"So WHAT if this is worse than Chernobyl? Who says?"

[PCIntern]

I predict that what follows and the above, will be the new meme: I mean, so what? What do you mean by "worse", right? And does the person who said this pass muster with the new DUers who apparently are proponents of nuclear power anywhere, anyhow? More power to them, as it were, since there's free speech in this country, I thought I'd take a moment and distill their argument down to a few sentences, so they wouldn't have to keep cutting and pasting from other sites where their brethren are spouting the same talking points:

"So it's leaking...my washer sometimes leaks and no one's gotten hurt from it and I could post about 1000 videos of atomic test blasts going off and no one ever died from them, and 27000 people died from the Tsunami, and just b/c your elbow hurts when it rains doesn't mean that this is a problem. Nuclear power never hurt anyone and they know what they're doing. so just because you've seen the movie Godzilla, doesn't make you Mothra, right? And what about those two singing midgets in the other film? If there were really a big problem, they'd be singing away. Furthermore, there's a chart which I can post over and over and over again which shows just how little radiation you're getting with little boxes, actually, teeny-tiny little boxes which, some people say, belie the cumulative effect upon your fast-reproducing cells, but you can't name one person who died from civilian radiation poisoning in the whole history of the known Universe. Can you? Just one. See, we know that you aren't' sure if Aunt Minnie's stomach cancer of rapid onset following her exposure to the little puff of gas at Three Mile Island was due to that...you can't prove it any more than you can really prove that your entire family's history of heart disease, lung cancer, and death in their 60's was due to the multiple packs of cigarettes which they smoked every day. Which leads me to the next point: there's radiation all around us! So even if you were to have a mutated cell from radiation, you can't prove that it was the radiation from the utility company's reactor core which melted down and was spewing neutrons, radioactive material including plutonium, and other hot stuff into the atmosphere where it can rain down upon you and your children. If you can't prove it on a message board, it does not exist."


(All of this from MY perspective is :sarcasm: squared.... just sayin' for those who are ready to jump onto me b/c they didn't 'get it' at first - like the folk who thought that I was actually glued to CNN and MSNBCLOCKUP for real information just because I mentioned them in my other posts.)

_______________________________________________________________________________

And that's how we're going to have to listen to this now for months on end...

[Bonobo]

1. You said 70 million people will have to flee from Japan.

I live in Japan and intend to do so for the rest of my life.

I will continue to accept your statements with a grain of salt since you have shown yourself quite willing to shout "Fire" in a movie theater.

And it has NOTHING to do with promoting or apologizing for nuclear power and EVERYTHING to do with maintaining my wits about me and keeping up the spirit of hope among the other people that live here.

I don't know what dog YOU have in the fight, but if using the Japanese tragedy as a cudgel to win a few points on DU against the tiny number of people I have seen advocating for nuclear power, than congratulations; mission accomplished.

One more thing: How could you possibly interpret an assertion that 27,000 dead in the tsunami means a WORSE tragedy than the current nuclear situation as an 'apology' for nuclear power? Talk about self-centered.

On edit: One more thing: Who the HELL has said "Worse than Chernobyl, so what??"

[PCIntern]

2. I did not say that...

take that back...

what I said was...nd this is the last time I'll say this: is that the MEDIA was discussing it..I saw it myself on CNN when three folk were talking about what would happen if the reactor exploded what with all the waste rods and one of the people said that depending upon the prevailing winds, water table etc, that Points south, including but not limited to Tokyo might be severely affected and require evacuation. I didn't say that..he did.

You fail deliberately IMO to understand that THAT POST was a DESCRIPTION OF WHAT I SAW ON TEEVEE, and the progression of what people were SAYING on TeeVee. Do you get it? Are are you deliberately just trying to be argumentative?

And to answer your final question, that's what you're going to hear in the next few days: that Chernobyl wasn't so bad since only a few people died relatively speaking and here we have millions who are OK!!!

And one more thing: if you have to maintain your wits about you, you better do something better than rail against people who are trying to keep others in many countries including the one you DON'T live in, the USA, safe from disasters like this one.

[Bonobo]

3. Well it is possible I misread what you wrote and didn't understand the context

If so, I apologize.

I am just tired of seeing people use the tragedy as a topic to be discussed wrt nuclear power over the tragedy overall.

It is beginning to feel that the tragedies are being used as balls in a ping pong contest on this board and, as a result, the whole human dimension is being minimized.

