A Guide To Armageddon: 1, 2, 3 (YouTube) This 1982 documentary morbidly simulates the effects of a nuclear attack on a city the size of London.
posted on Apr 14, 2008 - View this thread

The site must be marked: What is here is dangerous(?) and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger...This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.
posted on Jan 3, 2008 - View this thread

Russian cold war bombers - The Tu 95 Bear and Tu 160 Blackjack, based in central Russia, which resumed long range patrols in August.
posted on Dec 23, 2007 - View this thread

Earlier this week this story about illegal uranium sales was in the news. Had they been thinking they could have ordered online here and here. BTW, check out what else customers are buying.
posted on Dec 1, 2007 - View this thread

Atom. -- The Clash of the Titans -- The Key to the Cosmos -- The Illusion of Reality
posted on Nov 24, 2007 - View this thread

Why He Went Nuclear. Before he was the infamous father of the "Islamic bomb," A.Q. Khan was just another midlevel scientist working at a research job in Amsterdam. Here, the story of how he betrayed his employer and set out to create a worldwide bazaar in lethal weapons.
posted on Nov 20, 2007 - View this thread

Nuclear Facility in South Africa attacked by armed intruders. According to the Pretoria News, four armed men broke into the control room of the Pelindaba Nuclear Research Center, shooting "a senior emergency officer" in the process. The government nuclear agency Necsa has told the paper that publishing the story would be a violation of the National Keypoints Act. The facility seems to be part of South Africa's nuclear weapons program.
posted on Nov 11, 2007 - View this thread

Four scanned pictures of the French nuclear test codenamed Canopus, which was fired on 24th August 1968 in the Fangataufa Atoll. The photographs are amazing.
posted on Nov 7, 2007 - View this thread

The man who knew too much. "He was the CIA's expert on Pakistan's nuclear secrets, but Rich Barlow was thrown out and disgraced when he blew the whistle on a US cover-up. Now he's to have his day in court."
posted on Oct 13, 2007 - View this thread

Earth, 2100 AD. Atmospheric CO₂ has doubled to 1000 ppm. From shore to the horizon, there is but an unending purple color -- a vast, flat, oily purple. No fish break its surface, no birds. We are under a pale green sky, and it has the smell of death and poison. Paleontologist Peter Ward's new book links past mass extinctions to global warming and shows, absent major changes, "Our world is hurtling toward carbon dioxide levels not seen since 60 million years ago, right after a greenhouse extinction." Maybe it's time for a heresy: nuclear energy's green, and renewables aren't.
posted on Oct 9, 2007 - View this thread

Well boys I reckon this is it. A B-52 loaded with six nuclear cruise missiles leaves North Dakota and arrives in Louisiana with five prompting the ACC to schedule (and announce) an Air Force wide standown on September 14, 2007. What's next Major Kong?
posted on Sep 12, 2007 - View this thread

Depleted uranium is now understood to have many medical consequences unique to its modern application as munitions, due to its incendiary, aerosolizing behavior when pulverized. (Rosalie Bertell explains, youtube) It has become a leading candidate for the cause of Gulf War syndrome, and was associated with massive increases in cancer and birth defects in Basra. The EU has called for a moratorium on its use four times, and WHO is deeply concerned with its consequences, but the USA (with Canadian complicity) and Russia continue to use it in Iraq and elsewhere. (prev: 1 2 3 4 5)
posted on Aug 22, 2007 - View this thread

Strong earthquake hits Japan, hundreds of homes have been destroyed, bridges have been leveled, tsunamis are forming, and most frightening, the nuclear power plant appears to be leaking radioactive water. The quake registered as a 6.8 on the Richter scale. I hope that our Japanese Mefites are safe and sound and will let us know if there is anything we can do to help.
posted on Jul 16, 2007 - View this thread

From Hunter to Hunted "In his quest to free slaves around the world, Aaron Cohen thought he’d seen it all. Then he went to Myanmar."
posted on Jul 1, 2007 - View this thread

