Bill Gates developing nuclear reactor with China

(news.yahoo.com) BEIJING (AP) — Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates says he is in discussions with China to jointly develop a new kind of nuclear reactor.
During a talk at China's Ministry of Science & Technology Wednesday, the billionaire said: "The idea is to be very low cost, very safe and generate very little waste."
Gates backs Washington-based TerraPower, which is developing a nuclear reactor that can run on depleted uranium.
He says TerraPower is having "very good discussions" with state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation.
Gates says perhaps as much as a billion dollars will be put into research and development over the next five years.

Nuclear Power running like a Microsoft product doesn't sound like a great idea considering present current events in Asia.

CSU math professor uses college resources to attack Israel

From the (EOZ) Amcha Initiative, a letter to California State University/Northridge's president:

Dear President Koester,

 We are faculty members at the University of California, who have been investigating and documenting anti-Jewish bigotry on California public university campuses for the last several years.

In case you have not seen them, we wanted to bring to your attention two webpages of CSU Northridge Professor of Mathematics David Klein, which are hosted on the CSUN server:

• Professor Klein’s “Home Page,”  linked to the “Tenure-Track Faculty” webpage of the CSUN Department of Mathematics, contains a section entitled “CSU and Political Issues,” that includes a link to another CSUN-hosted webpage entitled “Boycott Israel.” 

• Professor Klein’s “Boycott Israel” page contains a litany of false and inflammatory statements and photographs intended to incite hatred and promote political activism against the Jewish state.  

There are several reasons why Professor Klein’s webpages should be immediately removed from the CSUN server:

1)  These webpages are in clear violation of the CSU policy prohibiting the misuse of the CSU name for inappropriate purposes, including for the promotion of  political organizations and activities such as “boycott.”  As you have seen on Professor Klein’s Home Page, he specifically links the University to several political action organizations and activities, including the boycott of Israel, in a section he telling calls “CSU and Political Issues.”

2) Many of Professor Klein’s statements on his “Boycott Israel” webpage meet the U.S. Department of State’s Working Definition of Anti-Semitism, including the statement that “Israel is the most racist country in the world.”  In addition, the pictures of mutilated dead babies that appear on this page, with the clear implication that the babies have been brutally murdered by Israeli soldiers, are perfect examples of the classic anti-Semitic “blood libel“, the false accusation that Jews kill non-Jewish children for evil purposes, an accusation that has been used throughout Jewish history for the purpose of inciting hatred and violence against Jews. Campaigns to boycott the Jewish state are also anti-Semitic according to the U.S. State Department, and in some cases are a violation of U.S. law.

3) The promotion of virulently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements and imagery on the departmental website of a CSUN faculty member cannot help but contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students on your campus.

4) CSUN is a public university, whose facilities and resources, including the CSUN website, are supported by the tax dollars of California citizens, many of whom would find Professor Klein’s webpages an egregious violation of public trust.

We do not believe that this is an issue of Professor Klein’s freedom of speech.  Indeed, CSUN’s policy on internet use explicitly states that the University has the right to remove “any defamatory, offensive, infringing, or illegal materials” from its website.   If you choose not to remove Professor Klein’s anti-Semitic material from the CSUN website, we will presume that it is because the University finds nothing “defamatory, offensive, infringing, or illegal” about these webpages, and is unconcerned with the effects they may have on CSUN students, parents, community members, and taxpayers.

We know that you will soon be retiring as CSUN President, but we trust that you will have the opportunity to look into this matter and take appropriate action.  

