Another US embassy employee held in Pakistan after road accident

Pakistani police arrested a US embassy employee after his vehicle hit and seriously injured a motorcyclist in the federal capital, posing a fresh challenge for bilateral ties that are already under strain over the arrest of a CIA contractor on charges of shooting and killing two men.

Maqbool Ahmed was “critically injured” when the US embassy vehicle hit his motorcycle in Blue Area, a commercial district of Islamabad, police said.

Ahmed’s wife sustained minor injuries while his child escaped unhurt.

Police arrested the driver of the US embassy vehicle and took him to Kohsar police station, officials said.

US embassy spokesperson Alberto Rodriguez confirmed the incident and said that the mission was “working with Pakistani police to resolve the matter”.

He said the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident was an American employee of the embassy.

Relations between Pakistan and the US plunged to a new low after police arrested CIA contractor Raymond Davis in Lahore in January after he gunned down two armed men he claimed were trying to rob him.

Pakistan’s top leadership, fearful of a backlash due to rising anti-American sentiments, have rebuffed repeated US demands for Davis to be freed on grounds of diplomatic immunity and said his case will be decided by the courts.

Police have rejected Davis’s claim of acting in self-defence and booked him for murder.

20 Years After Chernobyl–The Cover Up

The cover up

The first catastrophe of Chernobyl was the meltdown itself. The second catastrophe of Chernobyl was and still is the subsequent cover-up. Hans Blix, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, charged with the promotion of nuclear energy, stated after the Chernobyl meltdown became public that “the atomic industry can take catastrophes like Chernobyl every year”. This cynical slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands of victims of the accident seems to remain the dogma of the IAEA until today. The effects of the accident are still being suppressed, played down and minimized. Even today, the IAEA claims there were only 56 deaths. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people are still are being affected: in Ukraine, Belarus,Russia, Poland and other western and northern European countries. Many victims have been neglected and remain without any help at all. Even worse: the IAEA has just recently called for a stop of aid to the victims in order to prevent what it calls victim-mentality. In reality, the organization’s sole aim is to promote nuclear energy and the pictures of tens of thousands of irradiated children with leukaemia don’t really fit into the picture of clean energy.
The IAEA, an organization founded and funded in order to “promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies” claimed in its report in 1991 that the population of the areas surrounding Chernobyl were “generally” healthy and there was nothing to fear. Another IAEA report in 2000 again took this stand, stating that with only a few cases of treatable, non-lethal thyroid cancer amongst children, no scientific evidence could be found to support the belief of rising cancer incidence or mortality. Following a recent conference of the Chernobyl Forum, an expert panel staffed with government envoys of the three directly affected countries and some UN agencies including the  International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the following excerpts could be read in the world press:

“No evidence or likelihood of decreased fertility among the affected population has been found, nor has there been any evidence of increases in congenital malformations that can be attributed to radiation exposure.”

“Poverty, lifestyle diseases now rampant in the former Soviet Union and mental health problems pose a far greater threat to local communities than does radiation exposure.”

Dr. Michael Repacholi, Manager of WHO’s Radiation Program was quoted as follows: “The sum total of the Chernobyl Forum is a reassuring message.” He explains that there have been 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer, mainly in children, but that except for nine deaths, all of them have recovered – a survival rate of almost 99%. Otherwise, the team of international experts found no evidence for any increases in the incidence of leukaemia and cancer among affected residents. (…) The health effects of the accident were potentially horrific, but when you add them up using validated conclusions from good science, the public health effects were not nearly as substantial as had at first been feared. (…) If we do not expect health or environmental effects, we should not waste resources and effort on low priority, low contamination areas,” he explains. “We need to focus our efforts and resources on real problems.”²

IPPNW and many other organizations, states and institutions like the Belarus National Cancer Registry or the Centre for Russian Environmental Policy of the Russian Academyof Sciences have strongly objected to this cynical way of treating the Chernobyl meltdown, including the government of Ukraine. In many cases, the IAEA report is based on studies of more than 10 years of age, without taking into account newer scientific research. Numbers for dosimetry counts of the population are not available and the report thus relies on approximations, without clearly stating this. Mean averages are being created over vast populations in huge territories without knowing any concrete numbers. Health effects outside of the three countries were not even considered and significant amounts of data still remain classified and cannot be reviewed by outside scientists. Therefore, the results of the IAEA studies cannot be formally disproved but have to either be believed or not.¹ Even UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appearantly does not really take the IAEA report seriously:: “…the exact number of victims may never be known, but 3 million children require treatment and…many will die prematurely…Not until 2016, at the earliest, will be known the full number of those likely to develop serious medical conditions…because of delayed reactions to radiation exposure…many will die prematurely…

Despite frequently cited statistics about the rate of cancer screenings and other medical follow up, few official attempts were undertaken to truly assess the results of radiation and many NGOs in the area, as well as the institutes cited in this paper criticize the publication of IAEA statistics, which are not based on any real facts. Fact is that a vast majority of the population is not being screened for cancer, is not receiving regular check ups, ultrasound exams or other types of secondary preventive measures. What’s worse, the IAEA is going public these days with statements ridiculing the so called “radiophobia” of the population and calling for an end of aid programs, which, according to the IAEA report of 2005, only serve to instil a victim mentality in a totally healthy population – a claim not only cynical, but potentially dangerous for the health of the affected population.

by Alex Rosen

S. Pflugbeil

Only 50 deaths caused by Chernobyl? Press Release by IPPNW Germany on its new study

A. Claussen

Berlin, April 6 2006: A report published today by the physician’s organisation IPPNW in Germany and the German Society for Radiation Protection contradicts the claim by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that less than 50 people died as a result of the accident at Chernobyl (see IAEA press release of September 5th 2005).

The facts presented by Dr. Sebastian Pflugbeil, President of the German Society for Radiation Protection, show that the IAEA figures contain serious
inconsistencies. For instance, the IAEA claim that future fatalities due to cancer and leukaemia in the most heavily exposed groups are expected to
number 4000 at the most. However, the study by the WHO, that this claim is based on, forecasts 8930 fatalities. “And when one then reviews the
reference given in WHO report, one arrives at 10,000 to 25,000 additional deaths due to cancer and leukaemia”, says Pflugbeil. These inconsistencies
are not surprising, given the mandate of the IAEA: to promote nuclear energy. This prevents the Agency from being independent.

According to Dr. Angelika Claussen, Chair of the German affiliate of IPPNW, the point is not to contrast the “correct” numbers with the obviously false
ones provided by the IAEA. These cannot be claimed to have been found due to methodical problems. Essential data on the Chernobyl catastrophe have been kept secret, both in the East and in the West. Large epidemiological studies are very expensive and only possible with state support. “It is, however, possible to provide an informative basis to show to what extent and what kinds of damage we are dealing with when we are talking about the effects of Chernobyl”, says Claussen.

The IAEA is attempting to account for an evident rise in fatalities and disease by providing absurd arguments. “It is cynical, to say the least,
when affected people in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia are told by the IAEA that they have a victim mentality, should feed themselves better and live
more healthily”, says Claussen.

The IPPNW/GfS Report “Health Effects of Chernobyl – 20 Years After the Reactor Disaster” documents the catastrophic dimensions of the reactor
accident, using scientific studies, expert estimates and official data:

• 50,000 to 100,000 liquidators (clean-up workers) died in the years up to 2006. Between 540,000 and 900,000 liquidators have become invalids;

• Congenital defects found in the children of liquidators and people from the contaminated areas could affect future generations to an extent that cannot yet be estimated;

• Infant mortality has risen significantly in several European countries, including Germany, since Chernobyl. The studies at hand estimated the numberof fatalities amongst infants in Europe to be about 5000;

• In Bavaria alone, between 1000 and 3000 additional birth defects have been found since Chernobyl. It is feared that in Europe more than 10,000 severe abnormalities could have been radiation induced;

• By referring to UNSCEAR one arrives at between 12,000 and 83,000 children born with congenital deformations in the region of Chernobyl, and around 30,000 to 207,000 genetically damaged children worldwide. Only 10% of the overall expected damage can be seen in the first generation;

• In Belarus alone, over 10,000 people developed thyroid cancer since the catastrophe. According to a WHO prognosis, in the Belarussian region of Gomel alone, more than 50,000 children will develop thyroid cancer during their lives. If one adds together all age groups then about 100,000 cases of thyroid cancer have to be reckoned with, just in the Gomel region;

• Altogether, the number of Chernobyl related cases of thyroid cancer to be expected in Europe (outside the borders of the former Soviet Union) is between 10,000 and 20,000;

• In more contaminated areas of Southern Germany a significant cluster of very rare tumours has been found amongst children, so-called neuroblastomies;

• In Germany, Greece, Scotland and Romania, there has been a significant increase in cases of leukaemia;

• In a paper published by the Chernobyl Ministry in the Ukraine, a multiplication of the cases of disease was registered – of the endocrine system ( 25 times higher from 1987 to 1992), the nervous system (6 times higher), the circulation system (44 times higher), the digestive organs (60 times higher), the cutaneous and subcutaneous tissue (50 times higher), the muscolo-skeletal system and psychological dysfunctions (53 times higher). Among those evaluated, the number of healthy people sank from 1987 to 1996 from 59 % to 18%. Among inhabitants of the contaminated areas from 52% to 21% and among the children of affected parent from 81% to 30%. It has been reported for several years that type I diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) has risen sharply amongst children and youth.

Read the IPPNW study summary in English or the Full study in German

Libyan Amb. To Ghana Denounces Western Media for Stirring Lies

West blamed for Libyan uprising

Accra, March 11, GNA – Libyan Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Ali Ghadban on Friday blamed the foreign media and the West for exacerbating the current unrest in Libya saying those fighting are foreigners.

 

He said: “all the Libyan people love and support Gaddafi” and the political whirlwind that was ferociously blowing across the Northern part of the African continent and the Arab world had been viewed as revolution by people asserting their right.

 

Dr Ghadban said this was not the case and that the people of Libya were content and had no problem whatsoever and blamed the western media of peddling untruth to give Muammar Gaddafi a bad name.

 

Addressing a press conference in Accra, he said machinations of the West would not succeed and wondered why the 52 African States did not have the media to project their own perspective and promoted their own interests both national and international.

 

“I am very sad about this situation we find ourselves as a people where outsiders would be telling our own story from their perspective. The West has once again deployed their media propaganda weapons against Africa and Libya in particular, “he added.

 

Dr Ghadban said the records of causalities had been fabricated and noted that for every news bulletin a story was told about wholesale murder by nationalist forces as if the leader of the revolution was a sort of macabre person whose desire was to kill his own compatriots.

 

The Libyan Ambassador noted that the West was not a neutral arbitrator in the Libyan situation because they had clearly taken their position and therefore could not be fair in anything they did regarding the political conflagration in the eastern part of Libya.

