Russian jets buzz U.S. destroyer in the Baltic Sea.
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Angela
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Bolshevik = Communist. Bolshevik is just the original name of the Communist Party.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolsheviks
To get the correct number for Europe you'd have to add up the people killed under Lenin and Trotsky and also those killed under Stalin. Even if you don't count the millions dead from famine the death toll is in the tens and tens of millions. You can find more detail in the link below.
http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/museum/comfaq.htm
You can also go further into the future with the following:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/soviet-invasion-czechoslavkia
The death toll during the last two was much less.
The best expose of the Gulag is the memoir of someone who lived it: Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70561.The_Gulag_Archipelago_1918_1956
The best biography of Stalin I've ever read, and from the official Russian archives:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93653.Stalin
For fiction, Dr. Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak is the best. You can even watch the movie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Zhivago_(novel)
For the Ukrainian point of view, especially of the forced collectivization of the peasants and the resulting famines.
http://faminegenocide.com/resources/kulchytsky/kulchynsky5.htm
Not an American in the bunch, as you can see.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolsheviks
To get the correct number for Europe you'd have to add up the people killed under Lenin and Trotsky and also those killed under Stalin. Even if you don't count the millions dead from famine the death toll is in the tens and tens of millions. You can find more detail in the link below.
http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/museum/comfaq.htm
You can also go further into the future with the following:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/soviet-invasion-czechoslavkia
The death toll during the last two was much less.
The best expose of the Gulag is the memoir of someone who lived it: Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70561.The_Gulag_Archipelago_1918_1956
The best biography of Stalin I've ever read, and from the official Russian archives:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93653.Stalin
For fiction, Dr. Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak is the best. You can even watch the movie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Zhivago_(novel)
For the Ukrainian point of view, especially of the forced collectivization of the peasants and the resulting famines.
http://faminegenocide.com/resources/kulchytsky/kulchynsky5.htm
Not an American in the bunch, as you can see.
Yetos
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As to Erdogan, I fear you may be right.
As to Russia, I sincerely hope your more optimistic view turns out to be correct, especially for the Baltic countries and countries like Poland. The latter, especially, has paid the price for Russian aggression too many times.
I would just suggest that in foreign affairs, it's always best to prepare for the worst scenario, not hope for the best one.
Actually, that's my motto in personal life as well. It's never let me down yet.
that depends, Russia has lost all of its influence, markets, and production that Soviets had,
but not her military power,
but that has to do also with how willing to provoke are the Balts and Poland,
the more the USA troops develope there, the more agressive the bear will be at future,
the more Poland is Poland and peacefully EU, and not another's puppet the less agressive the bear will be,
for example Balts and Greece had significant damage to exportations and lost much of their merchant earning, due to the embargo for Ukraine,
if remember correct Lithuania lost about 35-40% of exportation income,
so I really wonder what is more profet, to accept the NATO 4 divisions of tanks that USA is planning to sent?
or just organise her military forces and be just a defending member of NATO, and not an agressive one,
and I give you some points of right there, cause with EU, is like gambling, as a Union how can protect borders and state sauvereign.
Although I believe that Deutsch will not let something like that to happen, cause they are in their sphere of influence now,
Besides Visengrad is already a small, more united and stronger EU, inside EU, Balts could join Visengrad as another option,
Anyway, the strongest the merchants relations of EU with Russia, the better for everyone, my opignion,
but at modern imperial games I can not certify a thing.
Also I do not think is a good idea to deploy the 4 divisions of NATO tanks as permanent force (2500 tanks)
is like 'wake the dead', a strong provoke, that can even pass as an agressive stance, and if 'Pigs Gulf' pissed off Americans, the oposite will piss off Russians,
and I believe is better not to piss off one of them, just stay indepentent, join OTAN as defender, and not as an attacker,
PS
as we see these days, for each ex-Soviet state Russia is losing, is taking a piece for her shelf,
Ossetia Georgia
Krimea Ukraine
Hyperdneisteria Moldova
etc
but did not took a piece from Poland Balts and ChechoSlovakia (ex)
that area always bring me a headache when I try to think their position, their strategy, their defence, their abilities, their production, and after them is Dutch India,
gush I already have one,
Milan
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I would like to add something here and would ask the same question,yes what about them are they criminals or they aren't?
