Tuesday December 12, 2006

Gulf Arab states want nuclear power

edition.cnn.com :

Gulf Arab countries want to acquire nuclear energy capability and have ordered a study on a possible joint atomic program, a statement at the close of a two-day Gulf Cooperation Council summit said. The GCC groups Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

"The countries of the region have the right to nuclear energy technology for peaceful purposes," said Abdul-Rahman al-Attiya, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The statement comes amid concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions and suspicions that Israel has nuclear weapons. Saudi officials have said a nuclear Iran could spur a regional arms race, hinting that Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, could look to acquire the technology too.

The GCC statement said its nuclear program would be aimed at meeting energy needs. At least six Arab countries are developing domestic nuclear power programs to diversify energy sources, the Middle East Economic Digest reported last month. It said Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria have shown interest in developing nuclear power primarily for water desalination. Similar plans by the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia were only at an early stage. But Gulf governments, led by Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, also want to check what they view as the creeping influence of Shi'ite power Iran in the Arab region through support for Lebanon's Hezbollah, Shi'ite parties in Iraq and Tehran's alliance with Damascus.

- Okay, let's take a re-cap shall we :

a. The country with the world's largest oilfield (Ghawar, Saudi Arabia) wants to go nuclear (electrical).
b. The country with the world's second largest oilfield (Cantarell, Mexico) wants to double its nuclear (electrical) output.
c. The country with the world's second largest oil reserves (Iran) wants to go nuclear (electrical/weapons).
d. The one non-Arab country in the Middle East (Israel) all but admits to being nuclear (weapons).
e. (a) and (c) are of different Islamic denominations and (a) is uncomfortable with (c) going nuclear (weapons) and it is now rumoured that (a) may want to go nuclear (weapons) too.

Are we clear on everything yet?

See also :

1. Arabs urged to develop nuclear energy
2. Egypt will go nuclear
3. More nations clamor for nuclear energy
4. Mexico may double nuclear plant output
5. Israeli PM admits to nuclear weapons

(2006-12-12 18:49:40 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Israeli PM admits to nuclear weapons

abc.net.au :

Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has made an embarrassing gaffe during a visit to Germany, apparently admitting that his country possesses nuclear weapons. He listed Israel, along with America, France and Russia as nuclear states. Israel has a strict policy of never admitting to or denying it has such weapons, despite a widespread belief that it has hundreds of them at the ready.

David Hardaker: He was interviewed on arrival in Germany by a German television network. He was angered by a question asking whether or not Israel's possession of nuclear power weakened the West's position against Iran. He exclaimed, "Israel is a democracy and does not threaten anyone. The only thing we have tried to do is to live without threats of terror, but we've never threatened anyone with annihilation. And can you say this in the same level while Iran is aspiring to have nuclear weapons, like America, like France, like Israel and Russia".

news.bbc.co.uk :

Mr Olmert added that the Iranians were "aspiring to have nuclear weapons as America, France, Israel, Russia" - on the surface, an explicit acknowledgement, the BBC's Simon Wilson in Jerusalem says. But Israeli officials moved quickly to deny that Israel had changed its long-held policy of ambiguity on the issue. Mr Olmert's comments caused a political uproar in Israel, with some lawmakers demanding his resignation.

Correspondents say Mr Olmert's interview is likely to further fuel the debate about nuclear weapons in the Middle East. Last week, the new US defence secretary, Robert Gates, used a similar form of words to Mr Olmert during a Senate confirmation hearing. Mr Gates said Tehran was "surrounded by powers with nuclear weapons: Pakistan to their east, the Russians to the north, the Israelis to the west and us in the Persian Gulf".

(2006-12-12 12:42:12 SGT) [Tech] Permalink

Balls to you, too

There's a scam going around. Okay, there are plenty of scams and spams going around. But this one is pretty good. Here's one of the links.

Magnetic laundry system, anyone? Cleans your clothes without all those "hazardous chemicals", otherwise known as laundry detergent. Apparently, this scam has been going around for quite a few years, too. Check out this page, dated Nov 2000.

Here's a rule of thumb : if it seems to involve physics mumbo-jumbo, especially magnetic forces, and it sounds too good to be true, get outta there! I've heard of magnetic pallets to put into your fuel tank to "align" your fuel molecules. I've heard of magnetic straps to wear on your wrist to "align" your magnetic life force (or something). But magnetic laundry balls, that's a good one, lol. Also, as a peakoiler, I keep hearing about perpetual motion machines based on "permanent magnets".

Balls to the scammers. And spammers.

(2006-12-12 11:40:23 SGT) [Musings] Permalink

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