Reaching Critical Will:

"The News in Review is a daily publication produced by Reaching Critical Will during the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conferences. It is designed to provide a wide range of civil society voices to governmental delegates and to provide daily updates to those unable to attend the conference...."

Cyril Almeida in DAWN - Opinion:

"Retaking bomb project

THE holy grail of civilian supremacy is control of the country's nuclear programme, a sphere of national policy so secret that no prime minister since Zulfikar Ali Bhutto has had any input of substance.

That is why Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's statement that he is satisfied with the command and control structure of the country's nuclear structure must be met with some scepticism - not because of the "safeness" of that structure, but because civilian control is virtually non-existent...."

Fleming, Eileen at israelenews.com:

"[Jerusalem] On April 7, 2008 Mordechai Vanunu, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee for the last twenty-two years learned that Israel has continued the restrictions against his right to leave the state or to speak with human beings if they are not Israelis.

" On April 9, 2008 it was reported that now Norway has joined Sweden, Canada and Denmark in refusing asylum to Vanunu...."

Matthew Bunn at Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs:

"Matthew Bunn testified to the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Appropriations, United States Senate about critical issues for U.S. and world security - nuclear terrorism and nuclear proliferation, and what more the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) can do to prevent them...."

Jeffrey Lewis at armscontrolwonk.com:

"North Korea has agreed to blow up the cooling tower attached to its Yongbyon nuclear facility within 24 hours of being removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, diplomats said this week...."

DisarmamentActivist.org:

"Iran released never-befere seen pictures of the new P-2 centrifuges during a visit by President Ahmadinejad. The visit was intended to reflect Iran's commitment to expanding its enrichment capabilities beyond those of the P-1 centrifuge, of which 3,000 are currently operating at the Natanz fuel enrichment plant. It is unclear whether nuclear material has been introduced yet in the new machines. Albright and Shire at ISIS have estimated that the new centrifuges can produce 250% the throughput of the P-1s now on-line.

Obviously, the question du jour is why Iran would release such detailed pictures of its "secret" centrifuge program? According to the New York Times on Tuesday, On April 8, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the desert site, and Iran released 48 photographs of the tour, providing the first significant look inside Natanz...."

Reaching Critical Will:

"The News in Review is a daily publication produced by Reaching Critical Will during the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conferences. It is designed to provide a wide range of civil society voices to governmental delegates and to provide daily updates to those unable to attend the conference...."

Mahesh Basantani at Inhabitat.com:

"who is telling us India needs Nuclear Power. Have a look and be amazed like I was. Solar Power, the way to go....

Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear-Alliance"

Lawrence S. Wittner at hnn.us:

"Although few people are aware of it, there has been considerable progress over the past decade toward a treaty to abolish nuclear weapons.

For many years, there had been a substantial gap between the pledges to eliminate nuclear weapons made by the signatories to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty of 1968 and the reality of their behavior. To remedy this situation, in 1996 the New York-based Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy-the U.S. affiliate of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms-began to coordinate the drafting of a Model Nuclear Weapons Convention. Formulated along the lines of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in 1997, this model nuclear convention was designed to serve as an international treaty that prohibits and eliminates nuclear weapons...."

Kaveh Afrasiabi at atimes.com:

"Iran has been quick to play down the supposed new initiative by the international community over its nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Ali Hosseini said that Iran has not yet officially received the "new package", but Iranian officials have rejected the demand to suspend the country's enrichment program, which they feel they are entitled to under the articles of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which Iran is a signatory...."

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation:

"The Sunflower is a monthly e-newsletter providing educational information on nuclear weapons abolition and other issues relating to global security

• Perspectives
  • Judge Christopher Weeramantry Receives NAPF Lifetime Achievement Award by David Krieger
  • The World Tipping Points by Bianca Jagger
  • Opening Remarks for the Washington, DC Think Outside the Bomb Conference by Nickolas Roth
• Historical Perspectives
  • What It Means To Think Outside the Bomb
• Nuclear Proliferation
  • American Scientists Call for Drastic Change in US Nuclear Weapons Policy
  • Israeli PM Says Syria Poses No Nuclear Threat
• Nuclear Insanity
  • Israel, US Sign Nuclear Safety Research Agreement
• Nuclear Energy and Waste
  • Senators Oppose US Nuclear Reprocessing Plan, Cite Proliferation Concerns
  • Poor Management of Spanish Radioactive Leak
• Resources
  • Carbon Free and Nuclear Free
• Foundation Activities
  • Swackhamer Disarmament Video Contest Accepting Entries
  • David Krieger to Speak in Los Angeles
  • Appeal to the Next President Gains Strong Support
• Quotes

Josh Katz, findingDulcinea Staff:

"The increasing number of developing countries interested in nuclear power programs raises concerns about the proliferation of nuclear arms...."

reachingcriticalwill.org:

