NucNews - July 5, 2005 -------- NUCLEAR Thorium Fuels Safer Reactor Hopes By Amit Asaravala 02:00 AM Jul. 05, 2005 PT Wired http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68045,00.html Fueling nuclear reactors with the element thorium instead of uranium could produce half as much radioactive waste and reduce the availability of weapons-grade plutonium by as much as 80 percent. But the nuclear power industry needs more incentives to make the switch, experts say. Scientists have long considered using thorium as a reactor fuel -- and for good reason: The naturally occurring element is more abundant, more efficient and safer to use than uranium. Plus, very little of it breaks down into plutonium as it is used, meaning that governments have access to less material for making nuclear weapons. But design challenges and a Cold War-era interest in using nuclear waste byproducts in atomic bombs pushed the industry to use uranium as its primary fuel. Now, as governments look to prevent the proliferation of nuclear arms and as environmentalists want to reduce the volume of nuclear waste building up around the world, thorium is again drawing attention. Over the past several years, studies in the United States and Russia have yielded solutions to some of the issues that troubled earlier researchers. And in January, India -- which has the world's second largest reserve of thorium behind Australia --announced it would begin testing the safety of a design of its own. The anticipated surge in demand for thorium has led at least one mining company to begin buying as many thorium deposits and stockpiles as it can. "We feel that it's inevitable that the U.S. and other countries in the world -- India of course -- will exclusively use thorium in the future," said Novastar Director of Strategic Planning Seth Shaw. But there's just one problem: The nuclear power industry has already built its infrastructure around uranium and has little reason to invest in changing it, according to Mujid Kazimi, director of MIT's Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems. "This is a market economy so the economics will have to be in favor for thorium to move that way," said Kazimi. "It could take another 50 years for us to reach the level where uranium prices are so high that thorium looks attractive." As an interim solution, the United States could change the way it charges power plants for the nuclear waste that they produce, said Kazimi. Currently, waste fees are calculated as a fraction of the cost of the electricity that is produced by the fuel. Kazimi proposes charging by the volume of plutonium instead, so as to discourage its creation. "Right now, it doesn't matter how large the fuel waste is," said Kazimi. "But if the government comes in and says we're going to increase fees in terms of waste in proportion to plutonium content, that will push for thorium." Seth Grae, president of nuclear fuel development firm Thorium Power, said he supported the idea in principle. But he cautioned that it wouldn't be fair if the change resulted in an overall fee increase. "Power plant operators decided to build and run their reactors based on one cost, and you can't just change the rules on them," he said. Grae suggested that public-private partnerships could provide a better alternative by funding the development of new technologies and showing the benefits of thorium in action. For instance, Thorium Power has been working with Russian researchers to find ways to dispose of stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium by burning it in thorium reactors. In March, the House voted to give $5 million to the project. If such demonstrations aren't enough to encourage thorium use, Grae noted that the change could be driven by customers from the bottom up. As deregulation allows multiple electric providers to compete in a region, customers are increasingly getting to choose where to spend their money. This means customers can essentially use their money to vote for companies that invest in responsible technologies, said Grae. The tactic has worked before. For instance, in the 1980s the tuna industry switched to fishing methods that killed fewer dolphins after consumers stopped buying cans missing the "dolphin safe" label. "When customers choose who their electric provider is, that's a very powerful thing," said Grae. ---- How Nuclear Power Works By Amit Asaravala Wired 02:00 AM Jul. 05, 2005 PT http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,68074,00.html Why use nuclear power? Unlike burning fossil fuels, using nuclear fission to generate electricity produces no soot or greenhouse gases. This helps keep the skies clean and doesn't contribute to global warming. The World Nuclear Association estimates that the electricity industry would add 2.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year if it used coal power instead of nuclear. Some governments also like nuclear power because it reduces their dependency on foreign oil. Finally, the fuel used to power nuclear reactors is very compact in comparison to fossil fuels. For instance, one pound of uranium can supply the same energy as 3 million pounds of coal. This makes it attractive for use in nuclear-powered vehicles like submarines, aircraft carriers and spacecraft. How much of the world's electricity comes from nuclear power? Sixteen percent of the world's electricity is supplied by nuclear power, according to the World Nuclear Association. The electricity is produced by 440 nuclear reactors in 31 countries. The United States has the most reactors with a total of 104, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The reactors are responsible for producing nearly 20 percent of the country's electricity. The country that gets the highest percentage of its electricity from nuclear power is France. Its 59 reactors generate more than 78 percent of its electricity. How does a nuclear power plant produce electricity? A nuclear power plant is basically a steam power plant that is fueled by a radioactive element, like uranium. The fuel is placed in a reactor and the individual atoms are allowed to split apart. The splitting process, known as fission, releases great amounts of energy. This energy is used to heat water until it turns to steam. From here, the mechanics of a steam power plant take over. The steam pushes on turbines, which force coils of wire to interact with a magnetic field. This generates an electric current. Why does splitting a uranium atom release energy? The answer has to do with Einstein's most famous equation -- E=mc² -- which essentially says that energy is directly related to mass. Under the right conditions, a uranium atom will split into two smaller atoms and throw off two or sometimes three neutrons in the process. (Neutrons are the glue that hold atoms together.) The combined mass of these resulting particles tends to be roughly 99.9 percent of the mass of the original uranium atom. The other 0.1 percent of the original mass got converted to energy, as Einstein described. The energy is released in the form of gamma rays. These rays are similar to X-rays and can cause burns, cancer and genetic mutations in living things. They can be slowed or stopped with thick walls of concrete, lead or packed dirt. Where do the extra neutrons go when the atom splits? The neutrons hit other atoms in the reactor core, starting a chain reaction. Initially, about 3 or 4 percent of the uranium atoms are uranium-235 -- the same as the first set of atoms that split. If these atoms are hit with neutrons, they split readily and throw off more energy and neutrons. But the other 96 or 97 percent of the uranium atoms in the core initially are of a type that is hard to split, known as uranium-238. If hit with a neutron, a uranium-238 atom will absorb the neutron and eventually turn into plutonium-239. It's not until these plutonium atoms are hit again with more neutrons that they finally split and release energy. What is nuclear waste? Nuclear waste is the spent nuclear fuel from a reactor. The fuel is considered spent when the fission byproducts -- the atoms left over from the splitting process -- prevent free neutrons from splitting more uranium or plutonium. It takes three or four years to get to this point in the process. The waste is highly radioactive, so it must be stored in steel-lined concrete pools or in dry caskets. As of 2003, nuclear reactors in the United States had created about 49,000 tons of waste, according to the Department of Energy. Some countries, like Japan and France, reprocess their nuclear waste to extract the unspent uranium-235 and plutonium-239. This can be returned to use in nuclear power plants or used to create a nuclear bomb. The United States has not reprocessed nuclear waste since the 1970s. Instead, the country hopes eventually to bury all its waste deep in Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert, where officials believe the waste will not be able to leak into the environment. What are thorium-fueled reactors, and how are they different from uranium-fueled reactors? Scientists are trying to perfect ways to use the element thorium to fuel reactors instead of uranium because it is three times more abundant in nature. It also leaves behind less nuclear waste, and that waste is harder to exploit for use in nuclear weapons. Also, thorium reactors produce less waste because, in a nuclear chain reaction, thorium atoms break down into fewer unusable atoms than does uranium. In addition, with the right design, thorium-fueled reactors generate 80 percent fewer plutonium-239 atoms -- a key ingredient in atomic bombs. The reactors do produce another possible weapons material, uranium-233, but it is difficult to separate from the other, highly radioactive uranium isotopes that surround it. In fact, a thorium-fueled reactor could actually eat up existing stockpiles of plutonium by using it as a "seed" fuel. A seed is necessary because it's harder to start a nuclear chain reaction with thorium than with uranium. Say, what does uranium cost these days, anyway? The average price for a pound of "yellowcake" uranium in 2004 was $12.61, according to the Energy Information Administration. Yellowcake, however, must be turned into a gas and enriched to produce the quality of uranium required for a nuclear reactor. -------- accidents and safety Tiny Filament Seen As Culprit In April Shutdown At Millstone Associated Press July 5, 2005 http://wb20.trb.com/news/hc-ap-millstone-shutdown-0705,0,3175673.story?coll=wtxx-news-3 WATERFORD, Conn. -- A thin filament of metal, barely visible to the eye, was the culprit in an electrical short that forced the Millstone Power Station to shut in April, technicians have found. The presence of the filament, known as a "tin whisker," is the focus of a study by engineering experts at the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission that could result in a notice alerting the industry, The Day of New London reported Monday. Dominion, the plant's owner, has notified reactor owners in the United States and abroad. During the first 24 hours of the nuclear reactor shutdown at Millstone on April 17, technicians zeroing in on a computer malfunction were stumped. Two technicians for Dominion and their supervisor, Timothy Reyher, figured out that a computer circuit card had signaled an unsafe drop in pressure in the reactor's steam system, as if a break in a steam line occurred. The condition led safety systems to automatically shut down the reactor as intended and brought the electric generator to a halt. The plant was not restarted for two weeks. Reyher said the pressure was not low. The card, also known as a digital logic card, had no obvious signs of wear or damage such as burn spots or discoloration. Still, the card failed tests aimed at replicating the correct electrical signal. Reyher and lead engineer Keith Deslandes said a technician took a closer look through a magnifying glass. "They saw something different," Reyher said. "And they asked themselves, 'What can this be? A piece of solder? Something's there. Let's take a picture.' " Under a high-powered microscope, they spotted the filament. The tin whisker can disrupt electrical flow and disable satellites and interrupt service, according to the Goddard Space Flight Center. The tin whisker that shorted out at Millstone's Unit 3 reactor triggered an automatic shutdown designed to protect the reactor, but that is not what worries the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Instead, the tin whisker could prevent a safety system from working properly, said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan. Dominion officials have removed, photographed, cleaned and inspected 103 computer monitoring circuit cards at Unit 3 and replaced four that showed signs of tin whiskers, said Dominion spokesman Pete Hyde. Kevin Pelletier, a sales and marketing manager at Massachusetts Materials Research Inc., which examined Millstone's circuit card, said scientists have seen tin whiskers before, but "never related to a nuclear power plant." The April 17 shutdown induced a variety of systems to shut down and protected the reactor. "You want the system to detect problems at the very initial stages rather than