Last night I surfed through the networks while trying to read one of my new old books (I love auctions!) and play with the cats. I didn't really pay much attention until I hit ABC, where on Primetime they were ripping into the nation's nuclear research facilities as though they were the next big threat to the public. They have been so "China Syndrome" when it comes to uranium that I almost paid attention, for a minute or two. Here they had a couple of wholesome-looking faces "pop in" on a few university facilities to show how easy it is for terrorists to make us all glow in the dark. The only problem is, even though they had access to the facilities on their quaint little tours, these kids didn't have access to the fissionable materials. The whole show was another "Lets-see-how-scared-we-can-make-our-viewers" farce.
Before he retired, Dad had worked at Oak Ridge, SLAC, and the lab in Newport News formerly known as the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), so he kinda knew what was going on in the programs. I used to get fairly clear and concise explanations (okay, lectures. Our family lists toward the didactic) of what was being done to safeguard the systems, and what sorts of potential wonders the materials offered. People who panic over nukes are, as far as I'm concerned, the same sorts who, a few of generations ago, wouldn't allow electricity into their houses because "you never know what could happen with all that stuff coursing through your walls".
There's no need for the news media to make an issue of its presence, unless they genuinely have nothing else to worry about (which, in my mind, sounds like a really good bit of news).
Or, they're doing this to make us, our scientists, and our country look like reckless idjits, so they can revive the reputation of the MSM as the heroic watchdogs of the nation. One can only expect it to backfire on them.
Hat tip:lgf
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