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Pricing the Risk of War in Iran
F. William Engdahl, 28 January 2006
In the past weeks rumors have circulated widely amid growing tensions around a possible bombing strike against Iran. Among the reports—in violation of all precedent since the 1945 USA bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—is discussion of possible deployment of nuclear bombs by either the United States or Israel, to destroy or render useless the deep underground Iranian nuclear facilities.
The possibility of war against Iran presents a geo-strategic and geopolitical problem of far more complexity than did the bombing and occupation of Iraq. And Iraq has proven complicated enough for the United States. Below we try to identify some of the main motives of the main actors in the new drama and the outlook for possible war.
The dramatis personae include the Bush Administration, most especially the Cheney-led neo-conservative hawks in control now of not only the Pentagon, but also the CIA, the UN Ambassadorship and a growing part of the State Department planning bureaucracy under Condi Rice. It includes Iran under the new and outspoken President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It includes Putin`s Russia, a nuclear-armed veto member of the UN Security Council. It includes a nuclear-armed Israel, whose acting Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, recently declared that Israel could 'under no circumstances' allow Iranian development of nuclear weapons 'that can threaten our existence.' It includes the EU, especially Security Council Permanent Member, France and the weakening President Chirac. It includes China, whose dependence on Iranian oil and potentially natural gas is large.
Each of these actors has differing agendas and different goals, making the issue of Iran one of the most complex in recent international politics. What's going on here? Is a nuclear war, with all that implies for the global financial and political stability, imminent? What are the possible and even probable outcomes?
The basic facts
First the basic facts as can be verified. The latest act by Iran's President, Ahmadinejad, announcing the resumption of suspended work on completing a nuclear fuel enrichment facility along with two other facilities at Natanz, sounded louder alarm bells outside Iran than his inflammatory anti-Israel rhetoric earlier, understandably so. Mohamed El Baradei, Nobel Peace prize winning head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN body, has said he is not sure if that act implies a nuclear weapons program, or whether Iran is merely determined not to be dependent on outside powers for its own civilian nuclear fuel cycle. But, he added, the evidence for it is stronger than that against Saddam Hussein, a rather strong statement by the usually cautious El Baradei.
The result of the resumption of research at Natanz appears to have jelled for the first time, a coalition between USA and the EU, including Germany and France, with China and even Russia, now joining in urging Iran to desist. Last August President George Bush announced, in regard to Iran's announced plans to resume enrichment regardless of international opinion, that 'all options are on the table.' That implied in context a nuclear strike on Iranian nuclear sites. That statement led to a sharp acceleration of EU diplomatic efforts, led by Britain, Germany and France, the so -called EU-3, to avoid a war. The three told Washington they were opposed to a military solution. Since then we are told by Der Spiegel and others the EU view has changed to appear to come closer to the position of the Bush Administration.
It's useful briefly to review the technology of nuclear fuel enrichment. To prepare uranium for use in a nuclear reactor, it undergoes the steps of mining and milling, conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication. These four steps make up the 'front end' of the nuclear fuel cycle.
After uranium has been used in a reactor to produce electricity it is known as 'spent fuel,' and may undergo further steps including temporary storage, reprocessing, and recycling before eventual disposal as waste. Collectively these steps are known as the 'back end' of the fuel cycle.
The Natanz facility is part of the 'front end' or fuel preparation cycle. Ore is first milled into Uranium Oxide (U3O8), or 'yellowcake,' then converted into Uranium Hexafluoride (UF6) gas. The Uranium Hexafluoride then is sent to an enrichment facility, in this case Natanz, to produce a mix containing 3-4% of fissile U235, a non -weapons-grade nuclear fuel. So far, so good more or less in terms of weapons danger.
Iran is especially positioned through geological fortune to possess large quantities of uranium from mines in Yazd Province, permitting Iran to be self-sufficient in fuel and not having to rely on Russian fuel or any other foreign imports for that matter. It also has a facility at Arak which produces heavy water, which is used to moderate a research reactor whose construction began in 2004. That reactor will use uranium dioxide and could enable Iran to produce weapons grade plutonium which some nuclear scientists estimate could produce an amount to build one to two nuclear devices per year. Iran officially claims the plant is for peaceful medical research. The peaceful argument here begins to look thinner.
Nuclear enrichment is no small item. You don't build such a facility in the backyard or the garage. France's large Tricastin enrichment facility provides fuel for the nuclear electricity grid of EdF, as well as for the French nuclear weapons program. It needs four large nuclear reactors, just to provide over 3000 MWe power for it. Early US enrichment plants used gaseous diffusion. Enrichment plants in EU and Russia use a more modern centrifuge process that uses far less energy per unit of enrichment. The latter or centrifuge process is also the Iranian type.
To make weapons grade Uranium requires more than conventional civilian electric power grade uranium fuel.
'Unmaking' weapons grade uranium today is also a geopolitically interesting process, not irrelevant to the current dispute over Iran. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, under agreements designed to insure that the Soviet nuclear arsenal would be converted to peaceful uses, military weapons uranium came on to the civilian market under a US-Russian agreement.
Today more than half of all the uranium used for electricity in the USA nuclear power plants comes from Russian military stockpiles. Currently 20% of all electricity produced in the US is nuclear generated meaning that Russian uranium fuels some 10% of all US electricity.
In 1994 a $12 billion contract was signed between the US Enrichment Corporation (now USEC Inc) and Russia's Techsnabexport (Tenex) as agents for the US and Russian governments. USEC agreed to buy a minimum of 500 tonnes of weapons-grade uranium over 20 years, at a rate of up to 30 tonnes/year beginning 1999. The uranium is blended down to 4.4 % U-235 in Russia. The USEC then sells it to its US power utility customers as fuel. In September 2005 this program reached its halfway point of 250 tonnes or elimination of 10,000 nuclear warheads.
Worldwide, one sixth of the global market of commercial enriched uranium is supplied by Russia from Russian and other weapons-grade uranium stocks. Putin has many cards to play in the showdown over Iran's nuclear program.
The issue of whether Iran was secretly building a nuclear weapon capability first surfaced from allegations by an Iranian exile opposition group in 2002.
Natanz has been under IAEA agency purview since suspicions about Iran's activities surfaced. It was prompted by reports from an Iranian opposition organization, National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and led IAEA head Mohamed El Baradei to tour Iran's nuclear facilities in February 2002, including the incomplete plant in that city of Natanz about 300 miles south of Tehran. The NCRI is the political arm of the controversial People's Mujahedeen of Iran, which both EU and US governments officially brand terrorist but unofficially work with increasingly against the Teheran theocracy.
Possible Iranian strategy
It's undeniably clear that Iran's newly-elected President Ahmadinejad has a more confrontational policy than his predecessor. The Iranian Ambassador to Vienna, speaking at a conference in Austria where this author was present in September 2005, shocked his audience by stating essentially the same line of confrontational rhetoric: 'If it comes to war, Iran is ready…'.
Let's assume that the Western media is correctly reporting the strident militant speeches of the President. We must also assume that in that theocratic state, the ruling mullahs, as the most powerful political institution in Iran, are behind the election of the more fundamentalist Ahmadinejad. It has been speculated that the aim of the militancy and defiance of the US and Israel is to revitalize the role of Iran as the 'vanguard' of an anti-Western theocratic Shi'ite revolution at a time when the mullahs' support internally, and in the Islamic world, is fading.
Let's also assume Ahmadinejad's actions are quite premeditated, with the intent to needle and provoke the west for some reason. If pushed against the wall by growing western pressures, Ahmadinejad's regime has apparently calculated that Iran has little to lose if it hit back.
He is also no rogue agent in opposition to the Iranian clergy. According to the Pakistani newspaper, Dawn of January 24, 2006, Ayatollah Jannati, Secretary of the Guardian Council of the Constitution, stressed Iran's determination to assert its 'inalienable' rights: 'We appreciate President Ahmadinejad because he is following a more aggressive foreign policy on human rights and nuclear issues than the former governments of Khatami and Rafsanjani,' the Ayatollah reportedly said. 'President Ahmadinejad is asking, why only you (western powers) should send inspectors for human rights or nuclear issues to Iran - we also want to inspect you and report on your activities,' Jannati said. The paper's Teheran correspondent added, 'the mood within the country's top leadership remains upbeat and the general belief was that it would be possible to ride out international sanctions - if it comes to that.'
In this situation, some exile Iranians feel it would bolster Ahmadinejad and the ayatollahs to be handed a new UN sanction punishment. It could be used to whip up nationalism at home and tighten their grip on power at a time of waning revolutionary spirit in the country.
Ahmadinejad has been taking very provocative, and presumably calculated measures including breaking nuclear-facility seals, to announcing a major conference that would question evidence that the Nazis conducted a mass murder of European Jews during World War II. Yet he also has stressed several times publicly that in accord with strict Islam law, Iran would never deploy a nuclear device, a weapon of mass destruction, and that it is only asserting its right as a sovereign nation to an independent full-cycle civilian nuclear program.
The history of Iran's nuclear efforts should be noted. It began in 1957 when Reza Shah Pahlevi signed a civilian Atoms for Peace agreement with Eisenhower's administration. Iran received a US research reactor in 1967. Then in 1974 after the first oil shock, the Shah created the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, explicitly tasked to develop civilian nuclear power to displace oil freeing more oil for export, and for developing a nuclear weapon. The Bushehr reactor complex of civilian power reactors was begun by West Germany in the 1970's under the Shah, the same time Iran began buying major shares of key German companies such as Daimler and Krupp. After his 1979 ascent to power, Ayatollah Khomeini ordered all work on the nuclear program halted, citing Islamic beliefs that weapons of mass destruction were immoral.
In 1995, the Russian Foreign Ministry signed a contract with the Iranian government to complete the stalled Bushehr plant, and to supply it with Russian nuclear fuel, provided Iran agreed to allow IAEA monitoring and safeguards. According to an article in the March 2004 MERIA Journal, that 1995 Russia-Iran deal included potentially dangerous transfers of Russian technology such as laser enrichment from Yefremov Scientific Research Institute (NIIEFA). Iran's initial deal with Russia in 1995 included a centrifuge plant that would have provided Iran with fissile material . The plant deal was then canceled at Washington's insistence.
The monitoring of Bushehr continued until the reports from NCRI of secret nuclear weapons facilities in 2002 led to increased pressure on Iran, above all from President Bush, who labeled Iran one of a three nation 'axis of evil' in his January 2002 State of the Union speech. That was when the Bush Administration was deeply in preparation of regime change in Iraq however and Iran took a back seat, not least as Washington neo-conservatives such as Ahmad Chalabi had convinced the Pentagon his ties to Teheran could aid their Iraq agenda.
Since that time, relations between Washington and Teheran have become less than cordial. Iran has been preparing for what it sees as an inevitable war with the United States. Brig. Gen. Mohammad -Ali Jaafari, commander of the Revolutionary Guards' army, told the official IRNA news agency on October 9 2005, 'As the likely enemy is far more advanced technologically than we are, we have been using what is called 'asymmetric warfare' methods. We have gone through the necessary exercises and our forces are now well prepared for this.' This presumably includes terrorist attacks and the use of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, ballistic missiles.
On January 20 2006 Iran announced it had decided to withdraw investments from Europe. This was the same week UBS Bank in Zurich announced it was closing all Iranian accounts. According to US Treasury reports, Iran has an estimated $103 billion in dollar-denominated assets alone. There is potential to cause short-term financial distress, though likely little more should Iran sell all dollar assets abruptly.
What seems clear is that Iran is defiantly going ahead with completion of an independent nuclear capability and insists it is abiding by all rules of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and IAEA.
Iran also apparently feels well prepared to sit out any economic sanctions. The country is the second largest OPEC oil producer (4 .1 million barrels/day in 2005) next to Saudi Arabia (9.1 million bpd). It is fourth largest in the world just under the total oil production of the USA (4.9 million bpd). Russia with 9.5million bpd production in 2005 takes claim to being the world's largest oil-producing country.
Iran has also accumulated a strong cash position from the recent high oil price, earning some $45 billion in oil revenue in 2005, double the average for 2001-2003. This gives it a war chest cushion against external sanctions and the possibility to live for months with cutting its oil export all or partly. That is clearly one of the implicit weapons Iran knows it holds and would clearly use in event the situation escalated into UN Security Council economic sanctions. In today's ultra-tight oil supply market, with OPEC producing at full capacity, there would be no margin to replace 4 million Iranian barrels a day. A price shock level of $130 to $150 is quite likely in that event.
Iran now has decisive influence within the Shi'ite dominated new Iraqi government. The most influential figure in Iraq today is the Shi'ite spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Mohammad al-Sistani, the 75 year old cleric born in Iran. On January 16 2006, after the new Iraqi government offered al-Sistani Iraqi citizenship, he replied, 'I was born Iranian and I will die Iranian.' That also gives Teheran significant leverage over the political developments in Iraq.
The Israeli options
Israel has been thrown into a political crisis at just this time of Iran's strident moves, with the removal of the old warrior, Ariel Sharon, from the scene. Israeli elections will come March 28 for a new government. Contenders include the present acting Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. Israeli media reports that President George W. Bush has decided to do what he can to try and ensure that Olmert, standing in for an incapacitated Ariel Sharon, is elected to be full-time prime minister when Israelis go to the polls on March 28. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has invited Olmert to visit Washington DC, probably sometime next month.
