"It is hard to say how much knowledge Russian citizens have about these failures."
--That line gives me chills as we watch oligarchs and corporations buy up our own media and social media. From Bezos to Zuckerberg to Musk to Ellison and beyond.
Exactly, and in my experience, it is primarily and overwhelmingly consumers of RW media, like Fox, Newsmax, etc. I can imagine what it would be like if the only available media were those outlets. I watch Fox just to see what their viewers are being told. It's abominable. They live in a make believe world.
I volunteer to knock doors for local political candidates. The lack of awareness is shocking. Too many people do not read, view or listen to even independent news.
I have Russian connections. They all have or know of casualties. They react differently. Some blame it on the demon Zelensky, and some blame it on the demon Putin. I am inclined to think that Zelensky has been more successfully demonized in Russia than Putin, the latter which would have to be private critical thinking to arrive at pinning the blame on Putin.
It's a long way to go with the public before they turn on Putin imo. Just my view from a small sample size.
The public are sheep. They will never turn on Putin, but neither will they be shocked or upset when the Siloviki take him out. One of the reason there are no tanks at Victory Day is that Putin does not want what happened to Anwar Sadat happening on Red Square. He is more worried about an internal assassination attempt than about Ukrainian drones.
Ukrainians will take advantage of Putin moving air defense systems to Moscow to have a turkey shoot at more militarily significant elsewhere. But will probably fly enough drones near Moscow’s four airports to shut down air travel.
Russians who speak foreign languages mostly know that the war is going very badly and others have a sense that something is amiss. But what the people think doesn’t matter. This will be resolved by the elites and some other guy from the special services will wind up on top and the public will fall in line. Democracy is unlikely to break out in Russia.
The knowledge Russian citizens have. I know many Russian and Ukrainian citizens. Imagine the knowledge of Americans, about what is happening here. 30% of us have our heads up our ASS!!!
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Benjamin Netanyahu are war criminals. They must be arrested, tried, convicted, and punished for “Crimes Against Humanity.”
On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump tried to overthrow the government of the United States—a blatant act of treason. A supermajority of Americans condemns both Trump’s treasonous 2021 attack on a joint session of Congress, and his 2026 criminal attacks on Iran.
This supermajority also condemns Trump’s Gestapo-like ICE deployments that murder and maim those who oppose his domestic crimes. Internationally, it condemns his invasion of Venezuela and his larcenist designs on Cuba, Greenland, and other sovereign nations.
The supermajority of Americans condemns Trump’s sexual predations, his fraudulent financial dealings, his sales of pardons to criminal oligarchs, his murders committed on the high seas, his deployments of the U.S. military against the American people, and—most of all—this supermajority condemns Trump’s compulsive and continual lying.
As reported by Fox News, on November 18, Trump’s Presidency was approved by 38% of Americans; 60% disapproved. And, Trump’s approval has continued to plummet.
Trump’s Presidency is now condemned by 67% of the American people. This supermajority will not rest until Trump—and his Neo-Nazi enablers—are removed from office, prosecuted for treason, convicted, and punished as dictated by the Constitution.
Actually, that "supermajority"? They voted for tRump. Maybe they'll give the GOP a miss in 2026. But I fully expect MAGA - and most of the rest of Americans - to vote tRump in again in a fully irregular and even illegal way in 2028. If it's not the price of eggs, or poor victim tRump, or own the libs, it'll be the mob screaming for "deportations!!!" or anti-vaccination, or...whatever other mindlessness grabs attention at the time.
And, "The WALL! Build the Wall! It's about our security!" Though they're not understanding that DOGE and SCOTUS6 have put all our lives at risk, all of ours including theirs by handing over our SS info to foreign actors. SCOTUS6 allowed this! Are they immune? I doubt it, and I hope not so they will realize what harm they'e done. Why hasn't Musk been arrested yet, and everyone else, yes Big Balls, for illegally handing over our personal, private sensitive information?! It is illegal, punishable by law!
Trump won’t be able or even alive in 2028 no matter how many drugs are pumped into him. And he, like every other dictator in history, is terrified about naming a successor as he views everyone as potentially being against him. And he can’t stand that. While his MAGA base will vote for his corpse, most Americans will move on as long as the current economic disaster caused by Trump’s actions lessens.