later so the system functioned as it should," Sheehan said. -------- business Alliant to sell share of Iowa nuke plant Madison, WI, Capital Times Staff/news services July 5, 2005 http://www.madison.com/tct/mad/business//index.php?ntid=45829 Madison-based Alliant Energy announced today that it will sell its 70 percent ownership of a nuclear power plant in Iowa and related assets for $387 million, and also provided further details on its plans to sell off its power generating assets in China as it seeks to focus on its core domestic utility operations. FPL Group Inc. is buying Alliant's interest in the 598-megawatt Duane Arnold Energy Center plant in Iowa, then sell power from its share of the facility to Alliant under long-term contracts through early 2014. The deal requires regulatory approval from utility commissions in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin, as well as from various federal agencies. Closing is expected late this year or early next year. In December 2004, Alliant's Interstate Power and Light Co. unit announced its intent to sell the company's ownership interest in the nuclear plant because it believed that a sale would reduce customer and shareowner financial and operational uncertainty associated with nuclear generating facility ownership and operations. The company anticipates net proceeds from the asset sale will be available for general corporate purposes and debt retirement. Alliant also announced that its board has approved the divestiture of its investments in China, which it expects to complete no later than next June, with proceeds used to pay down debt. The assets were valued at $190 million on March 31 but Alliant said it believes the value deteriorated significantly during the second quarter. The company plans to reappraise the assets soon. Proceeds will be used to pay down debt. Alliant earlier this year blamed a big drop in its first quarter earnings on problems with its China business and at that time said it had hired a financial adviser to look at a sale or merger of its Chinese assets. The company said it expects to take a non-cash asset valuation charge of as much as $95 million in the second quarter related to the classification of these assets as discontinued operations, and that it plans to repatriate the majority of the cash currently held in its China business - it already repatriated $19.3 million from China in June. "We evaluated a number of alternatives and determined that exiting the China generation market was in the long-term interests of our shareowners," said Bill Harvey, who took over as Alliant president and CEO on Friday. Alliant last Friday also announced that it reached a deal to sell its electric wires and poles and natural gas pipes in Illinois to Rock County Electric Cooperative Association and Jo-Carroll Energy for $47 million. Alliant announced its intention to sell its Illinois utility operations last year as part of its overall strategic plan to streamline its business portfolio. ---- Sale agreement reached for Palo nuclear plant Updated: 07/05/2005 11:04 AM By: George C. Ford - The Cedar Rapids, IA, Gazette http://www.gazetteonline.com/2005/07/05/Home/News/duanearnoldplantsale.htm Interstate Power and Light Co. of Cedar Rapids, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp., today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 70 percent ownership interest in the 598-megawatt Duane Arnold Energy Center nuclear power plant near Palo to FPL Energy LLC, a subsidiary of FPL Group Inc. in Juno Beach, Fla. As part of the sale agreement, FPL Energy has agreed to purchase the nuclear generating facility, nuclear fuel and inventory for approximately $380 million. The agreement contemplates that affiliates of Interstate Power & Light will sell other related assets to FPL Energy for an additional $7 million. All of the power from FPL Energy’s share of the Duane Arnold Energy Center will be sold under a long-term contract to Interstate Power & Light at a price of approximately $46 per megawatt hour in 2006 escalating to about $61 per megawatt hour in 2013. Two other entities, Central Iowa Power Cooperative and Corn Belt Power Cooperative, own the remaining 30 percent interest in DAEC. Interstate Power's decision is independent of any future actions by Central Iowa Power and Corn Belt. The Duane Arnold Energy Center currently employs 530, including contractors. After closing, FPL Energy said it expects to increase staffing at the facility by approximately 10 percent and make significant capital investments to ensure the long-term safe and reliable operation of the plant. These changes will provide ongoing benefits to customers, employees and shareholders. The company said it has agreed to retain non-bargaining unit employees at Duane Arnold at comparable wages and benefits for 18 months following the close of the sale. In addition, the company said it will honor all labor agreements for bargaining unit employees. Pending all appropriate state and federal regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be concluded late this year or early in the first quarter of 2006. -------- india India rules out accepting US missile defense system Tue Jul 5, 2005 10:41 AM ET (AFP) http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050705/pl_afp/indiausmilitary_050705144108 NEW DELHI - India ruled out accepting a missile defense system from the United States. "There is no question of accepting (a) missile shield from anyone," Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee told a news conference in reply to a question. "What we are interested in is developing our own missile programme and we are doing that." The United States said last June that it was willing to talk to India about supplying missile defense systems. "We are willing to talk to India about missile defense. Missile defense is very expensive. So it is not something that India will enter into lightly," US assistant secretary of state for arms control, Stephen Rademaker, had told reporters on a visit to New Delhi. India and the United States last week signed a groundbreaking 10-year plan for military cooperation during a visit to Washington by Mukherjee. India, a Cold War ally of the Soviet Union, has recently moved closer to the United States. ---- An Appeal to the Indians PakTribune 5 July 2005 http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=111606 After more than half a century, three wars, Siachin and Kargil, innumerable border clashes, colossal loss of precious lives and resources on both sides, the clouds of animosity over the sub continent had started yielding to the silver lining of the peace in the region. Much wanted confidence building measures (CBMs) seemed to be well on their way to usher in an era of brotherly friendship and prosperity to the teeming millions on both sides of the great divide. But the prospects of peace and tranquillity in the region, which could result in bringing together the largest democracy in the world and the most powerful Islamic country, with a highly enterprising human resource of a billion and a quarter justifiably proud of their rich heritage, culture and enviable civilisation in a sub continent endowed by the Creator with a rich reservoir of natural resources must have sent shudders down the spine of many a western power who would have soon found themselves at the mercy of Indo-Pak in their worldly affairs. 'They must not get together' would have been the cry of all political Pundits of the West. Uncle Sam, who already had a hold in Pakistan, took upon itself to move into India as well to shatter the peace prospects of the region. An incessant flow of visits by the highly placed US diplomats started to India, wooing her and offering her all she needed. Immediately F-16s, F-18s and Patriot ABMs were offered. As if this all was not enough last week Washington and Delhi signed a 'new framework for ! the US-India defence relationship' that envisages expanding two-way defence trade, increasing opportunities for the transfer of defence-related technology, co-producing and developing new armament and expanding collaboration on missile defence. Wow, what a master plan? Who will gain by it all? India? No way. USA? Yes certainly. Such a scheme of affairs will not only pull India out of the sphere of the influence of Russia but will also make her dependent upon the US for all time to come. Bharat Karnad of India in a recent article says," Indeed, military reach and clout have historically opened up markets for trade and commerce, been the engine for economic growth and for the dissemination of cultural values. Trade follows flag even in a globalized milieu." One really wonders that on the one hand we talk of peace, friendship, soft borders, complimentary trade and commerce all leading to the weal of the common man. Pakistan even offered curtailment of the forces on both sides proportionately to cut down the defence expenditure and divert such saved funds to the social sectors of education, healthcare, employment, industry to alleviate the poverty and combat the back breaking inflation. On the other hand we find ourselves arming with the latest state of the art weaponry and weapon systems promising nothing but mutual self destruction. When we are talking of 'irreversible peace process', then against whom do we intend to use these weapons? Will not such acquisition of the defence technologies and weapon systems by India force Pakistan also to opt for some suitable counter measures to maintain a minimum deterrent level' to ensure her safety? Will it not give rise to the 'mistrust' once again and bring back the arms mad race between the two countries? Will it not involve the huge HUGE useless, non-productive and wasteful defence expenditure which has been the main cause of the poverty in the region? Both countries are responsible nuclear powers and fully aware of the holocaust that a thermo nuclear engagement can cause to the both. Some advocate that in order to be world power it is essential for India to have regional superiority in the conventional weapons. However, in the event of a conventional war - God forbid - between the two, can any one say with certainty ! that the country at the verge of being vanquished will not use the ultimate weapon? After all what are the A bombs for? Just decoration pieces for a status symbol? And if the use of nukes cannot be ruled out altogether then of what big deal is such superiority in the conventional weapons? The Indian people have a much more say in the affairs of their country. Their voice is heard and respected by the powers that be. I would, therefore, ask them in the name of peace to prevail upon their government to desist from such defence arrangements with USA which are firstly entirely to the advantage of the USA, and secondly will make India dependent upon the USA for all time to come. At the same time un-necessary and wasteful arms race will again raise its ugly head in the sub continent to the detriment of its masses languishing in abject poverty. Please save us also from becoming poorer in the process. ---- Pakistan, India to Hold N-Talks in New Delhi Huma Aamir Malik, Arab News ISLAMABAD, 5 July 2005 http://southasia.net/article426.html Pakistan and India have decided to hold nuclear talks on Aug. 2 and 3 in New Delhi with official quarters here saying that a vital agreement on advance warning of missile tests is on the cards. Earlier, the South Asian nuclear rivals were to hold these talks in the middle of last month but in order to give a chance to the back-channel diplomacy for success on prenotification of missile tests, the crucial negotiations were put off. Now it has been decided that the formal talks on nuclear issues would be held in the first week of August, most likely on Aug. 2 and 3 and these would be followed by a dialogue on conventional confidence-building measures (CBMs). The talks on nuclear and conventional CBMs would be held in the Indian capital, said diplomatic sources. They said owing to intense informal talks between the two sides during the last couple of months, the much sought after pact on advance warning of missile tests was most likely to be inked at the end of nuclear talks on CBMs. Sources said that concrete progress on proposed foreign secretaries’ hotline was also expected. This dedicated line was meant to prevent misunderstanding and avert an accidental use of nuclear weapons that could bring catastrophic results for the peace and stability of the region. Pakistan and India have already upgraded the hotline to the level of top military level of DGMO. The last round of experts-level talks on nuclear and conventional CBMs were held here in December,2004 . However, they remained inconclusive with both the sides only announcing to continue with their parleys in coming months. During the last round of expert-level talks on nuclear CBMs, both the sides could not give a final shape to the pact on advance warning of missile tests owing to their row over sharing sensitive details on launch sites and trajectories. Since then, according to the sources, informal consultations were on between the two sides to hold the next round of experts’ talks on nuclear and conventional CBMs and also to evolve some sort of