ANALYSIS18 APR 16
Italian Soldiers Keep Dying from ‘Balkan Syndrome’
At least 300 Italian soldiers may have died from exposure to depleted uranium in Bosnia and Kosovo - but the Italian authorities continue to deny the existence of a connection.
Rodolfo Toe
An Italian soldier on the hills above Sarajevo in 1996 | Photo: NATO
“To date, 331 Italian soldiers have died and another 3,764 have developed cancer as a consequence of having been exposed to depleted uranium,” said Domenico Leggiero, a former Italian pilot who is now president of the Osservatorio Militare [Military Observatory] association, which represents the victims and their relatives.
For what cause was used,the war to be stopped? ok there is other weapons.
What about the population that is living around?
P.S
No American despise more than me the criminal politicians in ex-Yugoslavia or the war,crimes they made with their para-criminal militaries or their own twisted ideals,although the region i am from we were not connected in this wars neither we took part anyhow,still the depleted uranium was droped couple miles from us.
Not all of them are in jail either,many still occupy high ranking positions.
Most of them still made their safe heaven in newly created countries.*Cooperation*
About the Russians they are no difference either,well they never did anything useful here apart from barking from the sidelines giving false promises to nationalists.
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Yetos
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@ Milan
depleted uranium makes something like strong amalgum, like mercury metallic crafts
depleted uranium makes bigger splash when crush with metal especially hardened steel, which can cut him (or it) more easy
it is more effective,
but burns and vaporises and is like setting 'free' poison gas,
it acts like spread inside enemy very small quantities of poissonus mercury gas,
and not only this,
it is the easiest way to get ride your nuclear trash to a foreign country,
which country of those who have nuclear plants wants to burry them inside country?
they usually bury them at deep oceans
so the easiest way is to 'spread' them abroad, at enemy,
depleted uranium makes something like strong amalgum, like mercury metallic crafts
depleted uranium makes bigger splash when crush with metal especially hardened steel, which can cut him (or it) more easy
it is more effective,
but burns and vaporises and is like setting 'free' poison gas,
it acts like spread inside enemy very small quantities of poissonus mercury gas,
and not only this,
it is the easiest way to get ride your nuclear trash to a foreign country,
which country of those who have nuclear plants wants to burry them inside country?
they usually bury them at deep oceans
so the easiest way is to 'spread' them abroad, at enemy,
bicicleur 2
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As to Erdogan, I fear you may be right.
As to Russia, I sincerely hope your more optimistic view turns out to be correct, especially for the Baltic countries and countries like Poland. The latter, especially, has paid the price for Russian aggression too many times.
I would just suggest that in foreign affairs, it's always best to prepare for the worst scenario, not hope for the best one.
Actually, that's my motto in personal life as well. It's never let me down yet.
Erdogan's administration is gathering adresses and contact info of all Turks living in Europe.
Most Turks in Europe have double nationality and voting rights in Turkey.
Last year when there were elections in Turkey most Turks in Europe got a letter from Erdogan asking for their votes.
Now the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam has sent mails to Turks living in Europe instructing them to report insults to the adress of Erdogan.
http://www.knack.be/nieuws/wereld/t...cial&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1461284433
This is very counterproductive for Europe, it is an attempt of Erdogan to make Turks in Europe not integrate and keep their Turkish identity.
He is trying to prepare his empire inside Europe.
And from what comments I read on social media from Turks living in Europe, Erdogan has the support of a lot of them.
Of course, Europe is to blaim in part again.
They should never allow immigrants to keep double nationality.
