Aborigines bribed into uranium agreements with Toro Energy?

These people that Toro are talking to are driving around Toyotas that they did not have before. About 11 Toyotas just appeared” 

Allegation of Toyotas for uranium mining http://thestringer.com.au/allegation-of-toyotas-for-uranium-mining/#.Uriap9JDt9X by The Stringer December 17th, 2013 A Toro Energy meeting took place today in Perth with the Wiluna Native Title signatories in light of Toro’s focus to culminate plans to proceed with Western Australia’s first uranium mine. Concerned Wiluna Elder Glen Cooke has long opposed the project and said he was excluded from discussions with Toro. Mr Cooke said he is concerned of potential risk exposures to his people and to his people’s Country.

“Our Country, our rivers, our creeks will be poisoned. It is guaranteed there will be incidents, accidents, leaks, spills. Look at what has occurred at Ranger (uranium mine in the Northern Territory), with more than 200 incidents, and at Olympic Dam (in South Australia) drying up Country (with its demand on water). When we hurt nature, we are actually hurting ourselves, if we fight with nature we are fighting with ourselves,” said Mr Cooke.

Mr Cooke previously entered the Toro AGM shareholders meeting by proxy on the 28th of November to express his concerns that the company had failed to communicate a number of vital issues with Wiluna residents.

“They make it sound good, they don’t say the dangers and say uranium is good stuff and will cause no harm to anything”, said Mr Cooke

According to Mr Cooke “the  signatories have been persuaded to believe the uranium operation will have low environmental impacts.” He is concerned that,  “these Indigenous groups are targeted and influenced by deals to sign over the rights of the land”.

“These people that Toro are talking to are driving around Toyotas that they did not have before. About 11 Toyotas just appeared” said Mr Cooke.

Mr Cooke is supported in his allegations by other local Elders such as Lena Long. Ms Long said she attended these meetings often and knew what was going on, and noticed the vehicles gifted.

“I support Glen.”

“Toro told everyone in meetings that they will clean it all up and nothing will be left behind. I know better. Uranium from the ground is dangerous to all families. Our babies will suffer the most” said Mrs Long.

Mr Cooke said the environment and people, those in the now and those to come must come first, that is before material benefits. “We must care for our land and children and not put our future at risk. These corporations only want to make money, they are full of broken promises,” said Mr Cooke.

“Some men in these meetings are not Traditional Owners but are from the Warburton Ranges like myself and have children with traditional Martu women like me. So why can they attend and I have been excluded?”

Kylie Fitzwater who attended the shareholders meeting with Mr Cooke said that “Toro’s spokeperson boldly stated to the shareholders that the proposed mine area has no significance to the Indigenous people of Wiluna.”

“When Elder Glen Cooke asked a question he was treated abruptly by Toro and with complete disrespect.  He was not permitted to reiterate any questions. It is clear the company tolerates no opposition and has been unfair and biased during their submission period no matter what their convictions,” said Ms Fitzwater.

Mr Fitzwater said that the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) have approved the uranium project but with 36 conditions however she argues that the submitted Environmental Management Report was incomplete and lacked details on how to manage  radioactive tailings.

“The EPA should seriously reconsider this approval basis and commit to protecting our ecosystem.  (Western Australia) cannot afford this mistake (because) we will pay the consequences for an incomprehensible amount of time. This (should be a) concern to all Australians,” said Ms Fitzwater.

“Mr Cooke has a complete understanding of the effects of radiation and can best explain this to the signatories, as he recalls the Maralinga operation when he was just eight years old.”

Uranium mining’s threat to Tanzania’s health, environment, and tourism

poaching, which has been rampant in the Selous and government is doing little to stop it because word has it senior people are benefiting from the trade in blood ivory……

So perhaps, cynical as we know them to be, they let the reserve be poached empty and then shrug and tell us that is is no longer suitable for tourism and did they not always say mining is the future for the country? 

No one will dare to really expose the dangers of uranium mining to the Tanzanian public and so most people will only get the uptalk of government and not the downside of the environmental fallout’.

