13 U.S. Physicists-Letter to Bush-Take Nuclear Option Off The Table!

[kpete]

Prominent U.S. Physicists Send Letter to President Bush
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The physicists include five Nobel laureates, a recipient of the National Medal of Science and three past presidents of the American Physical Society, the nation’s preeminent professional society for physicists.

Their letter was prompted by recent articles in the Washington Post, New Yorker and other publications that one of the options being considered by Pentagon planners and the White House in a military confrontation with Iran includes the use of nuclear bunker busters against underground facilities. These reports were neither confirmed nor denied by White House and Pentagon officials.

Thirteen of the nation’s most prominent physicists have written a letter to President Bush, calling U.S. plans to reportedly use nuclear weapons against Iran “gravely irresponsible” and warning that such action would have “disastrous consequences for the security of the United States and the world.”

“We are members of the profession that brought nuclear weapons into existence, and we feel strongly that it is our professional duty to contribute our efforts to prevent their misuse,” says Hirsch. "Physicists know best about the devastating effects of the weapons they created, and these eminent physicists speak for thousands of our colleagues.”

“The fact that the existence of this plan has not been denied by the Administration should be a cause of great alarm, even if it is only one of several plans being considered,” he adds. “The public should join these eminent scientists in demanding that the Administration publicly renounces such a misbegotten option against a non-nuclear country like Iran .”

letter at:
http://physics.ucsd.edu/petition/physicistsletter.html
more at:
http://www.physorg.com/news64505715.html

[ShortnFiery]

1. A humble kick for our esteemed Scientists

:dem:

[Fridays Child]

2. k/r - I doubt if thirteen CEOs could talk him out of it.

He's delusional and needs to be removed from office before it's too late. :scared:

[sharp_stick]

3. I think the administration

considers physics a "suspect science" because it doesn't allow for the inclusion of "intelligent design" as the cause of the founding of creation. Therefore all entreaties will be shunned by Bush as if by the church itself.

I doubt Bush and the rest of his cronies will pay any more attention to Nobel prize winning physicists than they do to any other real scientists. Unless it's a witch doctor in fundie robes they hold no power over this White House.

[Hissyspit]

5. You are correct that it is suspect to the, but whether it is suspect to

them or not, it gets in the way of the "Divine" plans they have, so they will ignore.

Some people will always think that the only way to create is to destroy. The use of nuclear weapons against Iran because it would be bad that Iran has nuclear weapons is the bizarrely ironic ultimate extreme of that way of thinking. It's insane, but there you go.

K&R

[electron_blue]

6. Or, unless the physicists are telling him how to make $ from a deal....

he won't listen to them.

I think the point of them speaking out is not to grab Bush's attention (you're right he won't care), but to hopefully grab the attn of other GOP - get them to take action.

[entanglement]

4. A list of the signatories

Philip Anderson, professor of physics at Princeton University and Nobel Laureate in Physics;
Michael Fisher, professor of physics at the Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland and Wolf Laureate in Physics;
David Gross, professor of theoretical physics and director of the Kavli Institute of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Nobel Laureate in Physics;
Jorge Hirsch, professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego;
Leo Kadanoff, professor of physics and mathematics at the University of Chicago and recipient of the National Medal of Science;
Joel Lebowitz, professor of mathematics and physics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and Boltzmann Medalist;
Anthony Leggett, professor of physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Nobel Laureate, Physics;
Eugen Merzbacher, professor of physics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and former president, American Physical Society;
Douglas Osheroff, professor of physics and applied physics, Stanford University and Nobel Laureate, Physics;
Andrew Sessler, former director of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and former president, American Physical Society;
George Trilling, professor of physics, University of California, Berkeley, and former president, American Physical Society;
Frank Wilczek, professor of physics, MIT and Nobel Laureate, Physics;
Edward Witten, professor of physics, Institute for Advanced Study and Fields Medalist.

[TexasLawyer]

7. Petition

and the letter introduces a petition signed by 18,000 physicists demanding that the nuclear option be taken off the table.

Good work!

