Chernobyling (fwd)
-- Forwarded message -- Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 14:36:20 -0500 From: DEW [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: Electronic Democracy in Nova Scotia [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Chernobyling Originally To: comp.software.year-2000 newsgroup Driving home one recent night I heard a CBC radio program on Three Mile Island. I was surprised to learn how out-of-control the plant was. Personneÿ l who retrieved test samples and worked to control the reactor spent hours in showers scrubbing their skin raw even though they wore state-of-the-art protective suits. A meltdown can occur around 5000 degrees. Three Mile Island passed 4000 degrees before it was brought down. It was disturbing to hear that the same problem had occurred shortly before at another American reactor but management types had suppressed information about the occurrencÿ e and how to avoid it at other sites. Before hearing the program I thought that the worse the year 2000 mess mighÿ t bring could be a bit worse than what folks had suffered between 1929 and 1950. I read about power problems but most mentioned shutdowns and blackouts. The radio program made me think hard about nuclear reactors. I searched the Internet for how nuclear reactors and nuclear workers might behave in the year 2000. I found lots of information on reactor problems; waste and unplanned environmental releases that remain dangerous for thousands of years, terrorist threats, weaknesses, disasters and near disasters, cancer increases, etc. The Virtual Nuclear Tourist site even told me that 'Chernobyl was not a meltdown in the traditional sense..' Perhaps we should call it Chernobyling. Comp.software.year-2000 e-mails turned up on the issue. However, I found few solid answers to my questions on what might happen in the year 2000 at hundreds of nuclear reactors around the world. Rick Cowles, wrote to comp.software.year-2000 in October 97: [The folks running the Y2K effort at this particular nuke facility are in a stage 5 panic. They haven't even finished inventorying their software yetÿ . Risk assessment? Ha! Embedded controls? Ha! I laugh in your general direction. They don't have an inkling of a clue (that's the pre-clueless stage) as to how to approach the embedded controls issue. They can get absolutely no upper level management support or funding.] Rick's words ring true. Nuclear workers and managers are probably much like ordinary human beings. A Statistics Canada survey released Dec. 97 found that 9% of Canadian companies had formal plans, 36% had 'informal plans', 46% knew about the problem but had done nothing, and 9% were ignorant of thÿ e problem. If about 10% of the world has taken the problem seriously, the samÿ e probably applies to nuclear reactor staffing, management and officials. Rick's friends would probably fit into the 'informal plans' group. Should wÿ e have a high level of confidence in their systems when the clock rolls arounÿ d to 2000? Considering that some of the 9% with formal plans will fail Many comp.software.year-2000 e-mails argued that nuclear reactor designs have a kind of built in graceful degradation. Most e-mails avoided details. A moose outside a Canadian reactor might be a lovely picture but it does not mean that the moose is safe. We should try not to be as dumb as a moose about technologies that can kill millions of us as well as moose, birds, fish, pets, etc. Daniel P. B. Smith wrote about graceful nuclear degradation. He came closer to giving details than most and he even wrote with grace. [ Speaking as a pinko left-wing peace creep, member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, etc: I hope and believe that nuclear power plants ultimately rely for their safety on nice, big, simple low-tech things like big heavy containnment buildings. Nuclear power plants are supposed not to irradiate state-sized chunks of real estate merely because the pipe burst and the control rod stuck and the pump failed. Now, maybe they won't act exactly the way they're supposed to. But I do tend to credit those that think that the most likely scenario is that if the nuclear plants have Y2K problems they'll shut down, more or less safely. And it may then be days/months/years/eternity before they ever generate any more power.'] I would love to have faith in Daniels arguments but I have doubts. I douÿ bt an intelligent and well-trained auditor would accept these arguments as proof of safety, let alone a scientist. Chernobyl was not supposed to spreaÿ d highly toxic radioactivity over the 100,000 square kilometers that surround it but it did. Russians were not supposed to eat radioactive food, but they are eating radioactive food. Fins were not supposed to dispose of radioactive reindeer, Brits were not supposed to dispose of radioactive sheep, but they have had to because of Chernobyl which is miles away. (I believe the sheep and
NEW: workers-comp - Workers Compensation Law Discussion Group (fwd)
-- Forwarded message -- Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 22:13:35 -0600 From: Kevin O'Keefe [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: NEW: workers-comp - Workers Compensation Law Discussion Group workers-comp on [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Workers Compensation Law Forum was created to help lawyers, medical professionals,workers, and anyone else who is interested in discussing issues relating to workers compensation. This is a mail list discussion group where they can meet to ask questions, exchange information and discuss injuries, procedures, ratings and claims. The Worker's Compensation Law Forum is part of prairielaw.com, http://prairielaw.com ,an interactive legal resource web site dedicated to helping ordinary people achieve justice by empowering them through education and the exchange of information. Subscription to the forum is absolutely free. Both post by post and digest formats are available. Please consider subscribing by putting JOIN in the body of the message and mailing to [EMAIL PROTECTED] (post by post format) or mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . (digest format). For more information and an easier way to subscribe please go to the Workers Compensation Law Forum's home page at http://www.prairielaw.com/wc/ . Owner: Kevin O'Keefe [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- Use this information at your own risk. For more information and disclaimer send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the command INFO NEW-LIST in the body. URL: http://LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU/archives/new-list.html
