NucNews - December 24, 2004 -------- NUCLEAR -------- canada Nuclear-waste plan splits Lake Huron community By COLIN PERKEL Canadian Press Friday, December 24, 2004 - Page A12 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041224/ONTNUCLEAR24/TPEnvironment/ A group of residents in and around the scenic Lake Huron town of Kincardine claim that the province's publicly owned electricity generator is bribing the town to support Canada's first permanent burial of radioactive nuclear waste. They also say a planned telephone poll to gauge local backing for the project is a sham and want the provincial government to step in. Under a recent "hosting" agreement with council that critics say was inked in secrecy, Ontario Power Generation will pay Kincardine and four surrounding municipalities more than $35-million over 30 years. The money is conditional on community support for the plan to bury the waste near the shoreline at the Bruce nuclear power plant. "This whole process is ethically and morally reprehensible," said Bob MacKenzie, a businessman in nearby Tiverton. "It smacks of hush money and inappropriate procedure." OPG spokesman John Earl dismissed that statement, saying the project is being advanced on request from the community through its council. "The model for this hosting agreement is a model that is used elsewhere in the world," he said. "It's to have the knowledge that we have a community that is aware of, and supportive of, the process." The $1-billion proposal for a "deep geologic rock repository" would bury low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the province's three main nuclear reactors starting around 2017. It involves building 38 rock vaults 660 metres below ground, then filling them with anything from mop heads and disposable clothing to filters or other contaminated reactor components, some of which stay hazardous for thousands of years. About 62,000 cubic metres of such waste is in surface storage at the Bruce site, and as much as 7,000 more is generated each year. Kincardine Mayor Glenn Sutton said the community "understands the nuclear industry," and permanent burial would protect the health of the 11,000 residents, many of whom benefit economically from the Bruce plant. Environmentalists worry about radiation or surface contaminants poisoning groundwater or Lake Huron. "It's a mistake to put it deep underground," said Dave Martin of Greenpeace. "You simply cannot guarantee the integrity of any deep-rock disposal option." The poll, to be conducted over 10 days next month, will now include all Kincardine adults after complaints that only heads of households would be surveyed. Still, critics say many seasonal residents will be missed, and there is not enough information to make an informed decision. "Support for this agreement shouldn't be based on money," said Jennifer Heisz of the local group Women's Legacy. "It should be based on health and safety studies and appropriate site selection. Those questions have never been addressed." Ms. Heisz's group has begun a petition to the provincial government calling for a full-scale municipal referendum. While an environmental assessment is planned, critics worry it will be neither thorough nor independent. -------- india / pakistan Delhi ‘blocked’ Belgium F-16 deal 24-12-2004 Bahrain Tribune http://www.bahraintribune.com/ArticleDetail.asp?CategoryId=3&ArticleId=55399 Islamabad: Pakistan yesterday criticised India’s defence minister for claiming in a news report that Belgium had decided not to sell used F-16 fighter jets to Islamabad after a request from India. “I don’t know how authentic these claims are but India should stop opposing our legitimate defence needs,” Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said in Islamabad. His comments, aired on Pakistan’s private channel Geo, followed an Indian television report quoting Indian Defence Minister Parnab Mukherjee as saying that Belgium had cancelled the sale of the US-made fighters to Pakistan “given the sensitivity of the geo-political situation in South Asia”. Pakistan sought last year to buy the fighters to augment its existing fleet of F-16 jets, which are capable of carrying all types of nuclear warheads. “India’s huge defence shopping spree has created an imbalance in conventional weapons which must be corrected,” Khan added. India had also expressed concern over reports that the United States was considering selling F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan under a 1.2-billion-dollar defence package it recently approved in return for Islamabad’s crucial support to the ongoing war on terror. “India is buying all sorts of weapons from the United States, Russia, South Africa, France etc., but on the other hand it was trying to prevent Pakistan from buying even the bare minimum defence requirements,” Khan said. He questioned India’s “huge defence purchases” amid the ongoing peace dialogue with Pakistan and New Delhi’s efforts to improve its ties with neighbouring China, with whom it fought a war in 1962. Pakistan and India are currently engaged in talks to resolve their disputes - including Kashmir,with their top foreign diplomats are to meet in Islamabad December 27 for two days to review progress. – dpa -------- iran Russia Says Hopes to Sign Iran Deal in January By REUTERS December 24, 2004 Filed at 9:35 a.m. ET http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-nuclear-russia-iran.html MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia hopes to sign a key deal with Iran in January for the start-up of a Moscow-built nuclear reactor, a senior official said, but diplomats were doubtful after signing has already been delayed for years. Russia and Iran promised the United States -- which says Iran wants to acquire illegal nuclear weapons -- not to start up the Bushehr reactor before they sign a bilateral deal committing Tehran to return all spent nuclear fuel to Russia. But signing has been delayed for years because of what many diplomats say is Russia's indecisiveness over whether it wants to forge warmer ties with Washington. ``I think the contract will be signed in January,'' Alexander Rumyantsev, head of Russia's Atomic Energy Agency, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. ``The probability of that is very high.'' The launch of the Bushehr plant -- slated for late 2005 or early 2006 -- would have to be put off again should the deal not be signed in early 2005, experts say. Iran says it wants the plant solely to generate more electricity. The United States, which believes Iran can make atomic weapons from spent fuel, says sending the material back to Russia is not enough and has urged Russia to ditch the $1 billion project altogether. ``They've delayed signing so many times that frankly, I don't believe they would go ahead and sign it as soon as January,'' said one diplomat in Moscow who follows the issue closely. Russia has long defied U.S. opposition to its construction of Bushehr, and has defended Iran by saying it was impossible to make nuclear weapons using the know-how Russia was providing. But in September, Russia noticeably toughened its stance on Iran and urged its nuclear partner to improve its relations with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. That led to further delays to the signing of the agreement, previously scheduled for November. -------- japan Tohoku Electric begins test run of 1st reactor at Higashidori Japan Today Friday, December 24, 2004 at 11:53 JST http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=4&id=322950 AOMORI — Electric Power Co began a test run of the first reactor at a power plant in the village of Higashidori, Aomori Prefecture, on Friday. The boiling-water reactor is designed to generate 1.1 million kilowatts of electricity. Tohoku Electric said it hopes to begin commercial operations of the reactor next October. The Higashidori plant is the first nuclear power one in Aomori Prefecture and the 17th in Japan. (Kyodo News) -------- korea North Korean demands Japan be excluded from six-way talks SEOUL (AFP) Dec 24, 2004 http://www.spacewar.com/2004/041224091225.n9vpq7rx.html North Korea has threatened to boycott six-party talks on its nuclear weapons program unless Japan is excluded from the negotiating table, reports said Friday. "It has become difficult for (the North) to sit down with Japan at the six-way talks as Japan acts without faith and morality," the North's Central Television Broadcasting Station said late Thursday, in a report monitored by South Korea's Yonhap news agency. Japan is a member of the six-nation talks which also involve the two Koreas, the United States, China and Russia. The talks aimed at persuading North Korea to halt its nuclear weapons drive have stalled after three rounds. Pyongyang boycotted a fourth session planned for September. Tensions have increased between Japan and