NucNews September 24, 2006 -------- NUCLEAR -------- britain Blair Accused Of Stifling Nuclear Debate On ICBM Replacements by Staff Writers Manchester (AFP) England, Sept 24, 2006 http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Blair_Accused_Of_Stifling_Nuclear_Debate_On_ICBM_Replacements_999.html Britain's governing Labour Party were accused of stifling debate on the opening day of its annual conference after it vetoed calls to discuss the replacement of the country's nuclear deterrent. A number of grassroots Labour branches were told 17 motions they had submitted to discuss the ageing Trident system were inadmissible on technical grounds. Senior government ministers, including Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain and International Development Secretary Hilary Benn, backed anti-nuclear campaigners' views that the conference was the last chance for open discussion. Justice Minister Harriet Harman warned that all British taxpayers would want a say on how their money was spent when Labour leader and Prime Minister Tony Blair makes a decision on a new generation of nuclear weapons later this year. The chairwoman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) described the decision as a "travesty of democracy" and accused Labour of contriving to avoid an open debate. "They seem to be doing anything possible to avoid a debate which is shocking. They are trying to gag debate," she added. Trident was set up in the 1980s by then prime minister Margaret Thatcher when the Soviet Union -- not global terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda -- was seen as the primary threat. It is based on four British Royal Navy submarines fitted with US-built Trident missiles which are due to become obsolete in the 2020s. One of the submarines is always on patrol, but the missiles are no longer pre-targeted. Replacing the deterrent is likely to cost between 10 to 25 billion pounds (15 to 37 billion euros, 19 to 47 billion dollars), observers say, although opponents claim the figure will be higher. -------- depleted uranium Group urges toxins action By Andrea Bennett, Staff Writer 09/24/2006 Upland, CA, Daily Bulletin http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_4388169 NORCO - The Community Advisory Group announced last week that it was time its concerns about contamination in the community be taken seriously by those in power. CAG member Jennifer Beaudet said she had done enough sifting through records, collecting documents and researching historical reports on activities at the Wyle Laboratories site, a former military and civilian testing facility, to conclude that it must be thoroughly tested for depleted uranium and radioactive materials. Department of Toxic Substances Control "indicated in April 2006 that they addressed all the radioactive violations issued to Wyle Laboratories and concluded no action was needed," Beaudet said. "I believe there is evidence and information compelling enough for DTSC to investigate radiation and depleted uranium concerns." The state DTSC regulates the testing and cleaning efforts on and off the Wyle site. Recent findings of vinyl chloride inside buildings at Norco High School and the TCE (trichloroethylene) groundwater plume that runs off site and underneath residences in the area have taken priority in the Wyle investigation and cleanup efforts. Beaudet said she has records of multiple radiological violations issued to Wyle, in addition to several repeat violations, numerous violations from the Riverside County Hazardous Materials Division, detonation permits and 2001 photographs of witness plates that are used for denotation. Then there are the illnesses in Norco, mostly leukemia in children and thyroid problems in adults, Beaudet said. Medical experts have found, however, that Norco does not have an abnormal number of thyroid cancer cases. CAG members say they disagree with the findings. "We have astronomical numbers of people with thyroid issues and something is causing it," CAG Chairwoman Celeste Tittle said. "DTSC is just looking at TCE and saying TCE doesn't cause thyroid cancer." Tittle said radiation, perchlorate and NDMA (nitrosodimethylamine) are contaminants known to cause thyroid diseases, and she believes all three exist at the Wyle site. Beaudet said there are areas of the Wyle property that have yet to be investigated and historical records indicate the most hazardous testing was conducted in these areas. DTSC Project Manager Rafat Abassi could not be reached for comment last week. In addition to asking the state to expand its investigation, Tittle said the group needs more involvement from Norco. "The city's job is to protect the public. There are people calling the city and they're told there is nothing wrong with Wyle. That is not helpful. The Web site is not accessible and not updated," Tittle said. "And Jim Daniels (Norco community