A sea of underground water polluted by years of nuclear tests now covers a vast tract of Nevada.A sea of underground water polluted by years of nuclear tests now covers a vast tract... more
Five protesters associated with an international peace movement were arrested last week after cutting through three security fences to reach an area where nuclear missiles are stored at US Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor.Five protesters associated with an international peace movement were arrested last... more
This is kind of a cheap post, but I always like to include this when I blog. You’re looking at a world map presented in Jack Kirby’s Kamandi. It’s the kind of thing that as a reader, going back into the troves of past generations, I can’t get enough of. It’s a great tie in for me as a gamer, too. But really, at the end of the day, it’s a plug for my favorite comic podcast, Funnybook Babylon. I’ll let them take it from here.
--------Its been Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay tooooooo long for me to remember,...but this is still the D.C. universe,.......but something "REALLY BAD" happened to poor ol' Gea,...the eco system has dun gone "STRANGE"......"Damn filthy apes!" are the LEAST of the problems.This is kind of a cheap post, but I always like to include this when I blog. You’re... more
Belief: Iran is aggressive and has threatened to attack Israel, its neighbors or the U.S.
Reality: Iran has not launched an aggressive war modern history (unlike the U.S. or Israel), and its leaders have a doctrine of "no first strike." This is true of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as of Revolutionary Guards commanders.
Belief: Iran is a militarized society bristling with dangerous weapons and a growing threat to world peace.
Reality: Iran's military budget is a little over $6 billion annually. Sweden, Singapore and Greece all have larger military budgets. Moreover, Iran is a country of 70 million, so that its per capita spending on defense is tiny compared to these others, since they are much smaller countries with regard to population. Iran spends less per capita on its military than any other country in the Persian Gulf region with the exception of the United Arab Emirates.
Belief: Iran has threatened to attack Israel militarily and to "wipe it off the map."
Reality: No Iranian leader in the executive has threatened an aggressive act of war on Israel, since this would contradict the doctrine of 'no first strike' to which the country has adhered. The Iranian president has explicitly said that Iran is not a threat to any country, including Israel.
Belief: But didn't President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threaten to "wipe Israel off the map?"
Reality: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did quote Ayatollah Khomeini to the effect that "this Occupation regime over Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time" (in rezhim-e eshghalgar-i Qods bayad as safheh-e ruzgar mahv shavad). This was not a pledge to roll tanks and invade or to launch missiles, however. It is the expression of a hope that the regime will collapse, just as the Soviet Union did. It is not a threat to kill anyone at all.
Belief: But aren't Iranians Holocaust deniers?
Reality: Some are, some aren't. Former president Mohammad Khatami has castigated Ahmadinejad for questioning the full extent of the Holocaust, which he called "the crime of Nazism." Many educated Iranians in the regime are perfectly aware of the horrors of the Holocaust. In any case, despite what propagandists imply, neither Holocaust denial (as wicked as that is) nor calling Israel names is the same thing as pledging to attack it militarily.
Belief: Iran is like North Korea in having an active nuclear weapons program, and is the same sort of threat to the world.
Reality: Iran has a nuclear enrichment site at Natanz near Isfahan where it says it is trying to produce fuel for future civilian nuclear reactors to generate electricity. All Iranian leaders deny that this site is for weapons production, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly inspected it and found no weapons program. Iran is not being completely transparent, generating some doubts, but all the evidence the IAEA and the CIA can gather points to there not being a weapons program. The 2007 National Intelligence Estimate by 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency, assessed with fair confidence that Iran has no nuclear weapons research program. This assessment was based on debriefings of defecting nuclear scientists, as well as on the documents they brought out, in addition to U.S. signals intelligence from Iran. While Germany, Israel and recently the U.K. intelligence is more suspicious of Iranian intentions, all of them were badly wrong about Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction and Germany in particular was taken in by Curveball, a drunk Iraqi braggart.