"
NGO Presentations
to the second session of the Preparatory Committee
of the 2010 NPT Review Conference,
28 April-9 May 2008, Geneva

Introduction

Convenor: Peter Weiss, President of the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy, and former President and current Vice President of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
Speaker: John Burroughs, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy

The Chinese word for crisis consists of two characters, one representing danger and the other opportunity. This truism is particularly applicable to the current phase of the nuclear dilemma. The danger as well as the opportunity are in several ways greater than ever. Let me mention some of them:

- The current nuclear arsenals include weapons with many times the yield of the bombs the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The most numerous warhead in the US arsenal has nearly seven times the yield of the Nagasaki bomb. The largest warhead in the Chinese arsenal has more than 250 times the Nagasaki yield. Try to imagine what devastation weapons with seven times and more the power of the Nagasaki explosion could cause if dropped on population centers or anywhere else on this globe.
- The new strategic doctrines of some of the nuclear weapons powers go considerably beyond the old ones. They envisage, for instance, the use of nuclear weapons in the event of "surprising military developments." At least on paper, the conventionalization of nuclear weapons is in full swing.
- States possessing nuclear weapons are less committed to their elimination than they used to be, despite the clear requirements of NPT Article VI and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai on March 4, 2008, General Kevin Chilton, the commander of US strategic forces, said: "I believe we are going to need a nuclear deterrent ... for the remainder of this century, ... I think what we need is a modernized nuclear weapon to go with our modernized nuclear platforms".
- At the same time, the desire of some non-nuclear weapon states as well as non-state actors to "join the club" is becoming well nigh irresistible. Multilateral, universally applicable management and ownership of technology to make nuclear fuel - or nuclear bombs - have yet to be established, and Global Nuclear Energy Partnership-type proposals would promote reprocessing of spent fuel and use of plutonium-based nuclear fuel.

Now for a look at the bright side:

- The current situation in the Korean peninsula, which not long ago threatened to erupt into a fullscale war, demonstrates that nuclear diplomacy can work, even as between two determined opponents.
- Recent statements by high officials familiar with the nuclear question, including Dr. Blix, Dr. ElBaradei and a number of delegates to the Conference on Disarmament, have been made with a tone of urgency not heard before; they bring to mind Dr. King's phrase about "the fierce urgency of now."
- Perhaps most important is the number of new and influential voices from all shades of the political spectrum -including former Cold Warriors like Sam Nunn and Henry Kissinger- calling for a nuclear weapons-free world. This is, of course, music to the ears of those of us in civil society who have been pursuing this goal for over half a century, despite its somewhat elitist tone. But never mind, we activists are used to this sort of thing: the people lead and eventually the leaders follow.

I thank you for this opportunity to be heard, on behalf of myself and my colleagues who will now address the details in which the devil is said to reside....

"

Europe for Peace:

"Mayor of Trokavec Jan Neoral will come to Prague this Saturday to support the hunger strike against the planned installation of a US missile defense site in the Czech Republic. He will come to express his solidarity with the protestem and for one day he will join Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar, who have started the hunger strike on Tuesday...."

Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance:

"Dear Reader,

I have just signed an on-line petition and I invite you to support this initiative, that I consider vitally important

www.nonviolence.cz

No return of the Cold War, please !
We in Europe had our share and burden for more then 40 years !

I want the next generation in Europe to live in a Europe Free of Nuclear Weapons and Free of Nuclear Threat !!
I want a European Nuclear Weapon Free Zone, Now !!!

Let us kick those Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Sharing policy addiction of NATO and send the US Nuclear Weapons Home !

Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance"

Zia Mian at tni.org:

"...In the 10 years since the May 1998 nuclear weapons tests by India and Pakistan, the bomb has largely faded from view in South Asia. But the nuclear logic continues to unfold relentlessly...."

John Burroughs, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy

".."Good faith is a fundamental principle of international law, without which all international law would collapse," declared Judge Mohammed Bedjaoui during the first week of the PrepCom. Bedjaoui was President of the International Court of Justice when it gave its 1996 advisory opinion on nuclear weapons, and more recently Algerian Foreign Minister. He delivered the keynote address to a conference, "Good Faith, International Law, and the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: The Once and Future Contributions of the International Court of Justice," held on 1 May at the Warwick Hotel in Geneva...."

Tad Daley, AlterNet:

"..."Why can't we have them when they can?" That, for the "nuclear have-nots," has long been the essence of what some call the nuclear double standard, what others call nuclear narcissism, what others still call America's nuclear hypocrisy...."

Noam Chomsky at nenasili.cz:

"I would like to express my strong support, and great admiration, for the two brave Czech humanists, Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar, who have initiated a hunger strike in protest against the plans to extend the US "missile defense" system to the Czech Republic, over the objections of the large majority of the population. I place the words "missile defense" in quotes because it is understood by strategic analysts on all sides that "missile defense," if at all feasible, is an offensive weapon...."