consensus on the conflicting issues. Sources said that two separate groups formed by Islamabad and New Delhi would hold talks in the Indian capital on nuclear and conventional CBMs. “Pakistan and India already have an informal arrangement on advance warning of missile tests but it was the finalization of formal agreement on the matter that the both sides are striving for,” the official added. ---- Pakistan, India to Hold N-Talks in New Delhi Aljazeera 5 July 2005 Pakistan Huma Aamir Malik, Arab News http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20archives/2005%20News%20Archives/July/5%20n/Pakistan,%20India%20to%20Hold%20N%20Talks%20in%20New%20Delhi.htm Pakistan and India have decided to hold nuclear talks on Aug. 2 and 3 in New Delhi with official quarters here saying that a vital agreement on advance warning of missile tests is on the cards. Earlier, the South Asian nuclear rivals were to hold these talks in the middle of last month but in order to give a chance to the back-channel diplomacy for success on prenotification of missile tests, the crucial negotiations were put off. Now it has been decided that the formal talks on nuclear issues would be held in the first week of August, most likely on Aug. 2 and 3 and these would be followed by a dialogue on conventional confidence-building measures (CBMs). The talks on nuclear and conventional CBMs would be held in the Indian capital, said diplomatic sources. They said owing to intense informal talks between the two sides during the last couple of months, the much sought after pact on advance warning of missile tests was most likely to be inked at the end of nuclear talks on CBMs. Sources said that concrete progress on proposed foreign secretaries’ hotline was also expected. This dedicated line was meant to prevent misunderstanding and avert an accidental use of nuclear weapons that could bring catastrophic results for the peace and stability of the region. Pakistan and India have already upgraded the hotline to the level of top military level of DGMO. The last round of experts-level talks on nuclear and conventional CBMs were held here in December,2004 . However, they remained inconclusive with both the sides only announcing to continue with their parleys in coming months. During the last round of expert-level talks on nuclear CBMs, both the sides could not give a final shape to the pact on advance warning of missile tests owing to their row over sharing sensitive details on launch sites and trajectories. Since then, according to the sources, informal consultations were on between the two sides to hold the next round of experts’ talks on nuclear and conventional CBMs and also to evolve some sort of consensus on the conflicting issues. Sources said that two separate groups formed by Islamabad and New Delhi would hold talks in the Indian capital on nuclear and conventional CBMs. “Pakistan and India already have an informal arrangement on advance warning of missile tests but it was the finalization of formal agreement on the matter that the both sides are striving for,” the official added. -------- iran Iran not optimistic on EU nuclear offer -official By Parisa Hafezi Tue Jul 5, 2005 10:40 AM ET (Reuters) http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050705/wl_nm/iran_nuclear_dc TEHRAN - Iran's top nuclear official said on Tuesday he was not optimistic the Islamic state would accept an proposal from the European Union next month concerning the long-term future of the country's nuclear program. "The Europeans have low capability to solve this case. I am not optimistic their proposal will capture Iran's interest," Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told the semi-official ISNA students news agency. France, Britain and Germany share U.S. suspicions that Iran's nuclear facilities could be used to make weapons and have been in talks to persuade Tehran to halt all uranium enrichment activities as the only way to allay these concerns. Iran insists its program is entirely peaceful. Iran has agreed to freeze some nuclear work while it negotiates a long-term arrangement with the EU three. Talks are due to resume in August. "Talks will reach a very sensitive stage from now on. It will not go smoothly," Aghazadeh said. The next round of talks coincide with a change of government in Iran following ultra-conservative former Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide presidential election win on June 24. Ahmadinejad, who takes office on Aug. 4, has said Iran will continue its talks with the EU over the nuclear program and that both sides must seek to gain each other's trust. SECURITY COUNCIL But some European diplomats have expressed concern his government will harden Iran's stance on the nuclear issue, making a deal harder to achieve. Should Iran reject the EU trio's offer most European states are expected to back Washington's demand that Iran be reported to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. Some local and foreign media have reported that Hassan Rohani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator with the EU, has offered to resign following the presidential elections. But aides close to Rohani denied he was quitting, "These are just rumors, he hasn't resigned," Hossein Mousavian, a senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, told Reuters. Another diplomatic source said Ahmadinejad may choose to change the negotiating team when he takes office. Aghazadeh also said publicly for the first time that Iran had been conducting research on atomic fusion technology for several years. Science's quest to produce cheap and abundant energy from nuclear fusion as yet remains a distant prospect. Last week a 30-nation consortium chose France to host the world's first fusion reactor, a project expected to take at least 10 years. "One of the important projects which this organization has been working on in the past few years was the project of nuclear fusion," Aghazadeh said. "First we signed an agreement with the Russians. But then the Russians, under American pressure, stopped delivering the equipment to Iran. Our experts conducted research on this issue and were successful," he added. He gave no further details. -------- korea North Korea criticizes Bush over nuclear stance Tue Jul 5, 2005 02:38 AM ET (Reuters) http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=W4ALPSU4JGQC0CRBAEZSFFA?type=topNews&storyID=8973193 SEOUL - North Korea criticized President Bush on Tuesday for expressing deep concern about Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program but said it was still neither against nor shunning six-party talks on the plan. The remarks North Korea referred to actually appeared in a joint declaration after a summit between Bush and European Union leaders on June 20 in Washington. In it, they said the North should dismantle its nuclear weapons and programs. "The U.S. chief executive was reported to have expressed deep concern about the DPRK's declaration of its access to nuclear weapons at a recent U.S.-EU annual summit in the White House," the North Korean daily newspaper Rodong Sinmun said. DPRK is short for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name. It said in February it had nuclear weapons. "It was none other than the U.S. that compelled the DPRK to have access to nuclear weapons and was chiefly to blame for having barred the process of denuclearising the Korean peninsula," the newspaper said in a commentary. "The DPRK has neither opposed nor shunned the six-party talks. The point at issue is that the U.S. attitude toward the six-party talks is opaque," the newspaper said. "If the U.S. persists in demanding the DPRK dismantle its nuclear program first without honoring its commitments, this will get it nowhere." The six-party talks bring together the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. The talks have been stalled since an inconclusive third round in June last year. On Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura told Reuters patience was running out for North Korea to return to the talks. North Korea has said it could return to the negotiations this month if Washington treated it with respect. The United States has said this is another stalling tactic. -------- missile defense South Korea revives military project to buy Patriot missiles SEOUL (AFP) Jul 05, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050705091123.5e47d5xv.html South Korea has revived a project to buy US Patriot missiles aimed at intercepting North Korean missiles and aircraft, military officials said Tuesday. From next year, South Korea will replace its ageing ground-to-air Nike missiles, introduced 40 years ago, with Patriot missiles, the defence ministry said. A decision on whether to buy new missiles directly from the United States or second-hand ones from Germany has yet to be taken, it added. "We may buy US-made Patriot missiles from Germany," a ministry official said. The South Korean military had planned to buy 48 Patriot missiles from the United States in 2000, but the plan was scrapped because of a dispute over the cost. The US military deployed new Patriot batteries in South Korea last year to defend its 32,500 troops stationed in the country. Military experts say North Korea's missile development poses a major threat to regional security on top of its nuclear ambitions. North Korea has already deployed short range Scuds and Rodongs with a range of 1,300 kilometres (780 miles), while actively developing longer-range Taepodong missiles with a range of up to 6,000 kilometres. Washington has denounced Pyongyang as a leading global proliferator of missiles and missile technology. The cash-strapped communist state has refused to stop missile exports, a major source of hard currency earnings. Pyongyang stunned the world in 1998 by test-launching over Japan a Taepodong-1 missile with a range of up to 2,000 kilometres. ---- 'Star Wars' Premiers in India! By J. Sri Raman t r u t h o u t | Perspective Tuesday 05 July 2005 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070505C.shtml The "Star Wars" program of the current avatar may soon kick start yet another round of a dangerous arms race in South Asia. The George Bush regime, which prides itself as the patron of the India-Pakistan "peace process," has given a powerful impetus to forces seeking a revival of the race in both the countries. It has done so by luring India into its global missile defense (GMD) program with the bait of a weapons system that is bound to destabilize the subcontinent. On June 27, in Washington, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and India's Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee signed a ten-year agreement titled the New Framework for US-India Defense Relationship (NFDR). The agreement has a provision for India's induction into the missile defense program. In concrete terms, the provision is likely to spell the transfer of one of the latest additions to the "Star Wars" arsenal - the Patriot Advanced Capability system (PAC 3). The PAC 3 has been peddled as a vast improvement on the PAC 2. The latest model is a lighter and low-noise missile built on a hit-to-kill technology, advertised as the sure terminator of all incoming enemy missiles. Despite its drooling lip service to the "peace process," Washington has thus initiated military-diplomatic maneuvers that the people-driven process may find hard to survive. What South Asia faces is an accelerated arms race with a dangerous nuclear dimension. The Pakistan establishment has lost no time to respond with a panicky threat to retaliate. Pakistan's ambassador in the US, General Jahangir Karamat, said: "This will be a new element in South Asia.... If India gets PAC 3, we will either have to ask the US also to provide the same system to us or we will have to think of other ways to have our own missile defense." Pakistan's External Affairs Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri soon added that the agreement would "introduce a new weapon system which will disturb the balance of power in South Asia and lead to an arms race in the region." The pact has shocked and upset Islamabad all the more because of the fact that the Pervez Musharraf regime has always presumed Pakistan's superiority in missile development, considered to make up for the lesser number of weapons in its nuclear arsenal. Propaganda on this point has accompanied Islamabad's "pro-peace" noises ever since the "process" started. Official Pakistan has not let the "process" deter it from carrying its missile development program forward. On March 19, 2005, even while protesting its "peace" intentions, the military rulers staged a highly publicized test-firing of the Shaheen II missile, noted by observers for its capacity to strike at deep-interior Indian targets. Declared General Musharraf: "The capability was here to stay, will continue to go from strength to strength and no harm will ever be allowed to come to it." The origin of the agreement can be traced back to a denouement in US-India defense relations in the days of the far-right National Democratic Alliance government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi. The NDA regime was one of the very few governments in the world, and