 

He was of the view that those who thwarted the genuine efforts of Dr Kwame Nkrumah were at it again but this time they would fail miserably to effect change.

“Seeing Africa united is what the West cannot accept simply because African unity would automatically stop the process of resource brain drain both natural and human. The Western world which depends on Africa to feed its industrial machines would have to act either by covert or overt means to prevent the realisation of the dream of Dr Nkrumah. Brother Gaddafi is being targeted because he is on the same track with Dr Nkrumah.

 

“Libya is rich. We have all social and economic amenities for free; a system that never existed in the West. From crèche to university, medicare, accommodation, water and electricity are virtually free for all citizens of Libya,’ he said.

 

Dr Ghadban noted that the crisis in Libya, had nothing to do with democracy or human rights as was being portrayed by the West adding that it was essentially an ethnic separatist and an Al Qaeda organisation to destabilise the country.

 

He said the people of Libya are not afraid to fight in the defence of the revolution he said and added that “We are on this occasion calling for Africans to speak out in support of their kith and kin and most importantly to defend the sovereignty of the continent.”

GNA

Number 3 Fukushima Reactor Has Been Charged With MOX Plutonium-Enriched Fuel

[MOX made from recycled Russian warheads (SEE: Military Warheads as a Source of Nuclear Fuel).]

MOX fuel loaded into Tokyo Electric’s old Fukushima reactor

Sunday 22nd August, 05:36 AM JST

FUKUSHIMA —

Tokyo Electric Power Co loaded plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel Saturday into a reactor at its nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture in preparation for the largest Japanese utility’s first plutonium-thermal power generation.

The No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 plant would be the third in Japan to be used for the so-called pluthermal generation, but the only one among the three to have been subjected to antiaging treatment with 34 years since its launch. Pluthermal output has already begun at the No. 3 reactor of Kyushu Electric Power Co’s Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture and the No. 3 reactor of Shikoku Electric Power Co’s Ikata plant in Ehime Prefecture.

Gates warns NATO allies about ‘precipitous’ exit from Afghanistan

Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ discouraged European allies from pulling out large numbers of their troops as the U.S. begins a July drawdown.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates stands with British Secretary of State for Defense Liam Fox, left, and their Canadian counterpart, Peter MacKay, prior to a meeting at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels. (Mandel Ngan / AFP/ Getty Images / March 10, 2011)

By David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Brussels

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Friday warned allies against “ill-timed, precipitous or uncoordinated” drawdowns of their troops from Afghanistanthat could harm gains made against Taliban militants.

Gates aimed to discourage allies in Europe from using the Obama administration’s plans to withdraw some troops beginning in July as a pretext to bring out large numbers of their own forces. The planned withdrawals are expected to be a small percentage of the overall U.S. force, but if allies with only a few thousand soldiers or fewer bring out similar numbers it could cause problems, officials said.

“Frankly, there is too much talk about leaving and not enough talk about getting the job done right,” Gates said in remarks to defense ministers from the 47 other countries that have troops in Afghanistan.

Gates spoke at a two-day meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels after visiting Afghanistan this week. Though his remarks were delivered in a closed meeting, the Pentagon released a transcript to reporters traveling with Gates.

He did not say which countries were talking about removing troops, but he noted that much of the “recent rhetoric” about withdrawals was “coming from capitals” in Europe, which has seen continuing political debate about the cost of having troops deployed in Afghanistan, whether casualties are justifiable, and whether the war, which began in 2001, is winnable.

Behind the United States, which has about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, the biggest contributors are Britain with 9,500 troops, Germany with 4,909, France with 3,979 and Italy with 3,815. The non-U.S. troop contingent totals about 42,000 personnel.

Italy said last year that it intends to begin troop withdrawals in the middle of this year. Germany’s Parliament voted this year to begin withdrawals in 2011 and complete its pullout by 2014. The French, Polish and Danish governments have also said they could begin drawdowns this year.

Gates did not say how large the first U.S. troop withdrawals will be this year, but he implied, as he has before, that the reductions would be small.

“We will not sacrifice the significant gains made to date, or the lives lost, for a political gesture,” he said. “In return, we expect the same from you,” he told the other ministers.

At U.S. urging, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in November approved a timetable that calls for keeping large numbers of troops in Afghanistan through 2014, when the Afghan army is scheduled to assume the lead role for security throughout the country.

“We can’t lose our momentum, or give in to calls to withdraw before the job is finished. America is willing to shoulder the lion’s share of the burden, but we cannot do it alone,” Gates said.

The NATO ministers Friday endorsed a plan that would turn over lead responsibility for initial areas of Afghanistan to the Afghan army. The Associated Press said the areas include the town of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, the cities of Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif, and the provinces of Bamiyan and Panjshir. All except Lashkar Gah have long been considered largely free of insurgent attacks.

Gates later flew to Bahrain, where he was scheduled to meet with the king and the crown prince. Protests continued in the Persian Gulf island nation Friday.

david.cloud@latimes.com

Did Western Covert Actions Initiate Conflict In Libya?

[SEE: The Last Victory of Muammar Gaddafi]

“Hold your horses,” Cameron–Lady Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief.

Libya no-fly zone plan rejected by EU leaders

David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy fail to convince rest of Europe at emergency summit on Libya in Brussels

• Ian Traynor and Nicholas Watt in Brussels
• guardian.co.uk
French president Nicolas Sarkozy and prime minister David Cameron discuss their strategy at the EU summit in Brussels on the Libyan crisis. Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

Europe’s leaders have clashed over the prospect of intervention inLibya, with Angela Merkel leading a campaign to block talk of air strikes and no-fly zones from David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy.

An emergency EU summit in Brussels summoned the ghosts from the 1990s of division, appeasement, and impotence when Europe failed to halt the fighting in former Yugoslavia.

Cameron has emerged as the west’s leading hawk, but failed to win explicit support for Nato to enforce a no-fly zone.

The summit statement said EU leaders would “examine all necessary options” to protect civilians.

The German chancellor noted there was no legal basis for a no-fly zone, and said she would reconsider only if a legal basis were established.

The prime minister’s robust stance was also indirectly criticised by Lady Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief. Her staff emphasised the risks of a no-fly zone, warning of potential civilian casualties and “collateral damage”.

“Hold your horses,” she was reported as saying to interrupt Cameron in the summit debate.

Cameron tried and failed to have an explicit reference to no-fly zones and Nato in the summit statement.

“We support continued planning with Nato allies and other partners, including those in the region, to be ready to provide support for all possible contingencies as the situation evolves, including a no-fly zone,” was the UK formula.The disputes also involved the French president, who sounded defensive afterwards. Sarkozy’s decision on Thursday to recognise the rebel leadership unilaterally was especially contentious, heavily criticised by east Europeans and by Merkel.

Sarkozy also sounded less than keen on a no-fly zone, but nonetheless made common cause with Cameron, stating that the prime minister also supported “targeted [military] actions” on Libya provided a raft of conditions were met.

Sarkozy acknowledged the split among the EU leaders over a military option and a political option.

“The British and ourselves are wondering what happens if peaceful civilians … are being targeted by aircraft and helicopters shooting directly at the crowd. David Cameron and I wondered: should we simply stand by … or react … we cannot stand by and watch civilians being massacred.”

Cameron put a brave face on the rebuff. “All necessary options is strong language,” he said, referring to the formula agreed for the joint statement. “Of course the EU is not a military alliance and I don’t want it to be a military alliance. Our alliance is Nato.”

On possible military action, the statement said: “The European council expresses its deep concern about attacks against civilians, including from the air. In order to protect the civilian population, member states will examine all necessary options, provided there is demonstrable need, a clear legal basis and support from the region.”

These reflected the views of Merkel and most of the EU’s 27 member states, who agreed that a no-fly zone, also opposed by the Pentagon, can only be imposed if three conditions are met:

First, “a demonstrable need” means attacks from the air on civilians or use of chemical weapons.

Second, “a clear legal basis” means a UN security council resolution. But the communique does not specify this, leaving open the possibility of action under the Geneva convention if Gaddafi is found guilty of crimes against humanity.

Third, “support from the region” means the African Union and the Arab League would have to back the action.

The prime minister privately believes that, by him making the argument for a no-fly zone, the EU has agreed to harden its position and accept the need for contingency planning.

Cameron launched one of his strongest verbal attacks yet on Gaddafi. “This is a dangerous moment. We are witnessing frankly what can only be called barbaric acts, with Gaddafi brutally repressing a popular uprising led by his own people and flagrantly ignoring the will of the international community. Things may be getting worse, not better, on the ground.

“The truth is this. Gaddafi is still on the rampage, waging war on his own people, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and right now there is no sign of this ending.”

The lack of a reference to a no-fly zone represented a victory for Ashton, who was attacked by Sarkozy as well as Cameron, according to diplomats present.

She said that such a zone could end up killing large numbers of civilians. One EU diplomat said: “The risks are high for potential civilian casualties and potential collateral damage. The efficiency of a no-fly zone is very questionable.”

Wisconsin union bill signed

[Remember PATCO!  (see: An old lesson still holds for unions)]

Governor expects public support for its changes to rise

BY SCOTT BAUER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MORRY GASH | ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS

Protesters demonstrate outside Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s office after his signing of the collective-bargaining bill.

|

Walker, a Republican elected in November, signs the bill eliminating most union rights for public employees.

 

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker yesterday signed into law the bill that eliminates most union rights for public employees, saying he has “no doubt” that support for the measure will grow.

The governor’s signature on the bill quietly concluded a debate over collective bargaining that provoked three weeks of loud, relentless protests at the Capitol.

In an interview, Walker said that once the public sees government becoming more efficient, support for the changes will increase.

“What we’re doing here, I think, is progressive,” he said. “It’s innovative. It’s reform that leads the country, and we’re showing there’s a better way by sharing in that sacrifice with all of us in government.”

Walker, the 43-year-old son of a preacher who has swiftly become one of the most-polarizing politicians in the country, signed the legislation in private yesterday morning. At a ceremonial signing later in the day, he said the new law will be “good for the middle class for years to come.”

The governor insisted that the proposal was necessary to balance the state budget, and he never backed down, even after 14 Senate Democrats fled the state in an attempt to block the bill. The drama touched off an intense national debate over labor rights for public employees.

Parts of the fight are sure to continue in the courts and in the battle over the broader state budget.

Yesterday, the Democratic executive of Dane County asked a court to find passage of the law to be unconstitutional, arguing in part that it was adopted without the required quorum. A judge denied an emergency request to block the measure and scheduled a longer hearing for Wednesday.

Walker said he is confident that the law will withstand legal challenges.

