Main media missed this one.....

[kreinke]

This is non-partisan but could possibly interpreted as political. I apologize in advance to the mods if it is but I think this situation needs everyone to take a good hard look at border security and ask yourselves....


1. How does a group of left wing marxist rebels get hold of 66 lbs of uranium. (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26278599.htm)
http://www.globalincidentmap.com/eventdetail.php?ID=7845

2. How come the major new outlets haven't said boo about this incident? You'd think it'd be more important than Drew Peterson wouldn't you?


With this kind of thing going on in our hemisphere, how can we afford our border to be "spongy?"

[gened12]

Finding that cocaine is bad for their health, many BMW motorcyclists are now secretly importing illegal uranium to boost their motorcycle engine performance. Besides the exhaust fumes really glow in the dark.:bolt


scary news nonetheless,

Cheers

Deni R1200Rt

[mrich12000]

Now that is scary...

[Visian]

I wonder if my BMW dealer is a Predatory Lender ? He gave me a K 1200 S as a loaner. How dare him ! I am still glowing.

i can tell you that my local ktm dealer is evil in this way.... look at that orange glow... this sucker must be FULL of uranium. (and aerostich may be guilty, as well!)

http://www.visian.nu/images/ian_orange.jpg

[afhrnfa1]

love that KTM:clap

[PAULBACH]

I hope they don't get any of those nuclear fuses the Defense Department has been known to misplace.

[jdmetzger]

i can tell you that my local ktm dealer is evil in this way.... look at that orange glow... this sucker must be FULL of uranium. (and aerostich may be guilty, as well!)


Not to get too far off topic, but it looks like KTM stole that headlight design from BMW's much-maligned R1200ST... :dunno

[DarrylRi]

Not to get too far off topic, but it looks like KTM stole that headlight design from BMW's much-maligned R1200ST... :dunno

As an ST owner, I can categorically state that that KTM headlight is not nearly as beautiful as the one on the ST.

[jdmetzger]

As an ST owner, I can categorically state that that KTM headlight is not nearly as beautiful as the one on the ST.

I actually like the ST; it's a shame many people complained about the look, and they apparently discontinued it.

[DarrylRi]

I actually like the ST; it's a shame many people complained about the look, and they apparently discontinued it.

Personally, I like it just fine. And that headlight, with its dual H4 bulbs, throws a lot of light. But I have never been an arbiter of taste and style.

[Visian]

Not to get too far off topic, but it looks like KTM stole that headlight design from BMW's much-maligned R1200ST... :dunno

i was gonna say "ktm made that headlight design work"... but then darryl would be offended. :ha

[DarrylRi]

i was gonna say "ktm made that headlight design work"... but then darryl would be offended. :ha

:bluduh

[Visian]

:bluduh

they call me the arbiter of taste and style. :rofl

[amiles]

That bike looks obscenely clean, are you sure you aren't just posing next to one in front of the showroom...

[BeemerMike]

Not to get too far off topic, but it looks like KTM stole that headlight design from BMW's much-maligned R1200ST...

Oh . . . so THAT'S where BMW unloaded all of the surplus ST headlights! :D

[DarrylRi]

they call me the arbiter of taste and style. :rofl

Hmm, I can see that you are indeed the arbiter of taste and style.

http://www.visian.nu/images/ian_orange.jpg

You didn't borrow those colors from The Motor Company, did you?

[RichardCook]

...2. How come the major new outlets haven't said boo about this incident? You'd think it'd be more important than Drew Peterson wouldn't you?


Depleted uranium (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/du.htm) is used in high velocity anti-aircraft guns like the Phalanx (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/weaps/mk-15.htm) because it is extremely dense and therefore quite effective, especially against armored targets. It was used for anti-armor operations during the U.S.-Iraq wars, notably by anti-tank aircraft such as the A-10 ("Warthog") firing DU from canons.

