CINA

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George Bush insists that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. So why, six years ago, did the CIA give the Iranians blueprints to build a bomb?

In an extract from his explosive new book, New York Times reporter James Risen reveals the bungles and miscalculations that led to a spectacular intelligence fiasco

Thursday January 5, 2006
The Guardian 

Mistake piled on mistake. As the CIA later learned, the Iranian who received the download was a double agent. The agent quickly turned the data over to Iranian security officials, and it enabled them to "roll up" the CIA's network throughout Iran. CIA sources say that several of the Iranian agents were arrested and jailed, while the fates of some of the others is still unknown.

This espionage disaster, of course, was not reported. It left the CIA virtually blind in Iran, unable to provide any significant intelligence on one of the most critical issues facing the US - whether Tehran was about to go nuclear.

In fact, just as President Bush and his aides were making the case in 2004 and 2005 that Iran was moving rapidly to develop nuclear weapons, the American intelligence community found itself unable to provide the evidence to back up the administration's public arguments. On the heels of the CIA's failure to provide accurate pre-war intelligence on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, the agency was once again clueless in the Middle East. In the spring of 2005, in the wake of the CIA's Iranian disaster, Porter Goss, its new director, told President Bush in a White House briefing that the CIA really didn't know how close Iran was to becoming a nuclear power.

But it's worse than that. Deep in the bowels of the CIA, someone must be nervously, but very privately, wondering: "Whatever happened to those nuclear blueprints we gave to the Iranians?"

The story dates back to the Clinton administration and February 2000, when one frightened Russian scientist walked Vienna's winter streets. The Russian had good reason to be afraid. He was walking around Vienna with blueprints for a nuclear bomb.

To be precise, he was carrying technical designs for a TBA 480 high-voltage block, otherwise known as a "firing set", for a Russian-designed nuclear weapon. He held in his hands the knowledge needed to create a perfect implosion that could trigger a nuclear chain reaction inside a small spherical core. It was one of the greatest engineering secrets in the world, providing the solution to one of a handful of problems that separated nuclear powers such as the United States and Russia from rogue countries such as Iran that were desperate to join the nuclear club but had so far fallen short.

The Russian, who had defected to the US years earlier, still couldn't believe the orders he had received from CIA headquarters. The CIA had given him the nuclear blueprints and then sent him to Vienna to sell them - or simply give them - to the Iranian representatives to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). With the Russian doing its bidding, the CIA appeared to be about to help Iran leapfrog one of the last remaining engineering hurdles blocking its path to a nuclear weapon. The dangerous irony was not lost on the Russian - the IAEA was an international organisation created to restrict the spread of nuclear technology.

The Russian was a nuclear engineer in the pay of the CIA, which had arranged for him to become an American citizen and funded him to the tune of $5,000 a month. It seemed like easy money, with few strings attached.

Until now. The CIA was placing him on the front line of a plan that seemed to be completely at odds with the interests of the US, and it had taken a lot of persuading by his CIA case officer to convince him to go through with what appeared to be a rogue operation.

The case officer worked hard to convince him - even though he had doubts about the plan as well. As he was sweet-talking the Russian into flying to Vienna, the case officer wondered whether he was involved in an illegal covert action. Should he expect to be hauled before a congressional committee and grilled because he was the officer who helped give nuclear blueprints to Iran? The code name for this operation was Merlin; to the officer, that seemed like a wry tip-off that nothing about this programme was what it appeared to be. He did his best to hide his concerns from his Russian agent.

The Russian's assignment from the CIA was to pose as an unemployed and greedy scientist who was willing to sell his soul - and the secrets of the atomic bomb - to the highest bidder. By hook or by crook, the CIA told him, he was to get the nuclear blueprints to the Iranians. They would quickly recognise their value and rush them back to their superiors in Tehran.

The plan had been laid out for the defector during a CIA-financed trip to San Francisco, where he had meetings with CIA officers and nuclear experts mixed in with leisurely wine-tasting trips to Sonoma County. In a luxurious San Francisco hotel room, a senior CIA official involved in the operation talked the Russian through the details of the plan. He brought in experts from one of the national laboratories to go over the blueprints that he was supposed to give the Iranians.

The senior CIA officer could see that the Russian was nervous, and so he tried to downplay the significance of what they were asking him to do. He said the CIA was mounting the operation simply to find out where the Iranians were with their nuclear programme. This was just an intelligence-gathering effort, the CIA officer said, not an illegal attempt to give Iran the bomb. He suggested that the Iranians already had the technology he was going to hand over to them. It was all a game. Nothing too serious.

On paper, Merlin was supposed to stunt the development of Tehran's nuclear programme by sending Iran's weapons experts down the wrong technical path. The CIA believed that once the Iranians had the blueprints and studied them, they would believe the designs were usable and so would start to build an atom bomb based on the flawed designs. But Tehran would get a big surprise when its scientists tried to explode their new bomb. Instead of a mushroom cloud, the Iranian scientists would witness a disappointing fizzle. The Iranian nuclear programme would suffer a humiliating setback, and Tehran's goal of becoming a nuclear power would have been delayed by several years. In the meantime, the CIA, by watching Iran's reaction to the blueprints, would have gained a wealth of information about the status of Iran's weapons programme, which has been shrouded in secrecy.

The Russian studied the blueprints the CIA had given him. Within minutes of being handed the designs, he had identified a flaw. "This isn't right," he told the CIA officers gathered around the hotel room. "There is something wrong." His comments prompted stony looks, but no straight answers from the CIA men. No one in the meeting seemed surprised by the Russian's assertion that the blueprints didn't look quite right, but no one wanted to enlighten him further on the matter, either.

In fact, the CIA case officer who was the Russian's personal handler had been stunned by his statement. During a break, he took the senior CIA officer aside. "He wasn't supposed to know that," the CIA case officer told his superior. "He wasn't supposed to find a flaw."

"Don't worry," the senior CIA officer calmly replied. "It doesn't matter."

The CIA case officer couldn't believe the senior CIA officer's answer, but he managed to keep his fears from the Russian, and continued to train him for his mission.

After their trip to San Francisco, the case officer handed the Russian a sealed envelope with the nuclear blueprints inside. He was told not to open the envelope under any circumstances. He was to follow the CIA's instructions to find the Iranians and give them the envelope with the documents inside. Keep it simple, and get out of Vienna safe and alive, the Russian was told. But the defector had his own ideas about how he might play that game.

The CIA had discovered that a high-ranking Iranian official would be travelling to Vienna and visiting the Iranian mission to the IAEA, and so the agency decided to send the Russian to Vienna at the same time. It was hoped that he could make contact with either the Iranian representative to the IAEA or the visitor from Tehran.

