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Opinion
We have at least five wars going on. Finally, President Obama has turned to diplomacy, working on a plan in which the United States would remove sanctions against Iran in return for inspection of Iran’s nuclear program.
In order to understand the issue, we need to look at nuclear weaponry. I will use the example of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb, because it is the simplest device of this kind.
It all begins with Einstein’s famous equation, E=MC2. What this means is that there is a gigantic amount of energy in matter.
Next question, how to release that energy? Scientists discovered that if you hit beryllium atoms with alpha particles from radioactive material, those atoms give off neutrons, and those neutrons, when they hit Uranium 235, cause two neutrons to leave the U235 atoms. However, there is so much space between atoms that the neutrons given off will not hit anything.
But, if you pack in the U235 atoms tightly enough, called “critical mass,” the neutrons will hit the nuclei of other U235 atoms, and those will send off another two neutrons and a “chain reaction” will occur, releasing incredible amounts of energy in a very brief amount of time.
Now, the peaceful use of atoms, say for electrical power does not require the refined Uranium needed for a bomb. The uranium for producing electrical power has to be re-processed to create more of the U235 variety, or at least, that is my understanding.
So, again, the deal on the table, with details yet to be worked out, is that we drop the sanctions against Iran, and, in return, the United States would place inspectors to make sure that the Iranian nuclear program would be limited to peaceful applications.
Then, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the United States and spoke before Congress. He said that the U.S. was being duped, and that in fact our experts and our expertise would not be adequate to prevent weaponization of the Iranian nuclear program, and that the United States was being foolish to think that Iran would conform to such an agreement.
Then some 357 congressmen, Democrats and Republicans among them, wrote a letter to President Obama saying that unless they were convinced the inspectors could guaranty that Iran was not on the path to a nuclear weapon, they would refuse to lift the sanctions against Iran, thus killing the deal.
And, 47 Republican Senators sent a letter to the president of Iran, warning that the next president (after Obama) did not have to abide by the terms of the agreement.
Netanyahu had more to say after he cast doubt on our ability to monitor Iran’s nuclear program. He went on to say that he categorically refused to agree to a “two state” solution to the Israeli-Palestine conflict, a solution that the U.S. has championed without success, for many years. This was a slap in the face to the United States.
So, the U.S. threatened to not veto the next United Nations resolution calling for a two-state solution to the Palestine problem. However, we continue to arm Israel to the teeth, as they serve as our proxy army in the Middle East.
So, finally, an attempt at diplomacy and it is being resisted. The basis of this resistance is the notion that President Obama would enter into a deal which would jeopardize the safety of our country.
In fact, his history, when he feels our security is threatened, is to shoot first and ask questions later.
Nelson Strasser lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Nelson Strasser
Too many young Lake County students forgo upper division because of the cost of commuting. The problem has an answer.
One of the biggest secrets is the Sonoma State Extension, located on the Mendocino College campus.
Not everyone can commute to Rohnert Park or Sacramento, but upper division and a bachelor’s degree can be attained right in Ukiah.
The advantages of an advanced degree cannot be ignored. If two people with equal qualifications were vying for the same job, the educated one gets the nod.
Usually, employers feel that education proves a person able to persevere and problem solve, benefiting any business.
Education helps a person become more widely knowledgeable. We highly recommend Sonoma State Univ. outreach in Ukiah. My wife and I are both graduates of this program and highly recommend it.
Dave and Pam Gebhard live in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Dave and Pam Gebhard
To my friends and those who are not my friends:
We are currently in a world situation that many in positions of knowledge and power are describing as World War III.
That being the case, we as a country can no longer afford to have an apologizer and appeaser as our President and leader. We need a warrior.
We need a warrior who says what he means and who means what he says.
These last several years have left a path strewn with misrepresentations, deceitful actions and outright lies; even lies that cost Americans their lives (think Obamacare).
When our president says he has drawn a red line he must mean to cross it would cause grave consequences not just another line and further appeasement.
In these perilous times our military has been reduced in size and our country is being filled up with foreigners who owe no allegiance to our country and this because of the current administrations political ideology.
For over six years now we have had an administration that constantly flirts with socialism, who dissects the Constitution in a manner that most Americans find foreign and unimaginable, with a president who has traveled around the world apologizing for our ancestor’s behavior and currently has our strongest ally wondering if they still hold that position, now, that must come to an end. We can no longer afford the price tag.
I’m not here to tell you which person to vote for for president, I’m just telling you that when you mark that box next to the name of the person you have chosen that that person be a warrior, a person with intestinal fortitude, a person who can rouse a nation as one, not continue to divide us into segments who will surely lose this war.
Bill Wink lives in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif.
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In response to Becky Curry's letter regarding the State of Jefferson ( Curry: Representation in the State of Jefferson, www.bit.ly/1BQIwMa ), I am not going to go into any dates or ruling, just logic!
When the few who live with and look after the rocks and trees lose a say to those who don't even see them because of the concrete, asphalt and high rises, who but the people who live with the rocks and trees can protect and save them and their way of life?
Truman Bernal lives in Kelseyville, Calif.
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- Written by: Truman Bernal