Army to be sued for war crimes over its role in Fallujah attacks
Parents of children with birth defects say Britain knew of US chemical weapons use
Allegations that Britain was complicit in the use of chemical weapons linked to an upsurge in child deformity cases in Iraq, are being investigated by the Ministry of Defence.
The case raises serious questions about the UK's role in the American-led offensive against the city of Fallujah in the autumn of 2004 where hundreds of Iraqis died. After the battle, in which it is alleged that a range of illegal weaponry was used, evidence has emerged of large numbers of children being born with severe birth defects.
Iraqi families who believe their children's deformities are caused by the deployment of the weapons have now begun legal proceedings against the UK Government. They accuse the UK Government of breaching international law, war crimes and failing to intervene to prevent a war crime. "
Yuki Tanaka and Richard Falk
Yuki Tanaka's article is followed by a companion article by Richard Falk
The War Crimes Trials and the Issue of Indiscriminate Bombing
On May 14, 1946, ten days after the opening of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (popularly known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal), Captain George Furness, a member of the defense counsel, cast serious doubt on the fairness of the Tribunal conducted by the victorious nations in World War II:
'We say that regardless of the known integrity of the individual Members of this Tribunal they cannot, under the circumstances of their appointment, be impartial; that under such circumstances this trial, both in the present day and history, will never be free from substantial doubt as to its legality, fairness, and impartiality.'1
Yuki Tanaka and Richard Falk
Yuki Tanaka's article is followed by a companion article by Richard Falk
The War Crimes Trials and the Issue of Indiscriminate Bombing
On May 14, 1946, ten days after the opening of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (popularly known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal), Captain George Furness, a member of the defense counsel, cast serious doubt on the fairness of the Tribunal conducted by the victorious nations in World War II:
'We say that regardless of the known integrity of the individual Members of this Tribunal they cannot, under the circumstances of their appointment, be impartial; that under such circumstances this trial, both in the present day and history, will never be free from substantial doubt as to its legality, fairness, and impartiality.'1
"As if destroying a country and its culture ain't bad enough, how about destroying its future, its children? I want to scream it from the rooftops! We are complicit in crimes of such enormity that I find it difficult to find the words to describe how I feel about this crime committed in my name! In the name of the 'civilized' world?
"Forget about oil, occupation, terrorism or even Al-Qaeda. The real hazard for Iraqis these days is cancer. Cancer is spreading like wildfire in Iraq. Thousands of infants are being born with deformities. Doctors say they are struggling to cope with the rise of cancer and birth defects, especially in cities subjected to heavy American and British bombardment." - Jalal Ghazi, for New America Media "
New signs will be posted at the South Texas Project nuclear power plant, as a new law takes effect making it a federal crime to carry a gun into a nuclear plant.
While security has always been tight, with armed guards manning metal detectors at the heavily fortified main gates, it has never actually been against federal law to pack heat at the nation's 102 nuclear power plants until now.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said plants had to rely on local prosecutors to accept "Carrying a Prohibitied Weapon" charge, which was unlikely since there was such a grey area in the law.
The new law now allows the FBI and federal prosecutors to arrest and charge anyone found with a gun at those metal detectors.
New signs will be posted at the South Texas Project nuclear power plant, as a new law takes effect making it a federal crime to carry a gun into a nuclear plant.
While security has always been tight, with armed guards manning metal detectors at the heavily fortified main gates, it has never actually been against federal law to pack heat at the nation's 102 nuclear power plants until now.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said plants had to rely on local prosecutors to accept "Carrying a Prohibitied Weapon" charge, which was unlikely since there was such a grey area in the law.
The new law now allows the FBI and federal prosecutors to arrest and charge anyone found with a gun at those metal detectors.
"A Toronto businessman accused of sending devices that could be used to build nuclear weapons in Iran was concealing his crime by ripping off their labels, the Crown charged Friday.
Federal prosecutors Bradley Reitz and Jennifer Conroy made their closing arguments against Iranian-born Mahmoud "David" Yadegari, 36, who is the first Canadian to be tried under UN anti-nuclear provisions.
"Why would Yadegari remove the labels (indicating they were pressure transducers) on the equipment that he was shipping to Iran," Reitz said. "
During their Cold War service, employees of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant "were generally happy in the belief that their efforts were protecting the country," states Paul Becker (University of Dayton) and Alan Bruce (Quinnipiac University) in the Western Criminology Review article "State Corporate Crime and the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant" (2007).
Due to the threat of missiles from Russia and China, the public supported the nuclear industry, accepted the sense of urgency and as a result "environmental concerns were less important than the pressing demands of the Cold War," a 2000 Department of Energy report stated.
During their Cold War service, employees of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant "were generally happy in the belief that their efforts were protecting the country," states Paul Becker (University of Dayton) and Alan Bruce (Quinnipiac University) in the Western Criminology Review article "State Corporate Crime and the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant" (2007).
Due to the threat of missiles from Russia and China, the public supported the nuclear industry, accepted the sense of urgency and as a result "environmental concerns were less important than the pressing demands of the Cold War," a 2000 Department of Energy report stated.
"Issue #156 - July 2010
The Sunflower is a monthly e-newsletter providing educational information on nuclear weapons abolition and other issues relating to global security. Help us spread the word and forward this to a friend.
Visit www.wagingpeace.org/donate to help sustain this valuable resource by making a donation.
