LM 11 juillet 2011: Fukushima et la folie du nucléaire, guerre du Peuple Grecque vs les Banquiers internationaux et flottille d'aide humanitaire

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L'Autre Monde 11 juillet 2011: Fukushima et la folie du nucléaire, guerre du Peuple Grecque vs les Banquiers Internationaux et flottille d'aide humanitaire


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L'Autre Monde 11 juillet 2011
120 min / Radio de l'UQAM, CHOQ FM

	Diffusion en direct : Lundi à 15:00h Animation : François Marginean Réalisation :François Marginean Chronique : Stéphane Poutoire
Archives d'émission

Au programme cette semaine, 11 juillet 2011:

- Le point sur Fukushima et la situation du nucléaire à l'échelle de la planète; Gentilly-2 au Québec sera remise en opération, malgré les clairs avertissements de la dangerosité du nucléaire et qu'on en ait pas du tout besoin;

- Économie - la Grèce passée au tabac par les banquiers internationaux;

- La flottile d'aide humanitaire vers Gaza pour mettre fin au blocus illégal et inhumain contre la Palestine - sabotage, corruption, entrave à la loi internationale et Israël perd complètement la face, toute sa crédibilité et légitimité.

C'est en rendez-vous le lundi dès 15h pour l'émission la plus écoutée de CHOQ FM, la radio officielle de l'Université du Québec à Montréal !

***Hyperliens vers les sources des informations discutées sur l'émission d'aujourd'hui:

Nucléaire Québec:

Feu vert à la réfection de Gentilly-2

Photo: François Gervais, Archives La Voix de l’Est
Patrice Bergeron
La Presse Canadienne
Québec

Les autorités fédérales donnent le feu vert à la réfection de la seule centrale nucléaire du Québec, Gentilly-2, malgré la contestation et les inquiétudes suscitées par l’accident de Fukushima au Japon.
La Commission canadienne de sûreté nucléaire (CCSN) a en effet annoncé, mercredi, le renouvellement du permis d’exploitation de la centrale, qui prévoit aussi sa rénovation. Le permis autorise aussi l’installation de stockage de déchets radioactifs.
Le permis est valide pour cinq ans, du 1er juillet 2011 au 30 juin 2016.
La CCSN a pris cette décision à la suite des consultations publiques tenues à Ottawa et à Bécancour, des audiences qui ont été marquées par des coups d’éclat.
Estimé à environ deux milliards de dollars, le projet de réfection mobilise opposants et partisans. L’opposition péquiste ainsi que des groupes écologistes comme Greenpeace prônent la fermeture pure et simple des installations, ce qui coûterait au bas mot 1,6 milliard de dollars selon Hydro-Québec. D’un autre côté, le gouvernement et des groupes d’affaires privilégient le scénario de prolonger la vie utile de la centrale.
Hydro avait reporté son projet de réfection de 2011 à 2012, notamment en raison de l’explosion des coûts de la réfection en cours à la centrale de Pointe Lepreau au Nouveau-Brunswick, du processus de vente d’Énergie atomique du Canada limitée (ÉACL), ainsi que des incidents nucléaires survenus au Japon à la suite du tsunami du 11 mars dernier.
Hydro-Québec a réagi. Dans une entrevue téléphonique, la relationniste Isabelle Thellen a dit que la société d’État est «satisfaite», puisque la décision «correspond à la demande initiale» qu’elle a formulée «afin de poursuivre l’exploitation» et d’autoriser «éventuellement les conditions de remise en service».
Mme Thellen a toutefois rappelé que le dernier mot revient au gouvernement, qui a demandé tous les renseignements nécessaires de la part d’Hydro en mars et qui devra autoriser le projet de réfection. Ces renseignements n’ont pas encore été fournis au gouvernement par la société d’État.
La ministre responsable d’Hydro, Nathalie Normandeau, a quant à elle refusé de commenter. Son attachée de presse, Marie-France Boulay, a fait savoir qu’elle préférait prendre connaissance de l’intégralité de la décision avant de se prononcer.
Dans sa décision, la CCSN soutient qu’Hydro-Québec «est compétente pour exercer les activités autorisées par le permis renouvelé et fusionné et que, dans le cadre de ces activités, elle prendra les mesures voulues pour préserver la santé et la sécurité des personnes, protéger l’environnement, maintenir la sécurité nationale et respecter les obligations internationales que le Canada a assumées».
L’organisme fédéral demande aussi à Hydro d’arrêter son réacteur avant le 31 décembre, pour ensuite obtenir l’autorisation de le relancer. La société d’État devra aussi arrêter son réacteur au plus tard le 31 décembre 2012 pour réfection.
D’une capacité de 675 mégawatts, la centrale fournit près de cinq térawattheures d’énergie par année, soit environ 3% de la production totale d’Hydro-Québec et suffisamment d’électricité pour alimenter plus de 270 000 clients résidentiels.

Feu vert à la réfection de la centrale nucléaire Gentilly-2

Mais ils sont complètement irresponsables !
En plus, le Québec peut très bien s'en passer. Gentilly-2 est construite sur une faille sismique et la rénovation se fera à un cout astronomique (plusieurs milliards de $$$).

Les centaines de tonnes déchets radioactifs dangereux devront êtres stockés pendant au moins des centaines d'années et à un cout élevé et difficilement prévisible, à mois qu'ils décident de les diluer dans les matériaux de constructions et les biens de tous les jours, comme c'est déjà le cas en France, rendant ainsi une part de plus en plus grande du territoire contaminé et radioactif! C'est la solution de facilité adoptée par des bureaucrates et des industriels effrontés et qui agissent sans aucune. Ce sont des cancres, car ils n'ont rien appris des accidents de Three Miles Island, de Chernobyl et de Fukushima.

Les Allemands, les Suisses, les Japonais et les Italiens ont compris, eux. Les canadiens sont-ils moins brillants?:

Au Québec, nous ne sommes pas épargnés par la pollution radioactive, surtout à l'heure où Hydro-Québec a décidé de rénover la centre nucléaire Gentilly-2, très polluante et d'un coût astronomique, et ce sans aucun débat public. De plus Hydro-Québec s'apprête à faire l'acquisition de la centrale nucléaire Pointe Lepreau et héritera alors des centaines de tonnes de déchets hautement radioactifs. Que fera-t-on des tonnes de déchets nucléaires d'ici quelques années? Va-t-on les 'recycler' dans des objets manufacturés, écoles et routes québecois (et radioactifs) ?

Pour vous mettre à jour, écoutez l'entrevue avec Julie Lemieux, dont le livre ''Avez-vous peur du Nucléaire? Vous devriez peut-être...'' vient d'être publié:
http://www.choq.fm/lautremonde.html

Émissions du 2010-01-14 :
Émission du 14 janvier 2010: *****Entrevue spéciale avec Julie Lemieux, auteur du livre Avez-vous peur du Nucléaire? Vous devriez peut-être... Nous discuterons du secteur civil du nucléaire, de ses dangers méconnus et tout cela, dans le cadre du projet de rénovation de Gentilly-2 par Hydro-Québec. Vous verrez que bien des informations importantes vous on été dissimulées pour éviter d'éveiller une résistance de la population face à ce projet très couteux et potentiellement dangereux pour le Québec. On met en danger votre futur et celui de vos descendants sans vous consulter, écoutez cette entrevue pour savoir pourquoi.

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L'Allemagne officialise sa sortie du nucléaire

LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | 30.05.11 | 06h30 • Mis à jour le 30.05.11 | 09h06
http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2011/05/30/l-allemagne-officialise-sa-sortie-du-nucleaire_1529140_3214.html

L'Allemagne devra trouver d'ici à fin 2022 comment produire 22 % de ses besoins en électricité, actuellement couverts par ses centrales nucléaires.AFP/FRED DUFOUR

L'Allemagne, première grande puissance industrielle à renoncer à l'énergie nucléaire, a décidé, lundi 30 mai, de fermer ses derniers réacteurs en 2022, en conséquence de la catastrophe nucléaire de Fukushima, au Japon. Au terme de plusieurs heures de négociations, les membres de la coalition gouvernementale se sont mis d'accord pour que la plus grande partie des dix-sept réacteurs allemands soient mis hors service d'ici à fin 2021.

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Rejet du nucléaire en Italie : La France, droit dans ses botes ?

Après l’Allemagne et la Suisse, c’est au tour de l’Italie de fermer définitivement la porte au nucléaire à la quasi-unanimité des suffrages exprimés. L’Etat français poursuit sa quête radioactive en s’isolant, jour après jour, un peu plus sur la scène internationale.

Alors que le nucléaire est dangereux, coûteux et qu’un grand nombre de pays démontre qu’il est non seulement souhaitable mais possible de sortir du nucléaire, la France préfère donner des gages au lobby nucléaire plutôt que de saisir les nombreuses opportunités nées du développement des énergies renouvelables et de la sobriété énergétique. (...)

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La Suisse en finira avec le nucléaire en 2034

Energie atomqiue | Le Conseil fédéral a décidé mercredi que la Suisse sortirait du nucléaire en 2034. Les centrales nucléaires seront exploitées tant que leur sécurité est assurée, selon Doris Leuthard.
http://www.24heures.ch/actu/suisse/conseil-federal-decide-sortir-nucleaire-2011-05-25

La Suisse devrait sortir du nucléaire vers 2034: le Conseil fédéral a opté mercredi pour un abandon progressif de l’énergie atomique. Les centrales devraient être débranchées après environ 50 ans d’exploitation. Le prix de l’électricité risque d’augmenter.

«C’est une journée historique», a souligné Doris Leuthard devant la presse. Le premier réacteur à être mis hors service devrait être Beznau I en 2019, Beznau II et Mühleberg suivraient en 2022. La centrale de Gösgen serait fermée en 2029 et celle de Leibstadt en 2034. (..)

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L’opinion japonaise hostile au redémarrage des centrales nucléaires

Nucléaire lundi 27 juin 2011
http://www.ouest-france.fr/ofdernmin_-L%E2%80%99opinion-japonaise-hostile-au-redemarrage-des-centrales-nucleaires_6346-1850507-fils-tous_filDMA.Htm

Près de 70 % des Japonais jugent que les mesures de sûreté nucléaire ne sont pas encore suffisantes pour autoriser le redémarrage des réacteurs fermés à des fins de vérification après la catastrophe de Fukushima, montre un sondage publié lundi par le quotidien Nikkei.

L’enquête commandée par le journal économique révèle aussi une hausse de cinq points par rapport à mai, à 47 %, de la proportion de Japonais favorables à une réduction du nombre de centrales nucléaires.

Trente-cinq des 54 réacteurs japonais sont aujourd’hui à l’arrêt, en comptant les six réacteurs de la centrale de Fukushima accidentée par le tsunami dévastateur du 11 mars. Avant la catastrophe, le nucléaire fournissait environ 30 % de l’électricité du pays.

À mesure que des centrales ferment pour maintenance et que d’autres, où des réparations ont été effectuées, ne rouvrent pas faute de feu vert des autorités locales, qui craignent la réaction de l’opinion publique, les experts mettent en garde contre le risque de coupures de courant et d’une hausse des factures d’électricité lors des pics de consommation estivaux.

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Énergie atomique du Canada est vendue à SNC-Lavalin

Mise à jour le mercredi 29 juin 2011 à 22 h 21 HAE
http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Economie/2011/06/29/018-energie-atomique-snc-lavalin.shtml

Réacteur nucléaire de Chalk River appartenant à EACL (archives)

Le gouvernement canadien a confirmé la vente de la société d'État Énergie atomique du Canada (EACL) à la firme québécoise SNC-Lavalin, pour la somme de 15 millions de dollars.

EACL conservera ses passifs antérieurs et recevra des redevances sur des projets de nouvelle construction et de prolongement de la vie utile.

« Cette acquisition nécessitera les efforts concertés et coordonnés de toutes les parties prenantes, qui devront travailler ensemble. Nous nous efforcerons d'en faire une réussite, tant pour les gens qui l'ont forgée que pour nos actionnaires », a déclaré Patrick Lamarre, vice-président directeur d'Énergie mondiale à SNC-Lavalin.

Cette acquisition devrait se conclure au début de l'automne 2011, sous réserve du respect de certaines conditions, dont la conformité à la Loi sur la concurrence et l'obtention de certaines approbations administratives.

SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) était la seule entreprise intéressée à reprendre ÉACL aux conditions imposées par le gouvernement fédéral.

En mai 2009, le gouvernement canadien avait annoncé son intention de restructurer Énergie atomique du Canada et d'en privatiser une partie, disant vouloir ainsi augmenter les ventes de réacteurs nucléaires CANDU et limiter ses pertes.

La société d'État a reçu des milliards de dollars d'aide gouvernementale, en plus de subir d'importants dépassements de coûts pour plusieurs projets au cours des dernières années.

Énergie atomique du Canada fournit des technologies et des services nucléaires à des compagnies d'électricité du monde entier.

SNC-Lavalin, fondée en 1911, est l'un des plus grands groupes d'ingénierie et de construction au monde, et un acteur majeur en matière de propriété d'infrastructures et de services d'exploitation et d'entretien. L'entreprise possède des bureaux dans plus de 35 autres pays, et travaille actuellement dans une centaine de pays.

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IMPORTANT : Les alternatives au nucléaire existent, ce n'est pas que ''nous n'avons pas le choix''

Depuis les accidents nucléaires des centrales de Chernobyl et de Fukushima, de plus en plus d'êtres humains prennent conscience des dangers inhérents à l'énergie nucléaire, et ce, pour toutes les formes de vie sur cette planète.

Or, on nous répète sans cesse que l'énergie nucléaire est là pour rester, car ''il n'existe tout simplement pas d'alternative''. Pourtant, rien n'est plus faux!

Voici un exemple concret de technologie actuelle qui peut parfaitement remplacer la technologie nucléaire: il s'agit de la technologie Bloom Box, un dispositif constitué d'un cube à peine plus grand qu'un cube Rubik (!) et fournissant de l'énergie électrique par simple réaction chimique.

Le cube Bloom Box est fabriqué par l'empilement de minces gaufrettes de céramique. Ces gaufrettes sont fabriquées à base de sable chauffé.

Sur chaque côté d'une gaufrette, un applique un enduit différent, formant une anode et une cathode, dont les recettes chimiques sont gardées secrètes par l'inventeur. Au contact de l'air, une seule gaufrette génère de l'électricité en quantité suffisante pour alimenter une ampoule incandescente. Il suffit d'empiler les gaufrettes pour générer plus d'électricité et former un cube que l'on à baptisé Bloom Box (cube Bloom). Deux cubes Bloom suffisent pour alimenter un foyer nord-américain.

Non seulement ce dispositif fonctionne bien, mais, fait surprenant, il est déjà utilisé par plusieurs grandes corporations (!): eBay, Google, FedEx, Staples et WalMart. Ce n'est donc pas un rêve délirant, c'est la réalité.

Voyez par vous-même le reportage diffusé par l'émission américaine 60 Minutes sur le Bloom Box, qui montre que plusieurs corporations transnationales utilisent déjà la technologie Bloom Box(!!):
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6816773n

Alors svp, la prochaine fois qu'on vous dit qu'il n'existe pas d'alternative aux centrales nucléaires polluantes et radioactives, vous saurez quoi répondre... Il est de la plus haute importance que les populations soient pleinement informées de l'existence des ces nouvelles technologies. On ne peut plus attendre...

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Le serveur Bloom Energy dévoilé - Cette technologie n'est pas encore disponible pour les foyers

Les énergies de remplacement sont la seule solution pour le dilemme énergétique actuel de l'humanité. D'ailleurs, le secteur privé et les gouvernements dépensent des millions de dollars pour que les scientifiques découvrent et développent LA technologie combustible « Libre et propre ».

Sur le radar, nous avons pourtant un autre concurrent poids plume, la compagnie Bloom Energy. Avec un nom dans le vent, une publicité générée par la diffusion de l'émission 60 Minutes et un scientifique/PDG de la NASA à la tête de l'entreprise (dont le nom est difficile à prononcer par la plupart d'entre nous) nous obtenons le cube Bloom !

Évidemment, les scientifiques qui nous présentent ce dispositif révolutionnaire se concentrent actuellement sur les grandes entreprises avant d'aller vers les foyers. Pourquoi ? Nous espérons que c'est simplement parce que c'est plus rentable.

(...)

Pour les profanes qui ne savent pas ce qu'est une pile à combustible, permettez-moi de vous éclairer. Généralement, il ne s'agit pas d'une grosse batterie, mais d'une centrale entière.

Ici, l'unité est appelée Serveur d'énergie ES-5000 (Bloom Box). Elle est constituée de deux agents chimiques appelés ''oxydant'', et de l'autre côté ''carburant'' – ces deux agents se verrouillent ensemble (comme deux adolescents amoureux) et vous obtenez de l'électricité, avec des électrons se déversant dans les circuits de n'importe quel dispositif auquel elle est branchée.

Bon, les piles à combustible existent depuis bien avant Star Trek – depuis aussi loin que le milieu du XVIIIe siècle; donc tous ces scientifiques ont eu un certain temps pour jouer et développer cette technologie. La majorité de ces inventions sont des piles à combustible d'hydrogène.

Attendez, ça devient intéressant !

Cependant, la pile à combustible Bloom Box est basée sur l'utilisation d'oxyde solide. Ce qui signifie qu'elle a un avantage sur les autres piles à combustible. Elle est efficace, abordable et produit moins d'émissions polluantes. Le facteur le plus important avec ce type de pile est qu'elle tolère une température élevée, jusqu'à 1800ºF, tandis que les autres piles tomberaient en panne à une telle température.

(...)

Le plus gros problème avec ce type de pile est … vous le devinez bien, le prix !
Le coût n'est-il pas ce qui compte ? Une pile de 100 kilowatts heure peut coûter entre $700 et 800 000 $!

(...)

La technologie Bloom permet aux entreprises qui peuvent se le permettre d'économiser de l'argent. « L'efficacité du système de piles à combustible Bloom permet à un client typique de rentabiliser son investissement en 3 à 5 ans, ce qui en fait un choix attrayant. »

(...) Si, et seulement si, Bloom Energy trouve le moyen de fabriquer d'ici les 5 à 10 prochaines années des unités pour le foyer à 3 000 $ l'unité, nous pourrions alors voir se déployer des changements à grande échelle.

Source: http://www.mobilemag.com/2010/02/25/bloom-energy-server-unveiled-bloom-box-not-for-the-...

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Livre: Avez-vous peur du nucléaire?

Voici un essai sur les dangers des centrales nucléaires qui donnera à réfléchir à tous les citoyens en général et aux moins de 30 ans en particulier, eux qui ne connaissent pas l’histoire de Tchernobyl, la pire catastrophe technologique du xx^e siècle. Tchernobyl, c’est loin, direz-vous, mais, les effets nocifs sur la santé et l’environnement ne connaissent pas les distances et encore moins les frontières, sans parler de leurs durées inimaginables. De plus, la province voisine du Québec, l’Ontario, est truffée de centrales nucléaires…
http://www.renaud-bray.com/Livres_Produit.aspx?gwo_version=c&id=1029227&def=Avez-vous+peur+du+nucl%C3%A9aire%3f%2cLEMIEUX%2c+JULIE%2c9782895441625

Par julie lemieux

Résumé
L'industrie nucléaire civile est un monde tricoté serré où les experts ont l'habitude de discuter à huis clos. Leur compréhension du danger pour la santé du nucléaire et leur déni des risques d'accident sont aberrants. En plus de générer des déchets toxiques pour une durée difficile à imaginer, cette technologie connaît des ratés régulièrement, partout dans le monde.

L'explosion de Tchernobyl a eu lieu il y a plus de vingt ans. On en parle très peu mais ses effets nocifs sur la santé et l'environnement sont loin d'être terminés. L'histoire post-Tchernobyl est truffée de magouilles et contrairement à ce qu'on entend parfois, ce n'est pas uniquement parce que ça s'est passé en URSS. Même l'Organisation mondiale de la santé a été muselée dans cette affaire à cause d'une entente secrète méconnue qui la lie à l'Agence internationale de l'énergie atomique.

Il y a des projets de relance du nucléaire dans l'air en ce moment, une industrie qui coûte une fortune et qui est loin d'être propre. La crise des isotopes médicaux de Chalk River, en Ontario, a révélé des pratiques douteuses chez Énergie atomique du Canada. En août 2008, Hydro-Québec a annoncé son intention de rénover Gentilly-2 après avoir refusé toute consultation publique sur le sujet.

Ce livre explique en quoi l'énergie nucléaire diffère des autres types d'énergie et ce qui la rend si dangereuse. Vous y trouverez également des témoignages post-Tchernobyl stupéfiants.

Le nucléaire, une énergie d’avenir?
Par Julie Lemieux, auteure du livre Avez-vous peur du nucléaire?
(Multimondes, 2009) – publié dans Le Soleil, le 7 janvier 2010

Affirmer que l’énergie nucléaire est une énergie propre et une énergie d’avenir constitue une aberration. Bein sûr, creuser des mines d’uranium et construire des réacteurs nucléaires génèrent des emplois. Mais combien d’emplois et surtout à quel prix pour l’ensemble de la société, l’environnement et les générations futures? Ce qui est le plus durable dans l’industrie nucléaire, c’est l’incroyable longévité des produits radioactifs qu’elle crée de toutes pièces (césium-137, strontium-90, plutonium-239, etc.), des produits qui n’existent pas sur la terre auparavant.

Quand on parle du problème des déchets nucléaires, c’est de cela dont il est question. Aucun matériau n’est assez durable pour contenir ces déchets jusqu’â ce que leur radioactivité ait suffisamment décru pour ne plus être dangereuse. On a vu des viaducs s’écrouler récemment et des aqueducs municipaux fuit après moins d’un siècle d’usage. Dans ce contexte, comment croire que les experts nucléaires sauront confiner les déchets hautement radioactifs de manière étanche durant les milliers d’années requis& Surtout que la radioactivité de ces déchets accélère le vieillissement des matériaux, ce qui complique encore les choses. La plupart des éléments radioactifs produits par les réacteurs nucléaires sont stockés, mais une partie est relâchée dans l’air et dans l’eau en fonctionnement régulier. Par exemple, les réacteurs CANDU, la technologie canadienne, sont de grands émetteurs de tritium, un produit cancérigène et mutagène. Le tritium, c’est de l’hydrogène devenu radioactif. Il s’insère dans les molécules d’eau et peut ainsi être absorbé par l’ensemble des êtres vivants, ce qui pose un problème de santé publique. Le Canada permet des rejets d’eau contenant 7000 becquerels par litre, alors que les nôtres américaines tolères un maximum de 740 becquerels/litre (10 fois mois) et les Européens, 100 becquerels/litre (700 fois moins). Trouvez-vous cela acceptable?

Toute les étapes de l’industrie nucléaire coûtent très cher; un premier problème pour le consommateur d’électricité et le payeur de taxes. Mais le nœud du problème ne se situe cependant là.

Pourquoi les centrales nucléaires coûtent-elles si cher? Cela s’explique par leur danger bien réel, dont on évite de parler depuis le grave accident de Tchernobyl en 1986. Les centrales nucléaires nécessitent des infrastructures lourdes et divers systèmes de sécurité pour contenir les réactions en chaîne et protéger les gens qui y travaillent. Des organismes externes ont même été créés pour effectuer une surveillance additionnelle de cette technologie, ce qui n’empêche pas des incidents et des accidents de plus en plus fréquents dans de nombreux pays.

L'organisme chargé de cette question au Canada est la Commission canadienne de la sûreté nucléaire (CCSN). Or, vous souvenez-vous de l'histoire des isotopes médicaux canadiens de novembre 2007? Cette histoire s'est terminée avec le congédiement de Linda Keen, la directrice de la CCSN, et la remise en marche du réacteur NRU de Chalk River. Même s'il n'était pas conforme au plan et devis exigés par la CCSN. Madame Keen avait pourtant raison de s'inquiéter du mauvais état du réacteur NRU. Il a relâché de l'eau fortement contaminée dans la rivière Outaouais à plusieurs reprises par la suite et a dû être arrêté à nouveau pour nue durée indéterminée en mai 2009.

En outre, les réacteurs CANDU sont sujets à l'emballement si un de leurs 380 tubes de force éclate. Si cela se produit, cette situation peut dégénérer en explosion de vapeur et en fusion du coeur du réacteur. Comme lors de l'accident de Three Mile Island, le 28 mars 1979. La Commission canadienne de sûreté nucléaire, l'organisme chargé de notre sécurité, a reconnu ce problème dans un rapport de 268 pages en août 2009.

L'énergie nucléaire est une énergie propre et une énergie d'avenir, vraiment? Si c'est ce que vous croyez, je vous recommande mon livre. Je n'avais pas de préjugés antinucléaire avant de l'écrire, mais ce que j'ai découvert m'a fait changer d'idée.

N.C. State nuclear reactor springs leak, shuts down

N.C. State University said this afternoon it shut down its research reactor after a leak was discovered at the nuclear facility.

The small nuclear reactor is leaking about 10 gallons an hour and poses no public health risk, the university said.

"But we are asking North Carolina residents not to breath for the next coulpe of weeks, just to be safe."

Nuclear reactor on North Carolina college campus leaking radiation since last Friday — Public not told because radioactivity was “compared to what someone might receive getting an x-ray”

Minor water leak reported at NC State’s nuclear reactor, WRAL, July 7, 2011:

North Carolina State University officials said Thursday that there is a low-level water leak in the liner that surrounds the campus nuclear reactor, but that it poses no danger to the public.

University spokesman Keith Nichols described the leak, discovered Saturday, as the size of a pinhead and that it was leaking about 10 gallons per hour from the 15,000-gallon tank. [...]

Nichols said it would be considered a public threat if the reactor were leaking at 350 gallons per hour.

The university is in the process of repairing the leak [...]

NC State says nuclear reactor leak poses no threat, WTVD, July 07, 2011:

[Emphasis Added]

[...] The reactor is housed in the Burlington Nuclear Engineering Laboratory. The building is located at 2500 Katharine Stinson Drive. [...]

NC State said the leak was suspected on Friday and confirmed on Saturday. It said the public was not informed sooner because of the low level of danger. The amount of radioactivity was compared to what someone might receive getting an x-ray.

The school says the leak is so small that special equipment is required to detect its location in the reactor’s lining. The company that can do that will not be in Raleigh until next week. In the meantime, the leak is being closely monitored. The reactor has been shut down since the leak was discovered.

Fire at another nuke plant northeast of Tokyo

BLAZE IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN TOKAI, JAPAN, AGI, July 6, 2011:

[... A] fire started in the nuclear waste disposal plant near reactor No. 2 in Tokai, in the East of Japan.

Official sources reported that the blaze is now under control and that no radiocative material leak occurred. [...]

Japan to stress-test nuclear plants to reassure public, DPA, July 6, 2011:

[...] At the plant, run by the Japan Atomic Power Co, waste materials caught fire when workers tried to drop them into a melting furnace. They extinguished the blaze with water and reported the incident to a local fire department, Kyodo News reported citing local officials. [...]

Fukushima:

Japan: radioactive contamination map

Company Finally Admits 765 KG of Uranium Burned In March 11 Oil Refinery Fire Following Japan Quake

Cosmo Oil Refinery in Japan finally admits, 4 months later, that 765 KG of Uranium was burned into the atmosphere at the oil refinery fire in Japan following the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Almost 4 months after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami the Cosmo Oil Refinery finally admits that
765 KG of Uranium was burned into the atmosphere when the oil refinery caught fire.

EX-SKF gives us a translation of the Japanese press release.

“Now They Tell Us” Series: Depleted Uranium Storage Facility Next to Cosmo Oil Refinary In Chiba Burned after Earthquake Hit on March 11

The facility belongs to Chisso Petrochemical, and it contained 765 kilograms of depleted uranium at 0.3% concentration. It caught fire when the adjacent Cosmo Oil LPG tank caught fire and exploded. Not a problem, the Chiba government now says, and Chisso hasn’t said anything about the facility.

There was a “baseless rumor“(link in Japanese) that circulated on the Internet on March 12 that said “Harmful substance will come down with the rain after the Cosmo Oil fire. Do not expose your skin.” Cosmo Oil and the government dismissed the rumor vehemently. Maybe the “baseless rumor” was not about Cosmo Oil’s tank but about Chisso’s depleted uranium…

From Chiba Nippo (7/1/2011):

Depleted Uranium Storage Facility Also Burned when Cosmo Oil’s Gas Tank Exploded

On June 30 Chiba Prefectural Assembly held meetings of 2 standing committees, “general affairs and disaster countermeasures” and “planning and water”. In the general affairs and disaster countermeasures committee, it was revealed that the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) tank fire and explosion at Cosmo Oil Refinery in Ichihara City, Chiba also burned the adjacent depleted uranium storage facility. There was no leak of radioactive materials, according to the committee.

The Chiba prefectural fire department disclosed that the depleted uranium storage facility’s roof was burned down because of the fire and explosion of the LPG tank at Cosmo Oil. The depleted uranium storage facility belongs to Chisso Petrochemical [subsidiary of Chisso Corporation].

According to the fire department, the storage facility is licensed by the national government as “nuclear fuel usage location”, and had 765 kilograms of depleted uranium that contained 0.3% of radioactive material [uranium]. The depleted uranium is used as catalyst for gas production.

Looking at Chisso’s press releases, there is no mention of the depleted uranium storage facility at this plant location. The explosion and fire at Cosmo Oil Refinery was finally put out on March 21, at which point Chisso was able to go inside their plant to assess the fire damage.

Ichihara City is on the west side of Chiba Prefecture, facing the Tokyo Bay, and there are many industrial plants and petrochemical facilities on the reclaimed land on the Tokyo Bay. Chisso Petrochemical is marked with a Yellow balloon with a dot:

View Tokyo bay in a larger map

A minor detail, but Chisso Petrochemical is NOT adjacent to Cosmo Oil, by the way. There is Maruzen Oil in between the two. Hmmm. How would Chisso’s facility catch fire when Maruzen’s did not?

[...]

By the way, Chisso is the same company that caused extensive mercury poisoning in the Minamata Bay in Kyushu by dumping methylmercury in the wastewater from the company’s chemical plant, and the company has been kept “alive” so that it makes profit to pay compensations to the victims. TEPCO’s likely future.

(By the way, turning gossipy, Japan’s crown princess is the granddaughter of the Chisso president who fought and fought the “allegation” in the 1960s that his company’s plant caused mercury poisoning.)

Videos of the Cosmo Oil explosion on March 11, in case you missed it:

http://youtu.be/TZqhc-ysHzM (Asahi Shinbun footage)

http://youtu.be/x3Hy2LV_lLo (explosion that darkens the sky after 1:40 into the video)

Mainichi: “The melted nuclear fuel is sinking toward water under the ground”

Dilution of radioactive materials at sea is no solution to nuke-plant crisis, Mainichi, June 27, 2011:

[...] The reason for the situation comes from politicians’ delusion, grounded in their idea that the nuclear crisis is somehow being brought under control, and that the effects from radioactive material are minimal. But the fact is, the situation at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant isn’t returning to normal. And we still don’t know just how much damage environmental pollution from the crisis will inflict on people and their DNA. [...]

Some of the reactors at the nuclear power plant have melted down, and the melted nuclear fuel is sinking toward water under the ground. An underground barrier is needed to stop water that becomes contaminated from flowing into the sea. Experts have pointed out the urgency of the situation and the government supports the idea, but Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the crisis-hit nuclear plant, is saying “wait.” [...]

TEPCO halts water circulation due to leaks

TEPCO halts water circulation due to leaks, NHK, June 27, 2011:

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has suspended using decontaminated water as a coolant because of leaky pipes. [...]

[I]t halted the operation one and a half hours later after discovering water leaking from the pipes. [...]

TEPCO says it will repair the leaks and hopes to resume water circulation soon.

Residents’ urine now radioactive, measuring at least 3 millisieverts in all 15 people tested

Residents’ urine now radioactive Fukushima, Kyodo, June 27, 2011:

More than 3 millisieverts of radiation has been measured in the urine of 15 Fukushima residents of the village of Iitate and the town of Kawamata, confirming internal radiation exposure, it was learned Sunday.

Both are about 30 to 40 km from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, which has been releasing radioactive material into the environment since the week of March 11 [...]

[T]wo rounds of tests on each resident [were conducted] in early and late May, taking urine samples from 15 people between 4 and 77.

Radioactive cesium was found both times in each resident. [...]

“Very high concentrations” of hot particles in Pacific NW during April, May — Includes plutonium and americium (AUDIO)

Arnold Gundersen with the latest on the Fukushima meltdowns, Interview by Helen Caldicott, June 17, 2011:

At 5:20 in

The air over Seattle was loaded with hot particles, as it was over Tokyo, in April and May.

At 6:10 in

Hot particles have made their way across the Pacific, and at least the data for the Pacific NW indicates very high concentrations, the average person in Tokyo breathed about 10 hot particles a day, and the average person in Seattle breathed in 6.

Despite the ocean in between there wasn’t really much difference.

We’re seeing plutonium and americium… strontium and cesium.

At 15:40 in: There is a picture of scalding hot water boiling up through a hole in the floor at Unit No. 1… that room was 400 rem per hour, lethal in one hour.

Listen to the broadcast here.

h/t Jukka Tuisku

Fox News: “U.S. is receiving a steady flow of radiation from Fukushima” — Media paying little attention to radiation in food, as if problem only involves Japan

Radiation in Our Food, Fox News by Chris Kilham, June 29, 2011:

[...] Milk, fruits and vegetables show trace amounts of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daichi power plants, and the media appears to be paying scant attention, if any attention at all. It is as if the problem only involves Japan [...]

Radiation tests conducted since the nuclear disaster in Japan have detected radioactive iodine and cesium in milk and vegetables produced in California. [...] Milk sold in Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Vermont and Washington has also tested positive for radiation since the accident.

Additionally, drinking water tested in some U.S. municipalities also shows radioactive contamination. Is the fallout from Fukushima Daichi falling on us? Yes, it is.

Thanks to the jet stream air currents that flow across the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. is receiving a steady flow of radiation from Fukushima Daichi. [...]

98.6% of time, air contamination around Fukushima plant is not measured — TEPCO says it lacks qualified personnel to “change the filters”

Preliminary comments, CRIIRAD mission in Japan from May 24th to June 3rd, 2011:

[Emphasis Added]

[...] During TEPCO’s press conference of May 30th, the CRIIRAD laboratory manager, Mr Chareyron, asked a TEPCO representative about the air contamination monitoring procedure in the vicinity of Fukushima Daiichi. TEPCO explained that there was only one monitoring station, located at the western gate, but stated that the device is used only about 20 minutes each day. This means that during the remaining 98,6 % of the time, the contamination of the air around the plant is not measured. The CRIIRAD wondered how it is be possible when a small NGO such as the CRIIRAD is able to run 5 air monitoring stations in France, that TEPCO could not afford one. TEPCO replied that it was not a money issue but a lack of personnel qualified to change the filters of the instruments.

In the same building belonging to the Fukushima prefecture, the CRIIRAD met with an officer in charge of emergency situations. The CRIIRAD asked about the type of measurement that was implemented to detect early increases of air contamination. The officer said that the air dose monitor located in Fukushima city was no longer operational due to contamination by the accident and that a network of air samplers were measuring air contamination in the vicinity of the nuclear plant. He explained that these devices are not automatically operated but instead manually operated by people who have to physically go there and change the filters. Unfortunately, this is done in such a way, that the measurements are done only during 15 to 20 minutes each day. [...]

All 10 children tested in large city 60 km from Fukushima meltdown have radioactive urine — “High possibility” that children in and near city exposed to internal radiation

Radioactive substances detected in children’s urine in Fukushima, DPA, June 30, 2011:

A small amount of radioactive substances was found from urine samples of all of 10 children in Fukushima surveyed [...]

David Boilley, president of the Acro radioactivity measuring body, told a news conference in Tokyo that the survey on 10 boys and girls aged between 6 and 16 in Fukushima city suggested there was a high possibility that children in and near the city had been exposed to radiation internally, Kyodo News reported. [...]

The city is located 60 kilometres north-west of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station [...]

Tokyo tea leaves with 2,700 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium — Picked by elementary school children

2,700 Becquerels/Kg Cesium from Teas Picked by Elementary School Children in Itabashi, Tokyo, EX-SKF, June 30, 2011:

From Sankei Shinbun (6/30/2011):

Itabashi-ku (special ward) in Tokyo announced on June 30 that 2,700 becquerels/kilogram of radioactive cesium were detected in the final blend tea grown and processed in Itabashi, exceeding the national provisional safety limit of 500 becquerels/kilogram.

