Free Republic

When massive numbers of Iranians took to the streets following the sham election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June, the regime hoped to quash the protests with intimidation and force. It has failed. The latest evidence of the democratic movement's force? Student Day earlier this month. The roots of Student Day go back to Dec. 7, 1953, when Iranian students protested the coup that ousted Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. The Shah's regime responded by attacking Tehran's Polytechnic University, murdering three students. Every year since, Iranian students have observed "16 Azar" (Dec. 7) to commemorate the three students killed by the Shah....

Here's one from the Department of We Are The World: Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will address the U.N.'s climate summit in Copenhagen. Say what you will about these two gentlemen—the support for terrorists, the Holocaust denial, the suppression of civil liberties—at least nobody can accuse them of being global warming "deniers." On the contrary, the two leaders, who met in Caracas last month for at least the 11th time, have been nothing if not cooperative when it comes to environmentally friendly and carbon-neutral technologies. Bicycles, for instance: In 2005, Chávez directed his government to "follow seriously the project of...

U.S. President Barack Obama has warned his Chinese counterpart that the United States would not be able to keep Israel from attacking Iranian nuclear installations for much longer, senior officials in Jerusalem told Haaretz. They said Obama warned President Hu Jintao during the American's visit to Beijing a month ago as part of the U.S. attempt to convince the Chinese to support strict sanctions on Tehran if it does not accept Western proposals for its nuclear program.

Politically, no Israeli prime minister could survive the fact that Iran became a nuclear-armed state, officially or unofficially, on his watch. The pressure on the Israeli government to do something to counter Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons would be so strong that it could well be tempted to play a desperate gamble, regardless of any security guaranties that the U.S. might offer. Similarly, no U.S. president (especially one endowed with a Nobel Prize) could escape blame for having let Iran become a nuclear-weapon state by consistently underestimating its ability to conceal its preparations. The intelligence community's credibility would be devastated,...

Iran has successfully tested an upgraded version of its longest-range solid-fuel missile, according to an Iranian State TV report on Wednesday, which did not provide details on the Sajjil-2 missile test. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was quoted by AFP as saying that Teheran's missile test announcement was a matter of "serious concern to the international community and it does make the case for moving further on sanctions." "We will treat this with the seriousness it deserves." said Brown. Iran successfully test-fired an improved version of its Sajjil-2 medium-range missile which it says can reach targets inside Israel, state television...

While the detonation of a nuclear weapon in the United States is considered highly unlikely, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities are preparing for such a disaster by assessing old bomb shelters and preparing emergency response plans, the Los Angeles Daily News reported Monday.

"Iran tests long-range missile, raises ire of West" By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 28 mins ago TEHRAN, Iran – Iran on Wednesday test-fired an upgraded version of its most advanced missile, which is capable of hitting Israel and parts of Europe, in a new show of strength aimed at preventing any military strike against it amid the nuclear standoff with the West.

Lawmakers eager to trigger a renaissance of nuclear power in the United States have focused mostly on large reactors that can provide more than 1,000 megawatts of electric power, but two bills advancing in the Senate aim to spur smaller projects. Those small, modular reactors, which provide less than 300 megawatts and are built off-site, could take power to people living in remote regions, benefit the petrochemical industry and ease concerns about lethal nuclear material falling into the wrong hands, experts told a Senate panel Tuesday. Warren Miller, assistant secretary for nuclear energy in the Department of Energy, said small...

The report described the launch of an "improved Sejil 2 missile" as successful and said the missile had a range greater than 1,250 miles — putting Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf within reach. The launch came after Israel's military intelligence chief said Tuesday that Iran is close to a "technological breakthrough" that would enable it to build nuclear weapons. Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin said Iran has enough nuclear material for a warhead and is close to being able to build one. He didn't specify the new technology or say when he expects Iran to reach such a capability....

Cosco (China's container ship company) CEO is seriously investigating the creation of nuclear powered container ships. This site has already examined a study of the economics of nuclear power for commercial shipping. The study showed that a nuclear ship would be $40 million per year cheaper to operate when bunker oil is at $500/ton. Those studies had indicated improved economics when bunker fuel is over $300/ton. Bunker oil is currently about $375/ton. Also, changing to nuclear powered container ships would reduce air pollution by the equivalent of about 20,000 cars converted to electric per container ship that is converted. A...

A smoking-gun document has emerged that indicates Iran is closer than ever to developing a nuclear weapon. Top-secret technical notes leaked from deep within the Iranian nuclear program - and making the rounds of Western intelligence agencies - detail research on a neutron initiator, a device that sets off a nuclear detonation. It is the smoking gun's trigger.

