Undeterred by purge rumors, women peace activists leave for Pyongyang

Source: NK News

With endorsements from North and South Korea, a group of women activists departed from Beijing on Tuesday for Pyongyang, where they will walk to Seoul in the hopes of the two Koreas signing a peace treaty.

The group departed amid controversy sparked by North Korea’s possible brutal execution of its Minister of Defense, Hyon Yong Chol, which raised doubts on whether the timing is appropriate. In their defense, the group argued that there has yet been any proof of the purge and they prefer not to link the two incidents.

“The timing is out of our hands,” Suzy Kim, a professor of Korean history at Rutgers University who is one of the organizers of the event. “Whatever happened domestically within North Korea, in some ways, is not something we can control.”

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The activists, including Gloria Steinem, a veteran American women’s rights activist, and Mairead Maguire, Northern Ireland Nobel Peace Prize winner, plan to take two peace walks and a peace symposium in North Korea.

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Read more: http://www.nknews.org/2015/05/border-crossers-leave-for-pyongyang/

Trident whistleblower William McNeilly hands himself in

Source: BBC

A Royal Navy submariner who criticised Trident nuclear submarine safety procedures has handed himself in to police on his return to the UK.

William McNeilly, 25, went on the run after alleging the Trident missile programme, based on the Clyde, was a "disaster waiting to happen".

Able Seaman Mr McNeilly, from Belfast, has written a report, detailing "serious security and safety breaches".

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The MoD said Mr McNeilly was "apprehended" by Royal Navy Police at Edinburgh Airport on Monday night and was being held at a military establishment in Scotland.

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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-32791755

DoD Exercise Simulates Home-grown Terrorists, Nuclear Incident

Source: U.S. Department of Defense

In a geopolitical environment with proliferating threats, a Defense Department whole-of-government exercise held May 5-8 provided a realistic way for federal, state and local experts to interact in simulated situations involving mock home-grown terrorists and a nuclear incident.

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On May 5, the exercise began. Here’s the scenario:

A domestic terrorist organization with a transnational connection attacked a weapons convoy on Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. An NBK-B weapons movement supervisor who works onsite helped the terrorists do this.

The attack killed and injured many Marine Corps Security Force Battalion members. In the exercise, this was Site 1.

The attacking force then removed the weapon from the convoy and ran, with responders in pursuit. During pursuit and before leaving the base, the terrorists detonated an explosive device.

The site and weapon suffered damage, and the explosion caused radiological contamination. The Strategic Weapons Facility responded as the Navy Initial Response Force. This was Site 2.

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Read more: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=128842

Trident submarine whistleblower to turn himself in to police

Source: Guardian

A Royal Navy submariner who exposed a catalogue of alleged security failings around the Trident nuclear programme is facing jail after promising to hand himself in to police on Monday.

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The 19-page report, which was published online, triggered an immediate investigation by the Ministry of Defence as police and Royal Navy chiefs tried to track down the submariner.

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He wrote: “I’ve tried my best over the past year, and I’ve finally achieved what I set out to do. I set out to gather as much information as possible, as fast as possible, inform you and the government before getting caught, then hand myself into the police. There’s nothing I can do from prison; whatever happens now is up to you and the government.”

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An online petition against his prosecution has amassed more than 1,000 signatories since it was launched on Sunday.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/18/trident-submarine-whistleblower-william-mcneilly-to-turn-himself-in

Protester says Y-12 break-in worth the prison time; Boertje-Obed arrives in Knoxville after release

Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel

Greg Boertje-Obed turns 60 years old Monday, and the best birthday gift he got was his freedom.

Looking thin and a bit tired and sporting a new pair of jeans courtesy of the federal prison system, Boertje-Obed arrived in Knoxville shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday following a 20-hour bus ride from Kansas — where the spent the last 14 months serving time in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.

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Boertje-Obed is a bit puzzled as to why he ended up in Knoxville following his release from Leavenworth. When prison officials talked to him about his court-ordered release, he told them he wanted to go to Duluth, Minn., where his wife, Michele Naar-Obed, lives. That seemed to be the plan, but he was later given a bus ticket to Knoxville — where he and the others were tried in U.S. District Court in 2013.

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Rice, who served time at a federal prison in Brooklyn, N.Y., reportedly was spending time with family following her release, and Walli, who’s been incarcerated in Pennsylvania, is now with friends in Washington, D.C.

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Read more: http://knoxblogs.com/atomiccity/2015/05/17/protester-says-y-12-break-in-was-worth-the-prison-time-boertje-obed-arrives-in-knoxville-after-release-from-leavenworth/

Radiation accident at Idaho nuclear lab subject of new lawsuit

Source: Associated Press

A new federal lawsuit has been filed involving a 2011 accident at an eastern Idaho nuclear facility that exposed 16 workers to plutonium.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday on behalf of Ralph Stanton. It follows up on a 2013 whistleblower complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Labor by Stanton and then-colleague Brian Simmons.

The complaint says Battelle Energy Alliance created an unsafe work environment at the Idaho National Laboratory and retaliated after Stanton and Simmons raised health and safety concerns. The Department of Labor never took action on the complaints, leading Stanton to file this week’s lawsuit.

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The lawsuit describes how, in the two years following the accident, Battelle “increasingly retaliated against (Stanton) and ultimately terminated him wrongfully” following his whistleblower complaints.

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Read more: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/may/17/radiation-accident-at-idaho-nuclear-lab-subject/

Royal Navy investigates Trident whistle-blower William McNeilly who claims nuclear programme is a 'd

Source: The Independent

'disaster waiting to happen'

The Royal Navy is investigating claims by an apparent whistle-blower that there is a “complete lack of concern for security” that makes the Trident nuclear weapons programme vulnerable to terror attack.

The claims were made in an online post by 25-year-old William McNeilly, and included a photograph of his Navy ID card.

McNeilly said he had “sacrificed” his freedom and a well-paid career to make the claims in an 18-page report entitled “The Secret Nuclear Threat”, and that after posting it he had gone on the run.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that McNeilly was a member of the naval service, and a source said the Navy was “concerned for the whereabouts and wellbeing of AB (able seaman) McNeilly and working closely with civilian police to locate him”.

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Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/royal-navy-investigates-trident-whistleblower-william-mcneilly-who-claims-nuclear-programme-is-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-10256148.html

The Anti-Environmental Archives - Launched Earth Day 2015

FBI: researcher admitted to hacking plane in-flight, causing it to “climb”

Source: Ars Technica

Chris Roberts "overwrote code" on Thrust Management Computer, according to affidavit.

A newly-published search warrant application shows that an aviation computer security researcher told the FBI that he briefly took control of at least one commercial airliner. The warrant, which was filed in a federal court in New York state, was first published Friday by APTN, a Canadian news site.

According to the affidavit for the warrant application, the researcher, Chris Roberts, told the FBI that he:

"connected to other systems on the airplane network after he exploited/gained access to, or "hacked" the (in-flight entertainment) system. He stated that he then overwrote code on the airplane’s Thrust Management Computer while aboard a flight. He stated that he successfully commanded the system he had accessed to issue the climb command. He stated that he thereby caused one of the airplane engines to climb resulting in a lateral or sideways movement of the plane during one of these flights. He also stated that he used Vortex software after compromising/exploiting or "hacking" the airplane’s networks. He used the software to monitor traffic from the cockpit system."

Roberts did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment, but he told Wired on Friday that this paragraph was taken out of context.

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Read more: http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/05/fbi-researcher-admitted-to-hacking-plane-in-flight-causing-it-to-climb/

College Radio Flashback: Covering Campus Disturbances in the 1960s and 70s