Found some YouTube videos on liquid chlorine releases by the Chlorine Institute. The first video is from the Dugway Proving Grounds and shows how a liquid chlorine release will proceed depending on the direction of the release. I won’t spoil it by yammering on about it.
The Chinese leader Xi Jinping has arrived in Russia to meet with Putin. Ostensibly, this is part of a Chinese effort to lend support to Putin and urge a peaceful settlement with Ukraine. Putin and his propaganda machine have painted themselves into a corner with his dirty little war. Putin either needs to make some decisive victories or find an “honorable” off-ramp to declare victory.
Here is the obligatory quote from the Art of War by Sun Tzu: “When you surround an army, leave an outlet free”. In this case, Putin should be allowed to retreat to save face and lives. The Soviets got bogged down in Afghanistan and eventually left, but only after 10 difficult years. It is hard to imagine Putin backing out after only a year or two in Ukraine. To be fair, Putin has offered to withdraw his troops if certain conditions are met. Zelenski has declined Putin’s offer of what amounts to a sh*t sandwich.
The combination of the Russian military’s well documented and poor performance, Putin’s strategic blunder and subsequent economic hardships brought upon Russia would be difficult, but not impossible, to cover up. And, it contrasts strongly with his caricature as a hyper-masculine tough guy. However, the Russian propaganda machine is talented, well-oiled and enthusiastic.
China is obviously seeking to replace US hegemony with their own hegemony across the world. China has been grooming Africa using economic and infrastructure aid. This provides access to minerals and sites to occupy in a conflict. China is able to plan over the long term and a role as peacemaker in the Putin-Ukraine war can only help the cause of international influence. Contrast that with our (the US) role as international policeman. We’ve left a good deal of devastation around the world since WWII in the name of freedom, but we’ve done much good as well. Unfortunately, bad news seems to have a longer shelf life than good.
For China, part of the calculation in determining Russian military aid is the economic effect of entering into a proxy war against one of its main customers, the US. Supplying arms to Russia will be noticed rapidly on the battlefield. This could have an escalating effect on the level of aid supplied by the NATO states. I suspect that China already sees itself in an existential struggle with the US so maybe the decision to supply military aid will be easier. Military aid could be in the form of munitions, armored vehicles, guns of all sorts or just aid in intelligence gathering.
The shooting wars in Korea and Viet Nam as well as the NATO/USSR Cold War were waged by the US side because of something known as the “Domino Theory“. In short, western nations observed expansionism by the two principle communist states- the USSR and China. This expansionism was in the form of client states adopting communist governance shaped like China or the USSR. Western distrust of the USSR after WWII festered into serious paranoia within the US, giving way to a policy of intervention to prevent the expansion of the communist sphere.
All of this coincided with the development of efficient nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles like land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and long-range bombers- our Nuclear Triad. Both Russia and China have their nuclear triads. It turns out that inventing a nuclear weapon was much more difficult and expensive than reverse engineering them. Also, the abundance of uranium deposits around the world is greater than many considered.
Either China sees Russia as a like-minded strategic partner or it is worried about what it might become if Putin is overthrown. Maybe both.
I’m about to say some things that may seem (or are) hopelessly naive. But sometimes we should stop and reexamine our basic assumptions.
So, I have to ask the question. Why would anyone in their right mind contemplate an unprovoked attack on Russia? The present-day Russian and former Soviet leadership has always made a show of holding back what they call “western aggression”. They justify their military buildup by claiming that NATO is an immediate and existential threat to their security. But seriously, who the hell would want to control Russia? They fear the push back on their own behavior which is to threaten the west. It would be a total disaster for everyone.
Yes, NATO is a threat insofar as they hold the line against Russian expansionism. Should states succumb to Russian control just because the leadership of Russia says so? Obviously not. Russian control seems to come with the loss of freedoms, stultified economic progress and political oppression. Putin’s war was initially justified, at least by what is available in the western press, as a strike on incipient Nazism in Ukraine which Putin declared as a direct threat to the security of the Russian state.
