Stop the Hogs!

by **Oscar** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 5:40 pm

NUKE NEWS: September 25, 2010

1. 3rd ANNUAL ACTIVIST RETREAT – Oct. 8 – 10 – Fort Qu’Appelle, SK
2. ACTION: Sign: Statement: To stop refurbishment and immediately commence decommissioning of the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station
3. ACTION: SIGN PETITION: Calls Continue To Block Shipments of Radioactive Waste Through The Welland Canal And Great Lakes
4. Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and Western Mining Action Network (WMAN)Grassroots Communities Mining Mini-Grant Program
5. Critics deride Ontario’s energy plan review
6. Athabasca Basin shows promise
7. BHP Billiton eyes uranium
8. Another feeble-headed nuclear reactor concept drops dead
9. Crimes of the Century: Occupation & Contaminating Iraq with Depleted Uranium
10. No Nukes News - Sept. 22, 2010
11. Beyond Nuclear Bulletin – September 23, 2010
12. Stuxnet malware is 'weapon' out to destroy ... Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant?
13. CIELAP - Summer 2010 Newsletter
14. Indigenous resistance, from Colombia to Palestine
15. The Force of Nature – The David Suzuki Movie/The Book: The Legacy
16. Canada boycotts United Nations speech by Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
17. Canadian government supports UN, but not peacekeeping
18. Canada’s Engagement in Afghanistan - Ninth Quarterly Report
19. New reports of fraud in Afghan elections
20. Canada: 1, “Fox News North”: 0
21. Tight restrictions on gov't scientists public disservice

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1. 3rd ANNUAL ACTIVIST RETREAT – Oct. 8 – 10 – Fort Qu’Appelle

"Conversations and Strategies for Coalition-Building"

Crows Nest Ecology Preserve (near Fort Qu'Appelle)
Oct. 8th evening to Oct. 10th noon

Over the last two years non-nuclear, green activists have met in retreats to discuss the challenges of the nuclear industry-dominated Uranium Development Partnership (UDP). While public activism has stopped Bruce Power's plans for nuclear plants along the North Saskatchewan River, we continue to face a triple challenge. This retreat will look at:
1. Greening the grid,
2. Winning a nuclear waste ban, and
3, Allying with the north on a non-nuclear sustainable path.
If you are want to register contact Jim Harding
(djharding@sasktel.net) or
ph. 306-332-4492 before the end of Sept. (for sure).
This Activist Retreat will be run cooperatively. Camping and cabins available. Limit of 20. Registration $20.
Please come! It can make a difference.

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2. ACTION: Sign: Statement: To stop refurbishment and immediately commence decommissioning of the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station

http://iicph.org/
statement-to-stop-refurbishment-and-immediately-commence-decommissioning-of-the-point-lepreau-nuclear-generating-station

September 17, 2010

Please sign on and support this important statement from the Passamaquoddy people.
- - - -
We, the undersigned concerned groups and citizens, are concerned that the nuclear generating station at Point Lepreau, New Brunswick,
i) is poisoning the air, land, waters, people and all other life forms who live there;
ii) operates with radioactive fuel that is poisoning the air, land, waters, people and all other life forms; wherever nuclear fuel is mined, processed and transported;
iii) is an unnecessary economic burden on the people of New Brunswick;
iv) is an unsafe operation undergoing untested and untried first-of-a-kind refurbishment of aging and damaged equipment in a populated area
v) is proceeding without consultation with or permission from the indigenous people of the territory
We herewith demand that:
no further monies be spent on nuclear energy in New Brunswick,
- and -
plans to decommission the reactor at Point Lepreau begin immediately.

Sign HERE:

http://iicph.org/
statement-to-stop-refurbishment-and-immediately-commence-decommissioning-of-the-point-lepreau-nuclear-generating-station#jra_pet_msg

- - - - - - -

See also the media release from Chief Hugh Akagi of the Passamaquoddy Nation.

http://iicph.org/passamaquoddy-press-release-sept-2010
--
Sierra Club Canada - Atlantic Chapter
1657 Barrington St., Suite 533
Halifax, Nova Scotia CANADA
B3J 2A1
Email: gretchenf@sierraclub.ca
Tel.: 902-444-3113
Fax: 902-444-3116

Sierra Club Canada is a member-based organization that empowers people to protect, restore and enjoy a healthy and safe planet.
Join the Club!
www.sierraclub.ca/atlantic

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3. ACTION: SIGN PETITION: Calls Continue To Block Shipments of Radioactive Waste Through The Welland Canal And Great Lakes

http://niagaraatlarge.com/2010/09/23/
calls-continue-to-block-shipments-of-radioactive-waste-through-the-welland-canal-and-great-lakes/

Posted on September 23, 2010 by dougdraper|
Niagara At Large is posting the following for readers in our greater Niagara region who may have concerns about plans to ship radioactive waste through the Great Lakes and Welland Canal.
The call from Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath to the province’s premier, Dalton McGuinty to halt these shipments is just the latest of many calls of concern around this from bodies on the Canadian and American sides of our Great Lakes region.
Following the posting of Horwath’s open message to Ontario’s premier, Niagara At Large is posting a recent piece by Great Lakes United, a U.S./Canada coalition of lakes conservationists with a head office in Buffalo, N.Y., raising concerns about these planned shipments of radioactive waste.
- - - -
Don’t float nuke boat: Horwath to McGuinty

QUEEN’S PARK – NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on the McGuinty government to halt planned shipments of radioactive waste through the Great Lakes.Bruce Power is proposing to ship 16 radioactive nuclear steam generators from Owen Sound to Sweden for dismantling and recycling.
“Seventy Great Lakes mayors, dozens of environmental groups, and First Nations communities oppose this plan, which was not part of Bruce Power’s initial proposal and exceeds by 50 times international limits for radioactivity on a single ship,” said Horwath, citing the growing grassroots opposition.
“Why isn’t the McGuinty government taking action to prevent this unprecedented and unnecessary threat?” she asked Premier Dalton McGuinty during this morning’s Question Period.
McGuinty passed the question to his Energy Minister Brad Duguid who in turn passed the concern to the Federal government, saying it’s under their jurisdiction.
“The McGuinty government needs to stop passing the buck and show some leadership,” said Horwath. “The Ontario government is responsible for protecting the Great Lakes. And the provincial government owns Ontario Power Generation (OPG) which owns and operates the radioactive waste site where the generators are stored.”
She implored McGuinty to stop ignoring the obvious danger to Ontarians. “The Premier should order OPG to slam the brakes on this hare-brained plan to ship radioactive nuclear waste through our Great Lakes,” said Horwath.
From the Canada/U.S. citizen coalition Great Lakes United
Action Alert: Act now and sign a petition to stop the shipment of nuclear steam generators on the Great Lakes. A member group of Great Lakes United (Nuclear-Free Green Energy Task Force) is calling for your help.
They are asking for signatures on a petition to stop the shipment of nuclear steam generators on the Great Lakes.
This is petition is being taken to the Owen Sound, (Ontario) City Council on Monday night, September 13th. The petition from Citizens Against Radioactive Generators in Owen Sound (CARGO) can be signed here:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/38935.html CARGO will continue taking online signatures until September 30, but they need as many signatures as possible this morning (Monday, September 13).
This petition is in opposition to the transport of 16 radioactive steam generators by road from the Bruce nuclear complex to Owen Sound and by ship from Owen Sound to Studsvik in Sweden on the Baltic Sea. The shipping of radioactive material poses an unacceptable risk to the Great Lakes ecosystem, and allowing this shipment to take place sets a dangerous precedent for the future health of the lakes.

For more information on this issue, please visit

http://www.glu.org/en/campaigns/energy/ ... generators

Please take action and sign this petition today:

http://www.gopetition.com/petition/38935.html).

(Visit Niagara At Large at
www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater binational Niagara region.)

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4. Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and Western Mining Action Network (WMAN)Grassroots Communities Mining Mini-Grant Program

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/emai ... 1410542175

NEXT DEADLINE: OCTOBER 1, 2010
The goal of the Mining Mini-grants Program is to support and enhance the capacity building efforts of mining-impacted communities in the U.S. and Canada to assure that mining projects do not adversely affect human, cultural, and the ecological health of communities.
The applicant must be a grassroots or indigenous community program with limited funds that have demonstrated the capacity to successfully carry out the project. Individual grants will not exceed $3,000 U.S. and cannot be used for general programmatic or operating expenses.
WMAN/IEN Grassroots Communities Mining Mini-grants program criteria:
Grassroots community-based organizations, and Tribes or Tribal programs in the U.S. and Canada with any budget level may apply. However, if there are more applicants than funds available, priority will be given to organizations with an organizational or mining-specific project budget under $75,000 U.S.
Requests must be project-specific for an immediate need such as legal assistance, organizing and outreach, development of campaign materials, media development, reports, travel, mailings, etc. to be fulfilled within the next four to six months on a specific mining campaign. Funds cannot be used for an organization’s general operating funds, staff salaries, rent or telephone bills.
Priority will be given to projects that build bridges and community across socio-economic and cultural lines.
Applicants who have received funds twice during the previous two grant cycles will be given lower priority than new organizations and programs. This will not apply to “emergency” grants.
Each grant issued will not exceed $3,000.
Funding recipients must submit a brief report detailing how funds were spent within 1 month of the project finishing. Recipients will not be eligible for additional funding until the project has been completed and a project report, or an extension request, is received and accepted by WMAN and IEN.

Click here to download the information and application.

http://www.ienearth.org/docs/
GrassrootsCommunitiesMini-GrantDescriptionandApplicationJune1_2010.doc

Any questions? We are happy to help.
Please contact either Simone Senogles, Indigenous Environmental Network, (218) 751-4967 ~ simone@ienearth.org or
Sarah Keeney, WMAN Network Coordinator at (503) 327-8625 ~ sarahekeeney@comcast.net

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5. Critics deride Ontario’s energy plan review

http://www.thestar.com/news/sciencetech/environment/
article/864152--critics-deride-ontario-s-energy-plan-review?bn=1

Keith Leslie, Canadian Press, appeared in the Toronto Star, Tue Sept 21, 2010.
Ontario is asking for the public’s input on its long-term energy plan, but environmentalists were dismayed Tuesday that the Liberal government remained committed to nuclear power.
The Ministry of Energy has posted a 10-question survey online to gather feedback on a 20-year supply plan. It asks, for example, how much wind and solar power should be in the electricity mix and what type of generation should replace coal when it’s phased out in 2014.
Energy Minister Brad Duguid said he didn’t want to prejudge the outcome of the consultations, which will also include public meetings, but admitted he wants to keep uclear power providing 50 per cent of Ontario’s electricity.
“I don’t envision a scenario where we’re going to reduce our nuclear baseload,” said Duguid. “We see it as being a reliable and economical source of power for us.”
Greenpeace Canada complained Duguid was plowing ahead with plans to build two new nuclear reactors and refurbish others even though estimated costs have shot through the roof.
“Despite the fact the cost of their nuclear plan has more than doubled in three years, the minister is saying they’re still going to barrel ahead with that,” said Greenpeace spokesman Shawn-Patrick Stensil.

MORE:
http://www.thestar.com/news/sciencetech ... t/article/
864152--critics-deride-ontario-s-energy-plan-review?bn=1

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6. Athabasca Basin shows promise

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/
Athabasca+Basin+shows+promise/3572274/story.html

By Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenix September 24, 2010

UEX Corp. says the Kianna deposit in the Shea Creek uranium project in the Athabasca Basin has been extended.
After an $8.25-million exploration program on the property this year, results indicate high-grade uranium mineralization at the Kianna deposit -- including 12.4 per cent U3O8 over 3.7 metres and 1.39 per cent U3O8 over 34.3 metres -- and an extension of the deposit's mineralization 25 metres to the southwest.
The drill program also targeted the 58B deposit, located between the Kianna and Colette deposits at Shea Creek. Saying 58B is an emerging new deposit, UEX said results show mineralization at 58B has been traced at a strike length of 400 metres and occurs over a width of 110 metres. The deposit has similar characteristics as Kianna.
- - SNIP - - - -
CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. has announced early results from summer exploration surveys on the Collins Bay Extension, Grease River and West McArthur projects in the Athabasca Basin.
The company says seismic profiling at the Collins Bay Extension project found promising targets that may be drill-tested this winter. At Grease River, detailed mapping and sampling took place in preparation for a diamond drill program in 2010-11. At West McArthur, the company awaits results from a ZTEM survey that will help plan work for the site in the next five years.
Meanwhile, the company has increased its participating interest in the Fond Du Lac project to 50 per cent. CanAlaska, which is partnering with the Fond Du Lac Denesuline community on the project, says it plans to have multiple drill programs in the Athabasca Basin starting in December 2010 or January 2011.
- - - -SNIP- - - -
JNR Resources Inc. has completed an airborne gravity gradient survey on its Crackingstone uranium property in northern Saskatchewan.
The Saskatoon-based company said the data from the survey -- which is still being processed -- will help better define and upgrade existing targets for drill testing. Previous work on the property in the 1950s and 1960s found about 12 uranium showings.
- - - -SNIP - - -

MORE:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/
Athabasca+Basin+shows+promise/3572274/story.html

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7. BHP Billiton eyes uranium

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Billiton+eyes+uranium/
3554243/story.html

[ See safety whistleblower info below this article. ]

Potash first on company's Sask. agenda
By Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenix September 21, 2010 8:36 AM
While potash remains top of mind for BHP Billiton, the CEO of the world's largest mining company told The StarPhoenix on Monday that the province's uranium reserves are also of interest to the firm.
"There has been a fair amount of internal thinking about the uranium potential here," Marius Kloppers said in an interview.
"I would say that those two commodities (potash and uranium), probably in order, are the ones that interest us," he said.
BHP Billiton targets tier-one assets, meaning resource deposits must be large and among the best in the world to be of interest to the company. Some of Saskatchewan's smaller natural deposits, such as rare earth elements, are likely not in the firm's range.
"To be frank with you, things like rare earths and so on are probably too small for our company to really move the needle," Kloppers said. "Historically, we have not put that in a strategic frame and it's unlikely that will change."
Andrew Mackenzie, a BHP Billiton executive and chief executive of non-ferrous metals, said the company prefers to anchor itself in tier-one ore bodies.
"Saskatchewan is probably blessed with two (world-class resources), and they are what you have in potash and what you have in uranium, which really are world champion resources," Mackenzie said. "That would be where our interest would lie."
BHP Billiton is already involved in the uranium industry through its base metals division.
Mackenzie stressed the company's uranium focus remains on its own properties, such as its Olympic Dam mine and the Yeerlirrie project, both of which are located in Australia.
And in Saskatchewan, he added, potash is BHP Billiton's top priority.

MORE:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Billiton+eyes+uranium/
3554243/story.html
- - - - -
BHP Billiton - Olympic Dam, Roxby Downs (South Australia)

http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html

General issues
Workers exposed to unsafe levels of radiation at Olympic Dam mine: whistleblower

Workers at BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam are being exposed to unsafe levels of radiation, according to a company whistleblower. BHP Billiton has been warned about the risks at Roxby Downs, but according to South Australian Upper House Greens MP Mark Parnell the company has failed to take action. Mr Parnell says the levels of polonium-210, the toxic by-product of uranium production, have breached health standards. The whistleblower produced documents that show BHP uses manipulated averages and distorted sampling to ensure the figures are below the maximum exposure levels set by government, he said. (Sydney Morning Herald June 4, 2010)

MORE: http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html

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8. Another feeble-headed nuclear reactor concept drops dead

From: Gordon Edwards
Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2010 9:18 AM
Subject: Another feeble-headed nuclear reactor concept drops dead

Background:

As the "nuclear renaissance" sputters and stalls, nuclear proponents have trotted out one new idea after another, trying to keep the dream of a nuclear-powered paradise alive.
"Breeder reactors", otherwise known as "fast reactors", have been dusted off and touted as a futuristic concept even though they have failed repeatedly in the past.
"Thorium-fueled reactors" have been presented as a new and exciting idea even though (1) thorium is not a nuclear fuel at all (it needs plutonium to get started and it depends on 100 percent enriched uranium-233 as a weapons-usable byproduct) and (2) it is a very old idea that was abandoned by the U.S.A. decades ago.
Generation III reactors were supposed to be larger, more powerful, cheaper, and quicker to build, but when these promises turned out to be untrue, nuclear proponents
did an about-face and promoted small, stand-alone, modular reactors that would provide both heat and electricity. Once again, these promises seem to be based not so much on scientific evidence as on engineering euphoria.
Gordon Edwards.
- - - - - -

Another feeble-headed nuke drops dead

http://www.counterpunch.org/wasserman09242010.html

by Harvey Wasserman, CounterPunch, September 24, 2010
As the "reactor renaissance" desperately demands new billions from a lame duck Congress, one of its shining stars has dropped dead. Other much-hyped "new generation" plans may soon die with it.
For years "expert" reactor backers have touted the "Pebble Bed" design as an "inherently safe" alternative to traditional domed light water models. Now its South African developers say they're done pouring money into it.
- - - -SNIP - - -
This anti-green arsenal has also included fast breeder reactors, which would magically create new fuel from used fuel. Canada's heavy water CanDu. Thorium reactors, which would burn a radioactive element other than uranium. Fusion reactors, which would mimic the gargantuan power of the sun. The AP 1000, new from Westinghouse. The European (or Evolutionary) Power Reactor, new from France's Areva. And a whole
fleet of "Fourth Generation" designs which are unproven and often wildly impractical.
Like older proposed projects such as nuclear-powered aircraft, homes built of uranium and nuclear-tipped anti-ballistic missiles, all have run afoul of reality. None offer a realistic solution to the problems of waste or terrorism, not to mention cost, heat emissions and greenhouse gas production in all but the fission/fusion portion of the
process. The first big breeder, Fermi I, nearly exploded in Monroe, Michigan, in 1966, threatening to irradiate the entire Great Lakes region. Today's models are extremely dangerous, dirty and have been widely rejected outside France and Japan, where they barely operate.
Canada has been unable to find buyers for its Candu design, and has put its own Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., up for sale. Thorium reactors are unproven, with no prototypes. Fusion reactors are periodically hyped and always "twenty years away." The AP1000 and EPR face major regulatory, safety and financial hurdles.
Meanwhile a "Fourth Generation" of proposed reactors is theoretical and all over the map. As Michael Mariotte of the Nuclear Information & Resource Service puts it: "The Pebble Bed has failed for the same reason all the other new reactor designs ultimately will fail: they are too expensive compared to the competition. Renewables and energy
efficiency are cheap and getting cheaper; nuclear is expensive and getting more so."
Sensing an unending march of hotly hyped but feeble headed new design failures, the US industry is now pushing hard to get its aging fleet -- originally designed to operate 30 to 40 years -- licensed to run for 60 to 80 years. But not one of 104 US reactors has a containment dome designed to withstand a serious jet crash. Reactor builders now
say they'll put stronger domes on the new models, but prefer not to discuss cost or logistical realities.
The Pebble Bed's backers could not find private investors, and the South African government finally got tired of footing the bill.
If/when that happens here -- and the sooner the better – the technologies of true green power and efficiency will finally get their day.
Then the "too cheap to meter" six-decade Peaceful Atom fantasy, with its fast breeding corps of failed new designs, can take its final rest in the very dead pebble bed.

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9. Crimes of the Century: Occupation & Contaminating Iraq with Depleted Uranium

http://www.brusselstribunal.org/pdf/DU-Azzawi.pdf

Dr. Souad N. Al‐Azzawi - Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering, Iraq September 18, 2010.
One important factor that might explain these health damages is the joined impact of the sanction and the DU contamination. Starvation of the Iraqi population during the Nineties with the intensive exposure to DU contaminants caused serious damages to their immune system. Damages of the body immune system disabled their body to fight the initiation of cancer and other previously mentioned DU related health damages. The synergic effects of both the sanction and DU contamination have resulted in the previously mentioned multifold health damages in contaminated areas. Thousands of cases should be studied in relation to DU contamination in Iraq to find the proper ways and treatments to reduce the losses. The American Administration suppressed all suggested studies related to this issue in Iraq. This is a criminal act against the people and environment of Iraq. The Minister of Environment under the occupation government finally admitted in 2007 the existence of more than 350 highly contaminated related to DU sites. She also admitted the existing of high rate of cancer in Iraq due to the use of Depleted Uranium weapons...

Full Document:
http://www.brusselstribunal.org/pdf/DU-Azzawi.pdf

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10. No Nukes News - Sept. 22, 2010

“We are talking about trying to bury thousands of tonnes of highly dangerous waste for longer than people have existed on Earth. It would be a significant engineering feat if it worked but, if miscalculated, could release highly radioactive waste into our groundwater or seas for centuries, so far below ground that there will be nothing we can do about it" - Shawn-Patrick Stensil, Greenpeace

"It's like one of those old Wild West things — ‘we're going to give you a trial and then hang you’. But they need to get the message that we want this thing stopped. We were told the Titanic wouldn't sink. We were told the BP drill rigs were safe." - Mike Bradley, Mayor of Sarnia, Ontario, about the shipment of radioactive waste through the Great Lakes
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10 question survey on Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan
Ontario is asking for the public’s input on its long-term energy plan. The Ministry of Energy has posted a 10-question survey online to gather feedback on a 20-year supply plan. It asks, for example, how much wind, solar and nuclear power should be in the electricity mix and what type of generation should replace coal when it’s phased out in 2014. Please make the time (10 min.) to fill this out; it’s an opportunity to tell gov’t that we want 100% renewable electricity grid! -angela

http://www.mei.gov.on.ca/en/energy/
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Nuclear shipments draw more fire
A group of Great Lakes city mayors oppose a plan to ship nuclear waste through the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, representing 70 municipalities, wants halted Bruce Power's plan to ship sixteen steam generators contaminated with low levels of radiation to Sweden for recycling.

http://theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2756784

Anderson predicts protests
Owen Sound could see some massive demonstrations if Bruce Power's plans to ship decommissioned steam generators from the nuclear plant near Tiverton through the city's harbour to Sweden is approved, Blue Mountains Mayor Ellen Anderson said Tuesday.

http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/Articl ... ?e=2757545
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Greenpeace warns Canadian communities about the threats of nuclear waste repositories
Northern communities being courted as the site for a radioactive waste dump should be wary of the safety claims being made by the waste management agency controlled by the nuclear industry, says a new analysis of the scientific studies on underground waste disposal commissioned by Greenpeace.

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/recent/
Greenpeace-warns-Canadian-communities-about-the-threats-of-nuclear-waste-repositories/
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Why Atomic Energy Can't Compete
Is the Nuclear Renaissance Dead Yet?
America's much hyped "reactor renaissance" is facing a quadruple bypass. In actual new construction, proposed projects and overseas sales, soaring costs are killing new nukes. And the old ones are leaking like Dark Age relics on the brink of disaster.
As renewables plummet in cost, and private financing stays nil, the nuclear industry is desperate to gouge billions from Congress for loan guarantees to build new reactors. Thus far, citizen activism has stopped them. But the industry is pouring all it has into this fall's short session, yet again demanding massive new subsides to stay on life support.
But it is now clearer than ever that atomic energy cannot compete, that new construction means new rate hikes, that delays and cost overruns will always outstrip the industry's initial public assurances, and that after a half-century this technology still can't face the prospect of full liability for the disasters it might impose ... or even for the "minor" radiation it constantly emits.
Will this finally kill the much hyped "renaissance" of a Dark Age technology defined by quadruple failures in human health, global ecology, sound finance and increasingly shaky performance?
That will depend on the power of citizen activism. Nuclear power can't survive without protection from accident liability. Nor can new plants be built without huge public subsidies.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/13-2
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Germans Protest Nuclear Plants
Tens of thousands of Germans surrounded Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office on Saturday in an antinuclear demonstration that organizers said was the biggest of its kind since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/world ... RMANY.html

'Most Germans Don't Want Nuclear Power'
Anti-nuclear demonstrations in Berlin on Saturday sent a powerful message of opposition to Chancellor Angela Merkel's plan to extend the lifetimes of German reactors. Media commentators say she would be unwise to ignore it, because her own supporters don't want nuclear power either. Tens of thousands demonstrated in central Berlin on Saturday against plans by the government to extend the lifetimes of Germany's 17 nuclear power stations by an average of 12 years beyond the originally planned phase-out in 2021. Organizers said the protest drew 100,000 people and was the biggest of its kind in Germany since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986

http://www.spiegel.de/international/ger ... 19,00.html
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Ontario pays price in jobs as loonie rises on tide of oil
Tony Clarke: To be sure, some new jobs have been created in recent years by Ontario industries supplying goods and services for the big petroleum companies in the Alberta oilsands. Yet these economic benefits pale in comparison to the massive job losses incurred recently in this province's manufacturing sector, the causes of which can be traced back to Alberta's oil boom.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editoria ... n/article/
863955--ontario-pays-price-in-jobs-as-loonie-rises-on-tide-of-oil
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Canada must not sacrifice environment to become energy superpower
If you do this analysis—and Greenpeace has—it quickly becomes clear that in a world that is taking action on global warming, there is no business case for investments in high-priced, high-carbon oil from the tar sands, including the multi-billion-dollar pipelines and tanker traffic needed to bring it to markets.

http://www.straight.com/article-346740/vancouver/
dave-martin-canada-must-not-sacrifice-environment-become-energy-superpower
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A global shift to renewable energy
Lester Brown: Wind, solar and geothermal generation multiplying as fast as computers or cell phones.

http://www.straightgoods.ca/2010/
ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=768&Cookies=yes
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Get efficient about energy; Hydro rate hikes a wakeup call
With this month's predictions of residential electricity bills rising by 40 per cent and more by 2015, energy reduction strategies are becoming of great and urgent interest to Windsor-Essex County's concerned homeowners.
He figures the average home wastes 25 to 40 per cent of the energy it consumes… "If your bills are horrendous, it's not the cost of electricity, it's the cost of your waste," Davidson says. "Analyse your needs, analyse the physical condition of your home. Remedy that."

http://www.windsorstar.com/technology/e ... ut+energy/
3559578/story.html
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As part of the IIDEX Green Building Festival, Sept. 22 – 25, Toronto, see keynote presentation:
Leading the Way to a Third Industrial Revolution with Jeremy Rifkin
Economist and President, Foundation on Economic Trends, USA
Thursday, September 23, 4 – 5 p.m.
Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto
Humanity, according to Jeremy Rifkin, is poised to make a definitive shift away from its carbon-based geopolitical reality toward a new paradigm of sustainability. The internationally influential economist, known for his provocative environmental theories, sees this profound change as taking place along generational lines and considers it to be the uppermost challenge for the millennial generation. In his view, this sustainable human future must be founded upon four pillars: 1) renewable energy; 2) buildings as positive power plants; 3) hydrogen storage; and 4) smartgrids and plug-in vehicles. In his much-anticipated keynote address, Jeremy will lay out his vision of the Third Industrial Revolution, and explain how the economic infrastructure necessary for this revolution will transform the skill levels and managerial styles of the workforce, advance energy security, prompt educational reform, and improve the quality of life worldwide.
For more information on Jeremy Rifkin visit
www.foet.org For more info on IIDEX Green Building Festival Sept. 22 – 25 visit
http://www.iidexneocon.com/2010/
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Planet in Focus presents:
Waste: The Nuclear Nightmare (Dechets: Le Cauchemar du Nucleaire)
Run time: 98 min. | France/ Germany
Friday September 24th, 6:45 pm
Gardiner Museum, 111 Queen’s Park, Toronto
Pay-What-You-Can ($7.00 suggested)
As even ecologists reconsider nuclear as an alternative to burning carbon, Waste: The Nuclear Nightmare examines the impact of nuclear waste for the near future and next hundreds of thousands of years. The 'energy of the future' is astutely dissected- clearly outlining how nuclear power is generated, how waste is created and systematically uncovers what happens to waste produced in nuclear plants in France. The public relations myth that 'waste is recycled' unravels as the final destination of tons of contaminated material is revealed. Key to this film is its use of Google map imagery and clear animation to counter the red tape and political double-speak. Waste is allowed incredible access to French nuclear plants, recycling facilities, and the archives of Greenpeace Europe and testing facilities of CRIIRAD. And while some hope is presented for the future, you'll want answers from our own government about what is happening to nuclear waste in Canada.

http://www.planetinfocus.org/pif-365/
mixed-greens-monthly-screening
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Hot Planet/ Cold Wars: Prescriptions for a Healthy Planet in Troubled Times
To understand the consequences of Climate Change and Nuclear Proliferation and work toward solutions.
Physicians, students, activists and members of the public are all welcome.
Fri. October 1 evening and Sat. October 2, 8:30 am to 5 pm
Medical Sciences Building, 1 Kings College Circle, University of Toronto
www.pgs.ca
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Community Power Conference
November 15 – 16 - Toronto
The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) is hosting its second annual Community Power Conference this November. The event is Ontario’s single largest annual gathering of Community Power producers, proponents and supporters. Together with the Power Networking Centre trade show, the conference attracts industry regulators, commercial and community power generators, farmers and First Nation and Métis delegations.

www.cpconference.ca
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Ride for Renewables – Toronto
Sun. Oct 3, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. (10:30 a.m. if you need quick bike repairs)
Meet at the wind turbine at Exhibition Place, end in the beaches.
Free. All cyclists welcome.
We'll visit 6 green energy projects including wind, solar thermal, solar PV, geothermal, CHP and conservation.
Speakers and snacks en route. Get inspired for your 10/10/10 work party! 350.org
For more info: greenspi@web.ca ph. 647 342 1964
Sponsored by: Toronto Climate Campaign, Greenspiration, Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative, Greenpeace, Toronto Cyclists Union, 10/10/10 - 350.org
facebook page
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Help us push the Ontario coal phase out this year!
1. Visit CoalMustGo.ca to send a letter to Ontario’s political leaders. It will only take one minute of your time. Make your voice heard on this critical health/enviro issue.
2. Order free pamphlets to distribute in your community (sponsored by the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, and Ontario Clean Air Alliance). They contain postcards to Ontario’s political leaders. Thanks for helping get the word out! - angela
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Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Tel: 416 926 1907 x 246
625 Church Street, #402, Toronto, ON M4Y 2G1
angela@cleanairalliance.org
www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca
www.cleanairalliance.org
Our Facebook Group
Sign Our Petition
No Nukes News
Health Power

===================

11. Beyond Nuclear Bulletin – September 23, 2010

TAKE ACTION

Nominate scientists for NAS cancer risk panel.
The National Academy of Sciences Nuclear & Radiation Studies Board announced that they are accepting nominations for panelists to participate in a study assessing cancer risks from nuclear facilities. Nominations will be accepted through September 30, 2010. Please participate in this nominating process by suggesting independent scientists.
More:
http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
radiation-health-whats-new/2010/9/2/
nominate-scientists-for-nas-nuclear-cancer-risks-panel.html

Spread the word! Sept. 29th is International Radioactive Waste Action Day!
Beyond Nuclear, in coalition with allies which helped organize the grassroots summit on radioactive waste in Chicago in early June, have declared the anniversary of the worst known radioactive waste disaster as a day of action and awareness raising. On Sept. 29, 1957, a reprocessing storage tank for high-level radioactive wastes exploded in the Ural Mountains of Soviet Siberia, contaminating an entire region, and killing an unknown number over time.

More:
http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2010/9/2/
sept-29th-is-international-radioactive-waste-action-day.html

WATCH: Watch 12-minute version of "Dirty, Dangerous and Expensive"

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2010/9/1/
watch-12-minute-version-of-dirty-dangerous-and-expensive.html

Wednesday Sep 01, 2010
Watch a 12-minute version of the new Enviro Close-Up interview with Kevin Kamps - "Dirty, Dangerous and Expensive"- on YouTube. Kevin explodes the myths now being promulgated by those promoting nuclear power. He tells of the insoluble problems of nuclear waste, how nuclear power plants routinely emit radioactive poisons, how catastrophic accidents can happen, how nuclear power plants are pre-deployed weapons of mass destruction for terrorists, and the enormously high costs of nuclear power.

TOP STORIES

Gene Case, advertising genius, dies at 72
It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Gene Case on September 9th in New York. Case was one of the original geniuses of the "Mad Men" age of advertising and, in his later years, went on to found his agency, Avenging Angels, which produced ads and artwork for many progressive causes, including Beyond Nuclear.

More:
http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2010/9/20/
mourning-the-loss-of-gene-case-whose-genius-served-many-caus.html

Atomic Mom
A new film from Beyond Nuclear supporter and filmmaker, M.T. Silvia – Atomic Mom – is a documentary about two women, both mothers, who have very different experiences of the atom bomb. One is the filmmaker’s mother, Pauline Silvia, who was a biologist in the Navy in the early 1950s and was sent to the Nevada Test Site where she participated in five detonations. The other woman, Emiko Okada, is a Hiroshima survivor who was eight years old when the bomb was dropped. Her twelve-year-old sister was never found. After many years of silence, Ms. Okada gives testimony of her atomic bomb experience and her commitment to education and disarmament. The film will be screened October 10 & 16, 2010 as part of the 2010 Mill Valley Film Festival.

MORE: http://www.atomicmom.org/

THE FRENCH NUCLEAR MEDUSA
Areva employees at Niger uranium mine kidnapped by Al Qaeda
A North African branch of Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of seven foreign employees of Areva at its Arlit uranium mine site last week. A burgeoning civil war in the north of the country over profits from the country’s uranium mines – most of which have gone to the government and the more affluent south – has resulted in a situation many feared and tried to prevent; an opportunity for Al Qaeda to organize and mobilize.

More: http://www.beyondnuclear.org/storage/
Medusa_September22_2010.pdf

====================

12. Stuxnet malware is 'weapon' out to destroy ... Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant? (2 articles)
QUOTE: "For those worried about a future cyber attack that takes control of critical computerized infrastructure – in a nuclear power plant, for instance – Stuxnet is a big, loud warning shot across the bow, especially for the utility industry and government overseers of the US power grid. "
- - - - -
Stuxnet malware is 'weapon' out to destroy ... Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant?

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0921/
Stuxnet-malware-is-weapon-out-to-destroy-Iran-s-Bushehr-nuclear-plant

By Mark Clayton – Tue Sep 21, 3:08 pm ET
Cyber security experts say they have identified the world's first known cyber super weapon designed specifically to destroy a real-world target – a factory, a refinery, or just maybe a nuclear power plant.
The cyber worm, called Stuxnet, has been the object of intense study since its detection in June. As more has become known about it, alarm about its capabilities and purpose have grown. Some top cyber security experts now say Stuxnet's arrival heralds something blindingly new: a cyber weapon created to cross from the digital realm to the physical world – to destroy something.
At least one expert who has extensively studied the malicious software, or malware, suggests Stuxnet may have already attacked its target – and that it may have been Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, which much of the world condemns as a nuclear weapons threat.
The appearance of Stuxnet created a ripple of amazement among computer security experts. Too large, too encrypted, too complex to be immediately understood, it employed amazing new tricks, like taking control of a computer system without the user taking any action or clicking any button other than inserting an infected memory stick. Experts say it took a massive expenditure of time, money, and software engineering talent to identify and exploit such vulnerabilities in industrial control software systems.
Unlike most malware, Stuxnet is not intended to help someone make money or steal proprietary data. Industrial control systems experts now have concluded, after nearly four months spent reverse engineering Stuxnet, that the world faces a new breed of malware that could become a template for attackers wishing to launch digital strikes at physical targets worldwide. Internet link not required.

MORE:
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0921/
Stuxnet-malware-is-weapon-out-to-destroy-Iran-s-Bushehr-nuclear-plant

Related Articles:
 Stuxnet spyware targets industrial facilities, via USB memory stick

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0723/
Stuxnet-spyware-targets-industrial-facilities-via-USB-memory-stick

 Cybercrime: Are mobsters planting hackers in big companies?

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0730/
Cybercrime-Are-mobsters-planting-hackers-in-big-companies

 US oil industry hit by cyberattacks: Was China involved?

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0125/
US-oil-industry-hit-by-cyberattacks-Was-China-involved

= = = = = =
Stuxnet virus: worm 'could be aimed at high-profile Iranian targets'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8021102/
Stuxnet-virus-worm-could-be-aimed-at-high-profile-Iranian-targets.html

By Claudine Beaumont, Technology Editor Published: 5:19PM BST 23 Sep 2010
Stuxnet can be used to reprogram software to force a computer to carry out different commands
Security experts have identified malicious software, thought to be aimed at power stations and water plants in Iran. The complexity of the Stuxnet worm has lead some experts to speculate that it could be an act of cyber terrorism, a virus written and sanctioned by one country with the aim of impacting the infrastructure of another. Some security experts believe the worm was likely targeted at high value infrastructure in Iran, such as nuclear power stations.

MORE:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8021102/
Stuxnet-virus-worm-could-be-aimed-at-high-profile-Iranian-targets.html

===================

13. CIELAP - Summer 2010 Newsletter

http://cielap.org/newsletter_summer10.html

CIELAP informs legislative, policy and regulatory outcomes for Sustainability at the national and provincial/territorial levels of Canadian government.
What's New in this Issue?
Follow Us
Recent CIELAP Publications
Other CIELAP Programme News
Government News
CIELAP Events
Summer Intern Profiles
Call for Specialized Volunteers

MORE:
http://cielap.org/newsletter_summer10.html

=================

14. Indigenous resistance, from Colombia to Palestine

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11522.shtml

Anna Baltzer writing from Lopez, Colombia EI, September 16, 2010
"They only see our water, our land, our trees. They don't care about us. They want the land -- without the people on it."
These words are not of a Palestinian farmer but of Justo Conda, governor of Lopez Adentro Indigenous Reserve in southwestern Colombia, whose community was repeatedly threatened with displacement under former president Alvaro Uribe Velez. Uribe, recently appointed by the United Nations to investigate Israel's fatal attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, has a notoriously horrific track record on human rights. Less explored are the clear parallels between his government's mistreatment of indigenous peoples of Colombia and Israel's abuses of the indigenous people of Palestine.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Colombia has one of the largest populations of internally displaced people in the world, numbering as many as 4.9 million. According to the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement more than 286,000 Colombians were uprooted from their land in 2009 alone. Approximately ten percent of the Colombian population has suffered forced displacement, many of them indigenous communities, afro-Colombian descendants of former slaves, and campesinos (farmers).
Like Israel, Colombia is the largest recipient of US military aid in its hemisphere. Six billion US tax-dollars over the past ten years have placed Colombia third in the world for US military assistance, after Israel and Egypt. Armed with US weapons and political backing, Uribe's government and other armed actors have forced out millions through extrajudicial assassinations and terror tactics, clearing the way for the exploitation of natural resources by the government and multinational companies. Always in the name of security and the "War on Terror," Colombian soldiers have burned villages, ransacked homes and destroyed the livelihoods of communities who have taken the radical decision of staying on their own land.
- - - - SNIP - - - -
There is something eerily familiar about this violent and calculated expulsion and it is no surprise that Israel has now become Colombia's number one supplier of weapons, advisor on military organization and intelligence-gathering and model for "fighting terror" ("Report: Israelis fighting guerillas in Colombia," Ynet, 10 August 2007, as cited in "Uribe's appointment to flotilla probe guarantees it's failure," Jose Antonio Gutierrez and David Landy, The Electronic Intifada, 6 August 2010). But like the Palestinians, the people of Colombia are not prepared to abandon their homes and livelihoods without a struggle. Almost twenty years ago, up against a military armed to the teeth, the indigenous communities of southwestern Colombia developed their own form of protection: La Guarda Indigena (The Indigenous Guard).

MORE:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11522.shtml

=================

15. The Force of Nature – The David Suzuki Movie/The Book: The Legacy

WATCH: Trailer:
http://legacy.davidsuzuki.org/about_the_film

David Suzuki, iconic Canadian scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist delivers a 'last lecture' -- what he describes as "a distillation of my life and thoughts, my legacy, what I want to say before I die".
The film interweaves the lecture with scenes from the places and events in Suzuki's life - creating a biography of ideas - forged by the major social, scientific and cultural events of the past 70 years.

Listen to a recording of David in Vancouver

http://legacy.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/latestnews/
listentoarecordingofdavidinvancouver

September 22, 2010
On September 17th, David Suzuki delivered a stirring speech to a sold out crowd at Vancouver's Kitsilano Secondary School. Click here to listen to the environmentalist reflect on his legacy and what we can do now for a sustainable future
To hear David speak in your city, check out The Legacy book tour schedule. You can also read an excerpt of the book and order your own copy from Amazon.ca

THE BOOK: DAVID SUZUKI: THE LEGACY - AN ELDER'S VISION FOR OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

http://legacy.davidsuzuki.org/book_and_tour

In his own lifetime, Suzuki has witnessed an explosion of scientific knowledge as well as a huge change in our relationship with the planet-a tripling of the world's population, a greatly increased ecological footprint through the global economy, and a huge growth in technological capacity. These changes have had a dire effect on Earth's ecosystems and consequently on our own well-being. To deal with this crisis, we must realize that the laws of nature have priority over the forces of economics and that the planet simply cannot sustain unfettered growth. We must also recognize the limits of scientific reductionism and the need to adopt a more holistic point of view. Perhaps most important, we must join together as a single species to respond to the problems we face. Suzuki ends by saying that change begins with each of us; all it takes is imagination and a faith in the inherent generosity of Mother Earth.

THE BOOK TOUR:
As The Legacy releases across Canada, our pre-eminent environmentalist will be at events in cities and towns across the country
In these appearances, David Suzuki reflects on the massive changes in the world within his living memory - from explosive population growth, to massive technological developments, to the establishment of a global economy. Ultimately, he expresses his faith in human beings' capacity for innovation and he urges us all to dream of a better world and to make it happen.
Here is where and when you can catch David Suzuki starting in September.

TOUR DATES:
http://legacy.davidsuzuki.org/book_and_tour/
tourcalendar?utm_source=CBC&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=book-tour&utm_campaign=Legacy

Documentary Award goes to Force of Nature

http://legacy.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/latestnews/
forceofnaturewinspeopleschoicedocumentaryaward

September 21, 2010
The 35th Toronto International Film Festival announced on Sunday that this year's Cadillac People's Choice Documentary Award recipient is Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie. Already getting glowing reviews from critics, the film's recognition by festival voters highlights the powerful effect this documentary portrait is having on audiences.
The director of the film, Sturla Gunnarsson, could not be more thrilled about this achievement. "Force of Nature winning the TIFF Documentary…

Force of Nature gets rave reviews at TIFF

http://legacy.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/latestnews/
forceofnaturegetsravereviewsattiff

September 20, 2010
Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie premiered at this year's Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, September 11th, and received glowing comments from top critics
his 4 "N" review, NOW magazine's Glenn Sumi calls the documentary "a flattering portrait of the veteran scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster", highlighting Suzuki's moving personal reflections on his family. The Globe and Mail's mini movie review gives the movie four stars, and says the film could be "the…

==================

16. Canada boycotts United Nations speech by Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/
canada-boycotts-united-nations-speech-by-irans-mahmoud-ahmadinejad--103441299.html

At 13:47 on September 21, 2010, EDT. Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Canadian diplomats at the United Nations, including Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, boycotted a speech Tuesday by the president of Iran.
In recent years Canadian officials, along with those from other Western nations, have made a show of walking out on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whenever he addresses the UN General Assembly.
It's meant as a form of protest against Iran's human rights record and controversial nuclear program.
"Past speeches by the Iranian president in UN for a have contained elements of Holocaust denial, anti-Semitism and condemnation of Israel," Cannon said in a statement.
"Canada believes that this type of behaviour violates the UN's spirit of international co-operation, and we have chosen not to engage with President Ahmedinejad in this forum."
Despite the exodus, the Iranian leader told the assembly that capitalism is facing defeat and is calling for an overhaul of the "undemocratic and unjust" global decision-making bodies.

MORE:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/
canada-boycotts-united-nations-speech-by-irans-mahmoud-ahmadinejad--103441299.html

===================

17. Canadian government supports UN, but not peacekeeping

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5465&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 24 Sep 2010 02:40 PM PDT
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s speech at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly has made a number of things clear about his attitude towards that organization. The first is that his government would very much like Canada to be elected to one of the temporary seats on the UN Security Council when UN members vote [...]

===================

18. Canada’s Engagement in Afghanistan - Ninth Quarterly Report

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5434&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 23 Sep 2010 09:03 PM PDT
The Government of Canada’s Ninth Quarterly Report on Canadian engagement in Afghanistan, covering the period from 1 April to 30 June 2010, was released on 22 September. The report frankly acknowledges that the “quarter was marked by a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, with increasing insurgent violence and intimidation targeting civilians, the assassination of [...]

===================

19. New reports of fraud in Afghan elections

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5394&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 22 Sep 2010 10:00 PM PDT
Internal reports from Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission provide new evidence of fraud in Afghanistan’s recent parliamentary elections, including ballot stuffing, intimidation, and turnouts exceeding 100% of eligible voters–with one district in Paktika province recording a 626% voter turnout. The widespread problems, combined with an increase in violence from last year’s presidential elections, has raised further questions about [...]

===================

20. Canada: 1, “Fox News North”: 0

http://www.avaaz.org/en/crtc_no_handouts/?vl

Kory Teneycke, PM Harper's former spin doctor, resigned in disgrace last week as head of "Fox News North", citing our campaign. Sun media threw everything at us but Canadians didn't back down. We're winning, but we're not done. "Fox News North" still wants the government to force cable companies to include them in our cable packages. Let's finish the job and rally thousands of voices asking the CRTC to stand up to "Fox News North":
We've got them on the run! When 80,000 of us signed a petition refusing to be forced to pay for "Fox News North" (aka SunTV) on our cable bills, the Sun media empire threw everything they had at us - smear pieces in their newspapers, threatened lawsuits, and SunTV frontman Kory Teneycke even admitted insider knowledge of a criminal sabotage of our petition!
But Canadians didn't back down - we donated over $110,000 to meet the legal threats, conveyed our concerns in the media on several news shows, and demanded a criminal investigation into the sabotage of our campaign. And it's working! Kory Teneycke, PM Harper's former spin doctor, resigned in disgrace last week as head of Fox News North, citing our campaign and admitting he had "debased the debate".
This isn't over. Teneycke was replaced by yet another conservative Prime Minister's spin doctor and "Fox News North" still wants the government to force cable companies to include them in our cable packages. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will make the decision and their deadline is approaching -- let's send a flood of public messages directly asking the CRTC to enforce its own policies, and deny a government handout to boost the crony-propaganda and smear journalism of "Fox News North":

http://www.avaaz.org/en/crtc_no_handouts/?vl

Teneycke's resignation came 24 hours after we requested a criminal investigation into the sabotage of our petition. But his spin suggested it was attempt to cleanse "Fox News North" (aka Sun TV) of its reputation for crony journalism and smear tactics. That reputation was immediately upheld, however, as Sun Media just replaced Teneycke with Luc Lavoie, who was Brian Mulroney's spin doctor and left office amid questions about a $300,000 corruption scandal.
The smears in Sun-Media's echo chamber are that Avaaz is all Americans (why would they care about this issue?!), that our petition is fraudulent or signed by Americans, that we're a front group for billionaire George Soros, that we're pro-censorship, and a half-dozen other ridiculous untruths. Canadian author and national treasure Margaret Atwood has responded with an Op-Ed answering smears against both her and Avaaz in Sun Newspapers. (see links at bottom of email -- also see Avaaz director Ricken Patel debate Kory Teneycke on the CBC).
This kind of crony-media and it's smearing and often hateful tactics is undermining democracy in many countries by offering it's propaganda services in return for political favours. We have just 10 days left to get a tidal wave of public comments into the CRTC asking for this toxic new network to be denied a special government favour to fund their launch.

Click below to send a message directly to the CRTC:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/crtc_no_handouts/?vl

Since Teneycke's resignation, Avaaz has been flooded with messages from Canadians brimming with enthusiasm and optimism for what we can accomplish together. Together we're taking on one of the country's largest and most unscrupulous media empires, and we're winning. Just imagine what's possible for the future.
With hope and excitement,
Ricken, Emma, Laryn and the whole Avaaz team.

Margaret Atwood's Op-Ed in the Sun:

http://www.torontosun.com/comment/colum ... 010/09/17/
15388296.html

Ricken discuses Teneycke's departure LIVE on CBC:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Featured ... 1592304620

Ricken debates Kory Teneycke LIVE on CBC:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Featured ... 1582123926

= = = = = = =

Netizens 1, Sun TV 0

http://www.themarknews.com/articles/241 ... 1-sun-tv-0

by Ricken Patel Co-founder and Executive Director, Avaaz.org
First Posted: Sep 19 2010 00:42 AM Updated: 4 days
The Mark caught up with avaaz.org co-founder Ricken Patel to discuss the fallout from his website's anti-Sun TV petition.
Kory Teneycke, former communications aide to Stephen Harper, resigned suddenly this week from his position as Quebecor Media's vice president, saying his involvement in Sun TV would only "inflame" political controversy. But Ricken Patel, co-founder and executive director of avaaz.org, whose online petition to stop the channel from getting a license gained over 80,000 signatures (including Margaret Atwood's), says much darker forces are at work, including legal threats and fraud. Mr. Patel spoke with Alex Derry, Politics Editor at The Mark, from Avaaz's headquarters in New York.
Alex Derry: Avaaz.org is usually known for mounting campaigns around major international crises (the Pakistan floods, stoning women in Iran). What was it about the Sun TV issue that caught your organization's attention and prompted an advocacy campaign?
Ricken Patel: We are a people-powered and member-driven group, and we found a massive desire to campaign on this issue from our Canadian membership. This issue really is a serious one globally. The rise of "crony media" across the world,

by **Oscar** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 11:38 am

NUKE NEWS: Sept. 29, 2010

1. TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE ACTION DAY
2. Resources on the transport of radioactive steam generators through Great Lakes: Radioactive Steam Generators – Sign petition!
3. Rideau Institute Leadership Award to go to antinuclear activists
4. Nuclear Free Future Award Ceremony will be held in NEW YORK Sept 30, 2010
5. HARDING: THE NORTH DESERVES BETTER
6. LISTEN: CBC Radio: Put down the scalpel and raise a fist
7. WATCH: TRAILER: "Yellow Cake - The Lie about the 'Clean energy'"
8. COALITION AGAINST MILITARY RECRUITMENT IN SCHOOLS SHINES LIGHT ON CANADIAN NAVY RECRUITING TACTICS IN MONTREAL
9. “Combat phase” of battle for Kandahar begins: ISAF
10. F-35 Memorandum of Understanding
11. Burying Nuclear Waste in the Palestinian Territories
12. UK complicit in bankrolling Congo conflict
13. Never Forget: Bad Wars Aren't Possible Unless Good People Back Them
14. Iraq War: Deadliest War For Journalists Since WWII
15. CASTRO: The nuclear winter and peace
16. America Threatens Russia: U.S. Consolidates New Military Outposts In Eastern Europe
17. LISTEN: Sept 27/10 - Pt 2: Balfour Declaration
18. We don't deserve a Security Council seat – 2 articles
19. Media Disinformation: The Facts About Ahmadinejad's UN Speech
20. Risk and Precaution - Still answering the critics
21. It Is Official: The US Is A Police State
22. A Peace Movement Victory in Court
23. Should CRTC give Fox News North a massive handout?
24. New Brunswick election results badly skewed again

===================

1. TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE ACTION DAY - September 29, 2010

TAKE A PICTURE WITH A SIGN; SEND A LETTER TO THE BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION!

(hopefully their e-mail servers can handle it this time.....)
Dear Friends,
Today is International Radioactive Waste Action Day. Actions are taking place across the country and the world--we'll be posting a partial list of them on our website and on Facebook soon.
But we want everyone to be able to take part, whether there is an action near you or not.
So, go to our action page, download and print one of the posters we've made available (or make a sign of your own), and take a picture of you holding it (and a picture of your partner, your friends, your dormmates, the folks in your office, and so on), and then send the photos to us at nirsnet@nirs.org.
We're putting together an online photo petition for the Department of Energy's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future, a body that so far seems more interested in finding ways to generate more radioactive waste than in finding solutions to the waste that already is piling up across the U.S. and entire world.
And you can also send a letter to the Commission here. Lots of you already have sent letters (thank you!). In fact, so many that the Commission's servers either melted down or were unplugged--lots of people who sent letters got bounce-back messages!
If you haven't sent a letter yet, please do so here. And ask your friends and colleagues to send one too. And if you got one of those bounce-back messages, re-send your message (the Commission's servers are back up and running now).
Thanks to everyone who has sent in a photo so far. We've just started posting them; you can see the first of them in a slideshow here. And we'll be posting them as we receive them later today, tonight, and in the coming days.
Let's make the Blue Ribbon Commission look into our faces! They have a historic opportunity to develop a scientifically-sound, publicly-acceptable radioactive waste policy. Let's tell them not to blow this opportunity. The solution is not to make more lethal waste with no place to put it, it's to responsibly address the problem we have now.
Remember, send your photos to us at nirsnet@nirs.org. Watch the slideshow and watch it grow over the coming days and weeks.
Finally, if you want a little more inspiration, go to the front page of our website, www.nirs.org, where you'll find a video and slideshow of the 100,000 person anti-nuclear march in Berlin September 18. It's fun and inspiring to see!
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte
Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
nirsnet@nirs.org
www.nirs.org
6930 Carroll Avenue, #340, Takoma Park, MD 20912;
301-270-6477

==================

2. Resources on the transport of radioactive steam generators through Great Lakes: Radioactive Steam Generators – (Sign petition below!)

***NOTE: All Links are at:
http://ccnr.org/index.html#SG

[ Press Conference: International Opposition to Radioactive Waste Shipment (September 27 2010) ]
[ Nuclear Intestines: Looking Inside a Radioactive Steam Generator ]
[ List of Radioactive Contaminants Inside a Nuclear Steam Generator ]
[ Resolution to Stop Shipment of Radioactive Steam Generators on Great Lakes ]
[ Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who have endorsed the resolution against the transport ]
[ Quebec municipalities that have passed the resolution against the transport ]
[ Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Cities Against the Planned Shipment ]
[ Shipping 1600 metric tonnes of radioactive waste from Canada to Sweden: The Route ]
[ Returning 400 metric tonnes of concentrated radwaste from Sweden to Canada (through Halifax): Possible Routes ]
[ Radio interview on the transport of steam generators to Swedenl ]
[ Critique of CNSC Presentation to Owen Sound City Council ]
[ CCNR Submission to the CNSC: Do Not Grant a Licence! ]
[ Steel Manufacturers Association Report on Radioactive Scrap Metal (EXCERPT 2009-2010) ]
[ UN Report on Radioactive Contamination of Scrap Metal (2006) ]

= = = = =

ACTION: SIGN PETITION: Calls Continue To Block Shipments of Radioactive Waste Through The Welland Canal And Great Lakes

http://niagaraatlarge.com/2010/09/23/
calls-continue-to-block-shipments-of-radioactive-waste-through-the-welland-canal-and-great-lakes/

Posted on September 23, 2010 by dougdraper|
Niagara At Large is posting the following for readers in our greater Niagara region who may have concerns about plans to ship radioactive waste through the Great Lakes and Welland Canal.
The call from Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath to the province’s premier, Dalton McGuinty to halt these shipments is just the latest of many calls of concern around this from bodies on the Canadian and American sides of our Great Lakes region.
Following the posting of Horwath’s open message to Ontario’s premier, Niagara At Large is posting a recent piece by Great Lakes United, a U.S./Canada coalition of lakes conservationists with a head office in Buffalo, N.Y., raising concerns about these planned shipments of radioactive waste.

MORE:
http://niagaraatlarge.com/2010/09/23/
calls-continue-to-block-shipments-of-radioactive-waste-through-the-welland-canal-and-great-lakes/

===================

3. Rideau Institute Leadership Award to go to antinuclear activists

http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=5481

September 28, 2010
The Rideau Institute Board of Directors will present the inaugural Rideau Institute Leadership Award to Murray Thomson, Doug Roche, and John Polanyi, founders of Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention, at the Rideau Institute Gala Dinner on October 7, 2010.
Their hard work and strong leadership have led more than 500 recipients of the prestigious Order of Canada to come together and call on governments around the world, including Canada, to bring about the elimination of nuclear weapons.

http://www.rideauinstitute.ca/file-library/
CFNWC-505-Signatories-English.pdf

“This is the first time that so many recipients of the Order of Canada have signed a common declaration,” said Murray Thomson, an executive member of the Canadian Pugwash Group, co-founder of Project Ploughshares, and project organizer. “While not representing all recipients of the Order of Canada, this is an important group of Canada’s top achievers, and they are calling on the government to take leadership on the greatest issue of our time: nuclear war.”
This unprecedented non-partisan initiative has also brought about significant political developments in Canada. In April 2010, the founders of Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention were granted a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper ahead of the Washington Nuclear Security Summit. In June 2010, the Canadian Senate unanimously adopted a motion to recognize the danger posed by the proliferation of nuclear materials and technology to peace and security. The motion, which also endorsed the statement signed by the more than 500 recipients of the Order of Canada, is set to be presented to the House of Commons this fall.
“The Rideau Institute Leadership Award was created to honour a person or group for making an outstanding contribution to a progressive vision of Canada,” said Steven Staples, President of the Rideau Institute. “In addition, we hope that this award will assist his or her efforts through increased public awareness and visibility.”
The award will be presented at the Rideau Institute 3rd Annual Gala Dinner on October 7 at the Sheraton Ottawa Hotel.
Ticket Info:
http://rideauinstitute.eventbrite.com/

=================

4. Nuclear Free Future Award Ceremony will be held in NEW YORK,
Cooper Hall on Thursday, Sept 30, 2010

http://www.nuclear-free.com/eng/release.htm

The Award will be given in the category "Resistance" to the initiative AFRICAN URANIUM ALLIANCE (AUA).
Among past recipients of this award are Saskatchewan's own Maisie Shiell and Dr. Gordon Edwards.

Nuclear Free Futures Statement of Mission

http://www.nuclear-free.com/eng/wedo.htm#lark

"The Nuclear Age is no geological era – it's a creation of humankind.
Since 1998 the Nuclear-Free Future Award has honored and helped facilitate the on-going work of individuals and initiatives struggling to undo this mad juncture of time for the sake of the coming generations. Our central message: leave the uranium in the earth !
Our laureates are heroes and heroines working to pull the plug on nuclear power, or to pound nuclear warheads into plowshares. Many are the visionaries and architects of a future lived in sustainable harmony with the earth, men and women energetically seeding fresh solutions.
The Nuclear Age was begun by humankind – together we can make it good, see it undone. "

===================

5. HARDING: THE NORTH DESERVES BETTER

The First in a Two-Part Series on “How Environmental Protection is Being Compromised in the North” BY Jim Harding

Published in UNOS September 24, 2010

The North Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee, or NSEQC, was started in 1995 “to help bridge (the) information gap between northerners, government and the uranium mining industry.” It assumes that “by talking and learning together all participants help ensure that uranium mining activity takes place in an environmentally responsible manner…” Bill Hutchinson, the Minister responsible, says it is “promoting trust and understanding among…communities, the uranium mining industry and the government regulators…”
The key question is how NSEQC works and whether it has any major impact on what companies do. It’s good that it’s decentralized into three Environmental Quality Committees (EQCs), one each from Athabasca, the West Side and South Central area, but it’s not independent from the uranium industry or the government which promotes it. It’s administrated by the Northern Mines Monitoring Secretariat and has “staff representation from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)” whose independent regulatory status was compromised when Prime Minister Harper removed its head for trying to ensure the safety of the Chalk River nuclear plant. And the uranium companies Cameco and Areva provide NSEQC “technical expertise, arranging and hosting mine site visits and … various workshops.” The viewpoints presented by company “experts” can hardly be considered balanced. The North deserves better!
INDUSTRY BIAS DOMINATES
NSEQC boasts 14 years of “successfully providing northerners a voice in uranium mining”, but it’s a voice without regulatory authority, and no real power of its own. NSEQC claims it creates “critical communications between our communities and uranium industry activities”, but in practice does this mean that companies use NSQEC meetings and reports to promote the nuclear industry? Does it mean that northerners communicate or even complain while industry carries on with its contaminating business ventures?
A close look at NSEQC’s 2009 “Report to Communities” helps answer these questions and is also a bird’s eye view of what’s going on at uranium mines in the North. In November 2009 the industry-based Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) presented to all three EQCs. NSEQC reports this as the NWMO “making communities aware of opportunities to host a nuclear waste management storage site.” It goes on, “There will be incredible economic benefits to such a community, but suitable geology and accessibility are also factors.” This shows the nuclear promotional role of what is said to be an environmental protection body. It is all slightly Orwellian.
About the Cigar Lake Flooding the report says, “When excavating equipment inadvertently broke through the roof into the sandstone, the water naturally moved to its lowest point.” Later it admits “Water is proving to be a major problem at Cigar Lake”, but it never discusses the role that Cameco’s rush to get this profitable high-grade ore onto the market may have played in the flooding. It treats the flooding innocuously: “The water is kept out by a clay envelope around the ore and a barrier of very strong basement rock. It was a breach of this barrier that caused the mine to flood in 2006.” Another section on “How Cigar Lake was Dewatered” acknowledges that in 2008 “the mine flooded again when clays which were sealing areas on the higher 420 level dissolved and washed out after being submerged in the first inflow.” You get the feeling that the clay, not Cameco’s excavation, is to blame. It continues, “The decision was made to seal off the 420 level completely. This was done by lowering empty grout bags…then inflating them and filling them with grout (thin concrete)”, all described in amoral engineering terms.
The Report goes on, “In Stony Rapids elders and the public raised many other issues, which did not directly pertain to this project”. But the issues aren’t mentioned. It continues: “In Saskatoon, with a smaller and more experienced audience…the workshop went into much more technical detail.” There is paternalism expressed here and apparently holding meetings in Saskatoon, where Cameco and Areva officials are headquartered, is more to the liking of NSEQC bureaucrats.
An EQC expressed concern about Cameco’s plan to discharge Cigar Lake mine water into Seru Bay “an arm of Waterbury Lake”, since this lake “is one of the prime trout fishing lakes in the province.” Company consultants replied “fish from Seru Bay would be safe to eat, although fishing would be discouraged for safety reasons. In winter, the diffuser could cause dangerously thin ice conditions.” This semantic twist still means fishing will be detrimentally affected.
COMMUNITY CONCERNS DISMISSED
EQC members have real concerns. South Central “reps again pressed the company (at Key Lake) to move the above-ground tailings into a pit, either by physically moving it or by re-milling it.” The Cameco rep simply replied “that re-milling is not practical, and that new space would have to be created…”. Cameco then reported they wanted to increase the space in the Dielmann pit to take “all tailings from McArthur River ore.” The ongoing sloughing of sand into that pit, which Minewatch estimates at one million cubic metres so far, is not seriously addressed.
The McArthur River report mentions “control of molybdenum and selenium discharged in effluent, and handling of spills (only one so far this year).” Only one so far! It adds “More than 150 million pounds of ore slurry has (sic) been transported to Key Lake since 2000” which is described as “the equivalent of 40,000 truckloads and six million km travelled.” This shows the staggering scale of the uranium industry’s impact on the North. The report acknowledges “Concern about a proposed ore haul over public roads from McArthur River to McClean Lake by Arevea ”. Concerns are raised and the companies carry on.
We discover mishaps not reported in the southern press. The Rabbit Lake mine report says, “In January seepage of gypsum and uranium liquid was discovered during excavation for a new pH clarifier. The entire mill floor has to be sealed with resin to contain any future leakage that may occur, and recovery wells installed.” The assumption seems to be that informing northerners of some incidents will normalize them, remove the element of surprise and lessen public criticism. This process might even create a psychological sense of responsibility among the northerners privy to these details. It is also certain that companies are selective about what they tell the EQCs.
The McClean Lake report mentions “There were a number of accidental releases at the site…” An Areva official was “asked about the possibility of building a 52 km road link between McArthur River and Cigar Lake”, but replied “this would take at least two years and the preference was to haul the ore over public highways, 920 km each way.” The EQC “stated concerns about safety when hauling slurry on public highways, and that the original proposal for two trucks a day in each direction had doubled.” The concern was expressed, but to no avail.
The Cluff Lake report reads, “Asked why the waste rock was not placed into the pits, Areva’s (official) explained that there was too much volume for the capacity of the pits…” The possibility of this occurring was dismissed was by industry during the Cluff Lake Board of Inquiry (CLBI) in 1978. But that was then, and this is now!
The report on Cameco’s new Millenium mine says “Cameco would plan to mill the ore at Key Lake, minimizing the environmental footprint at the Millenium site.” The environmental footprint will of course greatly enlarge at, and from the massive trucking to, Key Lake. Cameco officials explained mine water would be discharged “into nearby Moon Lake”. The EQC “suggested it go back into Slush Lake instead, since Moon Lake is a good fishing lake.” Showing where the power lies, Cameco simply replied it “will address this option in the EA process.”
The report on the Beaverlodge mine, closed in 1982, admits “When the mines were operating, environmental standards were non-existent. Tailings went directly into lakes. The first water treatment systems were introduced in the mid-1970s.” And while the local residents were never involved in the decision to go ahead with this mine, used for nuclear weapons, they are now belatedly involved in creating “remediation scenarios”. There is something cynical about taking some responsibility for remediation when you had no part in the contamination; participation should come before not after such consequential events. Meanwhile nearly 30 years later uranium mines continue on without upholding any duty to consult.
NORTHERN CANCER RATES HIGHER
Similar admissions were made about the Gunnar mine which closed in 1964: “Tailings were pumped over a hill into nearby Mudford Lake. When the site was abandoned, the operator just walked away, leaving everything as it was”. Other concerns “include a 110-metre deep flooded pit which is seeping into Lake Athabasca; a 2.7 million cubic metre waste rock pile containing other assorted industrial waste; and 4.4 million tonnes of tailings close to, or draining into, or in, the water of Langley Bay” in Lake Athabasca. It notes that some areas have gamma radiation readings such that they “will have to be covered.” Regarding the closed Lorado uranium mill the report says “It drains into Nero Lake, which is very acidic because of tailings beside and under the lake.” The lasting legacy of uranium mining will clearly not be jobs but radioactive tailings.
The section on “Factors Affecting Northern Health” acknowledges what many Wollaston elders fear: that “Overall cancers exceed the provincial rate; our lung cancer rate is the highest in the province. Bowel and breast cancer rates now equal the south; cervical cancer, while high, is decreasing.” This should be cause for concern and further reason for baseline and thorough epidemiological studies. But rather than affirming the need for this, NSEQC’s report says “…health authorities and other scientists have concluded that there is no additional risk of cancers to a person working at a mine today. In fact, a prefeasibility study concluded there was no sense doing a study of modern miners, since radiation doses are so low.” This matter is far from pat: if you don’t look you can’t find out. The build-up of radioactive tailings will be a burden for the North long after the mines close.
Community reps have deep concerns about the cumulative ecological mess being made by the uranium industry. Meanwhile, at NSEQC meetings company officials promote their industry without independent information being available to northerners. This is “consultation” with loaded dice and the North deserves better.
In Part Two I explore how the industry influences vital environmental monitoring in the North.

http://jimharding.brinkster.net

See additional articles by Dr. Harding at:

http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=692

======================

6. LISTEN: CBC Radio: Put down the scalpel and raise a fist

http://www.cbc.ca/whitecoat/index.html?copy-podcast

Friday September 24, 2010
You've probably heard it said it's impossible to fire a doctor, but have you ever wondered: what would it take to make one quit? Turns out a major threat to the health of your town.
This week on White Coat, Black Art we spend some time with a group of doctors from a small town up - way up - in northern Quebec. When they caught wind of a plan to move in a uranium mine, they threatened to go.
Then from revolutionary to evolutionary...we talk to an Alberta physician who's spent years learning the art and craft of political activism in the cause of injury prevention. He's got some stories to tell, and some hard-won do's and don'ts to share.

Download the podcast:
http://www.cbc.ca/whitecoat/index.html?copy-podcast

==================

7. WATCH: TRAILER: "Yellow Cake - The Lie about the 'Clean energy'" (In German only. emh)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhHWEGBYPS8

Uranium // Film-Premiere "YELLOWCAKE - Die Lüge ..." - Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010, the film "YELLOWCAKE - Die Lüge von der sauberen Energie"
("Yellow Cake - The Lie about the 'Clean energy'") by Joachim Tschirner will be shown in a WORLD PREMIERE in Caligari Filmtheater, Wiesbaden, Germany.
Link on our website
www.uranium-network.org
http://www.uranium-network.org

Uranium mining, the first link in the chain of nuclear development, has managed again and again to keep itself out of the public eye.
A web of propaganda, disinformation and lies covers its sixty-year history. The third largest uranium mine in the world was located in the East German provinces of Saxony and Thuringia. Operating until the Reunification, it had the code name WISMUT -- German for bismuth, though it supplied the Soviet Union exclusively with the much sought-after strategic resource Yellow Cake.
Until 1990 WISMUT supplied the Soviet Union with 220,000 tons of uranium. In absolute terms this quantity was enough for the production of 32,000 Hiroshima bombs.
For the last 20 years WISMUT have been making a huge material and financial effort to come to terms with their past, which is an alarming present and future on other continents.
The film accompanies for several years the biggest clean-up operation in the history of uranium mining and takes the viewers to the big mines in Namibia, Australia and Canada.

Yellow Cake - .... (Trailer)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhHWEGBYPS8

=====================

8. COALITION AGAINST MILITARY RECRUITMENT IN SCHOOLS SHINES LIGHT ON CANADIAN NAVY RECRUITING TACTICS IN MONTREAL.

CENTER FOR RESOURCES FOR NONVIOLENCE LOOKS FOR PARTNERS IN NATIONWIDE ANTI-RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN.

http://www.antirecrutement.info/?q=en

On Sunday, 29 August 2010, the HMCS Fredericton docked in the old port of Montreal as part of the Canadian Navy's celebration of its 100-year anniversary. Unsurprisingly, the warship's visit was about more than just the history and exploits of the Navy as you can see in the picture accompanying a story in the daily Metro Montreal:

http://www.journalmetro.com/linfo/article/
615391--contre-l-armee-a-la-maternelle

Earlier in August, a similar event was sponsored by the Canadian Forces. It was held in Richibouctou, New Brunswick on New Brunswick Day. Here are a few pictures from a table set up by the Army:

http://www.antirecrutement.info/files/enfant_arme.JPG

http://www.antirecrutement.info/files/enfant_arme_2.JPG

In addition to staging events in Richibouctou, Montreal, and many other cities across Canada, the Navy has recently released a curriculum for primary and secondary school teachers which can be found here:

http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/centennial/11/
11-c_eng.asp?category=99.

To show its opposition to the Navy's centennial campaign to boost recruiting numbers by focusing on school-aged children and teens, the Coalition Against Military Recruitment in Schools/Coalition contre recrutement militaire in les ecoles held a press conference for local media. One of the spokespeople was Elaine Bertrand, vice president of Coalition member Alliance of Montreal Teachers/APPM: "The Army pretends to offer citizenship education to youth via the [army] cadet corp and its visits to schools. In reality, it profits from young people's desire to work for peace when really they enroll to prepare for offensive operations."

For background on Army & Navy Cadet Corps, the Committee Against Military Recruitment in Schools, and the campaign to ban recruiters from schools in Quebec, please visit www.antirecrutement.info.

In addition to a surprising amount of coverage in the francophone media, CBC did a story about the CAMRS press conference found here:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/08/30/
mtl-navy-recruitment.html

Also, here is a story about the campaign from 2009 in the Montreal Gazette:

http://counter-recruitment.blogspot.com/2009/11/
get-out-of-our-schools-military.html

As a member of the CAMRS, the Center for Resources for Nonviolence (CRNV) welcomes the opportunity to partner with peace/anti-war groups, student organizations, teachers' unions, and social justice groups across Canada to create a nationwide campaign to counter the influence of the military in schools and on young people.

If your group is interested in sharing ideas and tactics for a nationwide campaign, please don't hesitate to e-mail or call the Center: E-mail: crnv@nonviolence.ca. Phone: 514 272 5012. All employees and volunteers are bi-lingual.

Launched in 2009, the Coalition Against Military Recruitment in Schools includes the Center for Resources for Nonviolence (CRNV), the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Quebec Federation of Teachers (FNEEQ-CSN), the Association for Student Solidarity (ASSÉ), the Federation of Quebec College Students (FECQ), the Alliance of Professors of Montréal (APPM) and the Women's Federation of Québec (FFQ).
Center for Resources for Nonviolence/CRNV
1945 Mullins, Bureau 160
Montreal QC H3K 1N9
www.nonviolence.ca
crnv@nonviolence.ca
514 272 5012

=================

9. “Combat phase” of battle for Kandahar begins: ISAF

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5475&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 26 Sep 2010 01:48 PM PDT
The “combat phase” of the battle for the Kandahar region has begun, says a spokesperson for the International Security Assistance Force (Rob Nordland, “American and Afghan Troops Begin Combat for Kandahar,” New York Times, 26 September 2010): Code-named “Operation Dragon Strike,” the push is focusing on clearing the Taliban from three districts to the [...]

==================

10. F-35 Memorandum of Understanding

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2010/09/
memorandum-of-understanding-n.html

Posted: 26 Sep 2010 12:30 AM PDT
To view the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding on F-35s signed by Canada (which did not commit any of the parties to purchase the aircraft), click here:
Photo by Robert Plaskota

=================

11. Burying Nuclear Waste in the Palestinian Territories

http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=70249&s2=29

Kawther Salam September 28, 2010
After the conference I was informed by Dr. Al-Wazeer that IAEA equipment which was sent to Palestine two years ago is still under the Israeli embargo. The equipment consists of devices used to detect radiation pollution. According to my information, the IAEA did not work enough or ask the general assembly members to impose pressure on Israel to release this equipment under the Israeli hold and which will help the Palestinian ministry of health in identifying areas of radioactive contamination in Palestine. Ambassador Dr. Alwazer said in his speech delivered at the IAEA: I assure you that we are facing the danger of the Israeli nuclear weapon. Palestine suffers a significant risk of radiation because of Israel’s possession of nuclear reactors including the Dimona reactor, which has ended its useful life, which will expose Palestine and the Palestinian people and neighboring countries to the serious dangers of radiation...

MORE:
http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=70249&s2=29

===================

12. UK complicit in bankrolling Congo conflict

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/aug/31/
uk-complicit-bankrolling-congo-conflict

The Guardian, Tuesday 31 August 2010
By Dr Alexander Betts University of Oxford
As the Guardian reported last week, a 600-page report by the UN high commissioner for human rights was leaked, documenting the role of Rwanda in possible genocide in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in the late 1990s (Leaked UN report accuses Rwanda of possible genocide in Congo, 27 August). This has seismic implications for British foreign and development policy towards Rwanda, which the present government needs to take extremely seriously.
Since the 1990s the Paul Kagame regime has represented itself as the progressive and modernising "Singapore of Africa", courting international support and legitimacy in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Yet, alongside the suppression of human rights domestically, it has continued to play a direct and indirect military role in North Kivu, both in pursuit of Hutus who fled Rwanda in 1994 and natural resources that have bankrolled Rwanda's "economic miracle". All the while, the British government has continued to unquestioningly back Kagame, being Rwanda's largest source of overseas development aid. It has failed to recognise the complicity of Britain in effectively bankrolling a conflict in the Congo that has lead to millions of deaths.

MORE:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/aug/31/
uk-complicit-bankrolling-congo-conflict

===================

13. Never Forget: Bad Wars Aren't Possible Unless Good People Back Them

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/
never-forget-bad-wars-arent-possible-unless-good-people-back-them-message-michael-moore

Posted by: Editor of NCT on Mon, 27 September 2010 01:00:00
Michael Moore puts some inconvenient truths out---the failure of too many liberals and the loss of civic courage and the absence of prophecy
I know we've been "free" of the Iraq War for two weeks now and our minds have turned to the new football season and Fashion Week in New York. And how exciting that the new fall TV season is just days away!
But before we get too far away from something we would all just like to forget, will you please allow me to just say something plain and blunt and necessary:
We invaded Iraq because most Americans -- including good liberals like Al Franken, Nicholas Kristof & Bill Keller of the New York Times, David Remnick of the New Yorker, the editors of the Atlantic and the New Republic, Harvey Weinstein, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and John Kerry -- wanted to.
Of course the actual blame for the war goes to Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz because they ordered the "precision" bombing, the invasion, the occupation, and the theft of our national treasury. I have no doubt that history will record that they committed the undisputed Crime of the (young) Century.