Boreas
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Kurdish-Left? Party(HDP) did similar things in Turkey. They sent letters to all house using voters personel informations. Before the last election, all parties in Turkey got these information. Thanks them, now information of 50 million Voters is turing around on web
About Assimilation and İntegration, we need to talk lot. It is a global problem.
Yes you are right.
Who got the most vote in the last election
In voting case, they shouldn't have right to vote.
Angela
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Well, I can't agree with you in this case since I have dual citizenship myself. I would agree with Boreas, however, that it may not make sense to allow voting in both countries. Personally, I don't think I should be allowed to vote in Italy. If I'm not going to suffer the consequences yet, I shouldn't be inserting myself into the outcome. When I live there half the year, and pay taxes there, it will be a different thing.
However, generally, the two situations are not analogous; one can't compare the U.S. and European countries with regard to this or many other issues.
For one thing, any child born in the U.S. is a U.S. citizen, period, so ipso facto children of immigrants born here are citizens.
Second of all, the goal here is to assimilate immigrants. I don't think that's the goal anywhere in Europe, and I'm not only talking about not wanting to assimilate Middle Easterners. I have relatives who went to Switzerland to work after the second world war and some of them were treated abominably. It's different for their children, but that's partly because they married Swiss people. I visited them in Zurich once and the little I heard from my relatives and overheard in passing is why I've never been back. I'll spend my dollars elsewhere. I see those relatives when they return to Italy or come here.
So, I'm skeptical of any narrative that it's totally the fault of the Turks and North Africans that they're not assimilating. I'm sure it's a two way street.
That said, the immigrants to the U.S. from the Middle East and even to some extent those from Mexico are not assimilating as quickly as did the ones from Europe with the big surge in immigration in the late 19th and early 20th century. That is indeed the fault of the U.S. in part, not because they are mistreating or excluding the immigrants, but because they are making it too easy for them to remain apart. Aggressive assimilation should be the goal, as it was for the Irish, Germans, Italians, Poles, Jews etc. The last thing we need is Balkanization.
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bicicleur 2
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Here in Europe they all get the same rights as other citizens. They get medical care, their children get education. If they don't have an income they have social security, they have housing, if necessary they'll get extra education in order to find a job. Are they being treated abominably?
The only thing that fails is aggressive asimilation. They are made it even much easier than in the US to remain apart.
And in the mean time, what do you think about Erdogans' actions trying to appeal to the Turks living in Europe? He is certainly trying to keep them apart.
Yetos
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i HAVE TO AGREE AT THE LAST
the low in Greece say that the one who is 250 km away is not obliged to vote,
but especially at 80' we had the 'election tourists'
parties carried out normally 300 000 to even 600 000 voters inland and abroad,
from abroad they put planes with cheap cost tickets,
relatives from USA Australia Germany Russia Canada etc were coming to vote,
but I do not know for whom they vote,
since they live and their interests are not common with Local,
as you see a % of taxes of local Greeks went to lower prices to 'specialized voters' and parties made lists who would come,
and although I like the idea to help them come back to homeland, I do not like the idea to do this for voting reasons,
I believe that after 5-10-15 they must forbit them to vote,
cause someone for example who is in England, will not vote according his interests, but what ever his relatives say to him,
the double nationality is also a problem,
why,
cause as a Greek I can have one id at Europe, and can not change the id,
as an immigrant to EU i can have 2-3-4 etc
So IF WE ASK GLOBALIZATION, WE MUST HAVE ONE GLOBAL ID CARD, AND VOTE ONCE, EITHER GLOBALISATION IS JUST A TRICK OF THOSE WHO PLAN IT
A. Papadimitriou
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I agree with those who say that everyone should have voting rights in only one country.