In Vienna, however, the Russian unsealed the envelope with the nuclear blueprints and included a personal letter of his own to the Iranians. No matter what the CIA told him, he was going to hedge his bets. There was obviously something wrong with the blueprints - so he decided to mention that fact to the Iranians in his letter. They would certainly find flaws for themselves, and if he didn't tell them first, they would never want to deal with him again.

The Russian was thus warning the Iranians as carefully as he could that there was a flaw somewhere in the nuclear blueprints, and he could help them find it. At the same time, he was still going through with the CIA's operation in the only way he thought would work.

The Russian soon found 19 Heinstrasse, a five-storey office and apartment building with a flat, pale green and beige facade in a quiet, slightly down-at-heel neighbourhood in Vienna's north end. Amid the list of Austrian tenants, there was one simple line: "PM/Iran." The Iranians clearly didn't want publicity. An Austrian postman helped him. As the Russian stood by, the postman opened the building door and dropped off the mail. The Russian followed suit; he realised that he could leave his package without actually having to talk to anyone. He slipped through the front door, and hurriedly shoved his envelope through the inner-door slot at the Iranian office.

The Russian fled the mission without being seen. He was deeply relieved that he had made the hand-off without having to come face to face with a real live Iranian. He flew back to the US without being detected by either Austrian security or, more importantly, Iranian intelligence.

Just days after the Russian dropped off his package at the Iranian mission, the National Security Agency reported that an Iranian official in Vienna abruptly changed his schedule, making airline reservations to fly home to Iran. The odds were that the nuclear blueprints were now in Tehran.

The Russian scientist's fears about the operation seemed well founded. He was the front man for what may have been one of the most reckless operations in the modern history of the CIA, one that may have helped put nuclear weapons in the hands of a charter member of what President George W Bush has called the "axis of evil".

Operation Merlin has been one of the most closely guarded secrets in the Clinton and Bush administrations. It's not clear who originally came up with the idea, but the plan was first approved by Clinton. After the Russian scientist's fateful trip to Vienna, however, the Merlin operation was endorsed by the Bush administration, possibly with an eye toward repeating it against North Korea or other dangerous states.

Several former CIA officials say that the theory behind Merlin - handing over tainted weapon designs to confound one of America's adversaries - is a trick that has been used many times in past operations, stretching back to the cold war. But in previous cases, such Trojan horse operations involved conventional weapons; none of the former officials had ever heard of the CIA attempting to conduct this kind of high-risk operation with designs for a nuclear bomb. The former officials also said these kind of programmes must be closely monitored by senior CIA managers in order to control the flow of information to the adversary. If mishandled, they could easily help an enemy accelerate its weapons development. That may be what happened with Merlin.

Iran has spent nearly 20 years trying to develop nuclear weapons, and in the process has created a strong base of sophisticated scientists knowledgeable enough to spot flaws in nuclear blueprints. Tehran also obtained nuclear blueprints from the network of Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, and so already had workable blueprints against which to compare the designs obtained from the CIA. Nuclear experts say that they would thus be able to extract valuable information from the blueprints while ignoring the flaws.

"If [the flaw] is bad enough," warned a nuclear weapons expert with the IAEA, "they will find it quite quickly. That would be my fear"

© James Risen 2006

· This is an edited extract from State of War, by James Risen, published by The Free Press

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,12858,1678220,00.html

 

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WITHOUT ANY COMMENT:

 

All eyes on WTO protesters

 

By Keith Bradsher The New York Times

MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2006

 

The prosecution of 14 people here after a violent demonstration at the World Trade Organization conference last month is turning into a contentious and diplomatically sticky issue for the governments of Hong Kong, China and South Korea.

Labor union federations and social groups, primarily from Asia and Europe, are trying to portray the 14 as "WTO political prisoners." They held a small march Monday in Hong Kong and said they had sent delegations to deliver letters, and in some cases hold demonstrations, at Chinese consulates and embassies in New York, Bangladesh, Belgium, Hungary, Thailand and Switzerland.

Legal proceedings against the demonstrators are scheduled to begin this week.

The prosecution of the protesters has drawn considerable attention in South Korea, with three of the country's most famous film and soap opera stars issuing a recent appeal for their release.

All but three of those facing prosecution are South Korean citizens.

The prosecution also coincides with considerable resentment in South Korea of China's tough treatment of refugees from North Korea, many of whom have been repatriated to face long prison terms and even execution.

The South Korean government has appealed to the Hong Kong government repeatedly to release the protesters here, all of whom are men. But the Hong Kong authorities have refused, pointing out that the protest on the night of Dec. 17 left 137 people injured, including 67 police officers.



"Hong Kong is a place where the rule of law is strongly upheld," said Wong Yan-lung, Hong Kong's secretary for justice, after meeting in Hong Kong on Monday with three opposition lawmakers from South Korea who complained about the prosecution. "This case is being processed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong and our established and announced prosecution policy."

Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, but the territory, now designated a special autonomous region, retains its own independent legal system. Large pro-democracy demonstrations here over the past two years have been peaceful, and government officials have expressed worries that local radicals might misinterpret leniency toward the WTO protesters as a willingness to tolerate violence.

South Korea and China have been closely aligned in strongly criticizing Japan for not doing more to acknowledge crimes committed during World War II. They have built a very close commercial relationship in the past two decades.



Hong Kong has close to 7,000 South Korean citizens, and Lee Kyu Hyung, South Korea's vice foreign minister, came here two days after the protest to express regret for the confrontation, and to ask for the release of all detainees.

The protesters, 11 of whom began a hunger strike last Thursday, contend they are innocent and are victims of mistaken identity.

Yang Kyung Kyu, the president of the Korean Federation of Transportation, Public and Social Services Workers' Unions and one of the 14 protesters being prosecuted, said at a news conference here on Monday that the Hong Kong police lacked experience in distinguishing people of Korean descent.

The police encircled the protesters on the night of Dec. 17 and then arrested more than 1,000 of them the following morning. It released all except 14 of them a day later.

All 14 have been released on bail but have not been allowed to leave the territory, with the exception of one who is a Taiwanese student and has been allowed to go home for exams. Another protester is Japanese and the last is a mainland Chinese citizen.

The first court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. The protesters have been charged with unlawful assembly and officials have said that they are considering other charges, including assaulting police officers.


Many in Hong Kong were shocked by televised scenes of protesters who managed to get around police officers in riot gear and began using plywood boards and steel pipes to strike lightly protected officers. One police officer was hospitalized for 10 days, but most were treated and released the night of the protest.

