What Happens To Old Scares?

I'd assume that "apparent" means "present, contemporaneous". Ergo, tv ads, newspaper ads, flyers, etc. could never be illegal.

I often wonder about Germany, where the content of speech can be illegal on pure hate grounds. Such a foreign concept to us.
 
I'm not a science person, but I like science news....I'm curious, I guess. I cannot help wondering, why have none of the doomsday scenarios I have been fed by various scientists over the years ever come to pass? You guys pranking me, or what?

Here's a list of just a few.....

* The A Bomb. I grew up on bomb shelters, air raid drills, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Dr. Strangelove, etc. And that was when the only other nuclear power was the former Soviet Union. Nowadays, half the dictators on Planet Earth have the Bomb and yet no one discusses the Atomic Clock anymore. What gives?

On base, in uniform during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was a far closer thing than most realize.

Russian Book Looks at Missile Crisis
June 21, 2002
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

MOSCOW (AP) - Hunted down by the U.S. Navy off Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis, a furious Soviet submarine commander ordered a nuclear-tipped torpedo armed for action but then controlled his anger and brought the sub to the surface, where American ships were waiting.

The previously unknown incident - which might have pushed the two superpowers closer to nuclear war - is disclosed in a book released this week.

The book, written by Russian journalist Alexander Mozgovoi, tells the story of four Soviet submarines engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with the U.S. Navy off Cuba at the height of the Cuban missile crisis. It is based on interviews with former submariners.

Cuban Missile Crisis, Russian Submarines - Johnson's Russia List 6-22-02

And that was not the only Russian sub that came close to firing a Nuclear torpedo.

* Pollution. From nuclear waste to chemical run off, the rivers and lakes were supposedly dying forty years ago. Did we clean all that up?

Yes, largely, we did. The smoke stack scrubbers required on coal fired electrical generation slowed, and reveresed, in some areas, the amount of acid rain. There are many strict regulations on what businesses can let run into our rivers now.



* Deforestation. The Rain Forest is supposed to have been disappearing at the rate of an acre an hour since the 1970's....why isn't it all gone yet? Old growth forests, mountaintop coal mining, etc. How come it still rains?

We have 5% of our old growth forests left. And the rain forest is still disappearing far too fast.

* Population. Population levels have risen, maybe as fast as predicted. Why isn't Planet Earth rejecting its human load yet? Where are the famines, pandemics, etc. that were supposed to correct this?

Norman Borlaug

* Technology. From cars that kill to electric power lines that "poison" to radon in homes, we should all be dead by now. That's what you claimed decades ago.....was that an exaggeration?

A human being is a rather hard creature to kill. However, there are some evidences that certain things are not good for us. Air pollution has led to an asthma rate far above the preindustrial level. But the blessing of the industrial age far out weighs the costs. And we can reduce those costs to near zero as we recognize them.

It's confusing for us lay people to know when you scientists are actually warning us and when you are just raising our anxiety levels for shits and giggles. Is there a wink or a nod I can look for in future?

I can easily describe to you what a major eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera would do to this nation. And it is scary. However, in the next breath, I will tell you that we can reasonably expect such an eruption in the next 50,000 years. Doesn't mean that the eruption will not occur next year. Or 50,001 and one years from now.

We know what the 1918 flu pandemic caused. Anytime we see the possiblity of another such pandemic, there is no such thing as too much prudence. In a world with jet airliners, such a bug could be spread around the world in less than a day.

Science deals in probabilities. We know that CO2 is a GHG. We know that when the amount of CO2 and other GHGS in the atmosphere is high, the world is warmer. And we also know, not only from major extinction events, but also from minor recent events, like the Younger Dryas, that when the climate changed rapidly in a period of a decade.

Judging by the past, and the physics of the situation, it is highly likely that we will see a major and rapid climate change before this century is done. It is highly doubtful that the result will be beneficial for us or the other residents of this planet. That is what the scientists are trying to tell us.
B]
 
I suppose real issues with serious consequences are generally local, and we in the U.S. miss out on the fun of famine and plagues. Our greater concerns are the wedge issues, it seems, since they never go away and take up most of the debate here and elsewhere in our nation.
Love Canal, forgotten in the national debate is one example of many that actually exist and might be mitigated, but for politics in this nation going toxic.
The Industries which created such sites are now free to spend their dollars on propaganda protecting their interests (thank you Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Thomas and Scalia) and the MSM has been marginalized as too 'liberal' and in the pocket of Democratic Party.
And now that a 'tea party mentality' has become the solution de jour we can expect the debate to become a much more narrow focus, simple solutons to serious and complex issues may feel good, but a do-nothing attitude is sure to accomplsh nothing.
But ever the optimist, Wry believes a people get the government they deserve. If the people want law makers like Rand Paul, Sharon Angle, Michelle Bachman, Joe Miller, etc. so be it. In 2012 the movement which continues the Republican effort over the past two years to stiffle progress will result in a real sea change in 2012 - and the Reactionary forces so popular with the masses will be banished for decades.