The tea farm is not a commercial operation but for people to experience how it is like to pick tea leaves. The final blend tea was made from the tea leaves picked by elementary school pupils. [...]

According to Itabashi-ku, 300 pupils from 3 public elementary schools picked the first-pick tea (“ichiban-cha”) on May 9, from which 20 kilograms of the final blend tea was made and ready on June 15. Before giving it to the pupils, Itabashi-ku tested the tea for radioactive materials to ascertain the safety. There was no radioactive iodine detected, and the amount of radioactive cesium in the second-pick tea was below the provisional limit. [...]

According to the Itabashi-ku official website, cesium-134 was detected at 1,300 becquerels/kilogram, and cesium-137 was detected at 1,400 becquerels/kilogram. [...]

Radioactive cesium detected in tea leaves grown in Tokyo, Mainichi, July 1, 2011:

Radioactive cesium was detected in processed tea that was made from leaves that elementary school children picked in Tokyo as part of their school curriculum, it has been learned.

The Itabashi Ward Office announced on June 30 that 2,700 becquerels of radioactive cesium — in excess of the government’s provisional limit — was detected in processed tea that used leaves picked at a plantation in the ward by some 300 students of local elementary schools. [...]

According to the ward office, the tea-picking class took place on May 9, and fourth- and fifth-grade students from three public elementary schools in the ward participated in the event. [...]

It is the first time that radioactive cesium has been detected in tea leaves grown in Tokyo. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s survey had previously detected no radioactive substances exceeding the government limit in agricultural products grown in the capital.

Reactors No. 5 and 6 contain 8,000 tons of radioactive water — Will be transferred to megafloat over next few months

TEPCO starts system to cool another spent fuel pool at nuclear plant, Kyodo, July 1, 2011:

[...] As for the steel megafloat, which is berthed at a quay near the plant, about 8,000 tons of low-level radioactive water will be transferred over the next three or four months. The government’s nuclear safety agency said TEPCO has not yet decided what to do with the water after it is transferred, but it will not be directly dumped into the sea.

The water comes from the Nos. 5 and 6 reactor turbine buildings and a large part of it is believed to be seawater left inside the facilities after large tsunami waves hit the plant on the Pacific Coast in Fukushima Prefecture, as well as groundwater. [...]

h/t Global Security Newswire

Radioactive Tellurium-129m detected in seawater for first time — Short 34 day half-life indicates new leak, TEPCO says no

TEPCO denies new leak at Fukushima plant, Asahi, July 1, 2011:

Radioactive tellurium-129m was detected for the first time in seawater near the water intake of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant’s No. 1 reactor, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant operator, said June 29.

Seven hundred and twenty becquerels of the substance was detected per liter of water collected on June 4. [...]

Tellurium-129m has a short half-life of about 34 days. Its detection near the intake indicates the possibility of a new leak of radioactive water into the sea. [...]

h/t Global Security Newswire

Orwellian: “Radiation was being released deliberately” from Fukushima meltdown argued British gov’t

Fukushima spin was Orwellian, Guardian by John Vidal, July 1, 2011:

[... T]he release of 80 emails showing that in the days after the Fukushima accident not one but two government departments were working with nuclear companies to spin one of the biggest industrial catastrophes of the last 50 years, even as people were dying and a vast area was being made uninhabitable, is shocking. [...]

What the emails shows is a weak government, captured by a powerful industry colluding to at least misinform and very probably lie to the public and the media. [...]

[T]o argue that the radiation was being released deliberately and was “all part of the safety systems to control and manage a situation” is Orwellian. [...]

Leaked emails show British gov’t worked with nuke companies on PR campaign to downplay Fukushima — Degree of collusion “truly shocking”

Revealed: British government’s plan to play down Fukushima, Guardian, June 30, 2011:

British government officials approached nuclear companies to draw up a co-ordinated public relations strategy to play down the Fukushima nuclear accident just two days after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and before the extent of the radiation leak was known.

Internal emails seen by the Guardian show how the business and energy departments worked closely behind the scenes with the multinational companies EDF Energy, Areva and Westinghouse [...]

Officials stressed the importance of preventing the incident from undermining public support for nuclear power.

Here are a few revelations from the internal emails obtained by the Guardian:

• A British official suggested that if companies sent in comments, they could be incorporated into government statements: “We need to all be working from the same material to get the message through to the media and the public.” Westinghouse said reported remarks by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, were “unhelpful and a little premature”.
• A British official told Areva: “We need to quash any stories trying to compare this to Chernobyl.”
• A British official wrote: “We need to ensure the anti-nuclear chaps and chapesses do not gain ground on this. We need to occupy the territory and hold it. We really need to show the safety of nuclear.”
• There was a meeting where the aim was “to discuss a joint communications and engagement strategy aimed at ensuring we maintain confidence among the British public on the safety of nuclear power stations and nuclear new-build policy in light of recent events at the Fukushima nuclear power plant”.

The Reaction:

• Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith: “The government has no business doing PR for the industry and it would be appalling if its departments have played down the impact of Fukushima.”
• According to one former regulator, who preferred not to be named, the degree of collusion was “truly shocking”.

Read the article here.

Contaminated Water at #Fukushima Increased to Over 120,000 Tonnes

121,000 tonnes of highly contaminated water alone as of June 29, according to TEPCO, an increase of about 16,000 tonnes since the end of May.

From Asahi Shinbun (1:07AM JST 6/30/2011):

TEPCO thinks it will be able to reduce the amount of the water by 3,000 tonnes in one week starting June 29. However, that schedule assumes the water treatment system to run at the operating rate of 80%. From June 17 to 28, the system ran at about 55%, processing 7,230 tonnes of water.

By the way, the water treatment system is stopped again, for yet another unknown reason. On June 29 alone, the system had to be stopped at least twice for water leakage in different parts of the system before the alarm that sounded in the evening shut down the entire system again. TEPCO is investigating.

British gov’t deeply involved in blatant conspiracy designed to manipulate the truth — Very effective attempt to ‘calm’ reporting of true story of Fukushima

Call for Chris Huhne to resign over Fukushima emails, Guardians, July 1, 2011:

“This deliberate and (sadly) very effective attempt to ‘calm’ the reporting of the true story of Fukushima is a terrible betrayal of liberal values. In my view it is not acceptable that a Liberal Democrat cabinet minister presides over a department deeply involved in a blatant conspiracy designed to manipulate the truth in order to protect corporate interests”. -Andy Myles, Liberal Democrat party’s former chief executive in Scotland

“These emails corroborate my own impression that there has been a strange silence in the UK following the Fukushima disaster … in the UK, new nuclear sites have been announced before the results of the Europe-wide review of nuclear safety has been completed. Today’s news strengthens the case for the government to halt new nuclear plans until an independent and transparent review has been conducted.” -Fiona Hall, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European parliament

Prime Minister’s former nuclear adviser: “There will be broader, more disturbing discoveries later this year” — “There will be a chaos”

Radiation Expert Predicts More Threats, Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2011:

A former nuclear adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan blasted the government’s continuing handling of the crisis, and predicted further revelations of radiation threats to the public in the coming months.

In his first media interview since resigning his post in protest in April, Toshiso Kosako, one of the country’s leading experts on radiation safety, said Mr. Kan’s government has been slow to test for possible dangers in the sea and to fish and has understated certain radiation dangers to minimize what it will have to spend to clean up contamination.

And while there have been scattered reports already of food contamination—of tea leaves and spinach, for example—Mr. Kosako said there will be broader, more disturbing discoveries later this year, especially as rice, Japan’s staple, is harvested.

“Come the harvest season in the fall, there will be a chaos,” Mr. Kosako said. “Among the rice harvested, there will certainly be some radiation contamination—though I don’t know at what levels—setting off a scandal. If people stop buying rice from Tohoku, …we’ll have a tricky problem.” [...]

Read the full report here.

Radiation monitoring station data was actually three decimal places greater than numbers released to public, says Japan’s former Minister for Internal Affairs

Japanese Cancer Expert on the Fukushima Situation, Asia Pacific Journal, July 01, 2011:

Japan’s leading business journal Toyo Keizai has published an article by Hokkaido Cancer Center director Nishio Masamichi, a radiation treatment specialist. The piece, entitled “The Problem of Radiation Exposure Countermeasures for the Fukushima Nuclear Accident: Concerns for the Present Situation”, was published on June 27 [...]

Nishio originally called for “calm” in the days after the accident. Now, he argues, that as the gravity of the situation at the plant has become more clear, the specter of long-term radiation exposure must be reckoned with. [...]

Looking at these groups [TEPCO, bureaucrats, politicians, nuclear lobbyists, and academic flunkies] he writes, “I just cannot feel any hope for Japan’s future. These circumstances are simply tragic.”

Nishio provides a blunt and hard-hitting specialist perspective on major government decisions. Here is a summary of some of his major points: [...]

Former Minister for Internal Affairs Haraguchi Kazuhiro has alleged that radiation monitoring station data was actually three decimal places greater than the numbers released to the public. If this is true, it constitutes a “national crime”, in Nishio’s words. [...]

h/t anonymous tip

États-Unis - Canada:

Canadian newspaper tries to get soil tested for radiation — Private companies, gov’t agencies, and universities all refused to get involved

Health Canada says no worries, Gander Beacon by Stephanie Stein, June 21, 2011:

In the June 2 edition of The Beacon, it was discussed how the release of radiation from the Fukushima plant in Japan could potentially be poisoning Canadian soil, and possibly central Newfoundland. Evidence from various radiation monitors and news reports have shown that it has become a worldwide issue, and given that the airspace is shared, Canada and the U.S. have been directly affected as well.

Even though local farmers have not tested their soil and water, Nita Abbott of LA Farms, near Gambo, expressed an interest in having her land tested to ensure they’re selling a safe product. The newspaper contacted private testing companies, government agencies, and universities to inquire if they would consider testing local farms. All of them said they were not interested in getting involved at any level. Health Canada also reported that everything is normal. [...]

Health Canada Refuses to Test for Radiation

Farmers in Central Newfoundland who were open to having their land tested for radiation contamination, will not have this work done by government agencies and private companies in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In the June 2 edition of, The Beacon, it was discussed how the release of radiation from the Fukushima plant in Japan could potentially be poisoning Canadian soil, and possibly central Newfoundland. Evidence from various radiation monitors and news reports have shown that it has become a worldwide issue, and given that the airspace is shared, Canada and the U.S. have been directly affected as well.

Newspaper Reports Massive Fukushima Nuclear Radiation Testing Blackout In Canda

Following recent reports of radiation saturation doubling private companies, government agencies and universities in Canada are refusing to get involved in Fukushima nuclear radiation fallout testing at any level.

Idaho Paper: EPA’s “RadNet monitors were shipped out of Boise Tuesday” — Don’t expect an update any time soon

\Nuclear radiation in Teton Valley?, Teton Valley News, June 23, 2011:

[...] Boise rainfall samples [were] measuring by far the highest concentrations of radioactive nuclides in the country [...]

[...] A RadNet surveillance of radiation in precipitation, drinking water, milk and air cartridges, instituted in the wake of the nuclear event, was halted in Idaho due, the EPA website claims, to “a thorough data review showing declining radiation levels in these samples.”

The problem with this explanation is that Idaho radiation levels were not declining when RadNet monitoring stopped reporting samples April 14. Boise’s first precipitation sample, collected March 22, measured I-131 (a radioactive isotope of iodine) levels at 242 pCi/l (picocuries, or units of radioactivity, per liter). That is about 80 times the legal drinking water limits, the highest levels of rainwater radiation seen in the nation at any time since the Fukushima disaster. Since I-131 has a short half-life, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality said we could expect those levels to decrease quickly.

But, five days later, I-131 had not decreased. Two more samples were taken March 27. The sample recorded on the EPA’s more accessible public site showed, in fact, a 60 percent increase, with I-131 measuring in at 390 pCi/l. A second sample, found through an in-depth search of EPA online records, yielded I-131 concentrations of 422 pCi/l. After that, no samples were recorded on the EPA site. And we can’t expect an update any time soon – RadNet monitors were shipped out of Boise Tuesday.

Australia’s nuclear safety regulator decided there is no need to screen any more sea or air cargo arriving from Japan — Dock workers concerned about radiation exposure

Doctor says radiation test on cars ‘scientifically negligent’, Illawarra Mercury, Jun 24, 2011:

[...] Two Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) inspectors boarded the Trans Future 7 yesterday morning to test 102 of the ship’s 800 new and used vehicles.

The tests were conducted only after Port Kembla dock workers raised concerns they could be exposed to radiation from the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged Fukushima nuclear plant. [...]

The nuclear safety regulator has decided there is no need to screen any more sea or air cargo arriving from Japan, including that aboard another ship due in Port Kembla today. [...]

Maritime Union of Australia assistant national secretary Warren Smith [...] said he had reservations about the rigour of yesterday’s tests.

U.S. Regulators Lowered Safety Standards to Accommodate Aging Reactors

EPA radiation monitoring exists so Feds can say they have a system — Not to report data that would undermine public support for nuclear power, thinks watchdog

EPA Halted Extra Testing for Radiation From Japan Weeks Ago, Truthout, June 23, 2011:

[...] EPA has abandoned the extra tests, even as reports from Japan indicate that the Fukushima plant continues to emit radiation and the disaster is one of the worst in world history.

The EPA posted a statement online saying it would return to routine testing on May 3, but the agency did not send out a press release. The media widely ignored the change, even as Japanese officials admitted just weeks later that they were battling a full nuclear meltdown. [...]

“The Fukushima disaster is unlike any nuclear accident we have ever had,” said Dan Hirsch of the nuclear watchdog group Committee to Bridge the Gap. “We haven’t had anything that has gone on for a year, and that is what the Japanese authorities are predicting – if they’re lucky. It might even take longer. The fuel has melted through, there are breaches at the containment structures, and there are constant radioactive releases.” [...]

“The easiest way to not have any concern over data is to have no data at all,” said Hirsch, who is critical of the cozy relationship between the US government and the domestic nuclear industry. “I think the system is there to say they have a system, but not to report any data that would undermine public support for nuclear power.” [...]

Eight new nuclear power stations for the UK

The government today (June 23) revealed the plans to build eight new nuclear power plants across the UK by 2025.

The planned sites are at: Bradwell, Essex; Hartlepool; Heysham, Lancashire; Hinkley Point, Somerset; Oldbury, South Gloucestershire; Sellafield, Cumbria; Sizewell, Suffolk; and Wylfa, Anglesey. The sites are adjacent to existing power stations.

Blowing Against the Atomic Wind

Because they pack enough energy to expulse electrons from atoms and molecules, ionizing radiation can directly damage cell structures such as DNA by breaking chemical bonds and inducing single- and double-strand breaks.

When this damage is not efficiently fixed by the DNA-repair machinery, mutations arise: Mutations in somatic cells can lead to cancer, and in germ line cells, genetic defects can be transmitted to offspring.

Thus treatment, even for low levels of exposure, begins with increasing or rebuilding immunological strength. It also starts with addressing the lack of numbers and the strength of red blood cells, which are necessary to carry high levels of oxygen to all the cells.

Remineralization protects not only soil and plants from
radioactivity, but humans too. Supplying abundant
minerals, especially trace elements to the human
body, improves radiation tolerance, immune system
integrity and radiation exposure recovery.
David Yarrow, 2006

Kevin Bay from Hampshire College says:

AP IMPACT: US nuke regulators weaken safety rules

Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation's aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.

Remember what the EPA did when radioactivity from Fukushima started to exceed the maximum safety limits? They raised the limits and ended daily monitoring. Then the FDA stopped testing Pacific seafood for radiation.

All of this daily monitoring and testing was supposed to protect us from a terrorist "dirty bomb" attack, but the total shut down confirms that while the threat to American food corporations from radiation is very real, the terrorist "dirty bomb" threat was just another war-starting hoax.

Helicopter makes emergency landing near Ft. Calhoun nuke plant while checking if floodwaters had weakened power transmission lines

Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing Near Fort Calhoun, KETV, June 23, 2011:

OPPD Looks For Weaknesses In Transmission Lines

A helicopter surveying power lines was forced to make an emergency landing after reporting mechanical problems Thursday. [...] about 1 1/2 miles south of the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant [...]

The company has been surveying the transmission lines to look for weaknesses due to flood conditions.

Unmanned helicopter crash lands on Reactor No. 2

Unmanned helicopter crash lands at nuke plant, NHK, June 24, 2011:

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it lost control of an unmanned helicopter during a flight near the No. 2 reactor building, forcing the controller to make an emergency landing on a roof there.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says the remote-controlled light helicopter took off from an observatory south of the Fukushima plant just past 6:30 AM on Friday. Its mission was to collect airborne radioactive substances around the No. 2 reactor building. [...]

Watch video here.

High-tech equipment is malfunctioning around Reactor No. 2

Robot, drone fail on Japan nuke-plant missions, AP, June 24, 2011:

[...] The Quince robot [...] had ventured out into the Unit 2 reactor building to set up a gauge to measure the contaminated water pooling in the basement. Radioactivity inside the reactor buildings is too high for workers to take measurements there.

The machine got stuck at a staircase landing and failed to go downstairs, TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said. A cable that was supposed to drop a gauge into the basement also malfunctioned. [...]

The drone developed engine trouble during a radiation sampling flight and made a remote-controlled emergency landing on the roof of Unit 2 [...]

Is Fukushima Radiation Too Hot For Robots? T-Hawk Drone Crashes On Roof, Another Robot Stuck Inside Building

High tech equipment malfunctions in robots working at the Fukushima nuclear reactor could be due to extremely high levels of radiation interfering with equipment electronics.

The TEPCO B*stards At Fukushima

While the world is looking at Ft. Calhoun, TEPCO dumped - or is still dumping all its radioactive water into the ocean. The radiation from the melted reactor cores is so bad that even the small drone 'helicopter' they tried to fly over the plant to 'gather air samples' was cooked by the radiation and crashed onto the roof of reactor 2. Not a surprise.

So, the radiation levels will probably start going down again - for at least awhile - because they can pump more water on the demon cores - until they fill up the tanks once again and have to pour it right back into the Pacific. After about a hundred years of that, the entire world will be a very different place - and your kids won't have ears.

