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The I Edition of Global Nuclear Notes: India, Iran, Italy

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sourceimagesmallSome updates of stories we've been following here:

Italy has found a partner for its nuclear ambitions. The winner: Great Britain. Here's British PM Gordon Brown:

"We both agreed that nuclear power can play an important part (in achieving) our shared objectives on climate change and energy security."

And his Italian opposite number, Silvio Burlusconi:

"We do hope that there is going to be a single nuclear policy for Europe."

Us, too. He needs to get on the horn with our German friends.

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An Israeli expert on middle east affairs thinks Iran needs nuclear energy:

"Iran's requirement for nuclear energy is justified... It is very important for Iran to find other sources of energy, especially non oil and non gas," Meir Javedanfar told the Christian Science Monitor.

Faced with a nationwide power shortage problem, the country has scheduled power outages of up to two hours a day throughout the country.

Hmm! We understand that an unstable Iran is an issue for Israel, but we're not thrilled with the games Iran and Russia have been playing. Read the whole thing and see what you think.

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And India is already talking deals with American nuclear suppliers:

GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd. and Nuclear Power Corp. plan to buy reactors and equipment from General Electric Co. and Westinghouse Electric Co. when a three- decade ban on India's atomic trade is lifted.

They're jumping the gun a bit - Congress seems unlikely to pass the deal allowing India-U.S. traffic in nuclear materials this term - House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman told the administration he's going to block it - so it may take a new president to get it moved to the full House. We'll see.

We picked this image up from here but couldn't figure out who created it. It's a contest entry: the idea is to start from one image and change it to another in Photoshop. This started as an image of the evil queen from Snow White holding out a poisoned apple - that version was created by Mikkel Lund and is very striking. You can apply symbolism to this variation as suits you.

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Comments

Rod Adams said…
One development in world politics that provides some real cause for concern is the very real possibility that an isolated Russia would join forces with an isolated Iran.

As a team, they could help European and American politicians quickly understand what really makes the world economy function - reliable supplies of energy.

Since many important countries in Europe unilaterally disarmed themselves by slowing nuclear power growth and turning their electric power grid into a huge market for natural gas and oil exporters, they would have a rather severe adjustment to make if certain key valves were shut.

Of course, the valves could not stay shut forever without damaging Russian and Iranian economies, but I think fuel suppliers with money in the bank are in a stronger negotiating position than countries without electricity and gas for heating during certain key times of year. Gas storage is far more limited than money storage.

Just thinking out loud here.
September 11, 2008 at 7:43 AM
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