Everyone outside of Russia realizes that this is a bald-faced lie cynically devised to justify Putin’s dream of empire.
For arguments sake let’s say NATO attacks Russia for whatever reason and let’s say NATO wins. What have they won? A giant collapsed country full of permafrost and mosquitos populated with angry citizens living in economic collapse. The US and coalition forces couldn’t even control Afghanistan with its population of neolithic religious maniacs and their opium poppy fields. And we left the poppy fields intact too!!What chance would there be for western forces controlling a defeated Russia? It would be like the dog who caught the car. What next?
The same question applies to Putin. If he conquers and occupies Ukraine and then the other former Warsaw Pact countries, what will he have gained? Apparently, Putin guessed that they would roll over and comply. That was the state of affairs during the days of the Soviet Union. The USSR had a powerful and penetrating police apparatus with a network of remote prison labor camps and little presumption of innocence.
Unfortunately for Putin, Ukraine didn’t just roll over and concede. They are fighting back against certain authoritarian control and loss of their Ukrainian heritage. In doing so, it is revealed to the world that Putin’s conventional military is a paper tiger. Military planners the world over are taking notes on the modern conduct of war. Resources that might have modernized the Russian military have been funneled elsewhere for a long time.
Russia’s nuclear forces, however, are something to worry about. However, Putin and his cronies know about Mutual Assured Destruction. This principle has prevented nuclear war since Russia got the bomb. Putin knows that if he releases nuclear war shots, the resulting nuclear exchange will not only devastate all participants, but will bounce the rubble a few times as well. Even if land-based missiles are destroyed, the respective submarine fleets can continue to unleash nuclear hellfire at leisure. The meaning of victory becomes very hazy here.
As always, the Russian model of conquest seems to impose brutal authoritarian control to suppress opposition. Not because there is something wrong with the Russian people. But Russian leadership has been so oppressive for so long that there is no institutional template for alternative leadership.
This is very simplistic, but does Russia know that nobody wants control of their country? Imagine the folly of it. Since the days of Stalin they have worked themselves into a lather about the west. The cold war was a game of weapon/countermeasure cycles that has quietly developed into Cold War II. It is all so unnecessary.
I think it is fair to say that everyone wants a peaceful Russia that can participate in world trade, tourism, science and cultural affairs. A reclusive and paranoid Russia that is angrily stamping its feet and issuing threats to its neighbors is a Russia that will remain unhappy and dangerous. Decent people and rich culture are abundant in Russia. Their leadership doesn’t let that shine through.
Yes, we understand that Russia was viciously invaded by the Nazis some years back but they prevailed. At some point everyone has to look to a prosperous future. Yes Russia, this includes you. There is no similar threat to Russia in the world today. Just because the west responds to Russian provocations doesn’t mean that there is an intent to attack. Just because the economic engines of the west outperform them at present doesn’t imply imminent attack either.
I would love to visit Russia as a tourist. Russian hospitality is first rate and the countryside is beautiful. Many people around the world would love to visit. But until the people can break free of oppressive leadership, it will remain a hermit kingdom in the manner of NPRK.
An interview with the historian Timothy Snyder has appeared in the March 9th, 2023, internet issue of Der Spiegel International. The interview was conducted By Ann-Dorit Boy und Eva-Maria Schnurr. Snyder has very strong Euorpean history credentials with a Ph.D. in History from the University of Oxford. He is presently the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.
The interview starts with an important question for Germany-
“As Germans accept the debate on Putin’s terms, they can miss the obvious point: If we care about the comparison, we have to note right away that it is Putin’s Russia that is behaving more like Germany in 1941: Moscow, like Berlin then, claims that a neighboring people and state do not exist; Moscow, like Berlin then, is fighting a war of aggression; Moscow, like Berlin then, is carrying out eugenic, deportation, and mass killing policies. If Russia is behaving as the Germans did in 1941, then the Germans now have a second chance to respond to fascism. Will they take that second chance?“
Snyder makes the point that German reticence to aid Ukraine in the war is what Putin wants.