Angela
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Bicicleur, I can't speak to the situation in Belgium. I can speak a bit to the situation in Switzerland, and in France by way of contrast. After the war, in the fifties, there was immigration from Italy to Switzerland and France. Indeed there had been immigration to France for decades. In Switzerland there were Swiss who wouldn't rent apartments to them, places that wouldn't hire them even though the government was encouraging the immigration, especially to the farms, hotels etc. Then add the taunts, insults etc. that were common.
Even in my time when I went there as a teenager to visit my half Swiss cousins I was aware of it. Innocent that I was, I thought that since Italian was one of the three recognized languages, along with French and German, and since I obviously speak better Italian than either of those two, that it would be polite to ask questions, seek service etc. in Italian rather than presuming that people should speak English. Well, that was a mistake. I was either ignored or shouted at, so, at the advice of my relatives I asked if anyone spoke English and all of a sudden I was treated courteously. You don't forget things like that, and I'm the type who doesn't forgive, either. I haven't been back to their boring country since.
I never heard of any of that going on in France. I have a feeling it's different for Middle Easterners and North Africans, however.
As to Erdogan, I'm no apologist for him, and I question his motives, but if he is listened to perhaps part of the reason is that the Turks have not been accepted in Europe. If the goal was not to totally assimilate them they should not have been encouraged to immigrate there.
From what I know from relatives who immigrated here before the second world war Mussolini tried a bit of that, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Italy had done very little for these people, whereas here they were welcomed and given an opportunity. So, while it was painful, I have relatives, born and raised in Italy, who enlisted in the American services during World War II. Most of them were sent to the Pacific theater, but some did go to Europe.
On the other hand, while I support arming the Kurds, some of the things posted on this site make me wonder about the long term consequences of that as well, both in terms of whether there will be a civil war among the different factions, and about the nature of the "Kurdistan" that will be created.
That's why I think some of the comments I've seen about how terrible the U.S. was to arm the Afghans etc. are ridiculous. That entire policy was driven by one U.S. Senator not only to help contain the Soviet Union and the spread of communism, but also out of naive idealism that we should help freedom fighters. The lesson that should have been learned is that some countries in the third world aren't yet ready for liberal democracy, and what will take the place of these dictators will be even worse not only for them but for the west. Once Qaddafi was defanged, he should have been left in place, Mubarak should have been left alone, and, I don't know, maybe even Assad was better than the alternative, although I hate to say that. It certainly would have been better for Europe than the current situation.
Yetos
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Well we might a repeat yesterday,
as seems Russian planes and USA planes had a 'warm kiss' above baltic sea.
PS
I think it is time to dig and equip my 'nuclear shelter'
do you believe 10 m depth is ok?
as seems Russian planes and USA planes had a 'warm kiss' above baltic sea.
PS
I think it is time to dig and equip my 'nuclear shelter'
do you believe 10 m depth is ok?
kosmonomad
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It is the excessive radiation that will do the most work. And the gangs of hungry, after a while. Something like the Fallout gameseries. Cities will go puff in smoke quickly. A nice tool to measure where to run http://www.nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/
Here's the opinion of one of the former figures from the US establishment http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2016/04/25/world-war-iii-has-begun-paul-craig-roberts/. My understanding is: after quarter of a century of attempts to destabilize we have finally entered the hot phase.
ElHorsto
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I understand why Greeks don't like Kissinger, but in this case I think his role is positive. Unlike certain liberal presidential candidates, he is not aligned with Brzerzinski.
oriental
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-considine/us-depleted-uranium-as-ma_b_3812888.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/may/18/armstrade.kosovo
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/depleted_uranium/
The Gulf War syndrome of US soldiers could be the depleted uranium shells bursting into dust and soldiers not wearing gas masks inhale the dust become victims of radiation and so on.
http://www.world-nuclear.org/inform...m-resources/uranium-and-depleted-uranium.aspx
http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/du.htm
https://www.rt.com/news/iraq-depleted-uranium-health-394/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-of-the-silver/
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/may/18/armstrade.kosovo
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/depleted_uranium/
The Gulf War syndrome of US soldiers could be the depleted uranium shells bursting into dust and soldiers not wearing gas masks inhale the dust become victims of radiation and so on.
