Topicless thread

[NejinOniwa]

Nuclear power is a good choice, imo. Why? Because it is Powerful as Fuck. And humans fear such power, respect it - and treat it accordingly. We know it's bad when a nuclear plant melts down or has a major accident, because we know how bad things can get from it - and we also make sure to try and prevent them, as badly as we can.


The fallout from coal burning and other high-CO2 exhaustive forms of energy are ignored, however, because they aren't obviously dangerous enough. Just in that looming, background sense that we never really can put our finger on - and thus we don't care, and don't try to prevent it because "nothing happens anyway".

Oh, humans. You so silly. It so bad. :/

[IanDanKilmaster]

The fallout from coal burning and other high-CO2 exhaustive forms of energy are ignored, however, because they aren't obviously dangerous enough. Just in that looming, background sense that we never really can put our finger on - and thus we don't care, and don't try to prevent it because "nothing happens anyway".

Oh, humans. You so silly. It so bad. :/

Exactly, and it's that blasé attitude about coal that gets us in trouble.  There's also the fact that even if we treated coal with the same respect as nuclear power, it wouldn't be nearly as effective a power source as a fission reactor.

[Chocofreak13]

like i said, coal sucks as well. as far as i'm concerned, all the energy going into building new reactors could be better spent working towards perfecting cleaner forms of energy so we wouldn't need nuclear anymore.

as far as i see it, it's like gas warfare in wars: we know how to do it, and we know it's there, but we know not to use it, because while it hurts our enemies, it hurts us too.

[stewartsage]

Actually chemical warfare post WWI (i.e. WWII, Korea, and the Cold War) was restricted basically only the fear of "them" retaliating against "us" if "we" use chemical or biological munitions since no one began large scale reduction of their stockpiles until Chemical Weapons Convention in the late 1980s despite the Geneva Protocol in 1925 banning the use of chemical agents.  Worked real well in WWII.  Of course, Russia still has more then 52% of its declared arsenal active (including some of the most terrifying agents ever created) and they have a history of not being terribly afraid to use them/give them away/lose them.  So while the US has destroyed 90% of it's arsenal by incineration or neutralizatio that means the only retaliation under proportional response is now a nuclear one.  Yay!

Not to forget in WWII the Allies were fully ready to retaliate against German or Japanese gas usage (Australia's massive importation of chemical agents, the sinking of the John Harvey), while the Japanese went hog wild with nausea and blister agents against the Chinese armies, prisoners of war, and civilians.  Oh yeah, the Iran-Iraq War resulted in over a hundred thousand deaths from chemical weapons.  So, yeah, chemical weapons are one of humanity's favorite weapons of mass destruction to use when the other side can't strike back.

[Bella]

I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said by Nejin or Dan, they sum up my feelings on nuclear power, spent fuel rod disposal and comparisons with other forms of non-green energy quite perfectly.

And Stew makes a good point. People seem to forget just how often chemical weapons have been used in the past, and how devastating they are. I wonder if it's because they lack the "shock and awe" factor of nuclear weapons, and if fewer people know the effects of chemical weapons than nuclear ones.

[Nichi]

I have nothing to really add on the matter, and since we seem to be an understanding on the current one...

So, I'm a cat :3
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[stewartsage]

Shock and awe?  Chemical weapons are pretty damn horrible, that's why no one talks about them.







[POST ON CHEMICAL WARFARE EFFECTS REDACTED]

[IanDanKilmaster]

Yeah, nothing much more to add on nuclear anything, atm.  I think stew wrapped things up in a nice little bow... a deadly, plague-inducing, and genocidal bow.  Sigh... Iran...

Anyway, interesting news on the SOPA front.  Last I heard, SOPA would likely be dead right out of the gate when it comes to a vote, but now there's expected to be a much bigger push for the PROTECT IP Act (which is really just as bad as SOPA).  I'm not discounting SOPA despite the news, and the potential for PIPA to get another push doesn't set particularly well with me, either.  Anyway, I signed an anti-SOPA petition on the White House website a while back and here's the response.  So it seems I could potentially be asked to be a part of a conference call with "Administration officials" to discuss the best way to deal with "rogue websites" and "piracy".  I'm not holding my breath, however, I do find the possibility very intriguing.

[Chocofreak13]

@gas warfare: so i was wrong. >>; i hold my ground, though, coal, nuclear, and gas warfare all suck.
also, i have my gas mask. it doesn't protect against nuclear warfare, but i can go to the market and pick up some borax for that. so i'm prepared.

@sopaII: i'm going to sit back and watch it unfold. and if sopa and eparasite pass, then there will be ways around it. and i will use them.

[Nichi]

@Dan: I signed that same petition, myself. I'll fight, as if SOPA or e-parasite passes, I'm fucked; there's no way for me to get around it, as my contact with anyone who would know how to get around it would likely end up being cut

[Chocofreak13]

not via skype. they can't take that away. :\

[Nichi]

Well, I guess that much is true :3

Oh yeah; almost forgot I exchanged phone numbers with you, Bella, and Stew. Huzzah!

[Red-Machine]

From what I recall, PROTECT IP actually predates SOPA.  It was considered too vague, so they came up with SOPA instead.

[Chocofreak13]

yep. ^^ so there's always a way. even if we have to use snail mail, there's something. (QUICK, EVERYONE GO BUY A TELEGRAPH)

so on a more benign note, i'm looking to add umeboshi to my bentos this season. the urusei yatsura fansite lists the health benefits, and i've been wanting to try them. given the grueling schedule, i'm thinking this might be the right thing to do. :3

now, there's just the matter of getting them in person or online. >>;

[Paul]

NEW EARPHONES!!!