[William A. Baurle]

I can only imagine how this thread will go.

The US is trying like hell to let the loony in charge of North Korea know that he hasn't got a chance in hell of "winning" in any kind of military conflict.

But the loony in charge of North Korea is so insulated and comfy, that he really imagines he can wage war against the FREAKIN United States.

Anyone on the planet knows that the US is armed to the teeth and is extremely powerful.

I am NOT an alt-right fanboy, but am in fact, a classical liberal. Hence:

I would rather that my country spent more money on far more immediate problems like hunger, poverty, silliness in the schools and universities, rampant crime, the terrible imbalance of wealth - the fact that actors and athletes are making MILLIONS while common workers like ME are making next to nothing...

etc, etc.

BUT -

Will someone tell that loony in charge of North Korea that he cannot possibly win a war against the United States?

Thanks.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/07...mbing-run.html

[Quincy Lehr]

On it.

Seriously, though, Fox wants this war every bit as badly is CNN wants to ramp up conflict with the Rooskies, and it shows in the shoddy reporting. Indeed, one needn't be an apologist for North Korea to note that there have been plenty of American provocations, AS THIS LINK, ALSO FROM FOX NEWS, MAKES CLEAR. Of the two countries in question, one has actually used nuclear weapons, and indeed, considered USING THEM IN THE KOREAN WAR, or at least wanted to give the impression that such a thing was possible.

[William A. Baurle]

Thanks, Quincy, checking links.

A North Korean test of an ICBM is a momentous step forward for Pyongyang as it works to build an arsenal of long-range nuclear-armed missiles that can hit anywhere in the United States

But, they won't hit their targets, because they'll be obliterated in the air.

And so it goes...

Time for some soothing Rammstein:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr8ljRgcJNM - ["this is NOT a love song"]

Reading the other link...

[Ann Drysdale]

If an armed warhead is intercepted en route, what happens to any fallout? Does contamination of a non-combatant country count as collateral damage? And who, should this happen, would be deemed the aggressor?

This is about far more than a pair of power-hungry grotesques, is it not?

[William A. Baurle]

Originally Posted by Ann Drysdale

If an armed warhead is intercepted en route, what happens to any fallout? Does contamination of a non-combatant country count as collateral damage? And who, should this happen, would be deemed the aggressor?

This is about far more than a pair of power-hungry grotesques, is it not?

Yes! And that's an excellent question. I don't know the answer.

Yes, I would consider any damage done by an intercepted warhead as collateral damage and innocent lives lost: civilian casualties.

I have NO idea what happens to the material of a missile that has been destroyed. I imagine it is obliterated, as in blasted into very tiny, unharmful bits.

But I don't know.

Edited in: I think that this leader in North Korea just might be willing and able to actually do this. Edited in just now: Because he's a loony.

The aggressor would be whoever fired the first (hopefully obliterated) missile en route to a real, designated target, without provocation, I imagine.

[William A. Baurle]

After searching around, and being bombarded with crap from the Net, I think this link might be sorta kinda helpful?

https://www.quora.com/What-would-hap...yed-in-mid-air

Bits:

However, technology has progressed to the point where the same warhead of high yield could be compressed into smaller warheads. Coupled with the ability to have multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV), you have multiple times the strength of the first nuclear bombs.

But back to the question, what happens when a nuclear bomb is intercepted? Thankfully, the casing that holds the concoction necessary for a nuclear explosion is extremely tough. However, they obviously can’t test a live version. We have past incidents that showed what happened to the older models.

During the 1966 Palomares B-52 crash, or the Palomares incident, a B-52G bomber broke upon upon collision with another plane and dropped its load of 4 hydrogen bombs! Fortunately, three were found on land quickly but the non-nuclear explosives in two of the weapons had detonated upon impact with the ground. It did not cause a chain reaction but only caused a leakage of the “dirty bomb ingredients”, resulting in the contamination of a 2-square-kilometer (490-acre) (0.78 square mile) area by plutonium. The fourth, which fell into the Mediterranean Sea, was recovered intact after a 2½-month-long search.

