Will Pres. Bush authorize the bombing of Iran now?

You're doing a heckuva job, Mo...

Oh goody. Now when the IAEA springs into action again, they'll tell us that Iran already has the bomb that was supposed to take years to make.

“They clearly have enough material for a bomb,” said Richard L. Garwin, a top nuclear physicist who helped invent the hydrogen bomb and has advised Washington for decades. “They know how to do the enrichment. Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter.”

They don't need to know how themselves in this day and age. All they need to do is find the lowest bidder.

re: #4 Honorary Yooper

Oh goody. Now when the IAEA springs into action again, they'll tell us that Iran already has the bomb that was supposed to take years to make.

Nah, they will spring into action and tell everyone they know how to best clean up the radiation...

Iran would have to take additional steps. Not only would it have to breach its international agreements and kick out the inspectors

Why would they have to kick out the inspectors? It seems Iran can get along just fine with the inspectors there.

When will people understand that Iran only plays with uranium because it doesn't have the technology to refine its own oil for fuel?

It's the West's fault.

My guess is that some time in the next 4 years Iran will close the Straits of Hormuz to all shipping for a short period of time. Their goals will be blackmail and to test the reaction of the West.

And Obama isn't even pres. yet.

But, But, they'd Never Use it for a Bomb!
/so sez moh

Isn't the IAEA's job to stop this? Or is it just a symbolic, token agency?

“They know how to do the enrichment. Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter.”

Well, I feel better now. It's not like there's anyone out there who knows how to design an atomic bomb and would be willing to sell the design...right?

Say, what's A. Q. Khan up to these days?

Well that's all right then, after all breaching an international agreement is a huge step no rogue state would consider.
Sheesh!

re: #12 Sharmuta

Isn't the IAEA's job to stop this? Or is it just a symbolic, token agency?

It's a symbolic, token agency, as we saw with Iraq and Pakistan.

If it's Uranium, then they can easily make a Little-Boy [viz. Hiroshima] style weapon. Anyone can do that ... the technology is simple. They didn't even have to test that type of weapon at Los Alamos ... it's only a Plutonium bomb that's the trick. When they dropped the first bomb that's why they used Little-Boy. Everyone knew it would work.

Is there where I'm supposed to say "uh-oh"?

Uh-oh.

In other news...

California Democrat Henry Waxman has won the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee, knocking off long-time chairman John Dingell in a secret ballot of the Democratic Caucus.

And the hits just keep on comin!

Good to know Mr. Potato Head is on the job.

The Israelis need to take care of business.

Now.

re: #12 Sharmuta

Isn't the IAEA's job to stop this? Or is it just a symbolic, token agency?

Yes and yes.

When the first city gets wiped off the map by Iran, the IAEA should immeadiately be lined up and shot

WHAT is the civilized world waiting for?

100,000 dead?

"you cannot avoid war, you can only put it off to the advantage of your opponent."

— Machiavelli

re: #12 Sharmuta

Isn't the IAEA's job to stop this? Or is it just a symbolic, token agency?

You don't need the "or" in between there, Shar. I think it's pretty evident to all of us that both statements are true.

re: #18 Bumr50

Is there where I'm supposed to say "uh-oh"?

Uh-oh.

In other news...

California Democrat Henry Waxman has won the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee, knocking off long-time chairman John Dingell in a secret ballot of the Democratic Caucus.

And the hits just keep on comin!

So is Waxman going to look for doping in the oil companies as he did in major league baseball?

re: #18 Bumr50

Is there where I'm supposed to say "uh-oh"?

Uh-oh.

In other news...

California Democrat Henry Waxman has won the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee, knocking off long-time chairman John Dingell in a secret ballot of the Democratic Caucus.

And the hits just keep on comin!

Ah, we can all look forward to freezing in the dark.
I predict it will even be patriotic to do so.

I smell negotiations without preconditions!

re: #25 rawmuse

Ah, we can all look forward to freezing in the dark.
I predict it will even be patriotic to do so.

Energy rationing...

Is this the part where Israel springs into action?

re: #26 Sharmuta

I smell negotiations without preconditions!

That's what our Fearless Leader-Elect promised to do.

re: #26 Sharmuta

I smell negotiations without preconditions!

No question about it... Kneel before Ahmadinejhad...

Normally I'd say "Barn door, let me introduce you to the back end of the horse." But in this case, the UN isn't even interested in closing the door. They just want to talk about the nice horsey.

re: #28 Who Watches the Watchmen?

Is this the part where Israel springs into action?

One should hope, but I'm all out of hopium at the moment.

re: #24 Honorary Yooper

So is Waxman going to look for doping in the oil companies as he did in major league baseball?

Waxman reminds me of the original movie Phantom of the Opera. Those nares of his are gross, imho.

Meanwhile, back at the Waffle House, (opps, I mean) White House:
"but they're a peaceful country and they're small too!"

re: #18 Bumr50

Is there where I'm supposed to say "uh-oh"?

Uh-oh.

In other news...

California Democrat Henry Waxman has won the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee, knocking off long-time chairman John Dingell in a secret ballot of the Democratic Caucus.

And the hits just keep on comin!

Let me be the first to say, I for one welcome our new carbon tax overlords.

re: #32 Honorary Yooper

One should hope, but I'm all out of hopium at the moment.

There will be a urine test for you first thing in the morning Honorary. :)

re: #36 Spiny Norman

Let me be the first to say, I for one welcome our new carbon tax overlords.

You know, for as loopy as Dingell is (I usually call him Dingellberry), at least he's not as nuts as Waxman.

re: #18 Bumr50

Great. He'll spend all his time investigating Republicans for one thing or another too. Now we just need Dick Durbin to take over Defense appropriations and the disaster will be complete.

Let us hope for a "work accident" that their terrorist compatriots are so adept at causing.

According to wikipedia,re: #26 Sharmuta

I smell negotiations without preconditions!