probably the only one in the Third World, to welcome the Bush version of the "Star Wars" program. The Vajpayee government went out of its way, in fact, to accept in public the untenable proposition that the program was actually an attempt at effecting "deep slashes" in the US nuclear arsenal. The idea of India-US missile defense cooperation was pursued in regular meetings of a joint Defense Policy Group. In January 2004, Washington promised greater Indian access to US missile assistance. In March, just two months before India's people replaced the NDA regime with a government of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), even a simulated missile defense exercise was conducted. Several US and Indian experts then predicted bleak days for India-US missile defense cooperation. The UPA government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has now proven them wrong. It threatens to betray the popular mandate in this regard and to breach a Common Minimum Program (CMP). An independent foreign policy and a striving for a multi-polar world figure among the new coalition's objectives in the CMP. Partnership in Washington's Global Missile Defense is patently at variance with these objectives. The agreement followed a visit to India by US Assistant Secretary for Arms Control Stephen Rademaker. After talks on the subject, he said: "We are willing to talk to India about missile defense. Missile defense is very expensive. So, it is not something that India will enter into lightly." The astronomical expenditure the program will entail, however, does not seem to weigh heavily with the government. It has not long ago inflicted the largest-ever annual defense budget on India's poor millions. The devoutly desired association with a program of the scale of the "Star Wars" promises no lightening of the people's burden. A freelance journalist and a peace activist of India, J. Sri Raman is the author of Flashpoint (Common Courage Press, USA). He is a regular contributor to t r u t h o u t. -------- russia Putin signs law on ratifying Russia-Italy agreement on nuclear submarine disposal 14:30 July 5, 2005 Ria Novosti http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050701/40828289.html MOSCOW, July 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on ratifying a Russia-Italy cooperation agreement on the disposal of decommissioned Russian nuclear submarines, and the safe treatment of radioactive waste and spent fuel, the presidential press service said. The law was approved by the State Duma (the lower chamber of parliament) on June 10 and approved by the Federation Council (the upper chamber) on June 22. The agreement creates a legal base for free financial and technical aid allocated by Italy to dismantle Russia's nuclear submarines and solve environmental problems in the northwest of the country. The agreement follows other agreements on foreign assistance to Russia in the destruction of arms slated for cutbacks. The agreement's implementation will complement cooperation under other multilateral and bilateral accords. -------- security UN-Backed Conference Seeks to Close Nuclear Terror Loopholes Press Release: United Nations New York, Jul 5 2005 12:00PM http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0507/S00089.htm Seeking to close loopholes that could help terrorists get their hands on nuclear material, hundreds of delegates from some 90 countries are meeting in Vienna this week to strengthen a United Nations-backed treaty with amendments to avert theft and smuggling of such materials and sabotage of nuclear facilities. “In short, the amendments now before this conference are vitally important and, if adopted, will take another significant step in reducing the vulnerability of States Parties, and, indeed, the entire world,” UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Deputy Director General David Waller told the opening session yesterday. He noted that the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM), drawn up in 1980, is not sufficiently comprehensive for today’s world since it protects nuclear material used for peaceful purposes while in international transport, but “most fundamentally” covers neither the physical protection of nuclear material in peaceful domestic use, storage and transport, nor nuclear facilities themselves. “The proposed amendments would remedy these shortcomings,” Mr. Waller said. “They would also provide for expanded cooperation between and among States regarding rapid measures to locate and recover stolen or smuggled nuclear material, mitigate any radiological consequences of sabotage, and prevent and combat related offences.” The Vienna-based IAEA is the depositary of the CPPNM, which currently has 111 States Parties. It is the only legally binding international treaty providing physical protection of nuclear material and ensuring improved security in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, since when a group of experts has been working on strengthening its safeguards. -------- u.s. nuc facilities Thorium Fuels Safer Reactor Hopes By Amit Asaravala 02:00 AM Jul. 05, 2005 PT Wired http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68045,00.html Fueling nuclear reactors with the element thorium instead of uranium could produce half as much radioactive waste and reduce the availability of weapons-grade plutonium by as much as 80 percent. But the nuclear power industry needs more incentives to make the switch, experts say. Scientists have long considered using thorium as a reactor fuel -- and for good reason: The naturally occurring element is more abundant, more efficient and safer to use than uranium. Plus, thorium reactors leave behind very little plutonium, meaning that governments have access to less material for making nuclear weapons. But design challenges and a Cold War-era interest in using nuclear waste byproducts in atomic bombs pushed the industry to use uranium as its primary fuel. Now, as governments look to prevent the proliferation of nuclear arms and as environmentalists want to reduce the volume of nuclear waste building up around the world, thorium is again drawing attention. Over the past several years, studies in the United States and Russia have yielded solutions to some of the issues that troubled earlier researchers. And in January, India -- which has the world's second largest reserve of thorium behind Australia --announced it would begin testing the safety of a design of its own. The anticipated surge in demand for thorium has led at least one mining company to begin buying as many thorium deposits and stockpiles as it can. "We feel that it's inevitable that the U.S. and other countries in the world -- India of course -- will exclusively use thorium in the future," said Novastar Director of Strategic Planning Seth Shaw. But there's just one problem: The nuclear power industry has already built its infrastructure around uranium and has little reason to invest in changing it, according to Mujid Kazimi, director of MIT's Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems. "This is a market economy so the economics will have to be in favor for thorium to move that way," said Kazimi. "It could take another 50 years for us to reach the level where uranium prices are so high that thorium looks attractive." As an interim solution, the United States could change the way it charges power plants for the nuclear waste that they produce, said Kazimi. Currently, waste fees are calculated as a fraction of the cost of the electricity that is produced by the fuel. Kazimi proposes charging by the volume of plutonium instead, so as to discourage its creation. "Right now, it doesn't matter how large the fuel waste is," said Kazimi. "But if the government comes in and says we're going to increase fees in terms of waste in proportion to plutonium content, that will push for thorium." Seth Grae, president of nuclear fuel development firm Thorium Power, said he supported the idea in principle. But he cautioned that it wouldn't be fair if the change resulted in an overall fee increase. "Power plant operators decided to build and run their reactors based on one cost, and you can't just change the rules on them," he said. Grae suggested that public-private partnerships could provide a better alternative by funding the development of new technologies and showing the benefits of thorium in action. For instance, Thorium Power has been working with Russian researchers to find ways to dispose of stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium by burning it in thorium reactors. In March, the House voted to give $5 million to the project. If such demonstrations aren't enough to encourage thorium use, Grae noted that the change could be driven by customers from the bottom up. As deregulation allows multiple electric providers to compete in a region, customers are increasingly getting to choose where to spend their money. This means customers can essentially use their money to vote for companies that invest in responsible technologies, said Grae. The tactic has worked before. For instance, in the 1980s the tuna industry switched to fishing methods that killed fewer dolphins after consumers stopped buying cans missing the "dolphin safe" label. "When customers choose who their electric provider is, that's a very powerful thing," said Grae. -------- idaho SENATOR CRAIG SPEAKS ABOUT ENERGY Jul 5, 2005 NBC http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcheadlines.cfm&ID=27171 Idaho Senator Larry Craig is in East Idaho, speaking about the nuclear energy bill that will have a big impact on Idaho. Suzanne Hobbs reports on the senator's visit. Idaho Senator Larry Craig was the invited speaker at the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce weekly luncheon. Before chamber members and local and state leaders, he spoke on a range of issues, but mainly focused on the current energy bill, its impact on Idaho, and his efforts to get it worked out. "I do believe we will put a bill on the President's desk this year for his signature and in it will be the new mission for the INL. But I do believe it can happen by late July or early August. We've done a lot of work already; both houses have passed the bill. We have to work out our differences now. I think that's do-able." Craig says the Idaho National Laboratory will get the Generation 4 Nuclear Reactor - one of many planned projects as the clean-up from past missions wraps up in 2012. The Gen 4 will attract attention from all around the world and will be positive for the area. "Idaho was uniquely positioned to take on this new mission, and it's a mission long-term. If we build the kind of R & D Gen 4 reactor here, you're going to see countries here from all over the world working with us to perfect it and adjust it." Senator Craig says the largest increase our nation is seeing these days is in the cost of energy, and the nation needs reliable, available, and affordable energy. "This county is in desperate need of new power at this time, and we want it to be clean. And the only real technology out there today that most people have begun to recognize is nuclear." Tonight, Senator Craig held a public lands listening session on future land use in Idaho. The meeting ran from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Idaho Falls Red Lion. With Craig were members from the USDA, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service. Tonight on NBC Newschannel 6 at 10, we'll ask Senator Craig about the process of selecting a new Supreme Court justice and the impact it will have on the work in the Senate. -------- new mexico Domenici: US Senate OKs bill to fund lab projects CAROL A. CLARK, lanews@lamonitor.com, Los Alamos Monitor Staff Writer Tuesday, July 5, 2005 http://www.lamonitor.com/articles/2005/07/01/headline_news/news01.txt The Senate's passage of the FY2006 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill moves millions in federal dollars forward to fund critical scientific and nuclear weapons security programs, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. said today. The bill provides $25.04 billion for DOE in FY2006, $1.12 billion more than the budget request and $778 million more than FY2005. The Senate approved the $31.2 billion total funding measure, 92-3, early this morning to fund DOE and water programs administered by the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation. In a news release from Domenici's Washington, D.C., office he stated, "This bill has been carefully crafted to strike the right balance between maintaining our nuclear arsenal and advancing basic scientific research in this country. I believe the strong Senate support shown today reflects the careful consideration we took in making sure that America's immediate water needs are balanced without long-term need for scientific advances." As chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, Domenici will lead the conference committee negotiations to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of this bill. Domenici said he looks forward to a productive conference to reconcile two very different Senate and House bills. "It will be a challenge, but it is important that we reach an accord that suits our