Scott Ritter at nenasili.cz:

"About NMD system

The history of the United States "national missile defence system" in the Czech Republic (and in Europe)

A history of unending lies, manipulation and secrecy...."

20 minutes video on Star Wars at nenasili.cz

"20 minutes. The NMD project of the United States - their national missile defense system, has divided Europe. The reaction of Russia and China has created a "cold war" atmosphere. International tensions are increasing, and the crazy arms race (both conventional and nuclear) has restarted. Above all, the bases are being installed to militarize and control space."

andy_grotto at ArmsControlWonk:

"ISIS posted a copy of that letter Iran sent to UN SecGen Ban Ki Moon last week. The letter, entitled The Islamic Republic of Iran's Proposed Package for Constructive Negotiations, does not mention a suspension of uranium enrichment, a key demand of the P5+1, but it suggests the possibility of intrusive inspections and multinational enrichment on Iranian soil.

The Iranians have dangled these possibilities in the past, and although neither could prevent Tehran from diverting centrifuge technology to a clandestine facility, the added transparency would make it harder. How much so is open to debate.

What really jumped out me, however, was Iran's proposal for:

An effort to encourage other states to control the export of nuclear material and equipment.

That's a remarkable statement coming from a country that has decried the existing export control regime as a suppliers' cartel bent on holding back the economic development of developing countries.

Perhaps some nuance was lost in the translation. (The original Farsi text is included in the .pdf file that ISIS posted). Either that, or Tehran is trying to head-off the regional proliferation consequences of its actions, as its Arab neighbors suddenly acquire interest in nuclear energy...."

PNND Co-Presidents at gsinstitute.org:

"International Women's Day Statement from PNND Co-Presidents

Commemorating May 24
International Women's Day for Disarmament

On the occasion of International Women's Day for Disarmament, we appeal to world leaders and all citizens to re-dedicate themselves to implementing the goals of the United Nations for a world of peace and security through disarmament, the non-violent resolution of conflicts, and the reallocation of resources from military budgets to meet social and development goals...."

Thanasis Anapolitanos for the Mediterranean No Nuclear Neighbourhood - MN3 Network

"Nuclear power is not a solution!
It's one more problem
Mediterranean and middle east: nuclear-free zone of peace

Encouraged by the weakening memory of the Chernobyl disaster and invoking climate change and the price of oil, the ruling powers of the planet are pressing for a return to nuclear power. They treat energy as an ordinary product through which they may pursue profit, not as a common good produced from insufficient sources. They are trying to transform the wider area of the Mediterranean into a market for the nuclear industry so as to be able to promote and extend their financial and geopolitical influence. These are the main reasons for their lack of interest on energy conservation and their tendency in ignoring the perspectives of Renewable Energy Sources. Nuclear power is neither cheap, nor safe, nor "green". It is a constant threat to the environment, life and peace...."

AFP via SPACEWAR:

"Japan passed a new law Wednesday allowing the use of space programmes for defence, an official said, reversing a decades-old policy amid increasing concern about military threats in the region....

Comment Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance:

I wonder what is happening here and why now?
Is it really "defense" they say they are after _or_ should we see this as the first step toward a Japan armed with Nuclear Weapons, the necessary Plutonium stock is already enormous !"

Democracy Now! :

"....In a statement, the White House said the deal "will pave the way for Saudi Arabia's access to safe, reliable fuel sources for energy reactors and demonstrate Saudi leadership as a positive non-proliferation model for the region." But questions are being raised about the agreement at a time when the Bush administration continues to threaten military action over Iran's nuclear program...."

VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer:

"....Rivals throughout much of the Cold War, Moscow and Beijing have forged close political and military ties since the Soviet collapse, seeking to counter the perceived U.S. global domination. They have spoken against the U.S. missile defense plans in the past, but Friday's declaration by Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao sounded tougher than before.

Without naming the United States, the two leaders said that "the creation of global missile defense systems and their deployment in some regions of the world ... does not help to maintain strategic balance and stability and hampers international efforts in arms control and nuclear nonproliferation."...."

European Parliament:

"In a resolution adopted on depleted uranium (DU) weapons, the House calls for a moratorium on their use, increased pressure for an international treaty to ban them, and more research on these weapons. The resolution "strongly reiterates its call on all EU Member States and NATO countries to impose a moratorium on the use of depleted uranium weapons and to redouble efforts towards a global ban." The resolution was adopted with 491 votes in favour, 18 against and 12 abstentions.

Depleted uranium is used in ammunition, to increase the strength of casings for penetrating armour. Upon impact, however, the depleted uranium can be dispersed in the form of DU dust, which can cover large areas of conflict zones, and have averse health effects both for soldiers and civilians, even long after the conflict is over...."

