Open Thread

7 Comments

1. 

   hass on March 17, 2007 at 1:34 pm

   Hope you feel better.

   Interesting article on why Fate of Bushehr nuclear power plant strengthens Iran’s
   resolve to pursue uranium enrichment After the Iranians spent billions of dollars, the Russians have (apparently under US influence) decided not to complete the contract by delivering the necessary fuel for the reactor.

   “This (Russian decision) shows that there is no such thing as a guarantee to deliver nuclear fuel,” top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said last week.

   We keep telling the Iranian that they can’t have their own nuclear fuel enrichment & must only import nuclear fuel from abroad. And why should they accept? Remember, even Cheney accused Russia of engaging in energy extortion when Russia abruptly cut off gas supplies to pro-US East European countries – so why would the Iranian willingly give up enrichment and allow themselves to become totally reliant on foreign imports of nuclear fuel that can be cut off at any time?

   The Iranians can point to a long series of nuclear agreements in which they got screwed over:

   o US was obliged under the contract made prior to 1979 to supply new fuel for Tehran 5 MW Research Reactor, being under the Agency Comprehensive Safeguards, producing radioisotopes for application in medicine, agriculture and industry. After the Revolution, it prevented to deliver the fuel in contradiction to its obligations

   o Iran has 60 tons of UF6 in Europe which has not yet been delivered to it. The initial fuel for Bushehr Power Plant which had been bought from Siemens, was blocked for 25 years and finally the export license to Iran was waived.

   o It has to be recalled that in1975, Iran purchased a 10% share in Eurodif uranium enrichment plant, being built at Tricastin in France, but Iran has not received even a gram of uranium from the plant where it desperately needed for its reactor producing radioisotopes for mainly medical purposes.

   o The IAEA, established a Committee on Assurances of Supply, expected to codify internationally recognized principles and legally binding instruments to assure sustainable nuclear supply. It failed in 1987, after 7 years of intensive deliberations.

   And Iran is hardly alone in distrusting such arrangements:

   Developing nations say they don’t want to give up their rights to uranium enrichment and don’t trust the United States or other nuclear countries to be consistent suppliers of the nuclear material they would need to run their power plants.

   (LA Times)

   This whole thing really isn’t about nuclear weapons – we’re quite happy to look the otherway and even reward India and Pakistan and Israeli – but is about monopolization of nuclear power:

   All this suggests that the emphasis on weapons proliferation is exaggerated. The real targets of the Bush administration’s nuclear shenanigans are the economies of developing countries….

   But the US and the European Union demand that Iran and other countries abandon any indigenous capabilities and rely solely on western fuel suppliers to power their economy. This is like Iran demanding that Britain drop all exploitation of North Sea oil and rely solely on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries for its energy needs.… they also want to create an underclass of nuclear energy have-nots, concentrating what could become the world’s sole major source of energy in the hands of the few nations that have granted themselves the right to it.

2. 

   michaelmt on March 17, 2007 at 1:43 pm

   the potential for anti-machine populism is greater than we thought

   It’s amazing…the number of youngsters and youngish single women who don’t normally vote, alone, can turn an election. How to get their attention?

   P.S. Ginger tea. Grab the candy at the checkout at Whole Foods and pop it in hot water.

3. 

   Sandy on March 17, 2007 at 2:01 pm

   Feel better soon, Booman!    

4. 

   Renee in Ohio on March 17, 2007 at 2:01 pm

   Bill Maher on “Sacrifice“

5. 

   billjpa on March 17, 2007 at 3:06 pm

   emanuel, schumer, schrum, and ford! Now there is a winnig team. Emanuel is going around telling rookies to stay awayfrom colbert while that anti abortion piece of shit ford has signed on with fox! Schrum we all know about (what is it now-8 losers?) Yup- definitely the team to support a national winning ticket!!
    My question has always been the same- why not vote for impeachment – we know we don’t have the votes but we can certainly point out to the voters all those that wuldn’t support the removal of these monstors!
    Seem to me that that is the position upon which to build a position that might just be a winning position!

6. 

   billjpa on March 17, 2007 at 3:33 pm

   I left this out from my whatever so here it is: gonzo garbage liar is dead to rights for impeachment. Think Progres report- jan 19 quote. The bastard is a effing LIAR under oath. Is that not Impeachment material?
    All that is needed is balls.
    I will bet that they don’t exist! Impeachment! the signers put it into the Constitution for just such a situation. Impeachment!NOW! The  head of the “justice” department! Impeach the son of a bitch!

7. 

   Man Eegee on March 18, 2007 at 12:08 am

   Macaca redux?

   Republican presidential contender John McCain on Friday used the term “tar baby,” considered by some a racial epithet, and later said he regretted it.

   Answering questions at a town hall meeting, the Arizona senator was discussing federal involvement in custody cases when he said, “For me to stand here and … say I’m going to declare divorces invalid because of someone who feels they weren’t treated fairly in court, we are getting into a tar baby of enormous proportions and I don’t know how you get out of that.” – linkage