Business/Science/Misc.

While here in the US we're still muddled with mental roadblocks about Nuclear the rest of the world (recently Finland too) are bidding out Gen III+ (and IV?) reactors requests.

"China plans to increase its nuclear generating capacity from 8,700 megawatts to 36,000 megawatts by 2020, a plan that calls for the building of at least one 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactor a year over the next 16 years."

While the article says "US-based Westinghouse" it should be noted that Westinghouse is owned by British Nuclear Fuels. And there is no GE bid in this with their Gen III+ ESBWR.

I best stop now before I rant for real. Cheers, -Pk

China to decide on tenders for four nuclear reactors in February

Excerpt: "With its new economic resources China has embarked upon a military traverse from reliance upon mass to devotion to quality, with stress upon war in space, the oceans, and the ether--three areas of unquestioned American superiority."

Is this more old-Pentagon thinking of near-peer? Or is this a reality that we have to consider along with current terrorism reconfigurations? While some people would like to believe China is not a threat I think it's important to note the Chinese-Iranian connection in recent months. On this topic the author, Mark Helprin, writes: "An example of China's growing power to interfere with crucial U.S. interests is the new Sino-Persian $100 billion trade agreement, the perfect complementarity of which--manufactures and military goods in exchange for oil and Islamic endorsement--is echoed by the fact that, at present, the chief American counter to Iranian nuclear weapons development is the threat of a trade embargo, which China need not observe, through the Security Council, over which China has a veto."

I wonder what Thomas P.M. Barnett will have to say about this article. (Hours later there is http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/weblog/archives2/001284.html on Barnett's blog. I knew he had to have seen the WSJ article.)

Cheers, -Pk

Beyond the Rim - 'We ignore China's growing military and economic power at our peril.'

First post so I can get a flavor of MemeStreams. And I thought this link, given the Holiday (and upcoming tax) season, was as generic and harmless as a recommendation could get. Cheers, -Pk

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