Police officers have long enjoyed high social standing in Hong Kong, allowing thousands of working class men and women and their children to move up the social ladder.

 

 

朝鮮日報:

 

Hong Kong Faces Second Wave of Korean Protestors

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has threatened to dispatch a second army of Korean protestors (^^) to Hong Kong unless a court there throws out charges of illegal assembly against a group of 11 Koreans who were arrested in violent demonstrations in the territory last month...

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200601/200601090021.html

 

 

YONHAP (English&Korean):

 

Labor group threatens new protests in Hong Kong

 

HONG KONG, Jan. 9 -- The head of a South Korean labor umbrella organization on Monday threatened further protests in Hong Kong unless a group of South Korean farmer activists arrested there are acquitted of all criminal charges and released immediately.

Jun Jae-hwan, head of the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), said his organization would dispatch 1,000 protesters if Hong Kong's court decides to convict any of the 11 South Korean protesters on trial.

The charged farmers joined more than 1,000 of their compatriots in staging anti-globalization rallies here during the December meeting of WTO ministers.

A total of 1,001 South Koreans were detained, but the rest were released without charge while. The other 11 faced trial on suspicion of staging violent rallies.

They have been waging a hunger strike since Thursday, claiming their charges have been fabricated.

The Hong Kong police on Friday admitted to making "minor mistakes" in handling the South Korean protesters, such as holding up the translation service for them during their investigation.

But Jun, who arrived here to observe the trial that is slated for Wednesday, claimed the Hong Kong prosecution was unlikely to withdraw its charges, and said his organization is preparing to stage a second round of street protests depending on the outcome of Wednesday's ruling.

"(The organization) will try to stage the second round of the demonstration rallies peacefully, but (its) leadership may not be able to control the protesters once they become emotional," Jun told reporters while visiting the protesters.

KCTU officials claimed the South Korean protesters were also drawing much sympathy from Hong Kong citizens, who have donated some 130 million won (US$132,000) so far to help with their legal expenses.

More than 3,000 Hong Kong citizens have also signed a petition calling for the acquittal of the South Koreans, according to the officials.

A group of some 400 civic activists from here were to hold a candlelight vigil in front of the house of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Donald Tsang later in the day, the officials said.

 

 

민노총 "시위대 억류시 1천명 홍콩 원정시위"..

`한국 시위대 석방촉구' 반 WTO 한국 원정시위대가 9일 무죄석방을 요구하며 5일째 단식농성을 벌이고 있는 홍콩 침사추이 페리터미널 앞에서 홍콩시민들이 이들의  조속한 석방을 촉구하며 성명에 서명하고 있다./정주호 특파원/국제뉴스부  기사참조/국제/                  2006.1.9 (홍콩=연합뉴스)

 

시위대 무죄방면촉구 페리터미널 단식농성 닷새째


    (홍콩=연합뉴스) 정주호 특파원 = 민주노총은 한국 시위대가 조속히 무죄  방면되지 않을 경우 또다시 1천명의 시위대를 홍콩에 파견, 대규모 시위를 벌이겠다고 9일 밝혔다.

    시위대 지원을 위해 홍콩을 방문한 전재환 민주노총 위원장은 오는 11일 재판에서 시위대에 대해 공소취하나 무죄 판결이 이뤄지지 않을 경우 오는 20∼22일  사이 300명의 선발대에 이어 모두 1천명의 원정 시위대를 재차 파견하겠다고 밝혔다.

    그는 홍콩 경찰의 현재 태도로 본다면 시위자들의 공소취하 가능성이 그렇게 높지 않다며 "2차 원정투쟁을 평화적으로 진행하겠지만 시위대의 감정이 격화되면  지도부도 이들을 통제하기 어렵다"고 덧붙였다.

    단식농성중인 양경규 민주노총 공공연맹 위원장은 민주노총과 전농 및 각  사회단체가 이런 방침을 정하고 11일 재판 결과에 따라 조직별로 2차 원정시위를 준비하고 있다고 말했다.

    양 위원장을 비롯한 시위대 11명은 구속후 보석 석방된 뒤 일본인 시위자  스케 나카기리(中桐康介.30)와 함께 9일 현재 침사추이 페리 터미널 앞에서 천막을  치고 세계무역기구(WTO) 반대 및 무죄 방면을 주장하며 5일부터 닷새째 단식 농성을 벌이고 있는 중이다.

    단식 농성장 앞에 홍콩 시민단체가 마련해놓은 모금함에는 홍콩 시민과  관광객들이 지금까지 10만홍콩달러(1억3천만원)의 성금을 기탁했으며 3천여명이 석방을 촉구하는 성명에 서명했다.

    재판 참관차 홍콩을 방문중인 권영길 민주노동당 임시대표와 강기갑, 단병호 의원은 9일 홍콩 검찰 지휘를 맡고 있는 웡옌룽(黃仁龍) 율정사장(법무 담당 부총리격)을 만나 시위대에 대한 공정한 재판과 조속한 석방을 촉구했다.

    한편 홍콩 시민과 운동가 400여명은 8일 홍콩 도심에서 시위대 무죄방면 촉구를 위한 가두행진을 벌인데 이어 9일 오후에도 시위대 무죄방면을 위한 국제 단결 집회를 갖고 홍콩 정부청사 앞까지 가두행진을 벌였다.

    이들은 또 이날 저녁 도널드 창(曾蔭權) 홍콩 행정장관 관사 앞에서 촛불집회도 가질 예정이며 10일 오후부터는 쿤통(觀塘) 법원 앞에서 홍콩  시민단체 100여명이 공판 개시 직전까지 24시간 동조 단식농성을 벌일 계획이다.

    박민웅 공공연맹 사무총장은 "홍콩 당국의 기소 내용이 전혀 사실과 맞지  않기 때문에 이를 철회할 때까지 무죄 투쟁을 벌이기로 했다"며 "홍콩  시민들의  지지와 성원이 놀라울 정도"라고 말했다.

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Following "article" I found recently on DailyNK(an anti-DPRK web site). Someone can understand the meaning of this crazy stuff?

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=478

 

 

The Reason Why the NK Government Considers

3rd and 4th Generations a Problem

New Generations Accepted Capitalism in the Soviet Union

By Han Young Jin, Reporter (harrharr), Defector from PyongYang
[ 01.06.2006(Fri) 15:34 ]

 

North Korean media and all the propaganda sources including Nodong Sinmun have been active propagating "the Commander as the center."