The Problem of Nuclear Waste, for kids: Imagine what your house would be like if no one EVER took out the garbage. Not only would your home be dirty and stinky, but it would also be a very unhealthy place to live. See Yucca Mountain Johnny while you can, because it looks like he won't be around much longer.
posted on Jun 25, 2007 - View this thread

In 1965, Peter Watkins produced a fictional documentary called The War Game in which the aftermath of thermo-nuclear attacks in Britain was depicted. The BBC declared that it was "too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting" and was not aired until 1985. Watch it here (warning: graphic depictions of effects of radiation). Related, When the Wind Blows (parts 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), a sober animated tale of a British couple who try and survive nuclear holocaust based on the civil defense manual "Protect and Survive." (Previously).
posted on Jun 14, 2007 - View this thread

"We were tickling the dragon's tail all the way." The true story of the nuclear ramjet missile and the hypersonic nightmare that nearly was.
posted on Mar 28, 2007 - View this thread

Teenager Thiogo Olson achieved nuclear fusion with an apparatus built in his basement from parts found at his local hardware store and on eBay. Another teenager put together her very own Littrow Spectrograph for $300. Young people have been doing some fascinating science ever since the first kid combined vinegar and baking soda in their model volcano. Not only are they making some remarkable discoveries, they're finding it pretty lucrative.
posted on Mar 17, 2007 - View this thread

Ahmadinejad is no Hitler (Los Angeles Times) If you think Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes outlandish comments, consider what Mao Tse-tung said to a visiting head of state in 1954: "If someone else can drop an atomic bomb, then I can too. The death of 10 or 20 million people is nothing to be afraid of."

Nonetheless, 15 years later, a nuclear-armed China was not only contained by the world, it opted for normalization of relations with its archenemy, the United States. Today, it is fashionable to equate Ahmadinejad with Hitler, yet the lesson of the 20th century is that rash leaders can, in fact, be deterred. And Iran's president will prove no exception.
posted on Mar 13, 2007 - View this thread

Video: Nuclear Weapons: Who's Got 'Em?
posted on Feb 23, 2007 - View this thread

Angela Merkel to fire organiser of Munich security conference over Iranian envoy's criticism of the U.S. policies in the Middle East, Der Spiegel reports. (Translated English version) Read the full speech of Ali Larijani, Iran's top nuclear negotioator at the conference.
posted on Feb 16, 2007 - View this thread

Lawrence Livermore National Lab produces fascinating charts of energy flow in the US (more). More energy use statisitics can be found at the Energy Information Administration.
posted on Feb 16, 2007 - View this thread

CitizenRe is a solar power rental company for the home. Free to install (!), a monthly rental fee is equal to what would normally be paid to the power company. Video.
posted on Jan 11, 2007 - View this thread

Israel leaks plans for nuclear strike on Iran. The details were leaked (on purpose it appears) from Israeli military personal in order to test the waters, prepare the world, and/or put pressure on others to act first. One source: "As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished." Glad I don't live in the Middle East.
posted on Jan 6, 2007 - View this thread

Looking for a spacious home in a unique, quiet and safe location? It may be a fixer-upper, but buy now before the value skyrockets.
posted on Nov 30, 2006 - View this thread

"If you really wanted to poison someone, you would of course have to come up with a way to remove the invisible amount of material from the exempt sources - which is just about physically impossible and combine them together. Of course you would also need that 15,000 exempt sources." You can buy the radioactive material, Polonium-210, that killed a former Russian spy for only $69--but you'd need a lot of it to take down an enemy or two.
posted on Nov 30, 2006 - View this thread