Other reports are that the Vice President, we might say, the 'spiritual leader' of the US hawks, Dick Cheney, has been covertly aiding the Benjamin Netanyahu candidacy as new head of the right-wing Likud. Netanyahu is also directly tied to the indicted US Republican money launderer, Jack Abramoff during the time Netanyahu was Sharon's Finance Minister. Washington journalists report that Vice President Dick Cheney, and his advisers David Addington and John Hannah, are working behind the scenes to ensure that former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu succeeds acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in March. Cheney is working to defeat the more moderate Kadima Party – formed by Ariel Sharon and his more moderate ex-Likud allies – in the March 28 elections.
Bush has not come out with direct vocal support for Olmert, but Olmert has stressed that he will continue to work with America to realize a Palestinian state. Israeli press report the new middle-of -road (Israeli middle) party of Olmert and Sharon – Kadima –
will probably win landslide elections to the dismay of Cheney's and Karl Rove's Christian Right and neo-conservative base. According to the Palestine newspaper, Al-Manar, the Bush Administration is conducting secret contacts with the Palestinian Authority and Arab countries in an effort to have them help strengthen Olmert's stature. The US reportedly informed them that it is interested in having Olmert head Kadima and "continue the process that Sharon began to solve the Palestinian-Israel conflict." The paper further reports that Washington feels that Olmert is a 'smart leader who will be able, with his advisors, to lead the peace process and rebuff the political machinations against him.'
The Bush White House even informed Olmert, according to the paper, that it would like him to keep Sharon's advisors on his team, especially Dov Weisglass and Shimon Peres. Weisglass, Sharon's personal lawyer and broker of ties to Washington, recently said he was in almost daily contact with Condi Rice.
On January 22, Olmert addressed the issue of Iran. According to Israeli State Radio, he said that Iran was trying to engage Israel in the conflict surrounding Tehran's ongoing nuclear enrichment efforts, and that he concurs with Ariel Sharon's position that Israel would not lead the battle against Iran. He said that that 'responsibility falls first and foremost on the United States, Germany, France and the Security Council. We do not have to be the leaders.' By contrast, his Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, stated Israel will not tolerate Iran achieving nuclear independence, a statement that analysts feel signals a military action by Jerusalem is possible, with or without official US sanction.
This all would indicate that there is a definite split within Israel between a future Olmert government not eager to launch a pre-emptive military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities versus the ever -hawkish neo-conservative-tied Netanyahu. Notably, prominent Washington neo-conservative, Kenneth Timmerman, told Israeli radio in mid January that he expects an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran 'within the next 60 days,' i.e. just after Israeli elections or just before. Timmermann is close to Richard Perle, the indicted Cheney chief of staff, Lewis Libby, to Doug Feith and Michael Ledeen.
The question is whether ordinary Israelis are war weary, whether with Palestine or with Iran, and seek a compromise solution. Polls seem to indicate so. However, the very strong showing of Hamas in the January 25 Palestine elections could change the Israeli mood. The day after their vote success, Hamas leader Mahmoud A-Zahhar claimed that his movement will not change its covenant calling for the destruction of Israel, reported the Israeli online news portal Ynet.
Last week, a new element appeared in the chemistry of the long-standing Israeli Likud-US Congress influence nexus. Larry A. Franklin, a former Pentagon Iran analyst and close friend of leading Pentagon neo-conservatives, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in jail for sharing classified Pentagon information with pro-Israel lobbyists through an influential Washington-based lobby organization, AIPAC, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC has been at the heart of ties between the Israeli right-wing Likud and members of the US Congress for years. It is regarded as so powerful that it is able to decide which Congressman is elected or re-elected. Previously it had been considered 'untouchable.' That is no longer true it seems.
Franklin pleaded guilty last October to sharing the information with AIPAC lobbyists and Israeli diplomat Naor Gilon. Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, who were fired from AIPAC in 2004 in the affair, are facing charges of disclosing confidential information to Israel, apparently about Iran. The sentencing is causing major shock waves throughout major US Jewish organizations including the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith. The conviction has hit a vital lobbying tool of AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobby groups, namely, expenses paid trips for US Congressmen to Israel. Hundreds of politicians are taken to Israel every year by non-profit affiliates of groups like AIPAC and the American Jewish Committee — trips Jewish leaders say are a vital tool in pro-Israel lobbying.
The Bush Administration had tried to bury the Franklin case, unsuccessfully. They could only delay the trial until after the November 2004 US elections. The Franklin scandal in the US as well as the Jack Abramoff lobbying affair, have both hit severe blows to the suspicious money network between Likud and the White House, potentially fatally weakening the Israeli hawk faction of Netanyahu.
The Russian factor in Iran
The role of Putin's Russia in the unfolding Iran showdown is central. In geopolitical terms, one must not forget that Russia is the ultimate 'prize' or endgame in the more than decade long US strategy of controlling Eurasia and preventing any possible rival from emerging to challenge US hegemony.
Russian engineers and technical advisers are in Iran constructing the Bushehr nuclear plant, at least 300 Russian technicians. Iran has been a strategic cooperation partner of the Putin government in terms of opposing US-UK designs for control of Caspian oil. Iran has been a major purchaser of Russian military hardware since the collapse of the Soviet Union, in addition to buying Russian nuclear technology and expertise.
In March 2005 Iran-Russian relations took a qualitative shift closer. That month Moscow agreed to the sale of a 'defensive' missile system to Tehran, worth up to $7 billion-worth of future defense contracts. In 2000 Putin had announced Russia would no longer continue to abide by a secret US-Russia agreement to ban Russian weapons sales to Iran that the government of Boris Yeltsin had concluded. Since then, Russian-Iranian relations have become more entwined to put it mildly.
Moscow currently says it is in talks with Iran to build five to seven additional nuclear power reactors on the Bushehr site after completion of the present reactor. Russia expects to get up to $10 billion from the planned larger Bushehr reactors deal and additional arms sales to Iran. It is currently building the reactor on credit to be paid by Iran only after the completion of the project. Sanctions and admonitions will not change Russia's relationship with one of the most demonized states in America's 'axis of evil.' Iran has become a major counterweight for Moscow in the geopolitical game for Washington's total domination over Eurasia, and Putin is shrewdly aware of that potential.
A look at the map (see below), will reveal how geo-politically strategic Iran is for Russia, as well as for Israel and the USA. Iran controls the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the choke point for oil from the Persian Gulf to Japan and the rest of the world. Iran borders the oil-rich Caspian Sea as it does NATO member Turkey.
Significantly, on January 23, the Russian daily, Kommersant reported that Armenia, sandwiched between Iran and Georgia, had agreed to sell 45% control of its Iran-Armenia gas pipeline to Russia's Gazprom. The Russian daily added, 'If Russia takes over this [Iran-Armenia] pipeline, Russia will be able to control transit of Iranian gas to Georgia, Ukraine and Europe.' That would be a major blow to the series of Washington operations to insert US-friendly pro-NATO governments in Georgia as well as Ukraine. It would also bind Iran and Russian energy relations. While the Armenian government denies they have agreed, negotiations continue with Gazprom holding out the prospect of demanding double the price or $110 per 1000 cubic meters rather than the present $54 unless Armenia agree to sell the stake to Gazprom.
Russia is pursuing a complex strategy regarding its cooperation with Iran. Minatom, the Russian nuclear energy group announced some time back that Russia was in discussion with Teheran to increase Iran's nuclear capacity by 6000 megawatts by 2020. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed a year ago that Moscow would supply Iran with fuel for the Bushehr reactor even if it did not sign the IAEA Additional Protocols. While Putin has assured the world that Iran must demonstrate full NPT compliance before the Russian nuclear transfers occur, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated previously that the IAEA's failure to condemn Iran opened the door for Russia to help build future reactors in that country. Putin has managed to put Russia square in the middle of the present global showdown over Iran, a position which clearly tells some in Moscow that Russia is indeed again a 'global player'. Undoubtedly more.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, in a January 18 discussion with the daily, Nezavisimaya gazeta, stated, 'It is not profitable for Russia to impose sanctions on Iran, since we just recently signed an agreement to sell them nearly $1 billion worth of medium-range anti-aircraft weapons. These modern weapons are capable of hitting targets up to 25 kilometers away and will probably be used to defend various testing sites in Iran. Therefore, if some attempt is made to strike at the country and the deliveries from Russia are made quickly enough, we can expect a strong response. In other words, Iran will be able to defend itself.'
Ivanov added a significant caveat: 'However, if ballistic missiles are used, then nuclear sites can be targeted effectively. We must not forget that Russia has its experts working on some of these sites, and is not interested in a military scenario, if only to protect them.'
Russia's current strategy is to renew its earlier offer, rejected initially by Teheran, to take the uranium fuel from Iran to Russia for reprocessing, thus defusing the crisis significantly. On January 25, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said that Tehran views Moscow's offer to have Iran's uranium enriched in Russia as a 'positive development,' but no agreement has been reached between the countries, according to an AP report.
Larijani repeated Iran's threat to renew enrichment activities if it is referred to the UN Security Council. Moscow has proposed having Iran's uranium enriched in Russia, then returned to Iran for use in the country's reactors — a compromise that could provide more oversight and ease tensions, at least in theory, with the United States and European Union over Iran's nuclear program. Talks have continued over the specifics, including Tehran's proposal to have China involved in the Russian enrichment process.
Following his meeting with Russian Security Council chief Igor Ivanov, Larijani told press, 'Our view of this offer is positive, and we are trying to bring the positions of the sides closer.' Further talks come in February, after the planned emergency IAEA meeting of February 2. Iran opposition groups claim the Russian talks are merely a ploy to divide the West and buy more time. Larijani and Ivanov said in a joint statement that Tehran's nuclear standoff must be resolved by diplomatic efforts in the U.N. atomic watchdog agency.
The China factor in Iran
China, in its increasingly urgent search for secure long-term energy supplies, especially oil and gas, has developed major economic ties with Iran. It began in 2000, when Beijing invited Iranian President Khatami for a literal red carpet reception and discussion of areas of energy and economic cooperation. Then in November 2004, curiously at the occasion of the second Bush election victory, the relation took a major shift as China signed huge oil and gas deals with Teheran.
The two countries signed a preliminary agreement worth potentially $70 billion to $100 billion. Under the terms, China will purchase Iranian oil and gas and help develop Iran's Yadavaran oil field, near the Iraqi border. That same year, China agreed to buy $20 billion in liquefied natural gas from Iran over a quarter-century.
Iran's Oil Minister stated at the time, 'Japan is our number one energy importer for historical reasons . . . but we would like to give preference to exports to China.' In return China has become a major exporter of manufactured goods to Iran, including computer systems, household appliances and cars.
In addition to selling Iran its computers and home appliances, Beijing has been one of the largest suppliers of military technology to Teheran since the 1980's. Chinese arms trade has involved conventional, missile, nuclear, and chemical weapons. Outside Pakistan and North Korea, China's arms trade with Iran has been more comprehensive and sustained than that with any other country.
China has sold thousands of tanks, armored personnel vehicles, and artillery pieces, several hundred surface-to-air, air-to-air, cruise, and ballistic missiles as well as thousands of antitank missiles, more than a hundred fighter aircraft, and dozens of small warships. In addition, it is widely believed that China has assisted Iran in the development of its ballistic and cruise missile production capability, and has provided Iran with technologies and assistance in the development of its clandestine chemical and nuclear weapons programs. In addition, China has supplied Iran scientific expertise, technical cooperation, technology transfers, production technologies, blueprints, and dual-use transfers.
In sum, Iran is more than a strategic partner for China. In the wake of the US unilateral decision to go to war against Iraq, reports from Chinese media indicated that the leadership in Beijing privately realized its own long-term energy security was fundamentally at risk under the aggressive new pre-emptive war strategy of Washington. China began taking major steps to outflank or negate total US domination of the world's major oil and gas resources. Iran has become a central part of that strategy.
This underscores the Chinese demand that the Iran nuclear issue be settled in the halls of the IAEA and not at the UN Security Council as Washington wishes. China would clearly threaten its veto were Iran to be brought before the UN for sanctions.
EU relations with Iran
The EU is Iran's main trading partner concerning both imports and exports. Clearly, they want to avoid a war with Iran and all that would imply for the EU. The EU's Balance of Trade (BoT) with Iran is negative due to large imports of oil. Germany's new CDU-led government under Chancellor Angela Merkel has made a clear point of trying to reaffirm close ties with Washington following the tense relations under former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder who openly opposed the Iraq war along with France's Chirac in 2002 and 2003.
Chirac for his part is the subject of major controversy since he held a speech January 19 in which he overturned the traditional French nuclear doctrine of 'no first strike' to say, were a terrorist nation to attack France, he would consider even nuclear retaliation as appropriate. The mere declaration by a French President has sent an uproar internationally. Whether it was French psychological warfare designed to pressure Iran or the reflection of a fundamental change in French nuclear doctrine to one of pre -emptive strike or something similar is so far not clear. What is clear is that the Chirac government will not stand in the way of a US decision to impose UN sanctions on Iran. Whether that also holds for a US-sanctioned nuclear strike is not clear.
