North Korean Rocket Launch (& New Nuke Test)

[Josh]

Throwing money at an impossible problem won't solve anything.

Its never stopped us before.

[Gohron]

I don't think global nuclear war will ever happen. The fear has so dominated the fiction of mankind that there's no way every country would join in. But I doubt we've seen the last nuclear bomb dropped. Eventually someone will be crazy or stupid enough to do it.

I'd wager that you're right, but as you said, you doubt we've seen the last nuclear bomb used against military or civilian targets. A single bomb going off in the Middle East, the Korean Pennisula (or Japan) or even in the United States could carry serious repercussions and could easily escalate into something much larger. It almost happened over a few IRBM's in Cuba in the 60's without a single one exploding and I think it's a very real possibility. It would probably be best to just start working on getting rid of the damn things, but that will likely never happen and with more developing countries advancing in their research it's only a matter of time until virtually every country has them operational.

[Andrew]

If American was investing research into fusion power all these years, we would have been able to offer a safe, efficient power source to the world that can't make bombs.

Hold on, hold on. So you're saying this is our fault? Seriously?

Protip: You could figure out a way to harness energy from unicorn farts and rainbow kisses, and certain madmen will still want nukes.

Bonus Holiday Protip: If you wonder why liberals are often stuck with the "blame America first" stereotype... well, this is why.

[Frogacuda]

If by "American" you mean private and public corporations then I would submit that if it were profitable they would have been doing it.

Things are generally more profitable after they exist than before. This is technology that hasn't been fully developed, but China and France have made tremendous progress on it, and they're going to reap the benefits instead of us, and that's stupid. We have the resources, we're just being lazy.

If by "American" you mean our government, then fuck no. It's not our government's responsibility to venture into this kind of stuff - particularly if it undermines (competes with) other forms of power like natural gas, coal, electric, etc... Our government shouldn't be competition for our corporations.

Was it the government's responsibility to put a man on the moon? We've always invested in technology research, and it's a big part of what made this country a superpower in the first place. We still do it, but we haven't done it for fusion because we're stupid.

Hold on, hold on. So you're saying this is our fault? Seriously?

I didn't blame us for causing this, I blamed us for dropping the ball on a tool we could use to leverage against this. That doesn't make us the "bad guy," it makes us a less effective "good guy" than we could have been.

P.S. If you want to know why conservatives get the stereotype of seeing the world as a black and white stuggle between good and evil, this is why.

[haohmaru]

Things are generally more profitable after they exist than before. This is technology that hasn't been fully developed, but China and France have made tremendous progress on it, and they're going to reap the benefits instead of us, and that's stupid. We have the resources, we're just being lazy. .

Which doesn't change the fact that we're home to the largest corporations with the most capital and they aren't interested.

And, in case you haven't been paying attention, people in this country are really unhappy with the prospect of a nuclear reactor in their backyard - wherever that may be.

Was it the government's responsibility to put a man on the moon? We've always invested in technology research, and it's a big part of what made this country a superpower in the first place. We still do it, but we haven't done it for fusion because we're stupid.I didn't blame us for causing this, I blamed us for dropping the ball on a tool we could use to leverage against this. That doesn't make us the "bad guy," it makes us a less effective "good guy" than we could have been.

P.S. If you want to know why conservatives get the stereotype of seeing the world as a black and white stuggle between good and evil, this is why.

I don't know what you're talking about re: good and evil or whatever that psychological babble is. I'm not even sure you're talking to, or about, me. If you are, then I should point out that I was on the side of Obama, not McCain, in the last election and your rubber stamp is dead wrong.

Was there private competition to put man on the moon? Was there an industry or ten that would've been crushed as soon as man landed on the moon? You're talking about an alternate power source that could fundamentally change our economy. It's a little different and it's still the responsibility of corporations which have been fundamentally and universally better at producing new technology than any government ever has been.

[arjue]

We can't invent the automobile, it'll destroy the horse and carriage industry!

[haohmaru]

Did a government invent the automobile? Shut the fuck up.

[Othello Harrington]

Oh look squall and frog combining for 60000 words on a 2000 word topic, weird.


China is even being vocal on this, North Korea has put its foot in its own ass again. This will fizzle away (just like the first test) and there will be yet more sanctions.

[Advocate]

i agree with Biff.

[Frogacuda]

And, in case you haven't been paying attention, people in this country are really unhappy with the prospect of a nuclear reactor in their backyard - wherever that may be.

I think you might be the one not paying attention. Nuclear fusion reactors can't meltdown like fission reactors, create no radioactive waste, and don't require enriched nuclear materials to run. If anyone has a problem with them, they're pig-ignorant. It's safe, clean energy, that can power a city on materials extracted from a gallon of saltwater.

I don't know what you're talking about re: good and evil or whatever that psychological babble is.

I was talking to squall. Which is why I, you know, quoted him and paraphrased what he said. Next time read my post before hitting the "quote" button.

Was there private competition to put man on the moon? Was there an industry or ten that would've been crushed as soon as man landed on the moon?

Coal mining might be hurt by nuclear fusion, but generally speaking it would just change the power industry, not wreck it. Reactors will still cost money to build and maintain and people will still buy power from them. Just because we aren't digging coal out of the ground as much doesn't mean our economy's going to take a blow.

Corporations aren't always willing to invest in long-term research projects with no clear date of completion unless it's in the medical field for whatever reason, but there's no reason the rest of the world should be beating us on this. You put too much faith in corporations, when the reality is, they're fucking stupid sometimes.