The law does not take effect until the state issues an official notice that it has been enacted, and the notice is published in the Madison newspaper. Secretary of State Doug La Follette said he typically takes 10 business days to send the notice. Given the court action, he said he is not going to act sooner than that.

Walker’s success was a key victory for Republicans, who have gone after unions in efforts to slash government spending.

Labor leaders and Democrats vowed to use the setback to fire up their supporters across the country and mount a counterattack against the GOP at the ballot box in 2012.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller said the GOP was not listening to the people.

“Republicans may have achieved a short-term policy goal, but their radical agenda, the war on working families, has been exposed, and the people of Wisconsin and across the country are united against it as never before,” Miller said in a statement.

Democrats said the battle with Walker helped them raise nearly $1 million in a matter of days, and efforts to recall Republican state senators who sided with Walker were gaining momentum.

In addition to ending collective bargaining, the law forces state workers to pay more for their pensions and health-care benefits. Those changes will save an estimated $30 million to help pay down a budget shortfall projected to be $137 million by July 1. The higher payments for state workers will take effect over the coming weeks.

But much more turmoil lies ahead.

Lawmakers have not even started to debate Walker’s two-year budget, which calls for cutting aid to schools and local governments by more than $1billion.

Dozens of protesters returned to the Capitol yesterday, shouting “Recall Walker!” Another large rally is planned for today.

The Tragedy of Fukushima May Be Mankind’s Greatest Hope

Peter Chamberlin

The Tragedy of Fukushima is not yet fully known, at least not in terms of the long-term effects of the radiation released today and tomorrow, perhaps for mankind’s entire “half-lifetime.”  We don’t know (meaning our best scientists don’t know) what will grow out of the hole which has been blasted in our collective consciences today.   Our knowledge of atomic science, just like our understanding of all earth science, is in its infancy, yet we have chosen to build nuclear reactors in geologically risky locations.  Beyond the risky siting problems, lie the earth forces of wind and water, which we only now beginning to see.

Our best minds could figure-out how to take the nuclear fire out of the oven and bring it into our neighborhoods, but they could not guarantee a fail-safe way to go about this—yet, they enthusiastically urged our leaders to dot the countryside with these nuclear pipe-bombs, euphemistically dubbed “reactors.”  A “REACTOR” is an abomination, classified as “science.”  Here is an untechnical description of a reactor operation:

Inside a closed metal and concrete container, a piece of uranium is ignited, like a piece of coal that is partially smothered, enough to prevent the glowing coal from bursting into open flames.  The glowing uranium rod is prevented from open ignition by smothering in special high-temperature coolant.  The heat released by this partially burning rod of uranium evaporates water into steam, which flows through pipes like a modern equivalent of a steam engine.  The nuclear-powered steam engine turns an electrical generator, which sends electricity flowing through the wires.

If the uranium rod is allowed to burn too hot, it creates more heat than the coolant can transfer and the REACTOR begins to melt, before the fuel rods melt.

If the water system shuts-down for an extended time, the steam being created can’t flow, the pressure builds until the REACTOR explodes, leaving the burning fuel rods fully exposed.  The rods melt, burning through the floor of the REACTOR.

If all goes well, none of this ever happens, but like all things made by the hands of man, every mechanical system eventually breaks-down.  Our best minds knew all these risks before the first reactor was ever built, yet they recommended that reactors should be built in every country on the face of the earth.  Our scientists didn’t care to consider that the day might come when the earth would bite back.

The tragedy of Fukushima is a tragedy for all mankind.  We do not yet see it, but this event will be remembered as a turning point in the development of humanity.  From this point forward, if nothing else, Fukushima will give pause to every politician, or technocrat in the future who holds up the torch of “nuclear power” as the great hope for our energy-starved planet.  But the greater ramifications of the environmental impact from this event will echo down through the corridors of human time, in both subtle and more obvious ways.  The first concrete way that this will impact future lives will be in the horrible mutations suffered by those exposed to burning-type of radiation, near the site of the explosion.  Children of the workers and neighbors of this plant, and their children, will suffer much higher rates of extreme deformation of their future fetuses, produced after this event.

The more subtle widespread genetic damage is produced by the release of enormous amounts of highly-radioactive dust into the atmosphere, as it is carried around the planet, is something which we can only guess at from our perspective.  Today, we cannot foresee the end of this tragic catastrophic event.  The only thing we know for certain, is that it is all ending very badly.

Our scientists all thought that something like this would never happen, or so they said.  The truth is, they played the odds and lost, or rather the Japanese people lost.  Nuclear power has always been a cosmic roll of the dice, with the fate of every living being on planet earth riding on the outcome of the roll.  Our great leaders fully understood that bad things might happen, yet they confidantly invested your tax dollars, in order to gamble your lives that one day the radioactive wolf would not come knocking at your door.  Well the wolf is outside and he is starting to howl.

Scientists are so caught-up in their own self-worship that they convince themselves that they know what is best for all of us, especially if it means profit or power for them.  The self-proclaimed “geniuses” who have unleashed the nuclear genie for our advancement, have made decisions for us which God Himself, chose to leave alone.  Human evolution comes about when the species reaches a dead-end, requiring the species to grow (evolve) in some way, in order to go forward.  Human technology follows the same pattern of growth–forward momentum reaches a point of impasse, until the impeding wall is breached, allowing forward momentum to resume.

Nuclear power has always been thought-of in these terms–the technology which was built upon the discovery of the thermonuclear reaction, thinking that “nuclear power” was a great leap forward….IT WAS NOT.  As I have explained in my steam engine analogy, nuclear power is pseudo-science.  It is the adapting of Nineteenth Century technology over the discovery of the thermonuclear reaction and calling it a “REACTOR,” claiming that it was a great leap forward for all mankind, alleviating us from our addictions to coal and oil-fired electricity.  We have our need for electricity–vs–unlimited energy from enriched uranium.  We have not bridged the gap between them with so-called “nuclear power” (really steam power).

When we have fully understood nuclear science we will have naturally progressed to the knowledge of converting atomic energy into electricity.  Until then, we are just burning-up a very limited resource, while endangering all of our lives.  In our effort to understand the true science involved in the thermonuclear reaction we will come to understand the real science of nuclear fusion.  Until we learn to harness the astronomical amounts of energy being released in the fusion reaction, we will just be spinning our tires, stuck in the same old mud, with our heads still firmly in our asses.

It may be, that when we finally really understand exactly what we have gotten our hands on, we will figure-out that somehow, our evolution as an intelligent species has required a radioactive environment, in order to cause specific species’ mutations that we have not even dreamed of.  Who knows?  Maybe God had this on His mind all along.  Since He is the hidden hand behind our evolution, He must have had reasons for allowing man to open the nuclear nutshell.  The discovery of atomic energy was a natural outcome of our primitive scientific quest, just as the discovery of converting fusion energy into electrical energy must be the next step in our quest to improve the species.

Perhaps He who sees all things before they happen put “nuclear power” before us to become the great wall to human progress which together we muct breach.  Perhaps we will see this phase in our technological development for what it is, a failed experiment, so that we may absorb the lessons learned from the tragedy at Fukushima and go on. This is my great hope.

It is time to leave nuclear power behind.

peterchamberlin@naharnet.com

NCA Conversation with Ambassador Wu Hongbin, head of the diplomatic mission of China in Turkmenistan

Exclusive: Candid and insightful conversation with Ambassador Wu Hongbin, head of the diplomatic mission of China in Turkmenistan

Introduction: Ambassador Wu Hongbin, the head of the diplomatic mission of China in Turkmenistan, is a seasoned diplomat. With more than 34 years of service in the foreign ministry of China, most of it in the CIS space, Ambassador Wu has a firm grip on geopolitical situation in this region.

He was born in Beijing in 1950. At the age of 17, he was caught in the swirling ‘Cultural Revolution.’ He was sent to a remote island for hard labour in the rice paddies, where he spent five years.

In 1973, he returned to Beijing and enrolled for a 4-year university degree in the Russian language.

In 1977, he joined the ministry of foreign affairs and served for a brief period at the society for friendship with foreign countries.

His first appointment abroad was at the Chinese embassy in Moscow where he remained for 8 years. During this period he saw the declining years of Brezhnev, the flickering stints of Chernenko and Andropov, and the Glosnost and Prestroika of Gorbachev. He was present when the flag of the Soviet Union was lowered, marking the end of dream-turned-nightmare. He is a witness to history in the making.

Ambassador Wu returned to Beijing at the end of 1991. After a short period at the headquarters, he was sent to Belarus where he served as deputy head of mission. His period of stay in Belarus was about 4 years.

In 2001, Wu was appointed Ambassador of China to Tajikistan, a position he retained for five years. These were also the formative years of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) where he played his role.

 

From 2006 to 2008, he served as Ambassador of China to Belarus.

In September 2008, he took over as Ambassador of China to Turkmenistan. He had to hit the job running, and he did. In a short period of time he facilitated the inauguration of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline that will go down in history as one of the most important energy initiatives in Central Asia.

He has also played important role in smoothing out the kinks that routinely appear when big projects with workforce from several countries are in their teething period.

Ambassador Wu is unique in the sense that he emerged from the grinding mill of the Cultural Revolution without carrying a lifelong bitterness. His face does not show the scars of hard years in rice paddies but his soul endured the wounds where it hurts most. Instead of flaunting his pain to attract pity, Ambassador Wu has turned it into a source of love and dedication.

The conversation we had with Ambassador Wu Hongbin is a proof that he has a clear vision of China-Central Asia relations, based on realities and the strong desire to create a win-win situation in every interaction. His views also gather strength from the fact that he has firm understanding of the regional power-play and intricacies of regional geopolitics.

Here is the complete transcript of our conversation with Ambassador Wu Hongbin:

nCa: What is your opinion on future Turkmen-Chinese relationship for the next three years, in three key sectors – energy, trade-economy, and transport and communications?

WH: The Turkmen-Chinese relations are on a high level now. Because our leaders have good personal relations and they have determined the course of our mutual relations. And, all events follow that course. In November [2010] the first session of the Turkmen-Chinese commission on economic cooperation took place in Ashgabat. It was successful. And that session has established good platform for comprehensive cooperation. Our cooperation is planned not only for two or three years but it is long-term cooperation. It is difficult for me to define how the cooperation will develop. But in energy sphere I can say exactly … taking into account the pipeline Turkmenistan-China that was put into operation at the end of 2009. And in 2010 – the first year of pipeline’s operation – 4 billion 600 million cu m of gas was supplied to China.

nCa: In 2010?