The EU-3, whose negotiations diplomatically have so far produced no results, are now moving towards some form of more effective action against Iran's decision to proceed with reprocessing. The only problem is that other than nuclear sabre rattling, the EU has few cards to play. It needs Iranian energy. It is also aware of what it would mean to have a war in Iran in terms of potential terror retaliations. The EU to put it mildly is highly nervous and alarmed at the potential of a US-Iran or Israel-US vs Iran military showdown.
The Bush Administration role in Iran
Unlike the Iraq war buildup where it became clear to a shocked world that the Bush Administration was going to war regardless, with Iran Washington has so far been willing to let the EU states take a diplomatic lead, only stepping up pressure publicly on Iran in recent weeks. On January 19 the US repeated that neither it nor its European partners want to return to the negotiating table with Iran. 'The international community is united in mistrusting Tehran with nuclear technology,' said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. '…The time has come for a referral of Iran to the [UN] Security Council,' she added. Rice's choice of the word 'referral' was deliberate. If Iran is only 'reported' to the Security Council, debate would lack legal weight. A formal 'referral' is necessary if the Council is to impose any penalty, such as economic sanctions.
The neo-conservatives, although slightly lower profile in the second Bush Administration, are every bit as active, especially through Cheney's office. They want a pre-emptive bombing strike on Iran's nuclear sites.
But whatever Cheney's office may be doing, officially, the Bush administration is pursuing a markedly different approach than it did in 2003, when its diplomacy was aimed at lining up allies for a war. This time, U.S. diplomats are seeking an international consensus on how to proceed, or at least, cultivating the impresion.
Iraq and the deepening US disaster there has severely constrained possible US options in Iran. Back in 2003 in the wake of the Iraqi 'victory,' leading Washington neo-conservative hawks were vocally calling on Bush to 'Move on to Tehran' after Saddam Hussein. Now, because of the "bloody quagmire" in Iraq, the US is severely constrained from moving unilaterally. With 140,000 troops tied down in Iraq, the US military physically cannot support another invasion and occupation in yet another country, let alone Iran.
Because of Iran's size, a ground invasion may require twice as many troops as in Iraq, says Richard Russell, a Middle East specialist at the National Defense University in Washington. While an air campaign could take out Iran's air defenses, it could also trigger terrorism and oil disruptions. Washington is internally split over the issue of a successful nuclear strike against Iran.
AIPAC and Abramoff impact Washington
Another little-appreciated new element in the US political chemistry around the Bush White House are two devastating legal prosecutions which have hit the heart of the black and grey money network between Washington Republicans and the Israeli right-wing Likud.
Jack Abramoff, the financial patron of several prominent Republicans, including ex-House Majority Leader, Tom Delay, and Steve Rosen, the key force behind AIPAC, were two of the most influential Jewish lobbyists in Washington before legal scandals effectively ended their careers and sent them scrambling to stay out of prison.
Abramoff has pleaded guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy arising out of his work lobbying for Indian gambling casino interests. That scandal could implicate far more Congressmen and even some in the White House.
Rosen is fighting allegations that as chief strategist at AIPAC, he received and passed classified national security information, received from Larry Franklin, to unauthorized parties. Perhaps it is coincidence that two such high-profile damaging cases to the lobbying power of right-wing Israeli hawk elements surface at the same time, at just this time when war drums are pounding on Iran.
AIPAC's drama began August 2004, when on the eve of the Republican National Convention, the FBI raided the organization's offices, looking for incriminating documents. A year later, in August 2005, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Rosen, by then AIPAC's director of foreign policy issues, and Keith Weissman, who had been an AIPAC Iran analyst. The government disclosed it had had the men under surveillance for more than four years and alleged that they had received and passed along classified information. The indictment named a Pentagon aide, Lawrence Franklin, as their co-conspirator. Franklin, who has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, pleaded guilty in October 2005 to passing classified documents to unauthorized persons and improperly storing such documents in his home. He was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison last week.
Bush, as de facto head of his party, faces a potentially devastating November Congressional election. With the quagmire of Iraq continuing and more Americans asking what in fact they are dying for in Iraq if not oil, Bush's popularity has continued to plunge. He has now only 46 per cent of popular support. More than 53 per cent of people have expressed unfavorable opinion of Bush. The Hurricane Kartina debacle of bungled response by the White House, the growing perception that Bush has 'lied' to the public, all are working to seriously undermine Republican chances in November.
The stench of insider deals, not only with Cheney's Halliburton is growing stronger and getting major media coverage, which is new. Conservative traditional Republicans are outraged at the unprecedented Federal spending binge Bush Republicans have indulged to protect their own special interests. In a recent article, Michael Reagan, conservative son of the late President, wrote, "Republican congressional leaders promised individual members of Congress up to $14 million 'in free earmarks,' (i.e. special spending allocations) if they would support, which they did, the massive $286.5 billion Bush transportation bill." According to Reagan, "The bill came to a total of 6,300 earmarked projects costing the taxpayers $24 billion, a clear case of bribery. The people being bribed were members of Congress. The people making the bribes were members of Congress. Congressmen bribing congressmen."
A recent Fox News poll indicated that Americans saw the Republican congressional majority as materially more corrupt and more responsible for the current spate of scandals than the Democrats by a wide margin.
CONPLAN 8022
In January 2003 President Bush signed a classified Presidential Directive, CONPLAN 8022-02. Conplan 8022 is a war plan different from all prior in that it posits 'no ground troops.' It was specifically drafted to deal with 'imminent' threats from states such as North Korea or Iran.
Unlike the warplan for Iraq, a conventional one, which required coordinated preparation of air, ground and sea forces before it could be launched, a process of months even years, Conplan 8022 called for a highly concentrated strike combining bombing with electronic warfare and cyberattacks to cripple an opponent's response—cutting electricity in the country, jamming communications, hacking computer networks.
Conplan 8022 explicitly includes a nuclear option, specially configured earth-penetrating 'mini' nukes to hit underground sites such as Iran's. In summer 2005 Defense Secretary Rumsfeld approved a top secret 'Interim Global Strike Alert Order' directing round-the-clock military readiness, to be directed by the Omaha-based Strategic Command (Stratcom), according to a report in the May 15, 2005 Washington Post. Previously, ominously enough, Stratcom oversaw only the US nuclear forces. In January 2003 Bush signed on to a definition of 'full spectrum global strike' which included precision nuclear as well as conventional bombs, and space warfare. This was a follow-up to the President's September 2002 National Security Strategy which laid out as US strategic doctrine a policy of 'pre-emptive' wars.
The burning question is whether, with plunging popularity polls, a coming national election, scandals and loss of influence, the Bush White House might 'think the unthinkable' and order a nuclear pre-emptive global strike on Iran before the November elections, perhaps early after the March 28 Israeli elections.
Some Pentagon analysts have suggested that the entire US strategy towards Iran, unlike with Iraq, is rather a carefully orchestrated escalation of psychological pressure and bluff to force Iran to back down. It seems clear, especially in light of the strategic threat Iran faces from US or Israeli forces on its borders after 2003 that Iran is not likely to back down from its clear plans to develop the full nuclear fuel cycle capacities and with it, the option of developing an Iranian nuclear capability.
The question then is what will Washington do? The fundamental change in US defense doctrine since 2001, from a posture of defense to offense has significantly lowered the threshold of nuclear war, perhaps a global nuclear conflagration.
Geopolitical risks of nuclear war
While the latest Iranian agreement to reopen Russian talks on Russian spent fuel reprocessing has taken some of the edge off for the moment, on January 27 President Bush announced publicly that he backed the Russian compromise, along with China and El Baradei of the IAEA. Bush signalled a significant backdown, at least for the moment, stating, 'The Russians came up with the idea and I support it…I do believe people ought to be allowed to have civilian nuclear power.' At the same time Rice's State Department expressed concern the Russian-Iran talks were a stalling ploy by Teheran.
Bush added 'However, I don't believe that non-transparent (sic) regimes that threaten the security of the world should be allowed to gain the technologies necessary to make a weapon.' The same day, Secretary Rice at Davos told the World Economic Forum that Iran's nuclear program posed 'significant danger' and that Iran must be brought before the UN Security Council. In short, Washington is trying to appear 'diplomatic while keeping options open.
Should Iran be brought before the UN Security Council for violations of the NPT and charges of developing weapons of mass destruction, it seems quite probable that Russia and China would veto imposing sanctions such as economic embargo on Iran for reasons stated above. The timetable for that is likely sometime around March-May, that is, after a new Israeli government is in place.
At that point there are several possible outcomes.
* The IAEA refers Iran to the UN Security Council which proposes increased monitoring of the reprocessing facilities for weapons producing while avoiding sanctions. In essence Iran would be allowed to develop its full fuel cycle nuclear program and its sovereignty is respected so long as it respects NPT and IAEA conditions. This is unlikely for the reasons stated above.
* Iran like India and Pakistan or even China, is permitted to develop a small arsenal of nuclear weapons as a deterrent to the growing military threat in its area posed by the United States from Afghanistan to Iraq to the Emirates, as well as by Israel's nuclear force. The West extends new offers of economic cooperation in the development of Iran's oil and gas infrastructure and Iran is slowly welcomed into the community of the WTO and cooperation with the West. A new government in Israel pursues a peace policy in Palestine and with Syria and a new regional relaxation of tensions opens the way for huge new economic development in the entire Middle east region, Iran included. The Mullahs in Iran slowly loose influence. This scenario, desireable as it is is extremely unlikely in the present circumstances.
* President Bush, on the urging of Cheney, Rumsfeld and the neo-conservative hawks, decide to activate CONPLAN 8022, an air attack bombing Iran's presumed nuclear sites, including for the first time since 1945, with deployment of nuclear weapons. No ground troops are used and it is proclaimed a swift surgical 'success' by the formidable Pentagon propaganda machine. Iran, prepared for such a possibility, launches a calculated counter-strike using techniques of guerrilla or 'assymetrical warfare' against US and NATO targets around the world.
The Iran response includes activating trained cells within Lebanon's Hezbollah; it includes activating considerable Iranian assets within Iraq, potentially in de facto alliance with the Sunni resistance there targeting the 135,000 remaining US troops and civilian personnel. Iran's assymetrical response also includes stepping up informal ties to the powerful Hamas within Palestine to win them to a Holy War against the US-Israel 'Great Satan.' Israel faces unprecedented terror and sabotage attacks from every side and from within its territory from sleeper cells of Arab Israelis. Iran activates trained sleeper terror cells in the Ras Tanura center of Saudi oil refining and shipping. The Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia around Ras Tanura contains a disenfranchised Shi'ite minority which have historically been denied the fruits of the immense Saudi oil wealth. There are some 2 million Shi'ia Muslims in Saudi Arabia. Shias do most of the manual work in the Saudi oilfields, making up 40 percent of Aramco's workforce.
Iran declares an immediate embargo of deliveries of its 4 million barrels of oil a day. It threatens to sink a large VLCC oil super -tanker in the narrows of the Strait of Hormuz, chocking off 40% of all world oil flows, if the world does not join it against the US-Israeli action. The strait has two 1 mile wide channels for marine traffic, separated by a 2 mile wide buffer zone, and is the only sea passage to the open ocean for much of OPEC oil. It is Saudi Arabia's main export route.
Iran a vast, strategically central expanse of land, more than double the land area of France and Germany combined, with well over 70 million people, and one of the fastest population growth rates in the world is well prepared for a new Holy War. Its mountainous terrain makes any thought of a US ground occupation inconceivable at a time the Pentagon is having problems retaining its present force to maintain the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations. World War III begins in a series of miscalculations and disruptions. The pentagon's awesome war machine, 'total spectrum dominance' is powerless against the growing 'assymetrical war' assaults around the globe.
Clear from a reading of their public statements and their press, the Iranian government knows well what cards they hold and what not in this global game of thermo-nuclear chicken.
Were the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld axis to risk launching a nuclear strike on Iran, given the geopolitical context, it would mark a point of no return in international relations. Even with sagging popularity, the White House knows this. The danger of the initial strategy of pre-emptive wars is that, as now, when someone like Iran calls the US bluff with a formidable response potential, the US is left with little option but to launch the unthinkable-nuclear first strike.
There are saner voices within the US political establishment, such as former NSC heads, Brent Scowcroft or even Zbigniew Brzezinski, who clearly understand the deadly logic of Bush's and the Pentagon hawks' pre-emptive posture. The question is whether their faction within the US power establishment today is powerful enough to do to Bush and Cheney what was done to Richard Nixon when his exercise of Presidential power got out of hand.
It is useful to keep in mind that even were Iran to possess nuclear missiles, the strike range would not reach the territory of the United States. Israel would be the closest potential target. A US pre-emptive nuclear strike to defend Israel would raise the issue of what the military agreements between Tel Aviv and Washington actually encompass, a subject which neither the Bush Administration nor its predecessors have seen fit to inform the American public about.


