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EU warns Iran is close to making nukes
According to text of an EU report on Iran's nuclear program released to reporters ahead of it's official delivery to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, they believe Tehran is close to having the ability to make a nuclear weapon, and it appears that Iran has been pursuing a program aimed at developing one. Iran continues to deny these claims, which have also been made by the US and Israel, insisting the nuclear program is for civilian energy production purposes. According to text of an EU report on Iran's nuclear program released to reporters ahead of it's official delivery to the Int... more
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N.Korea ousts U.N. monitors, to restart atom bomb plant
North Korea has expelled U.N. monitors from its plutonium-making nuclear plant and plans to start reactivating it next week, officials said on Wednesday, rowing back from a 2007 deal to scrap its atomic bomb program.
The Stalinist state said on Friday it was working to restart the Yongbyon atomic complex it had been dismantling since last November under a disarmament-for-aid agreement with five powers.
Olli Heinonen, the International Atomic Energy Agency's head of non-proliferation safeguards, told a closed meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors that monitors were forced to leave the plutonium facility this week...
Read The Rest at Link... North Korea has expelled U.N. monitors from its plutonium-making nuclear plant and plans to start reactivating it next week, officials... more -
North Korea removes UN watchdog seals from nuclear reactor
North Korea has moved a step closer to restarting its nuclear programme after removing a UN watchdog's seals from its Yongbyon reactor.
Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the agency's board that Pyongyang had said it would reintroduce nuclear material within a week. Analysts have said North Korea would need at least several months - and probably more - to restart the largely dismantled complex.
On Monday, North Korea asked the IAEA to remove seals and cameras from Yongbyon, its main atomic complex, after vowing to restart the facility, effectively reneging on a nuclear disarmament deal with the US, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea.
At six-party talks last year, Pyongyang agreed to scrap its nuclear programme in return for aid from the US, and in November it began dismantling the Yongbyon plant.
North Korea announced last month that it had stopped dismantling its nuclear facilities because of America's failure to fulfil a promise to remove it from the US state department's list of states that sponsor terrorism.
Amid reports that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, might be seriously ill, North Korea seemed to harden its position on Friday last week, saying that it no longer wanted to be removed from the list. "We can go our own way," a foreign ministry official was quoted as saying.
South Korea today called on North Korea to stop moves to restore its Yongbyon plant and urged its neighbour to return to disarmament talks.
"We express major concern about the North's continued move to restore its Yongbyon nuclear complex," a South Korean official said. "We call on the North to immediately restart the steps to disable it and return to talks on a verification mechanism."
Diplomats and experts said North Korea's decision to restart its nuclear programme was yet another example of its brinkmanship rather than a pressing threat.
The US envoy for North Korea, Christopher Hill, this week downplayed Pyongyang's hardened stance, describing it as part of the "rough and tumble" of negotiations. He said North Korea's actions came at a tough time in the negotiating process amid intensifying efforts to get it to agree to a mechanism on verifying its nuclear programme. North Korea has moved a step closer to restarting its nuclear programme after removing a UN watchdog's seals from its Yongbyon re... more -
North Korea preparing to restart its nuclear reactor facility
North Korea said Friday it is making "thorough preparations" to restart its nuclear reactor, accusing the United States of failing to fulfill its obligations under an international disarmament-for-aid agreement.
It is the first time the communist nation has confirmed a reversal of steps taken since last year to disable its nuclear program because of Washington's refusal to quickly remove it from a U.S. terrorism blacklist.
"We are making thorough preparations for restoration" of the Yongbyon nuclear complex, the deputy director-general of North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hyun Hak Bong, told reporters...
Read the Rest at Link... North Korea said Friday it is making "thorough preparations" to restart its nuclear reactor, accusing the United States of f... more -
Dickey Talks to Saudi’s al-Faisal
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. His cause as crown prince in the 1990s and as reigning monarch since 2005 has been to settle as many disputes as he can in this region of clashing faiths, millennial rivalries and chronic conflagrations. They are all related, as he sees it, from Palestine to the price of oil, from Iraqi death squads to Iranian nukes to the risk of global recession, each cancroid problem feeding off the other. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. His cause as crown prince in the 1990s and as reigning monarch since 2005 has been to settle as many di... more
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THE ONE VIDEO ALL AMERICANS MUST SEE!- "McCain will make Cheney look like Gha...
