Outbreaks of another kind

[DrFfybes]

It seems that there is also a "stupid" virus doing the rounds, apprently spread by social media...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52164358

Mast were set alight after One [theory] suggests 5G suppresses the immune system, the other claims the virus is somehow using the network's radio waves to communicate and pick victims, accelerating its spread.

A virus that can use radio waves to communicate? Awesome.

Probably based on this sort of stuff.
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/841 ... adio-waves

Paul

[swill453]

Also, the 8pm Thursday clapping for NHS etc is arranged by the government to mask the one minute of loud buzzing while they test the 5G infrastructure.

Scott.

[Rhyd6]

Must be an awful lot of villages missing their idiots.

R6

[UncleEbenezer]

Must be an awful lot of villages missing their idiots.

We're all busy posting to lemonfool.

[bungeejumper]

The trouble is, once these wacko rumours start, they spread like wildfire through the social media echo chambers. And then eventually somebody picks up a gun or something, because he's sure that society is being destroyed by some fake news meme that probably came from Putin's team in Ukraine (construct your own conspiracy scenarios). And that only he can save mankind.

One case was when some right-wing saddo decided to shoot up a pizzeria in Washington because the Breitbart echo chamber had said that Hillary Clinton was running a child sex operation from its premises. (Or some such libellous claptrap.) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/us/p ... tence.html

The hell of it is that radio waves are felt by ordinary mortals to be dangerous even when it's not the martians who are controlling them. Some 20 years ago, when mobile phones were in their relative infancy, a near-relative of mine died of a brain tumour, and everybody said it was because he spent eight hours a day with a mobile clamped to his ear. (True, he did.) Later, the scientific establishment started looking into whether mobile microwaves cooked your brain, and they found that yes, they raised the brain temperature by 1.5 degrees C. (Or something like that.)

But it was never proved that raising the brain temp causes any harm at all. That was an unsatisfactory answer, from the conspiracy theorists' point of view. And one which gives the paranoids the benefit of being able to say "I always knew there was always something dark about........." (insert paranoia of your choice).

I blame L Ron Hubbard, personally. He's still controlling the whole thing, you know. Well, him and George Soros.

BJ

[tjh290633]

Just keep away from microwave beams. They really can fry your brains, and worse.

TJH

[vagrantbrain]

What makes me laugh the most is that all the tin-foil hat wearers were so convinced of the fatal health risks of mobiles, then wifi, then 2G, then 3G, but now happily use wifi or 4G to watch other crackpots tell them how dangerous it is. Most of them are obese and a lot smoke, but 5G seems to be the biggest risk to their health

[AleisterCrowley]

Oh..groan...as a mobile phone engineer (since TACS back in 1993) I've seen it all.
High intensity non-ionising radio waves CAN be dangerous , but the hazard zone is normally a few metres from the antennas. There are strict limits for occupational and public exposure (ICNIRP and stuff)
Anyone attacking '5G' mast is a dangerous moron -and anyway there is no such thing as a 5G mast - all the ones we have are co-sited 2G3G4G5G

[AleisterCrowley]

I

A virus that can use radio waves to communicate? Awesome.

Probably based on this sort of stuff.
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/841 ... adio-waves

Paul

That's about bacteria anyway ( as you probably spotted)
Different beasts...

[terminal7]

There was a lot of consternation back in the 1980s about living under overhead power lines and living near electricity pylons. Indeed, this subject matter came up at some public inquiries and evidence was put forward that 'studies' had shown pockets of leukaemia sufferers living near power lines. This was very much a rural phenomena as most power lines in urban areas are of course underground. I cannot remember any planning inspector giving this hypothesis any credibility in their subsequent reports. Indeed, I cannot remember the issue resurfacing since that time.

T7

[scotia]

There was a lot of consternation back in the 1980s about living under overhead power lines and living near electricity pylons. Indeed, this subject matter came up at some public inquiries and evidence was put forward that 'studies' had shown pockets of leukaemia sufferers living near power lines. This was very much a rural phenomena as most power lines in urban areas are of course underground. I cannot remember any planning inspector giving this hypothesis any credibility in their subsequent reports. Indeed, I cannot remember the issue resurfacing since that time.

T7

I recollect that around that time there were reported to be clusters of leukemia - and numerous theories (scientific or otherwise) were put forward. As well as Power Lines, the Nuclear industry was a favourite target.
And sometimes authorities are to blame by pandering to irrational fears. The BBC still refer to the Fukushima Disaster - in spite of there being no scientific evidence to support that anyone was or would be killed by the incident at the Nuclear Power Station.

[XFool]

And sometimes authorities are to blame by pandering to irrational fears. The BBC still refer to the Fukushima Disaster - in spite of there being no scientific evidence to support that anyone was or would be killed by the incident at the Nuclear Power Station.