The Evansville Water and Sewer Utility will be raising sewer rates in the coming years to comply with federal mandates and to fix existing infrastructure. The first rate increase will go into effect on January 1, 2017, and rates will increase each year through 2020.
Through Renew Evansville, EWSU is meeting federal mandates to reduce water pollution and combined sewer overflows, plus create sustainable "green" solutions.
We are also repairing and maintaining Evansville's sewer lines and wastewater treatment plants, and beginning the preliminary work on Bee Slough.
These projects require about $185 million in capital.
How will these increases affect my bill?
Industrial and public authority customers can get more information about how these increases will affect their rates here.


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Christmas Eve death ruled a homicide, Jackson police continue investigation
The death of a woman in Jackson in Christmas Eve has been ruled a homicide following an autopsy in Nashville.
Christmas Eve death ruled a homicide, Jackson police continue investigation The death of a woman in Jackson in Christmas Eve has been ruled a homicide following an autopsy in Nashville. Check out this story on jacksonsun.com: https://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/local/2019/01/03/christmas-eve-death-ruled-homicide-jackson-police-continue-investigation/2476099002/
Cassandra Stephenson, Jackson Sun Published 3:28 p.m. CT Jan. 3, 2019
Police lights.(Photo: kali9, Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Jackson police have declared the death of a woman on Christmas Eve a homicide.
The Jackson Police Department announced Thursday that the death of Doris Scott, 64, has been ruled a homicide following an autopsy by the Medical Examiner's Office in Nashville.
Scott was found deceased in an apartment on Lincoln Circle at around 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 24.
The investigation is ongoing, according to a JPD press release. It is unclear if there are any suspects at this time.
Police encourage anyone with any information relating to the case to contact the Jackson Police Department at 731-425-8400 or Crime Stoppers at 731-424-TIPS (8477).
Reach Cassandra Stephenson at ckstephens@jacksonsun.com or at (731) 694-7261. Follow Cassandra on Twitter at @CStephenson731.
Read or Share this story: https://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/local/2019/01/03/christmas-eve-death-ruled-homicide-jackson-police-continue-investigation/2476099002/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This striking reconstruction of he famous tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus, now Budrum, Asia Minor, is based on a model in the British Museum constructed after recent investigations into the details of the building. King Mausolus, whose name lives in our language in he word "mausoleum", ruled Caria, from 387-353BC as a satrap, or a provincial governor, under the Great King of Persia. The stately monument raised to his memory was inspired by the grief of Artemisia, his widowed queen. Accounted as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, it stood 140 feet high.


