bananas
bananas's JournalUnderstanding the Deal With Iran
NY Times has an info-graphic page summarizing the deal.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/11/24/world/middleeast/Understanding-the-Deal-With-Iran.html?_r=0
USA-Iran: Secret Negotiations on Afghanistan, Iraq and Trade
Le Figaro, France
USA-Iran: Secret Negotiations on Afghanistan, Iraq and Trade
By Georges Malbrunot
Translated By Laura Napoli
21 November 2013
Edited by Laurence Bouvard
Although nuclear weapons discussions took place this Thursday in Geneva between Iranians and representatives from the major world powers, other negotiations have taken place in secret over the past few weeks, this time between U.S. and Iranian diplomats.
These discussions are focused on four topics, a source in the Gulf has revealed to Le Figaro: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and the prospect of boosting business between Tehran and Washington after a nuclear weapons agreement is signed.
According to this source, the Iranians had direct talks with American diplomats in the U.S. after the U.N. General Assembly at the end of September, during which Barack Obama telephoned Hassan Rouhani, the new, moderate Iranian president.
“Javad Zarif [Iran’s head of diplomacy] was in the U.S. for ten days after the U.N. General Assembly,” said the source. “And 75 people accompanied Rouhani to New York, including many oil and gas industry representatives, such as representatives from Chevron and Exxon.”
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The article gives some specifics about the agreements, and indicates they can happen quickly, so we may see the results soon.
AP SOURCE: NO RIGHT TO ENRICH IN IRAN DEAL
Source: Associated Press
A senior Obama administration official says the nuclear deal with Iran does not include recognition of Iran's right to enrich uranium.
That had been a sticking point in the negotiations between Iran and six world powers, including the United States.
The official says the deal includes an agreement that Iran will halt progress on its nuclear program, including a plutonium reactor at the Arak facility. The deal also calls on Iran to neutralize its 20 percent enriched uranium stockpiles.
Tehran has also agreed to intrusive inspections under the terms of the deal.
The official was not authorized to discuss the terms of the agreement by name and insisted on anonymity.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAN_NUCLEAR_DEAL_DETAILS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
11 Democratic U.S. Senators protest NRC's new restrictions on transparency and accountability to Con
Source: Beyond Nuclear
On Nov. 21st, a group of ten Democratic U.S. Senators wrote U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairwoman Allison Macfarlane regarding their concerns about new agency policies restricting transparency, even to Members of Congress.
One of signatories, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA, photo left), a press release, stating, that the new NRC policy restricts congressional oversight and undermines transparency.
“This change in policy is clearly inconsistent with your stated commitment, is contrary to principles of government accountability, and in conflict with Congress’s constitutionally-authorized oversight authorities,” the Senators wrote in the letter to NRC Chief Macfarlane.
The other nine signatories on the letter are: Senators Menendez (NJ), Leahy (VT), Wyden (OR), Sanders (VT), Warren (MA), Gillibrand (NY), Blumenthal (CT), Baldwin (WI) and Whitehouse (RI).
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The EPW website has information about the hearing of the Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, including a link to the archived webcast. However, the hearing included only opening statements by the full Committee, as well as the Subcommittee, Chairs and Ranking Members. After about a half hour, the Subcommittee hearing was interrupted by the Senate floor vote -- dubbed "the Nuclear Option," ironically enough -- on ending filibusters on confirmations of presidential judicial and agency appointments. The hearing has yet to be re-scheduled.
Read more: http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2013/11/22/11-democratic-us-senators-protest-nrcs-new-restrictions-on-t.html
Thousands protest against tough new official secrets law in Japan
Source: Reuters
Thousands of people protested in Tokyo on Thursday against a proposed secrets act that critics say would stifle information on issues such as the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
The law, proposed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, would significantly broaden the definition of official secrets, which Abe says is vital for strengthening security cooperation with main ally the United States and other countries.
Tough secrecy regulations before and during World War Two have long made such legislation taboo, but the law is expected to pass when it comes to a vote next week, given the comfortable majority the ruling coalition has in both houses of parliament.
"Without the right to know, democracy cannot exist," said Yasunari Fujimoto, from the Peace Forum citizen's group, who spoke at the protest in a park near parliament.
"If this law comes to pass, our constitution is nothing more than a scrap of paper."
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/22/us-japan-secrets-idUSBRE9AL04420131122
Boxer slams nuke regulator's 'intimidation'
Source: The Hill
The chairman of a key Senate panel on Thursday lambasted members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, arguing that the agency’s new information-sharing policy exceeds the scope of its power and is impeding congressional investigations.
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Sen. Barbara Boxer, chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, raised the issue during a hearing intended to gauge progress toward implementation of a host of safety regulations being crafted in response to the 2011 meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima power plant.
