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The discussion centers on the mysterious seismic event that occurred on May 28, 1993, near Banjawarn Station in Western Australia, which was recorded by seismographs across the Pacific. The event, characterized by a powerful explosion, was initially attributed to a meteorite strike, but no crater was found, leading to speculation about its origins. Investigations revealed connections to the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which had significant holdings in the area and was involved in uranium mining. This incident raises concerns about the potential for non-governmental nuclear activities in remote regions.
PREREQUISITESThis discussion is beneficial for historians, security analysts, and anyone interested in the intersection of cult activities and nuclear science, particularly in relation to geopolitical stability and public safety.
It happens that at 11.03 p.m. local time on the night of 28 May 1993 seismograph needles all over the Pacific region twitched and scribbled in response to a very large-scale disturbance near a place called Banjawarn Station in the Great Victoria Desert of Western Australia. Some long-distance lorry drivers and prospectors, virtually the only people out in that lonely expanse, reported seeing a sudden flash in the sky and hearing or feeling the boom of a mighty but far-off explosion. One reported that a can of beer had danced off the table in his tent.
The problem was that there was no obvious explanation. The seismograph traces didn’t fit the profile for an earthquake or mining explosion, and anyway the blast was 170 times more powerful than the most powerful mining explosion ever recorded in Western Australia. The shock was consistent with a large meteorite strike, but the impact would have blown a crater hundreds of feet in circumference, and no such crater could be found. The upshot is that scientists puzzled over the incident for a day or two, then filed it away as an unexplained curiosity – the sort of thing that presumably happens from time to time. into the Tokyo underground, killing twelve people. In the investigations that followed, it emerged that Aum’s substantial holdings included a 500,000-acre desert property in Western Australia very near the site of the mystery event. There, authorities found a laboratory of unusual sophistication and focus, and evidence that cult members had been mining uranium. It separately emerged that Aum had recruited into its ranks two nuclear engineers from the former Soviet Union. The group’s avowed aim was the destruction of the world, and it appears that the event in the desert may have been a dry run for blowing up Tokyo.
You take my point, of course. This is a country that loses a Prime Minister and that is so vast and empty that a band of amateur enthusiasts could conceivably set off the world’s first non-governmental atomic bomb on its mainland and almost four years would pass before anyone noticed. Clearly this is a place worth getting to know.
I thought about posting this in the "Today I Learned"-thread on PF, but due to it's political nature and questionable "sources" (no citations) I'm gonna put it here for it's rant alone (I'll understand if this is too far out, even by Civicwatch stabsadrds
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---- Excerpt from Chapter One from "Down Under" by Bill Bryson.
But if you first start to read about those loonies nothing will surprise you anymore.On the other hand the process of enriching uranium is rather cumbersome. Iran has been at it for years (albeit with a couple of setbacks), and they still seem a way off.
