Yushchenko Offers Technological Aid to Peres

Here is another take on the level of importance placed by Israel on nanotechnology.  Smart people, indeed!

 

Best,

Nanoguru.

 

Yushchenko offers technological aid to Peres

Israeli vice premier, Ukrainian president meet in Berlin, discuss collaboration on nano-technology in fight against terror

Ronny Sofer

Published 10.03.06, 23:05

 

 

BERLIN – At a meeting in Berlin Tuesday, Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko offered Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres his cooperation in the development of missiles and satellites, in the shadow of his country’s past development of missiles for the former Soviet Union.

 

Peres in turn offered Yushchenko his cooperation in the nano-technology field and in investments in the “Peace Valley”. Yushchenko will head an economic committee that will visit Israel on November 7.

 

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, about 200 nuclear soviet missiles could be found in the Ukraine. The missiles and nuclear heads were returned to Russia, except for 12-20 missiles which ‘disappeared’ and were apparently transferred secretly to Iran in an illegal deal.

 

These missiles were thought to have been used by Iran in the development of the country’s “Shihab” missiles.

 

Peres and Yushchenko met at Peres’ hotel and discussed the development of nano-technology in the struggle against world terror. Yushchenko expressed interest in the idea of a possible collaboration on the subject.

 

Peres also offered the Ukraine to cooperate in the “Peace Valley,” set to encompass the area between the Red Sea in the south and the

 

Yarmuch River in the north.

 

The project is expected to include a channel that will connect the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, advanced industries areas and tourism projects in which three countries – Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians would cooperate. Hundreds of millions of dollars are set to be invested in the huge initiative by international bodies. Former United States President Bill Clinton is currently contemplating the possibility of heading the project.

 

Peres told Yushchenko that the "Peace Valley" initiative is set to be launched next year, and added: "The development of peace will be carried out by economic means, after the diplomatic means have failed." Yushchenko, on his part, expressed interest in contributing to the subject.

Peres: Nano-technology will Beat Rockets

Even Israel recognizes the importance of nanotechnology. What Mr. Peres does not say is that nanotechnology can certainly be used for offensive capabilities!

We (Americans) all know that the most notorious spies originate not from Russia, or even erstwhile Soviet Union, but from France and Israel.  Now, do we not?

 

Best,

Nanoguru.

 

 

Peres: Nano-technology will beat rockets

Vice premier concludes Germany visit, where he was awarded prestigious peace prize, offers to promote negotiations with Palestinians through financial endeavors

Ronny Sofer

Published 10.05.06, 10:08

 

GERMANY – Nano-technology is the key to Israel’s defense in future armed conflicts, Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Ynet in an interview Wednesday at the conclusion of his visit in Germany .

 

 

“The missiles threatening Israel and the terrorists threatening to hurt the people of Israel should be handled using weapons that will be developed by the technology of the future, nano-technology.  This is my lesson from the war, and I’m operating today, as I always have, with a vision in a bid to change the realities of the Middle East,” Peres said.

 

Peres was in Germany to receive a prestigious prize, awarded to him for his efforts to promote peace in the region. in the interview, the veteran politician spoke about the conceptual revolution Israel and the Israeli government need to undergo in their relations with the countries of the region.  He claimed that in light of the current reality, the internal strife within the PA and the difficulties in promoting the Road Map plan, peace should be pursued through economic means.

 

 

“The peace process should move faster now in the economic route. We have to admit that we failed in finding a resolution through diplomacy or wars,” he stated.

 

 

German support 

Peres reported that during his visit he succeeded in enlisting Germany’s support for his Peace Valley enterprise, a project set to be established as a joint initiative of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.  The Germans also promised to invest in developing an industry area near Jenin, a project that was suspended at the beginning of the intifada.

 

 

The vice premier reiterated his belief that economy would lead the way to change in the region.

 

 

“Government can’t invest funds, but private investors are looking for international investments, and a Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli cooperation can certainly be successful, and constitute a mile stone for peace,” he said.

 

 

Optimism needed 

 When asked whether the failures of some of his past visions, like the Oslo Accord, did not demoralize him, Peres said: “We ruin the solutions with our own hands. Look at the agreement me and Yasser Arafat reached in London in 1991.  Who destroyed it?  Wasn’t it us, with our own hands?  What do I get out of all the skeptics?  We have to be more optimistic and find solutions like the Peace Valley.”

 

“This isn’t just another vision,” he continued. “I’m accused of being delusional, but I proved myself… I’m not a dreamer, I’m a man of action. I’ve proven this my entire life. My credit is for actions, what seems imaginary today, will make Israel proud tomorrow…” he concluded.

 

China's Nanotechnology Gains Have U.S. Looking Over Its Shoulder

Here is an article that appeared on The Wall Street Journal website on September 27, 2006.

 

It serves us well, also, to read the Battelle Report entitled “China Gaining Ground in Global Head and Brains Race.”

 

Here is another piece of news regarding China and the extent the Chinese “businesses” (read: the Chinese government) go to acquire technological know-how and secrets: Stealing a Head Start - Trade Secrets Lost to Students, Businessmen, Researchers.

 

 

Best,

Nanoguru.

 

 

 

China’s Nanotechnology Gains Have U.S. Looking Over Its Shoulder

By ANDREW BATSON
September 27, 2006
 

BEIJING – China is rapidly catching up to the U.S. in nanotechnology, the field of working with extremely small objects, a visiting U.S. official said.  That success could hold lessons for U.S. policy makers seeking to maintain a competitive edge in scientific research.

“China is one of the players that is gaining on us,” said Robert Cresanti, undersecretary for technology at the U.S. Department of Commerce, in an interview yesterday.  “We are wise to take a look at what they are doing that’s been successful, and see how it might apply to improve our system.”

Mr. Cresanti, who is in Beijing to meet with Chinese policy makers, said China’s progress was apparent during his visit. “We saw labs today full to the rafters with scientists and machinery,” he said.  There has also been a dramatic increase in the quality and quantity of papers on nanotechnology published by Chinese scientists, he added.

Nanotechnology gets its name from the nanometer, which is one-billionth of a meter, or about 1/100,000th the width of a human hair.  The term refers to the manipulation of materials at very small scales, where they start to take on unusual physical properties.  Many governments have focused on the technology because it could lead to breakthroughs in areas such as enabling tiny medical devices that could enter human cells and building superstrong materials from novel combinations of molecules.

This year, the Chinese government released a national plan for scientific development that calls for raising spending on research and development to equal 2% of economic output by 2010, from just above 1% in recent years.  The plan names nanotechnology as a major priority, calling it an area where China may be able to “leapfrog” wealthier nations.

In a report on nanotechnology released this week, the U.S. National Research Council, a private advisory group, echoed Mr. Cresanti’s worries, writing that “the U.S. lead is facing significant and increasing international competition.”  The group said Japan and the European Union are each spending in the order of $1 billion annually on nanotechnology research, which is comparable to the outlay in the U.S.

By comparison, Lux Research Inc. has estimated China’s funding for nanotechnology at $250 million in 2005.

Mr. Cresanti characterized Chinese nanotechnology research as shorter-term and more narrowly focused than the foundational research going on in U.S. labs, but said: “We can learn from each other.”  He said Chinese researchers work more closely with industry and tend to be more focused on developing technologies to solve specific commercial problems.

While the direction of research in the U.S. is determined largely by private institutions, China’s rapid development in the field has been tightly orchestrated by its government.

Policy makers are trying to shift China’s economy away from its historic reliance on low-cost manufacturing and toward technology and higher-end industries.

Write to Andrew Batson at andrew.batson@dowjones.com