Two earthquakes strike near Iran nuclear plant

As reported by CNN.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, on the coast of the Persian Gulf in southwestern Iran, was under construction from 1975 to 2011. During the 1980s, the pre-operational construction site was repeatedly attacked by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Commercial electricity (and high-level radioactive waste) generation at Unit 1 began in 2011.

It is the first operational commercial atomic reactor in the Middle East (although there have long been several operational research reactors for a long time: two in Iraq, two in Israel, one in Syria and three in Iran).

The Russian government and nuclear industry was in charge of construction of the first unit beginning in 1995. It is now undertaking construction of two more full-scale commercial reactors at the site, and up to six more elsewhere in Iran.

Rep. Elijah Cummings lies in state Thursday at U.S. Capitol

U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (Democrat-Baltimore, MD), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and ReformAs reported by the Washington Post.

As chairman of the powerful U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Cummings (Democrat-Baltimore, Maryland, photo left) not only co-led the current impeachment inquiry. He also spearheaded an investigation into the Trump administration's greed-driven end run around Congressional safeguards, attempting to provide nuclear weapons proliferation capable technology and know how to the murderous, genocidal Saudi Arabian regime.

Even in the minority in 2016-2017, as Ranking Democrat on the committee, Cummings also led congressional efforts seeking justice and accountability in the aftermath of the Flint drinking water catastrophe. Michigan Radio paid tribute to Cummings' leadership on Flint, when news broke of his passing on. (See Beyond Nuclear's article, "After Flint, Don't NUKE the Great Lakes Next!", about the Canadian proposal to bury vast quantities of hazardous radioactive waste on the Lake Huron shoreline. The relatively pristine waters of Lake Huron, once again, are the source of drinking water for Flint, after the disastrous decision to switch to the Flint River, which caused the lead poisoning catastrophe.)

Cummings was a national champion for social, racial, and environmental justice. His passing represents a huge loss for our country. But his memory, legacy, and example will shine on, as an inspiration for current and future generations.

Update on October 26, 2019 by admin

See this posthumously published op-ed by Cummings.

Karl Grossman's "Crimes Against the Future" screening at New Earth International Film Festival

Karl Grossman is a professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury who has specialized in investigative reporting for nearly 50 years. He is the host of the TV program “Enviro Close-Up,” the writer and presenter of numerous TV documentaries and the author of six books.The New Earth International Film Festival has selected “Crimes Against The Future” for screening. The documentary is hosted and was written by Karl Grossman (photo, left), a member of the board of Beyond Nuclear. Frank Melli is its executive producer and director.

“Crimes Against The Future” investigates environmental and human rights crimes currently being committed—from climate change to the dangers of nuclear power—and puts into perspective what they mean for future generations. The documentary was aired nationally in the United States last month on Free Speech TV.

The New Earth International Film Festival is based in Poland and will run between October 16 and 20. The documentary can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sYrFEBBDnE

Featured in it are: Bianca Jagger of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation; science broadcaster Dr. David Suzuki; Dr. Helen Caldicott, a founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Beyond Nuclear's Founding President; best-selling author Dr. Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York; Derek Osborn, president of Stakeholders Forum; Randy Hayes of Foundation of Earth; Hunter Lovins of Natural Capital Solutions; Brice Lalonde, former environmental minister of France; and environmental journalist Barbara Y.E. Pyle.