Tanzania conservationists reject uranium mining approvals BY PROF. DR. WOLFGANG H. THOME, ETN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT | DEC 27, 2013 Reactions to media reports in Tanzania, publishing details of approvals for uranium mining given by the country’s Atomic Energy Commission, were swift and harsh, and predicatably given on condition of anonymity, no wonder considering Tanzania’s record of often brutal suppression of dissent, especially when big commercial interests are at stake……

Uranium mining in the Selous has led to world wide protests and led to the government putting a mechanism into place to carve out over 200 square kilometres of the Selous territory to evade sanctions by UNESCO, which had made the Selous Game Reserve a World Heritage Site – for the Tanzanian government not an issue it seems as they habitually ignore that status in favour of ‘development’ as the equally controversial Serengeti highway plans prove.

Uranium mining is by wide consent a hugely toxic affair, and even carving out the Selous site for mining and production will still affect the reserve and its water sources, as well as the people depending on the rivers and streams, for generations to come…….

Wrote one regular highly respected conservationist: ‘What do you expect when a government hellbent to mine uranium commissions a study undertaken by a government agency. Of course they dance to their masters tunes. They continue to belittle the fallout and effects of uranium which is a toxic substance….

Tanzania has a huge potential in tourism especially in the Selous where only a small area has been tapped into. New camps could generate a lot more employment than a uranium mine would do and it is sustainable long term which mining is not. But there are of course those pending issues with poaching, which has been rampant in the Selous and government is doing little to stop it because word has it senior people are benefiting from the trade in blood ivory……

So perhaps, cynical as we know them to be, they let the reserve be poached empty and then shrug and tell us that is is no longer suitable for tourism and did they not always say mining is the future for the country? And of course the Selous region is remote, so they are obviously not bothered about the relatively few people who will be affected when the toxic fallout strikes. Investigative journalism in our country is all but dead because of the way the media are harassed when they exposed bad schemes in the past which involved government. No one will dare to really expose the dangers of uranium mining to the Tanzanian public and so most people will only get the uptalk of government and not the downside of the environmental fallout’. http://www.eturbonews.com/41136/tanzania-conservationists-rejects-uranium-mining-approvals

Depleted uranium’s toll on soldiers and Iraquis is kept secret

West covering up depleted uranium use in wars: Webre http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/12/05/338390/west-covering-up-depleted-uranium-use/  6 Dec 13 Press TV has conducted an interview with Alfred Lambremont Webre, an international lawyer in Vancouver, concerning the rising number of suicide rates among Canadian war veterans.

The following is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Mr. Webre, first of all, who would you blame for this rising trend that we are seeing among these war veterans? Is it because the situation is not being treated when they come back home? Can this issue even be pursued through legal channels?

Webre: Yes, the cause of this was very squarely pointed out in the final opinion of the Tokyo International Tribunal for war crimes in Afghanistan. In their final opinion, they stated that the US forces used depleted uranium weapons in Afghanistan in the manner that Zyklon B gas was used across Europe as a weapon of mass murder in Afghanistan calculated to destroy all the living species exposed.

And so what has been found is that exposure to the ionizing radiation in depleted uranium weapons has been felt both by the targeted victims of Afghanistan but also by the Canadian, by the US and by the UK troops who have had to handle the depleted uranium weapons and who have been in the proximity of the ionizing radiation there.

And it is now known that the [Persian] Gulf War syndrome was caused by large-scale use of depleted uranium weapons against Iraq in 1991 so that 70 percent of [Persian] Gulf War veterans have now had children born after the [Persian] Gulf War with mutations, deformities, genetic [dis]orders and suffer from the same syndromes that go on to produce suicides.

And so there are more that one million US veterans that are on total disability now because of exposure to depleted uranium so that all of the suicides in the Canadian armed forces from Afghanistan are from exposure to ionizing radiation of depleted uranium weapons to which they were not trained and the controllers of the allied armed forces used these depleted uranium weapons knowingly in the words of the International Tokyo Tribunal to cause crimes against humanity, genocide and omnicide. 

And omnicide is a word, the killing of all living things, the genome of all living things including humans, animals and plants and now this is coming home with the suicides of the Canadian forces and the suicides in the American and the British forces and all of the deformed babies and offspring in these soldiers but the greatest tragedy is in Iraq and Afghanistan itself.

Press TV: With what you are saying and the evidence to support it, do you think this issue can be raised in international courts? Or do you think the US could be standing accountable for the use of depleted uranium and the effects that it is having or is going to have?

Webre: Both Iraq and Afghanistan, in my judgment, should immediately go at the international level and break open the courts of justice at the International Criminal Court and other venues and we know those successful legal venues in international organizations to secure damages for what has been called a silent genocide.