Elaine Sciolino in IHT:

"PARIS: The International Atomic Energy Agency, in an unusually blunt and detailed report, said Monday that Iran's suspected research into the development of nuclear weapons remains "a matter of serious concern" and continues to need "substantial explanations."

The nine-page report accused the Iranians of a willful lack of cooperation, particularly in answering allegations that its nuclear program may be pointed less at energy generation than at military use...."

Louis Charbonneau for Reuters:

"UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A report from the U.N. nuclear watchdog shows the Security Council has no business bothering with Iran's atomic program since all open questions about it have now been resolved, Iran said on Wednesday.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday that Iran had resolved most issues about its past nuclear activities, but not its alleged research into nuclear warheads which remains a matter of serious concern...."

"....In the statement, Tehran also reiterated its previous complaints that it has not been allowed to receive copies of the documents behind the allegations that Iran had been researching nuclear warheads...."

"....The accusations were based on intelligence which came from a laptop computer spirited out of Iran by a defector in 2004 and passed on to Washington, from some other Western countries and from the IAEA's own inquiries...."

Reaching Critical Will:

"26 May 2008: The IAEA Director General released a new report on the implementation of NPT safeguards and relevant provisions of Security Council resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), and 1803 (2008) in Iran. The report provides an update on progress made in resolving outstanding questions related to Iran's past nuclear activities and alleged weaponization work, in addition to providing an overview of Iran's current enrichment, reprocessing, and heavy water-related activities. As in past reports, the IAEA continues to certify that there has been no diversion of nuclear materials to weapons. Iran, however, continues to operate its uranium enrichment and heavy water-related facilities, in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions, and continues to deploy and test two new types of centrifuges (dubbed IR-2 and IR-3) at its pilot-scale enrichment facility...."

Russia Today:

" ....On NATO

We are generally against NATO extension. Let's remember how NATO was created - in 1949, the 5th paragraph of the Washington treaty. It was done as a defensive measure during a face-off with the Soviet Union. To defend against a possible threat. The Soviet Union used to say that it wouldn't attack anybody, western countries said the opposite, but nevertheless officially it was done to defend against the Soviet Union. There's no Soviet Union anymore. There's no threat. But the organisation remains. The question is: "Against whom are you allied? What is it all for? "

Ok, some say NATO should fight modern threats. But what are these threats? The spread of nuclear weapons, terrorism, epidemics, international crime, drugs. Is it possible to tackle these threats as a closed military alliance? No. These problems can be solved only on the basis of wide cooperation....

....On Iran's nuclear programme

I don't think the Iranians are looking to make a nuclear bomb. We have no reason to believe this. The Iranian people are very proud and independent. They are trying to implement their legal right to develop peaceful nuclear technologies...."

Linda Heard at arabnews.com:

"....The world and its wife know that Israel is a nuclear power with as many as 100-200 sophisticated nuclear weapons and both short-range and long-range ballistic missiles capable of delivering them to just about any target, anywhere.

Indeed Israel's nuclear capability was confirmed beyond doubt in the mid-1980s by Mordechai Vanunu, a technician who worked on the Dimona reactor and, more recently, when Prime Minister Olmert inadvertently slipped his tongue during a visit to Germany in 2006.

"Iran, openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map," he told Germany's Sat.1 Channel before asking: "Can you say that this is the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel and Russia?" Oops!....

....Moreover, several regional countries have indicated their wish to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes including Egypt and Jordan, which unlike Israel are both signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Unless Israel comes clean and signs up to NPT safeguards and inspection, while demonstrating it is serious about its road map commitments, it might be worthwhile for those nations to shred their NPT memberships and adopt policies of "nuclear ambiguity" of their own. Israel has been allowed a free ride for far too long. It can't be much longer before its neighbors become jaundiced at hearing endless hollow promises, distortions and excuses. There may even come a time when they will no longer be disposed to even pretend to believe peace is possible...."

SAEED SHAH, McClatchy Newspapers:

"ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A.Q. Khan, the renegade nuclear scientist from Pakistan who once admitted helping Iran and Libya obtain nuclear-weapons technology, gave his first interview with an American news organization Tuesday.

Khan said that he'd only introduced those two "rogue" regimes to Western businessmen who provided the technology and the know-how for their fledgling nuclear-weapons programs.

In a telephone interview with McClatchy Newspapers in Islamabad, his first with an American news organization, Khan also said that others in Pakistan who'd aided him had gotten away "scot-free" while he'd become a "black sheep" for offering advice on nuclear weaponry...."

Frank Slijper at tni.org:

"....Project Butter Factory tells the story of Henk Slebos, A.Q. Khan and the failed international effort to control nuclear proliferation. It is a story of how the drive for profit, competing political interests and weak regulations in the Netherlands allowed the export of dual-use nuclear components to continue unchecked...."