MORE:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/
never-forget-bad-wars-arent-possible-unless-good-people-back-them-message-michael-moore

==================

14. Iraq War: Deadliest War For Journalists Since WWII

http://www.care2.com/causes/human-rights/blog/
iraq-war-deadliest-war-for-journalists-since-wwii/

Since March 2003, 230 journalists and media assistants have been killed in...
by: Natasha G. from Human Rights

===================

15. CASTRO: The nuclear winter and peace

http://www.granma.cu/ingles/reflections-i/
22-septiembre-nuclear.html

REFLECTIONS OF FIDEL CASTRO
(TAKEN FROM CUBADEBATE)

SEPTEMBER 22, 2010
MORE than 20,000 nuclear weapons are in the hands of eight countries: the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, China, Israel, India and Pakistan, some with profound economic, political and religious differences. The new START treaty, signed in Prague this April by the largest nuclear powers, is nothing more than an illusion in relation to the problem that is threatening humanity.
The nuclear winter theory, developed and brought to its current stage by the eminent researcher and professor Dr. Alan Robock from Rutgers University, New Jersey (a modest scientist who prefers to recognize the merits of his colleagues rather than his own), has demonstrated its veracity.
For them, the only way to prevent the use of nuclear weapons is by eliminating them. Living in a privileged place on the planet, which allows them to enjoy the highest standards of living and the world’s riches despite the incredible waste of non-renewable resources, the American people should be the ones most interested in the information provided by scientists. But how space does the mass media devote to that task?
According to Robock, the nuclear winter theory has shown us that, "if such weapons did not exist, they could not be utilized. And at this time, there is no rational argument to use them at all. If they cannot be used, they must be destroyed and thus we would be protecting ourselves from accidents, errors of calculation or any demented attitude."

MORE:
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/reflections ... clear.html

===================

16. America Threatens Russia: U.S. Consolidates New Military Outposts In Eastern Europe

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21167

By Rick Rozoff Global Research, September 24, 2010 Stop NATO
Bases, troops and missiles along the entire length of Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean
With NATO as intermediary, facilitator and Trojan horse, the Pentagon has established itself - with bases, troops and missiles - along the entire length of Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean.
Two weeks after the United States started its third rotation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Baltic air patrol on September 1, with the deployment of F-15C Eagle fighter jets operating out of the Siauliai International Airport in Lithuania, neighboring Estonia finished a three-year project to upgrade its Amari Air Base in order to accommodate more NATO warplanes.
The opening ceremony for the enlarged base, which with expanded runways is able to host "16 NATO fighters, 20 transport planes [and] up to 2,000 people per day" [1], was held on September 15.
The Estonian base, like its Lithuanian counterpart, is a Soviet-era one modernized and extended for use by NATO, which financed 35 percent of the expansion.

MORE:
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21167

==================

17. LISTEN: Sept 27/10 - Pt 2: Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Jonathan Schneer (Author)

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2010/09/
sept-2710---pt-2-balfour-declaration.html

We're moving back in time to 1917 ... The year Britain's Foreign Secretary, Lord Arthur James Balfour, issued the Balfour Declaration. It helped set in motion a series of events that changed the map of the Middle East. And according to the author of a new book, it laid the foundation for the conflict we see there today.

Listen to Part Two:
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2010/09/
sept-2710---pt-2-balfour-declaration.html

Balfour Declaration
We started this segment with a clip from the Balfour Declaration -- one of the most important and one o the shortest foreign policy statements ever uttered. It was signed by Arthur James Balfour -- Britain's Foreign Secretary -- in 1917. And it helped lead to the establishment of the State of Israel, 31 years later.
But according to Jonathan Schneer, the simplicity of that message obscures a history of duplicity and deceit that has bogged down peace efforts for decades and resonates even today as another round of peace talks hits more snags. His new book is The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. He was in our Toronto studio.

=====================

18. We don't deserve a Security Council seat – 2 articles

http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/2010/09/
we-don%E2%80%99t-deserve-security-council-seat

By rabble staff Created Sep 27 2010 - 12:43am
Summary:
Stephen Harper portrays his government as working to advance the values of the United Nations. A short trip through his four years as prime minister repudiates this.
Stephen Harper's hypocritical performance at the United Nations, in aid of winning a seat for Canada on the Security Council, should be enough by itself for Canadians to rise up in unison and say we don't deserve it. Both the NDP and Liberals have said that the seat is for Canada not for the Conservatives and that Canadians should therefore support the bid. But if Harper is successful we will all regret it.
It is not just that we don't deserve it -- more on that below. Harper wants this seat for a reason and it has nothing to do with his phony reiteration of U.N. "values" -- none of which has he ever paid even lip service to.
No, Stephen Harper wants the seat so that he can assist the U.S. in whatever imperial adventures and world domination plans it rolls out. Seeing Harper shaking hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was truly repugnant given Harper's unmatched and singular support for whatever Israel does (remember his "measured response" comment regarding Israel's laying waste to Lebanon?). A more grotesquely disingenuous gesture is hard to imagine. If Harper gets his wish it will give him more opportunities to back Israel and support whatever action against Iran that the U.S. and Israel want -- including bombing its nuclear sites.
Canada under Harper has also shifted its foreign affairs attention increasingly to Latin America -- a part of the world that it has hitherto virtually ignored. Did Harper suddenly eat Mexican food and change Canada's policy? Or is he still trying to please the U.S.? Our new focus on working primarily with Columbia, the most right-wing and highly militarized country in the region (virtually a U.S. military base), shows Harper's intent. The U.S., having lost control of its backyard needs help from its "best friend."

MORE:
http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/2010/09/
we-don%E2%80%99t-deserve-security-council-seat

Murray Dobbin's "State of the Nation" column runs every other Monday in The Tyee [3] and rabble. He also publishes a blog with rabble.ca.

= = = = = =

Negative influence

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinio ... he_editor/
103842903.html

Sept. 27, 2010
Your Sept. 24 editorial Canada deserves seat at UN council argues that Canada deserves a seat at the security council because it is able and willing to "do more" for the UN. It's true that Canada has been active on the world stage, but lately its role has been largely counterproductive.
Climate change negotiations, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the human right to water are a few UN efforts that Canada has actively sought to undermine. Mean-spiritedly, Canada joins its voice to those of rich countries arguing for fiscal austerity that the poor who had nothing to do with the economic crisis.
Even its laudable historical achievements, such as commitments to peacekeeping and foreign aid, are being eroded; Canada currently boasts fewer peacekeepers than Fiji and has shifted aid from the poorest countries to medium-income countries with whom Canada is seeking trade agreements. God help us should Canada have even more sway at the United Nations.
Michael Bueckert
Winnipeg

=================

19. Media Disinformation: The Facts About Ahmadinejad's UN Speech

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21198

By Jack A. Smith Global Research, September 26, 2010
The Iranian leader did not accuse the U.S. of conspiring to murder thousands of its own people to create a pretext for launching wars as conveyed by the US media.
A large portion of the American people, on the basis of media reports, probably think that during his UN speech Sept. 23 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that the U.S. government secretly arranged for the 9/11 attacks. He did not say that, however.

MORE:
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21198

==================

20. Risk and Precaution - Still answering the critics

http://www.sehn.org/Volume_15-5.html#a1

August/September 2010 By Nancy Myers
In 2000, annoyed by the rash of dismissive criticisms of the precautionary principle, I wrote rejoinders to them in “Debating the Precautionary Principle.” That did not silence the critics, nor did it cause many of them to improve their arguments, though precautionary principle advocates seemed to find it helpful. A few years later I updated the piece and framed it as a set of FAQs on the precautionary principle. But the same criticisms are still being repeated ad nauseum in the blogosphere and, as Alan Randall points out in this issue of the Networker, in policy circles as well. There is a widespread, willful refusal to take the precautionary principle seriously.
Randall, an economist who does take the precautionary principle seriously and believes it has a place in current policy, surveys the literature and lays many of the scholarly hostilities to rest once and for all (we wish). Randall defines what principles can and cannot do—a principle cannot be implemented directly but “provides a powerful argument in a particular direction” and requires laws, rules, and guidelines to implement it. This describes much of what SEHN has been working on since the 1998 Wingspread Conference on the Precautionary Principle.
Randall proposes a framework for using the precautionary principle to address the main weaknesses of ordinary risk management—without replacing the current system. The precautionary principle would apply in cases of “disproportionate and asymmetric risk” (read the article to see how those are defined). It’s an intriguing idea, but one wonders exactly what risks are “ordinary” and thus appropriately handled by today’s ordinary risk management--and how hard we should try to prop up a system that is failing so badly.
This Networker is longer than usual but we offer it to our thoughtful readers in support of your work and the ongoing debate.

MORE: http://www.sehn.org/Volume_15-5.html#a1

=================

21. It Is Official: The US Is A Police State

http://www.informationclearinghouse.inf ... e26452.htm

By Paul Craig Roberts
September 25, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- - On September 24, Jason Ditz reported on Antiwar.com that “the FBI is confirming that this morning they began a number of raids against the homes of antiwar activists in Illinois, Minneapolis, Michigan, and North Carolina, claiming that they are ‘seeking evidence relating to activities concerning the material support of terrorism.’”
Now we know what Homeland Security (sic) secretary Janet Napolitano meant when she said on September 10: “The old view that ‘if we fight the terrorists abroad, we won’t have to fight them here’ is just that--the old view.” The new view, Napolitano said, is “to counter violent extremism right here at home.”
“Violent extremism” is one of those undefined police state terms that will mean whatever the government wants it to mean. In this morning’s FBI’s foray into the homes of American citizens of conscience, it means antiwar activists, whose activities are equated with “the material support of terrorism,” just as conservatives equated Vietnam era anti-war protesters with giving material support to communism.

MORE:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.inf ... e26452.htm

= = = = = =

FBI Raids and the Police State

http://www.globalresearch.ca/
index.php?context=va&aid=21215

Global Research, September 27, 2010

= = = = =

FBI Raids Activists' Homes in Sinister COINTELPRO Replay

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21208

By Tom Burghardt
Global Research, September 27, 2010
Antifascist Calling... - 2010-09-26

=====================

22. A Peace Movement Victory in Court

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/18-0

Published on Saturday, September 18, 2010 by CommonDreams.org
by John Dear
"Fourteen anti-war activists may have made history today in a Las Vegas courtroom when they turned a misdemeanor trespassing trial into a possible referendum on America's newfound taste for remote-controlled warfare." That's how one Las Vegas newspaper summed up our stunning day in court on Tuesday, when fourteen of us stood trial for walking on to Creech Air Force Base last year on April 9, 2009 to protest the U.S. drones.
We went in hoping for the best and prepared for the worst. As soon as we started, the judge announced that he would not allow any testimony on international law, the necessity defense or the drones, only what pertained to the charge of "criminal trespassing."
With that, the prosecutors called forth a base commander and a local police chief to testify that we had entered the base, that they had given us warnings to leave, and that they arrested us. They testified that they remembered each one of us. Then they rested their case.
We called three expert witnesses, what the newspaper called "some of the biggest names in the modern anti-war movement:" Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general under President Lyndon Johnson; Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army colonel and one of three former U.S. State Department officials who resigned on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq; and Bill Quigley, legal director for the New York City-based Center for Constitutional Rights. We presumed they would not be allowed to speak.
All fourteen of us acted as our own lawyers, and were not allowed any legal assistance, so members of our group took turns questioning our witnesses, and trying not to draw the judge's wrath. Lo and behold, the judge let them speak, and they spoke for hours.

MORE:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/18-0

================

23. Should CRTC give Fox News North a massive handout?

72 hours to write the Commission before the hearing. Some Friends might add their voices to the Avaaz petition at

http://www.avaaz.org/en/crtc_no_handout ... 019&v=7257

Here is what I wrote in the petition to CRTC head Konrad von Finckenstein:
For decades, conservative lobbyists have been calling for a "free market" in broadcasting. Yeah, right -- but NOT when their friends are involved. Then they call for "mandatory carriage" so SunTV, aka Fox News North, can pump US-style wedge politics of fear, prejudice and xenophobia into every Canadian home -- at our expense. Just say no.
SunTV is owned by the super-rich Pierre Karl Peladeau, who locked out Quebecor journalists for over a year for not taking pay cuts AND not writing to suit his right-of-Attila the Hun tastes. Recently he financed Liberte Quebec, modelled on the US Tea Party. The SunTV project was planned with Harper, who has been pressuring the CRTC chairman, and who for greater effect parachuted three Tory attack dogs into SunTV. The first one, Kory Teneycke, got caught doing dirty tricks. His replacements are Jason Plotz (ex- PMO) and Luc Lavoie (Quebecor). Also waiting his turn to grab Canadians by the eyeballs is Rupert Murdoch, the rabid rightwing Australian (now US citizen) who started Fox Network.

For details see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_TV_News_Channel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_murdoch

http://www.rabble.ca/news/2010/09/
harper%E2%80%99s-meeting-murdoch-real-story

What we are looking at here is part of a worldwide move by rich rightwingers to derange democracy. Note what they have been doing to Obama and climate negotiations.
--
David Millar
204-2054 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal QC Canada H3H 1G5
homepage:
http://fdmillar.googlepages.com/home
blog Toward an eco-economy
http://mecteam.blogspot.com

===============

24. New Brunswick election results badly skewed again

http://www.fairvote.ca/en/FVC-news/
nb-election-badly-skewed-proposed-mmp-system-would-have-reflected-voters-wishes

Fair Vote Canada – News – September 28, 2010
Results under the proposed MMP voting system would have mirrored voters’ wishes
The New Brunswick election provided yet another example of why the 2004 electoral reform proposal from Bernard Lord’s Commission on Legislative Democracy should be adopted, says Fair Vote Canada, a national organization calling for electoral reform across Canada.
“Yesterday, half of the voters cast votes for the Progressive Conservatives and half for other parties,” said Fair Vote Canada Executive Director Larry Gordon. “But the half supporting the Progressive Conservatives will be represented by more than three times as many MLAs – 42 PCs vs. 13 Liberals. The opposition is severely under-represented and the 17% of the electorate supporting parties other than the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals have no representation whatsoever.”
If New Brunswick voters had voted the same way, using the Commission’s proposed mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system, Fair Vote Canada calculated that the approximate seat allocation would have mirrored what voters actually said with their ballots.
The figures below show the popular vote for each party, along with the number and percentage of seats under the current voting system and the proposed MMP system.
Progressive Conservatives, popular vote 49% - with MMP, 28 seats (51%) rather than 42 seats (76%).
Liberals, popular vote 34% - with MMP, 18 seats (33%) rather than 13 seats (24%)
NDP with 10% of the popular vote – with MMP, 5 seats (9%) rather than 0 seats
Greens with 5% of the popular vote – with MMP, 3 seats (5%) rather than 0 seats
“While some voters would vote differently under a different voting system, this projection illustrates the core problem,” said Bronwen Bruch, President of Fair Vote Canada. “With first-past-the-post, voters say one thing with their ballots and get something different. With fair and proportional voting systems, what voters say is what they get.”
In 2006, then Premier Bernard Lord promised a referendum on the Commission’s proposed mixed-member proportional voting system. Ironically, before a referendum could be held, Premier Lord was defeated in a “wrong winner” election, in which the Progressive Conservatives won more votes, but the voting system gave the Liberals a majority of seats.
Fair Vote Canada (FVC) is a national multi-partisan citizens’ campaign to promote voting system reform. FVC was founded in 2001 and has a National Advisory Board of 37 distinguished Canadians from all points on the political spectrum. - 30 –
Contact:
Larry Gordon, Executive Director, Fair Vote Canada
647-519-7585
www.fairvote.ca
Fair Vote Canada
283 Danforth Ave., #408, Toronto, ON M4K 1N2

by **Oscar** » Mon Oct 04, 2010 10:54 am

NUKE NEWS (Pt. 1) : October 4, 2010

1. GOOD NEWS! (AU) Government opposes Alice uranium mine
2. URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Nuclear Waste Ban Campaign:
3. Greenpeace warns Canadian communities about the threats of nuclear waste repositories
4. PRESENTATION: Dr. Dale Dewar to CNSC INTERVENTIONS against shipping radioactive steam generators
5. Cities Against the Transport of Radioactive Steam Generators
6. Not in our seaway - Mohawks Opposed to shipment of generators
7. Seven Great Lakes States' U.S. Senators object to radioactive waste shipment from Canada to Sweden via the Great Lakes
8. Council of Canadians opposes shipment of radioactive generators at public hearing
9. Council of Canadians Annual General Meeting promises action, celebration and positive energy – Oct. 22 – 24 – Ottawa
10. Council of Canadians Update - October 1, 2010
11. International Radioactive Waste Action Day Roundup
12. Greenpeace “Stop Darlington” campaign will encourage a green energy future for Ontario
13. Canadian Nuclear Association clings to inaccurate, unsupported claims – 2 articles
14. Cleanup of Radioactive Water at New Jersey Nuclear Plant Begins
15. No Nukes News - Sept. 29, 2010
16. Greenland opens door to uranium exploration

======================

1. GOOD NEWS! (AU) Government opposes Alice uranium mine

http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/
Government-opposes-Alice-abc-3366004368.html?x=0

On Tuesday 28 September 2010, 10:25 EST
The Northern Territory Government has decided to oppose moves to establish a uranium mine on the Angela Pamela deposit near Alice Springs.
Resources company Cameco is leading a project to explore the potential of the site, about 20 kilometres south of the town.
The project has been strongly opposed by environmentalists, who say it could pollute underground water.
The Government's decision to oppose it comes as it fights to win the Alice Springs seat of Araluen at a by-election on October 9.
In a statement, Labor's candidate for the seat, Adam Findlay, says a mine so close to the town has the potential to adversely affect the tourism market and the economy.
Chief Minister Paul Henderson says there is strong community opposition to the mine and Labor is listening to the concerns.
But he says it does not mean the Government is opposed to new uranium mines elsewhere in the Territory.
Mr Henderson says any approval of a uranium mine is the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government.
Greens Federal senator Scott Ludlam says he is still concerned about what the Federal Government will do.
"Obviously now all eyes are on the CLP to make sure that they match this commitment," he said.
"It would be very strange if they didn't, but we need to keep in mind federal Labor can override the Northern Territory as we see happening over and over again."
The Chamber of Commerce's Chris Young says it is a disappointing development based on emotions, rather than scientific fact.

MORE: STOP ANGELA PAMELA:

http://www.stopangelapamela.org.au/

==================

2. URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Nuclear Waste Ban Campaign

October 1, 2010
People at Pinehouse, north of La Ronge, at at English River, far north of Meadow Lake, have told the nuclear-industry based Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) they may be interested in becoming a nuclear waste dump for the economic benefits. These northerners are only hearing one-sided industry promotions and we know that this is not how you create "free, prior, informed consent".
In the federal review in the 1990s the Canadian public already rejected this industry's plan of centralizing nuclear wastes for deep geological burial. But the industry apparently can't take "no" for an answer. Such a decision with implications for all people in Saskatchewan cannot now be made by the nuclear industry's NWMO and one community which is being economically bribed.
This is a provincial matter and the Wall government and NDP opposition need to be challenged to see this. This will become a major issue in next year's election. Thousands of trucks with high-level nuclear wastes would be going along our southern highways to get to any northern nuclear dump. So, this issue has ramifications for all of us in Saskatchewan.
We therefore need to launch another campaign, similar to the one against Bruce Power's plan for nuclear power plants on the North Saskatchewan River and for Greening the Grid. And we need to do it quickly.
Our campaign will be for a provincial legislated ban on importing any nuclear wastes, similar to the one that exists in both Manitoba and Quebec. The United Church has already endorsed such a policy and we know hundreds of other groups stand ready to do this too. It is our hope that many Metis and First Nation's groups will endorse the nuclear waste ban. We now need to mobilize this widespread public opinion.
Most of the nuclear wastes would be from Ontario reactors, and Ontario should deal with its own wastes and not be sending them to northern Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan already has a huge long-term waste problem from the uranium tailings, and we don't want to go from the frying pan into the fire.
At next weekend's non-nuclear retreat we will disuss this campaign and propose policy and strategy for the groups within the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan to consider. But we need people from across the province to attend. Please consider coming: Oct. 8th evening to Oct. 10th noon at Crows Nest Ecology Preserve near Fort Qu'Appelle.

We must begin this campaign now.

Contact Jim Harding for more information:
(djharding@sasktel.net) or ph. 306-332-4492

= = = = =

COMMENT: REMPEL: Campaign to ban Ontario nuclear waste dump in Saskatchewan
From: Jacob Rempel
Sent: Saturday, October 02, 2010 10:41 PM
Subject: Campaign to ban Ontario nuclear waste dump in Saskatchewan

Dear Saskatchewan relatives and friends,

With respect to the radiation dangers for all of us and our children and their children, posed by the uranium industry, Jim Harding and David Orchard of old Saskatchewan families,are the best informed independent public activists, uncompromised by corporate and political personal history. They have researched the facts and they warn us against allowing our industry and government to lead us into disasters.
They both warn all Saskatchewan people to guard against any expansion of any nuclear industry, and at the specifically against accepting nuclear waste disposal from Ontario.
Below this note, I append excerpts from their writing. I encourage you to research this issue carefully. I am confident that you will oppose this proposed radioactive waste disposal anywhere in Saskatchewan ----
Jacob Rempel, Vancouver

= = = = = = =

Uranium poses ethical, moral issues for Saskatchewan by David Orchard

http://www.davidorchard.com/online/2do-index.html

Special to the StarPhoenix, Thursday, June 18, 2009

An excerpt from Orchard's article

A crucial, unsolved problem with atomic power is its highly toxic, radioactive waste. For decades, until this practice was publicly exposed by Greenpeace, nuclear waste was routinely dumped into the ocean.
Then proposals were made to use rockets to shoot nuclear waste into space. The obvious danger and public opposition killed the plan.
The idea currently favoured is to bury the waste in solid rock formations. Manitoba spent many years studying and experimenting with deep rock disposal. It concluded that no matter how solid the rock, water moves through it.
The "spent fuel" generated by nuclear reactors is millions of times more radioactive than the uranium fuel going in, and this waste remains lethal for more than a million years. Any container that holds it will leak long before that time, releasing the buried waste irretrievably into the environment, leaving a deadly legacy for eternity.
Manitoba has banned the burial of nuclear waste. Quebec says there is no way it will happen there. Virtually every U.S. state has also said no to a nuclear waste site.
For two decades, the U.S. government has planned to bury nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca Mountain. More than $13 billion has been spent on this site, but, responding to growing opposition, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently pronounced the project dead.
There are now more than 100 U.S. reactor sites looking for a place to get rid of their waste. If Saskatchewan builds a reactor, it too will need to deal with the waste. Pressure will increase for a disposal site in our province.
If Saskatchewan agrees to construct such a site, nuclear stations, Canadian and American, will be anxious to send us their waste. This isn't a future most of us want for our province.
Canada, i.e. Saskatchewan, is the largest supplier of uranium to the U.S. One byproduct, when refined there, is depleted uranium. The U.S. military has used hundreds of tonnes of radioactive depleted uranium munitions in Iraq, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.
Upon impact, DU-hardened missiles burst into flames and vaporize. Inhaled DU smoke is an agonizing death sentence for many, as the escalating cancer rates in the countries mentioned have shown.
===========================================

THE NORTH DESERVES BETTER

http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/
viewtopic.php?p=1856&sid=f51bef38c51267edd045c90c1d71aa82

The First in a Two-Part Series on “How Environmental Protection is Being Compromised in the North”

BY Jim Harding Saskatchewan Sustainability Published in the United Newspapers of Saskatchewan September 24, 2010

EXCERPT: NORTHERN CANCER RATES HIGHER

Similar admissions were made about the Gunnar mine which closed in 1964: “Tailings were pumped over a hill into nearby Mudford Lake. When the site was abandoned, the operator just walked away, leaving everything as it was”. Other concerns “include a 110-metre deep flooded pit which is seeping into Lake Athabasca; a 2.7 million cubic metre waste rock pile containing other assorted industrial waste; and 4.4 million tonnes of tailings close to, or draining into, or in, the water of Langley Bay” in Lake Athabasca. It notes that some areas have gamma radiation readings such that they “will have to be covered.” Regarding the closed Lorado uranium mill the report says “It drains into Nero Lake, which is very acidic because of tailings beside and under the lake.” The lasting legacy of uranium mining will clearly not be jobs but radioactive tailings.

The section on “Factors Affecting Northern Health” acknowledges what many Wollaston elders fear: that “Overall cancers exceed the provincial rate; our lung cancer rate is the highest in the province. Bowel and breast cancer rates now equal the south; cervical cancer, while high, is decreasing.” This should be cause for concern and further reason for baseline and thorough epidemiological studies. But rather than affirming the need for this, NSEQC’s report says “…health authorities and other scientists have concluded that there is no additional risk of cancers to a person working at a mine today. In fact, a pre-feasibility study concluded there was no sense doing a study of modern miners, since radiation doses are so low.” This matter is far from pat: if you don’t look you can’t find out. The build-up of radioactive tailings will be a burden for the North long after the mines close.

Community reps have deep concerns about the cumulative ecological mess being made by the uranium industry. Meanwhile, at NSEQC meetings company officials promote their industry without independent information being available to northerners. This is “consultation” with loaded dice and the North deserves better.

In Part Two I explore how the industry influences vital environmental monitoring in the North.

http://jimharding.brinkster.net

See additional articles by Dr. Harding at:

http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=692

=====================

3. Greenpeace warns Canadian communities about the threats of nuclear waste repositories

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/recent/
Greenpeace-warns-Canadian-communities-about-the-threats-of-nuclear-waste-repositories/

September 15, 2010
Northern communities being courted as the site for a radioactive waste dump should be wary of the safety claims being made by the waste management agency controlled by the nuclear industry, says a new analysis of the scientific studies on underground waste disposal commissioned by Greenpeace.
Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) began looking in May for a community willing to have the nuclear industry’s harmful and dangerous waste buried in its area. The NWMO is offering large economic benefits to any community willing to take large quantities of the nuclear industry's radioactive waste. The agency has claimed such a proposal would be safe for the environment and community.
“Canadian communities should beware of being taken down the garden path by the nuclear industry’s desire to bury its biggest public relations problem – radioactive waste,” said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a nuclear analyst with Greenpeace Canada. “The commissioned analysis documents the blanks in our understanding of the threats of deep geological waste disposal that get papered over in the selling job of the nuclear industry.”
The Greenpeace study, “Rock Solid?: A scientific review of geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste” by Dr. Helen Wallace, identifies a series of risks and uncertainties that could lead to the release of radioactivity in a deep geological radioactive waste repository. The report focuses on repository proposals in Sweden and Finland. The NWMO often cites Sweden’s approach to radioactive waste disposal as an example to follow. However, the report found key reports produced by the advisory bodies in Europe make little or no reference to scientific studies.
“We are talking about trying to bury thousands of tonnes of highly dangerous waste for longer than people have existed on Earth. It would be a significant engineering feat if it worked but, if miscalculated, could release highly radioactive waste into our groundwater or seas for centuries, so far below ground that there will be nothing we can do about it,” said Stensil.
Dr. Wallace’s review of scientific journal articles concludes there is no scientific consensus on the viability of deep-level storage and the outstanding risks identified in scientific journals, including:

- accelerated corrosion of nuclear waste containers;
- heat and gas formation leading to pressurization and cracking of the storage chamber;
- unexpected chemical reactions;
- geological uncertainties; future ice ages, earthquakes and human interference;
-the different constitution of waste from future nuclear reactors and its complicated chemistry adds to the uncertainty;
- the limits of computer modeling to account for multiple factors including heat, mechanical deformation, microbes as well as gas and water flow through rock formations over long time scales;
- the potential for interpretive bias given that most studies supporting deep geological repositories are funded by the nuclear industry or supporting agencies promoting deep geological disposal.

“This study yet again demonstrates that there is no solution to the nuclear waste problem. The technical case for geological disposal has simply not been made. Given that, it’s completely unethical for Ontario and other provinces to continue producing nuclear waste,” said Stensil.
Dr Wallace has a PhD in environmental modeling from Exeter University and is an expert on the role of computer modeling in policy decisions. She is currently Director of the science-policy research group GeneWatch UK. Greenpeace Canada’s Don’t Nuke Green Energy campaign seeks to expose and stop subsidies and sweetheart deals given to the nuclear industry that undermine the development of green energy. Subjecting future generations and the environment to the costs and risks of radioactive waste is another way that the nuclear industry hides its true costs.

Rock Solid? Is available for download at

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/Global ... rt/2010/9/
RockSolidweb.pdf

================

4. PRESENTATION: Dr. Dale Dewar to CNSC INTERVENTIONS against shipping radioactive steam generators

FROM: prairie@web.ca Oct 02 01:32PM -0400

Greetings. I assume some receiving this will have watched some of the life-streamed CNSC session on shipping radioactive steam generators. There were a lot of great interventions! Meanwhile, as Gordon Edwards pointed out, it was hard to see any difference between the commission members and the proponents.
This paper, attached and plaintext, is particularly relevant to the Physicians for Global Survival comments by Dale Dewar, who followed Gordon Edwards. CNSC Michael Binder glibly brushed off her concerns for radiation risks, critique of ‘health studies’ and standards thus far, references to better recent studies, and call for separation of WHO and
IAEA.
Commissioners deferred to their go-to consultant on these matters, Dr. Lane, who showed me how much the industry is scrambling to hold on to its storyline and rationalize its theories/activities. In particular, Dr Lane (a PhD epidemiologist?) proclaimed the best theory for increased cancers in the KiKK study is: infections!!

You’ll note reference to that discredited notion in this document: INCREASED CHILDHOOD CANCER RATES NEAR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS.
Health Energy!
bill curry
= = = =

INCREASED CHILDHOOD CANCER RATES NEAR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

http://www.ippnw2010.org/fileadmin/user ... entations/
WS1_thiel_Increased_Leukaemia_childhood_engl.pdf

By Reinhold Thiel (translation: Malte Andre, Winfrid Eisenberg)
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
IPPNW World Congress Report, Basel, August 2010

The closer a child lives to a nuclear power plant, the higher risk it has of developing cancer, particularly leukaemia.

This was proven in 2007 when the so called ‘KiKK’ study (Childhood Cancer near Nuclear Power Plants) was completed. The KiKK study is the most accurate and intense investigation on this issue worldwide. The decision to start the study was taken because the German statistician Dr Alfred Korblein had reanalysed some previous studies which
revealed evidence of increased cancer rates near German nuclear facilities (1). Only a persistent . . . campaign by International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) drove the [German federal office for radiation protection] to prepare a broad research contract and to mandate the Kinderkrebregister Mainz (KKR) in 2003. The results have been published in the European Journal of Cancer (2), in the International
Journal of Cancer (3) and on the website of the BfS (4) in 2007 and 2008.

The key question of the survey was: Do radioactive isotopes emitted during standard operation of nuclear power plants lead to an increase of childhood cancer rates?

MORE:

http://www.ippnw2010.org/fileadmin/user ... entations/
WS1_thiel_Increased_Leukaemia_childhood_engl.pdf

=======================

5. Cities Against the Transport of Radioactive Steam Generators

From: Gordon Edwards
Sent: Saturday, October 02, 2010 1:58 AM
Subject: Cities Against the Transport of Radioactive Steam Generators

For your information:

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative has taken a strong stand against the shipment of radioactive steam generators through the Great Lakes and along the St. Lawrence River to Sweden.

Your can read their excellent submission to the CNSC at the following web address:

http://ccnr.org/GLSLCI_submission_1.pdf

And here is a list of the over 70 member cities of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative:

http://ccnr.org/GLSLCI_Members_09_2010.pdf

Note that TROIS-RIVIÈRES, BÉCANCOUR, SEPT-ÎLES and MONTRÉAL are all members, as well as TORONTO, CHICAGO, HAMILTON, NIAGARA FALLS, NIAGARA REGION, ROCHESTER, TOLEDO, MILWAUKEE, GEORGIAN BAY TOWNSHIP, BRUCE COUNTY, and about 60 more cities.

In addition, over 30 mayors of Quebec municipalities have presented to their town councils resolutions (en français) against the transport of the steam generators, and these resolutions have passed quite easily....

Finally here is a letter that I have sent today to the Commissioners of the CNSC asking them to demand a factually correct application from Bruce Power to replace the current application which is known to be factually incorrect:
http://ccnr.org/memo_to_CNSC.pdf

Gordon Edwards

=====================

6. Not in our seaway - Mohawks Opposed to shipment of generators

http://www.montrealgazette.com/technolo ... y+Mohawks/
3606237/story.html

Nuclear power station official insists no danger of radioactive damage
By MICHELLE LALONDE, The Gazette, October 1, 2010
The Mohawk community of Kahnawake is determined to stop a plan by an Ontario nuclear power station to ship 16 massive steam generators along the St. Lawrence Seaway for recycling in Sweden.
"The fact that the seaway was built through our territory without our approval in the first place is bad enough," said Clinton Phillips, the chief responsible for environmental issues on the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake.
"To use it to transport nuclear waste literally through our backyard would be adding insult to injury in a huge way. There is absolutely no way we'll stand for it."
Council spokesperson Joe Delaronde said the community has no plan to physically block the project, but will join Mohawks in Akwasasne to try to persuade the federal government to cancel it.
He said the council intends to pass a resolution Monday to formally oppose the transportation through Mohawk territory of any nuclear fuel or waste products.
Concerns about toxic waste spilling into the St. Lawrence have been heightened by Tuesday's leak of about 35 barrels of diesel fuel into the river from a conduit owned by Suncor Energy's refinery facility in Montreal East.

MORE:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/technolo ... y+Mohawks/
3606237/story.html

===================

7. Seven Great Lakes States' U.S. Senators object to radioactive waste shipment from Canada to Sweden via the Great Lakes

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/
2010/10/1/7-great-lakes-states-us-senators-object-to-radioactive-steam.html

Media Advisory, October 1, 2010 Contact: Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear,
kevin@beyondnuclear.org, cell 240-462-3216

Washington, D.C.--Citing transportation risks of radiological releases during shipment of radioactive wastes on the irreplaceable Great Lakes, and questioning the wisdom of "recyling" radioactive metals into the consumer product scrap metal recycling stream, seven U.S. Senators from Great Lakes States [Russell Feingold (D-WI), Robert Casey Jr.
(D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Carl Levin (D-MI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Richard Durbin (D-IL, Assistant Senate Majority Leader), and Charles Schumer (D-NY)] have sent letters to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA), as well as the Canadian federal government (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Ministry of Environment), urging that full environmental analyses be carried out before permits are issued for this risky shipment of radioactive Canadian nuclear steam generators to commence. PHMSA has recently come under fire due to its close ties to the industries which it is supposed to regulate, as well as for high profile and even deadly oil pipeline leaks and natural gas pipeline explosions.

For more information, see:

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/
2010/10/1/7-great-lakes-states-us-senators-object-to-radioactive-steam.html

For additional background, see:

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/canada/
-- - -
Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Watchdog, Beyond Nuclear
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 400, Takoma Park, Maryland 20912
Office: (301) 270-2209 ext. 1
Cell: (240) 462-3216
Fax: (301) 270-4000
kevin@beyondnuclear.org
www.beyondnuclear.org

Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic.

================

8. Council of Canadians opposes shipment of radioactive generators at public hearing

http://www.canadians.org/media/water/20 ... -10-a.html

MEDIA ADVISORY For Immediate Release September 29, 2010
Ottawa - The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is holding a two-day public hearing on the shipment of Bruce Power’s radioactive steam generators through the Great Lakes to Sweden. Bruce Power plans to recycle the 16 steam generators by contracting Swedish company Studsvik to decontaminate, melt down and sell the metal back into consumer markets.
WHAT: The Council of Canadians will be presenting the organization’s concerns today to the CNSC about the proposed shipment of Bruce Power’s radioactive steam generators.
WHERE: Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, 280 Slater Street 14th Floor, Ottawa, ON
The Council of Canadians opposes the shipments for several reasons including the shipment’s failure to meet established national and international regulations, the possibility of the precedent rendering the CNSC powerless to limit future shipments, the health risks of recycling radioactive material into scrap metal and the lack of meaningful consultation with First Nations and other communities along the proposed travel route.
Nearly 80 groups and individuals have made written submissions with the majority of them opposing the shipments. Half the groups have registered to speak at the hearing. -30-
For More Information:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer,
Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685

===============

9. Council of Canadians Annual General Meeting promises action, celebration and positive energy – Oct. 22 – 24 - Ottawa

http://www.canadians.org/publications/s ... news/2010/
Sept30.html

Council of Canadians members, chapter activists, staff and supporters will gather in Ottawa October 22-24 for our Annual General Meeting to proudly celebrate our 25 year history of speaking out against unfair trade deals and social injustices and bringing people together for positive political action by “Building People Power.”
This year, as trade negotiators meet in Ottawa to hammer out details of the proposed Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), we will fill the streets to speak out against the deal’s threats to farmers, First Nations, public water, municipal democracy, public services, cultural protections and other policies. On Friday, October 22 at noon we will hold a rally in front of Old Ottawa City Hall, located at 111 Sussex Drive to show why this is a bad deal for Canada.
Friday evening we will hold a free public forum at the Crown Plaza Hotel, located at 101 Lyon Street. Our keynote speakers, who include our National Chairperson Maude Barlow, Trade and public interest lawyer and Council Board Member Steven Shrybman, and Université du Québec Sociology Professor Dorval Brunelle will address the potentially devastating effects of CETA, and speak to a different – and better – future that values people over profits. The evening will conclude with a view to the future as young activists take the stage to talk about their visions and hopes for social justice here in Canada and around the world.
Saturday will be filled with engaging and educational workshops on topics such as climate justice, the victory for the Human Right to Water and Sanitation at the United Nations, how to use social networking tools such as twitter and Facebook in activism and much more. Registration is required for workshops.
We hope you will join us!

For more information about this year’s AGM, and to register go here.

http://www.canadians.org/about/AGM/index.html

- - - -- - -
Here’s more about what’s new at the Council of Canadians:

All LINKS are at:

http://www.canadians.org/publications/s ... news/2010/

Sept30.html

Council challenges private water corporations at World Water Congress meeting
Win! Red Deer Chapter helps successful lobby to stop gravel quarry on local aquifer
Board member attends FDA hearings on GE Salmon
Council Chapters “Dig In” for October 10/10/10 Work Parties
Harper government undeserving of seat on UN Security Council
Take Action! Stop shipments of radioactive materials on Great Lakes
Your voices have been heard! 86,000 petitions (and counting) delivered
Join the Council of Canadians

======================

10. Council of Canadians Update - October 1, 2010

Building People Power: The Council of Canadians' 25th AGM,
October 22-24, 2010, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ottawa.
Join us! http://www.canadians.org/AGM/

ALL Item Links are at:
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/

ACTION ALERT: Oppose Quebecor/ Fox News North’s CRTC application
The Council of Canadians is a member of OpenMedia.ca, which is working to advance and support an open and innovative communications system in Canada.

UPDATE: Canadian Friends of the Right to Water meets
Representatives of the Council of Canadians, Eau Secours, the Assembly of First Nations, the Chiefs of Ontario, CUPE, Amnesty International, the Sierra Club of Canada, the Polaris Institute, and the University of Ottawa are meeting now to discuss how to further the recently adopted United Nations resolution on the right to water and sanitation in Canada.

NEWS: Argentina passes glacier-protection law
Agence France Presse reports that, “Argentina’s Congress passed a law early Thursday that seeks to protect environmentally sensitive glaciers by imposing strict limits on mining, potentially affecting foreign investments.

NEWS: China plans major water diversion project
United Press International reports that, “China’s $62 billion South-North Water Transfer Project is forcing the relocation of 330,000 people and may not even deliver clean water.

NEWS: European Union, US join Japan in fight against Ontario’s Green Energy Act
The Globe and Mail reports this morning that, “The United States and the European Union emerged on Thursday as latest countries to say they have key commercial interests at stake and want to join the consultations on a complaint by Japan to the World Trade Organization. …The United States and the EU filed notices with the Geneva-based trade body this week. The Japanese government launched its action two weeks ago, saying Ontario’s Green Energy Act and its local procurement requirements are a ‘prohibited subsidy’ and violate international trade agreements.”

WIN! UBCM calls for local exemption from CETA
The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) have voted at their annual convention in Whistler to support a resolution from the District of Logan Lake and City of Burnaby asking that the provincial government negotiate a clear, permanent exemption for local governments from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
_____________________

Council delivers message to Ontario Energy Board on Fracking
This coming Thursday and Friday the Council of Canadians will be participating in an Ontario Energy Board (OEB) Stakeholder Conference in Toronto. The conference provides a forum to discuss recent developments in North American natural gas supply markets and the implications for the Ontario natural gas sector.

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11. International Radioactive Waste Action Day Roundup

It's Not Too Late to Send in Your Pictures! Indeed, Keep Sending Them!
It's a Virtual March on Washington!
September 30, 2010
Dear Friends,
Thank you to everyone across the world who participated in International Radioactive Waste Action Day activities!
From Chelyabinsk, Russia to South Africa to Baltimore, Maryland and just about everywhere in between, people made a clear statement: Radioactive Waste: Stop Making It! And more than 1600 of you wrote to the Department of Energy's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future with that basic message.
Check out the growing slideshow of people who took pictures--at their homes, at actions, in their neighborhoods. You can also find a partial list of events that took place during the day (partial because we are still learning about more and more).
We're going to continue collecting your photos throughout the winter, and present them to the Blue Ribbon Commission on the next Radioactive Waste Action Day in April, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the ongoing Chernobyl nuclear disaster. So it's not too late to take a picture and send it to us at
nirsnet@nirs.org!
Think of it as a virtual March on Washington. Most of us won't be able to speak before the Blue Ribbon Commission in person; we won't be able to come to Washington to protest radioactive waste production. But we can still make a statement, and that's what this slideshow is all about: you, making your statement to the Commission, to the world.
You can do what some people did, and do a public action and take photos. Or just take a photo of yourself holding a sign (that's me, doing exactly that...). You can download and print signs here, or make a sign of your own. Either way, take a picture and send it to us at
nirsnet@nirs.org. We'll add it to the slideshow and the virtual March on Washington for an end to radioactive waste production.
Again, thank you to the many, many thousands of people across the world who participated yesterday, and thank you to all of you who will keep this going and the virtual March on Washington growing over the coming days, weeks and months. Get those pictures in!
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
6930 Carroll Avenue, #340, Takoma Park, MD 20912;
301-270-6477;
nirsnet@nirs.org
www.nirs.org

====================

12. Greenpeace “Stop Darlington” campaign will encourage a green energy future for Ontario

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/recent/
Greenpeace-Stop-Darlington-campaign-will-encourage-a-green-energy-future-for-Ontario/

Feature story - September 15, 2010
The McGuinty government’s plan to replace the aging nuclear reactors at Pickering with new reactors at Darlington will block the development of green energy in Ontario. The plan calls for spending $26 billion on new Darlington reactors. Those reactors were supposed to cost only $6 billion. In Ontario, nuclear costs always mushroom out of control.
Ontario ratepayers are still paying off the enormous debts from the province’s first reactors every month on their electricity bills. They will feel the pain of the out-of-control cost increases of new nuclear reactors on their electricity bills.
Spending on nuclear reactors will also drain funding from more affordable and modern green energy technologies.

MORE:
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/recent/
Greenpeace-Stop-Darlington-campaign-will-encourage-a-green-energy-future-for-Ontario/

=================

13. Canadian Nuclear Association clings to inaccurate, unsupported claims – 2 articles

Waterkeeper.ca Weekly: September 30, 2010
www.waterkeeper.ca

When the Toronto Star published a Greenpeace op-ed critical of nuclear power, Canada’s largest nuclear lobby group was quick to defend its technology. “Nuclear is clean,” declared Denise Carpenter, President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association in her letter to the editor.
The problem is, Ms. Carpenter is quite wrong. So wrong, in fact, that earlier this summer Advertising Standards Canada formally decided that ads by the Power Workers’ Union making a similar claim were inaccurate, unsupported, and misleading.
In fact, the Power Workers’ Union claim was arguably less sweeping than Ms. Carpenter’s use of the word “clean”. The Union advertised CANDU reactors as “emission free”, even though nuclear reactors emit all kinds of foul things into the environment, and industry and government know it.
Concerned by the flagrant inaccuracy of the ad, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and a group of law students from Queen’s University filed a complaint about the Union’s claim with Advertising Standards Canada. The national not-for-profit body self-regulates the Canadian advertising industry. If an ad is misleading, deceptive, or makes claims that are unsupportable, Advertising Standards Canada can request that the advertiser remove the ad.
We provided supporting documentation that shows CANDU reactors at nuclear plants such as the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station emit many different contaminants: 2-propenoic acid, ammonia, aromatic hydrocarbon resin, benzene, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrazine, morpholine, nitrogen oxides, phosphoric acid, quarterly ammonium compounds, sulphur dioxide, suspended particulate matter, total hydrocarbons, as well as tritium.
Advertising Standards Canada agreed, posting a decision to its website declaring that the unqualified phrase “emission free” is inaccurate and unsupported. In its commentary, Advertising Standards Canada stated emphatically: “… it is misleading … for an advertiser to categorically promise one thing when, by its own admission, it can only deliver something that is significantly less”.
The Power Workers’ Union was told to remove all ads containing the “emission free” statement and to qualify any future claims. Meanwhile, the Canadian Nuclear Association blithely continues telling the media and the general public that nuclear power is “clean”. We encourage the Toronto Star and its readers to review Advertising Standards Canada’s decision and to recognize the Nuclear Association’s claims for what they are: inaccurate and unsupported.

Further Reading (Links are on website)

Advertising Standards Canada decision
Power Workers’ Union Ad from the Globe and Mail
LOW Complaint
LOW Complaint: Exhibits

Additional Articles -
Links at: http://www.waterkeeper.ca/
= = = = = =

Darlington Re-Build Could Cost $21 to $35 Billion

http://www.cleanairalliance.org/node/881

OPG wants to raise rates in March 2011 to start paying for Darlington Re-Build
Submitted by OCAA on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 09:00.
Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG’s) proposal to re-build the Darlington Nuclear Station could cost $21 to $35 billion according to a new report, The Darlington Re-Build Consumer Protection Plan, released today by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA).
OPG is seeking permission from the Ontario Energy Board to raise its rates commencing March 2011 to start paying for the Darlington Re-Build project. According to OPG, its proposal to extend the operating life of Darlington by 30 years will cost $8.5 to $14 billion. However, every single nuclear project in Ontario’s history has gone over budget – on average, 2.5 times greater than the original cost estimates. Therefore, if history repeats itself, the actual cost of the Darlington Re-Build project will be $21 to $35 billion.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s renewable and natural gas-fired power producers (individuals, co-ops, First Nations communities, municipal utilities and investor-owned corporations) are not allowed to pass their capital cost overruns on to Ontario’s electricity consumers and taxpayers. OPG should be subject to the same consumer protection rules.
It’s time to put Ontario’s electricity consumers and taxpayers first. It is time to stop giving Ontario Power Generation blank cheques.
The good news is that Ontario has much lower cost and lower risk options to keep the lights on. These options can meet our electricity needs at less than half the cost of re-building Darlington.
- Energy Efficiency: 2.3 to 4.6 cents per kWh
- Combined Heat & Power: 5.7 to 6.0 cents per kWh
- Water Power Imports from Quebec: 6.5 cents per kWh
- Darlington Re-Build: 19 to 37 cents per kWh

With the click of a button, please send Premier McGuinty an email telling him that taxpayers and consumers should not pay for any nuclear cost overruns. Fixed-price bids should be required. Invest in lower cost and lower risk options.
Thank you!
Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
402-625 Church St, Toronto M4Y 2G1
Phone: 416-926-1907 ext. 246
angela@cleanairalliance.org
Clean Air Alliance
Ontario’s Green Future
No Nukes News
Health Power
Peakbusters
Coal Must Go
P.S. Order free postcards/leaflets to distribute to your friends and neighbours!
The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is a diverse, multi-stakeholder coalition of approximately 90 organizations including cities, health associations, environmental and public interest groups, corporations, public utilities, unions, faith communities and individuals, representing more than six million Ontarians. OCAA’s short term goal is to achieve the complete phase out of Ontario’s four coal-fired power plants by the end of 2010. Our long term goal is to achieve a 100% renewable electricity grid by 2027.

======================

14. Cleanup of Radioactive Water at New Jersey Nuclear Plant Begins

http://www.alternet.org/story/148336/

By , Environment News Service
Posted on September 27, 2010, Printed on September 30, 2010
TRENTON, New Jersey, September 23, 2010 - Radioactive tritium that leaked from the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in 2009 into two aquifers below the facility is being removed after months of delay, says the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The Exelon Corporation, which owns and operates the power plant, has agreed to start pumping efforts this week on two monitoring wells in the Cape May and upper Cohansey aquifers, and also has agreed to expand that effort to a third contaminated location by early October.
The goal is to remove the tritium-tainted water to avoid any potential contamination of drinking water supplies, said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin.
At a meeting last week in Trenton with Commissioner Martin, company officials outlined plans to immediately start pulling contaminated water from the ground below the nuclear generating station to control any further migration of the tritium plume which is currently flowing uncontrolled towards the plant's discharge canal.
"We have asked Exelon to expedite this effort, to clean up this radioactive material as quickly and efficiently as possible to ensure public health and the safety of our drinking water supplies," said Martin.
"Radioactivity has not been measured beyond the boundaries of the nuclear plant or anywhere near a potable water source," he said. "Our intention is to make sure that never happens."
Oyster Creek, situated in Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, is the oldest operating nuclear power plant in the United States. The 619 MWe boiling water reactor plant first came online on December 1, 1969, and is licensed to operate until April 2029.
Tritium occurs as a by-product of nuclear power plant operations, and tritium leaks are not uncommon at nuclear power plants nationwide.

MORE: http://www.alternet.org/story/148336/

====================

15. No Nukes News - Sept. 29, 2010

Sept. 29 is International Day of Action Towards Ending the Production of More Radioactive Waste!
Truly, the only solution to the "nuclear waste problem" is to stop making more of it! Nuclear energy production is the number one producer of new radioactivity on Earth, followed by nuclear weapons production.
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OPG wants to raise rates in March 2011 to start paying for Darlington Re-Build
Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG’s) proposal to re-build the Darlington Nuclear Station could cost $21 to $35 billion according to a new report, The Darlington Re-Build Consumer Protection Plan, released today by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA).
The good news is that Ontario has much lower cost and lower risk options to keep the lights on. These options can meet our electricity needs at less than half the cost of re-building Darlington.
With the click of a button, please send Premier McGuinty an email telling him that taxpayers and consumers should not pay for any nuclear cost overruns. Fixed-price bids should be required. Invest in lower cost and lower risk options.
----------------------------------------------------------------

In Ottawa on Sept. 28-29, seventy-seven interveners from around the world are presenting before the CNSC (Canadian Nuclear Safely Commission), opposing Bruce Power’s plans to ship 1600 tonnes of radioactive waste through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River to Sweden, where most of the radioactive metal is to be melted and sold as scrap for unrestricted use.

Background: http://www.ccnr.org/index.html#SG

Debate over Great Lakes nuclear shipments hits Ottawa

http://www.canada.com/technology/
Debate+over+Great+Lakes+nuclear+shipments+hits+Ottawa/3586726/story.html

Stiff opposition to nuclear shipments
Sarnia's Mayor Mike Bradley says protests and civil disobedience are possible if the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approves shipments of nuclear waste from the Bruce Power nuclear plant to Sweden this fall.

http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2775977

Plan to ship radioactive waste abroad assailed
"Do we really want the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence to become routine transportation routes for radioactive debris for decrepit nuclear reactors?" echoed Kevin Kamps, a researcher for Washington-based Beyond Nuclear, at a news conference Tuesday.

http://www.thestar.com/news/sciencetech ... t/article/
867263--plan-to-ship-radioactive-waste-abroad-assailed

Nuclear shipping plan dangerous: environmentalists
"This is just the tip of an enormous iceberg because once they ship these 16 steam generators, they're going to be shipping more and more and more radioactive waste," he said.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/ ... /20100928/
bruce-power-hearing-100928/20100928?hub=TorontoNewHome
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Go green to avoid soaring nuclear costs
By Greenpeace Canada
Ontario needs a frank and public debate on how to protect electricity consumers from the rising costs of the McGuinty government’s nuclear plans.
Four trends point to need for a plan to protect the ratepayer from nuclear cost increases.
- Rising reactor repair costs
- Rising new reactor costs
- Aging reactor maintenance costs
- Privatization of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL)

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editoria ... n/article/
866236--go-green-to-avoid-soaring-nuclear-costs
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The Movement Grows - 100,000 protest in Berlin against German efforts to extend the licenses of aging nuclear reactors.

Watch the slideshow and video here:
http://www.nirs.org/
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Ontario’s FIT program a success after one year
Ontario’s feed-in-tariff program is one year old on Oct. 1 and most would call it a success, judged strictly by the number of green-power projects it has attracted.
So why is there so much fear over this success? Partly because critics of the feed-in-tariff dismiss the program’s potential for economic development. They focus instead on one metric: Is it more expensive than the power we’ve paid for in the past? This is the wrong question. What should be asked is how prices under the FIT compare to power from new nuclear and natural gas plants.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/
864724--hamilton-ontario-s-fit-program-a-success-after-one-year
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Another feeble-headed nuke drops dead

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harvey-wasserman/
another-feebleheaded-nuke_b_736214.html

As the "reactor renaissance" desperately demands new billions from a lame duck Congress, one of its shining stars has dropped dead. Other much-hyped "new generation" plans may soon die with it.

Background: As the "nuclear renaissance" sputters and stalls, nuclear proponents have trotted out one new idea after another, trying to keep the dream of a nuclear-powered paradise alive.
"Breeder reactors", otherwise known as "fast reactors", have been dusted off and touted as a futuristic concept even though they have failed repeatedly in the past.
"Thorium-fueled reactors" have been presented as a new and exciting idea even though (1) thorium is not a nuclear fuel at all (it needs plutonium to get started and it depends on 100 percent enriched uranium-233 as a weapons-usable byproduct) and (2) it is a very old idea that was abandoned by the U.S.A. decades ago.
Generation III reactors were supposed to be larger, more powerful, cheaper, and quicker to build, but when these promises turned out to be untrue, nuclear proponents did an about-face and promoted small, stand-alone, modular reactors that would provide both heat and electricity. Once again, these promises seem to be based not so much on scientific evidence as on engineering euphoria. - Gordon Edwards.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seeking Input from Ontarians
The Ministry of Energy is "seeking input from Ontarians" as it updates the electricity-plan-that-never-was. Tell 'em what you think! Phase out nuclear - Shut down coal - Conservation is the biggest and best "new" supply of electricity followed by renewables - We must move swiftly to 100% renewable grid!
Link to the questions is at
http://www.mei.gov.on.ca/en/energy/
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Petition to Stop the Refurbishment of the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station and immediately commence Decommissioning
Please sign on and support this important statement from the Passamaquoddy people.
We, the undersigned concerned groups and citizens, are concerned that the nuclear generating station at Point Lepreau, New Brunswick,
i) is poisoning the air, land, waters, people and all other life forms who live there;
ii) operates with radioactive fuel that is poisoning the air, land, waters, people and all other life forms; wherever nuclear fuel is mined, processed and transported;
iii) is an unnecessary economic burden on the people of New Brunswick;
iv) is an unsafe operation undergoing untested and untried first-of-a-kind refurbishment of aging and damaged equipment in a populated area
v) is proceeding without consultation with or permission from the indigenous people of the territory
We herewith demand that:
no further monies be spent on nuclear energy in New Brunswick, – and –
plans to decommission the reactor at Point Lepreau begin immediately.

Sign HERE:

http://iicph.org/
statement-to-stop-refurbishment-and-immediately-commence-decommissioning-of-the-point-lepreau-nuclear-generating-station#jra_pet_msg
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Electronic warfare emerges around Iranian nuke
Iran has charged that an extremely dangerous “foreign-made” computer worm, “Stuxnet”, has infected tens of thousands of its industrial computer systems, including Iran’s nearly operational Bushehr nuclear power plant in what is being called the first case of cyber-sabotage of an industrial system.

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
nuclear-reactors-whatsnew/2010/9/28/electronic-warfare-emerges-around-iranian-nuke.html
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Coal Must Go!
Send an email to Ontario’s political leaders urging them to put Ontario’s coal plants on standby reserve today. We don’t need coal to keep the lights on. Also order free postcards to distribute to friends/neighbours.

http://coalmustgo.ca/

Australian climate activists freeze world’s largest coal port

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/
default.asp?page=2010\09\27\story_27-9-2010_pg4_5

Mass Arrests in DC: We Shall No Longer Be Crucified Upon the Cross of Coal

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/
breaking-mass-arrests-in_b_740686.html

More than 100 Arrested at White House Demanding End to Mountaintop Removal

http://appalachiarising.org/

Let's shut down coal plants now
Leading health organizations urged Energy Minister Brad Duguid to close Ontario's coal-fired electricity plants by the end of 2010. The call represents the first time the Lung Association and the Asthma Society of Canada have joined Ontario's doctors and nurses under the anti-coal banner.

http://www.dunnvillechronicle.com/Print ... ?e=2777301
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Hot Planet/ Cold Wars: Prescriptions for a Healthy Planet in Troubled Times
To understand the consequences of Climate Change and Nuclear Proliferation and work toward solutions. Physicians, students, activists and members of the public are all welcome.
Fri. October 1 evening and Sat. October 2, 8:30 am to 5 pm
Medical Sciences Building, 1 Kings College Circle, University of Toronto

www.pgs.ca
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Community Power Conference - November 15 – 16 - Toronto
The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) is hosting its second annual Community Power Conference this November. The event is Ontario’s single largest annual gathering of Community Power producers, proponents and supporters. Together with the Power Networking Centre trade show, the conference attracts industry regulators, commercial and community power generators, farmers and First Nation and Métis delegations.

www.cpconference.ca
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WindFest • Toronto's Waterfront Kite Festival
Sat. October 2 · 11:00am - 4:00pm
Woodbine Beach • Ashbridges Bay, Toronto
Join hundreds of kite flyers, expert kite-flying demonstrations and workshops on kite making, clean energy and conservation as well as activities just for kids!
WindFest is a chance to celebrate autumn, wind power, and the breathtaking art of kite flying, on Toronto's largest beach!

http://www.windfest.to/
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=1 ... 574&ref=ts
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Ride for Renewables – Toronto.
Sun. Oct 3, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. (10:30 a.m. if you need quick bike repairs)
Meet at the wind turbine at Exhibition Place, Toronto, end in the beaches.
Free. All cyclists welcome.
We'll visit 6 green energy projects including wind, solar thermal, solar PV, geothermal, CHP and conservation.
Speakers and snacks en route. Get inspired for your 10/10/10 work party! 350.org
For more info and to rsvp: greenspi@web.ca ph. 647 342 1964
Sponsored by: Toronto Climate Campaign, Greenspiration, Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative, Greenpeace, Toronto Cyclists Union, 10/10/10 - 350.org
facebook page
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Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Tel: 416 926 1907 x 246
625 Church Street, #402, Toronto, ON M4Y 2G1
angela@cleanairalliance.org
www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca
www.cleanairalliance.org
Our Facebook Group
Sign Our Petition
No Nukes News
Health Power
Coal Must Go

==================

16. Greenland opens door to uranium exploration

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/
1009102_greenland_opens_the_door_to_uranium_mining_exploration/

NEWS: Around the Arctic September 10, 2010 - 7:49 am NUNATSIAQ NEWS

"It's a very big step forward"
Greenland Minerals and Energy can move ahead with its controversial rare earth and uranium mining project in Kvanefjeld near Narsaq following a Sept. 9 decision by the Greenland government to change its conditions for mineral exploration permits, reports Greenland’s Sermitsiaq newspaper.
The new rules give the Greenland government more scope to evaluate deposits, which contain radioactive substances— such as uranium, Sermitsiaq says.
“It is with great pleasure that Greenland Minerals and Energy A/S receives government’s decision to introduce new rules for exploration permits,” said a company statement.
Lars Emil Johansen, former premier Greenland who is chairman of Greenland Minerals and Energy, told Dow Jones Newswires that “it’s not permission to start mining, but it is permission to make studies for mines with uranium. It’s a very big step forward for the company.”
The company plans to carry out feasibility studies in 2011, which will look at the environmental, social, health and economic impacts of its mining project on Kvanefjeld.
When Greenland Minerals and Energy and its Australian-owned parent company, Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd., start to look at the technical, environmental and social impacts of a mine at Kvanefjeld, these studies are expected to create about 30 jobs in Narsaq, Sermitsiaq says.
Preliminary studies show that Kvanefjeld probably contains one of the world’s largest deposits of the so-called rare earth metals, used in green technology, as well as zinc and uranium.
A prefeasibility study estimated the Kvanefjeld mine can produce 43,729 metric tonnes of rare earths and 3,895 tonnes of uranium a year during its 23-year lifespan and could meet 20 per cent of the world’s demand for rare earths, which are now mined mainly in China.
Earlier this year the municipal council of South Greenland voted in favour of supporting a change from Greenland’s zero-tolerance uranium policy.
The council said that a final decision to mine in Kvaneflejd should be made based on the results of the definitive feasibility study and associated environmental and social impact assessments.
= = = =
Uranium Exploration in Greenland

http://www.wise-uranium.org/upeur.html#GL

The following companies are performing uranium prospection and/or exploration in Greenland: Prime Minerals Ltd , Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd , Ram Resources Ltd
Uranium mining in Greenland is being opposed by Earth Charter Narsaq, Narsami Uranisiornermut Naaggaartut (Association against uranium in Narsaq).
General

Greenland relaxes zero-tolerance uranium policy for exploration licenses
On Sep. 10, 2010, Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd announced that an amendment has been made by the Government of Greenland to the Standard Terms for Exploration Licenses that allows for the inclusion of radioactive elements as exploitable minerals for the purpose of thorough evaluation and reporting.

Municipal council of Southern Greenland backs end of zero-tolerance uranium policy
On May 12, 2010, the municipal council of South Greenland voted in favour of a change from the zero-tolerance uranium policy. The council has put forward an invitation to the legal assembly of Greenland to change regulations from the current zero tolerance uranium policy to a byproduct-policy with a maximum concentration limit for uranium of 0.1%. (Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd May 26, 2010)

Former Greenland premier becomes chairman of mining company that plans to extract uranium in Greenland
Former Greenland premier Lars-Emil Johansen is new chairman of the Australian mining company Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd that will extract rare earth metals in Kvanefjeld. This mining is only possible with uranium by-product extraction. (Sermitsiaq avis July 2, 2009)

New government of Greenland upholds ban on by-product extraction of uranium
Naalakkersuisut's (Greenlandic Government's) uranium policy is unchanged and thus not any decision has been taken on changing the zero-tolerance which has been in existence since the 1980s, premier Kuupik Kleist said. This means that some projects can not be implemented because of the high by-product content of uranium. (Sermitsiaq avis June 24, 2009)

Greenland parliament allows by-product recovery of uranium
A majority in parliament agreed to support the extraction of uranium as a by-product from mines where other minerals are the primary target. Siumut, Atassut and the Democrats all support easing the country's 20-year-old 'zero tolerance' policy regarding uranium mining. Inuit Ataqatigiit and Kattusseqatigiit are both opposed to the proposal. (Sermitsiaq avis Nov. 27, 2008)

Inuit advocate against uranium mining in Greenland
Greenland's environment should come before profits from mining, a leading Inuit spokesperson told American broadcaster CBS. The president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Greenland believes mining companies should not be permitted to remove uranium from Greenland's underground, under any circumstances. 'Why should we spoil our nature and our people's health,' Aqqaluk Lynge told CBS News.
The Greenlandic and Danish parliaments banned uranium mining over two decades ago, but the question has arisen after some mining companies requested permission to extract uranium obtained during the mining of other types of metals.
Lynge said that with the intensifying hunt for natural resources in the Arctic meant the country needed to be careful not to get caught up by dreams of quick riches. 'We're in the same situation Arctic peoples in Alaska and Canada have already been through. We need to be careful with our environment, especially since climate change could change much of it.' (Sermitsiaq avis July 31, 2008)

Southern Greenland: uranium mining vs. World Heritage
Greenland's Home Rule government is facing a difficult decision these days. It must decide whether it wants to place southern Greenland on UNESCO's World Heritage list or allow uranium mining. MPs are pushing for Southern Greenland to be designated by UNESCO for its 1000 years of agriculture dating back to the time of Eric the Red. But mining for the wealth of minerals - including Uranium - in the area would preclude that designation. Large areas around Narsaq and Qaqortoq were included in the World Heritage bid, which unleashed protests from interested parties because the Raw Materials Directorate had already issued numerous drilling licences within those areas. Now the Home Rule government is proposing that only five small 'islands' be included as World Heritage site possibilities to avoid the mining conflict. (Sermitsiaq avis July 4, 2008)

Kvanefjeld View deposit info:

http://www.wise-uranium.org/uoeur.html#KVANEFJELD

On Feb. 1, 2010, Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd announced the receipt of positive interim pre-feasibility report for the Kvanefjeld rare earth/uranium deposit.
A Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for the Kvanefjeld deposit is on-schedule for completion late in the third quarter, 2009. (Greenland Minerals and Energy June 19, 2009)
On Jan. 29, 2009, the Association for opponents of the mining of uranium-bearing minerals at Kvanefjeld was f

by **Oscar** » Mon Oct 04, 2010 4:34 pm

NUKE NEWS (Pt. 2) – October 4, 2010

1. NUKE WASTE COMING TO SASKATCHEWAN?
2. HARDING: THE NORTH DESERVES BETTER, Part 2
3. RUH buys monitors with Cameco money
4. Is the "Nuclear Renaissance" Dead Yet?
5. What is the Saskatchewan Environmental Code?
6. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Taking aim at nuclear power
7. Stuxnet worm heralds new era of global cyberwar - 5 articles
8. LETTER: SHILEDS: Harper's Canada Can't Pass The Smell Test!
9. Global Strike command reaches full operational capability
10. AFGHANISTAN - 7 articles
11. Turkey and Russia Defy America's Imperial Design in the Middle East and Central Asia
12. U.S. State Department may issue warning for Americans traveling in Europe
13. How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic
14. The Process Is Dead
15. How Harper Learned to Love the UN
16. Call to Action: People’s Assemblies on Climate Justice during Cancun climate negotiations

=================

1. NUKE WASTE COMING TO SASKATCHEWAN?

English River Signals Interest In Nuclear Waste

http://www.mbcradio.com/news/news/
news_item2.asp?NewsID=9143

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 13:33
There are now four communities in Canada expressing interest in hosting a site for spent nuclear fuel -- and two of them are in northern Saskatchewan.
Jaimie Robinson, a spokesman for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, says the English River First Nation has contacted his group asking for more information about the idea.
He explains English River is at pretty much the same point as Pinehouse is in receiving consideration for the proposal.
Robinson says the band has requested an initial screening on how suitable it would be to host such a site.
He says over the next two to three months, the NWMO will complete the screening and then present a report to the First Nation.
An English River band councilor is shedding more light on why the First Nation is expressing interest in storing the material.
Bernie Eaglechild says the band is tired of seeing resources hauled out of its traditional lands without receiving any payments for it.
However, she stresses that nothing has been decided and talks are still at an early stage.

MORE:

http://www.mbcradio.com/news/news/news_ ... ewsID=9143

MORE INFO ON NUCLEAR WASTE:

http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=985

=======================

2. HARDING: THE NORTH DESERVES BETTER, Part 2

By Jim Harding
Last time, I looked at how the North Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee (NSEQC) is too close to industry to have any significant influence on protecting the North. Here I look at how the Athabasca Working Group (AWG) environmental monitoring program is also too close to industry and how this undercuts its scientific credibility and ability to reassure northerners that it continues to be safe to live off the land.
One of the main themes of the Keepers of the Water gathering at Wollaston Lake in August was the need to bring traditional land-based knowledge and critical environmental science closer together. Southern scientists and activists closely listened as many elders spoke passionately of this. Such a convergence can begin to occur when there is systematic community-based monitoring of the uranium industry. Some may say that there already is such monitoring, but after my recent trip to Wollaston I am not convinced.

IS “CAN-NORTH” INDEPENDENT?

CanNorth is promoted as “Canada North Environmental Services”. Operating since 1981 when the uranium boom started, it identifies itself as “A First Nations Company”. Its objectives however aren’t independent; it provides “cost-effective environmental services to mining development” and also “facilitates communication between government, mining development and aboriginal people”.
The Athabasca Working Group (AWG) which in 2000 initiated the program to monitor the uranium industry has both Cameco and Areva as “industrial partners”. While the AWG involves people from the seven communities closest to uranium mines, the communities don’t control the monitoring. It’s managed by CanNorth, and as its brochure says, “CanNorth has been involved in the design, implementation and environmental projects for numerous mining developments.”
CanNorth’s commitment to community participation and training aboriginal people may be something to build on. And I take it seriously when it says “The goal is to protect a remote living community with a proud history and to safeguard the wildlife that lives in the environment.” But environmental health monitoring should be done by people who don’t have the uranium industry as clients and partners. Otherwise the methods and results will remain suspect; the monitoring that occurs within this “conflict of interest” will be limited and open to industrial bias. We have to assume that CanNorth’s sampling methods are standardized over time and areas. However, how CanNorth interprets the results of its monitoring of water, air, fish, plants and animals is sometimes open to serious question.

THE 2008 REPORT ON WOLLASTON LAKE

CanNorth’s 2008 Report on Wollaston Lake gives levels of copper, lead, nickel, molybdenum, zinc, selenium, arsenic as well as uranium and radium 226. But how it constructs conclusions is questionable. It should compare the levels of these toxins from before and after uranium mines opened in the area. But, because no such baseline data was collected, it uses the method of comparing what it calls “effects” and “reference” communities.
It takes measures at Collins Bay and Hidden Bay, which are close to the Rabbit Lake uranium mine, along with measures from across the lake, at Welcome Bay, near the hamlet of Wollaston Post. These are considered communities where “effects” of uranium mining may show. It compares these measures to Fidler Bay, northwest of the hamlet, which it calls a “reference site because there is no influence from uranium mining.”
But it can’t say there is “no influence from uranium mining”. This disregards long-term bioaccumulation of toxins within the lake food chain. In all its reports it acknowledges that “It is important to sample sediment, because small animals that live in the sediment are often eaten by fish”. But it stops there. These toxin-carrying fish are eaten by humans, and the cumulating levels in humans also need to be measured. Over time it becomes deceptive to take one bay in the same aquatic system as a “control” area for this may just average out significant industrial impacts.
CanNorth downplays differences in toxin levels. Regarding sediment levels it says “In 2008, 2007, 2003 and 2002, the uranium levels in Hidden Bay were above the lowest level thought to have an effect on aquatic life.” But then it says “This guideline is important for small animals living in the sediment and is not a human health guideline”. This may be true, but measures from humans eating fish that feed from the sediment are required to address the matter of human health. It then continues “Hidden Bay is located a fair distance from the Wollaston Lake communities and the levels of these parameters were low in sediment from Welcome Bay, which is located near the communities.” This actually begs the question of whether fish affected by the higher levels in Hidden Bay are consumed across the lake. Then, almost as an afterthought, CanNorth admits “Treated effluent from Rabbit Lake mine is released upstream of Hidden Bay.”

CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

A more systematic approach would acknowledge that the levels of uranium are likely higher in Hidden Bay because they are downstream from where the uranium mine effluent is released. And lower levels of uranium in the sediment further from the mine, and nearer to the hamlet of Wollaston Lake, is not only to be expected but irrelevant to assessing the risk from uranium mining contaminants. Wollaston residents likely eat fish that feed across the lake in Hidden Bay. Fish that eat in Hidden Bay may be caught near Welcome Bay. Fish behavior and human consumption needs to be directly studied.
However, similar confusion is shown regarding toxic levels in fish. Its report says “In 2008, lake whitefish from Welcome, Hidden and Collins bays contained higher copper, selenium, and in the case of Collins Bay, arsenic, than the ‘reference’ site fish.” It also found higher copper levels for northern pike in these bays. However, it neutralizes these findings by then saying “In both fish species the 2008 levels were similar to or lower than ‘reference’ measurements recorded in previous years.” The report then says “This indicates that these levels are expected for the area” and draws the conclusion “…there are no obvious environmental or health concerns.” It makes unjustified leaps. CanNorth constantly reminds us that these toxins can “occur naturally”; however, without pre-uranium mine baselines they can’t say that these levels are expected. And without knowing fish behavior they can’t assume anything about how or where the fish digested these toxins. What matters is whether uranium mining is adding toxins to the environment, whether these are bio-accumulating within the food chain and present a short or long-term risk to wildlife and humans.
CanNorth’s monitoring is being done with its industrial partners to reassure local residents that it’s safe to drink the water, breath the air, catch fish, eat caribou and pick berries. However, without having baselines and measuring toxins throughout the whole food chain, including humans, not much can be said either way.
The North needs independent, community-based monitoring where local people keep standardized samples of fish and game which can be analyzed with the help of independent environmental scientists. Even if fish and game have “acceptable” province-set levels of toxins these can bio-accumulate over time in humans who rely on food from the land. We’ve seen how this happens elsewhere, e.g. with mercury contamination from pulp and paper mills in Northern Ontario. A revamping of the North’s environmental monitoring system will be impossible as long as the uranium industry continues to be a broker and the government goes along with this. At present there are “neo-colonial” relations between industry and northerners which compromise “environmental protection”. The North deserves better!
http://jimharding.brinkster.net

More of Dr. Harding’s articles:

http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/vie ... =1892#1892

====================

3. RUH buys monitors with Cameco money

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/
todays-paper/buys+monitors+with+Cameco+money/3607735/story.html

Postmedia News October 1, 2010
The Royal University Hospital pediatric intensive-care unit will be getting some new vital signs monitors, thanks to a $365,000 donation from Cameco Corp.
Cameco's donation is the largest yet to the Royal University Hospital Foundation's Vital Care Campaign, an effort to raise $2.8 million to purchase state of the art vital signs monitors for all of the hospital's critical-care units.
- - - - SNIP - - - -
To date, Cameco has contributed more than $2 million to the foundation.
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

===========================

4. Is the "Nuclear Renaissance" Dead Yet?

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/13-2

by Harvey Wasserman
Published on Monday, September 13, 2010 by CommonDreams.org
America's much hyped "reactor renaissance" is facing a quadruple bypass. In actual new construction, proposed projects and overseas sales, soaring costs are killing new nukes. And the old ones are leaking like Dark Age relics teetering on the brink of disaster.
As renewables plummet in cost, and private financing stays nil, the nuclear industry is desperate to gouge billions from Congress for loan guarantees to build new reactors. Thus far, citizen activism has stopped them. But the industry is pouring all it has into this fall's short session, yet again demanding massive new subsides to stay on life support.
Here's a lab report:
Soaring costs at Vogtle, the US's one active new reactor project, have stuck Georgia ratepayers with $108 million in unplanned overcharges….and that's just for starters at a site where actual construction has barely begun. Georgia's PUC now says it will hike rates by nearly 3x as much as the original $1.30/month promised when it first agreed to soak ratepayers for the plant---in advance. This new hike was opposed by the PUC's own staff, which blasted the whole deal for being shrouded in secrecy.
[ http://www.georgiawatch.org/2010/08/20/ ... customers/ ]
Currently calculated to cost a sure-to-soar $14.5 billion, the Vogtle project got $8.33 billion in federal loan guarantees from Obama in February. Citizen/taxpayer groups have since sued to see the details, which the administration is keeping secret.

MORE: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/13-2

=====================

5. What is the Saskatchewan Environmental Code?

http://www.environment.gov.sk.ca/
Default.aspx?DN=d78a4799-5842-4c3c-83ad-db71d9610170

(From Government website: “Results-based regulations”)

= = = = =

The Saskatchewan Environmental Code gathers speed

(“reprinted with permission from: Environmental Resource – September/October 2010 Saskatchewan)

Ann Coxworth (Research Advisor) and David Henry (SES Volunteer Researcher).
Ann and David are representing SES on the Code Development Committee.

Background:

Over the past year several pieces of Saskatchewan’s environmental legislation have been re-written.
The Environmental Management and Protection Act 2002, the Clean Air Act, the Litter Control Act and the State of the Environment Reporting Act have all been incorporated into a new Environmental Management and Protection Act 2010. In addition the Forest Resources Management Act has been updated, and a new Management and Reduction of Greenhouse Gases Act has been created. These new and revised Acts have passed third reading in the Legislature but have not yet been proclaimed. Each Act makes reference to a Saskatchewan Environmental Code, which will eventually replace the regulations associated with these pieces of legislation. This Code does not yet exist, and the legislation cannot be proclaimed and come into force until it does. Until the new Acts
are proclaimed, the old legislation and regulations remain in force. The Government is anxious to get the new legislation proclaimed in June of 2011. We’re not sure why the time pressure – any guesses?