WH: Yes in last year this pipeline supplied gas not only to the capital of China Beijing But southern provinces Hunan and Hubei. Their populations have used Turkmen gas. According to the plans for 2011, 17 billion cu m of gas will be delivered to China from Turkmenistan and if everything goes well, in 2012 – the full volume of 30 billion cu m will be delivered and in 2013 – 40 billion cu m. Taking into account the current state of affairs, we will achieve our goal, because everything is moving according to the plans. And in other spheres of Turkmen economy, China actively participates as well. Mainly, China sells locomotives and railway cars to Turkmenistan. The first lot of locomotives has been supplied already. And now the government of Turkmenistan announced another tender for 40 locomotives. The Chinese companies actively participated in this tender and I think they will win the order. It is very big order. And another Chinese company implements the contract for supply of 100 carriages or 104 rail cars. I think the government of Turkmenistan has made the right choice to buy the locomotives and rail cars from China. This branch of cooperation takes the second place after the gas sector. I think in future the Turkmen-Chinese relations will expand more, because we have a good platform. I would like to say, it is good political cooperation and we have high level of mutual trust. For many years Turkmenistan and China have supported each other in issues related to our national interests. Turkmenistan supports China concerning the issue of Taiwan and the province of Xinjiang. China supports Turkmenistan in human rights sphere. Some countries criticize Turkmenistan all the time for human rights situation. China supports the position of Turkmenistan on human rights. China never tried and never tries to interfere in the internal affairs of Turkmenistan. It is very important base for strengthening of our mutual trust.  Turkmenistan and China are sincere friends and reliable partners. The number of mutual visits has increased. High level Chinese delegations visited Turkmenistan in 2010. They included the visit of the defence minister colonel general Lyang Guanlee. He led the a military delegation. The permanent members of Political Bureau of Communist Party of China He Gotszyan. In autumn, the first session of the Turkmen-Chinese committee took place. The Chinese side was led by Wang Qishan. He is vice prime-minister and member of Political Bureau. This man is a high ranking official in China. These three delegations have established the solid foundation for further cooperation. A Turkmen delegation, led by vice-premier Khojamuhammedov has visited China and discussed the energy cooperation. It is great event. The energy sector is the top line of our cooperation. Gas cooperation plays important economic role not only for Turkmenistan and China, but in Central Asia as well. This gas pipeline passes via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and these countries are ready now to build their own branches of pipeline in order to supply their gas to China using the pipeline Turkmenistan-China. So, in all 60 billion cu m of gas will be supplied to China via gas pipeline Turkmenistan-China.

nCa: Total volume?

WH: Yes. And I think in the case of deepening of relationship between these four countries, the volumes of gas supplies to China will increase more. China is a major market, It has huge economic potential. China needs more gas. We see that Turkmenistan desires to expand its gas export. And China needs the gas. This mutual interest has tied our countries. The friendly relationship between Turkmenistan and China have solid political and economic basis. Turkmenistan needs the huge gas sales market. It is China. China needs vast energy sources. It is Turkmenistan. My colleagues from the diplomatic corps in Turkmenistan envy our mutually advantageous cooperation between Turkmenistan and China. It develops noiselessly. Partnership –  it is the normal purchase and sale, the mutual support on international arena.

nCa: As you know, Turkmenistan recently gave its Ok to EU for gas export and if the Trans-Caspian pipeline or TAPI pipeline materialize, would it influence the gas supply volumes to China?

WH: In my opinion the cooperation of Turkmenistan with Europe or other Asian countries will not prevent the Turkmen-Chinese cooperation. I am sure there is enough gas for Europe, China and Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. I visited Southern Yolotan. I saw how [potential] output was tested. There is good gas deposit. And our experts have proved that. Moreover, CNPC, working on the right bank of Amudarya River also has discovered good gas deposits. I think that on the basis of these huge deposits the [Turkmen] government will ensure gas supplies to Europe and other countries. And, it is difficult to define currently as to when the gas supplies by Trans-Caspian or Trans-Afghan will start, and Nabucco has difficulties. It doesn’t concern us and doesn’t interest us. We take gas from the right-bank of Amudarya. And it is a fixed zone, where the Chinese company operates. And there is enough gas for China. China also takes the gas from other source – Malay deposits. This is rich gas deposit. New pipelines and gas compressor station were built there and everything operates normally. And from these deposits the gas is supplied to China. The gas to India would be supplied from Southern Yolatan. But the project experiences some difficulties. But we hope that the project will be realized. It is for the good of those countries. As the fair friend and partner of Turkmenistan and of these countries I hope this project will come true in nearest future.

nCa: Do you have any idea about gas supply price for China? Is it a fixed price? Or do you have some kind of pricing formula?

WH: First, it is a commercial secret. They hide it even from me. Secondly, I know that they determine the price according to international standards and formulas. This price is subject to changes and non-fixed. Some Russian commentators say that China buys Turkmen gas at low price  – 120 USD per 1000 cu m. The [Chinese] oil industry workers said no, the price is higher. But they didn’t mention the price. It is a commercial secret. Even for me, the Ambassador.

nCa: I have made calculation in accordance with the international formula. I think that it is approximately 200 USD.

WH: For Europe 300 USD is normal, for China it is expensive, but 120 USD is unreal.

nCa: The main obstacle for realization of TAPI is security issue in Afghanistan. But if Pakistan will invite China for gas supplies from Turkmenistan, will China agree?

WH: We have already faced such question in Central Asia. But it depends, first of all, on Turkmenistan. Our friends Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan asked us to supply some part of the gas volumes. They asked 1-2 billion cu m. It is small loss for China. This issue is addressed to Turkmenistan. We need the approval from Turkmen side and still there is no official agreement. It is their gas. 40 billion cu m is only for China. Has Pakistan asked Turkmenistan about that?

nCa: No. It is my opinion.

nCa: Next question is Caspian issue. It is necessary to determine its status – is it a sea or a lake. Many Chinese companies are operating in Caspian region in all the littoral states. What do you think – is China able to influence the process of determination of Caspian status or does China consider this issue can be solved at regional level?

WH: In the nearest future it cannot be solved. Our government never welcomes the activity of our companies in [Caspian]. We just warn that it is necessary to respect the sovereignty of those countries. And while these countries have disagreements, it is better to steer clear. The Chinese government adheres to the principle of non-interference in other countries’ affairs. This can be observed in Central Asia concerning the usage of potable water. There are good glaciers in Pamir. Tajikistan was keen for our companies to construct there man-made lake and power plants. But Uzbekistan disagreed. We are very careful on such issues. Recently Chinese companies started to construct power transmission lines in Tajikistan. It is a neutral object. But construction of man-made lake and power plants are complicate from political point of view. The same is the position on Caspian issue. Long time ago Chinese Marine Petroleum company worked in Caspian sector. And their representatives visited me in Ashgabat. I expressed the official position. If the sides have disputes we cannot support the company; they should work only in the non-disputed areas. But they [non-disputed areas] are poorest places [in reserves]. That’s why we concentrate on the right bank of Amudarya and Southern Yolatan. We don’t pay attention to the Caspian region. It is not the business of mine and our government, even though the region is rich in hydrocarbons.

nCa: In general, what do you think about the Central Asian economy – its growth will be fast or slow?

WH: Our social sciences expert said that there is transition period [in Central Asia]. I am in doubt. From where these countries are going, and to where? The experts say that authoritarian regimes (they didn’t say dictatorship) mean instability. And many people say, these countries still have not determined their economic path. There is the influence of external powers – Europe, USA, Japan, China, Iran, Turkey. The experts said that here will be long-lasting instability. I do not agree with them. It is not transition. It is their history. The same things took place thousands of years ago, the same happens today, the same will be tomorrow. It is historical development. What we see in Kyrgyzstan. In fact they have no President, they have no government. There is instability. There is no economy. Political regime maintains the economic development. And the people agree. They do not go on streets and do not try to overthrow the government. It is good social regime. I don’t think that it is transition period.  It is the philosophy, culture, history. From where are they transiting, to where? It is just their economy. According to the population numbers, they are small countries. Their economies are not big. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan develop their economies on the basis of rich oil and gas deposits. But like China they cannot develop in all spheres – industry, agriculture and in hi-tech. They will live [for now] on the strength of oil, gas and other useful resources and will develop other spheres of economy.

In the sphere of external economy, there is the pro-Russian, pro-Chinese and pro-American influence. These countries will strive for balance between different super powers. These countries do not want to offend any super power. It is their lifestyle. Russia is very important for them. But without Russia they cannot proceed. It is not transition. It is reality. They have good relations with Russia and with China and USA as well. The economy of Central Asia will develop. Such countries as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan will move forward.

nCa: What is the real role of Russia and USA-Europe in Central Asia?

WH: Yes they have role. I think it is better to consider the situation from the following point of view: In Central Asia the super powers have both the common interests and potential competition. The common interests are the maintenance of security and stability. It is useful for USA, Russia and China as well. On the ground of common interests the super powers cooperate here and do not compete. And China cooperates with them. Everybody wants serenity.

But there is the potential for conflict between the national interests. Europe is eager for natural gas. Russia disagrees. USA has more claims. Europe thinks about the gas and the second point is the expansion of political influence.

nCa: What is the role of China in transport –communication projects, for example project of transport corridor North-South or transport communication corridor Uzbekistan-Iran-Turkmenistan-Qatar-Oman?

WH: Now China together with other countries of Eurasian continent would like to build the rail road network. It is the railway Asia–Europe. China alone cannot realize this project, only in cooperation with other countries. In this context the intentions of China coincide with the mentioned projects. China would like to participate in construction of railway North-South on the territory of Turkmenistan. One Chinese company would like to build there the communication system for railways. We have advantage in this sphere. Chinese companies export locomotives. They are not expensive, and are of high quality. In some countries China plans to construct and builds high-speed railways. In South-Eastern Asian countries – Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore.

nCa Commentary

There is a general tendency in the diplomatic community, most notably in those who are impressed by the ‘American way of doing things’ that a diplomat must always withhold information, twist or mask the truth and put the media on the wrong track. Ambassador Wu is clearly not a part of this crowd.

Where others think in terms of defeat and victory, Wu approaches the complex situations with a desire for common grounds. It is people like Wu who are cutting fresh paths for China whereas many others are stuck in the molasses of their own outdated thinking.

Ambassador Wu rightly pointed at the start of his conversation, “Our cooperation is planned not only for two or three years but it is long-term cooperation.”

 

This is one of the defining concepts: Where others push for short-term gains, China goes for long-term relationship.

When talking of getting more than 60 billion cubic meters of gas from Central Asia within the next three years, Wu does not brag about this fact. He does not taunt anyone. He does not describe the gain for China as loss for anyone. Actually, he goes a step further and points out that there is plenty of room for all.

His contention that China does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, needs to be understood in proper context.

While propounding the policy of non-interference, China silently follows the strategy of positive participation.

What is the difference between interference and participation?

