Iran's Smart Concrete Can Cope With Earthquakes and Bombs 609
PolygamousRanchKid writes "Iran is an earthquake zone, so its engineers have developed some of the toughest building materials in the world. Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) could also be used to protect hidden nuclear installations from the artificial equivalent of small earthquakes, namely bunker-busting bombs. UHPC is based—like its quotidian cousins—on sand and cement. In addition, though, it is doped with powdered quartz (the pure stuff, rather than the tainted variety that makes up most sand) and various reinforcing metals and fibers. UHPC can withstand more compression than other forms of concrete. UHPC is also more flexible and durable than conventional concrete. It can therefore be used to make lighter and more slender structures. All of which is fine and dandy for safer dams and better sewers, which threaten no one. But UHPC's potential military applications are more intriguing—and for many, more worrying. Deep bunkers can be tackled in other ways. America's Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has looked at what is known in the jargon as functional defeat, in other words bombing their entrances shut or destroying their electrical systems with electromagnetic pulses. They are also working on active penetrators—bombs which can tunnel through hundreds of meters of earth, rock and concrete. Development work is also under way on esoteric devices such as robot snakes, carrying warheads, which can infiltrate via air ducts and cable runs."
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:4, Informative)
Actually they never did. What you heard was the MEMRI 'translation' provided to western media. MEMRI is run by an Israeli.
Iran has invaded exactly 0 neighbours. Israel has done it fairly consistently.
Iran does not have nuclear weapons. Isreal does.
Israel is the single state with the most UN Security Council actions against it.
I understand why you don't know that - the owners of the media you watch, listen or read want you to believe that's the truth.
Then there's the megaphonies - 'useful idiots' that propagate Israeli government propaganda.
Hope that'll give you a start in your quest to understand why you're being lied to. Cheers :)
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:1, Informative)
The United States is a theocracy that /has/ nuclear weapons, and /regularly/ annihilates foreign countries. Iraq was destroyed on a whim, albeit without nukes.
See: The last fifty years of the United States engaging in constant, unending international warfare, against continually new enemies, without cause or justification.
Now who looks more dangerous?
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:5, Informative)
Lebanon, 1982?
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:5, Informative)
The United States is a theocracy that /has/ nuclear weapons, and /regularly/ annihilates foreign countries. Iraq was destroyed on a whim, albeit without nukes.
See: The last fifty years of the United States engaging in constant, unending international warfare, against continually new enemies, without cause or justification.
Now who looks more dangerous?
You, sir, are either engaging in hyperbole or you do not know what a theocracy is.
The US has engaged in far too many military adventures around the planet for the last 60 years, but for all of its negative qualities, we have also come to the aid of the defenseless more than anyone else too.
LK
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:3, Informative)
They've been occupying more and more of Palestine over the past 50 years while implementing ever more strict apartheid policies towards the Palestinian population but I guess that doesn't count. Neither does the invasion of Lebanon in 1982 or 2006, invasion of Gaza and subsequent blockade of even humanitarian aid, or the current buildup towards an invasion of Iran?
Re:McCarthy would be proud of you guys. (Score:4, Informative)
You know what's the best about the uneducated people from the US that thinks the entire world looks like Afghanistan?
a) Their faces when they finally travel a little bit and get to see, for example, the city where I live:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QRpO2B1C6Xg/TT1yt1_PggI/AAAAAAAAACA/qal-vpr50pI/s1600/buenos-aires.jpg [blogspot.com]
http://buenosairestourism.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Buenos-Aires-Tourism2.jpg [buenosairestourism.net]
http://www.ladygardens.net/storage/buenos_aires03.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1243881190062 [ladygardens.net]
And realize their vision of the world was completely misleading.
b) How many other citizens of the US are so embarrassed of people like you, when they vacation at some of our best touristic destinations, they say they are Canadian (I can always tell by the accent and lack of sophistication)
Re:Back in 2003 ... (Score:5, Informative)
...allegedly.
Iran is NOT an Arab nation (Score:4, Informative)
Iran is not an Arab nation. Its population is Caucasian, and is non Arab,
although it is a Moslem country.
It is the cradle of civilization, a beautiful country despite the US Propaganda that
makes it look like a pile of rubble, stones and mud huts. It has a high degree of
education, many fine universities and research institutes and takes foreingn aid
from no one.
Iran has never invaded any other country, and as far as I know they have never
lifted a finger at the USA. Other than shooting down our million-dollar drones
that violate their airspace.
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:2, Informative)
gimme some citations. i could use a laugh.
MEMRI again? (Score:3, Informative)
If you're not familiar with MEMRI, this article puts it in context:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/aug/12/worlddispatch.brianwhitaker
They've an Israeli run translation 'Research Institute' that translates selective news stories from Israels enemies, designed to emphasize the worst aspects of those countries in western media.
So a typical example will translate some extremist religious nuts comments, but not the people calling him a fringe crazy. Thus you get the impression of Israels enemies as all extremist nuts and thus are more likely to continue the $3 billion a year in donations you make to Israel.
