|
| I Keep Thinking, I Must Have Died 100 Times During The Night
A wise friend said to me, "We live in a fool's paradise."
Although the Cold War has long been resolved, and the necessity of a
deterrant arsenal of nuclear weapons has ceased, our country maintains
some 5,300 long-range nuclear warheads, and a similar number are under
the control of the Russians. Our government has ordered the
national labs to develop a new generation of nuclear weaponry.
No one
wants to use these weapons. There is no documented hypothetical
scenario in which the use of atomics leads to a military
advantage; The End is inevitable in all cases. The danger then is not
in an outright attack between states, as no head of state could make a
conscious decision that would lead to the annihiliation of not only
their people but all people. No, the danger lies elsewhere, in the
looseness of the nuclear infrastructure and nuclear proliferation.
Until 1977, the launch codes required for the launch of American
warheads was programmed as 'OOOOOOOO,' and this fact was
apparently well known down the chain of command. In fact, routine
checks were made to ensure that no digits other than zeroes were
programmed into the launch code. It seems that the ability to launch
our nukes in a worst case scenario was more important than the safety
of an accidental launch. Here is where I would like to mention the
Cuban missile crisis, but I'm sure the history behind that is well
known. Is that security? Does that make you feel as lucky as I do,
having been born in 1983, to have been born at all?
We being an
educated people should have learned from our brushes with the
annihilation of our planet that having nuclear weapons will not protect
us from nuclear weapons. It is ironic that by constructing weapons that
we believe will protect us, we are increasing the chances of our own
demise. The only answer that ensures humanity's survival is the
reduction of nuclear arsenals to such a level that an international
nuclear war would not be catastrophic. Our heads of state have agreed
to reduce nuclear arsenals, but would there really be a difference
between a war involving 10,000 and one with 4,000 warheads? The end
result would likely be the same, and the reduction of our nuclear power
will have achieved nothing.
Nuclear weapons WILL have to be
eliminated if the world is to survive, but how and when will this
happen? The political climate of the world today does not indicate the
possibility of a world free from the fear of nuclear war that we have
are all forced to live with coming to pass in
our lifetimes... hopefully, those who are capable of such a miracle are
not too late. If they are, we will all be fortune's fool.
"I have never been more
fearful of a nuclear detonation than now.… There is a greater than 50
percent probability of a nuclear strike on U.S. targets within a
decade." - former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, 2004
"War's not noble, and the sooner we can get people to cast off that
perverted notion, the better off as a species we'll be. It's only ever
a last resort, and one that should bring with it a certain amount of
shame that we failed so far as to turn to it as recourse." - Christian Panas
I'll write about myself some other time.
| | |
| It's not just tight. It's Ziploc.
An amazing weekend. I divided my time equally between the lands to the
south and to the north, as well one should who proclaims geopolitical
neutrality, carrousing Eugene with Ryan on friday, and unleashing the
hounds of sweater club on a very-suspecting Salem (we got a slice of
the local newspaper that would be considered generous in any epoch or
frame of reference, regardless of where the observer is standing) on
saturday night. But, but!
Here's what's really important in life:
DJ Format - 3 Feet Deep (QuickTime video)
And that was really the whole point of this entry.
Well, crap, I just can't resist:
| | |
| I'm A Tree That Grows
Welcome to spring break, gents and gentiles. It's a desert out here.
With one 's'. Only there's a lot more rain, yes, enough rain that nary
a mile into the backpacking trip we found that our morale had become
soggy, like a saltine cracker, and decided that a more proper place to
soak would be the hot tub back at the house. And so we did...two days
later. A series of events and improbably incapable relatives taught us
a lesson in patience, the cold way.
Bjork looks like a cat.
Which isn't to say that we didn't make it out into the redwoods for a
few quick, wet, joyous walks here and there. These pics don't
really convey how big these amazing trees were. I've never felt so small.
Here we are, inside of a tree, and dry for the moment:
Opportunistic fauna:
And THEN, we discovered an exercise video...
...and all was lost.
After the rain, we're home again:
| | |
| Who knew they still gave A+'s? Especially, Dr. Loeser?
Pchem is another kind of story. Entirely.
| | |
|
