Subject: NucNews 99/11/24 Briefs Story-Date: 06:22 a.m. PST Tuesday , August 10, 1999 Sender: owner-nukenet@envirolink.org X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.2.07 -- ListProc(tm) by CREN Please address replies to articles to the original publisher. Please send NucNews copies? Refuting false information appreciated! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Gulf sickness was 'largest ever nuclear accident' * Regulation Runaround - Calvert Cliffs * U.S. Court Throws Out Its Ruling On Plant Hearing Ordered On Calvert Cliffs * USEC Board Defers Resignation Decision * China Spy Probe Turns To US Nuclear Weapons Assemblers * Report: Laser project plagued by bad management poor planning * Clinton: Puerto Rico Decision Soon * We don't have a nuclear button says Musharraf * India's nuke policy 'a thorn': Japan * Israeli Nuke Case Report Released * Report Released on Israel's Vanunu; Vanunu Said Exposed Israeli Secrets * By Word Only Israeli Spy Resurfaces * Nuclear secrets revealed to force truth * COLUMN: Israel's betrayal * Inflammatory words * China Attack on U.S. Said Possible * China Warns Against U.S. Anti-Missile Defense Plans * China Condemns U.S. Missile Plans * Taiwan: Chinese Missile Base Found * Taiwan Accuses China of Threat * Are missiles targeting Taiwan? * U.S. might sell missile shields to aid Taiwan * Taiwan says it has detected new Chinese missile base * China Argues Against Planned U.S. Missile Defense * TILTING AT WINDMILLS (Gore - Nuclear Power) * Federal Emergency Agency Ignores An Easy Way To Prevent One Danger * N. Korea Warns South Over Missiles * Swiss Defense Minister Wants 'Armed Neutrality' * Tehran opposes visits by U.S. envoys * Yeltsin Wants Test Ban Ratified As Priority * Russia Says U.S. Concerns May Be Met Without Amending ABM Pact * Gore to Meet Kazakh Leader After MiG Case * Gorbachev Faults US on Weaker Ties * Y2K poll shows drop in public concern * DOs and DON'Ts of Y2K * Romania Nuclear Plant Restarts Production * Transport of nuclear waste suspected through Sydney ----------- * Gulf sickness was 'largest ever nuclear accident' Express News November 24 1999 BY JOHN COLES - Express News http://www.lineone.net/express/99/11/24/news/n2620gulfwarsick-d.html BRITISH soldiers were poisoned by radioactive and highly-toxic dust from shells fired by the Allies during the Gulf War a world authority has claimed. The expert Professor Asaf Durakovic says they fell victim to what could prove to be one of the largest nuclear accidents in history with hundreds of thousands at risk. * Regulation Runaround Thursday November 25 1999; Page A42 ashington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-11/25/037r-112599-idx.html The appeals court ruling further delaying the relicensing of the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant will result in no safety improvements yet it may cost us a lot in both dollars and pollution [Metro Nov. 13]. When anti-nuclear power groups barrage the regulatory system to delay projects and force increased costs their actions generally do not improve public safety. The time and effort spent dealing with their (usually frivolous) claims keep regulators from focusing on real issues. * U.S. Court Throws Out Its Ruling On Plant Hearing Ordered On Calvert Cliffs By Steve Vogel Washington Post Staff Writer Washington Post Wesday November 24 1999; Page B01 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/24/143l-112499-idx.html A federal appeals court yesterday tossed out its own judgment supporting a watchdog group's efforts for a wider review of safety issues in the proposed relicensing of the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant. Yesterday's ruling which attorneys and legal experts described as highly unusual threw more uncertainty into the contentious battle surrounding Calvert Cliffs the Southern Maryland facility that is seeking to become the first U.S. nuclear plant to gain relicensing. * USEC Board Defers Resignation Decision Washington Post Thursday November 25 1999; Page E02 By Martha M. Hamilton http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-11/25/101r-112599-idx.html USEC Inc.'s board of directors met yesterday but stopped short of resigning as the federal government's executive agent in a nuclear nonproliferation deal with Russia. The Bethesda-based uranium-processing company--which the federal government sold to