Thanks once more to the very hospitable Luboš, I've just returned from Mšeno in North Bohemia, where we went hiking yesterday and horseriding today. It's a few degrees colder than Prague, with lows of about -5°C, and was snowing quite a bit. The scenery was great.
I'm going to have a rest. Milonga tonight!
So, Iran has won a short reprieve from a possible referral to the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme. This is to allow Russia to badger Iran into shifting uranium enrichment, which Iran currently hopes to undertake at Natanz, to Russian soil, under Russian scientists. Such a solution would save Iran from sanctions, would save Russian prestige from the humiliation of being proved wrong over the 'peaceful' nature of Iran's nuclear efforts, and would speed Iran towards its stated goal of peaceful nuclear energy. The solution would also address Iran's problems with extracting uranium hexafloride gas (UF6) from uranium yellowcake, although the Iranians might feel some shame if the Russians refuse to put Iranian UF6, which is currently crap, through Russian centrifuges for fear of damaging them.
Unfortunately, if, like me, you still suspect that Iran's intentions aren't all that peaceful, you won't be surprised if Iran either rejects this compromise outright, or accepts it and then cheats on it by trying to develop enrichment capabilities anyway.
Once again, I have too little time for a proper update - I've been hard at work ever since coming back from the UK.
It was great to see friends and family overe there - big hellos to Stephen, Alex, Dan, Karen, Howard, and Pregnant Penny. :-)
Actually, I'd really intended just to complain about France, French immigration/assimilation policy, and Chirac. Big surprise, eh? Since this is a very quick update, I'll just say that the Commission's offer of 50 million euros to France to help redress its inequalities is ludicrous. France is hardly in need of funding - what it does need is a change in policy to fully recognise and tackle this problem directly. And that's exactly what President Chirac has failed to do. Curfews and the state of emergency are short term measures, and Chirac's long-term proposals amount to little more than a reaffirmation of "French values" (I'm assuming this means inequality and racial discrimination) and the establishment of a voluntary task force to promote youth employment. So that's all right then - there's no need to identify the under privilaged and racist employers after all. Other French politicians have stressed the need for economic growth and relaxed labour market restrictions. Good luck to them.
Thanks once more to the very hospitable Luboš, I've just returned from Mšeno in North Bohemia, where we went hiking yesterday and horseriding today. It's a few degrees colder than Prague, with lows of about -5°C, and was snowing quite a bit. The scenery was great.
So, Iran has won a short reprieve from a possible referral to the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme. This is to allow Russia to badger Iran into shifting uranium enrichment, which Iran currently hopes to undertake at Natanz, to Russian soil, under Russian scientists. Such a solution would save Iran from sanctions, would save Russian prestige from the humiliation of being proved wrong over the 'peaceful' nature of Iran's nuclear efforts, and would speed Iran towards its stated goal of peaceful nuclear energy. The solution would also address Iran's problems with extracting uranium hexafloride gas (UF6) from uranium yellowcake, although the Iranians might feel some shame if the Russians refuse to put Iranian UF6, which is currently crap, through Russian centrifuges for fear of damaging them.
Once again, I have too little time for a proper update - I've been hard at work ever since coming back from the UK.