security and scientific priorities," he said. "I know that Sens. Domenici and (Jeff) Bingaman have both worked very hard to take care of Los Alamos and protect and promote the science being done here," Rep. Jeannette Wallace, R-Los Alamos, said in an interview this morning. "I know they feel confident that this bill has what it should." Domenici provides $1.7 billion for nonproliferation activities, which is $91.8 million above the request and $236 million over FY2005. The bill provides level funding, $577 million, for the Yucca Mountain project in Nevada. Domenici included a provision for Lab Directed Research and Development (LDRD) that will allow up to 8 percent - up from 6 percent-of a lab budget to be used for laboratory-initiated scientific R&D. "These funds for LDRD support a central program that contributes to the revolutionary technologies researched at the laboratories. The innovations explored here have a profound impact on our national security strategy," Domenici said. For New Mexico, Domenici added $4.6 million to complete construction of the Center for Integrated Nanotechnology (CINT), a joint Sandia and Los Alamos venture at Kirtland Air Force Base. The bill also has $30 million to establish a National Nanotechnology Enterprise Development Center at CINT to support the transfer of technology from four nanotechnology centers into the commercial market. The bill provides $25.04 billion for DOE in FY2006, $1.12 billion above the budget request and $778 million more than FY2005. The bill has $1.08 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation ($130 million more than the budget request and $63.5 million more than FY2005) and $5.3 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers ($258 million more than FY2005 and $966 million over the budget request). For DOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) nuclear weapons activities, the bill has $6.55 billion. This is $76 million less than the budget request largely due to the $222 million transfer of cleanup operations from the NNSA to the Office of Environmental Management and a reduction in construction funds for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The bill also includes $230.6 million for WIPP, including $18 million for a variety of related projects in the Carlsbad area and $24.5 million to the state of New Mexico for transportation funding. Highlights of the New Mexico-related spending included by Domenici in the FY2006 Energy & Water Development Appropriations Bill include: # Environmental Cleanup-$142.2 million for cleanup of lab property. The bill rejects the Administration's proposal to require NNSA to perform cleanup and requires the Office of Environmental Management to maintain this responsibility. # Environmental Cleanup / Los Alamos County - $5.2 million to Los Alamos County to support the cleanup and stabilization of the LANL landfill at the Los Alamos Airport, an increase of $3.3 million more than the budget request. # Advance Simulation Computing (NNSA)-$75 million earmarked to purchase a 150 teraflop machine at Los Alamos to reduce the time it takes to perform a weapons calculations. Currently, LANL has the most responsibility under the Life Extension Program (LEP), but the slowest computer (20 teraflop). LANL has been running a calculation on the existing computer for the past 19 months. The new computer will only take three months to develop a solution for the same calculation. (LANL share of the $735 million in Advanced Simulation and Computing, including the $75 million earmark is $269.8 million.) # Science Campaigns-Additional $46 million to the Science campaign to support increased R&D efforts at LANL. Within the increases, LANL will receive: $5 million to initiate preliminary engineering and design work on upgrades to the LANSCE facility; and, $15 million from the Dynamic Materials Properties program to support experimentation on the Atlas Machine to validate thermodynamic properties. # Stockpile Systems/R&D Certification-$10 million to support additional hydrodynamics test at LANL. # Red Network Expansion-$20 million increase to complete the expansion of classified network at LANL, the same level as FY2005. # TA-18 Cat III/IV-$2 million increase to begin design effort for a new facility to accommodate Cat III/IV material that is in the process of moving out of TA-18 # Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Facility (CMR)-$65 million, a $10 million increase, to keep construction on track and reduce costs because of schedule delays. Domenici secured $39.6 million for the project in FY2005. # Advanced Fuel Cycle-$7 million earmark for Material Test Station at LANSCE to support material science research. This is the second year request for the material test station at LANL. This account is provided $85 million in FY2006. For Joint Lab Funding: # National Nanotechnology Enterprise Development Center-$30 million to establish the National Nanotechnology Enterprise Development Center at CINT, a joint Los Alamos and Sandia facility. This fund will support the transfer of technology out of the four nanotechnology centers into the commercial market. # Chemical/Biological Detection R&D-$30 million is added to the Nuclear Detection R&D effort within the Office of Nuclear Nonproliferation to support long-term R&D efforts. # ICF Stockpile Support (Inertial Confinement Fusion Campaign)-$41.1 million has been provided to support stockpile stewardship activities on Z Machine, which will be distributed in the following manner: $12.9 million to Sandia National Labs; $16.5 million to LANL; $11.6 million to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The budget request proposed to eliminate these activities in an effort to support NIF construction. # Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW)-$25 million, an increase of $15 million, to support a design competition between Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore to design replacement components on existing weapons. The goal will be to reduce overall lifecycle cost, improve safety and reliability of our nuclear deterrent. # Lab Directed Research and Development-Bill and report language have been included supporting an increase in the LDRD program to spend up to 8 percent (up from 6 percent) of the lab budget for laboratory-initiated scientific R&D. This will provide additional resources to support cutting-edge science that contribute to the mission, but may not be directly relevant to today's challenges. # WASTE ISOLATION PILOT PLANT-$230.6 million for the DOE Carlsbad Area Office and WIPP, an $18 million increase over the budget request. The bill has $24.5 million in transportation funding to be provided directly to the state of New Mexico. This overall funding level includes the following earmarks added by Domenici: # Accelerated Cleanup: $6 million added by Domenici the purchase of TRUPACT-III containers. # Community Impact: $3.5 million for infrastructure improvements, and acceleration impact funding for the Carlsbad community. # Center of Excellence: $2 million for continued development of the Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management. # Neutrino Research: $1.5 million to support ongoing research at WIPP. # MIND Institute: Domenici secured $12 million, a $1.0 million increase over FY2005, to continue federal support for the Mental Illness and Neuroscience Discovery Institute (MIND Institute). The institute funds three national centers of excellence in functional brain imaging in Albuquerque, Minneapolis, and Boston. The New Mexico center of excellence involves the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. # Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention - $50 million for IPP program to cost-share with industry to engage Russian Scientists in commercial and non-weapons related activities. There is strong New Mexico support for this Domenici-created initiative. # Yucca Mountain: $577 million, the same level as FY2005 and $64 million below the budget request. The bill does not address the interim storage issue. # NNSA Stockpile Stewardship Program: $6.57 billion for nuclear weapons Stockpile Stewardship activities, $224 million over FY2005. This program is carried out at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Nevada Test Site, and at plants in Texas, Missouri, Tennessee and South Carolina. This funding includes: $2.09 billion - Science-based Stockpile Stewardship ($17 million over request). $25 million - Reliable Replacement Warhead program ($15 million over request). $314 million - National Ignition Facility, but no funds to continue construction. # Defense Environmental Management: $7.2 billion, a $324 million above the request. # Directed Stockpile Stewardship-$1.45 billion, up $37 million above the request (+2.5%). This includes: # Reliable Replacement Warhead-$25 million, an increase of $15 million, to initiate a design competition between the weapons laboratories to improve the existing stockpile to reduce design tolerance to reduce maintenance cost and ensure the lab directors ability to certify the stockpile. # Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator-$4 million to complete the testing of this concept by FY2007. There are no plans or funding to develop this weapon. # Science Campaign-$307.9 million, up $46 million above the request, to support research and experiments that are critical to certification of the stockpile. # Engineering Campaign-$272.7 million, up $52 million, to support R&D efforts in weapons security to prevent terrorist from ever using U.S. weapons. # Inertial Confinement Fusion-$314 million to support critical R&D funding to support high yield experiments on Z machine, the Omega Laser and NIF. The budget virtually eliminated all experimental work in order to support NIF construction. # National Ignition Facility (NIF)-No construction funding is provided. Instead the NNSA is directed to use the existing laser, the most powerful in the world to focus on supporting the Science Campaign and stockpile stewardship activities. # Advanced Simulation Computing-$735 million, $75 million over the budget request, which will support the purchase of new computers to support the stewardship program. This will improve the Life Extension Program (LEP) at LANL, which has the smallest computer but largest LEP responsibility. # Pit Manufacturing and Certification-$248.7 million, equal to the budget request and including $7.68 to support a Modern Pit Facility. # NNSA Infrastructure-$1.66 billion, up $64 million, for construction and O&M of NNSA facilities (RTBF Account), including $65 million (up $10 million) for LANL CMR Replacement, and $65.5 million for construction and $12 million for operation of Sandia's MESA facility. # Nuclear Nonproliferation - $1.73 billion, an increase of $91.8 million above the request and $236 million above FY2005 levels. # Nonproliferation Detection R&D-$297 million, up $30 million, to support long-term research into chemical and biological detection. # International Materials Control-$343 million, a $24 million increase over FY2005, to support nuclear materials control activities in Russia. # Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention- $50.9 million, up $13 million, to engage Russian weapons scientist in commercial efforts. Additional funding is provided to expand the scope of cooperation to other countries that may pose a proliferation threat. # Plutonium Disposition (MOX)-$362 million for construction of a MOX fabrication facility. This program is fully funded as a result of positive U.S.