Iran on dual nuclear bomb track: uranium and plutonium

Three international news reports caught my eye today (19 Nov 2009):

(1) DEBKA: China told President Obama “No” on sanctions to Iran to halt or slow down Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
http://bit.ly/4CdOF9

(2) FARS: Iran and China are determined to strengthen ties between them in every possible way.
http://bit.ly/k8Mg6

(3) Most interesting – DEBKA: UN inspectors’ October visit to Iran turned up dual-track progress in support of its nuclear weapons program.

Feverish activity was registered in the production of plutonium at Isfahan as an alternative to the Fordo enriched uranium plant near Qom which starts up in 2011.

The IAEA experts discovered 30 metric tons-IS of heavy water hidden in 600 tanks… Metric tons-IS measure the amount of energy a given quantity can release… the amount of heavy water discovered at Isfahan would be enough to make at least one plutonium bomb when the plutonium reactor under construction near the Arak heavy water facility is finished. Other than civilian uses, heavy water may be used to produce tritium, which intensifies the explosive force of nuclear warheads.
http://bit.ly/20JPly

Mabry Mill

Mabry Mill was our last stop in the Shenandoah Valley on the way home from Virginia. The working water wheel in the restored grist mill, outbuildings complete with attendants in period dress, and well-stocked gift shop, attract thousands of visitors every year. Of course, the beautiful trees surrounding the mill attracted my attention.

Shenandoah 4

I like trees. I don’t know why exactly, but all my life long I’ve liked trees. Especially winter-time bare pecan trees with all their “bones” showing – years ago I did pencil sketches and concentrated on pecan trees. Some were pretty good. I wish I’d saved them.

Anyway, on our Shenandoah trip I took a number of photos of trees that I liked. Here are a few of them. In the first row below, there was a couple taking photos and I snapped one of the lady posing… I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get another one, but they left immediately so I got one of just the tree itself. I like both shots, actually.

The gingko grove at the Virginia Arboretum was beautiful, especially one tree that was more golden yellow than the others. On the road leading to the grove was the Cedars of Lebanon Allee, so naturally I got a shot of that too.

Shenandoah 3

I re-checked all the photos I took and did find a couple from the “deer strolling down the road” incident… most of his photos were quite fuzzy and unusable but these are recognizable, if not perfect.

I had forgotten that after we drove around the curve, there was a doe, presumably following the buck.