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A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

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Re: A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

#141

Post by SEJeff »

abakker wrote: post #134
SEJeff wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really should consider reading Ian M Banks's Culture series novels if you like that. He's widely considered to be the best sci-fi author in the UK (He's scottish). I'd certainly put the culture series close to par with Ender's Game and the Dune novels. They're most excellent.

Start with Consider Phlebas . It's the easiest to start with, but also not completely representative of what the series ends up being. I highly recommend Banks.

Most definitely. I recommend reading them in the order that they were published, which starts with Consider Phlebas. I also put Player of Games in the top 10 best Sci-fi books I've ever read I just enjoyed the ending of it so much.

Banks is an incredible author.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/49118-culture

Re: A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

#142

Post by acjohnson55 »

techsupporter wrote: post #71
grzm wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

longform articles such as this one usually come months or years after the fact and don't help with the primary mission of journalism, which is to keep you abreast of the goings on around you I think there are many facets to the mission of journalism. In-depth and investigative journalism are very important as well as being kept up-to-date on what's happening in the day-to-day. In some cases I prefer these more in-dep…

> For a piece like this, I have a hard time imagining it being served better as a short piece of a couple column inches in a paper or a 90 second segment on the evening news. ... it doesn't make the long-form pieces any less an important and vital aspect of journalism. I agree and I should have written more words that are like what you wrote. The New Yorker is great for what it is, in-depth coverage of a complicated…

There's some interesting criticism of whether "current events" news really provides any actual societal value, or if it might actually do the opposite [1].

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/12/news-is-bad-ro...

Re: A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

#143

Post by JabavuAdams »

SEJeff wrote: post #122
impostervt wrote: post #14

Dexter Filkins, the writer of this piece, is also the author of one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read - The Forever War (not the space war book). The Forever War https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307279448/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OWDy...

You really should consider reading Ian M Banks's Culture series novels if you like that. He's widely considered to be the best sci-fi author in the UK (He's scottish). I'd certainly put the culture series close to par with Ender's Game and the Dune novels. They're most excellent.

And Alastair Reynolds. Former ESA scientist, so even his space opera feels truthy.

Re: A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

#144

Post by Elepsis »

macintux wrote: post #123
grzm wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Atlantic has good long-form pieces as well: https://www.theatlantic.com

I discovered The Atlantic when I was in high school and fell madly in love with it. It helped that it was ridiculously inexpensive, something like $14 for 2 years (yes, I'm old). That magazine and The Economist (which I loved but couldn't afford a subscription to) kept me much better-informed than I am now, when I'm old and jaded and happier being ignorant.

The Atlantic actually remains about that cheap, particularly with their regular sales. I've never paid more than $1/issue. They, like many other magazines, seem to have moved to a model of doing whatever it takes to keep print circulation up, thereby being able to charge more for ads. They've also been significantly more successful with their web presence than a lot of their peer magazines, which also compensates for the low subscription cost.

Re: A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

#145

Post by 464192002d7fe1c »

germinalphrase wrote: post #117
Someone wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sentence folllowing that starts with But . 'Crash repair job' also doesn't instill confidence that it is a given this will work. Also, this dam still is close to a war zone, if not in a war zone. That updated equipment may not make it there, can get destroyed in an attack, or the personnel doing the work can be 'persuaded' not to work or may outright be killed. What surprises me most about this story is that they…

Or, the existence of a functioning dam is of benefit to ISIS so they are less likely to destroy it (causing a catastrophe) than they would be if electrical supplies were cut off (?).

ISIS, being famously known for not doing things against their best interest.

Re: A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

#146

Post by tunap »

techsupporter wrote: post #65
pasta wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. If you believe that you should not read main stream news (like I do) this is one of the sources to get 'good' news from.

I don't mean to knock on The New Yorker or cast aspersions on your choices, but I have two rebuttals: First, longform articles such as this one usually come months or years after the fact and don't help with the primary mission of journalism, which is to keep you abreast of the goings on around you. (Of everything from "what your local government is doing and how that affects you" to "what the financial markets in an…

I am not knocking you, AP or Reddit here, but I think your examples should also include Reddit, the private corporation. AP are still the majority stockholder.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Publications#Former_an...

Re: A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

#147

Post by empath75 »

yalogin wrote: post #85

The saddest part of the article is the US tried to blow the dam up during the gulf war. Why? That is as brutal as dropping the nukes on Japan.

They didn't but we did blow up dams in WWII. In fact, the death star run in Star Wars was based on a WWII movie called the dam busters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNdb03Hw18M

Re: A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

#148

Post by tunap »

jokoon wrote: post #100
gardarh wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if the official stance is that there is no problem then why should they do that?

The problem is how long it takes to drain it, and how quick you realize the dam might break and how much time it can take. As the article says, the dam would break very quickly without giving enough warnings.

Millions of people are depending on that water and electricity daily. Even without a violent release, I suspect draining it would bring long-term discomfort/suffering in the form of significant power loss and water shortages. How long would it take to fill back up to usable levels in that desert?

Re: A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

#149

Post by mjolk »

yalogin wrote: post #85

The saddest part of the article is the US tried to blow the dam up during the gulf war. Why? That is as brutal as dropping the nukes on Japan.

Are you against the WW2 retaliation bombing of Japan by the US? If so, please, from your office chair, inform us on what the course of action should have been.

Re: A bigger problem than ISIS: The Mosul Dam is failing

#150

Post by dmurray »

jimnotgym wrote: post #104
berntb wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, what article are you reading? Or do you think bombing a generator is to "blow up the dam"? The quote is: "the dam had been built to survive an aerial bombardment. (In fact, during the Gulf War, American jets bombed its generator, but the dam remained intact.)" (A dam with bad air defense ought to be an easy target, considering all the emphasis the Americans puts into getting through lots of cement -- and that dam…

bombed generator not dam....bombing dams was banned under the Geneva conventions. "According to Article 56 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, “works or installations containing dangerous forces, namely dams, dikes and nuclear electrical generating stations, shall not be made the object of attack, even when these objects are military objectives, if such attack may cause the release of dangero…

That was never ratified by the USA or ISIS, both reserving their right to blow up dams like this one.
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