What about negotiations with negotiable preconditions? Actually, wait... unless the negotiations for the preconditions had preconditions, themselves, that'd be the same thing as negotiations without preconditions.

re: #38 midwestgak

There will be a urine test for you first thing in the morning Honorary. :)

Hey, I stole that term fair and square from John Kass.

re: #22 Ojoe

Good morning Ojoe. I need to tell you how much I enjoy your webcam sharing.
It does give me a nature break with different terrain scenery every morning if just for the few minutes I linger to view! It's like a "mindspa" for me.
Thank you, and I hope your day is a peaceful one.

re: #34 calvin coolidge

Meanwhile, back at the Waffle House, (opps, I mean) White House:
"but they're a peaceful country and they're small too!"

Yup. Because we all know a small group of people with minimal training and shitty equipment, like box cutters and fake bombs, could never pose a real threat to anyone in the US. Why shouldn't we let them get nukes?

These guys sure have been a helpp so far.

Low enriched uranium is sufficient for a civilian project, but it would take additional processing to get weapons' grade uranium.

All that means is letting the uranium run through the centrifuge cascades longer, and since it appears that the Iranians have solved the tech problems with the P2 cascades, then it is a matter of time before they can have sufficient weapons grade uranium for a warhead.

The next step would then be for them to fashion a warhead. Mate it with their existing missile tech, and the Iranians would be able to strike as far away as Europe, but they could conceivably hit anywhere in the Middle East, starting with Israel, but including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, or any other Sunni dominated country (the Iranians might dislike the US and Israel as the Greater and Lesser Satans, don't think for a moment that the Sunni-Shia schism isn't far from the minds of the mad mullahs).

UN official: Israel blocks aid shipment to Gaza (AP)

Well of course first things first?

re: #2 buzzsawmonkey

Remind me again why we fund anything at all the UN does, and why we permit them to remain here.

Just repeating that.

re: #33 midwestgak

Waxman reminds me of the original movie Phantom of the Opera. Those nares of his are gross, imho.

I always seem him in a lab coat, standing around a hospital bed with a bunch of other people whose noses look like that too, while they talk about how ugly the pretty blonde patient is.

re: #1 winston06

Will Pres. Bush authorize the bombing of Iran now?

i wish but i doubt it

“They know how to do the enrichment. Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter.”

Isn't that information freely available on the internet? Enriching the uranium is the hard part....

re: #42 zelnaga

What about negotiations with negotiable preconditions? Actually, wait... unless the negotiations for the preconditions had preconditions, themselves, that'd be the same thing as negotiations without preconditions.

Whoa! All that's above my pay grade.

re: #22 Ojoe

WHAT is the civilized world waiting for?

100,000 dead?

"you cannot avoid war, you can only put it off to the advantage of your opponent."

— Machiavelli

I'm gonna go out on a limb here.....Machiavelli wasn't a moonbat, was he.

re: #54 buzzsawmonkey

Why can't I just finish my felafel?

Because Bill O'Reilly is using it in the shower?

Hey, with a little luck the testing that Biden was talking about can be a nuclear war. Wouldn't that be neat? The only question is which side would Obama support? And which side would he demand meet a lot of preconditions before he talks to them?

I'd like to see W have a press conference where he lays out the facts to the American public, then tells Isreal that it should show restraint and diplomacy, followed by a sly wink and a nod!

Not to downplay the Very. Real. Threat. of a nuclear Iran, but this sentence

roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification,

is so vague.

Either they have enough material or they don't.

If we are counting material that isn't enriched enough, one could just as easily say that Nigeria "has enough material to make a bomb." Except that material is in the ground and at the natural ratio of 99% of 238.

The report concluded that as of early this month, Iran had made 630 kilograms, or about 1,390 pounds, of low-enriched uranium.

Low-enriched uranium could be at 2-5% 235. Who knows what percentage they have?

They need 90% enriched for the uranium to go boom.

re: #18 Bumr50

Is there where I'm supposed to say "uh-oh"?

Uh-oh.

In other news...

California Democrat Henry Waxman has won the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee, knocking off long-time chairman John Dingell in a secret ballot of the Democratic Caucus.

And the hits just keep on comin!

Nutty and nuttier. Waxman. Good lord.

re: #3 tfc3rid

You're doing a heckuva job, Mo...

(Ahmadinejad pats Mo on the head)

Demonic, technologic willingness to harm.

re: #55 eschew_obfuscation

It is better to be feared than to be loved. Obambi is too concerned that the French may think ill of us if we defend out interests too aggressively.

Holy powdered milk, Batman!

The IAEA is a bad joke. It only took them two years AFTER the fact that Israel took out Syria's atom building site, to finally decide that Syria needs to be
"transparent". AND now Israel and the US are blamed for "interfering" in their ability to make progress on confirming whether it WAS a concern?
SLOTHS move faster than the IAEA.

re: #56 capitalist piglet

Because Bill O'Reilly is using it in the shower?

Kinky.

Maybe Obama should go talk to them right away. I mean if they don't know how to build the bomb yet he could probably trade the bomb building info for a promise not to use it unless they REALY had to.

/ (you knew that already though I hope)

re: #52 harrylook

Isn't that information freely available on the internet? Enriching the uranium is the hard part....

I imagine it is like heart surgery or cliff diving. The instructions may be on the net, but that isn't the same thing as having someone who can do it.

re: #60 Hard Right

Nutty and nuttier. Waxman. Good lord.

Get ready for balsa wood cars, powered by a hug and a smile.

re: #30 tfc3rid

after that the only ? is will he spit or swallow.
getting very pessimistic.

bibi to power in Israel

re: #47 lawhawk

That also reminds me why it was important to invade Iraq and remove Saddam. He would most likely be a high on Iran's target list and he'd be working feverishly on deterrents.

re: #59 Silhouette

That's what I noted above. They've proven their enrichment process works - all it takes now is time to purify the uranium to weapons grade. That could be several additional months depending on how many cascades are in use and whether they're using the P2/IR-2 cascades.

re: #47 lawhawk

I really don't see the Iranians striking Iraq and killing millions of their Shia brethren.

re: #63 Iron Fist

It is better to be feared than to be loved. Obambi is too concerned that the French may think ill of us if we defend out interests too aggressively.