I think you will find it is more than "The BBC" ( ) who refer to the 'Fukishima Disaster'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (福島第一原子力発電所事故, Fukushima Dai-ichi genshiryoku hatsudensho jiko) was a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima Prefecture. The disaster was the most severe nuclear accident since the 26 April 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the only other disaster to be given the Level 7 event classification of the International Nuclear Event Scale.


disaster
/dɪˈzɑːstə/
noun
a sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of life.

[scotia]

And sometimes authorities are to blame by pandering to irrational fears. The BBC still refer to the Fukushima Disaster - in spite of there being no scientific evidence to support that anyone was or would be killed by the incident at the Nuclear Power Station.

I think you will find it is more than "The BBC" ( ) who refer to the 'Fukishima Disaster'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (福島第一原子力発電所事故, Fukushima Dai-ichi genshiryoku hatsudensho jiko) was a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima Prefecture. The disaster was the most severe nuclear accident since the 26 April 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the only other disaster to be given the Level 7 event classification of the International Nuclear Event Scale.


disaster
/dɪˈzɑːstə/
noun
a sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of life.

First - I agree that the BBC is not the only organisation that uses the word "disaster" for Fukushima. However I would expect it to broadcast accurate information - unlike many other organisations. So lets look at the definition you supply - and see if the BBC is making a mistake. Your definition requires Great Loss of Life and/or Great Damage.
Great Loss of Life ? Well nobody was killed, and no one is likely to die as a result of the Nuclear incident at Fukushima Power Station in 2011. Two bodies were discovered drowned by the Tsunami. An international health risk assessment in 2013 concluded that no observable increases in cancer rates were predicted. So it clearly does not fit the Great Loss of Life requirement.
Great Damage? A Nuclear Power Station has stopped working - with 4 of its 6 reactors being damaged. Not my definition of a disaster, and I think most rational persons would concur.
However the irrational behaviour that followed could be construed to be a disaster. Japan switched off all of its Nuclear Power Plants, and proceeded to burn fossil fuels. It imported an additional 10 million tons of coal p.a. and liquified natural gas imports rose 24%. Fortunately, some sanity has returned and Japan is re-opening its Nuclear Power Stations.
But the irrational behaviour spread to Germany. Following the Fukushima incident, about half of its operating reactors were closed down and with large antinuclear protests continuing, Angela Merkel announced it would close all of its Nuclear plants by 2022. And Coal was used as the substitute - and although it has declined to 29% in 2019, it won't be phased out until 2038.
Fortunately France has not suffered from such behaviour - over 72% of its electricity is Nuclear and less than 9% comes from fossil fuels.
So why do we call Fukushima a disaster - it wasn't - but this foolish terminology has led to actions much more damaging to the world environment than a burning down of a few phone masts.

[scotia]

Sorry - I think I may have strayed away from pub banter in my preceding email. I suppose I should just have said that while most of us would agree that the virus-5G connection is confined to nut cases, I would also like to suggest that there are other non-scientific myths that unfortunately are "believed" by substantial section of the public - with unfortunate results.

[DrFfybes]

I would also like to suggest that there are other non-scientific myths that unfortunately are "believed" by substantial section of the public - with unfortunate results.

Homeopathy, Santa Claus, and gods?



Paul

[didds]

Meanwhile in other potentisl syupidity, Hancock has said the govt may curtail the exercise allowance because of people sunbathing in parks.

Not sure when sunbathing was ever "exercise" - as opposed to gathering in groups of more than two.

didds

[sunnyjoe]

So why do we call Fukushima a disaster

TEPCO called it a disaster
https://search-tepco.dga.jp/en/index-e. ... 78957&ref=

[UncleEbenezer]

Meanwhile in other potentisl syupidity, Hancock has said the govt may curtail the exercise allowance because of people sunbathing in parks.

Not sure when sunbathing was ever "exercise" - as opposed to gathering in groups of more than two.

didds

Could "sunbathing" be a mischievous description of taking a moment to relax while in the park? Noone minds if I sit or even lie down to relax in my local park (it's called Dartmoor), even when that park gets busy.

London is horrendously overcrowded, and any park is going to come under tremendous pressure if people have nowhere else to go. But people who live there will still need to get out for a dose of fresh air and exercise. They do the Right Thing by NOT travelling longer distances to somewhere more open, and they get blamed for it!

I *think* Stuttley understands that. Hancock just ... somehow puts me in mind of his namesake Tony's persona, but without the good bits.

[UncleEbenezer]

So why do we call Fukushima a disaster

TEPCO called it a disaster
https://search-tepco.dga.jp/en/index-e. ... 78957&ref=

It was a disaster.

The disaster was an earthquake and tsunami, that did a lot of damage. One of the casualties of that was the Fukushima power plant. The the problem is that we attach the name of one of the casualties to the disaster, thus associating it unfairly with that victim.

But then, there are plenty of such examples. "Spanish" flu seems topical just now.

[Gaggsy]

I *think* Stuttley understands that.

Sorry, I don't think I got the memo. Who is Stuttley?