What the Code will (and will not) be:

The Code will bring together the regulatory requirements for the three Acts, namely the Environmental Management and Protection Act, the Forest Resources Management Act and the Management and Reduction of Greenhouse Gases Act. Where possible, the requirements will be “results-based” rather than prescriptive, which means that there will be some flexibility in how environmental requirements are met. But it is recognized that some regulatory areas do not lend themselves to a results-based approach, so some of the Code will still be prescriptive. The Code will not deal with Acts other than these three. So other Ministry of Environment legislation such as the Environmental Assessment Act and the Watershed Authority Act do not make any reference to the Code – they will continue to have their own sets of regulations.

Also Acts managed by other Ministries such as Agriculture and Energy and Resources are unaffected by the Code. Thus industry proponents will still have to deal with the regulatory systems of these ministries and with the federal legislation as well as other provincial environmental acts, in addition to the Code. Consequently, while one major goal of this legislative initiative was to make life simpler for proponents, it looks as if improvement towards this goal might be minimal, at least in the foreseeable future.

How the Code will be developed:

The Ministry of Environment has appointed a broadly based Code Development Committee which is charged with advising the Minister on the content of the Code. The Minister, of course, is not obliged to follow their advice.

The Code Development Committee consists of representatives of regulated industries, ENGOs, Aboriginal government and federal government. The members are:

Wayne Clifton, chairperson (Clifton Associates Ltd.)
Ann Coxworth (Saskatchewan Environmental Society)
Bob Schutzman (Sask. Chamber of Commerce)
Dan McNaughton (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency)
Dave Harmon (Council of Sask. Forest Industries)
David Cubbon (Sask. Institute of Agrologists)
David Henry (Saskatchewan Environmental Society)
Denis Bergeron (National Research Council)
Dennis Sherratt (Environmental Systems Assessment)
Don Deranger (Prince Albert Grand Council)
Dorian Wandzura (City of Regina)
Larry Kratt (Nexen Inc.)
Len Andrychuk (Mac Pherson Leslie and Tyerman Law)
Lorne Cooper (Mosaic Potash)
Margaret Kuzyk (National Building Code)
Okenge Yuma Morisha (Environment Canada)
Patrice LeBlanc (Fisheries and Oceans Canada)
Robert LaFontaine (Metis Nation)

The Committee, supported by Ministry staff, had its first meeting on July 28th. A heavy work schedule is anticipated. It will certainly not be possible to complete the Code by June of 2011, but apparently as long as part of it is in place, the Acts can be proclaimed. A group of regulatory areas have been identified to be covered during “Phase 1”, i.e. before proclamation. The remainder will be dealt with later, with existing regulation remaining in place until it is repealed and replaced by Code. The Phase 1 areas are selected largely on the basis of ease of transition from existing regulations or of urgent need for change. Content Committees will be established for each type of regulatory
activity; they will produce the first drafts of Code wording for the Development Committee to review.

We’re told that this is intended to be a very transparent process, and Code Development Committee members are encouraged to discuss it with their colleagues. Minutes of meetings will be publicly accessible. We will be delighted to share details, to provide
links to documentation and to receive ideas, concerns and suggestions as the process develops.

The controversial issues would seem to include:

- How alternative methods of achieving results, proposed by proponents, are evaluated and approved;
- How ‘qualified persons’ (required to sign off plans for alternative solutions) are defined;
- How to define what environmental standards are acceptable – e.g. how to deal with “what is economically feasible” versus “what is environmentally desirable”, how to deal with cumulative impacts;
- How to ensure that adequate monitoring and auditing of performance take place; and
- How to reconcile oneself to short-comings in the Acts themselves (e.g. the inadequacy of the greenhouse gas management plan; the Code can only describe how the Act’s provisions can be satisfied).

So it promises to be a challenging project with plenty of scope for frustration. We will stay involved as long as we feel we can make a positive contribution towards environmentally desirable outcomes.

= = = = =

Learn More: MEETING: Environmental Regulation: improved or messed up? – Saskatoon – Nov. 16

A participatory information and discussion meeting about changes that are going on in environmental legislation and regulation in Saskatchewan and Canada.

Tuesday Nov. 16th, 7.30 to 9.30 pm
At McClure United Church (all-purpose room)
McKercher Drive at Taylor Street, Saskatoon

Parking available on east side of the church.
Number 60 bus stops at the door.
The meeting, facilitated by renowned adult educator, Harold Chapman, will include presentations by Professor Marie-Ann Bowden, U. of S. College of Law, and Ann Coxworth, SES Research Advisor. We’ll be looking at changes in the federal and provincial environmental assessment processes, new and changed environmental protection legislation in Saskatchewan and the creation of the of the Saskatchewan Environmental Code.
The potential impact of these changes on environmental protection will be explored.
It’s free, everyone’s welcome.

===================

6. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Taking aim at nuclear power

http://www.thestar.com/printarticle/868899

Toronto Star, October 02, 2010
Re: Nuclear deserves a place in Ontario¹s power mix, Opinion, Sept. 28
The president of the Canadian Nuclear Association makes the claim that nuclear is clean, but gives no facts to back it up. That could be because the facts clearly show the opposite is true. Each year nuclear power production in Canada creates 575,000 tonnes of toxic uranium tailings, 85,000 highly radioactive waste fuel bundles and a minimum of 840,000 tonnes of C02, with dire effects on the air we breathe and the water we drink (see Clearing the Air about Nuclear Power, Pembina Institute). The facts also show that nuclear power is neither reliable nor affordable. When the Canadian Nuclear Association defends nuclear energy, it is important to realize who is speaking: an industry lobby group seeking to keep taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power flowing. I would rather rely on information from groups of citizens and experts concerned about the state of our environment and our health. - Rena Ginsberg, Toronto
==========================================
Denise Carpenter makes a strong case against nuclear. Her article clearly shows that nuclear in Canada is a government make-work project. The federal government makes and subsidizes the reactors while the provincial governments buy them but do not charge their true cost. The stranded debt in our hydro bills is a result of not paying the true cost of nuclear. We can¹t afford nuclear. It is simply too expensive if we are to pay the true cost through our electricity rates. It is not safe as nuclear plants emit radiation. Nuclear reactors are not reliable as they are out of service for years at a time and coal had to be used as a replacement. Carpenter makes her most outrageous claim when she says nuclear is renewable. - Wolfe Erlichman, President, Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium, Godfrey, Ont.
========================================
The debate is on: will it be nuclear or wind? Meanwhile, the Ontario government is commissioning some two dozen private natural gas plants that don¹t seem to be open for discussion. Here¹s an idea: Bring a few dozen drilling rigs in from Alberta, fire up the steel plants in Hamilton and put local drillers to work converting all those gas plants (and coal plants, too) to geothermal electricity plants that are clean and green and cheaper than nuclear or wind. While being suitable for base-load, they are also flexible for peaking, i.e., when you want it, yet with no decommissioning worries and no fuel to buy. - Bill Livingstone, Etobicoke
======================================
First they said it would be too cheap to meter, and it¹s turned out to be more expensive than almost all other forms of generation. When you factor in ballooning costs of overruns, security, decommissioning and waste, nuclear just can¹t compete without massive subsidies. Then they said it would help solve climate change. But the nuclear fuel cycle releases CO2 during mining, fuel enrichment, plant construction and decommissioning. With its high cost and long construction time, nuclear power does not offer a viable solution to climate change. - Angela Bischoff, Greenspiration, Toronto
===========================================
Repeatedly calling nuclear power ³clean² or ³emission-free² as the McGuinty government likes to do doesn¹t make it so. The truth is that every stage of the nuclear power cycle is toxic, risky and polluting ‹ from the mining of uranium, to the ongoing emissions of tritium into drinking water, to the risk of accident, to the unsolved challenge of isolating radioactive waste for thousands of years. Before tens of billions of dollars are spent building and refurbishing nuclear reactors, we need an open public dialogue on the future role of nuclear energy in Ontario. - Peter Tabuns, MPP, NDP Energy and Environment Critic, Queen¹s Park
=========================================
Nuclear power advocate Denise Carpenter calls nuclear reactors a renewable source of energy. According to the International Energy Agency however, renewables are ‘derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly’ and do not include nuclear power. The uranium that fuels reactors is finite and depletable just as fossil fuels are. Candu reactors have been a financial disaster for Ontario and New Brunswick for the many decades the industry has enjoyed extensive subsidies. It is time to phase it out in an orderly way in favour of far less costly energy efficiency and clean and renewable energy sources. - Kai Millyard, Toronto

======================

7. THE STUXNET WORM - 5 articles

Stuxnet worm heralds new era of global cyberwar

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/sep/30/
stuxnet-worm-new-era-global-cyberwar

Attack aimed at Iran nuclear plant and recently revealed 2008 incident at US base show spread of cyber weapons

Peter Beaumont Friday October 1 2010 The Guardian
The memory sticks were scattered in a washroom of a US military base in the Middle East that was providing support for the Iraq war.
They were deliberately infected with a computer worm? the undisclosed foreign intelligence agency behind the operation was counting on the fallibility of human nature.
According to those familiar with the events, it calculated a soldier would pick up one of the memory sticks, pocket it and ? against regulations ? eventually plug it into a military laptop.
They were correct.

MORE: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/sep/30/
stuxnet-worm-new-era-global-cyberwar

= = = = = =

Stuxnet Computer Worm Has Vast Repercussions

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... =130260413

TOM GJELTEN NPR 1 October 2010
A powerful new computer worm apparently is capable of causing power plants or pipelines to blow up. It's a cyber superweapon called Stuxnet. Experts suspect it was designed to disable nuclear facilities in Iran, but Stuxnet could have consequences its creators did not anticipate.
When cybersecurity experts get together, they usually talk about such things as the latest techniques in credit card fraud. But the big session at the Virus Bulletin conference Thursday in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was one called "Stuxnet: An In-Depth Look." It was arranged by the Symantec company, whose researchers have been analyzing the computer worm for several weeks.
Eric Chien, technical director at Symantec's Security Response Unit, says he and his colleagues have been stunned by what they've found.
"I've been dealing with malicious code threats for 15 to 20 years now, I've seen every large sort of outbreak, and we've never seen anything like this," Chien says. "It's fundamentally changed our job, to be honest."
That's because studying a computer worm designed to sabotage a power plant or gas refinery is a far cry from thinking about some virus engineered by a lone hacker.
"It changes the urgency at which we have to analyze these threats and understand them and make sure that people who are affected know they are affected and how to get themselves cleaned up," Chien says.
The Symantec researchers say the Stuxnet worm was designed by a well-funded, well-organized group, perhaps affiliated with a government. They're convinced it was meant to target facilities in Iran. The worm was apparently designed to penetrate and take over the computerized control system used in nuclear plants there.
But it's becoming clear that the repercussions may go far beyond Iran.

MORE:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... =130260413

= = = = =

Israeli cyber unit responsible for Iran computer worm -- claim

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/
israel/8034987/Israeli-cyber-unit-responsible-for-Iran-computer-worm-claim.html

30 Sep 2010
An elite Israeli military unit responsible for cyberwarfare has been accused of creating a virus that has crippled Iran's computer systems and stopped work at its newest nuclear power station. Computer experts have discovered a biblical reference embedded in the code of the computer worm that has pointed to Israel as the origin of the cyber attack... Ralf Langner, a German researcher, claims that Unit 8200, the signals intelligence arm of the Israeli defence forces, perpetrated the computer virus attack by infiltrating the software into the Bushehr nuclear power station.

= = = = = =

Israel's unit 8200: cyber warfare

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... st/israel/
8034882/Israels-unit-8200-cyber-warfare.html

Israel demonstrated its intent to conquer cyber warfare in the 1990s by presenting the country's legions of hackers with a choice between prison and working for the state.
30 Sep 2010
Thousands are said to have signed up since then and have been incorporated into the defence forces Unit 8200... The Negev desert based Unit 8200 has evolved from the signal intelligence arm of the Israeli military into a respected leader in high technology warfare. One American consultancy rated Unit 8200 as the sixth biggest initiator of cyber attacks on the plants.

= = = = =

Iran 'detains western spies' after cyber attack on nuclear plant

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/02/
iran-western-spies-cyber-attack

Iranian government accuses the west of launching an 'electronic war' following sophisticated Stuxnet worm attack
02 Oct 2010
Iran has detained several spies it claims were behind cyber attacks on its nuclear programme. The intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, said western "spy services" were behind the complex computer virus that recently infected more than 30,000 computers in industrial sites, including those in the Bushehr nuclear power plant, appearing to confirm the suspicion of computer security experts that a foreign state was responsible.

====================

8. LETTER: SHILEDS: Harper's Canada Can't Pass The Smell Test!

Subject: Harper's Canada Can't Pass The Smell Test!
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:15:00 -0700
From: lagran <lagran@shaw.ca>
To: Prime Minister/Premier ministre <pm@pm.gc.ca>, Layton, Jack - M.P. <Layton.J@parl.gc.ca>, iggy <ignatieff.m@parl.gc.ca>
CC: <Rae.B@parl.gc.ca>, "Minister, EMPR EMPR:EX" <EMPR.Minister@gov.bc.ca>, "mccallum" <mccallum.j@parl.gc.ca>, "goodale" <goodale.r@parl.gc.ca>, "flaherty" <flaherty.j@parl.gc.ca>

The amount of Israeli sympathizers and activist in the United States allows this type of thing to go on without drawing mention from the U.S. Government! I'm determined not to let that happen in Canada, even though it has already started. The murder of a Canadian serving with the U.N. forces in Lebanon brought no negative response directed at Israel from our Prime Minister Harper!! Also Harper was again mute when the same Israeli forces that executed the American, Captured, Jailed, and tortured Canadians also on the same flotilla!
To top that is the fact that Netanyahu sought refuge in Canada with Harper while his forces attacked the aforementioned Canadians! We must press for a public inquiry into those aliened with Israel providing free trips to the Mid-East for our politicians. What do they hope to gain from this action? And since warned by CISIS of exactly this type of foreign interference why is our government allowing it to continue? Our Prime Minister Harper's behavior toward Israel appears over the top to more and more Canadians. How dangerous this behavior has come, can only be determined by a public inquiry. The tirade Harper laid on Libby Davies for remarks she made about Israel while they were holding captive 3 Canadians must also be judged against Harper's refusal to even inquire about their release, while he had Netanyahu on Canadian soil!! Our recent actions with respect to Israel since Harper became Prime Minister simply will not pass the smell test!!
Stewart Shields
Lacombe, AB

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UN Fact-Finding Mission: Israeli Killing Of US Citizen Was "Execution"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/29/
un-factfinding-mission-sa_n_743873.html

First Posted: 09-29-10 01:47 PM Originally published in Truth-out
By Gareth Porter
The report of the fact-finding mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla released last week shows conclusively, for the first time, that US citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos.
The report reveals that Dogan, the 19-year-old US citizen of Turkish descent, was filming with a small video camera on the top deck of the Mavi Marmara when he was shot twice in the head, once in the back and in the left leg and foot and that he was shot in the face at point blank range while lying on the ground.
The report says Dogan had apparently been "lying on the deck in a conscious or semi-conscious, state for some time" before being shot in his face.
The forensic evidence that establishes that fact is "tattooing around the wound in his face," indicating that the shot was "delivered at point blank range." The report describes the forensic evidence as showing that "the trajectory of the wound, from bottom to top, together with a vital abrasion to the left shoulder that could be consistent with the bullet exit point, is compatible with the shot being received while he was lying on the ground on his back."
Based on both "forensic and firearm evidence," the fact-finding panel concluded that Dogan's killing and that of five Turkish citizens by the Israeli troops on the Mavi Marmari May 31 "can be characterized as extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions." (See Report [.pdf] Page 38, Section 170)

MORE:
ttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/29/
un-factfinding-mission-sa_n_743873.html

=================

9. Global Strike command reaches full operational capability

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123224563

01 Oct 2010
Officials declared Air Force Global Strike Command to be at full operational capability Sept. 30, on schedule, and less than 14 months after its initial activation as a command. In 2009, Global Strike Command was chartered by the secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force to strengthen the nuclear enterprise by aligning all Air Force long-range nuclear-capable forces under a single command... Additionally, the command formed a crisis action team, as well as a response task force to deal with emergency situations and potential incidents.

==================

10. AFGHANISTAN - 7 articles

Afghanistan’s new Peace Council: Stopped in its tracks?

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5489&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 02 Oct 2010 03:02 PM PDT
Afghan President Hamid Karzai established a High Council for Peace on September 28, 2010 with the objective of paving the way towards peace with the Taliban through negotiation and reconcilation (”Karzai sets up body for peace talks,” Aljazeera News, 28 September 2010). Karzai hand-picked the nearly 70 council members, who include representatives of women and ethnic [...]

= = = = = =
Robert Gates: 'We're Not Ever Leaving' Afghanistan

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/29/
bob-woodward-robert-gates_n_743409.html

29 Sep 2010
In a shocking indication of a split between the White House and the Pentagon over the war in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes that the U.S. military will never leave the war-torn country. During a dinner hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Afghan President Hamid Karzai in May, Gates reminded the group that he still feels guilty for his role in the first President [sic] Bush's decision to pull out of Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, according to Bob Woodward's new book, "Obama's Wars." And to express his commitment to not letting down the country again, he emphasized: "We're not leaving Afghanistan prematurely," Gates finally said. "In fact, we're not ever leaving at all."

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LISTEN: Obama Wars: Sept 30/10 - Pt 1: Bob Woodward

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2010/09/
sept-3010---pt-1-bob-woodward.html

CBC Radio One – Podcast

We talk to legendary investigative journalist Bob Woodward. In his new book, Obama Wars, he shines a light on the shadowy, behind-the-scenes elements of President Barack Obama's fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
(All Links are on website above.)

Bob Woodward

We started this segment with a clip from U.S. President Barack Obama speaking last December and announcing a major escalation in the war in Afghanistan.
But according to Bob Woodward, that decision was even tougher than President Obama let on. The result of some intense battles with his military advisors. And the simplicity of the solution masked a problem more complicated than his administration was admitting.
Bob Woodward is a legendary investigative journalist. His writing has shaken Washington for nearly four decades ... starting with his work on Watergate, an investigation that led to the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1974. In his new book, Obama's Wars, Bob Woodward digs into President Obama's battles against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Bob Woodward is an associate editor with The Washington Post and he joined us from New York.

Articles: Afghanistan as Obama and Others Game It / Obama told of Canadian terror ties: book / How the CIA ran a secret army of 3,000 assassins

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WATCH: What Should Canada Do About Afghanistan? (1.58 min.)

http://www.themarknews.com/articles/
2440-what-should-canada-do-about-afghanistan

Bob Rae MP, Toronto Centre, ON; Foreign Affairs Critic, Liberal Party of Canada.
First Posted: Sep 24 2010 07:39 AM
Before the new session of Parliament is through, it's imperative that we figure out how can Canada best help the war-torn country.
The Mark asked eight prominent politicos what one issue they think should dominate the debate during the new session of Parliament. For more answers – including ones from Jack Layton, Warren Kinsella, and Rob Silver, among others – visit our series "What's the Issue?".

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Bombings, Insurgent Attacks Reported in Southern Afghanistan

http://news.antiwar.com/2010/09/30/
six-nato-troops-killed-in-afghanistan/

by Jason Ditz, September 30, 2010

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CIA Escalates in Pakistan

http://online.wsj.com/article/
SB20001424052748704029304575526270751096984.html

The Pentagon and CIA have ramped up their purchases of drones, but they aren't being built fast enough to meet the rapid rise in demand. 02 Oct 2010 The U.S. military is secretly diverting aerial drones and weaponry from the Afghan battlefront to significantly expand the CIA's campaign against militants [and civilians] in their Pakistani havens. In recent months, the military has loaned Predator and Reaper drones to the Central Intelligence Agency to give the agency more firepower to target and bombard militants on the Afghan border. The additional drones helped the CIA escalate the number of strikes in Pakistan in September.

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NATO supplies blocked by Pakistan after soldiers killed

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5488&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 11:59 AM PDT
The relationship between Pakistan and the coalition forces in Afghanistan was further strained this week after coalition forces killed three Pakistani soldiers at a border checkpoint between the two countries (Deb Reichmann & Hussain Afzal, “Pakistan blocks war supply route after NATO cross-border strike,” Globe and Mail, 30 September 2010). The incident, which occurred on September [...]

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11. Turkey and Russia Defy America's Imperial Design in the Middle East and Central Asia

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21273

By Eric Walberg Global Research, October 1, 2010 Al-Ahram Weekly
The new Ottomans and the new Byzantines are poised for an intercept as the US stumbles in the current Great Game.
The neocon plan to transform the Middle East and Central Asia into a pliant client of the US empire and its only-democracy-in-the-Middle-East is now facing a very different playing field. Not only are the wars against the Palestinians, Afghans and Iraqis floundering, but they have set in motion unforeseen moves by all the regional players.
The empire faces a resurgent Turkey, heir to the Ottomans, who governed a largely peaceful Middle East for half a millennium. As part of a dynamic diplomatic outreach under the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey re-established the Caliphate visa-free tradition with Albania, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya and Syria last year. In February Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay offered to do likewise with Egypt. There is “a great new plan of creating a Middle East Union as a regional equivalent of the European Union” with Turkey, fresh from a resounding constitutional referendum win by the AKP, writes Israel Shamir.
Turkey also established a strategic partnership with Russia during the past two years, with a visa-free regime and ambitious trade and investment plans (denominated in rubles and lira), including the construction of new pipelines and nuclear energy facilities.

MORE:
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21273

=====================

12. U.S. State Department may issue warning for Americans traveling in Europe

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_europe_terror_threat

By EILEEN SULLIVAN and MATT LEE, Associated Press Writers Eileen Sullivan And Matt Lee, Associated Press Writers – Sat Oct 2, 1:42 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The Associated Press has learned the Obama administration is considering a broad warning for U.S. citizens to avoid public places in Europe due to new al-Qaida threats.
Such a move could have significant implications for European tourism.
U.S. officials told the AP on Saturday that the State Department may issue a travel warning as early as Sunday advising Americans to stay away from European tourist sites, transportation hubs and other facilities airport for Europe because of new threat information.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley declined to comment on the matter. But he said the administration remains focused on al-Qaida threats to U.S. interests and will take appropriate steps to protect Americans

MORE:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_europe_terror_threat

====================

13. How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic

http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

Below is a complete listing of the articles in "How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic," a series by Coby Beck containing responses to the most common skeptical arguments on global warming. There are four separate taxonomies; arguments are divided by:
Stages of Denial,
Scientific Topics,
Types of Argument, and
Levels of Sophistication.
Individual articles will appear under multiple headings and may even appear in multiple subcategories in the same heading.

MORE: http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

================

14. The Process Is Dead

http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2010/09/20/
the-process-is-dead/

Posted September 20, 2010
It's already clear that the climate talks in December will go nowhere – so what do we do?
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 21st September 2010.
The closer it comes, the worse it looks. The best outcome anyone now expects from December's climate summit in Mexico is that some delegates might stay awake during the meetings. When talks fail once, as they did in Copenhagen, governments lose interest. They don't want to be associated with failure, they don't want to pour time and energy into a broken process. Nine years after the world trade negotiations moved to Mexico after failing in Qatar, they remain in diplomatic limbo. Nothing in the preparations for the climate talks suggests any other outcome.

MORE:
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2010/09 ... s-is-dead/

==================

15. How Harper Learned to Love the UN

http://www.themarknews.com/articles/
2606-how-harper-learned-to-love-the-un

by Adam Chapnick Foreign policy expert
First Posted: Sep 30 2010 02:17 AM
He once shunned the United Nations Security Council, so why is Stephen Harper now working so hard to win membership for Canada?
When Stephen Harper became Canada’s prime minister in 2006, his attitude towards the United Nations seemed suspect, at best.
Just three years earlier, Harper had supported Washington’s decision to invade Iraq without Security Council approval. And like many Conservatives, he openly questioned whether the UN could serve a significant purpose in the post-9-11 world.
The new prime minister made no initial comment on whether Canada would fulfill a 2001 commitment by the previous Liberal government to seek election to the UN Security Council for 2011-12. And later, when the Conservatives finally confirmed that Canada would contest the Council seat, they were clear that Ottawa would not compromise its principles in doing so.
Nevertheless, recent days have seen Prime Minister Harper go out of his way to demonstrate Canada’s Security Council credentials on the world stage. In his first address to the UN General Assembly in four years, he even emphasized Canada’s loyalty to the organization, and to multilateralism more generally.
Why the abrupt change of heart?

MORE:
http://www.themarknews.com/articles/
2606-how-harper-learned-to-love-the-un

===================

16. Call to Action: People’s Assemblies on Climate Justice during Cancun climate negotiations

http://canadians.org/energy/documents/a ... allout.pdf

The next major round of UN climate negotiations will be held in Cancun, Mexico from November 29 to December 10, 2010 and the stakes are high. This past summer has seen severe wildfires in Russia, devastating floods in Pakistan, mudslides in China, droughts in the Sahel and Niger, and an 87-square-kilometre chunk of ice break off from Greenland. These events are all consistent with climate change patterns that climate scientists have been warning us of.
Why wait for governments to take action. The media is already reporting that the possibility for a legally binding agreement in Cancun is slim. It is the collective voice of people that can help make climate justice a reality.
Let’s meet, talk and take action locally for climate justice.
What is a People’s Assembly on Climate Justice?
A People’s Assembly is an interactive process that provides the opportunity for people to listen and be heard about what climate justice means to them, in their community and globally. It is not a speakers panel or a public forum.
It is a movement-building and organizing tool. It is a gathering of people to discuss and analyze climate justice that can feature a local climate justice issue or campaign.
A People’s Assembly is a space to discuss demands, commitments and visions for how things could be different. It is aimed at transforming awareness into action by invigorating ongoing and new climate justice actions in your community.
Assemblies are stronger when there are people with a diversity of genders, ethnicities, cultures, from different generations and with varying physical abilities.
A little bit of background on People’s Assemblies on Climate Justice
There was an international call-out for People’s Assemblies on Climate Justice from the Reclaim the Power action that took place at the same time as Copenhagen climate negotiations. A People’s Assembly, attended by thousands, was held in the streets and brought together many voices to counter what was happening inside. The assembly featured diverse voices speaking to both real and false solutions to the climate crisis.
The World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, Bolivia (April 2010) represented an historic gathering of social movements – a significant assembly of peoples – that produced clear demands for solutions to the climate crisis.
How do People’s Assemblies work?
An assembly could focus on a central question about on climate justice; this was the format for the Toronto People’s Assembly held during the G20 . (See suggested framing questions below.)
Or you could get the discussion flowing with an introductory talk by someone about the growing global movement for climate justice. The movement is calling for “system change, not climate change.” Addressing the climate crisis isn’t just about getting off our addiction to fossil fuels. We need to revision our economies and societies to focus first on meeting people’s needs and respecting the environment, not profit.
You can also make the links between the global movement and a local climate justice issue by having a speaker highlight the problems with a Big Oil or Big Coal local polluter, such as a nearby coal mine or unconventional natural gas fracking proposal. You could also continue the discussion by highlighting a campaign for a local solution to the climate crisis, such as initiatives supporting local sustainable agriculture, transition towns, and public and community-based renewable energy expansion.
But remember – the focus of the assembly is on dialogue and action; this isn’t another speakers panel. (It may be a good idea to limit speakers to 5 minutes).
How can we organize a People’s Assembly?
Local organizers can come together in their communities to define the process and focus of their assembly.
For example, you can start by forming a local organizing committee that can take on the details of organizing the assembly. Use your communication networks and relationships to bring together community members, organizations, leaders, youth, elders and activists who are interested or working on climate justice.
Set a date during the Cancun negotiations (November 29 to December 10), pick a time and place – think about allowing enough time (for example, 3 hours) for a meaningful discussion and a follow-up process for ideas and initiatives that emerge from the assembly. Engage community leaders and work to reach out broadly in your community for participation.
Be in touch! There may already be organizing underway in your community that you can join and support.

Examples of People’s Assemblies

Check out the Toronto People’s Assembly website to see how local organizers set the agenda:

http://torontopeoplesassembly.wordpress.com/

The U.S. Social Forum’s Organizing Kit for People’s Movement Assemblies has some useful ideas about how a people’s movement assembly works, and how to organize an assembly.
Note: the guide is not specifically for Climate Justice Assemblies: http://abc.ussf2010.org/assemblies

Sample framing questions for a People’s Assembly on Climate Justice:
• What does climate justice mean locally? What does climate justice mean globally?
• Does advancing climate justice mean questioning and changing society’s model of overproduction and overconsumption, a driving force of climate change?
Question posed by organizers of the Toronto Peoples Assembly (June 2010):
• Given our government’s lack of leadership on the climate crisis and failure to respect the rights of impacted communities at home and abroad, and given the call for climate justice coming out of Cochabamba – what do you think the connection is between climate change and justice in your community?

TAKE ACTION

Want to find out whether there is organizing for a People’s Assembly underway in your community? Want to form a local organizing committee, join a local organizing committee or a regional gathering? Start by being in touch!
Make sure to contact:
Andrea Harden-Donahue
Energy and Climate Justice Campaigner with the Council of Canadians(613) 233-2773 ext 240,
aharden@canadians.org
http://www.canadians.org/assemblies

Endorsed by the Council of Canadians, Indigenous Environmental Network, Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and KAIROS

by **Oscar** » Tue Oct 12, 2010 11:40 am

NUKE NEWS: October 12, 2010

1. SASKATCHEWAN NOW TARGETED FOR NUCLEAR DUMP
2. CLEAN GREEN SASKATCHEWAN’S POSITION ON NUCLEAR WASTE IN SASKATCHEWAN
3. Cameco miners vote for strike action
4. Indigenous opposition to radioactive shipments on the Great Lakes
5. Lui presents our case against radioactive shipments on the Great Lakes
6. Building People Power: The Council of Canadians' 25th AGM,
7. Protest against Great Lakes shipment of radioactive nuclear waste continues….
8. Point Lepreau Generating Station Refurbishment Project Update
9. Nuclear scandal comes to the European Parliament
10. WATCH: Henry Red Cloud of Oglala Lakota Tribe on Native American Anti-Nuclear Activism, Uranium Mining, and the Recession’s Toll on Reservations
11. New US uranium mine licensed
12. Mound claimants now have easier time getting compensation
13. Constellation Pullout From Maryland - Nuclear Venture Leaves Industry Future Uncertain
14. Get the anti-science bent out of politics
15. 'Don't Worry, Be Happy': Canada Sees Climate Change Prosperity Instead of Calamity
16. Opposition fears conflict of interest in PM’s new chief of staff
17. The U.N. gives peace a chance
18. Voting on UN Security Council seat starts at 10 am ET
19. Industry groups get best access to PM - Lobbyists' records show oil companies get most meetings
20. Fox News North – Not: Savour the victory
21. Canada part of a new nuclear disarmament initiative
22. The Nightmare: The Iraq Invasion's Atrocities, Unearthing the Unthinkable
23. Yemen: The Covert Apparatus of the American Empire
24. Communist Chinese threaten Vietnam

===============

1. SASKATCHEWAN NOW TARGETED FOR NUCLEAR DUMP

http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=744

Dr. Jim Harding October 11, 2010
Southern Saskatchewan individuals and groups involved in the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan met at Fort Qu'Appelle Oct. 8-10th to discuss what to do about Saskatchewan being targeted as a nuclear waste dump. People came from Moose Jaw, Regina, Cupar, Indian Head, Archerwill and Fort Qu'Appelle, from Coalition member groups like Kairos, Council of Canadians, Greens and Clean Green Regina. They agreed with the following points which will be taken to other Coalition members:

1. The Duty To Consult Can't Involve Economic Bribery.

The industry-based Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has confirmed that two of the four Canadian communities that it is talking to about becoming a nuclear dump are in northern Saskatchewan: at Pinehouse and English River. The other two are in northwestern Ontario, much closer to the nuclear power plants along the Great lakes that produce almost all of the nuclear waste in Canada.
Speaking for the English River band, Councillor Bernie Eaglechild said that “nothing has been decided and talks are still at an early stage”, emphasizing that “the band can still back out at any time.” Pinehouse mayor, Mike Natomagan, who also heads the Kineepik Métis Local, had a similar message; that this “learn more opportunity does not commit the village or Métis local to any further steps.” This doesn’t mean “Pinehouse has said ‘yes’ to the project”.
But can negotiating with the NWMO lead to informed consent. Under both international law and Canada’s Charter of Rights the “Duty to Consult” means there must be “free, prior and informed consent.” The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples makes it clear that this can’t involve monetary inducements such as the NWMO is using. Informed consent requires sufficient time to consider all relevant information, from all sides of the controversy, and not being bribed under the threat of losing benefits to another community.
And we know that northern communities are being bribed to take nuclear wastes. In November 2009 the NWMO met privately with all the Environmental Quality Committees (EQC) across the north. In its 2009 Report the government-run North Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee (NSEQC) said that the NWMO made “communities aware of the opportunities to host a nuclear waste management storage site.” It continued, “There will be incredible economic benefits to such a community, but suitable geology and accessibility are also factors.” Such bribery is outrageous and must be stopped.
The neo-colonial situation surrounding the uranium industry in the north will not and cannot encourage informed consent. Since 1991 Cameco has supported importing Ontario’s nuclear waste, including from its co-owned Bruce Power nuclear complex. It sees this as a lucrative business venture. It is now concentrating toxic, radioactive uranium tailings at its huge Key Lake mine site, and having Pinehouse, south of Key Lake, as a nuclear waste dump would fit in with a nuclear industry waste corridor in north central Saskatchewan. Prince Albert and La Ronge would become the gateway to nuclear wastes, not a gateway to northern fishing, hunting and eco-tourism.

2. Saskatchewan Is Not Morally Obliged To Take Nuclear Wastes

A few people argue that we are morally obliged to take back nuclear wastes from nuclear plants that use uranium from Saskatchewan. This is absurd and would lead us to become an international nuclear dump for the U.S., France, Japan and many other countries that buy uranium from here. Also, Ontario should be responsible for its own nuclear wastes and should have had a nuclear waste plan before it built all its nuclear power plants. Furthermore, after the UDP consultations, the Saskatchewan government decided not to support Bruce Power’s proposal to build nuclear plants along the North Saskatchewan River. One of the main reasons Saskatchewan people opposed nuclear power was because they did not want to create nuclear wastes.

3. A Nuclear Dump Is No Path To Northern Development

So why are these northern communities even considering a nuclear dump? English River’s Councillor Eaglechild says “the band is tired of seeing resources hauled out of its traditional land without receiving any payments for it”, and Pinehouse’s Mayor Natomagan notes the recent Conference Board study showing northern Saskatchewan having the second lowest median income of any Canadian region. This concern about the wealth of resource development not being shared with the north is compelling and, along with the cumulative ecological effects of uranium mine expansion, was the main reason why the Joint Federal Provincial Panel in the 1990s recommended against two uranium mines going ahead. But a nuclear dump makes no economic sense compared with much cheaper sustainable options such as adding value to the renewable sectors in the north. Creating a deep geological repository to store nuclear wastes would be even more capital-intensive than uranium mining. And the Conference Board study that Pinehouse’s mayor refers to, confirms that the north remained amongst Canada’s poorest regions, even though it has been the highest uranium-producing and most profitable uranium mining region in the world.

4. All of Saskatchewan Must Be Involved in Decision

The question we should be asking is: “why these northern Métis and First Nations communities are so hard-pressed that they have to consider bringing deadly radioactive wastes into the north to create a few toxic jobs”? An even more fundamental question is: “why the NWMO is able to end-run the people of Saskatchewan and negotiate the location of a nuclear dump in the province solely with a northern Métis or First Nations community?” Why are the rest of us being left out of the process?

5. Saskatchewan Should Pass Ban On Transportation and Storage of Nuclear Wastes

In 1987, the NDP government of Manitoba acted to protect the long-term public and environmental health of its people by legislating a ban on the importation and storage of nuclear wastes. Quebec did the same thing in 2008. Do Saskatchewan people deserve anything less?
Just why is the Wall-led government allowing the industry’s NWMO to travel around the North and privately negotiate the location of a nuclear dump that will affect people throughout the whole province? At the 2009 NDP convention, held just after Lingenfelter was elected as party leader, the delegates passed a resolution that an NDP government will not consider “storing nuclear wastes under any circumstances.” This resolution was co-sponsored by Regina’s Douglas Park constituency which later elected Lingenfelter as an MLA. So when will the NDP opposition and its leader start standing up for the rights of Saskatchewan people on this matter? Have provincial politics become so personal and vindictive that vital matters of ecology and justice aren’t worth the effort?
The Wall government’s own 2009 public consultations on the Uranium Development Partnership (UDP) found that, of the thousands who participated, over 80% opposed bringing nuclear wastes to the province. At its last provincial conference the United Church passed a resolution calling for a ban on nuclear wastes in the province. This public opinion, including coming from what the government itself called the most extensive public consultations ever held on the nuclear industry in Saskatchewan, must be respected. We now need a provincial ban on transporting and storing nuclear wastes. It is the right thing to do!

=================

2. CLEAN GREEN SASKATCHEWAN’S POSITION ON NUCLEAR WASTE IN SASKATCHEWAN

September 17, 2009
The Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan objects to the secretive consultations that the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is currently holding in Saskatchewan. The NWMO is a federal corporation made up of nuclear reactor waste producers from Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick (created by the Nuclear Fuel Waste Act, S.C. 2002, c. 23). Any corporation or provincial utility that produces nuclear waste by generating electricity from a nuclear fission reactor, including a research reactor, must become a member and own shares in the NWMO (s.6). The NWMO is targeting Saskatchewan as a possible high-level nuclear waste disposal site. It seeks a willing community to accept a “deep nuclear waste repository” in Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan. The most toxic materials on the planet would then, from the industry’s point of view, be out of sight, out of mind, swept under a metaphorical carpet. While questioning the very legitimacy of the NWMO, we feel that at the very least any consultations by it should be announced well in advance and be completely open to ALL members of the public and media. If any level of government -- municipal, provincial, Métis, First Nations, or Federal -- is negotiating the possibility of such a toxic waste dump for Saskatchewan, all negotiations should be made public and there should be open debate and even the possibility of a referendum on this issue.
Nonetheless, it is our firm belief that our provincial government should pass an act similar to Manitoba’s (1987) that outlaws the storage of nuclear waste from other jurisdictions. Such an act should also prevent the transportation of nuclear wastes through our province. The industry underplays the scope of these nuclear fuel wastes—as equivalent to that of six hockey rinks full. The reality is that for the waste already accumulated (about 45,000 tonnes), it would take over 20,000 trucks a period of approximately thirty years to deliver the highly dangerous materials to a repository. The nuclear wastes, hot and highly fissionable, have to be widely separated and carefully packaged to avoid going “critical”. These and other hazards exist during transport and long after burial. No containers can last as long as the radioactive materials that they encase. Used fuel bundles contain man-made highly radioactive isotopes with extremely long half-lives, such as: Iodine 129—16,000,000 years, Cesium 135—2,300,000 years, Technetium 99—211,000 years, Neptunium 237—2,100,000 years, Thorium 232—1,400,000,000 and Plutonium 239 — 24,000 years. This means that for half of each of these products to break down it will take up to 2 million years! (And remember that’s just half!) Plutonium is the key component in nuclear weapons. All these radioactive materials are known to cause cancer, genetic damage, and many other adverse health effects in humans and all living things. Future generations of Saskatchewan people should not be left responsible for these hazards. EVERYBODY and all living beings in the province would be affected by transportation and storage of these materials.

Saskatchewan should not become the nuclear wastebasket of the world.
-30-
For further information contact:
Neil at 374-3401 or cleangreensask@yahoo.ca
or visit

http://sites.google.com/site/cleangreen ... earn-more/
nuclear-waste or

www.cleangreensask.ca

=====================

3. Cameco miners vote for strike action

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/10/05/
sk-mine-strike-mandate-1010.html

Last Updated: Tuesday, October 5, 2010 | 2:37 PM CST CBC News
Workers at two Saskatchewan uranium mines have voted 97 per cent in favour of strike action.
The members of the United Steelworkers Local 8914 employed by Cameco Corp. voted last week and the votes were counted on Sunday.
They work at Cameco's Key Lake and McArthur Lake operations in the province's north.
- - - - SNIP - - - -
The 97 per cent strike mandate helps back the workers contract demands, he said.
"It should send a strong message to the company that they need to put a serious offer on the table," Gatzka said.
The company and the union have held concilliated talks four times between Aug. 31 and Sept. 9.
One of the contract issues concerns how senior employees are treated, Gatzka said.

================

4. Indigenous opposition to radioactive shipments on the Great Lakes

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4883

Friday, October 8th, 2010
A Union of Ontario Indians media release issued yesterday states, “Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee says that the Anishinabek Nation wants Bruce Power plans and any other future plans to transport or ship any radioactive waste or contaminated equipment from the decommissioning, refurbishment or routine operation of nuclear reactors through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River to be rejected. ‘The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has failed to fulfill its constitutional duty to consult and accommodate First Nations on contemplated actions that may impact upon constitutionally protected Treaty and Aboriginal rights,’ said the Grand Council Chief. The Anishinabek Treaty and Aboriginal title lands occupy all of the Great Lakes shoreline and a significant part of its basin. These Treaty and Aboriginal title lands are where the Anishinabek people exercise their constitutionally protected rights to fish, hunt, and gather lake based traditional foods and medicines. ‘We, the Anishinabek, have jurisdiction over the Great Lakes as a result of Aboriginal titles and the treaties that have been entered into by First Nations and the Crown,’ said Madahbee.”
The London Free Press reported in July that, “The Ontario Coalition of Aboriginal People, representing 7,000 status, non-status Indians and Metis, opposes the plan by Bruce Power and is demanding consultation and accommodation from the provincial and federal governments. ‘This is a big concern for all Canadians,’ Brad Maggrah, president of the organization… The route would take the radioactive waste past the Cape Croker, Saugeen, Kettle Point, Chippewas of Sarnia and Walpole Island reserves in western Ontario as well as those along the St. Lawrence including Akwesasne.”
The Watertown Daily News reported last week that, “The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne is… trying to halt a shipment of nuclear waste through the St. Lawrence Seaway. ‘It just opens the door; what’s to prevent future shipments of larger amounts of the nuclear waste?’ the council’s acting environmental science director, Elizabeth F. Nanticoke, asked. ‘Nobody ever asked what should happen in our territory; they just go ahead and propose things without asking us. Although they say it’s low levels, you can never say that it’s ever completely safe.’”
And the Montreal Gazette recently reported that, “The local band council in Kahnawake made good on its word yesterday and banned the transport of nuclear-waste materials through the (narrow) St. Lawrence Seaway section that runs through the Mohawk community. The resolution, although not binding, signals the band council’s opposition to an Ontario nuclear power plant’s plan to ship 16 radioactive steam generators through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway to a recycling facility in Sweden.”
A decision by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on the shipments is expected by November 11. To read about the Council of Canadians opposition to the radioactive shipments on the Great Lakes, please go to

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4770.

=================

5. Lui presents our case against radioactive shipments on the Great Lakes

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4770

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission hearings on the issue of radioactive shipments on the Great Lakes are taking place in Ottawa today.
At this moment, Council of Canadians researcher Emma Lui is presenting on our behalf.
CBC reported yesterday that, “Environmental groups are accusing the federal government of abdicating its responsibility to protect Canadians by not acting against an Ontario nuclear utility’s proposed plan to ship radioactive waste through the Great Lakes. The groups say allowing Bruce Power to ship 16 radioactive steam generators the size of school buses through the lakes and across the Atlantic Ocean for processing in Sweden sets a dangerous precedent. They say it could open the way for more nuclear waste to be moved on Canadian waterways.”
The Toronto Star reports today that, “It would be the first time nuclear waste materials would be transported by road and waterway out of Canada.”
The Globe and Mail adds, “Concerns about nuclear waste have long been an Achilles heel for the nuclear industry. Canada has six reactor sites… They must store their high-level nuclear waste on site is a manner that is meant to be temporary. Efforts to find a permanent storage site are moving slowly as officials try to build acceptance in communities that might receive the waste, and those through which the waste would be transported. …The nuclear industry is eager to see new reactors constructed across North America… but questions remain about the long-term fate of its radioactive waste material.” This is why there is the concern that the Great Lakes could become a ‘highway for radioactive waste’ beyond these proposed shipments.
NDP Member of Parliament Nathan Cullen stated at a press conference yesterday, “The nuclear industry will say this is safe. But accidents, of course, happen.”
A decision is expected from the CNSC on Bruce Power’s application before mid-November.

To respond to our ‘ACTION ALERT: Stop the shipment of radioactive components through the Great Lakes’, please go to http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4410.

================

6. Building People Power: The Council of Canadians' 25th AGM,
October 22-24, 2010, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ottawa.
Join us! http://www.canadians.org/AGM/

================

7. Protest against Great Lakes shipment of radioactive nuclear waste continues….

Oil and gas drilling, radioactive shipments on IJC agenda, Oct. 19-22

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4885

Friday, October 8th, 2010
WDIO.com reports that the International Joint Commission will be holding its semi-annual meeting in Ottawa on October 19-22.
“U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is urging (the IJC) to support banning Canadian oil and gas drilling operations in the Great Lakes. In a letter to the International Joint Commission (IJC), Feingold and 15 other lawmakers urged the IJC to consider the ban (at its upcoming meeting). Currently, Canada has hundreds of active wells in Lake Erie and allows drilling for oil and natural gas under the Great Lakes from onshore wells, and drilling for natural gas in the Great Lakes from offshore wells.”
“Last week, Feingold sent letters to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Environment Canada calling into question a proposal to ship radioactive nuclear waste from Canada to Sweden via the Great Lakes.”
See full article below.
A campaign blog on oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes can be read at

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4400.

= = = =

Feingold Wants Canadian Ban on Drilling in Great Lakes

http://www.wdio.com/article/stories/S17 ... ?cat=10335

Posted at: 10/07/2010 9:20 AM | Updated at: 10/07/2010 9:33 AM
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is urging members of the joint U.S.-Canadian commission that oversees the Great Lakes to support banning Canadian oil and gas drilling operations in the Great Lakes. In a letter to the International Joint Commission (IJC), Feingold and 15 other lawmakers urged the IJC to consider the ban at the IJC's Semi-Annual Meeting in Ottawa on October 19-22, 2010. Currently, Canada has hundreds of active wells in Lake Erie and allows drilling for oil and natural gas under the Great Lakes from onshore wells, and drilling for natural gas in the Great Lakes from offshore wells. While new U.S.-based oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes is banned, seven grand-fathered oil and gas operations continue in Michigan, tapping into Lakes Michigan and Huron from their shores.
"While the U.S. has banned new oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes, Canada has yet to follow suit," Feingold said. "Banning U.S.-based drilling is only half the battle. With the Great Lakes providing drinking water to millions and acting as an economic engine for the Midwest, I hope Canada seriously considers our request to end its current oil and gas drilling."
Feingold has a long record of protecting the Great Lakes from numerous threats like oil drilling, invasive species and pollution, to name a few. Last week, Feingold sent letters to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Environment Canada calling into question a proposal to ship radioactive nuclear waste from Canada to Sweden via the Great Lakes. Feingold has also been a leading Senate opponent of drilling in the Great Lakes, cosponsoring the Great Lakes Water Protection Act and the successful 2001 amendment that put in place the first federal ban on oil or gas drilling in any of the Great Lakes. Feingold also has a long record of fighting to end the cozy relationship between the federal government and big oil companies.

= = = = = =

US Senator Casey Concerned Over Proposed Shipment of Radioactive
Waste Through the Great Lakes

http://casey.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/
?id=998bcb84-d556-44de-b759-87ef2f986b5f

Posted on: Fri, Oct 08, 2010
(Congressional Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX)
WASHINGTON, DC-- U.S. Senator Bob Casey joined a group of seven senators expressing concern over a proposed shipment of radioactive material through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway by a Canadian Company, Bruce Power Inc. The letters were sent to Cynthia L. Quarterman, Administrator for the U.S. Department of
Transportation's (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration, Marc Leblanc, Secretary of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment for Environment Canada. The senators sent the letters in reaction to Bruce Power's proposal to ship radioactively-contaminated nuclear steam
generators through the Great Lakes and United States territory.
In the letter to the DOT, the senators wrote, "The Great Lakes are an invaluable resource to our states, providing drinking water to millions and supporting robust economies. We urge you to comply with both the letter and spirit of the law and reject any proposal that does not protect the Great Lakes or comply with U.S. and international standards."
The senators wrote that the proposed shipment would enter U.S. waters and therefore urged the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) to comply fully and transparently with the Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety and Security Act's requirement that the agency "protect against the risk to life, property, and the environment that are inherent in the transportation of hazardous material in intrastate, interstate, and foreign commerce."
The proposed shipment of sixteen radioactively-contaminated nuclear steam generators would require several exemptions from international radioactive shipping standards because the shipment would exceed the amount of radioactivity allowed for a single shipment and would not comply with current shipping container requirements.
In the letter to Canadian officials, the senators wrote, "While we understand that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's approval is likely imminent, we believe significant questions remain regarding the shipment. We seek assurances that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and Minister of the Environment are conducting thorough and complete reviews of the proposed shipment and data, strictly adhering to international standards, and considering safer alternatives to radioactive shipments through the Great Lakes and contributing radioactive material to the international metal market."
The senators also noted that this decision appears to set a significant new precedent for the use of the Great Lakes for the shipment of radioactive waste, including potentially high-level radioactive wastes.
This shipment of sixteen radioactive steam generators, each weighing close to 100 tons, would be shipped through the Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River before heading across the Atlantic Ocean to Sweden. Much of the metal from the generators would be melted down and sold as "clean" scrap metal for unrestricted use in commercial products. This metal is still potentially radioactively-contaminated and such an operation is not authorized in North America. Any remaining metal would be shipped back to Bruce nuclear power plant in Ontario for on-site storage and/or disposal.

= = = = = =

Seven US Senators have signed two strong letters addressed to the Canadian Government, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and the US authority PHMSA that has to approve the Steam Generator shipment from Bruce Power (since it is planned to go through US waters).

The text of the two letters can be found at these links:

http://ccnr.org/US_Senators_Canada.pdf

http://ccnr.org/US_Senators_PHMSA.pdf

They senators are: Russell P. Feingold, Wisconsin, Robert P. Casey, Jr., Pennsylvania, Kirstin E. Gillibrand, New York, Carl Levin, Michigan, Debbie Stabenow, Michigan, Richard J. Durbin, Illinois, Charles E. Schumer, New York
They are all Democrats.
(Richard J. Durbin is the 2nd ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate)

=================

8. Point Lepreau Generating Station Refurbishment Project Update

http://www.nbpower.com/html/en/about/me ... ease/pdfs/
ENRefurbUpdateOctober2010.pdf

Press Release October 8, 2010
Fredericton, N.B. – Project staff are proceeding with the removal of all 380 calandria tubes.
We do not have specific details from AECL on how it will impact the overall timeline of the project. In our continued efforts to be open and transparent with our employees and customers, we are releasing this information to you now as this is currently happening and will provide you with more detailed information as it becomes available later next week. - 30 -
MEDIA CONTACT:
Refurbishment Project General - NB Power - Kathleen Duguay, Public Affairs Manager,
(506) 647-8057, email: kduguay@nbpower.com

= = = = =

AECL starts again on retubing Point Lepreau

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/
C-AECL_starts_again_on_retubing_Point_Lepreau-1110107.html

11 October 2010
All of the 380 new calandria tubes installed as part of the major ongoing refurbishment of the Point Lepreau Candu-6 nuclear power plant in Canada are to be removed and reinstalled.

= = = =

RELATED STORIES

N.B. reactor upgrade delayed again

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/ ... 010/03/10/
nb-aecl-point-lepre
au-refurbishment-delay-258.html#ixzz11oA8hMdM

‘Ambitious’ Point Lepreau refurbishment delayed

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/
C-Ambitious_Point_Lepreau_refurbishment_delayed-2809094.html

AECL under pressure in New Brunswick

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/
C_AECL_under_pressure_in_New_Brunswick_2707101.html

New Brunswick wants mediation as delays confirmed

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/
C-New_Brunswick_wants_mediation_as_delays_confirmed-0908107.html

Soggy turbines still destined for Point Lepreau

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/newsa ... x?id=24647

==================

9. Nuclear scandal comes to the European Parliament

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/recent/
Nuclear-scandal-comes-to-the-European-Parliament/

Feature story - October 7, 2010
An international scandal came to the steps of the European Parliament today as Greenpeace delivered four consignments of nuclear waste to MEPs.
The waste is harmful and exceeds European environmental limits. It and other more harmful radioactive wastes produced by Europe’s nuclear reactors will pose a deadly threat to its citizens and environment for hundreds of thousands of years to come.
A solution to this problem has evaded scientists ever since the invention of nuclear power 60 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of high-level nuclear waste litter the globe and yet we are no nearer to properly safeguarding it to protect ourselves and future generations.
The European Commission is about to release a law telling us the problem has been solved. It believes storing nuclear waste deep underground in specially built facilities is a safe and long-term solution. Unfortunately, the Commission has been misled by its scientific advisers.
The law - which MEPs are about to advise on - is nothing more than a public relations exercise designed to convince the people of Europe that the problem of nuclear waste can be solved.
But let us be clear: There is no solution to nuclear waste.

In her recent report Rock Solid? A scientific review of geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste

(see http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/reports/
rock-solid-a-scientific-review ) Genewatch UK's Dr Helen Wallace reviewed the scientific journal papers written about so-called deep geological storage and came to some alarming conclusions.
‘There are blanks in our understanding of deep storage; cracks that are papered over at our peril,’ says Dr Wallace. ‘We are talking about trying to bury thousands of tonnes of highly dangerous waste for longer than people have existed on Earth. It would be a mind-boggling engineering triumph which, if miscalculated, could release highly radioactive waste into our groundwater or seas for centuries, so far below ground that there will be nothing we can do about it.
The European Commission must realise that there is no solution to the deadly waste produced by nuclear reactors. An average nuclear reactor produces between 25-30 tonnes of high-level waste each year. Europe has 195 reactors. Plans must be drawn up immediately to cease the further production of this waste by phasing out nuclear power across Europe. The waste we already have – like that delivered by Greenpeace today - should be managed according to sound science, not wishful thinking and crossed fingers. We owe it to ourselves and to those who come after us.

==================

10. WATCH: Henry Red Cloud of Oglala Lakota Tribe on Native American Anti-Nuclear Activism, Uranium Mining, and the Recession’s Toll on Reservations

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/30/
henry_red_cloud_of_oglala_lakota

September 30, 2010
The Nuclear-Free Future Awards are being awarded tonight at New York’s historic Cooper Union. The prize has been described as the most important anti-nuclear award in the world. We speak to one of this year’s winners, Henry Red Cloud, the great-great grandson of Chief Red Cloud. Henry Red Cloud is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe and founder of Lakota Solar Enterprises, one of the nation’s first Native American-owned and–operated renewable energy companies.
See Rush Transcript on website ….
- - - - -
Lakota Solar Enterprises
http://www.lakotasolarenterprises.com/
Lakota Solar Enterprises (LSE), located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, is oneof the nation's first 100% Native American owned and operated renewable energy companies. Founded in 2006 by Pine Ridge resident Henry Red Cloud with nonprofit partner, Trees, Water & People, LSE Manufactures solar air collectors and complete supplemental solar heating systems.
Offer employment and green jobs training to people in communities with unemployment rates up to 85%
Provide an affordable heat source for families living at life-or-death poverty rates
Reduce dependency on polluting and destructive sources of energy

Related stories (ALL LINKS are on website)

US Attending Hiroshima Memorial "Enormously Important," Says Robert Jay Lifton
Was Obama Nuke Summit Necessary or Just "Nuclear Alarmism"? And What About Israel’s Arsenal?
Despite Landmark Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia, Iran Threats and Nuclear Posture Review Raise Doubts of Significant US Shift
Anti-Nuclear Activists Mobilize to Oppose Obama-Funded Construction of Georgia Nuke Plants
In Historic Vote, Vermont Poised to Shut Down Lone Nuclear Reactor

======================

11. New US uranium mine licensed

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/
ENF-New_US_uranium_mine_licensed-0410104.html

04 October 2010
The US nuclear regulator has issued an operating licence for Uranium One's Moore Ranch in-situ leach (ISL) uranium mine in Wyoming. It is the first new uranium mine licence issued in the USA since 1998.
The Moore Ranch facility covers some 2873 hectares in the Powder River Basin region of northern Wyoming. Uranium One said that it expects the project to become a satellite ISL operation, with loaded resins to be transported to its fully permitted Willow Creek plant for further processing into dried U3O8.
Production of uranium bearing resins from Moore Ranch is expected to begin in 2012, serving as an additional source of feed to the Willow Creek central plant.
Uranium One submitted its application for a licence for the Moore Ranch mine in October 2002. It was the first application for a uranium recovery licence accepted by the NRC in two decades. In a statement the company said: "This is a particularly notable accomplishment since this is the first new licence issued by the NRC in almost 13 years for the development of a new US uranium production facility."
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) review of the application included an environmental review, as well as a safety evaluation. The review concluded that the proposed facility can operate safely, including management of radiological and chemical hazards, groundwater protection, and eventual clean up and decommissioning. The NRC issued a draft materials licence in June 2010 to build and operate an in-situ uranium recovery facility at the Moore Ranch project.

MORE:
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/
ENF-New_US_uranium_mine_licensed-0410104.html
--
Linda Gunter is a founder of Beyond Nuclear and serves as its media and development director. She also specializes in researching nuclear France and in the nuclear power-nuclear weapons connection. She can be reached at 301.270.2209 ext. 2 or 301.455.5655. Beyond Nuclear is a 501(c)(3) non profit at 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 400, Takoma Park, MD
20912.
www.beyondnuclear.org.

==================

12. Mound claimants now have easier time getting compensation

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/nation-world-news/
mound-claimants-now-have-easier-time-getting-compensation-964060.html

By Tom Beyerlein Staff Writer Updated 10:54 PM Monday, October 4, 2010
MIAMISBURG — With the official end of a 15-year environmental cleanup Monday, the former Mound atomic energy plant became a center of innovation and emerging energy technologies.
“This is a celebration of taking a former liability and turning it into an asset,” said Ines Triay, assistant secretary of environmental management of the U.S. Department of Energy. “The lessons learned here are essential.”
The DOE in 1991 announced plans to close Mound, but cleanup stalled in 2005, when both the DOE and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deemed cleanup satisfactory, despite waste remaining on the 306-acre site.
Federal officials wanted to fence-off the contaminated area, but state and local leaders, along with residents and former Mound workers, pushed for remediation of the site to industrial standards.
Miamisburg Mayor Dick Church Jr. recounted the 19-year struggle to get the site to its current condition following a $1 billion cleanup.
“The city council chamber became a war room where we worked together to save the Mound,” Church said. “In the end, the community came out the winner. It was the devoted workers at the Mound who came away the biggest casualties. ”
The former workers were among those recognized during Monday’s celebration.
Those former workers, said U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, “contributed directly to our national security, and they know that the threats continue, so their heart is in service, and the legacy of what was accomplished here.”

MORE:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/nation-world-news/
mound-claimants-now-have-easier-time-getting-compensation-964060.html

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-9338 or kmcallister@DaytonDailyNews.com.

================

13. Constellation Pullout From Maryland - Nuclear Venture Leaves Industry Future Uncertain

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/10/11/
11climatewire-constellation-pullout-from-md-nuclear-ventur-82774.html

By PETER BEHR of ClimateWire, October 11, 2010
If the "nuclear renaissance" is not dead, it appeared in a coma for most of the country following the collapse of Constellation Energy's plan to build a third reactor on Maryland's Chesapeake Bay shore, energy officials said this weekend.
Constellation announced Saturday after news reports surfaced that it could not accept a $7.5 billion conditional federal loan guarantee because the Obama administration had insisted on too great a "down payment" in the form of a credit subsidy charge the developers would have to pay to the federal government to obtain the guarantee. The charge is an insurance premium intended to protect taxpayers against losses if the project could not be completed, or if its power costs were too high to compete and the owners defaulted on the loans.
In calling off negotiations, Constellation scrapped what would have been a test case for a new nuclear reactor in the competitive electricity markets that serve a majority of U.S. electricity customers. Only an intervention by Constellation's French partner EDF, the state-owned utility, seems able to revive it, a prospect that some experts said seemed unlikely.
The Energy Department has approved a conditional $8.3 billion loan guarantee for two reactors in Georgia. But Southern Co., the primary developer, is permitted to recapture costs during construction, and another project partner has a "hell or high water" sales contract requiring customers to keep paying down on the project's debt even if the reactors can't be completed. Companies in competitive markets can't pass on project risks that way.

MORE:
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/10/11/
11climatewire-constellation-pullout-from-md-nuclear-ventur-82774.html

==================

14. Get the anti-science bent out of politics

http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/07/AR2010100705484.html

By Michael E. Mann Friday, October 8, 2010
As a scientist, I shouldn't have a stake in the upcoming midterm elections, but unfortunately, it seems that I -- and indeed all my fellow climate scientists -- do.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has threatened that, if he becomes chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, he will launch what would be a hostile investigation of climate science. The focus would be on e-mails stolen from scientists at the University of East Anglia in Britain last fall that climate-change deniers have falsely claimed demonstrate wrongdoing by scientists, including me. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) may do the same if he takes over a committee on climate change and energy security.
My employer, Penn State University, exonerated me after a thorough investigation of my e-mails in the East Anglia archive. Five independent investigations in Britain and the United States, and a thorough recent review by the Environmental Protection Agency, also have cleared the scientists of accusations of impropriety.
Nonetheless, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is investigating my previous employer, the University of Virginia, based on the stolen e-mails. A judge rejected his initial subpoena, finding that Cuccinelli had failed to provide objective evidence of wrongdoing. Undeterred, Cuccinelli appealed the decision to the Virginia Supreme Court and this week issued a new civil subpoena.
What could Issa, Sensenbrenner and Cuccinelli possibly think they might uncover now, a year after the e-mails were published?
The truth is that they don't expect to uncover anything. Instead, they want to continue a 20-year assault on climate research, questioning basic science and promoting doubt where there is none.

MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/07/AR2010100705484.html

=================

15. 'Don't Worry, Be Happy': Canada Sees Climate Change Prosperity Instead of Calamity

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/10/08-5

by Stephen Leahy Published on Friday, October 8, 2010 by Inter Press Service
UXBRIDGE, Canada - The first comprehensive look at the expected impacts of climate change on Canada offers an embarrassing and misleading "don't worry, be happy" vision, citing more golf days and better access to northern deposits of oil and gas courtesy of global warming, critics say.
"The chart needs to be withdrawn," said climate scientist Danny Harvey of the University of Toronto. "It is full of bad science and utterly downplays the serious impacts of climate change."
The chart Harvey referred to is the "Degrees of Change" interactive diagram released this week as part of a national educational initiative called "Climate Prosperity [1]" by the prestigious Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE).
"How can we (Canada) talk about profiting from climate change when most of the world will suffer devastating impacts, in part because of our emissions?" Harvey said. "It is disgusting."
In a release about the Climate Prosperity initiative, David McLaughlin, NRTEE president and CEO, said, "Adapt and prosper will be increasingly central to Canadian governments, communities, and businesses as these effects become more and more evident."
NRTEE officials did not respond to IPS requests for an interview.

MORE: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/10/08-5

==================

16. Opposition fears conflict of interest in PM’s new chief of staff

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5547&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 Defence policy
The appointment of Nigel Wright as Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s new chief of staff has added a new dimension to the debate over the purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Opposition critics are questioning the selection of Wright because of his employment with Onex Corporation, which has financial dealings with Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35. Wright is reportedly on leave from Onex Corp. and expected to return as a partner and managing director in 18-24 months; he also continues to hold a significant financial interest in Onex, owning stock estimated to be worth $3.5 million (Richard J. Brennan, “Wright’s business ties make him wrong man for PMO, critics say“, Toronto Star, 4 October 2010).
The opposition parties are demanding a review of the appointment by the Ethics Commissioner, arguing that Wright’s connections represent a potential conflict of interest that could affect Canadian aerospace and defence policy. The Conservatives reply, however, that Wright has already met with the Ethics Commissioner and that he will adhere to the parliamentary watchdog’s rules (Jane Taber, “Tories fear ‘American-style confirmation hearing’ for chief of staff“, Globe and Mail, 5 October 2010).

=================

17. The U.N. gives peace a chance

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/edito ... /articles/
2010/10/04/the_un_gives_peace_a_chance/

By James Carroll | October 4, 2010
THIS IS the season of the United Nations. Over recent weeks, a succession of world leaders has addressed the UN General Assembly, an annual freewheeling from bluster to gravitas. That representatives of member states (currently 192) successively rise to the podium embodies the global body’s purpose. Sixty-five years ago this month, the organization came into existence as a desperate attempt to replace war with words. Since then, words have never been in short supply. Neither, alas, have wars.
After World War II, the conscience of humanity was seared with the determination this time to change the way conflicts are resolved. Before the unprecedented destructiveness of modern weapons subsequently came to seem normal, even hard-boiled realists spoke the airy language of idealism, seeking new structures of international order. “We prefer world law, in the age of self-determination,’’ as John F. Kennedy told the General Assembly in 1961, “to world war, in the age of mass extermination.’’ Kennedy was typical in seeing the United Nations as the forum in which to advance the pressing new agenda. “The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.’’
That speech was delivered in the thick of the Soviet-US standoff over Berlin, and Kennedy’s dream of peace did not prevent him from announcing the tough American match to Moscow’s resumption of nuclear testing. Still, his theme was not threat, but, in a soft word of the era, “disarmament.’’ Only a year later, over Cuba, the United Nations became a cockpit, with East-West antagonists poised like rattlers about to strike. Yet even that posturing — hardlines in public, compromise behind the scenes — was part of what defused the crisis.

MORE: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/edito ... /articles/
2010/10/04/the_un_gives_peace_a_chance/

===============

18. Voting on UN Security Council seat starts at 10 am ET

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4915

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
Voting with paper ballots in the United Nations General Assembly main chamber will start at 10 am ET on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s bid for a seat on the UN Security Council.
Foreign Affairs minister Lawrence Cannon spent the Thanksgiving weekend in New York lobbying for votes. This may be needed because, as the Toronto Star’s Olivia Ward writes today, “Ottawa’s poor score on climate change and some human rights issues, declining role in peacekeeping, low rank among wealthy countries as an aid donor, as well as deletion of seven African countries from its development aid priorities may have alienated potential backers.”
The Canadian Press reported yesterday that, “Some prominent ex-Canadian ambassadors, interest groups and even the current Liberal leader, …are openly questioning whether their country has ‘earned’ a seat on the council under the Harper Conservatives. …It has left senior government insiders worrying to the point of believing Canada might lose its first ever Security Council campaign. …Groups as disparate as the separatist federal Bloc Quebecois and Council of Canadians interest group have questioned Canada’s UN worthiness. But sharp criticism has come from Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, as well as two of Canada’s most distinguished ex-ambassadors to the UN (including Robert Fowler and Paul Heinbecker).”

MORE: http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4915

=================

19. Industry groups get best access to PM - Lobbyists' records show oil companies get most meetings

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology/
Industry+groups+best+access/3614483/story.html

By Andrew Mayeda and Mark Kennedy, Postmedia News October 2, 2010
Lobbyists for Canadian industry -- particularly those representing the country's leading chief executives and the oil sector -- top the list of those who had the most access to Prime Minister Stephen Harper during the last two years, government records reveal.
By comparison, groups lobbying on issues such as health care and the environment barely got a foot in the door -- even though the state of medicare and climate change have been major public policy issues.

MORE:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology/
Industry+groups+best+access/3614483/story.html

==================

20. Fox News North – Not: Savour the victory

http://murraydobbin.ca/2010/10/05/
fox-new-north-not-savour-the-victpory/

Posted: 05 Oct 2010 05:14 PM PDT
It’s quite a come down. From in-your-face arrogance to a total retreat in a matter of a few months, the big money behind Quebecor’s determination to set up a Fox news North is now looking pretty humble.
There’s no doubt that part of this is overreach on the part of Pierre Karl Peladeau and his junkyard-dog front man Kory Teneycke. But mostly it is a huge victory for every Canadian who took time to write, email, phone or other wise protest this grotesque plan to move Canadian political culture to the far right. And a victory in particular for Avaaz the on-line social movement that flushed Teneycke and his bully tactics into the open.
We should all celebrate – maybe by donating to your favourite on-line journal.

MORE:
http://murraydobbin.ca/2010/10/05/
fox-new-north-not-savour-the-victpory/

==================

21. Canada part of a new nuclear disarmament initiative

http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=5566

Posted: 08 Oct 2010 09:18 PM PDT
In late September, Canada joined with nine other countries to form the Cross-Regional Group on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, a group of countries that seeks to bring new life to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament efforts (”Germany joins new international initiative for nuclear disarmament,” DW-world.de, 23 September 2010). The other members of the group are Australia, Chile, [...]

==================

22. The Nightmare: The Iraq Invasion's Atrocities, Unearthing the Unthinkable

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21370

By Felicity Arbuthnot Global Research, October 9, 2010
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." François-Marie Arouet -"Voltaire" (1694-1778.)
I have a deeply held belief that the duty of a commentator is, to the best of one's ability, to record, to shine light in often dark places, to act as a voice for those whose own voice, fears, plights might not be heard or known. To write about the emotions one sometimes feels when doing it, is an anathema and anyway a redundancy. The purpose is to attempt to draw attention to wrongs, not to whinge about the effects they can have - and any way, a private life should be just that. If politicians wish to strip themselves of their dignity and allude to everything from their sex life, to using private grief to gain sympathy votes, those with a shred of self-respect do not wish to emulate them. Here, I am breaking my taboo, for a reason.
Over the last several weeks I have again researched in depth, invasion's atrocities in Iraq, unearthing the unthinkable, switching off emotion and reading of terror, torture, monstrous wickednesses, word after sickening word. Then, Fallujah revisited (1) with document after document revealing the depth of the darkest depravities towards others, which can be plumbed, by "some mother's son" - or daughter. Indeed, some child's father or mother, able to shoot the children, toddlers, babies of others, in cold blood, drive over them in tanks, leaving the pathetic remains to be eaten by stray dogs.

MORE: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21370

=======================

23. Yemen: The Covert Apparatus of the American Empire

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21306

By Andrew Gavin MarshallGlobal Research, October 5, 2010
In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered one of his least known and ultimately one of his most important speeches ever, “Beyond Vietnam,” in which he spoke out against the American war in Vietnam and against American empire in all its political, military and economic forms. In his speech, King endorsed the notion that America “was on the wrong side of a world revolution.”
Dr. King explained: During the past ten years we have seen emerge a pattern of suppression which now has justified the presence of U.S. military "advisors" in Venezuela. This need to maintain social stability for our investments accounts for the counter-revolutionary action of American forces in Guatemala. It tells why American helicopters are being used against guerrillas in Colombia and why American napalm and green beret forces have already been active against rebels in Peru. It is with such activity in mind that the words of the late John F. Kennedy come back to haunt us. Five years ago he said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."[1]
This is the nature of war of today: during King’s time, the pretext for war was to stop the spread of Communism; today, it’s done in the name of stopping the spread of terrorism. Terror has since time immemorial been a tactic used by states and governments to control populations. Al-Qaeda is no exception, as it was created and continues to largely function as a geopolitical extension of the covert apparatus of American empire. In short, al-Qaeda is an arm of the covert world of American intelligence agencies. In particular, the CIA, DIA [Defense Intelligence Agency], US Special Forces, and multinational mercenary companies such as Blackwater [now Xe Services]. Where they go, al-Qaeda goes; where al-Qaeda goes, they accumulate; where they lay the groundwork, the American empire stands behind.[2]

MORE:
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21306

=================

24. Communist Chinese threaten Vietnam

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5599&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 10 Oct 2010 12:41 PM PDT
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is visiting Vietnam to discuss how to respond to the actions of an “increasingly assertive China” in the region (Thom Shanker, “In Vietnam, Gates Faces Balancing Act With Assertive China,” New York Times, 10 October 2010): Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates landed on Sunday in Vietnam, where the narrative of [...]

by **Oscar** » Sat Oct 16, 2010 5:25 pm

NUKE NEWS: Oct. 16, 2010

1. ACTION ALERT: Say no to shipping radioactive waste through the Great Lakes!
2. Ship of fools: Nuclear waste on the Great Lakes
3. Not in our seaway
4. Waterkeeper.ca Weekly: October 15th, 2010
5. Michael Ignatieff gets it – nuclear subsidies are a bad idea
6. World Nuclear News - Oct. 12 - 14, 2010
7. Blue Sky Uranium Corp.
8. NEW REACTOR AT CALVERT CLIFFS STOPPED! AND NUCLEAR "RENAISSANCE" SPUTTERS!
9. EXCERPT from Cross of Iron Speech
10. F-35 Stealth Fighters – Report (Pilot Error), CBC Radio Audio, etc.
11. Future supply of tritium for U.S. nuclear weapons in doubt
12. CASTRO: Nuclear Weapons and the Survival of the Homo Sapiens (Parts 1 & 2)
13. THE EMPIRE FROM WITHIN (PART TWO)
14. U.S. Threat to Attack Iran with Nukes is “Criminal"
15. Palin Warns of ‘Armageddon,’ ‘WW III’ in Newsmax Exclusive
16. The Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence. The World is at the Precipice of another World War
17. WATCH: Steven Staples on Canada’s secret military base fiasco
18. Japan protests against US nuclear test
19. No Nukes News - Oct. 15, 2010
20. A peace movement victory in court
21. WIN! Harper agenda rejected by UN General Assembly (2 articles)

=====================

1. ACTION ALERT: Say no to shipping radioactive waste through the Great Lakes!

http://canadians.org/action/2010/great-lakes-1410.html

October 14, 2010

Dear friends,

Bruce Power has made an application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for a licence to ship 16 100-tonne radioactive steam generators through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway to Sweden.

The licence is required because the shipment does not meet packaging requirements and exceeds internationally set limits for radioactive levels by as high as 50 times. The Great Lakes holds nearly 20% of the world's freshwater. They provide drinking water to 40 million people in surrounding areas. If the CNSC approves this shipment, it could set a dangerous precedent for regularly shipping radioactive waste through the Great Lakes.

Bruce Power plans to recycle 90% of the 16 steam generators by contracting Swedish company Studsvik to ship, decontaminate, melt down and sell the metal on consumer markets. Studsvik will return 10% of the most radioactive parts to Bruce Power. Since there are 64 steam generators slated for recycling, these shipments pose a threat to the Great Lakes on the estimated eight trips.

The International Institute of Concern for Public Health has noted that radionuclides found in Great Lakes water, including tritium, carbon-14, cesium and long-lived iodine-129, pose serious health hazards even at low levels. An accident on the Great Lakes would further contribute to radioactivity and pollution in the Great Lakes.

Bruce Power failed to consult adequately with some First Nation communities and municipalities along the travel route.

There is a growing network of environmental and non-governmental organizations, First Nation communities, several U.S. senators and city mayors that oppose this shipment and highlight the risks to our fresh water sources. Nearly 80 groups and individuals made written submissions to the CNSC with the majority of them opposing the shipments. Half of the groups spoke at the CNSC's public hearing on September 28-29, 2010.

Intervenors raised many unanswered questions and pointed to Bruce Power's inadequate emergency plans, which failed to include an emergency response for a sinking ship. The CNSC normally makes a decision within 30 business days (November 11, 2010) but may delay a decision in complex cases.

Premier Dalton McGuinty, who has a responsibility to protect the Great Lakes, and Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who has a responsibility to protect Canada's water resources, have remained silent on this issue.

Send a letter to them telling them that you want to keep radioactive waste out of the Great Lakes!

GO TO: http://canadians.org/action/2010/great-lakes-1410.html

===============================

2. Ship of fools: Nuclear waste on the Great Lakes

http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2010/10/15/
ship-of-fools-nuclear-waste-on-the-great-lakes/

October 15, 2010

Mark Mattson, Waterkeeper.ca Weekly They don’t make boxes big enough to hold used nuclear steam generators.

That is the reason the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission had to disclose Bruce Power’s special request to transport nuclear waste on the Great Lakes. If the sixteen generators that Bruce Power wants to ship had fit into a container pre-approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Canada’s public regulator would not have had to notify the public at all.

