U.S. Diplomatic Relations with Libya

Technorati Tags: State Department and Secretary of State or Libya and President Bush, or renunciation of terrorism and Tripoli or Condoleezza Rice, or weapons of mass destruction and Libyan,, or Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI,

U.S. Diplomatic Relations with Libya, Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Washington, DC, May 15, 2006

I am pleased to announce that the United States is restoring full diplomatic relations with Libya. We will soon open an embassy in Tripoli.

In addition, the United States intends to remove Libya from the list of designated state sponsors of terrorism. Libya will also be omitted from the annual certification of countries not cooperating fully with United States' anti-terrorism efforts.

We are taking these actions in recognition of Libya's continued commitment to its renunciation of terrorism and the excellent cooperation Libya has provided to the United States and other members of the international community in response to common global threats faced by the civilized world since September 11, 2001.

Today's announcements are tangible results that flow from the historic decisions taken by Libya's leadership in 2003 to renounce terrorism and to abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs. As a direct result of those decisions we have witnessed the beginning of that country's re-emergence into the mainstream of the international community. Today marks the opening of a new era in U.S.-Libya relations that will benefit Americans and Libyans alike.

Just as 2003 marked a turning point for the Libyan people so too could 2006 mark turning points for the peoples of Iran and North Korea. Libya is an important model as nations around the world press for changes in behavior by the Iranian and North Korean regimes -- changes that could be vital to international peace and security. We urge the leadership of Iran and North Korea to make similar strategic decisions that would benefit their citizens.

For Libya, today's announcements open the door to a broader bilateral relationship with the United States that will allow us to better discuss other issues of importance. Those issues include protection of universal human rights, promotion of freedom of speech and expression, and expansion of economic and political reform consistent with President Bush's freedom agenda.
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Released on May 15, 2006

BACKGROUND: From the earliest days of his rule following the 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader.

He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Libyan support for terrorism appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the 1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then.

He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by compensating the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings. CIA Factbook

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Scientists Create the First Synthetic Nanoscale Fractal Molecule

Technorati Tags: Nanofibers or Nanotubes and Nano or Nanotechnology and nanoparticles or Nanotech and Nanopore or nanochemistry and nanoscale or nanowires and nanogenerators or nano test tubes and Quantum Phenomena or Synthetic Nanoscale Fractal Molecule and nanostructures or Nanoscience

Scientists Create the First Synthetic Nanoscale Fractal Molecule, Thursday May 11, 2006 by ANDREA GIBSON

ATHENS, Ohio – From snowflakes to the leaves on a tree, objects in nature are made of irregular molecules called fractals. Scientists now have created and captured an image of the largest man-made fractal molecule at the nanoscale.

The molecule, developed by researchers at the University of Akron, Ohio University and Clemson University, eventually could lead to new types of photoelectric cells, molecular batteries and energy storage, according to the scientists, whose study was published online today by the journal Science.

A University of Akron research team led by Vice President for Research George Newkome used molecular self-assembly techniques to synthesize the molecule in the laboratory. The molecule, bound with ions of iron and ruthenium, forms a hexagonal gasket.

Ohio University physicists Saw-Wai Hla and Violeta Iancu, who specialize in imaging objects at the nanoscale, confirmed the creation of the man-made fractal. To capture the image, the physicists sprayed the molecules onto a piece of gold, chilled them to minus 449 degrees Fahrenheit to keep them stable, and then viewed them with a scanning tunneling microscope.

Though invisible to the naked eye – the molecules are about one million times smaller than the colorful hexagons shown in the Science image – the objects are 12 nanometers wide. “That’s big for a nanoscale molecule. It’s huge,” said Hla, an associate professor of physics and astronomy.

“This man-made structure is one of the first nanoscale, non-branched fractal molecules ever produced,” said Newkome, who is lead author on the Science paper and also serves as dean of the Graduate School and the James and Vanita Oelschlager Professor of Science and Technology at the University of Akron. “Blending mathematics, art and science, these nanoscopic hexagonal-shaped materials can be self-assembled and resemble a fine bead necklace. These precise polymers — the first example of a molecule possessing a ‘Star of David’ motif — may provide an entrée into novel new types of photoelectric cells, molecular batteries and energy storage.”

Fractals are irregular curves or shapes that retain the same pattern when reduced or magnified. The molecule in the study, for example, is composed of six rings, which are made up of six smaller rings, and so on, Hla explained. Snowflakes, broccoli florets or tree bark would be just a few examples from nature.

Hla and Iancu, a graduate student, also were able to measure the electronic structure of the molecule, which is useful to know for possible electronic applications. “(The molecules) are unique in their own way, so you have to find out what kind of properties they have so we can initiate possible applications,” he said.

The study authors were George R. Newkome, Pingshan Wang, Charles N. Moorefield, Tae Joon Cho, Prabhu Mohapatra, Sinan Li, Seok-Ho Hwang and Judith A. Palagallo, all from the University of Akron; Violeta Iancu and Saw-Wai Hla of Ohio University; and Olena Lukoyanova and Luis Echegoyen of Clemson University.

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Ohio Board of Regents.

Hla is a member of Ohio University’s Nanoscale & Quantum Phenomena Institute, Condensed Matter and Surface Science group and Biomimetic Nanoscience and Nanotechnology group, which is part of Ohio University’s $8 million NanoBioTechnology Initiative, one of three major research priorities of the institution.

Read the article on Science Express or contact @Science for a copy. Contacts at Ohio University: Saw Wai-Hla, (740) 593-1727, hla@helios.phy.ohiou.edu; Andrea Gibson, (740) 597-2166, gibsona@ohio.edu Media Contact at University of Akron: Ken Torisky, (330) 972-7299.

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