Medvedev and Chavez in nuclear deal

Source: al Jazeera


Russia and Venezuela's leaders have signed a deal for Moscow to help the South American country to build a nuclear energy plant, during a visit to Caracas by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president.

Medvedev and Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's president, also vowed to work together to establish what they called a "multi-polar" world and agreed to continue arms deals between the two countries.

Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Rosatom, the Russian atomic energy corporation, said Venezuela had the right to peaceful nuclear energy and had given no cause for "questions" about its fitness for nuclear energy.

Officials said they had also signed an agreement on co-operation in the fossil fuel sector, aimed at stepping up existing exploration projects in Venezuela by Russian energy companies such as Gazpeom.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2008/11/20081127113938361350.html

And how did we alienate them?

We alienated both in many ways, but just to name two big ones:

Venezuela: supporting a coup to overthrow their elected government

Russia: missile shield

an eye on those pesky Russians.

Chernobyl wasn't an accident, but the result of extreme stupidity and recklessness in the the midst of a core-cooling experiment. A test was undertaken without a feasible response plan and safeguards if the test failed, resulting in the destruction of the core.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster#Planning_the_test_of_the_safety_device

poor reactor design was a factor. Something about spaces where air or gas can accumulate casuing unstable reaction and inability to scram.

Soviet Sub program, ever here of it?

And also had a nuclear reactor come close to melt down. Nobody's perfect.

due to budget cuts. Russians did not disclose the early deaths they had. See us navy subs then contrast soviet record.

Close is just good enough for jane fonda.

:popcorn:

Chavez, as much as he has reasons to not like us, is a nutcase. I don't like bush, but calling him the Devil in front of the UN is pretty stupid. As far as trying to establish a multipolar world, good luck with that.

And yes, Western nuclear technology is leagues beyond Russian technology. The US has lost two nuclear subs, neither to reactor accidents - Thresher (SSN-593) was lost in April 1963 as a result of ice forming as the crew tried to surface the sub. The other was Scorpion (SSN-589) which went down in May 1968 under circumstances which aren't really known. (Some say the Soviets sunk it, but this is unlikely.)

How stupid can he be when so many who were in the same position (hated by the US government) became dead or retired in short order?

I don't have any problem with the idea that the Russians/Soviets have their weaknesses and incompetencies, but our shit stinks too.

with "we are the best" chest-beating bravado.

For me, Chernobyl provides a unique possibility to study effects of nuclear radiation on humans, flora and fauna. My science team is not the only one working here, there are some dozens from all over the world.

The only other opportunity would be after nuclear holocaust (God forbid).