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Nascent Drama

CNN's exit polling on Prop 8 may help to explain what happened. The Latino vote, comprising 18% of the total, went 53% in favor. This was possibly because of Latin American society's conservatism and generally strong Catholic faith. The Asian vote, 8% of the total, went 51% percent against, I would theorize because California's Asian population has been conjoined with the homosexual population of San Francisco since the 1960s. The overall white vote (63% of the total) was 51% against, though white men went 51% for. Finally, the African American voting population (10% of the total) went 70% for Prop 8, the largest deviancy of any group on CNN's exit polls. Many analysts have explained it by claiming that African Americans are more religious or homophobic, but even without 70% going for Prop 8, the measure still would have passed.¹
 
0.05–0.2 Sv (5–20 REM)

No symptoms. Potential for cancer and mutation of genetic material, according to the LNT model: this is disputed (Note: see hormesis). A few researchers contend that low dose radiation may be beneficial. 50 mSv is the yearly federal limit for radiation workers in the United States. In the UK the yearly limit for a classified radiation worker is 20 mSv. In Canada and Brazil, the single-year maximum is 50 mSv, but the maximum 5-year dose is only 100 mSv. Company limits are usually stricter so as not to violate federal limits.
 
Another interesting statistic is vote by age. Of 18 to 29 year olds, 61% voted no, reflecting the liberality of the youth, while higher age groups voted progressively more towards yes. Independents and Democrats voted strongly against Prop 8, but not as strongly (82%) as Republicans voted for it. 62% of first time voters went against Prop 8 while 56% of repeat voters approved it. ¹
 
Religion appears to have been a major deciding factor. 65% of Protestants and Catholics voted yes on Prop 8, 90% of atheists voted no. Most married voters voted yes, most unmarried voters voted no.¹ The LDS Church pumped massive amounts of capital into rallying for Prop 8.
 
All across the board, the numbers seem to indicate that the state of California is simply not at the demographic point necessary to protect gay marriage. California's voters are religious and possibly influenced by homophobia. Despite the famed tolerance of San Francisco, the rest of the state simply hasn't caught up. County by county polls show that no votes on Prop 8 were only the majority in the San Francisco area, Santa Barbara, and on the northern coast, with the rest of the state (from the more socially conservative Los Angeles to the all-around conservative inland areas) going in favor of Prop 8. ²
 
0.5–1 Sv (50–100 REM)

Mild radiation sickness with headache and increased risk of infection due to disruption of immunity cells. Temporary male sterility is possible.
 
Prop 8 was an important ballot measure in the homosexual civil rights struggle, and in the wider civil rights struggle that's been ongoing in America for over a hundred years. Its failure would have been a great victory for civil rights, ands its victory, ultimately, presents only a setback. In four years, gay marriage will be on the ballot again. If it fails, it will be back four years after that, until it passes. Prop 8 only delayed something that was and continues to be inevitable. Eventually, enough of the state will have progressed socially to put an end to this kind of intolerance.
 
1–2 Sv (100–200 REM)

Light radiation poisoning, 10% fatality after 30 days (LD 10/30). Typical symptoms include mild to moderate nausea (50% probability at 2 Sv), with occasional vomiting, beginning 3 to 6 hours after irradiation and lasting for up to one day. This is followed by a 10 to 14 day latent phase, after which light symptoms like general illness and fatigue appear (50% probability at 2 Sv). The immune system is depressed, with convalescence extended and increased risk of infection. Temporary male sterility is common. Spontaneous abortion or stillbirth will occur in pregnant women.
 
2–3 Sv (200–300 REM)

Moderate radiation poisoning, 35% fatality after 30 days (LD 35/30). Nausea is common (100% at 3 Sv), with 50% risk of vomiting at 2.8 Sv. Symptoms onset at 1 to 6 hours after irradiation and last for 1 to 2 days. After that, there is a 7 to 14 day latent phase, after which the following symptoms appear: loss of hair all over the body (50% probability at 3 Sv), fatigue and general illness. There is a massive loss of leukocytes (white blood cells), greatly increasing the risk of infection. Permanent female sterility is possible. Convalescence takes one to several months.
 
3–4 Sv (300–400 REM)

Severe radiation poisoning, 50% fatality after 30 days (LD 50/30). Other symptoms are similar to the 2–3 Sv dose, with uncontrollable bleeding in the mouth, under the skin and in the kidneys (50% probability at 4 Sv) after the latent phase.

Anatoly Dyatlov received a dose of 390 REM during the Chernobyl disaster. He died of heart failure in 1995 due to radioactive exposure.
 