Thank you for this summary. It's hard to believe the growing body count from the war has not had more of an effect on public opinion, but like you said, repression works, I guess...
I believe it will be the economy that eventually takes Putin down. He can repress, oppress, suppress people effectively as long as he has the financial means to do so, but once the money dries up it’s pretty much game over. That doesn’t necessarily mean that what replaces him will be entirely better, but we can hope.
In the midst of darkness, I do see a positive trend. Only 10 to 15 years ago there were a slew of autocrats committing atrocities on their own people. One by one, they have fallen: Duterte is now imprisoned in the Hague, Bolsanaro has been sentenced by his own government to 27 years, Orban has been deposed and may face prosecution at some point, Putin, fearing a coup, is imprisoned in his own billion dollar bunker and, we hope, Trump and Netanyahu are next in line. These charismatic leaders (I cringe saying that about Trump) all seem to have a best-before date, as their own hubris brings about their own collapse. Meanwhile we wait, and pray we survive this train wreck of an era.
Not so easy. Bolsonaro’s son is a candidate for this year’s presidential election; his whole family are politic parasites; the extreme right is very active in social networking and has the support of Trump and his sycophantic team. Difficult times ahead.
The Prairie Key: Why Saskatchewan Holds Leverage for Global Peace - World Version
The world is hurting. Democracies strained. Institutions groaning under cruelty and corruption. But here is the truth the world needs to hear: change does not rest on any single nation's shoulders alone.
The solution runs through a flat, cold, wind-scraped place most of the globe ignores: Saskatchewan.
Why Saskatchewan Holds the Key
This province sits on the world's largest high-grade uranium deposits—fuel for nuclear power and naval propulsion across dozens of nations. It controls North America's only fully integrated rare earth supply chain: the neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium inside jets, drones, and missiles worldwide. It produces potash that feeds farms on six continents. And it holds helium for critical cooling infrastructure.
Saskatchewan trades with 163 nations. Without this province, global defence and agriculture falter. That is not a threat. That is geography and geology.
Demand Peace Conditions
Premier Scott Moe holds a lever larger than most heads of state. He could declare: Saskatchewan's resources will be used for peace and prosperity only.
· No uranium for offensive weapons.
· No rare earths for invasion forces.
· No potash for regimes that starve their own people.
· No helium without binding peace agreements.
What the World Can Do
Call on Premier Scott Moe. Write to him. Demand that Saskatchewan condition every export on de-escalation, diplomacy, and disarmament.
If Saskatchewan is the only recycling center there's no fear of the Uranium being used in any weapons. AI estimates the spent fuel will be 100% recyclable before the first spent fuel is returned to the recycling centre.
Helium Reactor Waste: Recycling and Safety Advantages
Helium-cooled reactors (High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors – HTGRs) use a fundamentally different fuel and waste profile than conventional Light Water Reactors (LWRs). This allows for innovative recycling methods and inherent safety advantages.
1. How Waste from Helium Reactors is Recycled
The core of the waste management strategy for these reactors focuses on physically separating the durable fuel particles from the large volume of graphite surrounding them.
The TRISO Particle Advantage
HTGRs use TRISO (TRI-structural ISOtropic) fuel particles. Each particle is a microscopic sphere (about 1mm) containing a uranium kernel coated with layers of carbon and silicon carbide. These coatings are exceptionally robust, acting as the primary containment for radioactive fission products.
Step 1: Separating Particles from Graphite (Head-End Processing)
The primary method for recycling involves removing the graphite moderator from the spent fuel. This "head-end" process allows engineers to access the TRISO particles.
· The Goal: Separate the TRISO particles from the graphite matrix (either from cylindrical compacts or spherical "pebbles").
· The Benefit: This separation is critical because the graphite takes up a massive amount of volume. Removing it can reduce the volume of High-Level Waste (HLW) destined for deep geological disposal by up to 10 to 20 times.
Step 2: Recovery and Volume Reduction
Once separated, the fuel kernels can be treated:
· Vapor Digestion: National laboratories like the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) have developed processes like "vapor digestion" to dissolve the graphite binder. This allows them to concentrate the TRISO particles, drastically reducing the physical footprint of the waste.
· Closed Fuel Cycle (Recycling): Because the fuel is so durable, it can be reprocessed. The fissile materials (like Uranium-235) can be recovered from the TRISO particles and re-fabricated into new fuel pellets. This reduces the volume of waste that requires permanent disposal.