North Korea after the North last month handed over what it said were the remains of two Japanese kidnapped during the Cold War. Japan says DNA tests proved the ashes are not those of the abductees and on Friday warned the North of a "serious response" unless it comes clean about the fate of 10 kidnap victims. North Korea insists the remains are genuine and has asked for their return. The TV station, the official broadcaster in the Stalinist state, accused Tokyo of fabricating the issue of human remains. -------- russia Russia vows to keep its nuclear superpower status MOSCOW (AFP) Dec 24, 2004 http://www.spacewar.com/2004/041224165225.tssvobra.html Russia will keep pace with the United States in nuclear weapons technology but not in the size of its strategic arsenal, Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said Friday according to Interfax news agency. "In a long historical perspective, nuclear parity will be preserved not only with the United States but also with the other countries with nuclear arms," he was quoted as saying. "I have no doubt about that." He said he was not referring to the "numbers of cluster warheads but the technological potential -- the capacity of cluster warheads for extensive maneuvering, strategic range and high precision". Ivanov also said new long-range, nuclear-capable cruise missiles would be purchased for the country's air force next year. The new missiles had a range of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles). He was speaking after attending a test of the new Topol-M mobile intercontinental missile system at the Plesetsk launch pad in northern Russia. "Today's test brought to completion tests of the Topol-M system," he said, adding that the weapons had been made more accurate and faster to fire. Moscow has said the new missiles would be in service by January 2006 and, with a range of 10,000 kilometres, would be able to penetrate anti-missile defences. Defence officials have said Russian President Vladimir Putin was referring to the Topol-M earlier this month when he claimed Russia was developing weapons systems that "will be different from what anyone else has". ------- Russia disposes of 17 nuclear-powered subs in 2004 - Rumyantsev 24.12.2004, TASS http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1597012&PageNum=0 MOSCOW, December 24 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia disposed of 17 nuclear-powered submarines in 2004, head of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency Alexander Rumyantsev said at a Friday press conference. “Twelve railroad shipments of spent nuclear fuel from reactors of the disposed submarines were made to the Mayak plant,” he said. Zvezda and Zvezdochka plants processed 874 cubic meters of liquid radioactive waste and 1,588 tonnes of solid radioactive waste in northwest Russia. The processed waste was put in temporary casing. -------- u.s. nuc weapons Blue Gene goes nuclear Reuters December 24, 2004, 09:25 GMT http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,39020351,39182234,00.htm Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States are preparing to run simulations on BlueGene/L that would have taken 60,000 years to complete just 10 years ago Leading nuclear scientists with top security clearances will gather next summer at a screening room east of San Francisco and witness the results of the greatest effort ever in supercomputing. Using a computer operating at 360 teraflops, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Lab will simulate the explosion of an ageing nuclear bomb in three dimensions. The short, highly detailed video produced by the world's fastest computer will attempt to illustrate how missiles dating back to the Nixon administration would perform today. "My job... is to ensure that the nuclear weapons in the stockpile are safe and reliable," said Bruce Goodwin, associate director for defence and nuclear technologies. "Safe means no matter what you do to them they don't go off when they are not supposed to. Reliable means that should the president ever have to use one, it will work exactly as it is supposed to." The United States has about 10,000 nuclear warheads. Washington has said that it stopped real nuclear tests in 1992, a year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and it signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996. That ban means that a huge windowless room at Livermore is becoming a prime testing ground in an attempt to ensure nuclear weapons dating back decades have not developed fatal flaws. In a room about half the size of a football pitch, BlueGene/L is a series of interconnected 6-foot-high racks holding 16 modules, each packed with massive computing power. The first part of Blue Gene, built by IBM, became operational in mid-December at 90 teraflops; the rest should be ready by April. Even at its ultimate 360-teraflop speed, the simulation will take two to four months, lab officials say. This same calculation would have taken 60,000 years if done on technology available a decade ago. Some analysts say that as impressive as Blue Gene is, test simulations are not as vital in a post-Cold War world. "Why are we so focused on calculating or knowing the differences in performances of weapons?" asked Christopher Paine, co-director of the nuclear programme at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. "Just as long as we knew we were above a certain threshold, wouldn't that be enough to provide deterrence?" Paine contrasted present US defence needs with those in the Cold War, when planners needed to make sure that nuclear weapons would destroy hardened Soviet targets. "There is less reason to focus on the accuracy of our simulations," he said. "What we need to focus on from a deterrent point of view is just that we have weapons that go off." Nuclear physicist Goodwin responds that negotiated cuts in stockpiles in the years to come without newer replacements make the reliability of any one nuclear bomb more vital. "The question we are asking today is, as the stockpile changes on its own, will it continue to work and be safe?" he asked. Scientists say there is a lot they do not know about the effects of aging on the components of a nuclear bomb: plutonium, uranium, high explosives, plastic and gases. For example, will a bomb's plutonium last 50, 100 or 1,000 years? "They are made out of very corrosive materials," Goodwin said. "Yet the charge from the government is that this warhead -- which is made of these materials which are not happy with each other -- should remain perfectly safe and reliable indefinitely." Another question is how well the software written to simulate the atomic explosion will perform. Even the world's top software engineers routinely release flaws, and critics say nuclear scientists need more oversight. "If this were Microsoft Word, you'd have every hacker in the world trying to find the bugs," Goodwin said. "They're doing quality control for Microsoft in a pejorative sense after the fact. Well, you don't want there to be 1,000 places capable of doing nuclear weapons simulations." He said Livermore's main check came from the US nuclear weapons research lab at Los Alamos in New Mexico. Engineers also do more conventional tests, including taking apart 11 atomic bombs every year, Goodwin said. When the nuclear scientists see the several-minutes-long 3-D simulation from the roughly $100m computer next year, will it prove the most expensive animation ever? No, lab officials say, pointing to the current Hollywood film -- "Polar Express" -- which used computer animation in a production that cost $270m to make and promote. -------- u.s. nuc facilities Florida: City commissions study on nuclear carrier Consultants to find needs and costs Tony Quesada Staff Writer Business Journal of Jacksonville - December 24, 2004 http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2004/12/27/story1.html EXCLUSIVE REPORTS MAYPORT -- The city of Jacksonville has commissioned a study to determine what would need to be done and how much it would cost to make Naval Station Mayport capable of being a home port for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Learning that information is critical in maintaining the economic impact of having a carrier stationed in Jacksonville after the Mayport-based USS John F. Kennedy is decommissioned in 2018, said Dan McCarthy, director of military affairs for the city. The Kennedy -- which will be the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy after the USS Kitty Hawk is retired in 2008 -- has a 3,000-member crew, an annual payroll of $188 million and an operating budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars. "It has been a very important part of the economic climate in the city of Jacksonville," said McCarthy, who applied for state money to fund the study. The City Council and the