A Refresher on Nuclear Politics

It has come to my attention that Iran, a country known for its carefree humor, is pushing forward with plans to develop the capacity to produce nuclear weaponry. Or, for the Republicans in the crowd, "Nucular Bombs n' stuff." Now, as you might guess, this concerns me- not solely because I regard the Iranian government as less than trustworthy when it comes to this kind of responsibility, but also because my own government's foreign policy could safely be classed as "staggeringly inept." Hell, the protestations that the U.S. is not preparing to invade Iran frankly just make me nervous. The last few years, we have a habit of doing the absolute dumbest things we could possibly do so, like it or not, I'm just waiting to hear about Operation "Imperialist Spasm," or whatever the fuck we call it. Probably something inspirational like "Freedom Eagle Talon Strike Liberty Shield Force Group," or "FETSLSFG" for short. You know how the government likes acronyms.

In any case, given that my undergrads apparently do not recall the Cold War and, as a result, have only the vaguest idea what it means to live with the risk of perpetual nuclear holocaust, I thought a refresher was in order. So, in that spirit, please enjoy this simple, instructional flash animation. I think it sums things up well enough.

Enjoy, then write your congressman.

Thanks to Bookmobile for getting this, circuitously, to me.