Republicans and Military Personnel Against McCain
Scott Ritter, the weapons inspector who was right about Bush lying about WMDs, predicts mushroom clouds over America if McCain becomes President.
If Wes Clark questioning John McCain's ability to lead our country wasn't enough, check out Pat Buchanan saying McCain will make Cheney look like Gandhi. As this chilling video from Aaron Hodgins Davis suggests, more and more Republicans and servicemembers who oppose the war in Iraq and the possibility of another in Iran are coming out against McCain for following in Bush's hawkish footsteps.
The Bush administration has built a new generation of nuclear weapons that we call ‘usable’ nukes, and they have a nuclear ‘posture’ now, which permits the use of nuclear weapons in a non-nuclear environment if the Commander in Chief deems U.S forces to be at significant risk. If we start bombing Iran (I tell you now it’s not going to work). My concern is that we will use nuclear weapons to break the backbone of Iranian resistance and it may not work, but what it will do is this. It will unleash the nuclear genie. So to all those Americans out there tonight who are saying, you know what, taking on Iran is a good thing… . And if we use nuclear weapons, the genie ain’t going back in the bottle until an American city is taken out by an Islamic weapon in retaliation. So tell me, you want to go to war against Iran, pick your city. Pick your city. Tell me which one you want gone. Seattle? L.A.? Boston? New York? Miami? Pick one! Because at least one’s going. And that’s something we should all think about before marching down this path of insanity.
McCain as Commander in Chief should scare the living hell out of everyone. Republicans and Military Personnel Against McCain ... more -
NYT does it again: More ‘Judy Miller’ tapdancing (Part 2) « Dandelion Salad
by Luke Ryland
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
A front page article “In Nuclear Net’s Undoing, a Web of Shadowy Deals” in Monday’s New York Times by William Sanger and David Broad details the destruction of evidence by the US government in a case involving the nuclear black market.
The article highlights again that the New York Times continues to engage in ‘Judy Miller reporting’ by warmongering and acting as a mouthpiece for the government.
This is the second article in a multi-part series. This article will focus on the countries involved, and how and why the NY Times continues to act as a government mouthpiece by focusing attention on, and warmongering toward, Iran, and minimizing the role of so-called allies such as Turkey and Dubai. (The first piece of the series focused on the players in the AQ Khan / BSA Tahir nuclear smuggling ring.)
[...] by Luke Ryland featured writer Dandelion Salad ... more -
New York state says Indian Point nuclear plant killing too many fish
The huge numbers of fish sucked to their death by the cooling system at the Indian Point nuclear plant prove that the system harms the Hudson River environment, a New York state official has ruled.
The finding by J. Jared Snyder, assistant commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, is a victory for plant critics who claim that up to 1.2 billion fish and eggs are killed each year as the plant continuously draws in river water for use as a coolant.
"For decades, Indian Point has maintained that its cooling systems have no impact on Hudson River fish," said Robert Goldstein, general counsel to the environmental group Riverkeeper. "At long last, the DEC has pout an end to this fiction."
Snyder said that even the lowest estimate of fish deaths _ 900,000 annually _ "represents excessive fish kills" and establishes an adverse environmental impact.
The ruling, issued this month, means the plant's owner, Entergy Nuclear, may no longer raise the environmental-impact issue as it battles the state's order to build costly towers that recycle cooling water and make big river intakes unnecessary. Entergy had argued that the river's adult fish populations have been stable.
The towers, known as closed-cycle cooling, could cost Entergy more than $1.6 billion.
^^^^^^^
But of course, Entergy will fight building the towers. They don't really care about the environment, just profit. Good ruling. The huge numbers of fish sucked to their death by the cooling system at the Indian Point nuclear plant prove that the system harms the... more -
Clear Channel removes "anti-McCain" billboard from St. Paul airport
A unit of Clear Channel Communications Inc. will take down an anti-nuclear billboard at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at the request of Northwest Airlines, the advertising company said Monday.