The "New Year Cooperative Column" wrote, "(We) must strengthen socialist political and ideological positions centering the leader (Kim Jong Il) as firm as iron."

Nodong Sinmun on 3rd propagated, "Just as Kim Hyuk, Cha Kwang Su, Choi Chnag Gul and other young communists gave up their lives to protect HanByul (Kim Il Sung), we must protect Comrade Kim Jong Il with our lives."

During the 80s, the NK government put out a slogan, "Let’s Become Kim Hyuk and Cha Kwang Su" and in the 90s, "Let’s learn from Hero Kim Kwang Chul and become "Gun, Bomb, and Bullet" of the 90s." In the beginning of the 90s, the government gave out "the Four Principles of Loyalty," which requires loyalty toward Suryeong to become ideological, conscientious, moral, and daily practice. It was required that people memorize the four principles during the meetings or in daily activities.

Foreseeable Movement in the New Year

Late last year, Nodong Sinmun reported about 17 soldiers sacrificed to save slogan trees in Mujebong. After that, the newspaper gave out a people’s statement that said, "We will live like the 20 heroes of Mujebong and strife."

This year, the foreseen slogan to be is "A Mind for Guarding Suryeong to death." "Unity in One Heart" and "A Mind for Guarding Suryeong to death" are what maintains the NK regime. The NK government also feels that if people lose faith in Kim Jong Il such as now and distance themselves from the government, maintaining the government would be difficult.

As of now, "the Heroes of Mujebong" is considered as typical movement for "A Mind for Guarding Suryeong to death." Meanwhile they also report about people died to save a portrait of Suryeong and awarded with title of "Hero" whose name will live forever after.

Propaganda Targeting the Revolutionary 3rd and 4th Generations

The "New Year Cooperative Column" wrote, "This era requires for strong, reliable and passionate fighters who will not be shaken by general trend or mood." It noted, "We have to prepare the 3rd and 4th generations of revolution politically and ideologically."

We could call the 80s the most politically stable period centering Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. However, after the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994 and the food crisis that soon followed after, the people started to lose faith in Kim Jong Il. With more and more people die of starvation but the government still uninterested in the lives of the people, it was inevitable that the people started to realize Kim Jong Il is unreliable. This is the reason why the NK government will push for "A Mind for Guarding Suryeong to death" movement strongly.

The problem is who will be targeted. When I was still in North Korea, it was emphasized a number of times that "ideology and culture education must be strengthened for the 3rd and 4th generations who have not experienced the difficulties of the revolution." It was said that when the Soviet Union collapsed, it was the new generations who widely accepted capitalism.

The movement "A Mind for Guarding Suryeong to death" launched by the NK government this year could be considered as the propaganda to tie the 3rd and 4th generations to the "commander ideology."

 

 

Dear colleagues (colleagues...??? dear.. definetly NOT!!),

 

when you try to write "articles" you should not use hard drugs, such as H or LSD!! And even when you were only drinking to much Soju... the result is just f.. shit!! LUNATIC A..HOLES!!!

 

 

 

I know, I know, that they're f... crazy... "But to fight your enemy you must study him/her!"(Lenin^^) Actually this is just a great example for their(the "writers") imbecility...

 

 

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...IS OVER, DEFINETLY!

But what will follow?

 

Following article was published in the German(bourgeois) magazine Der Spiegel before yesterday(1.06).

 

After Sharon

The Rise of the Hard-liners?

By Pierre Heumann

 

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon lies on his deathbed, and alongside him perhaps the hope of peace in the Middle East. Iran's rabble-rousing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatens the fragile situation -- potentially leading to a coflict that would engulf more than just the region.

 

Ariel Sharon leaves the political stage in Israel as a hard-liner who turned into a statesman. However, to praise him as a prince of peace just because he pulled Israel out of the Gaza Strip would be an exaggeration. He never tried to negotiate with the Palestinians, nor did he expect fine promises in return. He saw them not as partners but as untrustworthy enemies.

Sharon turned his back on Gaza because he could hear the ticking of a demographic time bomb: 8,000 settlers verus 1.3 million Palestinians just seemed like bad odds. As a general -- which he's remained to this day -- he crowed about "unilateral withdrawal" once it was clear that his troops couldn't hold the front.

Sharon just strove for conflict management: He wanted to reduce Israeli-Palestinian friction points. This led to a mini-solution that doesn't promise harmony -- but it's still a step in the right direction, since it allows for the founding of a Palestinian state.

Sharon has never said in public whether he'd pull out of the West Bank, or at least from areas of it. But anyone who listens carefully to his advisers and ministers can guess how he imagined the future. Justice Minister Tsipi Livni said two months ago that it wouldn't take much imagination to see where Sharon pictured the borders of Israel -- and Livni, at the time, was making a tour of the new wall that separates Israel from West Jordan.

In other words: little settlements would be dismantled and two or three big settlement blocks erected. The Palestinian state would be smaller than most Palestinians imagine it today; but expecting more from an Israeli government would simply be unrealistic. Without Sharon, though, even this mini-solution could slip into obscurity.

Danger of a third Intifada

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' power is visibly crumbling. He makes no effort to push through his declared goal: the disarmament of the militants. Abbas has surrenders to opponents within his government and has left the door open to the spread of terrorist activities, making the situation uncomfortable for Israel even after their withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. In the last three months extremists have launched more than 200 rockets on Israel's border region from Gaza, which should in theory be under Abbas' control.

Projectiles with a range of 25 kilometers are being developed so they can attack targets in the center of Israel. Escalation is pre-programmed. In light of this toleration of violence the hopes of the Palestinian Authorities of being accepted for peace negotiations by Sharon's possible successors are fading.

At the same time the radical Islamist group Hamas can expect to beat Fatah in the upcoming elections on 25 January. If Hamas make into the Palestinian government there will be a major political shake-up. Abbas could try to postpone the election so as to avoid defeat of his Fatah party but this scenario offers little hope: Hamas would presumably respond with a third Intifada.

The threat from Iran

Developments in Iran are even more worrying. While the European Union and United States attempt to use diplomatic methods to dissuade the ayatollahs from developing nuclear capabilities, Israel and Iran are engaged in a heated arms race. Both countries are clearly preparing for an era where generals, rather than diplomats, call the shots.

Indicative of this are the threats thundering back and forward between Jerusalem and Tehran. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be wiped of the map, which is logical considering the ayatollahs have never considered the Jewish state to be legitimate. Ahmadinejad's hateful tirades are making even the most peace-inclined leaders ask themselves if maybe his comments should be taken more seriously.