http://www.world-nuclear.org/inform...m-resources/uranium-and-depleted-uranium.aspx
http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/du.htm
https://www.rt.com/news/iraq-depleted-uranium-health-394/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-of-the-silver/
[h=1]The Science of the Silver Bullet[/h]Depleted uranium has been hailed as the military¿s new silver bullet and condemned as Kosovo¿s Agent Orange
- By Harald Franzen on March 5, 2001
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Credit: J. W. StewartUsed as ammunition, it penetrates the thick steel encasing enemy tanks; used as armor, it protects troops against attack. And when it was used in the Gulf War and later during the Allied bombing of Yugoslavia and Kosovo, depleted uranium (DU) was hailed as the new silver bullet that would solve most of the militarys problems.
Image: ERNST SCHMID/CHRISTOPH WIRZ
SILVER BULLET made from depleted uranium can pierce even the heaviest armor. Uranium shells burn away at the edges upon impacta "self-sharpening" that helps them bore into armor.
After the end of Operation Allied Force, however, several Italian soldiers were diagnosed with leukemia. Politicians and the media soon forged a link between the disease and depleted uranium use. They further drew a parallel with Gulf War Syndromeand in no time, depleted uranium became the Agent Orange of the Balkan conflict.
Despite the recent attention, depleted uranium is not all that new. The military has experimented with it since the 1970s. Military interest in the heavy metal is twofold: For one thing, uranium is almost twice as dense as lead, and thus packs a lot of punch as ammunition. Like its slightly denser cousin, tungsten, uranium can penetrate most heavy armor. But whereas tungsten projectiles become rounded at the tip upon impact, uranium shells burn away at the edges. This "self-sharpening" helps them bore into armor.
Also attractive to the military is depleted uranium's abundance. Depleted uranium is a by-product of the process by which uranium 235the most radioactive and most useful form of uraniumis isolated from natural, mined ores (for more information, see the side bar). In 1998 the U.S. Department of Energy had about 500,000 metric tons of depleted uranium in storage.
Depleted uranium armor-piercing incendiary (API) munition comes in two main forms. One is fired from the suitably nicknamed "Tank Buster" A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft; the other shoots from M1 Abrams tanks, which are also enforced with DU armor. Both types of API munitionsa total of 300 tonswere used during the Gulf War. But only the A-10 kind was used during Operation Allied Force in Yugoslavia.
According to a statement by NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson, some 31,000 rounds of DU ammunition were used throughout Kosovo during the 11 weeks of Operation Allied Force. Each round of A-10 DU ammunition contains a 300-gram DU penetrator slug, which brings the total amount of depleted uranium dropped during the conflict to a little less than 10 metric tons.
Radioactive and Toxic
The question now is whether the metal that lies scattered over a wide area of the Balkans presents a health threat to soldiers and civilians. "There are clearly two issues" with DU, explains David Brenner of Columbia University's School of Public Health, "the radiation and the toxicological issue." Indeed, not only is depleted uranium potentially dangerous because of its radioactivity, it is also a strong toxin. "If there are effects, it would seem to me that the radiation effects would be the smaller of the two," adds Brenner, a specialist in the biological effects of radiation.
Image: ERNST SCHMID/CHRISTOPH WIRZ
DU AMMUNITION can easily destroy an armored vehicle such as the American M1 A1 above, which was accidentally hit by friendly fire.
In fact, compared to other materials, uranium and depleted uranium are not terribly radioactive (see the side bar). The latter is used to actually shield radiation from fuel rods in nuclear power plants. But that's not to say that they couldn't have some deleterious health effects. As uranium and its daughter products decay, they emit alpha-, beta- and gamma-radiationall of which behave differently within the human body. Gamma-radiation can reach far into the body, but releases its energy gradually. As a result, it has little impact on any one part or organ. Alpha- and beta-radiation, on the other hand, are more hazardous because they have a short range and release all their energy within a small area.