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation:

"

Reuters:

"JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Mike McConnell, the director of U.S. national intelligence, is in Israel to hear its spymasters' arguments that Iran could obtain nuclear weapons within two years, Israeli officials said on Wednesday....

Comment Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance:

"This might be the first clouds rolling in building the thunderstorm over Iranian sky. Another time the World might be fooled _by false information_ into an unnecessary war! "

Reuters:

"JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites looks "unavoidable" given the apparent failure of sanctions to deny Tehran technology with bomb-making potential, one of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's deputies said on Friday...."

Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance:

"the following article is interesting. Praful Bidway, who is quoted several times in the article, discredits the Nuclear Weapons and Deterrence politics of India and Pakistan and proposes to normalize c.q. demilitarize the situation by putting more emphasis on trade and cooperation between India and Pakistan and other South Asian States. Praful Bidway also proposes the peace movement in India and Pakistan to take the lead - to start cooperation on a broader scale to initiate the above.

The original article appeared in The News International...."

ABC News:

"Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced the creation of a new international body that will push for nuclear disarmament.

Mr Rudd says Australia will set up a body to be known as the Nuclear Non-Proliferations and Disarmament Commission...."

David Krieger, president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation:

"Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has announced the firing of two top Air Force officials for failure to adequately secure the nation's nuclear weapons, citing a report that found a "problem not effectively addressed for over a decade." The individuals fired were the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff. That's fine, as far as it goes. But why stop there?

The firing of these two men suggests that the problem is the adequate safeguarding of nuclear weapons and materials in the US arsenal. That is a serious problem, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. Even if we could assure the security of all US nuclear weapons, we would not have dealt with the larger problem of assuring the security of US citizens from nuclear weapons. It is not only our own nuclear weapons we must worry about, but those of all other nuclear weapon states as well...."

The 3rd Rally for International Disarmament, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical:

"The Saintes Appeal

APPEAL FOR A NUCLEAR-FREE EUROPE

For a Europe of peace and security, free from nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants...."

EDWARD J. MARKEY in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:

"Here's a quick geopolitical quiz: What country is three times the size of Texas and has more than 300 days of blazing sun a year? What country has the world's largest oil reserves resting below miles upon miles of sand? And what country is being given nuclear power, not solar, by President George W. Bush, even when the mere assumption of nuclear possession in its region has been known to provoke pre-emptive air strikes, even wars? ..."

The Economic Times:

"NEW DELHI: India Tuesday renewed its call for "a plan and a timetable" to eliminate all nuclear weapons from the world as a two-day international conference on nuclear disarmament concluded here.

Calling for a "new methodology" to achieve the objective of "universal, transparent and non-discriminatory" nuclear disarmament, Vice-President Hamid Ansari invoked former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's 1988 peace plan to realise this vision...."

JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer:

"MESEBERG, Germany - President Bush on Wednesday raised unprompted the possibility of a military strike to thwart Tehran's presumed nuclear weapons ambitions, speaking bullishly on Iran even as he admitted having been unwise to do so previously about Iraq...."

David Krieger, president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation:

"....Future justice requires that the inhabitants of the future be treated justly and equitably. This implies that our current social, economic and political relations, both nationally and internationally, must become more just and equitable. It also adds an explicit focus on the longer-term consequences of these relations.

Many indigenous peoples lived with an ethic of considering present impacts on the "seventh generation." Modern societies have been far less respectful of those who will follow us on Earth, as the expanding population of the planet combined with our greed for natural resources and the power of our technologies has exponentially increased the human impact on Earth and future generations.

We need an ethic that expands our concept of justice to generations yet unborn. We need to recognize and appreciate the extent to which our decisions and acts in the present have serious, potentially irreversible consequences for the future. In the 1990s, the Cousteau Society, led by respected ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, developed and promoted A Bill of Rights for Future Generations...."

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation:

"Nuclear weapons could destroy civilization and end intelligent life on the planet.

The only sure way to prevent nuclear proliferation, nuclear terrorism and nuclear war - before the next blinding flash - is to rid the world of nuclear weapons...."

Colin Brown, The Independent UK:

" Gordon Brown has signalled he wants Britain to play a major role in the race to build an extra 1,000 nuclear power stations across the world as part of his vision for ending the global "addiction to oil". The Prime Minister, who will be flying to Saudia Arabia for an emergency oil summit next week, said in spite of the risks of terrorism, Africa could build nuclear power plants to meet growing demands for energy....



Comment Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance:

apart from the fact that Nuclear Power powers Nuclear Weapons and we all know that danger and are reminded of that Nuclear Proliferation of risk on almost a daily basis in news about the Enrichment's Proliferation danger of the Nuclear industry of Iran, we should not be willing to risk the lives of our Future Generations, by handing to them our Nuclear Waste problems, we can not solve today.