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

The president responded:

...The University takes such concerns very seriously. Thus, as soon as we became aware of these concerns and the web pages, I requested a full administrative review. In particular, the review considered whether the web content is in violation of California State University (CSU) or Cal State Northridge web use policies. While the review raised many difficult issues, it found no such violations. This conclusion was affirmed by CSU legal counsel.
While we recognize this finding will not satisfy everyone, the conclusions are based on the important tenets of academic freedom and free speech, which are central to the values and traditions of academia and, indeed, a democratic society. We encourage our professors—as well as students and all members of the campus community—to express their points of view, even when many others may disagree with them or even find them offensive.
This determination does not mean that the University supports or endorses Professor Klein’s views. In fact, Professor Klein is clearly speaking for himself and does not represent Cal State Northridge as a whole. The University, as a forum for the free expression of ideas and points of view, takes no position on the individual expressions of ideas by faculty, staff, or students. But the University does uphold and preserve the principles of academic freedom—and Professor Klein’s right to express his views. Our review affirmed that this right extends to the use of an individual’s web pages, as part of the University website, as a vehicle for expression.
...
I share with those who have expressed concerns a personal discomfort with some of the material on Professor Klein’s web pages, especially because the University is celebrated for its diversity and its spirit of inclusion. As core values, the University also upholds academic freedom, eschews censorship, and defends rights to express points of view. For all these reasons we must tolerate the presence of these web pages.

I personally do not think that Amcha has a slam-dunk case against the virulently anti-Israel (and arguably anti-semitic) webpage of Professor Klein. The biggest point of dispute between CSU and Amcha is whether the "Boycott Israel" page appears to represent CSU (where it would violate CSU policies) or is clearly Klein's personal opinions. Since the page is so laughably amateur - it looks like a webpage from 1996 - CSU has a slight point there.
On the other hand, using resources paid for by California taxpayers to push a boycott if Israel is an extraordinary misuse of funds. CSU's academic website is not Facebook. And the fact is that Dr. Klein's page is linked from the Math Department webpage - where from what I can tell all the other faculty use the pages in a professional manner - and it makes CSU's math department look bad. (Interestingly, the Math Department has a policy that "laboratory facilities, equipment and supplies are only to be used by College faculty, staff and students in the pursuit of instructional and research endeavors." This does not apply to webpages but I have a feeling that the other math faculty are not happy with Klein's use of the math section of CSU's website for blatantly political ends.)
All else being equal, I'm biased towards free speech, and I think people should see the hateful webpage to understand exactly how college professors can be so absurdly stupid (and to laugh at Klein's 1970's-style photo.) But you may want to write to CSU's chancellor, especially if you are a California resident, if you don't want to have your tax dollars supporting what is effectively hate speech on campus websites.
(h/t Bill)

not illegal, but if I were a taxpayer from California and knew that my dollars were being used to in an nontransparent way I'd be miffed. Declaring math against Israel is not what those funds were supposed to be used for. I have a feeling as this post matriculates through the internet that the University will start thinking differently about what is free expression in the modern equivalent of a math textbook... a University server.

Hariri: I openly and proudly support Syria’s uprising

I hate to say this, but Nasrallah has so much more credibility then Hariri. Lebanon is the middle East's confused and abused fickle whore who changes her mind everytime the wind blows. It is impressive that Nasrallah would stick by Assad even now. I notice even Hamas is trying to distance themselves from the Allawites. The odd thing is that I was led to believe Assad's religion is a heresy to Islam, but if it is... the religious Shiites are very loyal to it. Perhaps it isn't as heretical as I thought. To be loyal to Assad at this juncture takes a certain amount of religious blindness.

