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Pastimes : The New Qualcomm - write what you like thread. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (2894)	5/8/2001 9:43:31 PM
From: S100	Respond to of 12231

Here is one more possible major nuclear weapons disaster for you to mull over. Sure hope the wind is blowing away from Espoo and NZ when something goes high order. Russia faces new nuclear disaster as experts quit By Patrick Cockburn 09 May 2001 The World faces the threat of a major nuclear weapons disaster because Russia's impoverished atomic scientists are abandoning their posts in droves, a new report warned yesterday. The safety of the country's nuclear arsenal, the pride of the military built up by the Soviet Union, is increasingly in doubt amid the collapse of the scientific élite. The report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace warns that Russia is failing "to train, recruit and maintain the type of experts it needs to ensure a safe, secure and reliable strategic nuclear deterrent". There is a growing risk that the Russian nuclear arsenal will suffer a devastating accident similar to the one at theChernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. The scientists, in charge of producing nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them, once enjoyed a higher standard of living than other Russians. Now many of them earn only £40 a month and are forced to rely on second jobs for most of their income. "I would go abroad with great pleasure, but sometimes I don't have enough money to buy cigarettes," a specialist told the social scientist Valentin Tikhonov, the report's author. The survey of nuclear specialists living in 10 cities where nuclear weapons and missiles are made shows they are in despair at their prospects. Mr Tikhonov gained access to 10 cities whose very existence was often a secret under the Soviet Union. They frequently did not appear on maps and had no names. Instead they were called after the nearest administrative centre, though it might be hundreds of miles away, and by its postal code, such as Chelyabinsk-45 or Krasnoyarsk-26. The report says the reason for the fall in the quality of the 120,000 nuclear technicians working in the 10 cities is the collapse in their living standards. "About 60 per cent of surveyed specialists received monthly pay equivalent to less than $50," it says. Mr Tikhonov writes: "Regular pay has ceased to be the main source of livelihood, giving way to money made by moonlighting." One unnamed scientist says: "Even people in Zambia do not live in this way." But the fear of the early Nineties, that Russian nuclear specialists would take their expertise to other countries, has not been realised. Despite President George Bush's claim that a missile defence system is necessary to protect America against "rogue states", there is little demand for the services of Russian nuclear scientists abroad. But the report suggests that many would go, if asked. "The main thing is that I should be paid," says one specialist. "After all, I will be working, not killing or robbing." Another scientist complained: "The most terrible thing is that no one is waiting for us anywhere, either abroad or in this godforsaken country." Russia is losing capacity to replace existing nuclear weapons as well as to maintain those it has already. A missile specialist says: "Production of submarine missiles is dying with a corresponding dearth of designers and technology experts." Another complains that the government in Moscow has no policy for dealing with the nuclear and missile cities. The report warns that "maintaining systems as complex as nuclear weapons and long-range missiles requires a skilled, experienced, and motivated cadre of experts". Also from the Russia section Russia faces new nuclear disaster as experts quit Rustic charm of a bitter war waits to explode Back to Earth with a bump for the space tourist Eight miners killed in Ukraine gas explosion Putin gives cautious welcome to US pledge to consult on missile defence news.independent.co.uk

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (2894)	5/9/2001 7:10:41 PM
From: S100	Respond to of 12231

A Modest Proposal: Naked Fridays will scare porn-addled population straight DAVE SHIFLET Recent cultural developments, including some discussed in this space, reveal that Americans are deeply fixated on nakedness. This fixation has created widespread marketplace and societal disruptions that must be addressed. The good news is that a cure is at hand. First, however, let us consider the challenge before us. This is very much a demand-side problem, and like many consumer products begin comes to mind -nakedness has created a market for yet more nakedness. Television producers must now disrobe their actors and actresses to have any hope of staying on the air. Internet entrepreneurs must offer countless numbers of naked people in various states of repose -sometimes alone, sometimes with other people, sometimes with ponies -to scratch out a living. The advertising industry is under similar pressure: It can only be a matter of time before the Pep Boys are forced to sell their mufflers in the buff. This demand is also at the heart of the "culture wars" that rock our social and political realms. These wars are largely fought over nakedness -naked people on television, pictures of naked people in museums, naked people sunning themselves in public parks, naked people delivering commencement addresses, etc. These wars have deeply divided America and have left us mentally bereft. We now routinely confuse exhibitionists with artists. We have turned Jesse Helms into a museum curator. According to some analysts, this conflict has weakened us to the point of tempting a Canadian invasion. Clearly, we have a problem -a problem largely" based on demand. So how do we reduce demand that would be quite easy. Americans should be required to go naked one day a week. The program could be modeled on the "dress-down Friday" ritual. Only a few such Fridays will be necessary to break the spell. , That this plan will work is beyond question. The reason: We are fixated on nakedness simply because we have become entranced by a very idealized version -the type enhanced by proper camera angles, makeup, surgery and similar interventions. Once we see the beast in its true and natural state -and on a massive scale -our view will change drastically. We might call this the Full Monty approach. This process will be brutal, as reality tends to be. We will quickly be reminded that beautiful people (of the Hollywood type) are freaks. The teeth-chattering fact is America is teeming with overweight, puffy, sagging, bloated, rash-ridden, hairy-backed monsters. And that's just in high school. A large portion of middle-aged citizens, if seen naked in the fluorescent lights of the modern office complex, are capable of stampeding cattle. Men of sugar-daddy rank possess heart-stopping qualities when viewed without protective clothing. How will this work on a personal level? Consider the likely plight of the middle manager who has long trained his lusting eyes on Roxanne. He will no doubt await the first Naked Friday with great anticipation. Perhaps she will return the favor with an appreciative glance. After all, even women are known to swaddle their minds in the soft cloth of illusion. Then the great day arrives. They peel. They gaze. They tremble. His first thought: How did such a young woman grow so many moles? Roxy is suddenly reminded of Buddha -Buddha with liver spots. As if on cue, 64-year-old Mr. Big walks out of his office. Roxy takes one look and shrieks "Aaijeee! It's Yoda!" The first fruit of this experiment will be a definite decline in the in-office romance rate and an attending rise in efficiency and creativity. Bob is back to performing those feats that will earn him a key to the executive washroom, instead of scheming up ways to invade Roxy's knickers. Within two weeks the general allure of nakedness will be in fatal fade, for a simple reason: Nakedness will have become old hat -very old hat. Soon enough, true babes and studs will be shunned, as freaks always are. Television can take up deep artistic and philosophical issues. The culture will blossom. And America can turn its majestic abilities to solving larger problems, such as how to keep the lights burning. One warning: If the lights go out and stay out, Naked Friday will have monumentally different results. IBD Friday 4 May 2001