Discovery of Iran's secret uranium enrichment facility near Qom several months ago is a "warning sign" for anyone who thinks that the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is for civilian purposes, head of Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin said Tuesday. Speaking at a conference on security challenges in the 21st century at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, Yadlin said that Iran is extremely close to mastering the necessary nuclear technology and will wait on the threshold until it feels that the international community is too weak to stop them to move forward towards the bomb. Iran, he...

Energy Department keeping nuclear repository options openDepartment of Energy lawyers are forging ahead with their defense of a license application to build the nation's nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. They met a deadline last week for filing briefs on questions that Nevada's attorneys raised with a nuclear regulatory panel, which is tracking safety concerns about plans for turning the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, into a burial site for 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste. The briefs were filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board despite the Obama administration's stance that Yucca Mountain...

Secret documents obtained and translated by the Times of London reveal that Iran has been working for two years on a plan to test a nuclear bomb component that triggers an explosion. American intelligence experts previously had denied Israeli reports on Iran’s nearing nuclear capability. They claimed that Tehran in 2003 had halted preparations to make nuclear weapons and would not resume work on the project before mid-2007. The United States earlier this year admitted its information was incorrect...

Confidential intelligence documents obtained by The Times show that Iran is working on testing a key final component of a nuclear bomb. The notes, from Iran’s most sensitive military nuclear project, describe a four-year plan to test a neutron initiator, the component of a nuclear bomb that triggers an explosion. Foreign intelligence agencies date them to early 2007, four years after Iran was thought to have suspended its weapons programme. An Asian intelligence source last week confirmed to The Times that his country also believed that weapons work was being carried out as recently as 2007 — specifically, work on...

Confidential intelligence documents obtained by The Times show that Iran is working on testing a key final component of a nuclear bomb. The notes, from Iran’s most sensitive military nuclear project, describe a four-year plan to test a neutron initiator, the component of a nuclear bomb that triggers an explosion. Foreign intelligence agencies date them to early 2007, four years after Iran was thought to have suspended its weapons programme. An Asian intelligence source last week confirmed to The Times that his country also believed that weapons work was being carried out as recently as 2007 — specifically, work on...

old information but bears repeating: U.S. DEPT. OF ENERGY 12/12/2008 "Energy Efficient and Renewable Energy Fuel Cells Technology Program Hydrogen Production High-Temperature Water Splitting High-temperature water splitting (a "thermochemical" process) is a long-term technology in the early stages of development. How Does It Work?... The high-temperature heat needed can be supplied by next-generation nuclear reactors under development (up to about 1000°C).. High-Temperature Water Splitting Using Nuclear Energy Why Is This Technology Being Considered for the Hydrogen Economy?... Develop next-generation nuclear reactor technology to supply the high temperatures needed for this process.

Der Spiegel: Siemens supports Iran’s nuke efforts German magazine reports customs officials seize goods meant for Iran’s nuclear program Sarah Stricker Published: 12.12.09, 22:37 / Israel News Is Siemens helping Iran? German customs officials intercepted a Siemens shipment of compressors on its way to Iran, Der Spiegel reported Saturday. According to the German magazine, the compressors sent by Siemens are worth an estimated 16 million Euros and were apparently meant to be used as part of Iran's nuclear program. The German government is now weighing its next moves vis-à-vis Siemens, which has apparently violated international commerce regulations. However, a Treasury...

New Delhi: A US nuclear trade mission of around 50 companies, currently doing the rounds in the Indian capital and dropping loud hints of sourcing nuclear engineering products from India, may be feeling the New Delhi chill a bit more harsher than others. With NPT zealots in the Obama administration ensuring that the 123 Agreement takes its time to materialise, New Delhi may have atlast decided to shed some of its forced cordiality to all things American and not rollout the red carpet. Ostensibly, the delegation has made the trip to try and understand the ''policy challenges'' that stand between...

MOSCOW — Russia admitted on Thursday another failed test of its much-touted Bulava intercontinental missile, after unusual lights were spotted in Norway across the border from the launch site. The submarine-based Bulava (Mace) missile has been billed as Russia's newest technological breakthrough to support its nuclear deterrent, but the repeated test failures are an embarrassment for the Kremlin. The missile failed in its 13th test on Wednesday morning, Russia's leading economic dailies Vedomosti and Kommersant reported on Thursday, quoting sources in the military-industrial complex. Hours later, the Defense Ministry admitted the failure, saying the launch had been made by the...