development director) is a CAG member and he hasn't come in over a year." Daniels could not be reached for comment last week. Tittle referred to a 2004 Riverside County Grand Jury report, which urged the city of Norco to be more proactive in informing the public about Wyle contamination. The Corona-Norco Unified School District was also reprimanded by Tittle, who said Assistant Superintendent Ted Rozzi and Norco High School Principal John Johnson have not attended CAG meetings for some time. Neither Rozzi nor Johnson could be reached for comment last week. Andrea Bennett can be reached at (909) 483-9347, or by e-mail andrea.bennett@dailybulletin.com. -------- mideast Egypt slams West for blocking resolution on Israeli nuclear arms By Reuters 24/09/2006 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/766349.html Egypt criticised Western powers on Saturday for blocking efforts to declare Israel's reputed nuclear arsenal a threat. The United States and other Western states combined on Friday to stifle a resolution at the U.N.'s nuclear agency, the IAEA, demanding Israel use atomic energy only for peaceful purposes and help set up a Middle East nuclear arms-free zone. The gathering voted in favour of a milder resolution, also initiated by Arab states, "affirming the urgent need for all states in the Middle East to accept full-scope IAEA safeguards on all their nuclear activities". In a news release on Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit slammed what he described as double standards and discriminatory policies on the part of Western countries. "It is unacceptable that these countries continue to ignore the danger posed by the Israeli nuclear threat to stability and security in the Middle East," he said. Aboul Gheit called on Israel to accede to the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to subject Israel's nuclear energy programme to safeguards and checks. Aboul Gheit said these countries should express the same level of interest in the Israeli nuclear threat as they do in other non-proliferation cases, and described Israel's nuclear programme as a "direct challenge" to the NPT regime. "For developing and Arab countries to comprehend the concern Western powers are expressing over the Iranian nuclear issue, these Western powers have to convince everyone that they adhere to all that is lawful, and not pick sides," Aboul Gheit said. Israel neither admits nor denies having atomic weapons under a policy of "strategic ambiguity", but most experts believe it has about 200 nuclear warheads. Last year, Israeli police filed charges against nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu for telling Western media that Israel assembled hydrogen and and neutron bombs at its Dimona nuclear reactor. Vanunu is currently banned from traveling. ---- Egypt to relaunch civil nuclear program CAIRO (AFP) Sep 24, 2006 http://www.spacewar.com/2006/060924190830.xrg2mjnh.html Egypt is to relaunch its civil nuclear energy program after a 20-year freeze, with plans for a nuclear power station on the Mediterranean coast, officials said Sunday. The government's Supreme Council for Energy met Sunday for the first time in 18 years to discuss alternative energy sources including the nuclear option. "The meeting decided to immediately begin studying a nuclear alternative in the light of increased need in Egypt," cabinet spokesman Magdi Radi told MENA, the official news agency. "The rate of consumption has surpassed the rate of development, and alternatives from other energy sources... are limited while the nuclear option has spread in the world as a result of an increase in safety," Radi said. On Thursday, President Hosni Mubarak told delegates at the closing session of his annual party conference that Egypt needed to begin looking into nuclear energy. "We must benefit from sources of new and renewable energy, including peaceful uses of nuclear energy," he said. "The future of energy is a central element in the building of the nation's own future," Mubarak said. On Sunday, Egypt's minister of electricity, Hassan Yunes, told the state-owned Al-Ahram daily that his country would have an operational power plant within 10 years of the project's approval. Egypt will build a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant at al-Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast at a cost of between 1.5 and two billion dollars, Yunes told the newspaper. He also said that Egypt would negotiate with foreign organisations over funding for the project. Egypt's nuclear program was frozen in 1986 following the accident at the Chernobyl power plant in what was then the Soviet Union. Although not a member of OPEC, Egypt exports crude oil despite slim reserves, and has also tapped into natural gas reserves. The independent daily al-Masri al-Yom quoted anonymous sources as saying that the government planned to construct three 