This is a complete cover-up by the US, the UK and Canadian forces and also because Canadian uranium has been exported illegally against the Canadian nuclear commission regulations in which no Canadian uranium may be used in weapons and all depleted uranium in US and UK depleted uranium weapons is Canadian uranium and Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, has knowingly allowed this to go forward.

Censored – the health effects of depleted uranium

A factor rarely mentioned is the potential effects of DU on children yet to be born to U.S. Iraq war veterans, who served in places like Fallujah, Basra and Najaf.

HORRIFIC EFFECTS OF DEPLETED URANIUM STILL CENSORED BY U.S. MILITARY, MEDIA HTTPS://AMERICANFREEPRESS.NET/?P=13599 NOVEMBER 03, 2013 BY RICHARD WALKER In a move seen by medical experts worldwide as an effort to suppress the truth about the horrors of depleted uranium (DU) munitions, the United Nations (UN) health arm, the World Health Organization (WHO), along with the Ministry of Health of Iraq (MoH) on September 13, 2013, produced a report that was not even authored, meaning no experts attached their names to it, on birth defects among Iraqi babies in which DU was not even considered a factor.

The report was published on the WHO website at a time when birth defects among Iraqi babies have been rising steadily, especially in areas like Najaf and Fallujah, where DU shells were used indiscriminately, killing and injuring large numbers of civilians. Some estimates for the 2003 death toll in Iraq put the civilian casualties in Fallujah as high as 75% to 80%.

DU is a byproduct of the nuclear industry. It is added to munitions to increase penetration, as DU is significantly denser than steel. The side effect, though, is that, where DU is used, it pollutes everything in the area. While no exact figures exist for the amount of exploded DU in Iraq, it is believed to have been in the metric tons. It would not be the first time WHO has suppressed he truth about the use of DU weapons in Iraq. In 2004, a study co-authored by Dr. Keith Baverstock, a radiation expert hired by the WHO, was not published. According to Baverstock, it was censored because WHO was pressured by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was trying to promote nuclear power. Baverstock warned there was a danger in the dry atmosphere of Iraq that particles from exploding DU shells and missiles could be carried on the air and inhaled by people for years to come.

Baverstock pointed to the fact the United States and UK governments had consistently refused to provide data on the location where DU weapons were used during the Iraq war.

The Lancet, the renowned British medical journal, was confounded by the WHO failure to consider a linkage between toxic munitions and rising birth defects. Instead, the WHO report concluded the percentage of birth defects was either in keeping with, or even lower than international figures. That statement contradicted all previous evidence, including evidence the WHO had previously accepted from medical experts, who had studied the effects of DU in Iraq.

The Lancet pointed to Iraqi experts like Samira Alaani, a Fallujah pediatrician, whose 2011 report  found 15% of all babies born in the city since 2003 had “congenital malformations.” A similar study in Basra by another expert put the figure there at 17%.

A factor rarely mentioned is the potential effects of DU on children yet to be born to U.S. Iraq war veterans, who served in places like Fallujah, Basra and Najaf.

There is nothing new about the suppression of information on this topic. Serbians still press the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to disclose how many DU weapons were used in the 1999 79-day air campaign against the former Yugoslavia. According to Serbians, the weapons used have since resulted in birth defects.

Palestinians also have cause to ask the world why no one has condemned Israel for using DU weapons in the heavily populated Gaza strip. There is also the question of why Israel ignores evidence its Dimona nuclear weapons plant threatens the health of the surrounding population. Israel has so far been able to convince the locals that unusual medical issues are the result of Bedouin livestock.

Claims that uranium miner Toro Energy gave out misleading statements

18 Oct 13 At today’s AGM Toro Energy is expected to face strong criticism from shareholders over an investigation by the ASX into claims that the company has released misleading information.

The investigation follows complaints to the ASX and ASIC by the Conservation Council and a shareholder, claiming that Toro has misled shareholders and investors by inferring that a newly discovered uranium deposit is included in their existing uranium mine proposal at Wiluna.

Toro Energy has an existing application to mine uranium at Wiluna which is limited to its Lake Way and Centipede deposits. This mining proposal has received a conditional environmental approval but requires a number of other approvals from both State and Federal regulators.

Nuclear Free Campaigner, Mia Pepper explained “The new deposit mentioned in Toro’s latest release to the ASX is not part of the current Wiluna mining proposal as suggested, and will require new and separate environmental and mining approvals which will add further delays and costs to Toro’s mining plans at Wiluna.

