• zcd@lemmy.ca
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    9 months ago

    I’m in this shockingly accurate description of the future and I don’t like it

    • OpenStars@startrek.website
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      8 months ago

      Sadly, corruption won’t go away anytime soon, though I do wonder how long the UK and USA will both last, when trillionaires have more money than actual governments.:-(

      See e.g. the story in the USA where the whistleblower was “suicided” while testifying against Boeing for failure to follow safety protocols. Wings are falling off of planes, and nobody will do a damn thing about it.:-( Bc why should a person who has their own jet want to pay taxes to pay the salaries of those who enforce safety standards, just to protect The Poors?:-(

    • General_Effort@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Look at the UK, we built the first full-scale commercial nuclear power plant

      You know that was just a cover for making bombs, right? You have to look up the Windscale fire some time. It’s a hilarious story. There are some great documentaries on youtube. It might help you appreciate having French or Chinese in charge, too.

      • d00ery@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I didn’t know about the Windscale fire or cover up. Although the production of plutonium is mentioned in the Wikipedia article I linked.

        The primary purpose of both plants was to produce weapons-grade plutonium for the UK’s nuclear weapons programme, but they also generated electrical power for the National Grid.

        I don’t feel any safer with the French doing it as they have also had accidents. (Understandable with new technology) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_France

        As for China, would we even know if they’d had accidents …

        • General_Effort@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          would we even know if they’d had accidents

          Actually yes, because radioactive leaks are very detectable.

          I was just teasing, of course. IDK if the other players were luckier or saner. The Windscale piles were definitely quite insane, though.

  • MrSpArkle@lemmy.ca
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    8 months ago

    This book used to be one of my favorites, but now it’s in the horror/thriller section for some reason and it’s no longer my jam.

  • Null User Object
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    8 months ago

    One of my favorite books. Should be required reading to participate in humanity.

  • LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Now who’s going to verify if this is truly a Carl Sagan quote

    or if it’s another one of those brilliantly quotable bits of wisdom written by some unknown OP

    like

    Don’t believe everything you read on the internet

    ~Abraham Lincoln

    • OpenStars@startrek.website
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      8 months ago

      image

      Depending on your method of access to your Lemmy.World instance, there should be a view source button where you can see exactly how this was done. Have fun with it, and use responsibly! :-)

  • yesman@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Logged in to upvote. Sagan is like my Mr. Rogers. Can’t think the words “Billions” or “Eratosthenes” except in his voice.