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I have heard for many years how everything right down to our language is against the "black man". I'm personally rather sick of it. I find myself hesitating to direct someone to "the black guy over there" when it's obvious that he's black and there's five white guys in the vicinity. It's pretty obvious what feature can be used to quickly identify him but I hesitate. Should I say "black man", "African-American man", "Afro-American man", or should I peer over there and try and find some other distinguishing characteristic? If it were a female it would be no problem to say the lady over there. Do black people have the same problem pointing out the white guy in a crew of black guys? Does this whole post make me some sort of racist bigot? What are the rules? I want to friggin' know! I'm sick of walking on eggshells!
Anyway, here's a few terms that appear to be put in a double standard with relation to race:
Black man: "Hey white boy!" (completely fine)
White man: "Hey black boy!" (I ain't your BOY!)
White man: "You're the black man" (usually fine)
Black man: "You're the white man" (Are you trying to say I'm oppressing you?)
Black man: "Cracker" (Excuse me? Are you trying to say something?)
White man: "Cracker" (No thanks. I'm on a low-carb diet.)
Black man: "Wassup nigga!" (Wassup G')
White man: "Wassup nigga!" (Aww,...look at the stupid white boy. Lets kick his ass.)
NAACP = Justified
NAAWP = Racist
Black Panthers = rebel activist
KKK = racist murderers
Does anyone see what I'm trying to get at here? Who made these double standards? This crap is just plain stupid! I started thinking about this because of a website, The Black Commentator. I have nothing against the site. I just thought to myself: What does Black have to do with it? Why not just "The Commentator". Both commentator.com and thecommentator.com are available domains, why the need to exclude other races? (try not to go to either of them though, unless you want to change your homepage to Seeq.com) How about B.E.T. (Black Entertainment Television)? How about just entertainment television or R & B Television so as not to compete with the other E.T.?
A post I found from Dan at BushWhackedUSA's blog saying "I'm waiting for someone in the GOP to stand up and say, "I'm a bigoted American, and proud of it." ". What makes me a bigoted american? What the hell did I do? Is Bush a bigot or a racist because he didn't speak at any NAACP functions? Would it mean he hates white people because he didn't attend any NAAWP meetings? Is halting affirmative action a negative action? As far as I know he hasn't attended any terrorist rallies, would that make him hate all muslims? I know that last one was a bit much but where's the line?
Please Hide children's eye's Here (color changed for non-discriminating eyes, highlight to discriminate)
Anyway, back on the language thing: When did the word nigger become worse than the word fuck? Both of these words are horribly bad words and would not suggest using either of them but it's worse to use the nigger than fuck. If you used the fuck you're just a potty mouth. If you say nigger you're a racist. I first really paid attention to the change when I saw Brendan Frasier in "Blast from the Past" and hear the line "Oh my lucky stars a Negro!" "Say What?". If they'd have made the move 10 years earlier they would not have said negro. Let's go back ten years or more shall we? Lets take Cleavon Little and the great film "Blazing Saddles". "Sheriff Bart (Cleavon Little) "Nobody move or the nigger gets it!" This was okay language then. Now they bleep the crap out of the whole film. I do not use either of these terms and would prefer if the black community would refrain from using them as well. In fact I say this because of the fact that it is okay for the black community to use these words. Here's a good essay on the word nigger.
To try and point out a few inconsistencies, a friend of mine, a black lady, pointed out a list of terms that referred to black in the negative. I think I'd seen them before somewhere but can't remember where. Anyway, here's my list:
Black balled
Black listed
Black Ops
black cat
black hole
black lung
black head
etc.
There are many more but that doesn't really matter. Here's a list of POSITIVE black associated words:
in the black
ebony
chocolate
black tie affair
(Edward C. Smith even pointed out here: "the most important, for me at least, is that black is the universal color of the printed word; the paper is white."
So again; what does BLACK have to do with it?
I took a peek at Centcom's website and here's what I found. I don't believe the PFC recieved a purple heart to go with his silver star and the burns covering his hands. I'm not sure it would be allowed considering they were "technically" self inflicted. Maybe John Kerry could donate one of his to a more worthy cause?