Even if we would ignore the above facts, then we should know that the construction of the Nuclear Power Plants, the mining, transport and enrichment of the Uranium and the reprocessing, transport and safeguarding of Nuclear Waste for _thousands of years_ not only costs an enormous amount of money, BUT ALSO _IS_NOT_CO2_EMISSION_FREE_.

Even if we would start the construction of those Nuclear Power Plants today we would be to late to have an impact on the global warming in time.

If we are to conquer the global warming it is necessary to reverse this process, _starting_today_ by consuming less energy and by using alternative and real sustainable forms of energy production like the use of solar, wind, tides and waves energy, which can be on line on short notice."

www.fuelcelltoday.com :

"It is claimed the Water Energy System (WES) developed by Genepax can generate power by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes. The basic power generation mechanism of the system is similar to that of a standard fuel cell. The main feature of the new system is that it uses a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which contains a material that breaks down the water to hydrogen and oxygen....



Comment Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance:

I wonder if the system needs tap water, or would run on grey water as well. Then it would be interesting to place these kind of fuel cells inside our homes to produce energy from our wasted water, like that of your washing machines and/or dishwasher, shower and/or toilets !

I see a big potential here..."

RUTH HILL - The Dominion Post:

"Nuclear-test veterans say the Government must finally "stop sitting on its hands" now international experts have upheld Massey University research exposing the extent of the genetic damage they suffered...."

Pallava Bagla in The Hindu:

"Former chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group says the fate of the India-U.S. nuclear deal would depend on the actual text the American side submits to the NSG.

Abdul S. Minty ... "It will be sheer speculation for anyone to make judgments now."

Whether the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal is 'dead or alive' is really anybody's guess. But among the crucial hurdles India has to overcome for the deal to be "operationalised" are finalising a Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and then getting the much-needed nod from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Ambassador Abdul S. Minty is South Africa's disarmament guru and a member of the IAEA's Board of Governors. He is also the immediate past chairman of the NSG. In an interview, Mr. Minty discusses the nuclear deal and the prospects for its smooth passage through these two hurdles...."

james_acton at armscontrolwonk.com:

"....Anyway, the big nuclear news of the weekend has been the revelation (from David Albright via the WaPo and others) that in 2006 the design for an "advanced nuclear weapon" was discovered on a computer belonging to AQ Khan associate, Urs Tinner.

The article says that "U.N. officials cannot rule out the possibility that the blueprints were shared with others before their discovery."

However, on BBC Radio this morning IISS's Mark Fitzpatrick stated that there is evidence that "the Swiss connection... had made copies of at least some designs and sent them to one of Khan's associates [Tahir] who at that time was in Malaysia..." Intriguingly, Fitzpatrick implies that more than one design was found on the computer.

I want to raise three observations or questions about this story...."

Jeffrey Lewis at armscontrolwonk.com:

"....We now have David Albright's essay on the advanced nuclear weapons design, as well as stories in the New York Times and Washington Post. (David Sanger, Nuclear Ring Reportedly Had Advanced Weapon, June 15, 2008; David Sanger and Bill Broad, Officials Fear Bomb Design Went to Others, June 16, 2008; Joby Warrick, Smugglers Had Design For Advanced Warhead, June 15, 2008.) There is a lot to sort through...."

David R. Sands in The Washington Times:

"The rush of countries seeking to obtain nuclear power as the price of oil soars is going to make U.S. efforts to contain nuclear proliferation and keep terrorists from obtaining weapons of mass destruction even harder, the Energy Department's top intelligence chief warned Monday....



Comment Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance:

I think the US government got the message now, but the answer to the threat of Nuclear Proliferation is not what we had in mind. Nuclear Disarmament and Nuclear Power Phase Out is still not seen as the best solution to the threat unfortunately.... "

Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance:

"The French White Paper on defence can be found here in an English version:

http://www.ambafrance-ca.org/IMG/pdf/Livre_blanc_Press_kit_english_version.pdf



_But_ according to james_acton at armscontrolwonk.com

http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/author/james_acton/

the original text in French is much longer...

The link to the French text at armscontrolwonk does not work, however I have found the French texts here:



Défense et Sécurité nationale : le Livre blanc

http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/rapports-publics/084000341/index.shtml



Défense et Sécurité nationale : le Livre blanc - Les débats

http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/rapports-publics/084000342/index.shtml "

Staff Writers AFP:

" The United States has begun to sound out Lithuania as a possible alternative host for a controversial missile shield as talks with Poland on the project grind on.

After a Polish minister said Tuesday that talks between Washington and Vilnius were indeed underway, US officials confirmed that chief missile defence negotiator John Rood had visited Lithuania, stressing all the while there were in actual fact no negotiations with the ex-Soviet Baltic state.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, however, made it clear Poland was not the only option the United States had to host the shield...."