Several things are taken into account for engine exhausts.
Color is calculated by combining diffuse and glow in spg2_thruster.fx shader (editable with Notepad).
SIMapMult material parameter is used to change glow intensity.
0 = no glow | 1 = 100% glow (can go higher than 1).
DiffuseColor: alpha material parameter changes the models opacity.
Alpha channel in the model's texture ONLY affects glow transparency.


Today, technology is more than an industry, it is an engine that fuels the development and growth of all industries and a key source of innovation, GDP, job growth and economic diversity.
The 2018 BC Tech Report Card outlined a number of areas in need of attention to ensure continued economic success. With these 11 key policy recommendations, BC Tech proposes a transformation agenda that will enable BC to realize a $25 Billion economic opportunity.
We look forward to working with the provincial and federal governments over the coming months to explore how these ideas can best be implemented.


This free package consists of 5 Dubstep Bassline Presets for the famous Massive synthesizer by Native Instruments.
If you're looking for conventional WAV samples, check out our free dubstep and trap samples section.
I also created a making of/tutorial video from one of these bassline presets, have a look on the Youtube video below.


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Schedule/Sessions
The premier event for green building professionals
July 25, 2019 – San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California, 94103, USA
The San Francisco Marriott Marquis is the official conference venue and hotel. A discounted nightly rate of $309 (plus taxes and fees) is available for GreenerBuilder conference attendees until Tuesday, June 25, 2019.
To book online, click the link below and click 'Make Reservation.' On the next screen, enter your travel dates, number of rooms and number of guests, then click 'Find.'
To book by phone, call (888) 575-8934 and ask for the Official GreenerBuilder Conference Room Block.
This discounted rate is available for reservations between July 23 – 28, 2019.
The San Francisco Marriott Marquis is located at Fourth and Mission Streets, approximately 25 minutes from San Francisco and Oakland International Airports. There are both on-site and off-site parking options for conference attendees.
From Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART):
Exit Powell Street Station
From San Francisco International Airport (SFO):
Follow the signs for the ramp to "Hwy 101 North San Francisco." Continue on 101 North 9.2 miles to the San Francisco freeway interchange of Hwy 101 & I-280. Move to the far right lane, following the sign for "North 280/Downtown S.F." Continue 10 miles and exit the freeway via the 6th Street off-ramp. Proceed straight down the off-ramp onto 6th Street. Drive 4 blocks to Folsom Street & turn right. Proceed 3 blocks to 3rd Street & turn left. Continue 2 blocks to Mission Street and turn left. The hotel's driveway, which will be within one block on the right, is located between 3rd & 4th Streets.
From the East Bay:
From the South Bay:
Merge onto CA-87 North toward US-101 North. Take exit 9B on the left to merge onto US-101 North. Continue 40 miles north to the San Francisco freeway interchange of Hwy 101 & I-280. Move to the far right lane, following the sign for "North 280/Downtown S.F." Continue 10 miles and exit the freeway via the 6th Street off-ramp. Proceed straight down the off-ramp onto 6th Street. Drive 4 blocks to Folsom Street & turn right. Proceed 3 blocks to 3rd Street & turn left. Continue 2 blocks to Mission Street and turn left. The hotel's driveway, which will be within one block on the right, is located between 3rd & 4th Streets.
Electric car charging stations: 4, For a fee
Valet parking, fee: 79.99 USD daily
About USGBC
GreenerBuilder is an event hosted by the Pacific Region Communities of the US Green Building Council. Our goal is green building for everyone. USGBC was established in 1993 with a mission to promote sustainability-focused practices in the building industry. Since the LEED rating system's unveiling in 2000, it has become an international standard for environmentally sound buildings, certifying hundreds of thousands of square feet per day.
Contact & Social:
©2020 U.S. Green Building Council
Cookie Statement | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use


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TRADING DIVISION
AGGC's TRADING (IMPORT & EXPORT) DIVISION
AGGC's trading division is registered with Ministry of Commerce and Industry under License number 21035, since its establishment it has been actively participating in the socio-economic development of its country through its imports and exports. AGGC exports rugs and carpets while it imports many things such as computer technology, construction LAB equipment, medicine, medical equipment and soft skin vehicle etc. AGGC's trading division is among the largest trading companies of the country.
MEDICINE & MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
AGGC has greatly contributed in the health sector of the country by participating in open competitive bedding of several health related projects announced by Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) of Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA), UN Agencies and other International donors working in Afghanistan and provided top class medicine and other health related products to its citizen. We are proud to say that through health care services contracts made with MoPH of Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and other donors we delivered high quality medicine and health related services. AGGC has also signed and successfully completed several contracts with Ministry of Public Health of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for the provision of Medical Equipment.
AGGC is among the Largest and leading solar system provider companies in Afghanistan engaged in the design, supply, installation and maintenance of solar power systems. A professionally managed company set up to promote environment friendly green energy products. The company works and represents leading international manufactures in the solar industry.
AGGC is a reliable supplier and integrator of renewable energy products and solutions.
AGGC's mission in respect to solar energy is to provide reliable, long lasting solar solutions. Our professional team includes Electrical Engineers, System Designers, Technicians and other skilled persons, all with a passion for solar and wind energy.
Customer satisfaction is our pride, The Company believes in after sales services and availability of spares parts at all times. The Company has invested in significant inventory levels to ensure quick deliveries and replacement when needed.
AGGC has expertise in various types of Solar Solutions from basic home lighting systems to complicated Telecom & Office Solar Solutions. The Company is equipped and capable to provide end-to-end complete Solar Solutions. We work closely with associated solar companies and consultants around the world who are pioneers in Solar Technology to ensure complete customer satisfaction.
The Company represents many leading Solar Manufacturers around the world. Some products offered as follows: Panels, Batteries, Charge Controllers, Inverters, Water Pumps, Street Lights, Cables, DC lights, LED Lights, etc. Some of our largest customers are: US ARMY, various Telecom Operators, various Non- Governmental Organizations, Governmental Rural Programs, Banks, and many more.
The Company also represents big names in the industry such as: BP Solar USA, Grundfos Denmark, Morningstar, Apollo USA, Exide, Exact, Su Kam, Kevin etc.


The Triangle Crystal is an item from Phantom Hourglass found in the Temple of the Ocean King. The item appears in a Treasure Chest at the northwest corner of Floor B9. Link will need to carry the crystal back down to Floor B8, where it fits on a pedestal in the northeast corner, needed to reach a crystal switch. Placing it in this pedestal also allows Link to reach a Treasure Chest that contains a Courage Gem. Eventually Link will need to carry all three types of crystals and place them in corresponding pedestals on Floor B9.
On Floor B9 of the Temple of the Ocean King, if Link places the crystals in the proper order, the elevator will activate, allowing Link to reach Floor B10. The correct order is Square, Round, and then Triangle.
Each time Link re-enters the Temple of the Ocean King, the crystals will revert back to their original locations. In subsequent visits of the Temple of the Ocean King, Link will not to place the Triangle Crystal on Floor B8, as a shortcut with the Bombchus will skip this step.
This page was last modified on March 14, 2018, at 22:29.


The Australian Constitution is a framework which defines the Australian system of national government and establishes the legal basis for Federal Parliament to make laws. The Constitution itself guarantees that the only way this framework can be changed is by a referendum - that is by asking all eligible electors whether or not they approve of the proposed law to change the Constitution.
Before a referendum can be held, a Bill must become a proposed law by being passed by both Houses of Federal Parliament or passed twice in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. The proposed law is then submitted to the direct vote of the Australian electors at a referendum no sooner than two and no later than six months after the Bill is passed by Parliament.
The results of previous referendums show that the requirement for a 'double majority' has proven difficult to achieve.
Since Federation on 1 January 1901, there have been 42 proposals for constitutional change put to Australian electors but only eight proposals have received the 'double majority' required to be passed. A further five proposals, while receiving an overall majority of votes, did not gain a majority in a majority of the States.
A historical listing of Australian referendums held since 1906 is on the following page. Detailed results of these historical referendums at the national, State and Territory and divisional levels as well as by vote type are provided on the attached CD-ROM.