That is what we – and dozens of others – learned when we trekked to Ottawa on September 29th. Apparently, nuclear waste is already shipped on the Great Lakes fairly regularly. We only find out when the waste won’t fit in a box.

MORE:
http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2010/10/15/
ship-of-fools-nuclear-waste-on-the-great-lakes/

Read Lake Ontario Waterkeeper’s written submission to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2010/09/21/
waterkeeper-will-present-to-the-cnsc-on-plan-to-ship-radioactive-waste-through-the-great-lakes/

Look at the transcript for the September 28th hearing day

http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/commission/pdf/
2010-09-28-Transcript-HearingBrucePowerSG.pdf

OR,

the September 29th hearing day. LOW’s presentation begins on page 230 of the second transcript.

http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/commission/pdf/
2010-09-29-Transcript-HearingBrucePowerSG.pdf

==================================

3. Not in our seaway

http://www.montrealgazette.com/technolo ... y+Mohawks/
3606237/story.html

Mohawks Opposed to shipment of generators

Nuclear power station official insists no danger of radioactive damage
By MICHELLE LALONDE, The Gazette, October 1, 2010 ON THE FRONT PAGE
The Mohawk community of Kahnawake is determined to stop a plan by an Ontario nuclear power station to ship 16 massive steam generators along the St. Lawrence Seaway for recycling in Sweden.
"The fact that the seaway was built through our territory without our approval in the first place is bad enough," said Clinton Phillips, the chief responsible for environmental issues on the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake.
"To use it to transport nuclear waste literally through our backyard would be adding insult to injury in a huge way. There is absolutely no way we'll stand for it."
Council spokesperson Joe Delaronde said the community has no plan to physically block the project, but will join Mohawks in Akwasasne to try to persuade the federal government to cancel it. He said the council intends to pass a resolution Monday to formally oppose the transportation through Mohawk territory of any nuclear fuel or waste products.

MORE: ttp://www.montrealgazette.com/technolog ... y+Mohawks/
3606237/story.html

=====================

4. Waterkeeper.ca Weekly: October 15th, 2010
www.waterkeeper.ca

Recent News

(All Links are on website above)

Ship of fools: Nuclear waste on the Great Lakes

Oral presentation to CNSC: Bruce Nuclear shipping proposal

Helen Caldicott to visit Port Hope in November

Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is hiring a Communications Intern

Swim Drink Fish …. Laugh! Your invite for Wednesday night

Comments wanted: Proposal to protect area near Milton Quarry, Niagara Escarpment

Comments wanted: Proposal to add more areas to “protected” and “parks” lists, Niagara Escarpment

Comments wanted: Technical Guidelines and Requirements for Approval under the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act

Prime Minister, access to lobbyists and environmental issues debated in House of Commons

Cameco Corporation renews Ontario lobbyist registration

Dufferin Aggregates renews Ontario lobbyist

Waterkeeper submits Participant Statement in anticipation of Nelson Quarry hearing

Waterkeeper comments on potential offshore wind power constraints

Go green to avoid soaring nuclear costs – thestar.com

Plan to ship radioactive waste abroad assailed –
thestar.com

Canadian Nuclear Association clings to inaccurate, unsupported claims

AFP: Environmentalists slam Great Lakes nuclear shipment

TheSpec – Hamilton Harbour an inspiration

Secretive Power Authority sabotages its case for wind turbines – RocNow.com

Plan to ship radioactive generators through Great Lakes draws protest – The Globe and Mail

Durham requests approval for sewage works: Public comment invited

Chemistry Industry Association of Canada renews provincial lobbyist registration

Cameco renews provincial lobbyist registration

Strategic Policy for Ontario’s Commercial Fisheries: Public Comment Invited

Radioactive waste shipping discussed in House of Commons (Sept 27, 2010)

Pioneer Park Stormwater Management Project discussed in House of Commons (Sept 27, 2010)

Great Lakes water and sewage discussed in Ontario Legislature

Radioactive waste shipping discussed in House of Commons

Cities coalition opposes plan to ship nuclear waste through lakes, canal – St. Catharines Standard – Ontario, CA

Live-blogging the Bruce Power steam generator hearing, CNSC

=======================

5. Michael Ignatieff gets it – nuclear subsidies are a bad idea

Last night, Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, held an Open Mike town hall meeting where he invited the public to raise issues and concerns with him. I was there to ask him if he thought federal taxpayers across the country should pay for 2 new nuclear reactors in Ontario, when lower cost options to meet our electricity needs are available.

To his credit, Mr. Ignatieff responded with a resounding “No” to subsidies!

Mr. Ignatieff understands that federal taxpayer subsidies for new nuclear reactors make no sense. Please send a brief email to Mr. Ignatieff thanking him for trying to protect us from yet more debt charges on our electricity bills. No more nuclear bail outs!

Thank you…

Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
402-625 Church St, Toronto M4Y 2G1
Phone: 416-926-1907 ext. 246
angela@cleanairalliance.org
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Ontario’s Green Future
No Nukes News
Health Power
Coal Must Go

P.S.
Order free postcards/leaflets to distribute to your friends and neighbours!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is a diverse, multi-stakeholder coalition of approximately 90 organizations including cities, health associations, environmental and public interest groups, corporations, public utilities, unions, faith communities and individuals, representing more than six million Ontarians. OCAA’s short term goal is to achieve the complete phase out of Ontario’s four coal-fired power plants by the end of 2010. Our long term goal is to achieve a 100% renewable electricity grid by 2027.

======================

6. World Nuclear News - Oct. 12 - 14, 2010

World Nuclear News- 12 October 2010
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/

[ All Links are on website above. ]

NUCLEAR POLICIES: Uranium imports boost Indian reactor output
Electricity generation from India's nuclear power plants has exceeded targets, partly through imports making uranium more readily available, according to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd

NEW NUCLEAR: Developments in fusion
The Iter fusion demonstration project has suffered another funding blow, while a milestone was reached in another potential route to fusion power in the USA

CORPORATE: Paladin increased Niger holding
Paladin Energy's holding in NGM Resources, which holds exploration tenements in Niger, has increased after the Australian government's Takeovers Panel ruled against Paladin's attempts to pull back from a takeover bid.

INDUSTRY TALK: Flowserve expands at Raleigh Valve manufacturer
Flowserve is to add about 1500 square metres of manufacturing space to its facility at Raleigh, North Carolina. The space will be taken by new machine tools, it said, "to more efficiently manufacture large valve components as well as increase space for inspection assembly and test."

= = = = = =

World Nuclear news – October 13, 2010

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/default.aspx

[ All Links are on the website above. ]

NUCLEAR POLICIES: Partners strengthen FBR cooperation
Japan, France and the USA have signed a revised version of their 2008 memorandum of understanding (MoU) in order to renew and expand their collaboration in fast breeder reactor (FBR) research and development.

REGULATION & SAFETY: Second US reactor gets isotope go-ahead
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved a licence amendment allowing a pilot program to produce cobalt-60 at the Hope Creek nuclear power plant in New Jersey

= = = = = =

WORLD NUCLEAR NEWS - 14 October 2010

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/default.aspx

[ All Links are on this website. ]

NEW NUCLEAR: New press for nuclear market
A major new facility has been commissioned in Germany for the production of large reactor components.

REGULATION & SAFETY: Two more years for Wylfa
Wylfa, one of the UK's oldest nuclear power plants, has been given regulatory approval to continue operating for up to a further two years. The Magnox plant had been scheduled to shut in March 2010, but was granted a nine-month extension.

REGULATION & SAFETY: Record HEU return from Poland
The largest return of highly enriched uranium (HEU) research reactor fuel in the history of an initiative to return the fuel to its country of origin has been completed, with the removal of over 450 kg of HEU fuel from Poland.

INDUSTRY TALK: Constellation and EdF to talk
Electricité de France (EdF) has responded to Constellation's rejection of loan guarantee terms with a letter "generally describing ideas for a potential restructuring" of their Unistar partnership

MORE NEWS: www.world-nuclear-news.org/

=======================

7. Blue Sky Uranium Corp.

http://www.blueskyuranium.com/s/
NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=421870&_Type=News-Releases&_Title=Blue-Sky-Identifies-Three-New-Uranium-Targets-with-Rio-Negro-Regional-Airbo

October 04, 2010
Blue Sky Identifies Three New Uranium Targets with Rio Negro Regional Airborne Survey

Blue Sky Uranium Corp. (TSX-V: BSK, WKN: AOMKXP)
is pleased to announce it has completed a 22,214 line km regional airborne radiometric and magnetic survey in the prospective Rio Negro basin, one of the largest known private geophysical surveys ever completed in Argentina. Three very large new uranium channel anomalies were identified by the airborne survey and Blue Sky has applied for 8 licenses, (71,765 hectares) to cover these new targets. The new uranium targets include:
• Paso Cordoba: 15 km long by 1 km wide uranium channel airborne anomaly.
• Evelina: 11 km long by 2 km wide uranium channel airborne anomaly.
• Norma: 7 km long by 1 km wide uranium channel airborne anomaly.
Blue Sky's objective in the Province of Rio Negro is to evaluate the regional potential to host additional new uranium deposits and capitalize on the Company's first mover advantage. Management is very excited by the discovery of these new large uranium targets and is currently working to expedite granting of the concessions in order to commence detailed ground exploration and evaluation of these new targets concurrent with the ongoing exploration at the Company's ANIT project. These new discoveries highlight the regional potential within the previously unexplored San Jorge basin in Rio Negro province

MORE:
http://www.blueskyuranium.com/s/
NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=421870&_Type=News-Releases&_Title=Blue-Sky-Identifies-Three-New-Uranium-Targets-with-Rio-Negro-Regional-Airbo

=====================

8. NEW REACTOR AT CALVERT CLIFFS STOPPED! AND NUCLEAR "RENAISSANCE" SPUTTERS!

http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/calvert/
nirsstatementoncc310910.pdf

SO INDUSTRY PRESSURES CONGRESS TO MAKE IT EVEN EASIER TO GET TAXPAYER MONEY....
ACT NOW TO PREVENT NEW NUKE SUBSIDIES DURING LAME DUCK SESSION
...AND, PLEASE JOIN THE VIRTUAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON!
October 12, 2010
Dear Friends,
This is a huge victory: Over the weekend, Constellation Energy announced it is pulling out of the proposed Calvert Cliffs-3 reactor project in Maryland, which effectively ends this new reactor.
NIRS has spent more than three years fighting this reactor tooth and nail. We've intervened twice in Maryland Public Service Commission proceedings. We're the lead intervenor in NRC licensing proceedings for Calvert Cliffs--and our contention against foreign ownership in this project (it's dominated by the French government through Electricite de France and Areva) has proven a major stumbling block. And with all our allies in the Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition we've been in the streets, the media and the public arena demanding an end to this boondoggle.
And, on Saturday, we won!
Here is a link to our statement released Saturday.

http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/calvert ... 310910.pdf
- - - - -
Here is a link to a New York Times article on some of the reasons behind this decision.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/business/
energy-environment/11power.html?_r=4&src=busln

And here is a link to an article I wrote in August predicting exactly this outcome.

http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/calvert ... ure910.pdf
- - - -
Please act now to protect this victory at Calvert Cliffs, and to stop any more taxpayer money being wasted on new reactors, by writing your Senators and Representative here. Here's why:
In its statement announcing it is shelving Calvert Cliffs-3, Constellation claimed it was doing so because the terms of a $7.5 Billion loan the Obama administration was ready to give the company were too "onerous."
For this $10 Billion+ reactor (the French government was going to chip in another $2.9 Billion), the administration wanted the utility to either put up $880 million of its own money (called a credit subsidy cost, kind of like the down payment you would have to put on a mortgage), or $300 million and guarantee sales of only 75% of the reactor's electricity.
This was too risky and "onerous" for Constellation Energy. In other words, they admitted they wanted taxpayers to take ALL the risk of this project.
In fact, that was just a smokescreen. Constellation would have cancelled Calvert Cliffs even if there had been no credit subsidy cost at all--the economics of the project simply didn't make sense. And it's telling that Constellation shares skyrocketed up in the first day of trading after their announcement: investors were delighted Constellation got out of this dumb deal.
But the nuclear industry is already working in Congress to not only get more taxpayer money for nuclear loans, but to force the administration to make taxpayers take all of the risk for those loans. And they're hoping they can sneak such legislation through in the lame duck session that begins in mid-November.
All year, with your help, we have blocked the industry from receiving any new funds for nuclear loans. Now we have to act again.
Please protect this victory at Calvert Cliffs, act to stop any more taxpayer money being wasted on new reactors and to make sure taxpayers don't have to take all the risk of new reactor construction, by writing your Senators and Representative here.

Here is a link to this action that you can forward to your friends and colleagues who will want to take action too:

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/550 ... on/public/
?action_KEY=4378

The industry lobbying effort will be strong and well-financed, and it will take as many of us as possible to counter them.
We are, of course, walking on air that our long battle over Calvert Cliffs was successful (as, so far, has been our campaign to stop new taxpayer subsidies for new nukes). But these successes are only possible with your help and support! Please celebrate this victory by making a tax-deductible donation to NIRS today. You can do so online here, or send a check to NIRS, 6930 Carroll Avenue, #340, Takoma Park, MD 20912.
Virtual March on Washington
Have you joined the Virtual March on Washington yet? Stand up and be counted! It's easy and it's fun. An outgrown of the actions of International Radioactive Waste Action Day, the virtual march will keep building between now and April 26, 2011--the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe.
All you have to do to join is send in a photo of yourself to nirsnet@nirs.org. If you'd like to hold a sign (and we encourage that!), you can download and print a sign here, or make one of your own. You can also see a slideshow of the growing number of people who have joined in so far.
So send your pictures in today, and let's get thousands of people to join in this Virtual March on Washington!
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
nirsnet@nirs.org
www.nirs.org
6930 Carroll Avenue, #340, Takoma Park, MD 20912;
301-270-6477
= = = = =
Constellation Pullout From Maryland Nuclear Venture Leaves Industry Future Uncertain

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/10/11/
11climatewire-constellation-pullout-from-md-nuclear-ventur-82774.html

By PETER BEHR of ClimateWire, October 11, 2010
If the "nuclear renaissance" is not dead, it appeared in a coma for most of the country following the collapse of Constellation Energy's plan to build a third reactor on Maryland's Chesapeake Bay shore, energy officials said this weekend……

====================

9. EXCERPT from Cross of Iron Speech

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.” - Address by President Dwight D. Eisenhower "The Chance for Peace" delivered before the American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 16,1953.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.inf ... le9743.htm

=======================

10. F-35 Stealth Fighters – Report (Pilot Error), CBC Radio Audio, etc.

Pilot Error: Why the F-35 stealth fighter is wrong for Canada

http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=5642 October 14, 2010

I’m excited to have launched today a new report published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and the Rideau Institute on the planned purchase of 65 F-35 stealth fighters. The report has been well received by the media and others who are following this issue closely.
At the press conference this morning, journalists from all major news networks were present along with MP assistants and even an industry representative supporting the purchase of stealth fighters.
The main point of the report called Pilot Error: Why the F-35 stealth fighter is wrong for Canada, is that the purchase of 65 stealth fighter jets by the government is not based upon Canada’s realistic requirements. In recent weeks we have heard from the defence lobby and the government on why they want to buy stealth fighters but there was no talk on why we need those "flying Cadillacs" and why Canadians should have to pay for them. This report addresses those points.
The report finds that the F-35 stealth fighter has no real comparable advantage over less costly fighter jets other than offering stealth technology and “shock and awe” capabilities.
Yesterday I was really encouraged after a coast-to-coast conference call with community leaders on this issue. People from all parts of Canada are concerned about this massive military purchase driven by the defence industry. Everyone is keen to take action so we hope that you’ll join us in pushing this issue in the coming months. To get started, you can download the report below. Stay tuned for updates!

Pilot Error: Why the F-35 stealth fighter is wrong for Canada

Steven Staples,

Ceasefire.ca

= = = = =

Media coverage of CCPA F-35 report by Steven Staples

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5654&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 02:29 PM PDT

Here are some links to media outlets reporting on the just released F-35 report: Jane Taber, “Defence expert decries purchase of ’shock-and-awe’ fighter jets,” Globe and Mail, 14 October 2010 Juliet O’Neill, “Scrap F-35s for cheaper drones, defence analyst argues,” Ottawa Citizen, 14 October 2010 Canadian Press, “F-35 ‘flying Cadillac’ doesn’t meet Canada’s needs: Report,” Toronto Star, 14 [...]

= = = = = =

Get your copy — Pilot Error: Why the F-35 Stealth Fighter is Wrong for Canada

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5642&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 11:11 AM PDT

We do not need ‘flying cadillacs’ to provide security to Canada and North America. The government, air force, and defence companies have made it clear why they want them, but not why Canada needs them, and why Canadians should pay for them.

= = = = = = =

LISTEN: CBC Radio – The Current - Oct 12/10 - Pt 1: F-35's

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2010/10/oc ... f-35s.html

The purchase of 65 new F-35 fighter jets is the most expensive in history by the Canadian government and worth every penny according to its Proponents. But the Opponents call this new hybrid design a step backwards in aviation and the cost of maintaining it will dwarf the cost of buying it.

Listen to Part One: (Pop-up)

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2010/10/oc ... f-35s.html

F-35 Fighter Jets

We started this segment with a clip from Jon Beesley ... Lockheed-Martin's Chief Pilot for the F-35 fighter jet... right after the plane's first test flight. But not everyone is talking about the F-35 in such glowing terms. The federal government is proposing an estimated $16 billion deal with Lockheed Martin to buy and maintain 65 of the jets. That already would be the most expensive government purchase in Canadian history. And critics worry problems such as production delays and software glitches could push the price tag even higher.
We aired a clip with Defence Minister Peter MacKay's comments on this from Question Period. And like Mr. MacKay, our next guest thinks the criticisms are being overblown. Retired Canadian Forces Lieutenant-General George MacDonald is the Honorary President of the Air Force Association of Canada. He is also a partner with CFN Consultants, a defence and security firm which counts Lockheed-Martin as one of its clients. George MacDonald was in Ottawa.

And Winslow Wheeler has kept close tabs on the F-35. For more than 30 years he worked on national security issues for various branches of the US government. He is the Director of the Straus Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information in Washington, DC. And today he was in Hagerstown, Maryland.

We requested an interview with Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35 jets. The company would not participate in an interview, but spokesman John Kent did provide a statement, insisting the planes were both cost-effective and reliable.

In all F-35 production contracts signed to date, the aircraft's actual unit cost has been at or in most cases below government estimates. The F-35 price trend is continuing downward, and is on path to an average unit cost of about $60 million. The software glitch that resulted in the brief flight suspension was identified and corrected. In the more than 400 flights to date, the software issue never asserted itself, and there were never any problems with the jets in flight. The fix was implemented as a safety precaution. Software on the F-35 has been extremely stable and extremely reliable throughout the flight test program.

=========================

11. Future supply of tritium for U.S. nuclear weapons in doubt

From: Gordon Edwards
Sent: Monday, October 11, 2010 11:18 PM
Subject: Future supply of tritium for U.S. nuclear weapons in doubt

Background:

Tritium is an important part of any modern nuclear arsenal.

Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen -- in fact it is the "H" in the "H-bomb". When raised to a temperature of several million degrees, tritium atoms "fuse" together, releasing nuclear energy through the process of nuclear fusion. This is the process that fuels our sun and the stars.

Modern nuclear warheads use plutonium as the primary nuclear explosive material, and plutonium has a 24,000 year half-life. But inside the plutonium "ball" is a tritium "spark-plug", which greatly boosts the explosive power of the plutonium. And tritium only has a 13 year half-life.

That means that the tritium has to be replaced every decade or so, or the power and the reliability of the nuclear warhead will deteriorate. Hence the need for more tritium -- for nuclear explosive purposes!

Gordon Edwards.

- - - - - -

Future supply of tritium for U.S. nuclear weapons in doubt

http://www.fissilematerials.org/blog/2010/10/
future_supply_of_tritium_.html

By Pavel Podvig on October 11, 2010

Guest contribution by Robert Alvarez

In a recent report to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, the Government Accountability Office concluded that the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) in the Energy department is "unable to overcome technical challenges" to producing tritium (H3) in a commercial power reactor for the U.S. nuclear arsenal. As a result the ability to provide new supplies of this radioactive isotope used to enhance the explosive power of nuclear weapons "is in doubt."

Because its half-life of 12.3 years, tritium has to be periodically replenished in weapons. From 1954 to 1988, tritium was produced in government reactors, which were closed for safety reasons. In 1993, GAO concluded that tritium supplies from nuclear arms reductions was sufficient to meet warhead needs until 2012. After that GAO concluded that a new tritium production capability would be needed.

In response, the Department of Energy decided in the late 1990's to produce new supplies in a commercial power reactor, using new tritium-producing burnable absorber rods (TBARs). They contain lithium-aluminate pellets lined with zirconium, and are clad into long pencil-shaped, stainless steel rods. Tritium is produced when the atoms of lithium-6 absorb neutrons in the reactor core.

However, the rods cannot fully contain the tritium, which is permeating into the reactor cooling system, approaching safety limits set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). To meet projected tritium requirements, additional TVA reactors may be required (NNSA indicated that it is planning to use two other TVA reactors -- Sequoyah 1 and 2).

NNSA has not yet coordinated this with the NRC, which must approve any reactor changes.

A reserve stockpile of tritium has yet to be tapped and its size remains classified. Nor is it clear how much more tritium is expected to come from the pending START II arms reduction agreement with Russia, now before the U.S. Senate. Nonetheless, GAO remains concerned. "If NNSA takes longer than expected to increase tritium production, even reserve quantities may be insufficient to meet requirements for an extended period of time."

Tritium production alternatives include building a new government production reactor or the development of linear accelerators. Both are likely to cost billions of dollars and take several years to bring on line.

However, expanding the production of tritium for nuclear weapons in commercial nuclear power plants further undermines the long-standing barrier between military and civilian nuclear energy applications -- a key element of U.S. nuclear non-proliferation policy.

This is a situation where public debate and greater transparency by the U.S. nuclear weapons program is sorely needed.

=====================

12. CASTRO:
Nuclear Weapons and the Survival of the Homo Sapiens (Parts 1 & 2)

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=21363

by Fidel Castro Ruz Global Research, October 8, 2010
Cuba Debate
[http://www.cubadebate.cu/ ]

During the ceremony commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution I expressed my opinion that "The Cuban Revolution, on our small and ignored island, was newly born, but coming into this world just 90 miles from the powerful empire, caused it to test the arrogance of the dominant superpower in our hemisphere and in a large part of the world." I promised to speak about the statements I had made to the United Nations two days previously. I warned that our struggle would be "long and hard." For the time being, I must postpone this task. Another subject at the moment is more important.

Our people, as many around the world know, are characterized by their high level of knowledge, which they have achieved during the past five decades, after the country emerged from its semi-colonized and mono-crop producing state and its considerable levels of illiterate and semi-illiterate people with low general education levels and scientific knowledge. The Cuban people had to be fully informed about what nuclear energy could mean for the fate of the human species.

"I think —I said verbatim on September 28— that it might be a good idea to make known some of these ideas about what a nuclear weapon is. I have seen images about what critical mass is, and what its use as a weapon represents: that is to employ the energy that drives the universe for war." At "3,000 degrees Celsius, practically all metals and materials…" melt. "What would happen then at 10,000 degrees? […] Well, an atomic explosion produced by critical mass could reach millions of degrees.

MORE:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=21363

= = = = = =

Nuclear Weapons and the Survival of the Homo Sapiens (Part II)

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=21400

Michel Chossudovsky's presentation at the University of Havana
by Fidel Castro Ruz
Global Research, October 12, 2010
Cuban News Agency - 2010-10-11
[http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/ ]
Of course, I listened to their debate with particular interest. Chossudovsky spoke in Spanish and showed a complete command of the issues at hand. He is scrupulous about the meaning of words, including phrases coined in English to precisely express a certain idea when they do not have equivalent terms in Spanish.
Chossudovsky said that in the United States an inescapable systemic crisis has been created, which they are trying to resolve by employing the same measures that caused it. He explained that there has been an impoverishment of all social groups, which affects the workers and middle class much more than the rich. The U.S. government is calling for austerity measures at a global level, and applying "remedies" and "prescriptions" that were the cause of the crisis, faced with the necessity of financing military spending and bailing out banks.
He confirmed that they have been preparing for war against Iran since 2003, and are also threatening Russia, China, North Korea, Syria, Lebanon and other countries in this vast region.
He energetically criticized the justification for the introduction of the so-called mini-nuke among the arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons, and of the doctrine that was widely promoted prior to their introduction, in an attempt to argue that the mini-nuke is safe for civilians (safe for the surrounding civilian population, in English, he explained). He noted the irony of how the mini-nukes included bombs that fluctuated between one-third and six times the power of that which destroyed Hiroshima.
Let us press on immediately with the synthesis of Chossudovsky’s academic address to the students and teachers at the Faculty of Economics, University of Havana:

MORE :
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=21400

==========================

13. THE EMPIRE FROM WITHIN (PART TWO)

http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/2010/1011emp ... within.htm

Reflections By Comrade Fidel October 11, 2010
In yesterday’s Reflection there appears a key paragraph taken from Woodward’s book: “One important secret that has never been reported in the media, or anywhere else, was the existence of a covert army of 3,000 men in Afghanistan, whose objective was to kill or capture Taliban and sometimes venture into the tribal areas to pacify them and get support.” That army, created and handled by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), trained and organized as a “special force” has been made up on tribal, social, anti-religious and anti-patriotic bases; its mission is the follow-up and physical elimination of Taliban fighters and other Afghans, described as extreme Moslems.A Saudi recruited and funded by the CIA to fight against the Soviets when their troops were occupying Afghanistan has nothing in common with Al Qaeda and Bin Laden.When Vice President Biden traveled to Kabul at the start of 2009,David Mckiernan, chief of American troops in Afghanistan told him in answer to a question about Al Qaeda that he hadn’t seen one single Arab in two years there. Despite the relatively brief and ephemeral importance that the principal international press gave to “Obama’s Wars”, without a doubt these did not shirk from recording this revealing piece of news.

MORE:
http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/2010/1011emp ... within.htm

=======================

14. U.S. Threat to Attack Iran with Nukes is “Criminal"

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=21402

by Sherwood Ross Global Research, October 11, 2010

The U.S. today is threatening to attack Iran “under the completely bogus pretext” that it might have a nuclear weapon, a distinguished American international legal authority says.

When Obama administration officials, like those of the Bush regime before it, say “all options are on the table,” they are threatening nuclear war and that is prohibited by international law, says Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois at Champaign.

Not only has the International Atomic Energy Commission said this charge against Iran “is simply not true,” Boyle pointed out, but threatening Iran with nuclear war in itself constitutes an international crime.

“If we don't act now, Obama and his people could very well set off a Third World War over Iran that has already been threatened publicly by (President George W.) Bush Jr.,” he asserted.

In a speech on nuclear deterrence to the 18th conference on “Direct Democracy” in Feldkirch, Austria, Boyle said it has been estimated an attack on Iran with tactical nuclear weapons by the U.S. and Israel could kill nearly 3-million people.

(Boyle charges the U.S. has already committed “acts of aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and has authorized, armed, equipped, and supplied Israel to commit...outright genocide against Lebanon and Palestine.”)

Nuclear weapons and “nuclear deterrence” have “never been legitimate instruments of state policy but have always constituted instrumentalities of internationally lawless and criminal behavior,” Boyle said.

Thus, the governments of all the nuclear weapons states are “criminal” for threatening to exterminate humanity. Boyle named the U.S., Russia, France, Britain, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel. He reminded that “If mass extermination of human beings is a crime, the threat to commit mass extermination is also a crime.”

“The whole (George W.) Bush Doctrine of preventive warfare, which is yet to be officially repealed by Obama now after 18 months, was made by the Nazi lawyers for the Nazi defendants at Nuremberg, and it was rejected,” Boyle said.

He noted Article 2 of the UN Charter “prohibits both the threat and the use of force except in cases of legitimate self-defense” and the U.S. wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan, “do not qualify under that definition.” He adds the U.S. today is engaged in “ongoing international criminal activity” for “planning, preparation, solicitation, and conspiracy to commit Nuremberg crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide.”

What's more, “the design, research, testing, production, manufacture, fabrication, transportation, deployment, installation, storing, stockpile, sale, and purchase and the threat to use nuclear weapons are criminal under well-recognized principles of international law,” Boyle said.

MORE:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=21402

===================

15. Palin Warns of ‘Armageddon,’ ‘WW III’ in Newsmax Exclusive

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/
sarah-palin-newsmax-make/2010/10/11/id/373322

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, in an exclusive broadcast interview airing at 1 p.m. today on Newsmax.com, discusses her staunch opposition to President Barack Obama’s healthcare plans and socialistic policies, and reveals new details about a possible presidential run in 2012. She also warns that allowing Iran to acquire nuclear weapons could “lead to Armageddon” and the deaths of millions in a Third World War.

Read the full story and see excerpts from the broadcast:

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/
sarah-palin-newsmax-make/2010/10/11/id/373322

===========================

16. The Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence. The World is at the Precipice of another World War

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=21325

by Prof. Francis A. Boyle Global Research, October 6, 2010
XVIIIth Conference “Mut Zur Ethic”: Direct Democracy
Feldkirch, Austria, 4 September 2010

I am very happy to be speaking with you this evening. I want to express my gratitude to Zeit-Fragen for publishing the German language edition of my book The Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence (Clarity Press: 2002) which comes out now on the anniversary of the end of the Second World War. At this time 65 years ago, Japan surrendered to the United States after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the incineration of 250,000 completely innocent human beings.

My father was a Marine who invaded Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa, and was preparing to invade Mainland Japan. I was brought up to believe that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had saved my father’s life and thus made mine possible, although my father never raised me to be anti-Japanese or anti-German. But when I came to study international relations, I realized: This simply was not true. Indeed it was total propaganda by the United States government to justify nuclear terrorism and the mass-extermination of a quarter of a million human beings. Even Justice Pal in his dissent to the Tokyo Judgment said that the Japanese war criminals had nothing to their discredit as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which you can only compare to Nazi Acts.

Today the world is at a precipice of another world war. The United States government has committed acts of aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and has authorized, armed, equipped, and supplied Israel to commit acts of aggression, crimes against humanity, and outright genocide against Lebanon and Palestine. Today the United States government is threatening to attack Iran under the completely bogus pretext that they might have a nuclear weapon, which the International Atomic Energy has said is simply not true. If they attack Iran with the Israelis, a British think-tank has predicted they could exterminate 2.8 million Iranians! They are fully prepared -- the Americans and the Israelis -- to use tactical nuclear weapons.

MORE :
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=21325

===================

17. WATCH: Steven Staples on Canada’s secret military base fiasco

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5605&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 12 Oct 2010 06:10 AM PDT

======================

18. Japan protests against US nuclear test

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/146663.html

October 14, 2010

Mayors of Japanese nuclear-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have protested against a new nuclear test conducted by the United States in September.
"I am outraged by your trampling on the expectations and hopes of the A-bomb survivors and the vast majority of Earth's inhabitants and on behalf of the A-bombed city of Hiroshima, I vehemently protest," Hiroshima mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said in a letter to US President Barack Obama on Thursday.
The United States had carried out a subcritical atomic test in Nevada on September 15 under Obama, who received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for calling for a world without nuclear arms.
Nagasaki mayor Tomihisa Taue also expressed regret over the test, saying, "The experiment is a reversal from an international trend for a world without nuclear weapons."
Taue also planned to send a letter of protest to the US embassy as early as Thursday, according to Nagasaki city officials.
Japanese people earlier this year commemorated the 65th anniversary of the World War II nuclear bombings that killed more than 210,000 people.
Washington has never acceded to Japan's demands for an apology for the loss of thousands of innocent lives.
AGB/HRF

Related Stories:

Japan's apology for Hiroshima survivors - 2007

http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/18618.html

Hiroshima holds 65th A-bomb memorial - 2010

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/137648.html

Spain to host Hiroshima, Nagasaki show - 2007

http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/14537.html

1st US rep to go to Hiroshima ceremony - 2010

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/136604.html

=======================

19. No Nukes News - Oct. 15, 2010

“You can guarantee that mining uranium will lead to nuclear waste. You can’t guarantee that mining uranium will not lead to nuclear weapons.” – Anthony Albanese, Australian Labour Party, quoted in New York Times

“28 years after passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, 35 years after the repository search began, 53 years into commercial nuclear power, and 68 years after Fermi first split the atom during the Manhattan Project, the U.S. still has no safe, sound, permanent storage plan for high-level nuclear wastes.” - Kevin Kemps from Beyond Nuclear Radioactive Waste

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1-minute Action: With the click of a button, please send Premier McGuinty an email telling him that taxpayers and consumers should not pay for any nuclear cost overruns. Fixed price bids should be required. Invest in lower cost and lower risk options.

http://cleanairalliance.org/letter_to_dalton2

For more info:
http://www.cleanairalliance.org/node/881
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The myth of the peaceful atom
The connection between nuclear power and nuclear weapons proliferation is the inconvenient truth of the nuclear industry.

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the ... ceful-atom

And for more info:
http://www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/issues/nfc/
power-weapons/

Also, I have copies of Atomic Accomplice for sale which I could mail to you: http://paulmckay.com/ A must read book.
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Honey, I shrunk the Renaissance, Nuclear Revival, Climate Change & Reality
The “nuclear renaissance” has proven to be a promotion that cannot pass economic muster. If taxpayer support for a few first mover reactors won’t lead to meaningful climate legislation, it’s time to pull the plug.

http://www.electricitypolicy.com/bradford.pdf
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Nuclear plant wants to ship waste on river
Plan to recycle generators in Sweden sparks outcry
She said the amount of radioactivity in the generators exceeds the international atomic-energy limit by eight to 50 times.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20101007/
NEWS01/10070314/1002/NLETTER01/Nuclear-plant-wants-to-ship-waste-on-river?source=nletter-news

Ship of fools: Nuclear waste on the Great Lakes
Lake Ontario WaterKeeper’s report on the CNSC hearings into the transport of Bruce Power’s radioactive waste through the Great Lakes to Sweeden.

http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2010/10/15/
ship-of-fools-nuclear-waste-on-the-great-lakes/

Action Alert: Say no to shipping radioactive waste through the Great Lakes!
Send a letter here: it’ll only take 1 minute of your time!
From the Council of Canadians.

http://canadians.org/action/2010/great-lakes-1410.html

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Lepreau refit back to 'square one,' says expert
Decision to remove, correct and replace all calandria tubes could add years to New Brunswick’s nuclear refurbishment project

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/ ... le/1255464

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Nuclear renaissance (what renaissance?) continues to crash and burn
Anti-nuclear activists can be forgiven for launching into a chorus of "na na hey hey" today as another new U.S. reactor project bites the dust

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2010/10/9/
nuclear-renaissance-what-renaissance-continues-to-crash-and.html

Why? Because atomic power can't meet construction schedules and can't compete in an open energy market with either natural gas or renewables.

http://www.counterpunch.org/wasserman10122010.html
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Sluggish Economy Curtails Prospects for Building Nuclear Reactors

The government is hardly the only one to question the economics of nuclear power right now. The would-be builders of seven reactors around the country have deferred their projects in the last few months.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/business/
energy-environment/11power.html?_r=3&src=busln
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Who knew? World’s largest solar PV plant is now in Ontario

http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2010/09/30/
who-knew-worlds-largest-solar-power-plant-is-now-in-ontario/

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Renewables Gaining Ground Without Congress’ Help
Renewable energy is almost tied with nuclear power in terms of U.S. energy production. The latest figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Monthly Energy Review finds that renewable energy sources—biofuels, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar and wind—provided 11.14% of domestic U.S. energy production during the first six months of 2010.

http://www.emagazine.com/view/?5353
--------------------------------------------------------------

Seeking Input from Ontarians

The Ministry of Energy is "seeking input from Ontarians" as it updates the electricity-plan-that-never-was. One of the questions on the government on-line survey is "What role should nuclear power play in Ontario's future supply mix?" Tell 'em what you think! Phase out nuclear - Shut down coal - Conservation is the biggest and best "new" supply of electricity followed by renewables - We must move swiftly to 100% renewable grid!

Link to the questions is at http://www.mei.gov.on.ca/en/energy/

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Renewable Energy Produces Jobs – lots of them!
A new report from the German government's Federal Environment Ministry found that as of the end of 2009, there were 340,000 jobs in the German renewable energy industry.
This is more than double the figure for 2004 (160,000 jobs) and the report also predicts that this will continue to grow, so that by 2030, the gross employment will increase to more than half a million workers. Their modeling work also found that in the same period, the net employment effects of renewable energies in Germany are positive in almost all scenarios.

http://www.bmu.de/erneuerbare_energien/ ... /46538.php

Wind power to provide a fifth of world’s electricity by 2030 – and 3 million jobs!
In addition to environmental benefits, wind energy is becoming a substantial factor in economic development, providing more than 600,000 ‘green collar’ jobs today both in direct and indirect employment. By 2030, the number of jobs is projected to increase to over 3 million.

http://www.gwec.net/

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'Don't Worry, Be Happy': Canada Sees Climate Change Prosperity Instead of Calamity
The first comprehensive look at the expected impacts of climate change on Canada offers an embarrassing and misleading "don't worry, be happy" vision, citing more golf days and better access to northern deposits of oil and gas courtesy of global warming, critics say. "How can we (Canada) talk about profiting from climate change when most of the world will suffer devastating impacts, in part because of our emissions?" Harvey said. "It is disgusting."

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/10/08-5

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The Strangest Dream
The Strangest Dream tells the story of Joseph Rotblat, the only nuclear scientist to leave the Manhattan Project, the US gov’t’s program to build the first atomic bomb, on moral grounds. The film retraces the history of nuclear weapons, from the first nuclear test, in New Mexico, to Hiroshima, where we see survivors of the first atomic attack. Branded a traitor and spy, Rotblat went from designing atomic bobms to researching the medical uses of radiation. Together with Bertrant Russell he helped create the modern peace movement.

The film is now available in its entirety for free on the NFB website:

http://www.nfb.ca/film/strangest_dream

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German politician, environmental champion Hermann Scheer dies – Father of the Feed-in Tariff
Hermann Scheer, one of the world's leading advocates for solar power, has died at the age of sixty-six. The German economist and politician helped make Germany a renewable energy powerhouse and inspired many across the world to expand the use of solar power. Scheer had been member of the German Parliament for three decades and was the president of EUROSOLAR, the European Association for Renewable Energy. In 1999, he won the Right Livelihood Award for his "indefatigable work for the promotion of solar energy worldwide." When he received the award, he described solar energy as the energy of the people.

http://www.recycle.co.uk/news/2700000.html

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/10/15/
hermann_scheer_1944_2010_german_lawmaker

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Planet in Focus Environmental Film and Video Festival presents…

Land of Destiny
World Premiere - Director Brett Story in Attendance
Canada / 2010 / 78 min / Documentary
Sarnia, a petrochemical town in Southern Ontario known for its factories and hardworking people, is on the brink of de-industrialization and a high rate of unemployment. To make matters worse, there is ever-growing evidence of cancer and other health issues caused by environmental contamination. Land of Destiny is a beautifully filmed and compelling story about work, community, class and the dirty secrets that are finally coming to light.

U: Uranium
short - Canadian Premiere
USA / 2010 / 11 min / Documentary
English / Navajo with English subtitles
In the southwestern United States, millions of tons of radioactive waste from thousands of abandoned uranium mines have damaged water quality and public health. As new uranium mining developments are proposed, the people of the area are concerned about the government’s refusal to address the harmful and now visible effects of the uranium mining wave of the 40s and 50s.

Sat. Oct. 16, 7:15 pm, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto

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The 4th Revolution – Energy Autonomy
86 min., Germany
Toronto Premiere – Director in attendance
Sun. Oct. 17, 1:15 p.m.
Royal Ontario Museum (Avenue Road and Bloor) Toronto

After the “agrarian revolution,” the “industrial revolution” and the “digital revolution,” energy autonomy will be the fourth revolution, shifting power relations by democratizing power generation. Such is the persuasive argument of The 4th Revolution. Examining proponents and opponents of getting off the fossil and nuclear powered grid, the film highlights how changing to renewable sources is not only necessary but also possible. With discussions and examples from Mali to Denmark, the film moves the energy debate beyond CO2 emissions, and calls for the borderless democratization of energy generation. The energy turn is not a technological issue, but an ideological one based on power relations and ownership structures: whoever owns the power, controls the power.

http://planetinfocus.bside.com/2010/films/
the4threvolution_carlafechner_planetinfocus2010
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No Tar Sands Oil in B.C. Water
Sunday Oct. 17, 3 - 4:30PM
Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street (south east of College/Spadina), Toronto
The tar sands oil companies are trying to make Vancouver Harbour their crude oil shipping port. Join with people of BC in saying NO TANKS!

Sponsors: Code Pink Canada, Council of Canadians, Indigenous Environmental Network, Post Carbon Toronto, Science for Peace, Toronto Climate Campaign, Rabble.ca
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Burning Water – The Passionate Eye
Flammable tap water pits an Alberta farm family against Big Gas and the government.
Mon. Oct. 18, 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBC TV

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/passion ... case/2010/
burningwater/

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Order free anti-nuke and anti-coal postcards/leaflets to distribute to your friends and neighbours!
----------------------------------------------------------------

Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Tel: 416 926 1907 x 246
625 Church Street, #402
Toronto, ON M4Y 2G1
angela@cleanairalliance.org
www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca
www.cleanairalliance.org
No Nukes News
Health Power
Coal Must Go
=======================

20. A peace movement victory in court

http://www.truth-out.org/a-peace-moveme ... court63461

by John Dear SJ on Sep. 21, 2010
· On the Road to Peace
"Fourteen anti-war activists may have made history today in a Las Vegas courtroom when they turned a misdemeanor trespassing trial into a possible referendum on America's newfound taste for remote-controlled warfare." That's how one Las Vegas newspaper summed up our stunning day in court last Tuesday, Sept. 14, when fourteen of us stood trial for walking on to Creech Air Force Base last year on April 9, 2009 to protest the U.S. drones.
We went in hoping for the best and prepared for the worst. As soon as we started, the judge announced that he would not allow any testimony on international law, the necessity defense or the drones, only what pertained to the charge of "criminal trespassing."

With that, the prosecutors called forth a base commander and a local police chief to testify that we had entered the base, that they had given us warnings to leave, and that they arrested us. They testified that they remembered each one of us. Then they rested their case.

MORE:
http://www.truth-out.org/a-peace-moveme ... court63461

=========================

21. WIN! Harper agenda rejected by UN General Assembly (5 articles)

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4924

October 12, 2010
The CBC reports this afternoon that, “Canada has dropped its bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council after coming behind Portugal in second ballot voting Tuesday in New York. Canada dropped out of the race because it did not have the numbers on the second ballot - 78 to Portugal’s 113. A two-thirds majority is needed to win a seat. …Germany won one of two seats up for grabs in the first round of voting earlier Tuesday. …It is the first time that Canada has failed in its bid for a Security Council seat. Canada has been on the Security Council six times, roughly once a decade, since the 1940s.”

For the past 18 months the Council of Council of Canadians has argued that the Harper government does not deserve this seat because of its refusal to recognize the human right to water, the fact that almost every country in the world has signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and its dismal climate policy. Toronto Star columnist Olivia Ward recently wrote, “Small island states at risk of disappearing as the climate changes are unimpressed with the Harper government’s stance on global warming. And Ottawa’s failure to back overwhelmingly endorsed UN measures on water as a human right and aboriginal rights has also raised eyebrows.”

MORE: http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4924

= = = = =

Hurray! We lost – and the world has Harper’s number

http://murraydobbin.ca/2010/10/12/
hurray-we-lost-%E2%80%93-and-the-world-has-harper%E2%80%99s-number/

Posted: 12 Oct 2010 04:32 PM PDT

Stephen Harper’s death bed repentance regarding his hostile attitude towards the UN apparently didn’t fool enough delegations to get the suddenly coveted Security Council seat. (Teeny Port

by **Oscar** » Tue Oct 19, 2010 9:25 am

NUKE NEWS: October 19, 2010

1. HARDING: SASKATCHEWAN NOW TARGETED FOR NUCLEAR DUMP
2. Rock Solid? A scientific review of geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste
3. Bruce Power nuclear waste ruling delayed
4. Radioactive Fallout From Nuclear Testing and the Rise of Thyroid Cancer in the U.S.
5. Shocking YouTube video of Sept 16 2010 San Onofre Nuclear Regulatory Commission Hearing...
6. Stockhouse Short Report: U.S. junior in $10B nuclear power gambit
7. Byelection: Legacy of LeClerc not a priority with voters
8. WATCH: "Cameco Aboriginal Relations" video
9. FSIN will 'take a stand'
10. Saskatoon company clipped by fine
11. World Nuclear News - 15 & 18 October 2010
12. Point Lepreau delayed until fall 2012
13. Russia to help Venezuela build nuclear power station
14. Opposition to Planned Nuclear Power Reactor in Seta Inland Sea National Park (Japan)
15. Renewables Gaining Ground, Without Congress’ Help
16. SUZUKI: ‘The party is over’
17. Canada among nations leading depletion

==================

1. SASKATCHEWAN NOW TARGETED FOR NUCLEAR DUMP

http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/vie ... =1913#1913

By Jim Harding Published in R-Town News October 15, 2010
The industry-based Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has confirmed that two of the four Canadian communities that it is talking to about becoming a nuclear dump are in northern Saskatchewan; at Pinehouse and English River. The other two are in northwestern Ontario, much closer to the nuclear power plants along the Great lakes that produce almost all of the nuclear waste in Canada.
Speaking for the English River band, Councilor Bernie Eaglechild said that “nothing has been decided and talks are still at an early stage”, emphasizing that “the band can still back out at any time.” Pinehouse mayor, Mike Natomagan, who also heads the Kineepik Métis Local, had a similar message; that this “learn more opportunity does not commit the village or Métis local to any further steps.” This doesn’t mean “Pinehouse has said ‘yes’ to the project”.

NORTH BEING BRIBED

But can negotiating with the NWMO lead to informed consent. Under both international law and Canada’s Charter of Rights the “Duty to Consult” means there must be “free, prior and informed consent.” The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples makes it clear that this can’t involve monetary inducements such as the NWMO is using. Informed consent requires sufficient time to consider all relevant information, from all sides of the controversy, and not being bribed under the threat of losing benefits to another community.
And we know that northern communities are being bribed to take nuclear wastes. In November 2009 the NWMO met privately with all the Environmental Quality Committees (EQC) across the north. In its 2009 Report the government-run North Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee (NSEQC) said that the NWMO made “communities aware of the opportunities to host a nuclear waste management storage site.” It continued, “There will be incredible economic benefits to such a community, but suitable geology and accessibility are also factors.” Such bribery is outrageous and must be stopped.
The neo-colonial situation surrounding the uranium industry in the north will not and cannot encourage informed consent. Since 1991 Cameco has supported importing Ontario’s nuclear waste, including from its co-owned Bruce Power nuclear complex. It sees this as a lucrative business venture. It is now concentrating toxic, radioactive uranium tailings at its huge Key Lake mine site, and having Pinehouse, south of Key Lake, as a nuclear waste dump would fit in with a nuclear industry waste corridor in north central Saskatchewan. Prince Albert and La Ronge would become the gateway to nuclear wastes, not a gateway to northern fishing, hunting and eco-tourism.

NOT MORALLY OBLIGED

A few people cleverly argue that we are morally obliged to take back nuclear wastes from nuclear plants that use uranium from Saskatchewan. This is absurd and would lead us to become an international nuclear dump for the U.S., France, Japan and many other countries that buy uranium from here. Also, Ontario should be responsible for its own nuclear wastes and should have had a nuclear waste plan before it built all its nuclear power plants. Furthermore, after the UDP consultations, the Saskatchewan government decided not to support Bruce Power’s proposal to build nuclear plants along the North Saskatchewan River. One of the main reasons Saskatchewan people opposed nuclear power was because they did not want to create nuclear wastes.
So why are these northern communities even considering a nuclear dump? English River’s Councilor Eaglechild says “the band is tired of seeing resources hauled out of its traditional land without receiving any payments for it”, and Pinehouse’s mayor Natomagan notes the recent Conference Board study showing northern Saskatchewan having the second lowest median income of any Canadian region. This concern about the wealth of resource development not being shared with the north is compelling and, along with the cumulative ecological effects of uranium mine expansion, was the main reason why the Joint Federal Provincial Panel in the 1990s recommended against two uranium mines going ahead. But a nuclear dump makes no economic sense compared with much cheaper sustainable options such as adding value to the renewable sectors in the north. Creating a deep geological repository to store nuclear wastes would be even more capital-intensive than uranium mining. And the Conference Board study that Pinehouse’s mayor refers to, confirms that the north remained amongst Canada’s poorest regions, even though it has been the highest uranium-producing and most profitable uranium mining region in the world.

DOES NDP OPPOSE NUCLEAR DUMP?

The question we should be asking is: “why these northern Métis and First Nations communities are so hard-pressed that they have to consider bringing deadly radioactive wastes into the north to create a few toxic jobs”? An even more fundamental question is: “why the NWMO is able to end-run the people of Saskatchewan and negotiate the location of a nuclear dump in the province solely with a northern Métis or First Nations community?” Why are the rest of us being left out of the process?
In 1987, the NDP government of Manitoba acted to protect the long-term public and environmental health of its people by legislating a ban on the importation and storage of nuclear wastes. Quebec did the same thing in 2008. Do Saskatchewan people deserve anything less?
Just why is the Wall-led government allowing the industry’s NWMO to travel around the North and privately negotiate the location of a nuclear dump that will affect people throughout the whole province? At the June 2009 NDP convention held after Lingenfelter was elected as party leader the delegates passed a resolution that an NDP government will not consider “storing nuclear wastes under any circumstances.” This resolution was co-sponsored by Regina’s Douglas Park constituency which later elected Lingenfelter as an MLA. So when will the NDP opposition and its leader start standing up for the rights of Saskatchewan people on this matter? Have provincial politics become so personal and vindictive that vital matters of ecology and justice aren’t worth the effort?
The Wall government’s own 2009 public consultations on the Uranium Development Partnership (UDP) found that, of the thousands who participated, over 80% opposed bringing nuclear wastes to the province. At its last provincial conference the United Church called for a ban on nuclear wastes. This public opinion, including, coming from what the government itself called the most extensive public consultations ever held on the nuclear industry in Saskatchewan, must be respected. We now need a provincial ban on transporting and storing nuclear wastes. It is the right thing to do!
Next time I will look at the risks transporting nuclear wastes from southern Ontario to northern Saskatchewan.

=====================

2. Rock Solid? A scientific review of geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste

http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/reports/
rock-solid-a-scientific-review

Dr Helen Wallace (GeneWatch UK) 15 September 2010

[ Download review:

http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/eu-unit/
press-centre/reports/rock-solid-a-scientific-review.pdf ]

European leaders are being misled over the safety of underground disposal of highly dangerous nuclear waste which could poison groundwaters for centuries, a new study concludes.
Worldwide, thirteen countries are actively pursuing long-term waste management programmes for high-level radioactive wastes resulting from nuclear electricity generation, but no country has yet completed an operational geological disposal facility for such wastes.

The European Commission Joint Research Centre’s 2009 conclusion that the technology of geological disposal has developed well enough to proceed with stepwise implementation is based largely on a description of ongoing research projects and nuclear agency reports, and references only three papers published in scientific journals. Further, the Centre’s report falsely claims that it is mainly due to a lack of public acceptance that repository programmes in Germany and the UK have (temporarily) foundered, rather than because of safety issues. Similarly, the statement of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) that “geological disposal is technically feasible” and that a “geological disposal system provides a unique level and duration of protection for high activity, long-lived radioactive waste” is based on the collective views of its Radioactive Waste Management Committee, not on an analysis of the existing scientific evidence.
Based on a literature review of papers in scientific journals, the present report provides an overview of the status of research and scientific evidence regarding the long-term underground disposal of highly radioactive wastes.
This review identifies a number of phenomena that could compromise the containment barriers, potentially leading to significant releases of radioactivity:

MORE: http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/press-centre/reports/
rock-solid-a-scientific-review

===================

3. Bruce Power nuclear waste ruling delayed

From: Gordon Edwards
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 10:43 PM
Subject: CBC: Bruce Power nuclear waste ruling delayed

Re: Shipping 1600 tonnes of radioactive waste from Georgian Bay to Sweden, through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
The 16 radioactive steam generators, containing substantial amounts of plutonium and other dangerous radioactive contaminants, would be disassembled in Sweden, and most of the contaminated metal would be melted, blended with non-radioactive metal, and sold as scrap intended for unrestricted use in commercial products of all kinds -- without any indication of its radioactive nature.
During a 2006-2007 Environmental Assessment, both Bruce Power and the CNSC (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission) stated that the steam generators were radioactive waste items that could not be recycled "for safety and environmental reasons". Instead, both bodies stated that the radioactive steam generators would be stored on site until 2043, and then buried in a deep underground cavern intended for the permanent storage of nuclear wastes.
But in January 2010 Bruce Power applied to the CNSC for a license to transport the nuclear wastes to Sweden. The original intention was to have a single CNSC staff person issue the license without any public hearings, and without involving the five CNSC Commissioners.
But massive public expressions of concern and opposition -- from mayors of 100 municipalities, from aboriginal authorities, and from over 60 NGOs in Canada, the USA and overseas -- resulted in two days of public hearings in Ottawa to accommodate the views of almost 80 interveners.
The CNSC has now decided to allow 30 more days for interveners to file supplementary interventions -- deadline November 22 -- based on a new CNSC staff document. Thus there cannot be a decision on granting a license before the last week of November; this makes it unlikely that the steam generators can be transported anywhere in this calendar year.
Gordon Edwards.
==============================
Bruce Power nuclear waste ruling delayed

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/10/18/
bruce-power-nuclear-waste-sweden.html

Monday, October 18, 2010
Bruce Power will have to wait a bit longer to see if it has permission to ship 16 radiation-contaminated steam generators through the Great Lakes and down the St. Lawrence River en route to Sweden.
The company has asked the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to approve the plan to move the generators from its plant in Tiverton, Ont., on the shores of Lake Huron.
The CNSC had public hearings on the issue at the end of September and was supposed to make a decision by Nov. 11.
On Monday, however, the commission allowed an extra 30 days for 79 recognized interveners — most of whom are against the proposal — to read and comment on new details of the plan that were released Monday.
Interveners now have until Nov. 22 to do that.
The extra information released Monday looks at three areas of the controversial plan that many opponents say have not been properly addressed. They include questions about the environmental impact of shipping boilers that contain radioactive material, scenarios for dealing with an accident, and more details about the rules for moving the material through international water.

MORE: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/10/18/
bruce-power-nuclear-waste-sweden.html

==================

4. Radioactive Fallout From Nuclear Testing and the Rise of Thyroid Cancer in the U.S.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-alvarez/
radioactive-fallout-from_b_762673.html

Robert Alvarez Institute for Policy Studies Posted: October 14, 2010 11:22 AM
According to a recent New York Times article, thyroid cancer in the U.S. has been on the rise for nearly 40 years.
The long-standing explanation that this is due to better diagnostics is no longer accepted. This also means that the impacts of radioactive iodine fallout from nuclear weapons testing and Chernobyl cannot be so readily ruled out.
With a half-life of 8.5 days, Iodine-131 rapidly contaminates air, vegetation and milk supplies. Because it is absorbed mostly in the body's thyroid, radioactive iodine has been linked to thyroid cancer and other types of thyroid damage in humans for several decades. It takes about 90 days for the radioactivity of I-131 to diminish to very small levels. Thyroid cancer can have a latency period as long as 38 years.
According to the National Cancer Institute in 1992, about 150 million curies of radioactive iodine was released in open air from nuclear testing in Nevada, causing heavy contamination of the nation's milk supplies from the early 1950's to the early 1960's. This is more than 20 times the amount estimated to have been released by the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. At the time of open air testing, millions of children were drinking this contaminated milk. In the early 1950's when radioactive fallout was over-exposing film in cardboard made with contaminated straw, the Eastman Kodak company secretly complained and was given routine warnings by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The public was never warned by the U.S. government about the dangers of consuming milk it was contaminating in its quest to amass a nuclear arsenal.

MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-alvarez/
radioactive-fallout-from_b_762673.html

===================

5. Shocking YouTube video of Sept 16 2010 San Onofre Nuclear Regulatory Commission Hearing...

http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=sdY7TgK0Yjw>http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=sdY7TgK0Yjw

10/18/10

Dear Readers,
San Onofre is currently at or near the bottom of the heap of well-run nuke plants.　 The first speaker in this clip is a licensed nuclear reactor operator describing the ongoing lack of a "culture of safety" at the local nuclear power plant.　
The second speaker is Ace Hoffman, a local citizen.
Many of the plant's problems have been ongoing for many years, and even the NRC has been aware of them for some time now. However, nothing the reactor owners, operators, or regulators have been able to do so far has fixed the "culture of cover-up" (and culture of CYA) that pervades the plant and in fact, by many metrics, the problems just keep getting worse!　
Meanwhile, a billion-dollar upgrade to Unit III is being started, the land where Unit I was is being turning into a radioactive graveyard for nuclear reactor cores, and numerous critical parts will be replaced with "new" parts made in Japan and around the world, of unknown quality.　 The new steam generators, for example, are EXPECTED to start leaking within just a few years, and will have to plugged up one tube at a time, and each leak will release tritium and other radioactive poisons into the environment... just another day at a nuke plant.

This video clip was recorded at Dana Point, California by the second speaker and his crew.
Ace Hoffman
Author, The Code Killers:
An Expose of the Nuclear Industry
Free download:　 acehoffman.org
Blog: acehoffman.blogspot.com
YouTube: youtube.com/user/AceHoffman
phone: (800) 551-2726;　 (760) 720-7261
address: PO Box 1936, Carlsbad, CA 92018
Subscribe to my free newsletter today!
Email: ace [at] acehoffman.org

======================

6. Stockhouse Short Report: U.S. junior in $10B nuclear power gambit

http://www.stockhouse.com/Community-News/2010/Oct/7/
Stockhouse-Short-Report--U-S--junior-in-$10B-nucle

Observers skeptical about AEHI’s plan to build a nuclear power plant in rural Idaho
By Peter Kennedy
U.S. Bulletin Board company Alternate Energy Holdings Inc.
(OTO: AEHI, Stock Forum) wants to build a nuclear power plant in Idaho, an ambitious plan that could cost in the neighbourhood of US$8-$10 billion, a company spokesman said.
This seems like a big stretch for a company with zero revenue and a stock price that traded at 80 cents on Wednesday, giving AEHI a market value of $260 million, based on the 320 million shares outstanding.
The fact that AEHI has embarked on its third attempt to secure a site in Idaho means that investors who paid up to $1.45 for the stock are taking a huge gamble, since there is no way of knowing whether or not the project will go ahead.
Documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicate that AEHI had only $8 million in cash and short term investments at the close of the three months ended June, 30, 2010 when it reported a loss of $1.7 million or $0.01 per share on zero revenue.
That compared to a year earlier loss of $1.2 million or $0.01 on zero revenue.
Still, AEHI says it wants to build a 3,000 megawatt nuclear power plant in rural Payette County, Idaho, on property located near the Oregon border. Payette County has a population of 21,000.

MORE:
http://www.stockhouse.com/Community-News/2010/Oct/7/
Stockhouse-Short-Report--U-S--junior-in-$10B-nucle

===================

7. Byelection: Legacy of LeClerc not a priority with voters

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/
todays-paper/Byelection+Legacy+LeClerc+priority+with+voters/
3682239/story.html

THE STARPHOENIX OCTOBER 16, 2010
The main issue she is raising in her campaign is the prospect of a nuclear waste storage facility being located in northern Saskatchewan.
The village of Pinehouse has signalled its interest to the Nuclear Waste Management Organizations in becoming home to such a facility, although it would have many hurdles to jump -- including winning support of the province -- before it became reality.
"We are raising awareness for the voters of Saskatoon Northwest and all the people of our province that a nuclear waste dump is coming to Saskatchewan," said Shasko, a University of Regina student who is also leader of the provincial Green party.

MORE: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/toda ... th+voters/
3682239/story.html

====================

8. WATCH: "Cameco Aboriginal Relations" video:

http://media.cameco.com/common/video/
cameco_indigenous_relationship/index.html

================

9. FSIN will 'take a stand'

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/FSIN ... ake+stand/
3669874/story.html

First Nations should share in resources: chief
BY NEIL SCOTT, SASKATCHEWAN NEWS NETWORK; REGINA LEADER-POST OCTOBER 14, 2010
First Nations people deserve the right to share in Saskatchewan's resource revenues and are prepared "to take a stand" to defend that right, the head of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations said Wednesday.
FSIN Chief Guy Lonechild was at times conciliatory but at other times more emphatic when he discussed a dispute about resources during an appearance at a meeting Wednesday of the Regina and District Chamber of Commerce.
Asked by reporters about the possibility of First Nations protests if an agreement about resource revenues cannot be reached with the provincial government, Lonechild said "There will be a lot more than protests, I can tell you that.
"If you want First Nations to take a stand, we'll take a stand."
While Lonechild didn't go into full details about exactly what he meant by those statements, he did allude to possible legal action to protect the interests of First Nations people if a takeover of the Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. occurs.
But legal action "is only one option," Lonechild said, adding "nobody wins when you go to court."
Negotiations to resolve disputes about First Nations' entitlement to resource revenues would be a better way to resolve the issue, Lonechild said.
"What we need is for the province to come to the table in a meaningful way," Lonechild said.
Whatever the process, Lonechild made it clear he believes First Nations people have treaty entitlements to resource revenues that need to be recognized and provided.
But Premier Brad Wall said he doesn't agree First Nations have any jurisdiction over natural resources in Saskatchewan.

MORE: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/FSIN ... d/3669874/
story.html

====================

10. Saskatoon company clipped by fine

http://www2.canada.com/saskatoonstarpho ... /business/
story.html?id=bdc347eb-ed57-4dea-b770-207fb47a5138

Titan Uranium burned hazardous materials in April 2009
The StarPhoenix Published: Saturday, October 16, 2010
Titan Uranium Inc. of Saskatoon has been fined more than $85,000 after it was found guilty of burning hazardous materials in northern Saskatchewan.
The provincial government said this week the company has been convicted in La Ronge provincial court of one count under the Crown Resource Land Regulations. Titan has been fined a total of $85,676.
After receiving a call about a suspicious fire in April 2009, Saskatchewan's Ministry of Environment sent conservation officers to a remote area on Sutton Lake. Officers found hazardous waste materials had been set on fire and left to burn at a vacant resource exploration camp. The find led to the charges against Titan.
The province says the local company and the Environment Ministry have negotiated a "creative" settlement agreement. Titan divides its fine into a number of payments.
The deal, designed to protect the environment and promote resource stewardship, has Titan making an $11,000 donation to SaskTip and $11,000 to the Western States Project, which provides environmental enforcement training for ministry staff.

MORE:
http://www2.canada.com/saskatoonstarpho ... /business/
story.html?id=bdc347eb-ed57-4dea-b770-207fb47a5138

=====================

11. World Nuclear News - 15 & 18 October 2010

All Links are on website…

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/default.aspx
　
CORPORATE:　Constellation moves for quick resolution
Electricite de France (EdF) may pursue Calvert Cliffs 3 alone after Constellation offered a cut-price sale of its interest in the project.　
　
NUCLEAR POLICIES: UK government clears path for nuclear new build
Revised draft national Energy Policy Statements have been presented to UK parliament by energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne. He announced progress in ensuring that nuclear energy will play a significant role in meeting the UK's future energy needs.　
　
NUCLEAR POLICIES:　Russian reactors slated for Venezuela
Russia has agreed to move towards building a nuclear power plant in Venezuela as part of the latest set of trade agreements between the nations.
= = = = =
World Nuclear News – October 15, 2010

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/default.aspx

CORPORATE:　BNFL reaches its end
British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) is to be finally abolished, said the UK government as it carried out a major cull of public bodies. The nuclear giant, formed in 1971, has been systematically dismantled since 2002.
New Nuclear: Another Bellefonte contract
Babcock and Wilcox has been contracted to design and build two steam generators for Bellefonte unit 1, pending a final decision by Tennessee Valley Authority on the completion of the partially constructed reactor.

INDUSTRY TALK:　New schedule for Point Lepreau
Work to refurbish the Point Lepreau Candu 6 reactor should be complete in September to November 2012, said owner NB Power and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL). The date is six months later than the previous schedule due to the recently announced need for AECL to remove all 380 new calandria tubes and polish the tube sheets to ensure an adequate fit. Originally the date set for the re-tubing part of the project was July 2009, but AECL president Hugh MacDiarmid said this was "overly ambitious from the start." After retubing is complete four months of commissioning will follow before Point Lepreau comes back in time for winter heating needs.

MORE NEWS: http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/default.aspx

=====================

12. Point Lepreau delayed until fall 2012

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/ ... 010/10/14/
nb-point-lepreau-aecl-nbpower-deadline-241.html

October 14, 2010 CBC News
The $1.4-billion Point Lepreau refurbishment project is now delayed until the fall of 2012, NB Power announced on Thursday.
The $1.4-billion Point Lepreau refurbishment project is now delayed until the fall of 2012, NB Power said Thursday.
The refurbishment of Atlantic Canada's only nuclear reactor is now three years behind schedule.

MORE:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/ ... 010/10/14/
nb-point-lepreau-aecl-nbpower-deadline-241.html

===================

13. Russia to help Venezuela build nuclear power station

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/ ... venezuela/
index.html?hpt=T2

By the CNN Wire Staff October 15, 2010 1:59 p.m. EDT
NEW: Venezuela says it's on the path to getting energy from nuclear and other sources
Russia plans to help Venezuela build a nuclear power station The two countries signed an agreement to that effect Friday Medvedev says "our intentions are absolutely pure and open"
Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russia and Venezuela signed an agreement Friday calling for Russia to build a nuclear power station in the South American nation.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez formally signed the deal here after reaching an agreement in April.
It's the latest example of increasingly close cooperation between the two nations on matters of energy, trade and defense -- a relationship that has raised eyebrows in the United States.
"I don't know who might wince from this news," Medvedev said at a news conference. "The president (Chavez) said that there are countries which may have different feelings about it. But I'd like to say that our intentions are absolutely pure and open."
Venezuela is on the path toward developing nuclear, solar and wind energy, which are trends "of high interest to the entire world," Chavez said, according to the state-run Venezuelan News Agency.
Medvedev said Russia sees atomic energy cooperation as one of its international priorities and that it builds nuclear power stations around the world.
In addition to helping Venezuela build the nuclear power station, Russia will build a research reactor to produce isotopes for peaceful industries and medicine, according to the text of the agreement.
Russia and Venezuela have increased their cooperation on a number of fronts in recent years. Last year, Russia approved $2.2 billion in credit to Venezuela to finance the purchase of 92 Soviet-era T-72 tanks and short-range missiles; Venezuela also planned to buy an anti-aircraft weapons system with a range of 185 miles (300 km).
Chavez defended the arms purchase.
"We are not going to attack anyone," Chaves said then. "Those are only defense instruments because we are going to defend the nation from any threat, from wherever it comes."

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/ ... venezuela/
index.html?hpt=T2

======================

14. Opposition to Planned Nuclear Power Reactor in Seta Inland Sea National Park (Japan)

From: Gordon Edwards <ccnr@web.ca>
Date: October 17, 2010 4:04:46 PM EDT (CA)
To: sdaisuke@rice.ocn.ne.jp
Dear Japanese friends:
The Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility supports your struggle against the construction of one or more nuclear power reactors in the Seta Inland Sea National Park, not far from the city of Hiroshima. 　
In particular, the CCNR endorses the International Joint Statement　to the Delegates for the COP 10 on this very subject, in solidarity　with　the Japanese organizations and other organizations from many　countries around the world who share our concerns.
Nuclear reactors require enormous quantities of water to operate, and that water is returned to the environment at a much warmer　temperature and　with an ever-growing radioactive contamination　from radionuclides that are released from the nuclear station. Neither of these environmental insults should be tolerated in a National Park.
Routine radioactive releases from all current generation nuclear reactors include large quantities of tritium (radioactive hydrogen), a material　which　freely enters into all living things, some of it being incorporated into organic molecules inside the body, including DNA　molecules. 　
Because tritium is chemically identical with ordinary　non-radioactive　hydrogen, radioactive water containing tritium　cannot be filtered or　treated using available technology so as to　remove the radioactivity　from the water. 　When ingested by a pregnant woman (or animal)　tritium crosses the placenta and enters into the tissues of the fetus, where it does harm to the cells of the developing infant.
In addition to tritium, large amounts of radioactive carbon-14 are also routinely released into both the air and the water surrounding the operational nuclear reactor. 　Since tritium and carbon-14 both have long half-lives (13 years for tritium, 6000 years for carbon-14) and since carbon and hydrogen are the basic building blocks of all organic molecules upon which living things depend, these two radioactive pollutants will leave a radioactive footprint that will　have an impact on generations of humans and non-humans　to come.
There are also dozens of radioactive materials which are released in much smaller amounts on a routine basis -- and on a much larger scale during an accident. 　These are released into both the air and the water, and most varieties enter into the food chain and provide a source of radioactive contamination for many hundreds of years after the reactor　has　been completely shut down.　
We wish you all the best in your struggle to prevent this project from going ahead.
Yours in solidarity for a sustainable future,
Gordon Edwards, Ph.D., President,
Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility.

= = = = =

No new nuclear plant at Kaminoseki upon the COP 10 [Urgent petition from Japan]

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2010/10/
petition-from-japan-no-new-nuclear.html

From:"Makiko SATO" <seamesky@sand.ocn.ne.jp>
To:"Makiko SATO" <seamesky@sand.ocn.ne.jp>
Subject: asking for endorsement for the 28-year struggle against a new nuclear power plant project in a National Park　
Date:Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:35:44 +0900
Friends,
Below is a support movement, initiated in Hiroshima, for the 28-year struggle mainly by fishermen living on an island in the Inland Sea, where a new nuclear power plant project, the global-largest level, has been proposed in the tiny coastal area in the prefecture of Yamaguchi facing the Inland Sea, but prevented from proceeding by the local opposition.
The Inland Sea, where opposing locals have been for some time staging their demonstration and even physical prevention, paddling kayaks, is the first National Park in Japan.　　
Here in Japan, there is another nuclear-related big issue, that is, the planned reprocessing system of the radioactive waste in a fast breeder　reactor, where mixed fuel of plutonium and uranium, processed out of nuclear waste from　normal nuke-power plants in Japan, will be burned when the defect-ridden reactor, which has been halted since 14 years ago, then resumed, only to be halted again, to resume operation aimed to be full-fledged in two years.
One of the schemers of the reprocessing system has recently admitted on TV that the fast breeder reactor is 'potencial nuclear deterrent of Japan.' That is why this support movement includes some Hiroshima citizens seriously concerned about nuclear and depleted uranium bombs.
People from various fields, including achademics, journalists, are trying to stop this below Kaminoseki project, but still cannot stop our government and the relating company.　
If your organization can give endorsement within 27 hours from now, please help.
The deadline is 12:00 am 18th, Oct Japan Time.
Thank you for your reading and understanding.
Makiko Sato
[Urgent petition from Japan]
No new nuclear plant at Kaminoseki upon the COP 10
Text sent from Junko Okura on Oct. 16, 2010

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2010/10/
petition-from-japan-no-new-nuclear.html

The Chugoku Electric Power Company, which is planning to build a new nuclear plant at Kaminoseki in the Seto Inland Sea National Park, is about to start the landfill work while the Japanese Government is hosting COP15.
Although the area is one of the biodiversity hotspots in Japan, the government is silently approving this destructive development, or rather is backing it strongly,　based on its pro-nuclear policies.
Please read the appeal below and send the endorsement of your organization by 24:00 (in Japan) of 18th to sdaisuke@rice.ocn.ne.jp
The strong opposition movement of local residents has continued for 28 years. You can see some pictures of their struggle in the blogs below (only in Japanese language).

http://blog.shimabito.net/ http://ameblo.jp/nijinokayaker/

Some young activists has started hunger-strike against the landfill work.

http://blog.7gwalk.org/?eid=1261912
Thanks!
Junko Okura
=============================

International Joint Statement to the Delegates for the COP 10 in solidarity with Hiroshima-Kaminoseki Link

BIODIVERSITY is Endangered by a Proposed Nuclear Plant Near Hiroshima.
Please put it high on the agenda at the COP10 in Japan.
The Chugoku Electric Power Company, based in Hiroshima, is trying to construct a nuclear plant at Kaminoseki in the Seto Inland Sea National Park, a BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT.
This project can irrevocably damage the pristine environment for life by
: replacing sea water with LANDFILL
: RAISING sea water TEMPERATURE
: risking devastating EARTHQUAKES (concentrated active faults around the site)
We are also concerned about radioactive contamination and internal RADIATION exposure from low dose radiation release.
We urge you to make Kaminoseki an issue in the conference, and put pressure on the Japanese government to take serious measures for protecting the biodiversity.
= = = =
Letters of Endorsement (on website)

=====================

15. Renewables Gaining Ground, Without Congress’ Help

http://www.emagazine.com/view/?5353

October 4, 2010 By Brita Belli
Renewable energy is almost tied with nuclear power in terms of U.S. energy production. The latest figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Monthly Energy Review finds that renewable energy sources—biofuels, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar and wind— provided 11.14% of domestic U.S. energy production during the first
six months of 2010. Nuclear power provided 11.19%.

MORE: http://www.emagazine.com/view/?5353

======================

16. SUZUKI: ‘The party is over’

http://www.prairiemessenger.ca/10_13_2010/
Ecoshift_10_13_10.html

By James Buchok
WINNIPEG — The human race is in a huge car speeding toward a brick wall, says renowned environmental activist David Suzuki, and all we can do is argue over who gets to drive.
“Some of us care about stopping the car, but we’re locked in the trunk,” Suzuki said, addressing the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s EcoShift environmental awareness event Sept. 26.
EcoShift was a day of education and demonstrations on composting, recycling and home retrofitting, with environmental activities for children and a green vendor showcase with local businesses, all held at the Asper Jewish Community Campus. That evening Suzuki addressed an audience of about 1,000 people at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue.
In his welcoming remarks, Rabbi Alan Green suggested that it was appropriate to have Suzuki speak in a house of prayer because the evening was dedicated to “not just our own immediate dreams and desires but the dreams and desires of the whole world, the universe and the Creator. I believe we are here to pray, whether we intended to or not.”

MORE:
http://www.prairiemessenger.ca/10_13_2010/
Ecoshift_10_13_10.html

===================

17. Canada among nations leading depletion

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology/
Canada+among+nations+leading+depletion/3669826/story.html

Planet cannot sustain consumption of natural resources, report says
BY MIKE DE SOUZA, POSTMEDIA NEWSOCTOBER 14, 2010
- - - -
You can download the Living Planet Report 2010 at:

http://wwf.ca/newsroom/reports/living_p ... t_2010.cfm
- - - -
Humans are consuming natural resources faster than the planet can keep up, led in part by Canadians who have the seventh largest ecological footprint in the world, says a report released on Wednesday.
The Living Planet 2010 report, conducted by WWF International, a global environmental research organization, says that humans would now need 1.5 planets to sustain their consumption patterns.
Breaking it down to nationalities, Canadians are consuming at a pace that's 2.5 times greater than the average global citizen, the study suggests.
"Exhaustion of natural resources has already happened locally in some places, for example the collapse of cod stocks in Newfoundland in the 1980s," said the report. "At present, people are often able to shift their sourcing when this happens -- moving to a new fishing ground or forest, clearing new land for farming or targeting a different population or a still-common species. But at current consumption rates, these resources will eventually run out, too -- and some ecosystems will collapse even before the resource is completely gone."
The report, which evaluates the health of the planet, was produced with the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network. It measures the health of almost 8,000 populations of more than 2,500 species showing a 30 per cent drop in biodiversity "stock" since 1970, with the tropics showing a 60 per cent decline in less than 40 years.