"The so-called RBE, the relative biological effectiveness, for alpha particles is about 20 times higher than that of x-rays or gamma rays," says Tom Hei, also of Columbia University, who studies radiation and cancer. Brenner agrees that alpha-radiation is the biggest concern, but adds that its short range also makes it less harmful in some ways: "The alpha particles have to reach sensitive cells to be of any relevance. The distance they can travel in tissue or water or something like that is in tens of microns." In other words, if a person is exposed to alpha-radiation from the outside of the bodyfrom standing next to a pile of uranium, for examplethe alpha-radiation won't penetrate the skin, if it reaches the skin at all.
So what is important, then, is not so much the amount of radiation involved, but how much enters the body. The relevant unit for the impact of radiation on tissue is the Sievert (Sv), defined as the amount of energy given off in one kilogram of tissue. Another unit to describe the same thing is the Rem (100 Rem is equivalent to 1 Sv).
In a normal setting, a person is exposed to between one and three millisieverts (1Sv = 1,000 mSv) per year. If you were to stand about three feet from 1 kilogram of DU for one yearthe equivalent of about three A-10 shellsyou would be exposed to about one millisievert per year. But the tissues exposed would most likely be skin or fatneither of which are among the sensitive cells Brenner mentions above. Indeed, to do real damage, the radiation would have to reach tissue such as bone marrow.
Theoretically that could happen if a soldier got fragments of uranium embedded in his or her body through injury in combat. During Operation Desert Storm, about 30 soldiers were hurt when their tank was hit by "friendly fire" that contained depleted uranium. As a result of the incident, several soldiers were left with DU shrapnel embedded in their bodies. "Then perhaps the DU is right next to bone marrow, for example, so the alpha particles would have enough range to damage the blood cells," Brenner says. The soldiers' health is being closely monitored, but so far there is no evidence of any ill effects.
Ingested or Inhaled?
Of course, there are other ways that depleted uranium can enter the body. When DU projectiles hit a target, they partly burn up, creating uranium dust particles, or aerosols. Unlike southern Iraq, Kosovo and Yugoslavia are agricultural regions, and some observers have raised the concern that uranium dust particles might enter the food chain through crops.
Image: USAF
A-10 THUNDERBOLTS, such as the one above, carried armor-piercing incendiary (API) munition made from depleted uranium during Operation Allied Force.
According to the AC-Laboratorium Spiez, an independent laboratory that tests soil samples for the United Nations and other organizations, only about 17 percent of the DU particles found after a DU explosion are easily soluble, and might thus find their way into foods. Of those, only 2 to 5 percent are actually taken into the blood stream through the digestive system, making it a negligible source of radiation. "That would be the smallest possible source of exposure," says Brenner. "Because, again, the alpha particles would then be within some stuff, within liquid or whatever and it wouldnt have enough range to get out."
Apart from ingesting the aerosols, they can also be inhaleda potentially more harmful path. "When you inhale some of these particlesfor instance, in the case of radon, which is a decay product of uraniumthese particles give off alpha-radiation, which could cause lung cancer," Hei says. The correlation between radon and an increased risk of lung cancer was first discovered in uranium miners, who inhaled large quantities. As many as 75 percent of them got lung cancer. Radon gas also rises naturally from the soil, especially in regions with high granite concentrations such as the New York/New Jersey area.
"It depends on how much [exposure] we are talking about here," Brenner says. "I think you would probably get a bigger exposure just from being in your house than from almost any conceivable DU exposure." Similarly, he does not believe that temporary exposure to the radioactive aerosols will do damage. "If you just inhale radon gas, for example, the alpha particles would be in the air in your lung and would have no range to get to any significant, sensitive cells."