1,800-megawatt nuclear power stations. Another daily, the state-owned al-Akhbar, quoted Yunes as saying several construction sites for power stations of a capacity of up to 5,000 megawatts had been identified. On Thursday, US ambassador to Egypt Francis J. Ricciardone said that the United States would have no objection to Egypt's peaceful use of nuclear energy. Speaking to Egypt's al-Mehwar television, Ricciardone said that "the United States encourages the peaceful use of nuclear power for civilian purposes throughout the world". Ahmed al-Qadi, former Chairman of the Nuclear Security Center, said that the al-Dabaa reactor could produce more electricity than the Aswan High Dam. Electricity is heavily subsidised in Egypt, with the government bearing the brunt of the cost while domestic consumers pay little. But key regional US ally Egypt is not expected to encounter the same problems faced by Iran in its controversial quest for nuclear energy. Egypt, a signatory of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, officially calls for the elimination of atomic arms in the region, and has repeatedly criticised Israel for its possession of nuclear weapons. Israel refuses to acknowledge or deny that it has nuclear arms, but most experts agree that it has at least 200 atom bombs in its arsenal. On Friday, a bid by Arab nations to pass a resolution at the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency condemning Israel's nuclear activities failed because of technical objections raised by Western countries. -------- missile defense Most Poles Opposed to U.S. Missile Shield September 24, 2006 Angus-Reid http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/13260 Many adults in Poland disagree with a proposal to join the United States in a defence system, according to a poll by TNS OBOP. 49 per cent of respondents oppose the construction of an anti-missile site in their country. In December 2002, U.S. president George W. Bush announced plans for the development of initial defence capabilities, which include ground-based and sea-based missile interceptors, as well as sensors located in space. In 2004, the U.S. approached the governments of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary as possible partners in the missile defence system. On Sept. 13, Polish defence minister Radoslaw Sikorski discussed the situation, saying, "Russia has very frankly communicated its unhappiness to us, the prospect of the U.S. planting a missile defence base in Poland. Clearly, we have to take this Russian view, a power neighbour of ours, into account. And that makes us even more insistent on a package of measures that would hypothetically come with a missile defence base, if the U.S. asks for it." Poland currently has 900 soldiers in central Iraq, as part of a multinational force. In March 2004, then-president Aleksander Kwasniewski said Poland was "misled" into the coalition effort, but added that Iraq today "is a much better place than Iraq with Saddam Hussein." Polling Data Do you support or oppose the construction of an anti-missile site in Poland? Support 33% Oppose 49% Not sure 18% Source: TNS OBOP Methodology: Interviews to 1,015 Polish adults, conducted from Sept. 7 to Sept. 11, 2006. No margin of error was provided. -------- u.s. nuc facilities -------- georgia Georgia's first energy plan hits the road GREG BLUESTEIN Sun, Sep. 24, 2006 Associated Press http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/15599250.htm ATLANTA - Georgia's top environmental officials are taking the state's first energy plan on a five-city tour, seeking the public's input at a series of meetings over the next eight days. The State Energy Strategy, unveiled in March, was drafted after last fall's hurricane season disrupted gas supplies, forced a spike in fuel prices and prompted Gov. Sonny Perdue to ask Georgia public schools to take two "snow days" to conserve fuel. The plan aims to establish a long-term energy strategy in Georgia. Many environmentalists say it's long overdue. Some conservationists, though, have raised concerns over what's missing in the 160-page draft. And they're planning to use the Energy Policy Council's tour to air those complaints. The first meeting will be Monday in Tifton, followed by stops in Savannah, Atlanta and Augusta, before the last on Oct. 3 in Rome. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a regional advocacy group, is urging that the policy encourage the development of alternative fuels in Georgia. "What needs to happen is the governor and the Legislature need to say this is an industry we want to seize the leadership in, just like the folks in the Midwest have done with corn" and ethanol, said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Knoxville, Tenn.