Especially since the World has loved us since we became enlightened and elected The Zero...

re: #47 lawhawk

"Destroying the infrastructure might set back the project by months or years, but destroying those with the know-how could permanently eliminate the threat."

Were you implying targeted assignation LH? I like the idea, a good job for Mossad. Much more effective than trying to find and bomb hidden nuke factories, assuming you can find the scientists.

re: #69 Ward Cleaver

Get ready for balsa wood cars, powered by a hug and a smile.

Hah. Let's see the autobody repairmen get those dents out.

re: #57 Iron Fist

Hey, with a little luck the testing that Biden was talking about can be a nuclear war. Wouldn't that be neat? The only question is which side would Obama support? And which side would he demand meet a lot of preconditions before he talks to them?

No, I say, NO pre-conditions! We will talk to anyone. Yes- anyone! No creditability? No problem.

/You know- kind of like a desperate used car salesman.

re: #67 fish

Maybe Obama should go talk to them right away. I mean if they don't know how to build the bomb yet he could probably trade the bomb building info for a promise not to use it unless they REALY had to.

/ (you knew that already though I hope)

No, send Bill Ayers. Maybe we will have a few Darwin Awards to present!

re: #52 harrylook

re: #52 harrylook

Isn't that information freely available on the internet? Enriching the uranium is the hard part....

Yes ... a uranium bomb is a no-brainer if all you want to do is build one and set it off and are happy with a yield of Hiroshima dimensions (I would). If you want to place it onto a missile as a warhead then that's another matter ... only you don't have to do it that way. You could drive it in a truck or float it on a boat.

A plutonium bomb needs to be imploded and is a tough task. But that doesn't seem to be the direction they are going in.

re: #25 rawmuse

Ah, we can all look forward to freezing in the dark.
I predict it will even be patriotic to do so.

We can share Jimmy Carter's sweater.

re: #69 Ward Cleaver

Flintstone power!
: )

re: #76 Hard Right

Hah. Let's see the autobody repairmen get those dents out.

Wood filler, and lots of it.

re: #71 Killgore Trout

Indeed, the Iranians have a score to settle with the Iraqis for the Iran-Iraq war, and incidentally the Iranians probably have much reason to give thanks to the Israelis for the Osirak raid since the weapons program would have likely targeted Iran before Israel seeing how the Iraqis couldn't quite break through the Iranian lines during the war and it was a stalemate for much of the time.

I'm praying for the Guinness Book of World Records Largest Work Accident

Whew.

That really takes the pressure off of the IAEA. Now it's everyone else's problem.

You know, it might as well been IKEA monitoring the Iranian Nuclear program.

Then all of that shit would have fallen apart the first time they moved it.

re: #77 Sharmuta

No, I say, NO pre-conditions! We will talk to anyone. Yes- anyone! No creditability? No problem.

/You know- kind of like a desperate used car salesman.

Yes, we will roll over and play dead for you. So come on down to Uncle Sam's Ankle Grabbing Surrenderathon now!

re: #79 LDA

re: #52 harrylook

Yes ... a uranium bomb is a no-brainer if all you want to do is build one and set it off and are happy with a yield of Hiroshima dimensions (I would). If you want to place it onto a missile as a warhead then that's another matter ... only you don't have to do it that way. You could drive it in a truck or float it on a boat.

A plutonium bomb needs to be imploded and is a tough task. But that doesn't seem to be the direction they are going in.

Truck bomb seems a likely way for Iran to hit Israel. Easy way around Israel's recently-upgraded missile defense....

re: #83 lawhawk

Indeed, the Iranians have a score to settle with the Iraqis for the Iran-Iraq war, and incidentally the Iranians probably have much reason to give thanks to the Israelis for the Osirak raid since the weapons program would have likely targeted Iran before Israel seeing how the Iraqis couldn't quite break through the Iranian lines during the war and it was a stalemate for much of the time.

in addition, Iraq is where a large number of the Great Satan's military force is located as well...

re: #35 taxfreekiller

Of some note:

The rental car, the three ones of China, rear gate of Lost Alamos lab,
the gate crashed, the three arrested, all ones of China from L.A., with
permits to be no more than three miles from the China building in L.A.,
Clinton, Richardson, in charge,,,

The ones of China have all the plans of the most advanced nuke info
via Clinton and the missing CD's and lap tops gone from Lost Alamos lab.

its a done deal, all's you got to do now is watch for the bright flash

In once had the opportunity to chat with a former high-level spy who headed major operations in Western Europe and Latin America, and I asked him what kept him up at night. Without hesitation, he said, "The Chinese."

re: #82 Ward Cleaver

Wood filler, and lots of it.

Not if it isn't biodegradable.

re: #86 Hard Right

Yes, we will roll over and play dead for you. So come on down to Uncle Sam's Ankle Grabbing Surrenderathon now!

but at least the world loves us now...

re: #73 rabidsquirrel

Martyrs for the cause. Besides, the Iranians could strike at the Kurdish north or the central region around Baghdad and hit mostly Sunni areas - Ba'athist strongholds, minimizing the casualties among the Shi'ites.

re: #4 Honorary Yooper

Oh goody. Now when the IAEA springs into action again, they'll tell us that Iran already has the bomb that was supposed to take years to make.

They'll tell you that it's inbound on the tip of a rocket, and they are working as fast as they can to draft a letter blaming Israel

wikipedia.org's discussion of Little Boy is interesting:

[Link: en.wikipedia.org...]

Basically, Little Boy was never tested because the uranium it used was really scarce and because it was such a simple design (well, for PhD physicists, I guess) that it was expected to work right out-of-the-box. The easier to obtain plutonium, however, was a lot harder to work with, hence the Trinity test.

I find it strange that Iran would have an easier time getting uranium than they would plutonium given that it was exactly the opposite for American scientists.

Never-the-less, I suppose some comfort can be derived from the fact that designs like Little Boy's have, as per wikipedia.org, a rather high risk of accidental detonation.

Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter.

They got the parts from somewhere, to build the centrifuges. Who says they can't do the same for a bomb? For that matter, who says they haven't already? The impotent IAEA sure as $#*#& wouldn't know.

re: #91 tfc3rid

but at least the world loves us now...