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* Perspectives
o British Petroleum, Imagination and Nuclear Catastrophe by David Krieger
o Nuclear Deterrence Scam Blocking Progress to a Safer World by Commander Robert Green
* US Nuclear Weapons Policy
o US and Japan Reaffirm Nuclear Pact
* Nuclear Disarmament
o US Conference of Mayors Calls for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
* Nuclear Proliferation
o China Bends International Rules to Sell Reactors to Pakistan
o Myanmar May Have a Nuclear Program
* Nuclear Labs
o Plans for New Kansas City Nuclear Plant Move Forward
* Nuclear Testing
o US Tests Nuclear-Capable Missiles
o Russia to Strengthen Nuclear Testing Capabilities
* Nuclear Energy and Waste
o Australian Union Bans Nuclear Work
o Nature Preserve on Uranium Enrichment Site
* War and Peace
o Israel Stations Nuclear Subs Near Iran
* Iraq War
o US Opposes Effort to Include Aggression as a Crime
* Resources
o ICAN Report on the NPT Review Conference
o 2010 Global Peace Index
* Foundation Activities
o Waging Peace Today: New NAPF Blog
o Sadako Peace Day Commemoration: August 6
o NAPF Internship Program"
Campaigners against the construction of a nuclear power plant in western Belarus have been denied permission to stage a series of protests.
The group, campaigning under the motto "The Astravets Nuclear Power Plant is a Crime," wanted to demonstrate in Smarhon, Maladzyechna and Vileyka this month, opposition activist Alyaksey Syudak, a member of the group, told BelaPAN.
The local authorities in Maladzyechna cited in their reply the "unconfirmed nationality" of the applicants, the Smarhon authorities said that a presidential edict ordering the construction of the plant had not yet been issued, while in Vileyka, the applicants were told that the venue picked up by them was not intended for mass events.
Little about the history of the Rocky Flats nuclear trigger plant engenders the trust of Coloradans.
From its secretive Cold War era roots, to suppressed reports about contamination, to a stifled grand jury investigating environmental crimes, there remains a lingering suspicion that we still don't know everything about the former plant.
The nation's biggest polluter isn't a corporation. It's the Pentagon. Every year the Department of Defense churns out more than 750,000 tons of hazardous waste -- more than the top three chemical companies combined.
Yet the military remains largely exempt from compliance with most federal and state environmental laws, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Pentagon's partner in crime, is working hard to keep it that way.
"Evidence continues to mount that the 250,000 veterans of the first Gulf War who exhibit persistent unexplained medical symptoms are related to widespread use of depleted uranium that is known as the 'New Agent Orange." Inhumane effects of DU for securing a pipeline will be experienced for generations in Afghans and American soldiers, a "war crime against God and humanity," according to Doug Rokke.
Genetic testing and functional brain imaging may shed light on the soldiers' symptoms according to the Washington Post.
Iraq's Ministry for Human Rights has been persuing a lawsuit against Britain and the US over their use of depleted uranium bombs in Iraq according to Press TV."
Fluor Hanford has fired three employees it believes are linked to the misuse of a federal government credit card issued for work at the Hanford nuclear reservation.
A single card was used to make fraudulent purchases over at least the past four years, according to a memo sent by Fluor Hanford President Con Murphy to employees Wednesday. Just one person was allowed to sign on the card.
The purchases included tools and electronic equipment, said Fluor spokeswoman Judy Connell.
A shipwreck apparently containing toxic waste is being investigated by authorities in Italy amid claims that it was deliberately sunk by the mafia.
An informant from the Calabrian mafia said the ship was one of a number he blew up as part of an illegal operation to bypass laws on toxic waste disposal.
The sunken vessel has been found 30km (18 miles) off the south-west of Italy.
The informant said it contained "nuclear" material. Officials said it would be tested for radioactivity.
Murky pictures taken by a robot camera show the vessel intact and alongside it are a number of yellow barrels.
Labels on them say the contents are toxic.
The informant said the mafia had muscled in on the lucrative business of radioactive waste disposal.
A former janitor was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday for trying to sell scrap hardware he stole from a shuttered plant that enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.
Roy Lynn Oakley, 67, of Harriman pleaded guilty in January to one count of disclosing restricted data in violation of the Atomic Energy Act. He entered the plea deal the day his trial was set to begin.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan sentenced Oakley to the six-year prison term outlined in the deal and three years of supervised release after Oakley gets out. He could have received up to 20 years if convicted of the original two charges in his indictment.
The Zvezdochka shipyard in northern Russia said on Friday that a recent minor radioactive leak at its storage facility posed no threat to people or environment.
According to a Zvezdochka statement, the "radiation incident" took place on Thursday when about two cubic meters liquid radioactive waste leaked through a seam in a pipe connecting a storage tank and a waste treatment facility.
"The pipe itself is located in a leak-proof tunnel and the waste did not spill outside," the statement said, adding that the tunnel has been drained of the waste in two hours following the leak.
"The radiation levels around the tunnel are normal. The causes of the leak are being investigated," the shipyard said.
Severodvinsk-based Zvezdochka is Russia's biggest shipyard for repairing and dismantling nuclear-powered submarines. It has the capacity to scrap up to four nuclear submarines per year.
The Zvezdochka shipyard in northern Russia said on Friday that a recent minor radioactive leak at its storage facility posed no threat to people or environment.
According to a Zvezdochka statement, the "radiation incident" took place on Thursday when about two cubic meters liquid radioactive waste leaked through a seam in a pipe connecting a storage tank and a waste treatment facility.
"The pipe itself is located in a leak-proof tunnel and the waste did not spill outside," the statement said, adding that the tunnel has been drained of the waste in two hours following the leak.
"The radiation levels around the tunnel are normal. The causes of the leak are being investigated," the shipyard said.
Severodvinsk-based Zvezdochka is Russia's biggest shipyard for repairing and dismantling nuclear-powered submarines. It has the capacity to scrap up to four nuclear submarines per year.
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