The billboard was one of two placed by the Union of Concerned Scientists at the Twin Cities and Denver airports ahead of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions to urge the parties' presidential candidates to reduce the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, said Elliott Negin, a spokesman for the group.
The ad in Minnesota reads, "When only one nuclear bomb could destroy a city like Minneapolis... We don't need 6,000." It also says, "Senator McCain: It's time to get serious about reducing the nuclear threat." And it shows a picture of the Minneapolis skyline with target crosshairs superimposed over it.
"It uses the word 'bomb' in an airport so it's not real appropriate," Hardie said. "It's probably a little unsettling to people to see that in an airport environment, particularly post 9-11."
Hardie said Clear Channel has asked the Union of Concerned Scientists to modify the ad so it doesn't intimidate passengers, and will accept a revised version if its concerns are met.
E-mails from Northwest officials to Hardie — which Negin said the union obtained from its ad agency — described the ad as anti-McCain, the GOP presidential candidate.
"I just took a look and I can see how this would be offensive/scary to some (the concept of our city in the crosshairs of a nuclear bomb) and the strong anti-McCain message. Can we remove it?" Kathleen Nelson, Northwest's regional director, wrote to Hardie. A unit of Clear Channel Communications Inc. will take down an anti-nuclear billboard at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport... more -
Cold War? That's SO 20th Century!
There's terrific news for everyone who misses the moral clarity of our struggle against the Soviet Union: the Cold War is back! Or at least that's the impression you'd get reading the papers in the wake of the Russian incursion into Georgia. The president is telling the Russians to knock it off! The Russians are warning the Polish government to watch their asses! John McCain is ready to nuke someone right now, and the Democrats are once again urging the pussy policies of dialogue and sensible negotiation. We might even see another Olympic boycott! All we need is a new Rambo flick and it's the eighties all over again!
From Radar Online There's terrific news for everyone who misses the moral clarity of our struggle against the Soviet Union: the Cold War is back! O... more -
Russia eyes new Cuba nuclear bases
Russia is said to be considering the use of bases in Cuba as a refuelling point for its nuclear bombers, in a move reminiscent of the 1962 missile crisis.
The move would be in retaliation for the Bush administration's plan to site a missile defence shield in Europe. Russia says America's proposal for the shield in Poland and the Czech Republic poses a direct threat to its security.
Citing a "highly placed military source", a report in Monday's Izvestiya said the Kremlin wanted to use Cuba as a base for its long-range Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic nuclear bombers. "While they are deploying the anti-missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, our long-range strategic aircraft already will be landing in Cuba," the source told the paper. No final decision on landing bombers in Cuba had been taken, it added.
Link to this audio
'Russia is hacked off with Bush'
In 1962 Nikita Khrushchev, Russia's then leader, attempted to site nuclear missiles on the Caribbean island. His aim was to lessen the then strategic nuclear gap with the US. He eventually backed down and withdrew the missiles. The US secretly removed its missiles from Turkey.
Izvestiya is owned by Russia's state gas giant Gazprom and reflects official thinking. It is frequently used by the Kremlin as a vehicle for leaking information. The possible use of Cuba as a nuclear base dominated yesterday's Russian newspapers. Komsomolskaya Pravda said "our bombers" could be stationed under America's "belly", threatening the US in the same way it threatens Russia.
But Russia's defence ministry poured cold water on the report yesterday. "Russia, guided by its peaceful policy, is not creating military bases at the borders of other states," Russian news agencies quoted Ilshat Baichurin, acting head of the defence ministry's information department, as saying.
US and European diplomats also played down the report, saying they did not regard the threat as realistic even though General Norton Schwartz, who has been nominated as the US air force commander, warned on Tuesday that such a move by Moscow would amount to crossing a dangerous threshold.
Russian defence analysts told the Guardian there was little strategic point in using Cuba as a base and the idea seemed to have been floated to irritate the US.
Russia's nuclear aircraft have a range of up to 1,900 miles, allowing them to fire a nuclear missile at the US from much further away than Cuba, defence expert Pavel Felgenhauer said.
