Feb 19, 2010
HEU’s Mad At Iran? Russia
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran last week produced its first batch of 20% enriched uranium, constituting the country’s first batch of HEU (highly enriched uranium). HEU is used in some reactors as fuel, like fast neutron reactors and some naval reactors that power submarines. Its primary use, however, is for weapons. A typical nuclear bomb uses 85% enriched uranium or... read more
Dec 18, 2009
Most Of The World Imprisoned By State-Mandated Religion
At the beginning of the 21st century we are inundated with a flood of modern marvels and massive strides in social tolerance. Radical advances in fields like genetics and biology promise vast expansions in both the length and quality of life. Scientists are peering beyond our solar system and finding literally dozens of earth-like planets scattered around the galaxy, some of them less than 50 light years... read more
Apr 18, 2009
Can Someone Explain To Me Why We’re Talking To Iran?
As if we needed another reminder that we’re trying to cut useless deals with the wrong sort of people, this headline came roaring off the front page today: Iran Sentences American Journalist to 8 Years in Prison. The journalist in question, Roxana Saberi, was born in North Dakota to an Iranian father and a Japanese mother. She has lived in Tehran for the last six years, working as a freelance reporter... read more
Mar 20, 2009
Will Obama’s Overture To Iran Cause Alienation Down The Road?
As Barack Obama extends an olive branch to Iran, I have a sinking feeling this might go all to hell. My concern does not stem from the potential for appeasement of the arch-conservative Shia regime of the Ayatollah. Mere days before his Nowruz message President Obama extended US sanctions on Iran for another six months, saying the country presented an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the... read more
Mar 4, 2009
Russia’s Reluctance To Rein In Iran
It does not come as a shock that Dmitriy Medvedev, president of the Russian Federation, promptly rejected a clandestine deal supposedly proffered by the Obama administration to end plans for a European missile shield in exchange for Moscow’s help in ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions and long range missile program. Who can blame him? While much of the missile technology Iran is toying with comes from... read more