The rest wouldn't fit.Belief: Iran is aggressive and has threatened to attack Israel, its neighbors or the... more
After Iran heard that the US was going to drop a bombshell at the at the UN Nuclear Agency, Iran revealed that it indeed has a second uranium enrichment plant. The first plant is monitored by the UN, this plant has not been.
The US is said to have had intelligence on this site since the Bush Administration and they were going to announce these findings to the world at G-20, but Iran got wind of this, and tried to beat Obama to the punch by coming clean.
President Obama released a joint statement with Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy, they have denounced this plant, and demanded that Iran allow UN inspectors in immediately.
Because enrichment can make both nuclear fuel and weapons-grade uranium, the international community fears Tehran will use the technology to generate the fissile material used on the tip of nuclear warheads.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has released several conflicting statements since the announcement.
President Obama has stated that the Enrichment Plant is much larger then would be needed for peaceful Nuclear technology.
Do you think Iran poses a real threat?
Should the U.S. act to stop this behavior?After Iran heard that the US was going to drop a bombshell at the at the UN Nuclear... more
“Shadowplay” is a multi-award winning animated stop-motion short film, which was written, animated and directed by Dan Blank. The film was the winner of the 2002 Los Angeles Film Festival Best Short Award, the 2002 Student Academy Award (Bronze) and the 2003 Student Emmy Award (Gold).
In August 1945, the closing chapter of World War II, a blinding flash lit the sky over Hiroshima. In that searing light, huge slabs of concrete worked like emulsion paper, creating silhouetted photographs of that split-second of power, with only shadows left of the people who had been going about their everyday lives. “Shadowplay” tells the story of Akio, a shadow of a young boy, who wanders around the devastated city searching for his family, while trying to make sense of the unfathomable atrocity.
We should be reminded of these images when there is talk of nuclear threats or weapons of mass destruction. The faceless poses of Hiroshma should make us realize that this could have been anyone, anywhere.
This piece presents a number of colorful illustrations from the film and the acclaimed animated short, “Shadowplay.”“Shadowplay” is a multi-award winning animated stop-motion short film, which was... more
The exiled son of the late shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, warned Monday of dire consequences for the volatile Middle East and the rest of the world if the popular uprising in Iran is crushed.
The defeat of the movement protesting the outcome of presidential elections 10 days ago would not only threaten global stability but could lead to nuclear war, Pahlavi told a news conference here.
"Their defeat will encourage extremism from the shores of the Levant to the energy jugular of the world," said Pahlavi, who left Iran a year before the ouster of his father, shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in the 1979 Islamic revolution.
"At worst, fanatical tyrants who know that the future is against them may end their present course on their terms: a nuclear holocaust," Pahlavi told a room packed with reporters at the National Press Club in Washington.The exiled son of the late shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, warned Monday of dire... more
Hawaii has been placed under heightened missile and other defense fortification to deter any North Korean attacks, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
Gates told a Pentagon news conference Thursday the deployment includes mobile and ground-based interceptors, The New York Times reported. Additionally, seaborne radar in the waters off the island will seek information to track and attack any North Korean missile.
In addition to Gates' announcement, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned the military would "vigorously enforce" the latest United Nations Security Council resolution in response to North Korea's May 25 underground nuclear test, the report said.
The resolution pertains to actions to be taken against North Korean ships suspected of carrying illegal weapons and nuclear technology or materials.
"We're obviously watching the situation in the North with respect to missile launches very closely," Gates said.
He said the military was concerned about North Korea's ability to launch a missile "in the direction of Hawaii."
"I've directed the deployment again of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missiles to Hawaii and the SBX (Sea Based X-Band) radar has deployed away from Hawaii to provide support," Gates said. "Without telegraphing what we will do, I would just say I think we are in a good position, should it become necessary, to protect American territory."
Japan's Kyodo news agency reported North Korea has threatened to conduct further missile tests in retaliation for the U.N. Security Council resolution imposing more sanctions on it.