Blighted Homeland. "From 1944 to 1986, 3.9 million tons of uranium ore were dug and blasted from Navajo soil, nearly all of it for America's atomic arsenal. Navajos inhaled radioactive dust, drank contaminated water and built homes using rock from the mines and mills. Many of the dangers persist to this day." A series of articles and photo galleries examines the legacy of uranium mining on the Navajo (previously discussed here.) [Via Gristmill, BugMeNot.]
posted on Nov 24, 2006 - View this thread

Dealing with Iran after Rumsfeld. Seymour Hersh details the ongoing debate over how to deal with Iran's nuclear program. There's something here for everyone to worry about.
posted on Nov 19, 2006 - View this thread

Last March, the White House put numerous Iraqi government documents online, hoping to "leverage the internet" to find evidence of Saddam's nuclear potential. After questioning from the New York Times this week, the site has now been shut down, as it has been revealed that the Bush administration, by publishing the information, may have publicly published detailed information on how to build atomic weapons. Right-wing bloggers, many of whom have been discussing the documents all year, have seen the sunny side of the news, claiming the real issue of the potential distribution of nuclear plans (which were dated pre-1991) is the "proof Saddam had a nuclear program."
posted on Nov 3, 2006 - View this thread

Tweakers with nuclear weapons technology Exactly what the world needs in these uncertain times.
posted on Oct 25, 2006 - View this thread

This is what the end of the world looks like. Photos of ballistic missiles, especially reentry vehicle tests. (Sound on last link.)
posted on Oct 21, 2006 - View this thread

Newsfilter: North Korea's response to a toothless UN resolution may be a second nuclear test. With military solutions pretty much off the table, it may be up to rival factions within the DPRK to topple the regime. NK coups have been discussed here before, and the end result may not be as pretty as one would hope, but maybe this time the Chinese have had enough.
posted on Oct 17, 2006 - View this thread

DEFCON , based off the real alert levels (and Wargames), is a game about killing innocent civilians.
posted on Oct 2, 2006 - View this thread

Six places to nuke when you're serious
posted on Aug 9, 2006 - View this thread

A timetable of UK trains carrying nuclear waste. (PDF file). The related Greenpeace UK article. UK nuclear waste train route graphic. Mirror tabloid hack plants fake bomb on nuclear waste train. "The gate was open, there were no security guards. I walked up to the train and planted my bomb". The Guardian's take on the story.
posted on Jul 30, 2006 - View this thread

Your Very Own Nuclear Island Getaway Johnston Atoll, described by J. Maarten Troost in his book The Sex Lives of Cannibals as the "vilest place on earth" is for sale.
posted on Jul 24, 2006 - View this thread

Replacing Trident? Clare Short MP, former International Development Secretary for the UK Labour government, debates replacing trident and the UK's role in nuclear proliferation (and the world in general) with Michael Codner, Director of Military Science at the Royal United Services Institute. Scroll to the bottom for the mp3s.
posted on Jul 24, 2006 - View this thread

Lots of people are not happy with Bechtel Engineering, the giant-sized general contractor and designer of The Big Dig, who are also in trouble for problems with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal plant. How many nuclear generating stations did Bechtel build?
posted on Jul 19, 2006 - View this thread

Shifting between motion and stasis, he shows a man on a horse, a scarecrow, a dog, another dog seen closer, then even closer as it faces the still camera in the last shot. Superimposed over this still photo is the orange red blast of an atomic bomb and its mushroom cloud—the first appearance of color in the film. The photo catches fire, and the image of the dog is slowly devoured by flames. As the photo turns into ashes, a prayer from the Shiite text Nahjulbalagha appears alongside it in English: “Dear Lord, give us rain from tame, obedient clouds and not from dense and fiery clouds which summon death. Amen.”
In "The Roads of Kiarostami", his latest short film (.pdf), Iranian maestro Abbas Kiarostami begins with his landscape photographs and ends with apocalypse. more inside
posted on Jun 9, 2006 - View this thread