“This is not only misleading for shareholders, but we are concerned Toro Energy is attempting to avoid proper environmental assessment for their long-term plans for a uranium precinct at Wiluna.

“Toro want the ‘best of both worlds’ by promoting an expanded project to their shareholders and investors, while withholding the details of this expansion from the community and government regulators.

“We have also written to State and Commonwealth regulators calling on them to halt further approvals for Toro’s Wiluna proposal until they are able to undertake a full cumulative impact assessment of the company’s long-term plans.”

In addition to the lack of approvals, there are a range of serious environmental and other constraints to the expansion of the already problematic Wiluna proposal.

Ms Pepper continued “The Wiluna uranium proposal as it is, is an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen with plans to dump 9.1 million tonnes of radioactive mine waste in a Lake bed, and with only enough water for a third of the life of the mine.

“If Toro were to incorporate additional deposits, the proposal would be drastically different. A 100km network of small shallow uranium mines and waste dumps across two Lake Systems is very different to a single mine. The cumulative impact of these operations must be fully assessed.

People will be handing out economic reports to shareholders entering the AGM from 8.30am – 9am at the Celtic Club – 48 Ord St West Perth.

South Dakota – Sly media tricks by uranium lobby

Thoughts on the uranium debacle http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/communities/hot-springs/opinion/thoughts-on-the-uranium-debacle/article_f681dd4c-29ef-11e3-9acc-0019bb2963f4.html By Rebecca Leas, PhD  1 Oct 13 Unless you ‘ve been living in a cave, you know natural gas is the new major focus for energy. Natural gas has negatively affected the nuclear industry, resulting in decreased demand for uranium. Germany is nearly nuclear-free and other countries, including the United States, are closing down reactors. The U.S.’s reactors are in ill repair and very susceptible to weather events, earthquakes, and terrorism. Our storage of spent fuel is outdated, making our reactors very vulnerable. Europe uses a “HOSS” (Hardened On-Site Storage) system greatly reducing the risks.

The USA is shutting down reactors and has sufficient uranium available. France is perfecting a system of re-using uranium which will further decrease its demand.

Confusing the public are Powertech (PT) employees, shareholders and supporters writing Letters to the Editor, but not identifying themselves as such. This is important for the public to know.

For example, Rep. Mike Verchio stated cancer wasn’t a problem in Fall River County but cited no source. He failed to mention that he helped write and pass SB-158 taking away our state protection (along with legislators Russell, Rampleberg, Gosch and Lust). Randy Brich’s letter failed to mention his beneficial PT relationship and his wife’s being a PT lobbyist in Pierre. He claims the Crawford, Neb., mine has no problems but government documents show otherwise. Cindy Turner wrote a forum bemoaning the Rapid City Council’s resolution, comparing the proceedings to the Salem Witch Trials and calling Dakota Rural Action an “environmental extremist group” and then threw in pine beetles!

Bev Gehman wrote an outrageous Rapid City Journal forum, engaging in extreme name calling against an Edgemont rancher and Bill Curran refers to opponents as “Chicken Littles.” Representative Mark Kirkeby called Mayor Sam Kooiker a liar. Jeepers, what was that about? Do these people have shares, leases or both?

Powertech CEO Clements’ article belittled a Rapid City church for opposing the mine and stated “ISL mining is intrinsically safe”- contrary to EPA admittance that in-situ leach technology is way ahead of its health and safety knowledge! Clements’ claims of safety are unethical and without scientific support. In fact, because the damage done underground is “hidden” and we can’t observe it nor perfectly predict what occurs, the likelihood of even greater long-term damage occurring is increased.

Powertech’s Hollenbeck wrote “In-situ uranium recovery: facts not fear.” Interestingly, if one reads the NRC, EPA and USGS literature; as well as studies from premiere geology programs, one concludes this is bad business. Hollenbeck’s statements are mere conjecture, not fact.

Citizens should read the scientific documents themselves and not rely on what a company “claims” it will do – that is called a “sales pitch,” not fact.

Citizens opposing uranium mining HAVE been reading scientific documents and in their letters to the editor have repeatedly referred to government documents and scientific sources. Peer-reviewed science, not sales pitches, is what our state leaders should use to guide S.D.’s future.

Beware: water will be the delimiting factor for future economic growth and sustainability.

Rebecca Leas is a Health, Wellness and Fitness Professional who lives in Rapid City. She holds a PhD in Education.