DU is the residue from uranium enrichment. Naturally occurring uranium (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts150.html) is a mixture of isotopes, including U-238 and U-235. U-235 has fission properties that make it an efficient fission target for rapid nuclear chain reactions. U-238 has the wrong properties for bomb making. Naturally occurring uranium contains a very small amount of U-235, typically well under 2%, and is pretty useless stuff. Depleted uranium contains much less U-235 (it's what is left over after the U-235 has been mostly removed!), typically 0.2% so it is impractical to use it to make a bomb. The DU reportedly found under FARC control is, for all practical purposes, worthless.

There are many urban-legend-websites claiming that DU poses a major environmental hazard and source of illness where it has been deployed (e.g. Bosnia, Iraq). These claims are largely baseless.

The radioactivity of DU is quite low -- the half-life of naturally occurring uranium isotopes is long -- so handling it it not especially dangerous from a radiation exposure standpoint. The decay process (http://www.ccnr.org/decay_U238.html) for U-238 involves 14 steps leading up to lead (Pb-206) which is stable. The intermediate elements each produce some radiation as they decay but the overall process is so slow that the danger from radiation is not something to be concerned about.

The chemical features of uranium are more worrisome. Uranium is a toxic heavy metal. (Other heavy metals are lead and mercury.) There are Federal regulatory standards for occupational exposure to uranium and these are based on its chemical rather than nuclear features. Thorough hand washing after handling uranium or other heavy metals is strongly recommended. Uranium should not be ingested.

BMW maintenance, especially of the battery and the fuel system, offers opportunities for chemical poisoning via heavy metal ingestion or inhalation. These risks have been much reduced by the elimination of lead from fuels and the use of sealed batteries. The European and U.S. RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances) agreements are gradually eliminating lead from motorvehicles and electronics but older bikes may contain substantial amounts of lead, mainly in circuit boards, solder joints, and, of course, batteries.

There are also important risks from the acid used in batteries. Good eye protection when handling batteries and, especially, fuel is especially important.

As a general rule, avoid handling food after possible contact with heavy metals. Good hand washing following maintenance is useful in removing traces of heavy metal, especially lead, from the skin.

Although a solid bar of uranium metal poses very little risk, BMW owners should probably not carry DU while riding.

[535is]

Depleted uranium (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/du.htm) is used in high velocity anti-aircraft guns like the Phalanx (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/weaps/mk-15.htm) because it is extremely dense and therefore quite effective, especially against armored targets. It was used for anti-armor operations during the U.S.-Iraq wars, notably by anti-tank aircraft such as the A-10 ("Warthog") firing DU from canons.

DU is the residue from uranium enrichment. Naturally occurring uranium (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts150.html) is a mixture of isotopes, including U-238 and U-235. U-235 has fission properties that make it an efficient fission target for rapid nuclear chain reactions. U-238 has the wrong properties for bomb making. Naturally occurring uranium contains a very small amount of U-235, typically well under 2%, and is pretty useless stuff. Depleted uranium contains much less U-235 (it's what is left over after the U-235 has been mostly removed!), typically 0.2% so it is impractical to use it to make a bomb. The DU reportedly found under FARC control is, for all practical purposes, worthless.

There are many urban-legend-websites claiming that DU poses a major environmental hazard and source of illness where it has been deployed (e.g. Bosnia, Iraq). These claims are largely baseless.
Thank you, Beaker! I suspect that you, too, have been one of those rare folks, like me, who has been chucking at numbskulls like FARC getting taken for a radioactive ride ever since NewScientist published its hilarious (but 'banned in the US' :hide ) article on how to build your own homemade nuclear weapon back around 1980. I have a couple photocopies of it stashed somewhere around. IIRC, a 66-lb slug of weapons grade plutonium (ignoring the fact that it would reach critical mass and self-detonate if all in one piece, or even two) would make up about two bombs each capable of obliterating a 10-block area if detonated in a city. Of course, the logistical problems involved in actually doing so are tremendous. I lose no sleep over the possibilities ...