MORE:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology/
Canada+among+nations+leading+depletion/3669826/story.html

by **Oscar** » Mon Nov 01, 2010 1:20 pm

NUKE NEWS – November 1, 2010

1. Call for events around the International Day of Action Against Depleted Uranium Weapons - November 6, 2010
2. New Report on Uranium Weapons published by UN Secretary General
3. Shipping Generators through Great Lakes – Recent Articles
4. Breaking News: Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign
5. Open letter to the leaders of Nunavut On the health implications of opening the territory to uranium mining
6. BREAKING NEWS - Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign
7. Green Energy Upgrade Would Protect Ontarians from Rising Nuclear Costs
8. Exploration and exploitation of uranium in northern Quebec: AENQ-CSQ takes position against after consulting its members
9. No new partner at Calvert Cliffs as Constellation exits
10. 197 suicides and 1,733 deaths at India's nuclear establishments in last 15 yrs
11. New from Greenpeace: Rock Solid/ Gen III waste report
12. WATCH: Don't Nuke Green Energy Postering Blitz
13. New Draft EU Directive on Radioactive Waste Disposal
14. Hydraulic fracturing - 'fracking' - mobilizes uranium in marcellus shale – 2 articles
15. WATCH: German anti-nuke demonstration
16. Recent Ceasefire.ca Articles
17. Word warriors letter #108 – Oppose the $16 billion F-35 stealth fighter jets
18. Take action! SUPPORT BILL C-300 from KAIROS

===================

1. Call for events around the International Day of Action Against Depleted Uranium Weapons - November 6, 2010

From: ICBUW Office
<mailto:office@bandepleteduranium.org
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 4:03 PM
Subject: ICBUW calls on its members and friends to promote an event on depleted uranium this November.
November 6th is the International Day of Action Against Depleted Uranium Weapons. It also happens to be the United Nations' Day for Prevention of the Exploitation of the Environment during Wars and Armed Conflicts.
Each year ICBUW calls on its membership to help highlight the issue through actions and events during November. In the past this has included direct action, protests at factories, firing ranges and embassies, letter writing campaigns, photo shoots, petition signings and symposia. The options open to you are limited only by your imagination.
This year, results of the UN First Committee vote on the new resolution calling for transparency
(see:

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/343.html for background) will be available from November 2nd and posted on the ICBUW site. States get a second chance to vote at the General Assembly in late November so if your country has voted against or abstained on the text, you may wish to use your event as an opportunity to raise awareness of this.
Getting media coverage of your event is crucial, for tips on how to get the message out, try using this handy guide:

http://www.urban75.com/Action/media.html

Plans are already underway for an action at the French DU testing range at Bourges, while in the UK, the Uranium Weapons Network are planning an event in London to raise awareness of the ongoing lack of transparency over the use of DU.
Please contact ICBUW with information about your planned event, we would also like photos and reports of events that occur throughout November.

MORE: http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/346.html

============================

2. New Report on Uranium Weapons published by UN Secretary General

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo:
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=70973

International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons

October 20, 2010 - In contrast to the previous report, more countries appear to accept that uranium weapons are a matter of concern, and several would support specific international restrictions on their use. Belgium mentioned their domestic ban, and the more recent law banning financial investment in uranium weapons, and also signalled that it is willing to discuss legislation with other states at the international level. Panama’s report calls for the use of uranium to be restricted to civilian purposes and Lithuania stated its support for a moratorium on the use of uranium weapons...

==================

3. Shipping Generators through Great Lakes – Recent Articles

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission delays Great Lakes shipments
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5020

October 19, 2010
CBC reports that, “Bruce Power will have to wait a bit longer to see if it has permission to ship 16 radiation-contaminated steam generators through the Great Lakes and down the St. Lawrence River en route to Sweden. …The CNSC had public hearings on the issue at the end of September and was supposed to make a decision by Nov. 11.” The Canadian Press notes, “It’s (now) encouraging the 79 participants (including the Council of Canadians) in a hearing held last month on the proposed shipment to file supplementary written submissions by Nov. 22.”

MORE: http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5020

= = = = = =

ACTION ALERT: Say no to shipping radioactive waste through the Great Lakes!

http://www.canadians.org/action/2010/gr ... -1410.html

October 14, 2010
Dear friends,
Bruce Power has made an application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for a licence to ship 16 100-tonne radioactive steam generators through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway to Sweden. The licence is required because the shipment does not meet packaging requirements and exceeds internationally set limits for radioactive levels by as high as 50 times. The Great Lakes holds nearly 20% of the world's freshwater. They provide drinking water to 40 million people in surrounding areas. If the CNSC approves this shipment, it could set a dangerous precedent for regularly shipping radioactive waste through the Great Lakes.
Bruce Power plans to recycle 90% of the 16 steam generators by contracting Swedish company Studsvik to ship, decontaminate, melt down and sell the metal on consumer markets. Studsvik will return 10% of the most radioactive parts to Bruce Power. Since there are 64 steam generators slated for recycling, these shipments pose a threat to the Great Lakes on the estimated eight trips.
The International Institute of Concern for Public Health has noted that radionuclides found in Great Lakes water, including tritium, carbon-14, cesium and long-lived iodine-129, pose serious health hazards even at low levels. An accident on the Great Lakes would further contribute to radioactivity and pollution in the Great Lakes.
Bruce Power failed to consult adequately with some First Nation communities and municipalities along the travel route.
There is a growing network of environmental and non-governmental organizations, First Nation communities, several U.S. senators and city mayors that oppose this shipment and highlight the risks to our fresh water sources. Nearly 80 groups and individuals made written submissions to the CNSC with the majority of them opposing the shipments. Half of the groups spoke at the CNSC's public hearing on September 28-29, 2010. Intervenors raised many unanswered questions and pointed to Bruce Power's inadequate emergency plans, which failed to include an emergency response for a sinking ship. The CNSC normally makes a decision within 30 business days (November 11, 2010) but may delay a decision in complex cases.
Premier Dalton McGuinty, who has a responsibility to protect the Great Lakes, and Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who has a responsibility to protect Canada's water resources, have remained silent on this issue.
Send a letter to them telling them that you want to keep radioactive waste out of the Great Lakes!
The more legislators who hear your concerns the better. We also encourage you to send a copy to your Member of Parliament, Member of Provincial Parliament and/or city councilor.

= = = = = =

Bruce Power launches website on nuclear shipment

http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/life/article/669542

Published: October 21, 2010 5:45 p.m.　 Last modified: October 21, 2010 5:53 p.m.　
TIVERTON, Ont. - Bruce Power launched a website Thursday in its effort to persuade the public that its plan to recycle 16 steam generators is safe.
Bruce Power is seeking permission from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to ship the generators by ship through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
Environmentalists, First Nations and residents along the proposed route have expressed concerns about shipping the radioactive, school bus-sized generators from Owen Sound, Ont., to Sweden for recycling.　　
Bruce Power says recycling the generators, now stored at its southwestern Ontario facility, will reclaim 90 per cent of the steel in the generator casings.　　
He says the recycling technology required to separate the steel from other mildly radioactive components isn't available in Canada.
Following a hearing last month, the Nuclear Safety Commission said it wants more information on the environmental impact assessment, emergency plans, and the amount of radioactivity allowed in shipments before deciding if Bruce Power can go ahead with the shipment.　　
Bruce Power has said a person would have to stand beside one of the generators for a few hours to receive the same amount of radiation given off by a chest X-ray.

MORE: http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/life/article/669542

= = = = = = =

Ontario’s permission needed for radioactive shipments on the Great Lakes

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5130

October 28, 2010
CKTB reports that, “For months, the McGuinty government refused to take a position on Bruce Power’s plan to ship radioactive steam generators from its Kincardine nuclear plant via the Welland Canal and the Great Lakes for recycling in Sweden. The McGuinty government had claimed the issue was solely under federal jurisdiction. Now, the government’s position has changed. When challenged by NDP Environment Critic Peter Tabuns, Transport Minister Kathleen Wynne admitted for the first time that the provincial government was playing an active role.”
“Tabuns says the Minister needs to sit down with concerned people before granting any approvals for transport of the radioactive steam generators on public roads and waterways. Wynne refused to make the commitment, though.”
According to the Hansard transcripts:

MORE: http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5130

= = = = = = =

Municipal opposition to Great Lakes radioactive shipments growing

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5138

October 29, 2010
Municipal opposition to Bruce Power’s plan to ship radioactive steam generators on the Great Lakes is growing.
MONTREAL: The McGill Daily reports that, “Last week, the City of Montreal announced that it will not allow a shipment of 16 decommissioned Bruce Power nuclear generators to be transported through Montreal on the St. Lawrence. …If the (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission) accepts Bruce Power’s request and allows the generators to be shipped through Montreal, then the city could simply prevent the ships from docking in Montreal’s harbour. …Despite the research carried out by the CNSC, the city of Montreal still has doubts about the safety of the shipments. According to Valérie Desgagné, spokesperson for the city, Montreal’s main concern is the risk of contamination as the ’shipment’s radioactive waves would be fifty times higher than the international limit.’”
GREAT LAKES AND ST. LAWRENCE CITIES INITIATIVE: The Kingston Whig-Standard reported on September 22 that, “The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, representing (70) mayors of towns and cities on both sides of the Great Lakes criticize the CNSC for not consulting them and not releasing an analysis of what would happen if there is an accident. …The mayors’ group argues that the amount of nuclear waste in the proposed shipment exceeds by 50 times the International Atomic Energy Agency’s radioactivity standard for a single freight vessel on the lakes.”
KINGSTON: The Whig-Standards adds, “Kingston mayor Harvey Rosen said given the vital importance of the lakes to those living around them, the government needs to give more assurances that the shipment will be safe.”
ST. CATHARINES: The Standard reported in late-September that, “St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan, a coalition board member, met with members of the nuclear safety commission in the summer to discuss his concerns about the shipment. Despite that meeting, McMullan said he shares the coalition’s concerns about a lack of public consultation and ‘incomplete information’ about the contentious shipping plan. McMullan said the group still has questions about the level of contamination in the shipment. …McMullan said his main concern is the lack of details about how Bruce Power would deal with a potential ‘catastrophic event’ that dumped radioactive material into the lakes. ‘What is the backup plan? I don’t feel like we’ve received enough information about those measures yet,’ he said.”
SARNIA: The McGill Daily adds, “In September, Sarnia, Ontario mayor Mike Bradley stated his concern that a possible spill from the shipments would affect residents’ drinking water.” Bradley has stated, “Forty million Americans and Canadians take their freshwater, their drinking supplies from the Great Lakes. All we need is one incident to bring about a major catastrophe on the Great Lakes.”
BLUE MOUNTAINS: The Collingwood Enterprise-Bulletin reported on September 22 that, “Blue Mountains (mayor Ellen Anderson) is predicting the area could see some massive demonstrations if Bruce Power’s plans to ship decommissioned (100-tonne radioactive) steam generators from the nuclear plant near Tiverton through Owen Sound’s harbour (and the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Atlantic ocean) to Sweden is approved.” She has also stated, “I can’t understand how (the CNSC) would approve (this). Water isn’t a good place to be shipping this stuff. We don’t have enough information. …I’m thinking about the generations to come. My personal feeling is, if I don’t do the right thing now, I’d be responsible for the future accidents.”
OWEN SOUND: The Owen Sound Sun Times has reported that, “(Owen Sound has) no power to approve or reject Bruce Power’s plan to load the generators onto a cargo ship in the Owen Sound Harbour and transport the vessels through the Great Lakes, since the harbour is owned by the federal government. But, up until (late September), city officials said Bruce Power needed a heavy load permit from the city before it could truck the school bus-sized, decommissioned steam generators on city-owned streets. Local critics of the plan had hoped to use the city’s bylaw as leverage and pressure city council to block Bruce Power’s shipment plan. A group of residents, led by Sharen Skelly, presented council with a 220-name petition last week that calls on council to reject an anticipated application from Bruce Power for a heavy load permit.”
“In an interview with The Daily, Marc Drolet, Public Affairs and Media Relations Representative for the CNSC, said that the commission should reach a final decision by mid- to late December. …If the CNSC decides to grant Bruce Power’s request, the power of municipalities to block the shipment’s transportation will be called into question.”

The McGill Daily article is at
http://mcgilldaily.com/articles/36424.

= = = = =

Beyond Nuclear Bulletin – October 28, 2010
TAKE ACTION - Help stop the radioactive steam generator shipment on the Great Lakes!

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/canada/2010/10/28/
help-stop-the-radioactive-steam-generator-shipment-on-great.html

Canada's Bruce nuclear power plant proposes shipping 16 giant, radioactive steam generators via the Great Lakes -- 20% of the world's surface fresh water, and drinking supply for 40 million people -- to Sweden for "recycling" into consumer products. Help put the brakes on this risky proposal by emailing the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and U.S. Dept. of Transportation, urging the highest level environmental assessments be conducted!

======================

5. Open letter to the leaders of Nunavut On the health implications of opening the territory to uranium mining

From: Nunavummiut Makitagunarningit <nunavummiutmakitagunarningit@gmail.com>
Date: October 28, 2010 10:08:34 AM EDT (CA)
October 28, 2010
Open letter to the leaders of Nunavut On the health implications of opening the territory to uranium mining
To:
Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut
President and Board, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
President and Board, Qikiqtani Inuit Association
President and Board, Kivalliq Inuit Association
President and Board, Kitikmeot Inuit Association
Chairperson and Board, Nunavut Impact Review Board
Mayors and Health Committee Chairpersons
It has come to our attention that uranium mining interests are proposing to construct an open-pit uranium mine, mill and attendant infrastructure just 85 kilometres upwind and upwater from the community of Baker Lake, Nunavut, and that approval of the Kiggavik project would open the door to the construction of more uranium mines in the region. Members of Nunavummiut Makitagunarningit have asked us to comment on this.
We are both family doctors living in Ontario, and are members of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and Physicians for Global Survival (PGS). We are very concerned about　the　health impacts of uranium mining on local populations. This concern　stems from our research, which was spurred by the prospect of a uranium mine being located near Sharbot Lake in Eastern Ontario　--　very close to the communities in which we live.
We have put our findings into a paper entitled ‘Human Health Implications of Uranium Mining and the Nuclear Industry’, a copy of which is being provided with this letter. It can also be found on the website of Physicians for Global Survival
(www.pgs.ca, under Sustainable World/Nuclear Industry).
Material from this paper has been presented in Toronto, Halifax, and Switzerland, and has been used as an educational document by many citizen groups and health advocates.
Uranium mining is an essential first step in nuclear power generation and in the production of nuclear weapons. Each stage of these processes creates its own burden of contamination. They are intimately linked, in that the byproducts of power generation can be used to create weapons. It is well known that India used power-generating technology from Canada to produce material for its first nuclear bomb.
All operating nuclear power reactors release radioactive contaminants into their surroundings on a regular basis, and there is as yet no safe way to store the very highly radioactive spent fuel they produce.
Accidents occur both small and catastrophic that release toxic radioactive substances into the environment essentially forever.　
The destructive power of nuclear bombs is obvious. These are the processes in which you are participating if you allow uranium mining in your community.
Uranium mining itself causes significant environmental damage and is potentially the most contaminating stage of nuclear power generation.
In mining uranium, thousands of tons of radioactive rock are brought to the surface of the earth and crushed. This process creates a large amount of radioactive dust and large quantities of waste rock or tailings, which contain 85% of their original radioactivity. These, along with the chemicals used in the extraction process, often strong acids or alkalis, are deposited in large tailings ponds or containments nearby.
The toxic radioactive dust can be carried far away from the site by wind. Radioactive radon gas (a potent lung carcinogen, and the second most common cause of lung cancer after smoking) escapes continuously from the exposed rock and the tailings. Toxic radioactive isotopes are produced continuously for thousands of years by the tailings through the process of radioactive decay, something which does not happen in the tailings of mines for non-radioactive substances such as iron or copper.
Mining interests will attempt to tell you that their ‘best practices’ will prevent the outflow of these contaminants into the local air, soil and water. It has been our finding, in researching this issue and in speaking with persons living near the former uranium mining sites in Elliot Lake and Bancroft, Ontario that this is not the case.
What is the harm in all this material?
Harm occurs in a number of ways. Firstly, because uranium is a radioactive substance, uranium atoms actually change into a series of　other substances one after the other as they fling off bits of themselves in the form of radiation. This process is called radio-active decay. Many of these substances are toxic in their own right, as is uranium. Uranium is toxic to the kidney, and accumulates in bone, including the bones of children. Radium, one of the progeny of uranium’s radioactive decay, is toxic to bone. Radon causes lung cancer, and lead affects the nervous system. Because there are so many substances involved, and they are continually shifting from one to the next, they are very difficult to contain. Some have half-lives in the billions of years, meaning they are around forever.
The main danger common to all of them, however is their radioactivity -- the bits of radiation thrown off as the atoms decay from one substance into another. All of this radiation is capable of damaging tissue -- plant, animal or human. There is no safe dose - in other words, even small doses cause harm. Radioactive particles which have entered the body through inhalation or ingestion, are particularly harmful. Some of this damage the body can repair, but often the repairs are imperfect. Over time, cancers can arise. Cancer is a well-known sequella of exposure to radiation. It can often take decades, sometimes 40 or 50 years to manifest itself, and there is no way of knowing that it is developing until it does. It is very difficult sometimes to trace it back to its origins; this is one reason that poorly designed ‘studies’ so often fail to show any harm from a given exposure. It is important to remember that ‘no proof of harm’ is not the same as ‘proof of no harm’.
If the damage done by radiation involves the reproductive tissues, the eggs and sperm, it can be passed on to the next generation (that is if the mutation it causes is compatible with life, which most mutations are not). In fact much of this damage will manifest as infertility, reduced fertility, early miscarriage and early infant death. In the human population some of these things may be detected. In the case of animals, birds, fish and other living things, you may never know why they are not thriving, or quietly disappearing. Their loss will certainly never be recorded in any catalogue of ‘harm’ caused by uranium mining. Damaged offspring which survive can carry their damage forward into succeeding generations. It is not reversible, and it is cumulative as succeeding generations are exposed again to the same contaminants remaining in the environment.
Radiation can damage any system or process in the body, by interfering　with the process itself or the genetic instructions which control it.　Visible malformations are the tip of the iceberg. Young children and the unborn are extremely sensitive to such disruption during the critical times when their bodies and vital organs develop.　Recent research from Germany has shown a clear increase in childhood leukemia in children living near German nuclear reactors.　No research of such quality and scope has been done in Canada.
Mining interests and their supporters in government cannot argue that the effects we have described do not occur. They are well known and well described in the scientific world. The best they can argue is that they do not matter, however you will have to decide that for yourselves.
As family doctors, we have grave concerns about the Kiggavik uranium mine proposal near Baker Lake. Such a mine would produce radioactive tailings that would contaminate this pristine area essentially forever and threaten all living organisms including humans. Many physicians groups across the country support a moratorium on uranium mining in
their jurisdictions. These include the British Columbia Medical Association, the Nova Scotia Medical Association, the Ontario College of Family Physicians Environmental Health Committee, the physicians of Sept-Iles, Quebec, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and Physicians for Global Survival. The International
Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which won the Nobel Peace prize in 1985, is strongly opposed to uranium mining, particularly on indigenous land.
As physicians, we would like to make politicians and policy-makers in Nunavut aware of the deleterious health effects of uranium mining on all living things, and to urge them to veto plans for this proposal. We fervently hope that you will use this opportunity to say ‘no’ to uranium mining in your territory.
Sincerely,
Cathy Vakil MD, CFCP, FCFP
Assistant Professor, Dep’t of Family Medicine
Queen’s University
Kingston, Ontario
Linda Harvey, BSc, MSc, MD
RR #1
McDonald’s Corners, Ontario

Human Health Implications of Uranium Mining and the Nuclear Industry

http://www.safewater.org/PDFS/reportlibrary/
HumanHealthImplicationsUraniumNuclear.pdf

=====================

6. BREAKING NEWS - Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign

http://www.mayorsforpeace.org/english/m ... y/map.html

Over half of world capital cities join campaign to eliminate nuclear arms by 2020
Hiroshima, November 1st 2010 - Mayors for Peace announced today that 94 new member cities have joined during the month of October. With Guatemala City, Reykjavik and Yerevan, Mayors for Peace welcomes three capital cities in its global network campaigning for the immediate commencement of negotiations for the establishment of a nuclear weapon free world by 2020. Mayors for Peace now counts 4,301 members in 149 countries and regions.
With the capitals of Guatemala, Iceland and Armenia, the network now counts 98 of the world capital cities (list attached), having secured the support of 51% of the capital cities in the 192 United Nations member states. The support includes the cities of Paris,
Beijing, Delhi, London and Moscow in the Nuclear Weapons States; and Amsterdam, Ankara, Berlin, Brussels and Rome in the five countries where the US deploys nuclear weapons outside its territory.
Last month 94 new members (list attached) were welcomed:
Argentina (22), Armenia (1), Austria (9), Chile (1), Colombia (5), Dominican Republic (3), El Salvador (5), France (8), Ghana (2), Greece (1), Guatemala (4), Honduras (1), Iceland (1), Italy (1), Japan (12), Mexico (2), Netherlands (1), Puerto Rico (11), UK (2)
and USA (2).
With its first members in Armenia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Iceland and Puerto Rico, the network now increases its membership from 144 to 149 countries and regions. With its swift growth, Mayors for Peace is without doubt the fastest growing international network of local governments.

MORE:
http://www.mayorsforpeace.org/english/m ... y/map.html

Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba also signed an agreement with the Federation of Latin American
MORE:
http://www.mayorsforpeace.org/english/m ... y/map.html
--
Pol Heanna
International Development Director &
Executive Advisor Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation
Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign
Sao Paulo, BRAZIL
E-mail: pol@2020visioncampaign.org
Website: www.2020visioncampaign.org
Skype:poltanner

==================

7. Green Energy Upgrade Would Protect Ontarians from Rising Nuclear Costs

This past summer, the Renewable is Doable coalition, of which CELA is a member, issued a report describing how Ontario can choose to scale up green energy to replace the retiring Pickering nuclear station as a more affordable option for Ontarians than buying expensive replacement reactors. In the summer of 2009, Ontario suspended its purchase of two new replacement reactors when their cost reportedly topped $26 billion - $20 billion more than expected in 2007. The Renewable is Doable analysis shows that a mix of green energy technologies and conservation acquired through the government’s Green Energy Act would be 12 to 48 per cent cheaper than buying new reactors to replace the aging Pickering nuclear station, which is set to close in 2020 due to high maintenance costs.
For more information:
Theresa McClenaghan, Executive Director and Counsel 416-960-2284 ext. 219 theresa@cela.ca
August 10/10 Media Release; Full Report

===================

8. Exploration and exploitation of uranium in northern Quebec: AENQ-CSQ takes position against after consulting its members

http://www.nationtalk.ca/modules/news/a ... ryid=37612

Canada NewsWire, October 29, 2010
The Association of employees of Northern Quebec (AENQ-CSQ), affiliated to the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), wants to inform the Eeyou Etschee Cree and Nunavik Inuit populations that, following the consultation held with its members, it takes position against the exploration and exploitation of uranium ore, whether it be in Mistissini or Kangiqsualujjuaq.
This consultation was held during the month of October with all AENQ-CSQ members from Northern Quebec communities, Inuit as well as Cree.
More than 85 % disapprove.
This consultation was done following a request from certain of our teacher and support staff members from Mistissini, in solidarity with the "Meilleure Mine" coalition. The results showed that more than 85 % of our members wished that AENQ-CSQ take position against these uranium mining projects.
One must note that this position is taken in the context of the consultations held on the Cree and Inuit territories and wants to contribute to the public debate on these issues.
PROFILE OF AENQ
Founded in 1971, the Association of Employees of Northern Quebec, an affiliate of the CSQ, has over 1,500 members. It represents, teachers and support staff of the Cree and Kativik school boards as well as employees of childcare centres in the Cree Territory.
For further information:
Source AENQ Patrick D'Astous
Telephone :514-916-2396
Fax :514-354-8714

=======================

9. No new partner at Calvert Cliffs as Constellation exits

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2010/10/27/
no-new-partner-for-edf-at-calvert-cliffs-as-constellation-do.html

Constellation officially dropped its demand to sell its former partner, Electricite De France, a large portfolio of conventional power-generating stations but exited its partnership with the French utility to build a French reactor at Calvert Cliffs, Maryland. However, as a foreign corporation, EDF cannot move forward with the Maryland reactor project without a majority U.S. partner. To date, no new candidates have stepped forward.

======================

10. 197 suicides and 1,733 deaths at India's nuclear establishments in last 15 yrs

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/oct/04/
suicides-at-indias-atomic-centres-in-15-years.htm

October 04, 2010 18:03 IST; rediff.com
197 employees belonging to a number of nuclear establishments and related institutes in India [ Images ] have committed suicide and 1,733 scientists and employees belonging to these centres have died of illnesses like multiple organ failure, lung cancer, cirrhosis of liver etc, as per a report compiled by Mumbai-based RTI activist Chetan Kothari.
The report based on 175 pages of documents sourced through 32 such centres also reveal that 1,733 employees and scientists from these establishments died due to various illnesses that include cardiac strokes, liver failure, multiple organ failure, tuberculosis, cardio-respiratory diseases, lung cancer, septicemia, cirrhosis of liver, cerebro-vascular dieseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, mellitus etc amongst a host of other diseases.
Interestingly, some of the RTI documents shown to rediff.com by Kothari did not mention the cause of the death and in some other cases mentioned the cause of death as 'brought dead', which Kothari was explained on the condition of anonymity as those who have committed suicides.
Kothari, after poring through the 175-pages over the weekend told rediff.com that most of the deceased in this report belonged to the 29-50 age group.

MORE:
http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/oct/04/
suicides-at-indias-atomic-centres-in-15-years.htm

To check details please click on the links below:
Link 1: http://im.rediff.com/news/2010/oct/04nuclear1.gif
Link 2: http://im.rediff.com/news/2010/oct/04nuclear2.gif
Link 3: http://im.rediff.com/news/2010/oct/04nuclear3.gif

Prasanna D Zore in Mumbai:
http://mypage.rediff.com/prasanna/12158415

=====================

11. New from Greenpeace

Rock Solid:

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/recent/
Greenpeace-warns-Canadian-communities-about-the-threats-of-nuclear-waste-repositories/

Gen III waste report:

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/recent/
Impacts-of-dangerous-new-radioactive-waste-unassessed-Greenpeace-report/

=================

12. WATCH: Don't Nuke Green Energy Postering Blitz

http://www.youtube.com/greenpeacecanada ... KS9-jgUjQ4

From: GreenpeaceCanada | October 14, 2010
New reactors at the Darlington nuclear power station will reportedly cost $26 billion.
That's $20 billion more than we were told in 2007. Studies show green energy is 18 - 48 % cheaper than new nuclear reactors. Greenpeace is calling on Premier Dalton McGuinty to stop wasting taxpayers money on dirty, costly energy and to invest in a green energy future instead.

========================

13. New Draft EU Directive on Radioactive Waste Disposal

From: Jan Haverkamp <jan.haverkamp@ecn.cz>
To: no-nukes-eur@lists.foei.org
Sent: Sat, 23 Oct 2010 11:42
Dear All,
I have added in the attachment the draft directive and its impact assessment, as I received it two days ago. I am still working on the assessment of the impact assessment, but the picture from the draft includes the following points:
- It is a blatant PR piece for the deep geological disposal programmes in Finland, Sweden and France. There is no reflection of the problems that are currently faced by these programmes and disposal is presented as the holy grail -- which it unfortunately never can be. There is also no plan B in case Finland, Sweden or France runs into unsolvable problems.
As you are aware, Greenpeace recently commissioned a scientific review of this issue, which concluded that the policy papers on which the Commission is basing itself are not sufficiently scientifically rooted and that critical scientific reports were left out.
The Commission did, nevertheless, remove the word 'consensus',　but still talks about 'broad acceptance', whereas the broad only relates to industry sources with a large interest in creating the image that the waste problem is under control.
- The Commission did not include much from the public consultation and it completely ignored very important submissions, including:
on coherence with EU hazardous waste policies and legislation (submission Greenpeace) the fact that Scotland is investigating near-surface and on-surface long-term storage (submitted by the Scottish Councils Committee on Radioactive Substances on problematic sides of deep geological disposal (many of the submissions) on the necessity to include phase-out of non-essential radioactive waste producing processes
- Especially the complete lack of any mentioning of EU hazardous waste policies and no references to any of the relevant articles in the TFEU and implementing directives is shocking.　
For your reference, I have added our submission on the issue in the public consultation. The Commission cannot say it was not warned.
- There is a strange incoherence around (uranium) mining waste. On one side it is acknowledged that the EU Directive on waste from extractive industries does not cover the radioactivity of the waste, but leaves that to Euratom. On the other side, (uranium) mining waste is explicitely excluded from this draft with reference to the fact that it is covered by the EU Directive on waste from extractive industries. So both sides point to the other of having solved the issue and not having to address it!
- There is no clarity whatsoever about what constitutes possible future use. In EU waste policy and jurisprudence this is pretty well defined. Here it seems to allow virtual indefinite insufficiently guarded storage of Depleted Uranium and Spent Nuclear Fuel, as well as of waste that for whatever reason never has been declared waste, like the 55.000 tons of long-lived medium-level waste from radium-production in the Belgian town of Olen....
Strong points: the independence of radioactive waste authorities and the obligation to come with radioactive waste policies and plans. But the devil is in the detail, and Parliament and Council will have a large job ahead to bring this draft on an acceptable level of quality - unless the Commission will work a bit more on it....
Greetings,
Jan Haverkamp
================================
Translation from German by Jan Haverkamp of the original German article in Sueddeutsche Zeitung
================================
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/
endlager-problematik-atommuell-muss-in-europa-bleiben-1.1015187

Nuclear disposal problems - Nuclear waste has to stay in Europe

by Markus Balser and Cerstin Gammelin, 23.10.2010
[rough translation by Jan Haverkamp + G. Edwards]
The EU pushes its Members with a new Directive for final disposal of nuclear waste -- and triggers heavy protests from environmentalists.
The European Commission is increasing pressure on the Member States to finally get serious with final disposal of their nuclear waste. This can be concluded from a new EU Directive on the disposal of nuclear waste, that is in the hands of the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
According to the Commission, the 27 European countries have to present national plans for final disposal within four years of the Directive's coming into force, and send them to Brussels. EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger wants to present the paper on 3 November in Brussels.
The on-going lack of a solution to the nuclear waste problem has become a thorn in the flesh to the EU. Now, the Commission wants to take care of the nuclear question with transparency and speed.
In fact the nuclear waste problem is not solved in any EU state.　For highly radioactive waste there is so far no final disposal. And even the existing final storage sites within the EU for low- and mid-level radioactive waste, like the one in Asse in Germany, often pose problems.
At the moment, in 14 of the 27 EU states, a total of 140 nuclear power stations are operational. Two more countries are planning new NPPs. Concerns about the future of nuclear waste is growing together with the amounts. Just between 2004 and 2020, according to numbers from Brussels, in the EU alone 1.8 Million cubic meter of radioactive waste will be produced.
The initiative from the EU means a large interference of the EU in national energy policy. Until now, nuclear power was normally not a mandate of the EU Commission. All countries with nuclear power stations will be forced with this paper to produce binding time-lines for the construction of final disposals. There should also be the possibility that more than one country would agree on a common disposal approach.
Countries with only one or two NPPs, in particular, could benefit financially from a common disposal, according to the paper. In such circumstances, one country prepares a disposal and then this is enshrined in a treaty. But the EU blocks ideas from some Member States to send radioactive waste to, for instance, Russia. The paper excludes the possibility of storing　spent nuclear fuel outside the EU. It is impossible to control the safety standards outside of the EU borders, according to the Commission.
Environmentalists heavily criticised the plans from Brussels.　They fear too lenient rules for the multi-millennial hazard of radioactive waste. It is left to the Member States to decide where each country will build a disposal site, but the Directive strongly advises the method of deep geological disposal of nuclear waste in geological formations that are at least 300 meters under the surface: "a dangerous demand", warns the Greenpeace nuclear expert Jan Haverkamp.
Too vague rules
The Commission itself has reported about the scientifically documented risks of deep geological disposal -- the method it is now proposing to its Member States. There is a strong lack of coherence. Besides that, the water leakage threatening the nuclear disposal site in Asse, Germany, shows that this technique is hardly controllable over long time periods. The rules in the planned directive are obviously so vague, that problems like the water leakage at Asse could also begin happening in several years in other European countries.
Environmental organisations fear furthermore, that with the new Directive, the contested final disposal site at Gorleben in Niedersachsen could get the green light. It would furthermore make it difficult to rationalize the fact that in spite of all the problems with radioactive waste, the EU still supports nuclear energy and plans for new nuclear power stations.
The EU Commission sets different goals. According sources within the Commission, Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger wants to take care of more transparency and safety around final disposal of radioactive waste. For the EU Energy Commissioner two points are important.　
Oettinger wants to turn the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines into European law. These guidelines are already applied, but until now only on voluntary basis.
In the future, European countries would be obliged to keep them. With that, the Commission assumes the mandate to control the implementation and if necessary take legal steps against those who contravene them.
====================
STERN

http://www.stern.de/news2/aktuell/
eu-erhoeht-druck-auf-mitgliedslaender-in-atommuell-endlager-frage-1616687.html

=========================

14. Hydraulic fracturing - 'fracking' - mobilizes uranium in marcellus shale

http://www.sciencecodex.com/
fracking_mobilizes_uranium_in_marcellus_shale

Posted On: October 26, 2010 - 12:30am
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Scientific and political disputes over drilling Marcellus shale for natural gas have focused primarily on the environmental effects of pumping millions of gallons of water and chemicals deep underground to blast through rocks to release the natural gas.
But University at Buffalo researchers have now found that that process -- called hydraulic fracturing or "fracking"-- also causes uranium that is naturally trapped inside Marcellus shale to be released, raising additional environmental concerns.
The research will be presented at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver on Nov. 2.
Marcellus shale is a massive rock formation that stretches from New York through Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, and which is often described as the nation's largest source of natural gas.
"Marcellus shale naturally traps metals such as uranium and at levels higher than usually found naturally, but lower than manmade contamination levels," says Tracy Bank, PhD, assistant professor of geology in UB's College of Arts and Sciences and lead researcher. "My question was, if they start drilling and pumping millions of gallons of water into these underground rocks, will that force the uranium into the soluble phase and mobilize it? Will uranium then show up in groundwater?"
To find out, Bank and her colleagues at UB scanned the surfaces of Marcellus shale samples from Western New York and Pennsylvania. Using sensitive chemical instruments, they created a chemical map of the surfaces to determine the precise location in the shale of the hydrocarbons, the organic compounds containing natural gas.
"We found that the uranium and the hydrocarbons are in the same physical space," says Bank. "We found that they are not just physically -- but also chemically -- bound.

MORE:
http://www.sciencecodex.com/
fracking_mobilizes_uranium_in_marcellus_shale

= = = = = =

'Fracking' Mobilizes Uranium in Marcellus Shale, UB Research Finds

http://www.buffalo.edu/news/11885
News Release October 25, 2010 Contact Ellen Goldbaum goldbaum@buffalo.edu
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Scientific and political disputes over drilling Marcellus shale for natural gas have focused primarily on the environmental effects of pumping millions of gallons of water and chemicals deep underground to blast through rocks to release the natural gas.
But University at Buffalo researchers have now found that that process -- called hydraulic fracturing or "fracking"-- also causes uranium that is naturally trapped inside Marcellus shale to be released, raising additional environmental concerns.
The research will be presented at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver on Nov. 2.

MORE: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/11885

======================

15. WATCH: German anti-nuke demonstration

http://www.euronews.net/nocomment/2010/10/24/
anti-nuclear-demonstration-in-germany/

24/10 10:27 CET
Thousands of anti-nuclear protesters took to the streets all over Germany on the national day of action against the transportation of nuclear waste.

=====================

16. Recent Ceasefire.ca Articles

Schwarzenegger calls for New START ratification

http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=6016

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 11:46 AM PDT
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has called in his inimitable style for the quick ratification of the New START treaty to reduce U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons (Governor Delivers Remarks at USRBC Annual Meeting, 21 October 2010): Well, let me just tell you that the most excited I’m about is — and I’m asking Congress to [...]

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Auditor-General: F-35 purchase poses "risks"

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5988&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 09:14 PM PDT
Auditor-General Sheila Fraser’s latest report describes the acquisition of Cyclone and Chinook helicopters as "troubling", and details how government agencies presented the purchases as simple and low risk while continuously lowballing estimated costs in order have them approved.　 This resulted in seven- and five-year-long delays, respectively, and huge price increases — of approximately 80% in [...]

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New poll shows Canadians committed to peacekeeping

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5957&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 25 Oct 2010 01:00 PM PDT
A new Nanos research poll conducted for the Globe and Mail indicates that Canadians think peacekeeping is more important than combat missions (Campbell Clark, "Canadians pick peacekeeping over combat," Globe and Mail, 25 October 2010). According to the poll, Canadians are strongly opposed to sending troops on any future missions reminiscent of Canada’s role in [...]

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Canada backs NATO missile defence

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5938&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 24 Oct 2010 10:45 PM PDT
The Harper government has pledged its support for a proposed NATO missile defence system for Europe (Juliet O’Neill, "Canada backs European missile defence program," Postmedia News, 20 October 2010): The Conservative government says it supports a European ballistic missile defence system proposed for approval by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the other NATO leaders at [...]

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Aerospace companies jump into the fray over F-35s

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5843&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 22 Oct 2010 01:31 PM PDT
From the Department of Dog-Bites-Man: The Aerospace Industries Association of Canada is warning Canadians not to cancel the Harper government’s plan to purchase F-35 fighters ("Cancelation [sic] of F-35 purchase threatens Canadian jobs," Aerospace Industries Association of Canada communique, 14 October 2010). Just in case anyone thought they were in favour of cancelling the purchase. [...]

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Canadian troops destroyed villages to save them?

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5826&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 21 Oct 2010 07:41 PM PDT
A New York Times report (Carlotta Gall, "In Afghan South, U.S. Faces Frustrated Residents," 16 October 2010) on the frustration and disillusion expressed by Afghan civilians in the region around Kandahar cites Canadian actions as one of the sources of complaints: Three years ago, Canadian troops built a temporary post near Lora. When they immediately [...]

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Why the F-35 stealth fighter is the wrong plane for Canada

http://www.embassymag.ca/page/view/staples-10-20-2010

Posted: 20 Oct 2010 08:49 AM PDT
Steven Staples’ op-ed detailing why the Conservative government’s intended $16 billion F-35 fighter jets are the wrong plane for Canada appeared in today’s edition of Embassy.　Click on URL above for the full article. Photo by World’s Saddest Man

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Taliban and Afghan government begin informal talks

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5786&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 09:11 PM PDT
Several sources have confirmed over the past week that informal peace talks have begun between Taliban leaders and Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government. NATO has been facilitating the meetings by providing Taliban leaders with safe passage to Kabul to meet with high-level members of the Karzai government.　 The Taliban continues to reject negotiation in its [...]

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Little oversight for security contracts: U.S. Senate report

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5609&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 16 Oct 2010 12:30 AM PDT
According to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, the Pentagon has little oversight over contracted security deals in Afghanistan and, as a result, local security deals between Western companies, American military commanders, and Afghan warlords　with close connections to the Taliban are being made (James Risen, "Afghans Linked to the Taliban Guard U.S. Bases," New York [...]

===========================

17. Word warriors letter #108 – Oppose the $16 billion F-35 stealth fighter jets

From: Murray Dobbin
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2010 12:33 PM
Word warriors letter #108 – Oppose the $16 billion F-35 stealth fighter jets
If you didn’t write a letter-to-the editor about the F35 issue last time, please consider it now. This is one of the critical issues of the day and we need to take advantage of it whenever an opportunity presents itself. We have new information to back our arguments against this obscenity from the auditor general. And we have Harper making the absurd argument that escorting a US cargo jet (as Canadian CF18s did this week) demonstrates that we need these “shock and awe” monsters. It’s a good opportunity to get letters published as having a news story to reply to helps get them accepted.
WRITE A SHORT LETTER TO YOUR LOCAL PAPER…
Your letters can be short and pointed – getting even a paragraph into your local paper on this is very important. While it may be hard to imagine that people would accept the escort argument don’t forget that 30% of Canadians blame Ignatieff for Canada losing the Security Council seat – because Harper framed the issue before the Liberals could.

FRAMING: You can continue to frame this issue by painting Harper as completely irresponsible. These jets, one of the biggest purchases in the history of the military are utterly useless to Canada’s military or sovereignty needs. But in this specific instance it is important to frame Harper’s using of the US jet incident as an argument for the purchase as desperate and absurd. Also use this incident as an opportunity to use the auditor general’s warning that the purchase is highly risky – pointing out that Harper is using the escort incident to distract people from the facts.

Some facts and arguments to consider:

The idea that we would spend from $16 – 30 billion (some estimates put the figure this high) so we can escort plans that have bombs in them is ridiculous/absurd/laughable – just what are these shock and awe fighter bombers going to do – how can they protect the jets they are escorting given that the threat (the bomb) is INSIDE the jet being escorted?
This is a transparent effort to distract attention from the Auditor general’s warning that the jets pose a high possibility of cost over-runs.
The Globe describes Sheila Fraser’s auditing of defence procurement: “Spending watchdog Sheila Fraser warns that the Harper government’s estimated $16-billion plan to buy new fighter jets carries significant risk of delays or cost increases – problems her latest audit finds also plagued Defence Department helicopter purchases.”

[ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/
fighter-jet-purchase-risky-auditor-general-says/article1773452/ ]

Fraser’s audit revealed that the Defence Department generals and bureaucrats deliberately low-balled the cost of two different helicopter purchases: “They were presented as being off the shelf or what would be a simple purchase,” Ms. Fraser told reporters. “But this was anything but the case.” The helicopters ended up costing $11 billion – twice what the military estimated.
Congratulate the Liberals for pledging to cancel the contract if they are elected.

General arguments against the jets:

We are entering – according to Harper himself – an era of greatly increased austerity where everyone has to tighten their belts. This expenditure is grossly irresponsible and threatens the fiscal health of the country.
The government says the deficit will reach $56 billion this year – and yet has the gall to announce a huge spending program
Next spring – if they are still in power – the Conservatives will introduce a budget with huge cuts to social programs, while the military is getting buckets of cash.
The new jets have been in the development stage for years and are essentially a cold war upgrade. But the cold war is over.
According to the CCPA report the costs of the jets could be much higher – life-cycle maintenance costs could be as much as $21 billion, bringing the total cost to $30 billion.
According to the Globe: “Just months before the Harper government announced it would spend an estimated $16-billion on new fighter jets, a report for the Defence Department recommended using pilot-less drones to enforce Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic.” Who overruled this recommendation and why?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/
report-urging-use-of-drones-raises-questions-about-fighter-jet-deal/article1757959/

Who is the enemy we would use these jets against? Russia is no longer a threat and not other country except our closest ally is in a position to pose a threat. The jets are designed to fight other jets. Whose jets?
The F-35s are fighter-bombers – used as a first strike weapons to pulverize the enemies military and strategic infrastructure. Who are we going to attack?
The government argues the purchase is good economic development - which Canadian branch plants like Lockheed Martin will get to bid on contracts. But military procurement is the least effective way to spend taxpayers’ dollars – over a million dollars a job compared to $100,000 for a nurse or teacher.
The life of Canada’s existing CF-18s, expected to wear out between 2017 and 2020, could be extended by replacing their airframes.
The government argues that we need “interoperability” – similar equipment as our allies. But Canada has been fighting in Afghanistan for nine years with equipment that is not identical to that of its allies.
These jets are useless for counter-insurgency such as the Afghan conflict. Not once during nine years of conflict has the Canadian government felt it necessary to deploy Canadian fighter capabilities to that country.
_______________
Word-warriors mailing list
Word-warriors@list.web.net
http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/word-warriors

=====================

18. Take action! SUPPORT BILL C-300 from KAIROS.

Tell mining companies to protect workers and environment.

http://www.straightgoods.ca/2010/ViewAr ... fm?Ref=886

by **Oscar** » Sat Nov 06, 2010 10:55 pm

NUKE NEWS: November 6, 2010

1. Depleted Uranium - International Day - November 6
2. Snow Job in North Western Ontario Ignace Looks at Storing Nuclear Waste: We Look at the Madness of Nukes – Dec. 2009
3. Schumer, Gillibrand helped protect Great Lakes
4. Nuclear opponent coming to Port Hope – Northumberland Today – Ontario, CA
5. Bruce nuclear refurbishment $2 billion over budget
6. The government itself joins (and funds) lobby associations
7. No Nukes News – Oct. 26 & Nov. 4, 2010
8. HOFFMAN: A response to President Obama's recent comments about the nuclear industry
9. Beyond Nuclear – November 4, 2010
10. Radioactive rabbit caught near U.S. nuclear site
11. Fear Darkens Czech Uranium Mining Town
12. Recent Ceasefire.ca Articles
13. Dwight Was Right
14. Amnesty International decries defeat of mining bill
15. Canada the biggest loser under NAFTA Chapter 11: report
16. THE ELECTIONS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY BUT WE'VE FACED BIGGER ODDS BEFORE....

===================

1. Depleted Uranium - International Day - November 6

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/index.html

INTERNATIONAL COALITION TO BAN URANIUM WEAPONS (ICBUW)
Call for events around the International Day of Action Against Depleted Uranium Weapons
November 6th is the International Day of Action Against Depleted Uranium Weapons. It also happens to be the United Nations' Day for Prevention of the Exploitation of the Environment during Wars and Armed Conflicts.
For background see:

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/343.html

Increasingly strong resolutions have been adopted at the United Nations, opposed only by countries using DU (USA, UK etc). Canada has abstained again and again, including October 2010 First Committee.

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/348.html

This next comes to the General Assembly, November 2010.
If you are able, encourage Canada to Vote in favour of DU action.
More Information on ICBUW website:

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/i/77.html

Some DU graphics and photos:

http://www.dubbs.info/graphical.htm and

http://photobucket.com/images/depleted% ... um/?page=3

Petition:
http://web.bandepleteduranium.org/campaign/
index.php?id=1&id_topic=1

- - - - -
THE SASKATCHEWAN CONNECTION

Saskatchewan is the world’s largest producer and exporter of uranium.
That uranium is the initial source of much of the depleted uranium currently being used by the US military for the production of depleted uranium weaponry.
Weren’t we told our uranium would be used only for nuclear power and medicine and not for weapons?
Should we feel a moral responsibility?
What does your conscience tell you?
Depleted Uranium and Saskatchewan

http://makingpeace.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/
depleted-uranium-and-saskatchewan/

What is ‘depleted’ uranium?
Depleted Uranium (DU) is nuclear waste. Uranium naturally occurs as three different isotopes U234, U235, and U238. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons but the same number of protons. U235 is fissionable, but only makes up a small proportion of naturally occurring uranium. U238 makes up more than 99% of natural uranium and is less radioactive. After natural uranium has had most of the U235 removed from it, it is called ‘depleted uranium.’ Each kilo of reactor-ready enriched uranium produced leaves you with about seven kilos of DU.
What are DU weapons?
DU itself is a chemically toxic and radioactive compound, which is used in armour piercing munitions because of its very high density. It is also used as armour in US M1A1 and M1A2 battle tanks and in small amounts in some types of landmines.
Where has DU been used and when?
The 1991 Gulf War by the US and UK
Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo by NATO in the 1990s
It is suspected the US used DU in Afghanistan in 2001. The US may also be using DU in Afghanistan today.
What’s the problem?
The toxic and radioactive DU oxide dust includes sub-micron particles that are readily inhaled into and retained by the lungs. From the lungs uranium compounds are deposited in the lymph nodes, bones, brain, and testes. Hard targets hit by DU penetrators are surrounded by this dust, which can travel many kilometres, where it can be inhaled or ingested by civilians and military alike.
It is thought that DU is the cause of a sharp increase in the incidence of some cancers, such as breast cancer and lymphoma, in areas of Iraq following 1991 and 2003. It has also been implicated in a rise in birth defects from areas adjacent to the main Gulf War battlefields.
The United Nations Environment Program has reported that corroding penetrators likely are contaminating groundwater and drinking water supplies and should be removed.

THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
There is increasing worldwide support for a ban on the use of depleted uranium weapons.
2007: Belgium became the first country in the world to ban all conventional weapons containing uranium, with other states set to follow their example.
2007: The Italian government agreed to a 170m Euro compensation package for a personnel exposed to uranium weapons in the Balkans.
2007: The UN General Assembly passed a resolution highlighting serious health concerns over DU. Canada abstained.
2008: 141 states in the UN General Assembly voted in favour of calling on three UN agencies–the World Health Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the UN Environment Program–to update their positions on the long-term health and environmental threat that uranium weapons pose. Canada abstained.
2010: The UN is reviewing new evidence toward adopting a stronger resolution for action on DU concerns.
- - - - - -
MAKING PEACE VIGIL
Bearing witness to our society’s involvement in violence and injustice
Committing ourselves to creative action for change
EVERY THURSDAY until PEACE breaks out
FROM 12:00 noon to 12:30 pm
ON SCARTH STREET AT 11TH AVENUE
EVERYONE IS WELCOME
For further information please contact
Florence Stratton at 522-2310 or florence.stratton@uregina.ca
Catherine Verrall at 569-7699 or cfverrall@yahoo.ca
On the web: http://makingpeace.wordpress.com

======================

2. Snow Job in North Western Ontario Ignace Looks at Storing Nuclear Waste: We Look at the Madness of Nukes – Dec. 2009

http://gaduginews.blogspot.com/2010/01/
snow-job-in-north-western-ontario.html

December 29, 2009
The Township of Ignace mayor says that Ignace wants to "compete in a global market". Mayor "Blinded by Dollar Signs" Lionel Cloutier gets to the point: "...the entire NW Ontario could benefit from the multibillion dollar site selection process for Nuclear Waste Management Organization."
He appears to be getting brain washed by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization's (NWMO) operatives into thinking the community can "safely host a deep geological repository for Canada's spent nuclear fuel bundles..."
Or is he just being coy so he can grab some of the cash being flung around for "site selection" aka "Adaptive Phased Management" by NWMO? People do need jobs and he has responsibilities to his community.
His imagination runs wild with demented images of "a world class centre of expertise, including construction and operation of an underground demonstration facility, [that] would in itself bring in a new dimension of tourism from all over the world and millions of dollars to the regional economy."
Cloutier goes on to try to lull us with trigger words about our future generations, "our children, or perhaps our grandchildren, who will ultimately determine the course ... as advancements are made in the technology of safe handling and recovery(recycling)."
What a load of optimistic manure. Our children are inheriting a bigger and bigger toxic legacy. Our grandchildren will pay with sterility, birth defects, leukemia, thyroid cancer and other cancers and premature death. They'll be tested and documented while suffering in ways that could have been avoided. So far, there is NO evidence of any way to safely handle or store radioactive materials that will remain radioactive for thousands of years.

MORE: http://gaduginews.blogspot.com/2010/01/
snow-job-in-north-western-ontario.html

=================

3. Schumer, Gillibrand helped protect Great Lakes

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial-pa ... r-readers/
another-voice/article241639.ece

By Kevin Kamps, Buffalo News, Nov, 4 2010

U. S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand deserve the thanks of those who cherish the Great Lakes and the rivers that connect them. They recently contributed to an effort to put the brakes on a risky radioactive waste shipment that would traverse Lake Huron, Lake Erie, the Welland Canal, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.
By doing so, they have challenged a precedent that could lead to even more risky high-level radioactive waste shipments on the Great Lakes.
Schumer and Gillibrand last month challenged the proposal by Bruce nuclear power plant, on Lake Huron in Ontario, to ship 16 giant radioactive steam generators on a single boat across the Atlantic to Sweden for so-called “recycling.” They were joined by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; Richard Durbin D-Ill.; Carl Levin, D-Mich.; Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; and Robert Casey, D-Pa.
The seven senators fired off letters to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the U. S. Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, urging the highest level environmental assessments be performed before this shipment is allowed to enter U. S. territorial waters.
Their concerns are well founded. Bruce’s CEO has admitted there is no emergency plan if the ship were to sink, flippantly adding there would be plenty of time to figure out what to do. The Canadian commission’s staff has done a shoddy job analyzing the risks, initially excluding consideration of plutonium- 241, an ultra-hazardous isotope whose inclusion nearly doubled the radioactivity content of the shipment. The commission has even admitted that the welds sealing shut the radioactive steam generators are good only to a depth of 800 feet below water, the very depth of Lake Ontario, meaning there is no safety margin.

MORE: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial-page/
from-our-readers/another-voice/article241639.ece

Kevin Kamps is a radioactive waste watchdog with Beyond Nuclear, www.beyondnuclear.org

===================

4. Nuclear opponent coming to Port Hope – Northumberland Today – Ontario, CA

http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2010/11/03/
nuclear-opponent-coming-to-port-hope-northumberland-today-ontario-ca/

November 3, 2010
The woman who once thought funds for the low-level radioactive cleanup might better be spent on evacuating Port Hope is coming to Port Hope to discuss the subject further Nov. 16.
Dr. Helen Caldicott, who has worked for 30 years to educate the public on the medical hazards of the nuclear age, is the founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility — a medical and public-health group working to prevent the use or spread of nuclear weapons — and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
Her visit to St. Mark’s Anglican Church parish hall is sponsored by Friends of the Port Hope Clean-Up [and] Families Against Radiation Exposure (FARE).
Publicity is being handled by FARE member John Miller, who was at the Peterborough event last year at which Caldicott made her controversial statement about Port Hope.
“She was answering audience questions. She said it would be safer to leave the low-level stuff in the ground but, if they were going to spend all that money, they’d better spend it getting everyone out of Port Hope. She said that, never having been here,” Miller recalled.
“We said, ‘You should come here.’
The timing is very interesting to Miller.

MORE:
http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2010/11/03/
nuclear-opponent-coming-to-port-hope-northumberland-today-ontario-ca/

MORE NEWS: http://www.waterkeeper.ca/

================

5. Bruce nuclear refurbishment $2 billion over budget
From: Gordon Edwards
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2010 10:45 AM
Background:
In yesterday's Toronto Star, John Spears reported that the Bruce nuclear refit was "more than $1 billion over budget." One day later, he reports that the refit is going to be $2 billion over budget. It must be the doubling time....
Gordon Edwards.
------------------------------------------
Bruce nuclear refit $2 billion over budget

http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/article/
885072--bruce-nuclear-refit-2-billion-over-budget

John Spears and Robert Benzie, Toronto Star, Nov. 4 2010
The refit of two mothballed reactors at one of Bruce Power’s two nuclear plants near Kincardine is $2 billion over the original estimate, says one of the major partners in the project.
But Ontario energy minister Brad Duguid says taxpayers and electricity customers will not be on the hook for the overruns.
“Fortunately for us, Bruce will have to ultimately eat whatever losses may occur as a result of these overruns.”
TransCanada Corp. reported Wednesday that refurbishing two units of the Bruce A nuclear plant has cost $3.8 billion to date.
And chief financial officer Alex Pourbaix said the final cost of the project is now likely to be $4.8 billion.
The original cost estimate when the project was announced in 2005 was $2.75 billion.
TransCanada says the plant won’t be restarted until the end of 2011,
with commercial operation beginning in 2012. The original target for the restart was the end of 2009. The plant had been mothballed in 1997.
TransCanada says its share of the total cost of the project is expected to be $2.4 billion. It owns Bruce Power in partnership with the OMERS pension fund, and an employee group with a small minority stake. Bruce Power has a long term lease of the nuclear facility.

MORE:
http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/article/
885072--bruce-nuclear-refit-2-billion-over-budget

========================

6. The government itself joins (and funds) lobby associations

http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2010/11/03/
lobbying-at-queens-park-bad-news-for-water/?printerFriendly

Lake Ontario Waterkeeper - November 3, 2010
Ontario government-funded entities are often members of lobby associations; those associations, in turn, lobby the Ontario government. Ontario Power Generation is a member of the Canadian Nuclear Association, as well as the CANDU Owners Group (also a CNA member). The Ministries of Agriculture, Energy and Industry are “funding organizations” of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association. The OSEA, in turn, is a member of the Green Energy Act Alliance, whose mandate was to campaign for the recently-passed Green Energy and Green Economy Act.

===================

7. No Nukes News – Oct. 26 & Nov. 4, 2010
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Bruce nuclear refit $2 billion over budget

http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/article/
885072--bruce-nuclear-refit-2-billion-over-budget
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Darlington Re-Build Could Cost $21 to $35 Billion
Every single nuclear project in Ontario’s history has gone over budget. On average, the actual costs of Ontario’s nuclear projects have been 2.5 times greater than the original cost estimates.

http://www.cleanairalliance.org/node/881

Please send Premier McGuinty an email telling him that taxpayers and consumers should not pay for any nuclear cost overruns. Fixed-price bids should be required. Invest in lower cost and lower risk options:

http://www.cleanairalliance.org/letter_to_dalton2
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Feds monitor Lepreau – more than $1 billion over budgetTwo 'special representatives' engaged by Ottawa to oversee Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.'s nuclear refurbishment projects, including long-delayed refit at New Brunswick plant, documents show
AECL has been struggling with its reactor refurbishment projects, which also include refits in Ontario, South Korea and an upcoming refurbishment in Quebec. The Crown corporation lost $413 million on refurbishment projects in 2008-2009 despite a government infusion of $100 million. AECL expects to need another $225 million in government funding for its 2010-20ll budget, the documents state. With a revised completion date of fall 2012, Lepreau is three years behind schedule and more than $1 billion over budget.

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/ ... le/1278552
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Hudak/McGuinty: costly nuclear power will hurt electricity consumersGreenpeace activists unfurled a large banner from 16-metre flagpoles in front of Ontario Power Generation (OPG) calling on Premier Dalton McGuinty and PC leader Tim Hudak to “Stop Darlington: Protect Consumers” while dozens of activists dumped $36 billion bills on the front steps to represent the money McGuinty and Hudak would spend on reactors at the Darlington nuclear station.

Read more and see pics here:

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/recent/
HudakMcGuinty-costly-nuclear-power-will-hurt-electricity-consumers/

Watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvFNEcO5ocg

Don't Nuke Green Energy Postering Blitz:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKS9-jgU ... re=related
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Mayor of Montreal blocks nuclear waste transport on St. LawrenceLast week, the City of Montreal announced that it will not allow a shipment of 16 decommissioned Bruce Power nuclear generators to be transported through Montreal on the St. Lawrence. Montreal’s main concern is the risk of contamination as the “shipment’s radioactive waves would be fifty times higher than the international limit.” The shipment is one of the biggest of its kind to be transported in Canada. The 16 generators were to be shipped from the Bruce Power plant in Tiverton, Ontario through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence to a nuclear recycling plant in Sweden. Each of the generators are approximately the size of a school bus.

http://mcgilldaily.com/articles/36424
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Open letter to the leaders of Nunavut on the health implications of opening the territory to uranium mining

http://www.ccnr.org/Vakil_Harvey_letter_2010.pdf

Human Health Implications of Uranium Mining and the Nuclear Industry

http://www.safewater.org/PDFS/reportlibrary/
HumanHealthImplicationsUraniumNuclear.pdf
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Nuke power project: 3000 villagers court arrest in Ratnagiri
This tiny village took on the might of the state on Friday and by the evening, victory clearly belonged to it. Despite preventive arrests, prohibitory orders and road blocks more than 3000 villagers' courted arrests, as part of their 'Jail Bharo' agitation.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/
Nuke-power-project-3000-villagers-court-arrest-in-Ratnagiri/articleshow/6836138.cms
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Fuelling the Problem – Why it is time to end tax breaks to oil, coal and gas companies in Canada
A report released today by the Climate Action Network Canada tells the story behind the government's nearly $1.4 billion per year in tax breaks and subsidies to the oil, gas, and coal industry in Canada. The report also outlines the federal government's months-long strategy to downplay its obligation to phase-out fossil fuel subsidies (something all G20 countries agreed to in 2009). According to the report, the Green Budget Coalition has identified over $900 million in tax breaks to the fossil fuels industry that could be eliminated in the March 2011 federal budget. The International Institute for Sustainable Development has also released a new report estimating that government subsidies to the fossil fuels industry in Canada amounted to more than $2.8 billion in 2008.

http://us1.campaign-archive.com/
?u=4cf9c25137b6bcab2fc27328c&id=8cbcca3803&e=cf060e6366
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Wind energy contributes new all-time high to Ontario power supplyWind energy hit a new all-time record high for hourly electricity output in Ontario on Tuesday, October 26, producing 1,056 MW of power around 9:00 PM that evening according to the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Over the course of the entire day, wind energy was responsible for supplying more than five per cent of Ontario's total electricity demand. Wind energy has increased 10-fold in the last six years in Canada as governments seek ways to meet rising energy demand, reduce environmental impacts of electricity generation, and stimulate rural and industrial economic development.

http://www.canwea.ca/media/release/rele ... ?newsId=94
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Why solar’s future is bright
Solar panels can deliver clean power where we need it, when we need it most, and will soon be cost-competitive with electricity from the grid. That’s the conclusion of the Solar Generation report released today.

http://links.visibli.com/links/437a8f
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Future of solar energy continues to brighten
Already, solar is cheaper than nuclear energy, according to a study called Solar and Nuclear Costs -- the Historic Crossover.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/environment/
Future+solar+energy+continues+brighten/3656156/story.html
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Earth 2100: what will the next 90 years look like?
Friday, November 5, 7:00 p.m.
OISE, 252 Bloor St. W. (St. George subway), Room 5150, University of Toronto
This film, first aired by ABC television network in 2009, shows us what could happen in the next 90 years in North America, if there is nothing done to mitigate climate change. Sadly nothing is being done at the federal level in Canada right now and the situation is worsening. What are the consequences? Earth 2100 is a compelling narrative, interspersed with interviews from leading climate change experts. Of all the major climate change films (Inconvenient Truth, Age of Stupid, The 11th Hour, etc) Earth 2100 is arguably the best of the lot.
After the film there will be brief slideshow on the current climate policies in Canada, and what is possible and is being done in other countries such as Norway and Germany, followed by an open and informal discussion.
For more info. contact <paulyork.2010@gmail.com>, Students Against Climate Change
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Building Peace: Resisting War
November 12 – 14, Hart House, University of Toronto
Join with the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) as they celebrate their 50th anniversary with a conference, gala, entertainment and more!

http://vowpeace.org/cms/Events/View/
10-11-12/Vow_s_50th_Anniversary_Gala_dinner_and_events.aspx
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Pugwash Canada and Science for Peace present: Eric Fawcett Dinner and Forum
Sunday 14 November, 1:30-4:00 PM, Toronto
Forum One: International Law & Institutions: Building Peace & Security
Forum Two: Towards an Arctic Nuclear Weapons Free Zone

For more info:

http://www.scienceforpeace.ca/eric-fawc ... -and-forum
----------------------------------------------------------------

Find out what's on at Community Power 2010
The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association is hosting its 2nd annual Community Power Conference 2010 this November 15-16 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Do not miss the Community Power sector's premier event of the year.

http://cpconference.ca/
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Dr. Helen Caldicott – She knows something you should know! Tues. Nov. 16, 7:30 pm
St. Mark’s Parrish Hall, 51 King St, Port Hope, Ontario
Tickets: $15 Adults, free for students with student card
Order tickets here: ph. (950) 885 1572
Dr. Caldicott is founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. For 30 years she has educated the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Order FREE anti-nuke and anti-coal postcards/leaflets to distribute to your friends and neighbours!

http://www.cleanairalliance.org/get_inv ... _pamphlets

And watch the 11 minute video with Jack Gibbons, Ontario Clean Air Alliance on how the proposed Darlington nuclear re-build will drive up electricity bills
http://www.cleanairalliance.org/

= = = = = = =

No Nukes News - Oct. 26, 2010
----------------------------------------------------------------

How the proposed Darlington nuclear re-build will drive up electricity bills
11 minute video with Jack Gibbons, Ontario Clean Air Alliance

http://www.cleanairalliance.org/
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New Brunswick Premier Seeks Federal Funds for Reactor Delay New Brunswick Premier David Alward will be pressing Prime Minister Stephen Harper for federal funding to cover the escalating cost overruns associated with the delayed $1.4-billion Point Lepreau nuclear refurbishment project.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/ ... 010/10/21/
nb-alward-harper-aecl-lepreau-delays-949.html?ref=rss

Background: When NB Power's proposal to refurbish the Point Lepreau reactor was examined by the Utility Board, the advice was unequivocal: don't do it! The financial risk was much too great for the province to undertake and cheaper alternatives were readily available.
The province ignored this advice and went ahead anyway. The project was supposed to take a year-and-a-half. Now it has stretched to at least four-and-a-half years, and now the Premier wants OTHER CANADIANS -- taxpayers from other provinces -- to pay for New Brunswick's bad decision.
If you do not think this is fair, write to the federal government and tell them that you do not want to have your taxes subsidize NB's refurbishment project.
- Gordon Edwards.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Bruce Power nuclear waste ruling delayed
Bruce Power will have to wait a bit longer to see if it has permission to ship 16 radiation-contaminated steam generators through the Great Lakes and down the St. Lawrence River en route to Sweden.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/10/18/
bruce-power-nuclear-waste-sweden.html
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Nuclear Delays and Overruns
NDP MPP Michael Prue today urged Minister of Energy to publicly review Darlington refurbishment costs in light of further delays to Refurbishment of Bruce A.
Mr. Michael Prue: The refurbishment of Bruce Power has been delayed again. This is not surprising, though, because every nuclear project in Ontario’s history has been delayed and been over budget. Given that the cost of building and refurbishing nuclear plants has doubled and the cost of renewable energy is falling, why has this government ruled out increasing renewable power and reducing nuclear in advance of its electricity plan consultations?...
The minister says that Ontario ratepayers won’t pay for cost overruns on the Bruce refurbishment, but that’s only because the government signed a sweetheart deal that overpays Bruce Power for electricity it doesn’t even produce and because federal taxpayers are subsidizing the refurbishment through the AECL. Now the McGuinty government plans to refurbish the Darlington nuclear plant at a cost of $10 billion, before the cost overruns even occur. Why won’t this minister hold a public inquiry into the cost of refurbishing Darlington before committing Ontarians to another nuclear boondoggle?
Watch the 3 minute video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCPckuWzzkc
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The 4th Revolution – Energy Autonomy
Energy entirely from renewable sources, accessible to everyone, affordable and clean. Utopia? Not quite, as Carl A. Fechner’s documentary “Energy autonomy – the 4th revolution” shows. A visionary film, arguing that through energy autonomy we can positively influence the balance of power and distribute capital more equitably - we need only do it. This is not a distant dream anymore, but rapidly becoming reality, as Fechner demonstrates presenting practical examples, exemplary projects and the daily work of “green” champions around the globe.
Watch this 8 minute trailer – prepare to be inspired!

http://www.energyautonomy.org/index.php ... 29&clang=1
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Understanding time-of-use billing for smart meters
Transmission and distribution rates rose at the end of May, increasing the average hydro bill by approximately nine per cent, with an additional increase of eight per cent in June due to the new HST. As renewable energy -such as solar and wind power -is added to the energy mix, rates will be impacted by one to three per cent.
A debt repayment fee is also attached to hydro bills across the province to account for power used over the past 25 years combined with a lack of funds set aside to invest in current and future supply. This adds up to more fees on your hydro bill.

http://www.simcoereformer.ca/
ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=2806349
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Two Minutes to Move Forward Contest for Short Videos about Nuclear Weapons.
Watch the 7 winning 2-min. videos here:

http://www.youtube.com/group/SeriouslyVideo2010
Sponsored by Seriously, Time to Stop, a campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Another record year for solar cells - Fifty countries now offer feed-in tariffs
Solar photovoltaic (PV) cell manufacturers produced a record 10,700 megawatts of PV cells globally in 2009 — an impressive 51-percent increase from the year before. Solar PV, the world’s fastest-growing power technology, now generates electricity in more than 100 countries. With costs dropping, economies of scale growing, and governments realizing the benefits of this limitless, climate-friendly resource, the future for solar power looks bright.

http://www.straightgoods.ca/2010/
ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=877&Cookies=yes
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Natural Gas Fracking raises concerns in provinces
The threat of fracking has raised concerns about its impact on water in almost every province across Canada. As described by Environmental Leader news, “the hydraulic fracturing process involves taking water from the ground, pumping fracturing fluids and sands into the wells under pressure, then separating and managing the leftover water after withdrawing the (unconventional shale) gas.”
Read what’s happening in each province:

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=4993
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Why Europe Could Decide Fate of Canada's Oil Sands
Tories and petro firms worry oil sands restrictions in Europe will spread to other key nations. They're lobbying hard to prevent it.

http://thetyee.ca/News/2010/10/20/EuropeDecidesFate/
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Ask Me Why I Protest the Tar Sands

http://allan.lissner.net/ask-me-why-i-p ... tar-sands/
----------------------------------------------------------------

National First Nations Woman's Speakers Tour on Tar Sands
Wed. Oct. 27, 7 - 9 p.m.
Sidney Smith Hall - Room 2118, 100 St. George Street, University of Toronto
Speakers: Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Jasmine Thomas
The tar sands development has completely outstripped the ability of the corporations and provincial and federal governments to provide environmental management and protection. In the perspective of many concerned First Nations and citizens of northern Alberta, the government has given the responsibility of environmental monitoring and enforcement to the corporations. This tour is profiling woman from downstream impacted First Nations directly from tar sands operations. They will speak out on the grave human rights situation playing out in their communities as a result of the world’s largest and most destructive development known as Canada's Tar Sands.
Sponsored by the Indigenous Environmental Network in partnership with Environmental Justice Toronto and Defenders of the Land.

http://www.ienearth.org/tarsands.html
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Building Peace: Resisting War
November 12 – 14, Hart House, U of Toronto
Join with the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) as they celebrate their 50th anniversary with a conference, gala, entertainment and more!

http://vowpeace.org/cms/Events/View/
10-11-12/Vow_s_50th_Anniversary_Gala_dinner_and_events.aspx
----------------------------------------------------------------

Find out what's on at Community Power 2010
The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association is hosting its 2nd annual Community Power Conference 2010 this November 15-16 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Do not miss the Community Power sector's premier event of the year.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Cheques to OCAA, Not Blank Cheques to OPG
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is seeking permission from Premier McGuinty to re-build its aging Darlington Nuclear Station and pass 100% of its inevitable cost overruns on to electricity consumers and taxpayers – that means YOU.
No more blank cheques to the nuclear industry! There are many cleaner and more affordable ways to meet our energy needs.
You can help change history by supporting our campaign to end the practice of hiding the true cost of nuclear power. Support a responsible approach to energy development with a secure online donation today! Alternatively, you can pay OPG later through dramatically higher electricity bills! J
To sweeten the deal, every donation to OCAA will receive either a copy of Atomic Accomplice, a meticulously researched book about the Canadian nuclear industry, or a copy of Jazz Grows Green, a delightful, light jazz music CD – your choice!
Thanks for your support!
- Angela Bischoff and Jack Gibbons, Ontario Clean Air Alliance
----------------------------------------------------------------

Order free anti-nuke and anti-coal postcards/leaflets to distribute to your friends and neighbours!

Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Tel: 416 926 1907 x 246
625 Church Street, #402
Toronto, ON M4Y 2G1
angela@cleanairalliance.org
www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca
www.cleanairalliance.org
Our Facebook Group
Sign Our Petition
No Nukes News
Health Power
Coal Must Go

==================

8. HOFFMAN: A response to President Obama's recent comments about the nuclear industry

http://acehoffman.blogspot.com/
search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=10

From: "Ace Hoffman" <rhoffman@animatedsoftware.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2010 6:01 PM
November 6th, 2010
Dear Readers,
During a press conference after the elections this week, President Obama made a short reference in vague support of nuclear energy. He said: "There's been discussion about how we can restart our nuclear industry as a means of reducing our dependence on foreign oil and reducing greenhouse gases. Is that an area where we can move forward?"
Mr. President, the answer is no: There isn't any way to move forward with nuclear power. There isn't any reason to. Nuclear power is incredibly expensive, highly polluting, it risks unstoppable catastrophe every day, and it's a hazard to nuclear industry workers and to the public.
A "commercial" nuclear reactor would cost upwards of 15 billion dollars to build in America today and require massive government subsidies which could be invested in, for example, offshore wind power and transmission lines instead.
Some people want to develop thousands of "small" nuclear power plants for elite communities of perhaps 20,000 homes each. Supposedly they will run for several decades and "only" need their fuel replaced maybe once. But from the moment ANY reactor reaches criticality, lethal quantities of fission products are created: Every atom of radioactive uranium which is split with a neutron to release energy (heat, which is turned into steam, which, a few steps later, turns a turbine to generate electricity) becomes approximately TWO radioactive fission atoms.
Fission products are especially dangerous because many of them have half-lives that are measured in human generations, which gives them time to get into a human being somewhere if they are released to the environment. When the fission products decay, they usually transmute into something which is ALSO radioactive. Each of those isotopes then decays into something which is ALSO radioactive... this decay chain goes on for twenty or more steps. When one uranium atom is split, the result is dozens of separate radioactive events before all the products of that original fission event become something stable (for example, lead). The entire process is very unpredictable but usually takes hundreds of thousands of years, so nuclear accidents last a long time in the environment. Radioactive fallout from atmospheric weapons testing continues today, as does fallout from Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, Mayak, Sellafield, and thousands of other so-called "accidents".
ALL nuclear power plants are simply accidents waiting to happen.

MORE: http://acehoffman.blogspot.com/
search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=10

===================

9. Beyond Nuclear – November 4, 2010
TAKE ACTION

As dust from elections settles, urge Congress: no nuclear loan guarantees!

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/nuclear-co ... 2010/11/4/
as-election-day-dust-settles-urge-congress-no-nuclear-loan-g.html

Whether during the lame duck session of the current U.S. Congress, or the new Congress in early 2011, we must redouble our efforts to counter the nuclear power industry's army of lobbyists as they undoubtedly are planning major money grabs at the U.S. Treasury. Call your U.S. Representative and Senators via the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
= = = = = =
TOP STORIES

Vermont Yankee reactor rocked by election day results!

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
nuclear-reactors-whatsnew/2010/11/4/vermont-yankee-reactor-rocked-by-election-day-results.html

David O'Brien, commissioner of the State of Vermont Dept. of Public Service, admits VY's "biggest liability is the political environment in a state with a powerful anti-nuclear movement and where the incoming governor and key legislators are longtime critics of it."
= = = = = = = =
Radioactive groundwater found at Virginia reactor

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
radiation-health-whats-new/2010/11/3/radioactive-groundwater-found-at-north-anna.html

A recent groundwater monitoring sample point at the North Anna, Virginia plant recorded a level of 16,500 picocuries of tritium per liter. Although this is below the allowed EPA limit, there is no safe level of tritium which studies show can cause host of health problems including cancer.

====================

10. Radioactive rabbit caught near U.S. nuclear site

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/
2010-11/06/c_13593358.htm

2010-11-06
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Washington State Department of Health workers have been searching for contaminated droppings after a radioactive rabbit was caught north of Richland in southeastern Washington, home to the Hanford nuclear site, local media reported Friday.
According to Tri-City Herald, the rabbit, which was highly contaminated with radioactive cesium, caught the health authorities' attention because it was close enough to the nuclear site's boundaries to potentially come in contact with the public.
Earl Fordham, regional director of the Office of Radiation Protection, said that the survey on Thursday turned up no contaminated droppings in areas accessible to the public.
According to Washington Closure Hanford, an Energy Department contractor cleaning up the site, the contamination was possibly from a building used for testing highly radioactive materials in producing nuclear weapons and it was demolished about a month ago.
The rabbit might have been sipping water sprayed during demolition, the company said. Washington Closure said the company found the contaminated rabbit droppings last week with the farthest still within an area closed to the public.Liquid waste with radioactive salts was discharged into the ground near central Hanford during the Cold War. Rabbits and other animals were attracted to the salts and spread radioactive droppings across as much as 13.7 square miles (some 35 million square meters) before the waste sites were sealed to keep out animals in 1969.
Hanford currently is the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States and is the focus of the nation's largest environmental cleanup. Last year, 33 contaminated animals or animal materials such as droppings were found on the site.