Re: Alternative Investment Code
Thomas Lunde said: I agree with your exposition that the net flow of capital outside of communities destroys those very communities and it is with great sadness that I and many others who had that type of childhood feel when we stop chasing the buck for awhile and think of the childhood we had as compared to the childhood we are currently giving our children. My girls, know more about the Spice Girls than they do about their great grandparents and the 50 years of community living, friendships and relationships that were developed when small local communities existed. If I find any consolation in the current world situation, it is that capitalism may self destruct on the global level and that electronic technology may destroy those great capitalistic sumps that suck the life out of the country into cities. The land of my childhood is a wasteland of specialized people growing specialized crops that are determined by the need to generate income so they can farm larger so they can make more income. Their life is no different except that their "job" is in the country. Their lifestyle is as empty as it is for the rest of us living in the suburbs and fighting the morning rush hour. This is all rationalized under the concepts of opportunity - but from my standpoint, this is a word from George Orwell. Well, enough of my morning rant, I get frustrated with words. The land of your childhood does sound rather wonderful. Even though I grew up in much the same area - all over the western provinces - mine was quite different. My parents were immigrants who came from eastern Europe just before the Great Depression. They tried to farm in Saskatchewan, but could never quite get themselves established. My Dad, like so many other would-be farmers and farmers' sons of the time, rode the rods and became an itinerant farm hand just to provide some money to keep us alive. We followed him around and lived wherever there was a job for a few months. There may have been country dances wherever we lived, but I don't remember ever attending them. There were undoubtedly some wealthy farmers around too, but the ones I remember were dirt poor, so poor that they could not afford to pay my Dad wages for the work he did, which meant we had to move on again. Many of them were indebted; that is, they relied on capital borrowed from others, and since there was very little capital in the area, it must have been imported from elsewhere. Things changed after the war. Farms became much more prosperous, but they also became more mechanized and efficient. They did not need many people. Fortunately, capital was moving into the cities at the time, urban population was growing, and there were plenty of jobs. When my father returned from overseas, we moved from a small town in rural Saskatchewan to Winnipeg where he found employment as a carpenter. I'm not saying that the world of your childhood was imaginary, but it was probably quite exceptional, doomed to last for only a brief period until economic and technological change did away with it. You appear to view yours with nostalgia; I would not want to relive mine. And I'm very thankful that I did not have to raise my children in the wretchedness of the prairies of the 1930s. I have not read Douthwaite, but if he is making the point that capital should be used only where it is being generated, then I would strongly disagree. Capital spells opportunity for a better life. If capital does not move to where it is needed, people will move to where the capital is located. And it is very difficult to prevent them from moving. The media are full of stories of Mexicans trying to get into the US and of the Americans trying to keep them out. The same thing is going on in many other parts of the world. In my view it is much more humane to move capital from surplus to deficit areas than to expect people to uproot themselves and participate in the perils of migration. Ed Weick
Re: Canadian banks (fwd)
Can anybody help this student reporter/researcher? Seems to be looking for the other side of the argument. What are people saying about Canadian banks, the proposed merger, etc. -- Forwarded message -- Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 11:05:53 -0500 From: Chris Allen [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Arthur Cordell [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Canadian banks Mr. Cordell, I am a student at McGill University writing for the McGill Tribune. I am investigating whether or not Canadians are justified in berating the Big Six banks for their profit levels, user fees etc. Do we have a banking monopoly in Canada? Would more competition be desirable? I am looking for a seasoned view that represents the average Canadian consumer in these respects. I would like a response as soon as possible. Thank you. Christopher Allen (514) 844-5331 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Job Ad for Netcorps-2000
