On Feb 11, 2005, at 1:39 PM, Steve Brust wrote: > On Fri, 2005-02-11 at 11:46, Howard Brazee wrote: > >> There's a real difference between fission bombs and fusion bombs as >> far as >> physicists are concerned - but the social-political difference is >> neglible. We treat them the same when found in a third world >> country. > > I think that's the heart of the matter. Everyone gets nervous when > weapons of terror are in the hands of "backward" nations, just because > of the obvious conflict between the nation being backward in so many > ways, and the weapon being advanced. > > What constitutes a "backward" nation? That's harder to say. Here are > a > few general guidelines, however: > > 1. Backward nations have not yet abandoned the barbaric practice of > capital punishment. > > 2. Backward nations are still unable to provide their own citizens with > health care. > > 3. Backward nations usually have an enormous percentage of the wealth > concentrated in the hands of very few, which few exercise more and more > direct political power in defense of that wealth (usually under the > cover some sort of religious doctrine combined with blatant > militarism). > > 4. Backward nations generally keep an unreasonable number of their own > citizens in prison. > > There are others, of course. But I think most people would agree that > a > nation that displays those characteristics ought not to trusted with > weapons of terror. > Excellent!