FreeRepublic has a couple of pics of this absolute kid getting his award here.
For all those that have a problem with McGreevey denying the people of New Jersey the right to vote, you can submit your signature for the petition here. I've never actually seen one of these things turn out successfully, but who knows. Currently, there are about 420 signatures for him to resign effective immediately in order for a special run-off election to take place. So if you want to keep the right to vote intact for the people of New Jersey, sign the petition.
Mud & Phud has invited me to become a Homespun Blogger. I have accepted. Does this constitute assimilation?
--This is part I of II. This paper is proving a bit more difficult to write than previously expected. Most of the stuff involved with this part is rather dry but has at least provided me with a better understanding of what is involved with nuclear technology.
Enjoy--
I went out on an Internet fact-finding mission for nukes in Iraq and this is what I found: Nothing. As far as the world knows we don't have jack, nada, nothing, zilch, goose egg. Reading what I have read assures me that we did the right thing. As far as we knew Saddam had nuclear capabilities. Hell, as far as Saddam knew he had nuclear capabilities. He was sure as hell working on it. We all know that. For those of you who don't, this is what I'll try and explain to you in this posting/research paper.
Today, looking back, we have but two things: we have the evidence that has been found on the ground, and we have the historical data of events that have taken place. If you understand the significance of each piece in both categories you can catch a glimpse at what was really going on in Iraq. The first direction in this paper therefore needs to be what it takes to create a nuclear missile. This is, after all, what this whole thing is about: nuclear capability. The next step will be the physical evidence of Nuclear weapon potential. As there is no "smoking gun" we will need to focus on how close to a smoking gun there was. The third will be what actions were noted to increase the belief that nuclear weapon capabilities had been reached or soon would be. This is perhaps the most important of the three. It shows what actions were taken with what people and who sold what to whom. Finally, since this paper will soon prove to be lengthy a summation will be needed to tie things up. This summation will be slightly forward thinking as I am planning on making the case for chemical weapons and terrorism in later papers. Lets get started then shall we?
In order to create a nuclear missile you need four primary items. You need a projectile that is capable of delivering the payload as accurately as possible. Then you need the raw fuel in which to detonate the bomb. In this case it is usually either uranium or plutonium. The raw fuel is not enough though; you need to refine the fuel in order to make it less stable and therefore create a greater explosion, or to make it even bigger, implosion. The fourth part of this is sometimes not necessary as it deals mostly with the implosion part but is still a significant as this is the type of device believed to be in the country.
Unless you are making yourself a dirty or suitcase bomb to be carried out by some suicide bomber you need a delivery system. Since the payload for such device is radioactive in nature the entire guidance and navigation system needs to be shielded or risk turning into just another type of S.C.U.D. missile. Lead is usually considered a good candidate for shielding. A better form of shielding is actually the solid metal form of Uranium-238 which actually reflects the unstable particles back to their source.
Contrary to popular belief, the most effective detonation altitude is not at ground zero, but a point some distance above the ground. You see, the friction of the ground through absorption, the geography of the land, and various man-made obstacles, such as office buildings and apartment complexes, restrict a ground detonation. (Water and underwater physics provide for completely different physics. In order to provide maximum impact you need to detonate the explosion from about 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the ground. I'm sure some of you may refute the numbers but they're not stated for accuracy, they're there to show that it's more destructive to use an air pressure based detonator than a contact based detonator.
In addition to the altimeter, or air pressure based detonator referred to above, a good missile needs to have an ample guidance system. you can have nuclear power all day long but if you can't get it to the target you've only succeeded in making a bunch of green glass. Two means of doing this are with a simple gyroscope setup or with built in GPS mapping, tracking, and onboard map correction. The latter system is what gives the Tomahawk missile its trademark "hovering" before redirecting itself at the target.
The last factor in the delivery system would be the actual propulsion technology involved. In order to get the payload of this nature to its intended destination you need to worry about actually including yourself in the blast zone. I would depict this as the old battle scene where the crappy general shoots his arrows at the melee battle, hence killing both the enemy and his own men. On a battlefield scale it could be called M.A.D., or Mutually Assured Destruction. This is only a borrowed term from the greater M.A.D. referred to in global thermo-nuclear war ("War Games" movie). In order to propel the bomb far enough away from yourself, it is commonly believed that a multi-staged rocket would be sufficient in this task.