It was unclear yesterday whether Cuba had agreed to Russia's proposal. In a brief note on a government website, Fidel Castro said his brother Raúl, Cuba's president, was wise not to respond to the report. Most observers believe that the president would be unlikely to agree to any request from Moscow. Russia is said to be considering the use of bases in Cuba as a refuelling point for its nuclear bombers, in a move reminiscent of the ... more -
the other presidential contest.
Less than six months after the next American president takes office, Iran will hold its own Election Day. To win that race takes not only popular acclaim but the approval of one man—Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—and so far, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has the edge. For all his economic and diplomatic bungling, Ahmadinejad is still liked by Iran's poor: he stands up to the West; he knows how to talk to ordinary folk, and he's never been accused of personal corruption. Fat oil revenues help, too. Most important, he's no threat to Khamenei. Here's a look at other contenders.
Ali Larijani: Speaker of Majlis (Parliament). Khamenei likes him, but his ego puts others off.
Gholam Ali Haddad Adel: Supreme Leader's in-law and friend, not independent enough for some voters.
Mohammad Khatami: Reformist ex-president, widely seen as hopelessly wishy-washy.
Mehdi Karrubi: Tougher than Khatami, but equally poor odds. Reformists like him scare Khatami.
Mohammad Jafar Ghalibaf: War-hero mayor of Tehran has been running since 2005.
I wonder if the current administration has taken this into account while planning to deal with Iran. Less than six months after the next American president takes office, Iran will hold its own Election Day. To win that race takes not o... more -
The Sky is Not Falling - Obama Will Not Disarm Us
Last week I got an email from my friend, Josh, that said this: “my dad wanted you to see this.” I scrolled down to the forwarded portion that declared “Obama plans to disarm America.”
I thought, “Super! And since he is taking away all of our guns too, how are we going to fight the terrorists?!” Of course I was rolling my eyes. But I clicked on the link any way and I watched the video and read some of the comments that were posted.
Then I wrote back to my friend and said, “I don’t see a problem with what Obama is saying.”
He wrote back, “well, you could email my dad with your thoughts... see what he says. :)”
I responded, “Oh, I will.” But instead of just emailing my thoughts, I thought I would share them with all of you.
Read the rest at http://stonecipher.typepad.com or click the link above. Last week I got an email from my friend, Josh, that said this: “my dad wanted you to see this.” I scrolled down to the forwarded porti... more -
Is N. Korea helping Syria get nukes?
According to a CNN unnamed source, U.S. intelligence officials will brief congress Thursday about a link between North Korea and Syrian nuclear facilities. Allegedly the nuclear facility created through the partnership was bombed in September 2007 by Isreal. Congress demanded to be informed about what the Whitehouse knew, and when.
Syria denies the allegations, "This will be a ridiculous and pathetic charade," Imad Moustafa told CNN, adding that Syria has never had any nuclear project.
"All the accusations are absurd and preposterous," he said.
Moustafa continued, "This is exactly the same story as Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction," he said. "There is a proven record of this administration to fabricate lies." According to a CNN unnamed source, U.S. intelligence officials will brief congress Thursday about a link between North Korea and Syria... more -
US Admits to Sending Nuclear Parts to Taiwan..Whoops
The United States military this past week admitted that, "fuses designed for use on intercontinental ballistic missiles were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan in 2006." This comes on the heels that in September 2007, a b-52 bomber flew 2000 miles over the United States with six armed nuclear warheads, weapons in which the pilots and military did not know were turned on. The U.S. is investigating, but I wonder how and why these "accidents" are happening in the first place....and these are just the ones we are finding out about. The United States military this past week admitted that, "fuses designed for use on intercontinental ballistic missiles were mist... more
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The Audacity Of Fraud: How Barack Obama Is Losing My Vote
After reading this report of Barack Obama's own words regarding military expansion, pre-emptive war, nuclear policy, and terrorism and his own quotes in debates, I am really beginning to think that the "change" he talks about is the status quo hidden under pretty words. I already know the Clintons are part of that status quo as McCain is as well, but I expected different from someone who claims to be progressive.
