[ExI] The Doomsday Clock

[John Clark]

On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 5:48 PM, Adrian Tymes <atymes at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>> ​>​
>> if North Korea wants to send a package from Pyongyang to Washington, a
>> ​
>> package containing a H-bomb for example, sticking it on top of a ICBM
>> would
>>  be one way of delivering it, but there are other ways, like UPS. And
>> unlike
>> ​
>>  a ICBM if UPS was used it wouldn't have an obvious return address on it,
>> ​
>>  it's just that one day Washington would be there and the next day it
>>  wouldn't. No warning no nothing, just boom.
>>  be one way of delivering it, but there are other ways, like UPS. And
>> unlike
>> ​
>>  a ICBM if UPS was used it wouldn't have an obvious return address on it,
>> ​
>>  it's just that one day Washington would be there and the next day it
>>  wouldn't. No warning no nothing, just boom.
>
>
> ​> ​
> Actually, there are nuclear detectors on shipping routes.  It would be
> harder to smuggle a nuclear warhead, or the components thereof, by UPS
> than to just light off an ICBM.
>
​\​


​
Over
​
6 million cargo containers enter
​
the USA every year,
​but ​
only 2% are physically inspected.
​ ​As for scanning, c
onventional geiger
​
counters that detect Gamma Rays aren't good at detecting hidden nuclear
bombs because there would be far too many false alarms; kitty litter,
ceramic tiles
​
and
​
even banana
​
would set them off. To spot bombs what you need are neutron detectors, and
they should be set up in foreign ports to examining cargo heading to the USA
​;​
 it does little good to find it if the nuclear bomb is already at the port
of New York. But neutron detectors are much more expensive than simple
geiger counters, and the
​
president
​
thinks the security of the nation would be better served if the money was
spent on The Great Wall Of Trump instead
​. And besides, a big wall is much more photogenic than a neutron detector,
it makes for a better photo opp​
.

 John K Clark​
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