Netcorps-2000 International Opportunity Please quote reference number NET98013 on all correspondence. The Centre for Community and Enterprise Networking (C\CEN) of the University College of Cape Breton http://ccen.uccb.ns.ca is recruiting placements for our Netcorps-2000 Project. These placements will be for 4-6 month terms pending budgetary approval. Netcorps-2000 is an initiative of C\CEN with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Industry Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to assist development of the Internet internationally, within the UN system and in UNDP member states. This current project, developed, administered and implemented by C\CEN, will place technically skilled young Canadians in UNDP offices in the Asia Pacific region for a work term of 4 to 6 months. This opportunity is open to Canadians generally between 18- 30 years of age who are registered on the National Graduate Registry. Applicants should have proven knowledge of Internet technology and of the WindowsNT environment, including modem setup and connectivity implementation; ability to work in an environment with limited technical support; ability to design and hold informal IT training workshops; and good communication skills. Other IT skills such as Web page creation will be considered an asset along with the willingness to travel internationally. Qualified candidates should send a letter of application quoting the reference number, a curriculum vitae and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of three references to Director, Human Resources, University College of Cape Breton, PO Box 5300, Sydney, Nova Scotia, B1P 6L2. Fax number (902)563-1458. Applications must be received no later than 4 pm Friday, February 6, 1998. Please visit our web site to view other position vacancies - http://www.uccb.ns.ca Alana Serroul Human Resources Secretary University College of Cape Breton [EMAIL PROTECTED] Michael Gurstein, Ph.D. ECBC/NSERC/SSHRC Associate Chair in the Management of Technological Change Director: Centre for Community and Enterprise Networking (C\CEN) University College of Cape Breton, POBox 5300, Sydney, NS, CANADA B1P 6L2 Tel. 902-539-4060 (o) 902-562-1055 (h) 902-562-0119 (fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://ccen.uccb.ns.ca
Re: Alternative Investment Code
In reply to Ed: Well, I can certainly appreciate your experience and to a large degree it was reflected in my family as well, but you are talking about the experiences of the depression and I was referring to the experiences of the 50's. That two decade difference is a big difference. I guess the personal story I was trying to tell Douthwaite was based on the complaints I heard from my grandfather as he watched his 5 sons leave the farm. He maintained that it was the price the cities were willing to pay for farm production and that because they controlled the market and the capital, the farmer was forced to take what he could get. Grain in a granary has no value, so withholding his production from the market and waiting for a better price wasn't an option. This transfer of wealth from primary industries in local areas is the "profit" that makes cities possible. Cities on their own cannot build without wood, manufacture without metals, eat without large agriculture and that is not to say that cities provide no benefits - it is to say that miners and loggers and farmers don't set the price - the markets of the cities do. And there in lies the distortion. People will stay on the farm or in the bush if they can make a decent living. That means that those small communities with their required infrastructure create a lifestyle that is equal to the city lifestyle and many would choose it. The economics of capitalism and power reduce the amount of money in the countryside while the rich in the cities grow richer. Now we talk of the global economy. This idea is driven by the myth of lower prices. The idea as I understand it is that business should be allowed to produce where costs are lowest and sell in markets where they can receive the most and that this differential will provide them with a higher rate of return on invested capital. The glitch in this scenario is the found through one of our fellow posters, Jay Hanson. A global market only works when the cost of transportation is low. Once the true price of gas and oil comes into effect, there will be a huge surge of capital to local markets because goods that are carrying the price of high transportation costs will be more expensive than goods created for local (and by local I would generally mean within a radius of 100 miles) markets. This is the de-massifying effect predicted by Alvin Toffler and Marshal McLuhan. I might add that the increase in communication technologies assists this reversal by bringing all the advantages of the city to the rural. Douthwaite and I observed in our lifetime the denuding of our respective rural communities and the massive increase of our cities. Now, with large hydro companies being forced to allow local generation, we can begin to see the start of this trend. It will happen in monoculture agriculture as farmers find that tomatoes from Florida and California can't compete because the cost of transportation has risen past the point of greenhouse and hydroponic gardening using waste heat from local co-generation. Even things like coffee will be grown locally once the cost of fuel rises sufficiently. So why is all the smart money betting on globalization. While fuel prices are cheap, the most capital can be accumulated with a global strategy. When fuel prices rise, the ones with capital will be able to invest in and dominate local economies. For a capitalist, the strategy is always remarkable simple - to keep your eye on the ball - always invest where the rate of return is the largest. These guys will have no trouble getting out before the global collapse of trading because they are all drinking the same brandy as the oil producers and will have advance warning on when to convert investments into capital and re-invest locally. The oil producers don't care, we are a petroleum economy and we will need petroleum for local rural communities as long as it lasts. So, why MAI, NAFTA and other international treaty's. If I am right, they won't be worth the paper they are written on in 10 years as their will be little or no global economy. However, until then, let's weight the roulette wheels for the highest rate of return and besides it sets up all the investors not in the know as they see the big guys trying to protect themselves, not realizing it is feint. So, Ed, even though we had slightly similar experiences we have drawn totally different conclusions. I think that as we de-massify, which is happening in Canada with Quebec leading the way and the rest of the Provinces demanding more rights and more local taxes, that when the fuel prices go up, the governmental infrastructure will be in place. Even those capitalists who make it into rural economies are going to have to change, because as Douthwaite pointed out, local owners have to invest in their community rather than taking capital out. Respectfully, Thomas Lunde
