Has the North Korean regime detonated its third nuclear blast since 2006?!

The Australian has reported an "artificial earthquake" epicentered near the North Korean regime's nuclear weapons test site of 2006 and 2009 which may signify the regime's third nuclear weapons test blast.

A decade ago, after George W. Bush lumped North Korea into the "Axis of Evil" alongside Iraq and Iran, Kim Jong Il withdrew from the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and accelerated North Korea's nuclear weapons development program. It was based on plutonium extracted from a so-called, Soviet-supplied civilian research reactor's irradiated nuclear fuel.

In a C-SPAN radio interview, a George W. Bush speech writer admitted that North Korea was added to the "Axis of Evil" as a last minute afterthought, to avoid accusations of merely singling out Muslim countries.

"The Axis of Evil" phrase was unveiled in a George W. Bush State of the Union speech, during the ill-fated build up to the 2003 Iraq invasion. President Barack Obama is poised to deliver the State of the Union tomorrow night.

Update on February 13, 2013 by admin

IPPNW STATEMENT ON THE NORTH KOREA ATOMIC TEST

The IPPNW Executive Committee has issued the following statement in response to the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) and announced on February 12, 2013.

 

February 12, 2013

 

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) confirmed today that it conducted a nuclear test with an estimated yield of six to seven kilotons. This was the DPRK’s third nuclear test since 2006, when the country declared itself a nuclear-weapon state, having withdrawn from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003.

 

IPPNW unconditionally condemns this test and the rhetoric that accompanied it, which does nothing to make the DPRK, the North Asia region, or the world more secure. To the contrary, by increasing the nuclear threat within the region, the government of Kim Jong-un has increased the level of tension with its neighbors, has invited more of the international hostility to which it understandably objects, and has further complicated efforts to achieve regional peace and security.

 

Nevertheless, the DPRK’s heedless pursuit of nuclear weapons and the means for their delivery cannot be seen in isolation as simply a proliferation problem or a provocative act by an aggressive nation. The other nuclear-weapon states and their allies continue to support a double standard by refusing to eliminate their own nuclear arsenals—as the signatories to the NPT are obliged to do—while insisting that the rest of the world remain nuclear-weapons free.

 

Instead, every nuclear-weapons state is modernizing its arsenals with the intent of retaining them for decades to come. This past December, IPPNW protested a sub-critical nuclear test conducted by the United States, noting that such tests are “a means to extend and perpetuate the role of nuclear weapons in security policy, and not as a step toward disarmament,” and that they are “a hypocritical practice that undermines the arguments for non-proliferation.”

 

Only a world in which nuclear weapons have been banned and eliminated through a global abolition treaty can assure itself that this existential threat to humanity is a thing of the past. This is the goal of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), launched by IPPNW in 2007 and now comprising hundreds of civil society organizations.

 

We join others committed to regional peace and security in calling for diplomatic steps that will not further exacerbate tensions. Among these are a cessation of all aggressive actions, including military actions by all parties; an end to economic sanctions that only harm the North Korean people; the creation of a North East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone and other agreements to enhance collective security within the region.

 

Most important, we again urge all States to commence and conclude negotiations on a global treaty to rid the world of nuclear weapons, so that no State can any longer claim a need or a right to possess them.

Entergy Watch: Vermont Yankee argues it is simply "above the law" in the State of Vermont

Entergy Nuclear's latest argument before the State of Vermont Public Service Board -- regarding Vermont Yankee atomic reactor's ongoing operation -- beggars belief. Entergy argues it is above State of Vermont law, even though it agreed to abide by State of Vermont law a decade ago. As reported by the Associated Press, Entergy's lawyers and hired experts are now arguing that because radiological safety is exclusively U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission jurisdiction by settled law, the State of Vermont must simply get out of the way -- even though that same U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1983 in the Pacific Gas & Electric case recognized that states retained authority over most other aspects of nucelar power besides radiological safety.

The article reported: '...At Monday's hearing on Entergy's request for a new state permit, company lawyers sought to take that idea of federal pre-emption and run with it, telling the board that it should avoid considering not just the economic impact of a possible nuclear accident, but that the board also should not consider the impact that hosting a nuclear plant might be having on the state's tourism industry.

Burlington lawyer Robert Hemley told the three-member board the only reason the presence of a nuclear plant might harm tourism is if the public develops fears about nuclear safety — a subject Vermont is barred from considering.

"Discussion about tourism is a pre-empted area. ... We feel the entire area is off-limits for this board," Hemley said.

Entergy's push for pre-emption appeared to run counter to an agreement it entered with the state when it bought Vermont Yankee in 2002 from the group of New England utilities that had owned it previously.