[Dudley_DUright]

21. Thanks, I just signed a few days ago

[TexasLawyer]

8. Animation-- Effects of dropping a "Bunker Buster" Nuke

and if you haven't seen this animation-- please take a look. It's just a few minutes long but it packs a pretty big punch.


http://www.ucsusa.org/global_security/nuclear_weapons/nuclear-bunker-buster-rnep-animation.html

[ShortnFiery]

9. I hope that this is reported on the Corporate News Channels.

I hope.

[LisaLynne]

10. I applaud them for doing something to try to stop this ...

madman and all the idiots and heartless bastards in this administration. However, I think trying to tell * NOT to do something is a sure way to get him to do it. Especially if he's being told by people who are clearly smarter than he is. I think * is truly dumb and he knows it. He resents people who are smart and especially hates it if others consider them smarter than he is. Because of this, he is a very dangerous person.

[Canuckistanian]

11. Couldn't have put it better myself

There's a huge inferiority complex in this idiot whenever he's getting advice from experts or has to listen to someone who knows more than he does.

He'll ignore this, just like the millions of petitioners, protesters and critics.

[Rose Siding]

12. Bush calls this "too much"

"...I hear voices of discontent, and I'm just going to do the best I can do based upon what I think is right. There's too much flattery, too much ego, too much criticism, too much noise, too much politics, too much that for a President to try to kind of grope his way around looking at the latest public opinion poll. In my judgment, it doesn't serve the nation well."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/04/20060410-1.html

If he's ever aware of it, it won't matter to him in the least.

[Peace Patriot]

13. Also read Carl Sagan's "The Cold and the Dark," about the impacts to our

planet's atmosphere of even a limited nuclear exchange.

Hint: End. Of. All. Life. On. Earth.

-----------------

I certainly applaud these physicists. They are the people who make the Bombs. They KNOW. But a more useful letter would have been to all the secretaries of states in the nation, warning them about the hackable, insecure, crapass Windows-based, new electronic voting technology, owned and controlled by rightwing Bushite corporations, using "TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY programming code with virtually no audit/recount controls. THAT is at least as much of a no-brainer as NOT unleashing a nuclear nightmare in the Middle East. The Bush junta's chief criminals in Congress, Tom Delay and Bob Ney, "nuked" our democracy with the "Hack America's Vote Act." That is WHY we have Dimson as President, a thief and traitor as Vice President, the torture-memo writer as Attorney General, a Nazi running the Pentagon, Chevron running the State Department--the lot of them with a 35% approval rating all year, now threatening to bomb, nuke or invade Iran, to cap off their horror in Iraq--and U.S military brass freaking out about the direction that this is all taking.

This is an ILLEGITIMATE government that retained power through a completely NON-TRANSPARENT election!

And the scientific community could be a great help in restoring our right to vote, if they would speak as one on the "trade secret" programming, non-transparency and hackability of our Bushite-designed election system.

[katinmn]

14. Junior has a history of doing the exact opposite of what the experts

recommend.

I am more afraid for our country every day.

[0007]

15. A Nuclear winter is in the cards if someone doesn't get a grip

We're so screwed, the earth is fucked.

Eat shit and die is gonna come true.

[katinmn]

16. Kucinich and DeFazio at least wrote a letter to Junior

Besides that, what are they doing in DC about this??

[0007]

17. Like you said, nothing is gonna change the mind of this gangster

type administration.

Listening to Rumsfeld now on c-span....he is addressing the press and defending his good honor and his military intelligence. :puke:

[ArmchairMeme]

18. THese Brave Physicists are doing the RIGHT thing

They know what they write about! We need to listen to their concern.

For * to choose the nuclear option has more consequences than he can comprehend!

If we think oil is at a premium now, it may not even be available after something like the insanity of these devastating effects.

This escalation of the military men speaking out.

The world does not need yet another larger and more devasting * failure!

[ShortnFiery]

19. Yes, and didn't he call the largest demonstrations in the

History of Our World against the Iraqi Invasion, A FOCUS GROUP!

He's insane, his Defense Secretary is equally insane plus corrupt and evil. Even if we glow, you can damn well bet their corporate buddies will be making money.

Evil Men! :nuke:

[Critters2]

20. "And stop mispronouncing it, too!" n/t

[driver8]

22. Bush's response: "Hey, another piece of paper to wipe my ass with...

Ah have just about used up that damned Constitution."