-Russia negotiations. # Global Threat Reduction Initiative-$108.9 million, an increase of $11 million, to increase the collection of civilian radiation sources in the United States, and $7 million to convert up to four U.S. university research reactors from highly enriched uranium fuel to low enriched uranium fuel. # DOE Office of Science Research-$3.7 billion in basic scientific research, which is $240 million over the budget request and $97 million over FY2005. This includes: # Genomes for Life -$40 million to accelerate the deployment of four research facilities # DOE Science Facilities-$100 million to support 100 percent utilization of all DOE facilities. # Nanotechnology Transfer Fund-$30 million to establish this fund to help commercialize. nanotechnology discoveries at the four nanoscience research centers. These collaborative facilities will provide access to world-class DOE and NNSA facilities. # Spallation Neutron Source-$41.7 million to fully fund this Oakridge National Lab program. # Domestic Fusion Research-$290 million to restore funding for this work. # DOE Office of Science-$3.72 billion, $240 million above the request and $102 million above FY2005, which includes: $100 million to guarantee 100 percent runtime capacity for all DOE science facilities, some of which may only run 12 weeks this year. $40 million for the Genome to Life program, as well as language instructing DOE to use the nanotechnology centers as a model and build four proposed genome facilities. $30 million is provided to establish a technology development fund. # Fossil Energy R&D-$646.6 million, $79 million over FY2005, including: Clean Coal Power - $50 million Future Gen - $18 million Carbon Sequestration - $74 million, up $7 million Fuel Cells - $69 million Natural Gas Technologies R&D - $27 million, up $17 million Oil Technology R&D - $32 million, up $22 million # Nuclear Energy: $449.9 million for nuclear energy initiatives, a $64.3 million over FY2005 and $60 million over the request. This includes $76 million for Nuclear Power 2010 (up $20 million); $60 million for the Generation IV Nuclear Energy Initiative (up $15 million), including language requiring DOE to focus on two reactor designs; $40 million for the Next Generation Nuclear Reactor project in Idaho; and $85 million for the Advanced Fuel Cell Initiative (up $10 million, in addition to including $7 million for the LANCE program at LANL). # Renewable Energy Technologies-$1.24 billion, $53 million over the budget and $13 million over FY2005, for renewable energy R&D. All Congressional earmarks are paid for and will not undercut DOE research. This funding includes: $182 million for hydrogen, $13 million over FY2005 $92 million for biomass research, $20 million above the request $187 million for vehicle technology R&D, a $20 million over FY2005 $240 million for weatherization assistance, up $15 million # High Temperature Superconductivity R&D: $55.5 million, a $5.5 million increase over the budget request, for this research. LANL plays a big role in this superconductivity research. -------- us nuc waste Thorium Fuels Safer Reactor Hopes By Amit Asaravala Jul, 05, 2005 Wired News http://wired.com/news/technology/0,68045-0.html Fueling nuclear reactors with the element thorium instead of uranium could produce half as much radioactive waste and reduce the availability of weapons-grade plutonium by as much as 80 percent. But the nuclear power industry needs more incentives to make the switch, experts say. Scientists have long considered using thorium as a reactor fuel -- and for good reason: The naturally occurring element is more abundant, more efficient and safer to use than uranium. Plus, thorium reactors leave behind very little plutonium, meaning that governments have access to less material for making nuclear weapons. But design challenges and a Cold War-era interest in using nuclear waste byproducts in atomic bombs pushed the industry to use uranium as its primary fuel. Now, as governments look to prevent the proliferation of nuclear arms and as environmentalists want to reduce the volume of nuclear waste building up around the world, thorium is again drawing attention. Over the past several years, studies in the United States and Russia have yielded solutions to some of the issues that troubled earlier researchers. And in January, India -- which has the world's second largest reserve of thorium behind Australia --announced it would begin testing the safety of a design of its own. The anticipated surge in demand for thorium has led at least one mining company to begin buying as many thorium deposits and stockpiles as it can. "We feel that it's inevitable that the U.S. and other countries in the world -- India of course -- will exclusively use thorium in the future," said Novastar Director of Strategic Planning Seth Shaw. But there's just one problem: The nuclear power industry has already built its infrastructure around uranium and has little reason to invest in changing it, according to Mujid Kazimi, director of MIT's Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems. "This is a market economy so the economics will have to be in favor for thorium to move that way," said Kazimi. "It could take another 50 years for us to reach the level where uranium prices are so high that thorium looks attractive." As an interim solution, the United States could change the way it charges power plants for the nuclear waste that they produce, said Kazimi. Currently, waste fees are calculated as a fraction of the cost of the electricity that is produced by the fuel. Kazimi proposes charging by the volume of plutonium instead, so as to discourage its creation. "Right now, it doesn't matter how large the fuel waste is," said Kazimi. "But if the government comes in and says we're going to increase fees in terms of waste in proportion to plutonium content, that will push for thorium." Seth Grae, president of nuclear fuel development firm Thorium Power, said he supported the idea in principle. But he cautioned that it wouldn't be fair if the change resulted in an overall fee increase. "Power plant operators decided to build and run their reactors based on one cost, and you can't just change the rules on them," he said. Grae suggested that public-private partnerships could provide a better alternative by funding the development of new technologies and showing the benefits of thorium in action. For instance, Thorium Power has been working with Russian researchers to find ways to dispose of stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium by burning it in thorium reactors. In March, the House voted to give $5 million to the project. If such demonstrations aren't enough to encourage thorium use, Grae noted that the change could be driven by customers from the bottom up. As deregulation allows multiple electric providers to compete in a region, customers are increasingly getting to choose where to spend their money. This means customers can essentially use their money to vote for companies that invest in responsible technologies, said Grae. The tactic has worked before. For instance, in the 1980s the tuna industry switched to fishing methods that killed fewer dolphins after consumers stopped buying cans missing the "dolphin safe" label. "When customers choose who their electric provider is, that's a very powerful thing," said Grae. -------- MILITARY -------- africa Donors demand total compliance with UN arms embargo on Somalia NAIROBI (AFP) Jul 05, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050705153914.jal97xi0.html International donors called Tuesday for complete respect of a 13-year-old UN arms embargo on Somalia amid new accusations of violations and calls from African nations for the bar on weapons sales to be lifted. The Joint Co-ordination and Monitoring Committee (CMC), a group chaired by UN special envoy for Somalia Francois Fall, expressed concern with reports that weapons have been flowing into the lawless country as its transitional government attempts to relocate there from exile in neighboring Kenya. "The international community has been concerned over certain developments inside Somalia including the reported inflow of weapons and an increase in the general level of tension both in terms of media rhetoric and reported movements of militia," it said in a statement released here. "The international community demands a halt to the supply and the delivery and reception of arms and calls for the respect of the arms embargo," it said. "We call on all leaders in Somalia to exercise maximum restraint and take effective steps to reduce tension," it said, adding that moves toward military action by any of the fractious Somali factions would be "unacceptable." The statement was issued as rival Somali warlords have variously accused Ethiopia, Eritrea and Yemen of planning to deliver arms to Somalia to support of certain groups. None of those reports have been independently confirmed. At the same time, members of the African Union, leaders of which are now meeting at a summit in Libya, have called for a lifting of the UN arms embargo to allow the deployment of a regional peacekeeping force to support the transitional government. But last month, UN chief Kofi Annan said rescinding the arms embargo "poses a challenge for the international community and the UN in particular" because it would do little to improve security in Somalia which is already awash in weapons. Instead, he said, increased enforcement of the embargo would do more to help. "The enforcement of the arms embargo, with improved monitoring capacity and the establishment of enforcement measures, would considerably enhance security in Somalia," Annan said. ---- Callous' raids anger Mugabe ally President Mugabe says the operations is designed to remove criminals from cities Tuesday, 5 July, 2005 (BBC) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4651603.stm A former director of Zimbabwe's secret police has told the BBC that he left the ruling party over the "callous" destruction of people's homes. Former Zanu-PF MP Pearson Mbalekwa contradicted President Robert Mugabe's assertions that the operation had been planned long in advance. "If there was a plan, we wouldn't have people sleeping under trees or next to rivers," he said. The shanty town demolitions have left 200,000 people homeless, the UN says. Operation Murambatsvina [Drive Out Rubbish] has been condemned by teachers, doctors, church groups, the UN and the opposition. At the weekend, Methodist bishops from Southern Africa warned of a potential genocide. Mr Mugabe says the six-week operation is aimed at ridding urban areas of criminals. 'Puzzled' Mr Mbalekwa, a former senior director of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), was a member of Zanu-PF's senior body, the central committee, until resigning last Friday. He said that neither the central committee nor MPs were consulted until the crackdown had already begun. "This thing was not planned, it was done haphazardly, thereby causing a lot of suffering to people," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme. He said he had no idea why the operation was being carried out. "It puzzles me and it puzzles all sane people," he said. The opposition says its urban supporters are being punished for voting against Zanu-PF in March elections. But many of the demolitions have also been of structures built by Zanu-PF supporters on previously white-owned farms. UN special envoy, Anna Tibaijuka, has extended by a week her visit to Zimbabwe to assess the impact of the government campaign against illegal structures and informal traders. -------- asia Alliance: U.S., coalition forces should pull out of central Asia 7/5/2005 8:22 PM (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-07-05-asian-alliance_x.htm ASTANA, Kazakhstan — A central Asian alliance that includes Russia and China called for the U.S. and coalition members in Afghanistan to set a date for withdrawing from member states, a stand that reflects growing uneasiness over America's presence in the region. Both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, members of the alliance, host U.S. bases whose troops are involved in Afghanistan. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, at a summit in the Kazakh capital, said in a declaration that a withdrawal date should be set in light of the decline of active fighting in Afghanistan. "We support and will support the international coalition which is carrying out an anti-terror campaign in Afghanistan and we have taken note of the progress made in the effort to stabilize the situation," the declaration said. "As the active military phase in the anti-terror operation in Afghanistan is nearing completion, the SCO would like the coalition's members to decide on the deadline for the use of the temporary infrastructure and for their military contingents' presence in those countries," the declaration continues. Both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are former Soviet republics that Moscow regards as historically part of its sphere of influence. The Kremlin did not object when those states agreed to host U.S. troops following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. However, the statement appears to reflect growing uneasiness with the U.S. presence and increasing concerns that the United States is encouraging the overthrow of Central Asia's authoritarian governments. -------- business China scolds Congress over Unocal By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL Published July 5, 2005 http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20050705-103545-8445r SHANGHAI, China -- China is criticizing some U.S. leaders for threatening to block the attempted takeover of Unocal Corp. by one of China's big oil companies. Cnooc Ltd., owned by China's third largest energy company, is in a bidding war with Chevron Corp. for Unocal, which has huge holdings in southeast Asia, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. Cnooc is offering Unocal shareholders $18 billion in cash, while Chevron is offering $16.5 billion in stock and cash. Last week the U.S. House passed a non-binding resolution urging the White House to block any Cnooc-Unocal deal on national security grounds, a resolution that irritated official China. "We demand that the U.S. Congress correct its mistaken ways of politicizing economic and trade issues and stop interfering in the normal commercial exchanges between enterprises of the two countries," China's foreign ministry said. "Cnooc's bid to take over the U.S. Unocal company is a normal commercial activity between enterprises and should not fall victim to political interference. The development of economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States conforms to the interests of both sides." -------- latin america Colombia defends paramilitary law By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL Published July 5, 2005 http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20050705-015941-2224r BOGOTA, Colombia -- Colombia defended itself Tuesday against criticism that its recently passed law for demobilizing paramilitaries is too soft. "I don't think it is a law for impunity," said Colombia's High Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo. The "Justice and Peace Law" passed in June, demobilizes thousands of right-wing paramilitaries though allows some of their leaders to go free without penalty. Many of the leaders are wanted on drug trafficking charges in the United States and on murder charges in Colombia. On Monday, The New York Times harshly condemned the law saying instead it should be called the "Impunity for Mass Murderers, Terrorists and Major Cocaine Traffickers Law. ---- Bolivian lawmakers move elections By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL Published July 5, 2005 http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20050705-114922-7738r LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Bolivian lawmakers approved Tuesday a constitutional reform calling for elections in early December, some nine months ahead of schedule. The reform was passed in the lower house but must still be approved by the Senate, La Razon reported. Bolivia's Congress has been under pressure from opposition groups to move up the elections since widespread protests last month prompted then-President Carlos Mesa to resign. His successor, Eduardo Rodriguez, pledged to hold elections by the end of the year when he assumed office in June. Bolivians are now scheduled to head to the polls on Dec. 4 to select a new president and Congress. -------- spies Report: Karl Rove Linked to Outing of CIA Agent Tuesday, July 5th, 2005 Democracy Now! Headlines http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/05/1341259 In Washington, speculation is growing that President Bush's chief advisor Karl Rove may have played a role in the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, has admitted that Rove personally spoke with Matthew Cooper from Time Magazine about Plame but Luskin insists that Rove did not disclose her identity. Disclosing an undercover agent is a federal crime. Cooper -- along with Judith Miller from the New York Times -- are both facing up to four months in jail for refusing to disclose their sources about the story. However Cooper's employer -- Time Magazine -- last week agreed to hand over a copy of Cooper's notes. in those notes it reportedly reveals that Cooper spoke with Rove. On Sunday New York Senator Charles Schumer called on Rove to personally deny leaking the name of a CIA official. Up until now the Bush administration has claimed Rove had no role in the case. On October 10, 2003 White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Rove was "not involved in this." -------- us Oh Baby, It's Drafty Out There By Frida Berrigan, AlterNet. Posted July 5, 2005 http://www.alternet.org/story/23308/ Some counter-recruitment activists and military observers think a perfect storm of conditions is brewing a return to the draft. Tools "Feeling a draft?" asks the Village Voice. "Talk of a draft is chilling," intones The New York Times. Even fashion magazines weigh in: "Could Cosmo girl get drafted?" In city streets, town squares and rural strip malls, military recruiters are beleaguered. The Army is unable to meet recruiting targets even after lowering quotas and standards. At the same time, recruiters are overwhelmed by scandal and scrutiny, and uncomfortable in the face of growing anti-war sentiment. Though half a world away, the war in Iraq feels close. Mounting U.S. casualties, exhausted soldiers and an intractable civil conflict in which the only thing different factions agree on is that U.S. soldiers are the problem, make military service increasingly unattractive to even the most gung-ho patriot. Meanwhile, Washington is determined to "stay the course" right over the brink. J.E. McNeil, executive director of the Center on Conscience and War, is preparing for the worst. She sees a "perfect storm" of conditions brewing a return to the draft. So far, more than one million U.S. military personnel have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. An estimated 341,000 soldiers have done double deployments (and many are now entering their third deployment). And they are not just serving, they are dying. More than 1,700 have been killed, and an average of two more soldiers die each day. Recruiting Nightmares For more and more young people, joining the military doesn't mean "Be all you can be," it means going to war. And the Army is feeling the chill. Major General Michael Rochelle, Army Recruiting Commander, worries that the war and other military commitments present the "toughest challenge to the all-volunteer army" since its inception in 1973. Staff Sergeant Spurgeon M. Shelly, a recruiter, complains how tough recruiting is. "I will hear 'No' more times in one day than a child would hear in their entire childhood. If I had hair, I would pull it out." He signed up four recruits in six months, putting him way below his quota of two recruits per month. Recruiters are hiding police records, mental illness and physical ailments to make their quotas. An Army investigation into recruitment improprieties found 1,118 incidents involving one in five recruiters. The Army substantiated 320 of these cases in 2004, up from 213 in 2002 and 199 in 1999. Recruiters and some senior army officers admit that for every documented impropriety, there are at least two more that are never discovered. "We have to play fast and loose with the rules just to get by," one recruiter told The New York Times. Another recruiter laments, "The only people who want to join the Army now have issues; they're troubled, with health, police or drug problems." After a dismal record of missed quotas each month throughout the spring, the Army stalled on releasing enlistment data for May. Finally in mid-June, the Army reported achieving 75 percent of its monthly recruiting goal of 6,700. But the Army did not attract more recruits; it moved the goal posts, lowering its May target from 8,050 new recruits, asserting it would make up the difference this summer. Furthest From Our Thoughts? The Pentagon and the President promise that the draft is a thing of the past. "The D-word is the farthest thing from my thoughts," Francis J. Harvey, Secretary of the Army, told a Washington Post reporter in March, laughing. The Pentagon's position is that a professional all-volunteer army performs better, has higher morale and is less costly to train. Last October, President Bush was adamant on the question, saying, "I want every American to understand that, as long as I am President, there will be no draft." The Nixon administration retired the military draft in 1973, but mandatory registration of men at the age of 18 was reinstituted in 1980 under President Carter, and today the Selective Service System has 13.5 million men ages 18-25 registered. McNeil's perspective that the draft is creeping back is strengthened by recent announcements by Selective Service that it can now register and draft healthcare workers, computer specialists, linguists and other personnel if necessary. In March, the SSS issued a report notifying the President that "it would be ready to implement a draft within 75 days" following Congressional authorization. While spokesman Richard Flahavan says the steps are "strictly in the planning stages," and the report was part of the SSS' annual budget request, these moves agitate fears of a returning draft. Military expert David Segal believes that a new military conscription policy would galvanize an anti-draft movement that would dwarf that of the 1960s. The expectation that the draft would rouse a complacent populace into a powerful and mainstream anti-war movement fuels the draft-watch fixation of websites like Nodraftnoway.org, Stopthedraft.com and Draftfreedom.org. The Wrong Question But, for many in the counter-recruitment movement, "Is the draft coming back?" is the wrong question. Marti Hiken, co-chair of the Military Law Taskforce, does not see the draft on the far-off horizon; she sees it as existing reality for hundreds of thousands of Americans. There is the "poverty draft" of young people who are told the military is their only path to a career; the "backdoor draft" of the Stop-Loss program which mandates soldiers stay in active duty for up to 24 months after their contracts have expired; "the senior draft" in which reservists (who make up 40 percent of the fighting force in Iraq) are compelled back into active military service; and finally, there is the "secret draft" of mercenaries and private military contractors. For Hiken, worrying about the draft is an abstraction compared to the havoc wreaked by these real but covert forms of compulsory service. For every covert draft, Hiken sees grassroots groups countering and gaining traction. A lot of the energy is focused on the outrages of Stop-Loss, which has been legally challenged eight times so far. One suit, brought by Emiliano Santiago in Oregon, climbed to the Supreme Court before it was rejected and Santiago was shipped off to Afghanistan to re-join his unit. Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA) championed Santiago's case, saying on the floor of the House, "Santiago's plight should be known and feared by every high school junior and senior across the country. The ugly little secret in the Pentagon is that Emiliano Santiago's voluntary service is involuntary." Hiken says that even though Santiago lost his case, the ruling "fanned the fires of counter-recruitment work," and made people "think twice before signing up for the military," playing a "critical role in lowering enlistment levels." Another case, on behalf of soldier David W. Qualls and seven John Does, was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C in December and is still in the motions phase. Overall, Hiken says, "I have not seen a grassroots movement like the one we have now. In every community people are fighting." Military Unwelcome Rick Jahnkow, an organizer with the Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft, thinks more people should be joining those fights rather than wringing their hands about a possible draft. The longtime counter-recruitment activist says it's not "a total waste of time to talk about the draft," but he is quick to add that it is not enough. "We have to reverse the militarization of school, campus and society," says Jahnkow, listing "military recruitment, the poverty draft, the militarization of curriculum through Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (J-ROTC)" as important targets. He worries that young people's acculturation to the military will make a future draft easier. "We need to undermine and delegitimize those programs, make them unwelcome," he says. That is exactly what people are doing in communities around the country. Kevin Ramirez, an organizer with Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, catalogues recent actions making the military very unwelcome in schools and on campuses. At Seattle Central Community College in January, "students literally chased Army recruiters off campus." The following month, college students in New Haven tabling with counter-recruitment materials "received so much positive attention from other students" that the military recruiters packed up their tables and left. In Bloomington, Minnesota, Ramirez continues, a high school group fought their administration and the American Legion to allow "counter-recruitment tables and information" equal access to their school and they won. The movement against Stop-Loss, counter-recruitment actions, young people organizing to get the military out of their schools, and the ongoing work to end the war and bring the troops home resonates today and tomorrow, whether or not President Bush asks Congress to vote to reinstate the draft. These movements sustain hope and save lives, while hinting at what a de-militarized United States would look like. These movements prove that we don't have to wait for a draft to have an impact. Frida Berrigan serves on the National Committee of the War Resisters League. ---- Feds increasingly classify documents Updated 7/5/2005 9:30 AM (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-07-03-classified_x.htm WASHINGTON — Driven largely by ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the federal government reports that the number of documents being classified jumped 10% last year to 15.6 million. The numbers come from the Information Security Oversight Office in its latest annual report to the president. Meanwhile, the number of pages that the government declassified continued to drop. Last year, 28.4 million pages were declassified, a 34% drop from the previous year. An increase in the number of documents being classified has raised concerns that the government is being too secretive, and the report notes that overclassification of documents has been a consistent issue for decades. However, the report stops short of saying that the trend runs counter to the nation's interest. "It cannot be said conclusively from this report's data that