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| Science & Technology |
| Maritime Security: The Very Sort of Proliferation We Don't Need |
| 2010-02-10 |
| With a tip of the hat to MissileThreat.com, there are several issues presented by this commercial enterprise that offers convenient "missiles in shipping containers" that can be fired from highways, railroads and the sea. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #3 Article: LA ports add ship to screen for biological weapons Feb 10, 3:39 PM (ET) LOS ANGELES (AP) - A new ship to detect chemical and biological weapons has been launched to protect the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said Wednesday it started using the $3 million vessel this week. It is staffed by explosives experts and equipped with tools to screen cargo ships for threats before they enter the nation's busiest port complex. The experts board the ships and screen for substances used for weapons of mass destruction. Deputies have also added a helicopter to screen for radioactive material, while the ship's sonar system looks for underwater threats. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-02-10 18:57 |
| #2 The article reads like an ad for defense contractors of various sorts. AFAICT, it would be a trivial exercise to pack a ship with dirty bomb materials & detonate upwind near a key seaport, &/or smuggle all sorts of nasty stuff over the southern border, mixed in with all the illegal drugs we have an insatiable desire for. Or simply burn a ship full of NH4NO3. (Wikipedia) Once NH4NO3 has started to decompose then a runaway reaction will normally occur as the heat of decomposition is very large. The compound evolves so much heat that this runaway reaction is not normally possible to stop. This well-known hazard is responsible for the loss of several cargo ships. The US needs more than missile defense. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-02-10 14:37 |
| #1 Frightening, especially since cargo container theft is up and Iran has test-fired off ships previously. |
| Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 2010-02-10 12:52 |