Funny events in anti-woke world

tstorm823

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Now do that in Sv.

One is an isotope (K-40) that decays to a stable radioisotope with the emission of either a single beta particle or gamma ray, internalized through the digestive tract. The other is an element (Radon) that itself is an intermediate step in a decay chain of short-lived products that emit alpha particles every step of the way, internalized through the respiratory system.

(Hint: one's an acute effective dose measured in microsieverts; the other's a chronic effective dose measured in millisieverts per year. Assuming you work and sleep indoors, you'd have to eat about 38 bananas per day, every day, to match the average effective dose from radon exposure.)

Emission is not the same as exposure, neither are the same as absorption, none of the above is the same as equivalent dose, and equivalent dose is not the same as effective dose. A dose internalized via the respiratory system is not the same as a dose internalized via the digestive system. And of course, acute dose is definitely not the same as chronic dose.
Ok, lets just compare sources of radon then. There is radon in the air you breath already, before anything has been mined or processed or built by people. Some homes collect radon because the soil underneath is full of it, and building materials are too effective at trapping it. Are we worried now that a negligible fraction of the radon already in the air we breath is going to escape the materials known for being too good at containing it, and that's how we're gonna have problems?
 

Eacaraxe

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We are finding though that there is a much larger portion of acid-soluble mercury which is concerning in areas where there is a carbonation risk, and there is talk of higher mercury contents being found in limited Fly Ash samples. China in particular seems to be reporting rising mercury content in their Fly Ash, but its hard to say if thats a source or a handling issue, and this material is generally not shipped globally so that's not as much of a local concern.
Sorry, I should have been clearer -- my commentary was intended towards heavy element and radioisotope contaminants, opposed to other safety aspects associated with fly ash use. As far as mercury content, a while back here I got into it about the same subject, and dug up an article that found higher concentrations of heavy elements and naturally-occurring radioactive materials in Chinese anthracites (if I remember right) compared to others around the world. Having found that, I wonder if that may be a key piece of the puzzle -- as least as far as China is concerned.

The general point being, we really thought Fly Ash was perfectly safe in my industry and we've been getting steadily worse and worse news about how accurate that assumption might have been. I'm kind of afraid I'm gonna start hearing about people getting the Grey Lung or some shit in ten years and then I have to see a doctor every two months until I die. God knows people who do rehabilitative construction work on concrete have been finding some nasty shit at times - turns out some psychos mixed asbestos into concrete at times, and guess what happens when you use a grinder on that.
Yeah, we're going to be paying for the ridiculousness of the early- to mid-1900's for a while yet. I still swear if something existed at that time period, somebody put asbestos, lead, or radium in it.
 

Silvanus

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True. However, the question is whether stricter gun control laws would solve the issue, and the data doesn't support the conclusion it will. Rather, gun control debates are purpose-designed to obfuscate the actual root causes behind violent crime, firearm-related crime, and firearm deaths (homicide or suicide). The problem specifically is there are deeper societal problems in America, that politicians and the pundit class are unwilling to address directly.
Well, all I know is that since the strict handgun controls came in after Dunblane here in the UK, we've had less than 1 'mass' shooting per 2 years, and only twice in the subsequent 26 years have we had >5 deaths (including the shooter).

Now sure, before 1997 we already had massively fewer than the US. But before 1997 we also had quite a few more than we did afterwards (more like once a year). The controls marked a noticeable drop.
 

Silvanus

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Are we worried now that a negligible fraction of the radon already in the air we breath is going to escape the materials known for being too good at containing it, and that's how we're gonna have problems?
Well now that's what I'm worried about!
 

Trunkage

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Well, you see, using resources to help people is communist and will lead to bread lines and reeducation camps. Letting crazy people with guns kill people with mental issues who don't have guns is FREEDOM!
I saw the bread(/car) lines a couple of year ago in the US. When did they go communist?
 

Gordon_4

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Yeah, we're going to be paying for the ridiculousness of the early- to mid-1900's for a while yet. I still swear if something existed at that time period, somebody put asbestos, lead, or radium in it.
I’d say that’s a very accurate assessment
 

Ag3ma

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You already know that's a matter of which countries have produced in-depth studies, legal records are kept, and the accessibility of data by researchers. Which is why North American and European countries are wildly overrepresented in data, and subsequent conversations, regarding violent crime, homicide rates, and firearm ownership. That's something I pointed out later in the past thread (with additional data on firearm ownership, firearm homicide, and income inequity by country), that contrary to popular belief North American and European countries are actually outliers, and the economic south's combination of low firearm ownership rates but high rates of firearm-related violence and firearm homicides tells the real tale.
There are far too many North American and European countries for them to be called "outliers". Outliers should be rare: for instance a common statistical definition might be anything beyond 2 or 3 standard deviations from the mean.
 
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Thaluikhain

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Well, all I know is that since the strict handgun controls came in after Dunblane here in the UK, we've had less than 1 'mass' shooting per 2 years, and only twice in the subsequent 26 years have we had >5 deaths (including the shooter).