“In Russia, his [Putin’s] intention is to build a cult of innocence: No matter what we do, it must be justified, because we are always the righteous victim. Of course, this contradicts the actual history of the Second World War, in which Stalin chose to ally with Hitler, and in which Ukrainians actually suffered more than Russians, by any measure. Putin is also seeking to exploit the historical memory of Germans. He wants to trigger the German reflex that Russians must be victims and Germans must be aggressors.“
I will end here because the article needs no explanation from me. It’s worth the read.
I just can’t resist passing this along. Amazon is offering some odd food products, like pickled pigs lips and earthworm jerky. The worm jerky producer also offers the Edible Insects Bag of Mixed Edible Bugs. Grasshoppers, Crickets, Silk Worms and Sago Worms as well as Zebra Tarantulas.
Am I being a silly American provincial with uppity, narrow-minded opinions on food? In this case, absolutely! I have a long-standing policy against bugs and internal organs. There is one exception to the bug rule- I do enjoy snow crab legs. These benthic bugs are a delight slathered in melted butter.
This is revolting. A truly sad day for America. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has appointed Marjory Taylor Greene (MTG) as the new Speaker Pro Tempore. In this position, MTG will stand in for Speaker McCarthy when he is absent.
We have to conclude that this is the best our democratic republic can muster at this time. Of all of the capable people in the land, MTG is elevated into the spot. This venomous imbecile. I’m out of words.
A report just out in Nature titled Evidence of near-ambient superconductivity in a N-doped lutetium hydride, Nathan Dasenbrock-Gammon, Elliot Snider, Raymond McBride, Hiranya Pasan, Dylan Durkee, Nugzari Khalvashi-Sutter, Sasanka Munasinghe, Sachith E. Dissanayake, Keith V. Lawler, Ashkan Salamat & Ranga P. Dias Nature volume 615, pages244–250 (2023), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05742-0, makes the following statement in the abstract-
“Here we report evidence of superconductivity on a nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride with a maximum Tc of 294 K at 10 kbar, that is, superconductivity at room temperature and near-ambient pressures.” Emphasis mine.
According to Wikipedia, while lutetium isn’t particularly abundant, it is more abundant than silver in the earth’s crust. The word hydride is a little confusing here. In some contexts is refers to a metal with absorbed hydrogen as a solid solution. To chemists like me it suggests H– anions bound to a metal cation. From what I can tell, reality sits somewhere between these two bookends.
The abstract says that 10 kbar is near-ambient pressure. This number converts to 9869 atmospheres though it is below megabar pressures. I guess I’m not calibrated properly for this.
The abstract is available but the article sits behind a paywall. Interesting research but not presently worth $39.95 to me today.
State Senator Brodeur of the Republic of DeSantistan has introduced a bill that, among other things, proposes requirements on compensated bloggers. How are compensated bloggers different from professional journalists? Not being a constitutional scholar, it escapes me how this doesn’t violate the first amendment. You remember that one, it is just next to the 2nd amendment.
160 (2) If a blogger posts to a blog about an elected state
161 officer and receives, or will receive, compensation for that
162 post, the blogger must register with the appropriate office, as
163 identified in paragraph (1)(f), within 5 days after the first
164 post by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer.
Bloggers receiving compensation for their posts about elected state officers must register with the state and submnit a report-
181 (d) The reports must include all of the following:
182 1. The individual or entity that compensated the blogger
183 for the blog post.
184 2. The amount of compensation received from the individual
185 or entity, regardless of how the compensation was structured.
============================
Below is the text of the bill. The bill reads-
Florida Senate – 2023 SB 1316
By Senator Brodeur
10-00366B-23 20231316__
Page 1 of 9
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to information dissemination; amending
3 s. 45.031, F.S.; deleting a provision requiring a
4 judicial notice of sale to be published for a
5 specified timeframe on a publicly accessible website;
6 amending s. 50.0311, F.S.; specifying that a
7 governmental agency may use the public website of a
8 county to publish legally required advertisements and
9 public notices if the cost for such publication is not
10 paid by or recovered from a person; creating s.
