LAW’s All Things Nuclear #771, Saturday, (10/05/2024)
“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
LLAW’s NUCLEAR VIEWS, ISSUES & COMMENTS, Saturday, (10/05/2024)
The presidential election is just a month away. . . and there are millions of people out there who want Donald J. Trump to be the next president of the United States? Here are 3 quotes from the following “Audacy” article that ought to change your mind . . .
“I hated to build the nuclear, but I got to know first hand the power of that stuff,” Trump said Friday. “And I’ll tell you what, we have to be totally prepared, we have to be absolutely prepared.” (llaw ~ Huh!? Trump never built anything nuclear, so what does he mean and why does he refer to “nuclear” anything as stuff?)
“Hit the nuclear first and worry about the rest later,’” said former President Donald Trump Friday regarding President Joe Biden’s recent statements on conflict between Israel and Iran. (llaw~ Just shoot from the hip and ask questions later? I realized he is not talking about “hitting” Iran’s nuclear facilities with our nuclear weapons, but Trump got us into this mess during his previous presidency. OMG! )
“That’s the stuff you want to hit, right?” said Trump, the current GOP nominee for president. “I said: ‘I think he’s got that one wrong, isn’t that what you’re supposed to hit?’” (llaw~ I am at a loss for words. He must have got this idea from Putin and Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.)
Please read the rest of this short article and consider what nothing more than what evidently believes we should do and consider just that opening salvo could lead to World War III. ~llaw
Trump says Israel should 'hit the nuclear first and worry about the rest later'
By Lauren Barry
5 hours ago
“When they asked him that question, the answer should have been: ‘Hit the nuclear first and worry about the rest later,’” said former President Donald Trump Friday regarding President Joe Biden’s recent statements on conflict between Israel and Iran.
This Wednesday, Biden said he would not support Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, according to a Reuters report.
“That’s the stuff you want to hit, right?” said Trump, the current GOP nominee for president. “I said: ‘I think he’s got that one wrong, isn’t that what you’re supposed to hit?’”
As we reach the first anniversary of a large-scale terrorist attack by the Palestinian group Hamas that killed 1,200 people in Israel, tensions in the Middle East are increasing. War still rages in Gaza, where Israel has been criticized for the loss of civilian life as it works to defeat Hamas.
After months fighting Hezbollah, Israel also recently conducted attacks in which pagers and walkie-talkies used by the Lebanese terrorist group exploded. These explosions caused several deaths, including the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“Hezbollah, since its establishment, has defined itself in opposition to Israel. Its main objectives have been to drive Israel out of Lebanon and, ultimately, to destroy the state of Israel,” explained the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a Friday analysis of the current Middle East conflict.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah are financed and supported by Iran. This Tuesday, Iran itself fired 180 missiles at Israel, though that attack has been described as “ineffective.” Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would pay for the attack, and Israel conducted new airstrikes on Lebanon Saturday, CNN reported.
According to an Al Jazeera report citing Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 41,788 people, including nearly 16,500 children, have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. More than 96,794 people have been injured and more than 10,000 were missing as of Oct. 3. In Lebanon, the death toll is also rising.
So, what do nuclear weapons have to do with all of this?
Well, Israel is believed to have around 90 nuclear weapons, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. That means it is the only nation in the Middle East with a nuclear arsenal. However, Iran also has a nuclear program focused on providing nuclear energy, and ICAN said its recent nuclear activities indicate it might be able to develop a nuclear weapon.
“Several Israeli politicians from the governing coalition, including a junior cabinet minister, have talked about using nuclear weapons in the current war in Gaza,” said ICAN this April. “Although these comments have been disowned by the Israeli Prime Minister, these threats are dangerous and irresponsible, as they further inflame tensions, and are banned under the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
ICAN noted that Israel’s allies – including the U.S., as well as Britain and France – have urged the country not to escalate conflict with Iran.
According to ICAN, today’s nuclear weapons are more powerful than the bombs that killed an estimated 140,000 people in Hiroshima, Japan, and 74,000 people in Nagasaki, Japan, during World War II. Detonation of a single nuclear weapon in a populated area is expected to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians and cause radioactive fallout that would contaminate large areas, possibly including the country that used the weapon (especially in the Middle East, where targets are close). Ionizing radiation from nuclear weapons can cause death or severe illness and can have long-term health consequences, including cancer and genetic damage that can be passed down to future generations.
“They do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants and their use would kill, injure and maim civilians in huge numbers,” said ICAN of nuclear weapons. “This means their use would almost certainly constitute a war crime under the existing laws of war.”
During his Friday appearance in Fayetteville, N.C., Trump also noted that: “It’s the biggest risk we have – nuclear weapons, the power of nuclear weapons.”
Globally, the risk of nuclear war is higher than it’s been since the Cold War, said ICAN. Apart from war in the Middle East, tension on the Korean Peninsula and the Russian invasion of Ukraine pose nuclear war threats. Just last month, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin hinted at possible nuclear war.
