Bombs Away
When I wrote about last week's Texas-sized barbeque of corruption in Washington, I wasn't aware of the most amazing piece of pork on the menu -- a nuclear knockwurst for one of the world's largest manufacturers of weapons-grade uranium:
I learned a lot of things from that article -- not counting the almost unbelievable corruption and stupidity of your average Dixiepublican, which I already knew about.
I learned that weapons-grade uranium is the nuclear feedstock, so to speak, for a number of medical isotopes.
I learned that the companies that make those isotopes operate their own private reactors, using uranium purchased from the U.S. government.
And I learned that those reactors are not, repeat not, subject to the same security restrictions as government-owned megadeath factories:
Now I bow to no man in my love for my would-be adopted mother country and her proud commercial traditions, but the idea that a medical company in the Great White North has enough weapons-grade uranium to recreate the Manhattan Project is frankly terrifying. Think about it: the Mackenzie brothers with nukes.
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Which is why I strongly urge everyone to read the entire Washington Post article and read it carefully. That way, when the day comes for you lean out your bathroom window and wonder: "How did that funny shaped cloud get there?" you'll already know the answer. And as you watch the bones in your hand become visible through your skin, and marvel at the sight of your child's hair instantly catching on fire, you can, in the brief moment before the shock wave hits, thank the good people at the Council on Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals for helping make such wonders possible:
Actually the technology for converting medical isotope production to use non-weapons grade uranium already exists. The Argentines, for example, have begun retrofitting their reactors -- thanks in large part to the same export ban Sen. Barr just raffled off. (The fact that Argentina, land of Evita and people being dumped out of helicopters, also gets weapons-grade uranium from Uncle Sam, is something else I learned from the Post article -- although I probably would rather have not.)
But the low-grade isotope production method is more expensive than the old-fashioned Hiroshima-based process -- and obviously, we can't let nonproliferation or the war on terrorism (slap) struggle against violent extremism get in the way of the profitability of the Canadian medical industry, or of Sen. Burr's campaign fund:
Osama: I feel better already!
I realize unbridled corruption in the U.S. Senate is one of those 19th century values the Republicans are determined to restore to our great nation -- no matter what the cost. But even I'm finding it incredible that they could really go this far: auctioning the right to buy weapons-grade uranium from the U.S. government off to the highest bidder. Instead of trying to get the nuclear genie back in his bottle, they want to give him his own PAC.
This really is getting into the hazy area between corruption and treason. To borrow the apocryphal Lenin quotation, Sen. Barr and his colleagues are practically selling Al Qaeda the rope with which to hang us. Or at least making it easier for someone else to do the selling.
It only reinforces something I've suspected for awhile: If Bin Ladin really wanted to destroy America, he'd forget about the terrorist cells and the hijackings and just hire himself an extremely well-connected Washington lobbying firm. If he was willing to spread enough cash around Capitol Hill, I bet he could have us nuking ourselves, Milo Minderbinder style.
Um, just kidding, Osama. I think.
Posted by billmon at 05:10 PM
When I wrote about last week's Texas-sized barbeque of corruption in Washington, I wasn't aware of the most amazing piece of pork on the menu -- a nuclear knockwurst for one of the world's largest manufacturers of weapons-grade uranium:
A provision tucked into the 1,724-page energy bill that Congress is poised to enact today would ease export restrictions on bomb-grade uranium, a lucrative victory for a Canadian medical manufacturer and its well-wired Washington lobbyists.
The Burr Amendment -- named for its sponsor, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) -- would reverse a 13-year-old U.S. policy banning exports of weapons-grade uranium unless the recipients agree to start converting their reactors to use less-dangerous uranium . . .
The amendment is just one of dozens of obscure special-interest provisions included in the energy bill, which the House passed yesterday and the Senate is expected to pass today. (via Cursor)
The Burr Amendment -- named for its sponsor, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) -- would reverse a 13-year-old U.S. policy banning exports of weapons-grade uranium unless the recipients agree to start converting their reactors to use less-dangerous uranium . . .