shareholders in 1998--has told the Clinton administration and members of Congress that it may resign by Wednesday unless it gets assurances of federal financial assistance. But yesterday the board deferred a final decision until next week. * China Spy Probe Turns To US Nuclear Weapons Assemblers Inside China Today Thursday Nov 25 at Prague 12:45 pm N.Y. 06:45 am http://www.insidechina.com/news.php3?id=111414 WASHINGTON Nov 19 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) The ongoing investigation into China's alleged spying on US nuclear weapons secrets has turned from the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory to US weapons assemblers The Washington Post said Friday. Errors found in the description of the miniaturized W-88 nuclear warhead found in secret Chinese documents that sparked the probe earlier this year were traced to one of the weapons integrators in the United States government sources told the daily. * Report: Laser project plagued by bad management poor planning By Michelle Locke Associated Press Fox News 5.38 a.m. ET (1049 GMT) November 24 1999 http://www.foxnews.com/js_index.sml?content=/news/national/1124/d_ap_1124_54 .sml http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/a/AP-Laser-Probe.html OAKLAND Calif. (AP) - A report on the troubled super laser at Lawrence Livermore national lab recommends changing the management structure to establish a "surprise-free'' environment. Trouble surfaced with the laser known as the National Ignition Facility this fall when officials announced the project could be $300 million over budget and 18 months late. * Clinton: Puerto Rico Decision Soon New York Times November 24 1999 Filed at 4:16 p.m. EST http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Clinton-Puerto-Rico.html WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton cited ``real headway'' Wednesday in negotiations with Puerto Rico over the fate of a hotly disputed Navy bombing range. He told reporters at the White House he should have a decision in a few days on the range on the outlying Puerto Rican island of Vieques. ``We're getting there '' he said. * We don't have a nuclear button says Musharraf The Hindu 11/23/99 By Amit Baruah http://www.indiaserver.com/thehindu/1999/11/24/stories/03240001.htm ISLAMABAD NOV. 23. The Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf has said that as of now the country does not have a `nuclear button' but when the time for the `button' comes it would be under his control. * India's nuke policy 'a thorn': Japan Reuters 11/24/99 http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/nov/24jap.htm Japan today said it wants India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty before it resumes aid which it froze after India carried out nuclear tests last year. * Israeli Nuke Case Report Released Israel finally hears the full story of nuclear whistleblower Vanunu Calgary Herald 11/24/99 http://www.southam.com/calgaryherald/newsnow/cpfs/world/991124/w1124108.html http://www.newsday.com/ap/rnmpin13.htm JERUSALEM (AP) - Mordechai Vanunu exposed Israel's nuclear-arms program in 1986 because he wanted his country held accountable. More than two-thirds into his 18-year jail sentence for espionage his wish verged on reality Wednesday when a transcript of his closed-door trial was published in a leading Israeli newspaper prompting a debate about the arsenal in the desert once euphemistically called "the textile factory." * Report Released on Israel's Vanunu Vanunu Said Exposed Israeli Secrets Associated Press Wednesday Nov. 24 1999; 9:02 a.m. EST By Mark Lavie http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991124/aponline090211_000.htm JERUSALEM -- In his closed-door treason trial a former nuclear technician told judges he exposed Israel's nuclear arms program to force the government to tell the truth and bring the bombs under supervision according to court records released for the first time today 11 years after his conviction. * By Word Only Israeli Spy Resurfaces Published Testimony Recalls Furor Over 1986 Nuclear Case Washington Post Thursday November 25 1999; Page A30 By Lee Hockstader http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-11/25/102r-112599-idx.html JERUSALEM Nov. 24-Since 1986 when he gave the details of Israel's secretive nuclear weapons program to a British newspaper Mordechai Vanunu has been a household name