Nikita Petrov Moscow (UPI):

"U.S. President George W. Bush's missile defenses are dying with his presidency, but they might not rest in peace.

The Czech government is on the verge of a crisis. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said his Cabinet might collapse in the fall. He admitted the Cabinet lost a firm majority in Parliament over the possible deployment of a high-frequency radar of the U.S. third positioning strategic missile defense area in the Czech Republic. Environmentalist deputies did not even want to hear about it, while others insist on a nationwide referendum, which the government cannot win because 68 percent of the population is emphatically against the deployment...."

EBEN HARRELL TIME Europe:

"Weapons-grade material from B-61 thermonuclear bombs could be removed and turned into a crude nuclear device. DOD ....

European air force bases that store U.S. nuclear bombs are failing to meet basic security requirements to safeguard the weapons, according to a report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The U.S. keeps an estimated 350 thermonuclear bombs in six NATO countries. In four of those - Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands - the weapons are stored at the host nation's air bases, where they are guarded by specially trained U.S. military personnel...."

Hans Kristensen in FAS Strategic Security Blog:

"An internal U.S. Air Force investigation has determined that "most sites" currently used for deploying nuclear weapons in Europe do not meet Department of Defense security requirements.

A summary of the investigation report was released by the Pentagon in February 2008 but omitted the details. Now a partially declassified version of the full report, recently obtained by the Federation of American Scientists, reveals a much bigger nuclear security problem in Europe that previously known...."

Hans Kristensen in FAS Strategic Security Blog:

"....European Nuclear Safety Deficiencies Detailed

The national nuclear bases in Europe, those where nuclear weapons are stored for use by the host nation's own aircraft, are at the center of the findings of the Blue Ribbon Review (BRR), the investigation that was triggered by the notorious incident in August 2007 when the U.S. Air Force lost track of six nuclear warheads for 36 hours as they were flow across the United States without the knowledge of the military personnel in charge of safeguarding and operating the nuclear weapons.

The final report of the investigation - Air Force Blue Ribbon Review of Nuclear Weapons Policies and Procedures - found that "host nation security at overseas nuclear-capable units varies from country to country in terms of personnel, facilities, and equipment." The report describes that "inconsistencies in personnel, facilities, and equipment provided to the security mission by the host nation were evident as the team traveled from site to site....Examples of areas noted in need of repair at several of the sites include support buildings, fencing, lighting, and security systems."...."

Abolition 2000 Europe:

"1st July 2008, International Conference 40th anniversary NPT at the European Parliament, Brussels

"NUCLEAR ARSENAL IN THE EU AND ITS SECURITY"

Organisers:
EP section of PNND (Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament), Belgian PNND, Mayors for Peace, Abolition 2000 Europe, Abolition 2000 Belgium, International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War, Greenpeace and CNAPD...."

The Daily Galaxy:

"The world's largest solar photovoltaic farm is strangely beautiful. Fields lined with solar panels tilting sunward seem almost like a massive environmental art project-one with an empowering message to the world. We can find ways to run the world predominantly on clean energy if we choose to. It's already beginning. By 2020, Portugal plans to generate over a third of its energy from renewables, with that percentage increasing every year...."

Christian Parenti in The Nation:

"If you listen to the rhetoric, nuclear power is back. Smashing atoms will replace burning carbon-based coal, gas and oil. In the face of a disaster movie-like future of runaway climate change--bringing drought, floods, famine and social breakdown--carbon-free nukes are cast as the deus ex machina to save us at the last minute.
Even a few greens support nuclear power--most famously James Lovelock, father of the Gaia theory. In the popular press, discussion of nuclear energy is dominated by its boosters, thanks in part to sophisticated industry PR.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) expects up to thirty applications to be filed to build atomic plants; five or six of those proposals are moving through the complicated multi-stage process. But no new atomic power stations have been fully licensed or have broken ground. And two newly proposed projects have just been shelved...."

ALI AKBAR DAREINI, The Associated Press:

"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief warned in comments aired Saturday that any military strike on Iran could turn the Mideast into a "ball of fire" and lead the country to a more aggressive stance on its controversial nuclear program.

The comments by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, came in an interview with an Arab television station aired a day after U.S. officials said they believed recent large Israeli military exercises may have been meant to show Israel's ability to hit Iran's nuclear sites...."

DW staff (jen) in Deutsche Welle:

"Politicians in Germany are calling for the US to remove nuclear arms stored in Germany after a report pointed to safety deficits at US atomic weapon sites in Europe.

Social Democrat and opposition politicians in Germany have called for the withdrawal of US atomic weapons from German military bases after a US Air Force investigation concluded that "most sites" used for deploying nuclear weapons in Europe do not meet US Department of Defense minimum security requirements...."