Of importance is where exposure to the aerosols occurs. "In an outdoor setting, like in a war or something, the concentrations would be very low," Brenner says. The worst-case scenario might be for the crew of a tank hit with DU ammunition. According to a study by the AC-Laboratorium Spiez, those soldiers could inhale up to 50 milligrams of uranium aerosol. Still, only about 25 percent of the particles with a diameter less than 10 microns would be deposited in the lungs. And as mentioned above, only a small percentage of them would be easily soluble. The rest would be incorporated into the mucus in the lungs, and coughed or sneezed back out in less than an hour.
Poisonous Legacy?
To be certain, inhaling or ingesting uranium aerosols delivers some additional radiation to the body, but the real health threat may have nothing to do with radioactivity. "Uranium is a toxin that effects the kidneys," toxicologist Bruce Kelman says. "Once you get the uranium into biological fluids, it mostly goes to the liver and kidneys. It breaks down the tubules in the kidneys that allow you to filter the urine out."
Image: NATO
KOSOVO was rocked with some 31,000 rounds of DU ammunition during the 11 weeks of Operation Allied Force. People must now remove any pieces that remain before they can cause any additional harm.
It is difficult to say how little depleted uranium it might take to make a person sick, Kelman says, because it depends on its physical form and whether it was inhaled, ingested or shot into the body. "The U.S. EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] determined that the most appropriate oral measure to use was a study in rabbits indicating that the lowest level at which there was an adverse effect observed was 2.8 mg/kg/day"that is, milligrams per kilogram of body mass per day. To put that into perspective, Kelman observes, "in terms of making the environment dirty, I don't think it makes it any dirtier than any other kind of military munition, where you have lead scattered throughout the environment, where you have toxic components of explosives that are left over."
So thus far, the threat seems negligible, but a certain amount of caution is warranted. "There is a general known lag period between radiation exposure and when a cancer is going to occur, if it's going to occur," Brenner says. "And it's on the order of 20 years or so. So you wouldn't expect to see radiation-related cancers from, say, Kosovo now. That would be against everything we know about how radiation causes cancer." There are two exceptions to that rule: thyroid disorders and leukemia. "Radiation-induced leukemia occurs generally in the first five years."
Most of the controversy over Kosovo has, in fact, focused on leukemia. After several NATO soldiers who served in Kosovo were diagnosed, the World Health Organization investigated whether the number of leukemia cases in Kosovo had risen during the last few years. They came to the conclusion that it had not. But this past November, the United Nations Environmental Program followed up, sending a team of experts to Kosovo to take soil and water samples in 11 locations. "At eight sites the team found either slightly higher amounts of beta-radiation immediately at or around the holes left by DU ammunition, or pieces and remnants of ammunition," Pekka Haavisto, former Finnish environment minister and leader of the UNEPs Balkan Task Force team, said in a statement on January 11.
A later analysis concluded that some of the depleted uranium used during the war contained traces of plutonium and uranium 236neither of which occur naturally, but are created during nuclear fission. This discovery made the origins of the DU a hot political issue and raised additional health concerns because both materials are far more radioactive than regular DU. As it turned out, though, the traces of U236 were so small that they did not change the radioactivity of the depleted uranium; so too, the plutonium content varied from a negligible 0.8 to 12.87 becquerel per kilogram.
Although depleted uranium may not pose an immediate threat, because it is both radioactive and toxic, some action is warranted. Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the UNEP, sums up the recommendations made by the Balkans Task Force in 1999: "Highest priority should be given to finding pieces of depleted uranium and heavily contaminated surfaces. Measures should be taken for the secure storage of any contaminated material recovered.
A. Papadimitriou
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The Greeks who believe in conspiracy theories and have antisemitic tendencies don't like him. Regular Greeks are indifferent towards him.
Greek conspiracy theorists have said that he claimed that because the Greek people are hard to govern / to subdue, Greek culture, language, religion etc should be destroyed.
Of course this is bs. (This myth is from 1997)
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