here--and a strangely spectral presence. He has been demonized by the government as an enemy of Israeli security and lionized by some on the left as a brave whistle-blower and a man of principle. Practically everyone here knows the sensational story of how he was lured from England by a female Mossad agent kidnapped and drugged by Israeli operatives in Rome and tried and convicted in Israel of espionage. Despite his celebrity Vanunu has been all but invisible. Having been tried in secret and sentenced to 18 years in prison he has long been kept in solitary confinement and barred from giving interviews and making phone calls. His muffled words are heard only occasionally when his letters clear the prison censors. * Nuclear secrets revealed to force truth USA Today 11/24/99 http://usatoday.com/news/world/nw1.htm JERUSALEM - In his closed-door treason trial a former nuclear technician told judges he exposed Israel's nuclear arms program to force the government to tell the truth and bring the bombs under supervision according to court records released for the first time Wednesday. Mordechai Vanunu has been kept away from the public since his 1986 arrest by Israeli security forces. * COLUMN: Israel's betrayal By Vijay Bangaru The Student Life Washington U.-St. Louis Updated 12:00 PM ET November 23 1999 http://news.excite.com/news/uw/991123/university-101 (U-WIRE) ST. LOUIS Mo. -- Last week NBC reported that the Israeli government is currently building advanced airborne radar system aboard Russian planes for China. According to their sources this radar deal is only the "tip of the iceberg" of Israeli transfers of U.S. technology to China. In addition to this PHALCON radar system Israel has sold fighter jet and anti-ballistic missile technology to the Chinese. In addition to all this weaponry they are also giving away the knowledge to reverse engineer any of these weapons. The Israeli government is the recipient of $3.5 billion annually of U.S. taxpayer's money. And it knows (and has signed multiple treaties) that it should not be giving any U.S. technology away. But since there is money to make by selling it they do. * Inflammatory words Embassy Row By James Morrison Washington Times November 24 1999 http://www.washtimes.com/internatl/embassy.html Suha Arafat who accused Israel last week of attacking Palestinians with poisonous gas added a new charge on Sunday in an interview with the Arab satellite television channel Orbit. She said Israeli insecticide factories in Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip are spilling toxic waste. * China Attack on U.S. Said Possible Wednesday Nov. 24 1999; 6:42 a.m. EST The Associated Press http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991124/aponline064247_000.htm http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-US-Panama-China.html WASHINGTON -- Retired Adm. Thomas Moorer a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says China is preparing to take over the Panama Canal once the United States relinquishes control. And he warned Tuesday of possible Chinese use of the area to launch a nuclear attack on America. * China Warns Against U.S. Anti-Missile Defense Plans Inside China Today Thursday Nov 25 at Prague 12:45 pm N.Y. 06:45 am http://www.insidechina.com/news.php3?id=112503 Nov 24 1999 -- China's top disarmament official said on Wednesday U.S. plans to build an anti-missile defense system could trigger an arms race and threaten global and regional stability. Sha Zukang director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Arms Control and Disarmament said U.S. efforts to develop anti-missile missiles known as the National Missile Defense (NMD) system would have a formidable adverse impact and tip the global balance. * China Condemns U.S. Missile Plans Associated Press Wednesday Nov. 24 1999; 11:52 p.m. EST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991124/aponline235245_000.htm BEIJING -- The United States has no good reason to include Japan in an anti-missile defense system a senior Chinese arms control official was quoted as saying Thursday. Sha Zukang director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an interview with the state-run Xinhua News Agency that Japan faced no threat from North Korea or other countries. * Taiwan: Chinese Missile Base Found Filed at 10:04 a.m. EST November 24 1999 By The Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Taiwan-China-Missile.html