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Home Breaking Police investigate: Ex-Barcelona board is said to have badly insulted Messi in...
Police investigate: Ex-Barcelona board is said to have badly insulted Messi in chats
Soccer world champion Lionel Messi was insulted in internal news during his time at FC Barcelona, according to a report in the Catalan newspaper "El Periódico". The police in Barcelona confirmed that there were investigations into this, but refused to give details when asked. "We basically do not share anything about ongoing investigations," said a spokesman for the German Press Agency on Friday.
The background to the affair, which Spanish newspapers refer to as "Barçagate", is likely to be the dispute over cuts in player salaries at the heavily indebted club at the beginning of the corona pandemic.
"El Periódico" and also the Spanish news agency Europa Press reported, citing an internal report from the police, that an ex-board member of FC Barcelona had spoken in the chat messages with bad words, among other things, about the comparatively small height of the Argentine superstar and his Treatment with growth hormones in childhood and adolescence omitted.
In addition, the ex-board member suggested making Messi's contract public, as well as Gerard Piqué's, to make them look bad in public. In fact, in January 2021, Spanish newspaper El Mundo published an agreement for a salary of just over €555m over four years, which they described as Messi's contract with the Catalans. After his contract expired in June 2021, there was no new agreement. Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain after 21 years at Barcelona. Messi's reaction to the reports was not initially known.
Marco Reus and Borussia Dortmund. A success story that will soon last eleven years. Reus' contract expires in the summer. Both sides are currently further apart in terms of a contract extension. The Reus side is disappointed and surprised.
The Handball World Championship from January 11th to 29th in Poland and Sweden will again electrify millions of fans. The German team coached by Alfred Gislason also wants to play big as outsiders at the tournament. The most important questions and answers about the World Cup at a glance.
Previous articleThe association has had enough: a bang in tennis – a billion-dollar deal with ex-soccer player Piqué dissolved
Next article"Complete further recovery": Mystery about ARD moderator – Bommes falls out for the next major tournament
"Complete further recovery": Mystery about ARD moderator – Bommes falls out for the next major tournament
The association has had enough: a bang in tennis – a billion-dollar deal with ex-soccer player Piqué dissolved
"A performance-related choice": FIA President comments on Binotto's successor: "Did the right thing"
Premiere League live stream: How to watch Manchester United vs Manchester City live stream
Overview of the tournament: favorites, venues, mode – the most important thing about the Handball World Cup
Trainer needs success: mega pressure at Bayern! Nagelsmann suddenly changed
Downhill in Wengen: Norwegian Kilde dominates and wins in front of Odermatt, Dreßen celebrates a comeback
Australian Open: Novak Djokovic is the top favorite for Rafael Nadal
Playoffs Preview Part 6: The Jackson Mystery: Quarterback Injury Turns into a Mind Game
Biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding: Norway dominates, German relay in 2nd place after a great comeback
Premier League: Manchester United turns derby just before the end and beats City
Biathlon in Ruhpolding: German women's relay in Ruhpolding in second place
Handball World Cup, preliminary round: Strong start to the tournament! German...
Great start to the World Cup! The German national handball team wins the first group game against Qatar. After a comfortable lead at half-time,...
"Complete further recovery": Mystery about ARD moderator – Bommes falls out...
Police investigate: Ex-Barcelona board is said to have badly insulted Messi...
The association has had enough: a bang in tennis – a...
"A performance-related choice": FIA President comments on Binotto's successor: "Did the...


Partnership to help register up to 15,400 new premises.
The USDA has announced a partnership with the American Angus Association that will facilitate the registration of up to 15,400 new premises as part of the National Animal Identification System. More than 408,500 other premises nationwide have been registered to date.
"The American Angus Association has long supported NAIS," says Bruce Knight, under secretary for USDA's marketing and regulatory programs "It is the best way for Angus breeders to protect the health of their herds in the face of a serious animal health threat."
Under the terms of the agreement announced today, the American Angus Association will utilize its resources to reach every association member and provide education about NAIS through the Angus Journal, Angus Beef Bulletin, Angus e-mail list, seminars, national events, affiliates and other associations. The American Angus Association has 26,000 active members, 8,000 junior members and 95,000 affiliate members. The association registered more than 347,000 head of cattle in 2006 as part of its registry program.
NAIS consists of three components: premises registration, animal identification and tracing.


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Trusted Resources for the Resistance Against Trump
Stacey Abrams makes the case for herself as Biden's VP pick
ByVox - Huntsville Tribune
Apr 26, 2020 Huntsville news
Stacey Abrams speaks to reporters before the November 20 Democratic presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Abrams says she has the experience and temperament needed to be successful in the role.
Stacey Abrams, who rose to national prominence as the Democratic candidate for Georgia governor in 2018, made her case to be presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden's running mate Sunday, arguing that her work advocating for voters' rights — and her executive experience — make her perfectly suited to the role.
In appearances on NBC's Meet the Press and CNN's State of the Union Sunday, Abrams full-throatedly endorsed Biden's bid for the White House, and explained why she has been openly campaigning to be the former vice president's running mate while others reportedly under consideration have declined to do so.
"As a young black girl growing up in Mississippi, I learned that if I didn't speak up for myself no one else would," she said on Meet the Press. "I was raised to tell the truth, so when I'm asked a question, I answer it as directly and honestly as I can. So my mission is to say out loud, if I'm asked the question, yes, I would be willing to serve."
WATCH: Former candidate for governor in Georgia Stacey Abrams says she would be ready to serve as Joe Biden's vice presidential pick. #MTP @StaceyAbrams: "As a young black girl growing up in Mississippi, I learned that if I didn't speak up for myself no one else would." pic.twitter.com/OqwZVEiksf
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 26, 2020
On State of the Union, Abrams said she sees her campaign for the vice president role as being mostly about drawing attention to her qualifications, as well as the qualifications of other people of color.
"If you don't raise your hand, people won't see you and they won't give you attention," she said. "But it's not about attention for being the running mate. It is about making sure my qualifications aren't in question. Because they're not just speaking to me, they're speaking to young black women, young women of color, young people of color, who wonder if they too can be seen."
Stacey Abrams on her ambitions to be Joe Biden's running mate: "As a young black woman growing up in Mississippi, I learned that if you don't raise your hand, people won't see you and they won't give you attention" https://t.co/q9q0Rkiy84 #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/pnUaHIXSuq
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) April 26, 2020
Abrams went on to list a number of those qualifications in her NBC appearance.
"For the last year and a half, I have run three national organizations including Fair Fight 2020, which is in 18 states protecting the right to vote," Abrams said. "I've been traveling the country promoting a census that is accurate and that helps us prepare for the next pandemic and for redistricting. And I've been working to make certain that poor families, especially those in the South, but around the country, have the services they need."
And prior to her gubernatorial run, Abrams served as her party's minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives. She is reportedly on Biden's list of potential vice presidential candidates — and he has said he will select a woman for his running mate. There is pressure from certain Democratic corners for Biden to select Abrams, particularly among black Democrats. She was among the women Rep. James Clyburn — who is credited with Biden's primary win in South Carolina — named when asked who he believes Biden should choose, and Rev. Al Sharpton is expected to endorse her specifically.
Despite this, Abrams said Sunday she does not think of herself as having secured the position, noting Biden "has no shortage of good candidates to choose from."
As Vox's Ella Nilsen has reported, Biden will have many considerations to take into account when making his selection. His political calculations include finding someone with whom he is ideologically aligned, and who can help him appeal to certain voter groups. For example, as Nilsen writes, some advisers are publicly pushing Biden to select a woman of color, in part because voters of color, and especially black women, are stalwart Democratic voters.
There remains an open question regarding how important a veep pick actually is — particularly during such a contested election year, and especially in the midst of a pandemic that upended the race entirely. But Biden, who, at 77, would be the oldest first-term president ever, has signaled he is actively looking for someone who would fit in well in the Oval Office.
"The most important thing is that there has to be someone who, the day after they're picked, is prepared to be president of the United States of America if something happened," Biden has said.
Support Vox's explanatory journalism
Every day at Vox, we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you, and our audience around the world, with information that has the power to save lives. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower you through understanding. Vox's work is reaching more people than ever, but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles, videos, and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today.
Author: Anya van Wagtendonk
The essential worker revolution of 2020 will not wait
Lawmakers must now wear masks at all congressional hearings
Was the White House reception for Amy Coney Barrett a superspreading event?
Tuesday's DNC roll call was a quirky, unexpected delight
Oregon's ballot measure to decriminalize all drugs, explained
Why E. Jean Carroll's assault accusation against Trump wasn't front-page news
Trump claims the media misrepresented his coronavirus cure comments. Video proves otherwise.
Italy will take small steps to restart its economy as early as this week
By Vox - Huntsville Tribune
Jan 17, 2021 Vox - Huntsville Tribune
1619 and the cult of American innocence
Aug 20, 2019 Vox - Huntsville Tribune
The New York Times 1619 Project is reshaping the conversation on slavery. Conservatives hate it.
Ignorance is SO dangerous!
Our Dishonest President


BUY ONE PAIR OF BOOTS, GET SECOND PAIR FOR 10% OFF AND FREE SHIPPING.
OUR SITE OFFERS EXCHANGES AND STORE CREDITS ONLY. Items must be unworn and in original packaging. * Unstained and odorless. By purchasing our items you agree to our terms and conditions. Which are also listed in each items description.