Interference is a negative tendency. The urge to interfere is not driven by the desire to bring any benefits to the people of the target country even though the rhetoric may be slanted otherwise. The basic concept of interference is to gain desired objectives without giving any real benefits in return. Interference is driven by the double engines of selfishness and arrogance.

On the other hand, participation is a particularly eastern concept. By way of participation, one can be trying to eliminate the causes that would attract interference.

 

If China brings major economic projects, it is a way of promoting sustainable development and grassroots prosperity in the host country. The end result, though it may sometimes be long in coming, would be that the host country will be able to patch up the holes from which interference can be introduced in the society.

There is an ancient Chinese saying: Set yourself up as the standard.

There is another Chinese saying: When you have musk, you will automatically have fragrance.

Another Chinese saying is: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.

It is the ancient wisdom, encapsulated in sayings, that drives the Chinese policy today and enables diplomats like Ambassador Wu to stride purposefully toward the common goals.

He talks about interdependence, a concept that is usually undervalued in mutual relations. Wu says, “Turkmenistan needs huge gas sales market. It is China. China needs vast energy sources. It is Turkmenistan.”

You have what we need and we have what you need —– It is the simple transactional relationship that does not let any side feel that it is being taken advantage of.

He says as a matter of fact, not as a jab, “My colleagues from the diplomatic corps in Turkmenistan envy our mutual advantageous cooperation between Turkmenistan and China. It develops noiselessly.”

Wu goes on record to point out that the plans of Turkmenistan to sell gas to Europe and South Asia will not cut in the volumes promised to China. He cites the opinion of Chinese experts that there is plenty of gas for all.

This is an important point for the planners of other projects who sometimes express the absurd idea that China has bought all the gas of Turkmenistan.

Actually, Wu wishes everyone well and expresses the hope that all the projects would materialize even though he sees some obstacles in the way of some projects.

There is an important element in the regional energy equation that Wu has highlighted in his conversation. He told that for other countries to get the gas from the pipeline going to China, it would be necessary to get the affirmative nod from Turkmenistan. After all, it is Turkmen gas, he points out.

This is important for Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan who want some small volumes on seasonal basis from Turkmenistan-China pipeline and for Pakistan that can ultimately plan some substantial volumes from the Chinese route that is long but safe.

Conversation with Ambassador Wu shows that it is possible for Pakistan to get some portion of Turkmen gas through Chinese route if the Turkmen authorities agree to this kind of arrangement. Since Turkmenistan has excellent relations with both China and Pakistan, it is just a matter of taking up the issue at appropriate level with sincerity and transparency.

Middle East Unrest And Its Economic Impact

COUNTERCURRENTS

By Richard Heinberg, David Fridley, David Hughes,
Tom Whipple & Colin J. Campbell

11 March, 2011
Post Carbon Institute

6 energy experts address the economic impact of Middle East unrest

With instability in the Middle East driving oil prices higher, huge cracks are widening in the global economy. In an effort to broaden the conversation about Middle East unrest and its impacts on oil prices and economies, the Post Carbon Institute offers six informed perspectives on what to expect in the days, weeks and months ahead.

Individuals, businesses and policy makers are made aware of the speed with which seemingly incremental price gains can topple global dominoes.

(In what should be a startling wake up call to industrial society, the Korean government ordered power to be shut off in the bustling metropolis of Seoul to save on fuel costs.Violators face $2700 fines.)

1. THE GLOBAL ECONOMY UTTERLY DEPENDS ON CHEAP OIL

CHRIS MARTENSON (Post Carbon Institute Economy & Personal Preparedness Fellow)

The unfolding social and political unrest in the Middle East/North African (MENA) region are emblematic of changes that will be visiting the rest of the developed world in the near future. Yes, dictators, corruption, and weak justice all play into the MENA situation but underlying those insults is a deeper structural flaw that rests on the relentless math of energy depletion and its relationship to economic growth. The short version of the story is this: the global economy utterly depends on cheap oil to function. Without cheap oil, the economy will not work quite the same as it did before.

We have irreversibly slipped into a world of ever-increasing energy costs and those, predictably, are dragging down the weaker players first. By failing to appreciate the fundamental and irreplaceable role of energy in fostering economic growth, the world’s high priests and priestesses of monetary and fiscal policy have placed the developed world in the exact same situation as the MENA countries.

No, printing more money and manufacturing more debt to promote more consumption will not help anything. In fact these efforts are harmful because they distract us from what’s really at the heart of the issue; instead we should honestly admit to ourselves that we have a gigantic energy-based economic and monetary predicament on our hands. One that requires a clear-eye diagnosis, and adult-sized conversations about what sorts of intelligent responses make sense here.

Assuming the west fails to heed the warnings and lessons being served up by the MENA region, the predictions are easy enough to make. Fiscal and monetary crises will sweep inwards from the weaker regions towards the center. Markets will violently gyrate but ultimately destroy wealth. We still have time, but not a lot, especially considering that the leadership of the developed world is, for the most part, operating with the wrong narrative in place. The right one would consider energy and other critical environmental resources equally alongside economic goals.

2. OIL SPIKES UNDERCUT ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PROGRAMS

DAVID FRIDLEY (Post Carbon Institute – Renewable Energy & Biofuels Fellow)

Since 2008, oil demand in the developed countries of the OECD has declined by 4 million barrels/day. Over the same period, oil demand in the rest of the world has risen by 4 million barrels/day. In 2011, the world has returned to the precarious balance of oil supply and demand that we faced in 2007 and 2008, when rising demand and stagnant production sent prices soaring to nearly $150.

The uprising in Libya, removing 700,000 b/d from the market, yet sending crude oil prices up 15%, reminds us both of how fragile that balance is as well as of how little has changed since 2008 in terms of our preparedness for such price shocks. If unrest were to spread to the core of the Middle East producing area in Saudi Arabia, disruption of exports from there could produce a price spike unlike any experienced in the past. And with the spike would come another economic crash.

The events since January highlight important vulnerabilities: one is the mismatch between the long lead times of our programs to develop alternatives to oil and the rapidity with which crude oil supply can be disrupted, sending markets into turmoil and undercutting the same programs attempting to mitigate such impacts. A second is reliance on strategic and critical inputs that are sourced from a small concentration of producers. As the US looks to move away from oil for transportation, it is at the same time moving to import dependence on other critical inputs such as lithium for batteries and rare earths for hybrid-car motor magnets from a small concentration of producers. This leaves our energy system open to the same types of supply and price shocks as we are witnessing today.

3. LIBYA & MIDDLE EAST UNREST WIDEN A VICIOUS CIRCLE

COLIN J. CAMPBELL – Post Carbon Institute Adviser

Oil and gas were formed in the geological past, meaning that for every gallon used, one less remains. Although the details are masked by unreliable data and ambiguous definitions, it becomes evident that Oil Age is about half over. Growing oil production during the First Half facilitated the rapid expansion of industry, transport, trade and agriculture, allowing the population to grow six-fold. Declining production during the Second Half will likely give a corresponding contraction.

Shortages appeared following the peak of Regular Conventional oil production in 2005, and led to a surge in oil price in 2008, which gave an economic recession and financial crisis, killing oil demand. Prices then fell back to 2005 levels before Governments intervened to stimulate consumerism under outdated economic principles. Oil demand recovered to again threaten the supply barrier, such that prices had risen to almost $100 by the end of 2010.

The transition to the Second Half threatens to be a time of great social, political, financial and economic tension, as recent events, ranging from student demonstrations in London to revolutions in North Africa, confirm. Some of the affected countries, including Libya, are important oil producers, run by authoritarian regimes controlling underlying tribal conflicts. Oil revenues allowed the elite to amass colossal wealth but also bred a corresponding resentment, which exploded when the people at large faced soaring food costs and rising unemployment.

Oil production will fall in Libya whatever the political outcome, and it will not be easy to replace it elsewhere. Oil prices are accordingly likely to rise again prompting a certain vicious circle: the higher the price, the greater the social tension and the risk of further cuts in supply. A critical element is of course Saudi Arabia, responsible for more than ten percent of the world’s supply of conventional oil, and it is significant that tensions have been rising in Bahrain, an island off its coast, and in the neighboring countries of Yemen and Oman.

If this vicious circle widens, it will represent a turning point for mankind of historic proportions.

4. HEY TEACHER: LEAVE THOSE AUTOCRATIC REGIMES ALONE!

RICHARD HEINBERG (PCI Senior Fellow-in-Residence)

Many in the US cheered as decrepit dictators in Egypt and Tunisia fell. But now that more democracy for North African and Middle Eastern nations seems to translate to higher gasoline prices for American motorists, the real motives for, and costs of Western nations’ decades-long support for autocratic regimes in oil-rich nations are becoming apparent. This was a strategy to control the world’s most important resource, but it was wrong-headed from the start because it could not be sustained on the backs of millions of people with rising expectations but declining ability to afford food and fuel.

If somehow the uprisings can be confined to Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain, oil-importing nations may be able to weather 2011 with minimal GDP declines resulting from $100 oil prices. But that is a big “if.” It is really only a matter of time until Saudi Arabia is engulfed in sectarian and political turmoil, and when that happens we will see biggest oil price spike ever, and central banks will be unable to stop the ensuing economic carnage.

It’s both comic and sad to see certain economists insisting that a 10 percent rise in oil prices will translate only to a certain smaller percentage of decline in GDP growth. There are thresholds—such as $5 a gallon gasoline for US motorists—that will make hash of such forecasts. Energy is not a segment of the economy; it IS the economy.

I think we’re probably in for a very nasty ride these next few months.

5. CHINA & THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY: BOOKS BALANCED?

TOM WHIPPLE – Post Carbon Institute Peak Oil Fellow

Prior to the unrest breaking out in the Middle East, all eyes were on China for an answer to the question of “How high will oil prices go in the next year or two?” In 2010 the demand for oil surged ahead by 2.8 million b/d, much more rapidly than had been expected. Much of this increase in demand came from China where a number of factors converged to push demand to new highs.

To avoid predicting a growth-killing price spike this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) decided that the increase in demand for oil in 2011 would be only 1.5 million b/d. This forecast assumed that the seriously overheated Chinese economy would have to cut back markedly on the annual growth of its oil consumption this year in order to control price inflation.

In order to balance the books IEA envisioned OPEC slowly increasing production in 2011 out of its spare productive capacity. The IEA now recognizes that production from newly opened oil fields is very close to balancing declines in production from older fields, so not much increase in total world oil production is expected in the future.

We have a whole new game. After working through Tunisia and Egypt, the Middle Eastern unrest came to a significant oil producer, Libya, which had been exporting circa 1.3 million b/d of the world’s best crude. Now it is exporting little if any oil and world prices are $15+ a barrel higher.