11 286.31, F.S.; defining terms; requiring bloggers to
12 register with the Office of Legislative Services or
13 the Commission on Ethics, as applicable, within a
14 specified timeframe; requiring such bloggers to file
15 monthly reports with the appropriate office by a
16 certain date; providing an exception; specifying
17 reporting requirements; authorizing a magistrate to
18 enter a final order determining the reasonableness of
19 circumstances for an untimely filing or a fine amount;
20 requiring that the Legislature and the Commission on
21 Ethics adopt a specified rule; providing penalties for
22 late filing; prohibiting the assessment of a fine for
23 the first time a report is not timely filed, under
24 specified conditions; authorizing bloggers to appeal a
25 fine within a specified timeframe; specifying the
26 appeal process; authorizing bloggers to request that
27 the appropriate office waive the reporting requirement
28 under specified conditions; providing that unpaid
29 fines for a specified timeframe may be recovered
30 through the courts of this state; providing an
31 effective date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 45.031, Florida
36 Statutes, is amended to read
<<< Some code relating to government access to publicly available websites is omitted for clarityt. >>>
286.31 Blogger registration and reporting.—
139 (1) As used in this section, the term:
140 (a) “Blog” means a website or webpage that hosts any
141 blogger and is frequently updated with opinion, commentary, or
142 business content. The term does not include the website of a
143 newspaper or other similar publication.
144 (b) “Blogger” means any person as defined in s. 1.01(3)
145 that submits a blog post to a blog which is subsequently
146 published.
147 (c) “Blog post” is an individual webpage on a blog which
148 contains an article, a story, or a series of stories.
149 (d) “Compensation” includes anything of value provided to a
150 blogger in exchange for a blog post or series of blog posts. If
151 not provided in currency, it must be the fair-market value of
152 the item or service exchanged.
153 (e) “Elected state officer” means the Governor, the
154 Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the
155 Legislature.
156 (f) “Office” means, in the context of a blog post about a
157 member of the Legislature, the Office of Legislative Services
158 or, in the context of a blog post about a member of the
159 executive branch, the Commission on Ethics, as applicable.
160 (2) If a blogger posts to a blog about an elected state
161 officer and receives, or will receive, compensation for that
162 post, the blogger must register with the appropriate office, as
163 identified in paragraph (1)(f), within 5 days after the first
164 post by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer.
165 (3)(a) Upon registering with the appropriate office, a
166 blogger must file monthly reports on the 10th day following the
167 end of each calendar month from the time a blog post is added to
168 the blog, except that, if the 10th day following the end of a
169 calendar month occurs on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday,
170 the report must be filed on the next day that is not a Saturday,
171 Sunday, or legal holiday.
172 (b) If the blogger does not have a blog post on a blog
173 during a given month, the monthly report for that month does not
174 need to be filed
175 (c) The blogger must file reports with the appropriate
176 office using the electronic filing system:
177 1. As provided in s. 11.0455 if the blog post concerns an
178 elected member of the Legislature; or
179 2. As provided in s. 112.32155 if the blog post concerns an
180 officer of the executive branch.
181 (d) The reports must include all of the following:
182 1. The individual or entity that compensated the blogger
183 for the blog post.
184 2. The amount of compensation received from the individual
185 or entity, regardless of how the compensation was structured.
186 a. The amount must be rounded to the nearest $10 increment.
187 b. If the compensation is for a series of blog posts or for
188 a defined period of time, the blogger must disclose the total
189 amount to be received upon the first blog post being published.
190 Thereafter, the blogger must disclose the date or dates
191 additional compensation is received, if any, for the series of
192 blog posts.
193 3. The date the blog post was published. If the blog post
194 is part of a series, the date each blog post is published must
195 be included in the applicable report.
196 4. The website and website address where the blog post can
197 be found.
198 (4) Notwithstanding any other law, a magistrate is
199 authorized to enter a final order in determination of the
200 reasonableness of circumstances for an untimely filing of a
201 required report and the amount of a fine, if any.