-based alliance. Amid a sluggish timber market, some hope that Georgia will invest in efforts to convert pine trees into ethanol, a move that could boost rural Georgia's economy while decreasing the state's dependency on foreign oil. "The technology we think is here. We know the resource is here," said tree farmer Earl Barrs of Cochran. "We're excited about the opportunity to participate and improve our environment in the process." Critics say the policy fails to outline stricter energy standards, as well as the funding to enforce them. "Without financial resources, we won't be able to overcome the market and energy barriers to energy efficiency," said Dennis Creech, executive director of Southface Institute, an Atlanta-based nonprofit. A conservative group, meanwhile, complained that the plan does not devote much attention to nuclear energy, which it views as a cleaner, cheaper way to produce electricity. There were only 19 references to nuclear energy in the inches-thick policy draft, said Benita Dodd, vice president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, an Atlanta-based conservative think tank. "As the governor's Energy Policy Council takes its show on the road, Georgia citizens must be on hand to ensure that the dog and pony stay behind and center stage is occupied by common sense, environmental responsibility and economic progress," said Benita Dodd, the foundation's vice president. "And that means nuclear energy in the forefront." Once the recommendations are finalized, Perdue can adopt the ones he favors using executive orders or a legislative proposal, though any move he makes will hinge on his November re-election bid. On The Net Georgia Energy Plan: http://www.georgiaenergyplan.org. -------- MILITARY -------- arms MoD targets Libya and Iraq as 'priority' arms sales targets Antony Barnett Sunday September 24, 2006 The UK Observer http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1879729,00.html Countries with poor human rights records and those on the front line in the war on terror, including Iraq, have been targeted by the Ministry of Defence as the most lucrative places for British arms companies to sell weapons. A confidential report obtained by The Observer under the Freedom of Information Act reveals for the first time that Iraq and Libya are 'priority' markets. Also new on the list are Colombia and Kazakhstan, both criticised for human rights violations. The document has been prepared by the Defence Export Services Organisation (Deso), the agency that promotes the export of military equipment. It was sent to arms contractors last year detailing the countries that the government believes offer the best opportunities. The document's opening page states that it 'includes some established markets and some new or future markets (eg Iraq, Libya). All have strong prospects.' It also names Thailand as a priority market and describes it as 'one of the liveliest democracies in south-east Asia' and one that functions 'without any interference from the military'. Symon Hill, of the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, said: 'The British public will be sickened by Deso's attitude, which sees the violence in Iraq as simply a marketing opportunity. They will be horrified that Deso is funded through their income tax and VAT. Using taxpayers' money to arm tyrants is as bad for our economy as it is for our security. Yet we now know that through Deso that the government is supporting brutal regimes from Libya to Colombia.' The report states that 'in Colombia, the human rights and security situation has improved' but offers no evidence. Amnesty International expressed serious concerns recently about the numbers of displaced people in Colombia and reports of extra-judicial executions carried out directly by the security forces. The human rights group has also had numerous reports of human rights violations by paramilitaries. The war on terror is also seen as an opportunity to boost arms exports. The report states: 'Terrorism has become more complex and countering it with new equipment, systems and processes is now a major driver in spending and planning.' It adds: 'The collection, management and dissemination of information, and the translation of that into usable knowledge to create very rapid military effects, is as important a development in terms of military technology as the invention of the aircraft or the tank.' The report also gives advice to arms dealers on how to behave when they travel overseas. In Brazil, they should 'shake hands every time' and 'expect Brazilian men to stand (uncomfortably) close... or to put their arms around your shoulders and hug you.' In Thailand, 'flattery is the best prelude to criticism'. In Saudi Arabia, discussion should avoid 'religion, politics or women'. -------- us War price on U.S. lives equal to 9/11 Updated 9/24/2006 (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-22-war-toll_x.htm WASHINGTON — Now the death toll is 9/11 times two. U.S. military deaths from Iraq and