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Louis writes: "David, I have a hard time figuring out what is more aberrant. You posting this pro-nuclear propaganda to the Marxism list right now..." Louis, so I should counter your sharp response with: I find it "aberrant" that you post only NYT and other anti-nuclear propaganda on the Marxism list, devoid of any scientific analysis and based on speculation? Fine. Basically if YOU disagree with the content or message, it's "pro-nuclear propaganda". You post idiotic stuff from Harvey Wasserman, you ought rename the list to something other than "Marxism". I think what's happening in Japan is absolutely terrible. I think it's terrible thousands have died and that we don't have a *clue* about the full extend of what this earthquake had done, with dams bursting, oil refineries on fie, and so on. And... I'm willing to wait and post counter-responses to what are blind accusations until actual *scientific analysis* is done on what is going on there. Right now ALL sources of information come from one of there points: 1. The Japanese gov't. 2. TEPCO, the operators of the plant. 3. Japanese Nuclear and Safety Agency. There are no other sources. The NYT, especially Wald, has been using his reporter's position to selectively make the situation worse than perhaps it is. For example, he fails to mention...that radiation levels have actually gone *down* around the plant and has not gone up at all during venting. Why would he omit this? (it also raises another important question that if venting is not the source of what radiation that his measured, where does it come from and has containment been breached and if so, how? See? This is the kind of questions and discussion *serious* people have on nuclear energy. But that would require questions from someone who can ask a speculative question who is scientifically based and not propaganda based). I'm following responses from *qualified* people who have made judgements because they actually parse ALL the information available not just selectively. This means reading information from the Science magazine whose blog contains the most *qualified* condemnation of nuclear energy and the events there I've read yet because the author at least knows what he's talking and avoid anything from Greenpeace or Counterpunch as an obvious waste of time. I'll regularly read the updated American Nuclear Society blog which has updated news from all sources, *completely* presented, for better or worse, but avoid the NEI (Nuclear Energy Institute) for the same obvious reasons I'd avoid anti-nuclear propaganda sites. I spend about 2 hours a day, starting Friday night, reading through all this stuff (except yesterday where I was at a Student conference on budget cuts). If people want to start examining the actual events, one can start with an actual cut-away diagram of the reactor here: http://www.nei.org/filefolder/BoilingWaterReactorDesign_3.jpg You'll notice it doesn't look like anything one unusually associates with a nuclear reactor, a sort of inverted torus shaped light-bulb. This was the oldest commercial plant in Japan and, ironically, was due to be taken out of service and decommissioned *this year*. DW ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
