Spread the wealth

[emayer]

AMoore wrote:

emayer wrote:

Guys,

I know this is a bit off topic but I thought interesting and perhaps relevant to the election given that a fair amount of voters are basing their views on the premise that Bush lied.

This was forwarded to me today, and confirmed as an AP story back in July. Where was the mainstream press on this one? I'm no physicist, but I'm sure 550 metric tons of yellowcake is a decent precursor to WMDs.... If true, who's lying now?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25546334

Bush lied! He said there were WMDs. Yellow cake does not equal WMDs.

Steel and labor are also precursors to WMDs. That doesn't mean they are building them in Detroit. This is an except from the article you posted.

While yellowcake alone is not considered potent enough for a so-called "dirty bomb" — a conventional explosive that disperses radioactive material — it could stir widespread panic if incorporated in a blast. Yellowcake also can be enriched for use in reactors and, at higher levels, nuclear weapons using sophisticated equipment.

The Iraqi government sold the yellowcake to a Canadian uranium producer, Cameco Corp., in a transaction the official described as worth "tens of millions of dollars." A Cameco spokesman, Lyle Krahn, declined to discuss the price, but said the yellowcake will be processed at facilities in Ontario for use in energy-producing reactors.

Please note: I didn't say yellowcake was an WMD- I called it a precursor (which is what the article also states). I am not in favor of our rationale for war with Iraq, but I'm happy that the substrate for nuclear weapons is no longer there....

I posted this to show namely that certain newsworthy elements are minimalized and to seek others' opinion on the overall relevance/accuracy. I am curious also to know if others feel (as I do), that if we are going to pay for the transport we should be processing the stuff for use here. Wouldn't have been a bad point for the candidates to mention as part of the energy discourse...