4–6 Sv (400–600 REM)

Acute radiation poisoning, 60% fatality after 30 days (LD 60/30). Fatality increases from 60% at 4.5 Sv to 90% at 6 Sv (unless there is intense medical care). Symptoms start half an hour to two hours after irradiation and last for up to 2 days. After that, there is a 7 to 14 day latent phase, after which generally the same symptoms appear as with 3-4 Sv irradiation, with increased intensity. Female sterility is common at this point. Convalescence takes several months to a year. The primary causes of death (in general 2 to 12 weeks after irradiation) are infections and internal bleeding.
 
6–10 Sv (600–1,000 REM)

Acute radiation poisoning, near 100% fatality after 14 days (LD 100/14). Survival depends on intense medical care. Bone marrow is nearly or completely destroyed, so a bone marrow transplant is required. Gastric and intestinal tissue are severely damaged. Symptoms start 15 to 30 minutes after irradiation and last for up to 2 days. Subsequently, there is a 5 to 10 day latent phase, after which the person dies of infection or internal bleeding. Recovery would take several years and probably would never be complete.

Devair Alves Ferreira received a dose of approximately 7.0 Sv (700 REM) during the Goiânia accident and survived, partially due to his fractionated exposure.
 
10–50 Sv (1,000–5,000 REM)

Acute radiation poisoning, 100% fatality after 7 days (LD 100/7). An exposure this high leads to spontaneous symptoms after 5 to 30 minutes. After powerful fatigue and immediate nausea caused by direct activation of chemical receptors in the brain by the irradiation, there is a period of several days of comparative well-being, called the latent (or "walking ghost") phase.[citation needed] After that, cell death in the gastric and intestinal tissue, causing massive diarrhea, intestinal bleeding and loss of water, leads to water-electrolyte imbalance. Death sets in with delirium and coma due to breakdown of circulation. Death is currently inevitable; the only treatment that can be offered is pain management.

Louis Slotin was exposed to approximately 21 Sv in a criticality accident on 21 May 1946, and died nine days later on 30 May.
 
More than 50 Sv (>5,000 REM)

A worker receiving 100 Sv (10,000 REM) in an accident at Wood River, Rhode Island, USA on 24 July 1964 survived for 49 hours after exposure, and an operator named Cecil Kelley who received between 60 and 180 Sv (6,000 - 18,000 REM) to his upper body in an accident at Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA on 30 December 1958 survived for 36 hours; details of this accident can be found in the journal "Los Alamos Science", Number 23 (1995).[24]

At 10,000 Rad, 70% of cockroaches exposed to a Cobalt-60 source were dead after 30 days, 30% survived.
At 100,000 Rad, 90% of flour beetles exposed to a Cobalt-60 source were dead after 30 days and only 10% survived, according to tests performed by Hanford Pacific NorthWest Lab facility for a Mythbusters show.
 
Cutaneous radiation syndrome

The concept of cutaneous radiation syndrome (CRS) was introduced in recent years to describe the complex pathological syndrome that results from acute radiation exposure to the skin.[3]

Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) usually will be accompanied by some skin damage. It is also possible to receive a damaging dose to the skin without symptoms of ARS, especially with acute exposures to beta radiation or X-rays. Sometimes this occurs when radioactive materials contaminate skin or clothes.[3]

When the basal cell layer of the skin is damaged by radiation, inflammation, erythema, and dry or moist desquamation can occur. Also, hair follicles may be damaged, causing hair loss. Within a few hours after irradiation, a transient and inconsistent erythema (associated with itching) can occur. Then, a latent phase may occur and last from a few days up to several weeks, when intense reddening, blistering, and ulceration of the irradiated site are visible. In most cases, healing occurs by regenerative means; however, very large skin doses can cause permanent hair loss, damaged sebaceous and sweat glands, atrophy, fibrosis, decreased or increased skin pigmentation, and ulceration or necrosis of the exposed tissue.
 
In his Meditations, Descartes employs the technique of “radical doubt” in his search for certainty. Radical doubt in this context means refusing to accept anything that isn’t clearly and distinctly true, and indeed, everything that can possibly be doubted. Descartes builds up to radical doubt through three stages within Meditations. In the first, he calls into question everything he had ever been taught. In the second stage, Descartes doubts anything his senses tell him. The senses can be wrong – a man may not be able to tell what an object is at a distance, but up close he will become aware that his senses had lied to him. Since it is impossible to trust something that can lie to you, and indeed, because the information that it was a lie came from the same source, the senses have to be abandoned. The final phase of radical doubt involves dreams. When a man is dreaming, he is usually not aware of it. The dream seems absolutely real until the man wakes up. How, then, can the man ever be certain that he isn’t dreaming and about to wake up? How, then, can he be certain that the entire world isn’t a dream? This opens up the possibility of doubting the physical world, and, following radical doubt, anything that can be doubted must be doubted, leaving only the self of the man all he can be certain of. This Descartes establishes through his Cogito Argument.
 
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