You're out in Rdeanland.
 
I suppose real issues with serious consequences are generally local, and we in the U.S. miss out on the fun of famine and plagues. Our greater concerns are the wedge issues, it seems, since they never go away and take up most of the debate here and elsewhere in our nation.
Love Canal, forgotten in the national debate is one example of many that actually exist and might be mitigated, but for politics in this nation going toxic.
The Industries which created such sites are now free to spend their dollars on propaganda protecting their interests (thank you Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Thomas and Scalia) and the MSM has been marginalized as too 'liberal' and in the pocket of Democratic Party.
And now that a 'tea party mentality' has become the solution de jour we can expect the debate to become a much more narrow focus, simple solutons to serious and complex issues may feel good, but a do-nothing attitude is sure to accomplsh nothing.
But ever the optimist, Wry believes a people get the government they deserve. If the people want law makers like Rand Paul, Sharon Angle, Michelle Bachman, Joe Miller, etc. so be it. In 2012 the movement which continues the Republican effort over the past two years to stiffle progress will result in a real sea change in 2012 - and the Reactionary forces so popular with the masses will be banished for decades.

You're out in Rdeanland.

Brilliant retort Frank.
 
Did you know the US conducted 217 nuclear explosions above ground between 1945 and 1962? And that in 1958 we had 62! If you take into account the number of above ground nuclear explosions conducted by the other nuclear powers at the time, the Brits, French and Russians I would say the count was a lot higher. If a nuclear exchange is so threatening to mankind why did we not die off back in the early 60's with all the nukes going off then? A limited exchange of nukes is survivable but a massive exchange between the US and USSR ... nuclear winter is probable. Today with the reduction in the arsenals of both countries an exchange between the countries is once again becoming survivable. The smaller nuclear powers certainly do not have the capability of destroying the world. Killing a lot of people, yes, but not wiping the human race off the planet.
 
Old scares like Nutrisweet consumed by pregnant mothers causes autism in children?

I missed an entire scare? There is some birth defect said to be associated with handling cat feces, I remember. I was very sternly warned not to change the cat litter box by my Ob/Gyn. I wonder if that one was true or not?

Maternity scare stories are always fun!
 
I'm still waiting for Y2K to kick in

I actually had a case of that bug. A water quality analyser thought it was the year 1411 on Jan 2nd 2000. It wasnt a critical system, and they sent a patch to fix it the next day.
 
Did you know the US conducted 217 nuclear explosions above ground between 1945 and 1962? And that in 1958 we had 62! If you take into account the number of above ground nuclear explosions conducted by the other nuclear powers at the time, the Brits, French and Russians I would say the count was a lot higher. If a nuclear exchange is so threatening to mankind why did we not die off back in the early 60's with all the nukes going off then? A limited exchange of nukes is survivable but a massive exchange between the US and USSR ... nuclear winter is probable. Today with the reduction in the arsenals of both countries an exchange between the countries is once again becoming survivable. The smaller nuclear powers certainly do not have the capability of destroying the world. Killing a lot of people, yes, but not wiping the human race off the planet.

I think the difference between tests and an exchange is the collateral damage. A test scorches some desert, or wipes out a small island and some excess naval ships. A true strike would not only start massive fires, but would lead to contaminated food and water supplies. You also have to take into account the millions of corpses that would need to be buried or burned to stave off massive outbreaks of disease.
 
Inertia is hard to overcome. It maybe that Citizens United becomes the force to accomplish change.
As for the first amendment argument, there exists case law and statutory laws limiting free speech.
Libel and slander laws are the most obvious examples, but hate speech, fighting speech and threats are all forms of restricted speech.
Example of libel and slander in this political year are ubiquitous - negative ads may include half-truths, but also outright lies and unproven innuendos.

