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Sunday, June 11, 2006

Australia’s justice minister, Chris Ellison has said that the Australian federal cabinet did not consider security issues when it decided to setup an inquiry into nuclear power.

Speaking to the Nine Network, Senator Ellison said when considering energy, security concerns are not an issue. “When you look at sources of energy you don’t look at any potential terrorist threat,” he said.

The justice minister said that cabinet discussed measures for protecting crucial infrastructure but denies that a nuclear power station is any more of a target than the electricity grid or rail system.

Senator Ellison said that restricting the country’s use on nuclear power because of the threat of terrorism was giving in to terrorists. “Energy sources are very important for the future of any community and I think we’re not about to be stymied or restricted in that approach because of any threat of terrorism,”

“I mean, we’re going to continue living in the way we do. Once we change that, the terrorists win,” he said.

Leader of the Australian Greens Bob Brown says that the failure to consider security implications associated with nuclear power generation is “daft”.

Senator Brown accused the government of failing to consider the possibility of nuclear material becoming available to terrorists. “It’s daft to say the least and it’s really pig-ignorant of the dangers of nuclear material coming into the hands of terrorists,” he said.

Senator Brown said he is concerned that the move encourages Indonesia, a country that he claims to have a terrorist problem to build nuclear reactors. “The Government doesn’t understand that their paving the way for nuclear enrichment or reactors in Australia encourages Indonesia, which has plans for up to 12 nuclear reactors and which the Government knows has real problems with terrorism.”

The Greens leader said that there is a possibility a nuclear reactor could become a terrorist target. “It does make the threat of terrorists getting nuclear materials or targeting a reactor real, and it must be a consideration for any inquiry,” he said.

The opposition has also raised concerns about security risks associated with nuclear energy. Stephen Smith said, “We don’t think that the economics are there for nuclear power stations in Australia, let alone the national security risks that go with that and the waste disposal risks that go with that.”

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Monday, March 28, 2011

An ambitious project to bring a unique tram-train service to Sheffield and Rotherham, in the United Kingdom, is back on track, following the announcement of a £150,000 Government grant on Thursday. The plans, which were originally to see tram-train operation on a trial basis over the Penistone line during 2010, have been on the cards since 2008, but were shelved during 2009 to allow alternative proposals to be drawn up. The current plans will now see the vehicles operating along a currently-freight-only line between Rotherham and Meadowhall, before linking up with the existing South Yorkshire Supertram network there and continuing onto the streets of Sheffield.

The plans to use tram-trains — which are already in widespread use throughout continental Europe, but not at all within the UK — have come about as an alternative to an original proposal to extend the Supertram network to Rotherham, which would be a much larger expense for the same or even fewer benefits.

Whilst the journey between Sheffield and Rotherham is already covered by mainline trains, project officials believe that the new service – running via Meadowhall South and Rotherham Central and terminating at Parkgate, with a twenty-minute headway throughout – will attract extra custom to the intermediate points between the two conurbations, as well as making travel easier for people who find it hard to walk to and from Sheffield’s railway station; the tram-trains will serve the heart of the city-centre.

Now that the funding for further feasibility work has been approved, Network Rail, Northern Rail and the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) can continue to look at the business and project case for the trial, which will look at a range of issues, including economic and environmental benefits of the tram-trains, and ensuring that the vehicles will be safe to run on both the Supertram network and heavy rail tracks.

Transport Minister Norman Baker announced the sum, and stressed the Government’s commitment to the scheme: “There is no doubt about finance being available to deliver the scheme. The Government is committed to a trial of tram-trains in the UK and the route between Sheffield and Rotherham is the best place to develop it. This is a unique scheme.

“Tram-trains offer passengers travelling from rural and suburban areas into city centres a viable, environmentally sound alternative to short and medium car commuting that can cut congestion and reduce overcrowding at railway stations.

“These sorts of rail fleets are already in use on the continent, but this is a first for the UK. The funding we are providing for this exciting project represents a real chance for us to test whether they can be adapted successfully for South Yorkshire and the rest of the UK.”