Mayor's Office each committed $25,000 to supplement a $125,000 grant from the state. In September the city was awarded a $110,000 Defense Reinvestment Grant, but that amount was well short of the city's total request, which included $175,000 for the study and $125,000 for lobbying services. At the time, the city was told the Defense Reinvestment Grant program wasn't intended to pay for the kind of study it wanted but other avenues for funding would be available later. The city learned in November that the state would provide $125,000 with the stipulations that the city contribute $50,000 and that the study be completed by May 1, 2005, McCarthy said. The City Council approved the expenditure as an emergency agenda item during its Dec. 14 meeting. Council member Lad Daniels, who chairs the council's Committee on Military Affairs and International Development, said that although the study is part of the long-term goal of keeping an aircraft carrier stationed in Northeast Florida, it could also factor into the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process. "What we wanted to do at the council was ensure we could go to the people overseeing BRAC and say we are doing everything we can in being proactive for Jacksonville's military facilities," Daniels said. Engineering company Bessent, Hammack & Ruckman Inc. will conduct the study. BHR was chosen because it did a similar study in 1994, concluding it would cost $141.2 million to make Mayport nuclear carrier-capable, including the costs for dredging, new facilities construction and required equipment. "Our job is to come up with a new bottom-line number for what it would take as of today to make a nuclear carrier homeportable at Mayport," said Mike Saylor, president of BHR. "This is about engineering cost estimating and validating of requirements." The prior study will serve as a starting point for the upcoming one, Saylor said. "The first order of business is to get an update on what [the Navy] sees as being the current requirements for a [nuclear-powered carrier] at Mayport," he said. "Has the package of requirements changed since the first study?" Also, Saylor said his team needs to do "a reality check on the requirements we think have been completed." A number of improvements on and off the naval station have taken place since the first study, such as increased shore power capabilities -- needed to run the massive pumps that must continuously circulate water in a nuclear reactor coolant system -- and the Wonderwood Connector, which provides increased access to the base. Saylor said the new study will cost about half what the original study cost, largely because most of the team that worked on the first one is still in place and understands its scope. At the same time, there's a potential new study participant who Saylor hopes will make a considerable impact on its outcome. Recently retired Navy Vice Adm. Albert Konetzni, now living in St. Marys, Ga., is considering working as a consultant on the study. "I think it's worthwhile for a community like Jacksonville to study and look very hard at homeporting a nuclear warship and what it involves," said Konetzni, who commanded the nuclear-powered submarine USS Grayling and later the submarine forces in the Pacific Fleet. "I look forward to learning more about it, and I'd be honored to help. This is a community that has really supported the Navy for a number of years." Saylor hopes to employ Konetzni's operational expertise to help check the validity of the study's data and conclusion. In such a role, Konetzni -- who is being considered for a seat on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- can help dispel potential perceptions regarding his team's objectivity, Saylor said. Navy leaders in Norfolk, Va., and at the Pentagon may look at the results of BHR's study with some skepticism because the company is based here and could be viewed as predisposed to promote Jacksonville, he said. "From the standpoint of having outside oversight, having [Konetzni] comment on our work in an open way will add credibility to the analysis," Saylor said. tquesada@bizjournals.com | 265-2220 -------- iowa Utility to sell Iowa’s only nuclear power plant Corn Belt, in Humboldt, owns 10 percent of nuclear plant By ANDREA MASON Messenger staff writer and The ASSOCIATED PRESS Friday, December 24, 2004 http://www.messengernews.net/top_stories_full.asp?2727 The majority owner of Iowa’s only nuclear power plant announced Wednesday that it plans to sell its stake in the Duane Arnold Energy Center near Palo. Corn Belt Power Cooperative, of Humboldt, owns 10 percent. Corn Belt is a generation and transmission cooperative that provides electricity to rural electrice cooperatives and one municipal electric cooperative in north central Iowa. Interstate Power and Light Co., a subsidiary of Madison, Wis.-based Alliant Energy Corp., owns 70 percent of the plant, which produces enough power to serve about 432,000 homes. In addition, Central Iowa Power Cooperative, of Marion, owns a 20 percent share. The cooperative was made aware of the deal Wednesday, a spokesman said and the board of directors will examine their options at a monthly meeting, Monday. Cornbelt could sell its shares or continue on the path it is now, said Kathy Taylor, the co-op’s vice president of corporate relations. ‘‘It’s a good time,’’ Taylor said, ‘‘for Cornbelt to study its status with ownership of the plant.’’ The plant is one of eight Midwest nuclear plants run by Nuclear Management Co., of Hudson, Wis. ‘‘We have literally put the ‘for sale’ sign in front of Duane Arnold today,’’ said Ryan Stensland, spokesman for Alliant Energy. ‘‘We anticipate the buyer will be someone who specializes in nuclear ownership and operation.’’ Interstate Power and Light said it expects to sell the plant within the next six months, but would continue to rely on power from the plant. ‘‘Nuclear energy will remain a part of our diverse energy portfolio through an agreement to purchase electricity generated by the DAEC,’’ Tom Aller, utility president, said in a statement. He said the sale ‘‘will minimize the financial and operational uncertainty confronting our customers and shareowners as DAEC’s license to operate expires within the next 10 years.’’ A trend within the nuclear power industry to consolidate ownership and operations of nuclear generating plants also was a factor in the decision, company officials said. ‘‘It all boils down to the issue of relicensing Duane Arnold,’’ Stensland said. The Duane Arnold plant, with about 500 employees, was commissioned in 1974. Its operating license expires in 2014. Maureen Brown, spokeswoman for Nuclear Management Co., of Hudson, Wis., said the company will support efforts to sell the plant. ‘‘We will continue to operate Duane Arnold as if we were operating it through the plant’s license life. At such time as the ownership changes hands, we would address any questions at that time,’’ she said. Stensland said the company had to decide whether to relicense the plant, which would take it through 2034, decommission it and take it out of service or sell it. ‘‘It’s our intention to sell the facility to a buyer who would be committed to relicensing that plant. That’s where the uncertainty was for us as a company. We feel it’s in our customers’ and shareowners’ interest to sell Duane Arnold at this time,’’ he said. Stensland said Alliant Energy remains a strong proponent of nuclear energy. ‘‘We strongly support the nuclear industry. We support the concept behind nuclear energy,’’ he said. Stensland said relicensing a plant can take years, he said. ‘‘That’s why we are making the announcement 10 years prior to the licensing expiring,’’ he said Stensland said he had no figures on a possible sale price. ‘‘That’s the next step in the process,’’ he said. Alliant Energy also owns a stake in another nuclear power plant — the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant along Lake Michigan in Carlton, Wis. Earlier this year, Wisconsin state regulators rejected the proposed purchase of the plant by a Virginia-based company for $220 million. -------- new hampshire N-plant shows off ‘Defense in Depth’ By Susan Morse smorse@seacoastonline.com December 24, 2004 Seacoast Online http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/hampton/12242004/news/55713.htm SEABROOK, NH - Seabrook Station unveiled $14 million in security upgrades on Wednesday, in the first media tour of the nuclear power plant since the week after the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "In the days prior to Sept. 11, it was no problem getting groups in here," said spokesman David Barr. The upgrades were mandated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2003, with a completion date of this Oct. 29. The NRC required enhancements to the physical structure, training and employee qualifications