Note: The following text is a quote: Clock Ticking on Iran’s Nuclear Stance, Jones Says By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2009 – The United States and its allies are still open to negotiations with the Iranian government to resolve international concerns about its nuclear program, National Security Advisor James L. Jones said yesterday. However, the “clock’s ticking,” Jones said, regarding Iran’s continued refusal to accede to International Atomic Energy Agency inspections of its nuclear facilities. The international community is concerned that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons by enriching uranium used for its...

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is warning that the "nuclear option" is being considered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to pass ObamaCare... This means only 50 votes would be needed to pass a healthcare takeover bill that would tax Americans to the tune of $500 billion, while gutting Medicare $464 billion. Grassley, and others believe the current plan on the table would lead to "rationed care, shuttered hospitals, overburdened doctors and waste." No doubt feeling the pressure to punch ObamaCare through before Christmas, Reid is now demanding lawmakers work on Sunday... Reid's quick-step signals a shift for Grassfire. We can't...

The boss of the world’s largest shipping conglomerate has advocated the use of nuclear power on-board merchant ships. Outlining the container alliance CKYH’s decision to push ahead with super slow steaming, COSCO ceo and president Capt Wei Jiafu said that the move was in part a green one. He then went on to say that he was in favor of using nuclear power on-board merchant ships as a further green initiative. ‘As they are already on-board submarines, why not cargo ships?’ he mused. Later he spoke to Seatrade Asia Online and revealed COSCO is in talks with the national...

SNIPPET: "AUSTRALIA'S most notorious terrorist Willie Brigitte will be free from jail next year having served less than half his sentence for conspiring to blow up the nation's only nuclear reactor and the power grid. The Caribbean-born Muslim convert made headlines in 2007 when he was sentenced in France to a maximum nine years, following his arrest in Sydney, for joining an al-Qaida-backed Pakistani terror cell out to bomb Lucas Heights nuclear plant, the national electricity grid or a military base. The French Justice Ministry is considering releasing the 41-year-old, on an early-release good-behaviour plan."

German intelligence reports that Iranian scientists have successfully simulated the detonation of a nuclear warhead in laboratory conditions, in an effort to sidestep an underground nuclear test.

Uh oh. "German intelligence reports that Iranian scientists have successfully simulated the detonation of a nuclear warhead in laboratory conditions, in an effort to sidestep an underground nuclear test like the one that brought the world down on North Korea's head earlier this year," the website Debka reports. From Debka: DEBKAfile's Iranian and intelligence sources report that this development is alarming because detonation is one of the most difficult technological challenges in the development of a nuclear weapon. Mastering it carries Iran past one of the last major obstacles confronting its program for the manufacture of a nuclear warhead. After...

Is Italy capable of delivering a thermonuclear strike? Could the Belgians and the Dutch drop hydrogen bombs on enemy targets? And what about Germany - a country where fear of atomkraft is so great that the last government opposed all civilian nuclear power? Germany's air force couldn't possibly be training to deliver bombs 13 times more powerful than the one that destroyed Hiroshima, could it? It is Europe's dirty secret that the list of nuclear-capable countries extends beyond those - Britain and France - who have built their own weapons. Nuclear bombs are stored on air-force bases in Italy, Belgium,...

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran will enrich its uranium to a higher level in direct contravention to an international call to halt the process. Ahmadinejad expressed frustration with negotiations over a U.N.-backed deal to swap Iran's low-enriched uranium for higher-enriched fuel rods to power its medical research reactor. He told a crowd of thousands Wednesday in the southern city of Isfahan that Iran "will produce 20 percent" enriched uranium and "anything it needs" for its nuclear program.

Terror State: A dithering world has for years underestimated the costs of appeasement toward Iran. Tehran's aggressive plans for 10 new nuclear plants show they want dominance, not just a bomb or two. To any informed observer, it's no surprise that Iran is now collecting its 10-to-1 winnings in the high-stakes game Tehran's Islamofascist government has been playing with the free world for years now. There's been a United Nations censure, demands to halt the building of the newly revealed enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom, and multiple rounds of economic sanctions. The U.S., Britain, France and Germany...

During the Iran-Iraq War, the Ayatollah Khomeini imported 500,000 small plastic keys from Taiwan. The trinkets were meant to be inspirational. After Iraq invaded in September 1980, it had quickly become clear that Iran’s forces were no match for Saddam Hussein’s professional, well-armed military. To compensate for their disadvantage, Khomeini sent Iranian children, some as young as twelve years old, to the front lines. There, they marched in formation across minefields toward the enemy, clearing a path with their bodies. Before every mission, one of the Taiwanese keys would be hung around each child’s neck. It was supposed to open...