Hate speech is not outlawed de jure, just pushed underground de facto. I don't see klan leaders being arrested for speeches. Hate speech in itself does not fall under libel, slander or fighting/yelling fire exceptions to free speech.

Most political adds are not libel or slander as described by law, and that is what really matters. They are, as you say, half truths (with added out of context quotes for ha-ha's)

Hate Speech is outlawed. Please see California Penal Code section 422.6; speech alone no, but as part of a threat and with the means to carry out the threat, a misdemeanor (up to one year CJ, $5,000 fine + PA and community service).

Some political ads meet the standard for libel and slander; however, the threshhold for a public figure is higher; my point was it should not be.

Thats the fighting words clause, not hate speech. A person in California can still go on a podium and scream " I hate *******" and the police cannot touch him. Thats hate speech, and its legal.

Try using that law in a non threatening situation or a bullshit threatining situation and see it get overturned in 2 seconds.
 
Old scares like Nutrisweet consumed by pregnant mothers causes autism in children?

I missed an entire scare? There is some birth defect said to be associated with handling cat feces, I remember. I was very sternly warned not to change the cat litter box by my Ob/Gyn. I wonder if that one was true or not?

Maternity scare stories are always fun!

The risk is there, but it's somewhat minimal.

I still take care of the litter box for my wife now. Until we're past childbearing years I'm unwilling to take any risks.
 
Old scares like Nutrisweet consumed by pregnant mothers causes autism in children?

I missed an entire scare? There is some birth defect said to be associated with handling cat feces, I remember. I was very sternly warned not to change the cat litter box by my Ob/Gyn. I wonder if that one was true or not?

Maternity scare stories are always fun!

The risk is there, but it's somewhat minimal.

I still take care of the litter box for my wife now. Until we're past childbearing years I'm unwilling to take any risks.

You may just be The Perfect Man, Dr. Traveler.

Got any brothers?
 
Did you know the US conducted 217 nuclear explosions above ground between 1945 and 1962? And that in 1958 we had 62! If you take into account the number of above ground nuclear explosions conducted by the other nuclear powers at the time, the Brits, French and Russians I would say the count was a lot higher. If a nuclear exchange is so threatening to mankind why did we not die off back in the early 60's with all the nukes going off then? A limited exchange of nukes is survivable but a massive exchange between the US and USSR ... nuclear winter is probable. Today with the reduction in the arsenals of both countries an exchange between the countries is once again becoming survivable. The smaller nuclear powers certainly do not have the capability of destroying the world. Killing a lot of people, yes, but not wiping the human race off the planet.

I think the difference between tests and an exchange is the collateral damage. A test scorches some desert, or wipes out a small island and some excess naval ships. A true strike would not only start massive fires, but would lead to contaminated food and water supplies. You also have to take into account the millions of corpses that would need to be buried or burned to stave off massive outbreaks of disease.

Yes disease and the firestorms that follow would add on to the damage but the tests conducted vaporized a large amount of water and dust and put it into the atmosphere, radioactive fallout! The tests were also conducted against dummy structures and against live troops at some distance exposing them to some of the effects of the explosion. Until they started moving these tests underground, they were esssentialy what would happen in an explosion, excepting of course the firestorm upon the surrounding territory.

Don't get me wrong here, nuclear weapons are a threat to mankind, its just that it would take a whole lot of them to bring mankind to extinction. A bigger threat to mankind is drought, famine and disease. We see a glimpse of that this year in the drought in Asia. In a perfect storm of a year and major drought occurrs in most of the major crop producing areas ... well lets hope that does not happen. But with the ever increasing size of the popluation, drought plays a bigger and bigger part on life and death ion the world. It can also play a part in armed conflict as seen in Africa.
 
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I missed an entire scare? There is some birth defect said to be associated with handling cat feces, I remember. I was very sternly warned not to change the cat litter box by my Ob/Gyn. I wonder if that one was true or not?

Maternity scare stories are always fun!

The risk is there, but it's somewhat minimal.

I still take care of the litter box for my wife now. Until we're past childbearing years I'm unwilling to take any risks.

You may just be The Perfect Man, Dr. Traveler.

Got any brothers?

Nice to say, but I'm hardly perfect. I'm just not willing to take any risks when it comes to her health or the health of the baby. So I scoop up the litter every night since cat feces can spread a virus that has a chance of causing birth defects. Just safer that way all around.

I tend not to get too worked up about most scares. I look into them and see what's what, but birth defects and potential health risks for her or my son are something I take pretty seriously.
 

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