and a contingency plan, leaving the implementation up to the individual plants. The $14 million for the new security measures was paid by Seabrook’s owners, FPL Energy Seabrook Station, part of FPL Group, which also includes the subsidiary, Florida Power & Light. In a tour of the grounds, Barr showed the new security systems called "Defense in Depth," layers designed to restrict access to the protected area. A vehicle barrier system, a continuous line of double jersey barricades filled with stone, has been set up to prevent vehicles loaded with explosives from getting close to the plant. Where a parking lot used to be located in front of the main entrance, is now a grassy mall. The plant built a new parking lot for employees beyond the jersey barriers. The barrier can withstand the force of a fully-loaded dump truck, said Barr, calling it, "the great wall of Seabrook." A new vehicle trap has been set up for drivers who need to get onto the protected area. The vehicles are stopped between steel bars and are searched. A second new, inner security fence lines the protected area. The fence ends at the marsh, which is "a natural barrier," said Barr. Elevated guard towers have been added to the perimeter. The focus of the security measures is the nuclear reactor, an 180-foot high dome made of 6 feet of steel reinforced concrete. There are two domes, said Barr, nestled like cups, with 5 feet of air space in between. The actual nuclear fission process takes place underground, in the reactor vessel. Fission produces heat to create steam. On the non-nuclear side of the plant, the steam turns turbines which produce electricity. The radiation released from the process is less than two ten-thousandths of 1 percent a year, said Barr, much less than the 3 percent released from a TV set. A second reactor never went online. Last year Seabrook’s owners removed the rusted dome and replaced it with a new cover. The space between Unit 1 and Unit 2 is the "50-yard line," said Barr. Barr said he could not identify where the spent fuel rods are stored. The waste is supposed to go to the Yucca Mountain storage facility in Nevada. With that plan in litigation, nuclear power plants have been forced to store spent fuel rods in dry storage on site. By 2009, Seabrook’s space will also be full and dry storage will be needed, said Griffith. On a daily basis - in a security measure that has been in place since Seabrook went online - workers pass through an explosive detector, a metal detector and an X-ray machine. Then they go through a hand geometry sensor, which identifies them before being allowed through the turnstile gate. To get a badge, workers must pass a psychological assessment, get an in-depth background check going back three years, an education check, and alcohol and chemical screening tests. The force of over 100 security guards is employed by national contractor Wackenhut. Wackenhut and the nuclear industry has come under fire by nuclear watchdog groups for overtime worked by security guards and turnover of employees. When asked, Barr indicated he didn’t know the amount of security turnover at Seabrook Station. "I’d be making it up," he said. The NRC recently mandated restrictions on the amount of time security can work. "One of the things we clearly monitor is the work hours," said Security Manager John Giarrusso. "The last thing we want to do to is burn out anyone." Seabrook employs more than 600 people, said Griffith, and hires more temporary workers for maintenance during power outages for refueling. Seabrook Station has been operating since 1986. In that time, it has declared nine unusual events - three of them weather-related. The classification is the lowest declared emergency at a nuclear power plant. Seabrook has never declared any higher emergency classification. -------- south carolina All three Oconee Nuclear Station reactors will soon have new steam generators (Seneca-AP) Dec. 24, 2004 http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=2731230&ClientType=Printable Officials at the Oconee Nuclear Station say they are close to replacing steam generators in all three of the station's reactors. Workers installed the 500-ton, 70-foot generators and replaced vessel heads during refueling outages beginning in April 2003. Duke Power decided to replace the vessel heads nearly four years ago after discovering small cracks in the equipment. Station spokeswoman Linda Conley says Unit Three was the last unit to receive the new generator and should be back on line next week. posted 7:58am by Chris Rees -------- virginia Reactor safety gets fresh look Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reviewing safety issues in Dominion Power's proposal for new reactors at North Anna. By RUSTY DENNEN Date published: 12/24/2004 Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2004/122004/12242004/1614989 In the late 1970s, as Virginia Electric and Power Co.'s application to build two nuclear reactors on Lake Anna was wending its way through the regulatory process, safety was a key issue. Now that Dominion Virginia Power (formerly Vepco) is seeking permission to eventually add up to two more reactors at the Louisa County plant, those issues are being revisited by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC staff has issued a draft safety evaluation report as part of Dominion's application for an early site permit. That permit would allow Dominion to resolve site and environmental issues prior to submitting a construction plan and to "bank" a site for 20 years. The NRC is looking at several items that could affect the safe operation of any new reactors. They include: Seismology, geology, meteorology and hydrology. Risks from potential accidents. Security for operations and nuclear materials. Emergency planning. For example, in its initial review of the plant before the first two reactors were built, the NRC conducted an exhaustive study of geological faults and the potential for earthquakes. That study concluded that, although there are faults in the vicinity of the plant, there was nothing serious enough to affect its safe operation. Opponents of the latest application maintain that, among other things, more reactors would add to the tons of highly radioactive spent fuel already stored at the site and be a more inviting target for terrorists. The company says the plant is well protected. The NRC is expected to finish its safety evaluation by June 2005. Earlier this month, the NRC released a draft environmental impact statement which concluded that an early site permit should be issued. Dominion is about midway through the three-year early site permit process. The utility has said it has no immediate plans to add any new reactors at North Anna, only that it wants to have that option in the future. If the early site permit is approved, Dominion would have to obtain a combined construction and operating permit before adding any reactors at the plant. Any new reactors would be built near the existing Units 1 and 2, which sit under thick concrete containment domes overlooking the 13,000-acre lake. Those began operation in 1979 and 1980. The plant was originally designed for four reactors, but Units 3 and 4 were scrapped in the early 1980s. Dominion has 21 days to review the NRC safety report. After that, it will be available for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md., and on NRC's Web site at nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/esp/north-anna.html. To reach RUSTY DENNEN: 374-5431 rdennen@freelancestar.com -------- MILITARY -------- arms Japan eyes joining next-generation stealth jet project: report TOKYO (AFP) Dec 24, 2004 http://www.spacewar.com/2004/041224041143.udvhpwzm.html Japan is considering joining the US-led project to build the world's most advanced combat jet, the F35, after this month ending its decades-old ban on military exports, a newspaper said Friday. A dozen other US allies are already taking part in the Joint Strike Fighter programme including Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore and Turkey. The US government has appointed defence contractor Lockheed Martin to build the F35, which will be a supersonic, multiple-role warplane. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's cabinet, the Defence Agency and the trade ministry will hold further talks over Japan's participation in the programme before seeking approval of the ruling coalition, the Sankei Shimbun said, quoting a defence industry source. "It is now difficult for a single country to be engaged in such development," the unnamed source told the newspaper. A Defence Agency spokesman, however, told AFP the government has not "officially begun consideration of such international military development." Japan cleared the way for such projects by establishing new defence guidelines this month that said the country needed "multi-function, flexible defense capabilities" to deal with new threats such as terrorist and missile attacks. The guidelines ended Japan's self-imposed ban on weapons exports, saying Tokyo could sell missile components to the United States, with other military sales to be reviewed on a case by case basis. A press report on Wednesday said Japan was considering exporting decommissioned destroyers to Singapore and Malaysia. The constitution imposed by US occupiers after World War II said Japan would forever renounce war. Koizumi's government has eyed revising Japan's official pacifism and sent troops on a reconstruction mission to Iraq. ---- US army helicopters, Lockheed's F-16 to part in India air show BANGALORE (AFP) Dec 24, 2004 http://www.spacewar.com/2004/041224171603.wgd9eg32.html US army helicopters and F-16 fighter jets will take part in India's annual air show in the southern city of Bangalore, an Indian Air Force official said Friday. "The US Army has confirmed its participation in the biannual event. It will showcase its helicopters for static and flying display," Air Commodore Satish Pal Singh told reporters. He added that US-based Lockheed Martin would showcase one or two F-16 fighters. The Aero India show is billed as one of the largest air shows in South Asia. About 200 firms from 25 countries are expected to display their products and technologies in the military and commercial sectors during the five-day show. "Till date, 78 aviation and aerospace firms from different countries have confirmed their presence at the mega event. By January-end, we will have a complete list of participants and the representative countries," Singh said. Top-of-the-line Russian fighter planes including Sukhois, MiG-29 and MiG-21 jets and transport aircraft will participate along with the French-built Mirage 2000 and several European commercial and business jets. India's state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will display its Light Combat Aircraft and helicopters. "The event will serve as a platform for all the stakeholders in the aviation and aerospace industries serving the military and civilian markets," Singh said. Gulf Stream, Dassault, Northrop Grumma, Tashkent Aviation Corporation, Raytheon, Bell Aviation, Embraer, Boeing and Airbus Industries have already confirmed they will take part. The first Aero India show was held in 1996 and next year's expo will be the fifth. ---- Indian delegation makes secret visit to Israel: report JERUSALEM (AFP) Dec 24, 2004 http://www.spacewar.com/2004/041224133318.bxeqnmnj.html A high-level Indian delegation on Friday completed a secret visit to Israel focused on arms sales and the fight against terror, Haaretz newspaper reported in its online edition. The delegation met Israel's Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz and the director general of his ministry, Amos Yaron, the paper said. Last August, top Israeli military research official U.K. Atre said that India and Israel were planning to produce together a strategic ballistic missile. After decades of cold relations, India and Israel have established strong military ties, illustrated by New Delhi's purchase of Israel's Phalcon advanced air warning system. -------- russia / chechnya Putin Lashes Out At U.S. and E.U. Ukraine Stance Angers Russian Leader By Peter Finn Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, December 24, 2004; Page A08 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A21917-2004Dec23?language=printer MOSCOW, Dec. 23 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the United States and the European Union of employing "double standards" in disputing the results of last month's Ukrainian presidential elections. At his traditional year-end news conference, Putin emphasized Russia's good relations with the United States but questioned U.S. and European support for a Ukrainian Supreme Court decision overturning the results of the recent Ukrainian vote because of what the court deemed to be widespread fraud. The winner of that election was supported by Moscow, while the loser had advocated closer ties with Europe and the United States. A new election is to be held Sunday. "Do you think that the electoral system in the United States is without flaws?" Putin said. "Need I remind you of how their elections were held in the United States?" Putin compared the Ukrainian case to charges of voter fraud in Afghanistan in the presidential election in October, when Hamid Karzai, the U.S.-backed candidate, was elected in that country's first free presidential ballot. But U.S. and European Union monitors said Ukraine ballot fraud was far reaching, while Afghan irregularities were considered relatively minor. The Russian leader spoke for three hours with flashes of anger and wry jabs at critics of Russian policy. Among other topics, Putin said that his government had acted legally in selling Yuganskneftegaz, a key asset of the besieged Yukos oil giant, for $9.3 billion to recover some of the billions the government says the company owes in back taxes. The action effectively nationalized the Siberian oil operation, which produces about 1 million barrels daily, or 11 percent of Russia's total oil output. Putin also questioned the U.S. and European position on recent voting in the conflict-torn Russian republic of Chechnya, where the Kremlin-backed candidate, Alu Alkhanov, won the presidency in August. The United States found what it called "serious flaws" in those elections. In comparison, Putin cited planned Jan. 30 elections in U.S.-occupied Iraq. Putin said he had "strong doubts about the possibility of holding democratic elections in conditions where the country is fully occupied by foreign troops." Putin focused on Sunday's vote in Ukraine, a rematch between opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, a pro-Western candidate, and the pro-Russian candidate, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. The Russian leader came close to an acknowledgment, already expressed privately by Kremlin advisers, that Yushchenko would win. Putin said he anticipated good relations with Yushchenko and was open to an immediate visit from him. Yushchenko has said he wants the Kremlin to be his first official destination if he wins, but Putin warned the candidate that he should be careful about who would serve in his administration. "We expect, though, that among the people surrounding Mr. Yushchenko, there will be no people who base their political ambitions on anti-Russia" or anti-Semitic slogans, Putin said. Putin had originally misspoken by using the word Zionism instead of anti-Semitic, Echo Moskvy radio reported Thursday night. Putin also criticized a recent statement by President Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland, who said that for the United States, "Russia without Ukraine is better than Russia with Ukraine." Kwasniewski has been mentioned as a possible secretary general of NATO. Putin noted that Kwasniewski is a former Communist, saying he remembered him as a member of the Young Communist League, the Komsomol. "If this is interpreted as an intention to limit Russia's ability to develop relations with its neighbors . . . that amounts to a wish to isolate the Russian federation," he said. Putin added that he did not think Kwasniewski was speaking on behalf of the United States. Putin said he would ask President Bush about the statement when the leaders meet in February. He said that Bush was a "decent man" and that the United States and Russia were allies in the war on terrorism. Kremlin political consultant Sergei Markov said in an interview before the news conference that Putin was worried about alleged anti-Russian sentiment among Yushchenko's team. Putin defended the acquisition of the company that won the auction for the Yukos subsidiary by Rosneft, a government-controlled company. He said the privatization of many state-run companies after the dismantling of the Soviet Union had been illegal. "You all know very well how privatization took place here in the 1990s and how, using various tricks, and sometimes violating the laws that were in effect at the time, many market participants got hold of state property worth many billions," Putin said. "Today, the state, using absolutely legal market mechanisms, is securing its interests. I consider this to be quite normal." He derided a ruling by a bankruptcy judge in Houston last week, after Yukos filed for Chapter 11 protection there. The company sought to prevent the auction of the oil fields, and the judge barred the Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom from bidding. The asset will now likely fall to Gazprom anyway, because the state plans to fold Rosneft into Gazprom, leaving the government with a controlling interest in the new company. Putin said he was "amazed" by the decision of the Houston judge, who granted