BELGRADE -- The governments of Russia and Serbia are in negotiations to build a nuclear power plant in Serbia, the Russian ambassador to Belgrade says. "The construction of a nuclear power plant in Serbia is being given serious consideration," Aleksandr Konuzin was quoted as saying this Monday. He stated that Serbia wishes to export electricity, and added that the country has the resources to do so. "Russia is prepared to help Serbia with this intention through partnership and joint investments," the Radio-Television of Vojvodina (RTV) reported. Konuzin reminded that Serbia had recently reached agreements to build hydro plants with Germany...

We are now moving into the endgame of Iran’s decade-long drive to acquire the hardware and technology to build a nuclear bomb. What happens next could determine whether Iran becomes a nuclear-armed state, whether the region is plunged into another war, or whether Iran and the Arab world embark on a nuclear arms race. Yesterday’s announcement showed that President Ahmadinejad has once again calculated that attack is the best form of defence. After being censured by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week, which referred Tehran to the UN Security Council, the Iranians have decided to call the bluff...

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – President Asif Ali Zardari gave up control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal Saturday in a bid to fend off mounting pressures threatening to weaken his rule further and complicate the war on the Taliban.

Proliferation: The atomic watchdog has censured Iran for blocking probes of the country's nuclear program. It's an encouraging sign, but the censure alone does nothing because Tehran has no respect for it. In a 25-3 vote, the United Nations' nuclear monitor scolded Tehran for building a uranium-enrichment facility in secret one day after the outgoing International Atomic Energy Agency chief said the investigation of Iran's atomic energy program had hit a dead end because the regime was not cooperating. The mildly worded resolution says the IAEA has "serious concern that Iran continues to defy the requirements and obligations contained in...

VIENNA — The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says his probe of allegations that Iran tried to make nuclear arms is at "a dead end" because Tehran is not cooperating. He is also critical of Iran for trying to change a plan endorsed by six world powers.

BRASILIA (Agencies) – Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has offered his backing for Tehran’s nuclear program. Speaking at a joint news conference in the capital Brasilia on Monday after holding talks with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his visiting Iranian counterpart, Lula said Brazil backed Iran’s quest for “peaceful nuclear energy in full respect of international accords”. According to Al-Jazeera, Lula urged Ahmadinejad to “continue contacts with interested countries for a just and balanced solution on the nuclear issue in Iran”. In his weekly radio address earlier, Lula said engaging Iran instead of isolating it was the way to push for...

Russia and China have joined four Western powers in readying a resolution critical of Iran's nuclear program, diplomats said Tuesday, as Teheran pushed forward its own alternatives to a UN-backed plan aimed at preventing it from developing nuclear weapons. The development is significant because it groups Russia and China with the four other powers - the US, Britain, France and Germany - in unified criticism of Iran's nuclear program. Russia and China have acted as a drag on Western calls for tougher action against Iran. While the board passed an IAEA resolution critical of Iran in 2006 that had the...

The Iranian regime led by Ahmadinejad and the Mullas of the Supreme Council, are driven by a dangerous Islamic ideology. They believe they can encourage the return of  the "Madi", their Islamic messiah, by creating a catostrophic situation.They actually believe this Madi is hiding at the bottom of a well, a short distance from Ahmadinejad's mosque. In this excellent CBN video report you will see believers in the Madi dropping notes and letters into the well for the Madi to read. One youngster was even using a flashlight to see if he could spot the Madi: See also: Nuclear Messiah, Iran Awaits His Return 

Nuclear power -- long considered environmentally hazardous -- is emerging as perhaps the world's most unlikely weapon against climate change, with the backing of even some green activists who once campaigned against it. It has been 13 years since the last new nuclear power plant opened in the United States. But around the world, nations under pressure to reduce the production of climate-warming gases are turning to low-emission nuclear energy as never before. The Obama administration and leading Democrats, in an effort to win greater support for climate change legislation, are eyeing federal tax incentives and loan guarantees to fund...

THREE MILE ISLAND - November 22, 2009 (WPVI) -- We are learning more this morning about a reported radiation incident at Three Mile Island. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says later today it is sending two radiation specialists to the plant near Harrisburg. Diane Screnchi, spokeswoman at Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), tells ABC News that Exelon was doing maintenance work at TMI. Speaking to WHTM in Harrisburg, Three Mile Island spokesperson Ralph DeSantis said work was being done in Unit 1 reactor building. Workers were cutting a large number of pipes when a radiation alarm sounded. Unit 1 had already been...