TAIPEI Taiwan (AP) -- Defense Minister Tang Fei said Wednesday that Taiwan has detected a new Chinese missile brigade deployed near the island. The new battalion of nearly 100 short-range ballistic missiles raises the threat against the island and emphasizes the need for an anti-missile defense Tang said. * Taiwan Accuses China of Threat Wednesday Nov. 24 1999; 11:52 p.m. EST By Annie Huang Associated Press Writer http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991124/aponline235243_000.htm TAIPEI Taiwan -- Taiwan's president on Thursday accused China of threatening Taiwan with missiles in one of his most extensive speeches in months about the island's longtime rival. * Are missiles targeting Taiwan? Deseret News Wednesday November 24 1999 http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0 1249 135007210 00.html? WASHINGTON (AP) - Amid reports of a planned expansion of Chinese short-range missile systems across from Taiwan the State Department said Tuesday it has made clear to China its concerns regarding missile deployments and their influence on the situation in the Taiwan Strait. * U.S. might sell missile shields to aid Taiwan WASHINGTON TIMES November 24 1999 By Bill Gertz http://www.washtimes.com/news/news1.html http://www.newslibrary.com/download.asp?DBLIST=wt99&DOCNUM=25707 The State Department said yesterday it is watching the buildup of Chinese missiles near Taiwan and is considering sales of missile defenses to counter it. * Taiwan says it has detected new Chinese missile base Fox News 10.02 a.m. ET (1513 GMT) November 24 1999 http://www.foxnews.com/js_index.sml?content=/news/international/1124/i_ap_11 24_48.sml TAIPEI Taiwan (AP) - Defense Minister Tang Fei said Wednesday that Taiwan has detected a new Chinese missile brigade deployed near the island. The new battalion of nearly 100 short-range ballistic missiles raises the threat against the island and emphasizes the need for an anti-missile defense Tang said. * China Argues Against Planned U.S. Missile Defense New York Times November 24 1999 By ERIK ECKHOLM http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/late/24china-nyt.html BEIJING - China's chief of arms control warned on Wednesday that a planned American national missile defense system even one intended to stop attacks from rogue states like North Korea and Iraq would set off a global arms race and cause more countries to develop nuclear weapons. The United States has proposed amending the existing Antiballistic Missile Treaty to allow limited defenses. In an article Wednesday in the China Daily Sha Zukang director of arms control and disarmament in China's foreign ministry defended the treaty as a cornerstone of nuclear stability. * TILTING AT WINDMILLS Published on 01/30/98 WASHINGTON TIMES http://www.newslibrary.com/download.asp?DBLIST=wt98&DOCNUM=11799 Vice President Al Gore doesn't like nuclear power. He believes there are just too darn many "uncertainties such as how to dispose of radioactive spent fuel, associated with it. * Federal Emergency Agency Ignores An Easy Way To Prevent One Danger WASHINGTON TIMES Published on 05/25/96 http://www.newslibrary.com/download.asp?DBLIST=wt96&DOCNUM=13131 On April 26, the 10th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident, three separate commentaries in The Washington Times discussed the alarmingly high incidence of childhood thyroid cancers in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Professor S. Fred Singer's article made the valid and important point that these thyroid cancers could have been avoided if the children had been quickly fed ordinary potassium iodide to `saturate' the thyroid - as recommended by the Kemeny Commission after the Three Mile Island accident.... * N. Korea Warns South Over Missiles New York Times November 24 1999 Filed at 11:03 a.m. EST http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Koreas-Missile.html SEOUL South Korea (AP) -- North Korea on Wednesday accused South Korea of developing longer-range missiles and threatened to take a ``stronger countermeasure'' against its rival. The North said it is upset by reports that South Korea is trying to develop a missile that can reach all parts of the communist country. * Swiss Defense Minister Wants 'Armed Neutrality' New York Times November 24 1999 Filed at 6:06 p.m. ET http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-swiss-a.html