Afghanistan now match those of the most devastating terrorist attack in America's history, the trigger for what came next. Add casualties from chasing terrorists elsewhere in the world, and the total has passed the Sept. 11 figure. The latest milestone for a country at war came Friday without commemoration. It came without the precision of knowing who was the 2,973rd man or woman of arms to die in conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. The terrorist attacks killed 2,973 victims in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The Pentagon's report Friday night of the latest death from Iraq, an as-yet unidentified soldier killed a day earlier after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bombing in eastern Baghdad, brought the U.S. death toll in Iraq to 2,695. Combined with 278 U.S. deaths in and around Afghanistan, the 9/11 toll was reached. Not for the first time, war that was started to answer death has resulted in at least as much death for the country that was first attacked, quite apart from the higher numbers of enemy and civilians killed. Historians note that this grim accounting is not how the success or failure of warfare is measured, and that the reasons for conflict are broader than what served as the spark. The body count from World War II was far higher for Allied troops than for the crushed Axis. Americans lost more men in each of a succession of Pacific battles than the 2,390 people who died at Pearl Harbor in the attack that made the U.S. declare war on Japan. The U.S. lost 405,399 in the theaters of World War II. Despite a death toll that pales next to that of the great wars, one casualty milestone after another has been observed and reflected upon this time, especially in Iraq. There was the benchmark of seeing more U.S. troops die in the occupation than in the swift and successful invasion. And the benchmarks of 1,000 dead, 2,000, 2,500. Now this. "There's never a good war but if the war's going well and the overall mission remains powerful, these numbers are not what people are focusing on," said Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Boston University. "If this becomes the subject, then something's gone wrong." Beyond the tribulations of the moment and the now-rampant doubts about the justification and course of the Iraq war, Zelizer said Americans have lost firsthand knowledge of the costs of war that existed keenly up to the 1960s, when people remembered two world wars and Korea, and faced Vietnam. "A kind of numbness comes from that," he said. "We're not that country anymore — more bothered, more nervous. This isn't a country that's used to ground wars anymore." Almost 10 times more Americans have died in Iraq than in Afghanistan, where U.S. casualties have been remarkably light by any historical standard, although climbing in recent months in the face of a resurgent Taliban. The Pentagon reports 56 military deaths and one civilian Defense Department death in other parts of the world from Operation Enduring Freedom, the anti-terrorism war distinct from Iraq. Altogether, 3,030 have died abroad since Sept. 11, 2001. The civilian toll in Iraq hit record highs in the summer, with 6,599 violent deaths reported in July and August alone, the United Nations said this week. Among the latest U.S. deaths identified by the armed forces: •Army 2nd Lt. Emily J.T. Perez, 23, Fort Washington, Md., who died Sept. 12 in Kifl, Iraq, from an explosive device detonated near her vehicle. A former high school sprinter who sang in her West Point gospel choir, she was assigned to the 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. •Marine Sgt. Christopher M. Zimmerman, 28, Stephenville, Texas, killed Wednesday in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. A new study on the war dead and where they come from suggests that the notion of "rich man's war, poor man's fight" has become a little truer over time. Among the Americans killed in the Iraq war, 34% have come from communities reporting the lowest levels of family income. Half come from middle income communities and only 17% from the highest income level. That's a change from World War II, when all income groups were represented about equally. In Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, the poor have made up a progressively larger share of casualties, by this analysis. Eye-for-an-eye vengeance was not the sole motivator for what happened after the 2001 attacks any more than Pearl Harbor alone was responsible for all that followed. But Pearl Harbor caught the U.S. in the middle of mobilization, debate, rising tensions with looming enemies and a European war already in progress. Historians doubt anyone paid much attention to sad milestones once America threw itself into the fight. In contrast, the United States had no imminent war intentions against anyone on Sept. 10, 2001. One bloody day later, it did.