Hot Rox Avec Lying Sweet Talk

I've been reading Tom Tomorrow's latest book “Hell In A Handbasket, A memoir of the Worst Years Of Our Lives”. There is one particular cartoon, that details the run up to the invasion of Iraq, the rapid claims of victory, and the descent into chaos, and the repeat of the helter skelter runup to attacking...Iran.

The stomach churning irony here? The cartoon was published in 2003.

Not ones to exhibit any particular self-knowledge, the incompetents, idealogues, and savage brutes of the Bush Administration are walking exactly the path described in the cartoon, and followed in those desperate days of 2003 with respect to Iraq. Twisting information to create panic and blind frenzy in a quest for support, even to use nuclear weapons (!)

The latest report being breathlessly spread throughout the Mighty Wurlitzer is, of course, the Iranians crowing about enriching uranium. Of course, considering that America has demonstrated that we WILL attack countries without nuclear weaponry (Afghanistan, Iraq) and AVOID countries that have them (North Korea) it is certainly understandable that Iran would do everything in their power to give the impression that they have joined the Nuclear Club.

So, Iran is minutes away from having Nuclear weapons, and scary scary booogah boogah boo!


Well, not so much.



what the bell -ringers and shills for the war-mongers are not telling, is that nuclear weaponry is just a bit more complicated than a backyard pipe bomb.

There is enriching uranium, and then there is the highly enriched uranium necessary for an operable weapon. Turns out what the Iranians have accomplished is a wee bit short of that goal: About 99% short.

What Juan Cole explains in that link up there is that proper weapons grade enrichment of at least 80%, would require a series of 16,000 centrifuges. Iran has about 180. If you were walking a mile, that's 53 feet. Returning a kickoff from the end zone, that's ONE YARD. On your average workday, less than 5 minutes.

So, is it possible for that supposedly liberal media to actually report on this? Nah, war is way too much fun. Let's go! Hurry up and BOMB something!!

Let's just slow down a bit, can we? Since the last time we were rushed into an unnecessary war worked out so poorly?