MORE: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/
2010-11/06/c_13593358.htm

===================

11. Fear Darkens Czech Uranium Mining Town

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/business/global/
05uranium.html?src=busln

By James Kanter, New York Times, November 4 2010
STRAZ POD RALSKEM, CZECH REPUBLIC — The national uranium company in the Czech Republic, Diamo, has been working for years to keep toxic waste left by decades of uranium mining from poisoning some of the country’s largest underground stocks of fresh water or reaching the Elbe River.
The cleanup, which began in 1996, is expected to last 30 more years, with a total cost of around $2.75 billion.
Yet despite the costly mess, anticipation that demand for nuclear energy will keep growing globally, on top of local fears about overdependence on Russia for fuel, have rekindled interest in the old mines from companies as far afield as Australia.
That has stirred mixed feelings in the pretty Bohemian villages that dot the forests and gently rolling hills here, about 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, north of Prague.
Some residents are infuriated by the prospect of more deep mining or of pumping more sulfuric acid and other chemicals into the ground, which would add to a huge pool of waste that is spread across 27 square kilometers, or about 11 square miles.
The recent toxic sludge disaster in Hungary, which threatened to pollute the Danube, heightened the sense of alarm by focusing attention on environmental problems left over from the Communist era.
But many of the roughly 4,200 people in Straz, a town dominated by hulking apartment blocks built for miners and their families decades ago, take a far more sanguine view.
“A lot of people here depended on uranium,” said Marketa Humlova, 31, an English teacher who was out shopping with her young son. “The deposit still is so large that I think it’s inevitable that they will start mining it.”
Tomas Rychtarik, the local director of Diamo, said the area contained the largest known reserves of uranium in the European Union: at least 70,000 tons, or enough to power the country’s six reactors for 70 years.
For investors, the lure is the rising value of uranium, as fast-growing countries like China, India and the United Arab Emirates build fleets of reactors.
Uranium hit a record of nearly $140 a pound in June 2007, largely driven by hedge funds betting on future shortages. Since then prices have fallen drastically because of new supplies from Kazakhstan, and as doubts have arisen over how quickly new power plants can be built. Even so, prices are up nearly 30 percent from this year’s low of $40.50 a pound in March because of widespread demand.

MORE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/business/global/
05uranium.html?src=busln

======================

12. Recent Ceasefire.ca Articles

Britain and France sign military cooperation treaties

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6048&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 04 Nov 2010 08:34 PM PDT
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron and France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy have signed two new military cooperation treaties. One of the treaties focuses on nuclear weapons cooperation. Under the agreement, a British-French centre at the British nuclear weapon research and development establishment at Aldermaston will work on nuclear testing technology, and a centre in Valduc, eastern [...]

Ignatieff on Canada’s lost Security Council seat: What’s your reaction?

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6060&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 09:57 PM PDT
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has laid out his vision for “rebuilding Canada’s leadership on the world stage” in the wake of the Harper government’s failed bid for a seat on the U.N. Security Council. Speaking to Le Conseil des Relations Internationales de Montréal on November 2nd, Ignatieff condemned the Harper government’s approach to foreign policy, [...]

Happy talk watch: More momentum moments

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6040&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 01:30 PM PDT
More official word on who’s got the Big Mo in Afghanistan: “We now have the initiative. We have created momentum.” Major-General Nick Carter, commander of NATO coalition forces in southern Afghanistan (Carlotta Gall, “NATO coalition pushes Taliban into retreat in southern Afghanistan,” Globe and Mail, 21 October 2010) “My sense is there will be a [...]

F-35 protest outside Aerospace Industries Association convention

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6015&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 31 Oct 2010 08:05 PM PDT
Last week saw the first Canadian street protest over the planned purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The protest took place on Tuesday, October 26th outside of the Westin Ottawa hotel, where the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada was meeting. Shown above, the Raging Grannies, supported by ceasefire.ca, perform outside the convention as Minister [...]

Little oversight for security contracts: U.S. Senate report

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5609&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 16 Oct 2010 12:30 AM PDT
According to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, the Pentagon has little oversight over contracted security deals in Afghanistan and, as a result, local security deals between Western companies, American military commanders, and Afghan warlords with close connections to the Taliban are being made (James Risen, “Afghans Linked to the Taliban Guard U.S. Bases,” New York [...]

Steven Staples on CTV’s Power Play Discussing F-35 Report

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=5694&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 15 Oct 2010 07:01 AM PDT
Steven Staples discusses the CCPA/Rideau Institute report on F-35 stealth fighters with the Globe and Mail's Jane Taber on CTV Power Play.

====================

13. Dwight Was Right

http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/266-32/
3327-dwight-was-right

By Michael Moore, OpenMike Blog 30 September 10
So ... it turns out President Eisenhower wasn't making up all that stuff about the military-industrial complex.
That's what you'll conclude if you read Bob Woodward's new book, Obama's War. (You can read excerpts of it here, here and here.) You thought you voted for change when you cast a ballot for Barack Obama? Um, not when it comes to America occupying countries that don't begin with a "U" and an "S."
In fact, after you read Woodward's book, you'll split a gut every time you hear a politician or a government teacher talk about "civilian control over the military." The only people really making the decisions about America's wars are across the river from Washington in the Pentagon. They wear uniforms. They have lots of weapons they bought from the corporations they will work for when they retire.
For everyone who supported Obama in 2008, it's reassuring to find out he understands we have to get out of Afghanistan. But for everyone who's worried about Obama in 2010, it's scary to find out that what he thinks should be done may not actually matter. And that's because he's not willing to stand up to the people who actually run this country.
And here's the part I don't even want to write - and none of you really want to consider:
It matters not whom we elect. The Pentagon and the military contractors call the shots. The title "Commander in Chief" is ceremonial, like "Employee of the Month" at your local Burger King.
Everything you need to know can be found in just two paragraphs from Obama's War. Here's the scene: Obama is meeting with his National Security Council staff on the Saturday after Thanksgiving last year. He's getting ready to give a big speech announcing his new strategy for Afghanistan. Except ... the strategy isn't set yet. The military has presented him with just one option: escalation. But at the last minute, Obama tells everyone, hold up - the door to a plan for withdrawal isn't closed.
The brass isn't having it: "Mr. President," [Army Col. John Tien] said, "I don't see how you can defy your military chain here. We kind of are where we are. Because if you tell General McChrystal, 'I got your assessment, got your resource constructs, but I've chosen to do something else,' you're going to probably have to replace him. You can't tell him, 'Just do it my way, thanks for your hard work.' And then where does that stop?"
The colonel did not have to elaborate. His implication was that not only McChrystal but the entire military high command might go in an unprecedented toppling - Gates; Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. David H. Petraeus, then head of U.S. Central Command. Perhaps no president could weather that, especially a 48-year-old with four years in the U.S. Senate and 10 months as commander in chief.
And, well, the rest is history. Three days later Obama announced the escalation at West Point. And he became our newest war president.

MORE:
http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/266-32/
3327-dwight-was-right

=======================

14. Amnesty International decries defeat of mining bill

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/
882754--amnesty-international-decries-defeat-of-mining-bill

Les Whittington, Toronto Star, Thu Oct 28 2010
OTTAWA—Amnesty International says the defeat of legislation to tighten controls over Canadian mining companies will further undermine Canada’s image as a defender of human rights globally.
“Passing Bill C-300 would have boosted Canada’s national reputation and demonstrated that we take human rights seriously,” said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty’s 67,000-member Canadian chapter.
Liberal MP John McKay’s private member’s bill would have established federal government scrutiny of Canadian mining corporations in developing countries. The legislation arose from years of allegations of environmental and human rights abuses involving Canadian mining corporations operating overseas.
The industry said the problems in its mining operations in the developing world have been exaggerated by non-governmental organizations and social activists. Mining companies urged MPs to reject the legislation.
Opposed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative caucus, the bill was narrowly defeated in the House of Commons Wednesday.
Amnesty said the vote was another example of Canada’s lack of commitment to human rights. It’s similar to Ottawa’s rejection of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Harper government’s decision not to intervene in all cases to help Canadians facing the death penalty abroad and the handling of Canadians such as Maher Arar who have been mistreated in foreign jails, Amnesty said.
“The defeat of this bill is another blow to Canada’s international reputation as a leader in the protection of human rights,” the group commented.

MORE:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/
882754--amnesty-international-decries-defeat-of-mining-bill

=====================

15. Canada the biggest loser under NAFTA Chapter 11: report

http://www.canadians.org/tradeblog/?p=1164

November 4, 2010
A report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that Canada has attracted 43 per cent of the 66 investor-state disputes under NAFTA’s Chapter 11. In the past five years alone, 15 new cases have been brought against Canada, which is more than half the total number of Canadian cases since NAFTA came into force 15 years ago. The report lists in detail the 66 cases, including the complaining investor, issue, NAFTA articles cited, amount claimed and status. It then makes recommendations based on these findings.
The upward trend in challenges against Canadian government policies over the past five years “reflects a growing awareness among foreign investors and corporate trade lawyers of NAFTA investment rights, and an increasing willingness to invoke them to contest public policy measures,” writes Scott Sinclair, senior researcher with the CCPA, and author of today’s report. In Canada, settlements with corporations challenging provincial and federal public policy have cost the country $157 million, not counting legal costs.
Incredibly, $130 million of that figure went to one company — AbitibiBowater, which settled with the federal government recently in a highly controversial case.
“Ottawa’s decision to settle with the investor raises serious constitutional issues,” writes Sinclair. “Although the exact terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, the large sum of money involved undoubtedly means that AbitibiBowater was compensated, to some degree, for the loss of water and timber rights on public lands. Such rights, however, are not considered compensable under Canadian law.”
Investment arbitration is increasingly controversial and contested globally. The process is so undemocratic and flawed that Chapter 11 should be removed from NAFTA outright, claims the CCPA report, which concludes:
The NAFTA investment regime was originally characterized as an exceptional remedy to be used only under extreme circumstances. It was supposedly aimed at situations where the domestic courts, specifically in the Mexican regime of that era, could not be trusted to redress valid investor concerns. Fifteen years of experience has clearly shown that the sweeping powers and protections afforded to investors by NAFTA have repeatedly been invoked in order to frustrate the legitimate exercise of governmental authority. In too many cases, those efforts have succeeded. It is now time for renewed public pressure on North American governments to address the serious threat to the rule of law and democratic governance posed by NAFTA’s Chapter 11.

To read the report, click here:

http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/ ... lications/
National%20Office/2010/11/NAFTA%20Chapter%2011%20Investor%20State%20Disputes.pdf

====================

16. THE ELECTIONS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY BUT WE'VE FACED BIGGER ODDS BEFORE....

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NucNews/message/32182

TELL CONGRESS: NO NUCLEAR IN THE LAME DUCK, AND NOT NEXT YEAR EITHER!
Nuclear Information and Rersource Service
6930 Carroll Avenue, #340, Takoma Park, MD 20912; 301-270-6477; nirsnet@nirs.org; www.nirs.org
November 4, 2010
Dear Friends,
By now you're probably as sick of election news, results and analysis as we are, but since we haven't seen anything useful specifically on the election's impact on nuclear power, we hope you'll bear with us. We'll keep it short!
THE GOOD: The leader in the Vermont legislature to permanently close Vermont Yankee, Peter Shumlin, will be the new governor of Vermont! Coincidence that the day after the election Entergy put the reactor up for sale? We think not. While the battle isn't over until Vermont Yankee is shut down and the key thrown away, its days are numbered.
Whatever else you may think of Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), his defeat would have brought new life to the scientifically-indefensible Yucca Mountain waste dump. With Reid re-elected, Yucca Mountain's most powerful foe remains in place, and the focus will be on the battle over a new radioactive waste policy for the U.S. That's a battle we can win.
THE BAD: We don't really have to go there, do we? But of particular note were the defeat of allies Rep. John Hall (D-NY) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.). They will be missed.
THE UGLY: The ugly is what comes after an election like this. Already the nuclear industry is salivating over the prospect of more taxpayer money to line its pockets. Here is an article from Bloomberg News yesterday that starts out, "Electricity producers such as NRG Energy Inc. and Southern Co. will benefit as Republicans who won control of the U.S. House yesterday promote nuclear power as part of clean-energy legislation."
And here is an article that says two of only five areas Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sees for cooperation over the next two years are nuclear power and "clean" coal.
And President Obama said at his press conference yesterday, "There's been discussion about how we can restart our nuclear industry as a means of reducing our dependence on foreign oil and reducing greenhouse gases. Is that an area where we can move forward?"
In short, we're going to have our work cut out for us for the next two years, beginning with the lame duck session that starts November 15.
Start now by telling Congress not to mis-interpret the election results as support for nuclear power.
Indeed, a recent public opinion poll found that only 23% of the American people support loan guarantees for new reactors!
Truth is, we've faced bigger odds before. It wasn't that long ago that the most ardently pro-nuclear administration in history--the Bush-Cheney administration--was avidly promoting nuclear power, and they controlled both Houses of Congress at the time.
Yet, with your help, we still won most of our battles back then.
And we're much better positioned now. With your help and outreach, our membership and supporters have more than quadrupled since Bush left office. And since we've been around for more than 30 years, we weren't exactly starting out from scratch...and we're still growing!
So let's get to work. Tell Congress now: the election results don't mean more money for nuclear power, they mean: END taxpayer subsidies for new reactors!
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
nirsnet@nirs.org
www.nirs.org

P.S. You can share this election update and Alert--and you'll be able to share the Action Page--on Facebook and just about any other networking site you use, with our handy new Share app above. We hope you will.

by **Oscar** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 12:35 pm

NUKE NEWS: November 10, 2010

1. NESTRUCK: Letter: Remembrance DAY - Yeah Sure!
2. MP touts uranium ownership bill
3. Areva employee on NAS uranium mining panel
4. WATCH: Nuclear State, police state: scandalous repression against non-violent activists….English translation
5. Nuke power project: 3000 villagers court arrest in Ratnagiri
6. Anti-nuclear rally protests against 'Chernobyl on wheels'
7. Give the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future your two cents worth!
8. Vermont's Great Green Election Day Victory -- Kick out the Nuclear Plant
9. Nuclear smuggling: The expert view
10. Ceasefire.ca Updates
11. Canada may keep non-combat troops in Afghanistan until 2014
12. This is the Security State Steve Built
13. George W Bush sings praises of successor
14. Clinton Lost Nuclear Launch Codes, Retired General Says
15. Iran 'ready' for nuclear talks
16. US senator calls for major Iran attack
17. Bush: Olmert asked me to bomb suspected Syria nuclear plant
18. Council of Canadians Updates

===============

1. NESTRUCK: Letter: Remembrance DAY - Yeah Sure!

To The Editor, Toronto Star November 10, 2010
Dear sir,
Remembrance DAY - Yeah Sure!
I grew-up surrounded by my father's War Amp. friends. I learned about being honest, hard-working, respectful, loyal and caring, from him and his friends. I also learned about thankfulness from those gentlemen... Rarely did I hear complaints about their lot in life, rather I got the impression that they considered themselves as the lucky ones.
Most of those gentlemen grew up during the Great Depression and besides having lost friends and more than a decade of their youth to the war, they also lost hands, feet, arms and legs, sight, hearing etc. and instead had crutches canes and by today's standards primitive prosthesis and sometimes even worse, many were young paraplegics doomed to wheel chairs. Of course nobody had a name for 'post traumatic stress' and any such problems were attributed to 'weakness' and character flaws in the afflicted,
Being a child I had no understanding of the courage their every day lives demanded, and I took for granted the kindness, caring and time they had for us their children and all children that would reap the benefits of their sacrifices and most importantly, as a child I had no idea of the callous indifference our country's leadership would further inflict on these gentlemen.
As the years disappeared in a haze of youthful activity I started to become aware that to be a War Vet was not, except for one day each year, something respected and honored in our society but rather something to be valued in dollars, something that 'cost' the government money, and something that became less and less valuable as our consumer society exploded in material avarice. Eventually I became aware that the contributions of my father's generation were each year, each election, devalued and seen as a burden on those in power and something that should just go away- As each Vet disappeared into a grave or institution we could all get back to what is important in 'our' lives.
The recent attempts of 'our' government to deal with our new veterans and commodify their injuries and service into a one time buy-out, is only the most up-to-date example of our country's demise into callous greed and selfishness.
As I watch 'our' Prime Minister stand beside a few remaining veterans, proud despite their age and growing infirmities, I see the 'leader' of Canada looking like a crippled soul-less waif.
Oh , Canada!
Shane Nestruck
381 Arnold Ave, Winnipeg
204-474-2588
204-510-8828
shanedn@mts.net

==================

2. MP touts uranium ownership bill

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/11/
09/sk-uranium-bill-1011.html

Last Updated: Tuesday, November 9, 2010 | 11:31 AM CST CBC News
A Saskatchewan Conservative Member of Parliament wants to see legislation that could make it easier for foreign investors to buy Canadian uranium mines.
Right now, uranium falls under the non-resident ownership rule, which prevents foreign companies from owning more than 49 per cent of a Canadian mine.
MP Brad Trost is asking the federal government in a private member's bill to scrap that policy. Instead, majority foreign ownership would be allowed if the minister responsible decides it would not pose a risk to national security.
Trost said the rule changes proposed in the uranium mine ownership act could boost the economy.
"There's been Asian interest not only in Saskatchewan but also in Nunavut to expand the mines," Trost said.
"When you have more players, more senior mining companies, bidding to develop mines it helps the junior mining sector."
Trost said Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and three former Saskatchewan premiers support the move.
However, Regina Liberal MP Ralph Goodale says he's opposed to the bill.
"It removes some very important elements in terms of national policy with respect to the development of Canada's uranium resources and that's especially important to a province like Saskatchewan."

MORE:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/11/09/
sk-uranium-bill-1011.html

=====================

3. Areva employee on NAS uranium mining panel

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/uranium-mining/2010/11/10/
areva-employee-on-nas-uranium-mining-panel.html

Wednesday Nov10 2010
The National Academy of Sciences has now chosen panelists for a study which will be used by the Virginia General Assembly to determine whether uranium mining should be permitted in the state. Concerned citizens asked for the removal of an Areva employee, but their request was denied. Areva runs uranium mines in Niger and, therefore, has a vested interest in uranium mining expansion.
The first meeting to vet the conflicts of interest of the panelists was on October 26-27, 2010. The second meeting will take place November 15 and 16. There will be another meeting in the Virginia target community December 13-15.
Some sessions are closed. For meeting information and updates, go here:

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/pr ... ?key=49253

Future meetings are planned for Saskatchewan and Colorado, specific places to be determined. (Emphasis added.) While this study claims to be assessing just uranium mining in Virginia, citizens fear the results of this study could be used for other potential uranium mining sites.

=================

4. WATCH: Nuclear State, police state: scandalous repression against non-violent activists. (English translation…)

http://groupes.sortirdunucleaire.org/blogs/
train-d-enfer-transport-la-hague/article/action-de-blocage-du-ganva-a-caen

From: Réseau Sortir du nucléaire
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2010 11:51 AM
Subject: Nuclear State, police state: scandalous repression against non-violent activists.
Information, online donation:

http://groupes.sortirdunucleaire.org/blogs/
train-d-enfer-transport-la-hague/article/action-de-blocage-du-ganva-a-caen

Following a mobilisation on an unprecedented scale, the transfer of eleven containers of highly radioactive waste from La Hague (Manche) to Gorleben (Germany) took twice as long than expected.
In France, state repression and police raged against seven militants from GANVA (Group of Anti-nuclear Non-Violent Actions) who were attached in arm tubes under the rails to stop the "train from hell" in Caen(Normandy). The Network "Sortir du nucléaire" calls supporters and all citizens to support the Ganva. Financial assistance is urgent. The trial will take place on 8 December in Caen.
Police violence and state repression: the authorities under the heel of the nuclear lobby.
It is unacceptable in response to a non-violent action that the police use violence and deliberately injure people. GANVA activists have decided to file a complaint. The decision of the prosecutor and the judge clearly shows the will power to suppress acts of civil disobedience that would prejudice the interests of the nuclear lobby. This decision follows the current trend of systematic repression of protests and acts of political protest.
These facts show us once again that nuclear power is incompatible with democracy and can not withstand true transparency. If the population had actually been informed of the risks and dangers inherent in using the atom, the nuclear industry could not develop so easily in France
Background
On November 5, 2010, a convoy of German vitrified highly radioactive compound of 11 containers "Castor", left Valognes (France) to reach the storage site in Gorleben, Germany. At 3:40pm , 5 GANVA activists attached themselves under the rails with arm tubes at 100 m from a Viaduct, just before the Caen train station, forcing the train to stop. It remained stationary for 3 and a half hours. The philosophy of this action was peaceful and non-violent and not having to physically confront the police. The actual blocking of the train was based on physical barriers. Five militants were attached inside metal tubes passed under the tracks. It was the responsibility of the "gendarmes" and police to remove everyone safely!
Instead facing pressure from their superiors, the police lost their cool and injured three people by cutting the tubes. Even after the first person was injured, they continued in the same brutal manner. One of them had two severed tendons in his hand and had to undergo surgery, the other two were burned and must undergo a skin graft. Both directly burned were placed in custody and could not consult a doctor again until much later the next day. The militant who had two severed tendons was directly led into custody under police escort when leaving the hospital. In the end, six activists were kept in custody for 24 hours and seven are subject to bail before the case with 16 500 € to pay before November 15.
If they don't pay they will be incarcerated until their trial, to be held on 8 December 2pm at the Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI) in Caen.
Faced with this injustice , Network "Sortir du nucléaire" , calls for financial solidarity and massive support for the GANVA activists in Caen on 8 December.
Our resistance knows no boundaries!
Notre résistance ne connait pas de frontière !
Unser Widerstand kennt keine Staatsgrenzen!
Press Contacts:
Steven Mitchell +33 (0)952 495 022
Sophie Morel + 33 (0)6 83 55 15 24

Information, online donation:

http://groupes.sortirdunucleaire.org/blogs/
train-d-enfer-transport-la-hague/article/action-de-blocage-du-ganva-a-caen

To support the GANVA, cheque payable to the APSAJ (in euros) - Association for Solidarity and Legal Aid: APSAJ, 6 during the Allied 35000 - Rennes
Code IBAN : FR76 4255 9000 5541 0200 1473 207
Code BIC : CCOPFRPPXXX
Contact GANVA: ganva@riseup.net

=================

5. Nuke power project: 3000 villagers court arrest in Ratnagiri

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/
6836138.cms?prtpage=1#ixzz14DLKKTm0

Anil Singh, TNN, Oct 29, 2010, 08.08pm IST
MADBAN VILLAGE (RATNAGIRI): This tiny village took on the might of the state on Friday and by the evening, victory clearly belonged to it. Despite preventive arrests, prohibitory orders and road blocks more than 3000 villagers' courted arrests, as part of their 'Jail Bharo' agitation. By 6 pm, the police requested the leaders of the agitation to stop the flow of people.
The agitation was primarily in response to the government claim that the villagers were quiet and only a handful of outsiders were leading the agitation against the proposed 10000 MW nuclear power project in the village.
The agitation started peacefully at noon at Bhagwati temple in the village. Hundreds of women including the elderly queued up to be arrested, followed by the men folks. The police had arranged for four ST buses, but they failed awfully short, as villagers of Madban and the neighbouring villages continued to pour in.
The 250-strong contingent of policemen came prepared with riot gear and rifles, but there was not even slogan shouting. "This is a show of strength and the government must now realise that we cannot be taken for granted," Pravin Davankar of the Janhit Seva Samiti, which has been opposing the project for the past five years.
Arun Velaskar of the Konkan Bachao Samiti said, "The repressive measures of the state would not be tolerated." Vivek Monteiro, a labour leader said that AREVA, the French firm, which has been given the contract for the nuclear reactor, is under a cloud in Europe.
The villagers were angry because the government was refusing to tell them the truth and releasing information in bits and pieces. "After all, we are the ones to be directly affected," said Sanjay Gavankar, a villager, who runs a cashew nut factory.

MORE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/
6836138.cms?prtpage=1#ixzz14DLKKTm0

Retired Admiral L Ramdas and retired Supreme Court Judge P B Samant, who were coming to the rally, were stopped by the police at Hativali junction on the Mumbai-Goa Highway.

========================

6. Anti-nuclear rally protests against 'Chernobyl on wheels'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/nov/05/
anti-nuclear-chernobyl-on-wheels

Protesters confront Areva shipment of 123 tonnes of radioactive waste on 900-mile run from France to Germany
by Kim Willsher in Paris and Kate Connolly in Berlin
The Guardian, November 6, 2010
About 30,000 anti-nuclear protesters are expected to demonstrate tomorrow against a shipment of highly radioactive nuclear waste,
nicknamed "Chernobyl on wheels", that is being moved across France and Germany by train.
Although the exact route of the convoy is being kept secret, protesters have organised demonstrations at cities along its 900-mile route.
At least 17,000 German riot police are poised for what could be one of the biggest anti-nuclear demonstrations in years. By early this afternoon hundreds of activists had chained themselves to trees along the route or were preparing to lock themselves to the railway track.
The specially constructed low-speed train, carrying 123 tonnes of German radioactive waste, which was reprocessed in eastern France, started out today from Valognes, Normandy, near La Hague. It was expected to cross the French-German border early tomorrow and to arrive in Gorleben, in the far north-east of Lower Saxony, a few hours later.
Yannick Rousselet, of Greenpeace, said: "Never in history has such a quantity of radioactive material ever been transported."
Laura Hameaux, of Sortir du Nucl�aire, a network of 875 anti-nuclear groups, said: "It is at least twice the radioactivity of all the radioactive pollution from the Chernobyl catastrophe and [local people] haven't even been informed of its route."

MORE: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/nov/05/
anti-nuclear-chernobyl-on-wheels

====================

7. Give the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future your two cents worth!

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
radioactive-waste-whatsnew/2010/11/9/give-the-blue-ribbon-commission-on-americas-nuclear-future-y.html

November 9, 2010
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future (BRC for short), was created by President Obama and Energy Secretary Chu at the end of January, 2010. It was supposed to come up with "Plan B" for U.S. high-level radioactive waste management, now that they have so wisely and thankfully cancelled the geologically unsuitable and environmentally unjust Yucca Mountain, Nevada dumpsite proposal. Unfortunately, however, in its name, charter, membership, words, and actions, the BRC seems more devoted to the nuclear power industry's continuation, and even expansion, than it is to solving the radioactive waste problem.
Incredibly, the BRC will soon stop taking public comments. This is unacceptable, in that the BRC has existed for less than a year, and has only been open to public comment for less than nine months. The radioactive waste dilemma, with such high stakes for safety, security, health, and the environment for current, and countless future human generations to come, has defied solution for nearly 70 years now! Unfortunately, the BRC has busied itself by flirting with such dangerous and already failed ideas as reprocessing and "centralized interim storage," likely to be targeted at Department of Energy sites such as Savannah River, South Carolina and/or Native American reservations, despite the environmental injustice this would represent.
Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps, along with Susan Corbett of the South Carolina Sierra Club, have been tapped by a coalition of grassroots radioactive waste watchdogs across the country to present before the BRC next Tuesday morning, November 16th. In their brief allotted time, Kevin and Susan will summarize the coalition's sign on statement. This statement reflects four key principles: no reprocessing; isolation of the waste from the biosphere for as long as it is a hazard; “stop making it”; and “hardened on-site storage” (HOSS), as well as better monitoring, where waste is stored now, as the first, temporary step to meet these goals.
Please sign your group onto the statement, by emailing Mary Olson at NIRS ( maryo@nirs.org ). Mary needs your group name, contact name, city, state, website if you have one, and a concise list of nuclear sites/facilities/issues that you work on regularly. The sign on deadline is Saturday, November 13, 2010. (individuals can also endorse the statement -- watch for an email from NIRS on the way to do that later this week, or simply email Mary your desire as an individual to sign on, with complete contact information).
On Tuesday morning, November 16, you can watch Kevin and Susan present to the BRC. If you can make it to the meeting, it’s being held at the Washington Marriott Metro Center, 775 12th St. NW, Washington, DC. If not, you can watch the live webcast via the BRC's website at www.brc.gov. Kevin and Susan are scheduled to present from 8:45 am to 9:25 am. Public comments are scheduled from 11:15 am to 12:15 pm, during which time additional anti-nuclear activists may also speak. Here is the BRC's full two day schedule. More information about the BRC is available at its website above, or by calling Tim Frazier, the BRC Designated Federal Officer, at (202) 586-4243.
Finally, despite its clear bias in favor of nuclear power (it's closely affiliated with the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, the mission of which is to promote atomic energy!), the BRC has called for comments from the public.* Time is drawing short, as, incredibly, the BRC is about to close the public comment opportunity and set to writing its draft recommendations by mid 2011, followed by its final report by early 2012. So, email your comments ASAP to the BRC via BRC@nuclear.energy.gov.

For background information to help you with ideas on what to include in your comments, refer to the group sign on statement above, check out

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/radioactive-waste/,

http://www.nirs.org/radwaste/radwaste.htm, and

http://www.ieer.org/webindex.html#waste, or look through already submitted comments to the BRC at
http://www.brc.gov/comments.html.
You can also contact Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear's Radioactive Waste Watchdog, via kevin@beyondnuclear.org or (301) 270-2209 ext. 1 for ideas.
*However, at a meeting of its Transportation and Storage Subcommittee in Chicago on November 1st and 2nd, BRC's competence at public participation left a lot to be desired. Not only was November 2nd Election Day, thus inappropriate for a public meeting because it conflicted with the civic duty of voting, but the BRC Subcommittee actually commenced and ended its public comment opportunity earlier than it had publicized in its Federal Register Notice! Concerned citizens arrived at the BRC meeting on time according to the published schedule, only to find out their opportunity to comment had passed and the meeting had been adjourned! In addition, concerned citizens in attendance that day who wished to make public comment were not informed they were required to sign up to do so in advance that morning, and then were not allowed to provide comments! If the BRC cannot even get the basics of public participartion right today, how can they even pretend to be able to protect future generations for the next million years or more from the hazards of high-level radioactive waste?!

====================

8. Vermont's Great Green Election Day Victory -- Kick out the Nuclear Plant

http://www.alternet.org/story/148755/
vermont%27s_great_green_election_day_victory_--_kick_out_the_nuclear_plant?page=entire

Vermont's new governor pledged to shut its leaking nuclear site. And the town closest to that reactor has voted to take it by eminent domain if necessary.
November 5, 2010 |
AlterNet / By Harvey Wasserman
Vermont has elected a governor pledged to make the state truly green by shutting its decrepit, leaking nuclear plant. And the town closest to that reactor has voted to take it by eminent domain if necessary, a step unprecedented in world history.
In reaction, the nuke's owner (Entergy) has turned tail and put the plant up for sale. (So far, no bidders).
In direct opposition, this post-election week has been marked by radioactive crowing from a dark age industry demanding massive government loan guarantees from "free market" Congressional Republicans. Armed with oceans of unaccountable corporate/billionaire cash, Karl Rove's new nuclear GOP wants to dump Adam Smith and pump public billions into a failed industry that cannot compete. They industry continually points to France's industry as a model. But it's mute to the fact that France's leaky, error-prone nukes are owned, operated and regulated (sort of) by the French government. A national socialist prototype, the EDF/Areva edifice---like its counterpart in Japan---would melt and die in an open market.
The US industry's route to taxpayer billions is set to run through subsidized loan guarantees. In 2005, George W. Bush set aside $18.5 billion in loan giveaways for new construction. Barack Obama delivered $8.33 for two new reactors in Georgia, where ratepayers are being forced to foot the bill IN ADVANCE, even if the plants never open. They've already been forced to eat an additional $100 million in rate hikes. Having barely begun construction, the builders already want $1 billion more.

MORE: http://www.alternet.org/story/148755/
vermont%27s_great_green_election_day_victory_--_kick_out_the_nuclear_plant?page=entire

===================

9. Nuclear smuggling: The expert view

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/
nuclear-terrorism-expert-view

Insider thieves are the new nuclear threat.
Matthew Bunn, The Guardian, Sunday November 7 2010
The dark netherworlds of nuclear smuggling still pose a terrible danger to us all. Terrorists are seeking nuclear weapons and the materials to make them. Unfortunately, it doesn't take a Manhattan Project to make a crude nuclear bomb – numerous government studies have warned that a sophisticated terrorist group might pull it off, if they could get enough nuclear material.
And with bits of highly enriched uranium (HEU) continuing to show up in the hands of hustlers and smugglers, the obvious question is: of which iceberg are we seeing the tip?

MORE: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/
nuclear-terrorism-expert-view

=================

10. Ceasefire.ca Updates

WATCH: Ceasefire.ca: Steven Staples Videos: http://www.ceasefire.ca/?cat=45

Harper floats Afghanistan trial balloon

http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=6146#comment-5109

Posted: 07 Nov 2010 09:42 PM PST
Possibly hoping to extend its record of foreign policy blunders, the Harper government is considering continuing Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan past the scheduled mid-2011 end of the mission. According to the Toronto Star (Bruce Campion-Smith, “Troops may stay in Afghanistan as ‘trainers’,” 6 November 2010), “a senior government official” has confirmed that a military [...]

Refusing to acknowledge the costs of war

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6137&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 08:44 PM PST
A week-long series in the Toronto Star reveals some of the true cost of Canada’s war in Afghanistan. Friday’s article (Bruce Campion-Smith & Allan Woods, “Tories’ secret Afghan casualty list reveals intensity of combat,” Toronto Star, 5 November 2010) describes how the Conservative government and the Department of National Defence have refused to talk about [...]

WATCH: More on Afghan training mission: Steven Staples on CTV Newschannel
http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=6163
Posted: 09 Nov 2010 01:33 PM PST

WATCH: Steven Staples on CBC TV’s Power and Politics: Afghanistan training mission

http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=6157 (14 min. mark)
Posted: 09 Nov 2010 01:21 PM PST

The case of Omar Khadr: Divided opinions

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6105&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 06 Nov 2010 01:50 PM PDT
After being detained for eight years, Omar Khadr was sentenced last week to a symbolic forty years in prison after pleading guilty to murder, attempted murder, supporting terrorism, spying, and conspiracy. The sentence was symbolic, however, as a pre-trial deal had already capped Khadr’s sentence at eight years, most of which are likely to be served [...]

=================

11. Canada may keep non-combat troops in Afghanistan until 2014

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/
canada-may-keep-non-combat-troops-in-afghanistan-until-2014/article1788944/

Halifax— The Canadian Press
Published Sunday, Nov. 07, 2010 12:47PM EST
Last updated Sunday, Nov. 07, 2010 5:02PM EST
The Harper government is considering a proposal to keep hundreds of Canadian troops in Afghanistan until 2014 in a non-combat, training role, the Canadian Press has learned.
The move would extend Canada's military presence in Afghanistan three years past the July 2011 withdrawal deadline set by Parliament.

MORE:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/
canada-may-keep-non-combat-troops-in-afghanistan-until-2014/article1788944/

More related to this story (Links are on original web page above.)Governor-General wraps first visit to Afghanistan
Is Harper flip-flopping on Afghanistan troop withdrawal?
Part 1: Canada's next battle

==================

12. This is the Security State Steve Built

http://murraydobbin.ca/2010/11/08/
this-is-the-security-state-steve-built/
?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MurrayDobbin+%28Murray+Dobbin%27s+Blog%29

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:33 PM PST
For those considering issue triage — picking five or six issues to focus on — in the fight to rid the country of the current government, one area that is critical to the outcome is exposing the Harper government’s construction of the national security state.
I am referring here to the commitment of the Harper government to implementing policies that increase the importance of a war-fighting military in Canadian society, its preoccupation with tough-on-crime legislation, its blank cheque to security operations like the one “protecting” the G20 summit, and its continued efforts to convince Canadians that they face the constant risk of terrorist attack.
The flip side of the coin: criminalizing dissent and trashing civil liberties so that opposition to this agenda can be kept to a minimum.

MORE:
http://murraydobbin.ca/2010/11/08/
this-is-the-security-state-steve-built/
?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MurrayDobbin+%28Murray+Dobbin%27s+Blog%29

==================

13. George W Bush sings praises of successor

http://tipggita32.wordpress.com/2010/11 ... hloveobam/

[Of course! They're like two peas in a killer drone pod!]
07 Nov 2010
In his new memoir, "Decision Points," George W. Bush has praised President Barack Obama for his decision to send more soldiers to war in Afghanistan. In the book, which is released on Tuesday, Mr Bush has praised the current president for standing up to critics and deploying more troops in a new commitment to counterinsurgency in Afghanistan.

=================

14. Clinton Lost Nuclear Launch Codes, Retired General Says

http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/g ... 1_6845.php

Global Security Newswire, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010
(John Donvan, ABC News, Oct. 20).
Former President Clinton in 2000 misplaced a card containing key phrases required for ordering a nuclear strike, according to the new memoir by a former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (see GSN, Jan. 22, 2009).
"At one point during the Clinton administration, the codes were actually missing for months," retired Gen. Hugh Shelton wrote in "Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior."
"That's a big deal -- a gargantuan deal," he added, according to ABC News.
Retired Lt. Col Robert Patterson in a book published seven years ago asserted Clinton had lost the nuclear "biscuit" in 1998, on the morning after the public airing of allegations involving the president's sexual misconduct with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
"He thought he just placed them upstairs," wrote Patterson, who at times carried the "football," a briefcase enabling the president to authorize a nuclear attack from any location. "We called upstairs, we started a search around the White House for the codes, and he finally confessed that he in fact misplaced them. He couldn't recall when he had last seen them"

=================

15. Iran 'ready' for nuclear talks

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/10/
2010109225350662707.html

ranian foreign minister says "late October or early November" will be appropriate time to talk with six major powers.
Last Modified: 10 Oct 2010 01:02 GMT
Iran is ready to hold talks with six major powers over its nuclear programme "in late October or early November," Manouchehr Mottaki, the country's foreign minister has said.
"We think late October or early November will be an appropriate date for the talks by the representatives of Iran and 5+1 countries," Mottaki told a news conference on Saturday.
He gave no details about the venue of the talks but Western officials say they could take place in Vienna or Geneva.
"If Iran is ready to hold talks, all they need to do is pick up the phone and set a date," P J Crowley, a spokesman of the US state department, said.
Talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - as well as Germany - meant to address concerns about Tehran's uranium enrichment, stalled in October last year, leading to a toughening of international sanctions.
No official date
A spokesman for Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, said there was no official date set for nuclear talks with Iran.
"This is news to us. There has been no official date set for talks, nor has there been any official correspondence received by [...] Ashton or her services with regard to a date for talks," the spokesman said.
Ashton "remains ready to talk and is hopeful this can happen very soon," he said.
The US and its European allies fear Iran's declared civilian nuclear energy programme is a cover to develop the capability of producing nuclear weapons.
Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil producer, says it needs nuclear fuel-making technology to generate electricity.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has set conditions for further talks, saying a greater variety of countries must be involved, the parties must say whether they seek friendship or hostility with Iran, and they must express a view on Israel's alleged nuclear arsenal.
The West is wary of what it sees as Iranian efforts to dodge the main issue in talks, buying time for advances in uranium enrichment.
Iranian officials have regularly insisted that during any talks Tehran would reiterate that its nuclear rights be recognised.
Meanwhile, Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's atomic chief, said Western spying on its nuclear facilities had been thwarted by Tehran ensuring that its physicists and engineers are better looked after.
Salehi said that in the past Western countries had lured Iranian nuclear specialists abroad "with offers of better education or jobs outside Iran," the Fars new agency reported.
"People who fell for it in the past unfortunately leaked information abroad," it quoted him as saying.
"But the (Iranian Atomic Energy) Organisation has been able to gain the trust of its engineers and address their concerns, so they can continue to work in the organisation without any concerns."

MORE: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/10/
2010109225350662707.html

================

16. US senator calls for major Iran attack

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/149956.html
07 Nov 2010
A veteran senator says the US should not be satisfied with stopping Iran's nuclear program but should also destroy its military capabilities and deliver a major blow to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. Influential Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, known for his radical militaristic views and support for the Israeli regime said, "My view of military force would be not to just neutralize their nuclear program, which are probably dispersed and hardened, but to sink their navy, destroy their air force and deliver a decisive blow to the Revolutionary Guard." Graham also sits in two major Senate committees of Armed Services and Homeland Security.
- - - - - - -
'Neuter' Iran, U.S. senator tells conference

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/11/07/
ns-neuter-iran-security-conference.html

Canada's MacKay favours sanctions over more aggressive approach
Last Updated: Monday, November 8, 2010 | 1:05 AM AT The Canadian Press
A U.S. lawmaker sent ripples through an international conference in Halifax on Saturday by saying his country should be prepared to launch a military attack on Iran that would "neuter" the hardline regime.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said his party would support military action against Iran that would destroy its ability to fight back while allowing its people to rise up.
But Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay, the host of the conference, said that a military attack on Iran would have negative fallout and that international sanctions are preferable.
Graham surprised attendees at the Halifax International Security Forum with his hawkish rhetoric, saying an attack could cripple Iran's nuclear program as well as its armed forces.
The U.S. and its Western allies, including Canada, believe Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran maintains it is peacefully pursuing nuclear power to meet its energy needs.
- - - -
'Sink their navy, destroy their air force and deliver a decisive blow to the Revolutionary Guard.'— Lindsey Graham, U.S. Republican senator
- - - - -
Graham noted that international sanctions are beginning to work on Iran, but said U.S. President Barack Obama should make it "abundantly clear" all options are on the table.
"So my view of military force would be not to just neutralize their nuclear program, which are probably dispersed and hardened, but to sink their navy, destroy their air force and deliver a decisive blow to the Revolutionary Guard," Graham told a panel.
"In other words, neuter that regime."

MORE: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/11/07/
ns-neuter-iran-security-conference.html

===================

17. Bush: Olmert asked me to bomb suspected Syria nuclear plant

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=21790

--'George, I'm asking you to bomb the compound,' Olmert told Bush according to former U.S. president's memoirs; Israel eventually reportedly destroyed the facility.
05 Nov 2010
Former United States President [sic] George W. Bush wrote in his recently published memoirs that he considered ordering a U.S. military strike against a suspected Syrian nuclear facility at Israel's request in 2007, but ultimately opted against it, Reuters revealed on Friday. In his memoir, "Decision Points," Bush says that shortly after he received an intelligence report about a "suspicious, well-hidden facility in the eastern desert of Syria," he spoke by phone with former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "George, I'm asking you to bomb the compound," Olmert told Bush, according to the book, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

==================

18. Council of Canadians Updates

Five countries to meet on the rights of Mother Earth, Nov. 10-12

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5264
The Toronto Bolivia Solidarity Committee reports that, “The environment ministers of Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela will meet in La Paz, Bolivia, this week to establish a joint Ministerial Committee on the Defence of Nature. This joint governmental meeting aims to apply the proposals of the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth that was held in Cochabamba, Bolivia last April.”

UPDATE: Council supports Galloway visit to Halifax, Nov. 18

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5262
On March 20, 2009, the Guardian newspaper reported that, “(Canadian) border security officials (have) declared (British Member of Parliament George) Galloway, 54, ‘inadmissible’ because of his views on Afghanistan and the presence of Canadian troops there and would be turned away if he attempted to enter the country.” That same day, on the basis of the right to free speech, the Council of Canadians called on the Harper government to allow Mr. Galloway into Canada,

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=237.

NEWS: Privatization concerns enter the 2014 Canada Health Accord renegotiations

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5259
The Harper government has begun its preparations for the 2014 federal-provincial renegotiation of the Canada Health Accord.

NEWS: Kristen Stewart may star in film based on ‘Blue Covenant’

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5257

The News International recently reported that, “American actress Kristen Stewart (Bella from Twilight) is reportedly (to) be romancing none other than heartthrob Hrithik Roshan in the upcoming Shekhar Kapur film Paani. …The Shekhar Kapur film tells the story (in a water scarce future 30 years from now) about a poor boy, portrayed by Hrithik Roshan, who lives in the slum areas of Mumbai. A rebel at heart, the boy comes across a rich girl, played by Kristen Stewart, and the two fall in love.”

VOTE: Would for-profit medicine improve our health care system?

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5255

The Globe and Mail is asking in an on-line poll, “Would allowing more for-profit medicine improve Canada’s health care system?” At this hour (7:20 am ET) the votes are 44 percent (138 votes) yes, and 56 percent (175 votes) no.

NEWS: Harper, Ignatieff may keep 600 soldiers in Afghanistan

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5253

The Canadian Press reports that, “The Harper government is considering a proposal that would keep (up to 600) Canadian troops in Afghanistan until 2014 in a non-combat, training role… The move would extend Canada’s military presence in Afghanistan three years past the July 2011 withdrawal deadline set by Parliament, but would remove troops from the front lines of fighting.”

UPDATE: Council to screen ‘Inuit Knowledge’ film on Parliament Hill, Nov. 24

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5249

The Council of Canadians and partners will be screening the new film ‘Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change’ on Parliament Hill on Wednesday November 24, the eve of the next round of climate negotiations which begin just five days later in Cancun. We are also planning to show the film in Cancun during these talks.

UPDATE: Council of Canadians meets with MEPs on CETA and the tar sands

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5247

The Council of Canadians, alongside Indigenous representatives, met with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the issue of the tar sands this past Friday morning. Council of Canadians climate justice campaigner Andrea Harden-Donahue, Board member Steven Shrybman, and media officer Dylan Penner were present at the meeting.

UPDATE: Council joins call to end toxic tar sands tailings

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5241

A Greenpeace Canada media release on Thursday states, “As European Members of Parliament continue their tour of the tar sands, 75 groups from across Canada, the U.S. and Europe have signed on to a call-out demanding that toxic tailings lakes be phased out immediately.”

MEDIA ADVISORY: Nova Scotians Call for Fracking Ban

http://www.canadians.org/media/water/20 ... -10-a.html

UPDATE: Council working on Rights of Nature book

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5271

The Council of Canadians is working on a new book tentatively titled – The Rights of Nature: The Case for a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth.

NEWS: New NAFTA challenge raises water rights

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5268

A media release issued this morning states that, “William Greiner and Malbaie River Outfitters, Inc., announced today that they have initiated arbitration pursuant to Chapter Eleven of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) against the Government of Canada for revoking authorizations of commerce to conduct business on various rivers in Quebec.”

UPDATE: Council to attend Great Lakes commons meeting, Nov. 11-14

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5266

Maude Barlow and Council of Canadians staff will be attending a planning meeting from November 11-14 at the Blue Mountain Center in New York state. This will be an opportunity to explore with our allies how to further a campaign - within a commons framework - to defend the Great Lakes from a multiplicity of threats. As Barlow highlighted in a recent speech, “An exciting new network of Canadian, American and First Nations communities around the Great Lakes is determined to have these lakes names a Commons, a public trust and a protected bioregion.”

by **Oscar** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 7:03 pm

NUKE NEWS: November 11, 2010

1. Has Remembrance Day become a commemoration of war rather than peace?
2. Sign petition for new radioactive waste policy – Deadline: Nov. 14
3. Helen Caldicott to visit Port Hope November 16
4. Warning: Port Hope a toxic time bomb
5. BINDER: CNSC response to the article entitled - Port Hope warned of 'life and death' threat
6. N.B. premier seeks federal funds for reactor delay
7. Temporary Hold on Nuclear Shipment from Bruce Peninsula Allows Time for Re-Think
8. Anishinabek Nation opposes the nuclear shipment by Bruce Power
9. Congresswoman Miller: Radioactive cargo a risk to Lakes
10. Ottawa’s plan to sell AECL threatens future of Canada’s nuclear industry
11. Ontario asked Ottawa to delay AECL sale
12. SNC-Lavalin snaps up Nucleonex
13. Study will gauge impact of Virginia uranium mining
14. Job of retrieving fallen component out of nuclear reactor vessel to be long, dangerous
15. Opposition to Planned Nuclear Power Reactor in Seta Inland Sea National Park (Japan)
16. United Nations considers new resolution calling for transparency from depleted uranium users
17. Council of Canadians Update - November 10, 2010
18. Feds lack know-how to deal with dirty rivers and lakes, reports say

=================

1. Has Remembrance Day become a commemoration of war rather than peace?

http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=6184#respond

November 10, 2010
Remembrance Day is changing as the veterans of the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean War, pass away. But is it changing for the better?
Remembrance Day was first marked within the British Commonwealth (which included Canada) on November 11, 1919, at 11 a.m. to commemorate the end of the First World War upon the German signing of the Armistice.
Today, more attention is being paid to the veterans of recent conflicts, such as Afghanistan, and the speeches by government officials freely connect the battles of the past, such as Vimy Ridge, with the current fighting in Kandahar.
Many wonder if we gather together each November 11 to mourn the dead or to adulate them? Do we lament war, or commemorate it?
What is your opinion?
Go to: http://www.ceasefire.ca/?p=6184#respond
Do you feel that Remembrance Day has become a commemoration of war, or does it remain a time to think about peace?

================

2. Sign petition for new radioactive waste policy – Deadline: Nov. 14

From: Kevin Kamps <kevin@beyondnuclear.org>
Date: November 10, 2010 4:32:32 PM EST (CA)
Subject: Act now: Sign petition for new radioactive waste policy
--REPLY REQUESTED ASAP
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I have the honor of representing a coalition of environmental, public interest and anti-nuclear power groups before the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future next Tuesday morning.
I'll be summarizing a group statement signed by the growing number of coalition members. In short, the statement says
*No reprocessing of radioactive waste
*Isolation from the biosphere for as long as it remains a hazard
*Hardening and improved monitoring of the waste where it is currently stored
*Stop Making Radioactive Waste!
Please consider signing this coalition statement as well, either as an individual or on behalf of your organization.
Sign on deadline is Sunday, Nov. 14th at the latest.
A backgrounder prepared by Dave Kraft of Nuclear Energy Information Service in Chicago -- watchdogging radioactive waste risks on that side of the Great Lakes -- explains the context well below.
Under that is the Nuclear Information and Resource Service's action alert, with a link to the coalition sign-on statement for your review.
To sign on, simply email Mary Olson at NIRS: <maryo@nirs.org>.
Now's a critical time to speak out to protect the Great Lakes against the risks of radioactive waste stored upon its shores. Please consider signing this group statement.
Thanks!
---Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear/Don't Waste Michigan
Member, Great Lakes United Nuclear-Free/Green Energy Task Force
=====================================
From: Dave Kraft <neis@neis.org>
Date: Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 2:17 PM
Subject: Act now: Sign petition for new Radwaste policy--REPLY REQUESTED ASAP
To: "David A. Kraft" <neis@neis.org>
Dear Colleagues --
Like it or not, the Obama Administration has forced expansion of nuclear power into the national energy agenda. From his State of the Union Address to his post-election remarks of a "bi-partisan" approach to climate solutions, President Obama has been promoting nuclear power -- in spite of what the numbers otherwise suggest.
To further the attempt at jamming this square peg down a round hole, he has empowered DOE Secretary Steven Chu to establish the "Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future" (BRC -- See: www.brc.gov ). Originally proposed to study and make recommendations concerning what we should do with the 50,000+ tons of irradiated "spent" reactor fuel absent a permanent disposal option, this Commission seems to be a smoke-screen to further legitimize the nuclear option (creating even more wastes), and its even more ominous spawn -- reprocessing of spent reactor fuel -- a proliferation and pollution nightmare, by many accounts.
In short the Obama Administration is doing all it can to create the rationalizations and self-fulfilling prophecies needed to keep the nuclear industry humming indefinitely, and creating even MORE radioactive wastes.
The safe-energy/anti-nuclear communities have decided it's time to slam the brakes on this disingenuous process.
Over 30 national and grassroots organizations (including NEIS) have worked for weeks to construct a platform declaring what this nation needs to do to manage and solve its radioactive waste problems, and the causative problem, nuclear power. We will be presenting this platform to the BRC in Washington DC on Tuesday, Nov. 16th
We write to ask your formal sign-on support from you and/or your organization for this national platform. (see the link in the NIRS Alert below, and follow the instructions provided)
While the document itself is lengthy (17+ pages, plus references), the four bullet point explanation in the NIRS Alert below summarizes well what we have developed.
We apologize for the short time line on this, but we need you and your organization to reply no later than Sunday night, November 14th, if you wish to be included in the first delivery of this document to the BRC and the media on Tuesday. We will be happy to accept your support for this ambitious agenda after that date, with the understanding that you will be listed in future uses of the document. Note that individuals and organizations are provided an option to sign on; so feel free to use
your organizational name for ID purposes, even if the organization cannot sign on in this short time frame.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly at the NEIS office, by phone or e-mail. I will be in DC Sunday through Thursday, but will be checking messages.
For decades Washington has failed miserably to lead on energy issues. The result is a stunted renewable energy/efficiency sector, and perpetually growing financial waste and environmental pollution from the carbon and nuclear lobbies. It is time to say -- enough! The "hopium" has all decayed into "inanium" with this Administration. To paraphrase Julia Ward Howe, we will no longer permit such important questions to be decided by irrelevant agencies. From here on out, the people must lead on nuclear issues; and we must be prepared to make the so-called "leaders" follow.
Here's your chance to do so.
Thank you for your consideration, and anticipated support of the national radioactive waste agenda.
Stay well, do great things,
--Dave Kraft, Director, NEIS
- - - - - David A. Kraft, Director
NEIS, 3411 W. Diversey #16, Chicago, IL 60647
(773)342-7650
neis@neis.org
www.neis.org
SKYPE address: davekhamburg
November 16th.
===========================

Subject: Act now: Sign petition for new Radwaste policyDate: Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:37:51 -0500 (EST)
From: Nuclear Information and Resource Service
<nirsnet@nirs.org>
Reply-To: nirsnet@nirs.org
To: webmaster@neis.org
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
6930 Carroll Avenue, #340, Takoma Park, MD 20912; 301-270-6477; nirsnet@nirs.org; www.nirs.org
ACT NOW!

TELL OBAMA'S BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION: THESE ARE THE PRINCIPLES THAT MUST BE INCORPORATED IN NEW RADIOACTIVE WASTE POLICY

November 10, 2010
Dear Friends,
In light of its decision to end the failed and scientifically-indefensible Yucca Mountain, Nevada radioactive waste dump, the Obama Administration has established the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future (BRC) to re-evaluate radioactive waste policy. The BRC has been meeting and holding hearings for several months. Although the BRC's work is limited to the U.S., the ramifications of its eventual conclusions are likely to be felt around the world--and indeed BRC members already have been to Europe to review radioactive waste policies there.
Unfortunately, the BRC's members are dominated by nuclear power interests who so far appear more interested in finding ways to encourage generation of new radioactive waste than in developing a responsible radioactive waste policy.
Thus, it is critical that our voices be heard. The BRC asked the anti-nuclear/clean energy community a long set of questions. On Tuesday, November 16, our community will be providing answers to those questions at a BRC meeting in Washington DC. Sign the petition now to support this effort.
The detailed (and long!) text of our answers, developed by a group of 30+ activists over many weeks, is available here in nearly finished form (addition of some footnotes and proofreading have yet to be completed).
But our position can be summarized by four clear principles:
*No reprocessing of radioactive waste
*Isolation from the biosphere for as long as it remains a hazard
*Hardening and improved monitoring of the waste where it is currently stored
*Stop Making Radioactive Waste!
Sign the petition in support of these four principles now! And suggest that your friends and colleagues sign the petition too. Just use the Share button on the petition page. But please act by November 15--the petition will be presented to the Blue Ribbon Commission at the November 16 meeting.
Important Note: If you represent an organization and can sign the full statement on behalf of your organization, please send the following information to Mary Olson, NIRS, at maryo@nirs.org.
Group name
Contact name
City, state
Website if you have one
List of nuclear sites/facilities/issues that you work on regularly. Please do not make this a long list, but do include all that you/your community regularly engage on.
Thanks for all you do,
Michael Mariotte
Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
nirsnet@nirs.org
www.nirs.org
P.S. On November 16, you can watch Kevin Kamps (Beyond Nuclear) and Susan Corbett (South Carolina Sierra Club) present a condensed version of this document to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. If you can make it to DC, do: it’s being held at the Washington Marriott Metro Center, 775 12th St. NW, Washington, DC.--or you can watch on live webcast. The meeting is scheduled for 8:15 am—12:15 pm. More information at: www.brc.gov, 202-586-4243

=================

3. Helen Caldicott to visit Port Hope November 16

http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2010/10/13/
helen-caldicott-to-visit-port-hope-in-november/

October 13, 2010
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and F.A.R.E., Special Event
On Tuesday, November 16th, Dr. Helen Caldicott will be giving a special talk in Port Hope, Ontario and you’re invited!
Port Hope, located about an hour east of Toronto, has a long history with the nuclear industry. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper has been involved in helping the community to restore swimmability, drinkability and fishability for a number of years.

Nuclear issues in Port Hope include: (all Links are on website above.)

A low level radioactive waste site
Uranium conversion facility that discharges cooling water into Lake Ontario (Also see this article.)
Uranium conversion facility that takes ground water for industrial use
Uranium conversion facility that is contaminating ground water
Proposed radioactive waste shipment to pass right by Port Hope

Dr. Caldicott is the founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility
[ http://www.psr.org/ ] and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. For over 30 years, Dr. Caldicott has been working on an international campaign to educate the public about medical hazards associated with nuclear technologies.
In late 2009 at a speech in Peterborough, Ontario, Dr. Caldicott spoke to the crowd about Ontario’s nuclear legacy.
For more information visit the Families Against Radiation Exposure webpage.
http://www.ph-fare.com/

===================

4. Warning: Port Hope a toxic time bomb

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/
888301--warning-port-hope-a-toxic-time-bomb-the-only-solution-move

The only solution? Move!
Carola Vyhnak, Toronto Star, November 09, 2010
The cleanup of low-level radioactive waste in Port Hope has begun with a trial dig of a backyard before a full-scale removal of contaminated soil from the town starts next year.
Port Hope is sitting on a carcinogenic time bomb that residents can only escape by moving out of town, a renowned doctor and anti-nuclear activist warns.
Historic low-level radioactive waste buried in parks, ravines, streets, industrial sites, the harbour and hundreds of backyards poses a "life or death" threat and can't be safely remediated, according to Dr. Helen Caldicott.
"It's a disaster. You can't clean it up. Transferring it just exposes more people to radioactive material," Caldicott said Tuesday from Seattle. On a visit to Port Hope next week, she plans to tell the community an hour east of Toronto that the only safe solution is to relocate the entire town of 16,000.
Caldicott's warning comes in contrast to assurances by Canada's nuclear safety commission that cancer rates in Port Hope, which has been living with low-level radioactive contamination for decades, are comparable to other communities -- and that the cleanup now underway doesn't pose a health risk.
That operation -- the largest radioactive waste cleanup in Canadian history -- is off to a slow and cautious start with the trial excavation of a private backyard. Removal of contaminated soil from numerous sites around town will begin in earnest next fall. The waste will be trucked to an enclosed storage mound just south of Highway 401, where it will be sealed up for centuries.
Digging out more than 1.2 million cubic metres of soil, enough to fill 500 Olympic-size pools, will take a decade and cost at least $260 million. The final scope and price tag are unknown.
The cleanup by Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. marks a major milestone in a decades-long fight to eradicate a dark stain on the town.
The low-level radioactive waste was the result of 50 years of radium and uranium refining at the waterfront Cameco refinery, the former Crown corporation Eldorado Nuclear Ltd., between the 1930s and 1980s.
Contaminated soil used as fill was identified as a health hazard in the late '70s, but it took decades to find a long-term solution.
Glenn Case, manager of project engineering for the Port Hope Area Initiative, a division of AECL, isn't worried about health risks.
"I'm 100 per cent confident we can do it protecting the environment, workers and the public," he said.
But two skeptical residents' groups who met with Caldicott during a visit to Ontario last year invited her to speak at a public meeting next Tuesday evening. Her appearance is being paid for by Families Against Radiation Exposure (FARE).
The Australian-born physician has spent almost 40 years educating people around the world about the medical hazards of the nuclear age. She was nominated for a Nobel Prize and was the subject of the 1982 documentary [film], If You Love This Planet.
Calling Port Hope a "tragedy", Caldicott says people should never be exposed to radioactive material. Even so-called low-level radiation causes high-level doses when it gets inside the body and turns cells cancerous in a "silent process" that takes five to 60 years, she says.
Drinking water that's taken from Lake Ontario is also at risk, adds Caldicott. She agrees with residents who have long complained about the lack of a real health study in the area.
"There hasn't been a decent epidemiological study," Caldicott says. "The whole thing is medically corrupt from beginning to end."
MORE:
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/
888301--warning-port-hope-a-toxic-time-bomb-the-only-solution-move

========================

5. BINDER: CNSC response to the article entitled - Port Hope warned of 'life and death' threat

http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/mediacentre/issues/
letters_to_the_editor/Toronto-Star-Response-November-10-2010.cfm

Published in the Toronto Star on November 10, 2010

To the editor:
Your November 10 article “Port Hope warned of “life and death” threat” compels me to respond to the misleading and inaccurate statements made by Dr. Helen Caldicott. Her claims are nothing more than unacceptable fear-mongering.
Concerned readers should know that Port Hope residents are as healthy as the rest of the Canadian population. This is demonstrated by scientific studies conducted over several decades by reputable and independent bodies. Dr. Caldicott’s allegations of medical corruption are simply outrageous.
Last year, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission reviewed findings from over thirty environmental and thirteen epidemiological studies and published a synthesis report that was presented during open houses held in the community. To suggest that no credible studies exist is simply unacceptable.
The CNSC provides regulatory oversight of clean up activities in Port Hope to ensure there will be no impact to the health and safety of residents and their environment.
I invite your readers to visit our
Web site at nuclearsafety.gc.ca to get the facts about Canada’s nuclear sector.
Michael Binder
President
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

=====================

6. N.B. premier seeks federal funds for reactor delay

From: Gordon Edwards
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2010 1:49 PM
Subject: N.B. premier seeks federal funds for reactor delay
Background:
When NB Power's proposal to refurbish the Point Lepreau reactor was examined by the Utility Board, the advice was unequivocal: don't do it! The financial risk was much too great for the province to undertake and cheaper alternatives were readily available.
The province ignored this advice and went ahead anyway. The project was supposed to take a year-and-a-half. Now it has stretched to at least four-and-a-half years, and now the Premier wants OTHER CANADIANS -- taxpayers from other provinces -- to pay for New Brunswick's bad decision.
If you do not think this is fair, write to the federal government and tell them that you do not want to have your taxes subsidize NB's refurbishment project. (Emphasis added- Editor)
Gordon Edwards.
========================

New Brunswick Premier Seeks Federal Funds for Reactor Delay

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/ ... 010/10/21/
nb-alward-harper-aecl-lepreau-delays-949.html?ref=rss

CBC News Thu, 21 Oct 2010
New Brunswick Premier David Alward will be pressing Prime Minister Stephen Harper for federal funding to cover the escalating cost overruns associated with the delayed $1.4-billion Point Lepreau nuclear refurbishment project.
Alward met with officials from Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., the federal Crown agency, this week to get his first full briefing on the problems facing the refurbishment project that is now expected to be finished three years late.
The New Brunswick premier will be travelling to the Francophonie summit in Switzerland this week and he will use the opportunity to push Harper for compensation for the reactor delays.
'I do not believe New Brunswick should be responsible for the challenges AECL has had because this is the first time the project has gone forward.'— Premier David Alward

MORE:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/ ... 010/10/21/
nb-alward-harper-aecl-lepreau-delays-949.html?ref=rss

==================

7. Temporary Hold on Nuclear Shipment from Bruce Peninsula Allows Time for Re-Think

http://www.examiner.com/recreation-in-detroit/
temporary-hold-on-nuclear-shipment-from-bruce-peninsula-allows-time-for-re-think

by Teri Landis, Lake St. Clair Recreation Examiner, Oct. 30 2010 (examiner.com Detroit)
Did you ever stop to wonder what those cargo ships carried as they traveled by your location, be it at the Blue Water Bridge, the confluence of the North and South Channels, or even fishing near the mouth of the Detroit River?
Millions of tons of iron ore, limestone and coal to be sure, to name a few, are shipped every month, as posted through the Great Lakes Information Network, by Glen Nekvasil, Vice President - Corporate Communications, Lake Carriers' Association. For instance, this year iron ore shipments are up by 69% in September of '10 over September '09; limestone shipments have increased by 25.2% over last year; and coal shipments have increased by 32.5% over last year.
- - - - SNIP - - - -
Speaking of "cargo transport", what if this proposal for nuclear shipments from the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario Canada, through to a town in Sweden, via the Great Lakes Water Ways, which will include Owen Sound, Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, Lakes Erie and Ontario, via the Welland Canal, through the St. Lawrence Seaway, across the Atlantic, through the North Sea, and possibly into the Gulf of Bothnia, depending on the final destination, (where it says on the mapquest website for Sweden that "Ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic."), actually happens?
Once a precedent is set, would we then be given statistics on those shipments as well? And with shipments of any kind, there comes risk, too, wouldn't you agree?
Sounds a little overwhelming, doesn't it? The precedent could begin to be set as early as next month once the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission reviews the plans for these shipments of 16 school bus sized, radioactive, steam generators from the Bruce Power's Owen Sound Facility in Ontario, Canada.
As the CNSC has exended their review until November 22, Congresswoman Candice Miller has renewed her call for a review of this plan by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). "The CSNC's decision to extend their review period is the right choice, especially when reviewing plans for the shipment of dangerous materials through the Great Lakes, and connecting bodies of water," Miller said.
"This extra time will provide our federal agency (PHMSA), the time they need to begin their own review process and ensure that all factors have been considered on how the shipment of these radioactive steam generators could affect our waters, as well as fully prepare for any possible scenarios that could occur in the event of an incident. With hazardous materials, such as the type that is embedded within these generators, there must be a zero-tolerance for compromising our environment."
While the shipments would more than likely not happen until early Spring of 2011, "An issue of this importance, our Great Lakes, demands immediate attention," stresses Congresswoman Miller.
In addition to requesting the PHMSA to begin its investigation of Bruce Power's shipping plan before CNSC's final decision, Miller has requested that the Coast Guard be consulted and included in on any shipping plan, as they would, undoubtedly, be one of the first responders in the event a disaster occurs.

MORE: http://www.examiner.com/recreation-in-detroit/
temporary-hold-on-nuclear-shipment-from-bruce-peninsula-allows-time-for-re-think

==================

8. Anishinabek Nation opposes the nuclear shipment by Bruce Power

http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/ ... =11&t=7870

Constitutional duty to consult & accommodate
UOI OFFICES, Nipissing First Nation, Oct 7, 2010, www.Turtleisland.org
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee says that the Anishinabek Nation wants Bruce Power plans and any other future plans to transport or ship any radioactive waste or contaminated equipment from the decommissioning, refurbishment or routine operation of nuclear reactors through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River to be rejected.
"The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has failed to fulfill its constitutional duty to consult and accommodate First Nations on contemplated actions that may impact upon
constitutionally protected Treaty and Aboriginal rights," said the Grand Council Chief.
The Anishinabek Treaty and Aboriginal title lands occupy all of the Great Lakes shoreline and a significant part of its basin. These Treaty and Aboriginal title lands are where the Anishinabek people exercise their constitutionally protected rights to fish, hunt, and gather lake based traditional foods and medicines.
"We, the Anishinabek, have jurisdiction over the Great Lakes as a result of Aboriginal titles and the treaties that have been entered into by First Nations and the Crown," said Madahbee.

MORE:
http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/ ... =11&t=7870

===================

9. Congresswoman Miller: Radioactive cargo a risk to Lakes

http://www.freep.com/article/20101018/N ... 8038/1320/
Rep.-Miller-Radioactive-cargo-a-risk-to-lakes

By Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, Washington Staff, October 18, 2010
WASHINGTON – A Michigan congresswoman is raising environmental concerns about a Canadian energy company’s plans to ship more than a dozen decommissioned radioactive steam generators through Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River and the Detroit River on their way to Sweden.
U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, Harrison Township Republican, sent a letter late last week to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the Coast Guard, asking that they “take all proper precautions and investigate” the plan proposed by Bruce Power Ltd to ship 16 generators from its facility at Owen Sound, Ontario, through three of the Great Lakes, along the St. Lawrence Seaway and across the Atlantic Ocean to be recycled.
From their location on Georgian Bay in Canada, the generators would be shipped through Lake Huron, then enter the St. Clair River between Sarnia and Port Huron, cross Lake St. Clair and then travel past Detroit on the Detroit River on the way to Lake Erie.
Bruce Power says the generators – which “basically act as large kettles to make steam as part of the electricity generating process” at its nuclear power facility, can largely be reycled and any low-level radioactive waste components will be safely stored.
The generators – which have been welded shut – are within regulatory limits to ship and would be transported by “qualified companies with proven experience in moving heavy components.”
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is considering the proposal.

MORE:
http://www.freep.com/article/20101018/N ... 8038/1320/
Rep.-Miller-Radioactive-cargo-a-risk-to-lakes

=====================

10. Ottawa’s plan to sell AECL threatens future of Canada’s nuclear industry

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/
industry-news/energy-and-resources/ottawas-plan-to-sell-aecl-threatens-future-of-canadas-nuclear-industry/article1792762/

by Shawn McCarthy, Global Energy Reporter
OTTAWA— Globe and Mail, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010
Ottawa’s plan to sell Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. threatens to undermine the company’s ability to compete internationally, leaving the country’s nuclear flagship a second-class citizen in world markets.
After a year-long process to sell AECL, the government has failed to attract any international bidders who could bring financial heft and global marketing clout to the company, which was once a global leader in reactor sales but is now relegated to the sidelines.
Only two companies have submitted formal bids, say sources close to the negotiations: Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and Ontario’s Bruce Power, which operates the Bruce nuclear plant on Lake Huron.
Both prospective buyers are offering far less than what Ottawa believes the company to be worth, based on a confidential valuation provided by Wall Street investment firm Rothschild Inc.
And neither is willing to make a commitment to finance the completion of AECL’s Advanced Candu Reactor – known as ACR-1000 – technology the company is relying on to compete in both foreign and domestic markets.
The Harper government has been critical of AECL for many years due to its frequent taxpayer-financed cost overruns, its inability to sell reactors and its troubles at the Chalk River nuclear research laboratories.

MORE: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/
industry-news/energy-and-resources/ottawas-plan-to-sell-aecl-threatens-future-of-canadas-nuclear-industry/article1792762/

===================

11. Ontario asked Ottawa to delay AECL sale

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/
industry-news/energy-and-resources/ontario-asked-ottawa-to-delay-aecl-sale/article1794307/?cmpid=rss1

Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, November 11, 2010

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty warned Ottawa back in June that its effort to sell Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. could scuttle a provincial proposal to buy new reactors from the company, a deal that would boost the long-term value of the federally owned corporation.
In a letter sent last summer, Mr. McGuinty urged Prime Minister Stephen Harper to suspend the privatization effort and instead focus on concluding a deal to sell Candu reactors to Ontario. AECL has said a sale to the province would provide a critical boost to its international marketing efforts.
The province wants Ottawa to help cover potential cost overruns of an AECL project, which could be substantial given that the company is offering a new generation of reactor technology that is still in the design stage.
“The government of Canada’s decision to sell AECL’s Candu division has complicated Ontario’s procurement process,” the Premier said in a letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Globe and Mail.
He suggested the two governments appoint officials to work on a deal that would “translate Ontario’s need for significant nuclear refurbishment and new nuclear generation into a more valuable AECL – one that will benefit all Canadians.
“I also propose that Canada suspend its bidding process for AECL, pending the successful outcome of negotiations with Ontario,” he wrote on June 11.
Instead, the federal government has plowed ahead with its auction process, despite a lack of broad international interest in the bidding. Two companies have submitted formal offers: Montreal-based engineering giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and Bruce Power -- which is controlled by Calgary-based energy company TransCanada Corp. and Saskatchewan’s uranium miner, Cameco Corp.
However, those two bidders will not commit to financing completion of AECL’s new Advanced Candu Reactor (ACR), and have submitted offers far below what Ottawa believes the company to be worth, sources have told The Globe.

MORE: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/
industry-news/energy-and-resources/ontario-asked-ottawa-to-delay-aecl-sale/article1794307/?cmpid=rss1

====================

12. SNC-Lavalin snaps up Nucleonex

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/
snc-lavalin-snaps-up-nucleonex/article1765978/

BERTRAND MAROTTE
MONTREAL— From Thursday's Globe and Mail Last updated Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010 6:12PM EDT
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC-T55.46-0.42-0.75%) is bolting into place another piece in its ambitious global nuclear strategy with the acquisition of safety consulting firm Nucleonex Inc.
A global engineering giant, SNC-Lavalin sees significant growth opportunities in nuclear power and recently bid for federally owned Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
Montreal-based SNC has been active in the nuclear market for decades, focused mainly on winning refurbishment contracts in Canada and abroad.
The acquisition of Nucleonex, also Montreal-based, bolsters its existing activities and also provides more credibility in its bid for AECL, which manufactures and exports the Candu reactor, said Neil Linsdell, an analyst with Versant Partners.
The Nucleonex acquisition “fits very well with their existing operations, but you have to think it’s tied to their positioning – or solidifying their positioning – on the AECL bid,” he said.
“I could see it strengthening SNC’s pitch [for AECL] in terms of showing their readiness,” he said.
Even if SNC fails to win AECL, Nucleonex “cranks up their expertise an extra notch,” Mr. Linsdell said.

MORE: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/
snc-lavalin-snaps-up-nucleonex/article1765978/

More related to this story (Links are on the website noted above)

SNC-Lavalin wins Vale contract
SNC to share in Jordan contract
SNC-Lavalin to take highway division public
SNC-Lavalin earnings grow by 22 per cent

========================

13. Study will gauge impact of Virginia uranium mining

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/10/
study-will-gauge-impact-virginia-uranium-mining

by Steve Szkotak, Associated Press, October 24, 2010
Read more at the Washington Examiner:

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/ap/
va-uranium-study-set-to-launch-105628633.html#ixzz13Iz0x4zA

RICHMOND, VA. -- A one-year study intended to assess the statewide consequences of uranium mining in Virginia begins this week when a National Academy of Sciences panel convenes for two days in Washington, D.C.
The 13-member study committee has a broad charge to assess the implications of lifting a 1982 ban on uranium mining in Virginia. Its conclusions are due in December 2011, and will be key to any General Assembly deliberations to lift the ban.
Fueled by renewed U.S. interest in nuclear power, Virginia Uranium Inc. has proposed mining a 119 million-pound deposit in Southside Virginia, near the North Carolina border. The company estimates the uranium's value at anywhere from $7 billion to $10 billion.
The proposal has met fierce opposition from some local residents who fear the mining and milling of the ore will foul local farm fields and streams and water sources for localities as far away as Hampton Roads.
The provisional members of the study panel, some of who have been challenged because of their ties to mining or the nuclear-power industry, are meeting in Washington to hear from a lineup of government officials, according to an agenda for the Board on Earth
Sciences, a division of the National Academy.
The study group is scheduled to hear from officials from the Department of Energy, on the national and global uranium market; the U.S. Geological Survey, on Virginia uranium deposits and various aspects of mining and milling; and the Environmental Protection Agency, on regulatory matters.
A spokeswoman for the academy, Jennifer Walsh, said the presentations will help guide the future meetings of the committee.
The first Virginia meeting of the committee is scheduled for Danville in mid-December, after another round of meetings in November in Washington.
The $1.4 million study will examine the scientific, technical, environmental, human health and safety of uranium mining and processing.
Local studies are also planned, and Walsh said the findings could be submitted to the National Academy panel if they deal with issues "pertinent to this task."
- - - -SNIP - - - -
Much of the environmental criticism has focused on the wisdom of uranium mining in the Southeast, which is subject to tropical storms and hurricanes that churn up the coast and can turn inland. Most domestic uranium mining occurs in the arid West. They are fearful a powerful storm blowing through Virginia or North Carolina would scatter uranium tailings through the region and onto crops or into water supplies.
Tailings are the waste rock separated from the uranium ore in the milling process, which uses a chemical agent.
Jack Dunavant, chairman of the anti-uranium Southside Concerned Citizens, said he has little confidence in the National Academy study because Virginia Uranium is financing it.
"I think it's tainted from the get-go," he said. "The study, as far as I'm concerned, has no benefit."

MORE: http://hamptonroads.com/2010/10/
study-will-gauge-impact-virginia-uranium-mining

===================

14. Job of retrieving fallen component out of nuclear reactor vessel to be long, dangerous

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/
20101110p2a00m0na007000c.html

The Mainichi Daily News, November 11, 2010
TSURUGA, Fukui -- A 3.3-metric-ton fuel exchange component that lodged in the reactor vessel of the Monju fast-breeder reactor here after being dropped cannot be extracted using "usual methods," the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has stated.
The JAEA made the announcement Nov. 9 after examining the component -- a cylinder now stuck in an opening in the reactor vessel cap -- with a camera. The agency believes that to get the part out, equipment on the reactor vessel cap will have to be removed, and an entirely new structure built to prevent sodium now covering the cylinder from mixing with the outside air and igniting during the process. The agency is now considering ways to do this, but gave no hint when testing of the reactor may recommence.
The 12-meter-long, 46-centimeter-wide internal relay cylinder is a preliminary fuel loader in the fuel exchange system. It is double- layered with a number of joints along its length. The cylinder is supposed to be put in and out of the reactor vessel through a 46.5-
centimeter opening in the reactor vessel cap.
The agency video examination of the inside of the cylinder showed that what had been a 5-7 millimeter gap at one of the joints had widened to 14.5 millimeters, probably when the component was dropped in August, causing the exterior layer of the cylinder to deform. The exterior deformation then got stuck in the cap opening when workers tried to pull the cylinder out of the reactor vessel.
On the same day, the JAEA also submitted a report to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency as required by law. This is the fifth such nuclear safety report submitted by the JAEA since the law went into effect.