The Waste Outcome: After recycling, the spent TRISO particles themselves are considered an "ideal waste form." The ceramic coatings are incredibly resistant to corrosion and leaching, meaning if they are buried in a geological repository, they will keep the radioactive material contained for very long periods.
2. Why This Waste is Less Dangerous than Water Reactor Waste
Helium reactor waste is considered less hazardous in several key ways:
A. The "Batteries Not Bombs" Chemistry
Conventional water reactors use solid uranium dioxide pellets. If water gets in (e.g., a storage pool drains), the zirconium cladding can catch fire, releasing radioactive particles.
B. Inert Environment = No Corrosion
Traditional reactors use water for cooling. When water is exposed to radiation and intense heat, it breaks down and can corrode components, creating radioactive sludge.
C. High-Temperature Processing
Because they operate at very high temperatures, these reactors are exceptionally efficient. They "burn" more of the nuclear fuel. This means the waste left over contains fewer long-lived radioactive isotopes compared to the waste from a conventional reactor.
Fuel Form TRISO particles (ceramic-coated) Solid uranium dioxide pellets
Containment Particles themselves are the first barrier Zirconium metal cladding
Waste Volume High volume (due to graphite) but reducible by 90%+ via recycling Lower volume, but no volume reduction is typically done; direct disposal
Recycling Method Established "head-end" separation to recover fissile material Reprocessing is rare due to proliferation concerns and cost
Water Risk Zero (No water in core = no hydrogen explosions, no corrosion of waste form) High (Water corrodes waste, creates sludge, and can cause hydrogen explosions)
Final Waste Compact, durable ceramic particles (chemically inert) Large assemblies with reactive metal cladding
Conclusion
In essence, the waste from a helium-cooled reactor is less dangerous because:
1. It is Physically Recyclable: We can remove the bulky graphite and recycle the remaining fuel, drastically cutting the volume of permanent waste.
2. It is Chemically Stable: The TRISO waste form is a ceramic that will not dissolve in water or burn in a fire, making it safer to store indefinitely.
I remember Craig Whitney, who was writing for the NY Times, saying, in 1990, that no one, not the media, certainly not the Pentagon, foresaw the events of 1989. The US government only looked at military stuff, not civil society, which was where the action was.
I spent more than 5 years working in archives and records management at the State Department. You look at a lot of cable traffic in that time. In retrospect, I realized that traffic from 1986-87 gave no particular hint of what might be happening. 'Gradually, then all at once' goes through my head a lot.
If Putin’s dictatorship collapses first, or, if he is assinated, our president will be left in a worse abyss than he’s already in. I just hope someone who cares about this country is ready, willing and able to step in, in his place. That’s what worries me the most. I also believe that if we take Congress this midterm, we should engage the Southern Poverty Law Center to sue The Federalist Society as traitors. In fact, they should do it sooner.
Maybe the reasons we don’t recognize the imminent collapse of an autocratic regime, is answered in the book “Revenge of the Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. A fascinating read by the author of the original, “Tipping Point”. Definitely recommend!
Thank you Michael for your unwavering support for Ukraine and getting the truth about Putin and what is happening within Russia.
Keep fighting for democracy here and abroad and pointing out the dangers and massive corruption happening within America especially the trump regime. We are facing the worst period in our history and I fear that the next few years will determine our survival as a democracy.
I hope that we can follow the example of Hungary and vote to expel Trump and arrest the traitors and criminals who have tried to destroy our country.
Ok, this piece is very informed, intelligent and articulate.
But alas, it suffers from the same ailment afflicting almost all the coverage of the Ukraine war here on Substack and beyond. The job of free peoples everywhere, especially those who are in a position to be heard, is not to intellectually analyze threats to the Putin regime in an academic manner. Any writer who adopts that posture is demonstrating that they don't really grasp the importance of the Ukraine war.
The job of we who are blessed with freedom is not to observe Putin's decline, it is instead to help accelerate it. And it is on this point that almost all commentary on Substack is as much a failure as is Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
As is completely normal in almost every Substack article, Ambassador McFaul makes not even the briefest mention of the frozen Russian assets in EU banks, the decisive battlefield of the Ukraine war. It's enough money to provide something like 100,000 FREE cruise missiles to Ukraine, way more than are needed to finish the job of crushing the Russian war machine. Please everyone, don't take my word for it, do the math yourselves.