And look what it took....I'd rather be hated.

re: #84 Shug

I'm praying for the Guinness Book of World Records Largest Work Accident

Next best thing, a big dud. Ha, they would probably photoshop in the mushroom cloud.

The Iranians make a lot of noise about Israel, but the Saudis (and by extension the world's energy supply) are their real targets.

re: #63 Iron Fist

It is better to be feared than to be loved. Obambi is too concerned that the French may think ill of us if we defend out interests too aggressively.

The left has been yapping incessantly about how America will get it's respect back vis a vis the rest of the world now that The One is president.

I'm one who thinks we're about to lose that respect.....and go back to being viewed as a paper tiger.

re: #47 lawhawk

Their new solid fuel rockets currently have the range to hit Rome the last I heard.

re: #55 eschew_obfuscation

Machiavelli was a realist, and he wanted the greatest good for the greatest number. He has an undeserved bad reputation IMHO. Much of his advice is very valid today.

re: #44 notutopia

Thank you, glad you like the webcams.

re: #96 Hard Right

And look what it took....I'd rather be hated.

So would I...

re: #77 Sharmuta

Yeah, but I bet Obambi will have a list longer than his..um, arm of preconditions Israel must meet before he'll talk to them. Things like letting nice terrorists out of jail, ethnically cleansing the West Bank of all Jews, or maybe ripping out the Western Wall to put up a minaret.

Little things.

re: #10 midwestgak

And Obama isn't even pres. yet.

just wait, the Secretary of the New Department of Peace will take care of all of this

re: #94 zelnaga

Fat Man and Little Boy, a nuclear family!

re: #100 MJBrutus

Nightmare. Crusader target.

re: #106 victor_yugo

Fat Man and Little Boy, a nuclear family!

Or a NAMBLA meeting :-)

re: #50 capitalist piglet

I always seem him in a lab coat, standing around a hospital bed with a bunch of other people whose noses look like that too, while they talk about how ugly the pretty blonde patient is.

Twilight Zone classic

re: #29 Honorary Yooper

That's what our Fearless feckless Leader-Elect promised to do.

Fixed it. . .

re: #108 MJBrutus

Or a NAMBLA meeting :-)

North American Marlan Brando Look-Alikes?

re: #106 victor_yugo

Fat Man and Little Boy, a nuclear family!

I am more worried about the little man in Iran and the fat mouth in Venezuela!

re: #99 eschew_obfuscation

The left has been yapping incessantly about how America will get it's respect back vis a vis the rest of the world now that The One is president.

I'm one who thinks we're about to lose that respect.....and go back to being viewed as a paper tiger.

Yeah, I much prefer the respect that is motivated by fear.

re: #94 zelnaga

I don't think plutonium is easier to obtain, I think it needs to be produced in a nuclear reactor. I could be wrong.

bbl

re: #66 Hard Right

Kinky.

I know. I can already hear the backbeat.

re: #72 lawhawk

Yep.

People need to know:
Natural = less than 1% U235
LEU = 2-6% U235
Weapons grade = 90% U235

And the enrichment isn't fast. All we know from this article is that their percentage is between 2% and 89%. Big range.

And while we're at it, for those that don't know:
Depleted uranium = stuff left over after you've removed the 235 to enrich other uranium. In other words, even less 235 than naturally occuring uranium in the rocks. For some reason, people think of it as depleted fuel: stuff that is still glowing.

It is no coincidence that the IAEA is releasing this information and the information on Syria while the US is in a transitional period.

re: #87 harrylook

I agree. People these days are so used to the technology they imagine is required that they don't realize just how easy it would be if you have enough weapons grade uranium. Plutonium bombs and Hydrogen bombs ... now those are technological masterpieces. Little-Boy Hiroshima bombs are little more than a high school science project if you have the right materials. Getting the right materials is the trick ... and Iran has been working at that for a while. They may not be quite there yet ... but getting close I would imagine.

re: #117 Ben Hur

It is no coincidence that the IAEA is releasing this information and the information on Syria while the US is in a transitional period.

Before Obambi is in charge, I would guess.

is europe worried, at all.
or are they mostly concerned w/ their 4 day work wk and 6 wk. vacations?

re: #12 Sharmuta

Isn't the IAEA's job to stop this? Or is it just a symbolic, token agency?

Good question...and the IAEA probably doesn't have an answer. The Israelis keep blowing up these sorts of facilities long before the IAEA screws up the courage to send a harshly worded letter.

re: #114 turn

Only minute amounts of plutonium are found in nature, mostly it is made in a rector.

re: #117 Ben Hur

It is no coincidence that the IAEA is releasing this information and the information on Syria while the US is in a transitional period.

To what end?

re: #120 nyc redneck

is europe worried, at all.
or are they mostly concerned w/ their 4 day work wk and 6 wk. vacations?

You answered your own question...

re: #69 Ward Cleaver

Get ready for balsa wood cars, powered by a hug and a smile.

And for a few extra bucks you can get the one powered by a rubber band.

re: #100 MJBrutus

1,200 nautical miles based on the Shahab 3/4 2-stage design. That said, they've had problems with their missile tech and no one really knows their CEP, so it would be definitely used as a terror weapon.

re: #122 Ojoe

Only minute amounts of plutonium are found in nature, mostly it is made in a rector.

rector? damn near killed her.

re: #99 eschew_obfuscation

The left has been yapping incessantly about how America will get it's respect back vis a vis the rest of the world now that The One is president.

I'm one who thinks we're about to lose that respect.....and go back to being viewed as a paper tiger.

They always confused respect for popularity.

We're popular when we're weak because people like us that way.

re: #117 Ben Hur

It is no coincidence that the IAEA is releasing this information and the information on Syria while the US is in a transitional period.

I wonder if the information was available in mid-October.

re: #99 eschew_obfuscation

Yep. Obambi is a citizen of the World, after all. you can't expect him to waste his time worrying about provincial matters like nuclear deterrence, biological weapons, or terrorism.

