Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Just 5113

The US tells Iran to shut up, that it only has 5113 nuclear warheads (link here) and is working to reduce that number - down from 31,255 warheads (link here) in 1967. So in my lifetime, the US has eliminated 5/6th of their nuclear stockpile... going from total planet annihilation X30, to total planet annihilation X5 (at 1000 warheads, released all at once, you can create enough fall out to kill all the vertebrates).

Though angry, indignant right wing talking heads think this is treasonous to state such things, I think it's a good thing. When going from total annihilation X30 to X5, that's a significant reduction in 40 years, but we can do better. It's more change than the meager 15% reduction in green house gasses that the current energy bill proposes.

7 comments:

  1. Yeah, but 1/6 of death is still death. Incrementalism only works when it actually gets you somewhere meaningful. Let's just hope this gets other countries (like Russia) to control their potentially rogue nukes a little better.

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  2. yeah... 5x global annihilation is still way too much. Lugar and Nunn have worked very hard, behind the scenes, to decommission lots of Russian nukes - actually paying Russia to take the plutonium off their hands and secure it. There's still a huge amount of work to go, but it's been a substantial work in progress over the last 10 years.

    My hope (albeit unfounded / unsubstantiated) is that by releasing such numbers, it acts as a disincentive to countries like Pakistan, Indian, and China, to not dedicate a massive, continual, Manhattan sized project, to try and "catch up" to the US. China has 1000s of nukes, India and Pak and Israel, 100s each. Brazil and South Africa gave their programs up, when they realized they were too expensive. Even Libya ostensibly gave their development program up after 9-11, trying to become less pariah-ish.

    Whenever someone gets an opportunity to tell Ahmadinejad to STFU, I welcome it. In this case, the factual information was delivered by Hilary, a WOMAN! Without a head scarf! How dare she!!! Doesn't she know to never question a (mad) man's authority!?!?!?

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  3. What's wrong with stating what we've got? It's the nuclear version of open carry, right?

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  4. then the Russkies will know, and out build us! or some brown people somewhere will try get just as many (this is the Hush Dimbulb mindset). If the number is fantastically high, and only a country willing to bankrupt its treasury can build enough (as we and the Russians did) then it places it far out of reach of the Chinese, Pak, Indians, etc.

    Right Wingers would rather have conceal carry (as AZ, VT, and Alaska all have) without a permit, so that all "law abiding" citizens can carry a 50 cal desert eagle under their jacket. That "keeps them guessing" maybe... I don't know. It makes me cringe to try and get into the mindset of a right wing mouth piece.

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  5. These are the same people who must think that security through obscurity is a good idea.

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  6. Ron, these are the same people who think Teh Interwebz is a series of tubes, and that Baby Jesus™ will someday magically arise from the placenta of an oil spill to take some of us back to Heaven™...the very same people who think that FDR caused the Great Depression. They'll believe anything. That's why we need to start faking ancient texts about how God™ demands single payer, a welfare state, gay marriage, and the right to choose. Throw in some guys in robes, and we have it made.

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  7. I think all those bits are in the apocrypha.

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