The madness of nuclear power in Saudi Arabia

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry (with sword), alongside Saudi energy ministerOne year has passed since the brutal murder, and macabre dismemberment, of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbal, Turkey, at the hands of a high-level Saudi regime death squad. Official U.S. and United Nations reports implicate Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in having ordered the assassination. The genocidal Saudi-led war and siege of Yemen continues, with Houthi rebel attacks igniting Saudi oil fields deep within the country, and causing recent large-scale Saudi coalition casualties at the front lines on its border. Is this a place where nuclear power plants should be built? Bennett Ramberg warned in 1985 that nuclear power plants could serve as pre-deployed weapons for an enemy, if they chose to attack them, veritable dirty bombs of immense size. In fact, Houthi forces previously fired a warning shot across the bow at a pre-operational nuclear plant in United Arab Emirates; the atomic reactor has since fired up, unfortunately. Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, while still serving as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned that the reason Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia were pursuing nuclear power, was in order to have a pathway to nuclear weapons, if they chose to use it that way. In fact, MBS has admitted as much on a CBS "60 Minutes" interview. Despite the inherent risk that uranium enrichment and/or plutonium reprocessing can be used for nuclear weapons production, the Trump administration has continuously tried to do end runs around congressional safeguards against nuclear weapons proliferation, in order to transfer U.S. nuclear technology and know how to Saudi Arabia. U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, has reported that corporate and personal greed are a prime motivation, despite the risks. Scandalously, the same Canadian firm that bailed out Jared Kushner's family from its billion dollar, bad real estate investment at 666 5th Avenue in Manhattan, also owns Westinghouse Nuclear, which is vying to sell atomic reactors to Saudi Arabia; Kushner has been Trump's point person in all things Saudi Arabian. But Trump's Energy Secretary, Rick Perry, has also met with his Saudi counterparts, regarding nuclear commerce, including recently (see photo, above left, of Perry in Saudi-style robe, holding a sword, shown with Saudi Minister of Energy, Khalid al-Falih; Perry is now implicated in the Trump impeachment inquiry as well, as reported by the Washington Post, having led the Trump administration delegation to Ukrainian President Zelensky's inauguration.) As decades-long, leading congressional nuclear watchdog, U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), pointed out a decade ago, "Saudi Arabia is the Saudi Arabia of solar power!" Nuclear power makes no sense there, from a safety, security, and non-proliferation perspective. Saudi nuclear power risks an arms race with Israel (which already has nuclear weapons), Iran (there are fears it could use its nuclear power industry to break out into nuclear weapons production), and perhaps other countries. As U.S. Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA) has put it, "A country that can't be trusted with a bone saw shouldn't be trusted with nuclear weapons."

Update on October 5, 2019 by admin

As reported by the Washington Post, just as U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry became embroiled in the Trump-Ukraine impeachment scandal, he announced his resignation by the end of the year.

Perry has been a good friend to the nuclear power industry in the U.S. He has long advocated "low-level" radioactive waste dumping in West Texas -- the owner of Waste Control Specialists (WCS), Dallas billionaire Harold "King of Superfund Sites" Simmons, was Perry's biggest campaign contributor, over multiple campaigns for governor, and even president.

This long support for WCS then morphed into Perry's advocacy for high-level radioactive waste "consolidated interim storage" in West Texas. Last spring, as Energy Secretary, Perry let it be known at a congressional hearing that he is even supportive of "interim" becoming permanent surface storage. As the U.S. Department of Energy itself has acknowledged, in its Yucca Mountain Environmental Impact Statement, this would risk catastrophic releases of hazardous radioactivity into the environment, as containers failed, with a corresponding loss of institutional control (failure to replace degraded containers before they leaked).

Update on October 5, 2019 by admin

As scooped by Axios: "Trump pins Ukraine call on Energy Secretary Rick Perry"

Update on October 7, 2019 by admin

Reuters has reported that Energy Secretary Rick Perry now denies he will resign this month or next month. This begs the question, will he resign in December, then?!

Update on October 7, 2019 by admin

The New York Times has also reported on the U.S. Energy Secretary, in an article entitled "Rick Perry's Focus on Gas Company Entangles Him in Ukraine Case."

Update on October 10, 2019 by admin

"House Democrats subpoena Energy Secretary Rick Perry," as reported by the Washington Post.

Update on October 16, 2019 by admin

As reported by the Washington Post:

12:15 p.m.: Perry declines to say whether he will comply with subpoena

In an appearance on Fox Business Network on Wednesday, Energy Secretary Rick Perry declined to commit about complying with a congressional subpoena.

“Hey, listen,” Perry said. “The House has sent a subpoena over for the records that we have. And our general counsel and the White House counsel are going through the process right now. And I’m going to follow the lead of the, of my counsel on that.”

Friday is the deadline for documents to be released from the White House and Perry. Trump has said Perry asked him to make the July call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but Perry told reporters last week he did it so that the two could talk about energy issues.

Politico: "Democrats Turn Eye to [Energy Secretary] Rick Perry in Ukrainian Probe"

As reported by Politico in an article entitled "Democrats Turn Eye to Rick Perry in Ukrainian Probe":

The former Texas governor has been a regular visitor to Saudi Arabia, where he traveled in 2017 to persuade the Kingdom to partner with the U.S. rather than Russia or China to develop two nuclear reactors. That effort came as the Trump administration continued to seek close ties with the Saudis, despite intelligence linking them to the death of dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi last October.