As it became apparent that the loss of Libyan crude exports was going to be a major economic problem for the European economy, the Saudis stepped in to say they would increase production from what they claim to be 3 or 4 million b/d of spare productive capacity. As the Saudi’s are reluctant to announce production above their OPEC ceiling, they have relied on leaks to get out the message that they are now producing somewhere over 9 million b/d – various reports have their output at 9.2, 9.3, or even 9.4 million b/d, up from 8.4 million in January. A few other OPEC states with spare capacity are said to be increasing production by another 300,000 b/d. All this makes it look, on paper, that should Libyan oil production remain shut-in for weeks or months, the missing oil output will be replaced and oil prices should move lower.

This happy scenario, however, does not take into account China and its voracious appetite for imported energy. Should the IEA be overestimating OPEC’s real spare capacity, or underestimating the size of China’s demand for imported oil, or should unrest force another Middle East producer to slow or halt its output, the global oil world will be a different place by the end of the year.

6. ADDICTS EVENTUALLY PAY THE PRICE

DAVID HUGHES – Post Carbon Institute Fossil Fuels Fellow

We need to prepare for the inevitable crises that will upset the apple cart on oil supply. Macondo was just an appetizer. So far, the Libyan revolt is only an unforeseen precursor that has caused indigestion in the oil importing countries. The Saudi’s are numero uno when it comes to a major case of the oil deprivation flu. If they go at it, all bets are off. And if Iran goes, watch out world.

The worst case scenario I usually toss out in my talks is the obvious: If Israel takes aggressive action against Iran, Iran will in turn shut down the Strait of Hormuz, shutting off 20% of the world’s oil supply.

If the Libyan revolt is contained and either someone sane or maybe even Gaddafi retains power, then oil prices will stabilize—for awhile.

American’s are broke and hopelessly oil addicted–this could be the wakeup call needed in terms of high oil prices and potentially even supply restrictions that will make Americans believers in the vulnerabilities of their current lifestyle.

The implications of the current unrest for the global economy and the industrialized world, which imports over half of its oil consumption, should be obvious.

Fukushima Reactor Explodes

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CONGRESSMAN PETER KING’S GREAT MUSLIM SCARE

Franklin Lamb

Originally published in  AL MANAR

Half a century ago, during the late Senator Joseph McCarthy fueled “great red’ scare” that terrorized many in America, my kindergarten teacher at Milwaukie Grammar School in Oregon, Miss Kidd, used to instruct our class of five and six year olds how to prepare for the coming Atomic bomb attack from the communists in the Soviet Union, who she explained, “did not like our freedom and wanted to kill all Americans.”

As I recall, the twice weekly A-bomb practice sessions were actually sort of fun. Complete with squealing and sometimes trembling, pants wetting or crying classmates dropping to the floor as Miss Kidd, right in the middle of reading us a nice story like “Life on the Prairie”,  from her chair in front of the class, would pause, remove her glasses, look toward the windows, slap shut the storybook on her lap, and shout “down!”

We approximately 25 or so tykes would scramble to take out the white sheet from our desks (it had to be a white Miss Kidd told us in order to reflect the ‘uranium radiation’ off of us-some of us told our Moms not to give us colored sheets or we might die). We would quickly lie down on the floor under the protection of the desk and facing away from the windows from which Miss Kidd told us glass would fly when the blast occurred and the mushroom cloud arrived over our nearby playground. We were to lay quiet, without even saying goodbye to our friends, until Miss Kidd would motherly intone: “All is clear!” as she resumed the story after we folded up our sheets and came to order with hands folded together on our desk tops.
When I asked my, Franklin Roosevelt devoted new dealer dad (hence my prenom)  why we did not practice for the coming Atomic bomb at home he would say not to worry son, it’s  just a Republican trick to scare us. After my dad’s comforting words, I never did worry much about the ‘Red menace’ or the soon to follow ‘Yellow menace’ of the Vietnam era, the Black Power menace, the Illegal Immigrant menace or the current menace du jour, the great “Islamic Terrorist menace.”

I have no idea what Republican Congressman Peter King’s dad told him but it was apparently something I was never told.

What is  wrong with King’s Muslim scare hearings on “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community’s Response”  (he plans more every couple of months), is what was wrong with McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings in the 1950’s and that they constitute an irresponsible overgeneralization under which patriotic Americans were irrationally targeted as state enemies.

Peter King, as with Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee among others, habitually grovels to Israel as he seeks higher office and his witch hunting “Muslim Terrorism” hearings suit the Israeli lobby just fine.  Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress, is squarely behind King as he receives strong criticism from civil libertarians and religious groups over his decision to target one group in his ” fact finding investigation.”

Frankly, King is widely believed to have reached his conclusions long before he decided on holding a Congressional hearing. From a House  committee room near King’s, Cantor is urging these days a near cut off of all American foreign aid except to Israel, for whom he has pledged to preserve the $8 million dollar per day-every day of the year- of borrowed US taxpayer money that most Americans do not realize is gifted to the occupiers of Palestine.

King comes across as a prejudiced lawmaker determined to demonize American Muslims as violent radicals. At a time when the U.S. needs the goodwill of domestic Muslim communities to safeguard homeland security, King is reinforcing fear and lack of trust and while potentially weakening mutual respect among Americans.
King has a long history of Islamophobic diatribes and he recently told the newly formed Manhattan Government Relations Committee of UJA-Federation of New York, about the need for constant vigilance to guard against the threat of Islamic terrorism worldwide.
The threat is real,” he said. “We can’t protect everyone everywhere, so we should go where the greatest threat is”, as he explained that his priority would be to make sure that security grants are allocated to those chosen and with the greatest need, including his state of  New York and Jewish groups.

King consistently misrepresents the facts. As Middle Eas t specialist Mohamed Khodr instructs us, between 1980 and 2005, according to FBI statistics less than six percent of terrorist incidents during this fifteen year period were committed by Muslims, while 94% were committed by non-Muslims. Moreover, 23 of the 24 recorded terrorist incidents (2002-2005) were carried out by domestic terrorists The FBI claims that of the 83 terrorist attacks in the United States between 9/11 and the end of 2009, only three were clearly connected with the jihadist cause. (3.6% of total)
The picture is similar in Europe.  Of a total of 1,571 terrorist attacks in the E.U. from 2006-2008 only 6 were committed by Islamist terrorists which translates to less than 0.4% of all attacks, which means 99.6% of all attacks were committed by Non-Muslims.

According to the FBI, with the exception of a white supremacist’s firebombing of a synagogue in Oklahoma City, all of the domestic terrorist incidents were committed by special interest extremists active in the animal rights and environmental movements.
In the face of this research, King still insists that 85 percent of American mosques have “extremist leadership” are “the enemy within” and that ordinary American Muslims are not opposed to terrorism. Yet a 2004 survey of mosque congregations in greater Detroit conducted by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding found that the vast majority of mosque participants shun extremist views (92 percent) and are virtually unanimous (93 percent) in supporting community service and political involvement. Terrorists tend to hatch their plots via the Internet not in Mosques.
Kings, ‘Muslim Terrorism” hearings are the first and hopefully the last of its kind to focus on a single religious group.  His false assumptions are being roundly rejected across America and Europe. Counterterrorism experts, veteran’s organizations, interfaith leaders, local leaders and editorial boards, and most importantly the American public are rejecting King’s racist calumny.
The reason is that his team’s hateful and reprehensible project represents the wrong approach to homeland security, arguably violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution which enjoins singling out a particular religion and the growing realization that his crusade is actually harmful to America’s anti-terrorism efforts both at home and abroad.

Franklin Lamb is reachable c/o fplamb@gmail.com

Explosion Destroys Walls of Japanese Nuclear Reactor Building, NHK Reports

By Yuji Okada
An explosion occurred at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi power station north of Tokyo, destroying the walls of the No. 1 reactor building, NHK Television said. The report came after the government said a reactor may be melting.

Smoke was rising around the nuclear reactor after an aftershock from yesterday’s quake struck, Ryohei Shiomi, a spokesman at the country’s nuclear safety agency said by phone.

The spokesman said several people were injured during an aftershock that struck around 3:30 p.m. Japan time, adding he had no further information. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the plant, said it had no information, when contacted by Bloomberg News.

Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said earlier that a nuclear reactor in the Fukushima Dai-Ichi power station, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of Tokyo, may be starting to melt down after Japan’s biggest earthquake on record hit the area yesterday.

Fuel rods at the No. 1 reactor at the plant run by Tokyo Electric Power Co. may be melting after radioactive Cesium material left by atomic fission was detected near the site, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, spokesman Yuji Kakizaki said by phone today.

“If the fuel rods are melting and this continues, a reactor meltdown is possible,” Kakizaki said. A meltdown refers to a heat buildup in the core of such an intensity it melts the floor of the reactor containment housing.

Tokyo Electric

Tokyo Electric, Asia’s biggest power company, started releasing radioactive gas and steam into the atmosphere to reduce pressure in the containment housing after yesterday’s magnitude 8.9 earthquake, Akitsuka Kobayashi, a company spokesman, said by phone earlier today. Pressure has started to fall in the containment housing, said Yoshihiro Sugiyama, a spokesman at the country’s nuclear safety agency.

Winds in the area of the Fukushima plant are blowing at less than 18 kilometers per hour mostly in an offshore direction, according to a 4 p.m. update from the Japan Meteorological Association.

The government earlier today widened the evacuation zone around the reactor to 10 kilometers from 3 kilometers, affecting thousands of people. The quake and the tsunami that followed is estimated to have killed at least 500 people with hundreds more missing, the National Police Agency said.

Low Radiation

“When the pressure starts building up, the emergency procedure is to start venting,” Dave Lochbaum, director of the nuclear safety project at the Union for Concerned Scientists, said in a telephone interview. “They’ve essentially entered a beat the clock game. As long as there is no fuel damage, there will be radioactivity, but it will be very low.”

Radiation spread by the venting won’t be at a level dangerous to health, said Ryohei Shiomi, a spokesman at the government’s nuclear agency said earlier.

Tokyo Electric started venting gas from a containment section of the No. 1 reactor at Fukushima Dai-ichi at about 9 a.m. local time. The company is preparing to do the same at the Dai-Ni nuclear plant nearby, a spokesman said.

Tokyo Electric earlier said it had lost control of pressure building up in three reactors at the Dai-Ichi power plant. Temperatures in the control room rose to higher than 100 Celsius (212 Fahrenheit), said Naoki Tsunoda, a company spokesman.

Main Barrier

The plant’s operators need to connect to the electricity grid, fix emergency diesel generators or bring in more batteries to power a backup system that pumps the water needed to cool the reactor, said Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer who has worked at nuclear power plants for 17 years.

The air cooling system in the containment building probably failed due to the power loss, allowing pressure to increase inside, Lochbaum said.

