This is Actually Taiwan:
Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #38
Monday, November 1, 2021
China prepares to test thorium-fuelled nuclear reactor
If China’s experimental reactor is a success it could lead to commercialization and help create cheap, reliable and safe energy
Scientists are excited about an experimental nuclear reactor using thorium as fuel, which is about to begin tests in China. Although this radioactive element has been trialled in reactors before, experts say that China is the first to have a shot at commercializing the technology.
The reactor is unusual in that it has molten salts circulating inside it instead of water. It has the potential to produce nuclear energy that is relatively safe and cheap, while also generating a much smaller amount of very long-lived radioactive waste than conventional reactors.
Construction of the experimental thorium reactor in Wuwei, on the outskirts of the Gobi Desert, was due to be completed by the end of August — with trial runs scheduled for this month, according to the government of Gansu province.
Thorium is a weakly radioactive, silvery metal found naturally in rocks, and currently has little industrial use. It is a waste product of the growing rare-earth mining industry in China, and is therefore an attractive alternative to imported uranium, say researchers.
Powerful potential
“Thorium is much more plentiful than uranium and so it would be a very useful technology to have in 50 or 100 years’ time,” when uranium reserves start to run low, says Lyndon Edwards, a nuclear engineer at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation in Sydney. But the technology will take many decades to realize, so we need to start now, he adds.
China launched its molten-salt reactor programme in 2011, investing some 3 billion yuan (US$500 million), according to Ritsuo Yoshioka, former president of the International Thorium Molten-Salt Forum in Oiso, Japan, who has worked closely with Chinese researchers.
Operated by the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP), the Wuwei reactor is designed to produce just 2 megawatts of thermal energy, which is only enough to power up to 1,000 homes. But if the experiments are a success, China hopes to build a 373-megawatt reactor by 2030, which could power hundreds of thousands...
As Bodies and Tent Cities Pile Up, Antifa-Ravaged Portland Learns Tourists Are 'Afraid' of Their Utopia
Portland, Oregon is nearly dead last on the list of cities where tourists and conventioneers want to spend money and time. And it makes sense. Portland is circling the drain.
The leaderless city from which police are fleeing, where Antifa thugs are ascendant, and which people in nearby towns avoid, is dying before our eyes.
Elected Leftists can’t seem to prioritize problems or affect solutions beyond spending more money to study an issue or giving out more freebies via their favorite NGO’s to “fix” problems for them. Grift being what it is, problems don’t get solved.
Leftists have tried hard to mold the one-time jewel of a city into their socialist utopia.
The city’s “Travel Portland” tourism CEO, Jeff Miller, says nobody wants to visit their utopia. Miller told the commissioners, “Portland has declined to the lowest levels of being a likely destination for delegates to attend a conference.” And it comes down to only a few things. “Portland-specific issues that are related to civil unrest and public safety concerns have exacerbated the negative occurrences of declining attendance and group cancellations.”
Source: Portland City Council
Miller told Mayor Wheeler and the council, “Continued attacks and breaking glass on buildings throughout the city, but especially downtown, continued to affect this hard to overcome sentiment. Our central city occupancy in September lags every competitive city we tracked.”
The only worse city was Minneapolis, which was also set on fire by Antifa and BLM, where cops are more hated, and where the Left has a firm hold on...
Miller told Mayor Wheeler and the council, “Continued attacks and breaking glass on buildings throughout the city, but especially downtown, continued to affect this hard to overcome sentiment. Our central city occupancy in September lags every competitive city we tracked.”
The only worse city was Minneapolis, which was also set on fire by Antifa and BLM, where cops are more hated, and where the Left has a firm hold on...
Americans Don’t Buy the Insurrection Narrative
Two polls show few Americans believe the January 6 riot was a “coup” or “insurrection.” And the numbers are declining
Americans never bought House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “insurrection” narrative about the January 6 violence at the Capitol, and the majority believe the incident was not as serious as portrayed, according to a new pair of polls.
More Americans identify the mayhem as a “riot” or as “protests” rather than an “insurrection,” armed or otherwise, according to polls published in June and October.
The Center for Security Policy commissioned the polls with TIPP in May and September, asking the same respondents for multiple answers to identify precise public perceptions about the riot that occurred during the January 6 protest.
As the congressional January 6 committee began hearings in late September, the percentage of Americans who agreed with the insurrection narrative had declined since spring.
More Americans describe January 6 events as “unlawful entry” and “vandalism” than Pelosi’s favored term “insurrection.”
In June, a survey of 1,308 adults showed that only 13 percent identified with the “insurrection” term, and 14 percent with “armed insurrection.” Those views decreased to 10 and 12 percent respectively by early October.
Rejection of the insurrection narrative is strongest among Republicans, independents, and people of color.
The poll results show no majority view as to what Americans call the events of January 6.
In June, nine percent of Republicans and 13 percent of independents identified with the “insurrection” label, and five and 13 percent with the “armed insurrection” term. By October, those numbers had decreased.
Democrats held the strongest views, with 18 percent choosing “insurrection” in June and 15 percent in October, and “armed insurrection” at 22 and 19 percent, respectively.
Blacks and Hispanics showed more skepticism about the insurrection narrative than whites. The June poll showed that 11 percent of people of color agreed with the “insurrection” label and nine percent with “armed insurrection.” For months later those numbers held steady at 10 percent and nine percent respectively.
One-Third of Democrats Call It “Domestic Terrorism”
The term chosen most often by respondents to describe January 6 was “domestic terrorism,” at 25 percent in June and 23 percent in October.
That was not the term of choice for Pelosi, and the Justice Department has not charged any January 6 suspect with terrorism-related crimes, but the opinion is strong among the sizeable minority that favors the description.
Variations were small in both polls among race and sex, with the sharpest differences being according to...
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