Germany

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President Medvedev and Chancellor Merkel signed a credit agreement yesterday worth 500 million euros to finance joint projects, primarily in mechanical engineering, RIA Novosti reported. The credit agreement was signed between Vnesheconombank and KfW Ipex-Bank. Medvedev and Merkel also signed a memorandum of understanding to modernize Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg. Medvedev also urged Germany to support the purchase of Opel by an international consortium of the Austrian-Canadian auto supply company Magna and Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank.

Germany under Merkel is a threat to European energy independence through its increasingly close ties to Russia. It is a threat to European independence from Russia in general. Time for the US to ramp up support for France, Poland and Turkey.

Remembrance

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Forty years ago I was studying in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, USSR when Apollo 11 was launched. I was still there in a dorm at Leningrad Polytechnic Institute when they landed. This is what it is all about...Raise a glass.

What to do with Chernobyl

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I was reminded in a conversation with a key project director handling atomic power plant safety for the EC in Ukraine about a recent article in the Guardian (I think) discussing the growing participation in, basically, "visits to hell" tourism. The article described the tours that are given in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear plant. These tours sometimes result in contamination by those careless enough to sit on the ground, brush up against dust or otherwise collect radioactive material on clothing, hair and skin. It doesn't seem to dissuade people from paying for these tours.

The exclusion zone is extensive and divided into 4 zones, but the most dangerous part is the 30 square kilometers around the plant. The radioactive material covering this area will not be going anywhere for a very long time, to say the least. Clean-up within this area would be astronomically expensive and it is unlikely that the EU will or would want to foot the bill. However, my friend reminded me that the commercialization of the inner zone by utilizing it as a radioactive waste storage facility could help to fund a clean-up of the surrounding zones and pay for itself.

The commercialization itself would avoid the unending search for radioactive waste sites which would destroy existing eco-systems and are subject to not-in-my-backyard protests. It certainly would not require an environmental impact statement.

Commericialization would need to be funded, of course and I have no idea if this is feasible. But, if the European Commission wanted to fund something useful, perhaps this is a project that should be investigated

Jaw Dropping...

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A diversion to American politics...from Salon.

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee was asked how he plans to attract "diverse populations" into the Republican Party. "My plan is to say, 'Y'all come. Cause a lot of you are already here." The questioner remarked, probably with a broad grin, "I'll bring the collard greens." Steele replied, "I got the fried chicken and potato salad."

You can't make this crap up. Why are there any Republicans in Congress?

Notice: Newt Gingrich is a Private Citizen with NO POWER

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The other day I said that I thought it would be a good idea to tone down the rhetoric about Iran. In line with that, all foreign readers, particularly in the Middle East should understand a very important fact:

Republican Newt Gingrich is not a member of the US Government. He is a private citizen. To call him eccentric is kind. The fact that news organizations continue to give him air time (in this case Al Jazeera) is the mystery of the decade. He is a disgraced former member of the House of Representatives, has no power and his ideas will not be implemented. Particularly those involving blowing up Iranian oil refineries (even though he thinks there is only one that produces gasoline).

This has been a public service message. That is all.

Blog System Update

We are no longer requiring a sign-in for comments and comments within ten days of a new post will not be moderated. However, any comment we deem inappropriate will result in permanent banning.

Nabucco

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The Nabucco pipeline agreement has been signed. This pipeline is designed to pump gas from Central Asia to Europe without transiting Russia. That's good news for Europe. The bad news is that there is no gas yet to fill it, is far from complete and would need support from Iran and Armenia.

Still, it is a good start and should start to focus Russia's attention on its inappropriate use of energy as a foreign policy weapon against Europe.