Cameco’s huge tax avoidance in Canada

CRA says Saskatchewan uranium giant Cameco has avoided paying hundreds of millions in Canadian taxes by offshoring profits in Switzerland http://business.financialpost.com/2013/09/25/cameco-cra-tax/  John Greenwood | 25/09/13  The Canada Revenue Agency says Saskatchewan-based Cameco Corp. hasn’t been paying its taxes and it wants the money. Now Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall has joined the fray, calling for Cameco, the world’s largest publicly traded uranium producer, to pay up.

Speaking to reporters this week, Mr. Wall said part of the tax revenue that Ottawa collects ends up going back to the provinces, so when the CRA says it’s not getting what it believes it should, “that’s a concern to [Saskatchewan] as well, and it should be. It doesn’t matter who the company is, or the individual. We should pay taxes that are due.”

At issue is Cameco’s alleged practice of shifting profits to a Switzerland subsidiary where taxes are lower. And while the Cameco case has been going on for several years and though the CRA won the most recent round, the ruling is being appealed and observers say it is unclear who will come out on top.

“The CRA has had a lot of trouble proving some of these cases in court,” said Dennis Howlett, executive director of Canadians for Tax Fairness.

Observers say the practice of transfer pricing as a way to lower tax rates is widespread across corporate Canada, engaged in by many of the biggest and best known players across a swath of industries.

World Health Organisation keeping wraps on Iraqi birth defects research

WHO Refuses to Publish Report on Cancers and Birth Defects in Iraq Caused by Depleted Uranium Ammunition http://www.globalresearch.ca/who-refuses-to-publish-report-on-cancers-and-birth-defects-in-iraq-caused-by-depleted-uranium-ammunition/5349556 By Denis Halliday Global Research, September 13, 2013 The World Health Organisation (WHO)  has categorically refused in defiance of its own mandate to share evidence uncovered in Iraq that US military use of Depleted Uranium and other weapons have not only killed many civilians, but continue to result in the birth of deformed babies.

This issue was first brought to light in 2004 in a WHO expert report “on the long-term health of Iraq’s civilian population resulting from depleted uranium (DU) weapons”. This earlier report was “held secret”, namely suppressed by the WHO:

The study by three leading radiation scientists cautioned that children and adults could contract cancer after breathing in dust containing DU, which is radioactive and chemically toxic. But it was blocked from publication by the World Health Organization (WHO), which employed the main author, Dr Keith Baverstock, as a senior radiation advisor. He alleges that it was deliberately suppressed, though this is denied by WHO. (See Rob Edwards, WHO ‘Suppressed’ Scientific Study Into Depleted Uranium Cancer Fears in Iraq,  The Sunday Herald, February 24, 2004)

Almost nine years later,  a joint WHO- Iraqi Ministry of Health Report on cancers and birth defect in Iraq was to be released in November 2012. “It has been delayed repeatedly and now has no release date whatsoever.”

To this date the WHO study remains “classified”.

According to Hans von Sponeck, former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations,

“The US government sought to prevent the WHO from surveying areas in southern Iraq where depleted uranium had been used and caused serious health and environmental dangers.” (quoted in Mozhgan Savabieasfahani Rise of Cancers and Birth Defects in Iraq: World Health Organization Refuses to Release Data, Global Research, July 31, 2013

This tragedy in Iraq reminds one of US Chemical Weapons used in Vietnam. And that the US has failed to acknowledge or pay compensation or provide medical assistance to thousands of deformed children born and still being born due to American military use of Agent Orange throughout the country.

The millions of gallons of this chemical dumped on rural Vietnam were eagerly manufactured and sold to the Pentagon by companies Dupont, Monsanto and others greedy for huge profits.

Given the US record of failing to acknowledge its atrocities in warfare, I fear those mothers in Najaf and other Iraqi cities and towns advised not to attempt the birth of more children will never receive solace or help.

A United Nations that is no longer corrupted by the five Permanent Members of the Security Council is what is needed.

In South Australia, the drive for nuclear industry to supply US nuclear weapons fuel

The issue isn’t nuclear power.  The issue is processing uranium for nuclear power that then can be used for defence 

You have to understand this in terms of  in terms of Adelaide, -it’s a military industrial intelligence complex 

Simons is connected to the University College of London  but basically he’s a front man for business interests,    We can clearly question what he is doing given the fact that he’s getting funding from indirect corporate sources.