The main barrier between a reactor and outside areas is the containment building, Lochbaum said. Without an air cooling system the air heats, causing pressure to rise inside the building, with the risk that radioactive air will escape.

Tokyo Electric has also started preparing to vent gas from the containment areas of four reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ni nuclear plant, Kobayashi said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuji Okada in Tokyo at yokada6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Amit Prakash at aprakash1@bloomberg.net; Aaron Sheldrick at asheldrick@bloomberg.net

Japan nuclear alert and earthquake – live coverage

• Explosion reported at Fukushima nuclear plant
• Death toll said to be more than 1,300
• Tsunami engulfs northern port of Sendai and islands
• 215,000 people are in emergency shelters
• Around 50,000 rescuers have been deployed

For earlier updates, read the Guardian’s previous live blog

• David Batty
• guardian.co.uk, Saturday 12 March 2011 10.03 GMT
• Article history
This page will update automatically every minute: On | Off
Video image of smoke rising from Fukushima plant No 1 after an explosion at the Japanese nuclear power station. Photograph: NTV Japan/AP

10.44am: British foreign secretary William Hague says Japan has asked for the UK’s help in the aftermath of the quake.

He told the BBC:

“In these situations, Britain can offer help in the form of search and rescue teams or victim identification expertise. They have now asked for some help, we’re nailing down the details of that and further announcement about that will be made later today.”

Hague had this to say about possible British casualties:

“We have no confirmed British casualties as yet, but of course the picture will become clearer as recovery teams do their work, as communications are re-established in the affected area.”

10.40am: A nuclear expert says the a blast at Fukushima plant No 1 was caused by a hydrogen explosion.

Ian Hore-Lacy, of nuclear industry body the World Nuclear Association, also said the blast may not necessarily have caused a radiation leak.

He told Reuters:

“It is obviously an hydrogen explosion … due to hydrogen igniting. If the hydrogen has ignited, then it is gone, it doesn’t pose any further threat. As far as we know there is no particular danger from radiation leaks. There may be, but we don’t know that. There is no reason to suppose that there must be because of that.”

10.28am: According to Oxfam, the damage to several Pacific countries in the path of the tsunami has been limited and alerts are gradually being lifted:

Overnight reports had suggested that the incoming tsunami wave could be higher than many low-lying Pacific islands, with the potential to wash right over them. With thousands of islands to account for, it will be some time before the complete picture is available. However, early information suggests these islands so far appear to have avoided the worst-case scenario.

10.25am: The Guardian’s Tania Branigan says that Japanese authorities are extending the evacuation zone around the two Fukushima nuclear plants from 10km to 20km.

The BBC has a video of smoke coming from Fukushima plant No 1 following the explosion.

10.22am: Here’s more details of the situation at Fukushima Daiichi No 1 plant from AP.

A the news agency reports that it is not clear if a reactor meltdown would cause a serious radiation risk, and if it did how far the risk would extend:

Yaroslov Shtrombakh, a Russian nuclear expert, said a Chernobyl-style meltdown was unlikely.
“It’s not a fast reaction like at Chernobyl,” he said. “I think that everything will be contained within the grounds, and there will be no big catastrophe.”
In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded and caught fire, sending a cloud of radiation over much of Europe.
Pressure has been building up in Fukushima reactor it’s now twice the normal level and Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told reporters Saturday that the plant was venting “radioactive vapors.” Officials said they were measuring radiation levels in the area. Wind in the region is weak and headed northeast, out to sea, according to the Meteorological Agency.
The reactor in trouble has already leaked some radiation: Operators have detected eight times the normal radiation levels outside the facility and 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1’s control room.
Ryohei Shiomi, a nuclear official, said that each hour the plant was releasing the amount of radiation a person normal absorbs in a year.
He has said that even if there were a meltdown, it wouldn’t affect people outside a six-mile (10-kilometer) radius an assertion that might need revising if the situation deteriorates. Most of the 51,000 residents living within the danger area had been evacuated, he said.

10.04am: Here’s a recap of what we know about the two damaged nuclear plants.

•Japan’s prime minister Naoto Kan has declared a state of emergency at two nuclear power plants as engineers try to establish whether a reactor at one of the stations has gone into meltdown.

• Diesel generators that normally would have worked as back-ups to keep cooling systems running had been disabled by tsunami flooding.

• Power supply systems to provide emergency electricity for the plants were being put in place, the World Nuclear Association said.

• Both plants are light water reactors operated by the Tokyo Electric Power company (or Tepco).

Fukushima Daiichi No 1 plant

– Japanese media said officials had detected caesium, one of the elements released when overheating causes core damage, around a reactor at Fukushima No 1 plant in Futuba, 150 miles (240km) north of Tokyo. The plant has six reactors, three of which have been shut down for maintenance.

– The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said it did not believe a meltdown was under way, but Ryohei Shiomi, an official with Japan’s nuclear safety commission, said that it was possible.

Fukushima Daini No 2 plant

– has four reactors, and in units 1, 2 and 4 of them the operator has said it has lost cooling ability.

– Tepco says pressure is stable inside the reactors of the Daini plant but rising in the containment vessels.

• Both plants have been declared to be in a state of emergency by the government, and an evacuation of the 80,000 residents who live within the 10km zone around both plants is underway.

9.46am: Good morning, this is David Batty with live coverage of the aftermath of the devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan on Friday, causing a tsunami. A huge rescue mission is underway on Saturday amid growing fears of radiation leaks at nuclear power stations damaged by the disaster.

Here’s a round-up of events so far in Japan on Saturday.

•There are growing fears about damage to two nuclear power stations following Friday’s 8.9 magnitute earthquake. There has been an explosion at a building at one of the plants, Fukushima No 1 in Futuba, 150 miles (240km) north of Tokyo. Japanese authorities have extended the evacuation area at the Fukushima No 2 plant to 10km, the same distance as for Fukushima No 1 plant.

•The death toll from the disaster is expected to exceed 1,300, with most deaths due to drowning. The official death toll currently stands at 413, with 784 people missing and 1,128 injured. Police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found along the coast in Sendai, the biggest city in the area near the quake’s epicentre.

•Police estimate that more than 215,000 people are taking refuge in emergency shelters in the east and north of the country. Many survivors have been trapped overnight on rooftops, surrounded by a sea of mud and water. Around 50,000 rescuers have deployed to the region.

•Tsunami warnings for most of Japan have been lowered, although there is still a risk of large waves along the north-eastern coast.

•The tsunami rolled across the Pacific at jet speed but had weakened before it hit Hawaii and the West Coast of the US. Initial reports suggest limited tsunami damage to Pacific island nations.

For more details of events in Japan overnight and this morning, please check our earlier live blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Col. Purohit Claims He Was Working Undercover To Penetrate Hindu Militant Group

[SEE:  Malegaon blast: ATS chargesheet says Purohit main conspirator -20 01 2009]

Malegaon blasts: Army to reconvene Court of Inquiry against Lt Col Purohit

Nitin Gokhale

New Delhi: The investigations into some of India’s biggest terror attacks hinge upon what happens next to Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikanth Purohit.

The intelligence officer, who is 39 years old, was arrested in November 2008 for murder and conspiracy in the terror attack that saw six people die in September that year in the communally-sensitive town of Malegaon. A bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded after Friday prayers had ended at a mosque.

As Maharashtra’s Anti-Terror Squad began investigating Purohit’s links to Hindu radical groups, the Army convened a Court of Inquiry. It was the first time that a serving officer had been arrested for a terror attack. However, the Court of Inquiry was incomplete since. Lt Col Purohit had not been given the mandatory opportunity to cross-examination of the witnesses.

When the Army denied him the chance to cross question, Purohit moved the Principal bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), which is now deemed equivalent to a High Court, seeking redressal.

In his application to the AFT, Purohit listed out the bias, illegal detention, torture and physical abuse by a fellow military intelligence official bent on implicating him in the saffron terror cases.

Purohit also drew the AFT’s attention to the fact that almost a fortnight before his arrest, he had alerted Military Intelligence about the activities of Hindu radicals in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, on the basis of information he had gathered during his tenure as an intelligence officer posted in Deolali near Malegaon and Nasik

Now, the Armed Forces Tribunal has ruled that the Court of Inquiry has to be reconvened because it did not allow Purohit the opportunity to cross-question some witnesses.

Purohit had petitioned the Tribunal in August 2009, alleging that he was not being given a fair trial by the Army. He said that he had been denied basic rights – like cross-examination – and that he was being victimised.

When Purohit was arrested, he was accused of having stolen 60 kg of RDX from the Army – some of which was used in the Malegaon blast. He was also charged with funding and training Hindu extremist groups like Abhinav Bharat, which was believed to have planned and executed the Malegaon blasts.

Purohit’s version of events is very different. He has told the Army that 15 days before he was arrested, while he was based at Panchmarhi Madhya Pradesh, he had written to another intelligence official named Major B Dey, who was stationed nearby in Jabalpur. In that letter, he drew Major Dey’s attention to the activities of RSS leader Indresh Kumar and Sadhvi Pragnya Singh Thakur, who led a right-wing organization named Jai Vandeu Mataram. The Sadhvi would end up being arrested a few days before Purohit for her alleged involvement in the Malegaon blast. Purohit provided the Army Tribunal with a copy of this letter.

Purohit has claimed all along that at postings in Nashik in Maharashtra and later at Panchmarhi, he mingled with radical outfits because that was his job – to collect intelligence.

Four days before he was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad, Purohit claims a fellow officer, Colonel RK Shrivastav, conned him into travelling to Mumbai with him. Purohit claims he was illegally detained there by Shrivastav, Intelligence Bureau officers, and the Anti-Terror Squad, who tortured him. Purohit believes Shrivastav hoped to earn recognition and promotion for handing over a prized suspect to the police.

The evidence by then had begun piling up against him. The Anti-Terror Squad said that others who had been arrested had implicated Purohit, and that there was evidence that he had supplied the RDX for the Malegaon attack. It also claimed to have recovered incriminating SMSes sent by Purohit immediately after the blast.

Purohit’s version has been reinforced partly by the arrest of Swami Aseemanand in November last year for his alleged involvement in a blast at Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid in 2007 in which nine people were killed.

In December last year, Aseemanand told a Delhi court that Hindu radical groups that he worked with were also responsible for other terror attacks in 2007 like a blast at the Ajmer Dargah in Rajasthan and the Samjhauta Express explosion where 68 people were killed on a train headed from Delhi to Lahore.

Aseemanand said Malegaon had been targeted twice by his associates and him – once in 2008 and before that in 2006, when 31 people had died. And like Purohit, Aseemanand implicated RSS leader Indresh Kumar.