To many however, Barack Obama is a new face they are flocking to without even caring to delve deep enough into the words to get their true meanings. Well, after eight years of the deception, lies, and crimes of the Bush regime I am looking into the words and frankly, I'm not liking all I see. What I see is business as usual and it is so frustrating to think that we may have no choice but to go along.
Consider this quote of his from the linked article: “To defeat al Qaeda, I will build a twenty-first-century military and twenty-first-century partnerships as strong as the anticommunist alliance that won the Cold War to stay on the offense everywhere from Djibouti to Kandahar.” How is this different from the current policy? So I think the overriding question to this is: will this policy be accepted if continued and if so, why? Why would we approve of expanding this military even more when this country already has the largest military budget in the world? And, would this expansion include nuclear?
* Also, the title of this entry is the title of the article, it is not mine, nor is the picture. I am currently not supporting any candidate, but am truly concerned that regardless of party we may not see the change we need to see regarding finally ending the war mentality that has dessimated our constitution, our economy, and our environment. After reading this report of Barack Obama's own words regarding military expansion, pre-emptive war, nuclear policy, and terroris... more -
UN watchdog says Iran never stopped making nukes
Britain's envoy to the United Nations nuclear watchdog contradicted the findings of US intelligence officials who said Iran stopped developing a nuclear weapon in 2003.
Simon Smith, the chief British delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, was speaking after diplomats were shown documents which, if accurate, would back claims by hawks in the Bush administration that Iran has continued to pursue its nuclear weapons programme.
Teheran has refused to address the weaponisation studies issue, dismissing such allegations as "baseless" and saying the intelligence used to back them up was "fabricated".
I wonder if we'll ever get a straight answer from either side. Britain's envoy to the United Nations nuclear watchdog contradicted the findings of US intelligence officials who said Iran stopp... more -
22 Police Dead, Dozens Injured
Pakistan still does not have it's s$#t together. They have nukes. Anyone scared?
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Who needs nukes when you have this kind of America?
To: President Ahmadinejad
From: The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence
Subject: America
We concluded that after the collapse of communism, America was on track to become the worlds sole superpower and most compelling role model for Muslim youth including our own. We were wrong. We now have high confidence that America is on a path of self-destruction, for three reasons:
First, 9/11 has made America afraid and therefore stupid. The war on terrorism is now so deeply imbedded in Americas psyche that we think it is highly likely that America will continue to export more fear than hope and will continue to defend things like torture and Guantánamo Bay prison and to favor politicians like Mr. Giuliani, who alienates the rest of the world.
Second, at a time when Americas bridges, roads, airports and Internet bandwidth have fallen behind other industrial powers, including China, we believe that the U.S. opposition to higher taxes and the fact that the primary campaigns have focused largely on gay marriage, flag-burning and whether the Christian Bible is the literal truth means it is highly unlikely that America will arrest its decline.
Third, all the U.S. presidential candidates are distancing themselves from the core values that made America such a great power and so different from us in particular Americas long commitment to free trade, open immigration and a reverence for scientific enquiry wherever it leads. Our intel analysts are baffled that the leading Democrat, Mrs. Clinton, no longer believes in globalization and the leading Republican, Mr. Huckabee, never believed in evolution.
Therefore, we conclude with high confidence that there is little likelihood that post-9/11 America will, as they say, get its groove back anytime soon.
Who needs nukes when you have this kind of America?
God is Great. Long Live the Iranian Revolution. To: President Ahmadinejad From: The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence Subject: America ... more -
China Deal Gives Lift to Revival of Fission
PARIS, Nov. 26 Areva, the French nuclear power giant, signed the largest deal in the industrys history Monday, with Chinas leading nuclear power company.
A nuclear renaissance is now gearing up everywhere in the world, said John B. Ritch III , a former American diplomat and director general of the World Nuclear Association, an industry group. It is occurring parallel to an enormous expansion in energy consumption.
Some governments heed their antinuclear constituencies. Germany, once a leader in nuclear energy, is committed to exiting nuclear energy by 2020; Sweden is similarly committed to phase out its nuclear plants by 2010.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No Nukes, period! PARIS, Nov. 26 Areva, the French nuclear power giant, signed the largest deal in the industrys history Monday, with Chinas leading... more
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