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Tags Garden
Ideal new 'home' for likely to be impeached Donald Trump for sale just as he prepares to leave office; it comes with its own jail – the perfect place to "lock him up!"
A Cottage or a Car Space?
Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge.
No. 5 - Chic Chicheley
Grade I listed Baroque mansion Chicheley Hall in Buckinghamshire for sale for £7 million or 62% less than the current owners have spent on it.
Mackintosh Icebergs
'Iceberg home' formed in part from the former Glebe Place, Chelsea, SW3 studios of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife for sale for sum 1,178% higher than in 2012.
Kingly Kinlet
Grand Grade I listed Shropshire mansion Kinlet Hall for sale after coronavirus forced the closure of its wedding venue and summer school. HRH Prince Anne has competed at horse trials in its parkland.
Lavish Living and Little Owls at Lilford Hall
Crumbling Northamptonshire estate Lilford Hall – where the little owl was introduced to Britain – for sale for £10 million, a sum £35 million lower than in 2014.
Moving On – June 2020
Moving on homes owned by the newsworthy – including properties owned by society snapper Sir Cecil Beaton, novelist Jackie Collins and film producer-director Peter Minns.
Back on The Front
Coastal 'estate' with its own lighthouse perched on The Front above the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in 'The Shuttered Room.'
A Faithfull Flat
Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million.
A Cottage or a Cage?
Knightsbridge 'cage' in an underground car park for sale for the same price as a 6 bedroom former farmhouse in 1 acre in Scotland In...


If you make it across the border, get us help. Some of us care.
Right now we desperately need passports and identity papers.
Soon the most unlikely of all international spies was sporting a beautiful new hat. Perfect for hiding eight forged passports.


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Colruyt Group's approach to energy
Why is energy so important?
What are we currently doing?
Reducing our energy consumption
Simultaneously producing and consuming energy
Producing renewable energy
Onshore wind energy
Green fuels
Electric driving
Recovering energy
Concrete energy objectives
Wind turbine expansion
Large scale hydrogen
Energy, and why it's so important
We can't imagine life without energy today. Our Western society relies on energy for electric current, heating, cooling, transport ... What really matters in the energy story is in fact where it comes from. Energy sources can be renewable or non-renewable.
Coal, natural gas, petroleum, petrol and diesel are examples of classic, non-renewable fossil fuels. When these are burned, CO₂ is released into the atmosphere. These emissions strongly contribute to climate change. A nuclear power plant which uses uranium as fuel does not produce any CO₂ emissions, but it does generate radioactive waste.
On the other hand, sustainable, renewable energy sources like wind, sun, water, geothermal energy, biomass and green hydrogen cause no air pollution and low CO₂ emissions. Moreover, this energy never runs out and is therefore more future-oriented.
Wind energy is renewable, because we will never run out of wind.
As a major retailer, our energy consumption is quite high. That is why we want to make responsible and sustainable use of it. Our energy policy consists of three principles:
We are strongly committed to the reduction and prevention of our energy consumption. Indeed, the most sustainable energy is energy you don't consume. We also aim for an optimal balance between energy consumption and production.
We make a conscious choice for sustainable, renewable energy, which we preferably generate ourselves. We already cover our current electricity demand with 100 % green electricity.
We make use of residual flows, so that no energy is lost. In various Colruyt Lowest Prices, OKay and Bio-Planet stores, for example, we recover the residual heat from the cooling systems and use it for heating.
In 2019, we consumed 8.7 % less energy than in base year 2009, in relation to revenue figures. In order to increase this figure – and subsequently reduce our relative energy consumption – we drew up an energy reduction plan in which we follow four different paths:
Infrastructure: if we build a new store, good isolation is obviously a standard requirement. Older stores and buildings we own are given an energy-saving renovation. We add isolation and make them more airtight to achieve low-energy buildings.
Heating: Colruyt Group goes for fossil fuel-free stores, i.e. without oil or natural gas heating. In exchange, we use heat recovery, heat pumps and green electricity. This avoids 99 % of the CO₂ emissions compared to a store that uses a conventional boiler.
Lighting: we roll out LED lighting in all our stores, buildings and car parks. Where possible, we install motion detectors that automatically switch the light on and off.
Mobility: we focus on reducing fuel consumption and switching to renewable fuels. Both for the transport of our goods, customers and employees.
Read more about Colruyt Group's approach to mobility
In addition to these four major paths, we are also raising awareness among employees to deal with small losses: defrosting freezers on time, switching off the lights, turning the heating down one degree ... If each of our 30,000 employees pays attention to this, it makes a big difference in energy consumption.
Simultaneously producing and consuming green energy
Our energy consumption is aligned with our green energy production. Wherever possible, consumption is shifted to moments with a lot of sun or wind, when electricity production is high. This is a way to reduce overproduction of energy and contribute to greater grid stability. Because we aren't putting a lot of electricity on the grid when there is a lot of wind, nor are we suddenly taking a lot more electricity when less power is generated. At our central sites with a wind turbine, we are now 70 % successful in simultaneously producing and consuming green energy. How do we do this?
A self-developed platform for data analysis connects our energy consumption with the current market prices for energy, predicted energy prices, weather data, user parameters and all kinds of technical preconditions. On this basis, the system automatically controls various installations in our central buildings.
We also mapped out which devices we can turn off, how often and for how long. This allows us to deal smartly with non-essential consumption such as air conditioning, cooling and ventilation.
We charge the electric vehicles and pallet trucks in our distribution centres at night, when there is less demand, while our wind turbines are still operating.
When there is a surplus of renewable energy, we lower the temperatures of the freezer units in our distributions centres. This helps us during times when there is less energy available.
We also mainly produce liquid ice at times when energy consumption is low.
VIDEO: From green electricity to hydrogen and back to electricity.
In the event of overproduction of solar and wind energy, we can convert the excess current into hydrogen via electrolysis. This hydrogen can be used as a fuel. And when we don't generate enough electricity, we convert the hydrogen back into electricity. All this without CO₂ and particulate matter emissions. We have been doing this at our Dassenveld distribution centre in Halle since 2012.
Colruyt Group is strongly committed to green energy. In recent decades we have invested millions of euros in onshore and offshore wind energy, as well as in solar panels. At the end of 2019, 44 % of our energy consumption came from non-fossil fuels from our own or local production units. We already fully cover our electricity consumption with 100 % green electricity. We do this by means of our own green electricity production and participations.
With Eoly we generate electricity via 14 onshore wind turbines, spread over Flanders and Wallonia. We are strongly committed to expanding this number and therefore our production capacity.
It still remains difficult to find local public support for wind energy. The announcement of a new wind farm may be a cause of concern or resistance from local residents. That is why we enter into dialogue with neighbours, interest groups and authorities at an early stage. Even after the permit applications have been submitted, we want to continue to provide maximum and transparent information to all those involved, for example by systematically organising information sessions. Furthermore, Eoly invests heavily in local anchoring and added value for local residents and the local community. For example, by creating recreational or educational green areas around the wind turbines, with footpaths and cycle paths, orchards, parks and playgrounds. Do you have questions about wind energy? Here are 6 potential answers.
We are convinced that making the energy market sustainable and combating climate change is a challenge that we must tackle together, as a society. That is why we are opening up our wind turbine projects for direct participation via Eoly Cooperative. Each participant becomes a co-shareholder of the cooperative's wind turbines and also benefits from the proceeds. Since 2017 Eoly Cooperative has one wind turbine in Halle. Many of the planned wind farms reserve one turbine for the cooperative. The next one will be operational by the end of 2020 in Rebaix/Bouvignies.
Eoly Cooperative offers interested parties the opportunity to co-invest in onshore wind turbines.
In 2019 we invested, through our share in Parkwind, in the production of renewable energy with 200 offshore wind turbines in the Belgian wind farms Belwind, Northwind, Nobelwind and Northwester 2. As one of the few players in the industry, Parkwind goes for a 360° approach. It takes care of the financing, development and construction as well as the operation of its wind farms. And it is also involved in many R&D projects. In this way, Parkwind aims to create scale in the offshore sector and accelerate the transition to a green energy supply.
Through the North Sea Wind cooperative, private individuals can also invest in offshore wind farms.
The financial viability of solar energy continues to increase, despite the fact that no more subsidies are granted. That's why every new Colruyt Lowest Prices, OKay and Bio-Planet store gets solar panels, if at all technically feasible. Today we already have 79 solar installations on our stores and central buildings.
Before we install solar panels, we analyse how much energy the building in question needs. The electricity consumed on site is the most cost-efficient. That is why we don't install more solar panels than we need to cover the site's energy needs. Solar panels mainly produce energy during the day, when our stores are open and therefore the demand for electricity in our stores is the highest. On sunny days, the stores can run almost entirely on solar energy. By maximising energy production in line with consumption, we also avoid having to transport energy surpluses over the electricity grid.
We install solar panels on every new Colruyt Lowest Prices, OKay and Bio-Planet store.
With DATS 24 we are working on greener mobility and more sustainable fuels. Besides petrol and diesel, DATS 24 also offers hydrogen, electricity and natural gas for vehicles (CNG) in Belgium.
Hydrogen, the sustainable fuel of the future
Hydrogen is an ideal, sustainable fuel for vehicles. How exactly is that possible? Through electrolysis, water is separated by electricity into hydrogen and oxygen. The fuel cell on board a vehicle can convert the hydrogen back into electricity. That electricity powers the engine and makes the car drive. The raw materials of hydrogen – water and electricity – are both renewable. While driving, only harmless water vapour, no CO₂, nitrogen oxides or particulate matter, comes out of the exhaust. In other words, a 100 % sustainable and renewable fuel. Since 2004, we have already invested 6 million euros in innovative projects using hydrogen:
The employees in our distribution centre in Halle use hydrogen-powered forklift trucks. That hydrogen is produced locally using the renewable energy from wind turbines and solar panels.
Colruyt Group's fleet already includes some 25 hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles.
In October 2018, DATS 24 opened the first filling station in Halle where you can buy all classic and alternative fuels. Including our own 100 % green hydrogen.
With renewable solar and wind energy, we produce 100 % green hydrogen.
CNG as a transition fuel
So, driving on hydrogen sounds promising. But today you do not see many hydrogen-powered cars on the road. It may be some time yet before we, as a society, produce and use hydrogen as a fuel on a large scale. However, we cannot wait that long to switch to more sustainable fuels! That is why, in the meantime, we are investing in CNG, which is already more integrated and available.
Although CNG – natural gas for vehicles – is non-renewable, we consider it a more sustainable fuel today. For this we base ourselves on scientific sustainability analyses in collaboration with VUB, Thomas More Hogeschool and Ghent University. A car powered by CNG emits less CO₂ and significantly less particulates and nitrogen oxides than petrol and diesel cars. Moreover, natural gas is completely safe and can never contaminate the soil or water. The sector is also taking steps to make natural gas more sustainable in the long term by blending biogas or hydrogen.
CNG is non-renewable, but more sustainable than petrol or diesel.
How we use CNG as a cleaner alternative to petrol or diesel:
At DATS 24, customers can refuel CNG at 77 stations. This makes us the most important fuel supplier of natural gas for vehicles in Belgium.
We have eight CNG lorries for goods transport in our fleet.
Via Collect&Go we are currently testing home delivery with CNG delivery vans.
45 % of our company vehicles run on CNG. The majority of our spare vehicles are also CNG vehicles.
Finally, CNG familiarises a large group of motorists with refuelling a gaseous fuel and thus facilitates the transition to hydrogen mobility.
Via DATS 24, we continue to invest in a charging station network for electric cars in the car parks of Colruyt Lowest Prices, Bio-Planet and OKay. There are currently 111 Colruyt Group stores where you can charge your car while you shop. Of course, with 100 % green Belgian electricity. By 2021, we want to have electronic charging stations at 200 locations, both in store car parks for our customers and in car parks for our employees.
You can charge your electric car at 111 stores of Colruyt Lowest Prices, Bio-Planet and OKay.
Of course we also increasingly drive on green electricity ourselves:
Employees have four electric cars at their disposal for travel between work places.
In our range of company cars, this year we introduced a few new 100 % electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars with a large battery capacity.
There are some electric cars as spare cars in our garage as well.
Employees can buy a well-priced electric scooter for their commute to work through Colruyt Group.
At our logistics sites, we are using two electric terminal trucks for pulling trailers.
As a final major principle – in addition to reducing our energy consumption and energy production from renewable sources – we actively work with residual flows, making sure no energy is lost.
Cold for one, warm for the other
Cooling something is literally done by taking the heat out of it. This is what happens, for example, in refrigeration installations for fresh products in our stores. We don't just let that precious 'residual heat' go to waste. We use it to heat the store. This process of heat recovery is applied in all new Colruyt Lowest Prices, OKay and Bio-Planet stores and those stores undergoing renovations.
A heat recovery system allows us to heat the store with residual heat from the cooling system.
Heat recovery from cooling is supplemented with heat pumps. Such a heat pump uses 100 % green electricity to extract heat from renewable natural sources such as the earth's soil, ambient air or groundwater, and reuse it. For example, for heating the store or hot water for the butcher's.
Cogeneration: electricity and heat at the same time
At our logistics and production sites Dassenveld (Halle), Ghislenghien and Stroppen (Halle) we installed a cogeneration plant. It produces electricity from natural gas, as well as a lot of heat. The heat that is released is used to heat the buildings and the water. Because of the use of natural gas, this is not renewable energy, but heat cogeneration uses less fossil fuels than when electricity and heat have to be generated separately. Together, our three installations can produce some 15,200 MWh of electricity annually (the annual consumption of 4,343 families), and about 16,200 MWh of thermal energy (the annual consumption of 566 families).
Our cogeneration plants simultaneously produce electricity and heat on a large scale.
What are our plans for the future?
By 2030 we aim to consume 20 % less energy than in the base year 2009 (relative to revenue). By the end of 2019 we were already at 8.7 %. That year we consumed 58.92 MWh of energy per million euros of revenue. By 2030 this should be 51.67 MWh.
By 2030 at least 60 % of our energy consumption will come from non-fossil fuels. These will come entirely from own or local production units. By the end of 2019 we were already using non-fossil energy sources for 44 % of our consumption.
By 2030 synchronisation between our electricity production and requirements at our central sites in Halle, Ollignies and Ghislenghien will be at least 90 %.
More turbines catch more wind
Eoly has several projects planned for new onshore wind turbines. In Rebaix/Bouvignies, three new wind turbines are expected to be operational by the end of 2020. Further steps were taken in the permit applications for three wind turbines in Lessines/Silly and two wind turbines in Frasnes-lez-Anvaing. The application for the building permit for seven turbines in Ronquières is scheduled for February 2021. Numerous projects are also planned in Flanders, including in Bornem, Zele, Lummen and along the E40 in the polders.
We also invest in an offshore expansion via Parkwind. The German wind farm Arcadis Ost 1 in the Baltic Sea will be operational in the first quarter of 2023. The research phase for the first wind farm in Irish waters – Oriel – is in full swing. Finally, Parkwind continues to work hard on partnerships for the development of new wind farms in Asia and Europe.
We are making efforts to facilitate the use of hydrogen on a large scale. In the coming years we want to invest an additional 35 million euros in the Belgian hydrogen economy. In addition, we are happy to share our extensive expertise in hydrogen production, storage and use for passenger cars and logistic equipment. We are also an active member of various partnerships, such as Hydrogen Industry Cluster (Belgium and the Netherlands) and the European consortium Hydrogen Europe.
Hyoffwind: green hydrogen on an industrial scale
In collaboration with Parkwind and Fluxys, we are building Hyoffwind: the first industrial power-to-gas installation to convert green electricity into green hydrogen. The electricity will come from offshore wind farms. The hydrogen produced can then be used for various purposes:
As a raw material for industry (e.g. in chemistry).
As a fuel for logistics and transport.
As a way of making conventional natural gas consumption greener, while producing less carbon emissions, by integrating hydrogen into existing natural gas infrastructure.
Finally, hydrogen can be converted back into electricity to create more stability on the grid. The gas and electricity systems can optimally complement and reinforce each other.
Hyoffwind produces hydrogen with green electricity coming from offshore wind farms.
In terms of size, this project is a first for Belgium. Hyoffwind can really become a milestone in making the Belgian energy landscape more sustainable. The project can boost local knowledge building and the green hydrogen economy, thus making our country a leader in innovative hydrogen solutions. Large-scale production should ultimately also reduce the cost of green hydrogen. The power-to-gas installation is scheduled to be operational in Zeebrugge in early 2023.
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Published on Pambazuka News, by Patrick Bond, May 1, 2014.
Nigeria's 'rebased' GDP now beats South Africa's in theory – but how does this measure up against the country's actual wealth? Patrick Bond examines some of the biggest fallacies of the neoliberal investment prospects of the 2000s – BRICS, MINT (countries) and CIVETS, and why citizens are rising up in spite of the hype.
Jim O'Neill – the Goldman Sachs banker who in 2001 coined the idea of a Brazil-Russia-India-China 'BRIC' serving as "building bricks of the 21st century world economy" – has another bright idea. He recently announced a new fascination with the Mexico-Indonesia-Nigeria-Turkey countries, which "all have very favourable demographics for at least the next 20 years, and their economic prospects are interesting." O'Neill is now completing a BBC series on the MINTs, and no doubt will profit handsomely from investments made in these countries' financial assets, the way any scurrilous marketer does when, brandishing an insider-trading portfolio, he draws naïve consumers to a product with limited shelf life.
Goldman Sachs is a useful barometer of stupidity, since it brought the world economy to its knees in 2008 by creating infinitely-toxic financial products. For example, what was just a decade ago a supposedly glorious group of high-growth European countries led by 'Celtic Tiger' Ireland, became financially-cancerous 'PIGS' once Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain melted down seven years ago, in the process wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars in paper assets. O'Neill has also tried out the 'Next 11' and 'CIVETS': Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.
… (full long text with many hyper-links).
US: IRM(72) Retirement Plans, on AngelNexus.