He's got more important things to worry about.

re: #57 Iron Fist

Hey, with a little luck the testing that Biden was talking about can be a nuclear war. Wouldn't that be neat? The only question is which side would Obama support? And which side would he demand meet a lot of preconditions before he talks to them?

Why do I feel like the American public would have to meet preconditions before he would talk to us...

re: #125 tfc3rid

You answered your own question...

LOL,
i'm glad that was obvious.

re: #128 Kragar (proud to be kafir)

"Reactor"

LOL

re: #122 Ojoe

I thought so, uranium is the quickest and cheapest way to make a bomb.

re: #122 Ojoe

Only minute amounts of plutonium are found in nature, mostly it is made in a rector.

And the occasional zucchini if you leave it in the refrigerator too long.

Estimated cost.
"There is no present way to synthesize a genome-size chunk of mammoth DNA, let alone to develop it into a whole animal. But Dr. Schuster said a shortcut would be to modify the genome of an elephant’s cell at the 400,000 or more sites necessary to make it resemble a mammoth’s genome. The cell could be converted into an embryo and brought to term by an elephant, a project he estimated would cost some $10 million.
...Asked if the mammoth project might indeed happen, Dr. Church said that “there is some enthusiasm for it,” although making zoos better did not outrank fixing the energy crisis on his priority list."

BBL

The disease of our age: genocidal regimes acquire WMD and the free world doesn't know how to deal with it, pirates shrink the borders of civilization and free world pundits call the situation 'complex'. Too much moral ambiguity reduces us to this. Don't need "a darker" James Bond, I need a brighter, less corrupt Bond. Thankyou.
/end rant

re: #135 turn

Enriching the uranium is difficult. Once you have it, though ...

re: #117 Ben Hur

There ARE no Coincidences.

Don't worry. The 0ne has promised to eliminate our nuclear weapons. So we'll be perfectly safe. Right?

Avoid looking at the flash. Duck and cover. Pray.

re: #87 harrylook

Truck bomb seems a likely way for Iran to hit Israel. Easy way around Israel's recently-upgraded missile defense....

That is scary harry because it is so possible.

re: #119 VegasRick

Before Obambi is in charge, I would guess.

And after the Cowboy could do anything about it.

re: #137 jaunte

Um....why?

re: #138 Ojoe

BBL

Don't worry, I'll cover your rector.

re: #137 jaunte

sorry, that comment was intended for the Mammoth spinoff.

re: #135 turn

I thought so, uranium is the quickest and cheapest way to make a bomb.

No. Quickest way to make a bomb would be to give Oliver Stone a hint of a government conspiracy and a few cameras.

OT:
SOB! Two ships freed after pirates paid $1.67 million in ransom. Yes folks, that will surely deter the pirates from striking again.

re: #127 lawhawk

1,200 nautical miles based on the Shahab 3/4 2-stage design. That said, they've had problems with their missile tech and no one really knows their CEP, so it would be definitely used as a terror weapon.

Exactly, CEP is irrelevant when you're trying to kill people and not hard targets.

re: #132 fish

I wish I could ding you up twice for that. Excellent point.

Bottom line is Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons, period. They are not responsible enough to have them. They have lied in international ties and will continue to do so. Anyone who believes them, at any juncture, is a fool.

The time for Israel, or us, or "pirates" to hit them is now. End of discussion. Anything less is suicide and will make then next 25 years horrible.

You think Al Qaeda in caves were bad, you haven't seen anything yet.

Obummer's Inauguration Present, the announcement Iran is completely nuclear.

re: #145 Ben Hur

And after the Cowboy could do anything about it.

Yup.

re: #146 Silhouette

Turns out it is difficult to post from work, even if you're only half-working.

Present !

re: #156 jaunte

Turns out it is difficult to post from work, even if you're only half-working.

I'm always only half working. Thank God I get paid for full time.

re: #108 MJBrutus

Or a NAMBLA meeting :-)

lol

re: #130 MandyManners

I wonder if the information was available in mid-October.

al-Baridei is a pan-Arabist nationalist.

OF course it was.

People need to remember how these people are chosen. And this includes Blix.

There is a list.

A looong list.

The UN members of the IAEA go over the list and only pick someone ALL agree on.

This idiot could've been #30 on the list.

I recall that Blix wasn't too close to the top.

re: #92 lawhawk

Martyrs for the cause. Besides, the Iranians could strike at the Kurdish north or the central region around Baghdad and hit mostly Sunni areas - Ba'athist strongholds, minimizing the casualties among the Shi'ites.

True, though I think Iran would be reluctant to do so (except perhaps striking agains the Kurdish North, which is largely homogenous) given the potential fallout. Hitting mostly Sunni areas would still likely result in significant Shia casualties, and demonstrate their callous disregard for their fellow Shia muslims. Iran would like to strike at American forces, but they've been doing so in Iraq either directly or through proxies for years now, and a nuclear strike would definitely cause massive Shia casualties in highly populated areas.

At any rate, striking Iraq would definitely undermine their political influence in the Iraqi government, and among a large number of its citizens.

OT: Is Charles going to post a financial yo-yo watch thread?

re: #142 Muadib

Bend over, put your head between your legs, and kiss your ass goodbye.

(I'm Barack Obama, and I support this message)

I guess opening up our universities to students from the middle east is really starting to pay off.

/

re: #154 aboo-Hoo-Hoo

Obummer's Inauguration Present, the announcement Iran is completely nuclear.

Would be an interesting juxtaposition to what happened on the day Reagan was inaugruated...

re: #150 lawhawk

OT:
SOB! Two ships freed after pirates paid $1.67 million in ransom. Yes folks, that will surely deter the pirates from striking again.

What could possible go wrong?

re: #145 Ben Hur

And after the Cowboy could do anything about it.

