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TOPIC: nuclear

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

Russia Flirts With The End Of "Mutually Assured Destruction"

Retired Major-General Alexander Vladimirov wrote the Russian “war bible.” His words have weight. Now he has declared that the use of nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine is inevitable, citing a justification that consigns the principle of deterrence to the history books.

Updated on Sep. 19, 2023 at 4 p.m.

-Analysis-

LJUBLJANANuclear war is the “inevitable” conclusion of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That's the opinion of retired Major-General Alexander Vladimirov, from an interview he gave last week to the journalist Vladislav Shurygin, and reported by the British tabloid The Daily Mail.

The retired general and author of the General Theory of War, which is seen in Moscow as the nation's "war bible," warned: “For the transition to the use of weapons of mass destruction, only one thing is needed – a political decision by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief [Vladimir Putin].” According to Vladimirov, “the goals of Russia and the goals of the West are their survival and historical eternity.”

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That means, he concludes, that they will use all methods at their disposal in this conflict, including nuclear weapons. “I am sure that nuclear weapons will be used in this war – inevitably, and from this, neither we nor the enemy have anywhere to go.”

Recently, Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer sparked outrage in India because it contained an intimate scene that made reference to the Bhagavad Gita. Many people took to Twitter to ask how the censor board could have approved this scene. A press release from the Save Culture, Save India Foundation read: “We do not know the motivation and logic behind this unnecessary scene on life of a scientist. A scene in the movie shows a woman making a man read Bhagwad Geeta aloud (during) sexual intercourse.”

My response to this scene is precisely the opposite: the Bhagavad Gita portrays cruel acts of military slaughter as a sacred duty, so instead we should be protesting that a tender act of bodily passion has been sullied by associating it with a spiritual obscenity. We should be outraged at the evil of “spiritualizing” physical desire.

Isn’t Vladimirov doing something similar in this interview? He is seeking to somehow elevate a (self-destructive, murderous) passion by couching it in obtuse terms such as “historical eternity.”

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Johannesburg Blaze Kills Dozens, North Korea’s Mock Nuclear Strike, Tomatina Extravaganza

👋 ሰላም ሃለው*!*

Welcome to Thursday, where at least 73 are killed in a Johannesburg building blaze, North Korea simulates a “tactical nuclear strike,” and Spain’s yearly tomato debauchery yields striking images. Meanwhile, Giulia Zonca for Italian daily La Stampa reports on the controversy caused after a Turin gym installed urinals shaped like a woman's open mouth.

[*Selam halewi - Tigrinya, Eritrea and Ethiopia]

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She Was The Anti-Oppenheimer, Down To The Very Last Atom

The movie ‘Oppenheimer’ makes no mention of Lise Meitner, the co-discoverer of nuclear fission. But she would have wanted it that way.

The film “Oppenheimer,” which tells the story of the Manhattan Project’s development of the atomic bomb, has made quite a splash this summer, with audiences and critics alike hailing it as a riveting slice of scientific history. But it also has some viewers asking: Where are the women?

In the film, Lilli Hornig is the only woman scientist named and portrayed working on the project, though she was not the only one involved. Charlotte Serber, shown as project leader J. Robert Oppenheimer’s secretary, actually did far more. Some scholars argue that physicist Lise Meitner, co-discoverer of nuclear fission, should have been included.

As a biographer of historical women scientists, I should be the first in line to decry the erasure or minimization of women’s contributions. But should women be written into stories merely for the sake of representation, without first considering the context and the person? Is this what they would have wanted?

In Meitner’s case, the answer is “no.” Her discovery may have been crucial to creating the atomic bomb, but she wanted nothing to do with it nor wanted to be depicted in films about it. And I believe Meitner’s refusal to participate in the weaponization of her work on moral grounds makes her more worthy of commemoration than Oppenheimer. She chose humanity over notoriety.

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Prigozhin Presumed Dead, Six More BRICS, Brain-To-Speech Breakthrough

👋 Aloha!*

Welcome to Thursday, where Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is believed to have died in a plane crash north of Moscow, six new countries (including Iran) are invited to join the BRICS bloc, and a brain-to-speech breakthrough allows a paralyzed woman to speak for the first time in 18 years. Meanwhile, Worldcrunch’s very own Emma Albright reflects on the impacts of global warming that go beyond the natural disasters, including the added burden of working through the rising heat of summer.

[*Hawaiian]

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Vadim Petrasyuk

After Kakhovka Dam Attack, Searching For Signs Of New Life — And Water

In the Kakhovka Reservoir region, life used to revolve around the community's direct access to water – until the dam was attacked two months ago. Locals are now trying to build a new life, carrying with them hope for the end of the war and the return of their precious reserves.

NIKOPOL — Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 280,000 people lived in the Kakhovka Reservoir area. Today, following the blowing up of the Kakhovka Dam two months ago, only 50,000 remain. The explosion turned the region into a war zone, with the right bank controlled by Ukraine and the left bank occupied by the Russian army – and growing fears that the Russians might target the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

The reservoir, once the largest on the Dnipro River, is now a desolate wasteland, the landscape surreal with dry sand dunes and black strips of silt in the lowlands. The river is gradually reclaiming its former channel, displaying nature's memory of its past course.