[PCIntern]

4. Well, thank you...

I have been railing against the media's coverage of this from the beginning since it is emblematic of how they destroy whole countries - how they covered the Bush appointment in 2000, how they covered the Iraq war and WMD's, and everything else that they do...there's always a BEGINNING of the shitty coverage and this time I went off in the beginning, rather than waiting for the BS to pile up so high that it was unrecognizable from the truth.

[jschurchin]

5. There you are.

I was worried about you. I'm happy to see your posts and I do hope your getting by. Peace my friend and God bless.

[Bonobo]

6. I keep trying to believe that the optimistic view will prevail...

And I keep getting disappointed with the increasingly bad news.

I am furious at those bastard at Tepco for their decades of lying and their greedy lack of care for safety precautions.

I was at a drinking party with fellow volunteer firemen last night and we all agreed they should take responsibility the old fashioned way. Cut their bellies open in 3 directions like the samurai did.

[PCIntern]

7. Personally,

I was always impressed that the Japanese always wished to fix the problem first, and fix the blame later, as opposed to America, wherein the FIRST thing we do here is to find 'those responsible' and financiall 'execute' them - the problem, however, persists.

T think your/our/the world's probleme is going to persist for some time.

[jschurchin]

11. I Keep Waiting for them to act

Like a true Japanese national and do the honorable thing, and at a minimum resign. The disgrace they have brought upon themselves, In the old days, would have led to their self-inflicted death.
I'll be honest Bonobo, I actually have been surprised that it HAS NOT occured yet.

[ReggieVeggie]

8. well, you know, you should shout "Fire" in a crowded movie theater

when there's a fire

[Bonobo]

9. I was waiting for someone to say that, so thanks for getting it out of the way. nt

[PCIntern]

10. Yes...

quite...I'm a 'refugee' of sorts from TMI and have been through this before...the nature and scope of the lying is quite familiar to me.

[Jackpine Radical]

12. How is radiation like toxic sludge?

They are both good for you.

[Buzz Clik]

14. How is radiation like toxic sludge?

Neither of them is toxic unless you are exposed to a threshold level.

[Buzz Clik]

13. You forgot the lunatic ravings on the other side. I'll help:

"OMFG!!! The human race is coming to an end. I read some pundit's column who paraphrased a group of smart people who say that every single atom of radioactivity will give you cancer. EVERY ATOM! Oh nose. This is it. And have you seen that weather map thingy that shows the huge cloud of radioactive xerox heading for the Midwest? If I were you, I'd buy a radiation meter and start scanning your bread and meat and milk before you eat it. And have been reading what that bastards in denial are saying? They say that atmospheric testing of nuclear bombs and the bombs we dropped on the Japanese put a lot of radioactivity in the atmosphere and that it's dangerous but it dilutes out fast and we're predicting doom for nothing. HA! Probably all of them work for GM! Or GE. Or GNP. They all lie! And did you read that thread where that corporatist posted some bogus data about how much radiation is dangerous and how much we get every single day or how much came out of Chernobyl or how much is coming out of the reactors at Fukyushimmy? LIES! Not once did it mention that every single atom of radioactivity gives you cancer! How much is Texaco paying them to spew this garbage? And then some pro-nuke jackass posted some fake data that shows the exposure to radiation on the West Coast for the past month. Yeah, like there's always background radiation. I believe that :sarcasm:. Even if it was true -- which it isn't -- that would simply mean that all the governments of the world are lying to us about nuclear plant meltdowns. Seriously! I'll bet that we have one nuke meltdown every single year. How else can you explain that high level of background radiation??!!! Huh??!!? Oh, god. We're dying. I can feel that gramma particles ripping the fabric of my genetic structure as I type. :cry:"

[PCIntern]

15. surprsingly inept comparison from you...

Betcha didn't just see the expert on CNN on Candy's show echoing everything I have posted for the last week and a half...

Your comparison is like saying that there are radicals on the right AND the left...well, to each his/her own. good luck to you and your POV.

[Buzz Clik]

16. Every word I posted is verbatim of insanity I've read at DU. That's your definition of inept?

My point is much different that you perceive.

The OP presents unjustifiable rationalizations supporting nuclear energy no matter what the consequences at Fukushima. I have been involved in a handful of discussions concerning nuclear energy, and I have not read any of the comments presented in the OP. For all I know every comment is a paraphrasing of actual quotes, I simply haven't seen them. Nevertheless, I can see why you find them so ridiculous -- they make no sense at any level.

However, the screed I composed is simply stringing together actual comments from threads in which I've posted, most of them from this weekend.

So, yes. There are completely insane people discussing this issue. They are easy to pick out because none of them have any clue about the subject matter.

[Jackpine Radical]

17. Here's your new playmate.