AUDIO: https://radio.adelaide.edu.au/nuclear-power-in-south-australia-a-golden-age/   Nuclear Power in South Australia – a golden age? Radio Adelaide 23 Aug 13     Chris Komorek spoke with Dr David Palmer from Flinders University to explore the changing landscape. Produced by Ian Newton. TRANSCRIPT by Christina Macpherson 

Chris Komorek  As the uranium debate heats up, so does the destroyed reactor in Fukushima, Japan.The International Energy Policy Institute at the University College London’s Adelaide campus is advocating a ramped up nuclear industry here in South Australia. We’re joined by Dr David Palmer from Flinders University.

 Q. What level of support is there in industry and science for an expanded nuclear industry in South Australia?

 Dr David Palmer First of all you have to put this in context  The interviews you’ve had on Radio Adelaide over the last 2 days have really been interesting. Helen Caldicott’s question about  what motivates these people. She couldn’t quite get her head around that

  I think that actually Prof Simons has answered that. However did not give his real answer on your program

Just to put it in context. Just a few minutes ago, Japan Times released a new story that is quite shocking.It’s Fukushima again –  Their top story of the day “Rate of radioactive flow to Pacific  alarming”. Fukushima No1 leaks estimated at 30 trillion becquerels  since May 2011. What this means is that the rate of release estimated since May 2011 is 100 times more than what TEPCO has been saying.

The other thing is – This is just Fukushima

The Japan Times headline story that ran previously is about the coming earthquake that will hit Tokyo. They estimate that 10,000 people will die from that earthquake which will probably hit under Yokohama.  7 million people will be homeless. Roughly 1.2 $billion will be lost in terms of damage.

There is a nuclear power plant called Homolka halfway between Mt Fuji and Tokyo and that’s right on the coast. That will probably be hit as well. You’re talking about a nuclear disaster South of Tokyo They also think this earthquake could hit at any moment. it’s 90 years overdue.- Mt Fuji potentially could erupt. It’s interesting that Prof S said nothing about the extreme dangers  now hitting Japan almost daily.

Q. I will ask you again. What level of support is there in industry and science for an expanded nuclear  industry in South Australia?

Dr Palmer: In South Australia it’s interesting  and here we get into the argument by  Prof Simons.  There’s a  certain sector of corporate world in Australia, but particularly in our area, that is very supportive of this. You have to look at the rationale that Simons gave in his talk when speaking with the Liberal Opposition Minister. What he said is: Governments throughout the world are trying to balance the trilemma of providing their nations with – and this is his argument for nuclear energy . It’s not about climate change No. 1. It’s about:

1 securing energy supply

2 maintaining economic growth

3 impact on climate change and reducing carbon emissions

So the Issue is security of energy supply If you look at who is supporting this initiative  it’s BHP  Billiton that would probably like to get Olympic Dam operation  going again, once the Coalition gets in to the federal government. It’s all of these  defence contractors up in Edinburgh area, and also the submarine corporation. Simons is one of the main  proponents of a  nuclear powered submarine being built here in Adelaide

The  door will then be open for Adelaide will then be a port for nuclear powered naval  vessels.

Q. Would Australia be going against the world trend if we went down the path of nuclear power? 

Dr Palmer: No, because The issue isn’t nuclear power.  The issue is processing uranium for nuclear power that then can be used for defence That is the key thing. It’s not about somehow cheap energy.  It’s about securing energy supply.  Simons himself said SA has about 30+% of world’s uranium  This is one of the most strategic places in the world for those involved in military operations. Now they’re ramping this up so they have  an entire industrial complex

 You have to understand this in terms of  in terms of Adelaide, -it’s a military industrial intelligence complex Simons is connected to the University College of London  but basically he’s a front man for business interests, that’s just my opinion. We can clearly question what he is doing given the fact that he’s getting funding from indirect corporate sources.

The reality is that Universities play a major part in assisting business in defence contracts. That’s really what it’s about. it’s not just about cheap energy or climate change

Q. If Australia increases exports, and begins enrichment could we see Australia  become an international depository for depleted uranium?

Dr Palmer. Yes I think that  that’s already happening.  That’s my guess. I don’t have the proof of that.

It’s not just about building nuclear power plants and making the world  a better place. What Simons says basically is that you have a choice  nuclear power or coal.  Caldicott was absolutely right, by saying that’s ridiculous  We have all of these other non carbon based energy sources. In fact  a very substantial part of SA’s power is now wind derived

You have to look at other reasons for this .   The other thing is If you look at – Why would someone from London from University College be in Adelaide?  and the fact is that in terms of defence operations we look at military strategy  generally , The US UK and Australia are key players in the US defence operations. The other side is China Essentially this is part of this repositioning in terms of US and its allies military strategy  That’s what it’s really about It’ security in energy supply.

