Iran's Mandarin Nuke?? 伊朗的新核能發電廠“不是”!

Regardless of whether or not one believes Iran's officially stated nuclear intentions, its now fully operational nuclear power plant is regrettably named...at least in Mandarin.


Mark took one look at the name on an English language news site and, even with his limited Chinese, couldn't miss the irony.

It's called "Bushehr," after a nearby town. All well and good, but if you read it the way Mark did, it sounds like  "不是!" ("Boo SHIRR!") which, in Mandarin, is a flat denial: "Not SO!"

...which brings us back to the Iranians' constant restatements of their official nuclear intentions. Who knows? In any case, we do wonder if there might be a more suitable name for the plant. Apparently, it's actually closer to a town called Halileh (aka Haleyleh) which sounds a bit more like "Halleluiah!"

On the other hand, "Bushehr" is probably a better name than the old Chevy "Nova." In Spanish, it simply means "Doesn't Go" ...which made it kind of a tough sell in South America.

Any suggestions for what the second nuclear power plant should be called??

We're hoping it's not "Buneng."不能 (Literally: "Can't.")