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Nov 2023 Mod notice:


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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Baff Since: Jul, 2011
#46726: Jan 10th 2013 at 4:43:20 AM

Did anyone even bother to read the news?

The reason for the pollution in Iran its because they can't import gasoline.

So they have to use nationally refined gas which in turn is of lower quality and thus pollutes in orther of magnitudes greater than what normal gas would pollute (while still within refining standards which are shit anyways because they where introduced by western corporations when they didnt have the technology to produce less polluting gas more efficiently).

We had the same problem in the city where I was born because the gas we used came from an old refinray and thus air quality was terrible. In fact it is still terrible.

On the other hand this might be a possitive development for Iran since it might incentivize them to modernize their refinaries.


Some history: KBR was once a subsidiary of Haliburton. Before becoming Vice President, Dick Cheney was the CEO of Haliburton. During that poisoning period, 830 servicemen (from Indiana, South Carolina, West Virginia and Oregon) were affected by those toxic chemicals. Since they're a subsidiary of an oil company, KBR claims to have used those chemicals to make sure that the pipes were not corroding so they could get the oil out easier.

It sort of reminds me Agent Orange (A crime against humanity and the use of a chemical weapon agaisnt a defensless civilizan population, which not only killed the enemy (the vietnamese people) but the military service men who where unlucky enough to be order to spray the stuff or who had to go trough contaminated zones.)

Also it reminds me of the CIA running around Central American pretending to vaccinate people but infecting them with syphilis instead.

Oh... the good old times.

edited 10th Jan '13 4:55:21 AM by Baff

I will always cherish the chance of a new beggining.
Sledgesaul Since: Oct, 2011
#46727: Jan 10th 2013 at 5:19:10 AM

He's not joking about that Agent Orange thing.

There's a picture of what happened to a bunch of stillborn infants whose parents were infected with Agent Orange.

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#46728: Jan 10th 2013 at 5:25:12 AM

... Fuck. The use of Agent Orange should be made a First-Degree International Crime Against Humanity, Punishable by Broadcast-Live-Television-Worldwide Public Execution via Electric Chair, Overriding Any Legal Immunity or Security Council Veto Whatsoever.

As it may be obvious, harming children and infants in real life, including unborn ones, is within the forbidden area marked by my red line. Traumatizing, torturing, or doing other atrocities to fictional child characters for the purposes of the story is one thing; doing so for real kids is a whole different matter for me.

edited 10th Jan '13 5:30:17 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Baff Since: Jul, 2011
#46729: Jan 10th 2013 at 5:29:41 AM

he Red Cross of Vietnam estimates that up to 1 million people are disabled or have health problems due to Agent Orange.[2]

Perhaps its time for the United States te recognize its crimes and pay reparations.

edited 10th Jan '13 5:30:00 AM by Baff

I will always cherish the chance of a new beggining.
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#46730: Jan 10th 2013 at 5:31:16 AM

<rolls eyes> Fat chance of that happening anytime soon, unless it gets knocked down from superpower status.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Baff Since: Jul, 2011
#46731: Jan 10th 2013 at 5:36:50 AM

[up]

Or unless civilian courts would grant class action lawsuit in favour of the Vietnamese victims and the Army veterans.

On the brightside some organizations composed of Army Veterans also do work to help the victims in Vietnam, such as the Vietnam Friendship Village.


aslo:

edited 10th Jan '13 5:42:53 AM by Baff

I will always cherish the chance of a new beggining.
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#46732: Jan 10th 2013 at 5:42:43 AM

[up]

Not going to happen. The US Government would stop the Case even getting to Court.

Keep Rolling On
Sledgesaul Since: Oct, 2011
#46733: Jan 10th 2013 at 5:43:03 AM

Even if it's fiction, the idea of seeing children go through something like that is hard to swallow.

Agent Orange was used during the Vietnam War. The program's goal was to defoliate forested and rural land, depriving guerrillas of cover. Another goal was to destroy the ability of peasants to support themselves in the countryside, forcing them to flee to the U.S. dominated cities. It was to deprive the guerrillas of their rural support and food supply.

Creating a toxin that destroys the environment and forces people away only ever works when it lacks side effects that causes people to die.

edited 10th Jan '13 6:01:37 AM by Sledgesaul

Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#46734: Jan 10th 2013 at 7:53:47 AM

[up][up]

They have absolutely no authority to do that.

edited 10th Jan '13 7:53:55 AM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#46735: Jan 10th 2013 at 7:55:37 AM

^

"Where there's a will, there's a way"

Keep Rolling On
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#46737: Jan 10th 2013 at 10:42:33 AM

@Deviant: Yes, the states have the power to force Congress to convene a Constitutional Convention. It's all on Wikipedia.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#46738: Jan 10th 2013 at 10:53:08 AM

[up]

But Texas alone can't call a convention.

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#46739: Jan 10th 2013 at 10:55:50 AM

No, but it can start the ball rolling to call one. Someone needs to make the first move.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#46740: Jan 10th 2013 at 11:18:38 AM

I'm skeptical about the chances of a constitutional convention ever actually happening, but yes, it is legal. You have to get a certain amount of state legislatures to agree to meet on that issue, so it's not just one state calling a convention and jerking around with Constitutional law.

Also Rick Perry is blowing smoke out his ass.

Serocco Serocco from Miami, Florida Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Serocco
#46741: Jan 10th 2013 at 11:20:55 AM

You can thank the Wolf-Pac guys for that. They somehow convinced the Representative to follow through with it.

In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.
rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#46742: Jan 10th 2013 at 11:23:54 AM

What was that, Gov. Perry? I couldn't hear it over our New York awesome.

NYS! NYS!

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
theweirdKiddokun What a Wonderful World! from Last Place in the Race Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
What a Wonderful World!
#46743: Jan 10th 2013 at 11:29:29 AM

Rick Perry should worry more about what his state is doing instead of New York.

[up]NYS! NYS!

The Reaper Games starts anew.
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#46744: Jan 10th 2013 at 11:50:21 AM

[up]Question: why is he so concerned with pissing contests with other states, anyway? How does this help govern his own state?

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#46745: Jan 10th 2013 at 12:07:06 PM

Governor O'Malley: Assault weapons ban poised to pass this year

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#46746: Jan 10th 2013 at 12:21:02 PM

I don't know. Maybe he's getting concerned about Texas losing its relevance? (Not that I think that's going to happen, but Perry is full of hot air and the Republican party is edging closer to being in danger of losing power here. So what that relevance means is going to change.)

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#46747: Jan 10th 2013 at 1:05:01 PM

Texas will never lose its relevance. It's just a Texan way to have a pissing contest. It even has a trope! *


Obama signs a law giving every president after W. and their spouse lifetime Secret Service coverage.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#46748: Jan 10th 2013 at 1:08:10 PM

... How the heck that law's passage would save the US money? Wouldn't it cost them more by having to assign (and of course, recruity) more Secret Service agents than usual for personal bodyguarding purposes?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Arkasas (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#46749: Jan 10th 2013 at 1:22:08 PM

Well, more people would have jobs!

DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#46750: Jan 10th 2013 at 1:30:22 PM

So...what the fuck is this about HSBC, the banking firm, helping terrorists and drug cartels launder money, and getting no charges pressed, and a 1.6 billion dollar fine?

Because they're "Too big to fail."

Fuck this.

We are such a corporate run society. We're not going to try to pretend otherwise anymore.

At the very least, everyone involved in those deals should get jail time. You know, Guantanamo? Like we do with other people who aid terrorists? Oh. Right. Those people aren't rich.

edited 10th Jan '13 1:34:08 PM by DrTentacles


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