Archbishop Chullikatt appeals for real disarmament

In a landmark speech in Kansas City, on July 1, 2011, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt delivered the most far-reaching statement for nuclear disarmament the Holy See has ever made. Read the full speech, but among his key points was: "It cannot be considered morally sufficient to draw down the stocks of superfluous nuclear weapons while modernizing nuclear arsenals and investing vast sums to ensure their future production and maintenance. This current course will ensure the perpetuation of these weapons indefinitely." And:

"The need to effectively and transparently address the toxic legacy posed by six decades of nuclear weapons production and maintenance is of the highest priority. The risks involved with even the peaceful use of nuclear technology illustrates the problem."

IAEA report says Iran could be working to get the Bomb

A new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency suggests that there is "credible" evidence that Iran's nuclear activities are designed to build a nuclear bomb but stops short of stating that Iran is on the verge of becoming a nuclear weapons state. The IAEA sourced intelligence from 10 countries. Although the report contains virtually nothing new and reinforces existing fears that Iran's nuclear activities do not have so-called "peaceful" intentions, the report also marks the first time all the data have been composited into one document. The report concludes: “The information indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device." Read more.

Update on November 10, 2011 by admin

The New York Times has also reported on this story. As it reported on Thursday, the Iranian and Russian regimes have strongly criticized the IAEA report.

1,400 pounds of copper stolen from Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

The Knoxville News has reported that multiple cases of copper being stolen from the Y-12 nuclear weapons complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee have taken place in recent years, including a single heist of 1,400 pounds worth. The thefts not only raise questions about security at what is supposed to be one of the most secure sites in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex -- storing large amounts of weapons-usable highly enriched uranium -- but also about radiological safety. Y-12 officials tracked down the missing 1,400 pounds of copper, in part to make sure it did not represent a radioactive hazard to the unsuspecting purchasers of the "hot" (but fortunately, not radioactive) copper.

1,773 cases of illicit nuclear materials trafficking documented by IAEA

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 1,773 confirmed incidents of illegal possession, movement or attempts to illegally trade in or use nuclear material or radioactive sources occurred between January 1993 and December 2009. This figure comes from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Illicit Trafficking Database, http://www-ns.iaea.org/security/itdb.asp. The nuclear weapons and dirty bomb proliferation potential of such smuggling is immense.

Yet another Iranian scientist linked to atomic program assassinated

BBC has reported that for the second time in less than two years, another Iranian scientist purportedly linked to the country's nuclear program has been assassinated. The Iranian regime blamed the Israeli Mossad for the 2010 assassination. The Iranian regime claims its uranium enrichment program is for electricity production. Iran, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), does have the legal right to develop atomic power. However, the U.S., Israeli, French, and certain other governments accuse the Iranian regime of instead pursuing expanded and accelerated uranium enrichment for nuclear weapons production purposes. Of course, the U.S., Israel, and France already have nuclear weapons arsenals of their own.