On the morning of 6 August 1945, the first atomic bomb, code-named "Little Boy" was dropped by the United States on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later the United States dropped a plutonium bomb code-named "Fat Man" on the city of Nagasaki. 140,000 people (almost all civilians) died in Hiroshima either immediately or within a few days. Deaths in Nagasaki were about 74,000. The survivors lived on, some with horrifying burns scars, some to die of radiation-induced illnesses

Following the war, many scientists involved in the atomic bomb project, turned to the "atoms for peace" program - nuclear power. They did this partly out of guilt, partly to continue to be employed. (Where would a nuclear physicist get a job, otherwise? Well, some were happy to continue with nuclear weapons development)

."Mechanized civilization has just reached the ultimate stage of barbarism. In a near future, we will have to choose between mass suicide and intelligent use of scientific conquests. This can no longer be simply a prayer; it must become an order which goes upward from the peoples to the governments, an order to make a definitive choice between hell and reason." - Albert Camus August 8, 1945,

Information below - from Nuclear Energy Information Service, Illinois' Nuclear Power Watchdog for 25 Years www.neis.org

"There is no technical demarcation between the military and civilian reactor and there never was one. What has persisted over the decades is just the misconception that such a linkage does not exist." From the Los Alamos National Laboratory dated August, 1981

In order to get plutonium for weapons, one needs a reactor, whether it is a "research" reactor....... or a commercial reactor

FISSIONABLE MATERIALS: It is the same nuclear fuel cycle with its mining of uranium, milling, enrichment and fuel fabrication stages which readies the uranium ore for use in reactors, whether these reactors are used to create plutonium for bombs or generate electricity. In the end, both reactors produce the plutonium. The only difference between them is the concentration of the various isotopes used in the fuel. Each year a typical 1000 mega-watt (MW) commercial power reactor will produce 300 to 500 pounds of plutonium -- enough to build between 25 - 40 Nagasaki-sized atomic bombs.

Australia raises Nuclear Weapons Convention at Treaty meeting Medical association for the Prevention of War.01/05/2008 GENEVA 30 APRIL 2008. TIM WRIGHT : "Australia today delivered a statement on nuclear disarmament to the Non-Proliferation Treaty meeting in Geneva. It was much different from statements made in previous years.
It even included a reference to the need for a nuclear weapons convention (NWC) for the first time ever. This is something which disarmament experts have described as quite significant. The reference is a cautious one, but using those words in this forum is rare.

The only other countries so far to have mentioned an NWC at the meeting have been Costa Rica, Malaysia and Iran.The statement from Caroline Miller, Ambassador for Disarmament, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, read: 'Australia under a new Government is fully committed to realizing a world free from nuclear weapons .....................… A world free of nuclear weapons will require carefully calibrated steps that buttress international peace and security......'

.....MAPW Vice-President Dr Tilman Ruff is a NGO representative on the official Australian delegation. ICAN's Tim Wright is also at the meeting. "

Widow takes government to court over atom bomb tests Grantham Journal by Bob Hart 28th April 2008 - "A WIDOW is taking the Ministry of Defence to court over radiation her husband was exposed to during nuclear tests in the 1950s.

Margaret Heatley, whose husband Colin died of leukaemia in 1999, is among around 1,000 veterans or their families who have filed a class action against the Government.

Mrs Heatley believes her husband's illness was caused by exposure to radiation while working as an engineer in Australia during his National Serivce......................................".

........................The decision reflects the growth of opposition among ordinary people, and the legal profession, to the use of the "war on terror" to trample over basic democratic and legal rights....................

Many protests have been held against the base, some 20 kilometres from Alice Springs, since it was established in 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War and the Cold War for use against the Soviet Union, China,……………………….………Four members of "Christians Against All Terrorism"-Donna Mulhearn, Jim Dowling, Adele Goldie and Bryan Law-entered the base in December 2005 in a bid to conduct a 'citizens' inspection' of its operations. The aim of the 'inspection' , which was announced to the authorities and the media well in advance, was to highlight the facility's role in enabling the targeting of missiles and other bombing attacks on the people of Afghanistan and Iraq...The group said the base and the Australian government were involved in "crimes against humanity" because data from Pine Gap was being used for lethal purposes, right down to the Apache helicopter gunships that attack homes in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. .".

Australian corporations are keen to sell uranium to Indonesia, - BUT .....

Iran offers Indonesia nuclear cooperation TEHRAN, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - Iran is ready to share its experience in nuclear engineering with Indonesia, the president of the Islamic Republic said on Tuesday.
Tehran is ready to make available to Jakarta its achievements and its valuable experience in a variety of fields, including in nuclear engineering…………'

……..The diplomatic standoff between Iran and the West, which at times has threatened to take on a military nature, began almost six years ago over suspicions that Tehran was secretly developing atomic weapons. ,

Pulling back from the nuclear precipice Eureka Street John Langmore February 2008 - "...................Most Australians no longer think about the nuclear threat. Yet the editors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said in January 2007 that the minute hand of the 'Doomsday Clock' had moved from seven to five minutes to midnight. 'We stand at the brink of a second nuclear age,' they said. .........

................The Canberra Commission established at former Foreign Minister Gareth Evans' initiative wrote that 'The proposition that nuclear weapons can be retained and never used - accidentally or by decision - defies credibility ... Nuclear weapons have long been understood to be too destructive and non-discriminatory to secure discrete objectives on the battlefield.'

