The ALA is hurting our children

[Milks Empire]

Are you pro-censorship?

do you beleive in hate speach?

That question wasn't directed at me, I know, but I believe that a civilized people will allow the morons making hate speech to do so... and then tear down their premises one by one with actual rational thought.

[Deus Malum]

Actually, smoke detectors contain a very small amount of a radioactive element known as americium.

It's only use is a detonator. I believe it's more or less useless to try and create an atomic weapon with it in place of plutonium.

It is fissile, it just has an obnoxiously large critical mass and, considering that it's artificial and thus hard to produce en masse, it would require that you purchase an insane number of smoke detectors whose total price would be much greater for a single working bomb than illegally smuggling enough U235 or P239 to make SEVERAL bombs.

Not to mention it has a half-life of around 430 years, and it's daughter product has a half-life around 2 million years.

[Farnhamia]

Actually, smoke detectors contain a very small amount of a radioactive element known as americium.

It's only use is a detonator. I believe it's more or less useless to try and create an atomic weapon with it in place of plutonium.

It is fissile, it just has an obnoxiously large critical mass and, considering that it's artificial and thus hard to produce en masse, it would require that you purchase an insane number of smoke detectors whose total price would be much greater for a single working bomb than illegally smuggling enough U235 or P239 to make SEVERAL bombs.

Not to mention the awful screeching sound just before it dosn't go off.

[Conserative Morality]

Even a dirty nuke?

1. I don't think Home Depot HAS that many Smoke Alarms

2. Americium isn't radioactive enough. It might be, in ridiculously large quantities, but as I said...

3. Not really a Nuclear weapon, it just spreads radioactive material.

[Araraukar]

Americium isn't THAT radioactive.

Edit: Or we'd be getting cancer from our smoke detectors.

And yet it says on my smoke detector "DO NOT OPEN. Contains radioactive material."

I'm not saying it would be a health-hazard, but in modern day era of terrorist-scare, even slightly elevated radiation at a blast site would send up red flags in every governmental body.

[UnhealthyTruthseeker]

Not to mention it has a half-life of around 430 years, and it's daughter product has a half-life around 2 million years.

Yeah, but uranium 235 has a half life of about 703 million years and it can be used to make a bomb. Half lives have to do with the way these things decay on their own, not with how they behave when you artificially bombard them with high energy free neutrons.

[Deus Malum]

Not to mention it has a half-life of around 430 years, and it's daughter product has a half-life around 2 million years.

Yeah, but uranium 235 has a half life of about 703 million years and it can be used to make a bomb. Half lives have to do with the way these things decay on their own, not with how they behave when you artificially bombard them with high energy free neutrons.

Yeah, but I was speaking in the context of a dirty bomb. Part of the point of the radioactive material in a dirty bomb is that it releases it's radiation at a fast enough and high enough rate to be damaging to organisms in the area. Anything with sufficiently high half-life and low yield would not pose as much of a thread as, say, something with a shorter half-life.

[JarVik]

Americium isn't THAT radioactive.

Edit: Or we'd be getting cancer from our smoke detectors.

And yet it says on my smoke detector "DO NOT OPEN. Contains radioactive material."

I'm not saying it would be a health-hazard, but in modern day era of terrorist-scare, even slightly elevated radiation at a blast site would send up red flags in every governmental body.

The amount of 241Am in a smoke detector is verry tiny. My quick and dirty calcs say you need 2.14286E+11 smoke detectors to extract enough 241Am for critical mass assuming your recycling efforts are 100% efficient.

You could make a fools dirty bomb with the cores from a bunch of smoke detectors, as in it would pose no real threat other than the intial explossion.

Also 241Am emits a small amount gamma rays which goes right through the detector housing, opening it will not effect that. It does also emit alpha particles which the detector housing will stop but then again so will your skin. Just don't eat the thing or vaporise it and breath in the fumes and you should be fine.

[Khadgar]

I love how this thread started out about censorship and moved into how to build nukes 101.

[Secruss]

"The ALA actually celebrates "Banned Books Week " each year and encourages young people to read the authors and the books that were most often challenged on moral grounds! If you find this hard to believe, please go to their web site, www.ala.org, and see it for yourself."
That's ridiculous.


"Banned Books Week (BBW): Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year, 2009, marks BBW's 28th anniversary."
That's illogical.
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/b ... /index.cfm


http://www.theboyfriendlist.com/e_lockh ... ist_o.html
That's their list of banned books.

"Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford"
What the fuck?

[Grays Harbor]

You can't build a nuke with home depot parts. Unless they sell stable hard explosives (malleable explosives could deform and not detonate evenly) and precision detonators. Oh and plutonium.

ok, that bit of sarcasm of mine went so far over your head that it didn't even touch atmo.

[Pope Joan]

The books that schools choose to ban show how idiotic the whole censorship thing is.

These books are not showing kids how to make pipe bombs, people.

Some good old favorites of the book burners still show up on the list year after year, such as Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher In The Rye.

Now the blacklist includes new threats such as Judy Blume; you remember, Superfudge? Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing?