Israel's chief of intelligence warns that the international community only has four more months to bring an end to Iran's nuclear program. After that diplomatic efforts will be useless. The point of no return will have been reached and no one will be able to prevent Ahmadinejad from building himself the ultimate weapon.

The world could then teeter on the edge of apocalypse. Especially if Ahmadinejad suddenly feels called by a higher power to prepare the way for the return of the Mahdi, Islam's prophesized redeemer who supposedly will appear on earth just before judgement day. The hate-spouting president seriously considers himself a mystical visionary filled with "holy light." In order to prepare for the Mahdi, Ahmadinejad wants to use Iran's nuclear program to challenge both the United States and Israel.

Without such nuclear ambitions, his combination of anti-Semitism and messianism would be an internal matter for the Iranian theocracy. But as it stands now, an already dangerous mixture of Iranian hate takes on a highly toxic military dimension. A politician who dreams of the return of the Mahdi simply has no place in his worldview for non-believers.

Iran makes no secret of its nuclear ambitions. However, the country hides its true intentions. Tehran brazenly claims an atomic program would ensure its independence from oil. Only small minority in the west still believe the claim that such technology would only be used for civilian purposes. Why would one of the world's oil-richest nations ever need nuclear reactors?

While the EU and America still try to convince Iran not to develop a nuclear bomb via diplomatic means, the well-focused ayatollahs diligently continue with their plans. By repeatedly pushing new diplomatic initiatives with the aim of curbing their craze for nukes, Germany, Britain and France are letting Iran play them for fools. Iranian diplomats speak of peace in English and call for war in Farsi.

Preparing for war

Since the Iranian bomb is a global menace, the nuclear dispute with the Islamic Republic must be pushed to the top of the international community's agenda this year. But the problem will probably not be solved by diplomacy alone. Russia and China would veto any call for sanction in the UN Security Council. But peaceful means are more likely to fail due to the fact that Ahmadinejad wants nuclear weapons not only for political reasons, but also for ideological ones. The type of diplomacy necessary to hold a rational dialogue with an ideological regime has yet to be invented. And that is why Washington, Jerusalem and Ankara are already considering scenarios for war.

As part of the militaristic pre-game, Tehran has the ability to whip up its allies in Gaza and Beirut including the militias of Hamas and Hezbollah. Both are supplied with money and weapons by Iran. If the ayatollahs can be kept from getting a nuclear bomb, they'll still have the potent weapon of terror on the backburner.

Pierre Heumann is the Middle East correspondent for the weekly Swiss newsmagazine "Weltwoche"

 

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,393757,00.html

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U.S. Smear Campaign against DPRK under Fire

Pyongyang, January 6 (KCNA) -- The Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union strongly protests the persistent smear campaign of the U.S. administration against the DPRK. The secretariat said this in a statement issued on Dec. 28 last year in denunciation of the evermore frantic "human rights racket" kicked up by the U.S. against the DPRK.

The statement continued:
    The U.S. ruling quarters got "a resolution on human rights issue" in the DPRK adopted at the UN with the backing of its allies and attempted to pass it through other international bodies and kicked up a row over the "north Korean human rights issue" in Seoul some days ago under the signboard of an "international conference."
    The U.S. is a typical police state, a criminal state, the ringleader of world neo-fascism and No. 1 international terrorist state as it has perpetrated high-handed acts under the pretext of "defending the human rights," causing confusion and bloodshed in different parts of the world. 

 

First of all it was not 15 years or so ago, it was just ten days ago...^^

Secondly this so-called CPSU is marching regularly together with Russian fascist, monarchist, national-"bolshevist" groups, organizations and parties against any kind of democracy and freedom...

 

REACTIONARY IDIOTS OF ALL COUNTRIES...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200601/news01/07.htm#3

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NEW YEAR'S GREETINGS FROM

ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS

 

 

Some days ago I posted on the Anti-war/anti-troop dispatching web site (www.antiwar.or.kr), on the their freeboard(게시판), a kind of critic about the last anti-war activities. Just three days ago I got a(self-critically) reply including nice greetings for the New Year and following beautiful picture (the song I got from the same site...).

 

 

 

同志, 고맙습니다!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

본문

...IS PREPARING

FOR 1.25 ELECTIONS..

 

 

 

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hundreds of Palestinians crossed into Egypt on Wednesday after militants, angry at the jailing of their leader, stole two bulldozers and smashed through the wall separating Gaza and Egypt.

The militants rammed the wall hours after they blocked the official border crossing and took over government buildings.

As many as 300 Palestinians crossed into Egypt after the wall was smashed, an Egyptian security official said. Brig. Adel Fawzi, director of criminal investigation for North Sinai, said border police were unable to stop the intruders because they had no orders to shoot.

Thousands of Egyptian Interior Ministry troops headed to the border. An Egyptian armored vehicle was set on fire and at least three Palestinians were reported injured, one seriously when an Egyptian troop carrier crushed him against a wall, witnesses said.

The militants belong to the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent offshoot of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party. They rammed the massive wall as a show of force against the Palestinian Authority.

The militants' rampage through the southern Gaza town of Rafah underscored the growing lawlessness in Palestinian towns, especially in Gaza. Abbas, who has condemned the chaos, has been unable to impose order, and his failure to keep the gunmen in check is expected to harm Fatah's prospects in Jan. 25 parliamentary elections.

 

Palestinian fighters from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades/Fatah are seen inside the office

of the central elections commission in the southern Gaza Strip town of

Rafah, Wednesday Jan. 4, 2006. 

 

 

Fatah-affiliated vigilantes demanding government jobs or the release of imprisoned friends have been responsible for much of the anarchy, particularly since Israel's pullout from Gaza in September.

The tightly run Islamic militant group Hamas, whose followers have rarely been involved in vigilante violence, is expected to do well in the vote against the corruption-tainted Fatah. Hamas, which opposes the existence of Israel, has killed hundreds of Israelis in attacks.

The latest rampage began Tuesday, when Palestinian intelligence arrested Al Aqsa militant Alaa al-Hams on suspicion he and his followers kidnapped British human rights activist Kate Burton and her parents for two days last week. The Burtons were among 19 foreigners abducted by Fatah gunmen in Gaza in recent months. All have been freed unharmed.

Al-Hams followers then fired at the Palestinian security headquarters in the southern town of Rafah where he was held. Police and gunmen fired in the air, but there were no injuries.

On Wednesday morning, some 40 masked gunmen took over the central election office in Rafah, the local branch of the Palestinian parliament, a court and another government building. Gunmen were seen on rooftops, inside the buildings and posted at the main doors. Most workers fled.

A truckload of gunmen then drove to the nearby Rafah border crossing with Egypt, Gaza's main gate to the world.