202 (5) Each house of the Legislature and the Commission on
203 Ethics shall adopt by rule, for application to bloggers, the
204 same procedure by which lobbyists are notified of the failure to
205 timely file a report and the amount of the assessed fines. The
206 rule must also provide for, but need not be limited to, the
207 following provisions:
208 (a) A fine of $25 per day per report for each day late, not
209 to exceed $2,500 per report.
210 (b) Upon receipt of an untimely filed report, the amount of
211 the fine must be based upon the earlier of the following:
212 1. The date and time that the untimely report is actually
213 received by the office.
214 2. The date and time on the electronic receipt issued
215 pursuant to s. 11.0455 or s. 112.32155.
216 (c) The fine must be paid within 30 days after the notice
217 of payment due is transmitted, unless an appeal is filed with
218 the office. The fine amount must be deposited into:
219 1. If the report in question relates to a post about a
220 member of the Legislature, the Legislative Lobbyist Registration
221 Trust Fund;
222 2. If the report in question relates to a post about a
223 member of the executive branch, the Executive Branch Lobby
224 Registration Trust Fund; or
225 3. If the report in question relates to a post about
226 members of both the Legislature and the executive branch, the
227 lobbyist registration trust funds identified in subparagraphs 1.
228 and 2., in equal amounts.
229 (d) A fine may not be assessed against a blogger the first
230 time a report for which the blogger is responsible is not timely
231 filed. However, to receive this one-time fine waiver, all
232 untimely filed reports for which the blogger remains responsible
233 for filing must be filed with the office within 30 days after
234 the notice of untimely filing was transmitted to the blogger. A
235 fine must be assessed for any subsequent late-filed reports.
236 (e) The blogger is entitled to appeal a fine, based upon
237 reasonable circumstances surrounding the failure to file by the
238 designated date, by making a written request to the office for a
239 hearing before the magistrate from the Second Judicial Circuit.
240 Any such request must be made within 30 days after the notice of
241 payment due is transmitted to the blogger. The office shall
242 transmit all such timely, written requests to the chief judge of
243 the Second Judicial Circuit along with the evidence the office
244 relied on in assessing the fine. The magistrate, after holding a
245 hearing, shall render a final order, upholding the fine or
246 waiving it in full or in part.
247 (f) A blogger may request that the filing of a report be
248 waived upon good cause shown based on reasonable circumstances.
249 The request must be filed with the office, which may grant or
250 deny the request.
251 (g) Fines that remain unpaid for a period in excess of 100
252 days after final determination are eligible for recovery through
253 the courts of this state.
254 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
The US needs many things, but now in particular we need a government that will strongly support Ukraine’s efforts to defeat Putin. Containment of Russia’s latest brutal dictator is a must for continued liberal democracy in the west. The US/NATO partnership is the necessary bulwark from the world’s two giant, grasping autocracies- China and Russia. Both will continue to be a challenge to the very existence of liberal democracies around the world for many decades to come.
Both China and Russia are weary of US hegemony in the world and seek to knock the US down and replace it with their own hegemony. The widespread use of English as the “lingua franca” of the world, US popular culture as well as the preeminence of the US dollar in world trade grates on their national pride. To coexist with US hegemony is to give consent. Both nations want to be masters of the realm. Simple human nature.
Perhaps Russia will emerge on the world stage one day as a guiding influence for decent civilization. But, that event will happen only after Russian citizens steer away from their long tolerance of autocratic and brutal leadership. It is up to the Russian citizenry to fix the Putin problem. Putin will not peacefully die in retirement. He’ll die in power like most of the former leaders of the Soviet Union from Lenin onwards did. Gorbachev had the grace to step down peaceably after he dissolved the Soviet Union. Somehow the pillars of support Putin has constructed over the years will have to crumble away. However, there is no guarantee that his successor will be much different.
The US had to be shaken from its isolationist trance to join in with WWI and WWII. Today, president #45 and others were showing a definite trend towards isolationism in the years prior to the onslaught of Putin’s savage war in Ukraine. #45’s tolerance and admiration of Putin was peculiar and very suspicious looking. Treating Putin like buddy is the wrong tack. George W. Bush said he peered into Putin’s eyes and saw his soul. Bush later said he regretted having said that.