MORE: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/
20101110p2a00m0na007000c.html

===================

15. Opposition to Planned Nuclear Power Reactor in Seta Inland Sea National Park (Japan)

From: Gordon Edwards <ccnr@web.ca>
Date: October 17, 2010 4:04:46 PM EDT (CA)
To: sdaisuke@rice.ocn.ne.jp
Dear Japanese friends:
The Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility supports your struggle against the construction of one or more nuclear power reactors in the Seta Inland Sea National Park, not far from the city of Hiroshima.
In particular, the CCNR endorses the International Joint Statement to the Delegates for the COP 10 on this very subject, in solidarity with the Japanese organizations and other organizations from many countries around the world who share our concerns.
Nuclear reactors require enormous quantities of water to operate, and that water is returned to the environment at a much warmer temperature and with an ever-growing radioactive contamination from radionuclides that are released from the nuclear station. Neither of these environmental insults should be tolerated in a National Park.
Routine radioactive releases from all current generation nuclear reactors include large quantities of tritium (radioactive hydrogen), a material which freely enters into all living things, some of it being incorporated into organic molecules inside the body, including DNA molecules.
Because tritium is chemically identical with ordinary non-radioactive hydrogen, radioactive water containing tritium cannot be filtered or treated using available technology so as to remove the radioactivity from the water. When ingested by a pregnant woman (or animal) tritium crosses the placenta and enters into the tissues of the fetus, where it does harm to the cells of the developing infant.
In addition to tritium, large amounts of radioactive carbon-14 are also routinely released into both the air and the water surrounding the operational nuclear reactor. Since tritium and carbon-14 both have long half-lives (13 years for tritium, 6000 years for carbon-14) and since carbon and hydrogen are the basic building blocks of all organic molecules upon which living things depend, these two radioactive pollutants will leave a radioactive footprint that will have an impact on generations of humans and non-humans to come.
There are also dozens of radioactive materials which are released in much smaller amounts on a routine basis -- and on a much larger scale during an accident. These are released into both the air and the water, and most varieties enter into the food chain and provide a source of radioactive contamination for many hundreds of years after the reactor has been completely shut down.
We wish you all the best in your struggle to prevent this project from going ahead.
Yours in solidarity for a sustainable future,
Gordon Edwards, Ph.D., President,
Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility.

===================

16. United Nations considers new resolution calling for transparency from depleted uranium users

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/343.html

A resolution submitted to the United Nations First Committee will call on depleted uranium users to reveal quantitative and geographical data on their historical use of the weapons to affected states.
14 October 2010 - ICBUW
The resolution, the third on the issue since 2007, has been submitted on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. It has been inspired by ongoing concerns that at least 400,000kg of depleted uranium remain unaccounted for in Iraq, and worries over the use of the weapons in other conflicts.
Previous texts in 2007and 2008 established that DU has the potential to damage human health and called on UN institutions to update their research on the matter.
Reports submitted to the UN Secretary General in response to 2008’s resolution and published last month (see PDF summary below) indicate that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is yet to complete its review of recent scientific research. Meanwhile a submission by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) called for a precautionary approach to the use of the weapons. This was their strongest statement to date.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) once again downplayed the risks from DU and claimed that simple countermeasures could deal with contaminated sites. This is at odds with the findings of ICBUW’s recent report on the Balkans A Question of Responsibility, which found that managing contaminated sites demands technical expertise and can be disproportionately expensive.
"The passage of this modest resolution would help send a message to DU users at a time when global concern about the long-term impact of these weapons is growing," said an ICBUW spokesperson. "That the UK has engaged with the UN on transparency and capacity building in Iraq following the 2003 conflict indicates that DU users can, and should, accept an obligation to the countries that they use these weapons in. We hope that this may be a first small step towards facilitating the monitoring, decontamination and researchon civilian populations that is so urgently required."
Voting on the resolution in the First Committee will take place sometime between the 26th October and the 1st November. If passed, the text will then move to the General Assembly for a second round of voting at the end of November. The last resolution passed by a huge majority and was supported by 141 states with 36 abstentions. Only four states voted against – the US, UK, France and Israel.
The text represents a good opportunity for parliamentarians, groups and individuals to lobby their governments to build support for the draft. For help and advice on lobbying your government, please contact ICBUW.

Attachments

Summary of IAEA, WHO and UNEP reports to the UN

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/docs/137.pdf

219 Kb - Format pdf
ICBUW Science Team Edited highlights and analysis for the reports submitted to the UN Secretary General in line with 2008's resolution on depleted uranium.

Effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/docs/139.pdf

31 Kb - Format pdf NAM Draft UN resolution on depleted uranium munitions, submitted October 2010

International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons
141 states support second uranium weapons resolution in UN General Assembly vote

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/237.html

The United Nations General Assembly has passed, by a huge majority, a resolution requesting its agencies to update their positions on the health and environmental effects of uranium weapons.
12 December 2008 – ICBUW

=========================

17. Council of Canadians Update - November 10, 2010

UPDATE: G20 legal defence fundraiser in Toronto, Nov. 11

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5284

If you live in the Toronto area, please note:
An Evening of Song, Speech, Art and Dance with Naomi Klein, Hawksley Workman, LAL and DJ Aruna & Billy! Hosted by Comedienne Martha Chaves.

NEWS: Barlow speaks in Idaho

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5276

The Idaho Mountain Express reports that Council of Canadians chairperson and Blue Planet Project founder Maude Barlow spoke on “the global implications of a growing water crisis” at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood in Ketchum, Idaho on Thursday November 4.

NEWS: Chapter petition seeks fracking ban in Nova Scotia

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5274
The Canadian Press reports that, “A petition calling for a ban in Nova Scotia on a controversial method of oil and gas extraction has been tabled in the legislature. …The petition with about 1,200 names calls for a provincial ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — a process that involves using large quantities of water mixed with sand and chemicals to free gas from shale.”

NEWS: Will John Baird represent Canada at the Cancun climate talks?

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5278
The Vancouver Sun has reported that with the resignation of Jim Prentice as environment minister that, “(John) Baird (may) be representing Canada at the next international climate change summit, which begins on Nov. 29 in Cancun, Mexico…” While “(Prime Minister Stephen) Harper’s office would not say whether Baird would still be the minister leading Canada’s delegation at the summit,” Baird’s confrontational-style of politics is raising concerns about this possibility.

===================

18. Feds lack know-how to deal with dirty rivers and lakes, reports say
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/
feds-lack-know-how-to-deal-with-dirty-rivers-and-lakes-reports-say/article1792012/

Steve Rennie Ottawa— The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, Nov. 09, 2010 2:42PM EST
Canada's lakes and rivers are awash in harmful contaminants, but new documents warn the federal government's murky understanding of the problem is putting the country at risk.
Senior bureaucrats reached that conclusion in a pair of internal reports on contaminants and excess nutrients in freshwater.
The officials warned that Ottawa needs to know much more about the contaminants before it can tell how dangerous they are, what happens when they mix together, or where to focus clean-up efforts.
“There are significant gaps in the understanding of contaminants in groundwater in several areas which hinder the advancement of effective risk assessment and management activities,” one of the reports says.
The reports were produced by working groups of high-ranking civil servants from several departments that the government formed two years ago to study water issues.
The Canadian Press obtained two of the “draft discussion documents” under the Access to Information Act. The reports, dated December 2008, were only released last month.
One report looked at contaminants in freshwater. The other was on excess nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, that cause toxic algae blooms.
Giant floating fields of algae have taken over swaths of the Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg and many other lakes across the country in recent years. The algae sucks oxygen from the water and produces toxins that are harmful to fish, humans and other living things.
Run-off carrying agricultural fertilizers, wastewater from sewers and industrial pollution are identified as the main sources of nutrients in Canadian freshwater.
The report warns the problem will only get worse.
- - - -SNIP - - - -
Too many nutrients is only part of the problem lurking in Canada's bodies of water.
Pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, pesticides and run-off from mining sites also end up in lakes and rivers, bringing with them a slew of health and environmental risks.
“When groundwater contamination occurs it has the potential to have serious, negative human health, environmental and economic impacts,” the report says.
Groundwater contaminated with a nasty strain of E. coli killed seven people in Walkerton, Ont., 10 years ago and made half the community of 5,000 people sick. The report says Walkerton is a cautionary tale.
“These events highlight the importance of preventing contamination, and protecting groundwater as a key source of drinking water.”
Meanwhile, the question of what happens when all those contaminants mix together confounded the government officials.
“One outstanding issue the working group considered is that of cumulative effects,” the report says.
“This refers to the impacts that multiple contaminants have on aquatic ecosystems when they interact. Concerns apply to the majority of contaminants, and the issue is both not well understood and exceedingly complex.”
No one from Environment Canada was immediately available to comment on the reports.

by **Oscar** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 12:30 pm

NUKE NEWS: November 14, 2010

1. IMPORTANT: Helen Caldicott NOT in Port Hope -- November 16
2. KOSSICK: On Remembrance Day
3. 'Strategic resource' debate looms over uranium mine foreign ownership laws
4. Assembly of First Nations Nuclear Fuel Waste Dialogue
5. Forum Uranium plans drill program
6. UK campaigners demand US reveal location of 400 tonnes of DU in Iraq
7. Grits 'won't abandon' green energy
8. No Nukes News - Nov. 11, 2010
9. Canadian Mining Corporation Files Suit Against State of Colorado
10. Russia to build floating nuclear power plant on world's largest archipelago
11. Airport whole-body scanners (not the MRI kind) (Canadian scanners - see below.)
12. Mining industry lobbied nine of 24 MPs who helped kill ethics bill
13. Netanyahu tests Obama, again

================

1. IMPORTANT: Helen Caldicott NOT in Port Hope -- November 16

IMPORTANT: CHANGE OF VENUE!

The November 16 presentation by Dr. Helen Caldicott has been moved from Port Hope to Oshawa:

Best Western Conference Centre
559 Bloor St. West (south of Hwy 401) – OSHAWA
Take the Stevenson Road exit....
For more info call Derek Kelly (905) 885 1572

==============

2. KOSSICK: On Remembrance Day

by Don Kossick on Thursday, 11 November 2010 at 13:52

The national ceremony of Remembrance Day was beamed across the country – the bagpipes wailing after the silence in honour of those who have fallen.
The questions came surging.
Why are we still in Afghanistan?
Why now does Harper decide to announce that Canada will continue to send troops to Afghanistan?
After the CBC radio broadcast of Remembrance Day we heard an episode of Afcanada -the radio play.
This was the point of remembering,
It is a political drama played out on the unconsciousness of the people of Canada.
Nobody tells the truth of why we are there.
Our mainstream journalists are embedded in the action and embedded in the lies that have unfolded without asking the real questions.
Why are we supporting war lords who do not believe in any form of democracy?
Why do we not question the corruption and deceit at the highest levels of the Afghan government?
Why do we cover up information about turning over captured soldiers to be tortured?
Why are Canadian soldiers dying for this?
It is the time to seek out the truth about the real Afghanistan.
We should read the other Harper – Harpers Magazine to discover what we should all know.
It is time to muzzle the generals, the war mongers, those who profit off the misery of others- the blood for oil - and get Canada out of Afghanistan.
Now.
November 12 addendum. Harper announces he does not have to go to parliament to okay the decision to extend the Canadian forces time in Afghanistan. He says he cn do this by executive decree. Harperland continues.
Don Kossick
Saskatoon, SK

=================

3. 'Strategic resource' debate looms over uranium mine foreign ownership laws

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/
Strategic+resource+debate+looms+over+uranium+mine+foreign+ownership+laws/3804276/story.html

By James Wood, The StarPhoenix November 10, 2010
The national debate over potash and what constitutes a "strategic resource" is shining a spotlight on efforts to ease restrictions on foreign ownership of uranium mines.
The federal government's non-resident ownership policy mandates a minimum level of 51 per cent resident ownership at the mining and milling stages of Canadian uranium production.
A federal panel has called for selectively removing the restrictions on foreign ownership of uranium mines for countries that offer reciprocity, a position backed by the Uranium Development Partnership (UDP) appointed by the province.
The Saskatchewan Party government itself went even further in 2009, calling for the elimination of the policy "as a barrier to foreign investment in the province" when it responded to the UDP report.
And the government is supportive of a private member's bill from Brad Trost, the Conservative MP for Saskatoon-Humboldt, which would end the restrictions on foreign ownership.
But the focus on uranium comes after Premier Brad Wall donned the mantle of economic nationalist as he fought against BHP Billiton Ltd.'s hostile takeover attempt of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., citing the country's strategic interest as a main argument against the Australian company's bid.
Speaking to reporters at the legislature, Wall said he considered uranium a strategic resource as well, but there was no contradiction between the two stances.
The province wants the changes because it would allow a foreign company to build a new mine and also take away the ownership restrictions on Areva, the French state-owned company that is already a major player in provincial uranium, he said.

MORE: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/
Strategic+resource+debate+looms+over+uranium+mine+foreign+ownership+laws/3804276/story.html

===============

4. Assembly of First Nations Nuclear Fuel Waste Dialogue

Recommendations to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization
September 30, 2005

http://www.afn.ca/article.asp?id=1772

Introduction

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has participated in a dialogue with First Nations across Canada on the issue of nuclear fuel waste management. This dialogue has been supported with financial assistance from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). Included in these recommendations are comments regarding nuclear fuel waste management that we heard from First Nation communities as we traveled the country. They range from a discussion about Aboriginal and treaty rights to energy policy to traditional knowledge. That said First Nations have yet to reach conclusions on possible nuclear fuel waste disposal options. The First Nations advised the AFN that they were not prepared to comment on the Draft Study Report Choosing a Way Forward: The Future Management of Canada’s Used Nuclear Fuel until they had sufficient time to study the issues and are not yet in a position to make a recommendation one way or the other regarding the options. First Nations do have very strong opinions on the general issue of nuclear fuel waste management. These opinions and recommendations are summarized below.

MORE: http://www.afn.ca/article.asp?id=1772

==================

5. Forum Uranium plans drill program

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/
Forum+Uranium+plans+drill+program/3804321/story.html

By Cassandra Kyle, The Star Phoenix November 10, 2010

Forum Uranium Corp. says a 4,500-metre drill program on the Henday project in the Athabasca Basin will begin in January.
Drilling will focus on the Mallen Lake zone, where a large alteration system was discovered earlier this year. Forum said results returned from the zone suggests uranium mineralization at the site is basement-hosted, similar to Hathor Exploration Ltd.'s Roughrider zone or Cameco Corp.'s Millennium deposit. More . . . .
- - -
Denison Mines Corp. says initial resource estimates at the Wheeler River uranium project are highly encouraging.
The Toronto-based firm reported Tuesday the project's Phoenix A zone has an indicated estimate of 35.6 million pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 17.99 per cent. The Phoenix B zone, Denison said, has an inferred estimate of 3.8 million pounds of U3O8 at 7.27 per cent.
"Phoenix is showing that it is in an elite class of deposits," said Ron Hochstein, Denison's president and CEO. "There are only two other uranium deposits today in the world with average grades similar to Phoenix A, being McArthur River and Cigar Lake.
"Furthermore, we believe that these initial mineral resource estimates are just the beginning of the Phoenix trend. We've only just begun to uncover its potential." More . . . .

================

6. UK campaigners demand US reveal location of 400 tonnes of DU in Iraq

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/358.html

Campaigners at the US Embassy in London today demanded that the US reveal where it fired an estimated 400 tonnes of depleted uranium (DU) weapons in Iraq after concerns over its humanitarian impact surfaced at the UN and UK and Scottish parliaments.
12 November 2010 - ICBUW
Concerns over DU have recently been focused on the Iraqi city of Fallujah – the location of intense battles in 2004. Correspondents from UK media organisations such as Sky, the BBC, Guardian, Independent and The Telegraph have all reported on the apparent rise in birth defects in the city.
However, the US continues to refuse to release data on its use of DU in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq. Its failure to do so is making further research into a possible link between the weapons and the health problems impossible.
The protest outside the US Embassy in London comes a fortnight after 136 states voted in favour of a resolution calling for transparency over the use of DU weapons at the United Nations. Only the US, UK, France and Israel opposed the text. British and Iraqi demonstrators held up an enormous mirror symbolising the US’s ongoing failure to be open about its use of depleted uranium.
The UK MoD has released data on its use of DU in the 2003 conflict and it was hoped that the UK would support the UN resolution. But in a move that has been criticised in Westminster and Holyrood, the government voted against the text. EDM 825, which calls on the UK to support the resolution had attracted cross party support from 81 MPs by the 11th November; while S3M-7332 attracted the backing of 13 MSPs in the first two days after being submitted. The resolution on transparency will be voted on for a second time by the UN General Assembly at the end of November, giving the Government a second opportunity to abstain or vote in favour.
It has been shown that transparency is the single most important factor in reducing the risk from uranium weapons contamination and in facilitating monitoring and clearance. This was recognised by the UK Royal Society seven years ago when it urged the UK and US to release data swiftly after the 2003 conflict. Since then, the US has failed to release data to either the UN’s agencies or to the Iraqi government. Responding to the first round of voting at the UN, the US, France and UK claimed that they are under no legal obligation to release data on their use of the weapons and as such have argued that October’s UN resolution is ‘irrelevant’.
“That the UK and US have been reduced to trotting out such feeble and legally dubious arguments to support their position on this issue is testament to the weakness of their arguments,” said Uranium Weapons Network spokesperson Doug Weir. “There is simply no justification for the US’s ongoing refusal to release this information, information that is crucial in reducing civilians’ exposure to the residue from these toxic and radioactive weapons.”
The UK Uranium Weapons Network represents the Campaign Against Depleted Uranium, the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Environmental Justice Foundation, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, MEDACT, the Muslim Council of Britain, Pax Christi, People & Planet, Quaker Peace & Social Witness and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

================

7. Grits 'won't abandon' green energy

http://www.windsorstar.com/technology/
Grits+abandon+green+energy/3822452/story.html

Battle looms over clean power, says Duncan
Byline: Gary Rennie, Windsor Star, Sat Nov 13 2010, Page: A1
Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan took the offensive Friday on his government's green energy policies, signalling the start of a concerted campaign to better explain rising electricity prices to consumers.
Throwing the switch for the official startup of one of the largest rooftop solar systems in Canada at Tecumseh Arena, Duncan said the health benefits to Ontario residents of cleaner air are being ignored in the debate over the cost of renewable energy.
"I don't think better health and cleaner air are too expensive," the Windsor-Tecumseh MPP said.
Duncan acknowledged a major political battle was looming over energy policy.
But he vowed his government would not abandon renewable energy policies that promise cleaner air as coal-fired plants are phased out, along with the creation of jobs in newly launched green energy industries.
"Make no mistake, it's a battle," said Duncan, referring to salvos fired earlier this week by Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak over the cost of renewable power.
Duncan said the debate about the cost of energy is being skewed by exaggerated blame on renewable subsidies.

MORE: http://www.windsorstar.com/technology/
Grits+abandon+green+energy/3822452/story.html

===================

8. No Nukes News - Nov. 11, 2010

“Any technology needs to be evaluated in terms of long-term sustainability. Nuclear is the most totalitarian kind of energy because you are making decisions for people who have not been consulted – people who are not yet born.” - Alternative Nobel Prize winner Raul Montenegro
“We have lost faith in the government until they prove that their politics is for the people and not for the corporations.” - NGO chief Kersin Rudek
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Ottawa’s plan to sell AECL threatens future of Canada’s nuclear industry
After a year-long process to sell AECL, the government has failed to attract any international bidders who could bring financial heft and global marketing clout to the company, which was once a global leader in reactor sales but is now relegated to the sidelines.
The Harper government has been critical of AECL for many years due to its frequent taxpayer-financed cost overruns, its inability to sell reactors and its troubles at the Chalk River nuclear research laboratories.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/
industry-news/energy-and-resources/
ottawas-plan-to-sell-aecl-threatens-future-of-canadas-nuclear-industry/article1792762/

Ontario asked Ottawa to delay AECL sale
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty warned Ottawa back in June that its effort to sell Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. could scuttle a provincial proposal to buy new reactors from the company, a deal that would boost the long-term value of the federally owned corporation.
The Harper government is eager to rid itself of the financial problems of AECL, which has lost $493-million in the past two years. The government has allocated some $1.6-billion to the company over that period, including $446-million to cover cost overruns at its Candu refurbishment projects in New Brunswick, Ontario and South Korea, and $228-million for development of the ACR1000 reactor.
Without the financial backing of the federal government, it is unlikely AECL and Ontario can reach an agreement on new advanced Candu reactors. Instead, the province is now considering buying an enhanced version of the older model Candu 6, which carries less development risk, though AECL boasts the advanced Candu would be more cost effective over the long term.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/
industry-news/energy-and-resources/
ontario-asked-ottawa-to-delay-aecl-sale/article1794307/?cmpid=rss1

Action: With the click of a button, please send Premier McGuinty an email telling him that taxpayers and consumers should not pay for any nuclear cost overruns. Fixed-price bids should be required. Invest in lower cost and lower risk options.

http://www.cleanairalliance.org/letter_to_dalton2

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German people in unprecedented rebellion against nuclear shipment
1000 injured in nuclear protests, police at breaking point
More than 50,000 people from all parts of the country and all walks of life attended a rally on a field close to Dannenberg. Thousands then marched through the autumn woods, splitting into small groups to descend into the valley, break through police lines to chain themselves to the rails or remove gravel from the tracks to delay the train. According to Spiegel, 7000 people alone took part in the road and railway blockades along with 17,000 police officers from France, Croatia and Poland who joined in the biggest security operation ever mounted against protestors against the a train carrying nuclear waste to a depot in an isolated part of Lower Saxony’s countryside. At great personal risk, tens of thousands of people gave an example of courageous and peaceful non-violent resistance that will surely go down in history.

http://alethonews.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/
german-people-in-unprecedented-rebellion-against-government/

Protest over nuclear 'train from hell'
Greenpeace has staged protests against a nuclear waste convoy which it claimed was “the most radioactive shipment in history” amounting to the radioactive equivalent of 11 Chernobyl disasters.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... pe/france/
8113317/Protest-over-nuclear-train-from-hell.html

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THE 4th REVOLUTION - EnergyAutonomy
Sun, wind, hydro and geothermal energy are natural sources accessible to everyone all over the world without making any difference. And they are renewable, free and available in the long run. Only the widespread knowledge about the possibilities of renewable energy can ignite an international movement and take the absolutely necessary energy transition.
Watch the 8 minute trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15S-Pz3s3Rg
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Cost overruns at Bruce nuclear refurbishment won't hit ratepayers: minister
``What is clear is that, as of today, Bruce Power is getting money from people who are paying for power as a way of cushioning the impact of cost (overruns)'' said Tabuns.
Shawn-Patrick Stensil of Greenpeace Canada explains: ``We know that nuclear costs are going up, as we've seen with Bruce A, but we also know that green energy costs are doing down over time,'' said Stensil. ``So commitments to lock into these large nuclear projects today, just as we did with Darlington in 1974, could lock us into higher electricity prices for decades.''
Darlington was supposed to cost $3.9 billion but ended up costing more than three times that amount, $14.4 billion, and is largely responsible for the 'stranded debt retirement' charge still levied on electricity bills. The industry vowed in 2005 that it had tackled the delays and cost overrun problems with nuclear projects, but the Bruce refurbishment is proof that's not true, added Stensil. ``It would be cheaper to use a portfolio of green energy options than new reactors at Darlington, but both Hudak and McGuinty refuse to look at that option.''

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/11/07/
bruce-power-refurbishment839.html
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Keeping an eye on nuclear industry
Members of Northwatch and affiliated groups from across the province spent Sunday sharing information and forming strategies to counter nuclear industry plans to expand production and bury its waste. Shawn-Patrick Stensil, of Greenpeace Canada, told about two dozen people taking part that the nuclear industry's survival plan will effectively put a cap on how much green energy can be integrated into the grid in the future. Brennain Lloyd, of Northwatch, gave an overview of the industry's strategy to bury the high level waste from generating stations deep into the ground. “The technical case (for a deep underground storage system) has not been made," she said. Lloyd said an informed community "will decide not to bring this into their territory” and Northwatch suggests that the sooner they say no, the sooner the industry will focus on ways of managing waste closer to where it is created.

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2835485
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Vermont's Great Green Election Day Victory -- Kick out the Nuclear Plant
Vermont has elected a governor pledged to make the state truly green by shutting its decrepit, leaking nuclear plant. And the town closest to that reactor has voted to take it by eminent domain if necessary, a step unprecedented in world history. In reaction, the nuke's owner (Entergy) has turned tail and put the plant up for sale. (So far, no bidders).
In direct opposition, this post-election week has been marked by radioactive crowing from a dark age industry demanding massive government loan guarantees from "free market" Congressional Republicans. Armed with oceans of unaccountable corporate/billionaire cash, Karl Rove's new nuclear GOP wants to dump Adam Smith and pump public billions into a failed industry that cannot compete. The industry continually points to France's industry as a model. But it's mute to the fact that France's leaky, error-prone nukes are owned, operated and regulated (sort of) by the French government. A national socialist prototype, the EDF/Areva edifice---like its counterpart in Japan---would melt and die in an open market.

http://www.alternet.org/story/148755/
vermont%27s_great_green_election_day_victory_--_kick_out_the_nuclear_plant/
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Vermont nuclear plant shuts down after radioactive water leak

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101108/
ap_on_bi_ge/
us_vermont_yankee

Explosion Shuts New York nuclear plant

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/
world-news/4323275/
Explosion-shuts-US-nuclear-plant
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Nuclear smuggling: Insider thieves are the new nuclear threat.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/
nuclear-terrorism-expert-view

Nuclear bomb material found for sale on Georgia black market

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/
nuclear-material-black-market-georgia

Nuclear smuggling: large rewards tempt desperate and poor into trade

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/
nuclear-smuggling-large-rewards-trade
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IEA urges G20 to end fossil-fuel subsidies
The International Energy Agency wants to wean the world off fossil-fuel subsidies that it says artificially inflate global energy demand. The agency is urging Group of 20 nations to slash their estimated $312-billion (U.S.) in annual support. It is estimated, however, that support for renewable energy is only about 60 per cent of the amount provided to fossil-fuel producers. In Canada, the federal government provides roughly $1.4-billion in tax breaks and support for R&D to the oil industry, while three provinces - Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador - account for roughly the same amount, said the International Institute for Sustainable Development in a report released last week.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/
industry-news/energy-and-resources/
iea-urges-g20-to-end-fossil-fuel-subsidies/article1792514/
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Dirty Business: Clean Coal and the Battle for our Energy Future Dirty Business reveals the true social and environmental costs of coal power and tells the stories of innovators who are pointing the way to an alternative energy future. The film examines what it means to remain dependent on a 19th century technology that is the largest single source of greenhouse gases. Can coal really be made clean? Can renewables and efficiency be produced on a scale large enough to replace coal?

Watch the 3 min. trailer here:
http://www.dirtybusinessthefilm.com/dir ... ss-trailer
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California vote illuminates Ontario’s energy future
Just last week, the Windsor economic development agency said up to one in 10 of that battered city’s new jobs are in renewable energy. That’s up to 600 new jobs making new, clean energy. A couple of weeks ago, a second solar manufacturing plant was announced for Guelph. Almost 600 direct jobs will be created, with hundreds more in spinoffs. It’s no accident that just the week before, four more units of a polluting coal power station were shut. Other manufacturing plants have been announced in Windsor, London and Toronto. With each one that opens, the California-style constituency for renewable energy grows; it’s not just about clean air, it’s about pay cheques, too.
Across rural Ontario, we’re seeing an economic rejuvenation thanks to clean energy. Farm families have already begun to receive cheques thanks to the solar panels and windmills they’ve installed. Over the next three years, the province will see 10 times as many solar panels installed than existed across the whole country at the end of 2009. These will come through the 15,000 rooftops and fields due for solar power — pumping more than 1,000 megawatts into our electricity grid. Enough power for a million homes. Consider this: the world’s largest solar farm is in Ontario. It pumps in 80 megawatts into the grid, and employed 800 people to build it.
Then there’s wind. In about a year, contracts have been awarded for more than 1,500 megawatts of wind capacity. That’s 650 windmills about to go up, each one employing someone, each one generating clean energy to replace coal.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editoria ... n/article/
886860--california-v
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Warning Port Hope a toxic time bomb; the only solution? Move
Port Hope is sitting on a carcinogenic time bomb that residents can only escape by moving out of town, a renowned doctor and anti-nuclear activist warns. Historic low-level radioactive waste buried in parks, ravines, streets, industrial sites, the harbour and hundreds of backyards poses a “life or death” threat and can’t be safely remediated, according to Dr. Helen Caldicott. Digging out more than 1.2 million cubic metres of soil, enough to fill 500 Olympic-size pools, will take a decade and cost at least $260 million. The final scope and price tag are unknown.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/
888301--warning-port-hope-a-toxic-time-bomb-the-only-solution-move
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Pugwash Canada and Science for Peace present:
Eric Fawcett Dinner and Forum
Sunday 14 November, 1:30 - 4:00 PM, Toronto
Forum One: International Law & Institutions: Building Peace & Security
Forum Two: Towards an Arctic Nuclear Weapons Free Zone
For more info:

http://www.scienceforpeace.ca/eric-fawc ... -and-forum
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Community Power 2010
The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association is hosting its 2nd annual Community Power Conference 2010 this November 15-16 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Do not miss the Community Power sector's premier event of the year.

http://cpconference.ca/
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Climate Refugees
95 min. documentary film, USA
Thursday November 18th, 7:30 PM
National Film Board Cinema, 150 John Street, Toronto
PWYC at the door (suggested donation $5).
Amnesty International Toronto celebrates its fifth annual Reel Awareness Film Festival with four days of some of the best human rights documentary and feature films shown around the world.

See film description here:

http://www.aito.ca/reelawareness/films/ ... index.html

See full festival program here:

http://www.aito.ca/reelawareness/index.html
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Order FREE anti-nuke and anti-coal postcards/leaflets to distribute to your friends and neighbours!

http://www.cleanairalliance.org/get_inv ... _pamphlets

And watch the 11 minute video with Jack Gibbons, Ontario Clean Air Alliance on how the proposed Darlington nuclear re-build will drive up electricity bills

http://www.cleanairalliance.org/
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Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Tel: 416 926 1907 x 246
625 Church Street, #402
Toronto, ON M4Y 2G1
angela@cleanairalliance.org
www.ontariosgreenfuture.ca
www.cleanairalliance.org
Our Facebook Group
Sign Our Petition
No Nukes News
Health Power
Coal Must Go

=====================

9. Canadian Mining Corporation Files Suit Against State of Colorado
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: COLORADOANS AGAINST RESOURCE DESTRUCTION (C.A.R.D.)
Jay Davis (970) 897-2209 (home) (970) 219-4763 (cell)
Jeff Parsons (720) 203-2871 (cell)
Website: http://www.nunnglow.com
On Monday, November 1, 2010, Powertech Uranium Corp., a Canadian uranium prospecting company, filed a lawsuit against the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board and Mike King, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.
The lawsuit, filed through its South Dakota subsidiary Powertech (USA) Inc., claims that recently adopted rules and regulations implementing House Bill 08-1161 and Senate Bill 08-228 are arbitrary, capricious, and exceed Colorado statutory authority. The action was filed in Denver State District Court.
The lawsuit challenges a list of specific rules, each designed to ensure ground water protection as well as require public and local government involvement in the mine permit process. The rules were crafted over a two-year process and were supported by a diverse range of groups, including C.A.R.D., Environment Colorado and other conservation groups state-wide, Denver Water, along with multiple local governments and affected communities.
Long-time Powertech mine opponent and Weld County land owner Robin Davis, whose ranch is adjacent to the proposed mine site, had this to say after learning of the lawsuit, “Powertech has told us from the very beginning they could and would restore our water.
Now that we have regulations in place that will hold them accountable to their word, they sue the State of Colorado for protecting its resources. It’s insulting. If it can't fulfill its promises of protecting our precious water supplies, Powertech should abandon this risky project.”
This is second time in recent weeks the uranium mining industry has sued state mine regulators to weaken ground water protections.
On September 24, 2010, Cotter Corporation sued the Mined Land Reclamation Board in an attempt to fight clean up orders at its Schwartzwalder Mine, which drains into Denver Water supplies on Ralston Creek near Golden. “The uranium mining industry in Colorado is wrong to keep fighting water quality protections and better public involvement. The people of Colorado have a right to be heard and will not accept mining projects that cannot protect the water,” said Jeff Parsons, Senior Attorney with the Western Mining Action Project, who represented local communities in the rulemaking process. “Frankly, we expect better from the Colorado mining industry, both because of the real threats they can pose and their repeated promises about protecting water and
communities.”
Powertech’s lawsuit contrasts with recent public statements about the new rules made by President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Clement. As recently as October 27, 2010 in an interview with Dan MacArthur of the North Forty News, Clement stated about the rules, "We can live with them." In the same interview, Clement responded, "They are not fatal to the project" when asked about an earlier comment made in an August 6, 2010 written submission to the Mined Land Reclamation Board. At that time, Powertech claimed a requirement to collect baseline water quality data before commencing prospecting “would be fatal to any serious potential in situ recovery project.”
Powertech’s lawsuit comes on the heels of a recent announcement by major shareholder and investor Synatom that the Belgian firm is exploring options for selling its stake in Powertech. Synatom owns 19.6% of Powertech and has loaned roughly $25 million to the company. On October 25, Powertech announced the resignation of two Synatom officials from Powertech’s board of directors.
Adding to the uncertainty for Powertech is the August 2010 release of a Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Centennial Project. CARD believes various sections of this report reveal serious technical issues such as low hydraulic conductivity/transmissivity, insufficient hydraulic head, vertical communication between aquifers, and the fact that much of the uranium mineralization resides above the water table.
C.A.R.D. is a diverse group of citizens concerned about the health, environmental, and economic impacts of uranium mining related activity. The organization’s goal is to protect Northern Colorado’s valuable resources, especially our water, for future generations.
- - - - - -
Powertech Uranium Files Lawsuit: Claims Cleaning Groundwater Too Expensive, Burdensome

http://www.nunnglow.com/latest/
powertech-uranium-lawsuit-cleaning-groundwater-too-expensive-burdensome.html

By BOBBY MAGILL. Fort Collins Coloradoan. November 11, 2010.
Powertech Uranium Corp. is suing the state of Colorado claiming rules state mining regulators adopted in August requiring the company to keep the groundwater clean beneath the proposed Centennial Project uranium mine are unlawful and unreasonable.
The lawsuit, filed in Denver District Court on Nov. 1, also alleges that Reps. Randy Fischer and John Kefalas and three other legislators broke the law by attempting to control how state mining officials implemented two 2008 laws they drafted requiring Powertech to keep its mine from polluting the groundwater.
Fischer and Kefalas are not named in the lawsuit as defendants, which include only Colorado Department of Natural Resources Director Mike King and the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board.
King could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Powertech, which previously called some of the provisions of the rules “fatal” to future in situ uranium mining in Colorado, proposes to open the Centennial Project uranium mine about 15 miles northeast of Fort Collins in Weld County.
The rules, mandated by HB-1161, signed by Gov. Bill Ritter in 2008, require Powertech to establish the level of groundwater purity before it begins prospecting for uranium and then establish a similar baseline for water quality before mining begins.
Another 2008 law, SB-228, provides some public transparency into a mining company’s prospecting work.
When the company is finished mining, it must fully decontaminate the groundwater so it and return it to its original purity to ensure the water is no longer polluted. Powertech’s lawsuit calls that rule irrational.
Fully cleaning up the groundwater will be too expensive and will require the use of too much water from somewhere else to do the job, the lawsuit claims.
And, Powertech claims, making the company completely decontaminate the water will hold the company to a higher standard than any other mining company in Colorado.
Before the state will approve a permit for Powertech to begin in situ leach, or ISL, mining, the rules require Powertech to show it can fully decontaminate the groundwater by pointing to five other ISL mines elsewhere in the United States that have returned the groundwater to its original purity.
Powertech’s lawsuit claims the state has no authority to require mining companies to test groundwater purity before it begins prospecting for uranium, and says the state’s rule to show how other mines have reclaimed the groundwater is arbitrary.
“These rules require information about other operations permitted at some time in the past or at other locations by an operator unrelated” to Powertech, the lawsuit claims, dismissing the rules as overly burdensome.

MORE: http://www.nunnglow.com/latest/
powertech-uranium-lawsuit-cleaning-groundwater-too-expensive-burdensome.html

================

10. Russia to build floating nuclear power plant on world's largest archipelago

http://english.pravda.ru/business/companies/19-10-2010/
115427-floating_nuclear_power_plant-0/

19.10.2010 18:05
Russia has offered Indonesia to cooperate in the nuclear field. The offer stipulates the construction of the first nuclear-powered electric power plant in the country. Russian experts believe that Indonesia, being the country of many islands, may show interest in Russia's state-of-the-art technology of building floating nuclear power plants.
For the time being, it goes about the construction of a conventional nuclear power plant on Indonesia's largest island, Sumatra. The deal with Indonesia may trigger the speedy development of the Russian nuclear industry as Russia may obtain prospects for entering the markets of other Asian countries such as China, Turkey and Vietnam.
"Taking into consideration the fact that Indonesia is a large archipelago, it may go about the construction of floating nuclear power plants. I believe that this project will be one of the arguments that will attract Indonesia's attention and the country will accept Russia's nuclear cooperation offer," State Duma official Igor Igoshin said.
In the beginning of July, Russia launched the head floating power block "Akademik Lomonosov" in St. Petersburg. The block will become the first element of the world's first-ever floating nuclear powered station. The station will hold the capacity of producing electric power and heat for 200,000 people. If the station is used for processing sea water, it will be able to produce 240,000 cubic meter of fresh water a day.
The market of desalinated water was evaluated at $3 billion in 1995. The market value will grow to $12 billion a year by 2015, according to the IAEA. The shortage of fresh water in the world will increase to 1.3-2.0 trillion cubic meters a year, according to the UN. The basic consumers of desalinated water are situated in the Middle East (70%), in Europe - 9.9%, in the USA - 7.4% (presumably California and Florida), in Africa - 6.3% and in Asia - 5.8%.

MORE: http://english.pravda.ru/business/companies/19-10-2010/
115427-floating_nuclear_power_plant-0/

==================

11. Airport whole-body scanners (not the MRI kind) (Canadian scanners - see below.)

From: Gordon Edwards
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 9:11 AM
Subject: Airport whole-body scanners (not the MRI kind)
Background
See the attached letter of concern (Link is below) signed by several prominent faculty members at the University of California's San Francisco campus, regarding the potential harmful effects of whole-body radiation exposures for security reasons at airports.
Gordon Edwards.
====================
From: Mark A. Pinsk [mailto:mpinsk@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2010 11:51 AM
Subject: whole-body scanners (not the MRI kind)
Hey fellow SFN travelers,
During your SFN travels, there's a chance you will be asked to go through TSA's new whole-body x-ray scanners that are rolled out nationwide. This is an issue that really gets to me, and thought I'd share some information in case you're interested. My focus is on the health risks, and I mostly try to stay away from the other more political issues that people may disagree on (e.g. privacy rights, security theater, etc).
Everyone goes through the metal detector. Afterward, you may be asked to go through the whole-body xray scanner, but you have the option to opt-out.
If you opt-out, you will get a full body pat-down by a TSA agent of the same sex. Further, you can ask that it be done in a private room. FYI: the pat-downs are now quite intrusive: the agent must now use the palms of his hands instead of the backs of his hands, and he must firmly pat every location.
If you decide not to opt-out, and to go through the x-ray scanner, note that there are concerns regarding the radiation exposure of these machines (putting the privacy issues of having your body imaged by TSA aside). While it is a low-power x-ray, it is spread across the whole body, and the effects of such exposure have not been independently assessed. There are specific concerns regarding male reproductive organs, female pregnancy and breast cancer risks, children and the elderly, etc etc. Below is a link to
a letter of concern written by scientists at UCSF regarding their concerns with the technology and the lack of safety oversight on the operators and manufacturer.
Personally, I would opt for the pat-down. As much as it inconveniences me, I'd rather not take the additional radiation dose and not allow the TSA to capture an image of my body. Furthermore, choosing the pat-down inconveniences the TSA as well, so it is possible that if enough people choose the pat-down option, the TSA would have to seriously re-consider the use of a machine that travelers do not want to go through.

Here's the link to the letter of concern from UCSF scientists:

http://www.npr.org/assets/news/2010/05/17/concern.pdf

Feel free to pass this on to fellow travelers.
= = = == = = =
Body scanners coming to Canadian airports

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/05/
security-canada-us-airport.html

Last Updated: Tuesday, January 5, 2010 | 9:43 PM ET CBC News
Dozens of body scanners will be installed in Canadian airports to comply with new U.S. security protocols, the federal government confirmed Tuesday.
Rob Merrifield, minister of state for transport, said 44 scanners ordered on Tuesday will be used on passengers selected for secondary screening at Canadian airports.
CBC News has confirmed that the machines, which can scan through clothing, be installed in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.
The system, tested over the last year in British Columbia at the Kelowna Airport, allows a screening officer to see whether someone is carrying plastic explosives or other dangerous items.
The plan to use the technology has stirred controversy because the scanner produces a three-dimensional outline of a person's naked body.

MORE: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/05/
security-canada-us-airport.html

==================

12. Mining industry lobbied nine of 24 MPs who helped kill ethics bill

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/
mining-industry-lobbied-nine-of-24-mps-who-helped-kill-ethics-bill/article1795614/

Steve Rennie
Ottawa— The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010 3:35PM EST
A lobbying blitz on Parliament Hill may have sealed the defeat of a controversial mining bill that lost a razor-thin vote in the House of Commons.
Records filed with Canada's lobbying watchdog show nine of the 24 MPs who skipped the vote last month were lobbied by the mining industry.
The private member's bill would have forced Canadian mining companies to toughen their environmental and human-rights standards when working abroad.
The bill lost by just six votes, 140 to 134.
The nine absent MPs lobbied by the mining industry were Liberals Scott Andrews, Scott Brison, Martha Hall Findlay, Keith Martin, John McCallum, Geoff Regan and Anthony Rota, as well as New Democrats Charlie Angus and Bruce Hyer.
Fifteen other Liberal, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and independent MPs also skipped the Oct. 27 vote, but records show they were not lobbied by the mining industry.
All but one Conservative MP voted against the bill. Former environment minister Jim Prentice missed the vote because he was on his way to China for trade talks.

MORE: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/
mining-industry-lobbied-nine-of-24-mps-who-helped-kill-ethics-bill/article1795614/

=================

13. Netanyahu tests Obama, again

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2010/11/
201011964814306540.html

How will the US react to Israel's announcement that it will be building more settlement units in East Jerusalem?
MJ Rosenberg Last Modified: 10 Nov 2010 10:22 GMT
Is this is a sick joke?
While visiting Israel in March, Joe Biden, the US vice president, delivered a speech that delighted the Israeli Right and its followers here. The key passage was this: "When it comes to Israel's security there can be no daylight - no daylight - between Israel and the US."
That formulation, which was devised by the pro-Israel lobby here, pleased the Netanyahu government, which interprets it to mean that Israel has carte blanch from Washington to do whatever it wants. No other country in the world enjoys such a pledge from the US.
Within hours, the Israeli government responded to Biden's endorsement by announcing that it would be building 1,600 new settler units in Arab East Jerusalem.
That announcement - and the slap in the face that it represented - led to the Spring 2010 crisis in US-Israel relations that seemed to indicate that, at long last, the US was standing up to Israel on the settlement issue. In Israel, it was widely speculated that Netanyahu's government would fall. Many believed that the dispute would force him to implement a settlement freeze or face serious consequences.
But then, surprising even Netanyahu, the Obama administration surrendered. Without Israel conceding anything, the administration let just a short time pass before it not only caved on settlements but denied that there ever was a crisis between the two governments.
And the sad thing is that Obama could have prevailed. The Israeli Right knew it had a weak hand to play while the Israeli peace camp was suddenly optimistic that Obama would be the "honest broker" he had promised to be.
But political considerations prevailed. Despite the fact that polls have always shown that most supporters of Israel in this country oppose settlements, the lobby and the Democratic Party donors who take their cues from the lobby warned Obama to back off.
Obama did. And the administration has been flailing in the region ever since.

MORE: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2010/11/
201011964814306540.html

by **Oscar** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 5:43 pm

NUKE NEWS: November 17, 2010

1. Open Letter to Communities Working to Stop Fracking
2. Nuclear waste plan holds promise
3. Cameco donates $500K to the Friendship Inn
4. Much More Munsch – Children’s Discovery Museum Exhibit - sponsored by CAMECO & Letter
5. WATCH: Move Port Hope from radioactive soil: Caldicott
6. 'This government should be sued' – Caldicott
7. Steam Generators: Radioactive Cargo is Mostly Plutonium
8. VIDEO: INTO ETERNITY - Review/Trailer
9. China International Nuclear Symposium – Last Chance to Register
10. (AU) Cameco set to move on
11. Conversations with Fidel Castro: The Dangers of a Nuclear War
12. Terrorism and cyber attacks are main threats to UK, national security strategy finds
13. Nuclear State, police state: scandalous repression against non-violent activists
14. Allison Macfarlane named to Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future - FEB. 2010
15. U.S. Offers Israel Warplanes in Return for New Settlement Freeze
16. HARPER EXTENDS AFGHAN MISSION – 7 Articles
17. Ignatieff on Canada’s lost Security Council seat: What’s your reaction?
18. LETTER: ARNEY: Remembrance Day 2010
19. MiningWatch Canada Newsletter 29: Autumn 2010
20. Council of Canadians Update – November 15, 2010

===============

1. Open Letter to Communities Working to Stop Fracking

(…for when we’ve had enough of the obscenity of pig factories, GM Franken-food, drinking water fouled by gold mines, uranium mines, nuclear waste dumps, fracking waste, and many other assaults on our person and our well-being…Editor)
= = = = = = =
Open Letter to Communities Working to Stop Fracking

http://www.celdf.org/
open-letter-to-communities-working-to-stop-fracking

by CELDF, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund
November 16th, 2010
From the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund
This morning, the Pittsburgh City Council became the first municipality in the United States to ban natural gas extraction within its boundaries. The ordinance isn’t just a ban – it consists of a new Bill of Rights for Pittsburgh residents (which includes a right to water along with rights for ecosystems and nature), and then proceeds to ban those activities – including natural gas extraction - which would violate those rights.

MORE:
http://www.celdf.org/
open-letter-to-communities-working-to-stop-fracking

=================

2. Nuclear waste plan holds promise

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/
Nuclear+waste+plan+holds+promise/3833993/story.html

By Vince Natomagan, Special to The StarPhoenix November 16, 2010
Following is the viewpoint of the writer, a resident of northern Saskatchewan and a councillor in Pinehouse. - - -
My daughter, who recently turned 19, is currently taking a business administration course, and I'm extremely proud of her.
She maintains that she wants to live in northern Saskatchewan and help build Pinehouse because this is her community, it's where her family is, and she's proud to be a northerner.
I can't help but reflect on her challenges, and mine.
What is the quality of life in northern Saskatchewan? Will she have every opportunity to build the kind of life I have always wanted for her?
Why is northern Saskatchewan the second-poorest region in Canada, even though natural resources are so abundant here? Where does the wealth and prosperity go, and why does it seem that governments and shareholders of the large corporations don't care about the North?
I look at my community and see how far we've come since 2007. That's when a new leadership took over, vowing to stop playing victim to the perceived injustices of the world, and taking control of our actions and thus our destiny.
Pinehouse gradually has grown its economic arm through small contract work with industry, and grossed close to $10 million in revenue for our citizens and for community infrastructure.
Meanwhile, a home-grown holistic social initiative, called Recovery Lake and Circle of Courage, has been implemented.
We have chosen to reclaim our community's values while recognizing our culture. We still rely on the land for moose, duck, fish and berries; we still practice traditional ways and honour our fathers and grandfathers by sharing with everyone when a moose is harvested. It's not about being backwards or naive, but about caring for one another.
However, we also recognize that the sad reality is that the old ways are fading away. We must look to the future; we must look at alternatives.
Along comes the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), with what appears to be a new opportunity. I can't help but feel cautiously optimistic.
What is NWMO proposing? Is it harmful or beneficial? Is there something there for our community? For my daughter? So we started to research; we read everything we can get our hands on, and we requested meetings.
We learned that the NWMO is looking for the safe and secure long-term storage of used nuclear fuel, in deep geological storage facilities.
It turns out that our region has the type of geological formation to do just that.
The more we find out, the more we see alternatives and prospects for growth. We realize that we are not experts on nuclear waste management, but we are experts regarding Pinehouse and our dedication to change the dismal statistics that we face today.
We know we must learn more to make an informed decision. We know we must start to involve our community members and neighbouring communities. After all, these are the people who will decide our collective future, and the fate of this massive project.

MORE:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/
Nuclear+waste+plan+holds+promise/3833993/story.html
- - - - -
(PS: Consider your own letter in response, email to: spnews@sp.canwest.com Editor)

==================

3. Cameco donates $500K to the Friendship Inn

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/
todays-paper/Cameco+donates+500K+Friendship/3833988/story.html

The StarPhoenix November 16, 2010
A fundraising campaign by the Saskatoon Friendship Inn has received a half-million-dollar boost from Cameco Corp.
The $500,000 will be used for the Friendship Inn's Friends in Deed campaign, aimed at increasing the organization's working space.
"Cameco's donation puts us into the homestretch of our goal to raise $3 million," Keith Martell, co-chair of the campaign, said in a news release Monday.

MORE:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/
todays-paper/Cameco+donates+500K+Friendsh

========

4. Much More Munsch – Children’s Discovery Museum Exhibit - sponsored by CAMECO & Letter

http://www.museumforkids.sk.ca/document ... ochure.pdf

From September 18 to December 31, the international traveling exhibit Much More Munsch will be on display at the Children’s Discovery Museum! This exciting exhibit explores and promotes the art of storytelling, culture, and literacy through the works of a Canadian icon of children’s fiction, best-selling author Robert Munsch.
If you would like to write to Bob and tell him what you think about Cameco sponsoring his work, you can do so on his web site:

http://robertmunsch.com/contact
- - - - - -
Children's Discovery Museum - Cameco sponsors $10,000+http://www.museumforkids.sk.ca/sponsors.html
- - - - - - -
A MUST READ! "kiddie-art" CAMECO’s Community Investments Report:

http://www.cameco.com/fuel_services/bli ... _refinery/
community/community_investment/

- - - - -

LETTER: HUGHES: CAMECO Sponsors 'Kiddie Art' Exhibit

From: Elaine Hughes
To: Editor Edmonton Journal ; Editor Leader Post ; Editor Star Phoenix
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 11:39 AM
Subject: Letter to the Editor: CAMECO Sponsors 'Kiddie Art' Exhibit
= = = = = = =

CAMECO Sponsors 'kiddie art' Exhibit

I am shocked and disgusted (but not surprised) to learn that CAMECO, the producer of uranium, (you know, the fuel for bombs and Depleted Uranium which kill babies, born and unborn), is sponsoring the travelling art exhibit, Much More Munsch.
I find CAMECO's habit of showing the world what good community citizens it is to be vile and genocidal - it's everywhere, it touches everything - especially in how it targets children and First Nations folks.
It's a real eye-opener to check the 'kiddie-art' in CAMECO's Community Investment Report at:

http://www.cameco.com/fuel_services/bli ... _refinery/
community/community_investment/

How unfortunate that Mr. Munsch has become entrapped in this obscenity!

Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK

=================

5. WATCH: Move Port Hope from radioactive soil: Caldicott

http://news.sympatico.cbc.ca/home/contentposting/
move_port_hope_from_radioactive_soil_caldicott/40232cbc

17/11/2010 6:59:18 AM CBC News
An anti-nuclear activist who suggests the entire population of Port Hope, Ont., should be moved because of radioactive soil contamination took her message to residents on Tuesday.
"In a way, your town symbolizes the wickedness of the nuclear fuel cycle, and it's not your fault," Helen Caldicott told about 300 people. "You should be compensated."
Radioactive soil dating back to the 1930s was spread over the town before stricter regulations were brought into place. Much of the soil was cleaned up in the 1970s, but now there's disagreement over how to get rid of the rest.
A preliminary excavation of more than one million cubic metres of dirt has started in the municipality of 16,000 people on the shore of Lake Ontario about 110 kilometres east of Toronto. It is expected to take 10 years to clean up.
Caldicott said the town should be abandoned rather than deal with the historic uranium waste problems.
Her comments have caused such controversy in Port Hope that she delivered her speech in Oshawa, 50 kilometres away. Sanford Haskill, who leads a group of Port Hope residents concerned about radioactive waste, invited Caldicott to speak.

MORE:
http://news.sympatico.cbc.ca/home/contentposting/
move_port_hope_from_radioactive_soil_caldicott/40232cbc

===================

6. 'This government should be sued' - Caldicott

http://www.thestar.com/article/
891709--sue-government-over-toxic-town-activist-tells-port-hope

Activist warns Port Hope that radioactive waste will leak into water and air 'for the rest of time'
Carola Vyhnak, Toronto Star, Wed Nov 17 2010, Page: GT1
She held nothing back.
Port Hope's air, drinking water, fish, beach, soil - virtually everything in the town of 16,000 poses a health risk from radioactivity, anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott warned an overflow crowd Tuesday night.
Radium is leaking into Lake Ontario and uranium from the Cameco refinery is "almost certainly" being inhaled by residents, she told more than 200 people jammed into the banquet hall in the Best Western Durham Hotel in Oshawa.
"Your town symbolizes the whole wickedness" of the nuclear industry, the internationally acclaimed pediatrician said. "This radioactive waste will leak into food supplies, water and air for the rest of time."
Children are particularly at risk because they're 10 to 20 times more sensitive to radon than adults, she said.
"This government should be sued and you should get millions and millions of dollars," she said to cheers and applause.
Caldicott repeated her warning made last week in an interview with the Star: the town should be moved and Cameco should be shut down.
The resulting furor over her comments forced the sponsors of her talk to move the event to Oshawa.

MORE:
http://www.thestar.com/article/
891709--sue-government-over-toxic-town-activist-tells-port-hope

================

7. Steam Generators: Radioactive Cargo is Mostly Plutonium

BACKGROUND: Plutonium in the Bruce “A” nuclear steam generators - Page 33

http://www.ccnr.org/CCNR_Submission_1.pdf
= = = = =

Steam Generators: Radioactive Cargo is Mostly Plutonium

Media Release November 15 2010 For Immediate Release
Several prominent non-governmental organizations are accusing Bruce Power (BP) of misleading the public, the media and decision-makers about the kind of contamination inside the cargo of 16 radioactive steam generators it plans to ship to Sweden, by neglecting to state that it is mainly plutonium.
BP has applied to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for a licence to transport the radioactive cargo through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway en route to Sweden. CNSC staff has acknowledged that the proposed shipment exceeds by at least 6 times the maximum amount of radioactivity normally allowed on a single vessel.
BP has trivialized the danger of this proposed shipment by referring to the cargo as ‘low level radioactivity. But according to BP’s own figures, about 90 percent of the mass of radioactive material inside the steam generators is plutonium -- a highly toxic, long-lived radioactive poison. On its web site, Studsvik, the Swedish company that plans to melt down most of the radioactive metal and sell it as scrap for use in any number of commercial products, calls the innards of the steam generators ‘highy radioactive’
“Each steam generator contains five plutonium isotopes with an admixture of at least eighteen other man-made radioactive materials. To imply that this radiotoxic cocktail poses only a low-level of risk is misleading,” said Dr. Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. “It is extraordinarily dangerous stuff, and will remain toxic for thousands of years.”
The plutonium inside the steam generators gives off very little highly penetrating radiation, and therefore cannot be detected from the outside. But it gives off alpha radiation, which is 20 times more biologically damaging than beta or gamma radiation per unit of energy when deposited in living tissue. Any accidental spill will pose a serious long-lived contamination problem.
“Simple arithmetic shows that the amount of plutonium-239 inside the 16 steam generators is enough, in principle, to give more than 52 million atomic workers their maximum permissible ‘body burden’ of 0.7 micrograms,” said Dr. Marvin Resnikoff of Radioactive Waste Management Associates in Vermont.
“And if the other plutonium isotopes inside the steam generator (plutonium-238, plutonium-240, plutonium-241 and plutonium-242) are factored in, the number of workers that could be overdosed is doubled,” added Dr. Edwards.
BP’s planned shipment of 1600 tonnes of radioactive waste through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence has been met with concerted opposition from over 100 municipalities and aboriginal communities along the route, as well as from more than 70 NGOs. In response to this public outcry, CNSC held a public hearing in September with 79 intervenors. The outpouring of concern at that hearing led CNSC to extend the comment period for intervenors to give added input until November 22 -- an unexpected and unprecedented development.
Most of the intervenors want Bruce Power to cancel the shipment and return to the original plan as laid down in a 2006 Environmental Assessment : to store the steam generators on site indefinitely as radioactive waste along with all the other radioactive waste materials produced by the Bruce reactors. “Radioactive waste should be isolated from the human environment, not transported halfway around the world, and certainly not dispersed into consumer products,” said Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear.
But if BP insists on pushing forward with its proposal, intervenors feel strongly that there must be an environmental assessment of the entire project, including not only the initial transport to Sweden but the recycling of the radioactive metal and the return back to Canada of up to 90 percent of the original waste.
“The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River constitute a priceless natural resource, providing drinking water for 40 million people, and supporting a multibillion dollar fishery. If that does not trigger an environmental assessment, then something is wrong with the system,” said Kay Cumbow of Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination in Michigan.
Contacts:
Dr. Gordon Edwards, (514) 489 2665 [home] (514) 839 7214 [cell]
ccnr@web.ca
President, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Montreal.

Dr. Marvin Resnikoff, (802) 732 8008 [work]
radwaste@rwma.com
Radioactive Waste Management Associates (Bellows Falls, Vermont),

Kevin Kamps, (240) 462-3216 [cell]
kevin@beyondnuclear.org
Beyond Nuclear (Takoma Park, Maryland)

Kay Cumbow, (810) 346 4513
kcumbow@greatlakes.net
Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination (Michigan)

=======================

8. VIDEO: INTO ETERNITY - Review/Trailer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/14/
into-eternity-michael-madsen-review

WATCH: Trailer:
http://www.intoeternitythemovie.com/

In the UK from November 12, 2010
This intelligent, visually striking documentary by the 39-year-old Danish film-maker and conceptual artist Michael Madsen looks at one of the great conundrums of our time: what to do about the vast quantities of nuclear waste that will remain a lethal danger to humanity for some 100,000 years. Madsen concentrates on a single project called Onkalo (Finnish for "hiding place"), which began in 2004 and aims to bury the waste from Finland's four nuclear reactors in a tunnel 4km beneath the bedrock. He discusses the practical, political, philosophical and ethical problems entailed with a variety of Scandinavian scientists, administrators and thinkers who all talk slowly, eloquently, and slightly ominously, in excellent English.
Together, they tease out such questions as to whether the sites should be kept secret from future generations or whether we should warn them of our deadly legacy. But what markers do you leave for people in an unpredictable, unimaginably distant future to tell them what is concealed? The suggestions range from using Munch's The Scream as an admonitory icon to creating a legend to be handed from generation to generation. Meanwhile, in the bowels of the earth workers are creating a modern equivalent of the pharaohs' burial chambers. An eerie, provocative, poetic film.
Into Eternity
Production year: 2010
Countries: Denmark, Finland, Italy, Rest of the world, Sweden
Runtime: 75 mins
Directors: Michael Madsen
More on this film
= = = = = =
Onkalo – the world’s first permanent nuclear waste repository

http://www.intoeternitythemovie.com/nuclear-facts/

Onkalo is a Finnish word for hiding place. It is situated at Olkiluoto in Finland - approx. 300 km northwest of Helsinki and it's the world's first attempt at a permanent repository. It is a huge system of underground tunnels hewn out of solid bedrock. Work on the concept behind the facility commenced in 1970s and the repository is expected to be backfilled and decommissioned in the 2100s – more than a century from now. No person working on the facility today will live to see it completed. The Finnish and Swedish Nuclear Authorities are collaborating on the project, and Sweden is planning a similar facility, but has not begun the actual construction of it.

MORE:
http://www.intoeternitythemovie.com/nuclear-facts/

===============

9. China International Nuclear Symposium – Last Chance to Register

http://www.wna-symposium.org/china/index.html

The World Nuclear Association and the China Nuclear Energy Association
are pleased to announce their first China International Nuclear Symposium

http://www.wna-symposium.org/china/index.html

will be held in Beijing 23-25 November 2010
The Annual WNA Symposium has been held in London for 35 years and is the nuclear industry’s premier event – attended by over 700 leaders and specialists from more than 30 countries.
The China International Nuclear Symposium will build on this tradition, bringing together senior industry decision makers and major stakeholders to discuss the developing nuclear renaissance, with a major focus on China. The key objective is to create an opportunity for participants to exchange information and make good business contacts, particularly within the nuclear fuel sector and the evolving international supply chain.
There are some special WNA forums taking place at the same venue prior to CINS.
These are open to all - details are at

http://www.wna-symposium.org/china/meetings.html

Click here for full details of the Programme

http://www.wna-symposium.org/china/programme10.html

Register here
http://sooth.world-nuclear.org/booking/ ... oking.aspx

=====================

10. (AU) Cameco set to move on

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/11/09/
192741_nt-business.html

November 9th, 2010
A URANIUM company is closing its Alice Springs office and slashing its exploration budget.
But the Cameco-Paladin joint venture said it remained "committed" to the Angela project.
Cameco regional director Jennifer Parks and Paladin managing director John Borshoff said the Alice shopfront would be closed and the operation run from an industrial shed.
They said there were plans to move the Darwin office to Perth before Chief Minister Paul Henderson came out against Angela becoming an operational uranium mine.
The joint venture said a decision on further exploration would be made after a resource estimate next year.

====================

11. Conversations with Fidel Castro: The Dangers of a Nuclear War

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21892

By Fidel Castro Ruz and Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, November 13, 2010
Introductory Note
From October 12 to 15, 2010, I had extensive and detailed discussions with Fidel Castro in Havana, pertaining to the dangers of nuclear war, the global economic crisis and the nature of the New World Order. These meetings resulted in a wide-ranging and fruitful interview.
The first part of this interview published by Global Research and Cuba Debate focuses on the dangers of nuclear war.
The World is at a dangerous crossroads. We have reached a critical turning point in our history.
This interview with Fidel Castro provides an understanding of the nature of modern warfare: Were a military operation to be launched against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the US and its allies would be unable to win a conventional war, with the possibility that this war could evolve towards a nuclear war.
The details of ongoing war preparations in relation to Iran have been withheld from the public eye.
How to confront the diabolical and absurd proposition put forth by the US administration that using tactical nuclear weapons against Iran will "make the World a safer place"?
A central concept put forth by Fidel Castro in the interview is the 'Battle of Ideas". The leader of the Cuban Revolution believes that only a far-reaching "Battle of Ideas" could change the course of World history. The objective is to prevent the unthinkable, a nuclear war which threatens to destroy life on earth.
The corporate media is involved in acts of camouflage. The devastating impacts of a nuclear war are either trivialized or not mentioned. Against this backdrop, Fidel's message to the World must be heard; people across the land, nationally and internationally, should understand the gravity of the present situation and act forcefully at all levels of society to reverse the tide of war.

INTERVIEW: Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal, Remembrance Day, November 11, 2010.

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21892

====================

12. Terrorism and cyber attacks are main threats to UK, national security strategy finds

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/18/
terrorism-cyber-attacks-national-security-strategy

Hélène Mulholland, Richard No
rton-Taylor and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Monday 18 October 2010 16.52 BST
Britain is under a "potent threat" of attack from al-Qaida, the government said today, publishing a report that also highlighted terrorism linked to Northern Ireland as a serious risk.
In a joint statement, David Cameron and Nick Clegg said there needed to be a "radical transformation" in the way Britain thinks about and organises its national security.
The Tory-Lib Dem coalition government's first national security strategy says terrorism and cyber attacks are currently the main threats facing the UK. It identifies four "tier one" risks that, it says, must be the government's highest priority.
The other major threats are a large-scale accident or natural hazard such as pandemic flu and an international military crisis that could draw in the UK and its allies.
A second series of "tier two" priorities include an attack by another state or its proxy using weapons of mass destruction, a civil war or other instability that terrorists could exploit to threaten the UK, and a significant increase in the level of organised crime.
Also listed as a "tier two" priority is the threat of severe disruption to information received or transmitted by satellites, possibly as the result of a deliberate attack by another state.
A large-scale conventional military attack on the UK is rated only as a "tier three" priority alongside disruption to oil and gas supplies and a large-scale radioactive release from a civil nuclear site.

MORE:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/18/
terrorism-cyber-attacks-national-security-strategy

================

13. Nuclear State, police state: scandalous repression against non-violent activists

http://pt.indymedia.org/conteudo/newswire/2655

November 10, 2010
Following a mobilisation on an unprecedented scale, the transfer of eleven containers of highly radioactive waste from La Hague (Manche) to Gorleben (Germany) took twice as long than expected.
In France, state repression and police raged against seven militants from GANVA (Group of Anti-nuclear Non-Violent Actions) who were attached in arm tubes under the rails to stop the "train from hell" in Caen(Normandy). The Network "Sortir du nucléaire" calls supporters and all citizens to support the Ganva. Financial assistance is urgent. The trial will take place on 8 December in Caen.
Police violence and state repression: the authorities under the heel of the nuclear lobby.
It is unacceptable in response to a non-violent action that the police use violence and deliberately injure people. GANVA activists have decided to file a complaint. The decision of the prosecutor and the judge clearly shows the will power to suppress acts of civil disobedience that would prejudice the interests of the nuclear lobby. This decision follows the current trend of systematic repression of protests and acts of political protest.
These facts show us once again that nuclear power is incompatible with democracy and can not withstand true transparency. If the population had actually been informed of the risks and dangers inherent in using the atom, the nuclear industry could not develop so easily in France

MORE:
http://pt.indymedia.org/conteudo/newswire/2655

Our resistance knows no boundaries!
Press Contacts:
Steven Mitchell +33 (0)952 495 022
Sophie Morel + 33 (0)6 83 55 15 24

Information, online donation:

http://groupes.sortirdunucleaire.org/bl ... rt-la-ha...

To support the GANVA, cheque payable to the APSAJ (in euros) - Association for Solidarity and Legal Aid: APSAJ, 6 during the Allied 35000 - Rennes
Code IBAN : FR76 4255 9000 5541 0200 1473 207
Code BIC : CCOPFRPPXXX
Contact GANVA: ganva@riseup.net
- - - -
Net work phasing out the nuclear age

http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/index. ... page=index

Réseau "SORTIR DU NUCLEAIRE "
An alliance of 873 French organisations
Download our presentation document
If you are a group, please join us!
GATHERING TOGETHER TO CREATE A NUCLEAR-FREE FUTURE
The Network ‘SORTIR DU NUCLEAIRE’ is currently the main French antinuclear coalition, with a membership of 873 organizations and 27486 individual subscribers.
It is completely independent, entirely funded by donations and the subscriptions from its members.
Since 1997, 873 organizations have joined our Network “Sortir du nucléaire”.
Our mission is to unite everyone concerned with phasing out nuclear power.
Only by combining our efforts can we build up enough strength to achieve concrete results.
Our goal is to convince France to phase out nuclear power generation by:
rethinking its energy policy
improving the efficiency of electricity use
developing alternative and sustainable generation scenarios.

MORE:
http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/
index.php?menu=english&page=index

==================

14. Allison Macfarlane named to Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future - FEB. 2010

http://www.thebulletin.org/content/
media-center/announcements/2010/02/11/allison-macfarlane-named-to-blue-ribbon-commission-ame

11 February 2010
Allison Macfarlane, an associate professor of environmental science and policy at George Mason University and chair of the Bulletin's Science and Security Board, has been named by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future.
The newly formed commission PDF is chaired by former Indiana Democratic Cong. Lee Hamilton and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft. Secretary Chu was directed by President Barack Obama to establish the commission to review policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle--including alternatives for the storage, processing, and disposal of civilian and military spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. The commission's 15 members include scientists, industry representatives, and former public officials such as former New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete V. Domenici, former Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Richard Meserve, director of MIT's Energy Initiative Ernie Moniz, and Exelon CEO John Rowe.
"Finding an acceptable long-term solution to our used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste storage needs is vital to the economic, environmental and security interests of the United States," said Hamilton, according to an Energy Department press release. "This will be a thorough, comprehensive review based on the best available science. I'm looking forward to working with the many distinguished experts on this panel to achieve a consensus on the best path forward."
The commission is expected to produce an interim report in 18 months and a full report in 24 months.

================

15. U.S. Offers Israel Warplanes in Return for New Settlement Freeze

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/11/14

Published on Sunday, November 14, 2010 by Haaretz (Israel)
Netanyahu presents security cabinet with Clinton's incentive of 20 F-35 fighter planes and security guarantees in exchange for 90-day West Bank building moratorium.
by Barak Ravid and Natasha Mozgovaya
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's seven-member inner cabinet discussed Saturday an offer by the United States to reinstate a freeze on West Bank Settlement construction in return for a package of incentives.

MORE:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/11/14

==================

16. HARPER EXTENDS AFGHAN MISSION – 7 Articles

A new low for Harper: Giving his Afghan update on Remembrance Day

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1212110.html

By SCOTT TAYLOR On Target Mon, Nov 15 - 5:59 PM
After a weeklong, preparatory media relations barrage, Prime Minister Stephen Harper dropped the bombshell on Remembrance Day, informing Canadians that our military commitment to Afghanistan will not end in July 2011.
Instead, he confirmed that Canada will complete all combat responsibilities and switch to training the Afghan military and police. This next phase of Canada's contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is expected to last at least another three years.
In making his announcement - in Seoul, Korea - Harper told reporters that the decision to continue the military mission was a difficult one, but that it was necessary to honour the sacrifice of those soldiers who have been killed or wounded in the struggle to date. Wrapping himself in the self-sacrifice of our soldiers on Remembrance Day to soften the blow of announcing this controversial extension is a new low for Harper.
Telling Canadians that our soldiers will now focus on training rather than combat is an insult to our collective intelligence. Training the Afghan army to self-sufficiency was one of the primary objectives of the NATO-led mission when Canada first signed up in 2003.
In those heady days it was believed this could be achieved by the original pullout date of 2005. However, when that deadline arrived, International Security Assistance Force commanders realized that the woefully inept Afghan army was incapable of securing Kabul, let alone able to pacify the rest of the increasingly volatile countryside.
So it was that NATO, including Canada, boosted its combat forces and took the lead role in battling a recalcitrant Taliban.
This more robust counter-insurgency phase of operations was also given a finite timeline for achieving success, and the oft-stated intention of the allied commanders was that their primary goal was to hand over the fighting to the Afghan army at the earliest possible opportunity.
- - - -SNIP - - -
What Afghan society lacks first and foremost is a skilled labour force. They need doctors, teachers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, even competent vehicle drivers.
Harper could have announced the establishment of a vocational school staffed by a corps of well-remunerated recruits from the Afghan-Canadian diaspora. Without a linguistic barrier and no religious or cultural chasms to bridge, these instructors could quickly mentor thousands of students to literacy and competency within a variety of essential trades.
In other words, Afghan-Canadians would teach Afghans how to construct and maintain the basic infrastructure necessary to improve the day-to-day lives of other Afghans.
Instead, we will be sending thousands more Canadian soldiers to teach young Afghan men how to fight.
Scott Taylor is an author and editor of Esprit de Corps magazine.
(staylor@herald.ca <mailto:staylor@herald.ca>)
= = = = = = =
Afghan mission: Tell MPs before deal is done

http://www.thestar.com/Opinion/Editoria ... cle/891208

November 16, 2010
In the few days before Prime Minister Stephen Harper heads to Lisbon for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit, there isn’t time for a full-blown debate in Parliament over the government’s plans to keep Canadian troops in Afghanistan for three more years, But Harper does have a narrow window to let Parliament in on his thinking before NATO draws up its own strategy on Friday and Saturday in response to a United Nations call to “train, mentor and empower” the Afghan military. The Conservatives should tell us what they are volunteering us to do, before the deal is done.
As Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Monday, Harper can do better than float the “vague proposals” he has rolled out so far, with little detail and a lot of improvisation. The Tories need to sell a war-weary public on an unpopular redeployment.
Where, exactly, will Canadian trainers be stationed? In Kabul, where a suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy just four days ago? In some new hot spot? Just how many of our 2,800 soldiers will be left behind? The hints so far range up to 1,000. Will they be confined to camp, “behind the wire,” or do some risky field training?
What will they teach? Will it be infantry skills, special forces ops, artillery, intelligence, mine clearance, or engineering?
What will it cost? We’ve already invested $18 billion.
What is to become of Canada’s $1-billion-plus development and aid program, including projects in Kandahar, when our troops leave? Does Ottawa intend to invest $550 million to help Afghan youth, promote Afghan/Pakistani cooperation, and bolster human rights?
And finally, there’s the issue of whether Parliament ought to have a formal vote on the mission’s extension. Given the war’s unpopularity, both the Conservatives and Liberals seem anxious to dodge one.

MORE:
http://www.thestar.com/Opinion/Editoria ... cle/891208
= = = = = =
GRUENDING: Harper extends Afghan war without parliament

http://dennisgruending.ca/pulpitandpolitics/2010/11/14/
harper-extends-afghan-war-without-parliament/

Filed under: Conservative Party, Stephen Harper, Peace Issues — admin at 11:57 pm on Sunday, November 14, 2010 By Dennis Gruending
Is anyone really surprised that, after years of solemnly promising Canadian troops would be pulled out of Afghanistan in 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has abruptly shifted course and is now saying Canada will stay an extra three years until 2014? It’s a cynical measure that puts me in mind of Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, a book written in 2003 by American comedian (now Senator) Al Franken about George W. Bush and his cronies. Harper and Peter MacKay, his lame duck defence minister, are clearly not people to be believed. Who is to say that as 2014 approaches they don’t conspire with NATO member politicians and generals to move the Afghan goal posts yet again?
Harper says that he is not extending the war. Canadian soldiers will remain “inside the wire” and act as trainers for Afghan troops rather than as combatants. Why should we believe him? American generals and politicians in the Vietnam War maintained for years that they were acting as trainers and not as combatants. Of course, that proved to be a lie. The role played by Canadian soldiers will be ambivalent by definition. There is already talk that such training could well evolve into battlefield “mentoring,” which means leading Afghan troops in combat. And what about the joint task force commandos known as JTF2? They have been operating clandestinely in Afghanistan since late 2001 without any public oversight by Parliament. What will they be doing until 2014 and possibly after that date?

MORE:
http://dennisgruending.ca/pulpitandpolitics/2010/11/14/
harper-extends-afghan-war-without-parliament/
= = = = = =
On Afghanistan: How about a Little Reality from the Opposition Parties?

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/james-laxer/2010/11/
afghanistan-how-about-little-reality-opposition-parties

by James Laxer Sunday, November 14, 2010
The other day, in separate interviews, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Paul Dewar and Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae spoke to CBC News about the future of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.
From their tone, they sounded as if they were musing about the pros and cons of an extension of the TransCanada Highway and how many clover leaves the road ought to have. From neither of those worthy gentlemen was there the slightest hint that we are talking about an ill-conceived mission in a disastrous war, about which people have been repeatedly misled for years.
Dewar said that Canada’s military mission should end in July 2011 as scheduled and that after that date Canada should shift its attention to civilian projects in Afghanistan. He pointed out that to date ninety per cent of our effort has been military, that we’ve done our part on that front, can hold our heads high, and should now shift to civilian aid. He speculated that the Harper government’s about-face on extending the military mission, without a vote in Parliament, might have been cooked up in a deal with the Liberals.
Fine as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough.
In his CBC interview, Bob Rae, who traveled to Afghanistan a few months ago, and later opined that the Liberal Party supported a Canadian commitment that could “include a role in training the Afghan army and police” after 2011, was critical of the Harper government for its lack of clarity about the future of the mission. Tell us exactly what you have in mind, involving how many soldiers, and costing how many dollars and we might go along, Rae seemed to be saying to Harper.
He appeared still to be prepared to countenance the training of Afghan troops by Canadian soldiers and said he couldn’t understand why the NDP didn’t want to train a single soldier.
If I have to choose, I’ll take Dewar’s line over Rae’s.