(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb BEIRUT): Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Wednesday that he “openly and proudly” supports the uprising of the Syrian people, one day after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah repeated his support for the Syrian regime.
“If Hezbollah openly supports the Syrian regime, we openly and proudly support the Syrian revolution and the Syrian people,” Hariri told his Twitter followers.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from Hariri’s Future bloc said that Nasrallah’s speech and rare public appearance were aimed at boosting the dwindling morale of his supporters since his regional allies “are falling” and after the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which the party had strongly opposed.
“He felt that there was a need to boost the morale of his supporters after a Cabinet, which his party dominates, had financed the tribunal,” Minieh MP Ahmad Fatfat told Future News.
“What’s more important in Nasrallah’s speech was the [part] on Arab affairs,” Fatfat said. “He will clearly fight by the side of President Bashar Assad and his regime and he accuses the [Syrian] opposition of treason, which is clear interference in Syrian affairs.”
Following a rare and short public appearance Tuesday, Nasrallah said that his group was continuing to arm itself and would stand by Assad who is facing a popular uprising nearing its ninth month.
“Our forces have increased and so have our arms day after day,” Nasrallah said in a video link on the occasion of Ashura, one of the holiest occasions in Shiite Islam which marks the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad.
“This resistance and its weapons will continue to exist and your conspiracies as well as your psychological, political and intelligence wars will not destroy us,” Nasrallah told crowds at a packed stadium in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Thousands of men dressed in black applauded as Nasrallah yelled: “The resistance in Lebanon, with its weapons and mujahideen, God willing, will continue to exist. We will hold onto our arms … our weapons do not rust. They are being upgraded.”
Fatfat said that Nasrallah had torpedoed dialogue when he refused to discuss the party’s arms.
Beirut MP Serge Torsarkissian, Fatfat’s colleague in the Future bloc, commented on Nasrallah’s statement that Hezbollah’s arms would not rust.
“We say that arms will rust because when they are not used domestically, what will they be used for? To launch a war against Israel, this is unrealistic,” he told al-Jadeed TV station.
During the appearance, Nasrallah, speaking from an open-air podium, told the cheering crowd: “I wanted to be with you for a few minutes … to renew our pledge with [Imam] Hussein who stood at this day alone in the face of 30,000 individuals.”
Nasrallah said his public appearance was a message to those who believe they can intimidate Hezbollah.
“We tell all those who bet on scaring us or threatening us that we are the companions of Imam Hussein, who says he will never be humiliated,” he said before he was whisked out of Al-Raya Stadium in the southern suburb neighborhood of Sfeir.
A good section of Nasrallah’s speech was devoted to Syria, saying that while he supported reforms, he would “stand by a regime that has stood by the resistance for a long time.”
“There are some who don’t want civil peace or stability and want to destroy Syria. There are some who want to make up for their defeat in Iraq and their inevitable loss in any change in the situation in Syria for the benefit of Israel,” Nasrallah told the packed stadium in reference to the U.S.
“What some seek for in Syria is not reforms … but an Arab regime which is ready to rubber stamp anything for the U.S. and Israel,” he said.
He also slammed the Syrian National Council, the main anti-Assad opposition group, for seeking to “destroy” Syria while moving closer to the U.S. and Israel.
“The so-called Syrian National Council, formed in Istanbul, has a leader, a university professor by the name of Burhan Ghalioun who said a few days ago that he wants to cut ties with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas if they [Syrian opposition] were able to change the regime and take over power in Syria … they are trying to present their credentials to the Americans and the Israelis,” Nasrallah said.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Ghalioun in which he said “Our relations with Iran will be revisited as [will those of] any of the countries in the region, based on the exchange of economic and diplomatic interests, in the context of improving stability in the region and not that of a special relationship. There will be no special relationship with Iran.”
He said breaking the exceptional relationship with Iran after the fall of the Syrian regime would change its relationship with Hezbollah.
Speaking to a local radio station, West Bekaa MP Amin Wehbe, from the Future bloc, said that Nasrallah was mobilizing his supporters “which is understandable in these circumstances when he feels that his allies are falling under the pressure of people who are demanding freedom, and particularly in Syria.”
Wehbe said he was pained that Nasrallah congratulated the Libyans and other Arab people for their revolutions and victories “but when speaking about Syria, he behaved as if the Syrian people do not have the right to enjoy freedom.” He said that Nasrallah had overlooked the fact that NATO had supported the Libyans to oust late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
On local matters, Nasrallah touched on the issue of “false witnesses” in the case of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Nasrallah said the issue had caused tensions in ties between Lebanon and Syria and called on the government to address the divisive topic.
“There is a need to resolve the issue of ‘false witnesses’ and that of the four officers who were jailed,” Nasrallah said, referring to the four generals who were held without charge for nearly four years before the STL probing Hariri’s assassination ordered their release.
The Hezbollah leader also reiterated his support to the Free Patriotic Movement’s demands to the Cabinet.

