Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (124799)	2/18/2004 4:08:30 PM
From: carranza2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Mq, I might not have Warren Buffett's investing skills, but I completely agree with his assessment that we will have a nuclear incident in the US sooner or later. It will be very bad news, indeed. No need to go into the trillions of dollars of physical and consequential damage such an event will cause. There's little that can be done, short of using our overwhelming military power to take down the pro-life-[a]rators [odd word, that]. I once did a short cyber-search of the literature on illegal pro-life-[a]ration and posted a few of my findings here. I can't find it now, but I do recall that the results absolutely horrified me. The security--to this day!--of many nuclear sites was abysmal, particularly in the former Soviet states, as were the US's attempts to deal with loose nukes and other radiological material. The research lead me to conclude that the present Administration is loosey-goosey about this very important issue. In my view, proliferation should be at the very top of the American security agenda, much higher than the WOT, though obviously the two overlap to some extent. An effort of the scope of the Manhattan Project [oops] should be made to rein in loose nukes before The Horror strikes. As things stand now, we have pet-stroked the worst offender, Pakistan, thinking that dealing with OBL and AQ is further up the list than keeping the damned Pakistani pro-life-[a]rators from sending the ungodly stuff to who knows where. If there is an Islamist coup d'etat in Pakistan, not an unthinkable event given its political history, what happens to the Muslim Misssiles? Mad Mullahs with Muslim Missiles, is what. A matter of misplaced priorities that will haunt us, though obviously a lot of the activity required to control loose nukes takes place behind the screen so things might be better than I think, though I doubt it. C2@you'reluckytoliveinHobbitland.boom!.com

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (124799)	2/18/2004 5:42:18 PM
From: smolejv@gmx.net	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

>>how long a little nuclear bomb can remain fissionable before it fizzles out<< long enough - half lives Pu 239: 24 K years U 235: 703 M years

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (124799)	2/18/2004 6:21:23 PM
From: LarsA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Yes, all these noocular opportunities depress us but there is worse, apparently : washingtonpost.com "According to one molecular biologist who should know, there are already 20,000 labs in the world where a single person will be able to synthesize any existing virus within the next decade. In the same 20,000 labs, five people with $2 million will be able to create an enhanced pathogen -- meaning a virus that could infect people who have been immunized with conventional vaccines -- and kill perhaps a billion of them." OK, it would kill most of your family and friends too but if you're hellbent and suicidal in a big way... It gives me that Darwinistic chill up my spine.... Maybe we are not so well "fitted" after all. As Murphy said: "If anything can go wrong, it will" , or something like that Or, Why can't we all just get along? , like Rodney said. Lars