government instituted nuclear safety guidelines that in effect made the plant obsolete. In the subsequent 30 years, a great deal has been learned about earthquakes and nuclear-energy safety, much of the latter based on the tragedies of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. There have also been a number of well-publicized accidents in Japan that follow the same pattern: official reassurances followed by shocking revelations of negligence. Learning from past mistakes is a hallmark of technological development, but by always trying to downplay crises, TEPCO and the government give the impression that they haven't learned a thing. The Japan Times ***************************************************************** 46 asahi.com: A south wind blows in Nagasaki as a reminder - 08/11/2007 White clouds drifted high above the bronze memorial that forms the centerpiece of the Nagasaki Peace Park on Thursday. The breeze was blowing from the south, just as it did on Aug. 9, 1945. Katsuki Masabayashi, 68, was catching cicadas on that breezy day 62 years ago. A split second after the blinding flash, he felt the tremendous blast. A piece of bamboo pierced his belly, and he instinctively cried out for his father, even though he knew he had already died in the war. His younger sister, whom he was carrying piggy-back, shuddered and moaned, "Mommy." Masabayashi described these moments as he read his "plea for peace" during Thursday's ceremony to mark the 62nd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. "The act must never be justified, whatever one's position or personal reasons may be," he stated firmly, his voice carrying above the incessant droning of cicadas. Charles Sweeney, the chief pilot of the B-29 plane that dropped the A-bomb and changed the lives of Masabayashi and many other Nagasaki citizens forever, returned to the city the following month. Standing in the ruins of ground zero, Sweeney raised his head to gaze at the blue sky. In his memoir, "War's End: An Eyewitness Account of America's Last Atomic Mission," Sweeney recalls he felt neither regret nor remorse for what he had done, firmly convinced that Japan's wartime leaders were to blame. A Roman Catholic, Sweeney never knew that the Urakami area of Nagasaki leveled by the bombing was home to one of the highest concentrations of Catholics in Japan. Until his death in 2004 at 84, Sweeney held fast to the "argument of the parties who dropped the bombs"--that bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki speeded up Japan's surrender. Kokura, the primary target on Aug. 9, lay under a dense blanket of smoke from an earlier U.S. air strike, making it impossible to see from the air. After three aborted attempts to release his deadly payload, Sweeney decided to take his chance on his second target--Nagasaki. The city was overcast. But a momentary break in the cloud cover appeared. It was 74 hours and 47 minutes after the Hiroshima atomic bombing. So a series of inevitable and accidental events sealed Nagasaki's fate. The second A-bomb earned Sweeney a decoration and brought death to 74,000 people directly under the blast. Fumio Kyuma had to resign as defense minister in July after he said the atomic bombing "could not be helped." And voters in the July 29 Upper House election passed harsh judgment on the ruling coalition. The path to complete nuclear disarmament, something that Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors fervently pray for, remains as arduous as ever. Another Nagasaki A-bomb anniversary has come and gone. It was as if the south wind blowing in Nagasaki was saying "wake up." --The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 10(IHT/Asahi: August 11,2007) ***************************************************************** 47 Knoxville News Sentinel: Problems shut new ETTP facility $4 million wastewater treatment plant worked for 9 days before trouble By Frank Munger (Contact) Saturday, August 11, 2007 OAK RIDGE — The government invested $4 million in a new wastewater treatment facility at the East Tennessee Technology Park to replace an aging unit scheduled for demolition and to support continued operations at the toxic-waste incinerator. However, the new system was six months late coming online, and it only operated for about a week — July 3-July 11 — before it had to be shut down for repairs. “As is often the case with the startup of new facilities, several operational problems occurred during startup,” said Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs Co., the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup manager in Oak Ridge. On July 11, an “over-pressurization” of the new treatment facility’s micro-filtration unit occurred, bringing operations there to a halt, Hill said. There is no timetable for restart, he said. “BJC is trying to determine the cause, conducting a damage assessment and formulating a repair plan,” he said. Because of the problems, Bechtel Jacobs was forced to put the old unit back in service. According to Hill, the purchase of a new water-treatment facility was part of the overall downsizing that’s taking place at ETTP — the former K-25 uranium-enrichment plant that’s being converted to an industrial park. The old treatment system, known as the Central Neutralization Facility, treated an average of 3 million gallons per month, and that capacity was no longer needed as operations were taken offline and buildings were demolished. “It is anticipated that the new Wastewater Treatment System will treat an average of 1 million gallons per month,” Hill said. The smaller system should result in cost savings, although Hill acknowledged that the longer the system is out of operation, the smaller those savings will be. The new treatment facility is housed in three trailers near the incinerator at the east end of the site. The incinerator reportedly is the sole source of wastewater to be treated there. Hill said the incinerator’s operations were not disrupted by the transition of treatment facilities. The new system was purchased in 2005 and was supposed to become operational in January 2007. A six-month delay in startup was because of “design changes, vendor delivery delays and delays experienced during startup testing,” Hill said. The new system, once it resumes operations, will support waste activities until the Department of Energy decides the incinerator is no longer needed, he said. DOE has said it plans to close the incinerator in the fall of 2009. The wastewater treatment facility can be relocated and used at another site if needed, Hill said. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 48 lamonitor.com: Bigger share, shrinking pie The Online News Source for Los Alamos ROGER SNODGRASS Monitor Assistant Editor SANTA FE - Los Alamos National Laboratory expects to spend $750 million on contracted goods and services next year, $172 million less than this year. For northern New Mexico, that means a reduction of about $30 million, according to Kevin Chalmers, who heads the lab's Acquisition Services Management Division. "It's what we've been saying all along; we had to save money," he said at a small-business forum Friday. "We knew we had to slow spending." Although this represents fewer total dollars, he added more of it would be devoted to small businesses next year. Los Alamos National Security (LANS), LLC, won its bid for the LANL management contract with a commitment to spend 50 percent of its purchasing power on small businesses, only to find much of that money locked into contracts with larger companies. In the last year, Chalmers said, the percentage of small-business spending has grown from 41 percent to 46.7 percent as of July, while spending dollars have decreased. LANS has stepped up outreach efforts to communicate with local businesses and the New Mexico Small Business Supplier Forum held Friday at the Lodge at Santa Fe was a good example of a number of such gatherings over the last year. Small business advocates, principals of small companies, sales representatives, managers, buyers and vendors were among more than 200 attendees at the event. Some said they were looking to start a relationship with Los Alamos National Laboratory. Others wanted to expand their work, or at the very least not to lose any momentum in an increasingly competitive environment. Tina Cordova, president of the New Mexico 8(a) Minority Business Association, a forum co-host, said the LANS contract language requiring small business participation opens the door to more small businesses. "Now is the time to market," she said. Along with the minority business association, LANL's acquisition services and the Northern New Mexico Supplier Alliance were the main sponsors of the all-day event. The afternoon included a series of workshops. LANL Subcontracts Manager Joyce Matthews provided an overview of new procedures, new opportunities and application mechanics for bidding. For new companies trying to break in to the line-up, Anna Muller's "Teaming and Certification Workshop" included tips on how to partner with a more experienced company as an entry way. Muller is the President of NEDA Business Consultants and a consultant with the N.M 8(a) & Minority Business Association. Ed Burckle, executive director of the Regional Development Corporation acquainted attendees with technical assistance available to companies under the New Mexico Small Business Assistance Act. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., was the keynote speaker, bringing news from the House Small Business Committee, which he continues to follow, although he is no longer on that panel. He told the group about a new law making its way through Congress that was of interest to them, the Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act. It has a number of provisions friendly to small businesses, including additional protections and new measures to restrict government agencies from bundling contracts into billion-dollar "super-contracts." The measure was passed by the House in the spring by a 409-13 vote, but has not passed the Senate. "We hope the Senate will act soon," Udall said. A current sheet of forecast procurements for Fiscal Year 2007-2008 at LANL included small-business set asides worth more than $200 million for institutional first aid, environmental sampling, a beryllium test facility, zero liquid discharge construction, environmental drilling and other jobs. Another group of jobs were partial or possible small-business set-asides, and some were open competition for all types of bidders. © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 49 NewsChannel6: INL Clean Up Project Reporter: Morgan Miller Crews at the INL have begun to remove hazardous waste from their site in what they are calling the Accelerated Retrieval Project Two, or the ARP II. This site is an add-on to the original APR I. The main reason behind removing the waste is to protect the aquifer that lies 585 feet below the landfill. What they are looking to do is dig up the hazardous material, and then bring it to the surface so the continual moving of the waste toward the aquifer will stop. Erik Simpson: "We are looking at removing waste that has been sitting on the site since the 1960s. So what this project will do is retrieve the waste that are a potentially a hazard then ship them down to the Waste Isolation Plant in New Mexico." Between the two sites, they have removed more than 75,000 cubic yards of waste. All content © Copyright 2000 - 2007 WorldNow and kpvi. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************