Under that memorandum of understanding, Entergy and the state agreed "to waive any claim each may have that federal law pre-empts the jurisdiction of the board" to decide Vermont Yankee's post-2012 future.

Entergy lawyer Sanford Weisburst argued later that the board would be hard-pressed to find a plausible, non-safety reason to deny Vermont Yankee a new permit...'

Entergy Nuclear has named the three commissioners of Vermont's Public Service Board, as well as Governor Peter Shumlin and Attorney General William Sorrell -- by name -- in its lawsuits seeking to overturn Vermont state laws, to which it had previously committed to abide, which now call for Vermont Yankee's permanent shutdown.

The Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance and Citizens Awareness Network have called for grassroots comments to bolster the Vermont Public Service Board's resolve against issuing a renewed Certificate of Public Good to Entergy. Without it, Vermont Yankee's continued operation is illegal under State of Vermont law.

Vermont Digger has reported on this story. Frances Crowe, a nonagenarian member of the Shut It Down! Affinity Group, responded to the article by stating: "Every day that plant operates it is endangering the health and safety
of the people in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Shut it down and start the clean up and put the spent fuel rods in dry caskets and bury them deep underground." Shut It Down! has has organized some two-dozen civil resistance direct actions protesting against Vermont Yankee. When asked by AP on March 22, 2012 -- amidst 1,500 protestors gathered on the first day of VY's NRC-rubberstamped 20-year license extension -- how many times she had been arrested protesting VY, Frances Crowe answered "Not enough!"

Bonnie Raitt's "Slipstream" wins the GRAMMY for Best Americana Album!

Bonnie Raitt accepting last night's GRAMMY for Best Americana AlbumLong-time anti-nuclear activist and Beyond Nuclear supporter Bonnie Raitt just entered double-digit Grammy territory with her Best Americana Album at last night's Grammy Awards! Bonnie is a founding member of Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE), which played Madison Square Garden and Battery Park in New York City in 1979 in the aftermath of the Three Mile Island meltdown in 1979, and the Bay Area last summer in response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe, in partnership with the Guacamole Fund. Beyond Nuclear has had the privilege and honor of having information tables at many a Bonnie Raitt concert across the U.S. over the years!

Entergy Watch: Bill in Vermont State House seeks more stringent Vermont Yankee decommissioning

As reported by AP, a bill has been introduced in the State of Vermont legislature, opening yet another battlefront against Entergy's Vermont Yankee atomic reactor. The legislation seeks to establish more exacting decommissioning clean-up standards than are required by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), with an added price tag of $40 million.

‘‘They've had a history of backing away from agreements and promises, and we want to make sure we protect the residents of Vernon and, by extension, Vermont taxpayers from liability related to decommissioning the plant,’’ said Rep. Margaret Cheney, vice chair of the House committee and a lead sponsor of the bill.

Chief among the "rogue corporation" Entergy's "broken promises" to the Green Mountain State was a signed agreement to shutdown Vermont Yankee by March 22, 2012 if it failed to obtain a renewed Certificate of Public Good (CPG) from the Vermont Public Service Board. The Vermont State Senate voted 26 to 4 in Feb. 2010 to block the issuance of the CPG, due to reasons other than radiological safety (NRC's jurisdiction) recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court as falling under state authority. Nearly a year later, Entergy still operates VY without the required CPG.

Entergy Watch: New CEO admits times are tough at Entergy's merchant reactors

Leo P. Denault, Entergy's new CEO and Chairman of the BoardAs reported by Reuters, Entergy Nuclear's new CEO and Chairman of the Board, Leo P. Denault (pictured left), has admitted "its merchant nuclear power plants are in 'challenging economic situations,'" and "'[n]ear-term power prices are challenging for some merchant nuclear generating units in certain competitive markets.'" The admission came during a fourth-quarter earnings call.

The article continues:

"He said some plants are in the more challenging economic situations for a variety of reasons, including 'the market for both energy and capacity, their size, their contracting positions and the investment required to maintain the safety and integrity of the plants.' (emphasis added)

He would not name the plants but said, 'There are years when certain plants' cash flows can be negative at today's forward price curve.'"

UBS has concluded that the financial pressures could force Entergy to close Vermont Yankee, FitzPatrick in New York, and even Pilgrim near Boston yet this year.

A Dominion spokesman admitted last October that the high cost of making needed safety repairs was a major factor in the nuclear utility's decision to close Kewaunee in Wisconsin by mid-2013. It was the first announced closure of an atomic reactor in the U.S. in 15 years.