What's really happening here on Substack is that writers are focused on their newsletters, their subscriber lists, their income, on themselves.
And Substack writers are NOT focused on the shortest path to victory for Ukraine. And by ignoring that all important bottom line focus they are revealing that they are not expert commentators after all, and thus it doesn't really make sense for readers to pay them.
The frozen Russian assets in EU banks are the shortest path to an unambiguous victory for Ukraine, all Russian forces expelled, and maybe the collapse of the Putin regime as well.
Dear Substackers: If you aren't writing about the most decisive battlefield of the Ukraine war, perhaps you should be writing about something else. Sports? Hollywood? The stock market? Celebrity game shows?
Ambassador McFaul knows what he writes about. His posting creates a giant hole in its narrative, waiting for you and all of us to see that it screams for you to imagine how Trump, and the clown car of misfits, and all his jolly MAGA supporters, fit in.
While I agree with your analysis, I would argue that those frozen funds should be held to rebuild Ukraine after they kick Russians out or under their soil.
Meaning no offense, but DT is, and should be, completely irrelevant to the Ukraine war. The EU can win the war FOR FREE any time it wants to. No need for DT.
"It is hard to say how much knowledge Russian citizens have about these failures."
--That line gives me chills as we watch oligarchs and corporations buy up our own media and social media. From Bezos to Zuckerberg to Musk to Ellison and beyond.
good point
Thank you.
It's why independent, non-corporate media and access to experts like you is so important.
I know a great many adults that have no idea what is going on in this country… let alone the world.
Exactly, and in my experience, it is primarily and overwhelmingly consumers of RW media, like Fox, Newsmax, etc. I can imagine what it would be like if the only available media were those outlets. I watch Fox just to see what their viewers are being told. It's abominable. They live in a make believe world.
I volunteer to knock doors for local political candidates. The lack of awareness is shocking. Too many people do not read, view or listen to even independent news.
I have Russian connections. They all have or know of casualties. They react differently. Some blame it on the demon Zelensky, and some blame it on the demon Putin. I am inclined to think that Zelensky has been more successfully demonized in Russia than Putin, the latter which would have to be private critical thinking to arrive at pinning the blame on Putin.
It's a long way to go with the public before they turn on Putin imo. Just my view from a small sample size.
If only the Russian soldiers could speak freely in public…
The public are sheep. They will never turn on Putin, but neither will they be shocked or upset when the Siloviki take him out. One of the reason there are no tanks at Victory Day is that Putin does not want what happened to Anwar Sadat happening on Red Square. He is more worried about an internal assassination attempt than about Ukrainian drones.
Ukrainians will take advantage of Putin moving air defense systems to Moscow to have a turkey shoot at more militarily significant elsewhere. But will probably fly enough drones near Moscow’s four airports to shut down air travel.
Russians who speak foreign languages mostly know that the war is going very badly and others have a sense that something is amiss. But what the people think doesn’t matter. This will be resolved by the elites and some other guy from the special services will wind up on top and the public will fall in line. Democracy is unlikely to break out in Russia.
The Russians saw what happened to the opposition leader: imprisoned and murdered. That act alone is enough to snuff out any public dissent.
It’s not Russia’s first rodeo.
I thought the same when I read that section!
America is being dragged down the very same road now…. DO SOMETHING!!!
The knowledge Russian citizens have. I know many Russian and Ukrainian citizens. Imagine the knowledge of Americans, about what is happening here. 30% of us have our heads up our ASS!!!
Technology in the war https://youtu.be/oayzKRZHp-Q?is=wzs_mO51zR16mDQP
Thank you for your knowledge and insight.
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Benjamin Netanyahu are war criminals. They must be arrested, tried, convicted, and punished for “Crimes Against Humanity.”
On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump tried to overthrow the government of the United States—a blatant act of treason. A supermajority of Americans condemns both Trump’s treasonous 2021 attack on a joint session of Congress, and his 2026 criminal attacks on Iran.
This supermajority also condemns Trump’s Gestapo-like ICE deployments that murder and maim those who oppose his domestic crimes. Internationally, it condemns his invasion of Venezuela and his larcenist designs on Cuba, Greenland, and other sovereign nations.
