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Also, it's regulated and overseen by a review board: > "Now, a government panel will require that researchers show that their studies in this area are scientif
by grzm 9y ago
Also, it's regulated and overseen by a review board:
> "Now, a government panel will require that researchers show that their studies in this area are scientifically sound and that they will be done in a high-security lab."
It does sound like there are concerns. I'm glad that people are keeping their eyes on it. I found this quote interesting as well, regarding publishing the results of such research:
> “Physicists long ago learned to distinguish between what can be publicly available and what’s classified,” he added, referring to nuclear weapons research. “We want to keep some of this stuff on a need-to-know basis.”
- pluc 9y agoThe problem with the US keeping their eyes on it is that you can't trust them. All you need is a few lobbyists and rules and regulations seem to be just words. Hell, Net Neutrality had plenty of people "keeping their eyes on it" too.
- grzm 9y agoYou're right that that can be an issue, and one raised in the article. I intended that particular phrase (which admittedly could have been written better) to mean that others outside of the government are watching the process, such as those commenting in the article. Definitely room for improvement, but I don't think this is something that's being done lightly. This whole thing concerns me, but like with many such topics, it's often more complicated than what is summed up in the headline.
- jknoepfler 9y agoI'm not sure why this is being downvoted, other than that it isn't precise. I'm general you can't trust regulators or legislators at the federal level.
- emodendroket 9y agoIf you take this argument to its logical conclusion there is no point arguing about the law in the first place.
- wasx 9y agoTheir criticism wasn't of the law but of the undue influence of lobbyists in the American political system.
- emodendroket 9y agoIf you "cannot trust regulators or legislators at the federal level" how can you trust the laws? Who writes them, and who enforces them, if not legislators and regulators, respectively?
- wasx 9y agoRight but they're not saying they don't trust regulators and legislators as a concept, they're saying they don't trust them when they're basically writing what lobbyists tell them to. It's right they don't trust the law, but their criticism isn't of law and regulation. It's of lobbyists.
- emodendroket 9y agoBut I mean if they're really completely compromised then it doesn't much matter. I share the OP's concerns but I think he goes too far in his claims.
- yakt 9y agoWe better pay attention to his "too far in claims" before it becomes too far in damage and deaths.
- kevin_thibedeau 9y agoLegislators tend to not write the laws anymore. They just take the copy the lobby groups have prepared in advance and submit it as a bill. Congressmen don't even bother to read the laws they vote for.
- 9y ago
- djsumdog 9y agoIf non-reputable agencies wanted to do illegal research, there is literally nothing that would stop them. Look at NSA spying, MKUltra, and the failed nerve gas test that killed hundreds of sheep. The US still has the largest arsenal of nerve gas in the world, much of it which is still in the queue to be destroyed, much of it still leaking.
- AnkhMorporkian 9y agoI haven't heard anything about continued leaking. Any sources on that? Googling turns up nothing besides the sheep incident.
- ethbro 9y agoNot sure I want to Google "where is US military nerve gas stockpiled?"
- mr_spothawk 9y agothat's the chilling effect
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- sgift 9y agoHere, Wiki got you covered: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_chemical_weapons#Sites_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_chemical_weapon...
- AnkhMorporkian 9y agoI did google it, there was nothing of import, and that's why I asked the question.
- Gracana 9y agoThere was a good NBC dateline documentary about it years ago. The biggest stockpiles were being dismantled slowly, but they were indeed leaking, and it was a gargantuan project to neutralize the weapons and containers full of VX. I'm not sure where we're at now. I'll look it up later when I'm home.