It is not in the interest of the US or Europe to stand back as Putin goes on a land grab along the Russian frontier. So far Putin’s war has not devolved into a WWIII. The NATO countries have wisely avoided actions that would trigger a direct shooting war with Russia while at the same time sending resources to Ukraine. Yes, it is a proxy war. This support is expensive but it must continue.
With China showing interest in supporting Putin, we may find ourselves in a proxy war with them as well. However, China has much to lose in as much as the US is one of it’s biggest customers. Whatever the case, we’re on the way with Cold War II.
Henry Kissinger (HK) made waves at the Davos Conference in May of 2022 when he suggested that Ukraine and Russia return to the status quo ante. In a July 2, 2022 interview with HK in The Spectator, interviewer Andrew Roberts reports-
“If Russia stays where it is now, it will have conquered 20 per cent of Ukraine and most of the Donbas, the industrial and agricultural main area, and a strip of land along the Black Sea. If it stays there, it will be a victory, despite all the setbacks they suffered in the beginning. And the role of NATO will not have been as decisive as earlier thought.
The other outcome is an attempt made to drive Russia out of the territory it acquired before this war, including Crimea, and then the issue of a war with Russia itself will arise if the war continues.
The third outcome, which I sketched in Davos, and which, in my impression, Zelensky has now accepted, is if the Free People can keep Russia from achieving any military conquests and if the battleline returns to the position where the war started, then the current aggression will have been visibly defeated. Ukraine will be reconstituted in the shape it was when the war started: the post-2014 battleline. It will be rearmed and closely connected to NATO, if not part of it. The remaining issues could be left to a negotiation. It would be a situation which is frozen for a while. But as we’ve seen in the reunification of Europe, over a period of time, they can be achieved.”
HK supports the “equilibrium” of status of quo ante to the pre-February 24, 2022, borders rather than an attempt to defeat Russia. I think Ukraine would only agree to this if things were looking bad for them. As Putin has demonstrated, he lies all of the time. He is in no way dependable in a peace agreement.
Whatever it is that Putin responds to, we have to assume that overwhelming and superior firepower are high on the list. The US and NATO must present an iron fist in reply to Russian aggression. Putin has established himself as one of the major bad actors in modern times. The man’s ambition and swaggering macho is and will remain a threat to democratic states.
Modern Russian leadership has a pattern of oppression and intelligence gathering along with institutions to apply it everywhere they can. They are masters of propaganda and the psychology of intimidation. America is outclassed in the propaganda field.
American notions of social order were influenced by the British. The oppression of monarchy on the American colonies served as a negative example of how to govern. But, the British have the Magna Carta of 1215 in their history which was an agreement between a group of barons and King John of England providing protection of certain rights. The original charter was quickly annulled but was reissued in 1216. Over the years the charter became a part of political life in England.
The point of this history lesson is to suggest that Russian history has no similar example of democratic leanings. What did happen in 1861 in Russia was the Emancipation Proclamation by Emperor Alexander II abolishing serfdom. This edict was one of many liberal reforms during his reign (1855 to 1881) and gave 23 million serfs their liberty. While not democratic, it was a positive step change in Russian society. Another step change for Russia came with the Bolshevik revolution if 1917. Unfortunately, this gave rise to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and all of the subsequent Stalinist and cold war turmoil that followed. Russia needs another step change to shake loose the dictatorship/kleptocracy model that Putin has put in place. Whatever it is that serves the needs of a peaceful Russia, it needs to arrive soon.
>>> A smattering of thoughts each too small for a post. <<<
I’ve been thinking about quantum chemistry lately, or more to the point, my graduate-level single semester experience with it. First let me say that prior to taking the qualifying exams on arrival to the graduate chemistry program, I made sure to bone up on the particle in a one-dimensional box model. And sure enough, it was on the entry p-chem exam. Whew! Dodged that bullet. However, of all 5 exams we took, I didn’t pass the statistical mechanics exam. I would have to repeat the exam and pass it by the end of the year. Instead of taking the undergrad p-chem course I decided to risk it and study on my own and as luck would have it, I managed to pass it. Another monkey off my back.