“It is proposed that aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, be considered as their joint attack on the Russian Federation,” he said.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2024, the U.S. and other allies from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have been supporting Ukraine with military aid and funding. Putin’s comments came as the U.S. and U.K. discussed the possibility of allowing Ukraine to use Western missiles in Russia.
Compared to Israel’s 90 estimated nuclear weapons, the U.S. and Russia are the world’s largest nuclear powers and each has more than 5,000 nuclear weapons in its arsenal, though Russia has slightly more, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Around five years ago, a simulation by researchers at Princeton’s Science and Global Security program estimated that there would be 91.5 million immediate casualties, including 34.1 million fatalities, if the U.S. and Russia went to war with their nuclear weapons.
“I hated to build the nuclear, but I got to know first hand the power of that stuff,” Trump said Friday. “And I’ll tell you what, we have to be totally prepared, we have to be absolutely prepared.”
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA”:
There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
All Things Nuclear
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power Emergencies
Nuclear War
Nuclear War Threats
Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are two Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in this evening’s Post.)
IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS, Saturday, (10/05/2024)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Should Israel attack Iran's nuclear facilities? Biden, GOP disagree - The Hill
The Hill
President Biden opposes an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities as debate rages in Washington, but GOP lawmakers are pushing to permit such ...
Israel has given no assurances it won't target Iran's nuclear facilities, top State Department ... - CNN
CNN
Israel has not given assurances to the Biden administration that targeting Iran's nuclear facilities is off the table in retaliation for the ...
With Lebanese Hezbollah in tatters, Iran may dash for the bomb - Clingendael Institute
Clingendael Institute
In September 2022, the death of Mahsa Jina Amini marked a major turning point for Iran. The event sparked nationwide protests that rapidly evolved ...
Nuclear Power
NEWS
Big Tech has cozied up to nuclear energy - The Verge
The Verge
Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, in search of carbon pollution-free electricity for data centers, are looking to nuclear energy.
More damage than expected found at Palisades nuclear plant - The Register
The Register
Analysis A shuttered Michigan nuclear power plant is going to need a lot of work to get back online, according to atomic watchdogs.
Nuclear power plant waste facilities closing - Connecticut Inside Investigator
Connecticut Inside Investigator
Dominion Energy Nuclear Connecticut will close three waste storage facilities at its power station in Connecticut.
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
Supreme Court rejects emergency applications, clearing the way for important public health ...
Clean Air Task Force
Advanced Nuclear · Carbon Capture · Energy Access ... power plants and requires more robust monitoring to ensure compliance. ... In a divided 5-4 vote, ...
Energoatom reported how many nuclear power plant units are under repair - all the latest news today
112
It was previously reported that Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid could lead to emergencies at one of the three operating nuclear power plants, ...
World's Top Uranium Miner Votes on Returning to Nuclear Power - Bloomberg
Bloomberg
... power deficit stemming in part from emergency shutdowns at old plants and a jump in energy intensive crypto mining. The shortfall has led to ...
Nuclear War
NEWS
Russia Issues Nuclear Threat to US - Newsweek
Newsweek
Russia Issues Nuclear Threat to US · US Nuclear Attack Submarine Reaches Allied Base Near China · US Ally Accuses Russian Oligarch of $15 Million ...
Flashpoints revealed: Potential U.S.-Russia nuclear conflict zones - MSN
MSN
Flashpoints revealed: Potential U.S.-Russia nuclear conflict zones. Story by Zeleb.es. • 2mo. 1 / 24. A crucial tool and new global norm. Nuclear ...
Israel has given no assurances it won't target Iran's nuclear facilities, top State Department ... - CNN
CNN
US officials have voiced support for Israel responding to Iran's missile attack earlier this week, with multiple officials publicly saying there must ...
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Russia Issues Nuclear Threat to US - Newsweek
Newsweek
The remarks came against the backdrop of renewed nuclear threats from ... US Nuclear Attack Submarine Reaches Allied Base Near China · US Ally ...
Trump says Israel should 'hit the nuclear first and worry about the rest later' - Audacy
Audacy
Apart from war in the Middle East, tension on the Korean Peninsula and the Russian invasion of Ukraine pose nuclear war threats. Just last month, ...
Facing military setbacks, Tehran may look to the bomb, analysts fear - Washington Post
Washington Post
... threats. “If the axis of resistance isn't working then the only ... attack on their nuclear facilities.” Advertisement. Story continues below ...
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
A history of Yellowstone finds centuries of conflict behind the natural beauty - MSN
MSN
Wilson, a professor at Gettysburg College, faces that daunting task in describing the cataclysm that created the caldera in which Yellowstone National ...
A history of Yellowstone finds centuries of conflict behind the natural beauty - Yahoo
Yahoo
... caldera in which Yellowstone National Park sits. The first volcanic eruption occurred 2.1 million years ago and “released about 600 cubic miles of ...