Good On Ya Duffy

Suitcase Nukes...

... apparently do not exist. Richard Mintner has a clear analysis that essentially shows that the suitcase devices are urban myths.

In "Al Qaeda's Nuclear Program: Through the Window of Seized Documents," a research paper for a think tank linked to the University of California at Berkeley, Albright concluded: "Whatever al Qaeda had accomplished towards nuclear weapon capabilities, its effort in Afghanistan was 'nipped in the bud' with the fall of the Taliban government. The international community is fortunate that the war in Afghanistan set back al Qaeda's effort to obtain nuclear weapons."

For now, suitcase-sized nuclear bombs remain in the realm of James Bond movies. Given the limitations of physics and engineering, no nation seems to have invested the time and money to make them. Both U.S. and the USSR built nuclear mines (as well as artillery shells), which were small but hardly portable--and all were dismantled by treaty by 2000. Alexander Lebed's claims and those of defector Stanislev Lunev were not based on direct observation. The one U.S. official who saw a small nuclear device said it was the size of three footlockers--hardly a suitcase. The desire to obliterate cities is portable--inside the heads of believers--while, thankfully, the nuclear devices to bring that about are not.

Good news on a couple of levels. 1st, at this point at least, there appears to be no "suitcase nukes" available to al Aqaeda or any other group.

2nd, even though we did not nab Osama in Afghanistan, we did put the kibosh on whatever nuke program al Aqaeda had there.

What this article also shows is that al Aqaeda has and is actively pursuing WMDs and is eager and willing to use them against us.

Firefly

I just completed the DVD series. One of - if not the best TV series I've ever seen. Superb characters with loads of room for development. The characters are archetypes in a tribe or family - but they're utterly believable. Wonderful vision of the future - loads of technology over the next 400 years, but guess what? That old human condition is still there haunting/blessing us. Good acting - actors well cast, well directed - great ensemble work.

I knew nothing about it when it was on Fox. Nothing.

It ran for less than a full season. The Fox executives apparently did not know what to do with it. They mucked in - not letting the production team run the pilot as the first aired episode. They put in a time slot that was doomed to failure.

Anyone that is interested enough to read this probably knows that there's a movie out - "Serenity" that's an extension of the series. As I write this, it's only playing one screen in Des Moines. It's only been out for three weeks.

I guess I'll have to wait to see it on DVD.

I hope the market will allow this property to be produced for DVD or some other format. I'd love to see more of this universe and the people in it.

Gas Price Gougers

No... not who you'd suspect Sen. Harkin.

Since 1977, governments collected more than $1.34 trillion, after adjusting for inflation, in gasoline tax revenues—more than twice the amount of domestic profits earned by major U.S. oil companies during the same period:

Go read the whole thing.

H/T - Instapundit.

Sound Familiar?

The Register Editorial Board ("REB") has the perfect strategy for the War in Iraq. They think we should cut and run. Hey, the press was able to do it over 30 years ago, and that worked out well... not.

Bringing the troops home while violence still reigns might seem like leaving before the job is done, but violence has been a condition in Mesopotamia for 6,000 years. It is unrealistic to believe the United States could bring it perfect peace.

Yep, if we can't leave it perfect, we should leave now. Rekha must have had a hand in this one.