Yukos a temporary injunction barring the sale. "I'm not even sure that [the judge] knows where Russia is located," he said. Yukos officials said Thursday they would continue to pursue legal action following the auctioning of Yuganskneftegaz. But analysts said the government purchase could be protected from litigation under the principle of sovereign immunity. "They did not even bother to attempt to hide their contempt for international law, international public opinion, or majority and minority shareholders," said Group Menatep, which owns 53 percent of Yukos, in a statement after Putin's news conference. -------- space Plutonium powered space craft launched Titan probe this evening Source: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Date: 2004-12-24 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041222231310.htm European Space Agency's Huygens Probe Set To Detach From Cassini Orbiter The highlights of the first year of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn can be broken into two chapters: first, the arrival of the Cassini orbiter at Saturn in June, and second, the release of the Huygens probe on Dec. 24, 2004, on a path toward Titan. The Huygens probe, built and managed by the European Space Agency (ESA), is bolted to Cassini and fed electrical power through an umbilical cable. It has been riding along during the nearly seven-year journey to Saturn largely in a "sleep" mode, awakened every six months for three-hour instrument and engineering checkups. In three days, it will be cut loose from its mother ship and will coast toward Saturn's moon Titan, arriving on Jan. 14, 2005. "As partners with ESA, one of our obligations was to carry the Huygens probe to Saturn and drop it off at Titan," said Robert T. Mitchell, Cassini program manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We've done the first part, and on Christmas Eve we will release Huygens and tension-loaded springs will gently push it away from Cassini onto a ballistic free-fall path to Titan." Once freed from Cassini, the Huygens probe will remain dormant until the onboard timer wakes it up shortly before the probe reaches Titan's upper atmosphere on Jan. 14. Then it will begin a dramatic plunge through Titan's murky atmosphere, tasting the chemical makeup and composition as it descends to touch down on its surface. The data gathered during this 2-1/2 hour descent will be transmitted from the probe to the Cassini orbiter. Afterward, Cassini will point its antenna to Earth and relay the data through NASA's Deep Space Network to JPL and on to ESA's Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany, which serves as the operations center for the Huygens probe mission. From this control center, ESA engineers will be tracking the probe and scientists will be standing by to process the data from the probe's six instruments. Currently, both the orbiter and the probe are on an impact trajectory with Titan. This is the only way to ensure that Cassini delivers the probe in the right location. A confirmation of successful release is expected to be received from NASA's Deep Space Network tracking stations at Madrid, Spain and Goldstone, Calif., shortly before 8:00 p.m. PST on Dec. 24. A team of JPL engineers and ESA mission managers will be monitoring spacecraft activities at JPL during the release phase of the mission. On Dec. 27, the Cassini orbiter will perform a deflection maneuver to keep it from following Huygens into Titan's atmosphere. This maneuver will also establish the required geometry between the probe and the orbiter for radio communications during the probe descent. Two of the instruments on ESA's Huygens probe, the descent imager and spectral radiometer camera and the gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, are contributions from NASA and American academia. The imaging camera will take advantage of the Huygens probe's rotation, using two imagers to observe the surface of Titan during the late stages of descent for a view of the regions around the impact site. A side-looking imager will view the horizon and the underside of any cloud deck. More than just a camera, the instrument is designed to measure concentrations of argon and methane in the atmosphere and determine the size and density of particles. The instrument will also determine if the local surface is a solid or liquid, and if solid, its topography. The principal investigator is Dr. Martin G. Tomasko of the University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. Although Titan's atmosphere is primarily nitrogen and methane, scientists believe it contains many other gases that are present only in small amounts. These trace gases can reveal critical details about the origin and evolution of Titan's atmosphere. Because trace gases are rare, they are difficult or impossible to observe remotely, so direct measurements must be made. The gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer instrument will sample gas directly from Titan's atmosphere as the Huygens probe descends by parachute. Data from the instrument will allow researchers to investigate the chemical composition, origin and evolution of the atmosphere of Titan. The instrument was designed and built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and is led by the principal investigator, Dr. Hasso Niemann. Updates on the Huygens probe release will be available at: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter. The European Space Agency built and managed the development of the Huygens probe and is in charge of the probe operations. The Italian Space Agency provided the high-gain antenna, much of the radio system and elements of several of Cassini's science instruments. Editor's Note: The original news release can be found here. This story has been adapted from a news release issued by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. -------- spies An Intelligence Gap Hinders U.S. in Iraq By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, December 24, 2004; Page A14 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A23204-2004Dec23?language=printer While insurgents in Iraq have placed informants inside the Iraqi government, the U.S. and Iraqi militaries, coalition contractors, and international news organizations, the United States is having serious intelligence problems in Iraq, according to sources inside and outside the U.S. government. The CIA and the U.S. military were slow to start creating intelligence networks in Iraq and have had trouble developing informants because of death threats to Iraqis and their families should they get involved, the sources said. "The insurgents have good sources in the Iraqi interim government and sometimes in local U.S. and coalition [military] commands," according to Anthony H. Cordesman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies and a former Pentagon official, who this week published a study titled "Strengthening Iraqi Military and Security Forces." "As in most insurgencies," writes Cordesman, " 'sympathizers' within the Iraqi government and Iraqi forces, as well as the Iraqis working for the coalition, media and NGOs [nongovernmental organizations], often provide excellent human intelligence without violently taking part in the insurgency." Two recent events illustrate the problem. Last week, U.S. military and Iraqi forces raided the Baghdad offices of Iraqna, a mobile telephone service company, and seized the computers of two Egyptian security managers suspected of aiding the insurgents. On Wednesday, the Pentagon disclosed that the blast that killed 22 people at a U.S. military base outside Mosul on Tuesday was most likely set off by an insurgent who had penetrated the base. In preparing his study, Cordesman, who specializes in the Middle East, visited Iraq and the Persian Gulf area repeatedly in the past two years and talked to U.S. intelligence experts, military officers and embassy officials, some in the past two weeks. He and others note that the situation in Iraq is similar to what occurred almost 40 years ago in Vietnam, in that, as Cordesman puts it, local residents "are often pushed into providing data [to insurgents] because of family ties, a fear of being on the losing side, direct and indirect threats, etc." As in Vietnam, he says, there is in Iraq "the sense that as various insurgent factions organize, they steadily improve their intelligence and penetration of [coalition] organizations." The same pressures hamper the U.S. effort to gain intelligence. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said to reporters on Wednesday: "The enemy's got a brain. . . . As things happen on the ground, they see what we do to respond to it. They then change their tactics. And intimidation is the kind of thing that can prevent people from providing intelligence" to coalition forces. In Iraq, the CIA has the main responsibility for collecting intelligence on broad questions such as the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and where its support comes from, while the U.S. military is primarily concerned with protecting the troops and their equipment. The Iraq Survey Group -- a Pentagon unit that originally was assigned the task of finding weapons of mass destruction under the direction of the CIA director's representative -- is now primarily looking into the insurgency problem, according to a Pentagon intelligence official. The Pentagon's intelligence operations are directed primarily at what is termed "force protection" and have used such battlefield tools as remotely piloted vehicles, such as the Predator, or devices that pick up signals intelligence. These were quickly countered by the insurgents, who began using couriers and the Internet for their communications instead of cell phones. They also halted bank transfers and the reliance on charities and turned instead to drug sales and theft for funding, Cordesman and other sources say. "U.S. intelligence is optimized around characterizing, counting and targeting things rather than people," Cordesman says. "U.S. dependence on Iraqi translators and intelligence sources is a key area of U.S. vulnerability and one the insurgents have learned to focus on." Although Cordesman concludes that "U.S. human intelligence is improving," he says it is "hurt badly" by the rapid turnover and rotation of CIA case officers and military personnel, commonly after less than a year in Iraq. In addition, he finds that there are "serious quality and loyalty problems" among the Iraqi informants. -------- POLICE / PRISONERS / COURTS / JUSTICE -------- homeland security / national intelligence Inauguration threats Inside the Ring December 24, 2004 Washington Times By Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041223-104022-5789r.htm U.S. officials say security will be heightened for President Bush's inauguration on Jan. 20. Intelligence officials say the main worry is that terrorists will attack with car bombs or other homemade explosives. "There's no specific intelligence of a terrorist threat to the inauguration," one official said. But the threat from what officials call "IEDs," or improvised explosive devices, and "VBIEDs" or vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, is a security danger, primarily along the presidential parade route from the Capitol to the White House. "It's a proven method of attack, as we've seen in Iraq," the official said. Mr. Bush will travel by motorcade, or possibly on foot, after the swearing in and speech on the Capitol steps. The route normally goes down Pennsylvania Avenue and around the block to the White House. Security measures will include special electronic-jamming equipment that could disrupt remote-control electronic signals that might be sent to a bomb planted along the route. Vehicle traffic and parking also will be strictly monitored and limited along and near the parade route, to preclude a car-bomb attack. ---- U.S. air marshals dodge 'suit Nazis' December 24, 2004 By Audrey Hudson THE WASHINGTON TIMES http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041223-104021-4191r.htm Some federal air marshals are playing a high-tech game of hide-and-seek to dodge supervisors from inspecting their attire and ensuring compliance with a mandatory dress code. "The 'suit Nazis' are out there, so the guys are hiding," said one senior official with the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS)."It's sort of an underground operation." The official said air marshals are turning off their government-issued cell phones so supervisors can't find them for wardrobe inspections, and instead are using personal phones and beepers to send warnings when supervisors approach. "It's crazy, and it sounds funny, but it's scary what the guys are having to do to dodge the suit Nazis," the official said. "There is such a rift between the management and employees. They view us as the enemy, rather than al Qaeda." The crackdown to force the undercover officers to wear suits or sports coats, even on weekend or holiday travel, came after Thanksgiving Day, said senior officials and air marshals. FAMS Director Tom Quinn paid a visit to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that day to thank officers, but reportedly became angry when 28 marshals deplaned and only one was wearing a coat. Washington officials, however, say only a minority were not dressed properly. Field offices were ordered to issue memos threatening disciplinary action for ignoring the dress code and marshals were told they would be suspended if caught flying without wearing the required coat. Marshals call the incident the "Thanksgiving Day Massacre," and many still refuse to dress in a manner they say exposes them to terrorists. Marshals say it is especially ridiculous to wear suits on Christmas or New Year's Eve to most destinations. National Directive FLT 6002, which establishes "standards of dress required of federal air marshals," was issued by Mr. Quinn on May 9, 2002, and says marshals must wear "a business suit or sport coat with dress pants and tie, or sports coat with dress pants and collared shirt." FAMS spokesman Dave Adams says the supervisors were not assigned to airports to nail marshals for how they dress, but to ensure they do their job. "The purpose is not to watch what people wear, but to supervise and be at the airport. They can't supervise from behind their desks," Mr. Adams said. He added that the memos admonishing marshals for not adhering to the policies and the assignment of supervisors from every field office to airports has been rescinded. But officials and marshals say the memos have not been revoked and report daily interactions with supervisors to inspect their wardrobe. The House Judiciary Committee has an open inquiry into the dress code. That all may be moot because wardrobe changes were included in the intelligence reform bill signed by President Bush last week. One Judiciary Committee staffer said it is too soon to expect the dress code to be modified according to the legislation's standards, but changes to ease the strict code are expected. "Our job is to make sure the public is safe and that law enforcement is effective in their mission," the staff member said. One marshal said he was approached by a supervisor who was not wearing the required jacket, and was told his jacket was not up to policy. Another air marshal, who preboarded a plane as procedure dictates, was ordered out of the airplane bathroom for a suit inspection before takeoff, another marshal said. "They exposed him by knocking on the door and saying they needed to see his suit coat," the air marshal said. "They are jeopardizing everyone's safety over this. It's getting worse and worse." ---- Another official quits Homeland Security December 24, 2004 By Shaun Waterman UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041223-104020-8034r.htm The homeland security official charged with the complex task of cataloguing the nation's potential terrorist targets and working out which are most at risk announced yesterday that he was stepping down. Frank Libutti, the undersecretary for information analysis and infrastructure protection, is the latest in a lengthening line of senior officials to announce their departure from the troubled department since Secretary Tom Ridge said at the beginning of the month that he was leaving. Department spokeswoman Michelle Petrovich said Mr. Libutti will leave Feb. 1, or as soon as a replacement is confirmed by the Senate. Mr. Ridge's scheduled departure is also Feb. 1. Miss Petrovich said Mr. Libutti was leaving to spend more time with his family and had no future career plans. "He is keeping all his options open," she said. Mr. Libutti, a charismatic Vietnam combat veteran and retired Marine Corps general with an aggressive public-speaking style and a penchant for sartorial flare, brought a unique style to the post. At a now-storied presentation for private-sector executives, he stunned delegates by mounting the stage to the strains of the theme song from "Rocky" and then proceeding to perform one-armed push-ups. But the Marine-turned-police officer sometimes had his work cut out for him in Congress, where the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate he headed was the element of the department that faced the most glaring scrutiny and harshest criticism. "Things haven't gone well there," said one private-sector executive who has had extensive dealings with the department. The executive added that some officials are frustrated by the pace of work on the gargantuan task of cataloguing the nation's hundreds of thousands of potential terror targets and integrating the data with intelligence about terrorist plans. John Gannon, the staff director for the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, added that the directorate's information-analysis operation was "one of the biggest challenges" for officials at the department. "Congressional oversight is likely to be aggressive on the department's intelligence role," Mr. Gannon said in a recent interview. The department, Mr. Gannon said, needs resources and connectivity with the intelligence community. Deputy Secretary Jim Loy announced his departure earlier this week. Mr. Loy is slated to leave March 1. So did Sue Mencer, who oversees the department's grants programs, as well as its relations to first responders and state and local governments. And others might flee the department. The executive said both of Mr. Libutti's principal deputies — Assistant Secretary for Information Analysis Pat Hughes and his counterpart, Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection Robert Liscouski — want to leave. Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security, has been widely considered a candidate to replace Mr. Ridge. However, it has been reported that Mr. Hutchinson was ready to leave after the nomination of Bernard Kerik to start a run for governor of Arkansas. -------- ENERGY China, Venezuela sign energy deal Friday 24 December 2004 5:11 AM GMT by Reuters http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3B9011F5-5889-4153-984E-7B39AE0FA877.htm Chavez is seeking to lower the dependence on the US market Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered China wide access to his country's vast energy resources, including oilfields and the possibility of increased direct crude supplies. The offers were contained in a bilateral energy accord signed in Beijing late on Thursday following talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao, the presidential press office in Caracas said. Under the deal, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) will work with Venezuela's ministry of energy and mining, the Chinese foreign ministry said. The oil agreements were among a series of deals signed with the aim of deepening cooperation in energy and mining resources. Diversification drive China is keen to secure a steady supply of raw materials to fuel its booming economy while Venezuela wants to diversity its markets. Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter, ships more than half its daily oil output to the US, but since taking office the leftist Chavez has sought to reduce its economic dependence on the nearby US market. "Venezuela is making a major energy offer to China because China has become the world's second biggest energy importer," the Venezuelan president said in Beijing on Thursday. Change of policy Energy-hungry China is also keen to diversify its energy imports away from the volatile Middle East by striking exploration and supply deals in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. China became a net importer of oil in the mid-1990s. Imports now account for more than one-third of the country's oil and gas consumption. Under the deal signed in Beijing, Venezuela has authorised Chinese firms operating oilfields in the South American nation to start producing associated gas along with crude oil. This gas would be sold locally to power basic industries. China National Petroleum Corporation already operates two Venezuelan fields, Intercampo Norte and Caracoles. Orimulsion plant Venezuela also offered an agreement to supply 120,000 barrels of fuel oil a month to China. According to Chavez, Chinese firms will be allowed to exploit 15 mature oil fields at Zumano in the east of the country, where he estimated reserves of more than a billion barrels. "Most of that oil will go to China," the Venezuelan statement quoted him as saying. The two nations were also continuing a venture to build a plant in Venezuela to produce orimulsion, Venezuela's trademark boiler fuel. It would be ready in September 2005 and would produce six million tonnes a year for China, Chavez said. -------- ACTIVISTS Israeli nuclear whistleblower arrested en route to Christmas mass JERUSALEM (AFP) Dec 24, 2004 http://www.spacewar.com/2004/041224203104.ntc3v8bg.html Israeli police detained nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu Friday as he headed to Christmas Eve mass in the West Bank town of Bethlehem carrying a Santa hat, a spokesman said. "We arrested him when he travelled to Bethlehem despite the restrictions imposed on him," said spokemsan Shmuel Ben Ruby. "He had with him a Father Christmas hat." Vanunu, 50, converted to Christianity during 18 years' imprisonment imposed after he leaked details of Israel's secret nuclear arsenal to a British weekly newspaper. Since his release last April, he has spent most of his time at Jerusalem's St George's Anglican cathedral. ---- No room for nuns at right's inn By Jim Spencer Denver Post Columnist Friday, December 24, 2004 http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E27772%257E2616042,00.html "God's act of hope and love birthed the Son, Jesus Christ, as Light into darkness, two thousand years ago. That same hope, love, and light is shining forth within us as we nourish these gifts daily. A blessed Advent and Christmas be yours for your journey into and through the New Year 2005." Those words could have come on a Christmas card from Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput or any of their right-wing Republican religious cronies. Instead, the words came from the December newsletter of Ardeth Platte, a radical nun cooling her heels in federal prison in Connecticut for banging a hammer and spreading her blood on a nuclear missile silo in northern Colorado. Platte's thoughts on the eve of America's big religious holiday serve as a reminder. Despite what the religious right likes to suggest, Christianity should operate under a very big tent. Platte and her anti-nuke co-defendants, Carol Gilbert and Jackie Hudson, personify Christian goodness as well as any of the "morality" voters who claim credit for George Bush's re-election. Platte, Gilbert and Hudson paid for their faith with their freedom. A federal judge in Denver gave Hudson 30 months, Gilbert 33 months and Platte 41 months in prison for doing what they believe Jesus demands. The nuns' sacrifice puts the lie to Chaput's holier-than-you proclamation that "real" Catholics vote only for political candidates who are against abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. In the most recent election, Chaput's edict meant "real" Catholics could vote only Republican. Had the government not wasted thousands of your tax dollars and mine locking up Platte, Gilbert and Hudson, the Catholic sisters likely would not have voted that way. By Chaput's measure, this seems to call into question the nuns' Christian convictions. Ditto for Dobson. His idea of a "moral victory for America" seems to include no one who isn't a conservative Republican or an evangelical Christian. Peacenik revolutionaries who devote their lives to protesting weapons and wars aren't on the short list. And that's where Chaput's and Dobson's concept of closed-door Christianity breaks down. Members of the religious right say they won this presidential election. Now, by God, they're going to turn their faith into public policy because they believe it's the way to salvation for all. You see it in federal funding of Christian charities that may ban non-Christians from their staffs. You see it in biblical creationism taught as science alongside evolution. All this gets done in Jesus' name. But the nuclear nuns gather their strength and conviction from Christ, too. And the idea that conservative Christians are morally superior to Platte, Gilbert and Hudson is sacrilege. Besides remaining "in awe of the grace of God," as Platte says in her July newsletter, here's how these menaces to society spend their time in stir. "The opportunity to grow in nonviolence presents itself daily in the person of the most abusive guard I've ever encountered," Hudson wrote in a newsletter from prison in California. There are "many opportunities to practice the gospel message of love and forgiveness." From a West Virginia prison, Gilbert reports that she just finished knitting "25 pairs of mittens, 2 sweaters, 5 hats, 3 scarves, 2 pairs of slouch socks, 1 shawl and 1 lap blanket" for distribution to the poor and to a nursing home. She also reports that when she's released from prison, federal probation officers want to send her to a homeless shelter in Colorado rather than Jonah House, a community of nonviolent peace protesters in Maryland. That's what happens when you shrink the big tent of Christianity into a pup tent. For all its lip service to piety, it seems Gilbert's country would rather see her begging than doing God's work. Jim Spencer's column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 303-820-1771 or jspencer@denverpost.com.