The whole reason why creating a nuke is so tough is because precision is what matters: multiple explosive lenses have to be perfectly placed and go off at the same time. Plutonium or uranium is not like conventional explosives- a fire or a fall will not set them off.

What would most likely happen therefore is either a blanket of radioactive materials falling to Earth or multiple warheads that fall to the ground which immediately deserve a search and recover operation!

[William A. Baurle]

Originally Posted by Quincy Lehr

On it.

Seriously, though, Fox wants this war every bit as badly is CNN wants to ramp up conflict with the Rooskies, and it shows in the shoddy reporting. Indeed, one needn't be an apologist for North Korea to note that there have been plenty of American provocations, AS THIS LINK, ALSO FROM FOX NEWS, MAKES CLEAR. Of the two countries in question, one has actually used nuclear weapons, and indeed, considered USING THEM IN THE KOREAN WAR, or at least wanted to give the impression that such a thing was possible.

In my efforts to be the good guy, I was charitable towards Quincy, and actually thought that he was "On it".

But, to address that first link, in ALL CAPS, that Quincy provided:

These are clearly NOT provocations, but a formal show of force. It is reminiscent of what the Truman administration did when the Japanese were showing zero regard for the Geneva Convention during WWII, when the US had developed a means of literally castrating Japan and robbing that extremely militaristic nation of its "fighting spirit". Japan was warned, explicitly, and informed that there was a weapon that could (would!) devastate entire cities. The Japanese authorities did not take heed, deeming their Emperor a god on earth, or some such. Nonetheless, Japan continued its aggression, and even ignored months (MONTHS) of warnings from the US:

For several months, the U.S. had dropped more than 63 million leaflets across Japan warning civilians of air raids. Many Japanese cities suffered terrible damage from aerial bombings; some were as much as 97% destroyed. LeMay thought that leaflets would increase the psychological impact of bombing, and reduce the international stigma of area-bombing cities. Even with the warnings, Japanese opposition to the war remained ineffective. In general, the Japanese regarded the leaflet messages as truthful with many Japanese choosing to leave major cities, the leaflets caused such concern amongst the Empire of Japan that they ordered for anyone caught in possession of a leaflet to be arrested.[86][87] Leaflet texts were prepared by recent Japanese prisoners of war because they were thought to be the best choice "to appeal to their compatriots".[88] - Wiki

Full article here, from which the above is taken:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic...asaki#Leaflets

***

Does ANYONE feel good about those fucking bombs? Nope. As a matter of fact, the very pilots that dropped them were on the ground rendering first aid in Japan, the very next day.

The bombs forestalled a land invasion and infantry war that would have killed many more military fighters as well as civilians, than those atrocious, hellish bombs. Young children were being recruited in Japan to fight. Their selfish and self-aggrandized leaders, stuffed full of ancient militant codes of honor, would have been GLAD to sacrifice them.

As most people know, after the second bomb (which went off target, killing far less people than it may have [thank GOD], the Japanese finally surrendered, formally. A good many of the military higher ups offed themselves in high style, taking extremely sharp blades and gutting themselves with honor: but not before writing that all important haiku.

And this is how it goes in our silly world, because men like Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth, and Benedictus Spinoza, from the Netherlands, are very rare birds, and their words are not paid the attention they deserve.

[William A. Baurle]

Ann,

May I offer my formal, knees in the dirt, nose in the dirt, apology?

You are a lady, and, believe it or not, since you are a lady, I would lay down my life for you, were it necessary.

I know, I know, that sounds like Hollywood, don't it? It sounds unreal. BUT, there are men like this that say what they mean, and mean what they say, come hell or high water.

I'd rather die, than cause a gracious lady, and a poet no less, a single moment of harm.

Jayne knows this, as does our Julie Steiner.

I am sorry for not understanding what you were saying. I'm a numbnuts.

Onwards!

And where the hell is Quincy?

[Ann Drysdale]

Your apology is accepted, William. Thank you.

[John Whitworth]

Do you now, I never give this a thought. There are many things to worry about, death and taxes and whether Joe Root will score a century but North Korea... nah! Leave it to the Donald.