David Brown, director of SYPTE, added: “We have done an awful lot of work on the plans so far and further efforts will look at ensuring the vehicles are compatible with both types of network, which are the same gauge.”

If further investigations are successful, the system could be up and running by 2014.

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Tuesday, November 6, 2007

The nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey as the next Attorney General of the United States, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee today and will move to a vote before the entire United States Senate. Two Democrats joined the nine Republicans to yield an 11-8 vote. Observers believe that Mukasey will easily succeed in the Senate vote.

The nomination of Mukasey by George W. Bush had originally drawn broad support. Nonetheless, Mukasey triggered a political row, during pre-confirmation questioning, when he refused to state that waterboarding amounted to illegal torture. In the end, he was able secure the votes of the two Democrats after assuring them that, if Congress passed legislation that made waterboarding illegal, he would in fact work to enforce such a law.

Patrick Leahy, Senator from Vermont, who opposed Mukasey said: “Some have sought to find comfort in Judge Mukasey’s personal assurance that he would enforce a future, a new law against waterboarding if this Congress were to pass one. Unsaid, of course, is the fact that any such prohibition would have to be enacted over the veto of the president.”

“Now, I wish I could support Judge Mukasey’s nomination,” Senator Leahy further said. “I like Michael Mukasey. We have many things in common in our past careers. I certainly don’t question his intellectual ability or his independence.”

The two Democrats that voted for Mukasey were Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. Schumer has been reported as suggesting Mukasey as Attorney General to White House during the search for a nominee.

Schumer defended his vote, saying: “If six months from now … the same policies continued, the victory in defeating Mukasey would seem hollow. No one questions that Judge Mukasey would do much to remove the stench of politics from the Justice Department. I believe we should give him that chance.”

Feinstein said that her vote for Mukasey was because, otherwise, Bush could have an acting Attorney General, who would not need confirmation, until the end of his term. In explaing this, she said: “I don’t believe a leaderless department is in the best interests of the American people or of the department itself. [Bush] appointed this man because he believes he is mainstream.”

Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts did not agree with Mukasey’s view on waterboarding. “Waterboarding is already illegal under United States law. It’s illegal under the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit outrages upon personal dignity, including cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment,” he said.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said of the committee vote: “Judge Mukasey has clearly demonstrated that he will be an exceptional attorney general at this critical time.”

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Goodluck Jonathan, the acting president of Nigeria, was formally sworn in today, several hours after president Umaru Yar’Adua died.

The oath of office was administered in the capital Abjua. According to the constitution, Jonathan will be the country’s leader until next elections next April; he is also to nominate a vice president, who must be approved by the senate.

Jonathan already has been running the country when he became acting president since February, when Yar’Adua was hospitalised in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.

After being sworn in, Jonathan made an address. “While this is a major burden on me, and indeed the entire nation, we must — in the midst of such great adversity — continue to gain our collective efforts towards upholding the values which our departed leader represented […] One of the true tests will be that all votes count, and are counted, in our upcoming presidential election,” he said.

Yar’Adua, aged 58, was buried earlier in the Katsina state; the government has declared a week of mourning.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

The Norwegian Dawn, a 965-foot-long luxury vessel, was struck by “a freak wave that caused two windows to break in two different cabins,” the owners, Norwegian Cruise Line, said in a statement. It changed course, docking in Charleston late Saturday afternoon instead of completing its planned travel to New York.

The wave, estimated at 7-stories-high, flooded 62 cabins and injured 4 passengers with cuts and bruises. Company spokeswoman Susan Robison said the wave reached to deck 10.

The hull was damaged but the vessel was not in any trouble, according to the Coast Guard, and the safety of the ship “was in no way compromised by this incident.” Passengers were told to don their flotation jackets anyway.

The ship left New York last Sunday on a week-long round-trip cruise to and from the Bahamas.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Torbjorn Zetterlund is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Willowdale riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.