Michael george @GeorgeBloolight

@AthertonKD I have a feeling Biden takes his duties as President seriously enough that he will absolutely die on this hill...or at least, I hope he does. The risk/reward ratio of a NFZ is just too far out of whack.

@ilovaussiesheps @NuclearAnthro That's a relief! I never thought about how my profile would make me look like a bot...😀

@ilovaussiesheps @NuclearAnthro No, I'm real. I just made an account a long time ago and did not get into Twitter until this Ukraine War started and I read Martin's posts. I'm a physics teacher and have a long interest in nuclear power issues.

@ilovaussiesheps @NuclearAnthro The biggest threat for 20 year old spent fuel would be if it was uncovered and you were standing near it. Air convection would keep it cool enough to prevent melting and/or going critical. Even scattering the pieces around with an explosive would remain a local contamination.

...in pools of water which could be scattered by explosives landing on/near them. Intensely radioactive, yes. Capable of meltdown or going critical, no. Think local contamination and exposure to those in the vicinity. Not good, but the least of Ukraine's problems.

All of the reactors at Chernobyl have been shut down since 2000, so you can stop freaking out about the fact that the Russians have attacked the area. The main danger now would be from spent fuel rods that are stored on site in...

@NuclearAnthro I grew up in the early 80's when everybody and their brother was constantly trying to scare the crap out of me about nuclear war. This is why I sincerely appreciate your posts about all of this.

I'm a bit bewildered at the fact that Poland just decided to give us all of their Mig-29's. I mean...thanks, but no thanks?

@LisaAtTheBrink Somebody tell them that ICBM's are hypersonic weapons and we already have a bunch of them...maybe they will calm down.

The one hopeful note, which I will expand on later, is that this invasion proves how difficult war is to launch today, even for the larger force, that it might teach other powers that a war is not worth it.

Of course, Gen Barry McCaffrey has said this exact thing so it isn't exactly groundbreaking analysis on my part.

A hypothesis: High level Russian military commanders no longer have enough control over their troops in Ukraine to execute operations at anything but the most simplistic level. There could be large pockets of the invading forces that are simply out of the command loop.

@ArmsControlWonk @DuitsyWasHere Is there some domestic audience out there who is going to buy this, or are they just lying out of sheer force of habit? I'm asking for a friend...

@NuclearAnthro I'm not entirely sure why people are so convinced that Putin wants to use tactical nukes in Ukraine. He has more than enough artillery to level cities and kill civilians the old fashioned way without resorting to WMD's. I see no upside for Russia using nukes at all.

The state of the Russian military right now reminds me of Soviet nuclear power plants...expensive, poorly designed, woefully built, operated by people who are punished for telling the truth to their superiors, and destined to make a deadly mess in Ukraine.

@NuclearAnthro "My Little Putin: Nukes Are Magic!" It will be a beloved children's classic.

Events in Ukraine has shown that modern "great power" conflict is a stupid, bloody, bungling, self-defeating waste of lives and treasure. Nobody involved in starting this is going to reap any benefits from the slaughter they have created.

@BeCurieus Almost zero tactical military value, but very good at murdering a lot of civilians and leveling cities/infrastructure. They are good for the occasional saber-rattle for attention, and we are correct for greeting such bluster with a shrug. Biden is playing things right.

@NuclearAnthro The actual military value of nukes seems to have vanished somewhere around 1949, and even then they were only good for killing huge numbers of civilians. At this point, they are only good for waving around and making other countries nervous when you want to be a dickhead.

I just published Active Shooter Training Is Not Just A Waste of Time and Money. It is Actually Much Worse. link.medium.com/WeheLLp4CZ