At one point the France was going to disarm from nukes and then Russia did the Ukraine thing and that was shelved. Now, France needs to consider retaliative ability at their facilities.
November 1, 2014
The drones flew (click here) over two power stations in the north, two in the centre and one in the east of the country between 7pm and midnight on Friday, two sources told AFP.
It marked the latest incident in which the machines have flown over the country's nuclear power plants -- actions for which no-one has yet claimed responsibility and which authorities insist pose no danger.
On Friday a spokesman for security forces said that two plants were overflown during the night and the national energy company EDF said on Wednesday that it had identified seven drones flying over its plants this month and had filed a complaint with the police.
An inquiry has been launched to find who is piloting the remote-controlled machines.
The drone flights have sparked questions over the security of nuclear plants in France, which relies heavily on atomic energy for electricity.
The interior ministry has stressed that a drone does not pose any concern for the plants which are "designed to withstand a strong earthquake or an airliner crashing into it."
It is against French law to fly within a five kilometre radius of a nuclear plant. Anyone breaking the law is liable to one year in prison and a fine of €75,000....
Then there is the USA today. Of course, the recent past hasn't been anything to be proud of.
November 4, 2014
By Robert Burns
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force on Monday (click here) fired two more nuclear commanders and disciplined a third, fresh evidence of leadership lapses in a nuclear missile corps that has suffered a rash of recent setbacks, including the firing last year of its top commander.
The most senior officer to be relieved of command was Col. Carl Jones, the No. 2 commander of the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, in charge of 150 of the Air Force’s 450 Minuteman 3 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. He was dismissed ‘‘for a loss of trust and confidence in his leadership abilities,’’ and has been reassigned as a special assistant to the wing commander....
In retaliation for Russia being thrown out of any world economic club, they decided they could at least flex their muscles over nukes. With Russia pouting about everything international while they burn school books internally, this is sort of a big thing. And it could be the reason why the USA fired two nuke experts and disciplined another.
November 3, 2014
By George Jahn and Deb Riechmann
Russia has failed to show up (click here - they didn't even call to say they would be late or absent. Imagine that.) at meeting planning the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit, U.S and European officials said Monday, in a potentially serious blow to efforts by President Barack Obama to cement his legacy as leaving the world safer from nuclear terrorism than when he took office.
The officials said it was not immediately clear whether Russia's absence meant that Moscow meant to boycott the summit itself or if it was a temporary show of displeasure over Washington's harsh condemnation of Moscow's role in Ukraine unrest and its lead in orchestrating Western sanctions and other punitive measures in response.
But even if short-term,, Russia's no-show is significant. Only three or four planning meetings are scheduled before the spring of 2016, when the summit is tentatively set to open. With Russia a key global player — and one of the world's five formally recognized nuclear powers — its input is crucial to setting an agenda.
The U.S. president initiated a string of summits in 2010 aimed at preventing terrorists from getting their hands on weapons-grade nuclear material. Since then, the number of countries that have enough material to build a nuclear weapon has fallen from 39 to 25....
Why is this a big thing? 34 countries are anticipating non-proliferation and Russia doesn't show up. I know there is a problem with alcoholism in Russia, but, to not show up or call?
...At the last summit this year in The Hague, 35 countries pledged to turn international guidelines on nuclear security into national laws and open up their procedures for protecting nuclear installations to independent scrutiny. The summit also featured new reduction commitments, with Japan, Italy and Belgium agreeing to cut their stocks of highly enriched uranium and plutonium....
That level of cooperation throughout the world is an exceptional trust developed under President Obama. The independent scrutiny IS vital to non-proliferation. See, there is a way to achieve non-proliferation, outlaw nukes completely and return disagreements over to international devices or conventional warfare for the sake of sanity of future generations. Russia is trying to pry loose the sanctions. That is why Russia is not ? interested ?
The problem with Russia at this point in time is all the internal shenanigans being conducted domestically. The book thing is only the most recent fall from grace by Russia. However, I have to add there is a possibility purging the book shelves of Russian schools and have them replaced with a standardized approved set of books MAY be a move forward for some Russian schools. So, without really understanding why school books became a problem for Russia, it is difficult to gauge what is going on there.
I do know, at least from a visitors perspective, now is not the time to be enjoying Russian ballet or mosaics in Russia subways. I think things are a bit dicey actually.
Vladimir Putin is in his third term. He has served about 2 and a half years of that 4 year term. I would anticipate some political activity soon to help define better the future within Russia as far as economic opportunity for countries like Ukraine. It would be good if the economic policies of Russia were inclusive without violating post soviet states sovereignty. In addition, it would be nice if Russia's Putin handed down non-proliferation as a gift to at least his own children.
