Tag Archives: Nuclear Weapons

No Expertise

29 Wednesday Nov 2023

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The Guardian released an article about the GAE’s lack of nuclear weapons readiness. It waffled all over the place and bent every number it included. One part did jump out at me:

In 2018, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) produced a plan to meet the defense department’s goal of 80 pits a year by maximizing production lines at Los Alamos and converting a plant near the Savannah River in South Carolina originally built to dispose of 34 tons of cold war-era plutonium deemed unneeded by nuclear weapons programs . But the project was unsuccessful and cancelled in 2020.

According to the Scientific American report, the first 800 new pits would go to the Sentinel program, and then all 1,900 US submarine-launched missiles would be refreshed. The new warheads would also be shock-resistant, or “insensitive” to accidental detonation that could disperse plutonium.

But there is now no pit-production expertise at the South Carolina facility and cost estimates have already grown from $3.6bn to over $11bn for a third fewer pits. In January, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) warned that the NNSA’s plutonium modernization program had not developed “either a comprehensive schedule or a cost estimate that meets GAO best practices”.

All of this coming on what Military Times deemed a crisis over a decade ago in a field that has been steadily sliding since the 1990s. The admission there is no plan and, more importantly, no expertise in the very technical engineering area dovetails with what I have observed and what I’ve been saying for some time now. Tom Ironsides even specifically addressed this issue regarding SRS/P in THE SUBSTITUTE.

As the decline of all things truly becomes terminal, the GAE will slowly drop out of the nuclear arena. With the GAO now admitting the lack of competence and expertise it is likely that the empire has passed the necessary generational skills gap meaning those who knew how to make and use tritium and reforge plutonium cores are no longer around to explain the process to those who do not know. The very good news is that in the unlikely event of a nuclear exchange, the GAE’s participation will be severely limited in the near future and practically impossible in a decade or so.

Nuclear Disarmament? – What Passes for a Weekly Column… – also at TPC

09 Monday Nov 2020

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Nuclear Disarmament?

As seen at TPC.

Someone formerly connected to the Senate Armed Services Committee contacted me last week about this piece. That, and the TPC treatment, warrant a rerun! Am I the first or only person to ever ask, “who gets the nukes?” Possibly.

Move over, Jack Handey. Today, we have some deep thoughts here of all places. Let’s take a break from the exciting election lawsuits of 2020 and discuss world peace!

The following was motivated by something I said in one of my new video podcasts for Freedom Prepper. It was also, roundabout, the subject of a comment left on that or another video. But first, as this kicks off with FP, I have something better than international harmony to share with you!

Freedom Roasters Coffee

It’s coming soon!

Crass commercial solicitation out of the way, let’s get serious for once in this even crazier-than-normal electoral week. As I noted above, one of our beloved commenters left these thoughts: “We were the first ones to drop a nuclear bomb. I sure hope we aren’t the last.” I assume he meant that he hopes no more bombs are ever dropped, such being my inclination.

Concerning the coming dissolution of the United States, as a forced internal collection of nations and as an international empire, I asked: “Who gets the nukes?” To my knowledge, no one else has broached that potentially pressing issue. In fact, most might be stumped at the notion of the US following the path of all other empires. Be that as it may, the question is still valid.

For some time, there will likely exist a rump state centered in Washington. I imagine its main purpose will be to harass and make war on those other emerging independent polities. If given the time, and if blessed with someone with a modicum of forethought (what an if!), then that government would be the most probable answer. It is also possible that the arsenal could be divided up, by agreement or otherwise. How that works out, I do not know. However, given all that has happened, all that is unfolding, and the terrible potential of the subject matter, it might be wise to start, sooner than later, to decrease the volume of the weapons at issue.

In world history, only one nation, South Africa, has ever built and then completely scrapped nuclear weaponry. Their underlying reasons in the 1980s mirror those plausible for the current US more than most would like to admit. If the US goes down the same peaceful path, even as to a percentage of the current stock, then I advise that the other atomic countries join in!

Here’s my grand idea to rid the world of nuclear war. The current nuclear powers would have to work together on this project. Any new member of the club (Iran, etc.) should be invited in. By crossed-examined processes, of some kind, the nations should systematically reduce the total number of weapons down to a small, manageable figure. We’ll say, “fifty,” for convenience sake. Why keep any? Deterrence, both against a treacherous project member, a new player, or some rogue actor in the future.

The fifty final warheads could be loaded into submarines jointly owned and operated by the navies of the participating countries, with a rotating command and control system to ensure that no one country has total possession or usage. The subs, whatever their number, should be kept as secret as possible, along with their bases, tritium resupply facilities, etc. Under this cautious approach, it would be very difficult for, say, France to initiate a nuclear exchange with India, if the only available weapons were, at the time, in Russian and Pakistani stewardship. The use of at least two subs, with alternating international commands, would quash the urge of a participating nation or faction to abuse the system. Also, no rogue state would want to step out of line, knowing that somewhere the world community held means of substantial retaliation. Rogue asteroids might also pay similar respectful attention (assuming much, there).

This whole scheme assumes much, and I realize its chances of implementation or even serious consideration are essentially zero. This entry was a substitution and about the best that I could come up with during this most unusual week in the most unusual year. For what it’s worth! Still, there it is – I have done my small part for peace. Should you have a different or a better idea, then we’re all waiting. Back to the sales angle, I have a better coffee, samples of which we are all waiting on.

Nuclear Disarmament? – What Passes for a Weekly Column…

05 Thursday Nov 2020

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Nuclear Disarmament?

Move over, Jack Handey. Today, we have some deep thoughts here of all places. Let’s take a break from the exciting election lawsuits of 2020 and discuss world peace!