Why is it too late?

re: #63 Iron Fist
Hey Fist! Ya know I always laughed at Obama when he said that the rest of the world hates us - cause I kept wondering why they keep trying to get here if they hate us so much.
I used to laugh at Obama a lot before I realized that some 66 million Americans really thought he mean hope and CHANGE - What damn change? Everyone he's appointed or is reportedly considering for appoitments to high posts in the Fed Gov't is either a former Clinton or Carter appointee or a member of the Chicago Machine.
He's gonna get away with a lot for a year, year and a half, maybe, by blaming everything on Bush, but in a year and a half, when the 2010 Congressional elections, all Republican candidates really have to say is that the Dems have controlled Congress since 2006 - both houses of Congress, are you better off now then you were then?"
We win BIG in 2010 and in 2012 all we say about Obama is "are you better off today than you were four years ago?" and again we win big.
There is something to be said for all Dem rule!

re: #163 Iron Fist

Bend over, put your head between your legs, and kiss your ass goodbye.

(I'm Barack Obama, and I support this message)

You would also be performing the official BHO salute complete with the "O".

re: #156 jaunte

Turns out it is difficult to post from work, even if you're only half-working.

I didn't know there was a mammouth thread.

I was wondering why they are going to all that trouble and expense to make a mammouth, when it won't be a mammouth but some sort of hybrid. Anything they learn from the beast they cannot be sure would have anything to do with real mammouths.

re: #150 lawhawk

OT:
SOB! Two ships freed after pirates paid $1.67 million in ransom. Yes folks, that will surely deter the pirates from striking again.

It shows what sitting down and talking without preconditions can accomplish. Change!

re: #168 realwest

Hey Fist! Ya know I always laughed at Obama when he said that the rest of the world hates us - cause I kept wondering why they keep trying to get here if they hate us so much.
I used to laugh at Obama a lot before I realized that some 66 million Americans really thought he mean hope and CHANGE - What damn change? Everyone he's appointed or is reportedly considering for appoitments to high posts in the Fed Gov't is either a former Clinton or Carter appointee or a member of the Chicago Machine.
He's gonna get away with a lot for a year, year and a half, maybe, by blaming everything on Bush, but in a year and a half, when the 2010 Congressional elections, all Republican candidates really have to say is that the Dems have controlled Congress since 2006 - both houses of Congress, are you better off now then you were then?"
We win BIG in 2010 and in 2012 all we say about Obama is "are you better off today than you were four years ago?" and again we win big.
There is something to be said for all Dem rule!

Agreed.

Interesting- the price of waffles on the commodities market has gone through the roof.

re: #165 tfc3rid

Yep. They'd have one helluva chuckle, huh?

re: #161 rabidsquirrel

Any use of nukes by Iran would most certainly be a national suicidal act. They are well aware of it. If they are crazy enough to use them, I doubt that they would waste their national "martydom" on Iraq. They would possibly do it destroy Israel or a European capital.

re: #170 Silhouette

Must have been a slow news day at the NYT.

re: #173 Sharmuta

Interesting- the price of waffles on the commodities market has gone through the roof.

...and the price of bull shit has also hit a 10 year high.

re: #153 spirochete

Bottom line is Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons, period. They are not responsible enough to have them. They have lied in international ties and will continue to do so. Anyone who believes them, at any juncture, is a fool.

The time for Israel, or us, or "pirates" to hit them is now. End of discussion. Anything less is suicide and will make then next 25 years horrible.

You think Al Qaeda in caves were bad, you haven't seen anything yet.

But if ISRAEL can have them......

/New post-modernist World Order.

Actually, someone please explain to me why it's alright for France and Britain to have them and NOT Israel.

re: #158 Jetpilot1101

I'm always only half working. Thank God I get paid for full time.

I hope your job is not jet pilot.

re: #114 turn

I don't think plutonium is easier to obtain, I think it needs to be produced in a nuclear reactor. I could be wrong.

bbl

I think you might be right, although natural uranium would need to be enriched. I guess the question is... which is easier? Enriching uranium or producing plutonium?

re: #177 Jetpilot1101

Syrup! Buy syrup!

re: #176 jaunte

Must have been a slow news day at the NYT.

Nothing to make up or national secrets to leak?

re: #173 Sharmuta

Interesting- the price of waffles on the commodities market has gone through the roof.

As our President-Elect likes to say: Cogito eggo sum

re: #150 lawhawk Ya know I'm really surprised at that - both ships were "Hong Kong" flagged which means Communist China and I'd sure think they'd know better than to do that!
Wonder what was in those ships to make the Chicoms pay up?

re: #177 Jetpilot1101

...and the price of bull shit has also hit a 10 year high.

Doubtful... supply is abundant.

NIE from a year ago:

We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program¹

¹ For the purposes of this Estimate, by “nuclear weapons program” we mean Iran’s nuclear weapon design and weaponization work and covert uranium conversion-related and uranium enrichment-related work; we do not mean Iran’s declared civil work related to uranium conversion and enrichment.

Yeah, right.

re: #150 lawhawk

High Seas Money Laundering.
*SPIT*

re: #173 Sharmuta

Interesting- the price of waffles on the commodities market has gone through the roof.

i've never liked waffles.
maybe that 'funnel cake' at the fair once a yr. is ok.

re: #179 redstateredneck

I hope your job is not jet pilot.

It is and that's why I fly with a copilot; combined we do a full pilot's job.

re: #167 MandyManners

Why is it too late?

He's not going to saddle The One with the repercussions.

He's to classy for that.

Plus, according to CNN, he's sad and lonely.

re: #149 Kragar (proud to be kafir)

Haha

re: #173 Sharmuta

Interesting- the price of waffles on the commodities market has gone through the roof.

The economy has been saved!

[Link: www.comedycentral.com...]

Happy birthday to me

Happy birthday to me.

Happy nirthday dear E_O.

Happith nirthay on me

(passes out cake & second bottle of champaigne)

WOOTH!

re: #168 realwest

Yeah, all we can do is watch. And complain bitterly when they fuck up, which will be early and often. Just like they vote.

Obama's first term is already in the shitter and he hasn't even taken the Oath of Office yet.

re: #185 Occasional Reader

Doubtful... supply is abundant.

But the government is manipulating the price and thinking of a bailout of all the bull shit shorters.

re: #175 MJBrutus

Agreed. If they're going the martyrdom route, I believe Israel is the likely target.

re: #79 LDA

re: #52 harrylook

Yes ... a uranium bomb is a no-brainer if all you want to do is build one and set it off and are happy with a yield of Hiroshima dimensions (I would). If you want to place it onto a missile as a warhead then that's another matter ... only you don't have to do it that way. You could drive it in a truck or float it on a boat.