President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will prioritize the development of nuclear energy, especially the use of nuclear technology in spacecraft. Medvedev made the announcement Thursday during his annual address to the Federal Assembly. This was not the first time that Russia has suggested the development of nuclear-powered spacecraft. Anatoly Perminov, the head of Federal Space Agency Roscosmos, said last month that the agency has planned to develop spacecraft with a megawatt-class nuclear power set.

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Two U.S. Senators on Monday unveiled bipartisan legislation aimed at doubling nuclear power in 20 years and increasing funding for research into low carbon sources of energy. Sponsored by Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander and Virginia Democrat Jim Webb, the bill would provide $100 billion in loan guarantees for carbon-free electricity projects, adding to the existing $47 billion loan guarantee program. Although the additional loan guarantees would not be limited to nuclear power, the nuclear industry would likely be the major recipient of the extra money because it is one of the most established low carbon...

The Energy Department plans to announce on Tuesday a significant step toward building a new kind of nuclear reactor that could be used to replace the fossil fuels normally needed to complete high-temperature processing at chemical plants, fertilizer factories and oil refineries. Such facilities typically burn oil or natural gas — both of which contribute to global warming — to generate high-temperature steam needed for proper processing. Nuclear reactors, meanwhile, normally don’t run beyond 600 degrees, which is not hot enough for this purpose.

Iranian construction of a previously secret uranium enrichment site is at an advanced stage, with high-tech equipment already in place at the fortified facility ahead of its 2011 startup, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report Monday. The revelation of the existence of the underground plant known as Fordo, near the holy city of Qom, has heightened concerns of other possible undeclared Iranian facilities that are not subject to IAEA oversight and therefore could be used for military purposes. In Washington, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the IAEA report "underscores that Iran still refuses to comply fully...

Vilified as a nuclear bomb-seeking threat to world peace before the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraq now wants access to civilian nuclear power for its economic and energy needs. Science and Technology Minister Raed Fahmi, in an interview with AFP, called for the international community to lift the Saddam-era UN resolutions which still stand in its path. "Our nuclear strategy is for civilian application of atomic energy and we believe we have the right and that certain obstacles contained in Resolution 707 should be lifted," he said. "We have a clear and transparent political strategy in close...

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has demanded an urgent and immediate visit to suspected nuclear sites in Syria, Channel 10 cited foreign media reports on Monday night. According to the report, IAEA inspectors discovered enriched uranium in three sites besides Dir Azur, where IAF jets destroyed an alleged reactor in September 2007.

Security Increased at Indian Nuclear Sites Over Possible Attack Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 SNIPPET: "Security at nuclear power facilities in India has been boosted following indications that the sites might face a terrorism threat, Reuters reported today (see GSN, Aug. 17). New Delhi put its nuclear sites on alert following reports that a U.S. citizen, arrested Oct. 3 in the United States in an unrelated case, had visited Indian states with nuclear facilities, the Press Trust of India reported. "The step is precautionary in nature," said an Indian Home Ministry official. "The states have been asked to increase the vigil...

> Each unit will produce 70 MWt or 25 MWe— enough to provide electricity for 20,000 average American-size homes or the industrial equivalent. Approximately 1.5 meters wide by 2.5 meters tall, the units will be able to be transported by ship, rail, or truck and produce power for seven to ten years depending on usage. The HPM uses the energy of uranium fuel and meets all the non-proliferation criteria of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). > The liquid metal reactor takes advantage of the physical properties of a fissile metal hydride, such as uranium hydride, which serves as a...

Research Agency raised concern about possible further secret nuclear sites, Reuters reported quoting an IAEA report obtained by the news agency on Monday. According to the report, Iran told the IAEA it had begun building the site at Qom in 2007 - but the IAEA, the United Nations' global nuclear proliferation watchdog, had evidence the project had begun in 2002, paused in 2004 and resumed in 2006. The report said Iran had provided full access for IAEA inspectors on their first visit to the Qom site three weeks ago, but had yet to provide full, credible answers to verify that...

South Korea is emerging as an unexpected contender in the global race to build nuclear-power plants, turning up as a finalist for one of the industry's most-coveted projects. The Korean bid has surprised more-established competitors—including industry leader Areva SA of France—as well as officials in the United Arab Emirates, who are examining bids for a contract that could be worth as much as $40 billion to build and run the Arab world's first nuclear-power plants. U.A.E. officials could award the contract as early as the next few weeks. Early in the bidding process, many observers expected a two-horse race between...