The supermajority of Americans condemns Trump’s sexual predations, his fraudulent financial dealings, his sales of pardons to criminal oligarchs, his murders committed on the high seas, his deployments of the U.S. military against the American people, and—most of all—this supermajority condemns Trump’s compulsive and continual lying.
As reported by Fox News, on November 18, Trump’s Presidency was approved by 38% of Americans; 60% disapproved. And, Trump’s approval has continued to plummet.
Trump’s Presidency is now condemned by 67% of the American people. This supermajority will not rest until Trump—and his Neo-Nazi enablers—are removed from office, prosecuted for treason, convicted, and punished as dictated by the Constitution.
Actually, that "supermajority"? They voted for tRump. Maybe they'll give the GOP a miss in 2026. But I fully expect MAGA - and most of the rest of Americans - to vote tRump in again in a fully irregular and even illegal way in 2028. If it's not the price of eggs, or poor victim tRump, or own the libs, it'll be the mob screaming for "deportations!!!" or anti-vaccination, or...whatever other mindlessness grabs attention at the time.
And, "The WALL! Build the Wall! It's about our security!" Though they're not understanding that DOGE and SCOTUS6 have put all our lives at risk, all of ours including theirs by handing over our SS info to foreign actors. SCOTUS6 allowed this! Are they immune? I doubt it, and I hope not so they will realize what harm they'e done. Why hasn't Musk been arrested yet, and everyone else, yes Big Balls, for illegally handing over our personal, private sensitive information?! It is illegal, punishable by law!
Trump won’t be able or even alive in 2028 no matter how many drugs are pumped into him. And he, like every other dictator in history, is terrified about naming a successor as he views everyone as potentially being against him. And he can’t stand that. While his MAGA base will vote for his corpse, most Americans will move on as long as the current economic disaster caused by Trump’s actions lessens.
You are dreaming.
I support all of that.
And they benefited from this war!
Thank you for this summary. It's hard to believe the growing body count from the war has not had more of an effect on public opinion, but like you said, repression works, I guess...
I believe it will be the economy that eventually takes Putin down. He can repress, oppress, suppress people effectively as long as he has the financial means to do so, but once the money dries up it’s pretty much game over. That doesn’t necessarily mean that what replaces him will be entirely better, but we can hope.
In the midst of darkness, I do see a positive trend. Only 10 to 15 years ago there were a slew of autocrats committing atrocities on their own people. One by one, they have fallen: Duterte is now imprisoned in the Hague, Bolsanaro has been sentenced by his own government to 27 years, Orban has been deposed and may face prosecution at some point, Putin, fearing a coup, is imprisoned in his own billion dollar bunker and, we hope, Trump and Netanyahu are next in line. These charismatic leaders (I cringe saying that about Trump) all seem to have a best-before date, as their own hubris brings about their own collapse. Meanwhile we wait, and pray we survive this train wreck of an era.
Not so easy. Bolsonaro’s son is a candidate for this year’s presidential election; his whole family are politic parasites; the extreme right is very active in social networking and has the support of Trump and his sycophantic team. Difficult times ahead.
An offense of corrective action needs to be part of that waiting.
B
The Prairie Key: Why Saskatchewan Holds Leverage for Global Peace - World Version
The world is hurting. Democracies strained. Institutions groaning under cruelty and corruption. But here is the truth the world needs to hear: change does not rest on any single nation's shoulders alone.
The solution runs through a flat, cold, wind-scraped place most of the globe ignores: Saskatchewan.
Why Saskatchewan Holds the Key
This province sits on the world's largest high-grade uranium deposits—fuel for nuclear power and naval propulsion across dozens of nations. It controls North America's only fully integrated rare earth supply chain: the neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium inside jets, drones, and missiles worldwide. It produces potash that feeds farms on six continents. And it holds helium for critical cooling infrastructure.
Saskatchewan trades with 163 nations. Without this province, global defence and agriculture falter. That is not a threat. That is geography and geology.
Demand Peace Conditions
Premier Scott Moe holds a lever larger than most heads of state. He could declare: Saskatchewan's resources will be used for peace and prosperity only.
· No uranium for offensive weapons.
· No rare earths for invasion forces.
· No potash for regimes that starve their own people.
· No helium without binding peace agreements.
