Not so much fun with Google Earth

Ames tells me that I need to post happier, friendlier things on my blog. I fully agree. But then I sit down at the computer and read this:

"N. Korea set to Test-Launch Missile Capable of Hitting the United States"

Well that's nice. So I load up Google Earth and do a quick measurement... from N. Korea to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska (which I assume is what they are talking about) is about 2500 miles. Needless to say, the continental US is much further away than that.

However, for those of you that haven't been following, N. Korea is in a complete economic shambles, and has a giant energy crisis ongoing. They could really use some energy. No energy, but long range missiles. Hm....

See, there's this other country... a South American country named Venezuela, which is also convinced that the USA is getting ready to invade it at any minute. They've said they plan to continue to use their oil profits to arm themselves against a US attack.

Oh - did I say... Oil Profits? Oil - as in the primary source of energy used by the modern world? Yes. I did say that. So lets see - there's a country with long range missiles, nuclear weapons, and no oil... and a country that wants weapons to deter the US and has oil... hmm...

So with a little more Google Earth research, I drew some lines from Venezuela to the US, and found that, more or less, you can draw a trapezoid from Texas, to Chicago, to Maine, to Miami. Anything within that area could be hit with a N. Korean nuke that was sold to and stationed in Venezuela.

And no sooner do I do that bit of research, but this headline hits the Drudge Report:

"North Korean threat prompts US to Activate Missile Defense System"

Maybe I should just move to New Zealand.