It’s not about nuclear weapons. It’s about nuclear powered sources for military uses, and secondarily to deal with economic growth and climate change.. Their interest in climate change  more about the impact it will have on the economy, not about the impact on you and me.

Paladin’s Kayelekera uranium raw deal just not sustainable for Malawi

In the wake of the Kayelekera scam, Malawi needs to realise that tax is a governance issue. …. The cost of tax incentives given to Paladin is enormous. We can’t sustain it.

Malawi gov’t and Paladin: Act on Kayelekera uranium raw deal now!  Nyasa Times, By Veronica Maele-Magombe July 30, 2013  Since last week’s stinging observation by UnitedNations (UN) Special Raportuer on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter regarding Malawi’s Kayelekera Uranium Mine deal, two elusive culprits remain pretty much intact in their hard shells. It is as if the country’s most guarded contract between government and Australian company, Paladin Africa Ltd has not been unravelled as the worst possible swindle.

De Schutter’s rebuke of the Kayelekera agreement might have further
dismantled the whole concept of ‘tax incentives’ to foreign investors
in poor countries, but, there is one thing still buried – suspected
bribes.  We all know that for decades, the extraction of Africa’s
precious resources has become a hideous lucrative business flourishing
on the corruption of Africa’s political elite by western investors.

Just recently, you just had to look at the stubborn faces and dodgy
speak of government officials when asked about the Kayelekera uranium
deal and listen to the jumpy rhetoric from Paladin officials to
appreciate the existence of black spots in the pact.

According to Paladin, ‘the original request for the Development
Agreement to be kept confidential was made by Government.’ The two
have evaded transparency and used secrecy and misinformation – a
mentality that might not be subdued by the UN Raportuer’s damaging
criticism.

Despite growing public dissatisfaction purporting to the full-terms
and conditions of the Kayelekera mining contract, Paladin angrily
reiterated that Kayelekera is a done deal at the beginning of this
year. It cannot be renegotiated until the expiry of the 10 year period
of the current contract. Of course, to poor Malawians the only thing
that explains such savage attitude of greed and exploitation is the
parasitic motivation enshrined in ‘bad capitalism’ that it doesn’t
matter whether one is milking the thinnest hungry cow.,…..

Until De Schutter’s remarks, opposition politicians and civil society
activists who have ceaselessly highlighted Kayelekera as a raw deal
were being mocked as a bunch of noise-makers seeking undue attention
and lacking the intellect to understand the economics of mining. By
the way, Kayelekera has been operating on massive losses due to low
world uranium prices!

When in 2011, former Reserve Bank Governor Perks Ligoya lambasted the
Kayelekera deal and outlined that Malawi gave out ‘a lot of
concessions and funny conditions’ to Paladin, the company responded
putting up its usual card. Kayelekera was a ‘high risk investment’ and
concessions to the company, which the Government of Malawi voluntarily
granted, reflected the company’s role as a ‘pathfinder.’

Now, Government and Paladin, the two evasive culprits who have long
played hide and seek in front of poverty-stricken Malawians have been
thoroughly undressed and forcefully given bitter tablets of shame to
swallow. And who is the first to partly pull his head out of the sand?
The Minister of Mining, John Bande, of course.

Bande has already jumped to the rescue and in his attempt to wipe
government’s embarrassment revealed last Wednesday that actually,
‘ignorance’ is the major reason why the country signed bad contracts.
He has further underlined that efforts are underway to tighten laws to
curb ‘mineral robbery’ and ensure proper handling of mining deals.

But Bande seems to deliberately confuse ignorance, lack of mining
expertise, poor negotiation skills with negligence and corruption.
Hand on heart, didn’t kickbacks loosen the bolts and nuts of the
Kayelekera contract? Possibly following De Schutter’s frank talk one
ruling party ‘village idiot’ might reveal how he was flown to Sydney
on the sidelines of the Kayelekera deal where his promised suitcase
stashed with US dollars was never given to him. Does government really
care about negotiating a fair win-win deal for its people? Of course,
not.