“With out notifying our committee and, I believe, acting outside the NRC’s authority, the commission issued a new policy with substantial hurdles and delays that could even be used to withhold information entirely from the chairs and the ranking members of oversight committees,” Boxer said.
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Boxer said the policy was evidenced earlier this week when NRC personnel sought to restrict her staff’s review of records related to an ongoing probe of safety issues at the San Onofre plant in Southern California.
Boxer’s staffers were told that they could be physically searched for stolen documents after they had finished reviewing them, she said.
“Let me be clear — no form of agency intimidation or obstruction will be tolerated in this committee’s investigation or its Constitutional oversight responsibilities.,” Boxer said. “Action will be taken if you do not reverse your policy.”
All five NRC commissioners appeared as witnesses at the hearing. But none uttered a word, as Boxer abruptly adjourned the hearing after less than 30 minute so that the panel’s members could rush to the Capitol Building for a major debate over the Senate’s voting rules.
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Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/191059-boxer-slams-nuke-regulators-on-intimidation-obstruction
Where there's smoke, there's fire.
The NRC wouldn't try these intimidation tactics if it wasn't hiding something.
Expect the corrupt nuclear industry to respond the way they always do - by attacking the messenger.
Senator Boxer Says Records Possibly Missing On San Onofre
Source: Associated Press
U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer said Thursday that federal regulators might be improperly concealing documents on a long-running investigation at the now-closed San Onofre nuclear power plant.
In a letter to Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Allison Macfarlane, Boxer said that certain documents related to the ongoing probe at the seaside plant "may have been removed" before they were released by the NRC to her office.
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The agency has disclosed previously that its Office of Investigations and Office of the Inspector General are conducting probes into "allegations of willful wrongdoing" at San Onofre, but provided no details.
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Boxer said materials delivered to the committee by the NRC in June contained two indexes, one full and one partial, of records that were included, raising questions about the agency's transparency. She said staff discovered "portions of a second index that lists records that do not appear in the boxes delivered to my office."
She requested Macfarlane release a complete second index, along with the documents listed on it.
She also asked the agency to produce any documents or emails "that relate to any direction to NRC staff to withhold documents from me or describe the types of documents that should be withheld."
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Read more: http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/nov/21/sen-barbara-boxer-says-records-possibly-missing-sa/
NASA and Planetary Resources Sign Agreement to Crowdsource Asteroid Detection
Source: NASA
NASA and Planetary Resources Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., are partnering to develop crowd-sourced software solutions to enhance detection of near-Earth objects using agency-funded data. The agreement is NASA's first partnership associated with the agency's Asteroid Grand Challenge.
Under a non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement, Planetary Resources will facilitate the use of NASA-funded sky survey data and help support the algorithm competition and review results. NASA will develop and manage the contests and explore use of the best solutions for enhancing existing survey programs. The first contest is expected to launch early in 2014 based on Planetary Resources' and Zooniverse's Asteroid Zoo platform currently in development. The partnership was announced Nov. 21 at NASA's Asteroid Initiative Ideas Synthesis Workshop in Houston.
"This partnership uses NASA resources in innovative ways and takes advantage of public expertise to improve identification of potential threats to our planet," said Lindley Johnson, program executive of NASA's near Earth object observation program. "This opportunity is one of many efforts we're undertaking as part of our asteroid initiative."
Through NASA's asteroid initiative, the agency is enhancing its ongoing efforts to identify and characterize near-Earth objects for scientific investigation, find asteroids potentially hazardous to Earth and find candidates viable for redirection to a stable orbit near the moon as a destination for exploration by astronauts.
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Read more: http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-and-planetary-resources-sign-agreement-to-crowdsource-asteroid-detection/index.html#.Uo6g-sSkpya
No Vimeo thumbnails on front page?
I posted a vimeo video in the Video & Multimedia forum,
but no thumbnail appeared on the front page.
I was surprised because the video embeds in the post.
Can that be fixed?
edit to add link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017159947
A Red Cross and Red Crescent call to action on nuclear weapons
A Red Cross and Red Crescent call to action on nuclear weapons
NOVEMBER 20, 2013
The Council of Delegates of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement renewed its call for the elimination of nuclear weapons at the IFRC’s General Assembly this month in Sydney, Australia.
The resolution, “Working towards the elimination of nuclear weapons,” was adopted unanimously and reiterated the Movement’s concern, expressed two years ago in a similarly worded resolution, about “the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, including the unspeakable human suffering that their use would cause and the threat that such weapons pose to food production, the environment and future generations.”
The Movement once again called for global action to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again, that their use is prohibited under international law, and that they are “completely eliminated.”
The new resolution includes a four-year action plan and urges all national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to help implement the plan through public education activities and by engaging with their governments to promote “concrete steps leading to the negotiation of a legally binding international agreement to prohibit the use of and completely eliminate nuclear weapons – based on existing commitments and international obligations – and to conclude such negotiations with urgency and determination.”
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