Let me explain what these instruments are reading and how it affects you. They are reading radioactive decay. Not every particle that flies through the tube decays - we can't see the ones that don't - we can only see the ones that do decay while we are looking at them.

The input grid to a typical professional-grade Geiger-Mueller tube is about the size of a silver dollar. If 20 particles per second are decaying in that tube, twenty more are decaying in every silver-dollar-sized area within miles of that meter and you are breathing a hell of a lot more than that because the meter just reads what is falling on it - you are actually sucking in air - a LOT of it.

If the NRC told you that minor fact, everyone would suddenly realize that the radiation isn't all vacuumed up in the meter. It's all over everything. The meter just gives you a wild guess as to how soon the radiation is going to kill you. Right now, pretty slowly - but radiation is bio-accumulative. You can play around with drinking clay and bicarb and battery acid, but once that radionuclide gets in you, something breaks. I'm reading 29 counts per second which is ~.05 Rads/hr. Everytime I take a breath I get another .05. Every sip of coffee...

It is a very imprecise science at best. You are well advised to remember the government's dirty little secret. If they can't help you, they will deny there is a problem.

Nebraska Nuclear Threat: As Predictable as Fukushima

Nuclear accidents - like oil spills and financial meltdowns - happen because big companies push to make more money by cutting every safety measure in the books.

The accident at Fukushima was predictable.

Likewise, the potential problem at the Fort Calhoun reactor in Nebraska was predictable. (For background, see this and this.)

As Ketv reported in March:

Fort Calhoun's nuclear power plant is one of three reactors across the country that federal regulators said they are most concerned about.

Last year, federal regulators questioned the station's flood protection protocol. NRC officials said they felt the Omaha Public Power District should do more than sandbagging in the event of major flooding along the Missouri river.

New pint sized particle accelerator leads the way to clean nuclear energy

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Daresbury science park in Britain have offered a glimpse into what might be the future of nuclear energy production by showcasing a scaled down particle accelerator; one, that when combined with others just like it, could produce nuclear energy based on thorium, rather than uranium. Dubbed the Electron Machine with Many Applications (EMMA), the accelerator, a much smaller version of the kind used in physics research, such as the Large Hadron Collider, could be used to provide an accelerated beam necessary for the type of nuclear reaction used in a theoretical thorium plant.

Thorium, named for the Norse god of thunder, is a silver-white metal found in abundance all over the planet, and is only very slightly radioactive and as such is a member of the elements known as actinides which, like uranium, occasionally spin off particles which make it useful for energy production. But unlike uranium, thorium is relatively clean because it decays much faster leaving far less reactive byproducts behind; and because it requires a constant bombardment of particles to keep it reacting, is incapable of producing a meltdown; something on the minds of people in the aftermath the Fukushima disaster.

That’s where EMMA enters the picture. To produce the constant stream of particles needed to keep a thorium reaction going, an accelerator is needed, but it wouldn’t have to be the huge billion dollar kind, more like the kind you could fit in your garage, or in this case in a lab on the boggy Cheshire flatland, just east of Liverpool, where reporters from the U.K. newspaper Mail, were recently given a tour. They report that EMMA is “an object of scientific beauty...”

Scientists have known since the 1950’s that thorium could be used to produce electricity, just as uranium is today; what kept them from doing so was the desire to use technology that could be used in conjunction with atomic weapons, which pushed thorium research aside due to its impracticality for such applications. Today however, things have obviously changed, several countries besides Britain are taking a very hard look at thorium and the ways it could be put to good use and at small particle accelerators too; the team in Britain is also currently at work designing the Particle Accelerator for Medical Applications (Pamela) to be used to help treat hard to reach cancer in patients.

Nuclear Reactor Design Chosen - Not Because It Was Safe - But Because It Worked On Navy Submarines

June 20, 2011

Virtually all of the nuclear reactors in the U.S. are of the same archaic design as those at Fukushima (Indeed, MSNBC notes that there are 23 U.S. reactors which are more or less identical to those at Fukushima.)

Called "light-water reactors", this design was not chosen for safety reasons. Rather, it was chosen because it worked in Navy submarines.

Specifically, as the Atlantic reported in March:

In the early years of atomic power, as recounted by Alvin Weinberg, head of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in his book The First Nuclear Era, there was intense competition to come up with the cheapest, safest, best nuclear reactor design.

Every variable in building an immensely complex industrial plant was up for grabs: the nature of the radioactive fuel and other substances that form the reactor's core, the safety systems, the containment buildings, the construction substances, and everything else that might go into building an immensely complex industrial plant. The light water reactor became the technological victor, but no one is quite sure whether that was a good idea.

Few of these alternatives were seriously investigated after light water reactors were selected for Navy submarines by Admiral Hyman Rickover. Once light water reactors gained government backing and the many advantages that conferred, other designs could not break into the market, even though commercial nuclear power wouldn't explode for years after Rickover's decision. "There were lots and lots of ideas floating around, and they essentially lost when light water came to dominate," University of Strasbourg professor Robin Cowan told the Boston Globe in an excellent article on "technological lock-in" in the nuclear industry.

As it turned out, there were real political and corporate imperatives to commercialize nuclear power with whatever designs were already to hand. It was geopolitically useful for the United States to show they could offer civilian nuclear facilities to its allies and the companies who built the plants (mainly GE and Westinghouse) did not want to lose the competitive advantage they'd gained as the contractors on the Manhattan Project. Those companies stood to make much more money on nuclear plants than traditional fossil fuel-based plants, and they had less competitors. The invention and use of the atomic bomb weighed heavily on the minds of nuclear scientists. Widespread nuclear power was about the only thing that could redeem their role in the creation of the first weapon with which it was possible to destroy life on earth. In other words, the most powerful interest groups surrounding the nuclear question all wanted to settle on a power plant design and start building.

***

President Lyndon Johnson and his administration sent the message that we were going to use nuclear power, and it would be largely through the reactor designs that already existed, regardless of whether they had the best safety characteristics that could be imagined. [Nixon also fired the main government scientist developing safer types of reactors, because he was focused on safety instead of sticking with Nixon's favored reactors.] We learned in later years that boiling water reactors like Fukushima are subject to certain types of failure under very unusual circumstances, but we probably would have discovered such problems if we'd explored the technical designs for longer before trying to start building large numbers of nuclear plants.

The Atomic Energy Commission's first general manager - MIT professor Carroll Wilson - confirmed in 1979:

The pressurized water reactor was peculiarly suitable and necessary for a submarine power plant where limitations of space and weight were extreme. So as interest in the civilian use of nuclear power began to grow, it was natural to consider a system that had already proven reliable in submarines. This was further encouraged by the fact that the Atomic Energy Commission provided funds to build the first civilian nuclear power plant ... using essentially the same system as the submarine power plant. Thus it was that a pressurized light water system became the standard model for the world. Although other kinds of reactors were under development in different countries, there was a rapid scale-up of of the pressurized water reactor and a variant called the boiling water reactor developed by General Electric. These became the standard types for civilian power plants. in the United States and were licensed to be built in France, Germany, Japan and elsewhere.

If one had started to design a civilian electric power plant without the constraints of weight and space as required by the submarine, quite different criteria would apply.

(Wilson also notes that the engineers who built the original reactors didn't really think about the waste or other basic parts of the plants' life cycle.)

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard argues that there was another reason why all safer alternative designs - including thorium reactors - were abandoned:

The plans were shelved because thorium does not produce plutonium for bombs.

As Boing Boing notes:

Reactors like this [are] flawed in some ways that would be almost comical, were it not for the risk those flaws impart. Maybe you've wondered over the past couple of weeks why anyone would design a nuclear reactor that relied on external generators to power the pumps for it's emergency cooling system. In a real emergency, isn't there a decent chance that the backup generators would be compromised, as well?

It's a good question. In fact, modern reactor designs have solved that very problem, by feeding water through the emergency cooling system using gravity, rather than powered pumps. Newer designs are much safer, and more reliable. But we haven't built any of them in the United States ...

Not the Navy's Fault

This is in no way a criticism of the U.S. Navy or its submarine reactors. As a reader comments:

There are some things to know about Navy reactors:

1. They don't store thirty years worth of used, spent fuel rods next to the reactor.
2. They don't continue to operate a reactor that had a design life of 25 years for 60 years.
3. The spent fuel pool is back on land on a base somewhere.

(In addition, the reactors on subs are much smaller than commercial reactors, and so have almost no consequences for the civilian population if they meltdown. And if an accident were to happen on a nuclear sub, the sub would likely sink or at least flood, presumably keeping the reactor from melting down in the first place.)

There Are No Independent Regulators and No Real Safety Standards

But at least the government compensates for the inherently unsafe design of these reactors by requiring high safety and maintenance standards.

Unfortunately, no ...

As AP notes today:

Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation’s aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards or simply failing to enforce them.

***

Examples abound. When valves leaked, more leakage was allowed — up to 20 times the original limit. When rampant cracking caused radioactive leaks from steam generator tubing, an easier test of the tubes was devised so plants could meet standards.

***

Records show a recurring pattern: reactor parts or systems fall out of compliance with the rules; studies are conducted by the industry and government; and all agree that existing standards are “unnecessarily conservative.’’

Regulations are loosened, and the reactors are back in compliance.

Of course, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission - like all nuclear "agencies" worldwide - is 100% captured and not an independent agency, and the NRC has never denied a request for relicensing old, unsafe nuclear plants.

Indeed, Senator Sanders says that the NRC pressured the Department of Justice to sue the state of Vermont after the state and its people rejected relicensing of the Vermont Yankee plant, siding with the nuclear operator instead. The Nation notes:

Aileen Mioko Smith, director of Green Action Kyoto, met Fukushima plant and government officials in August 2010. “At the plant they seemed to dismiss our concerns about spent fuel pools,” said Mioko Smith. “At the prefecture, they were very worried but had no plan for how to deal with it.”

Remarkably, that is the norm—both in Japan and in the United States. Spent fuel pools at Fukushima are not equipped with backup water-circulation systems or backup generators for the water-circulation system they do have.

The exact same design flaw is in place at Vermont Yankee, a nuclear plant of the same GE design as the Fukushima reactors. At Fukushima each reactor has between 60 and 83 tons of spent fuel rods stored next to them. Vermont Yankee has a staggering 690 tons of spent fuel rods on site.

Nuclear safety activists in the United States have long known of these problems and have sought repeatedly to have them addressed. At least get backup generators for the pools, they implored. But at every turn the industry has pushed back, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has consistently ruled in favor of plant owners over local communities.

After 9/11 the issue of spent fuel rods again had momentary traction. Numerous citizen groups petitioned and pressured the NRC for enhanced protections of the pools. But the NRC deemed “the possibility of a terrorist attack...speculative and simply too far removed from the natural or expected consequences of agency action.” So nothing was done—not even the provision of backup water-circulation systems or emergency power-generation systems.

As an example of how dangerous American nuclear reactors are, AP noted in a report Friday that 75 percent of all U.S. nuclear sites have leaked radioactive tritium.

Indeed, because of poor design, horrible safety practices, and no real regulation, a U.S. nuclear accident could be a lot worse than Fukushima.

The Great Missouri River Flood of 2011

FEMA Enforces Mandatory Evacuation of Minot, ND

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/reports/2011/nat062111.shtm

A FEMA release today documents just how bad and/or dangerous this situation is getting in North Dakota (most likely at Garrison Dam and two Nebraska Nuclear Reactor Facilities — one includes a GE Type 4 reactor).

The statement from FEMA’s website reads:

FEMA
June 21, 2011

Mandatory Flooding Evacuations – City of Minot, ND (Ward County)

Due to heavy rainfall releases from Lake Darling (ND) need to be increased, which may result in severe flooding in the City of Minot (Ward County) and rural areas. Current release levels at Lake Darling are at 9,000 cfs, and this will be increasing to 16,000 – 17,000 cfs on Wednesday, June 22.

Project Flood: Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant under serious flood threat

After the Army released near record water from six major reservoirs, levees have failed to hold the Missouri River so flooding now poses a "serious threat" to Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant according to today's International Business Times today.

IBTimes Staff Reporter reported at 4:17 AM EDT that "Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant was reportedly very close to getting engulfed by the floodwaters, raising fears of a crisis similar to Japan’s Fukushima disaster."

The nuclear plant declared the event as “unusual.”

Sandia Labs: Similarities between Fukushima Dai-Ichi and reactors like Nebraska’s Cooper nuke plant pose significant problem — Loss of electricity could cause meltdown

NPPD: Nuke Plant Could Be Shut Down “In Three Seconds”, Critics Still Worry, Missouri News Horizon, June 21, 2011:

[... T]he Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) insists the 37-year-old Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville, which sits on the raging Missouri River, is as secure as they come.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the safest, Alan Dostal who is NPPD’s nuclear expert says, ”We are an absolutely safe plant, that’s a 10.”

Dostal’s comments came during an interview with Nebraska Watchdog on March 29, five days before three workers at Cooper were exposed to radiation. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) a fuel rod accident triggered alarms that are worn by the workers. NPPD says the incident which is still under investigation did not cause any apparent injuries but was “unacceptable.” The NRC wants “to understand why normal work practices were not followed.” [...]

[T]he federal government’s own Sandia National Laboratories has concluded that similarities between the Dai-Ichi plant and reactors like Cooper pose a significant problem: specifically that a lengthy loss of electrical power could cause a nuclear meltdown. [...]

Fort Calhoun plant may store spent fuel rods permanently

Raging wildfires only 1 mile from nuclear lab at Los Alamos force evacuation — “Officials insist that radioactive material is secure”

New Mexico wildfires force evacuation at Los Alamos nuclear labratory, NY Daily News, June 27, 2011:

Raging wildfires in New Mexico forced the evacuation of the famed nuclear lab at Los Alamos Monday, though officials insist that radioactive material is secure.

Fires have burned as close as one mile from the government lab – threatening buildings, power lines and gas lines, officials said. [...]

[L]ab spokesman Jeff Berger [said] “Protected areas include all hazardous and radioactive facilities [..."]

About 100 non-essential personnel were cleared from the area around the lab, where the first atomic bomb was built. [...]

h/t anonymous

5:24 pm ET: Fire has crossed onto Los Alamos lab property at Technical Area 49

Evacuations ordered as wildfire threatens Los Alamos, N.M., USA Today, June 27, 2011:

Update at 5:24 p.m. ET: The fire has crossed onto lab property and jumped across State Route 4, New Mexico fire officials say. A one-acre spot fire was reported in Water Canyon, within Technical Area 49, on the lab’s southwestern boundary.

Authorities have ordered residents to evacuate as a wildfire threatens Los Alamos, N.M., home to the laboratory that developed the atomic bomb.

Fire officials “shocked” and “stunned” at how fast Los Alamos fire has grown

Fast-moving wildfire nears Los Alamos nuclear lab, Reuters, June 27, 2011:

[...] The speed at which the [Los Alamos] fire has grown has stunned fire officials.

“There are a lot of people who are just shocked and stunned at this number,” said Santa Fe National Forest spokesman Lawrence Lujan, referring to the estimated 44,000-acre fire.[...]

Los Alamos Chief: “This fire is going to be with us for a while… potential to double and triple in size” — Already 68 sq. miles

NM wildfire grows, shuts famed Los Alamos nuke lab, AP, June 27, 2011:

[...T]he fire swelled to 68 square miles and loomed just a mile southwest of Los Alamos.

Fast-moving wildfire nears Los Alamos nuclear lab, Reuters, June 27, 2011:

[...] “This fire is going to be with us for a while. It has the potential to double and triple in size,” Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker said Monday afternoon. [...]

NBC News: “This has grown much more serious just in the last few hours” at Los Alamos nuke facility — Mandatory evacuations ordered — Fire Chief won’t say fire won’t go in lab (VIDEO)

Feds in ’09: Los Alamos County firefighters not sufficiently trained to handle unique fires with radioactive materials at nuclear lab

NM wildfire grows, shuts famed Los Alamos nuke lab, AP, June 27, 2011:

[...] In 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy’s inspector general issued a report that said Los Alamos County firefighters weren’t sufficiently trained to handle the unique fires they could face with hazardous or radioactive materials at LANL.

Lab and fire department officials at the time said the report focused too much on past problems and not enough on what had been done to resolve them. Some problems also were noted in previous reports.[...]

Local news shows ‘amazing’ and ‘terrifying’ images of wildfire that threatens Los Alamos nuke lab (VIDEO)

All aircraft have been grounded due to high winds: Los Alamos Fire Chief

Fast-moving wildfire nears Los Alamos nuclear lab, Reuters, June 27, 2011:

[...] Due to high winds, all aircraft have been grounded, [Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker] said. [...]

Report: Up to 30,000 drums of plutonium-contaminated waste stored in fabric tents above ground at Los Alamos dumpsite — Lab declines to comment

Wildfire shuts Los Alamos lab, forces evacuations, AP, Jun 27, 2011:

[...] The anti-nuclear watchdog group Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety said the fire appeared to be about 3 1/2 miles from a dumpsite where as many as 30,000 55-gallon drums of plutonium-contaminated waste were stored in fabric tents above ground. The group said the drums were awaiting transport to a low-level radiation dump site in southern New Mexico.

Lab spokesman Steve Sandoval declined to comment on that assertion, but did acknowledge there is low level waste stored in drums on lab property that is regularly taken to the Waste Isolation Pilot Project site in Carlsbad. [...]

NASA overflight shows wildfire spreading to north and east in the direction of Los Alamos (MAP)

NASA Overflight Shows Fire’s Spread to North, East, Albuquerque Journal, June 28, 2011:

UPI: Web site of group that revealed plutonium-contaminated waste is stored above ground at Los Alamos “appeared hacked early Tuesday morning”

Los Alamos evacuated as wildfire nears, UPI, June 28, 2011:

[...] The lab would not comment on a Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety allegation that the wildfire was about 3 miles from a nuclear dumpsite containing tens of thousands of 55-gallon drums of plutonium-contaminated waste.

The anti-nuclear watchdog group’s Web site appeared hacked early Tuesday morning, a United Press International check indicated. Its Facebook page had six messages from people alerting the group of the possible hacking, including a message commenting on the timing of the incident happening “just as the fires started.” [...]