The developments come amid reports the U.S. military is tracking a North Korean-flagged ship in the Pacific Ocean. The vessel is suspected of carrying banned carrying cargo banned under the U.N. resolution.Hawaii has been placed under heightened missile and other defense fortification to... more
"SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's president ordered his top security officials Sunday to deal "resolutely and squarely" with new North Korean warnings of a nuclear war on the eve of his U.S. visit. In Washington, Vice President Joe Biden said "God only knows" what North Korea wants from the latest showdown."
Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear!
Same is it ever was...
Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan.....
All the worlds a stage, and we are merely players.....Only they ain't happy with comedy shows anymore!! Suspense-filled dramas, and murder mysteries are what's in now my friends!!!"SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's president ordered his top security officials... more
Engdahl: NATO exercises in Georgia are a provocative move against Russia by the Pentagon.
The Real News Network spoke to William F. Engdahl, economist and author of Full Spectrum Dominance. Engdahl says that the NATO exercises in Georgia are provocative to Russia because of the uncovered fact that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was behind the offensive in South Ossetia last August, while he was in the process of applying for NATO membership. Engdahl also says that the NATO countries are interested in securing alternatives to the Russian stronghold over European oil and explains that the missile defense program NATO wishes to install in Eastern Europe and Georgia has less to do with Iran than Russia.
F William Engdahl is an economist and author and the writer of the best selling book "A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order." Mr Engdhahl has written on issues of energy, politics and economics for more than 30 years, beginning with the first oil shock in the early 1970s. Mr. Engdahl contributes regularly to a number of publications including Asia Times Online, Asia, Inc, Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Foresight magazine; Freitag and ZeitFragen newspapers in Germany and Switzerland respectively. He is based in Germany.Engdahl: NATO exercises in Georgia are a provocative move against Russia by the... more
1 - Sh*t your pants
2 - Duck
3 - Cover
4 - Close all your doors and windows.
This is nuclear holocaust survival advice for the British public from 1977.1 - Sh*t your pants
2 - Duck
3 - Cover
4 - Close all your doors and windows.... more
This should not be ignored. Clearly no nation understands the intent if Iran more than Israel.This should not be ignored. Clearly no nation understands the intent if Iran more than... more
Israel and Iran are liable to enter into a confrontation or a crisis sometime this year due to Tehran's progress in its nuclear weapons program and Jerusalem's determination to thwart it, the head of U.S. intelligence told lawmakers on Thursday.
In a report to the Senate Intelligence Committee on the potential threats as foreseen by the 16 intelligence arms of the United States, Dennis Blair said that Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based Shi'ite group which is backed by Iran, has beefed up its weapons arsenal in preparation for another round of fighting with Israel.Israel and Iran are liable to enter into a confrontation or a crisis sometime this... more
No classified information has been lost... uh huh, yeah.
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The Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory in New Mexico is missing 67 computers, including 13 that were lost or stolen in the past year. Officials say no classified information has been lost.
The watchdog group Project on Government Oversight on Wednesday released a memo dated Feb. 3 from the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration outlining the loss of the computers.
Kevin Roark, a spokesman for Los Alamos, on Wednesday confirmed the computers were missing and said the lab was initiating a monthlong inventory to account for every computer. He said the computers were a cybersecurity issue because they may contain personal information like names and addresses, but they did not contain any classified information.
Thirteen of the missing computers were lost or stolen in the past 12 months, including three computers that were taken from a scientist's home in Santa Fe, N.M., on Jan. 16, and a BlackBerry belonging to another employee was lost "in a sensitive foreign country," according to the memo and an e-mail from a senior lab manager.
The e-mail was also released by the watchdog group.
The theft of the three computers in January triggered the inventory and a review of the lab's policies regarding home use of government computers, Roark said.
Only one of the three computers stolen from the employee's home was authorized for home use, which raised concerns "as to whether we were fully complying with our own policies for offsite computer usage," he said.
Roark said computers with classified information are "kept completely separate from unclassified computing."
