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bananas's JournalWhy Russia Resists a UN Resolution on Syria
Why Russia Resists a UN Resolution on Syria
Posted on October 1, 2013 by Nuclear Risk
The mainstream media has largely failed to mention one of the main reasons Russia has been resisting a UN Security Council Resolution which would allow the use of force if the US believes that Syria has failed to meet its obligations. Back in March 2011, Russia allowed UNSC Resolution 1973 which authorized “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan civilians. The West then used that resolution as the basis for air attacks leading to regime change and Gaddafi’s murder — an interpretation of the resolution with which Russia strongly disagrees.
The Russians are afraid that any mention of the use of force in a new UN Security Council Resolution on Syria will be similarly misused for regime change. Russia’s fears are reinforced by the Obama administration repeatedly saying that “Assad must go,” and its patience was tried when then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it “despicable” for maintaining its concerns.
Helping to overthrow Gaddafi (as opposed to protecting civilians) also hurt our reputation as a trustworthy partner because, when Gaddafi gave up his WMD programs in 2003, President Bush promised that his good behavior would be rewarded:
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US scientists boycott Nasa conference over China ban
Source: Guardian
A law passed in March prohibits anyone from China from setting foot in a Nasa building.
Nasa is facing an extraordinary backlash from US researchers after it emerged that the space agency has banned Chinese scientists, including those working at US institutions, from a conference on grounds of national security.
Nasa officials rejected applications from Chinese nationals who hoped to attend the meeting at the agency's Ames research centre in California next month citing a law, passed in March, which prohibits anyone from China setting foot in a Nasa building.
The law is part of a broad and aggressive move initiated by congressman Frank Wolf, chair of the House appropriations committee, which has jurisdiction over Nasa. It aims to restrict the foreign nationals' access to Nasa facilities, ostensibly to counter espionage.
But the ban has angered many US scientists who say Chinese students and researchers in their labs are being discriminated against. A growing number of US scientists have now decided to boycott the meeting in protest, with senior academics withdrawing individually, or pulling out their entire research groups.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/oct/05/us-scientists-boycott-nasa-china-ban
Alaska National Weather Service office begs “please pay us” in secret message
Source: Washington Post
In an official public forecast discussion, the Anchorage National Weather Service office – whose employees are working without knowledge of when they will be paid during the ongoing Federal shutdown - encoded this secret message: “Please pay us.”
The first letter in each of the first 11 lines in the forecast discussion spells out the message, as shown below.
As of 5 p.m. EDT, two versions of the forecast discussion, with and without the hidden message were viewable on the National Weather Service Web site.
To support its mission of protecting life and property and to continue issuing forecasts and warnings, the National Weather Service excepted approximately 3,935 employees from the shutdown.
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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/10/04/weather-service-office-begs-please-pay-us-in-secret-message/
When I saw the subject line in GD, I assumed it was the Onion and almost didn't read it: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023787096
Expert pans OPG’s environmental impact statement
Source: Kincardine News
Ontario Power Generation was forced to defend its plan to store low- to intermediate-level nuclear waste deep beneath the ground beside Lake Huron after a key expert questioned the “credibility” and “reliability” of the methods used to write the project’s environmental impact statement (EIS).
Dr. Peter Duinker, an expert in environmental impact assessment, appeared before the independent joint review panel tasked with considering the proposed deep geologic repository (DGR), Thursday, Sept. 3, 2013.
The panel asked Duinker to assess the methods OPG used to identify significant and cumulative effects the project will have on the environment.
Duinker said there were “significant flaws of approach and method” and the work was “not credible,” the methods used “not defensible” and the conclusions “not reliable.”
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Read more: http://www.shorelinebeacon.com/2013/10/03/expert-pans-opgs-environmental-impact-statement
Government shutdown: Nuclear Regulatory Commission meetings on San Onofre postponed
Source: KPCC
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has postponed two California meetings on nuclear waste storage proposals related to the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station due to the federal government shutdown.
While its website proclaims "NRC Remains Open For Business" on the home page, the agency is postponing public meetings around the country due to the "anticipated lack of federal funding" resulting from the government shutdown.
Two public meetings next week in San Luis Obispo (Monday) and Carlsbad (Wednesday) fell victim to the shutdown. The meetings were meant to present the findings and receive public comments on NRC's proposed rules and environmental study on the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel.
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The agency said more scheduled meetings in October and November might also be affected if the shutdown continues. The status of these meetings will be updated on the agency's Public Meetings Schedule on the NRC website.
Read more: http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/10/04/39653/the-government-shutdown-nuclear-regulatory-commiss/
Iranians chant "Death to America" despite president's chat with Obama
Source: Associated Press
Iranians chanted "Death to America" and burned the U.S. flag after weekly prayers in Tehran on Friday despite their new president's outreach to the West and promises of moderation and easing of tensions with the outside world.
The chants, customary after Friday services in the Iranian capital, reflect the challenges facing President Hassan Rouhani as he tries to build on the groundbreaking exchanges with Washington that included a telephone chat last week with President Barack Obama - a gesture aimed at ending three decades of estrangement between the two countries.
Rouhani's overtures have been hailed by both Iranian reformists and the country's conservative clerical leadership.
But a wide array of Iranian hard-liners opposes any improved contact with the Unites States. Diplomatic relations between the two were cut after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, when militants held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
During prayers Friday in Tehran, the master-of-ceremonies led the crowd into chants of "Death to America" at least twice from the podium.
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Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57606151/iranians-chant-death-to-america-despite-presidents-chat-with-obama/
Japanese Nuclear Agency Scolds Fukushima Plant’s Operator
Source: New York Times
In an unusually public scolding, Japan’s nuclear watchdog agency criticized the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Friday for making mistakes that allowed radioactive water to leak into the Pacific Ocean, and ordered it to quickly fix the problems.
The agency, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, summoned the president of the operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, to explain the accidents and spills that have plagued the cleanup of the Fukushima Daiichi plant since it suffered a triple meltdown two years ago. The most recent mishap came earlier this week, when the company, known as Tepco, said workers had spilled 114 gallons of contaminated water while trying to fill an already overflowing tank. It said some of the water might have run into the ocean.
In a public hearing, an official at the regulatory agency, Katsuhiko Ikeda, dressed down Tepco’s president, saying the problems raised serious questions about the company’s ability to operate its other nuclear plants, like the huge Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility, which Tepco wants to restart.
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Such blunt and direct criticism is rare in confrontation-averse Japan.
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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/05/world/asia/fukushima-nuclear-plant-in-japan.html?_r=0
Three Y-12 protesters denied new trial, face sentencing in January
Source: Associated Press
A judge has denied a new trial for a nun and two other protesters who broke into a nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar also ruled this week against a motion to acquit the three.
The defendants — Sister Megan Rice and protesters Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed — were convicted in May of sabotaging the plant and damaging federal property last year at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. They are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 28 in Knoxville and face up to 30 years in prison. They remain in federal custody.
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Numerous letters have been sent to Thapar asking for leniency when the three are sentenced and objecting to the government’s labeling of pacifists as terrorists.
Read more: http://www.tennessean.com/viewart/20131004/NEWS21/310040153/Three-Y-12-protesters-denied-new-trial-face-sentencing-January
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