City Paper Article on MOX Plant

Check out the City Paper this week for an article updating the status of the MOX plant slated to begin construction at the Savannah River Site this summer.

Nuclear Power Costs Ri$ing:

According to a highly critical status report the federal Department of Energy released in December 2005, the future of the proposed mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility slated to be constructed at the Savannah River Site may be in jeopardy.

Long the bane of local, regional, national, and international environmentalists, the proposed MOX facility would convert weapons-grade plutonium into a fissionable fuel to be used in nuclear power plants here and abroad.

A functioning facility would allow nations armed with nuclear weapons, like the United States and Russia, to turn their warheads into electricity while disarming the world. Now, thanks to the DoE's report, the question becomes, "But at what cost?"

And, according to the report, the answer is an astronomical one.

In 2002, the projected cost of the contentious facility was $1 billion. By 2004, due to delays dealing with the Russian half of the project as well as management problems, the cost of the SRS site had soared to $3.5 billion.

...
"This comes as no surprise to me that this facility is having huge cost overruns," says Tom Clement, the senior adviser with Greenpeace International's anti-nuclear campaign, who came to town last year, shadowing shipments of weapons-grade plutonium from France to South Carolina.

"I think that what's going on is not unusual for how the Department of Energy functions — when they give their first presentation on anything, their estimates always turn out to be wildly below what a facility will actually cost."

While he and his campaign take great issue with any weapons-grade material finding a home in the future other than in the imagination, Clement hopes the exploding costs of the proposed facility will attract the attention of the remaining fiscally conservative Republicans in Congress.

For more information on Charleston Peace's campaign against the MOX shipments last year see:

Charleston Peace - Update on MOX fuel

April 2005 Articles

May 2005 Articles

Join the Army Men Project!

Leading into the 3rd anniversary of the start of the war against Iraq, March 19-20, Charleston Peace will be joining the Army Men Project. As stated on their website:

We’re spreading plastic Army Men around the country and around the globe as small, everyday reminders of the ongoing horrors of the war in Iraq and to serve as tools to foster dialogue, action and resistance to the war. Here in the United States we’re encouraged to forget about the war, to go on with our lives, to “go shopping.” But what if everywhere people went there were little plastic Army Men nudging them to remember that we’re waging war? At Home Depot, on the gas pump, in the 7-11, at the post office, on the hood of the car, in the public restroom, at the movie theatre, in the produce section of the grocery store … in your neighborhood …?

Help these little messengers appear everywhere— to be green plastic pin-pricks to the American conscience, to help create an environment in which it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore the war, the loss of life and the unending destruction. The war is not going away. We want people to realize that by doing nothing they contribute to a war that has cost the lives of almost 2,000 American soldiers and many, many thousands of Iraqi civilians.

Join the Army Men Project – spread the plastic everywhere!

In order to bring this to Charleston on a large scale, we need people to support the project. We're asking everyone to sponsor one gross (144) of army men for $3. We're ordering them on Feb. 1 in order to have them ready to be distributed 1 month prior to the anniversary. We're going to be attaching stickers saying "Bring Me Home" along with the Charleston Peace website to publicize our 3-year commemoration March 19. If you can sponsor a set of army men, or if you're intersted in distributing them once they're in, email info@charlestonpeace.net as soon as possible!

US Supreme Court Refuses SC Free Speech Case

Yesterday the Supreme Court upheld Brett Bursey's conviction for holding up a "No War For Oil" sign when Bush visited Columbia in 2002, a decision which will only encourage further restrictions on the right to protest. Charleston Peace is a member of the SC Progressive Network.

Today the US Supreme Court declined to hear Brett Bursey's appeal of his Free Speech case, ending a four-year legal battle that began when he refused to go to a "free speech zone" while protesting President Bush's visit to Columbia in 2002. Bursey is the Director of the South Carolina Progressive Network, an 11-year-old coalition of organizations and individuals.

Bursey was holding a sign that said "No more war for oil, don't invade Iraq" when he was told to go to a distant "free speech zone" or be arrested on local charges of trespassing. "I told the police that I was in a free speech zone called the United States of America," Bursey said.

The trespassing charges were dismissed four months after the arrest, and the Secret Service immediately brought federal charges.

Bursey is the first and only person to ever be prosecuted under the federal statute that governs Threats to the President. After being refused a jury trial, he was convicted and given a $500 fine.

Bursey still owes thousands of dollars for taking the case to the Supreme Court, and also now must pay the $500 fine. "As this ruling limits everyone's free speech, I am looking for 499 other Americans who are as angry as I am over the loss of constitutional rights under George Bush to join me at the federal court house and pay a dollar each." Bursey said he will announce a date to join him in paying the fine.

For more information visit:

Supremes Uphold Conviction in landmark free speech case (Facing South Blog)

South Carolina Progressive Network Free Speech Zone

Iraq War Information

I have two favorite websites I'd like to share for information about what's going on in Iraq. Independent journalist Dahr Jamail blogs at www.dahrjamailiraq.com from the ground in Iraq. He testified at the World Tribunal on Iraq, and you can sign up to receive his newsletter. They are brief and well written, usually on a single topic (price of oil, assassination of doctors, etc.), and come maybe three to four times a week. For a more academic analytical approach, Juan Cole's blog can't be beat. Dr. Cole is multi-lingual and a true citizen of earth; he reads Kahlil Gibran in the original! He is a leading expert not only on Iraq but also on Israel-Palestine and the rest of the Middle East and Southern Asia. Read his entry from Monday at www.juancole.com in which he uses Dr. King's "Beyond Vietnam" speech to extrapolate "10 things MLK would do about Iraq." (You have to scroll down; he usually makes multiple daily entries.)

Charleston Peace Meeting

Charleston Peace will be meeting this Tuesday, January 17 at 6:30 PM. We meet at Port City Java, 261 Calhoun St. at Cannon Park. We'll be talking about the third anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. To see what we did a year ago visit the pictures page at the Charleston Peace website.

Also check out the Army Men Project. The Carolina Peace Resource Center is joining this project and we can help bring it to Charleston. If you want to join in come to the meeting Tuesday, or email info@charlestonpeace.org. Hope to see you there!

Welcome to the new Charleston Peace blog!

Welcome to the new blog for Charleston Peace! This blog will be updating the latest in news and events for the peace and justice community in Charleseton, SC and the surrounding area. It's easy to contribute to the blog, just comment on any of the posts, or email us at info@charlestonpeace.net if you want to post messages. We'll be updating often so check back soon!