Moshe Feiglin runs again - this time he could actually win

I always liked Bibi in general, but Israel needs someone who made no promises to Obama in a backroom. Nothing personal. It's about the message that needs to be given to the world. I'm expecting the left to use scare tactics and call this guy far right... but they said that about Ariel Sharon. Who cares what the rest of the world thinks. Israel could elect the reincarnated fusion of Jesus and Gandi and the world would call it Hitler. The best message for Jews to send to others is that they will not be bullied.

(Carl) Moshe Feiglin runs again – this time he could actually win
Guest Post by Rafi Farber
Late Sunday night, Netanyahu announced that, along with internal elections to choose a new Likud Central Committee and local representatives, the chairmanship of the party itself would be up for grabs. Moshe Feiglin answered the challenge immediately and announced his candidacy. Bibi v Feiglin round IV is now set for January 31, 2012.
All the political pundits in Israel immediately started asking why Netanyahu was doing this. Army radio, Galei Tzahal as they call it here, was abuzz with speculation. Political commentators shot off a bunch of sophisticated columns in all the newspapers explaining that Netanyahu is doing this to “take advantage of his popularity”. I will tell you now that this is false, and I will explain exactly why.
Back in April 2010, the Likud, for the first time in 10 years, was about to have elections to choose a new Likud Central Committee. Netanyahu fought really hard to postpone them because he knew at the time that if they happened back then, he would lose control of the LCC to the right wing of his party who reject him. Eventually the case got to the Supreme Court, those “guard dogs of democracy” as they call themselves, who allowed him to push off democratic elections. In the meantime, Netanyahu’s goal was to strengthen his base in the party by signing up a bunch of people who would vote for him in the next primary.
During that time, there has a been a deluge of even more new Likud members to the right of Bibi, voters that don’t exactly like his whole “building freeze” and uprooting and expulsion of Jewish towns like Migron and Havat Gilad these past few months, not to mention his handing over Hebron to the Arabs and signing the defunct Wye Accords.
And who was Bibi able to sign up to his side during this time? Pretty much nobody.
When Feiglin first for ran for Likud Chairman in 2003, he got 3% of the vote. When he ran again in 2005, he placed 3^rd at 13% of the vote, more than quadrupling his previous support. When he ran again in 2007, he doubled again and got 24% of the vote. And that was back before all these new people signed up to the party.
Bibi is not doing this because he’s trying to “take advantage of his popularity”. Within the Likud party membership, he has very little. What he’s actually doing is preparing the ground to jump ship.
He knows he doesn’t have the numbers for the overwhelming victory he desperately needs to secure his place at the head of Likud. He knows we’re too strong by now. He knows that Feiglin will get at least 30-35% of the Likud vote, and that’s being conservative. If Feiglin scores that low in this next election, it will still be a high enough percentage for Bibi to say, “Well, these Feiglinites too strong. We have to get out of here and form a new Kadima II with Ehud Barak.”
This is not just speculation. The cover story of Monday’s Israel HaYom newspaper daily was, “Netanyahu: I did not guarantee refuge for Barak.”

Translation: “I did not promise political refuge for Barak.”
They know it’s in the back of his mind.
If Feiglin scores any higher than 30-35%, and he likely will, Netanyahu will run out of Likud as fast as possible. What will happen then? I guess we’ll all find out, but the party will be left to Feiglin.
The other possibility is that Feiglin outright wins the election. Any of these three possibilities spell the same conclusion. Netanyahu is on his way out of the party. That’s why he’s doing this now. He needs a new party with Barak to continue his plans to break left.

The writer is a Likud member, running for a seat on the Likud Central Committee. He works for an Israeli-owned company that sells Jewish jewelry and Judaica.
[Hmmm... CiJ]