Special teams will track levels of plutonium and uranium in air at Los Alamos lab

‘Hoping for the best’: Firefighters battle blaze at edge of Los Alamos nuclear complex, MSNBC, June 28, 2011:

N.M. facility calls in teams to track readings that measure levels of plutonium and uranium in the air ‘as a precaution’

[... T]he facility called in special teams to track readings from a network of 60 monitoring stations that measure levels of substances such as plutonium and uranium in the air “as a precaution,” said lab director Charles McMillan. [...]

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, who was visiting evacuees at the Santa Claran Hotel Casino in Espanola, said “there’s no doubt” the lab stores a variety of hazardous and radioactive materials that “you don’t want to escape in the atmosphere.” But he said he was confident lab and state environmental officials had monitoring systems in place to “evaluate exactly what we’re seeing here.” [...]

Los Alamos lab contains world’s largest supply of nuclear weapons

Los Alamos Evacuated; Fire Crews Concentrate on Nuclear Lab, Arutz Sheva, June 28, 2011:

Los Alamos National Laboratory is indelibly etched in historical memory as the hatching site of the Manhattan Project, the effort which created the first atomic bomb. The world’s largest nuclear weapons arsenal is still located there. [...]

Given the recent Japanese disaster at Fukushima, the fear of course is that a natural disaster can morph into a nuclear one. Firefighters are therefore concentrating on keeping the blaze out of the laboratory. “If it spots on the lab, we’ll get really aggressive about putting it out,” Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker said. [...]

‘Hoping for the best’: Firefighters battle blaze at edge of Los Alamos nuclear complex, MSNBC, June 28, 2011:

Flames licked all day at the boundary of the laboratory site, home to the nation’s largest supply of nuclear weapons, as fire crews scurried to douse spot fires carried onto the grounds by winds from the leading edge of the blaze. [...]

AP: Los Alamos officials now confirming that drums of plutonium-contaminated waste are stored above ground at ‘Area G’

Los Alamos lab still under threat from blaze, CBS/AP, June 28, 2011 at 7:35 am EDT:

[...] The anti-nuclear watchdog group Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety said the fire appeared to be about 3.5 miles from a dumpsite where as many as 30,000 55-gallon drums of plutonium-contaminated waste were stored in fabric tents above ground. [...]

Lab officials at first declined to confirm that such drums were on the property, but in a statement early Tuesday, lab spokeswoman Lisa Rosendorf said such drums are stored in a section of the complex known as Area G. She said the drums contain cleanup from Cold War-era waste that the lab sends away in weekly shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

She said the drums were on a paved area with few trees nearby and would be safe even if a fire reached the storage area. Officials have said it is miles from the flames. [...]

Fire Threatens Plutonium and Uranium Release at Los Alamos National Laboratory

A raging wildfire is threatening to engulf the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Los Alamos likely contains more nuclear weapons than any other facility in the world.

The fire has already swept over one of the areas where nuclear weapons were being tested, so any radioactive dust in the soil near the surface has probably been kicked up into the atmosphere and carried with the smoke.

U. S. Nuclear Facility Closes as Wildfire Moves Closer

A raging wildfire in the southwestern United States is moving closer to a key nuclear weapons laboratory, forcing it to shut down for another two days.

Report: Radioactive tritium very close to Los Alamos fire, about half a mile away — Lab would be the last to tell you if there was a serious problem (VIDEO)

Wildfire near Los Alamos triggers air monitoring, AP, June 28, 2011:

[...] The New Mexico Environment Department is monitoring the air for radioactive particles and tritium using low-volume air pumps. [...]

As Obama Quietly Pushes for a Nuclear Weapons Renaissance, Wildfire Threatens Los Alamos Nuclear Lab, Democracy Now, June 28, 2011:

Starts at 4:15 in

[...] GREG MELLO [Director of the Los Alamos Study Group]: Well, Los Alamos National Laboratory is the—in funding terms, it’s the main nuclear warhead facility of the United States. There is a lot of plutonium there. There’s tritium—actually, tritium very close to the fire, about half a mile from the fire. Part of the problem is there’s an information deficit, and there’s a serious trust deficit. You can’t really take anything that the laboratory says at face value. It’s kind of a minimum—you know, they’d be the last to tell you if there was a serious problem. So you have to piece it together from other information. And that’s—Los Alamos Lab is becoming the center of plutonium manufacture for the country. [...]

Fire near Los Alamos lab to be largest in New Mexico history — Bracing for gust up to 40 mph this afternoon

NM Fire Poised to Be Largest in State History, Associated Press, June 30, 2011:

A wildfire that is threatening the nation’s premier nuclear weapons laboratory [...] is poised to become the largest fire in state history.

The fire near Los Alamos has charred nearly 145 square miles, or 92,735 acres. [...]

It’s close to surpassing New Mexico’s largest fire, the Dry Lakes fire. That blaze charred more than 94,000 acres [...]

They’re bracing for winds that could gust up to 40 mph Thursday afternoon. [...]

State Official: Trees and soil in Los Alamos area can have nuclear contamination — “If they get heated and that stuff goes air borne, then we are concerned” (VIDEO)

Los Alamos Fire: Perimeter of Nuclear Lab Set Ablaze, ABC News, June 30, 2011:

[...] Along with what’s actually on lab property, there is concern about what’s in the canyons that surround the sprawling complex. Nuclear tests were performed in the canyons dating back to the 1940s; so-called “legacy contaminations.”

“The trees have grown up during that timeframe, and the soil can also be contaminated. If they get heated and that stuff goes air borne, then we are concerned,” Rita Bates of the New Mexico Environment Department said. [...]

Local TV: Los Alamos residents rushed out of town fearing future children “would be born with a third-eye and extra limbs”

Wildfire Inches Closer To Los Alamos Nuclear Lab, KIAH, June 29, 2011 at 6:25 pm EDT:

The nuclear plant that birthed the atomic bomb is in serious danger as wildfire flames inch closer to the nuclear lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico. [...]

some 12-thousand residents rushed out of town not only fearing for their homes but also that their future children would be born with a third-eye and extra limbs. [...]

Fire near Los Alamos grows to 90,000 acres — Exactly where they have 3% of the fire contained is “unclear”

UPDATED: Las Conchas Fire at Nearly 90,000 Acres, Albuquerque Journal, June 30, 2011:

The Las Conchas Fire grew to roughly 90,000 acres on Wednesday, advancing northward to the headwaters of Santa Clara Canyon on Santa Clara Pueblo while firefighters improved buffer zones around Los Alamos and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Albuquerque Journal’s Phil Parker reported this morning.

The fire was still being reported late Wednesday as being 3 percent contained, but exactly where some small part of the fire had been reined in was unclear, the Journal said.

More than 1,000 fire personnel have been requested, the paper reported. [...]

Nuclear materials expert: Los Alamos lab is potentially vulnerable to this wildfire — “Just hope to hell that the wind blows in the right direction”

New Jersey:

Cooling pump fails at New Jersey nuclear reactor, plant shut down — Remains in ‘hot shutdown’

Salem Unit 2 nuclear reactor shuts down after cooling pump failure, NJ.com, June 28, 2011:

The Salem Unit 2 nuclear plant remained shut down this afternoon following a problem with a reactor coolant pump, according to a spokesman for the plant’s operator. [...]

The cause of the pump failure is still being investigated, according to Delmar. The plant functioned as designed, he said.

The plant remained in “hot shutdown” mode this afternoon. [...]

Salem Unit 2 nuclear reactor shuts down after cooling pump failure

Salem Unit 2 nuclear reactor shuts down after cooling pump failure
Published: Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 1:20 AM
By Bill Gallo Jr.
LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK TWP. — The Salem Unit 2 nuclear plant remained shut down this afternoon following a problem with a reactor coolant pump, according to a spokesman for the plant’s operator.
Salem 2 automatically went offline Sunday at 6:01 p.m. when the coolant pump tripped, said Joe Delmar, spokesman for PSEG Nuclear.
When the pump shut down, the auxiliary pump system automatically started to provide water to cool the reactor.
The cause of the pump failure is still being investigated, according to Delmar. The plant functioned as designed, he said.
The plant remained in “hot shutdown” mode this afternoon.

Fort Calhoun:

Look Who’s Buying Up Flood Ravaged Farm Land - The Army Corps Of Engineers & George Soros

Soros buying farmland is not a surprise, as all hedge funds have become interested as they anticipate future food shortages. What is surprising is that the Army Corp of Engineers is looking to buy the land that they themselves allowed to be flooded earlier this Spring.

It smacks of self-serving corruption.

Cattle commodities broker Ann writes:

Two HUGE intel leads in my email box this morning from way-back contacts that I’ve had for years, that are actually somewhat connected concepts.

1. File this one under “Now It All Makes Sense”. A Missouri farming and ranching contact just got off a conference call wherein he was informed that the federal government is sending out letters to all of the flooded out farmers in the Missouri River flood plain and bottoms notifying them that the Army Corps of Engineers will offer to BUY THEIR LAND.

Intentionally flood massive acreage of highly productive farmground. Destroy people’s communities and homes. Catch them while they are desperate and afraid and then swoop in and buy the ground cheap. Those evil sons of bitches.

2. Speaking of evil sons of bitches, George Soros appears to be “investing” in farmground through the same puppet company that he used to get into the grain elevator and fertilizer business. The company is called Ospraie Capital Management and is buying up farmground in a joint venture with Teays River Investments as a partner. Here is that announcement: Click Here

Okay. Here’s the connection. This Ospraie outfit was a hedge fund specializing in commodities that was started and run by some cocky child who didn’t know how to trade bear markets and got his butt kicked into next week in the grain market of 2008. He also lost a fortune trying to trade RARE EARTH METALS. In fact, it was so bad that he had to shut his fund down because he had promised his investors that he would give them all of their investment money back if the fund lost more than 30% in one year. Whoopsie.

But it appears that Soros swooped in and saved the day because this Ospraie is the “co-investor” with Soros that bought the remnants of ConAgra’s trading operation and renamed it . . . Gavilon. In the industry, it is widely acknowledged that Ospraie IS Soros. That three-page article citation is here.

As you probably remember, Gavilon just recently bought both DeBruce Grain out of Kansas City and the biggest grain elevator company in the Pacific Northwest, thus making Soros (who is the money behind Gavilon through both his own Soros Fund Management AND his de facto control of Ospraie) the third-largest grain company in the U.S. with 280 million bushels of storage capacity, behind only Archer Daniels Midland (542 million bushels storage capacity) and Cargill (344 million bushels storage capacity). That citation is here

Bottom line: Soros, through Ospraie, is buying up farmground. Please also note that the hotlink citation above is dated June 26, 2009. My contact says this has been going on for two years – and also remember what I told you about farmground prices inflating wildly, especially in Illinois. I have personally confirmed farmground in Illinois selling for $13,000 per acre within the last month, whereas that same kind of ground in Illinois was going for $5500 per acre the day Obama was inaugurated.

PHOTOS - Parts of Nebraska Nuke Plant Under 2 Ft. of Water

Flood wall fails at Fort Calhoun

A berm holding back floodwater at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station has collapsed.

"But trust us, everything is fine and you are all safe. We are carefully monitoring this situation from the emergency crisis center deep inside Mount Weather, and you have nothing to worry about. Go on spending your money this weekend!" -- Official White Horse Souse

Ft. Calhoun nuke plant now running on emergency generators as workers try to restore electricity — Power supply cut after water surrounded main electrical transformers

The berm’s collapse didn’t affect the reactor shutdown cooling or the spent fuel pool cooling, but the power supply was cut after water surrounded the main electrical transformers, the NRC said. Emergency generators powered the [Ft. Calhoun] plant Sunday while workers tried to restore power.

Floodwater Seeps Into Nebraska Nuke Plant Building

Officials say that floodwater seeping into the turbine building at a nuclear power plant near Omaha on the banks of the Missouri River is not a safety risk.

They were saying the same thing about Fukushima right up to the moment reactor one exploded. The reality is that after all the demonstrated lies about Fukushima and the Gulf Oil Disaster (not to mention the lies about the wars and the economy) only an idiot would bet their life now that the government is telling us the truth.

Flood berm collapses at Nebraska nuclear plant

A berm holding the flooded Missouri River back from a Nebraska nuclear power station collapsed early Sunday, but federal regulators said they were monitoring the situation and there was no danger.

"No, really; there isn't. Honest. And if you don't trust us, the terrorists will win!" -- Official White Horse Souse

Flood wall fails at Fort Calhoun

The external power we were told could not fail ... has failed. Fort Calhoun's cooling system is running on the emergency backup generators. They have fuel for 88 hours (less the time they have already been operating) unless the flood waters short out and shut down the generators or pumps.

So basically, the nuclear power plants the US Government told us were safe are in danger of a major radiation release because the heavy snow pack the US Government told us was a thing of the past has produced heavy flooding which has overwhelmed toe flood controls systems the US Government assured us did not need repairs or upgrades.

That about sum it up?

Floodwater Seeps Into Nebraska Nuke Plant Building

Officials say that floodwater seeping into the turbine building at a nuclear power plant near Omaha on the banks of the Missouri River is not a safety risk.

They were saying the same thing about Fukushima right up to the moment reactor one exploded. The reality is that after all the demonstrated lies about Fukushima and the Gulf Oil Disaster (not to mention the lies about the wars and the economy) only an idiot would bet their life now that the government is telling us the truth.

Nothing To See Here - Naked Gun

Nuclear flood threat: 1100 troops, 25,000 homes flooded, NRC chief onsite

Upstream of two nuclear power plants operating at heightened alert, biblical proportion flooding is has resulted in as many as 4,500 families to lose their homes in North Dakota, 25,000 homes filling with water, patrol boats responding to 911 calls, and 1100 activated National Guardsmen onsite to help. An Air Force base, overseeing 150 Minuteman III missiles in underground launch silos over 8,500 square miles, is partially under water according to CBS News on Saturday.

Many containers of fuel to power pumps were washed away after breach at Ft. Calhoun nuke plant

Event Notification Report for June 27, 2011, NRC, June 27, 2011:

Event Number: 46989
Facility: FORT CALHOUN
Event Date: 06/26/2011
Event Time: 10:45 [CDT]

Event Text
OFFSITE NOTIFICATION DUE TO PETROLEUM RELEASE TO THE MISSOURI RIVER

“At approximately 0125 CDT, the AquaDam providing enhanced flood protection for Fort Calhoun Station Unit 1 failed. This resulted in approximately 100 gallons of petroleum being released into the river after a protective barrier was breached and many fuel containers were washed out to the river. The fuel/oil containers were staged around the facility to supply fuel for pumps which remove water within the flood containment barriers. The spill was reported to the State of Nebraska at 10:45 AM CDT on 6/26/2011.

h/t anonymous

New docs show only 11 days ago workers at Ft. Calhoun nuke plant were still plugging holes where water could come flooding in (VIDEO)

Nebraska Residents in No Danger After Floods Hit Nuke Plant: Waters Breach Berm at Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station, ABC News, June 27, 2011:

At 1:25 in

ABC News: New documents show that only 11 days ago workers were still plugging holes where water could come flooding in to Ft. Calhoun nuke plant.

WSJ: Even though Ft. Calhoun reactor is in ‘shutdown’ it requires electricity to avoid melting of core

Waters Encircle Nuclear Plant, Wall Street Journal, June 6, 2011:

[... NRC spokesman Victor] Dricks said temperature monitors were working properly and temperatures of key parts of the nuclear power plant were normal. Water has not seeped into any of the containment structures, he said.

Even when in shutdown mode, a nuclear plant requires electricity to keep key components cool in order to avoid any degradation or melting of the core that could result in the release of radiation. [...]

NY Magazine: This will sound familiar — Backup generators are working to cool nuclear materials

Natural Disasters Affect Nuclear Plants In America, Too, New York Magazine, June 26, 2011:

[...] Mississippi River floodwaters have breached some of the protection around the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant in Nebraska, and now the water has reached containment buildings and transformers. Electricity has been cut [...] and this will sound familiar—backup generators are working to cool the nuclear materials. [...]

ABC: Federal gov’t “so concerned” about Ft. Calhoun situation that NRC chairman is headed to plant

Midwest Floods: Waters Breach Berm at Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station in Nebraska, ABC News, June 26, 2011:

[F]ederal inspectors are on the scene [at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station], and the federal government is so concerned the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is headed to the plant. [...]

NRC Chairman to Visit Nebraska Nuclear Plants -June 24, 2011

NYT on Ft. Calhoun: Equipment ‘nicked’ 8 ft high, 2,000 ft long berm causing it to deflate

Concern at Nebraska Reactors as Floodwaters Rise, New York Times, June 26, 2011:

[...] Another reactor, Fort Calhoun, took two steps backward on Sunday. In the pre-dawn hours, a piece of heavy equipment nicked a temporary rubber berm, 8 feet high and 2,000 feet long, and it deflated. And water there began to approach the switchyard, where grid power enters the complex, so operators started up their diesel generators. [...]

Flood berm collapsed after being punctured by an unidentified piece of machinery: OPPD

Flood berm bursts at Nebraska nuclear plant, CNN, June 26, 2011:

A water-filled berm protecting a nuclear power plant in Nebraska from rising floodwaters collapsed Sunday, according to a spokesman, who said the plant remains secure.

Some sort of machinery came in contact with the berm, puncturing it and causing the berm to deflate, said Mike Jones, a spokesman for the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), which owns the Fort Calhoun plant. [...]

The 6 to 12 inches of rainfall in the upper Missouri basin in the past few weeks is nearly a normal year’s worth, and runoff from the mountain snowpack is 140% of normal, according to forecasters.

OPPD: Water also leaking around concrete berm surrounding Ft. Calhoun nuke plant’s main transformers

Flood wall fails at Fort Calhoun, Omaha World Herald, June 26, 2011:

[Emphasis Added]

Floodwaters surrounded several buildings at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station early Sunday morning after a water-filled wall collapsed. [...]

Floodwater surrounded the nuclear plant’s main electrical transformers, and power was transferred to emergency diesel generators.

OPPD spokesman Jeff Hanson said the transfer was precautionary because of water leaking around the concrete berm surrounding the main transformers. [...]

Auxiliary building at Ft. Calhoun surrounded by water after berm failure — NRC letter said if water enters auxilary building, could have station blackout with core damage in hours

Flood berm collapses at Nebraska nuclear plant, Associated Press, June 26, 2011:

[...] The [NRC] had inspectors at the plant 20 miles north of Omaha when the 2,000-foot berm collapsed about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Water surrounded the auxiliary and containment buildings at the plant, it said in a statement. [...]