Back to the quantum chemistry course. Initially I was hoping to gain a bit of qualitative insight into the subject. As it turned out, it was really just a high level math class where the prof spent the whole term deriving all of the key equations. I think this is pretty common for this subject. There were zero interesting applications mentioned. He was either unable or unwilling to render any of it into sentences for context. The guy was a rock star in his area of solid state nuclear magnetic resonance. Once I went in for help during office hours and he told me he was busy and to come back in 2 weeks (!). I was finally convinced that putting scientists on a pedestal was a serious error and that a**holes were truly everywhere. Anyway, I made it through the experience and moved on. Haven’t had to think about Hamiltonians since.
==========
I was chatting with a toxicologist colleague recently about the big derailment and fire disaster in East Palestine, OH. I had suggested that the decision of the responders to vent and burn the remaining vinyl chloride was probably a good idea. There was some fear that there may be a runaway polymerization of the vinyl chloride. This would likely lead to an explosive rupture of the tank car and a possible BLEVE. This is from the report–
“On February 5, responders mitigated the fire, but five derailed DOT-105 specification tank cars (railcars 28–31 and 55) carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride continued to concern authorities because the temperature inside one tank car was still rising. This increase in temperature suggested that the vinyl chloride was undergoing a polymerization reaction, which could pose an explosion hazard. Responders scheduled a controlled venting of the five vinyl chloride tank cars to release and burn the vinyl chloride, expanded the evacuation zone to a 1-mile by 2- mile area, and dug ditches to contain released vinyl chloride liquid while it vaporized and burned. The controlled venting began about 4:40 p.m. on February 6 and continued for several hours.”
My colleague said that a fire releases aerosols that are likely to be especially deleterious to the lungs. Burning organic chlorides leads to hydrochloric acid formation with all of the joy that it brings to the dance. The smoke plume, elevated by convection, and probably carrying some amount of unburned chemicals will spread with the aerosols far and wide. This would contaminate a larger patch of environment and expose a more distant population than a simple spill at the crash site would. He wondered to what extent the chemicals shouldn’t have been removed at the site, spill or not, and the land be designated as a Brownfield.
==========
Elon Musk has been running off at the mouth again, this time seeming to take sides with the Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams who was recently given the death penalty of abandonment by his publishers. Adams used his cartoon to go off on the Black population saying that Whites “should get the hell away from Black people” referring to them as a racist hate group.
Set aside the merits/demerits and morality of Adams’ racial views for a minute. As an adult and businessman he should have known the boundaries of acceptable content in his cartoon strips in the current social environment. He published content that appeared to have alignment with white supremacist ideas. In publishing this content, he made himself radioactive and he was dropped by his publishers who happen to have better business sense. What a dunce. He was playing with a loaded gun and it went off in his face.
So, His Excellency, Elon Musk, has stepped into the fray and condemned the excommunication of Adams from the comic strip pages. Musk said that while Adams’ comments weren’t good, there was an element of truth in them. He accused the media of providing a “false narrative” by giving more attention to Black victims of police violence than to White victims of police violence. This is on top of his general loosening on hate speech on Twitter and the reinstatement of banned accounts such as with #45. Musk is broadcasting that hate speech is as valid as any other speech on his platform. Businesses like Twitter are free to edit content or not as they please. Musk believes in a rough-and-tumble environment where most anything goes. As an owner, he is certainly free to do that. But as owner, he is also responsible for content that drives away business.
Irrespective of your beliefs in this matter or the obvious morality issues, it should be apparent that neither Adams or Musk seem to care about the effect on business of draping yourself in the flag of racism, or even just of allowing the perception of it. Savvy is a kind of vector- it has magnitude and direction. Musk has strong vectors in the technology direction, but not so much in the public relations direction. He doesn’t seem to have full control of his mouth just yet.
==========
Lamentations on Chemistry 