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:2, Informative)
If Israel does "something about it themselves" they will do so with US aircraft, bombs, etc. Most of their advanced weapons were basically gifts from the US, and US funding has long been the only thing even keeping the state of Israel viable.
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:5, Informative)
Take a look at this to see what Israel's leaders really think. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkpoint-washington/2010/07/netanyahu_america_is_a_thing_y.html [washingtonpost.com]
Netenyahu, when he thinks he's in private, says that America "is easily moved" and that he can get America to do what he wants easily. Then he proceeds to brag about how he successfully sabotaged the peace process.
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:4, Informative)
Egypt, 1956.in response to the nationalisation of the Suez canal. Yes, this set the Israeli standard for what is considered offensive action by its neighbours,
Egypt, Syria and Jordan 1967. Although it is widely alleged that this was in response to a joint plan by these countries to attack Israel, the military offense was all Israeli and without warning or any actual attack.
Egypt and Syria, 1973. Note that while Egypt and Syria had attacked Israeli positions, these were to reoccupy land occupied by Israel in 1966 and Israel's borders were never threatened; the Syrians even stopped on the Golan when they could have carried on.
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:4, Informative)
Iran has a Reactor in Tehran University (incidentally US made) which uses 20% enriched Uranium to work and it is being used to produce medical radiation sources.
Iran offered to receive 20% enriched fuel for that reactor in exchange to 5% fuel (it had produced). IAEA and western countries did not wanted to cooperate and Iran started building the fuel itself.
Where of that story is ambiguous for you?
Re:Back in 2003 ... (Score:2, Informative)
Which nonetheless comply with all IAEA inspections, and have been shown to not be used, or even capable of building a "bomb" or warhead.
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:2, Informative)
Yet, they haven't shot at anyone.
Unlike certain free country which is pillaging and burning things around the world, both militarily and politically.
Stop that fucking nonsense, ok?
Since what you wrote is false, how about you first?
State Sponsors: Iran [cfr.org]
Iranians 'targeted Israeli diplomats' [bangkokpost.com] - Published: 15/02/2012 at 04:35 PM
Experts: Iran's Quds Force Deeply Enmeshed in Iraq [foxnews.com]
U.S. blames Iran for new bombs in Iraq [usatoday.com]
Iran’s Quds Force was blamed for attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq [washingtonpost.com]
Iran's Quds Force: Supporting Terrorism Worldwide [realite-eu.org]
Leader of Iran’s Al-Quds Forces Says Iraq and Southern Lebanon Are Under His Control [thegatewaypundit.com]
Iran threatens to close Strait of Hormuz over EU oil sanctions [telegraph.co.uk]
Iranian weapons seized in Afghanistan [telegraph.co.uk]
One more, then I'm going to stop since this could easily turn into a seemingly never-ending story. I've hardly touched on Iran's activities around the world. I've hardly even scratched the surface of Iran's involvement in Lebanon, and with Hezbollah, and the massive amount of arms that they've been providing. You do know that Hezbollah, aiming at the desturction of Israel [google.com], has 50,000 rockets now, right?
Simon Wiesenthal Center: Iranian Calls to Destroy Jewish People Unparalleled Since Nazi Germany [wiesenthal.com]
Frankly, I'm baffled by how people miss this. I guess it doesn't come up at the "anti-Zionist" meeting
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:3, Informative)
Of course that sort of glosses over the assistance the US provided the UK prior to entering the war as well.
You mean assistance like loaning money, loans that were only paid off a few years ago? Or perhaps assistance like allowing British nuclear physicists to work on the Manhattan Project, and then not allowing them to share any of the results with the UK after the war?
Re:Today's dose of fearmongering... (Score:5, Informative)
Of course that sort of glosses over the assistance the US provided the UK prior to entering the war as well.
It has to be said, assistance that we actually only stopped repaying the US for a couple of years ago - that assistance was most certainly not free, it was infact very costly.
Re:Back in 2003 ... (Score:3, Informative)
However, in case the +5 funny went unnoticed by some readers, this:
"Israel has always been considered a "friendly" nation; Iran, not so much."
Was a joke.
It wasn't a joke and it's certainly not funny. Israel is considered friendly in spite of successive Israeli governments' insane tendency to engage and provoke anyone in the area into bitter and protacted bloodshed. And despite cloning passports for use by illegal travelling assassins, Israel is still considered as being trustworthy to handle personal data protected under EU law.
I suppose the main thing is that Israel is mostly white.
Not funny at all.
Re:Back in 2003 ... (Score:3, Informative)
So do I.
We took that land from the Arabs, then we gave it away because our great-grandparents were so bigotted against Jews that we wanted to throw them out of Europe -- the Nazis weren't the only ones who persecuted the Jews....
Anyway, it was theft on the part of Europe and America, and that theft was later compounded by the settlers starting further territorial wars.