A Nuclear Plant’s Flood Defenses Trigger a Yearlong Regulatory Confrontation, New York Times, June 24, 2011:

[...] At 1,010 feet, water would begin to enter the auxiliary building, “shorting power and submerging pumps. The plant could then experience a station blackout with core damage estimated within 15 to 18 hours,” under a worst-case scenario, the NRC said. [...]

The power supply has now been cut at Ft. Calhoun after water surrounded the main electrical transformers. The plant is currently running on emergency generators as workers try to restore electricity.

Ft. Calhoun nuke plant now running on emergency generators as workers try to restore electricity — Power supply cut after water surrounded main electrical transformers

Flood berm collapses at Nebraska nuclear plant, Associated Press, June 26, 2011:

[...] The berm’s collapse didn’t affect the reactor shutdown cooling or the spent fuel pool cooling, but the power supply was cut after water surrounded the main electrical transformers, the NRC said. Emergency generators powered the [Ft. Calhoun] plant Sunday while workers tried to restore power. [...]

2,000 ft berm holding back floodwater has collapsed at Ft. Calhoun nuke plant — River now surrounding two buildings

Flood berm collapsed at Nebraska nuclear plant, AP, June 26, 2011 at 12:59 pm EDT:

A berm holding back floodwater at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station has collapsed. [...]

The 2,000-foot berm collapsed about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, allowing the swollen river to surround two buildings at the plant. [...]

The NRC says its inspectors were at the plant when the berm failed and have confirmed that the flooding has had no impact on the reactor shutdown cooling or the spent fuel pool cooling. [...]

h/t anonymous

See also: City near Ft. Calhoun nuclear plant gets 2.5 inches of rain in 6 hours (VIDEO)

Ft Calhoun Newest Photos Have Disappeared

MSNBC apparently had a picture of the Ft. Calhoun nuclear plant taken today AFTER the 'water dam' - barely visible surrounding the reactor and main control buildings in this photo taken on June 24 - burst. But that page is now 'page not found'.

I'll guess that when the aqua dam burst, the control room was flooded. They are saying "no problem, there is no danger"- but, of course, there IS a problem.

The REASON there is a problem and why they aren't telling the truth is because, while Fukishima is equivalent to about twenty Chernobyls, Ft. Calhoun is equivalent to about twenty Fukushimas. Not because it has a lot of reactors - or even a very big one. But because it is holding an immense amount of nuclear fuel in its cooling pool.

100% chance of reactor core damage if floodwaters went above 1010 ft. at Ft. Calhoun nuke plant, NRC said in 2010 — River now around 1,007 ft. and expected to rise

The NRC in Action at Fort Calhoun, Monthly Review by Dave Lochbaum, June 27, 2011:

[...] During their routine inspections of weather protection readiness in 2010 [...] NRC estimated there was a 100% chance of reactor core damage caused by a flood rising above 1010 feet. The table at the top of Figure 1 provides the NRC’s assessment of the flooding risk while the table at the bottom provides the results from the risk assessment by Fort Calhoun Station (FCS). The company contested the NRC’s estimate. Its calculations showed that the chance of core meltdown was merely 19% for floods above 1010 feet and up to and including 1010.8 feet and only 23.9% for floods above 1010.8 feet to 1014 feet. [...]

UCS cannot say that these NRC actions already prevented an accident at Fort Calhoun or that they will prevent one should the flood waters continue to rise. However, the NRC did its job last year. The NRC’s inspectors found that Fort Calhoun was supposed to be protected against floods rising to 1014 feet, but was not. The NRC’s risk analysts determined that this deficiency was not academic — floods above 1010 feet had a 100 percent chance of core meltdown. And the NRC’s managers used the agency’s enforcement process to compel the plant’s owner to remedy the shortcomings rather than merely debate their risk. [...]

A Nuclear Plant’s Flood Defenses Trigger a Yearlong Regulatory Confrontation, New York Times, June 24, 2011:

[The water level at Ft. Calhoun nuclear plant] reached a height of nearly 1,007 feet above sea level at the plant yesterday. [...]

Hydrograph, Missouri River near Blair, NE, Weather.gov, June 27, 2011:

Ft. Calhoun nuclear workers carrying in fuel cans by hand in order to keep pumps running

Nuclear Plant’s Vital Equipment Dry, Officials Say, New York Times, June 27, 2011:

[...] At Fort Calhoun, where the river has risen gradually, the water seeps in through sandbag walls, electrical conduits and other places that workers had not thought much about before. There are so many small water pumps running to keep up with the leaks that keeping them supplied with gasoline and diesel requires something akin to a bucket brigade.

Orange plastic fuel cans are rolled on a cart over the catwalks and then handed off to employees who are headed deeper into the plant. Climbing over the sandbags at the entrances, they carry them in, and workers on their way out pick up a few empties and carry them out for refilling. [...]

Congressman: It’s pretty jarring to see a boat tied up to a nuclear power plant — New aerial footage of Ft. Calhoun released (VIDEO)

U.S. Nuclear Plant Deemed Safe Despite Ruptured Berm, Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2011:

Flood test not over for nuke plant, Omaha World-Herald, June 27, 2011:

[...] Monday, the head of the nation’s nuclear regulatory agency, his lieutenants and congressional representatives toured the plant.

“It’s pretty jarring to see a boat tied up to the nuclear power plant. … It’s an intense operation going on there, particularly with water surrounding all the buildings,” said U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. [...]

River water now surrounds spent fuel pool building and main reactor building at Ft. Calhoun after collapse of water-filled dam — Barriers at entrances to keep water out

Flood test not over for nuke plant, Omaha World-Herald, June 27, 2011:

[...] Because of the collapsed water-filled dam, river water surrounds the main reactor building, mechanical building, spent fuel pool building and other structures.

Barriers at entrances to the buildings are keeping that water from entering, [Omaha Public Power District spokesman Jeff Hanson] said. A “minor” amount of water did seep into the plant’s turbine building, he said, and was pumped out. [...]

Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant Underwater- References of 10 Mile Mandatory Evacuation Area Scrubbed From News Sites

The head of the NRC toured the Fort Calhoun Nuclear plant which is now underwater. A 10 mile evacuation around the plant has been ordered, but all references of the evacuation have been scrubbed from all news sites.

Gundersen: Intake Structure that cools reactor and spent fuel pool is probably most vulnerable part of Ft. Calhoun nuke plan — Critical that it stays dry (VIDEO)

Arnie Gundersen on Five O’clock Shadow with Robert Knight, WBAI, June 28, 2011 at 5:00 pm EDT:

• Intake structure probably the most vulnerable, not auxiliary and containment buildings…
• Intake structure draws in river water that cools reactor and spent fuel pool… critical that it stay dry…
• If gets water in it and emergency service water pumps fail then you’ve got a case where you’re going to cause fuel damage…
• Probably the most vulnerable at Ft Calhoun…

See also: May 16 report foreshadowed yesterday’s “event” at Calhoun nuke plant: Flooding of Intake Structure could jeopardize abilty to cool reactor

Local TV: Water has leaked into building containing radioactive material at Ft. Calhoun nuke plant — “That water we treat as radioactive waste” (VIDEO)

NRC Chairman says nuke plants safe, for now, Action 3 News, June 28, 2011:

At :40 in

We store radioactive material in that building. There is some minor water leakage into the building, and that water we treat as radioactive waste.

h/t Sarah in Omaha

Local ABC News: 10 mile evacuation around Ft. Calhoun nuke plant (VIDEO)

ABC 8 Lincoln, NE, June 27, 2011:

At :47 in

[NRC Chairman Gregory] Jaczko says even though there was a 10 mile evacuation around the plant, there is no immediate threat to the plants reactor.

h/t Alexander Higgins via Daily Paul

CNN: Floodwaters closing in on Ft. Calhoun nuclear plant — Officials concerned about deep water around facility

Flood Waters Close in on Nuclear Power Plant in Nebraska, CNN, June 29, 2011 at 2:00 pm EDT:

FORT CALHOUN, Neb. — Flood waters are close to reaching a nuclear power plant in Nebraska. [...]

Officials were concerned about the deep water around the facility that was caused by the historic flooding of the Missouri River. [...]

Kaku on ABC: Ft. Calhoun nuke plant “like Fukushima in slow motion” (VIDEO)

Interview with Michio Kaku, ABC, June 29, 2011:

At 1:20 in

Missouri River breaches levee in southwest Iowa

The swollen Missouri River breached another section of a southwestern Iowa levee on Thursday that has failed previously, forcing some evacuations and closing part of Interstate 29, authorities said.

Levee intentionally blown up near Ft. Calhoun nuke plant — “No gov’t entity had anything to do with the detonation” said local officials

Levee Intentionally Blown Up Along Missouri River, KETV, July 1, 2011:

[...] Pottawattamie County officials said a half-mile stretch of the Vanmann #30 levee [near Desoto Bend] was mechanically excavated and then lowered by using explosives.

Emergency Management Coordinator Jeff Theulen said he was alerted Friday morning that the levee may have been in the process of being intentionally breached.

About 20 minutes later, officials said they received calls from people wanting to know why levees were being blown up. One caller claimed to have witnessed the explosion.

Authorities said they’re investigating the levee breach. Pottawattamie County officials said no government entity had anything to do with the detonation, and they did not have advance notice from the people responsible for the breach. [...]

h/t anonymous tip

Footage of Desoto Levy from June 30, 2011:

Blown up levee caused 3 to 4 inch rise in water level coming down Missouri River — Just half an inch is considered a fairly big event

Explosives Used to Breach Levee; Investigation Underway, WOWT, July 1, 2011:

[...] According to a news release, a group of private citizens representing the Vanman #30 levee intentionally breached a half-mile stretch of levee [...]

County attorney Matt Wilber said he is disappointed no one told the county about the decision to go forward with the breach.[...]

Matt Wilber says, “These levees are saturated we have the most water on them for the longest period of time we’ve ever had. This levee gets blown and we saw a several inch rise in the river shortly there after so even a three or four inch pulse coming down the river when we’re looking at every half inch as being significant is a fairly big event.” [...]

NE Omaha residents getting notices from gov’t about how to handle “catastrophic levy breach”

Evacuation advice for N.E. Omaha, Omaha World Herald, July 1, 2011:

As early as Saturday, about 2,700 northeast Omaha residents could start getting advice in the mail about what to do in case of a “catastrophic levy breach,” said Dan Stolinski, assistant fire chief of the Omaha Fire Department.

The City of Omaha expects all the notices to get to the affected homes and businesses by Tuesday. [...]

Économie – Grèce:

Central Bankers vs. People of Greece

Enough of this Greek farce: everyone knows default is coming

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100094699/what-is-happening-in-athens-is-a-farce-everyone-knows-that-a-default-is-coming/

The EU and IMF bureaucrats overseeing the programme know that it’s preposterous, just as they know that the tax and spend forecasts are preposterous – and just as they know, deep down, that Greece can’t grow in the absence of a devaluation. The whole process is a farce, aimed at stringing out the crisis until the financial institutions exposed in Greece have shuffled off their liabilities on to the taxpayer. The moment governments and international institutions have taken over the banks’ debts, Athens will default. Everyone knows it. Why insult us with this choreography?

Weak economy may force second bailout of Ireland

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/30/uk-ireland-economy-idUKTRE75T4N720110630

As Europe struggles to put together a second bailout of Greece, to supplement the rescue effort launched last year, the crisis may force a second bailout of another indebted country in the region: Ireland.

Greek leader 'dead man walking', Greek bailout 'collective punishment'

La Grèce va emprunter 110 milliards de dollars, mais devra renbourser 130 milliards seulement qu’en intérêts d’ici 5 ans!!!!!!

Greece on fire: police and protestors clash in Athens

Greek parliament passes austerity bill

Parliament passes austerity package to slash $40bn off national debt, with 155 MPs voting in favour and 138 against.

What is Greek for 'Tar and Feathers?'

Update: Πίσσα και Πούπουλα

Rioters Turn Athens Greece Into A War Zone -- Banks And Finance Ministry Set On Fire After Banker Bailout Passes

After Greek politicians sold out an 80% majority opposed to the banker bailout and passed draconian austerity measures, using the excuse they were blackmailed, the rioters in Athens responded by turning Greece into a war zone and setting banks, cars, and the Finance Ministry on fire.

Greece Protesters Riot Over NWO Take-Over Austarity Measures Tax Increases

Athens War Zone: Latest dramatic footage from Syntagma square

**Greek voting results due out as I type...

SLIDESHOW - Greek Austerity Riots

22 photos I chose by hand - The Greeks know how to riot, that is for sure.

Greece Barricades: 'We don't owe! We don't sell! We don't pay!'

Mass demos in Athens as Lawmakers Resign

Two Greek government lawmakers quit Thursday in protest at their party's austerity policies as unity government talks with Prime Minister George Papandreou collapsed. The parliamentarians, part of Greece's ruling Socialist Party, had criticized the government's wage cuts and tax hikes, which were mandated by the EU and the International Monetary Fund in return for a massive loan rescue last year. Papandreou will have to double previous austerity measures to $40 billion and intensify privatization schemes in exchange for yet another loan.

Message from the Greek (Icelandic, Egyptian, Spanish, Yemeni, Tunisian, British, etc. etc. etc. and hopefully soon the American) people: "You borrowed that money without our permission. You can pay it back without our help!"

The push to create history's first global fascist dictatorship has set the stage for history's first global revolution. (Does that mean we have to use a standardized guillotine, or can we sorta improvise as we go along?)

Greek Protests Turn Ugly; Police and Protestors Clash

CNBC

Violent clashes between police and protestors broke out on the streets of Athens on Wednesday. Some 20,000 anti-austerity protesters attempted to blockade Parliament, where the struggling government launched a debate on new cutbacks needed to secure international rescue loans...

Greece Chaos: 20,000 protest in Athens, cops fight masked rioters - RT

More video of Greek riots: Fierce street battles rage in Athens - RT

Greek Riot Police Clash With Protesters as Strike Turns Violent

In the latest sign of swelling social unrest, Greek riot police clashed with angry demonstrators in Athens today, marring a nationwide protest against continued austerity measures.

The clashes sprang from a massive demonstration that drew an estimated 40,000 workers to the streets in the first major labor protest this year.

Riot police fired tear gas at young protesters, who hurled stones, petrol bombs and firecrackers at government buildings. Thick smoke blanketed much of the city for hours, sending demonstrators and bystanders scrambling for cover.

So, having sold the Greek people into debt-slavery to one private central bank issuing a debt-based currency, the Greek Government wanted to "solve" the problem by taxing the people to give to the bankers, along with selling what the people already paid for with their taxes to private corporations, to rent what belongs to the people back to the people.

All the bankers needed to enslave Greece was paper, ink, and a few corrupted politicians. 300 Spartans died to keep Xerxes from conquering Greece. Greece's modern politicians held the door wide open and invited the slave-master private central bankers to walk right in! The people of Greece are smart enough to see the betrayal. They are angry with their government. They have every right to be. This is not a riot. It is a cry for freedom. It is the next revolution.

The IMF is the mechanism for global slavery, using the trap of debt-based currency and corrupted politicians to manufacture a false sense of obligation to do as you are told. But rule by compound interest (i.e. owing money that never existed in the first place) is no more real than rule by divine right, or rule by chattel ownership of your body.

It is NOT out of character for the head of the IMF to have treated that hotel maid the way he did. It is in fact the perfect expression of the mindset of the slave-owner.

"Austerity" is gov-speak for taking more money from you, and instead of using it to improve your life by building schools and hospitals, repairing roads and bridges, and generally improving the infrastructure, giving it to Wall Street to buy back those fraudulent mortgage-backed securities so that the Wall Street crooks who became fabulously wealthy with history's greatest financial scam don't have to use their own money to stay out of jail!

Greece grinds to a halt as general strike gets underway

Workers across Greece walked off the job on Tuesday, kicking off a crippling 48-hour strike with a mass protest in the capital, Athens, as parliament debated a new austerity plan. Police fired tear gas in clashes with protesters.

AFP -- France 24

Greece ground to a halt Tuesday as angry workers launched a 48-hour general strike against an austerity drive ordered by its bankruptcy-threatened government in exchange for a European bailout...

Bankers vs. People

The entire crisis in Greece (and the rest of the world) all comes down to bankers vs. the people. The bankers made crazy, reckless loans to this tiny country. If you look back to when the loans were first offered, it’s hard to believe the banks did not know what they were doing...

For Many Greeks, Here's What Austerity Will Look Like

1. Taxes will increase by 2.32 billion euros this year and 3.38 billion, 152 million and 699 million in the three subsequent years. There will be higher property taxes and an increase in the value-added tax (VAT) from 19 percent to 23 percent.

2. Luxury levies will be introduced on yachts, pools and cars and there will be special levies on profitable firms, high-value properties and people with high incomes.

3. Excise taxes on fuel, cigarettes and alcohol will rise by one-third.

4. Public sector wages will be cut by 15 percent.

5. Defense spending will be cut by 200 million euros in 2012 and 333 million each year from 2013 to 2015.

6. Education spending will be cut by closing or merging 1,976 schools.

When you choose to live on less, that is "austerity." When the government forces you to live on less so the bankers can have more, that is "Poverty." It is also "Tyranny".

US Fed extends crisis aid for ECB, BoE

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Federal Reserve said Wednesday it was extending its emergency liquidity facility for its leading Western counterparts as Europe's sovereign debt crisis continues to fester.

The US central bank said its existing temporary US dollar liquidity swap arrangements with the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Canada would be extended for one year from August 1, the expiration of the current pact...

Greece forced to auction off beaches, casinos, palaces, airports and marinas to pay off debts

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/8599718/Prince-Philips-birthplace-centre-of-Greek-heritage-sale-row.html

A Royal palace on Corfu where the Duke of Edinburgh was born will this week emerge as the focus point of protests on the Greek islands against the sale of the national heritage to pay off the country’s debts.

The private central bankers create money out of thin air, then use that faith-based-money to first crash the economy of, then strip-mine the real wealth of their targeted nation.

Americans; you are next!

Selling Off Greek Treasures to Pay Global Banksters - WSJ

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304563104576357240646607566.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

Selling Greek Assets & Treasures Part 2 - UK Gaurdian

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/8599718/Prince-Philips-birthplace-centre-of-Greek-heritage-sale-row.html

Look at what is for sale in Greece to pay-off the banking pigs.