Robert Alvarez:

"Over the past few years, recycling nuclear power spent fuel has gained a lot of attention. Advocates, such the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, argue that, "95 percent of the used fuel from America's 104 power reactors... could be recycled for future use."
Heritage points out that nuclear recycling "can be affordable and is technologically feasible. The French are proving that on a daily basis.
The question is: Why can't oui?"

As is common with nuclear technologies, the answer, like the devil, is in the details...."

Bruce Kent, IPB's former President:

"I am so pleased with the title that you have chosen for this event-- 'The psychology behind nuclear weapons and their retention.' It has always seemed to me that many of the difficulties which face people like us, who want to see an end to nuclear barbarism, have always been more mental than technical...."

Chip Ward at tomdispatch.com:

"Big Bad Boom
Radioactive Deja Vu in the American West

....Here we go again Unfortunately, it's not only the heat that's hitting us hard out here. One of the "solutions" to the crisis of climate chaos is about to kick the citizens of the West right in our collective gut before we even have a chance to go down for the count from heat exhaustion. Nuclear power -- once touted as a "solution" to other problems and recently resurrected -- is now being pushed hard as an alternative to carbon-dioxide emitting coal for keeping the lights on. And, unfortunately for us, its raw material, uranium, is right in our backyard.

So we in states like Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Montana are poised for a mining boom reminiscent of the one in the 1950s when the nuclear age began. Then, the West's uranium mines provided the raw material for our metastasizing Cold War nuclear arsenal and the nation's first generation of nuclear reactors. (You remember Three Mile Island, don't you?) Back then, radioactive ore was often dug out by impoverished Navajo miners desperate for jobs. Many of them later sickened and died from exposure to radioactivity...."

The Times of India:

"NEW DELHI: July and September are emerging as key months in the nuclear-deal calendar that has been worked out between foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee and key officials.

India is likely to start lobbying in earnest with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for an exemption from July. The prime minister wants to kick off the effort at the G8 summit itself. That will be a formal opening of negotiations on the NSG...."

ALI AKBAR DAREINI, The Associated Press:

"Earlier this month, Israel sent warplanes and other aircraft on a major exercise in the eastern Mediterranean that U.S. officials said was a message to Iran - a show of force as well as practice in the operations needed for a long-range strike mission.

Larijani, who was once Iran's top nuclear negotiator with the West, made the comments in a speech to parliament aired on state TV and radio.

He pointed to recent comments by Mohamed ElBaradei, the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief, who said in an interview last week that a military strike on Iran could turn the Mideast into a "ball of fire" and "prompt Iran, even if it didn't produce a nuclear weapon today, to resort to an emergency plan to produce a nuclear weapon."

"Take Mr. ElBaradei's warnings seriously," Larijani said, addressing the West.

"Don't provoke Iran otherwise you will face a done deal that will block the path of your return to a compromise with Iran," Larijani told a parliament session broadcast live on state radio Wednesday...."

STEVEN STARR at columbiatribune.com:

"At the conclusion of their April 2008 summit, Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin agreed the Cold War was over and that another Cuban missile crisis would be "unthinkable." Standing nearby were U.S. and Russian military officers, each holding a briefcase from which their respective president could quickly transmit a launch order that, in about three minutes, would cause hundreds of ballistic missiles armed with thousands of nuclear warheads to begin their 30-minute flights toward Russia or the United States.

Regardless of public expressions of friendship, the United States and Russia continue to operate under policies that assume each could authorize a nuclear attack against the other. The failure to end their Cold War nuclear confrontation causes both nations together to maintain a total of at least 2,600 strategic nuclear warheads on high-alert, launch-ready status, whose primary missions remain the destruction of the opposing side's nuclear forces, industrial infrastructure and civilian/military leaders...."

Peter Harmsen, AFP:

"BEIJING (AFP) - North Korea was expected to finally deliver an overdue account of its nuclear activities Thursday, the next step in years of international talks to get the secretive country to abandon atomic weapons...."

Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent at telegraph.co.uk:

"A design flaw in Britain's nuclear arsenal means that warheads could set off a chain reaction "like popcorn" if they were accidentally dropped, according to Ministry of Defence documents.

More than 1,700 warheads are affected by the problem which would cause them to explode one after another, an effect known as "popcorning."

A typical Trident nuclear missile contains three to six warheads, and some submarines carry up to 24 missiles, meaning the potential for disaster could be huge...."

Hans Kristensen in FAS Strategic Security Blog:

"The United States has withdrawn nuclear weapons from the RAF Lakenheath air base 70 miles northeast of London, marking the end to more than 50 years of U.S. nuclear weapons deployment to the United Kingdom since the first nuclear bombs first arrived in September 1954.

The withdrawal, which has not been officially announced but confirmed by several sources, follows the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Ramstein Air Base in Germany in 2005 and Greece in 2001. The removal of nuclear weapons from three bases in two NATO countries in less than a decade undercuts the argument for continuing deployment in other European countries...."