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A recent visit felt like witnessing the slow beginning of the region's rebirth. The left bank of today's Dnipro is a new bank "made" from the bottom of the reservoir. The shore is completely sandy and devoid of all vegetation.

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This Happened

This Happened — July 16: First Atomic Bomb

The first atomic bomb explosion, code-named "Trinity," occurred on this day in 1945, near Alamogordo, New Mexico, in the United States.

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This Happened

This Happened — July 10: Rainbow Warrior Bombing

The Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior was bombed on this day in 1985. The bombing was carried out by agents of the French intelligence service, specifically the "Action Service" division of the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE).

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This Happened

This Happened — June 30: Trump Visits North Korea

Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, visited North Korea on this day in 2019. Trump and Kim Jong-un met at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), specifically at the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the village of Panmunjom. This location is a historic site where previous meetings between North and South Korea had taken place.

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Geopolitics
Reza Khoshhal

Why Reviving The Iranian Nuclear Deal May Really Be Aimed At Russia — By Both Sides

The Biden administration's bid to revive a nuclear agreement with Iran is seen by some as a "weak" approach to exercising power in the Middle East. However, it may be an attempt to restrict Russia's strategic influence inside Iran, which may serve both the West and Tehran.

-Analysis-

LONDON — Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has recently made public comments suggesting qualified backing for a revived nuclear deal with the West. It's a significant shift in Tehran's stance, but requires a closer look.

The bitter reality of Iran's nuclear program is that it has become a bargaining chip in Russia's hand. For years now, the Russians have deftly exploited every crisis involving the program, openly and secretly, and most notably in the talks leading to the 2015 pact with the 5+1 Powers. Iranian officials are fully aware of Russia's self-serving involvement in this strategic sector, which is in a state of technical dependence on Russia.

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Like a bossy doorman, it controls all supplies and circulation in and out of the Iranian program. This is the result of the decisions taken by two of the Islamic Republic's policy-making bodies, namely the Supreme National Security Council over two periods, and the Foreign Policy Higher Council, which effectively gave Russia technical control of the nuclear program.

Khamenei may have had this dependency in mind when, in 2018, he ordered uranium to be enriched beyond 60% (closer to the grade needed for weaponry). Ostensibly the order was a response to U.S. pressures, but it may well have been a bid to recover some of the keys Russia has held in this sector for 30 years, in spite of the technical and financial challenges of doing so.

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Future
Xu Kaiming

Will Hack For Nukes: Inside North Korea's Cryptocurrency Extortion Ring

North Korea has industrialized the theft of cryptocurrency to finance its nuclear weapons program and its state-sponsored hackers are getting better at emptying digital wallets. But global law enforcement agents are in hot pursuit, and cashing in crypto is harder than ever.

The threat on the screen was clear and simple enough: I've encrypted your files — and if you don't pay me within a week, you'll never be able to recover them.

At noon on May 12, 2017, a red alert page popped up on the computer screens of more than 300,000 Windows users worldwide, asking them to transfer approximately $300 worth of Bitcoin to recover their files.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Anna Akage

Putin's Hidden Message In Dam Explosion: If Cornered, I Will Stop At Nothing

The Nova Kakhovka dam explosion was undoubtedly carried out by Putin, putting both Ukrainian and Russian lives at risk. The explosion makes clear that there are no limits to how far Putin will go. That has been his message since Day One of the war.

-OpEd-

Southern Ukraine is still reeling from the explosion at the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River. The surrounding Kherson region, where Ukraine retook several key towns and cities last November, is flooding as water levels on both banks of the river rose by 10 meters, forcing thousands of Ukrainians to evacuate.

The catastrophe may lead to the shutting down of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the nuclear reactors of which are cooled by water from the Dnipro.

With enormous consequences on a human, environmental and strategic levels, Kyiv and Moscow are blaming each other for the explosion. But it is simply unfathomable that Ukraine could be responsible for the attack — both, because it wouldn't make sense for Ukraine to attack its own people — and because the disaster is a major impediment from Kyiv's much-anticipated military counteroffensive.

Yes, the bombing of the dam was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to slow down his coming military losses. But there is another, deeper explanation for this attack at this moment in time: it's a clear message to the world that there are no limits to Putin’s aggression. Especially when his back is against the wall.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

Did Putin Tip Off Dam Attack With A Veiled Nuclear Threat Last Week?

After significant sections of the Nova Kakhovka dam were destroyed in a Russian-controlled part of southern Ukraine, independent Russian media Agents.Media has pieced together Vladimir Putin declarations on May 30 that may have been a warning of a false-flag attack.

The torrent of water unleashed after the attack of the Nova Kakhovka dam has flooded several nearby villages and sparked widespread evacuations. But it has also prompted fears for the security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which depends on water from the river for cooling.

The proximity to the plant is, however, not the only link to a possible nuclear risk. After the breach of the dam, the Russian secret service FSB claimed to have thwarted a planned dirty bomb attack on Russian soil. The FSB claim comes exactly a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the specter of a dirty bomb attack and threats to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is just upstream from the Nova Kakhovka dam.

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Commentators have interpreted Putin’s statements as a veiled threat directed towards Ukraine, and the latest allusion to a possible Russian "false flag" operation that is used as a pretext for a major attack in response.

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