N Korea test reveals more global hypocrisy

April 8, 11:45 AMSacramento Environmental News ExaminerHarry Osibin

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AP Photo/Seoul demonstration April 8th, 2009

The situation in North Korea vis a vis its weapons program once again shows the arrogance, hypocrisy and ignorance of the American and other governments.

Bush would not engage the "rogue" state in talks; Obama has said "North Korea broke the rules".  And the follow-up has been no dialogue with Pyongyang.

The right wing bloggers are hysterical, flaming and, as usual, mired in irrelevance.  These days their favorite phrases include "I'm afraid", "I'm worried that..."  Oh, and the primary military target for our enemies is now Silicon Valley.

Missile defense is a rallying cry once more here and elsewhere.  Remind me to buy stock in a defense contractor.  It will take a long time to develop a bullet that can hit a bullet and we haven't spent enough yet.

America needs more nuclear weapons to keep us safe?  As the president says, "America is the only country to have deployed nuclear weapons" in wartime.  And that gives us the moral high ground?

Have nuclear weapons keep us safe?  Hard to answer.

Have nuclear weapons proliferated?  Yes, definitely.

WMD are in the hands of idelogically-driven, religious and aggressive states and criminals as never before.

The USA continues to indulge the fiction of designating who can and cannot have nuclear weapons.

France can and North Korea can't.  Based on what?

Part two:

Dr. Robert Gould of Physicians for Social Responsibility amplified the environmental concerns about weapons development:

Testing of weapons in general uses up significant amounts of fossil fuel (climate change impacts), cause pollution of land and water (perchlorate in rocket fuel, contamination of landscapes), opening up of wilderness areas for testing in the US under the Bush Administration for "national security" purposes and used to justify relaxing Endangered Species Act.  Testing of depleted uranium munitions in Vieques, Puerto Rico has left significant contamination there.

 

Let's foul the globe in our quest for "safety" AKA military superiority.  The wise among us know that peace and justice are the only shelter.  Concepts not easily grasped nor attained.

If a weapon is developed, it will be used.  By people  you like and people you don't.  Can you imagine the Crips with bunker busters?  Or for that matter your local PD?

Who said being an American was easy?

Here's a post about Sunday's test with a slideshow from our Space Examiner.
 

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