Why not go back to the axis of evil?

 Illustration: How Nuclear Fission works for you people in Norway.

The US has now had its credit rating lowered to AA+.  To an academic, this looks like a pretty high grade, I certainly never gave that grade to anyone, but then this is the same agency that rated the scam mortgage securities AAA and we know how well that worked out.  Obama has a solution: revive the "Axis of Evil" and put Standard and Poors there.

Can you imagine all the studying people do to learn about nuclear physics when all they really need is Sulfuric acid and smoke detectors to make their own bomb?  I guess all these guys like Fermi, Einstein, and Feynemann were just a big waste of money with the Manhattan Project.  No wonder they took away Oppenheimer’s security status.  NPR reports.  The guy is question is now going to focus of pure research into the subject.  Good idea.  Try using an Encyclopedia.  At the end of this is a short guide.

We’ve heard the word “Karma” become a fad, used incorrectly to mean “what comes around goes around” or something like that.  It was Seal team 6 that took out bin Laden.  Now, just recently, 21 members of that team and a total of 30 US soldiers were shot down by the Taliban in Afghanistan.  What I want to know is how the Taliban got under one of our helicopters?  Another strange question was asked of retired Brigadier General “Why as the helicopter attacked?”  Hunh?  I can answer that.  Because the Afghanis don’t like us in their country.  I have heard no word whether Obama is still going forward with his announced presentation of medals of honor to them.

Is Israel the people are attacking their own government, that’s right, Nitwityahoo and the Lick Hood party.  Seems that all this focus on “national security” has allowed the capitalists there go wild.  Sound familiar?

by Eyder Peralta

We're a bit late to this story, but it's too good not to pass along: A Swedish man was arrested late last month, after he tried to build a nuclear reactor in his kitchen.

The AP reported, yesterday:

Richard Handl said he had the radioactive elements radium, americium and uranium in his flat in southern Sweden when the police showed up.

He said on Wednesday he had always been interested in physics and chemistry and "just wanted to see if it was possible to split atoms at home".

Handl never tried to hide what he was doing. In fact, according to The Local, an English-language news site from Sweden, police went to his apartment after he contacted the Swedish Radiation Authority to ask if it was legal to build a nuclear reactor.

Enlarge Richard's Reactor

A picture posted on Richard's Reactor blog.

Richard's Reactor

A picture posted on Richard's Reactor blog.

Handl even kept a blog about his adventures. He wrote about how he got radioactive Americium from a smoke detector and he posted a picture of a vial filled with glowing tritium.
In another post, he featured a picture of the remains of what he called "a meltdown" in his kitchen.
He wrote:

No, it not so dangerous. But I tried to cook Americium, Radium and Beryllium in 96% sulphuric-acid, to easier get them blended. But the whole thing exploded upp in the air...

In a post dated July 22, he writes that because of his arrest, his project had been cancelled.
Handl gave an interview to the Swedish Helsingborgs Dagblad (HD) newspaper. He was released from jail and told the paper he spent a little over $1,000 to build the reactor but he "got it going.

"I had just bought what was needed, so I do not know if it had worked," he told HD, according to a Google translation of the piece. "It's probably pretty hard to get it to work. But they took all my stuff, so now I'm done. Now I'll keep it at the theoretical level," he said.

A letter to a radio station:

To KCBS radio:

I listen to KCBS all the time with appreciation for all that you do, but this morning I was surprised and offended by an advertisement by “AJC,” which contained a highly distorted view of the Palestinians and Israelis, presenting the Palestinians as “the party of ‘No.’”  (There were valid reasons why the Palestinians could not agree to the peace proposals set forth by the American or Israeli governments.)   Most disturbing, however, was the fact that “AJC,” which sponsored the ad, was never identified.  I assume it was the “American Jewish Community” or something like that.  It was biased and bigoted, and under the guise of innocence, blamed the Palestinians – the victims of Occupation – for the lack of progress in terms of a just peace.  Identifying “AJC” would have at least allowed your listeners to know the bias of the “advertisement,” so that they could hear it in context.   It was the most subtle – disgusting - piece of deception I’ve heard in a long time, disguised, even, to make it sound like a KCBS editorial or news item.  I have been to Israel & Palestine many times – just returned from 18 days there in May, and continue to work with peacemakers on both sides.  Believe me, there is no truth to the AJD ad.   The American people already receive very narrow reporting from the Middle East, almost always slanted in Israel’s favor – much different news than the European community receives, along with the rest of the world, Arabs included.  Please don’t add to the misunderstanding and distortion.  Insist that your advertisers honestly identify themselves, not hide behind mere letters that most people would not recognize.  I’m surprised and disappointed that you let such a thing slip through.  I am copying this note to many interested people in the area, so they can be alert to any other deceptions in the advertisements of KCBS.  The nation’s oldest broadcasting station should be better than this.