What the World Can Do
Call on Premier Scott Moe. Write to him. Demand that Saskatchewan condition every export on de-escalation, diplomacy, and disarmament.
Contact: premier@gov.sk.ca or 306-787-9433.
Saskatchewan cannot save the world alone. But it can refuse to fuel its destruction. And sometimes, holding back the spark is more power
ful than fighting the fire.
If Saskatchewan is the only recycling center there's no fear of the Uranium being used in any weapons. AI estimates the spent fuel will be 100% recyclable before the first spent fuel is returned to the recycling centre.
I totally agree.
Helium Reactor Waste: Recycling and Safety Advantages
Helium-cooled reactors (High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors – HTGRs) use a fundamentally different fuel and waste profile than conventional Light Water Reactors (LWRs). This allows for innovative recycling methods and inherent safety advantages.
1. How Waste from Helium Reactors is Recycled
The core of the waste management strategy for these reactors focuses on physically separating the durable fuel particles from the large volume of graphite surrounding them.
The TRISO Particle Advantage
HTGRs use TRISO (TRI-structural ISOtropic) fuel particles. Each particle is a microscopic sphere (about 1mm) containing a uranium kernel coated with layers of carbon and silicon carbide. These coatings are exceptionally robust, acting as the primary containment for radioactive fission products.
Step 1: Separating Particles from Graphite (Head-End Processing)
The primary method for recycling involves removing the graphite moderator from the spent fuel. This "head-end" process allows engineers to access the TRISO particles.
· The Goal: Separate the TRISO particles from the graphite matrix (either from cylindrical compacts or spherical "pebbles").
· The Benefit: This separation is critical because the graphite takes up a massive amount of volume. Removing it can reduce the volume of High-Level Waste (HLW) destined for deep geological disposal by up to 10 to 20 times.
Step 2: Recovery and Volume Reduction
Once separated, the fuel kernels can be treated:
· Vapor Digestion: National laboratories like the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) have developed processes like "vapor digestion" to dissolve the graphite binder. This allows them to concentrate the TRISO particles, drastically reducing the physical footprint of the waste.
· Closed Fuel Cycle (Recycling): Because the fuel is so durable, it can be reprocessed. The fissile materials (like Uranium-235) can be recovered from the TRISO particles and re-fabricated into new fuel pellets. This reduces the volume of waste that requires permanent disposal.
The Waste Outcome: After recycling, the spent TRISO particles themselves are considered an "ideal waste form." The ceramic coatings are incredibly resistant to corrosion and leaching, meaning if they are buried in a geological repository, they will keep the radioactive material contained for very long periods.
2. Why This Waste is Less Dangerous than Water Reactor Waste
Helium reactor waste is considered less hazardous in several key ways:
A. The "Batteries Not Bombs" Chemistry
Conventional water reactors use solid uranium dioxide pellets. If water gets in (e.g., a storage pool drains), the zirconium cladding can catch fire, releasing radioactive particles.
B. Inert Environment = No Corrosion
Traditional reactors use water for cooling. When water is exposed to radiation and intense heat, it breaks down and can corrode components, creating radioactive sludge.
C. High-Temperature Processing
Because they operate at very high temperatures, these reactors are exceptionally efficient. They "burn" more of the nuclear fuel. This means the waste left over contains fewer long-lived radioactive isotopes compared to the waste from a conventional reactor.
Summary Comparison Table
Feature Helium-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) Water-Cooled Reactor (LWR)
Fuel Form TRISO particles (ceramic-coated) Solid uranium dioxide pellets
Containment Particles themselves are the first barrier Zirconium metal cladding
Waste Volume High volume (due to graphite) but reducible by 90%+ via recycling Lower volume, but no volume reduction is typically done; direct disposal
Recycling Method Established "head-end" separation to recover fissile material Reprocessing is rare due to proliferation concerns and cost
Water Risk Zero (No water in core = no hydrogen explosions, no corrosion of waste form) High (Water corrodes waste, creates sludge, and can cause hydrogen explosions)
Final Waste Compact, durable ceramic particles (chemically inert) Large assemblies with reactive metal cladding
Conclusion
In essence, the waste from a helium-cooled reactor is less dangerous because:
1. It is Physically Recyclable: We can remove the bulky graphite and recycle the remaining fuel, drastically cutting the volume of permanent waste.
