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Comment Re:War without guilt (Score 1) 131

by b0s0z0ku (#64392724) Attached to: Will America's Next Soldiers Be Machines?
We shouldn't have been in Iraq or Afghanistan ... I'll be honest. I don't give a hoot about spreading democracy worldwide when the trillions spent on those places would have been better spent on improving the US educational system, improving infrastructure (electrifying freight rail nationwide), and decarbonizing (subsidizing new, clean, safe nuclear power plants). It's a shame that 2003 didn't degenerate into Paris, 1968 ... neither of those places were worth American money, and we had no right to impose what we thought was best upon them.

Comment War without guilt (Score 3) 131

by b0s0z0ku (#64392294) Attached to: Will America's Next Soldiers Be Machines?

"In the United Statesâ(TM) next major war, the Armyâ(TM)s brass is hoping that robots will be the ones taking the first punch, doing the dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs that killed hundredsâ"likely thousandsâ"of the more than 7,000 U.S. service members who died during two decades of wars in the Middle East."

This is a bad thing, and I hope that rogue states will develop good EMP weapons to counteract superpower imperialism. Being able to wage war (commit murder) without taking human casualties will mean that countries will that tech will be able to bully the world even harder than they do now.
Government

EPA Bans Chrysotile Asbestos (apnews.com) 98

Posted by BeauHD from the decades-overdue dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products. The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled regulations governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture. The new rule would ban chrysotile asbestos, the only ongoing use of asbestos in the United States. The substance is found in products such as brake linings and gaskets and is used to manufacture chlorine bleach and sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda, including some that is used for water purification. [...]

The 2016 law authorized new rules for tens of thousands of toxic chemicals found in everyday products, including substances such as asbestos and trichloroethylene that for decades have been known to cause cancer yet were largely unregulated under federal law. Known as the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, the law was intended to clear up a hodgepodge of state rules governing chemicals and update the Toxic Substances Control Act, a 1976 law that had remained unchanged for 40 years. The EPA banned asbestos in 1989, but the rule was largely overturned by a 1991 Court of Appeals decision that weakened the EPA's authority under TSCA to address risks to human health from asbestos or other existing chemicals. The 2016 law required the EPA to evaluate chemicals and put in place protections against unreasonable risks. Asbestos, which was once common in home insulation and other products, is banned in more than 50 countries, and its use in the U.S. has been declining for decades. The only form of asbestos known to be currently imported, processed or distributed for use in the U.S. is chrysotile asbestos, which is imported primarily from Brazil and Russia. It is used by the chlor-alkali industry, which produces bleach, caustic soda and other products. Most consumer products that historically contained chrysotile asbestos have been discontinued. While chlorine is a commonly used disinfectant in water treatment, there are only eight chlor-alkali plants in the U.S. that still use asbestos diaphragms to produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide. The plants are mostly located in Louisiana and Texas.

The use of asbestos diaphragms has been declining and now accounts for less than one-third of the chlor-alkali production in the U.S., the EPA said. The EPA rule will ban imports of asbestos for chlor-alkali as soon as the rule is published but will phase in prohibitions on chlor-alkali use over five or more years to provide what the agency called "a reasonable transition period." A ban on most other uses of asbestos will effect in two years. A ban on asbestos in oilfield brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes and linings and other gaskets will take effect in six months. The EPA rule allows asbestos-containing sheet gaskets to be used until 2037 at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina to ensure that safe disposal of nuclear materials can continue on schedule. Separately, the EPA is also evaluating so-called legacy uses of asbestos in older buildings, including schools and industrial sites, to determine possible public health risks. A final risk evaluation is expected by the end of the year.

Comment Re:Public is not private (Score 3, Insightful) 49

While i agree with what you are saying - i take issue that in order to effectively move around in public we are required to display a unique identifier which was never intended to be a tracking device, and this tech turns it into effectively a tracking device.

if we went the other side and a state tried to require GPS trackers be put in every plate issued and the telemetry tracked and stored - that would get killed in the courts so fast, as it should...

Comment Re:Tax shelter (Score 1) 557

by Amouth (#64256650) Attached to: Frozen Embryos Are 'Children,' According To Alabama's Supreme Court

I'm wondering the logistics of taking this a bit home to the Judge - how can we go about filing charges against he and his wife for wrongful death / manslaughter for every embryo that went through a menstrual cycle they didn't turn into a baby. Of course using his own ruling as the basis for the charges.

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