The amendment is just one of dozens of obscure special-interest provisions included in the energy bill, which the House passed yesterday and the Senate is expected to pass today. (via Cursor)
I learned a lot of things from that article -- not counting the almost unbelievable corruption and stupidity of your average Dixiepublican, which I already knew about.
I learned that weapons-grade uranium is the nuclear feedstock, so to speak, for a number of medical isotopes.
I learned that the companies that make those isotopes operate their own private reactors, using uranium purchased from the U.S. government.
And I learned that those reactors are not, repeat not, subject to the same security restrictions as government-owned megadeath factories:
By contrast, Nordion already has enough highly enriched uranium to make one or two Hiroshima-size bombs, and its factories do not have to meet the same security standards as Energy Department facilities.
Nordion is the Canadian company that purchased the export loophole in the energy bill -- which, under the circumstances, we might reasonably call the "Arm Osama Amendment."Now I bow to no man in my love for my would-be adopted mother country and her proud commercial traditions, but the idea that a medical company in the Great White North has enough weapons-grade uranium to recreate the Manhattan Project is frankly terrifying. Think about it: the Mackenzie brothers with nukes.
<CENTER>
Which is why I strongly urge everyone to read the entire Washington Post article and read it carefully. That way, when the day comes for you lean out your bathroom window and wonder: "How did that funny shaped cloud get there?" you'll already know the answer. And as you watch the bones in your hand become visible through your skin, and marvel at the sight of your child's hair instantly catching on fire, you can, in the brief moment before the shock wave hits, thank the good people at the Council on Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals for helping make such wonders possible:
Our industry shares the concern about nonproliferation; we don't have our heads in the sand," said Roy Brown, director of federal affairs for the Council . . . "When the technology is there [to switch to low-grade uranium] we'll all be willing to switch."
Osama: Take your time. What's the big rush?Actually the technology for converting medical isotope production to use non-weapons grade uranium already exists. The Argentines, for example, have begun retrofitting their reactors -- thanks in large part to the same export ban Sen. Barr just raffled off. (The fact that Argentina, land of Evita and people being dumped out of helicopters, also gets weapons-grade uranium from Uncle Sam, is something else I learned from the Post article -- although I probably would rather have not.)
But the low-grade isotope production method is more expensive than the old-fashioned Hiroshima-based process -- and obviously, we can't let nonproliferation or the war on terrorism (slap) struggle against violent extremism get in the way of the profitability of the Canadian medical industry, or of Sen. Burr's campaign fund:
Since 2003, the Alpine Group's main energy lobbyists -- James D. Massie, Richard C. White and Rhod Shaw -- have contributed more than $25,000 to members of the energy committees, and nuclear medicine trade groups have donated tens of thousands more.
But these days you can't examine the remains of a Dixiepublican feeding frenzy without finding at least a couple of sleazy Republicrats picking at the scraps. In this case, the nuclear carrion eater is Sen. Blanche "I have always depended on the kindness of lobbyists" Lincoln, who graciously agreed to co-sponsor the Arm Osama Amendment."To be able to provide the hope to those who suffer from these diseases is so critically important," Lincoln told colleagues.
I'm sure Dr. Zawahiri would agree.Osama: I feel better already!
I realize unbridled corruption in the U.S. Senate is one of those 19th century values the Republicans are determined to restore to our great nation -- no matter what the cost. But even I'm finding it incredible that they could really go this far: auctioning the right to buy weapons-grade uranium from the U.S. government off to the highest bidder. Instead of trying to get the nuclear genie back in his bottle, they want to give him his own PAC.
This really is getting into the hazy area between corruption and treason. To borrow the apocryphal Lenin quotation, Sen. Barr and his colleagues are practically selling Al Qaeda the rope with which to hang us. Or at least making it easier for someone else to do the selling.
It only reinforces something I've suspected for awhile: If Bin Ladin really wanted to destroy America, he'd forget about the terrorist cells and the hijackings and just hire himself an extremely well-connected Washington lobbying firm. If he was willing to spread enough cash around Capitol Hill, I bet he could have us nuking ourselves, Milo Minderbinder style.
Um, just kidding, Osama. I think.
Posted by billmon at 05:10 PM
