AUSTRALIA
Accentuating the Positives - Right now, Brisbane is hosting Clean Energy Week. In Fremantle, the clean energy people had a jolly breakfast, celebrating: they didn't bother to protest, while while the nuclear lobby held another flop of a conference. A new Australian invention Flat Pack Solar Buildings . Australia's Dr Helen Caldicott was a hit, lecturing in Taiwan.
The Negatives: War Rehearsals - USA-Australia Talisman Sabre war games going on in Shoalhaven N - thousands of troops and military hard-ware - wreckinhg that beautiful environment. You wouldn't get to hear of it except that two American soldiers were injured - Oh and yes, they dropped two unexploded bombs on the. Great Barrier Reef. Courageously, Peace Convergence protestors Graeme Dunstan and Greg Rolles have broken into the venue
Australian media With the uranium spot price, and the term contract price, very slow, and going lower fast, you might think that the uranium/nuclear story in Australia is dead in the water.
Wrong. First of all the mainstream media continues to give glowing coverage to the fine market situation for uranium - that's a pack of lies. Fairfax media did not see fit to publish an article correcting the sloppily written nuclear advertorial, by John Watson, that they published last week. The ABC is covering a pro nuclear conference in Sydney this week. We wait to see what the ABC does with this.
I am pessimistic about Australian news media. They have pretty much sacked all their science journalists. Science writing will now be done by journalists who will call upon the Australian Science Media Centre to provide information. So far this Centre has toed the corporate/government line on Fukushima - that's the line - "it's not so bad really: they're getting it under control" etc. They're likely to toe the corporate line on matters nuclear - but the generalist journalists might not be able to pick up on the bias.
Australia's Paladin Energy uranium miner continues to be in trouble in Malawi, getting a bad report from the UN Human Rights Commission, for its operations there.
USA's secret military operations in Pine Gap, and influence in dismissing Prime minister Gough Whitlam - after over 30 years, whistleblower Christopher Boyce speaks out.
INTERNATIONAL
Nuclear Abolition Week - activities in 25 countries.
Fukushima - continues to be - not good. Tepco after 2 years of denial, admits that radioactive water has been , and is, leaking into the sea. Fishing authorities and marine biologists warn of it entering the food chain. Steam envelops Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor No 3. Cause not yet known.
Health news:
- Legal hearings about radiation exposure to US navy men at nuclear reactor in Antarctica.
- All British children have Plutonium from Sellafield in their teeth.
- Steep rise in birth defects near USA's Hanford nuclear site.
- Thyroid cancer in Fukushima area- old peopel affected as well as children
- . Birth defects in Iraq-attributed to depleted uranium. But - World Health Organisation reports on high rate of birth defects in Iraq - but makes no attempt to identify the cause
China - Government's dramatic cancellation of uranium processing plant after thousands of protestors marched against it. Now the Chinese government is worrying that this could lead to a national anti nuclear movement, not just a district one.
UK: Survey shows UK government out of step with public, on nuclear power - surprise again - older men are pro nuclear, women and young people anti nuclear.
-- Christina Macpherson
Antinuclear Australia
www.antinuclear.net
www.nuclear-news.net
