LINES OF THE DAY

". . . But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something over there only because I am here. But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past as past." p. 15

". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153

Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot

Monday, March 14, 2011

Why Does the Nuclear Pork Barrel Insist That Nuclear Disaster Can't Happen?

According to those who work in the industry anyone who raises objections to nuclear power is a scientific and technological ignoramous who should just stfu and be slapped into the bargain.

The So-called-Feisty-Little-Engine-That-Can U.S. Nuclear Industry Tall Tales of Unfair Woe -- You can always count on Joe -- ain't it grand?

U.S. Nuclear Industry Faces New Uncertainty
“I think it calls on us here in the U.S., naturally, not to stop building nuclear power plants but to put the brakes on right now until we understand the ramifications of what’s happened in Japan,” Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut and one of the Senate’s leading voices on energy, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Also like this:

Japanese Crisis Only The Latest Hurdle For U.S. Nuclear Industry
Some experts suggested the situation in Japan, while alarming, should not be used as an argument against expanded nuclear power in the United States, because of differences in geography -- Japan is more vulnerable to major earthquakes and tsunamis.
"Unfortunately, we have a habit of not putting things into perspective," said Remick, the former member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "So I think it will result in an overreaction."
Why is the reportage tilted to the perceptions of how badly this is hurting the poor nuclear pork barrelers industry rather than the terrible, great harms and catastrophes, and the great risks that more will takes because of the choice of nuclear plants for power?  Or their enormous expense and that it takes so long to build one and get it up to speed that it is out-of-date in everyway, including safety regulations, before it ever goes on line?

O, I forgot: earthquakes, tsunamis, carelessness, sabotage won't, don't, can't happen HERE in Exceptionalist States of America.
 

No comments: