A Willing Suspension of Disbelief

Theatre of the Absurd

Would the real Iran please stand up.  As we read of the congratulations and rejoicing amongst the Western Commentariat, we find ourselves in fundamental confusion.  A deal with Iran has been struck, we are told, whereby Iran will lay aside its ambitions to develop nuclear weapons, and the West will remove its sanctions on that nation.

New Zealand's own foreign minister, now deeply ensconced in UN counsels and machinations (while NZ presently sits on the UN Security Council), has joined the chorus of self-congratulation.

New Zealand's foreign minister has welcomed the Iran nuclear deal.  Murray McCully said today the nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers was an "important" breakthrough.  "Over the last eighteen months negotiators have been working to secure an agreement that will increase international confidence in the nature of Iran's nuclear programme," Mr McCully said.

"This agreement is a positive development for regional stability in the Middle East and will allow for further progress to be made in the relationship between New Zealand and Iran.  As the current president of the United Nations Security Council, New Zealand will do what it can to expedite any necessary Security Council action, and we call for the agreement to be implemented as soon as possible," he added. [NZ Herald]

This "deal" with Iran has been struck whilst Iran, throughout the process, has publicly and repeatedly called for the annihilation of the United States (with whom it was negotiating) and the obliteration of Israel off the map.  It has also been one of the biggest sponsors of  Islamic terrorism over many years.  But have no fear.  Iran is run by trustworthy, truthspeaking, honourable men.  We know.  We can tell.  We can see what you ordinary rubes cannot. 

Letter from the US (About Denver's Radiation)

The Panic Over Fukushima 

Japan's nuclear accident was a great human tragedy, but its long-term health effects have been exaggerated—and the virtues of nuclear power remain. 

By Richard Muller
Wall Street Journal
August 18, 2012

 

Bloomberg News

Radiation screening in Koriyama, Japan, on March 31, 2011.

Denver has particularly high natural radioactivity. It comes primarily from radioactive radon gas, emitted from tiny concentrations of uranium found in local granite. If you live there, you get, on average, an extra dose of .3 rem of radiation per year (on top of the .62 rem that the average American absorbs annually from various sources). A rem is the unit of measure used to gauge radiation damage to human tissue.

The International Commission on Radiological Protection recommends evacuation of a locality whenever the excess radiation dose exceeds .1 rem per year. But that's one-third of what I call the "Denver dose." Applied strictly, the ICRP standard would seem to require the immediate evacuation of Denver.

Physicist Richard Muller discusses the panic over the Fukushima accident and the need to put nuclear risks in perspective with WSJ Weekend Review editor Gary Rosen.

It is worth noting that, despite its high radiation levels, Denver generally has a lower cancer rate than the rest of the United States. Some scientists interpret this as evidence that low levels of radiation induce cancer resistance; I think it is more likely that lifestyle differences account for the disparity.
Now consider the most famous victim of the March 2011 tsunami in Japan: the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Two workers at the reactor were killed by the tsunami, which is believed to have been 50 feet high at the site.

But over the following weeks and months, the fear grew that the ultimate victims of this damaged nuke would number in the thousands or tens of thousands. The "hot spots" in Japan that frightened many people showed radiation at the level of .1 rem, a number quite small compared with the average excess dose that people happily live with in Denver.

What explains the disparity? Why this enormous difference in what is considered an acceptable level of exposure to radiation?