"None of these systems constitute a breach of a classified system," he said.
The e-mail from Los Alamos senior manager Stephen Blair to lab co-workers said the missing computers and Blackberry were "garnering a great deal of attention with senior management as well as (nuclear security administration) representatives."
The security administration memo said the "magnitude of exposure and risk to the laboratory is at best unclear as little data on these losses has been collected or pursued given their treatment as property management issues."
The lab, located in Los Alamos, N.M., employs about 10,000 people.No classified information has been lost... uh huh, yeah.
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The Los Alamos nuclear... more
Iran has summoned the French ambassador in Tehran over comments made by the French president about his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Nicolas Sarkozy said earlier this week that he would not be able to shake hands with someone who said Israel had to be wiped off the map.
Ambassador Bernard Poletti was told of Iran's strong objections and he was told there would be repercussions for relations if such remarks were repeated.
"How is it that a people such as the Iranian people - one of the world's greatest peoples, one of the world's oldest civilisations, sophisticated, cultured, open - have the misfortune of being represented as they are today by some of their leaders?
"I have said this to my friend Kofi [Annan]: I find it impossible to shake hands with somebody who has dared to say that Israel must be wiped off the map.
"I know perfectly well that we must resolve what is perhaps the most serious international crisis we are having to resolve: that of Iran moving towards a nuclear bomb."Iran has summoned the French ambassador in Tehran over comments made by the French... more
Of course the US fears a Pakistani role in India attacks... I am wondering if the American govt was a part of it to set up the next war for Obama. Again we see Americans killed on foreign soil in a country where they claim Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups are operating... then Obama comes out and makes a statement that could have come from Bush-s own lying warmongering lips about how we have to in essence fight terrrorism everywhere it is.
My condolences go out to all who lost loved ones in that hotel siege, but I cannot help but wonder if this is the next phase in the plan. How long will it take before it escalates and Obama has to send troops there from Iraq? And of course both Pakistan and India have nukes, so that is an extra added bonus for the warmongers who are salivating at another venue to keep their war on terror going. We cannot allow war and imperialism to really END now can we?
Then we would have to bail out the defense contractors along with Wall Street, the banks, the auto industry and every other industry in this country that comes with their hands out. So, is this the parting shot of Bush and his warmongering PNAC regime to leave us entangled in war in this region with the threat of nuclear war as an added bonus? Well, if it is, Obama actually sounds as though he sure is willing to keep it going for them. If that is the case and he does so and more of our children die for it, then he should face the same unpopularity and scorn as Bush did for lying to the American people.Of course the US fears a Pakistani role in India attacks... I am wondering if the... more
US soldiers are returning from Iraq to die of "mysterious" ailments.
During the current Iraq War the U.S. use of radioactive DU weapons increased from 375 tons used in 1991 to 2200 tons. Geiger counter readings at sites in downtown Baghdad record radiation levels 1,000 and 2,000 times higher than background radiation. The Pentagon has bombed, occupied, tortured and contaminated Iraq. Millions of Iraqis are affected. Over one million U.S. soldiers have rotated into Iraq. Today, half of the 697,000 U.S. Gulf War troops from the 1991 war have reported serious medical problems and a significant increase in birth defects among their newborn children.
The effects on the Iraqi population are far greater. Many other countries and U.S. communities near DU weapons plants, testing facilities, bases and arsenals have also been exposed to this radioactive material which has a half-life of 4.4 billions yearsUS soldiers are returning from Iraq to die of "mysterious" ailments.
During the... more
A great voice from beyond speaks to us about the futililty of war and the arrogance of the human species. And as Carl Sagan asked in this video, what would an alien observer think of us? Nations strutting about with their weapons of war and death proclaiming that they alone know what is best for all of us and they alone have the right to decide our fate. They deem to speak for us, but who does speak for our Earth? Our fate is in our own hands. What a scary thought in this day and age.A great voice from beyond speaks to us about the futililty of war and the arrogance of... more