Sales of public land by Greece may include a concession to develop a luxury resort on the island of Rhodes, whose harbor and historic city center in 2007 are shown. The first properties could be put on the market in the next few months.

Now might be your chance to buy that portion of a Greek island you have been coveting.

As part of Greece's privatization plan to raise cash to reduce its mountain of debt, the national government is preparing to sell as much as €30 billion ($42.9 billion) of public property. It is still early in the process, but future sales are likely to include assets ranging from the government's stake in the Mont Parnes Casino resort in Athens, hotels, and even a concession to develop a luxury resort with a world-class golf course on the island of Rhodes.

The Hellenic Public Real Estate Corp., the government body that manages public property, has a list of about 75,000 individual government-owned properties. The corporation has appointed National Bank of Greece SA to lead a consortium of advisers who are now preparing to sell an initial portfolio of 20 to 30 properties, the first of which could be put on the market in the next few months, according to Aristotelis Karytinos, general manager of the real-estate division at National Bank of Greece.

The International Monetary Fund, in its latest report on Greece, estimates that as many as €15 billion could be raised through real-estate sales. Mr. Karytinos says expected proceeds from property sales or leasing is now estimated at between €15 billion and €30 billion. The first step is to sift through the long list of public property, identify the best real estate, and resolve any legal issues to ensure that the property is able to be fully developed by investors.

*****************

Islanders are preparing to join mainland industrial workers in protests against government plans to raise 50 billion euros fron the sale of state assets.

Residents of Corfu, one of the largest of the Greek islands and a popular holiday destination, are furious at the idea of the state auctioning off its prime locations to the highest bidder.

“Greece may be on the verge of bankruptcy but surely it’s not a good idea to sell off the family silver,” said Spiros Avramiotis, a local olive oil producer, seated in a cafe on a cobbled square in the Venetian quarter of Kerkyra.

“We have to stand up and send a message to the politicians in Athens — Corfu is not for sale, not one inch of it. Full stop.”

Banker Occupation Of Greece

Former Wall Street broker, financial analyst, radio/TV host, and consummate critic Max Keiser calls it "banker occupation" for good reason. They:

-- make the rules;
-- set the terms;
-- issue diktats;
-- pressure, bribe or otherwise cajole or force governments to acquiesce; and
-- burden working households with higher unemployment, wage and benefit cuts, higher taxes, and other austerity measures to assure financial predators profit - always at their expense, forcing once prosperous nations to surrender sovereignty to financial oligarchs, ruling world economies like fiefdoms.

"IMF"The International Mafia Federation, The Loan Sharks Of Last Resort - Gerald Celente & Max Keiser

VIDEO - Max Keiser At Syntagma Square: "The Tear Gas Didn't Do Jack Shit, Greece Is Under IMF Bankster Occupation"

Great speech from Max Keiser before the throngs of Greek protesters.

As battle rages outside, Greek MPs usher in an age of brutal austerity

Gripped by its worse recession since the dictatorship in the 1970s, Greeks now face bleak years of spending cuts and tax hikes while national assets are sold off in a privatisation programme designed to relieve the €600bn national debt. Youth unemployment is running at 35 per cent and climbing. There is little prospect of Greece finding the growth it needs to reverse the crisis, analysts said.

International lenders have lost all confidence in Greece, whose bonds have been downgraded by the rating agencies to junk status – making it the first highly developed economy to slump so far. A technical default is still seen by markets as a near certainty.

"This Is Not A Program to Salvage the [Greek] Economy, It's a Program for Pillage Before Bankruptcy"

As PhD economist Michael Hudson said in 2009:

The giant financial institutions have already killed their host - the real American economy

Austerity in Greece Meant to Break Workers' Resistance

Leo Panitch: Greece will default on its debt, banks want to make Greek people pay a heavy price.

The same exact thing is being done here in the USA. The only difference? The Greeks were smart enough to see it and brave enough to do something about it, as were the Icelanders and the Egyptians.

Greeks Turn Savings to Gold and Perth Mint Silver Coin Sales Surge to Record on Haven Demand

Gold is lower in dollars but higher in euros and has reached new record highs in pounds sterling at £958.25/oz. Gold is being supported by strong and increasing demand internationally.

Flottille d’aide humanitaire:

Israeli document: Gaza blockade isn't about security

McClatchy obtained an Israeli government document that describes the blockade not as a security measure but as "economic warfare" against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory.

Israel's subversives in our media, our government. and worse our schools are making themselves easy to identify with their screeching hysterically about how Israel has a right to defend themselves and this justifies the starvation blockade of Gaza.

But as the above report shows, Israeli government documents confirm that the starvation blockade is not about nuclear armed Israel being afraid of bottle rockets flung over the fence from Gaza, but is in fact an attempt to starve the people of Gaza into abandoning their elected government and accepting Israeli rule through Israel’s proxy FATAH. Thus, the blockade is a repeat of what the USSR tried to do to West Berlin back in 1948; starve the people of West Berlin into abandoning their own government and accepting Soviet rule through the Soviet proxy East Germany. The world did not tolerate such behavior then and they should not tolerate it now. The Aid Flotillas are the modern incarnation of the heroic Berlin airlift that saved West Berlin from being starved into submission to the USSR.

REPORTING LIVE FROM THE AID FLOTILLA

Despite the presence of former State Department official Wright and former CIA officer Ray McGovern, the US government has largely bowed to Israeli pressure over the flotilla. Issuing a rare maritime warning this week to American vessels traveling near Gaza, Washington has effectively distanced itself from offering protection to its citizens if they are attacked by Israel on the open sea. The import of the message is, “We warned you not to go.”

Back in 1941, there was this foreign nation, Japan, which was illegally occupying other peoples' lands in China and Indonesia.

There were Americans in close proximity to that foreign nation, in the then-territory of Hawaii, and even though the Americans had not actually done much of anything, that foreign nation decided it had the right to attack and kill Americans just on the off chance that somewhere down the road, they might be in inconvenience.

Thus came about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Now, just for a moment imagine that instead of declaring immediate war on those who attacked Americans, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had rushed over to the League of Nations to explain why Japan's attack on Americans was really no big deal, and that Japan had good reason to attack and kill Americans! Imagine if Roosevelt, instead of the "Day of Infamy" speech, had made countless excuses why Japan was perfectly right to attack and kill Americans. Imagine that the US Congress, instead of voting war against the nation that attacked Americans decided to punish those who criticized the nation that attacked Americans?

Quite an amazing fantasy isn't it? Yet this is exactly what we have seen the present government do over the last year ever since Israel's attack on the aid flotilla!

Israel, citing grounds of national security, occupies the lands of Palestine, just as Japan, citing national security, occupied China. The Americans in the aid flotilla had not actually done anything to threaten Israel, just like the Americans sitting in Pearl Harbor had done nothing to threaten Japan.

1941 Japan attacks Americans in the middle of an ocean and the US goes to war against Japan.

2010 Israel attacks Americans in the middle of a sea and the US Government protects the attacker.

In 1904, American businessman Ion Perdicaris was taken prisoner by Mulai Raisuli. Now, from Raisuli's point of view, he had good reason to take Perdicaris prisoner as Raisuli was fighting against foreign occupation of his homeland. Even Perdicaris conceded that Raisuli was acting from what Perdicaris considered justifiable motives.

But President Roosevelt did not view the affair from Raisuli's point of view. He viewed it from the point of view of a President of the United States. Under the slogan "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead!" Roosevelt sent 7 US Battleships with orders to destroy Morocco if Perdicaris was not released. Perdicaris was sent home.

Today is different. Today we have a President and a Congress that, even as the United States crumbles around them, are obsessively concerned with protecting Israel, no matter what it does.

Israel attacked foreign flagged ships in international waters (the very activity the 6th fleet is killing Somali coastal patrol crews for), hijacked a US-flagged ship, and kidnapped 12 Americans, shooting one of them in the head 4 times.

A real President, who remembers that his job is to take care of America and Americans, would not rush to the UN to protect the nation that just attacked Americans.

A real Congress, who remembers that their job is to take care of America and Americans, would not hand Israel a license to murder more Americans anywhere in the world Israel decides they are an inconvenience!

No government can serve two masters, and a government that serves Israel cannot serve the American people.

A friend to Israel is no friend of America.

America needs leaders who will put America first, second, and third.

Israel Warns That It Will Forcibly Stop Another Flotilla

TEL AVIV — Israel made clear on Thursday that if a new flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists sought to break its naval blockade of Gazalike the one a year ago when its commandos killed nine people, the Israeli military would use force again, including by boarding the ships and confronting the activists.

“We will do anything we have to do to prevent a boat from breaking the blockade,” a top naval official said in a briefing for foreign journalists. “If there is the same violence against our forces on board, there is a pretty good chance there will be injuries.” The naval official spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with Israeli military rules.

Israel warns foreign journalists: Joining Gaza flotilla is illegal

Israel's Government Press Office issued a letter Sunday to foreign journalists, warning them that participating in the upcoming flotilla sailing to Gaza is illegal under Israeli law, and could result in anyone who joins the convoy being barred from Israel for up to 10 years.

The letter, signed by GPO director Oren Helman, states that the flotilla "is a dangerous provocation that is being organized by western and Islamic extremist elements to aid Hamas."

Memo to GPS Director Helman;according to International Law, the siege of Gaza is illegal!

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19487

But then again, Israel has never let a little thing like international law stand in its way when it wants to starve Gazan Palestinians, prevent them from getting desperately needed medical attention and medicines, or shooting down peaceful Palestinian protestors in cold blood.

And that threatened 10 year ban from Israel? Why in heaven's name would a reporter want to go, when they know they will only be lied to by the Israeli government and representatives of the IDF?!?

I would like to hope that this has the "banned in Boston" effect, and will encourage more reporters to join the flotilla.

Israel pushes Greece to halt Gaza flotilla

They complain that Greece is throwing up “administrative obstacles” for the activists in response to pressure from Israel, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

“We call on the Greek government to let us sail,” Ann Wright said.

The former US State Department official plans to sail with several dozen other Americans on a vessel named The Audacity of Hope to the Gaza Strip.

Activists blame the Israel Law Center, a group of Israeli lawyers, for attempts to hold up their boats.

The government of Greece is probably looking only at their precarious financial situation, and no doubt inducements such as slight adjustments to interest rates are being waved around to lure the Greek Government to help Israel derail the aid flotilla. But if the Greek Legislature caves into the bankers and passes that austerity measure, the Greek people and possibly even the Greek military will rise in revolt, and the ability of the Greek government to come out of this mess alive is going to rest squarely on world perception. Siding with Israel against the flotilla may be the difference between being able to escape to a safe haven to retire in, or ending their careers dangling from a tree in Athens.

Greece sells out; blocks 6 ships from sailing to Gaza!

According to Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that the Greek authorities prevented the 6 boats were preparing to join the flotilla sailing toward 2 of the Gaza Strip, and described it by saying "fleet of Gaza loses its driving force."

The newspaper said today, Monday, the high-ranking Israeli officials confirmed reports from Athens on the matter, which reported that the American ship "The Audacity of Hope" and five other ships were prevented from sailing towards the shore by the Palestinian Greek authorities.

The price you pay for believing that those pretty printed pieces of paper represent something valuable is that you then sell yourself to the printers of those pretty pieces of paper.

The government of Greece just showed themselves to every bit the whores for Israel that the US and Canadian governments are!

Shame on everyone who stands by and allows Israel to starve the people of Gaza for daring to want their own government for their own land.

Israel exploits sinking Greece to rock flotilla

Gaza: An unexpected player has come to Israel's aid in thwarting this year's Gaza-bound flotilla: Greece.

It's a country Israel has been courting since a raid on last year's flotilla ended in the death of nine Turkish citizens, severely damaging relations between the Jewish state and one of its most important Mediterranean allies.

Desperate for new friends in the region, Israel reached out to Greece, offering generous military assistance to the debt-ridden state.

And where did Israel get this military assistance they used to bribe Greece? FROM THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER!

Israel claims diplomatic victory as Greece stops Gaza flotilla

Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister, claimed credit for the delays to the flotilla. "I welcome all the efforts that have been made to stop the flotilla," he said in a radio interview. "The success of these efforts on the diplomatic side are the fruits of intensive contacts with states in the region and the international community."

Israel claims diplomatic success in attempts to stop aid flotilla to Gaza

More than a year after a deadly military offensive on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla sparked international outrage, Israel on Sunday claimed a diplomatic success in its efforts to prevent pro-Palestinian activists from sailing towards the conflicted region.

Israel's claim came hours after Greece announced a ban and ordered all ships not to leave its port without permission. Greek coastguard officials found a ship on high seas and arrested its captain along with pro-Palestinian activists, and ordered 11 others vessels not to sail until this weekend.

Nine of the aid ships were from Greece and the remaining two were discovered damaged – an act of sabotage believed to have been done by Israel.

NETANYAHU THANKS PRIME MINISTER OF GREECE FOR HALTING AID FLOTILLA.

In his speech at the end of flying course, Netanyahu acknowledged leaders working against the "flotilla provocation" and specifically noted the prime minister of Greece

Yet another reason to fire the government. Despite all that is going wrong with Greece right now, the PM still uses his taxpayer-funded time to work for a foreign power!

Leftist Greek MPs accuse government of caving to Israeli pressure to stop Gaza flotilla

Eight ships in the Gaza-bound flotilla were barred from leaving the Greek ports where they are anchored in the wake of an order issued on Friday by the Greek government. Flotilla participants and members of the leftist opposition in Greece have accused the Socialist government of caving in to Israeli pressure – a claim rejected by Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis.

Pay very close attention here, because the object lesson of the coming week may well turn out to be that governments that serve Israel ahead of their own people will be removed by their own people. Messily, if need be.

AIRTILLA MEETS ATILLA

Just imagine the following…
You live in Canada, are a citizen of the country. If visitors from abroad come to visit, they have to be cleared by United States Immigration Personnel. THEY decide who can or cannot enter Canada.

NOW, imagine the following…
You live in the Occupied West Bank or Gaza. NO ONE CAN ENTER from outside by decision of the Israeli government.

65 pro-Palestinian 'fly-in' activists transferred to detention facilities

A total of 310 arriving passengers have been questioned by the Immigration and Population Authority. 69 of the passengers were found to be "fly-in" activists and were denied entry to Israel. The others were found to be regular tourists and were permitted to enter Israel.

At this time, four of the 69 activists have been deported to their home countries. The rest have been sent to detention facilities until they can be deported.

This flytilla posed absolutely no security threat to Israel: what it did, however, is create a PR catastrophe for the Israeli government which will make many people reconsider any travel plans they might have had for travel to Israel this summer.

Israel blocks 200 pro-Palestinian activists from flying into country

The 200 passengers are on list of 342 blacklisted passengers refused entry to Israel in bid to stymie influx of pro-Palestinian activists; passengers demonstrate at Paris airport after barred from boarding flights.

It is Israel's behavior, not the protesters, that are making this a global news event. Israel is making themselves look like arrogant goons to the rest of the planet. Had they just shut up and allowed the people to visit Palestine, the story would have passed in a day and been forgotten. But Israel always makes decisions based on their ego, rather than logic and law. They think with their pricks, which is why the world sees them as such.

Mass Detentions as Israel Declares ‘Flytilla’ Over

Long a popular tourist attraction in the West, Israel is struggling tonight to defend the mass detention of passengers who flew into the Ben-Gurion International Airport and are suspected of being “pro-Palestinian activists.”

Termed the “flytilla,” a number of activists planned to fly into Israel to visit Palestinian families in the occupied territories. The Israeli government quickly responded with a list of 342 “unwanted” passengers who were to be barred from visiting the nation.

But blocking the passengers wasn’t enough. Soon, Israel started arresting people on arriving flights it believed to be involved, and has sent at least 64 of them to “detention centers” where they will be held until their eventual deportation.

Memo to Benyamin Netanyahu: congratulations for having created an absolute PR nightmare for the country with this ham-fisted handling of pro-Palestinian activists.

There is absolutely no reason for this to have happened, other than Israel needing to again prove how "butch" it is in its apartheid policies.

Israeli tourism is about to see a slide of historical proportions due to this, and the Israeli government has no one but itself to blame.

Ackerman says effort to hold Israel to int’l law is ‘anti-Semitism’

According to Congressman Gary Ackerman, we should allow Israel to ignore International Law simply because they are Jewish!

Israel Navy commander: 'Hate flotilla' to Gaza must be stopped

Israel Navy commander Adm. Eliezer Marom issued a stark warning on Sunday for the organizers of the Gaza flotilla intended to set sail at the end of the month.

"The Navy has prevented and will continue to prevent the arrival of the 'hate flotilla' whose only goals are to clash with IDF soldiers, create media provocation and to delegitimize the State of Israel," Marom cautioned, speaking during the Israel Navy Divers' Course concluding ceremony.

The Navy commander called on all parties involved to do everything they can to prevent the departure of what he called the "provocation flotilla."

Israel, trapped by their own ego and arrogance, has now painted itself into a corner politically. They have to attack the humanitarian flotilla now, because Israel can never be seen to back down. This new attack will of course be condemned in the eyes of the world and Israel, again trapped by their own ego, will launch yet another massive public relations campaign to demonize the victim which will again be perceived by the world as proving Israel to be heartless, unrepentant for past crimes, and without remorse in inflicting war crimes on a captured and occupied people.

This will be another PR disaster for Israel, and they will bring it on themselves.

ISRAEL'S 'MEGAPHONIES' PLAY THE HOLOCAUST CARD; CLAIM FLOTILLA SUPPORTS GENOCIDE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE.

MT @CiFWatch: @ibnezra Make no mistake the #flotilla2 supports the genocide of the Jewish people shrouded in the guise of humanitarianism.

To the best of my knowledge, none of the Jews actually on board the flotilla have expressed a desire for the genocide of the Jews. In fact, the only time we hear the word "Genocide" is when describing Israel's treatment of the Palestinians!

Flotilla activists seek "blood": Israeli FM

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Tuesday participants in an aid flotilla planning to challenge an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip were seeking "confrontation and blood."

So, don't give them what you think they want. Let them through to Gaza! That'll show them! :)

Latest libel: flotilla passengers seek ‘to kill soldiers’

Same lies as last year.

THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL’S BACK

The disillusioned “gay activist” called “Marc” who appeared in a YouTube video condemning the Gaza Freedom Flotilla for alleged homophobia, that was tweeted by the Israeli Government Press Office, has been identified as an Israeli called Omer Gershon.

This definitely proves that the video is either a hoax or a piece of propaganda designed to discredit the flotilla and use a mask of concern for gay rights to pinkwash Israel and justify the persecution of Palestinians in Gaza

Israel is soiling their panties right now. Once the flotilla actually sails, Israel is trapped. Whether the flotilla succeeds in breaking the USSR-styled starvation blockade, or Israel uses force to intervene, this will be a public relations and political disaster for Israel, the nuclear armed nation trying to pretend to the world that bottle rockets are a major threat justifying starving an entire people.

Israel Rescinds Threat to Reporters on Flotilla

Israel on Monday set aside its warning of a day earlier that any foreign journalists aboard a flotilla planning to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza risked being barred from Israel for up to a decade and having their equipment impounded.

I guess they read my comment further down!! :)

Israel to stop Flotilla "without physical contact"

Israeli government tells its plan to stop Flotilla and warns journalists - being on board can result in 10 year ban from Israel.

If Israel really plans to avoid a physical attack, then why are they worried about reporters being on board?

Hillary Clinton Gives Green Light For Israeli Attack On Gaza Flotilla

In comments yesterday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seemed to lay the ground – indeed almost provide a green light – for an Israeli military attack on the upcoming Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which will include the US Boat to Gaza.

Here’s what Clinton said in remarks at the State Department on 23 June:

Well, we do not believe that the flotilla is a necessary or useful effort to try to assist the people of Gaza. Just this week, the Israeli Government approved a significant commitment to housing in Gaza. There will be construction materials entering Gaza and we think that it’s not helpful for there to be flotillas that try to provoke actions by entering into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the Israelis have the right to defend themselves.

Clinton must know that Gaza is not part of what any country recognizes as “sovereign” Israeli territory, and therefore neither are Gaza’s territorial waters. Any boats entering Gaza’s waters would not in fact be entering “Israeli waters” as Clinton claimed. Clinton also, presuming she is properly briefed rather than misled, must also know that last year Israel attacked the Gaza Freedom Flotilla when it was in international waters and GPS data showed that it was actually heading away from Israel.

By invoking Israel’s supposed “right to self-defense” against civilian boats trying to reach Gaza, we must understand that Clinton is telling Israel the United States will not stand in the way of another military attack.

And by citing Israel allowing construction materials into Gaza to make the case that the flotilla is “unnecessary” because “aid” can reach the Palestinian people in Gaza, Clinton is engaging in the ultimate obfuscation.

State Dept Threatens Prison for US Participants in Gaza Aid Flotilla

Now, the US State Department is not only railing against the flotilla as “irresponsible” but is threatening criminal charges against American participants, claiming that the attempt to deliver aid to Gaza amounts to “conspiring to deliver material support” to Hamas and could lead to lengthy prison sentences.

Memo to the US State Department; having already botched the handling of Israel's interception of the Mavi Marmara in international waters last year, in which 19 unarmed aid workers were murdered in cold blood, including one American, attempting to level such charges against US aid workers this time will result in a PR catastrophe of immeasurable proportions.

The world, and thinking Americans, are not stupid; they understand that the Israeli siege of Gaza is not about security issues, but is a punishment of the Gazan Palestinians for having chosen the "wrong" party in the last election.

Malnutrition is rampant, particularly among children; building materials desperately scarce, and kids attempting to collect rocks from the rubble created by the IDF in a succession of raids get shot at, and sometimes killed, by IDF soldiers. Palestinian physicians have literally no medicines left with which to treat critically ill people, and infants are refused desperately needed medical care by the Israeli government.

So what do you think you will be able to charge American aid workers with this time, attempting to bring in food, medicine, clothing, and teddy bears of mass destruction?!?

Folks in the bowels of power in DC, please think about this for a moment. Such a move will not get these people convicted by a jury of their peers, if you don't intend to do this in a military tribunal. It will simply and stunningly put the national, and international spotlight on the plight of Gazan Palestinians, the components of Israel's "Final Solution" for them, and the brutality and cruelty with which they have to live, 24/7.

And that is something that neither the US or Israel is going to want, trust me.

‘Audacity of Hope’ Unlikely to Protect Gaza Flotilla Boat

The United States flotilla group, US to Gaza, reacting to Israeli threats of violence, sent a letter to President Barack Obama informing him that:

As U.S. citizens we expect our country and its leaders to help ensure the Flotilla’s safe passage to Gaza – as our country should support our humanitarian demand that the Gaza blockade be lifted. This should begin by notifying the Israeli government in clear and certain terms that it may not physically interfere with the upcoming Flotilla of which the U.S. boat—The Audacity of Hope — is part.

That is what We The People expect of the president of the United States, but of course our government has been totally subverted by Israel to the point where both the Congress and the President made excuses for Israel after last year;s murder of an American citizen in Israel's attack on the aid flotilla. This year, control of the US Government by Israel is so total that Senator Mark Kirk has proposed declaring humanitarian aid a "terrorist activity" and that the US Navy should join Israel in attacking the aid flotilla!

THE JEWS ON THE FLOTILLA ~~ SELF HATERS OR SIMPLY FED UP WITH ISRAELI POLICIES?

Israeli attempts to paint flotilla activists as a violent threat to the national security of the state has only brought the efforts of these Jews more exposure. The flotilla may have been stopped from physically sailing to Gaza, but the damage it has inflicted on Israel’s position as the vanguard of Jewish identity has added dramatic new layers to a painful internal discussion already in motion

THREE BRAVE ISRAELIS BOUND FOR GAZA

Three Israelis who care enough to try and make a difference; I am speaking about those that are about to sail to Gaza on the Humanitarian Flotillas…. despite threats from both the Israeli and US governments …

Greece: Israeli assault on the Flotilla is well underway

Early this morning, I discovered that a ‘private compliant’ had been filed against the US boat to Gaza. The compliant, it is still unclear who filed it, stated that the US boat to Gaza is not ’sea worthy’ and requires a detailed inspection.The harbor master where the boat is in port has declared that until the compliant is resolved the boat is not permitted to leave. Currently, lawyers representing the US boat are looking into the origins of the compliant and weather it was filed as a result of Israeli economic or diplomatic pressure on the Greek government. The boat is US flagged and registered in the United States.

Israel does like to play dirty!

Greece says ban on ships for Gaza to protect activists

"Επιφέρει hyessou!" (Bullshit!)

Suspected Israeli agents try to sabotage Freedom Flotilla II ship’s engine

A group suspected of being linked with the Israeli foreign intelligence agency the Mossad was reported to have tried to thwart the sailing of a Greek ship slated to join the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla II due to set sail sometime next week.

The elements tried to sabotage the ship’s engine, but a crew discovered the men while checking the equipment, Quds Press said, quoting sources from the flotilla’s organizing body, on Saturday. The sources added that the men fled the scene.

Was Israeli unit Shayetet 13 behind the sabotage of Gaza-bound flotilla ships?

While Israel has not taken credit for the sabotage, all signs point in its direction. The Israeli military boasts an elite underwater sabotage division, Yaltam, that operates out of Shayetet 13, the naval commando unit that raided the Mavi Marmara last year and killed 9 of its passengers. According to SpecWarNet, an online database of international special forces units, “For underwater sabotage missions, each [Shayetet 13] diver can carry a limpet mine to attach to the hull of enemy watercraft or docks.”

The Guardian reported on Shayetet 13’s history of sabotaging civilian ships in international harbors:

Don’t forget that in addition to the two disabled flotilla ships, saboteurs were discovered in the act attempting to sabotage the engines of a third. The agents escaped, but are also presumed to have been Israelis. The other side likes to play dirty.

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister: Flotilla Sabotage Thanks to IDF

Well, Bogie Yaalon’s actual words quoted in Ynet (Hebrew) were: “Those problems the Flotilla’s having in realizing their plans didn’t just happen. They’re thanks to the work of the political echelon whose focus was on diplomatic political issues, and operational work of the IDF to prepare for every possible eventuality.”

The last phrase is doublespeak which both reveals and conceals at the same time, a formulation any Israeli would recognize as not just alluding to an IDF role in sabotage, but practically bragging about it. What possible role could the IDF be playing currently in frustrating the plans of the Flotilla if it isn’t the round of sabotage that struck at least three boats? Hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink wink.

Flotilla activists say Irish boat sabotaged in same way Norwegian boat was damaged

According to activists on the Freedom Flotilla of aid ships to Gaza, a second boat has been severely damaged by unknown saboteurs who dove under the boat to damage the propeller shaft. The boat's captain said that the way the boat was sabotaged was extremely dangerous, as it would have caused the propellor to cut through the boat's hull and make the engine room to fill with water, thus sinking the boat while en route to Gaza.

In Turkey former Blues star Trevor tells of sabotage by Israeli Mossad

A FORMER Leinster star and an ex-TD were among 20 Irish people who could have drowned after their aid ship to Gaza was sabotaged overnight.

Members of the team have blamed Israeli secret agents for the sophisticated attack by divers.

Only the action of the quick-thinking crew saved lives from being lost on the MV Saoirse, which is docked in Turkey.

It was due to take part in a flotilla to the besieged Middle East zone but was "sabotaged" and will not now travel.

Sabotage on the Aegean: Propeller mysteriously cut on flotilla ship

One of the ships due to participate in the Gaza flotilla was deliberately tampered with while it was docked in Greece’s Piraeus port, organizers of the Gaza flotilla told Haaretz on Monday.
The ship, due to carry Greek, Norwegian, and Swedish passengers to Gaza, was found to have been tampered with when its propeller shaft was found broken, the ship’s spokesman, Israeli activist Dror Feiler told Haaretz.

Apparent sabotage against Gaza flotilla

A ship jointly owned by Swedish, Greek, and Norwegian activists hoping to join a flotilla of activist vessels challenging Israel's economic blockade of Gaza, had its propeller cut while in Athen's harbor today. A spokesman contacted by the Monitor said that the damage was a deliberate act of sabotage.

"The reports I'm receiving is that it's certain that it was sabotage," says Mr. Löfgren, reached by phone in Sweden. "The propeller and [propeller shaft] has been cut and we have divers that have filmed the damages. Experts have said there’s no doubt" that the damage was deliberate.

The Israelis love to play dirty!

Swedish Gaza flotilla ship sabotaged: report

The ship scheduled to carry the Swedish activists in the Ship to Gaza aid flotilla at the end of the week has been sabotaged in its berth in Greece, the organisation reported on Monday.

The group has reported that the ship Juliano has been sabotaged while berthed in Piraeus harbour, in Greece.

“It is time for the international community to put their foot down and say: It’s enough!” said Swedish spokesperson Mattias Gardell in a statement on Monday.

According to Mikael Löfgren, press coordinator of the organisation, it is not known who was behind the attack in which hostile divers destroyed the propeller housing and severed the two propeller axles beneath the boat.

Greeks stop third freedom flotilla ship bound for Gaza

The Greek coastguard intercepted a small French boat with Pro-Palestinian activists aboard on Thursday, the third flotilla ship to be prevented from sailing to Gaza to challenge an Israeli blockade.

Greece, just over a year after nine people were killed when Israeli marines stormed a pro-Palestinian flotilla, imposed a ban on all Gaza-bound ships saying it feared for the safety of the activists who are now trying to find a way to set sail.

The boat with about 10 activists aboard, including French politicians, an MEP and a journalist, sailed from Corsica. Activists had said it was in international waters waiting to join the rest of the flotilla, now confined in Greek ports.

THE GREEK COAT GUARD DOES NOT HAVE JURISDICTION IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS! This is piracy on the high seas!

BOYCOTT GREECE! NO PRODUCTS, NO TOURISM. GREECE HOVERS AT THE EDGE OF COLLAPSE. A BOYCOTT WILL PUSH IT OVER THE EDGE AND BRING DOWN THE GOVERNMENT THAT CHOSE TO ACT AS ISRAEL'S PRIVATEERS !SPREAD THE WORD

Breaking: Greek Authorities Intercept U.S. Boat For Gaza Minutes After It Set Sail

Democracy Now! producer Aaron Mate files exclusive audio reports on board the Gaza-bound "Audacity of Hope". The ship set sail from Greece at approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT but was soon stopped by Greek authorities. Listen to Aaron’s reports as the scene develops.

‘The blockade has moved to the ports of Greece’

Asked by a reporter if Israel is outsourcing enforcement of the blockade to Greece, Kritsotakis said: “Greece of this moment is a member of Israel foreign policy. They do whatever they ask.”

"Greece of this moment is a member of Israel foreign policy. They do whatever they ask."

Okay, people of Greece; if you were wondering why the government is demanding you live lives of poverty to hand your hard-earned money over to bankers, now you know why!

Press conf, Flotilla Organizer: "I never knew the Mediterranean was owned by Israel!"

FLOTILLA - Captain refuses to turn back. Passengers preparing for troop raid of ship.

The Greek Coast guard are operating as privateers, licensed by one government to interdict and plunder the ships of a foreign nation. From the US point of view, this should be considered an act of piracy by the government of Greece. But since Israel is calling the shots, nothing will be done by President Pussy. Time to decide whether the United States Government still serves the United States, or are we, like Palestine, Israeli occupied territory!

Israeli activists protest in front of Greek embassy in Tel Aviv

On Saturday Israeli leftists are planning to conduct a protest in front of the Greek embassy in Tel Aviv in demonstration against the Greek navy ban on Freedom Flotilla II ships departing from Athens to Gaza.

Activists announced that the protest is organised by the Left against the Apartheid Wall and under the slogan of Israeli and American aggression and terrorism against the Freedom Flotilla from leaving Athens to start its journey as part of the International Freedom Flotilla to break the Israeli siege on Gaza.

Greece arrests captain of boat part of Gaza-bound flotilla

Greece’s coast guard said the captain of the “Audacity of Hope” faces charges of trying to leave port without permission and of endangering the lives of the boat’s passengers. The latter charge is a felony.

40-50 Americans being held in a barbed wire pen in Greece at behest of Israeli and (apparently) US governments

Via Twitter @MaxBlumenthal 40-50 Americans being held in a barbed wire pen in Greece at behest of Israeli and (apparently) US governments http://t.co/2o8L5vc #flotilla

Okay, so here is where we are. Hillary is saying "We" (meaning you) must see the mission in Libya through to the end, by which she means force a private central bank onto those people, and the US is invading Somalia ostensibly to recover the dead bodies of militants. But Israel issues letters of marque to the Greek privateers who capture a US-flagged ship and take the crew and passengers hostage, and the US Government does absolutely nothing?

Captain of Gaza flotilla boat released by Greece

A Greek court has released from custody the American captain of a boat participating in an international flotilla aiming to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza strip.

John Klusmire, the captain of the Audacity of Hope, had attempted to set sail from a port near Piraeus last week in defiance of a Greek ban on the flotilla boats leaving port. He was arrested on Saturday on charges of setting sail without permission and endangering passengers, and had been in custody since then.

By now the word that people are planning a global boycott must have filtered through to the Greek authorities, and they are realizing that whatever small considerations they received relative to the IMF-imposed debt crisis in return for being Israel's privateers will not save the Greek economy from collapse when the world stops buying Greek products, pulls their money from Greek investments, and cancels vacation plans to Greece.

Keep up the pressure. It appears to be having an effect!

Memorandum Handed Over To Greece Embassy

Five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and a political party today handed over a memorandum to the Greece Embassy here in protest of the Greek government's move to disallow the International Freedom Flotilla 2 to sail from Greek ports to Gaza.

Ever think you would live to see the day when Malaysia would protect US citizens while the US Government stood by and did nothing?

All-Canadian boat aims to bring aid to Gaza

Canada helps absolve Israel of wrongdoing the Israeli flotilla inquiry.

Canadian Brigadier-General Kenneth Watkin was cherry picked by the Israelis to sit on their own inquiry into the events on the Mavi Marmara. Predictably, the report absolves Israel of any wrongdoing. Christian-zionist Prime Minister Steven Harper, and his Evangelical 'neocon' cabinet has already pledged Canadas full support of Israel, "No matter what".

Canada has now completely sold out to the zionists and their deception. The government-run CBC News, reported the story on-line beside ads to visit Isreal, get cheap flights, and how to study or volunteer in Israel. Blatant ass-kissing propaganda!

Pro-Palestinian groups plan largest Gaza flotilla ever

International pro-Palestinian groups are preparing a massive flotilla of ships to the Gaza Strip in the spring, to coincide with the first anniversary of the Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara in late May, organizers said on Monday.

The convoy will be named “Freedom Flotilla 2” and is expected to include delegations from close to a dozen countries including, for the first time, vessels from the US and Canada.

Webmaster's Commentary:

GOOD!

Introducing the Canadian delegates to Freedom Flotilla 2

Before the end of June, the Canadian ship Tahrir will join the Freedom Flotilla 2 – Stay Human, carrying civil society delegates from coast to coast, international partners and journalists from a range of media organizations.

The delegates on board the Tahrir include politicians; Jewish, Muslim and Christian Canadians; artists, peace and human rights activists; small business owners; some of whom have taken part in previous flotillas.

Heroes all!

Preparing for the Next Gaza Freedom Flotilla in Canada

A specter is haunting the Harper government and its pro-Israel allies. It’s been dubbed CBG and it stands for Canadian Boat to Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian activists recently began raising $300,000 to send a Canadian registered ship to help break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza. The plan is to fill the ship with various supplies, a couple dozen prominent activists and to return with Palestinian exports.

Israel Preparing For “Mother of All Flotillas”

Israel is preparing for what is being described in Tel Aviv as the “mother of all flotillas,” which could include up to 20 different ships planning to set sail for the Gaza Strip in the coming months to break the seige, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The flotilla is being organized by a coalition of NGOs from Europe and the United States, including a group calling itself European Jews for a Just Peace.

European Jewish aid ship bound for Gaza ready to sail

Kate Katzenstein-Leiterer, a leader of the German Jewish Voice organization, said the trip being managed by Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JfJfP), a British group. The Jewish activists were already on board, she said, but would not reveal their port of departure.

An organization of European Jews that wants to sail an aid ship to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza said Wednesday its ship was ready to go, but its port of departure remained a secret.

Kate Katzenstein-Leiterer, a leader of the German Jewish Voice organization, said the trip was being managed by Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JfJfP), a British group. The Jewish activists were already on board.