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04 Mar 2012 19:50

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Politics: Obama speaks before skeptic AIPAC audience

  • Now is the time to heed that timeless advice from Teddy Roosevelt: speak softly, but carry a big stick.
  • President Barack Obama • Speaking before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the day before he is scheduled to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although he was quick to condemn what he believed to be “too much loose talk of war”, President Obama pleased many in attendance when he confirmed he would not support “containment” of a nuclear-armed Iran. When asked about the possibility of military intervention, the President replied, “I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests.”source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 13:40

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World: South Korea to North: renounce nukes and you can join summit

  • South’s idea of nuke security is the North not having them: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has told the North that dictator-for-life Kim Jong-Il (also called “The Dear Leader” or “The Great General” by his population of brutally oppressed, starving citizens) can attend a summit on nuclear security if and only if he renounces his nuclear weapons. If this seems like a stretch, you’re not alone; Kim Jong-Il almost certainly has no interest in such a deal, as his nukes are the biggest thing internationally protecting his totalitarian rule (which uses concentration camps as both a means to forced labor for the state, and an end to disobedient citizens). This seems, sad to say, like Lee Myung-bak making an empty offer, one the North will ignore in the same spirit. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jan 2011 12:14

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World: Wikileaks, Stuxnet collide to create awesome article about Iran

  • Iran doesn’t have the bomb yet. But they’ve been trying really hard to get it, according to the latest round of data released from Wikileaks. The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, which reportedly has all 250,000 diplomatic cables, has been releasing them slowly but surely, and the latest one is kinda sorta a big deal. The cables portray it as kind of last-gasp attempt for Iran to jump-start its diplomatic prowess. “A race exists between the bomb and financial collapse,” one French nuclear expert explained in the cable. Some quick numbers:
  • 350 Iranian companies and groups were reportedly involved in the pursuit of nuclear technology
  • 30+ countries that have contacts Iran is trying to use to make this bomb thingy happen
  • no Iran doesn’t have much in the way of its own uranium, making their job tougher source
  • » Oh, and remember Stuxnet? That computer worm seemingly designed to damage Iran’s nuclear program was reportedly a American-Israeli joint, according to this here article by The New York Times. It was reportedly so effective at causing a malware ruckus that it set Iran’s nuclear program back by several years. Favorite line: “The computer program also secretly recorded what normal operations at the nuclear plant looked like, then played those readings back to plant operators, like a pre-recorded security tape in a bank heist, so that it would appear that everything was operating normally while the centrifuges were actually tearing themselves apart.” Class.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2010 10:08

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World: Iran claims to have its own yellowcake (not from a grocery store)

  • But here’s the real question: Do they have chocolate
    frosting?     Iran revealed today, ahead of a major nuclear conference in Geneva, that they’ve started producing their own yellowcake uranium, a key step in creating their own nuclear fuel. (Or, if you read into that, nuclear weapons.) The head of Iran’s atomic energy organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, claimed that the uranium was mined from Southern Iran. Also, he had this to offer up: “Again Iran has shown the ill-wishers and international criminals that we are standing up to pressures and resistance is the first lesson of our revolution and we would like to assure you that we will make you regret your devilish moves.” Uh, thanks? (This pic comes from Stuart Spivack, who we’re guessing doesn’t have any uranium) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jul 2010 10:47

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World: North Korea and their famous style of overreaction fail to disappoint

  • The army and people of the [North] will legitimately counter with their powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercises.
  • A message from North Korea’s National Defense Commission • Regarding the building tension over the United States’ war exercises with South Korea. Yeah, they want to pull nukes out just because the U.S. and South Korea plan to begin Operation Invincible Spirit, a series of troop exercises, starting tomorrow. Of course, if North Korea had kept a cool head over the last however many years, would the war exercises even be necessary? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2010 20:36

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World: Iran sanctions: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad needs a dustbin, stat

  • I gave one of the [world powers] a message that the resolutions you issue are like a used handkerchief which should be thrown in the dustbin.
  • Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • Talking all big and stuff after major sanctions were put on his country by the UN. What do the sanctions (the fourth set put on the country) do? Well, they allow the UN to prevent the tools for making nuclear devices from entering the country, specifically targeting the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who have been known to create front companies. Beyond that, though, it also blocks Iran from buying heavy weapons like helicopters and attack missiles, and stiffens restrictions on both banks and certain individuals. That’s one fairly solid handkerchief Ahmadinejad just threw away. Or is it? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2010 20:34

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World: Iran sanctions: Most countries, but not all, supported them

  • 12-2 Turkey and Brazil weren’t buying that garbage source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

26 May 2010 10:48

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World: OK, everyone, guess how many nuclear warheads the U.K. has

  • 225 and not a single warhead more, kids source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2010 10:04

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Politics: McCain on Iran policy: U.S. needs to be willing to “pull the trigger”

  • I didn’t need a secret memo from Mr. Gates to ascertain that. We do not have a coherent policy… We have to be willing to pull the trigger on significant sanctions.
  • Sen. John McCain • Speaking on Fox News Sunday this morning. The senator claims that the secret memo leaked by the New York Times yesterday merely states the obvious. He wants to push for more sanctions, saying the U.S. has long held a loaded gun at Iran’s head but has been afraid to “pull the trigger.” Somebody likes using metaphors to get his point across! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Apr 2010 15:20

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Politics: Obama knows how to make Sarah Palin sound like a friggin’ fool

  • I really have no response, because last I checked, Sarah Palin’s not much of an expert on nuclear issues.
  • President Barack Obama • Speaking to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in the wake of the Nuclear Posture Review, which as we noted earlier, is being incorrectly portrayed by some (including Palin) as out of lockstep with prior U.S. diplomatic policy. Obama, who built his nuclear policy with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen, got in another rip on the former vice-presidential candidate, too: “I’m probably going to take my advice from them, and not from Sarah Palin.” Ouch. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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