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I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing Guitar Pro tab - Aerosmith
Intermediate Solo Guitar
About I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
Album: Armageddon Soundtrack
Genres: Rock, Pop
Composer(s): Diane Warren
Lyricist(s): Diane Warren
Other tabs arrangements of I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing Full Score
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing Guitar & Vocals
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing Guitars, Bass & Backing Track
Copyright: © 1998 REALSONGS (ASCAP) Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.
Cryin' Get a Grip Full Score
Cryin' Get a Grip Guitar & Vocals
Cryin' Get a Grip Guitars, Bass & Backing Track


Look, I'll give you Jesse Pinkman, OK? Like you said, he's the problem, he's always been the problem and without him, we would… and he's in town, alright? He's not in Virginia or wherever the hell you're looking for him. He's right here in Albuquerque and I can take you to him, I'll take you right to him. What do you say?


Experience the stories of Atlanta natives facing housing uncertainty, health crises, domestic violence, education issues, and consumer challenges with this one-of-a-kind exhibit. Picturing Justice, a photography exhibit presented by Atlanta Celebrates Photography and Atlanta Legal Aid Society, aims to shed light on these issues during a very special photography exhibition, now on view through November 30th.
This exhibit is made possible by Atlanta Legal Aid Society. The core of Legal Aid's mission is to help low-income people navigate the complexities of the court system at the most vulnerable times in their lives. Legal Aid's clients face evictions, health crises, foreclosure, domestic violence, education issues and consumer challenges that can only be solved with the help of a lawyer.
During its nine-decade history, Legal Aid represented Cuban refugees held without due process in the Atlanta federal penitentiary, coined the term predatory lending, pioneered legal services for people with AIDS and cancer, established the first medical-legal collaborative serving children in the Southeast and won a landmark Supreme Court case on behalf of people with disabilities.
Admission to see Picturing Justice is free. Free parking is available on-site.
At Eleven85 Apartments in Atlanta, Georgia, we pride ourselves on informing our residents about all the upcoming events our beautiful community has to offer. Don't hesitate to join this event on Monday!