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Re:Suicide by fish_in_the_c · 2011-06-14 08:50 · Score: 1 · on Terry Pratchett Considers Assisted Suicide

I wasn't referring to the Nazi's try ancient Rome, various 'native cultures' , and the modern Netherlands, where it is illegal to kill your own child if you 'feel' their life won't be worth living?
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/06/11/author-pratchett-plans-his-own-suicide/

Re:makes sense by medcalf · 2011-05-29 05:19 · Score: 1, Insightful · on RMS Cancels Lectures In Israel

Um, peacefully waging a campaign of pressure? I think not.

Dump Gingrich. It's what he does. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-05-12 11:17 · Score: 0 · on Newt Gingrich's Amazon Book Reviews

Honestly, I think his habit of divorcing his wife when she gets seriously sick goes more to character than his bookshelf. He's done it twice now. "In sickness and in health" my /dev/null.

If he dumps the women he "loves" over that, he sure as heck isn't going to think twice about dumping America for the benefit of the Party when the going gets rough.

Why oh why can't we have a good Republican candidate? Obama's not invincible, but he's not going to break a sweat against the current clowns. And yes, that includes the "man should be an island" Ron Paul.

Re:Details by Glock27 · 2011-04-12 02:48 · Score: 1 · on Japan Raises Nuclear Plant Crisis Severity To 7

Listen up douche bag the Japanese government upgraded the accident at the fukushima power plant to level 7. The accident is a MAJOR ISSUE.

Oh really? Do tell. How would you compare it, on a scale of one to ten, to the earthquake and tsunami that killed 25,000+ people? How many people has this nuclear incident killed again?

No amount of dick riding on your part is going to make that go away. We don't need assholes like you saying everything is ok.

Neither the GP or I are saying 'everything is ok'. However, it is also not, in any way, a 'major disaster'. TEPCO (and the Japanese government) did not prepare properly for this event, and the reactors involved are of a very old design. Given those two facts, it's not too surprising that we're where we are. It is not an indictment of nuclear power in general, though. Nuclear power is a) absolutely necessary going forward and b) safer than any realistic alternative.

No it's not. This problem has been going on for a month and is not getting better.

Uh, genius, I suggest your read the article... Here's a sample:

Still, the upgraded severity reading does not reflect a recent deterioration at the plant. Rather, it suggests Japan’s evolving understanding of the damage that occurred there one month ago — and the contamination that has been leaking ever since.

Read that several times until you understand it.

There are seriously health and environmental consequences here, as well as long term economic problems.

We will have to see about that. If it's like the aftermath of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, there's not that much to worry about.

Being a dick about it is not going to fix it.

Very eloquent.

Being an apologist for an industry that has eschewed safety and oversight does not help fix the problem.

The problem with this line of attack is that a) nuclear has, overall, a much better safety record that any other large-scale power generation method (especially excluding Chernobyl which had a criminally poor design and criminally stupid management) and b) the nuclear industry is much more focused on safety than almost any other human enterprise.

You want people to trust nuclear power. You want people to believe nuclear power is a safe energy source. Then offer constructive suggestions to fix the problem. Admit there were problems with oversight, safety and design and work to fix those issues.

First, build reactors using one of the much safer, modern designs.

Second, if the site is in an area subject to Magnitude 9+ earthquakes and tsunamis, actually plan for Magnitude 9+ earthquakes and tsunamis.

There, that wasn't too hard was it.

TEPCO didn't have the first option, but it sure as hell had the second, didn't it? I suggest you remember that if the diesel emergency backup generators had been stored in a tsunami proof bunker, this entire disaster would likely have been avoided. At worst, it would have been a much smaller issue. There also should have been a contingency plan to helicopter in such generators if needed.

Stop being a nuclear apologist fuck.

Realist is more like it.

Instead, I guess you advocate sticking with fossil fuel power generation, estimated to kill over 200,000 people annually. Or what about "clean" hydroelectric? I wonder if you realize it was responsible for the worst energy related death toll in history, when the Banqiao Dam in China failed, and as many as 230,000 people died? Nothing is absolutely safe, but nuclear power is better than the alternatives.