Given the fact that the Army is now re-evaluating Purohit’s innocence, the investigations into the series of attacks associated with “saffron terror” may have to be reconfigured. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been asking that it be placed in charge of all the inquiries – currently being coordinated by the CBI, the police in the states where the attacks took place, and in the case of the Samjhauta Express, the NIA.

Who is Shrikant Purohit?

NDTV Correspondent

New Delhi: His arrest two-and-a-half years ago shook the foundation of what has been one of India’s most secular institutions. The Indian Army. Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit was accused of conspiracy for terror and murder, the first time that an Armyman had been booked for a terror act.

An aberration, said Armymen. Others shook their heads in disbelief.

Neighbours said they knew Prasad Purohit as a soft-spoken man and superiors in the Army remembered a bright, hard-working recruit. In all conversations with people who knew or had interacted with Purohit, a common picture drawn was of a zealous young man with a marked patriotic fervor.

Purohit belongs to a cultured, middle-class Maharashtrian Brahmin family. The son of a bank officer, he was born in Pune and got his education from the Abhinav Vidyalaya and Garware College there.

In 1994, Purohit was commissioned into the Maratha Light Infantry after passing out of the Officers’ Training Academy at Chennai. He was serving in Jammu and Kashmir when he fell ill and was medically downgraded. At that time he was shifted to Military Intelligence.

Between 2002 and early 2005, Purohit was part of very important counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir as part of MI-25 or the Intelligence Field Security Unit. The MI-25 is tasked with looking at the enemy along the border.

It was when Purohit was posted at Deolali near Nashik in Maharashtra as a liaison unit officer when he allegedly came in contact with Ramesh Upadhyay, a retired Major. Upadhyay allegedly set up Abhinav Bharat, an extreme Hindutva group, that Purohit reportedly became a part of. Upadhyay too is in jail in the Malegaon case.

Purohit was later accused of having stolen 60 kg of RDX from the Army – some of which was allegedly used in the Malegaon blast. He was also charged with funding and training Hindu extremist groups like Abhinav Bharat, which was believed to have planned and executed the Malegaon blast.

The Lt Col was stationed at the Army Education Corps Training College and Centre at Panchmarhi, Madhya Pradesh, where he was learning Arabic, when the police allegedly found and decoded some SMSes that he sent out to Upadyay after the Malegaon blasts. He was interrogated, arrested in the Malegaon blast case in late 2008 and has been in jail since.

Six people died and many were injured in the September 29, 2008 in the communally-sensitive textile town of Malegaon. A bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded after Friday prayers had ended at a mosque.

Soon after Purohit’s arrest, the Army ordered a Court of Inquiry that later recommended Purohit’s dismissal from service. Last year, Purohit filed an appeal in the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) seeking that the Court of Inquiry proceedings be quashed as the Army Act 180 had been violated. Purohit contended that some key witnesses had been examined without him being present or being given the chance of cross-examining them.

He says he has been victimized by military intelligence officials. In a statutory complaint sent to the then Army chief in 2009, Purohit had claimed that he was never involved with Hindu extremists and that he was falsely implicated by a fellow officer, illegally detained and tortured.

Purohit has drawn the AFT’s attention to the fact that almost a fortnight before his arrest, he had alerted Military Intelligence about the activities of Hindu radicals in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, on the basis of information he had gathered during his tenure Deolali.

IED Attack Upon Another Gas Station Kills 4

Four Killed and 24 Injured in DMJ, Sui Blasts

The Baloch Hal News

QUETTA: Four people, including personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC) and a worker of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) were killed and 24 others wounded some of them seriously in two separate remote controlled bomb blasts in Dera Murad Jamali and Sui towns of Balochistan on Thursday.

The banned outfit Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed responsibility for both incidents.

Official sources said that unidentified people had fitted explosives along with roadside at Deputy Commissioner Road nearby a petrol pump in Dera Murad Jamali town of Naseerabad district which were exploded soon after convoy of workers of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) escorted by FC was passed by the site. As a result, two people identified as Nizam Uddin Bhutti and Muhammad Ishaq residents of Dera Murad Jamali and Mastung died on the spot and 20 others received serious wounds.

After the blast police and Law enforcement agencies cordoned off the whole area and moved the injured to nearby hospital for treatment where two injured identified as Niamat FC personnel and Javed Iqbal worker of OGDCL succumbed to their injuries. The critically injured persons were shifted to Quetta and Jacobabad for further treatment.

Sources said that soon after the blast intense firing was started that caused injuries to several people. The blast followed by firing spread panic and fear amongst people of the area as shopkeepers rushed towards homes after closing their shops. The blast and firing caused damages to many shops, motorbikes and a rickshaw.

Sources said that seven security personnel and six OGDCL also received injured in the blast.

Some injured were identified as Zahoor Hussain, Haji Khan, Mehtab, Muhammad Din, Nazar Hussain, Naseer Ahmed and Ilays.

Officials of bomb disposal squad said that more than 5-kilograme explosive materials were used in the blast which were detonated through remote controlled device. Due to blast National Highway connecting Balochistan and Sindh remained blacked for about two hours creating problems and inconvenience for motorists of both sides.

Sources said that after the blast police and other FC personnel arrested more than 60 accused persons in connection with the blast and they were being interrogated.

In another incident, seven people, including 2 children were wounded in a bomb attack in Sui area of Dera Bugti district.

Police sources said that a convoy of family members of Mir Ahamadan Bugti who is also Member of the National Assembly was heading towards Rahim Yar Khan from Sui when explosives planted with motorbike parked along with roadside went off soon after the convoy passed from the area. Consequently, seven people including two children identified as Muhammad Ibrahim and Rahim Dad received multiple injuries and they were rushed to PPL hospital for treatment. Condition of two injured is said to be serious. The blast was carried out through a remote control device.

Police have registered two separate cases of both incident and started further investigation into the blast.

Meanwhile, banned outfit BRA calling from unspecified location to the offices of newspaper claimed responsibility for both incidents. Ends

Controlled Release of Radioactive Steam at Fukushima Reactor

Govt. orders ‘unprecedented’ release at Japan nuke plant

By Michael Winter, USA TODAY

By Kyodo News via AP

Update at 6:25 p.m. ET: Japan’s nuclear safety agency is preparing to issue what Kyodo News called “an unprecedented order” directing the Tokyo Electric Power Co. to open a valve at the earthquake-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to release pressure from a reactor that is in danger of overheating.

Original post: Radiation 1,000 times normal has been detected inside a crippled nuclear plant in northeastern Japan where utility managers have released potentially radioactive steam to reduce mounting reactor pressure, the Kyodo News service is reporting, citing the government’s safety agency.

That suggests radioactivity could spread around Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima No. 1 plant, where thousands of residents within a 6-miles were ordered to leave before dawn Saturday.

A state of emergency has been declared at the plant, one of the world’s largest. Its primary cooling system was damaged by Friday’s magnitude 8.9 earthquake.

There’s potential danger to the public from three of at least 11 nuclear power reactors that are shut down, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

Managers at Fukushima No. 1 said before the planned release of steam that any radiation would be “very low and the safety of nearby residents has been ensured,” Kyodo reported earlier. Within the hour, plant officials said some radiation may have already been released, according to Kyodo.

About 3,000 people within a 2-mile radius had been ordered to leave late Friday, while thousands more within a 6-mile radius were told to stay indoors. Before dawn, however, mandatory evacuations were extended to 6 miles.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to visit the plant later Saturday.

A U.S. nuclear specialist calls it “a dicey situation.”

“They’re operating on battery power now, and if they lose the batteries, they lose core cooling,” Edwin Lyman, with the Union of Concerned Scientists, told the Monitor. He said the military is supposed to be bringing batteries to keep the backup cooling system operating to prevent the reactor’s uranium core from overheating and melting.

I Am a Blasphemer

I Am a Blasphemer

By Sana Saleem

I am a blasphemer because my heart cries every time a human is

slaughtered in the name of religion

I am in shambles whenever the ‘up holders’ of religion use it to

justify murder.

I am a blasphemer because my tears do not recognize the difference

between an Ahmedi, Shia, Wahabbi, Barelvi, Christian, Hindu, Muslim

or an Atheist

It pains to witness the mosques being used as the barracks of

demagogues instead of as a place to unite believers in remembrance

and prayer.

I am a blasphemer because my faith in God is stronger than any

offensive word, or action committed. I refuse to be offended by

people who disagree with me.

I am appalled when sermons, meant to deliver messages of faith, call

out for blood.

I am a blasphemer because inciting violence in the name of Islam

offends me more than caricatures.

I disown every single sermon, fatwa, and cleric that uses my

religion, my scripture, and my hadiths to validate their thirst for

authority.

I am a blasphemer because I choose to speak; to question.

I want to ask, why?

Why are people allowed to silence words with bullets?

I want to ask, what?

What religion, ideology or culture justifies celebrating cold

blooded murder?

I want to ask, where?

Where are all the promises of peace, co-existence, plurality that

were promised by God’s men?

I want to ask, how?

How did the word of God, which was meant to guide us and hold us

together in compassion, became the decree for murder?

I want to ask, who?

Who will put an end to this madness?

When will we realize that bigotry feeds intolerance?

But I know you wont answer me.

Ignore me. Oppress me.

Silence me with your bullets.

Because, I am a blasphemer *Anonymous*

About Sana Saleem

The author is Feature Editor (South Asia) at BEE magazine. BEE is a quarterly journal published in Britain, focusing on Asian Women. Blogger at The Guardian, Global Voices, Dawn.com & Asian Correspondent.

Intrepid Report Headlines, Mar. 11 (formerly Online Journal)

Intrepid Report, formerly Online Journal

By Bev Conover
Posted on March 11, 2011 by Bev Conover

Online Journal is now Intrepid Report (intrepidreport.com), but will bring you the same fearless, insightful reporting it did as Online Journal. What’s more, our editorial policy of not shying away from the unspeakable will remain and then some.

We now can provide you with features many have asked for, such as RSS, the easy ability to share on Facebook, Twitter and a host of other places. In addition, you will be able to comment on articles. Comments, however, will be moderated to exclude any that are abusive or hateful.

Rebranding is risky but the name Intrepid Report better emphasizes what we do and who we are, and we think our loyal, longtime readers can handle it and help us spread the word to attract many more new readers to our site. We have been here for you, as Online Journal, for more than 12 years and now go forward as Intrepid Report.

We ask your patience while we work through any glitches we may encounter.

Profit pathology and disposable planet

By Michael Parenti

Egypt: Peering into the revolution’s crystal ball

By Eric Walberg

A neoconservative ‘shock and awe’: The rise of the Arabs

By Ramzy Baroud

What about a no-fly zone for the Palestinians?

By Gilad Atzmon

Zeta gang connected to U.S. Special Forces/Mossad

By Wayne Madsen