In order to enact a detonation capable enough to be called nuclear one of two elements must be used; either Plutonium-239 or Uranium-235. Other less difficult chemicals to locate can be used in the creation of a dirty bomb. Stated in the article highlighted, the chemical cobalt-60, found in sanitization plants throughout the world (about 160 plants worldwide), is capable of killing a man within a couple weeks after about one minute in unshielded handling time. What makes this a dirty bomb is when you turn it into a breathable agent or a gas.
Plutonium-239 is the element created when Uranium-238 is used in a nuclear reactor for an extended (years) period of time and picks up an extra neutron. It is the by-product of the nuclear fission found in power plants. It is also found naturally but usually only in trace elements. There is, however, one location in Gabon, West Africa that is a known "natural reactor" inside of what is now a uranium mine. The supercritical mass, or the amount needed to create a nuclear detonation is 32.6 Lbs (16kgs) or 22 Lbs (10 kgs) with a U-238 casing. Because of the few methods for creation or mining of this element it is extremely hard to come by.
Uranium-235, by contrast is a naturally occurring chemical found mixed with Uranium-238 at a rate of 0.6%. To create a supercritical mass with U-235 you need to accumulate 110Lbs (50kgs). So, to do a bit of quick math, you need about 18.5 tons (18,333.333...Lbs) of U-238 to get enough U-235 to make a nuke. Considering the naturally occurring nature of Uranium and the ability to freely acquire the chemical it is not too horribly difficult to come across enough of it if a nation or rich organization were to try. The difficulty factor involved in this is that U-235 and U-238 are both the same element and normally impossible to separate with chemical means.
There are two standard means of refining Uranium to the point it can be used to create a nuclear detonation. The first is called gaseous diffusion in which the Uranium is turned into a gas and basically pushed through a strainer since U-235 is lighter/smaller than U-238. The other is the gas centrifuge that utilizes the greater weight of U-238 once again but instead of pumping it through screens, it effectively spins the gas making the heavier gas go to the outside and the lighter gas to the middle and sucked out. Other known methods that may be used are Laser Isotropic Separation (LIS), Chemical solvent and Ion Exchange (both together will produce low-grade enhancements), and Electro-Magnetic Isotope Separation (EMIS) or "Calutron". As a note, all of these methods were used in Iraq prior to Gulf War I. For the sake of my sanity and yours I will not go in depth on the refinement processes.
The last part in the detonation of a nuclear bomb is the capability of creating a nuclear implosion. Although not required specifically for nuclear detonation, it greatly increases the blast area, as well as decreasing the amount of fissile material required. In order to create an implosion you need to create equal pressure on all sides of the supercritical mass precise enough that no material will leak out but only be able to collapse on itself. One of the primary tools used in the testing and calculations for the precision of an implosive detonation is the rail gun. A rail gun is effectively a positive and a negative pole that shoots an electric current between the poles, thus pushing the projectile/bullet further up the pole repeatedly until it is released at the end of the poles. The potential speed of the bullet being released is calculated at up to 23,175 Mph (14,400 Km/h) (The original number I read was 4 km/s. I believe I did the math right.) At this speed certain properties are different with the projectiles being shot and allow the super lab rats to better understand certain principles at a molecular level. I don't understand it completely, but apparently it relates with how certain particles collide with one another in an atom...or something like that.
--The second half will include:
- proof for physical evidence
- proof for attempted aquisitions
- summation or "What it all means"
My CCNP professor is making me do some weird xml blog thing on this site. I didn't think that many people knew about this place other than internet weenies...Well...I guess he's an internet weenie so I guess it's okay. Just thought it was sort of ironic that a couple of weeks after I start blogging a professor of mine has the class start up a blog on the exact same site. Anyway, my geek side will be portrayed at: http://jhbol.blogspot.com Currently, the only stuff that's there are a couple of xml hierarchy trees for the class but will eventually have some xml research stuff and later still (once class is over) I'll turn it into a standard techno-geek blog.
