3 ms·

"Strange. Depleted uranium is almost certainly a better guess than cellphones" Especially given the several tonnes that have been embedded in the ground (and P

by fein 14y ago

"Strange. Depleted uranium is almost certainly a better guess than cellphones" Especially given the several tonnes that have been embedded in the ground (and Palestinians) around Gaza. General conscription means radioactive fun for everyone!

gabrielf 14y ago
Before going too far with this hypothesis, its worth considering that general conscription doesn't mean that everyone has combat experience in Gaza - there are a lot of people whose military service involves office work, or patrolling quiet borders, etc. It may be that this sperm bank has a high proportion of combat veterans because getting into a top combat unit is something that many of the best male Israeli high school students aspire to, but in general, a lot of people serve in the IDF in positions that wouldn't expose them to DU. This is especially true of older people doing their mandatory reserve service. My understanding is that if you have a particular skill, the IDF will find a way to use that. Actors get reserve duty entertaining soldiers, professors get reserve duty in the IDF education department, etc.
anamax 14y ago
> General conscription means radioactive fun for everyone! Depleted uranium isn't a radiation risk. If you can't be bothered to get simple scientific facts correct, why should I think that you're accurate on other things?
- fein 14y ago
  > If you can't be bothered to get simple scientific facts correct, why should I think that you're accurate on other things? Ahem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium#Radiological_hazards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium#Radiological_h... If you can't react like a mature adult, why should I think that you can debate like one?
  - anamax 14y ago
    A description of "the radiation risk" does not imply that there is a radiation risk. At some level, lead is radioactive. So is coal. So is atmospheric carbon. However, we don't consider any of these radiation risk. (They're instances of a more general rule, namely that almost everything is radioactive, which means that we can talk about the radiation risk of almost anything.) That's why your reference didn't talk about radiation dangers associated with depleted uranium.
adrianwaj 14y ago
I agree. A simple search on Fallujah Children and Depleted Uranium yields some truly shocking pictures. I just wonder how far and wide the winds have taken and are taking this uranium oxide dust. People who say DU is no risk are totally off their rocker.

by fein 14y ago

gabrielf 14y ago

Before going too far with this hypothesis, its worth considering that general conscription doesn't mean that everyone has combat experience in Gaza - there are a lot of people whose military service involves office work, or patrolling quiet borders, etc. It may be that this sperm bank has a high proportion of combat veterans because getting into a top combat unit is something that many of the best male Israeli high school students aspire to, but in general, a lot of people serve in the IDF in positions that wouldn't expose them to DU. This is especially true of older people doing their mandatory reserve service. My understanding is that if you have a particular skill, the IDF will find a way to use that. Actors get reserve duty entertaining soldiers, professors get reserve duty in the IDF education department, etc.

anamax 14y ago

> General conscription means radioactive fun for everyone! Depleted uranium isn't a radiation risk. If you can't be bothered to get simple scientific facts correct, why should I think that you're accurate on other things?

fein 14y ago
> If you can't be bothered to get simple scientific facts correct, why should I think that you're accurate on other things? Ahem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium#Radiological_hazards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium#Radiological_h... If you can't react like a mature adult, why should I think that you can debate like one?
- anamax 14y ago
  A description of "the radiation risk" does not imply that there is a radiation risk. At some level, lead is radioactive. So is coal. So is atmospheric carbon. However, we don't consider any of these radiation risk. (They're instances of a more general rule, namely that almost everything is radioactive, which means that we can talk about the radiation risk of almost anything.) That's why your reference didn't talk about radiation dangers associated with depleted uranium.

adrianwaj 14y ago

I agree. A simple search on Fallujah Children and Depleted Uranium yields some truly shocking pictures. I just wonder how far and wide the winds have taken and are taking this uranium oxide dust. People who say DU is no risk are totally off their rocker.