The Reverend Ernest W. Cockrell

Episcopal Priest

San Jose, CA

I was a bit intrigued by the designation claimed as the country’s “oldest radio station” so I checked it.  The results are below.  The main reason for interest is that most stations started East of the Mississippi River and therefore start with a “W”.  I’ve also noticed a few west of the river that start with a W, but none East that start with a K.  This is important stuff, you know.

List of oldest radio stations

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Contents [hide] 1 Stations 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

The title of oldest radio station is disputed by several in Europe (UK and Germany), and in the United States and Canada.
Several potential contenders for the title of "oldest radio station" are listed below, organized by sign-on date:

[edit] Stations

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Table of Experimental Radio Stations (AM/Mediumwave/Longwave)
Radio Call-sign (Original)	Radio Call-sign (Current)	City/Location	On Air	Broadcast Frequency (AM Radio / FM Radio)	Broadcast Class
(Reginald Fessenden experimental alternator station)		Brant Rock, Massachusetts, United States	December 21, 1906 (Audio tests from various locations from as early as 1900)	AM 50 kHz (approximately)	? W
9-BC, 9-XR, 9-BY, WOC-AM	WOC	Davenport, Iowa	1907		Class-B
FN/SJN/6XF/6XE/KQW/"San Jose"	KCBS (AM)	San Jose, California/San Francisco, California	1909, 1921 (officially granted experimental license as KQW, become commercial in 1921, and KCBS in 1949)	AM 740 kHz (Originally used 15 watts modulated with Carbon microphone)	Class-B
2XI	WGY-AM	Albany, New York	1915?	AM 810 kHz	Class-A
9ZP, 9CLS	KGFX-AM	Pierre, South Dakota	1915–present	Various frequencies, 1060 kHz today	Class-B
2XG		New York City, New York	1916	Unknown	Unknown
8XK, 8ZZ	KDKA	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	1916	AM 1020 kHz	75 watts (1916), Class-A (1920–present)
Irish rebel station	2RN/RTE (First radio studio)	General Post Office, Sackville Street (O'Connell Street), Dublin, Ireland	April 24, 1916	morse code only (Despite this claimed by some to be "world's first broadcast" as transmission not aimed at specific target)	converted ship transmitter
9XM	WHA-AM	University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin	December 4, 1916 (regular Morse code weather broadcasts; first voice broadcast in February 1919; regular programming January 1921)	AM 970 kHz	Class-B
(Experimental Czech tests)		Petřínská rozhledna (Petřín Lookout Tower), Prague, Czechoslovakia	October 28, 1919 (Experimental), May 20, 1920	AM ??? kHz	?? kW
PCGG	N/A	The Hague, the Netherlands	November 6, 1919 - November 11, 1924	AM, 570 m	N/A
XWA	CINW	Montreal, Quebec	December 1, 1919 - January 29, 2010	AM 940 kHz (Not original frequency). Considered by many Canadians to be "First scheduled broadcast station;" prior callsign CFCF stood for Canada's First, Canada's Finest.	Class-A (Clear channel)
2MT (Marconi experimental station with a regular news service)		Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex, England	February 23, 1920	AM 107 kHz	15 kW
LOR Radio Argentina	LOR	Buenos Aires, Argentina	August 27, 1920 Continued daily commercial broadcast up to 1997	AM 857KHz[1]	5 Watts initially, 500 Watts by 1921
6ADZ	KHJ-AM	Los Angeles, California	Summer 1920, granted license 1922	AM 930 kHz	Class-B
KDKA	KDKA	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	October 27, 1920 (May have aired as 8ZZ that night)	AM 1020 kHz	Class-A (Clear channel)
8MK	WWJ-AM	Detroit, Michigan	August 20, 1920	AM 950 kHz	Class-B
WRR	KTCK	Dallas, Texas	August 4, 1921 (Unlicensed broadcasts date back to 1920)	AM 1310 kHz
KYW (AM)	KYW	Chicago, Illinois (1921)[2] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1934)[3] Cleveland, Ohio (1956) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1965)[4]	November 11, 1921	AM 560 kHz, 570 kHz, 1020 kHz (Chicago)[5] AM 1020 kHz (Philadelphia) AM 1100 kHz (Cleveland)) AM 1060 kHz (Philadelphia)	Class-A (Clear channel)
WLB	KUOM	Saint Paul, Minnesota	January 13, 1922	AM 770 kHz	Class-D
WHN	WEPN-AM	Ridgewood, New York	February, 1922[6], some sources cite March 18, 1922	AM 833 kHz	Class-A
WIP-AM	WIP-AM	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	March 17, 1922	AM 610 kHz	Class-B
4XD	WBT-AM	Charlotte, North Carolina	December 18, 1920, License granted April 10, 1922	AM 1110 kHz	Class-A
2LO	2LO	London, United Kingdom	May 11, 1922	1 hour daily tests on 350 metres (857 kHz) AM. Full service opened: November 14, 1922
2ZY	2ZY	Manchester, United Kingdom	May 17, 1922	Test TXs: 350 metres (857 kHz) AM. Full service opened Nov 15, 1922: 375 meters
DN	4XD	Dunedin, New Zealand	October 4, 1922	originally AM 1431 kHz, now AM 1305 kHz and FM 99.8 MHz
9BT	CFRC	Kingston, Canada	October 7, 1922	now FM 101.9 MHz
5IT	5IT	Birmingham, United Kingdom	November 15, 1922	Not known
WNAX (AM)	WNAX (AM)	Yankton, South Dakota	November 25, 1922	AM 570 kHz
WKAQ (AM)	WKAQ (AM)	San Juan, Puerto Rico	December 3, 1922	AM 580 kHz	Class-B
Radio Ceylon	Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation	Colombo, Sri Lanka	1923 (experimental), 1925 (official launch)	?	? W
WKBV-AM William Knox BrookVille	WKBV-AM	Richmond, Indiana Whitewater Broadcasting	1923	AM 1000 kHz 24/7	Class B
Regular Czech service - Radiojournal	Prague-Kbely	Prague-Kbely, Czechoslovakia	May 18, 1923	"Long wave" 292 kHz (1025 m)	article
Radio Journal de la Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower Newsreel)	France Inter	Paris, France	1921	"Long wave" 115 kHz (2600 m)	N/A
N/A	Radio Bloemendaal	Bloemendaal, The Netherlands	June 15, 1924	originally AM 1500 kHz (200m) later AM 1223 kHz (245 m) currently AM 1116 kHz (269 m)	various
N/A	Radio Romania	Bucharest, Romania	Summer 1925 - 1927 (experimental), license granted March 1928, Regular broadcast from November 1, 1928	"Long wave"	N/A
CFCO	CFCO	Chatham, Ontario/Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada	September, 1927	AM 630 kHz	Class-B
JODK	HLKA	Seoul, South Korea	1927	AM 711 kHz
GOW, ZBW	RTHK	Hong Kong	1928
1XE, 1CDP	off the air - later as WGI (and WARC until 1925)	Boston, Massachusetts	mid 1920	? - later on 833 kHz
2XN		City College of New York, New York City, New York	1913; 1920
2ZK		New Rochelle, New York	1916