One last note: The nuke post is nearing completion. It'll be done on Monday night I promise. I am planning on expending about a full college term paper worth of digital ink on this. I've written a few of term papers before but this is the first one I'm doing just for fun (maybe I'm ill, research=fun?). After this one, let me know what you think and I'll either continue with more of them or just get back to the basics.
(quick last note: the spell check here recognizes "blogging" as "flogging". Talk about subliminal.)
(As a pre-warning, nothing in this is meant to disrespect the more than 13 people who have lost their lives in Hurricane Charlie. It's just a spur of the moment parody I threw together. Enjoy.)
Setting: Hurricane Charlie has just hit west Florida hard, 13 people are confirmed dead and more are expected. The governor, Jeb Bush, has already visited the primarily effected areas. The Insurance Information Institute has the understanding that repairs will cost several billion dollars. There are 1,500 national guardsmen that were pre-deployed to the area but many more will need to be sent in to assist. President Bush, the governor's brother, declared Florida a federal disaster area. The president planned a visit Sunday to survey damage, and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, in a statement, offered "heartfelt sympathies".
Enter the Kerry war room:
Kerry: Did I sound better than Bush? Did I sound "Heartfelt"?
Former Clinton Intern: I don't really know. You were both about the same if you ask me.
Kerry: [expletive deleted]! We need a way to spin this so that Bush looks incompetent. Anybody got any ideas?
John Edwards: We could try and sue NOAA for the Hurricane?
John Kerry: What an idea! Could somebody get Edwards a new diaper, because he just spewed forth yet another load of crap! What are you thinking John? Get in the game!
John Edwards: Uhh...sorry John.
Mary Beth Cahil (The campaign manager): What we need to do is make it look like Bush as slow and ineffective. They need more national guardsmen right? Maybe we could say that there should have been more activated but weren't because they were all off in Iraq?
Former Clinton Intern: What are you stupid? There's plenty of guardsmen on standby and should be there by Tuesday or so. That will never work.
John Kerry: Now I see why Bill always kept something in your mouth. Will someone send the Intern on an errand. Hey intern! Where's Edwards' diaper? Fetch!
John Kerry: Sounds interesting. What else you got?
Mary Beth Cahil: Let me see, 13 people died, how can we play that?
John Edwards: Were they Democrats or Republicans?
Former Clinton Intern: I think it was a mixture of both.
John Kerry: Damn those murderous dogs; killing my Democrats. I bet those republicans were plants by Bush to try and sway the election by taking out the REAL voters.
Mary Beth Cahil: Lets get back to the angle; 13 people died, there were 13 original colonies. Hey, we could try and and go the old patriotic route. Sort of draw a parallel between the 13 people that fought and died to save Florida.
Former Clinton Intern: Are you nuts? They died because they got caught in a hurricane. The only thing they fought were wind and rain.
John Kerry: There you go intern girl. They fought the storm with their lives. They died valiantly in the face of adversity and its all Bush's fault. He let those 13 people down like he would have let the original 13 colonies down. [expletive deleted] brilliant!
Mary Beth Cahil: The only problem is if more than 13 people die. We need to find a way to stop the death reports. Kerry, now it's time for you to think. How can we stop the news?
John Kerry: Hmm..Ahh! I got it! We'll get Larry King to say only 13 people died. Let me call him up.
(Kerry punches a few buttons on his cell phone)
John Kerry: Hey, Larry. I've got a favor to ask. Is there any way you could keep the body count in Florida down to 13?
Larry King: It's already past 13 John; Why do you need this anyway?
John Kerry: It's for the campaign. I'm trying to spin something.
Larry King: Say no more John, I'm on it. How's this: I won't even announce it, I'll just have it run as a banner on the bottom of the screen and not even cut away to some putz on the ground who might slip up and give a bigger number. How's that sound?
John Kerry: Perfect! No one watches anything but you anyway. This should put us over the top! Talk to you later Larry. I think a new cabinet position may have just become available for you.
-FIN-