Firing in the air, they closed the entrance gate to the crossing compound and told waiting passengers to leave. They also set up an impromptu checkpoint at the access road to the crossing, turning away travelers.

They left the buildings and the crossing after three hours.

But hours later, with al-Hams still in jail, the militants stole two bulldozers in Rafah and headed for the massive wall, which keeps Palestinians out of the Philadelphi corridor next to a smaller wall that marks the official border with Egypt.

``We are going to do everything we can to pressure the authority to release our leader,'' said an Al Aqsa leader who gave his name as Abu Hassan.

The bulldozers smashed two holes at the same spot where Hamas militants blasted through the towering concrete barrier during the border chaos following Israel's Gaza pullout. Palestinian security officials had closed the earlier hole with heavy concrete blocks, but those quickly gave way before the bulldozer.

Hundreds of Palestinians swarmed into the border corridor.

``Many people walked through. The Palestinian police can't stop them,'' said Fawzi Shaheen, a 26-year-old Rafah resident who ran toward the border.

The Rafah crossing was handed to Palestinian control, under European supervision, as part of a U.S.-brokered deal with Israel last month. Since then, the crossing was forced to shut down several times during attacks by gunmen.

Israel threatened to close the Rafah crossing in coordination with European observers if the breach is not repaired, according to a Defense Ministry complaint sent to the United States and the Palestinians, the ministry said. In the message, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz expressed grave concern over the development.

Salima Abu Maghaseeb, 42, said she was angry over the disruption of her plans to travel to Egypt with her daughter for her daughter's wedding this week.

``I don't know why the Palestinian Authority is allowing them to do this,'' said Abu Maghaseeb, who had her documents checked at the impromptu roadblock. ``Those people should use their guns ... to protect people and not to come and terrify us. God only knows what the future holds for Gaza.''...

In other chaos, Palestinian gunmen burst into a Rafah house early Wednesday and tried to kidnap the parents of Rachel Corrie, an American who was killed (by I"D"F, no chr.!) in 2003 as she protested the impending demolition of a house in the southern Gaza town, according to a witness.

The five gunmen appeared to be affiliated with the ruling Fatah movement, according to Samir Nasrallah, the Corries' host, but it was not clear if they were from the same group that blockaded the border. The gunmen eventually relented after being told who their targets were, he said.

Corrie, of Olympia, Wash., was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer as she tried to stop it from demolishing Nasrallah's house. Her parents, Craig and Cindy, have repeatedly visited Nasrallah since their daughter's death. They left Gaza safely after the attempted kidnapping, Nasrallah said.

...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5522755,00.html 

 

 

If you have not enough, read more here:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1136361011009&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

and here (al-Djazeera):

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EEFD7413-4992-4758-B360-436F8C4A8048.htm

and the latest news (from Israel, CET 01:26) here:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1136361011009&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

본문

1996 - 2006, Ten Years

People's War in Nepal

And Decades of People's Struggle for

Democracy, Political Progress...

 

Following documentary was posted a short time ago by comrades of mine (Mahbub and Raju). So I also will post it here, but including some background informations and (perhaps) useful links.

 

 

Power To The People

Produced by GEFONT

(General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions)

http://www.gefont.org

 

 

 

According to the Communist Party of Nepal(Unified Marxists/Leninists, UML) the struggle against the monarchy in Nepal started in the late 1940's of the last century.

 

Timeline: Nepal's turbulent history:

 

1951 - End of King Rana rule. Sovereignty of crown restored and anti-Rana rebels in Nepalese Congress Party form government.

1955 - King Tribhuwan dies, King Mahendra ascends throne.

1959 - Multi-party constitution adopted.

1960 - King Mahendra seizes control and suspends parliament, constitution and party politics after Nepali Congress Party (NCP) wins elections with B. P. Koirala as premier.

1962 - New constitution provides for non-party system of councils known as "panchayat" under which king exercises sole power. First elections to Rastrya Panchayat held in 1963.

1972 - King Mahendra dies, succeeded by Birendra.

1980 - Constitutional referendum follows agitation for reform. Small majority favours keeping existing panchayat system. King agrees to allow direct elections to national assembly - but on a non-party basis.

1985 - Communists begin civil disobedience campaign for restoration of multi-party system.

1986 - New elections boycotted by communists.

1989 - Trade and transit dispute with India leads to border blockade by Delhi resulting in worsening economic situation.

1990 - Pro-democracy agitation co-ordinated by communist and leftist groups. Street protests suppressed by security forces resulting in deaths and mass arrests. King Birendra eventually bows to pressure and agrees to new democratic constitution.

1991 - Nepali Congress Party wins first democratic elections. Girija Prasad Koirala becomes prime minister.

1994 - Koirala's government defeated in no-confidence motion. New elections lead to formation of UML Communist government.

1995 - Communist government dissolved. Radical leftist group, the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) begins insurrection in rural areas aimed at abolishing monarch and establishing people's republic.

1997 - Continuing political instability as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is defeated and replaced by Lokendra Bahadur Chand. Chand is then forced to resign because of party splits and is replaced by Surya Bahadur Thapa.

1998 - Thapa stands down because of party splits. GP Koirala returns as prime minister heading a coalition government.

1999 - Fresh elections give majority to Nepali Congress Party. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai becomes prime minister.

2000 - Prime Minister Bhattarai steps down after revolt in Nepali Congress Party. GP Koirala returns as prime minister, heading the ninth government in 10 years.

2001 April - General strike called by Maoist rebels brings life in much of the country to a virtual standstill; police arrest anti-government demonstrators, including some opposition leaders, in Kathmandu.

2001 1 June - King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and other close relatives killed in shooting spree allegedly by drunken Crown Prince Dipendra, who then shoots himself.

2001 4 June - Prince Gyanendra crowned King of Nepal after the late King Birendra's son, Dipendra - who had been declared king on 2 June - died of injuries sustained during the palace shooting.

2001 July - Maoist rebels step up campaign of violence. Sher Bahadur Deuba becomes prime minister, heading the 11th government in 11 years, after Girija Prasad Koirala quits over the violence.

2001 July - Deuba announces peace with rebels, truce begins.

2001 November - Maoists say peace talks have failed, truce is no longer justified. Launch coordinated attacks on army and police posts.

2001 November - State of emergency declared after more than 100 people are killed in four days of violence. King Gyanendra orders army to crush the Maoist rebels.

2002 April - Maoist rebels order five-day national strike, days after hundreds are killed in two of bloodiest attacks of six-year rebellion.