recent increases in the number of classification decisions were due substantially to the phenomenon of overclassification," the report states. The report, dated March 31, notes that classifying information is an essential and proven tool for defending the nation, but says that it can be a double-edged sword. For example, it said limits on information can contribute to friendly fire deaths on the battle field, and failure to share information contributed to the government's failure to intercept the plot that led to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Simply put, secrecy comes at a price. For classification to work, agency officials must become more successful in factoring this reality into the overall risk equation when making classification decisions," the report said. ---- Noncitizen soldiers: the quandaries of foreign-born troops By Patrik Jonsson | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor July 05, 2005 edition http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0705/p01s03-usmi.html RALEIGH, N.C. - Stuck in the Iraqi desert, fighting a war for a country not yet his, US Army Sgt. Leopoldo Escartin and other troops at Camp Dogwood hung a bit of home outside their desert-tan tent: the tricolor Mexican flag. Making up about 7 percent of America's active fighting force, immigrants with green cards - Mexicans the largest group among them - are risking their lives not just for advancement within the Army, but for a leg up on the road to US citizenship. As America celebrated its 229th year of independence this weekend, immigrants offered their own breed of patriotic sacrifice, and their numbers are rising even as the Army has struggled to meet recruiting goals. Their service is steeped in pride, but also in the paradoxes of allegiance inherent in serving under a foreign flag. "If I die over there, I'm not even dying for my own country," says Sergeant Escartin, who is based at Fort Bliss, Texas. To the public, the role of immigrant soldiers is equally complicated: Even as the nation honors their exemplary service, there is ambivalence over how big a role noncitizens should play. Even the Declaration of Independence, in its litany of complaints about England, railed against the use of "foreign mercenaries." Today, the notion that America may be, in effect, hiring foreigners to do its dirty work, is an ethical quandary exaggerated by the quiet loosening of requirements - and increasing of benefits - for immigrants who will shoulder rifles for Uncle Sam. "There are many stories ... about young men and women who signed up knowing that they would eventually gain their citizenship, who were subsequently killed," says Charles Peña, a defense-policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute. "The question is: Was their ultimate sacrifice worthwhile?" Recognizing the growing importance of immigrants in an Army that has struggled to meet its recruiting goals, the government is hastening citizenship for those who serve in the Armed Forces long term. There were 28,000 immigrant soldiers five years ago; that number has climbed to 39,000 today, not counting the thousands of foreign contractors hired since 9/11. So far, 59 immigrant casualties have been granted posthumous citizenship - and a new rule allows their families to use the deceased as a sponsor for their own residency papers. Even illegal immigrants who enter the forces under false pretenses have a chance at legal residency if they see combat. "There's very few of us [Americans] ... who really want to go out and fight, and it's a smaller number today than ever in the past," says Max Boot, a defense-policy expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, who has proposed a foreign "Freedom Legion" that would secure citizenship for foreign nationals fighting for the US, while helping the Armed Forces meet recruitment goals. Tapping into other cultures, he says, would "help the recruiting and it would bring some great people to the United States." Some generals say that increasing the foreign presence in American ranks could dilute troops' sense of unity and common purpose. Yet many observers say foreign volunteers tend to be exemplary in the line of duty, and units of mostly Hispanic fighters are doing some of the heavy lifting in Iraq. "[Foreign-born fighters] identify with the ideals of the United States and they are willing to fight and protect those ideals, even before they've secured all the liberties of citizenship," says Christopher Bentley, a senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman. In part, that's because the military offers a happy end to a classic immigrant story, even as an average of two soldiers a day die overseas: Work hard, sacrifice, and let faith and toil bring their own rewards. At the same time, some parents of fallen immigrant soldiers blame their children's deaths on Army recruiters. "There's a long tradition of immigrants helping the United States ... yet all the time not knowing where to place their allegiance," says Nestor Rodriguez, director of the Center for Immigration Research in Houston. "It's hard for parents, too, because they bring these soldiers here as young children, and when the worst thing happens, they question themselves: 'Did we do the right thing in coming here?' " Recent naturalization ceremonies in El Paso and Atlanta included dozens of soldiers. Escartin, who emigrated from Mexico City when he was 12, became a citizen inside the El Paso convention center on Wednesday. Over 7,000 foreign-born military grunts are naturalized each year, processed through a special immigration office in Nebraska in one-fourth the time required for a regular application. "Americans sometimes take it for granted what they've got," says Escartin. "It's all pretty much there for [American kids], and that's why we try harder, because it's not given to us." In a country where some are skeptical of immigration, yet most are hesitant to reinstitute the draft, ethical questions abound over immigrants' role in the Army - chiefly, perhaps, the idea of dying for a flag that is not one's own, compelled by opportunities for advancement. With thousands of immigrants in Iraq and elsewhere, the US, critics say, is outsourcing its war. Though the British still have their Nepalese Ghurkas and the French their Foreign Legion, critics say that for the US to hire more foreigners harks back to the Hessian auxiliaries who once fought American colonists on England's behalf. "It is pragmatic ... but it does reflect in the long run poorly on America to hire foreigners to do our fighting," says Charles Moskos, a sociologist at Northwestern University. For immigrant soldiers, however, the ethical lines aren't always so clear, even as they fly flags other than the Stars and Stripes, and pass up burgers and apple pie for the comfort foods of their homeland. Mr. Bentley at the DHS says most immigrant soldiers have been in the US since they were young, have grown up reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in school, and have acquired the language and mannerisms of Yanks. Many already feel like Americans; citizenship only makes it official. "I've been here for a long time, I feel like this is my home," says Spc. Hector Bolly, a Mexican national who received his citizenship in El Paso on Wednesday. "If you think about it, you'd rather be in the US than Mexico - it's a better place over here, and when you're a citizen, it's easier to become whatever you want to become." -------- POLICE / PRISONERS / COURTS / JUSTICE -------- homeland security / national intelligence Jailed Native American Leader Leonard Peltier Transferred to Indiana Prison and Put in Solitary Confinement Tuesday, July 5th, 2005 Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/05/1342234 Jailed Native American Leader Leonard Peltier was transferred from Leavenworth prison in Kansas to the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana where he was put in solitary confinement. We speak with his lead attorney, Barry Bachrach. [includes rush transcript] We turn now to the case of jailed Native American Leader Leonard Peltier. Peltier was convicted for the deaths of two FBI agents who died during a 1975 shoot-out with the American Indian Movement known as AIM on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Peltier is serving two life sentences for the fatal shootings but has always maintained his innocence. He has been in jail for almost 30 years. Peltier has been serving time in Leavenworth prison in Kansas. Last week, his grandson went to visit him and found out that he had been abruptly transferred and put in the hole, or solitary confinement, at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. * Barry Bachrach, he has been the lead attorney for Leonard Peltier for the past 3 and 1/2 years. He is a partner at the law firm Bowditch and Dewey. RUSH TRANSCRIPT AMY GOODMAN: For more on this story, we turn to Leonard Peltier's attorney, Barry Bachrach, who speaks to us now. Can you tell us what is the situation for Leonard Peltier? Has he been moved out of Leavenworth for good? BARRY BACHRACH: Yes. He has been moved out of Leavenworth for good. And as you indicated, he was transferred -- I never -- I didn't even find out that he was transferred until after Cyrus, his grandson, called me and indicated to me that he had been moved. And at that point, I got on the phone to make sure that things were okay and found out when I spoke to Leonard, that he had not been given his medications, but just as I called him, he was being given his medications. AMY GOODMAN: And will he be at the Terre Haute prison now for good? BARRY BACHRACH: As I understand it, yes, unless we can change his security level and get him into what we believe is a more appropriate setting. AMY GOODMAN: Barry Bachrach, lead attorney for Leonard Peltier. -------- ENERGY -------- alternative energy Hydrogen to 'solve energy crisis' By Alex Murdoch July 05, 2005 The Australian http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15830025%255E29277,00.html HYDROGEN power would eventually solve the world's impending energy crisis, federal Industry and Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane said today. Mr Macfarlane said the Middle East's stranglehold on oil and the rapid depletion of the world's fossil fuels exemplified the need for a long-term energy solution. In Brisbane for the Austmine Mining Innovation from Downunder Conference, Mr Macfarlane said he believed hydrogen fast fusion technology, under development in the United States, was the only viable alternative energy source. He said the advantages of hydrogen, which released explosive energies through a reaction with oxygen contained in fuel cells, included its abundance, non-toxicity and renewable and non-polluting qualities. An economically viable method of producing and storing the energy was yet to be found. "I think it will be the long-term solution," Mr Macfarlane said. He said not only would hydrogen fast fusion have the potential to power the world's cities, but could produce a petrol replacement for future car generations. "(In the short term) you're going to see better use of renewables, geosequestration (clean coal technology) and perhaps a better reliance on nuclear," Mr Macfarlane said. "But at some stage there's got to be a long-term answer on energy." However, Mr Macfarlane said Australia alone had a coal supply large enough to last 200 years. He said with this in mind, the nation had concentrated most of its efforts on clean coal technology. This involves burying its carbon dioxide waste under the ground rather than releasing it into the atmosphere and adding to the greenhouse effect. He said while nuclear power also could not be ruled out as a viable method of extending the world's power supply, a community driven debate was required on the entire nuclear energy cycle. "Nuclear is a social as well as an industry issue and until you resolve the issue of where you're putting your nuclear waste – then it's pointless talking about nuclear power stations," he said. -------- ACTIVISTS 2,000 Blockade Nuclear Sub Base in Scotland Tuesday, July 5th, 2005 Democracy Now! Headlines http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/05/1341259 Back in Scotland, on Monday some 2,000 anti-war protesters blockaded Scotland's largest military base -- the Royal Navy submarine base at Faslane. The base is home port for all four British Trident nuclear armed submarines. So far police in Edinburgh have arrested up to one hundred protesters in demonstrations leading up to the G8 meetings. More protests are scheduled throughout the week. ---- 200,000 March in "Make Poverty History" Protest in Scotland Tuesday, July 5th, 2005 Democracy Now! Headlines http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/05/1341259 President Bush is flying to Scotland today to take part in the Group of Eight summit. While the summit opens on Wednesday, Scotland has already been the scene of mass protests. On Saturday more than 200,000 demonstrators gathered in Edinburgh for the "Make Poverty History" march. That same day simultaneous concerts were held in 10 cities around the world in an attempt to increase the world's attention about poverty in Africa.