A plutonium bomb needs to be imploded and is a tough task. But that doesn't seem to be the direction they are going in.

The first Chinese A-bomb was uranium-based.

re: #190 Ben Hur

He's not going to saddle The One with the repercussions.

He's to classy for that.

Plus, according to CNN, he's sad and lonely.

Whenever I'm sad and lonely, bombing the shit out of someone who desperately needs it always cheers me up.

re: #182 Silhouette

They're doing the groundwork to give up all our mammoth secrets.

re: #193 eschew_obfuscation

Happy birthday to me

Happy birthday to me.

Happy nirthday dear E_O.

Happith nirthay on me

(passes out cake & second bottle of champaigne)

WOOTH!

Someone left my cake out in the champagne...

But happy birthday anyway!

re: #198 MandyManners

Whenever I'm sad and lonely, bombing the shit out of someone who desperately needs it always cheers me up.

LOL!

Franken contests 1 ballot so far

Bernard Lewis on Ahmedinejad:

But with these people in Iran, Mutually Assured Destruction is not a deterrent factor, but rather an inducement.

OT
Epic balloon launch fail.

re: #198 MandyManners

Whenever I'm sad and lonely, bombing the shit out of someone who desperately needs it always cheers me up.

Damn! You should be on "Oprah"!

re: #193 eschew_obfuscation
Congratulations.
Is it chocolate cake?

re: #150 lawhawk

OT:
SOB! Two ships freed after pirates paid $1.67 million in ransom. Yes folks, that will surely deter the pirates from striking again.

Entrepreneurs!

re: #150 lawhawk

OT:
SOB! Two ships freed after pirates paid $1.67 million in ransom. Yes folks, that will surely deter the pirates from striking again.

Hey look at the upside, some of that money is going to trickle down to all the poor folks who live in the local villages where the pirates hang out. Right?

LAT /spit

re: #184 realwest

Ya know I'm really surprised at that - both ships were "Hong Kong" flagged which means Communist China and I'd sure think they'd know better than to do that!
Wonder what was in those ships to make the Chicoms pay up?

The Chicoms will not take that sitting down.

Has anyone, anywhere expostulated on the religious affiliations of these "pirates"? I find it hard to believe they have simply come out of nowhere and are doing record seizures in international waters.

This smells a lot like the events that cause President Jefferson to build our navy in the first place.

re: #183 Occasional Reader

Cogito eggo sum

I thought he was banned?

Silver lining: We're one step closer to getting the Hidden Imam out of that damn well.

re: #175 MJBrutus

They'll want to hit the Great Satan if they can. if they can't, well, I think they'll make do hitting the Liittle Satan. I just don't see them building some nukes just to put them on the shelf in some warehouse to gather dust.

re: #170 Silhouette

I didn't know there was a mammouth thread.

I was wondering why they are going to all that trouble and expense to make a mammouth, when it won't be a mammouth but some sort of hybrid. Anything they learn from the beast they cannot be sure would have anything to do with real mammouths.

Didn't someone in Siberia dig up a whole frozen mammoth some years ago? I wonder why that wouldn't have enough good DNA for cloning?

“Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter.”

But that's an easy question to answer. Just find out, Do the Iranians know how to use Google?

re: #17 LDA

If it's Uranium, then they can easily make a Little-Boy [viz. Hiroshima] style weapon. Anyone can do that ... the technology is simple. They didn't even have to test that type of weapon at Los Alamos ... it's only a Plutonium bomb that's the trick. When they dropped the first bomb that's why they used Little-Boy. Everyone knew it would work.

Yeah, but Little Boy used all of the uranium that we'd been enriching for a year. Slow process. By contrast, Hanford was producing enough plutonium for a Fat Man type bomb every four weeks. For the Iranians to deliver a Little Boy type bomb they'd have to use a ship or shipping container, or at least a truck, which would be easy to detect.

re: #215 JPL17

“Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter.”

But that's an easy question to answer. Just find out, Do the Iranians know how to use Google?

SHHHH!

Ixnay on the ooglegay! It's an ecretsay!

re: #209 spirochete

The Chicoms will not take that sitting down.

Has anyone, anywhere expostulated on the religious affiliations of these "pirates"? I find it hard to believe they have simply come out of nowhere and are doing record seizures in international waters.

This smells a lot like the events that cause President Jefferson to build our navy in the first place.

It's the damn Amish again!

re: #189 Jetpilot1101

It is and that's why I fly with a copilot; combined we do a full pilot's job.

As long as one of you is doing it!
:-)

re: #216 Son of the Black Dog

Not to mention it'd be a dirty explosion due to the surface detonation. Little Boy and Fat Man were airbursts.

Dontcha think there are enough whacked-out nut job scientist types who would jump at the chance to help Iran develop a nuclear bomb? Who the heck is the IAEA kidding?

re: #157 Shug
Ah yes, but you are Tardy, Shug!

re: #206 Cathypop

Congratulations.
Is it chocolate cake?

It's virtual cake......it can be any flavor you like ;-) Do watch for the candles though.....it hurts if you don't blow them out first.

re: #210 Kenneth

There's even a definitive time line.

re: #193 eschew_obfuscation Hey HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU and many, many more!

re: #211 Occasional Reader

That's reassuring.

re: #180 zelnaga

U235

re: #209 spirochete

This smells a lot like the events that cause President Jefferson to build our navy in the first place.

"Not one cent for tribute." Says I.

re: #193 eschew_obfuscation

Happy birthday to me

Happy birthday to me.

Happy nirthday dear E_O.

Happith nirthay on me

(passes out cake & second bottle of champaigne)

WOOTH!

Here's your cake! Fresh baked.
;-)

re: #227 Iron Fist

That's reassuring.

Always look on the bright side of life [whistling that part that follows]

re: #84 Shug

I'm praying for the Guinness Book of World Records Largest Work Accident

bwaa!...good one

re: #231 Occasional Reader

Always look on the bright side of life [whistling that part that follows]

Life of Brian?

re: #218 Occasional Reader

SHHHH!