And here is a longish piece on Anti-Semitism, a very strange term, originally posted on the Daily Kos and reprinted in the Jewish Voice for Peace.

It is worth noting that the editor of the Daily Koz was banned from MSNBC for a failure to apologize to Joe Scarbourough, or however he spells it.  “Rabbit Ears” Joe is our new name for him.  Keith has him back on Countdown at Current TV.

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Guide:

Main article: Nuclear weapon design

There are two basic types of nuclear weapons: those which derive the majority of their energy from nuclear fission reactions alone, and those which use fission reactions to begin nuclear fusion reactions that produce a large amount of the total energy output.

Fission weapons

All existing nuclear weapons derive some of their explosive energy from nuclear fission reactions. Weapons whose explosive output is exclusively from fission reactions are commonly referred to as atomic bombs or atom bombs (abbreviated as A-bombs). This has long been noted as something of a misnomer, however, as their energy comes specifically from the nucleus of the atom.
In fission weapons, a mass of fissile material (enriched uranium or plutonium) is assembled into a supercritical mass—the amount of material needed to start an exponentially growing nuclear chain reaction—either by shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another (the "gun" method) or by compressing a sub-critical sphere of material using chemical explosives to many times its original density (the "implosion" method). The latter approach is considered more sophisticated than the former and only the latter approach can be used if the fissile material is plutonium.
A major challenge in all nuclear weapon designs is to ensure that a significant fraction of the fuel is consumed before the weapon destroys itself. The amount of energy released by fission bombs can range from the equivalent of less than a ton of TNT upwards of 500,000 tons (500 kilotons) of TNT.^[8]