Now sure, before 1997 we already had massively fewer than the US. But before 1997 we also had quite a few more than we did afterwards (more like once a year). The controls marked a noticeable drop.
Once Australia tightened its gun laws in 1996, not only was there something of a decrease in homicides, but there was also a massive decrease in the amount of gun suicides, without a corresponding increase in suicide by other methods.
 

XsjadoBlayde

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XsjadoBlayde

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Santos to solitary confinement.


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Republican US congressman George Santos has been arrested in New York on charges of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to the House of Representatives, authorities said.

The 34-year-old will appear in a court on New York’s Long Island on Wednesday afternoon to be arraigned on charges in a 13-count indictment. He is accused of misappropriating tens of thousands of dollars in political donations and lying about his true income once elected.

Santos was elected in last November’s midterm congressional elections. His victory flipped a Long Island district previously held by a Democrat, helping Republicans to regain control of the House. But he has since faced a series of scandals after he was found to have lied about his education, employment history, ethnicity and family background.

Breon Peace, US attorney for the eastern district of New York, said in a statement: “He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives.”

The indictment is a blow to House Republicans who have become increasingly embarrassed by Santos’s presence within their ranks but cannot afford to lose him given their slim majority in the lower chamber of Congress. Several Republicans from the moderate New York suburbs have already called for him to step down. "The sooner he leaves, the sooner we can win the seat with someone who isn’t a liar,” Nicole Malliotakis, a New York Republican lawmaker, told Axios this week.

Kevin McCarthy, the House Speaker, has not gone that far and may only do so if Santos is convicted. Santos stepped down earlier this year from the congressional committees he was assigned to because of the pressure on him.

“The party of George Santos and Marjorie Taylor Greene cannot be trusted to govern. Not now. Not ever,” Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House, said in a tweet, lumping in the indicted New York congressman with the pro-Trump firebrand Georgia lawmaker known for embracing conspiracy theories.

In the 20-page indictment unsealed on Wednesday, federal prosecutors alleged Santos used $50,000 in campaign donations from two people, who were told the money would be partly used for campaign advertisements, to buy designer clothing and pay his personal debts as well as funnel funds to his associates.

They also alleged that Santos repeatedly filed for unemployment insurance during the Covid-19 pandemic, receiving a total of more than $24,000 despite making $120,000 a year as an employee of a Florida investment fund.

Once elected, Santos vastly overstated his income and his assets to the House, the indictment alleged, making him out to be a multimillionaire.

If found guilty on all charges, Santos could spend the rest of his life in prison. A lawyer for Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


"The sooner he leaves, the sooner we can win the seat with someone who isn’t a liar,” Nicole Malliotakis, a New York Republican lawmaker, told Axios this week.
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Eacaraxe

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Well, all I know is that since the strict handgun controls came in after Dunblane here in the UK, we've had less than 1 'mass' shooting per 2 years, and only twice in the subsequent 26 years have we had >5 deaths (including the shooter).

Now sure, before 1997 we already had massively fewer than the US. But before 1997 we also had quite a few more than we did afterwards (more like once a year). The controls marked a noticeable drop.
Just because one thing occurred after another, does not necessarily mean it happened because of it. I'd be careful to look for other, intervening, variables first, and see if the reduction in mass shootings corresponded to a drop in homicides, violent crimes in total, and for additional context suicide rate, as well.

Based on my quick look-see at UK crime rates, homicides and violent crimes peaked in '02 and declined year-over-year until 2014, at which point they started to rise again. The interesting thing there seems to be the transition from firearm homicide, to homicide by sharp instrument and by bludgeoning. Suicide rate seems to have stayed consistent throughout. So, that suggests to me we need to look to intervening variables, that would impact crime rate equally.

And, well, the UK economy was "strong". Low unemployment, the national minimum wage was implemented in '99, BoE was empowered to control interest rates and low inflation kept rates low, and consistent (albeit slowed) annual growth. It was a bubble economy, but that's part of the story -- decline in crime rate had the same five-year lag as the post-recession rise in crime rate. Being the homicide rate followed the same trend as the crime rate, it seems to be a byproduct of a stabler economy.

UK's mass shooting incidence seems to follow the same trend. Two in the period between 1997-2014, five since, with three of those in the last three years. Not nearly as many as in the US and certainly a couple orders of magnitude fewer casualties, but the trend's clear. Especially when contrasted to the bloodiness of the '70s recession and Thatcher's reign of terror.

I'd suggest we're not looking at a causative relationship between gun control and mass shooting and homicide rates, but rather the same coincidence that makes the Brady bill appear to have been successful: the bill just happened to have been passed during a period of economic prosperity.
 

Trunkage

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View attachment 8797

Are you sure it was the Democrats that "emptied the jails", George?

I mean, given he's your own party and all, you could at least leave Mr. Trump at least one good legislative accomplishment from his 4 years in office.
Don't point this out. Trump doing a positive thing like this will just lead to the GOP twisting his ear to make sure he doesn't follow this in the future