Ixnay on the ooglegay! It's an ecretsay!

"There are no ooglegays in Iran."

-M. Ahmadinejad

I wonder if this was part of the briefing that CBBHO got soon after the erection.

re: #234 Occasional Reader

Lol!

re: #186 SeafoodGumbo

Under that NIE, they'd still consider it accurate because it's not weapons grade uranium we're talking about... yet. It's still of a grade useful for civilian purposes.

Time to go split firewood... BBL. :)

The worst part of this mess is that if (when) Iran uses their bomb on Israel, a European Capitol or a U.S. target, we're going to have no effective response. That's why it must be stopped before it happens. Retaliating with nuclear weapons would be a must and we'd destroy Tehran and maybe a few other cities, but then where will we be? The psychopaths who run Iran don't care if a million or two of their citizens get incinerated.
Stop this bomb now!

re: #230 redstateredneck

Here's your cake! Fresh baked.
;-)

How do people find these things?!

I love it!

Thanks

re: #194 Iron Fist
Yeah but ya know bro', I'm tempted to not bitch too much, cause that's just gonna get 'em on the blame Bush meme and the complaining won't do any good except maybe make ourselves feel better.
I'd rather let them do what the fuck they are going to do for a year or so and then start HAMMERING 'em.
Course, I'm incapable of shutting up over truly dangerous (as opposed to simply stupid) behavior and words.
Fuck.

Hmmm. Look at the story from just yesterday: Washington to replace Iran NIE architect

National Intelligence Council Chief, Thomas Fingar is to leave office nearly a year after issuing a report on Iran's nuclear activities.

Quoting a US official 'who requested anonymity because the changes have not yet been publicly announced', the Associated Press reported that Fingar is to be replaced on Dec. 1 by Peter R. Lavoy who currently is the council's South Asia officer.

Fingar, who has been the deputy director of national intelligence and chairman of the National Intelligence Council since May 2005, is responsible for the controversial report on Iran's nuclear program.

In a stunning reversal of the intelligence community's 2005 claims on Iran, US spy agencies in December 2007 declared with 'high confidence' that Tehran was not pursuing a military nuclear program.
...
The Bush administration was severely criticized for its stance on Tehran as critics saw the NIE as proof that the US exaggerates the extent of Iranian nuclear activities.

re: #235 MandyManners

The O had an erection? Oh my!

re: #235 MandyManners

I wonder if this was part of the briefing that CBBHO got soon after the erection.

Are you Chinese or a student of Freud?

re: #122 Ojoe

Only minute amounts of plutonium are found in nature, mostly it is made in a rector.

Nearly killed her!

re: #55 eschew_obfuscation

I'm gonna go out on a limb here.....Machiavelli wasn't a moonbat, was he.

He also wrote a book titled THE ART OF WAR.

re: #208 turn

I think that was the NYT turn, oh well doesn't matter. It's a take from the rich and give to the poor slant the liberal media just loves to take.

re: #198 MandyManners

Whenever I'm sad and lonely, bombing the shit out of someone who desperately needs it always cheers me up.

go shoot an AK47 in the air
that always cheers up the Palis

Thanks all for the nice words!

You guys/gals are great!

re: #209 spirochete

These pirates are Somali Muslims.

re: #243 Cathypop

The O had an erection? Oh my!

Were all gonna get screwed

re: #168 realwest

Word. There's always a backlash to any big societal movement. The bigger the movement, the bigger the backlash....

re: #239 Lincolntf

We can't do that. Pre-emptive war is so declasse. And the French might cry. We wouldn't want to be responsible for that.

re: #209 spirochete
"The Chicoms will not take that sitting down. "
Huh? It's the Chicoms who paid the frigging ransom in the first place.
I REALLY want to know what the cargo is in those two ships.

re: #35 taxfreekiller

Of some note:

The rental car, the three ones of China, rear gate of Lost Alamos lab,
the gate crashed, the three arrested, all ones of China from L.A., with
permits to be no more than three miles from the China building in L.A.,
Clinton, Richardson, in charge,,,

The ones of China have all the plans of the most advanced nuke info
via Clinton and the missing CD's and lap tops gone from Lost Alamos lab.

its a done deal, all's you got to do now is watch for the bright flash

TFK is not joking, even cryptically. Jorge "Let's Move On" Bush just let it happen with little to no prosecutions or firewalls.

Liberal Fascist political correctness of removing the color-coded badges for differential access based on security clearance. Hazel O'Leary was in charge of that. She thought it was "unfair."

The commie treason hit the accelerator in Clinton I & II. It will be completed in Obama's Clinton III.

Hopenchange!

re: #193 eschew_obfuscation

Happy Birthday!

re: #246 The Other Les

He also wrote a book titled THE ART OF WAR.

I coulda sworn that was Sun Tsu? oh well....

re: #239 Lincolntf

Retaliating with nuclear weapons would be a must and we'd destroy Tehran and maybe a few other cities, but then where will we be?

If we actually got to that point, I would think - hope - our response would including everything remotely resembling, or suspected of resembling, an Iranian nuke storage or production facility; and everything related to balllistic missiles; and every Revolutionary Guard barracks; etc.

re: #248 Adrenalyn

go shoot an AK47 in the air
that always cheers up the Palis

But not those on the town outskirts.

re: #150 lawhawk

OT:
SOB! Two ships freed after pirates paid $1.67 million in ransom. Yes folks, that will surely deter the pirates from striking again.

Anyone else considering a career in Piracy? Or is that just me? ( I think I would look great with an eyepatch and cutlass!)

re: #214 eschew_obfuscation

HBD eschew!

re: #189 Jetpilot1101

It is and that's why I fly with a copilot; combined we do a full pilot's job.

Check out Drudge. Flight attentent helped land aircraft after copilot went nutso.

re: #257 eschew_obfuscation

Hippo birdie two ewe
Hippo birdie two ewe
Hippo birdie eschew obfuscation
Hippo birdie two ewe.

:)