2002 May - Intense clashes between military and rebels in the west. Rebels declare one-month ceasefire, rejected by government.

Deuba visits Britain and other states, seeking help in the war against Maoist rebels. US President George W Bush pledges $20 million.

2002 May - Parliament dissolved, fresh elections called amid political confrontation over extending the state of emergency. Deuba expelled by his Nepali Congress party, heads interim government, renews emergency.

2002 October - Deuba asks king to put off elections by a year because of Maoist violence. King Gyanendra dismisses Deuba and indefinitely puts off elections set for November. Lokendra Bahadur Chand appointed to head government.

2003 January - Rebels, government declare ceasefire.

2003 May/June - Lokendra Bahadur Chand resigns as prime minister. King appoints his own nominee Surya Bahadur Thapa as new premier.

2003 August - Rebels pull out of peace talks with government and end seven-month truce. Rebels call three-day general strike in September.

late 2003 onwards - Political stalemate; clashes between students/activists and police; resurgence of violence.

2004 May - Royalist Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa resigns following weeks of street protests by opposition groups.

2004 June - King Gyanendra reappoints Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister.

2004 August - Maoist rebels stage week-long blockade of Kathmandu, stopping supplies from reaching the city.

2004 December - Maoist rebels stage week-long blockade of capital.

2005 February - King Gyanendra dismisses Prime Minister Deuba and his government, assumes executive power, declares state of emergency.

 

Source: Communist Party of India(ML) http://www.cpiml.org

 

Read also this:

http://www.monthlyreview.org/0605singh.htm

 

Here you can learn about the opinions of the chairman of the CPN(M) about the people's war:

http://www.insof.org/news/180405_interv-parchanda.htm

 

CPN(M):

http://www.cpnm.org

 

CPN(UML)

http://www.cpnuml.org

 

INSIDE NEPAL'S REVOLUTION (National Geographic, Nov. '05)

 

A interesting, commented photo story(slide show) - but more from the western (or should I say bourgeois..? actually not really..) perspective - you can watch here (you must click on the hammer and sickle^^):

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0511/feature3/multimedia.html

 

 

Latest articles:

 

Rebels refuse to extend Nepal truce

The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse MONDAY, JANUARY 2, 2006

KATMANDU, Nepal Nepal's Maoist rebels said Monday that they would not extend their four-month unilateral cease-fire that was to end at midnight.

The rebels' truce started Sept. 3 and was later extended by a month in response to public pressure. The announcement on Monday came after rights groups and political parties here had asked the insurgents to extend the cease-fire.

"We have found out that the rebel leaders are holding consultations whether to further extend the cease-fire," Jhanath Khanal, a leader of the Nepal Communist Party-United Marxist Leninist, said early Monday. "We have asked them to prolong the truce by at least another 15 days and give the government another chance."

The Royal Nepalese Army had not matched the cease-fire and called it a ploy by the militants to buy time to reorganize.

On Monday afternoon, the Maoists said they would not extend the truce because the military continued to press its campaign against them.

"The royal army is surrounding our people's liberation army, which is in defensive positions, to carry out ground as well as air attacks on us," the rebels said in a statement. "Therefore, we are compelled to go on the offensive not only for the sake of peace and democracy but for the sake of self-defense."

Political groups in the capital had awaited the rebels' decision with some hope of success.

The European Union and the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, had issued statements urging the Maoists to extend the cease-fire in their "people's war."

In November a group of seven opposition parties, four of which were removed from power by King Gyanendra in February, reached a 12-point agreement with the Maoists. The agreement was intended to get Gyanendra to step aside and restore multiparty democracy in this impoverished Himalayan country.

Under the cease-fire, the rebels pledged not to attack military or civilian targets in hopes of reviving peace talks but said they would continue to defend their positions.

They have, however, continued to block highways, extort money and kidnap villagers for indoctrination sessions.

Political parties said that the rebels were being provoked by the government's refusal to join the cease-fire and its description of the militants as terrorists. "The government statements and attitude is angering them," said Pradeep Nepal of the Communist Party of Nepal.

The rebels have agreed with the country's seven main political parties to step up their opposition to the administration of the king, who dismissed a provisional government and seized absolute power early last year.

The rebels, who claim to be inspired by Mao Zedong, have been fighting to topple Nepal's monarchy and establish a communist state. More than 12,000 people have died in the decade-long insurgency.

 

 

 

Trade Unions urge re-continue of cease-fire

to the rebel and ask the regime to reciprocate

January 1, 2006.

Three recognised trade union Confederation GEFONT, NTUC, DECONT and the Teachers' Union of Nepal (TUN) have issued a Joint Press Communiqué on the occasion of New Year 2006. Signed by GEFONT Secretary General Binod Shrestha, NTUC Treasurer Ganesh Niraula, DECONT Women Vice-president Rama Paudel and TUN President Keshav P Bhattarai following is the full text:

 

Nation is under a painful transition from violent conflict to peace and from autocracy to democracy. Entire people including political parties, professional and trade unions, civil society, youth & students are in street struggle. We extend our support and solidarity to the efforts of political parties for Peace and Full-fledged Democracy on behalf of democratic forces in Nepal.

 

Today is the First Day of New Year 2006 and also the last day of cease-fire declared by CPN (Maoist) for 3 months in the beginning and additional one month as the significant outcome of continued efforts of main-stream political parties.

 

During the period, a historical 12-point Understanding for peace and restructuring of Nepali society & governance has been reached between 7- agitating political parties and CPN (Maoist). However, the present autocratic regime has taken it negatively and created obstacle in the peace process. The frequent appeals of international community to abandon the hue and cry of election drama and to take initiative for peace have been ignored by the Royal Regime.

 

On the Eve of New Year 2006, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and European Union have called-on again to continue cease-fire to the Maoist and reciprocate it to the regime. We welcome this call in favour of entire Nepali working people and extend heartfelt thanks to UN and the EU. On this occasion, we would like to take an opportunity to extend the best wishes of the New Year to Nepali people, working mass and the whole globe.

 

People are worried in the fear of the end of relief prevalent during the past four months. At the moment, we demand with both the regime and Maoist not to push the nation and people towards blood-shed and game of death again.

 

Thus, we sincerely appeal the CPN (Maoist) to re-continue the cease-fire and ask the regime to reciprocate cease-fire and initiate for peace by giving-up rhetoric of "election".

 

본문

THE LONELY IDIOT OVER

 

THE LONELY ISLAND

(unfortunately he is not so lonely...)

