Things Noticeable this week

[rewbear]

Originally Posted by Greenman

You may have noticed from time to time that commentators, presenters etc say the word 'palpable'. Now I've often thought I knew what they meant but I have since learned that this assumption was wrong, so here is the true meaning of palpable and now at least I will know what people mean-never too old to learn new words.
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/palpable

I cannot say that I have heard this particular word used much, and in general I find that the language used by professional media such as Greenman mentions is simple, correct and easily understandable, even on supposedly 'highbrow' programmes. When I could afford it I would buy the English 'Daily Telegraph' newspaper, not because of any political leanings but because it was a well-written newspaper using plain English in a grammatically correct manner. Plus the crossword was challenging!
As a 'dictionary-philiac' (see, there's a new word) I have several dictionaries and an etymological dictionary so that I can look up not just the meaning of the word, but it's origin also. If only more people had Greenman's attitude.

[gordian_knot]

Originally Posted by rupertramjet

Around this time, my second daughter, then thirteen had to watch a film in school, which basically was about a nuclear holocaust, she was very upset by it, and I wrote the teacher a letter, explaining that she had been very upset, and did the school really think that pumping this lefty propaganda down kids throats was appropriate, especially as about eighty percent of the school; were the children of serving soldiers, and the rest probably relied on the Army for its living! I also told him that she was not going to write the requested essay, but would write one about Aldershot Army Day instead!

Was this The War Game, once banned by the BBC for being too horrific? I saw that in school when I was about 16, though it wasn't mandatory. It was tremendously disturbing but I'm glad I saw it. It removed any romantic notion of surviving (or wanting to survive) a nuclear holocaust and brought home the absolute necessity of never letting it happen. I don't know whether it was intended as propaganda. I actually took the lesson that UND was reckless and irresponsible. I've seen Threads as well, but it didn't have quite the same impact. Both are more hard-hitting than The Day After.

[rupertramjet]

Originally Posted by cicciobuki

So non-trendy 'rightist' people are pro nuclear holocaust?

What was so upsetting about it?

A good teacher would've let his class write that essay, and make them write about how they agree or disagree on the shown film. You know, teach a kid how to formulate an opinion and have them think about stuff.

But yeah, heaven forbid a kid gets exposed to things or ideas that don't match the world views of their environment!

At that time there was a huge disarmament movement, led by the left. Had there been a debate, an explanation that NATO held weapons as a deterrent, not as an aggressive tool, and that the status quo had led to the longest period of European peace, then I would have both welcomed it, and applauded it, this was not what happened.

Instead the twelve and thirteen year olds were delivered a message, supporting the women at Greenham Common, given a message of unilateral disarmament, and told that the events in the film would come to pass if we did not disarm. We had driven past the camp a few weeks earlier and I had explained to her about the difference between what they wanted and what I felt was right. Deterrent, followed by multilateral disarmament, yet her teacher was telling her the opposite. So she was upset and confused either the school were lying or her dad was.

At that time the left dominate much of our lives, they always shouted down other opinions, and theirs was always the right opinion. Debate? Not a bloody chance!

[vinceprince]

The only problem I can see is 13 may be too young for some horrific scenes, the same way that 'Saving Private Ryan' had a 15 Certificate. Apart from that they are both realities of war that have happened and will probably happen again if we don't learn from the past.

President Ronald Reagan watched the film 'The Day After' several days before its screening, on November 5, 1983. He wrote in his diary that the film was "very effective and left me greatly depressed" and that it helped change his mind on his nuclear weapons policy.

[otokonomidori]

Originally Posted by vinceprince

Surviving a nuclear war maybe futile but surviving a nuclear attack (like terrorism) is feasible.

When I worked in the Clyde nuclear submarine base we had steel helmets and gas masks to don in case of an attack - and some iodine tablets to swallow to prevent our thyroids being flooded with radioactive iodine.

So I suppose we'd have been totally unscathed if the base was hit by a multi megaton ICBM.

[vinceprince]

Originally Posted by otokonomidori

When I worked in the Clyde nuclear submarine base we had steel helmets and gas masks to don in case of an attack - and some iodine tablets to swallow to prevent our thyroids being flooded with radioactive iodine.

So I suppose we'd have been totally unscathed if the base was hit by a multi megaton ICBM.

Did you actually watch the video? seems not. It refers to a terrorist device not nuclear war and even then only those more than a mile away from detonation.

[otokonomidori]

Originally Posted by vinceprince

Did you actually watch the video? seems not. It refers to a terrorist device not nuclear war and even then only those more than a mile away from detonation.

Well if that's the case I don't need to watch the vid - our helmets and gas masks would have been ample protection against some scabby terrorists crap nukelet.

[vinceprince]

The Soviets made many nuclear devices in suitcases. Many went missing and are still unaccounted for.

Good luck with your helmet!

[otokonomidori]

Originally Posted by vinceprince

The Soviets made many nuclear devices in suitcases. Many went missing and are still unaccounted for.

Good luck with your helmet!

Don't forget the gas mask and the iodine tabs !

[DTravel]

Originally Posted by otokonomidori

When I worked in the Clyde nuclear submarine base we had steel helmets and gas masks to don in case of an attack - and some iodine tablets to swallow to prevent our thyroids being flooded with radioactive iodine.

So I suppose we'd have been totally unscathed if the base was hit by a multi megaton ICBM.

The worst thing isn't that the enemy can hit us with nuclear weapons. The worst thing is he might only come close.