The Swiss are investigating an international smuggling ring suspected of providing nuclear program components to Libya. There's just one problem. Meanwhile, the United States is opening full diplomatic relations with Libya and removing it from its list of nations that sponsor terrorism.
posted on Jun 2, 2006 - View this thread

Over the weekend Oregon's Portaland General Electric demolished the decomissioned Trojan Nuclear Plant's 499ft cooling tower using 1.3 tons of TNT. Plenty of implosion pr0n is all that remains. Oh, and the containment dome, a bunch of rods with no home, some asbestos, but the tower, man, that's gone.
posted on May 22, 2006 - View this thread

Is George really planning to nuke Iran? Some physicists are worried and have written a letter to the president voicing their concerns. Others have gone one step further and made a flash animation.
posted on Apr 28, 2006 - View this thread

Nuking Mississippi. In 1964, the Atomic Energy Commission drilled a shaft into a salt dome near Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and began the only test nuclear detonations in the eastern United States. Despite stories of radioactive frogs in the area, and locals remembering that the earth kicked up waves, the ground cracked, chimneys tumbled and the creeks turned black, officials insist that there are no lasting effects from the underground tests.
posted on Apr 17, 2006 - View this thread

US Rolls out new Nuclear Program. Consolidate nuclear stores. Ok. Plan with "potential for new bomb designs". Whaaaaaa? (partially from here)
posted on Apr 6, 2006 - View this thread

The SL-1 Reactor, part of the short-lived Army nuclear power program, became America's only fatal nuclear accident when it exploded in its warehouse, killing three technicians.
posted on Apr 3, 2006 - View this thread

Invincible Defense Technology. When the U.S. developed the nuclear rifle in the 1950s —and then refined the technology with the backpack-sized nuclear weapon in the 1960s— our fate was probably sealed. Karma is a bitch after all, and small-scale nuclear terrorism is seen by many as inevitable. Just like Osama Bin Laden —and Mechano before him— America seems destined to create monsters which will turn against us. Our military's only hope, it seems, is Transcendental Meditation.
posted on Mar 2, 2006 - View this thread

Three Mile Island - a study in bad human interface design. Chernobyl in text, pictures (posted previously), and eyewitness accounts. Those are two of the most famous incidents involving mishaps with radioactive material. There have been many more (see also) including suicides, homicides, assaults, and motives forever unknown. But US citizens need not worry - the NRC is on it. What do you know about radiation poisoning? Take the test.
posted on Jan 31, 2006 - View this thread

Iran may be trying to get nuclear weapons. In the process potentially starting a new war with Israel, fun times. America on the other hand isn't going to do all that much because Iran controls a large amount of the worlds oil, and with prices already high, they don't want to spark another oil crisis.
posted on Jan 23, 2006 - View this thread

The latest in something of a trend, left-leaning LA Weekly has warmed to nuclear power. Earlier this year, Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore endorsed it as well (along with such practices as salmon farming). The idea that Nuclear is green has appeared in the pages of the New York Times, with (both subscriber only, sorry) Thomas Friedman and Nicholas Kristof making the case back in March and April. They've encountered some resistance, but it seems to be a growing position. (Of course, there are some people who aren't being asked to join the club.) Is this a "Greenwashing" or a legitimate change in the environmental movement?
posted on Nov 10, 2005 - View this thread

Last Best Chance is a docudrama that shows the threat posed by vulnerable nuclear weapons and materials around the world and underscores what the stakes are. The plot: al Qaeda terrorists steal nuclear material to make bombs, and then sneak them into the US. The 47 minute film airs tonight on HBO, and is also available as a free DVD. More interesting are the powerful figures behind the film. It was produced by The Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to reduce the global threats from WMDs. NTI's board is co-chaired by Ted Turner and Sam Nunn (D-GA). The hope is that appealing directly to the public will force politicians to act. The film and its creators were profiled yesterday on CBS News Sunday Morning.

(And to help our discussion here, they've even provided a discussion guide.)
posted on Oct 17, 2005 - View this thread