I’ll get back to regular blogging shortly, but for now here’s something way off-topic – the cue sheet for the ~ 56-mile route of the 2011 Vasaloppet ride in DC. I’m posting it because it’s a great training ride and I’ve had trouble finding the cue sheet in the past.
According to WABA, which co-sponsors the ride with the Swedish Embassy, registration for the 2012 ride opens Jan 24. The ride is typically the first Sunday in March; I imagine that has not changed. I’ve ridden it twice and it’s pretty great. Also, contrary to what some seem to have heard, the ride’s not rough; the only non-pavement portion, as I recall, is a small part of the Georgetown Branch Trail between Bethesda and Jones Mill Road.
Yeah. Josh Pollack has an excellent article in the current issue of Playboy (link is pr0n-free) in which he reveals the identity of the fourth country (in addition to Iran, Libya and North Korea) to which AQ Khan provided centrifuge technology: India.
TMZ attributes this issue’s rapid sales to the photos of a certain actress, but I think it’s obvious that purchasers are after Josh’s article.
Update:
For a primary source, at least on the IAEA’s investigation of the AQK network, check out Olli Heinonen’s comment in this post.
If you want a good compilation of IAEA documents about the mid-1990s efforts to improve the safeguards system, you could do worse than this report from then-DG Hans Blix to the 1995 IAEA General Conference.
Here’s the table of contents:
Document GOV/2784: “Strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of the safeguards system: Programme 93 + 2 – A report by the Director General”
Statement regarding “Strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of the safeguards system: Programme 93 + 2” made by the Director General in his introductory statement at the March 1995 session of the Board of Governors
Discussion including decision on “Strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of the safeguards system: Programme 93 + 2 “ at the March 1995 session of the Board of Governors
Document GOV/2807: “Strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of the safeguards system : Proposals for a strengthened and more efficient safeguards system – A report by the Director General”
Statement regarding “Strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of the safeguards system: 93 + 2” made by the Director General in his introductory statement at the June 1995 session of the Board of Governors
Discussion including decision on “Strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of the safeguards system: Proposals for strengthened and more efficient safeguards system” at the June 1995 session of the Board of Governors
I’m late to the party on the controversy, but I feel the need to post some primary source documents about the Treaty of Rarotonga and its relevance to the sale of Australian uranium to India.
The issue is that Article 4 of the treaty prohibits states-parties from providing “source or special fissionable material” to “ any non-nuclear-weapon State unless subject to the safeguards required by Article III.1 of the NPT.” The treaty also requires states-parties “to support the continued effectiveness of the international non-proliferation system based on the NPT and the IAEA safeguards system.”
This CNS piece from a few years back contains original documents with official Australian statements indicating that the SPNFZ Treaty prohibits uranium sales to states without comprehensive safeguards agreements.
I’d be interested to see a counter-argument from the Australian government – I’ve not yet found one.
A colleague called my attention to this post over at Langer.com’s blog.
The post uses a photo from Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s 2008 visit to the Natanz FEP to determine the shape of the 164-centrifuge cascades. Specifically, it uses an image from “the SCADA screens in Natanz’ control room.”
I won’t attempt to reconstruct the argument any further. Go ahead and read the whole thing.
I mentioned Iranian cycling once before, but thought I’d do so again when I saw this Boulder Report piece discussing several European pro teams’ interest in Mehdi Sohrabi of Iran’s Tabriz Petrochemical team. It seems that he’s now part of Lotto-Belisol.
According to the Boulder Report piece and this article, the European teams wanted Sohrabi for his UCI points in order to qualify as WorldTour teams (the articles explain it better than I can).
Still, perhaps this is a trend. The Boulder Report does point out that “for somewhat undetermined reasons, visa issues for Iranian riders appear to have lessened, meaning [Iranian riders] Sohrabi and Zargari can actually sign contracts for foreign teams.”