2. It is Chemically Stable: The TRISO waste form is a ceramic that will not dissolve in water or burn in a fire, making it safer to store indefinitely.
I remember Craig Whitney, who was writing for the NY Times, saying, in 1990, that no one, not the media, certainly not the Pentagon, foresaw the events of 1989. The US government only looked at military stuff, not civil society, which was where the action was.
I spent more than 5 years working in archives and records management at the State Department. You look at a lot of cable traffic in that time. In retrospect, I realized that traffic from 1986-87 gave no particular hint of what might be happening. 'Gradually, then all at once' goes through my head a lot.
He & trump need to disappear.
As soon as possible. An health event, natural, would be the best way.
Thank you, Michael for sharing your information.
If Putin’s dictatorship collapses first, or, if he is assinated, our president will be left in a worse abyss than he’s already in. I just hope someone who cares about this country is ready, willing and able to step in, in his place. That’s what worries me the most. I also believe that if we take Congress this midterm, we should engage the Southern Poverty Law Center to sue The Federalist Society as traitors. In fact, they should do it sooner.
Ukraine getting stronger in hitting Moscow. That is creating division under putin.
Maybe the reasons we don’t recognize the imminent collapse of an autocratic regime, is answered in the book “Revenge of the Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. A fascinating read by the author of the original, “Tipping Point”. Definitely recommend!
Slava Ukraine!
Thank you Michael for your unwavering support for Ukraine and getting the truth about Putin and what is happening within Russia.
Keep fighting for democracy here and abroad and pointing out the dangers and massive corruption happening within America especially the trump regime. We are facing the worst period in our history and I fear that the next few years will determine our survival as a democracy.
I hope that we can follow the example of Hungary and vote to expel Trump and arrest the traitors and criminals who have tried to destroy our country.
Heroiam slava!
Ok, this piece is very informed, intelligent and articulate.
But alas, it suffers from the same ailment afflicting almost all the coverage of the Ukraine war here on Substack and beyond. The job of free peoples everywhere, especially those who are in a position to be heard, is not to intellectually analyze threats to the Putin regime in an academic manner. Any writer who adopts that posture is demonstrating that they don't really grasp the importance of the Ukraine war.
The job of we who are blessed with freedom is not to observe Putin's decline, it is instead to help accelerate it. And it is on this point that almost all commentary on Substack is as much a failure as is Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
As is completely normal in almost every Substack article, Ambassador McFaul makes not even the briefest mention of the frozen Russian assets in EU banks, the decisive battlefield of the Ukraine war. It's enough money to provide something like 100,000 FREE cruise missiles to Ukraine, way more than are needed to finish the job of crushing the Russian war machine. Please everyone, don't take my word for it, do the math yourselves.
What's really happening here on Substack is that writers are focused on their newsletters, their subscriber lists, their income, on themselves.
And Substack writers are NOT focused on the shortest path to victory for Ukraine. And by ignoring that all important bottom line focus they are revealing that they are not expert commentators after all, and thus it doesn't really make sense for readers to pay them.
The frozen Russian assets in EU banks are the shortest path to an unambiguous victory for Ukraine, all Russian forces expelled, and maybe the collapse of the Putin regime as well.
Dear Substackers: If you aren't writing about the most decisive battlefield of the Ukraine war, perhaps you should be writing about something else. Sports? Hollywood? The stock market? Celebrity game shows?
Ambassador McFaul knows what he writes about. His posting creates a giant hole in its narrative, waiting for you and all of us to see that it screams for you to imagine how Trump, and the clown car of misfits, and all his jolly MAGA supporters, fit in.
While I agree with your analysis, I would argue that those frozen funds should be held to rebuild Ukraine after they kick Russians out or under their soil.
Got to kick the Russians out before rebuilding. First things first.
Comrade, move to Russia.
Perhaps Substack writers aren’t focusing on the fastest way Ukraine can defeat Russia because they know DT has no intention of helping Ukraine
because DT & Putin are best buddies.
Meaning no offense, but DT is, and should be, completely irrelevant to the Ukraine war. The EU can win the war FOR FREE any time it wants to. No need for DT.
Oh, I totally agree! DT is irrelevant. He
keeps inserting himself into it , ostensibly to help Putin, not Ukraine.
Kushner & Witkoff are useless and I’m sure taking direction directly from DT.
With them involved it will never be resolved.