Subject: headlines NUKE-NET HEADLINE ALERT '95 [There is a lot of nuclear "bad news" since France has decided to resume testing. There will be several headline alerts this week. One report (in next E-mailing) reveals pressure from some Pentagon officials for more US nuclear bomb testing! portzlines88] (June 14) Reuter is reporting that a French extreme-right National Front leader praised President Chirac's decision to resume French nuclear weapons tests, saying he had struck a blow against anti-militarists and for French independence. (June 14) Reuter is reporting that New Zealand has frozen military ties with France and called the decision to resume nuclear tests deplorable. Last month, the Prime Minister of New Zealand requested the United States to supply technology to France that would simulate nuclear blasts and remove the need for testing in the South Pacific. (June 14) Reuter is reporting that a popular television host invited New Zealanders to rip up French bread and stomp on it to protest France's decision. (June 14) UPI is reporting that France said it believes European allies understand the decision to resume nuclear testing. France says it needs to conduct the tests to ensure the reliability of existing weapons and to obtain data necessary to calibrate computer simulated tests of its nuclear arsenal in the future. (June 15) Reuter is reporting that South Pacific nations told Paris it is wrecking its relations with the region and jeopardizing nearly $150 million worth of arms sales. In Australia, brothels and sex shops launched a boycott of French sex products. French-maid outfits and panties are being taken out of window displays. French-made adult videos, magazines and sex toys would also be boycotted. A spokesman for the Eros Foundation said the sex industry was undertaking a major review of language and terminology which paints the French as lovers and therefore peaceful. (June 15) Reuter is reporting that a private French group called the Independent Commission of Research and Information on Radioactivity (CRII-RAD) says it wants to send a mission to the Mururoa test site for three or four weeks during a planned series of eight blasts from September to May. The CRII-RAD said repeated explosions have created gigantic reserves of radioactive waste in the heart of the atoll as well as a huge network of splits especially favorable to the migration of radioactive products. There are deep fissures in the coral reef and some fear the volcanic basalt rock foundations of the atolls may also crack, spilling out radioactive particles. Jacques Cousteau concluded after his 1987 trip that Mururoa was deeply cracked but that there was no dangerous radioactivity in the water, sediment or plankton. He found insignificant traces of caesium and iodine. Blasts are carried out by drilling a shaft about 1,000 feet deep into the basalt rock and lowering a warhead into the hole. The shock of the blast lifts the sea and briefly turns the water an eerie white but France says the nuclear radiation is trapped in the rock. (June 15) Reuter is reporting that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are to be given greater powers to ensure monitoring of nuclear programs. Inspectors will be able to obtain greater access to nuclear plants and information about nuclear programs in the agency's 122 member nations. (June 15) Reuter is reporting that Vietnam regrets France's decision and supports nuclear disarmament. (June 15) Reuter is reporting that France came under fierce attack at the Geneva Disarmament Conference for its decision to resume nuclear testing, with a host of states denouncing the decision as a blow to a future global test ban. France pledged to sign a test ban treaty by late 1996 after completing eight underground blasts in the South Pacific. (June 15) Reuter is reporting that the crew of the Rainbow Warrior II are very encouraged by support from citizens around the world as they sail towards Mururoa Atoll. Greenpeace International says the explosion of more than 130 nuclear warheads in deep shafts at Mururoa has left the island saturated with several Chernobyls worth of radioactivity. The radiation has caused high rates of cancer, birth defects and other illnesses in French Polynesia according to Greenpeace. (June 15) Reuter is reporting that China hopes France will support a total test ban treaty in 1996. China tested a nuclear warhead only days after the Non-Proliferation Treaty. (June 15) Reuter is reporting that a delegation from South Pacific nations is going to Paris to condemn France's decision. One member of a New Zealand's parliament walked out on a French ambassador after becoming tired of his excuses. "The ambassador gave us a load of rubbish concerning their reasons for (breaching) the test ban treaties which are old-fashioned, outdated, outmoded and totally immoral, and I personally am not listening to any more of it," said government MP Brian Neeson. He said French President Chirac needs a good kick in the backside. (June 15) Reuter is reporting that Japan has lodged an official protest against France and said their decision to test warheads has betrayed the trust of non-nuclear states. (June 15) UPI is reporting that the European Parliament voted 126-76 with nine abstentions to condemn France for its decision to renew nuclear testing. The resolution expressed Parliament's shock at the decision by the French president and urges him to reconsider it. (June 15) UPI is reporting that the US General Accounting Office reported more secret Atomic Energy Commission radiation experiments and tests where organs were taken from 11 deceased person between 1956 and 1963 around Cincinnati. Researchers compared the healthy organs with organs from 11 employees of the National Lead Co. of Ohio, which operated the Fernald uranium processing plant. The report was released by the office of Senator John Glenn. (June 16) Reuter is reporting that France says the South Pacific should be rejoicing at its decision to halt nuclear testing in 1996 rather than be angered by its announcement that it would stage a few more blasts. (June 16) Reuter is reporting that the French scientific group known as the National Union of Scientific Researchers says the planned eight underground nuclear blasts in the South Pacific are unnecessary from a scientific point of view and will undermine world moves towards disarmament. The scientists were planning to stage a demonstration in Paris on July 1. Another protest would also be staged in Strasbourg on June 29. (June 16) Reuter is reporting that 20 protestors tied pink ribbons onto a security fence at the G7 summit to condemn France. They attempted to deliver a letter to President Chirac but were stopped by security officers. (June 16) Reuter is reporting that India's foreign minister says France's decision to resume nuclear testing has strengthened India's resolve to stay out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. end