MORE:
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/james-laxer/2010/11/
afghanistan-how-about-little-reality-opposition-parties
= = = = = = =
Government confirms Afghanistan extension http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6286&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 10:05 PM PST
The Harper government has confirmed that it is extending Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan until 2014 (Jane Taber, “Conservatives bump Afghan withdrawal date back three years,” Globe and Mail, 16 November 2010). Approximately 950 Canadian soldiers, to be based mostly in the Kabul area, will be assigned to training Afghan forces under the new plan: [...]
= = = = = =
The Forgotten Lesson of Jan Bloch

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2010/11/11/ForgottenLesson/
?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=151110

His 19th century analysis proved big wars lead to bankruptcy and revolt. But Canada's little modern war has serious costs, too.
By Crawford Kilian, 11 Nov 2010, TheTyee.ca (Links are on website. Ed.)
It's a curious fact of Canada at war: each death in Afghanistan is front-page news, with a colour photo of the victim. But the wounded get little attention.
The policy is to release the total number of wounded only once a year, and not to describe the nature of their wounds at all. This, presumably, denies the Taliban useful intelligence on how well their IEDs and rocket-propelled grenades are working.
It also denies Canadians any sense of how many of our soldiers come home hurt, or who die of their wounds outside Afghanistan. We should know, and we owe the wounded respect and concern.
So we're reduced to consulting Wikipedia for a rough sense of the suffering: as of the end of 2009, after almost seven years of combat, our forces suffered 1,442 non-fatal casualties. Of these, 913 were "non-battle injuries," with 529 "wounded in action." That's remarkably few compared to earlier wars.
Of course we suspect the true number of non-fatal casualties is much higher. Anecdotally, we know returning veterans who are psychologically wounded. We are beginning to recognize that we will be paying for those wounds long after the last soldier has left Afghanistan.
Veterans Affairs Canada indirectly admits this. In its latest financial statement, in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, VAC spent $81.9 million more in certain grants and contributions than it had in the previous year.

MORE:
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2010/11/11/ForgottenLesson/
?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=151110
= = = = = = =
NATO’s upcoming summit

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6226&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 14 Nov 2010 11:30 PM PST
NATO heads of state and government will meet in Lisbon on the 19th to the 21st of November. On the agenda: approval of a new Strategic Concept document for the Alliance, including a rewrite of NATO nuclear policy; a decision on European NATO missile defence; discussion of the war in Afghanistan; relations with Russia; and other issues. The [...]

===================

17. Ignatieff on Canada’s lost Security Council seat: What’s your reaction?

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6060&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 09:57 PM PDT
Photo by Jorbasa Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has laid out his vision for “rebuilding Canada’s leadership on the world stage” in the wake of the Harper government’s failed bid for a seat on the U.N. Security Council. Speaking to Le Conseil des Relations Internationales de Montréal on November 2nd, Ignatieff condemned the Harper government’s approach [...]

==================

18. LETTER: ARNEY: Remembrance Day 2010

From: Jeremy Arney
To: Dallaire, Roméo
Cc: Ignatieff, Michael
Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2010 8:14 PM
Subject: Remembrance Day 2010
Honourable Senator Dellaire,
I thank you for your e-mail with those comments about Canada and her soldiers, past and present, with the video of Mr Ignatieff's speech in the House.
I no longer go to a cenotaph unless there are veterans from a local Vet's hospital who wish to be pushed there in a wheel chair, and in the last few years there are very few who wish to do that as their new hospital has a warm chapel and a large overflow area.
A few years ago I realised that the ceremony was not so much a memorial as a celebration of the act of war and dying performed by those who sent the men and women to die. The Military Chaplain compared those at Vimy Ridge with those in Afghanistan doing their duty to support a commercial war being waged by some corporate entities who were not invited to come or to help with a problem the locals did not consider they had, and that comparison did not and does not sit well with me.
Terrorism is created by reaction to terroristic attacks by another in the name of greed or aggrandisement usually disguised as trade protection or resources theft.
What I do instead is go to a high place in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria BC where there is a huge Canadian Flag flying at half mast on November 11th. There are benches there in the open or under trees, and I can hear the guns performing their salute. There I think of my two uncles who died in WW2, and those of my friends who were killed in Korea, Malaya, or even Ireland. I think of those on the "other side" who believed that they too were fighting to defend their country and way of life. I grieve for them all under the Beacon Hill Park trees and hate the waste of human beings both military and civilians who died for a cause not of their making and not for their benefit nor for the benefit of their loved ones.
As young men at school in England we were taught to fight so we would be ready for the armed forces, and little time was given to the concept of talking to and trying to understand our fellow human beings. I am an old man warrior, brother to a real soldier, and with my "pen" I will battle evil just as those soldiers over the centuries believed they were doing, little realising that the same evil people were bankrolling both sets of armies for their own benefit and financial gain.
That evil, based not so much on religious beliefs but on monetary gain is what we have to face today, more so than at any time in our present civilisation. The faceless ones who control governments, who create hatred based on colour, sex and religion, who care not for human life at all. Regretfully those we elect in all supposedly democratic countries are subdued by these faceless entities, and forced to obey their will, not the will of those who elect and pay them. Such evil people who threaten not the warrior but the warrior's children simply to have a bigger bottom line.
This is not news to you as you are a wise man with years of experience in many fields.
I grieve not only for those whose noble sacrifices were in vain, but also for those young people growing up tomorrow who will not know freedom, who will not know how incredible the world was just a few short years ago.
The next generation of young who may never see a whale, an eagle or a polar bear or maybe even a blue sky, a sunset, or a sunrise.
Tomorrow's young who will be so toxified by pharmaceutical drugs and fake food that they will not be able to give me great grandchildren.
This is where we are going now and how did we forget the unselfish deeds of those men and women we sacrificed and then said we would never forget? We forgot because there are now Remembrance Day sales in stores open on what is supposed to be a Day of Remembrance, not a day of commercial profit sales.
"Lest we forget" is a catchy phrase which means less and less each year, and I mourn for those so betrayed by that.
Respectfully,
Jeremy Arney
6254a Springlea Road, Vicoria BC V8Z 5Z4

===============

19. MiningWatch Canada Newsletter 29: Autumn 2010

http://www.miningwatch.ca/sites/miningwatch.ca/files/
MWC_newsletter_29.pdf

Contents:
* MiningWatch has a new Latin America Program Coordinator!
* Bill C-300 a High Water Mark for Mining and Government Accountability
* Class Action Filed Against Anvil Mining by Congolese Victims
* Canada To Get Environmental Bill of Rights?
* Environmental Assessment - Federal Role Under Fire
* Federal Decision on Proposed Prosperity Mine:
First Nations' rights and fish-filled lakes not
for sale to the mining industry
* Matoush Advanced Exploration Project Brings Uranium Debate to Northern Quebec
* Vale's Billion Dollar Bonus - Another Example of EDC's Faulty CSR
* And we thought we had it bad! Visitors from NWT
shocked by Ontario's lack of oversight for
mineral exploration
* Sandy Pond Alliance Launches Legal Challenge
- - - - - -
REMINDER: In addition to this more-or-less quarterly newsletter, MiningWatch Canada also offers direct e-mail subscription news and alerts:

- Sign up for daily news about mining activities in Canada and/or affecting Canadian communities, aboriginal peoples, and mineworkers at
http://www.miningwatch.ca/subscribe2news

- Sign up for periodic news releases, alerts, and urgent actions at
http://www.miningwatch.ca/subscribe2alerts

- Visit (and "like"!) our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/MiningWatch)

- Follow us on Twitter (@MiningWatch)

SHAMELESS PLEA: we can only keep doing this because people support our work with words, action, -- and donations! Please contact Susan Murdock (susan@miningwatch.ca) or visit

To contribute:
http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/donate

================

20. Council of Canadians Update – November 15, 2010

NEWS: Toxic tar sands tailing pond lacking critical barrier

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5331

CBC reports that, “A northern Alberta tailings pond appears to have toxic sludge flowing into the muskeg from an uncontained western edge, a situation uncovered by a CBC News investigation.”

NEWS: Moncton to debate limiting fracking within city limits

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5329

The Times & Transcript reports this morning that, “Moncton city council will debate limiting ‘fracking’ in city limits when they meet this evening at 5 p.m. for their twice monthly council session. Fracking is a controversial method used by natural gas drillers to release natural gas trapped in rock.

NEWS: BHP Billiton withdraws its bid for the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5326

The CBC reports that, “BHP Billiton has withdrawn its $40-billion hostile-takeover bid of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, the Australian company said Sunday.

NEWS: Guelph chapter holds event on peak oil

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5324

The Guelph Mercury reports that Robert Rapier, an American chemical engineer and peak oil expert, “was in (Guelph) Wednesday night to give the keynote address at an event titled Our Environmental Future, (which was) hosted by the University of Guelph and sponsored by the Council of Canadians and Transition Guelph.”

NEWS: APEC commits to a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific by 2020

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5320

The Globe and Mail reports that, “The 21 leaders of APEC signed off on a plan to create a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific by 2020, a long-promised and long-debated effort to open up trade between some of the world’s largest economies.”

WIN! Langley freeway connector turned down

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5318

The Vancouver Examiner reports that opponents of freeway expansion are declaring a partial victory “with the announcement that the British Columbia Agricultural Land Commission turned down a Langley section of the road and overpass proposal.”

NEWS: Kamloops chapter presents community award

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5316

The Kamloops Daily News reports that the Kamloops chapter of the Council of Canadians presented an award last Friday afternoon to Ruth Madsen.

UPDATE: Defending the Great Lakes, building the commons

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5310

We began this morning with a lake-side reflection on the importance of water and the significance of the win on the right to water and sanitation resolution at the United Nations this past July, and its implications for the Great Lakes.

MEMORIAM: Chapter activist John Derwood Camp passes away

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5322

The Comox Valley Record reports that: John Derwood Camp passed away peacefully at his home in the early-morning hours of Nov. 6 after an extended illness.

NEWS: Harper must do more than endorse the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5308

A Government of Canada media release today announced that the Harper government has “formally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” but adds the context, “in a manner fully consistent with Canada’s Constitution and laws.”

ACTION ALERT: Show your support for Canadian corporate accountability for human rights violations and environmental degradation

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/making-waves/2010/11/
action-alert-show-your-support-canadian-corporate-accountability

Canadian mining companies are some of the worst offenders of human rights and environmental standards in developing countries. Mining Watch recently obtained a 2009 report commissioned by Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada which noted that "Canadian mining companies are involved in more than four times as many violations as the next two highest offenders, Australia and India."

by **Oscar** » Sat Nov 20, 2010 11:21 am

NUKE NEWS: November 20, 2010

1. Nuclear organization gives funding to FSIN for education sessions (2 articles)
2. Caldicott stirs it up in Port Hope! (4 articles)
3. (ON) Our fiscally prudent strategy to lower electricity bills
4. What's in Your Water? Nuclear Waste, Coal Slurries and Industrial Estrogen/Video
5. Canadian Nuclear Association registers federal lobbyists
6. Irish depleted uranium ban bill sails through Senate with cross party support
7. BEYOND NUCLEAR BULLETIN - November 18, 2010
8. LETTER: SHIELDS: Canada Suffers From Projecting Harper As "Mr. Canada"!!
9. Iran tests air missile
10. 'Iran, advocate of nuke-free Mideast'
11. It's tough to be a climate scientist when dinosaurs are making the calls
12. Ceasefire.ca: Conservatives kill climate change bill
13. LISTEN: CBC The Current: (‘lively’) Senate Debate on Bill C-311 - Nov 19/10 - Pt 1
14. LETTER: SHIELDS: Who's Training The Taliban? VOTE!!
15. Nato endorses Afghan exit strategy
16. Ceasefire.ca: Steven Staples on Canada’s extended Afghanistan mission
17. New Democrats demand Parliament be involved in decisions on Afghan mission
18. Global Warfare: After NATO Summit, U.S. To Intensify Military Drive Into Asia
19. Council of Canadians Update - November 17, 2010

===============

1. Nuclear organization gives funding to FSIN for education sessions (2 articles)

http://www2.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/
third_page/story.html?id=1a7d2c3c-0587-4735-845d-7a85d9112dc7

James Wood, The StarPhoenix Published: Thursday, November 18, 2010
The organization dedicated to developing a long-term storage facility for nuclear waste is giving $1 million to the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.
The funding from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is to be used to "inform and educate" Saskatchewan First Nations about nuclear waste storage, said FSIN vice-chief Lyle Whitefish in an interview.
It comes after two northern Saskatchewan communities, the village of Pinehouse and the English River First Nation, have expressed interest in becoming the site for a storage facility, a project estimated to be worth up to $24 billion.
The FSIN is not taking a formal position and simply wants communities to be able to make an informed decision, said Whitefish.
But he said FSIN will not be providing any other information besides that coming from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. "They provide us information and what we do is dispatch that information on to First Nations," he said.
"There are a lot of issues within our nation about nuclear waste and we try and answer, with the support of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, answer a lot of those questions First Nations people have."
The NWMO, established as a condition of federal regulations and funded by the nuclear industry, is seeking a Canadian site to store spent nuclear fuel.
A NWMO spokesperson could not be reached for comment Wednesday but an organization representative told The StarPhoenix in August that construction could begin on a storage site in eight to 10 years, with the facility operational in 2035. The NWMO intends to select a "willing host community" and will not impose themselves without the consent of the relevant government authorities at each step of the process.

MORE:
http://www2.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/
third_page/story.html?id=1a7d2c3c-0587-4735-845d-7a85d9112dc7

= = = = =

Nuclear waste group gives Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations $1M (Nuclear-Waste-First-N)

http://www.oilweek.com/news.asp?ID=31024

Nov 17, 2010 11:13:00 AM MST
LA RONGE, Sask. _ The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has agreed to pay upwards of $1 million to the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.
The money will be used to help the federation gain information about nuclear waste storage and the federation will assist First Nations who have questions about the practice.
- - - -SNIP - - -
The English River First Nation and Metis community of Pinehouse are two Saskatchewan communities to formally express an interest in the idea.
Spokesman Jaimie Robinson says the money his organization is giving the FSIN should help foster better understanding about the concept among First Nations.
Robinson says the money will be delivered over an unspecified number of years.
FSIN Chief Guy Lonechild said he was unable to comment about the agreement.

=====================

2. Caldicott stirs it up in Port Hope! (4 articles)

Caldicott no longer welcome at Port Hope church

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/890120

November 12, 2010 Carola Vyhnak, Toronto Star
A Port Hope church has slammed the door on an acclaimed anti-nuclear activist for warning residents about a “life or death” crisis from radioactive waste buried in their town.
Dr. Helen Caldicott, who was to have spoken at St. Mark’s Parish Hall next Tuesday evening, is no longer welcome because of her “inflammatory” comments, Rector Marg Tandy said in a letter to parishioners.
The church has changed its mind about renting the hall, she told two local environmental groups hosting Caldicott’s visit.
In an interview with the Star earlier this week, Caldicott urged the entire town of 16,000 to move because of the “life or death” threat from historic low-level radioactive waste buried in hundreds of backyards, parks, streets and industrial sites.

MORE:
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/890120

= = = = = =

Move Port Hope from radioactive soil: Caldicott

http://news.sympatico.ca/oped/
coffee-talk/move_port_hope_from_radioactive_soil_caldicott/ae2822f3

(see video in body of the on-line article)

November 17, 2010
An anti-nuclear activist who suggests the entire population of Port Hope, Ont., should be moved because of radioactive soil contamination took her message to residents on Tuesday.
Helen Caldicott has suggested residents of Port Hope, Ont., should be moved because of radioactive soil contamination.(CBC)
"In a way, your town symbolizes the wickedness of the nuclear fuel cycle, and it's not your fault," Helen Caldicott told about 300 people. "You should be compensated."
Radioactive soil dating back to the 1930s was spread over the town before stricter regulations were brought into place. Much of the soil was cleaned up in the 1970s, but now there's disagreement over how to get rid of the rest.
A preliminary excavation of more than one million cubic metres of dirt has started in the municipality of 16,000 people on the shore of Lake Ontario about 110 kilometres east of Toronto. It is expected to take 10 years to clean up.
Caldicott said the town should be abandoned rather than deal with the historic uranium waste problems.
Her comments have caused such controversy in Port Hope that she delivered her speech in Oshawa, 50 kilometres away. Sanford Haskill, who leads a group of Port Hope residents concerned about radioactive waste, invited Caldicott to speak.

MORE:
http://news.sympatico.ca/oped/
coffee-talk/move_port_hope_from_radioactive_soil_caldicott/ae2822f3

= = = = = =

Sue government over toxic town, activist tells Port Hope

http://www.thestar.com/news/sciencetech/environment/
article/891709--activist-repeats-warning-to-move-port-hope

November 16, 2010 Carola Vyhnak Urban Affairs Reporter, Toronto Star
She held nothing back.
Port Hope’s air, drinking water, fish, beach, soil — virtually everything in the town of 16,000 poses a health risk from radioactivity, anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott warned an overflow crowd Tuesday night.
Radium is leaking into Lake Ontario and uranium from the Cameco refinery and is “almost certainly” being inhaled by residents, she told more than 200 people jammed into the banquet hall at the Best Western Durham Hotel in Oshawa.
“Your town symbolizes the whole wickedness” of the nuclear industry, the internationally acclaimed pediatrician said. “This radioactive waste will leak into food supplies, water and air for the rest of time.”
Children are particularly at risk because they’re 10 to 20 times more sensitive to radon than adults, she said.
“This government should be sued and you should get millions and millions of dollars,” she said to cheers and applause.

MORE:
http://www.thestar.com/news/sciencetech/environment/
article/891709--activist-repeats-warning-to-move-port-hope

= = = = = =

Port Hope: Radioactive rhetoric

http://www.thestar.com/Opinion/Editoria ... cle/892539

November 18, 2010
Port Hope received a public death sentence this week. Now, its 16,000 residents are trying to climb out of the shallow grave dug for them by Australian anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott.
In a drive-by execution, Caldicott proclaimed Port Hope to be beyond hope, a nuclear graveyard that must be evacuated of its people. She lashed out at nuclear industry “wickedness” and at “medically corrupt” research. Then she collected her undisclosed speaking fee and left town. Even the organizers of Caldicott’s visit felt ambushed by her bombastic rhetoric about nuclear-tainted soil, which isn’t grounded in research.
Legitimate questions can be raised about Port Hope’s nuclear legacy — the byproduct of decades of refining in an era of laxer safety standards. But one visit to Port Hope hardly qualifies Caldicott to draw such alarmist conclusions. Port Hope’s low-level radioactive soil has been studied extensively since the 1970s, when public concerns gained momentum. Energy Probe, an NGO that has campaigned for 30 years to enforce safety standards in Port Hope, now notes that there is no scientific evidence of a danger to what may be “the most researched ... and monitored community in the world.”
- - - - SNIP - - - -
There is always room for scientific debate. But that’s a far cry from the “medically corrupt” conspiracy theories peddled by Caldicott.

===================

3. (ON) Our fiscally prudent strategy to lower electricity bills

From: Ontario Clean Air Alliance
To: cleanair-l@list.web.net
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2010 1:08 PM
Subject: [cleanair-l] Our fiscally prudent strategy to lower electricity bills

Our fiscally prudent strategy to lower electricity bills
Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s announced this afternoon a $1.1 billion per year taxpayer-financed subsidy for the consumption of dirty coal-fired and high-cost nuclear power. But merely reducing electricity prices masks the true costs of producing electricity. Here is our sustainable and fiscally prudent strategy to lower electricity bills.

Put the pedal to the metal on improving energy efficiency: Ontario’s demand for electricity has fallen by 7% since 2006, but our electricity consumption per person is still 35% higher than New York State’s. We can do a lot more to save consumers money by reducing electricity waste.

End blank cheques for nuclear projects: No green or clean power producer gets to pass capital cost overruns onto consumers like the nuclear industry does. It’s time to end blank cheque spending on wildly expensive nuclear projects. We must refuse to let Ontario Power Generation (OPG) max out our collective credit card to pay for the inevitable multi-billion dollar cost overruns on its proposed Darlington Re-Build project.

Import more hydro power from Quebec: Under federal rules, Quebec must offer Ontario electricity for the same price it gets from its American customers. Last year that was 6.5 cents per kWh, less than a third the price of power from a rebuilt Darlington Station. Current transmission capacity is sufficient to import enough electricity from Quebec to provide power equal to more than three-quarters of Darlington’s output – with no radioactive waste.

Instead of applying costly band-aids to electricity bills, we need to implement the following real solutions to controlling electricity costs.

Please email Finance Minister Dwight Duncan and urge him to:
a) invest massively in energy efficiency and conservation programs,
b) tell OPG that it will not be allowed to pass its Darlington Re-Build cost overruns onto consumers and taxpayers, and
c) import more hydro electricity from Quebec.

Thank you for your help to usher in lower cost green electricity.

Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
402-625 Church St, Toronto M4Y 2G1
Phone: 416-926-1907 ext. 246
angela@cleanairalliance.org
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Ontario’s Green Future
No Nukes News
Health Power
Coal Must Go

P.S. Order free postcards/leaflets to distribute to your friends and neighbours!
- - - - -
The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is a diverse, multi-stakeholder coalition of approximately 90 organizations including cities, health associations, environmental and public interest groups, corporations, public utilities, unions, faith communities and individuals, representing more than six million Ontarians. OCAA’s short term goal is to achieve the complete phase out of Ontario’s four coal-fired power plants by the end of 2010. Our long term goal is to achieve a 100% renewable electricity grid by 2027.

====================

4. What's in Your Water? Nuclear Waste, Coal Slurries and Industrial Estrogen/Video

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/342333/
what%27s_in_your_water_nuclear_waste%2C_coal_slurries_and_industrial_estrogen/#paragraph4

By Sarah Laskow | The Media Consortium November 19, 2010
(WATCH VIDEO – near end of article 3.5 mins.)
It won’t be long before the world has to confront its diminishing supply of clean water.
“We’ve had the same amount of water on our planet since the beginning of time, ” Susan Leal, co-author of Running Out of Water, told GritTV’s Laura Flanders. “We are on a collision course of a very finite supply and 7.6 billion people.”
What’s worse, private industries—and energy companies in particular—are using waterways as dumping grounds for hazardous substances. With the coal industry, it’s an old story; with the natural gas industry, it’s a practice that can be nipped in the bud.
In many cases, dumping pollutants into water is a government-sanctioned activity, although there are limits to how much contamination can be approved. But companies often overshoot their pollution allowances, and for some businesses, like a nuclear energy plant, even a little bit of contamination can be a problem.

MORE:
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/342333/
what%27s_in_your_water_nuclear_waste%2C_coal_slurries_and_industrial_estrogen/#paragraph4

======================

5. Canadian Nuclear Association registers federal lobbyists

http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2010/11/17/
canadian-nuclear-association-registers-federal-lobbyists-2/

November 17, 2010
The Canadian Nuclear Association registered five federal lobbyists to lobby the following federal government departments and agencies:
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission CNSC, Environment Canada EC, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada DFAITC, Industry Canada IC, National Energy Board NEB, National Research Council NRC, Natural Resources Canada NRCan, Prime Ministers Office PMO, Privy Council Office PCO
The CNA will lobby regarding: Aboriginal Affairs, Energy, Environment, Financial Institutions, Government Procurement, Industry, Infrastructure, Internal Trade, International Relations, International Trade, Mining, Science and Technology

See full registry information via Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada:

https://ocl-cal.gc.ca/app/secure/orl/lr ... s63=635666
&_ls73_ls4d_ls64_ls4b_ls79=1290009738273&_STRTG3=tr

=====================

6. Irish depleted uranium ban bill sails through Senate with cross party support

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/361.html

A Private Members Bill that would ban all weapons containing depleted uranium in Ireland has passed through the upper house – making it only the second time a Private Members Bill has done so. The bill will now be considered by the parliament’s lower house.
18 November 2010 - ICBUW
Green Party Chairman Dan Boyle’s Prohibition of Depleted Uranium Weapons Bill 2009 passed its fifth parliamentary stage with flying colours last night after receiving praise from senators from across the political spectrum and an endorsement from Dick Roche, Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Irish government has decided not to oppose the bill’s passage and no Senator spoke against it.

MORE: http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/361.html

=====================

7. BEYOND NUCLEAR BULLETIN - November 18, 2010

http://us1.campaign-archive.com/
?u=18a3f9977c3625b53cf911e2f&id=19ecc1d52c&e=e2926d556c

TAKE ACTION

Don’t let partisan politics block nuclear arms reduction!
Call your Senators today.

Minority Whip, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is attempting to block ratification of START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), which would shrink the U.S. and Russian strategic warheads arsenals. Kyle claims the lame duck session is too short. In reality, Kyle sees the delay as a way to provide billions more for weapons production. Join Beyond Nuclear, Physicians for Social Responsibility and our other non-proliferation partners in calling your Senators to ratify START now!
Here’s how.

https://secure2.convio.net/psr/site/
Advocacy?alertId=567&pg=makeACall

= = = = = =

Help stop the radioactive steam generator shipment on the Great Lakes!

Canada's Bruce nuclear power plant proposes shipping 16 giant, radioactive steam generators via the Great Lakes -- 20% of the world's surface fresh water, and drinking supply for 40 million people -- to Sweden for "recycling" into consumer products. Help put the brakes on this risky proposal by emailing the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and U.S. Dept. of Transportation, urging the highest level environmental assessments be conducted!
More:
http://www.beyondnuclear.org/canada/2010/10/28/
help-stop-radioactive-steam-generator-shipment-on-the-great.html

=================

8. LETTER: SHIELDS: Canada Suffers From Projecting Harper As "Mr. Canada"!!

----- Original Message -----
From: lagran
To: Prime Minister/Premier ministre ; Layton, Jack - M.P. ; iggy
Cc: Rae.B@parl.gc.ca ; premier@gov.nl.ca ; goodale ; flaherty ; dnd_mdn@forces.gc.ca; acameron@neb-one.gc.ca
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 4:57 PM

Subject: Canada Suffers From Projecting Harper As "Mr.Canada"!!

This story below from the Toronto Sun really sends shivers down my spine. It's very hard to accept that our country under the present leadership has projected a image of Canada as a dangerous Country. Although Harper has stated he will blindly support Israel at any cost, that cost to all Canadians will in fact be realized, and the continued shrinkage of Canada on the world stage will indeed be the result. Harper's treatment of child soldier Omar Khadar and other non-white Canadians has not gone unnoticed around the Globe!!

Harper's attitude toward China that got him a well deserved "linguistic-Licking" on his Chinese tour, that he smartly took in "pot-bellied-silence", seems to have wore off with respect to changing his ways. Canada cannot afford to isolate itself due to trade shrinkage that is becoming acute under Harper! Signing dumb trade agreements with any and all counties encountered will bankrupt Canada if NAFTA and Free-Trade are examples of further agreements. Canada is very thin in experience in this Harper government where the P.M. office is the government, but trade and foreign relations suffers first by projecting Harper as Mr.Canada!!

Stewart Shields
Lacombe, AB

= = = = = = = = =

Iran warns citizens of dangerous Canada

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/11/18/
16202881.html

By BRIAN LILLEY, Parliamentary Bureau Last Updated: November 18, 2010 12:35pm
OTTAWA — Iran is warning its citizens not to come to Canada out of fear of widespread Islamophobia sweeping the country.
A story posted on the website of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting news agency states the foreign ministry in Iran issued the warning earlier this week. The agency claims crime rates in Canada have soared recently and Iranian nationals may fall victim to this new crime spree.
The government of Iran is warning its citizens to take extra precautions if they visit Canada.
The Iranian government also claims Muslims in Canada are being denied “social and political rights” and police are not following up on complaints filed by Iranians in this country.

MORE:
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/11/18/
16202881.html

====================

9. Iran tests air missile

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/
20101120132633570393.html

Missile system called the S-200 successfully launched as Tehran boosts defences to protect nuclear plants.
Iran has successfully test-fired an air missile, Iranian state media has reported.
Pictures broadcast on Saturday showed the launch of the missile system called the S-200. Though it shares the same name as a Russian missile S-200, it is said to have the capabilities of a stronger Russian system known as the S-300, according to Press TV.
The launch was part of Iran's military exercise that started on Tuesday with the aim of testing the country's air defence capabilities to defend its nuclear plants from possible attacks.
The tested missile was developed by Iranian scientists and is capable of identifying and hitting targets at low and medium altitudes, according to General Hamid Arjangi, a spokesman for the five-day exercise.
The military exercise that concluded on Saturday was the country's biggest air drill, Iranian military officials said earlier this week.
Israeli threat
Iran conducts several war games every year, as part of its military self-sufficiency programme that started in 1992, and frequently unveils new weapons and military systems during the drills.
Its claims often cannot be independently verified.
The five-day drill followed an announcement by the Iranian air force saying its troops earlier this year conducted an exercise at several nuclear facilities, including the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, the under-construction enrichment site at Fordo, the nuclear uranium conversion facility near Isfahan and the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

MORE:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/
20101120132633570393.html

=================

10. 'Iran, advocate of nuke-free Mideast'

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/151662.html

19 Nov 2010
Iran has played a key role in pushing for bids to establish a nuclear arms free zone in the Middle East, Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Ahani says. "The Islamic Republic was the architect of the initiative for a Middle East without nuclear weapons and seeks global disarmament," Ahani, who is in Hungary on an official visit, said on Friday. "From the Islamic Republic's point of view, nuclear weapons are not an empowering tool but the use or the threat of their use is rather deemed as a sign of selfishness and weakness," IRNA quoted the Iranian diplomat as saying.

==================

11. It's tough to be a climate scientist when dinosaurs are making the calls

http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/
tough+climate+scientist+when+dinosaurs+making+calls/3847040/story.html

Jack Knox Times Colonist November 18, 2010
Having tried, in vain, to peel a spitting-mad Andrew Weaver off the ceiling, I ask Canada's best-known climate scientist whether he ever feels like chucking it all in and stomping off to a quiet corner with a bottle of Jack Daniel's.
"Absolutely," he says. "Retiring with a bottle of Jack Daniel's sounds good right now."
It's 8:23 a.m.
Listening to Weaver, it's hard to know what he's angrier about, the fact that Stephen Harper's Conservatives just sabotaged climate-change legislation, or the sneaky way in which they did it.
At question is a global-warming bill that passed through the House of Commons with the support of the NDP, Liberals and Bloc Québécois, only to be abruptly killed by the Conservatives with a snap vote in the Senate on Tuesday.
It ticks off Weaver that Harper, having been voted in on a promise to do away with the unelected Senate, instead packed the institution with ill-informed patronage appointments ("Mike Duffy, climate scientist extraordinaire") who waited until 15 opposition members were absent before defeating, without debate, a bill that had already been OK'd by the
elected arm of Parliament.
The UVic climatologist, sputtering words like "unbelievable" and "dictator" and "shocking affront to democracy," says he hopes the opposition will force Harper's minority government to fall. "He's got to get kicked out. This is Canada, not Zimbabwe ... or maybe it is.
"It's all about not wanting to do anything about the issue," Weaver says of the Senate sabotage. It's about pandering to the oil industry, to the Conservatives' Alberta power base.

MORE:
http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/
tough+climate+scientist+when+dinosaurs+making+calls/3847040/story.html

===================

12. Ceasefire.ca: Conservatives kill climate change bill

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6314&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Fri, Nov 19, 2010
The story that the Roman Emperor Caligula wanted to appoint his horse to the Senate is apocryphal, but it is a sad fact that Canada’s own quasi-Emperor has appointed 36 unelected horses (or posterior portions thereof) to the Canadian Senate in just the past four years. And on Tuesday the Prime Minister’s stable of equine extremities stampeded into action to kill a bill that he couldn’t kill in the House of Commons because it had been passed by a majority of that body’s democratically elected members.
The Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) was denied second reading in the Senate in a snap vote by the Conservatives, who earlier had refused to permit even a single word of debate on the bill in the Senate.
Bill C-311 would have forced the Canadian government to take action on global climate change, calling for “greenhouse gases to be cut 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020″ and for a long-term target “to bring emissions 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050″. This, of course, made it utterly unacceptable to the Prime Minister (Gloria Galloway, “Tory senators kill climate bill passed by house,” Globe and Mail, 17 November 2010; Susan Delacourt, “Climate bill, Commons crushed in one blow,” Toronto Star, 17 November 2010; “Killed climate change bill flawed: Harper,” CBC News, 17 November 2010).
A recent Environics poll commissioned by the Council of Canadians and other organizations found that 87% of Canadians believe we “need to have an economy that is in harmony with nature, which recognizes and respects the planet”, and that over 70% agree that “The money spent on wars and the military would all be better spent on efforts that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the impacts of climate change.”
But why should the opinions of mere citizens matter to the Prime Minister when he has enough appointed minions to enable him to ignore the views of the public? With the defeat of Bill C-311 he is free to go back to emulating another infamous Roman Emperor, Caligula’s nephew Nero, and fiddle as the planet burns.

=====================

13. LISTEN: CBC The Current: (‘lively’) Senate Debate on Bill C-311 - Nov 19/10 - Pt 1 - (Click on Icon)

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2010/11/19/
nov-1910---pt-1-senate-debate/

(All Links are on website. Ed.)

The Senate has defeated Bill C-311, a climate change bill that had been passed by the House of Commons. The opposition says an unelected Senate had no business doing that. But the Conservative Government says Senators did the right thing and that they were perfectly within their rights to defeat "a completely irresponsible bill."
Senate Debate - Panel
We started this segment with a clip from Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaking shortly after he was elected in 2006. The Prime Minister has long advocated an elected Senate ... arguing un-elected Senators can't claim a legitimate democratic mandate.
But earlier this week, he praised the Conservative-dominated Senate for killing Bill C-311 ... a climate change bill that had been passed by the House of Commons. The bill was voted down in the Senate without any debate. That hasn't happened in 70 years. And that has a lot of Canadians crying foul.
The government's critics pounced ... calling out the Conservatives for what they perceive as hypocrisy. But others say the Senators simply did what they were supposed to do by giving sober second thought to a controversial bill.
So to talk about this bill, we were joined by three Senators who participated in the vote on Bill C-311. Pamela Wallin is a Conservative Senator from Saskatchewan. James Cowan is the Liberal Leader in The Senate. He represents Nova Scotia. And Anne Cools is a former Liberal and Conservative Senator. She now sits as an Independent, representing Toronto Centre-York.

LISTEN: (Click on Icon)

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2010/11/19/
nov-1910---pt-1-senate-debate/

===================

14. LETTER: SHIELDS: Who's Training The Taliban? VOTE!!

From: lagran
To: Prime Minister/Premier ministre ; Layton, Jack - M.P. ; iggy
Cc: Rae.B@parl.gc.ca ; goodale ; flaherty ; dnd_mdn@forces.gc.ca ; Alberta Activism
Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2010 9:22 AM
Subject: Who's Training The Taliban?

I must refer to what George Galloway said on his CBC interview---who's training the Taliban??
Is it lack of training that's loosing this war, or is it a war that never should have been fought?

Stewart Shields
Lacombe, AB

= = = = = =

WATCH: Galloway Interview:

CBC's Power and Politics had an interview with the feisty Mr. Galloway Tuesday, November 16, which can be viewed at the top right-hand corner at:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/11/17/
george-galloway-montreal.html

= = = = = = =

Afghanistan: Do you agree with the extension?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/pointofview/2010/11/
afghanistan-do-you-agree-with-the-extension.html#socialcomments-submit

November 19, 2010 11:33 AM | By POV
VOTE and check the URL for photo!
Afghanistan will be front and centre at a two-day leaders summit in Lisbon, Portugal, that began Friday with Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen praising Canada for keeping a non-combat presence there until 2014.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper kicked off the summit with a meeting with Rasmussen.
According to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, Rasmussen has already thanked Canada for its decision to deploy 950 military trainers to assist Afghanistan's security forces to 2014 -- the date the NATO-led security mission has set to withdraw Western troops from the war-torn country.

MORE:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/pointofview/2010/11/
afghanistan-do-you-agree-with-the-extension.html#socialcomments-submit

===================

15. Nato endorses Afghan exit strategy

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/
11/20101120131146401315.html

November 20, 2010
Leaders meeting in Lisbon back plans to hand over military command in Afghanistan to local government by 2014.
Nato will start pulling troops out of Afghanistan next year and hand over responsibility for security to Afghan forces in 2014, the alliance has said after a two-day summit in Lisbon.
Nato leaders endorsed the plan after meeting behind closed doors in the Portuguese city to discuss an exit strategy from Afghanistan on the final day of the summit on Saturday.
Anders Fogh Ramussen, Nato's secretary-general, Barack Obama. the US president, Hamid Karzai, his Afghan counterpart, and Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general, were all present at the meeting, which also discussed how best to prepare Afghan forces for the handover.
"We have launched the process by which the Afghan people will once again become masters in their own house," Rasmussen told a news conference following a summit. "The aim is for Afghan forces to be in the lead countrywide by the end of 2014."
Rasmussen said that Nato would not abandon Afghanistan after the handover. "We will stay after transition in a supporting role, " he said. "President Karzai and I have signed an agreement on a long term partnership between Nato and Afghanistan that will endure beyond our combat mission," he added.
"To put it simply, if the Taliban or anyone else aim to wait us out, they can forget it. We will stay as long at it takes to finish our job," he said.
The plan closely resembles a proposed timetable put forward by Obama earlier on Saturday.

MORE:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/11/
20101120131146401315.html

===========================

16. Ceasefire.ca: Steven Staples on Canada’s extended Afghanistan mission

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6297&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 09:19 PM PST
Here are some links to media reports that include comments by Steven Staples on the decision to extend Canada’s mission in Afghanistan: Barbara Yaffe, “Harper gambles on grudging support for ‘non-combat’ role,” Vancouver Sun, 17 November 2010 CTVNews, “Cannon says ‘risk factor’ remains for troops,” CTVNews, 16 November 2010 Bryn Weese, “Training mission receives mixed [...]

For many more articles, videos, etc., go to: http://www.ceasefire.ca/

======================

17. New Democrats demand Parliament be involved in decisions on Afghan mission

From: <laytoj@parl.gc.ca>
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 3:49 PM
Subject: New Democrats demand Parliament be involved in decisions on Afghan mission.
Thank you for your previous email on Afghanistan.
Many Canadians are reacting strongly to Prime Minister Harper's broken promise on extending Canada's mission in Afghanistan.
First, we firmly believe that Parliament must have a say in any decision-making on the Afghan mission. However, both Prime Minister Harper and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff are turning their backs on an earlier commitment to end the military mission and bring our troops home in 2011. Instead of listening to each other, Conservatives and
Liberals must start listening to the majority of Canadians who are against our military staying in Afghanistan beyond 2011.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.ndp.ca/press/
harper-ignatieff-break-promise-on-afghan-mission

and

http://www.ndp.ca/press/
reality-check-more-broken-promises-on-afghanistan-for-harper-ignatieff.

New Democrats have been consistent in stating that the war in Afghanistan is the wrong mission for Canada. While Canadian troops are serving admirably in southern Afghanistan, we recognize that there are no military solutions there, only political ones.
At the NDP 2009 convention, I reinforced our Party's resolve and said, "We want a government that favours diplomacy, development and peacekeeping. That's why, from day one, we said this conflict cannot, and will not, be settled militarily. That's why we say again today: support our troops and bring them home."

(http://www.ndp.ca/press/
address-to-2009-new-democrat-national-convention)

We believe that Canadians want to help the people of Afghanistan to rebuild their lives for a peaceful future. Yet, after years of fighting a counter-insurgent war, leading military and civilian experts tell us that we have to change course because conditions are getting worse for Afghans, not better. We have been working hard in parliament to advance this position.
Please see the following link outlining our proposal on Canada`s next steps in Afghanistan:

http://www.ndp.ca/press/canadas-next-st ... fghanistan.

As you may know, recently, for the first time since the creation of the United Nations, Canada failed in its recent bid to serve as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. The result of the vote was deeply disappointing for Canadians and served as a rebuke from the international community of the Harper government's foreign policy.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/
security-council-rejection-a-deep-embarrassment-for-harper/article1754419/

New Democrats are working to reverse this transformation; Canada must be a leading global voice for peace and human rights on the world stage.
Towards this goal, we have called for a complete overhaul of the Conservative government's foreign policy. NDP Foreign Affairs critic Paul Dewar presented a precedent-setting motion at the Foreign Affairs committee to establish a panel of experts tasked with reviewing Canada's foreign policy and making recommendations for strengthening Canada's place in the global community. The panel's final report would become the basis for a long-term strategy in repairing the damage caused by the
government's approach to foreign policy.
To read more, please visit this link here:

http://www.ndp.ca/press/time-to-overhau ... ign-policy

You can read more about our vision for redefining Canada's place in the world at this link here:
http://www.ndp.ca/vision/foreign-affairs.

Again, I appreciate having the benefit of your comments and views.
All the best,
Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)
Leader, Canada's New Democrats

===================

18. Global Warfare: After NATO Summit, U.S. To Intensify Military Drive Into Asia

By Rick Rozoff
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21977
Global Research, November 18, 2010 Stop NATO
Barack Obama, the latest rotating imperator of the first global empire, will arrive in Lisbon on November 19 to receive the plaudits of 27 North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies and secure their continued fealty on issues ranging from the war in Afghanistan to a continental interceptor missile system, the continued deployment of American tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, participation in the Pentagon’s cyber warfare plans and expanded military missions in the planet’s south and east.
Perfunctory discussions of minor details notwithstanding, strictly pro forma to maintain the myth of NATO being a “military alliance of democratic states in Europe and North America,” the banners and pennants of 26 European nations, Canada and dozens of other countries contributing troops for the Afghan mission will be lowered in the presence of the leader of the world imperium.
No fewer than 38 European nations have supplied NATO troops for the Afghanistan-Pakistan war as well as providing training grounds and transport centers to support the war effort. As envisioned for at least a century, through peaceful means or otherwise, Europe has been united, not so much by the European Union as under the NATO flag and on the killing fields of Afghanistan. It is now relegated to the role of pre-deployment training area and forward operating base for military campaigns downrange: The Middle East, Africa and Asia.
So uncritically and unquestioningly compliant has Europe been in the above regards that Obama and the governing elite in the imperial metropolis as a whole have already looked beyond the continent for additional military partners. With the exception of fellow members of the NATO Quint – Britain, Germany, France and Italy (Britain more and Italy less than the others) – Alliance partners are accorded the same status and assigned the same functions as American territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands: Geopolitically convenient locations for live-fire military training and for troop, warplane and warship deployments.

MORE:
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21977

=================

19. Council of Canadians Update - November 17, 2010

MEDIA RELEASE: Senate killing of Climate Bill C-311 'shocking', says Council of Canadians
http://www.canadians.org/media/energy/2 ... ov-10.html

ACTION ALERT: Tell your MP how you feel about the Senate’s decision to kill Bill C-311
http://www.canadians.org/action/2010/Bi ... Nov17.html

ACTION ALERT: Sign the petition to ban hydraulic fracturing in Nova Scotia, The Inverness County Chapter of the Council of Canadians
http://www.canadians.org/media/water/20 ... -10-a.html

WIN! Moncton stops selling its drinking water for fracking
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5380
The City of Moncton has been selling its drinking water for $1.58 a cubic metre to Apache Canada, a US-owned mining company, for their hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) testing in the Frederick Brook formation in the Elgin area in southern New Brunswick.

WIN! Glacier Howser project derailed
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5364
The Wilderness Committee reports that, “Late last week we got word that the Glacier Howser project has lost its energy purchase agreement with BC Hydro. … The citizens of Kaslo and Nelson, and all of those who wrote letters (to British Columbia Environmental Assessment office) to keep Glacier and Howser creeks (in the Kootenays) wild know the power of the pen.”

NEWS: Harden-Donahue outraged by C-311 defeat
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5389
The Canadian Press reports this afternoon that, “Opposition MPs and environmental activists say Canada is going into global-warming talks empty-handed after a majority of Conservative senators voted down a climate-change bill. A snap vote in the Senate on Tuesday caught Liberals in the upper house off guard, and not enough Grits showed up to save the bill from losing by a narrow margin of 43-42.”

NEWS: Red Deer chapter challenges Extendicare
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5387
The Red Deer Advocate reports that, “Health care advocates in Central Alberta are demanding that Alberta Health Services take over the operation of Red Deer’s newest privately operated long-term care centre.”

UPDATE: Council supports C-469, a Canadian environmental bill of rights
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5384
Bill C-469, An Act to establish a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights, had its second reading and debate in the House of Commons this past May, and the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development began studying the bill last month.

NEWS: Council joins call for oil and gas moratorium in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5369
The Gulf of St. Lawrence is the world’s largest estuary and the outlet for the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. Increasingly, concerned groups are saying that oil and gas exploration and drilling should not take place in the Gulf. Today, the Council of Canadians joined in that call.

NEWS: Municipalities worried about costs of new wastewater regulations
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5367
The Montreal Gazette reports that, “Municipal leaders from across the country said they believed (former environment minister Jim) Prentice was starting to understand their concerns about financing waste water system upgrades and improvements required by the regulations.” But they’re not so sure about the new environment minister, John Baird.

NEWS: C-311 climate legislation defeated in the Senate
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5361
This evening, the Senate voted 43 to 32 to kill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act. The bill, passed by the House of Commons in a 149 to 136 vote in May, called for Canada’s carbon emissions to be cut 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

One Giant Step Backwards: Senate kills Bill C-311
http://www.canadians.org/energyblog/?p=345
Mere days before the next major round of UN climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, Canada’s unelected Senate killed Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act.

Trade Justice Network releases “October Draft” of CETA
http://www.canadians.org/tradeblog/?p=1172
Yesterday, the Trade Justice Network met again in Ottawa to discuss campaign work against the Canada-EU free trade negotiations.

by **Oscar** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 6:18 pm

NUKE NEWS: November 22, 2010

1. EVENT: Drum for Justice - Join KAIROS' December 5th - Day of Action for Indigenous People
2. Groups call on safety regulator to reject radioactive shipment (2 articles)
3. Highly contaminated soil found at Hanford
4. Protesters rally outside BHP AGM & Related Info
5. The Mysterious Laptop Documents: "Evidence" of Iran Nuclear Weapons Program May Be Fraudulent
6. US envoy arrives in Seoul amid 'stunning' report on new North Korea nuclear facility
7. Canadian Civil Society Demands Canadian Mining Companies Be Held Accountable for Overseas Abuses
8. NEWS: Nelson chapter sponsors mining justice event
9. WATCH: CBC The National - DEBATE: Canada's war in Afghanistan - "Has it been worth it?"
10. Petition: Don’t Extend Canada’s Military Mission in Afghanistan
11. Canadian Viceroy: Harper's Autocratic Play for Total Power
12. NATO approves “new” Strategic Concept
13. The disgrace at Veterans Affairs Canada
14. LETTER: SHIELDS: Armies Aren't Needed To Teach Motivation!
15. LETTER: SHIELDS: Rae's Crystal-Ball
16. LETTER: SHIELDS: Baird Stands Corrected!
17. Council of Canadians Update – November 22, 2010

================

1. EVENT: Drum for Justice - Join KAIROS' December 5th - Day of Action for Indigenous People.

http://www.straightgoods.ca/2010/
ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=925&Cookies=yes

Dateline: Monday, November 08, 2010
from KAIROS You're invited to host a public drum circle and petition-signing in support of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
You're invited to raise awareness of the many Indigenous peoples' voices that are speaking to the impact of climate change.
And you're invited to have fun while you're at it! In 2007, Canadian churches celebrated as the UN adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which enshrines the right of Indigenous peoples to decide how their lands and resources will be used. But Canada has still not endorsed the UN Declaration.
Between November 29 and December 10, 2010, Indigenous peoples from around the world will gather at the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico, to ensure that they are a full part of any decisions on the global climate crisis. But the Canadian government has blocked progress on climate change.
It's time to change the climate on Indigenous rights. Join KAIROS supporters in churches and communities across the country as we drum together in solidarity with Indigenous peoples for the UN Declaration and climate justice.
Hold an event on or close to December 5.

Invite local drum circles of all kinds.
Invite your local Friendship Centre, local Indigenous leadership, and groups of every age and background who want to sound the drum for justice.
Invite Elders and speakers to share their thoughts.
Explore together how you can make local contributions to climate justice, and how you can live into the UN Declaration.
References
Sign the KAIROS UNDRIP petition!
Download the 'Beat the Drum' flyer

================

2. Groups call on safety regulator to reject radioactive shipment (2 articles)

http://www.thestar.com/article/
894544--groups-call-on-safety-regulator-to-reject-radioactive-shipment

Brendan Kennedy, Staff Reporter, The Toronto Star, Sun Nov 21, 2010
An international coalition of environmental groups and community leaders will make its final pleas to Canada’s nuclear safety regulator Monday in a last-ditch attempt to stop a controversial plan to ship radiation-laced steel through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is deciding whether to grant Bruce Power Inc. a licence to transport 16 decommissioned steam generators weighing 1,760 tonnes by ship from the shores of Georgian Bay, through Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario and along the St. Lawrence River to Sweden, where they are to be recycled.
It would be the first time a licence has been issued by the commission to ship nuclear waste through the Great Lakes.
Monday marks the beginning of the commission's final deliberations following two days of public hearings - called to satisfy a swelling public outrage - in Ottawa in September.
But critics of the plan - including environmental groups, aboriginal leaders and the mayors of more than 100 Great Lakes communities - aren't holding out hope they will be successful.
"This decision was made by [Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission] staff long before the public was even aware of the issue," said John Bennett, executive director for the Sierra Club of Canada, which accused the commission of merely 'putting on a show' of public consultation.
"The public is at a total disadvantage with this kind of process," he said, adding that non-profit agencies like his can't compete with the resources of large corporations to produce technical research.

MORE:
http://www.thestar.com/article/
894544--groups-call-on-safety-regulator-to-reject-radioactive-shipment

- - - - - -

Green groups take final shot to block Great Lakes nuclear shipment

http://www.leaderpost.com/technology/
Green+groups+take+final+shot+block+Great+Lakes+nuclear+shipment/3862847/story.html

By Carmen Chai, Postmedia News, November 21, 2010
Environmental groups have one last chance to convince Canada's nuclear-energy watchdog to reject a plan to haul 16 decommissioned radioactive steam generators across the Great Lakes on their way to Sweden for recycling.
About 80 organizations from across Canada, the United States and Sweden are submitting their final pleas Monday to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, insisting its panel should reject a plan by Bruce Power to ship about 1,600 tonnes of radioactive waste through Canada's Great Lakes.
The commission gave environmentalists 30 days to file final comments.
Critics say the route would set a "dangerous" North American precedent as the largest shipment to travel on the Great Lakes. The generators would then move through the St. Lawrence Seaway and across the Atlantic Ocean.
Most are asking that Bruce Power provide more time and resources so they can conduct their own environmental-risk assessments.
"They absolutely refused to do any of these things. All we have now is an opportunity to say our piece and get criticized and cross-examined by the proponent," said John Bennett of the Sierra Club Foundation.
"They're trying to establish that they can ship this stuff out of the country and once they get the first shipment into Sweden, then the Great Lakes (are) open and there's hundreds of thousands of tonnes of stuff going down Canadian waters. This is not about 16 steam generators," he said.

MORE:
http://www.leaderpost.com/technology/
Green+groups+take+final+shot+block+Great+Lakes+nuclear+shipment/3862847/story.html

=====================

3. Highly contaminated soil found at Hanford

http://www.hanfordnews.com/2010/11/18/16071/
highly-contaminated-soil-found.html

This story was published Thursday November 18th 2010
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer
HANFORD — Workers have found a nasty surprise beneath a Hanford building just north of Richland -- highly contaminated soil from an undiscovered leak.
"This is extremely high radiation. Nothing else compares in the river corridor," said Mark French, Department of Energy project director for environmental cleanup in the river corridor, the 75 square miles of Hanford along the Columbia River.
Radioactivity has been measured at 8,900 rad per hour, which would be about 10 times the lethal dose on contact, according to Hanford officials. The building where the leak was found is about 1,000 feet from the Columbia River.
However, there is no evidence that the contamination has reached the ground water, which could carry the contamination to the river, Hanford officials said. Wells are used to monitor ground water for contamination in the 300 Area, and more monitoring is planned.
The contaminated soil is beneath the 324 Building, which initially was used to examine fuel from Hanford's plutonium-production reactors and develop ways to chemically reprocess the fuel to remove plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program. Later, the building was used to help develop disposal methods for high-level radioactive waste, including vitrification, or glassification.

MORE:
http://www.hanfordnews.com/2010/11/18/16071/
highly-contaminated-soil-found.html

MORE: 324 Building B Cell contamination
http://www.hanford.gov/news.cfm/DOE/E1011025_2.pdf

======================

4. Protesters rally outside BHP AGM & Related Info

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/
protesters-rally-outside-bhp-agm/story-fn3dxity-1225954490976

From: AAP November 16, 2010 3:25PM
PROTESTERS outside BHP Billiton's annual general meeting in Perth have slammed the resource giant's uranium mining plans in Australia.
Conservation groups, unions and Aboriginal traditional owner groups voiced their environmental concerns at the Perth Convention and Exhibition centre today.
They raised particular concerns about BHP proposed uranium mine at Yeelirrie in Western Australia's Goldfields region.
Conservation Council of WA director Piers Verstegen said BHP had been acting behind the scenes to prevent a public inquiry from going ahead into uranium mining in WA.
He said serious issues related to the Yeelirrie proposal ranged from health impact and local communities through to the issue of whether WA uranium would find its way into weapons programs in other countries like Russia and China.
"These issues have been swept under the table by both BHP and the state government," Mr Verstegen said.

MORE:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/
protesters-rally-outside-bhp-agm/story-fn3dxity-1225954490976

Related:
BHP Billiton - Olympic Dam, Roxby Downs (South Australia) http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html
General issues (Links on website above. Ed.)
Olympic Dam expansion project
License violations at Olympic Dam
> View deposit info
> View PIRSA announcements

General issues

Workers exposed to unsafe levels of radiation at Olympic Dam mine: whistleblower
http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html

Workers at BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam are being exposed to unsafe levels of radiation, according to a company whistleblower. BHP Billiton has been warned about the risks at Roxby Downs, but according to South Australian Upper House Greens MP Mark Parnell the company has failed to take action. Mr Parnell says the levels of polonium-210, the toxic by-product of uranium production, have breached health standards. The whistleblower produced documents that show BHP uses manipulated averages and distorted sampling to ensure the figures are below the maximum exposure levels set by government, he said. (Sydney Morning Herald June 4, 2010)

MORE:
http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html

= = = = =

Issues at Operating Uranium Mines and Mills - Olympic Dam, Australia

http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html#OLYMPICD

================

5. The Mysterious Laptop Documents: "Evidence" of Iran Nuclear Weapons Program May Be Fraudulent

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21994

By Gareth Porter Global Research, November 18, 2010 t r u t h o u t
Since 2007, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - with the support of the United States, Israel and European allies UK, France and Germany - has been demanding that Iran explain a set of purported internal documents portraying a covert Iranian military program of research and development of nuclear weapons. The "laptop documents," supposedly obtained from a stolen Iranian computer by an unknown source and given to US intelligence in 2004, include a series of drawings of a missile re-entry vehicle that appears to be an effort to accommodate a nuclear weapon, as well as reports on high explosives testing for what appeared to be a detonator for a nuclear weapon.
In one report after another, the IAEA has suggested that Iran has failed to cooperate with its inquiry into that alleged research, and that the agency, therefore, cannot verify that it has not diverted nuclear material to military purposes.
That issue remains central to US policy toward Iran. The Obama administration says there can be no diplomatic negotiations with Iran unless Iran satisfies the IAEA fully in regard to the allegations derived from the documents that it had covert nuclear weapons program.
That position is based on the premise that the intelligence documents that Iran has been asked to explain are genuine. The evidence now available, however, indicates that they are fabrications.

MORE:
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21994

================

6. US envoy arrives in Seoul amid 'stunning' report on new North Korea nuclear facility

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terroris ... 2010/1121/
US-envoy-arrives-in-Seoul-amid-stunning-report-on-new-North-Korea-nuclear-facility

US envoy to North Korea Stephen Bosworth arrived in Seoul Sunday to meet with South Korean officials to discuss how resume six-party talks on denuclearizing North Korea.
By Taylor Barnes, Correspondent / November 21, 2010
US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Bosworth arrived in Seoul Sunday to meet with South Korean officials to discuss how resume six-party talks on denuclearizing North Korea.
His visit comes as a US scientist posted a report Saturday describing a “stunning,” highly sophisticated and newly built North Korea nuclear facility he visited recently.
Mr. Bosworth will meet with South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator and foreign minister Monday, before traveling to Tokyo the same day and to Beijing Tuesday to speak with each country’s counterparts for North Korean issues, the Korea Herald reports.
IN PICTURES: Nuclear power around the world
The stalled six-party talks include the North Korea, the US, South Korea, Japan, Russia, and China, with Beijing advocating resuming talks and speaking with North Korea as a way to keep it from acting rashly. North Korea walked out of talks last year but has said that it wants to resume them now.
Analysts call the disclosure of the new nuclear facility part of North Korea’s “time-honored” tactics to gain leverage in these negotiations, according to Reuters, which adds that experts also say that international sanctions are deeply hurting the North Korean economy.
It’s hard to confirm or deny North Korean claims on its nuclear capability, which it says is for civilian electrical purposes, because it expelled international inspectors last year. But many in the US and other nations involved in the negotiations are “wary” of falling into the pattern that has confounded past governments, in which Kim Jong Il’s government “made threats and then was rewarded with cash and other benefits not to carry them out,” the Washington Post reports.
"We have consistently insisted that any talks must be real negotiations over its nuclear weapons program," a senior Obama administration official said in an e-mail to the Post.
Report from US scientist
The report from American nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker, a professor at Stanford University, describes a recent visit to a uranium-enrichment facility that he described as “astonishingly modern” and able to fit into any American processing plant.
“Instead of seeing a few small cascades of centrifuges, which I believed to exist in North Korea, we saw a modern, clean centrifuge plant of more than a thousand centrifuges, all neatly aligned and plumbed below us,” he wrote in his report, according to the Associated Press.

MORE:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terroris ... 2010/1121/
US-envoy-arrives-in-Seoul-amid-stunning-report-on-new-North-Korea-nuclear-facility

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IN PICTURES: Nuclear power around the world

http://www.csmonitor.com/CSM-Photo-Gall ... -Pictures/
Nuclear-power-around-the-world

Related stories (All Links at URL at beginning of article.)
South Korea's G20 summit security test: protesters and a volatile North Korea
North, South Korea trade gunfire across tense border
South Korea's Lee expects Kim Jong-un to rule North Korea

=================

7. Canadian Civil Society Demands Canadian Mining Companies Be Held Accountable for Overseas Abuses

http://canadians.org/media/other/2010/22-Nov-10.html

MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release November 22, 2010
36 civil society organizations have signed a letter condemning the Canadian government’s failure to pass Bill C-300, which would have held Canadian mining companies accountable for overseas violations of human rights and environmental standards.
Bill C-300, the Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil or Gas in Developing Countries Act, was tabled by Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) John McKay in February 2009. On October 27, 2010, the bill was narrowly defeated in the House of Commons by a vote of 140-134. If the bill had passed, it would have ensured the withdrawal of public funds and political support for Canadian companies that violated human rights and environmental standards.
75% of the world’s exploration and mining companies have their headquarters in Canada. A report commissioned by Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada also pointed to Canadian companies as some of the worst offenders.
At the end of November, a team of Canadian delegates from the Council of Canadians, Polaris Institute and Public Service Alliance Canada will hand deliver the letter to a community in San Luis Potosi, Mexico who have been affected by the actions of the Canadian mining company Goldcorp.
The letter has been sent to affected communities through organizations working with them as well as to Canadian MPs.
The letter, addressed to “communities affected by Canadian mining operations,” highlights Canada’s repeated failures “to join other countries in advancing international human rights and environmental norms.” Civil society organizations committed to “renewing [their] work at legislative reform” in order to bring justice to affected communities abroad. -30-
For a copy of the letter in English, French or Spanish, or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org

================

8. NEWS: Nelson chapter sponsors mining justice event

http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5421

The Nelson Daily Star reports that, “Canadian mining and human rights in Guatemala will be the topic of a talk by human rights lawyer Grahame Russell this Sunday, Nov. 21 (7 p.m.) at Self Design High. Russell is the co-director of Rights Action, a Canadian NGO long engaged in community development, environment and human rights work throughout Central America. He will provide examples of inspiring, courageous leadership and actions being taken throughout Central America to resist and combat these ills, actions that all of us can take part in, here in Canada.”

===================================

9. WATCH: CBC The National - DEBATE: Canada's war in Afghanistan - "Has it been worth it?"

http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/indepthan ... 010/11/17/
national-afghanistanpanel.html

=================

10. Petition: Don’t Extend Canada’s Military Mission in Afghanistan

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6348&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:57 PM PST
Tell Stephen Harper, other party leaders, and your own MP that you do not support the proposed training mission for the Canadain Forces in Afghanistan. Send your letter.

====================

11. Canadian Viceroy: Harper's Autocratic Play for Total Power

http://pacificfreepress.com/news/1/
7375-canadian-viceroy-harpers-autocratic-play-for-total-power.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PacificFreePress+%28Pacific+Free+Press%29

by C. L. Cook Wednesday November 17, 2010
It's been a rough week for Canadian democracy. First, prime minister, Stephen Harper unilaterally declared an extension to the extension of Canada's military entanglement in Afghanistan, (later cowing the too loyal opposition into line) then the Pretender did an end run around the House of Commons, going to the nation's unelected senate to torpedo the country's commitments to carbon dioxide emission reductions.
It is the first time in Canada's history* that the rump body has overruled a Parliamentary order without debate.
It is all part of a disturbing pattern of anti-democratic behaviour exhibited by the minority government leader, (a couple years ago, when backed into a corner on Canada's complicity in turning over Afghani captives to torture, Harper prorogued the Parliament, shutting down the legislative session rather than face embarrassing questions about the military's practices "in-country," not to mention the contravention of national and international law, effectively making of the prime minister and his accomplices in government war criminals).
The furor over that unprecedented move had barely died down a year later when he repeated the stunt to avoid an almost certain vote of non-confidence, and the prospect of a united opposition coalition government.
The upshot of this week's extra-democratic hi jinx is: 1) Canada is officially entirely out of any kind of climate debate, and 2) Canadian soldiers will remain in Afghanistan for an extra three years beyond the second sworn departure date of late 2011.

MORE:
http://pacificfreepress.com/news/1/
7375-canadian-viceroy-harpers-autocratic-play-for-total-power.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PacificFreePress+%28Pacific+Free+Press%29

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12. NATO approves “new” Strategic Concept

http://www.ceasefire.ca/
?p=6368&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ceasefire%2FycPl+%28Ceasefire.ca%29

Posted: 20 Nov 2010 09:34 PM PST
NATO leaders approved a new Strategic Concept document at their Lisbon summit meeting on Friday. The document lays out NATO’s vision of its role in the world, the Alliance’s goals, and how Alliance members intend to pursue those goals. Among other elements, it also spells out the fundamental tenets of NATO’s nuclear weapons policy. On [...]

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13. The disgrace at Veterans Affairs Canada

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/
the-disgrace-at-veterans-affairs-canada/article1757630/

J.L. Granatstein October 15, 2010
The Department of Veterans Affairs has a proud record. Founded in 1944 to care for and reintegrate into civil society the more than one million men and women who served in Canada’s armed forces during the Second World War, it was an ornament of government. The Veterans Charter, the package of programs created by the Mackenzie King government, gave the department the funding it needed to care for the wounded in body and mind. There was money to send vets to university or for training, to give them farms or to set up businesses, and to put cash in their hands and a new suit on their backs. While there were inevitable complaints, the department still cares well for Canada’s world war vets, and it does fine work on remembrance and military heritage.
Now all this is in jeopardy. Under its new name, Veterans Affairs Canada has besmirched its record, perhaps irrevocably. Modern-era veterans, those who served in the Persian Gulf, the former Yugoslavia or in Afghanistan, have long believed themselves short-changed by the department and successive governments, and some of the complaints have become vociferous. The Veterans Ombudsman, Colonel Pat Stogran (who commanded the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Afghanistan in 2002), has pushed the department hard to make improvements in benefits. So, too, has retired captain Sean Bruyea, a 14-year air force vet with service in the Persian Gulf war.
And what was the bureaucratic response? After Mr. Bruyea started criticizing the department in 2005 over a new Veterans Charter that changed the compensation package for wounded vets (with its plan to pay lump sums), he suddenly found access to the treatment he required to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder cut off. The department then demanded that he get a psychiatric assessment at a hospital of its choosing. When Mr. Bruyea later secured access to his file, he discovered that his records had been passed around Veterans Affairs’ offices. “Folks, it’s time to take the gloves off here,” one senior official wrote.
So off came the gloves, and Mr. Bruyea lost access to the care and treatment he needed. In other words, the bureaucrats decided to try to shut up a critic who was interfering with the implementation of their plans, and they used his medical records to help them do so. We can almost hear them saying: Pay no attention, deputy minister, he’s crazy and a crank.
It’s important to note that Mr. Bruyea’s shameful treatment began in 2005 under a Liberal government and continued under the Conservatives. Politics was surely involved, but this sorry story smacks of nothing so much as officials protecting themselves and the programs they wanted against the assaults of critics.
- - - - SNIP - - - -
Other vets soon came forward with similar stories.
Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, has confirmed Mr. Bruyea’s account, and she’s now looking into claims of bureaucratic abuse at Veterans Affairs as a whole. But the commissioner’s powers to punish are limited. We need a formal inquiry that can summon senior officials and their ministers to explain their actions under oath and issue findings of fault. “People need to suffer the consequences of their actions, because it’s the only way they would learn and other employees learn as well,” said Mr. Bruyea’s wife, Carolina.
She’s right. Officials must learn there are limits; they must understand that veterans are citizens with rights to privacy and, because of their overseas service in times of war, even more entitlement to their nation’s care and consideration. The breaches of faith are a blot on the department’s record and a stain on the Canadian government. If the public’s confidence is to be restored, there must be an investigation – with punishment for those who tried to smear opponents. Nothing less will suffice.
Historian J.L. Granatstein is a senior research fellow at the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute.

=================

14. LETTER: SHIELDS: Armies Aren't Needed To Teach Motivation!
From: lagran
To: Prime Minister/Premier ministre ; Layton, Jack - M.P. ; iggy
Cc: Rae.B@parl.gc.ca ; goodale ; flaherty ; dnd_mdn@forces.gc.ca ; Alberta Activism
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2010 9:11 AM
Subject: Armies Aren't Needed To Teach Motivation!

All Harper and Colgate {John Baird} prove by getting their butts run out of the Emirates is how small Canada is becoming. As a country that does not involve itself in selling war machinery and weapons like Israel and United States, we must question further these war expenses, while piling up record deficits. Extending this war to 2014 only adds acid to the decision to allow loosing privileges in UAE. What also appears more than foolish is to suggest these Afghanistan folks need military training. They indeed are on record of holding off most of the prominent armies of the world, including our own, and we have something to teach them? Most Canadians returning from Afghanistan report of the need for electrical power, water systems etc.not teaches fighting techniques. Unless our army can teach motivation-----we waste more borrowed dollars!

Stewart Shields
Lacombe, Alta.
- - - - - - -
Camp Mirage closure costs questioned

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/11/19/
camp-mirage-close-cost.html#ixzz15rtojsZv

Last Updated: Friday, November 19, 2010 | 5:38 PM ET CBC News
The government has sidestepped questions about additional costs due to the closure of the facility in the United Arab Emirates used by Canada's military to stage operations in Afghanistan.
Government House Leader John Baird would say only that Canada had negotiated with the U.A.E. and the "offer that was on the table was not in the best interests of Canada."
The original estimated cost of closing the covert Camp Mirage was $300 million, based on a deadline for withdrawal of Canada from Afghanistan in 2011, Liberal defence critic Bob Rae said during Friday's question period in the Commons.
"It's not entirely clear whether the government was aware that in fact they were going to need the base not simply until 2011, but until 2014," Rae said, referring to the new withdrawal date for Canada's military mission in Afghanistan, announced Tuesday.
"Can the government now tell us, how much is it going to cost us in addition to have lost the base in Dubai until [2014]?" he asked.
"We did it because it was in the best interests of Canada," Baird answered. "We did it because to do otherwise would have cost Canada literally tens of thousands of jobs in the years to come."

MORE:
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/11/19/
camp-mirage-close-cost.html#ixzz15rtojsZv

==================

15. LETTER: SHIELDS: Rae's Crystal-Ball
From: lagran
To: Rae.B@parl.gc.ca
Cc: Prime Minister/Premier ministre ; Layton, Jack - M.P. ; iggy ; dnd_mdn@forces.gc.ca ; Alberta Activism
Sent: Sunday, November 21, 2010 9:00 AM
Subject: Rae's Crystal-Ball
That Bob Rae is hawkish about the Afghanistan war should really not surprise anyone. Rae has held an Israeli-like attitude toward the Mid-East, and has advanced the silly notion that Palestine can be a two state nation with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace. The last 56 years of history teaches that idea to be completely without merit, however Zionist still promote that unlikely possibility while continuing Arab wars. It appears Rae is one politician that has accepted free trips to Israel provided by a group aliened with Israel. This is something CISIS has warned the Canadian public about as being dangerous to Canada's well being, and should be brought forward as an issue at election time, when members are forced to meet the public.
The above conduct would have Rae unsuitable for the liberal leadership to many without far more explaining on Mr.Rae's part!! Perhaps Rae's "crystal-ball" resides in Israel?
Stewart Shields
Lacombe Alberta
= = = = = = = = = =

Bob Rae zips from dove to hawk

http://www.torontosun.com/comment/colum ... 010/11/19/
16224606.html

Liberals fuming over ‘backroom deal’ to prolong Canadian Forces mission in Afghanistan
By WARREN KINSELLA, QMI Agency Last Updated: November 21, 2010 12:00am.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae peered into his crystal ball last weekend and predicted that “interesting” times lay ahead in Parliament.
He was right. But, honestly, it wasn’t much of a prediction: Rae is widely credited with being the guy who first called for Canada to keep on fighting in Afghanistan — and well beyond the June 2011 pullout date decreed by Parliament. He knew what he was doing. He usually does.
Rae, more than any other member of Parliament, ultimately influenced the Harper government’s decision to stay in Afghanistan and fight some more. It’s ironic: Hawkish Conservatives who wanted to extend the combat mission are now offering silent thanks to Sgt. Rae for jumping into the figurative foxhole with them, and cheerfully providing cover.
And provide cover he did.
For years to come, political scientists will ponder how a genial, peace-loving former NDP politician was transformed into such a tough-talking hawk. After all, this is the same man who once declared that Canada’s participation in such conflicts “isn’t the wisest and best course for the world or Canada.” He said that in January 1991, when he was Ontario’s NDP Premier, and when the Mulroney cabinet chose to help remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
Said Rae at the time: “Is this a cause for which I would be willing to go to the desert and fight for? The answer is no.”
Well, that was then and this is now, I guess. If asked, Rae will have a suitably plausible explanation for his change of heart about all this war stuff. He usually does.

MORE: http://www.torontosun.com/comment/colum ... 010/11/19/
16224606.html

====================

16. LETTER: SHIELDS: Baird Stands Corrected!
From: lagran
To: Prime Minister/Premier ministre ; Layton, Jack - M.P. ; iggy
Cc: Rae.B@parl.gc.ca ; goodale ; flaherty ; Alberta Activism
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2010 9:32 AM
Subject: Baird Stands Corrected!

Although Tim Clark is not openly calling Colgate {John Braid} a liar, he sure is questioning, and rightly so, Colgate's statements in the House of Commons on Friday. Air Canada stood to gain business from those that disembarked a United Arab Emirates airline flight at Toronto, but wanted to fly to other Canadian cities,Calgary for example! I keep harping about the shrinkage Canada has experienced under this Harper Reform/Tory coalition government, and here again we find Canadian Government attitude that always borders as racist, costing the Canadian public.

Harper as---"Mr. Canada" with a over the top view of Israel, has cost Canada many steps down the ladder in world opinion. How long Canadian are prepared to stand for a Prime Minister who is a weight in Chinese, Asian, and Mid-East, areas of the world depends on what the opposition parties present. The Liberals who promoted continuing the Mid-East war without parliaments approval, due to Rae's urging, are now seen as no different than the Harper Reform/Conservative coalition! Each Arab killed in these Mid-East conflicts is a joyous occasion in Israel, but viewed quiet differently by the rich Arab League!! Canada's shrinkage and war deficits are to be a burden to Canada's future generations. Canada has already surpass the Mulroney Tory record deficit of 45 billion, and trade losses due to "Mr. Canada" are taking their toll.

Stewart Shields
Lacombe, Alta.
- - - - - - -

UEA airline lashes back at Ottawa

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/11/21/
16248901.html

By QMI Agency Last Updated: November 21, 2010 12:54pm
A United Arab Emirates airline has lashed back at Ottawa for saying granting additional landing rights to the company would create job losses in the thousands for Canada’s airline industry.
Government House Leader John Baird made the comments Friday in the House of Commons.
“Emirates does not seek to swamp Canada with large amounts of capacity,” said company president Tim Clark in a statement.
“Emirates has listened to the concerns of Air Canada with regard to market access and we can assure the Canadian government that the increased presence of Emirates in Canada will only deliver favourable benefits to the Canadian economy and in particular to the travelling public."
Clark maintains the increased presence of the airline in Canadian airports will have a positive impact on the Canadian economy.
“With regards to the potential for 'tens of thousands of jobs' losses, Emirates has difficulty in understanding this assertion,” he said.
The airline was seeking additional landing rights in Canada but negotiations between Ottawa and the United Arab Emirates broke down earlier this year.
In response, the Persian Gulf State evicted Canada from Camp Mirage, a key staging base near Dubai for the Armed Forces in Afghanistan. Canada had been using the base rent-free for years and relocating in expected to cost $300 million.
The UAE also imposed visa requirements on visiting Canadians in over the spat.

MORE:
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/11/21/
16248901.html

=================

17. Council of Canadians Update – November 22, 2010

MEDIA RELEASE:
Canadian Civil Society Demands Canadian Mining Companies Be Held Accountable for Overseas Abuses
http://canadians.org/media/other/2010/22-Nov-10.html

NEWS: Council demands disclosure on GE salmon assessment
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5426
A media release issued today states that, “PEI groups (have) asked Premier Ghiz to insist that Environment Canada disclose that they have begun an environmental assessment of production of genetically engineered (GE) Atlantic salmon eggs on the Island.”

NEWS: Decision on Great Lakes radioactive shipments by Dec. 22
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5423
The Toronto Star reports that, “An international coalition of environmental groups and community leaders (including the Council of Canadians) will make its final pleas to Canada’s nuclear safety regulator Monday in a last-ditch attempt to stop a controversial plan to ship radiation-laced steel through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.”

NEWS: Nelson chapter sponsors mining justice event
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5421
The Nelson Daily Star reports that, “Canadian mining and human rights in Guatemala will be the topic of a talk by human rights lawyer Grahame Russell this Sunday, Nov. 21 (7 p.m.) at Self Design High. Russell is the co-director of Rights Action, a Canadian NGO long engaged in community development, environment and human rights work throughout Central America. He will provide examples of inspiring, courageous leadership and actions being taken throughout Central America to resist and combat these ills, actions that all of us can take part in, here in Canada.”

NEWS: Indian Affairs cuts water shipments to Constance Lake First Nation
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5418
Last August, the Toronto Star editorial board wrote that, “At the very time Canada was voting against a UN resolution making water a human right, more than 100 aboriginal communities across the country were facing drinking water advisories requiring them to boil their water or rely on emergency deliveries. …That stark statistic has hit home for the 900 Cree and Ojibwa members of the Constance First Lake Nation in northern Ontario, where a state of emergency has been declared because an aging purification plant is unable to ensure a safe water supply.”

NEWS: Maude Barlow, Canada’s tireless agitator
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5414
The Calgary Herald reports today: With tears welling up in her eyes, the Australian farmer looked over her parched fields where she grew rice for a prosperous export market. Rice production, a water-intensive business, was encouraged by the national government that handed out water licences in the 1990s.

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