Here's a short list of prize winning lit our kids are too virginal to touch:
http://712educators.about.com/od/banned ... _books.htm

Here's a more inclusive list: Please note My Friend Flicka, A Wrinkle In Time, and The Living Bible.

http://www.adlerbooks.com/banned.html

[Big Jim P]

Heaven forbid that a parent teach their child to think for themselves. If they did that, then the child wouldn't be harmed by reading "Offensive" books, although there is the risk that the child might realize that fundie bullshit is just that.

[Pope Joan]

Heaven forbid that a parent teach their child to think for themselves. If they did that, then the child wouldn't be harmed by reading "Offensive" books, although there is the risk that the child might realize that fundie bullshit is just that.

Did you notice, big Jim, that they even banned The Living Bible?

So unless you revere the old DEAD Bible, you lose?

[UNIverseVERSE]

And yet it says on my smoke detector "DO NOT OPEN. Contains radioactive material."

I'm not saying it would be a health-hazard, but in modern day era of terrorist-scare, even slightly elevated radiation at a blast site would send up red flags in every governmental body.

No it wouldn't, because government bodies are quite capable of telling the difference between traces of radioactive material and a nuclear weapon. As, indeed, is everyone within quite a range.

[Intangelon]

And yet it says on my smoke detector "DO NOT OPEN. Contains radioactive material."

I'm not saying it would be a health-hazard, but in modern day era of terrorist-scare, even slightly elevated radiation at a blast site would send up red flags in every governmental body.

No it wouldn't, because government bodies are quite capable of telling the difference between traces of radioactive material and a nuclear weapon. As, indeed, is everyone within quite a range.

Stop the 'jack, please?

[Intangelon]

To the OP -- what are you afraid of? If one's faith is sound, surely it can withstand some books.

[Kryozerkia]

To the OP -- what are you afraid of? If one's faith is sound, surely it can withstand some books.

A reasonable person would expect that a book shouldn't threaten something in which they place faith, unless of course that faith is not rock solid to begin with...

[Ifreann]

fucking librarians and their 'freedom' and 'knowledge'. don't they know that it is only when we restrict freedom and promote ignorance that we can truly thrive?!

but they promost hate speaches. did you know that the N word is in most of the challenged books? kids today woldn't eve know that word if the librarians werent' trying to teach it to them.

Yeah, cuz' no black rappers or other black celebrities every use that word. No, it must be from books, because, you know, kids today are such avid readers.

You know, I bet all those guys are saying "nigger" because they read it in Huckleberry Finn.

[Maurepas]

Um...I think that is a good idea, show that freedom of speech and thought is something we celebrate...

I support the ALA in this matter...

[Intangelon]

To the OP -- what are you afraid of? If one's faith is sound, surely it can withstand some books.

A reasonable person would expect that a book shouldn't threaten something in which they place faith, unless of course that faith is not rock solid to begin with...

That's always my point whenever someone objects to something on the grounds of faith. The most common objection was to colorful language. I agreed to omit outright blasphemy as a show of consideration to those around me who were sensitive. But they kept insisting that saying "shit" and the like was making them "stumble in their faith". I had to laugh. All the murder, rape, assault, battery, thievery, and everything else in the world, and "shit" makes them stumble? I flatly refused to censor myself beyond not using their Lord's name in vain.

When the list of banned books includes The Living Bible, you just have to scratch your head.

[Milks Empire]

To the OP -- what are you afraid of? If one's faith is sound, surely it can withstand some books.

A reasonable person would expect that a book shouldn't threaten something in which they place faith, unless of course that faith is not rock solid to begin with...

That's what I suspect of people who feel the need to cram their beliefs down the throats of others. I like to talk about my beliefs, but only in a two-way dialogue. Call it insatiable curiosity.

but they promost hate speaches. did you know that the N word is in most of the challenged books? kids today woldn't eve know that word if the librarians werent' trying to teach it to them.

Yeah, cuz' no black rappers or other black celebrities every use that word. No, it must be from books, because, you know, kids today are such avid readers.

You know, I bet all those guys are saying "nigger" because they read it in Huckleberry Finn.

That's, like, so totally gotta be the case, man.

[Grays Harbor]

The ALA has the right idea. Quit banning books. Knowledge is the best way to achieve, well, pretty much anything. Plus, I always have suspicions about the motives of anybody who advocates the banning of liturature.

[Kryozerkia]

To the OP -- what are you afraid of? If one's faith is sound, surely it can withstand some books.

A reasonable person would expect that a book shouldn't threaten something in which they place faith, unless of course that faith is not rock solid to begin with...

That's what I suspect of people who feel the need to cram their beliefs down the throats of others. I like to talk about my beliefs, but only in a two-way dialogue. Call it insatiable curiosity.

I quite agree. I dislike when it's one-way where I can't question.

[Milks Empire]

A reasonable person would expect that a book shouldn't threaten something in which they place faith, unless of course that faith is not rock solid to begin with...

That's what I suspect of people who feel the need to cram their beliefs down the throats of others. I like to talk about my beliefs, but only in a two-way dialogue. Call it insatiable curiosity.

I quite agree. I dislike when it's one-way where I can't question.

I like your style.