The following was motivated by something I said in one of my new video podcasts for Freedom Prepper. It was also, roundabout, the subject of a comment left on that or another video. But first, as this kicks off with FP, I have something better than international harmony to share with you!

Freedom Roasters Coffee

It’s coming soon!

Crass commercial solicitation out of the way, let’s get serious for once in this even crazier-than-normal electoral week. As I noted above, one of our beloved commenters left these thoughts: “We were the first ones to drop a nuclear bomb. I sure hope we aren’t the last.” I assume he meant that he hopes no more bombs are ever dropped, such being my inclination.

Concerning the coming dissolution of the United States, as a forced internal collection of nations and as an international empire, I asked: “Who gets the nukes?” To my knowledge, no one else has broached that potentially pressing issue. In fact, most might be stumped at the notion of the US following the path of all other empires. Be that as it may, the question is still valid.

For some time, there will likely exist a rump state centered in Washington. I imagine its main purpose will be to harass and make war on those other emerging independent polities. If given the time, and if blessed with someone with a modicum of forethought (what an if!), then that government would be the most probable answer. It is also possible that the arsenal could be divided up, by agreement or otherwise. How that works out, I do not know. However, given all that has happened, all that is unfolding, and the terrible potential of the subject matter, it might be wise to start, sooner than later, to decrease the volume of the weapons at issue.

In world history, only one nation, South Africa, has ever built and then completely scrapped nuclear weaponry. Their underlying reasons in the 1980s mirror those plausible for the current US more than most would like to admit. If the US goes down the same peaceful path, even as to a percentage of the current stock, then I advise that the other atomic countries join in!

Here’s my grand idea to rid the world of nuclear war. The current nuclear powers would have to work together on this project. Any new member of the club (Iran, etc.) should be invited in. By crossed-examined processes, of some kind, the nations should systematically reduce the total number of weapons down to a small, manageable figure. We’ll say, “fifty,” for convenience sake. Why keep any? Deterrence, both against a treacherous project member, a new player, or some rogue actor in the future.

The fifty final warheads could be loaded into submarines jointly owned and operated by the navies of the participating countries, with a rotating command and control system to ensure that no one country has total possession or usage. The subs, whatever their number, should be kept as secret as possible, along with their bases, tritium resupply facilities, etc. Under this cautious approach, it would be very difficult for, say, France to initiate a nuclear exchange with India, if the only available weapons were, at the time, in Russian and Pakistani stewardship. The use of at least two subs, with alternating international commands, would quash the urge of a participating nation or faction to abuse the system. Also, no rogue state would want to step out of line, knowing that somewhere the world community held means of substantial retaliation. Rogue asteroids might also pay similar respectful attention (assuming much, there).

This whole scheme assumes much, and I realize its chances of implementation or even serious consideration are essentially zero. This entry was a substitution and about the best that I could come up with during this most unusual week in the most unusual year. For what it’s worth! Still, there it is – I have done my small part for peace. Should you have a different or a better idea, then we’re all waiting. Back to the sales angle, I have a better coffee, samples of which we are all waiting on.

Changes (For the Better!!)

21 Thursday Nov 2019

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The curse of 19 and the gifts of 1965! Hoorah…

Politically, economically, and chemically ignorant “voters” herald the decline progress:

The League of Women Voters of South Carolina opposes the production of nuclear weapon cores, known as pits, in the Palmetto State, a stance that starkly contrasts with the open arms of some state lawmakers and other local officials.

The nonpartisan political group, a branch of the larger League of Women Voters, renewed its resistance last Tuesday in a lengthy announcement.

There’s already enough plutonium and waste at the Savannah River Site, and there are already enough nuclear weapons in play throughout the world, the state group argued, for a local pit production mission to be necessary.

Tom I. mentions something in a certain book about the nuclear slide; 80 per year won’t cut it unless declining armament is the goal.

And! No changes whatsoever, thanks to Mssrs. Kennedy and Celler:

In the latest evidence of the effect Latin American immigrants are having on the United States, the number of U.S. counties that have turned majority Hispanic has doubled.

New Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center found that from 2000 to 2018, the number of majority Hispanic counties jumped from 34 to 69.

What’s more, the overall number of U.S. counties that turned majority minority-based, mostly Hispanic or African American, also surged to 151 from 110 in 2000. Most of those counties are in Southern California and along the Mexico-U.S. border.

“Overall, 69 counties were majority Hispanic in 2018, 72 were majority black and 10 were majority American Indian or Alaska Native. The majority American Indian or Alaska Native counties are unique in that most have experienced overall population declines since 2000, even as the share of American Indian or Alaska Native residents in these counties remained fairly flat,” said the Pew analysis.

Exactly like 1964. Or, 1792. 2033. Maybe it’s good to let the nukes lapse after all.

North Korea’s Drop in the Nuclear Bucket

17 Thursday Aug 2017

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Them nuc-u-ler wep-ins. Kim Jong-Un seems to have backed off the nuking of Guam or whatever. The following might, just might help explain why. It explains much. A pretty good breakdown of who has what:

nuclear-weapon-factsheet-2

As VisualCapitalist’s map above demonstrates, the United States and Russia still maintain the world’s largest stockpiles of nuclear weapons, holding 92% of the world’s estimated 15,000 nuclear warheads.

While today’s arsenals seem quite excessive, they are actually quite modest compared to historical totals such as those during the Cold War. In 1986, for example, there were actually 70,300 nuclear weapons globally – but luckily for us, the number of warheads has eased down over time as countries disarm more weapons.

A few more countries will probably join the nuclear club within a decade or two. Yet, hopefully the overall weapon numbers will continue to fall. Hopefully none will ever see use. Two was too many.