The Absolute Horror of Heavy Metal
As the saying goes, “the first casualty of war is the truth.” Since I’m not in the Gaza strip, I don’t know what’s going on there. However, I follow metals closely, and I the following story popped up on my radar …
According to Italian TV, the Israelis are using an experimental weapon in the Gaza strip. It appears to be similar to an American weapon called DIME (“Dense Inert Metal Explosive”).
Palestinian doctors began seeing injuries of a type they had never seen before: The doctors reported an exceptionally large number of completely burned bodies and injuries unaccompanied by metal shrapnel. Some of the doctors also claimed that they removed particles from wounds that could not be seen in an x-ray machine.
The particles are believed to be highly carcinogenic; one of the things that the doctors have been unable to explain is the number of injured patients who appear to get better, then suddenly die after a few days. They have seen numerous cases where patients' internal organs appear coated with a microscopic dust.
For a picture of what kind of damage these weapons do, click on the following link. WARNING: NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH. Here is the LINK.
And to be sure, we don’t know what particular weapons caused these particular casualties. War is a monstrous business; the outcomes are generally horrific, whether you’re using M-1s or megatons.
So what is a DIME weapon? They consist of carbon-fiber casing filled with explosives and a powder of a heavy metal tungsten alloy – cobalt, nickel or iron. Whatever the tungsten alloy, it’s a metal capable of conducting very high temperatures. In the explosion, tungsten particles spread over a radius of four meters and cause death.
The heavy metals used in DIME weapons are bad enough; now there are rumors that the new DIME weapons being tested in Gaza actually contain uranium. That sounds whacked to me – you wouldn’t want to poison your own city. But then, why the hell would you want to use a weapon like this?
Anyway, wars breed rumors. For their part, the Israelis deny using or even possessing such weapons.
Here’s why I bring this up: I don’t think there’s much as individuals we can do about the weapons that countries use on each other or on their own people. I don’t think you or I can solve the Israeli-Arab problem. If I lived there, I’d do like my next-door neighbors did (they came from Israel) and move far, far away. Florida would be a good choice. I need more Israeli neighbors. They’re very nice and excellent cooks. I have other friends who are Persian (that’s Iranian to most people, but my Persian friend is not a fan of the current regime in Tehran; he insists on being called Persian). We haven’t invited both families over at the same time; maybe we should.
To me, war is one of those bad things I want to avoid if possible. I want to shield my family from it, and protect my portfolio. And that’s where I’m going with this. I think Defense contractors are going to make a bloody fortune (there’s no better phrase for it) going forward. I outlined the reasons why in this Money and Markets column: http://tinyurl.com/ymdxry.
If you want one simple reason, we are now spending more on defense than we did during the Vietnam War (yes, I even adjusted for inflation), and spending is likely to increase if the Democrats take over Congress.
My friend John Burke – a crackerjack market analyst and former Marine Intelligence Specialist – has written a report outlining five companies he thinks will make the most of the coming boom. They should protect your portfolio – the best defense for any portfolio is making a lot of money.
If you haven’t already, you might be wise to check out his report by clicking on the url above to my Money and Markets column. Or you can go read John’s own take on his report here: http://tinyurl.com/ydgdrq
According to Italian TV, the Israelis are using an experimental weapon in the Gaza strip. It appears to be similar to an American weapon called DIME (“Dense Inert Metal Explosive”).
Palestinian doctors began seeing injuries of a type they had never seen before: The doctors reported an exceptionally large number of completely burned bodies and injuries unaccompanied by metal shrapnel. Some of the doctors also claimed that they removed particles from wounds that could not be seen in an x-ray machine.
The particles are believed to be highly carcinogenic; one of the things that the doctors have been unable to explain is the number of injured patients who appear to get better, then suddenly die after a few days. They have seen numerous cases where patients' internal organs appear coated with a microscopic dust.
For a picture of what kind of damage these weapons do, click on the following link. WARNING: NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH. Here is the LINK.
And to be sure, we don’t know what particular weapons caused these particular casualties. War is a monstrous business; the outcomes are generally horrific, whether you’re using M-1s or megatons.
So what is a DIME weapon? They consist of carbon-fiber casing filled with explosives and a powder of a heavy metal tungsten alloy – cobalt, nickel or iron. Whatever the tungsten alloy, it’s a metal capable of conducting very high temperatures. In the explosion, tungsten particles spread over a radius of four meters and cause death.
The heavy metals used in DIME weapons are bad enough; now there are rumors that the new DIME weapons being tested in Gaza actually contain uranium. That sounds whacked to me – you wouldn’t want to poison your own city. But then, why the hell would you want to use a weapon like this?
Anyway, wars breed rumors. For their part, the Israelis deny using or even possessing such weapons.
Here’s why I bring this up: I don’t think there’s much as individuals we can do about the weapons that countries use on each other or on their own people. I don’t think you or I can solve the Israeli-Arab problem. If I lived there, I’d do like my next-door neighbors did (they came from Israel) and move far, far away. Florida would be a good choice. I need more Israeli neighbors. They’re very nice and excellent cooks. I have other friends who are Persian (that’s Iranian to most people, but my Persian friend is not a fan of the current regime in Tehran; he insists on being called Persian). We haven’t invited both families over at the same time; maybe we should.
To me, war is one of those bad things I want to avoid if possible. I want to shield my family from it, and protect my portfolio. And that’s where I’m going with this. I think Defense contractors are going to make a bloody fortune (there’s no better phrase for it) going forward. I outlined the reasons why in this Money and Markets column: http://tinyurl.com/ymdxry.
If you want one simple reason, we are now spending more on defense than we did during the Vietnam War (yes, I even adjusted for inflation), and spending is likely to increase if the Democrats take over Congress.
My friend John Burke – a crackerjack market analyst and former Marine Intelligence Specialist – has written a report outlining five companies he thinks will make the most of the coming boom. They should protect your portfolio – the best defense for any portfolio is making a lot of money.
If you haven’t already, you might be wise to check out his report by clicking on the url above to my Money and Markets column. Or you can go read John’s own take on his report here: http://tinyurl.com/ydgdrq
Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com
posted by Sean Brodrick @ 8:43 AM
<< Home