U.S. and Britain in joint underground nuclear test last week

[democrank]

Just watched Amy Goodman of Democracy Now interview Greg Mello from the Los Alamos Study Group. Greg discussed an underground nuclear test in Nevada last week, a joint venture with the United States and Britain. The mayors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima spoke out against the test.

This, coupled with Bush`s Excellent Nuclear Adventure in India today, makes me think I`d better start on plans for a fallout shelter. Brings to mind a line in an old song....This could be the start of somethin` big.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/02/148233

[babylonsister]

1. I wonder if the residents of Nevada are aware of this? If I lived

there, it'd be a major concern.

[cspanlovr]

2. I think we're gonna have a "mineshaft gap" in this country

[wakeme2008]

3. IMHO here is the biggest problem with this "No Bid" contract

GREG MELLO: Right now, it’s the University of California, but a consortium of four companies -- well, three companies and the University of California just won the contract, and so we are in a transition phase. I think it’s June 1, the transition is to be complete. So, soon, Bechtel, Washington Group International --"..

.cut..

GREG MELLO: Well, we’ve never seen this kind of profit motive in the nuclear weapons business up to now.

[ThomWV]

4. You Might Want To Check On That

I doubt very very seriously that we tested any sort of device what so ever.

[tocqueville]

5. must have been a very tiny test

since no seismograph registered it

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

6. It was a "subcritical nuclear experiment"

"The Energy Department has confirmed the United States has carried out a subcritical nuclear experiment at an underground test site in Nevada on Thursday

The test was aimed at gathering ''scientific data that provides crucial information to maintain the safety and reliability of... nuclear weapons without having to conduct underground nuclear tests,'' the department said.

(...)

The US argues that subcritical tests are fully consistent with the nuclear test moratorium it has maintained since 1992.

It says the tests do not violate the treaty because they do no involve a nuclear chain reaction and are necessary to ensure the safety of nuclear stockpiles.

(...)

The test, conducted together with Britain, represented the first since May 2004 and the ninth under the administration of President George W Bush."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200602/s1577409.htm