When confronted by exploitative western negotiators who talk through
their noses government representative find themselves giving away the
bargain more so when they have been palm oiled with foreign-currency
denominated tokens. It does not occur to our leaders that they need to
maximise the return on our resources by signing fair deals because
their personal interests matter most. The Keyelekera scam has shown
that lack of national interest in our leaders is the underlying reason
why Malawi remains poor.

Thus, De Schutter’s is right to condemn Malawi for failing to collect
maximum remittances from Kayelekera because of ‘too favourable’
incentives to Paladin. Why is Government pampering foreign investors
with incentives and intrinsic loopholes which are aiding tax evasion
and illicit financial flows? All of that leading to loss of funds
which could have been allocated to critical national programmes, for
instance, food security in poor households who at the moment are
vulnerable due to rocketing maize prices and looming hunger.

Little wonder, with the begging bowl out and about, government has
failed to allocate K18.3 billion to the National Food Reserve Agency
(NFRA) to purchase the requisite 80, 000 metric tonnes of maize in the
2013/2014 national budget, and instead only assigned a meagre K1.3
billion. This, against the loss of revenue from special tax incentives
to Paladin estimated at almost K67 billion (US$205 million) since the
installation of the mine.

More obscene is the projected loss of almost K92 billion (US$281
million) which Malawi will incur over the company’s 13-year tenure. In
contrast, the country is presently still experiencing drug shortage in
hospitals including serious lack of crucial clinical equipment,
medical supplies as well as school blocks, teaching and learning
materials. Over the past six months, government has accrued K1.3
billion of un-paid salaries for 7 849 newly recruited primary school
teachers.

Of course, after swindling poor countries like Malawi, western
companies bank their profits in global capitals and off-shore tax
havens. They buoy their shares, making a fortune as their listed firms
stand perched on the guild of stock exchanges. Then, western
governments concomitantly apportion proceeds from their financial
systems lubricated by revenue from poor countries and patent ‘aid
packages’ back to the so-called poor countries.

Tax incentives which have been part of an unfair economic paradigm
promoted by western fiscal pillars IMF and World Bank, have helped the
west control business and own capital in poor countries. But, with
western economies in turmoil and surviving on cut-throat austerity
budgets, aid dependency is no longer a viable option for Malawi. Tax
revenue matters more than ever before.

The Kayelekera fiasco speaks volumes of domestic negligence and
international exploitation. At one point, it was reported the Malawi
Government did not know the quantity of uranium which was being
exported by Paladin. In fact, Paladin bought vital geological
information regarding the Kayelekera Uranium Mine from a USA firm, PRI
at a cost of US $10, 0000 (K3, 973, 583. 63). This, after government’s
failure to provide the key geological information for Kayelekera
through the Department of Mines, a situation which led to loss of
revenue including inability to further collect 15% withholding tax.

Did it surprise anyone that two western companies: Paladin and PRI
sold each other sensitive information which should be owned by the
Malawi government. No! Because government was sleepy enough and the
rest is the normal modus operandi called ‘reaping off poor countries.’
To cleanse its image off mounting bad press, Paladin in April this
year announced that it was to unveil to the public details of the
‘confidential agreement’ that it signed with the Malawi government. Lo
and behold! Paladin had been instructed by the Ministry of Mining to
do so in a bid to prove that Malawi did not get a ‘raw deal.’

Besides environmental concerns, Paladin has been dodged with reports
of salary disparity between local workers and expatriates. One would
speculate that though employees have resorted to striking before, they
have also feared aggressively demanding better working conditions
because if they did, they would either be fired or if they vehemently
protested, find themselves facing a similar fate like South Africa’s
2012 Marikana mineworkers shot randomly by police. That is the story
of how African governments continue to neglect the very needs of their
people in favour of satisfying the gluttonous desires of foreign
investors…….

In the wake of the Kayelekera scam, Malawi needs to realise that tax
is a governance issue. Aid has failed to develop poor countries. It
never will. The cost of tax incentives given to Paladin is enormous.
We can’t sustain it. Everyone agrees, our tax framework should be
completely overhauled to stop existing revenue drainage.

Instead of a haphazard ‘mining policy’ we need a robust ‘mining code’
that offers transparency, accountability and is in tandem with
development goals. The demand from poor Malawians to Government and
Paladin is clear now: act on the Kayelekera raw deal accordingly. It
is a matter of urgency.http://www.nyasatimes.com/2013/07/30/malawi-govt-and-paladin-act-on-kayelekera-uranium-raw-deal-now/