............................Australia's role in this global survival strategy must include active policies relating to the alliance with the US, the export of uranium, joining with the strongest advocates of a nuclear weapons convention, continuing to sustain the obligations of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, and insisting upon rigorous scrutiny of the uses of uranium exports.

Prime Minister Rudd has undertaken to re-form the Canberra Commission. Robert McClelland, then Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, announced on 14 August 2007 that Labor supports negotiation of a Nuclear Weapons Convention and that if the party was elected (which, of course, it subsequently was) it would seek and support steps towards that goal.

Not only is a nuclear weapons abolition treaty essential but there are many practical reasons for considering that it is possible. Biological and chemical weapons abolition treaties have been negotiated successfully, and negotiation of a nuclear weapons convention is already supported by 125 countries at the UN.

The support of responsible and perceptive people is essential to growth of the political will to make it happen....".

Pine Gap - Secret US Base and Nuclear Target 23 Feb 08 Pine Gap the main one of the 35 highly secret US bases located in Australia. fIt forms part of the US weapons system - more of a target in Australia - not needed for Australia's defence It is located in beautiful central Australia, just 12 miles from Alice Springs - Christina Macpherson.

Pine Gap protesters' convictions quashed Sydney Morning Herald February 22, 2008 - Four anti-war protesters who broke into the Pine Gap spy base have had their convictions quashed, casting doubt on the national security legislation used to charge them.
Donna Mulhearn, 39, Tim Dowling, 52, Adele Goldie, 31, and Bryan Law, 52, were the first Australians to be charged under the 1952 Defence (Special Undertaking) Act (DSU Act)……………………………….It was the first time intruders had reached the technical support area and then federal attorney-general Philip Ruddock approved the use of the charges under the act, which carried a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

The members of Christians Against All Terrorism claimed they entered the facility because it played a role in the targeting of missiles in Iraq and was involved in "crimes against humanity"……………………………..The protesters were convicted last June and together were fined more than $3,000.......

.............In the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeal in Darwin on Friday, the full bench unanimously acquitted all four defendants of their convictions, saying there had been 'a miscarriage of justice'.
'The defendants were deprived of a possible defence, mainly establishing that the facility was not necessary for defence purposes' Chief Justice Brian Martin said........".

(Note: Chief Justice Brian Martin said the full bench also declined to order a retrial. )

Aust seeking bigger anti-nuclear role: Smith ABC News 2 Feb 08 The Federal Government will take a more active role against nuclear weapons, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said, pledging not to sell uranium to nuclear-armed India

Last month the Government said it would scrap a landmark deal to sell uranium to India for civilian use because it has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The rejection carries weight as Australia has the world's largest known reserves of uranium with about one-quarter of the world's supply.

Australia, the UN, and nuclear weapons ON LINE Opinion By Moritz Kütt and John Langmore - 14 January 08
- "The 2007 session of the United Nations General Assembly saw several significant new resolutions introduced alongside resolutions repeated from previous years. A resolution dealing with the health risks of depleted uranium gained unexpected success and de-alerting of nuclear weapons was a significant discussion point, as were the nuclear weapons programs of North Korea and Iran. Nuclear resolutions stimulated a total of 315 statements and 52 draft texts. Every resolution was adopted either by consensus or by large majorities of countries.

The USA isolated itself from the global framework for disarmament by opposing nearly every resolution dealing with nuclear issues. Other countries often supporting the US "no" votes were Israel and Australia - which has significant implications for our standing in the world. ……

……………………….The voting behaviour of Australia in this year's UNGA session can be described as closely aligned with the US with Australia abstaining or voting against most of the resolutions. Often, there was only a minority of states voting with Australia. Of the 25 nuclear related resolutions, Australia supported only six. …………

………Under the Howard Government Australia lost its role as a country with innovative solutions for the problems caused by nuclear weapons. The election of the Rudd Government offers the opportunity for reversal of this trend, and instead to take leadership in the struggle for nuclear disarmament, which is essential for ensuring our survival............................".

Pine Gap on US missile front line Sydney Morning Herald Craig Skehan 21 Sept 07 - "PINE GAP could play a direct role in a controversial new generation of ballistic missile defences developed by the US and Japan, the Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, has told Parliament.

The rare statement on the secret facility near Alice Springs is likely to further alarm Russia, which yesterday joined China in criticising military co-operation between Australia, Japan and the US - which includes missile defence research.............."

Kasparov warns over uranium The Bulletin August 21, 2007Australia will share blame if yellow cake sold to Russia ends in the wrong hands, ex-chess champion says. By Julie-Anne Davies.

One of Russia's most prominent Opposition political figures, former chess champion Garry Kasparov, has warned the Howard Government that Russia cannot be trusted to use Australian uranium solely to power its domestic energy industry.

In an exclusive interview with The Bulletin on the eve of APEC, Kasparov says Australia will have to accept moral responsibility if Russia on-sells the uranium to a rogue state or uses it for other non-civil purposes.

'Should Australian uranium end up in the wrong hands ... Australia will not be able to act innocent or to claim ignorance,' he told The Bulletin.

During the APEC forum meeting in Sydney next month it is understood the deal between the two countries to export about 2000 tonnes of Australian yellow cake annually (providing about one third of Russia's imported uranium stock) will be signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and John Howard......."