ZURICH Switzerland (Reuters) - Swiss Defense Minister Adolf Ogi whose right-wing SVP party made strong gains in elections last month said Wednesday that Switzerland's troops on operations abroad might be given heavy weapons as part of a new policy of ``armed neutrality.'' * Tehran opposes visits by U.S. envoys Washinigton Times November 24 1999 By Toni Marshall http://www.washtimes.com/internatl/internatl2.html The United States wants to send diplomats to Iran despite Tehran's repeated objections to an American presence there the State Department said yesterday. Washington has informally approached Iranian officials about sending U.S. envoys to Tehran for short visits to help process visas spokesman James P. Rubin said. The United States has permitted Iranian officials to come to Washington and believes Iran should reciprocate he said. * Yeltsin Wants Test Ban Ratified As Priority Russia Today Thursday Nov 25 at Prague 12:45 pm N.Y. 06:45 am http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=111992 MOSCOW Nov 22 1999 -- (Reuters) President Boris Yeltsin announced on Monday he wanted parliament to ratify a nuclear test ban treaty as a priority but it seems unlikely deputies will feel the same urgency while ties with the United States are strained. * Russia Says U.S. Concerns May Be Met Without Amending ABM Pact Russia Today Thursday Nov 25 at Prague 12:45 pm N.Y. 06:45 am http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=112183 UNITED NATIONS Nov 23 1999 -- (Reuters) Russia's U.N. ambassador suggested that U.S. misgivings about the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty could be addressed within the existing pact and without the amendments sought by Washington. * Gore to Meet Kazakh Leader After MiG Case By JAMES RISEN New York Times November 24 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/world/kazakh-us.html http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/112499russia-georgia.html WASHINGTON -- Vice President Al Gore plans to meet with the leader of Kazakhstan in December despite reports of that country's sale of Soviet-built weapons to North Korea administration officials said this week. * Gorbachev Faults US on Weaker Ties Wednesday Nov. 24 1999; 11:22 a.m. EST The Associated Press http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991124/aponline112219_000.htm MOSCOW -- Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev blames the United States for Russia's deteriorating relations with the West the Interfax news agency said Wednesday. * Y2K poll shows drop in public concern USA Today November 24 1999 http://usatoday.com/news/digest/nd1.htm * DOs and DON'Ts of Y2K USA Today 11/24/99- Updated 11:20 AM ET http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ctg738.htm For the purposes of this list it's assumed that there may be some difficult situations but it won't be the end of the world as we know it. * Romania Nuclear Plant Restarts Production Central Europe Online Thursday Nov 25 at Prague 01:54 pm N.Y. 07:54 am http://www.centraleurope.com/news.php3?id=112818 BUCHAREST Nov 24 1999 -- (Reuters) Romania's sole nuclear power plant Cernavoda resumed power generation after staying shut for seven weeks due to a lack of funds to pay insurance fees the plant's operator said on Wednesday. The plant has managed to pay its $250,000 quarterly insurance fee after (national electricity company) Conel funded it with $1 million for maintenance work, Nuclearoelectrica manager Teodor Chirica told Reuters * Transport of nuclear waste suspected through Sydney ABC News 11/25/99 http://www.abc.net.au/news/1999/11/item19991125172016_1.htm Federal politicians have condemned the suspected transportation of nuclear waste through the southern suburbs of Sydney today. The Democrats and Greens Senator Bob Brown say 308 spent nuclear fuel rods were taken from the Lucas Heights reactor to a ship at Port Botany under police escort. ___________________________________________________ Today's Newspapers: http://prop1.org/nucnews/links.htm NucNews Archives: http://prop1.org/nucnews/briefslv.htm Subscribe NucNews: mailto:prop1@prop1.org (NucNews-Subscribe) Submit URL/Article: mailto:prop1@prop1.org (NucNews-Editor) About NucNews: http://prop1.org/nucnews/nucnews.htm Distributed without payment for research and educational purposes only in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107.