 

 

 

Air Force Chief Tests F-15K in Skies Over Dokdo

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Sung-il gives the thumbs-up after boarding one of Korea’s new F-15K fighters to pilot it in a sortie over Dokdo. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Sung-il was in the pilot's seat of one of Korea’s new F-15K fighter jets on Monday afternoon in a symbolic sortie high over Dokdo, the islets in the East Sea that have come to galvanize patriotic sentiment. Gen. Kim took off from a base in Daegu, around 4 p.m. with a squad of two F-15Ks and two KF-16., the first Air Force commander to lead a flight over the islets. Circling for several minutes, Kim maintained communication with the Ulleungdo control unit and the Master Control and Report Center and checked on preparedness. The F-15Ks, which started arriving in pairs last October, acquitted themselves well in the operation. In an emergency, the aircraft with a top speed of Mach 2.5 could reach Dokdo from base in eight minutes, and while the current core Air Force fighter jet, the KF-16, would be capable of little more than five minutes of air battle if it flew from the central region, the F-15K can carry out fighting operations for up to an hour after taking off from the Daegu base. The aim of the exercise was to encourage pilots and mark the New Year as well as check the F-15K in operation. Air Force officials said the flight was symbolic of the Air Force’s determination to defend Dokdo. The islets attract an annual trickle of quasi-official territorial claims from Japan. (Chosun Ilbo, 1.03)         NATIONALIST IDIOTS   OF THE KOREAS* UNITE!

 

 

(*) Fortunately there are only two Koreas...^^

본문

"KOREA'S PRIDE"...

...please read the last sentences of this stuff!!

 

 

 

New technologies are the engine driving Korea’s economy, and 2006 will see a plethora of them chugging into full gear, from quantum cryptography to roll-up displays. The Chosun Ilbo asked industrial experts and state and private research institutes and discovered what will occupy tech-heads and savvy consumers this year.

 

◆Quantum Cryptography

Quantum cryptography prevents eavesdropping, a topic that has occupied people a great deal this year. The technology sends codified digital information in the smallest light unit, photons, and when the codes are attacked by the unauthorized, the light transforms into meaningless patterns, making it impossible to wiretap. A joint research team from the Korea Institute for Advanced Study and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute has succeeded in sending images that way over a 25 km distance in December last year and plans to demonstrate an upgraded version that is faster and much closer to commercial use.

 

◆Korean-Developed Drugs

Korea's own pharmaceutical technologies are expected to make a big leap next year. Dong-A Pharma recently won a patent for homegrown erectile dysfunction drug Zydena, the world's fourth, for the United States, Europe, Asia, and Central and South America. Its affiliate Dong-A Pharmtech will facilitate sales in the U.S. Ilyang Pharm signed a license agreement with U.S.-based TAP Pharmaceutical Products which grants TAP rights and technology transfer for anti-ulcer treatment Ilaprazole. Phase 3 clinical tests are in progress in China and five Southeast Asian countries.

LG Life Sciences entered the Japanese market with its quinolone antibiotic Factive, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company was paid US$2 million and will be paid more for step-by-step technology transfer. It will also receive royalties based on sales performance in the next 10 years. Choongwae Pharma, meanwhile, signed a deal to export its new antibiotic Imipenem to Brazil.

 

◆Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting

Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) is another technology that will flourish next year. The service, started here in December, beams broadcasts to hand-held devices on the move. The government expects it will lead to a W4 trillion increase in industrial output and 30,000 new jobs by 2011.

Korean companies are taking the technology abroad next year. Korean-fostered DMB will start in Beijing, China in 2006 with special handsets being exported to China from February. Many companies, from giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics to medium and small firms, will be competing in the new market.

 

◆WiBro Mobile Internet Access

Korea’s mobile Internet service WiBro will go commercial in April. The country introduced the technology at the APEC Summit in November, allowing international leaders to experience WiBro content at first hand.

WiBro was recently selected as the international standard, a big boost to exports of the technology. Samsung Electronics has already clinched deals to supply WiBro equipment to Venezuela’s Omnivision, Japan’s KDDI, America’s Sprint Nextel, Italy’s T1, British Telecom and Brazil’s TVA.

 

◆The Multi-Purpose Utility Satellite Arirang 2

Arirang 2, which will be launched in May, is a symbol of Korean science and technology, though for technical reasons the launch was postponed from December. Korea ranks 20th in the world in the number of satellites it operates with seven, and produces its own.

The multi-purpose utility satellite will be equipped with a 1m-resolution optical camera -- producing images from orbit as detailed as looking down from Mt.Halla -- and will be used for ocean observation. Arirang 5, to be launched in 2008, will be equipped with radar to observe Earth day and night.

 

◆Flash Memory

The rise and rise of Flash memory chips, which store data even when the power is out and are so far mostly used in portable devices such as MP3 players and digital cameras, will continue next year.

Flash memory chips are among Korea’s leading products, and demand is so strong that companies cannot make them fast enough, with the shortage expected to continue next year. Samsung Electronics has a firm grip on 60 percent of the international market, and Hynix has a 10 percent share.

Having this year developed more efficient 50-nanometer technology for 16GB NAND Flash, Samsung will next year want to prove “Hwang’s Law,” an update of Moore’s Law named after its president Hwang Chang-kyu which insists that memory capacity doubles every year.

 

◆Optical Internet

2006 will be the year of 100-Mbps optical LAN, a high-speed Internet service using a short-distance network.

Powercom, a newcomer in the high-speed Internet business, first introduced the service, followed by KT and Hanaro Telecom. Optical LAN is about 10 times faster than the commonly used ADSL.

When optical LAN becomes the common standard, video via Internet will also gain huge popularity because the 100 Mbps speed means users can watch HD video without buffering. The Samsung Economic Research Institute says remote medical services, remote education and video security and other services will also become popular thanks to optical LAN.

 

◆Flexible Displays

Tough competition is expected over flexible displays, and the world’s leading display makers Samsung Electronics, Sony, Sharp and Phillips are staking their future on the product.

Flexible displays, when they become available, can be rolled up like a newspaper and carried around, and that will be a boon for users of laptops and other portable devices. The market is expected to grow to some $10 billion next year alone.

Samsung has already introduced a flexible LCD using a thin panel that does not warp when bent. But there is plenty of scope for development since the display, so far the world’s biggest, measures

only 7 inches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally sooner or later "Prof" Hwang (yeah, the creator of SNUppy) will arrive in Pyeongyang. Here he will clone Kim Il-sung and after the "suddenly" death of Kim jr. for the next 5,000 years (at least) the leadership (aka Kim Il-sung's) of DPRK will survive. Until someone will re-create Tangun... And then everyone (in Korea) will be happy...^^