"The normalcy bias refers to an extreme mental state people enter when facing a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster occurring and also its possible effects. This often results in situations where people fail to adequately prepare for a disaster, and on a larger scale, the failure of the government to include the populace in its disaster preparations. The assumption that is made in the case of the normalcy bias is that since a disaster never has occurred that it never will occur. It also results in the inability of people to cope with a disaster once it occurs. People with a normalcy bias have difficulties reacting to something they have not experienced before. People also tend to interpret warnings in the most optimistic way possible, seizing on any ambiguities to infer a less serious situation."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalcy_bias

It’s what makes people stand and stare at an incoming tsunami instead of running. The most heart-breaking example I have seen was in a comic book called ‘When the wind blows’. The old lady and gentleman getting ready for the nuclear holocaust by pottering about filling a few pans of water and getting a bed made under a sloping door, as if it were an air-raid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Wind_Blows_(graphic_novel)

"The assumption that is made in the case of the normalcy bias is that since a disaster never has occurred that it never will occur."

This is certainly what their arguments are based on. Whether they believe this argument or not, I’m not sure. But we’ve all seen how often deniers argue ‘nothing came of acid rain, ozone depletion, Y2k, global cooling, etc.’. They constantly argue that because disasters have not occurred, they cannot occur. Of course in these cases they argue the threat never existed when in reality we simply addressed each of these problems and actively prevented the disaster from occurring. The problem with averting disaster enough times I suppose is that people grow accustomed to it and take it for granted that we will continue to avert it. Or they assume the warnings were just ‘alarmism’ and conclude that warnings of potential disaster are always ‘alarmist’.

"People also tend to interpret warnings in the most optimistic way possible, seizing on any ambiguities to infer a less serious situation."

Once again, a perfect description of AGW deniers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_Surgery_Disasters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_We_Trust,_Inc.

I have a single album that contains both of these together on it. It is amazing! I love how Dead Kennedys always kept experimenting and growing.

BQ: What are your favorite songs off "Bedtime For Democracy (1986)" by Dead Kennedys?

I’ve got that same album!

Terminal Preppie
Forest Fire
Riot
I Am The Owl
Kepone Factory
Nazi Punks F*ck Off
Rawhide

I know sit didn’t receive the warnings once out at sea but i would like to know if it was known that there would possibly be icebergs in the area in which the Titanic sank. Was wondering if there was another route that it could have taken to avoid the disaster, trying to find other lines of enquiry for a history essay. Links to trustworthy websites would be useful no Wikipedia please.

Tina, anyone who ever sailed the Great Circle route between Ireland and New York in April knew that there would be ice. There is always ice in April in the Great Circle route. The ice extends down to the same Latitude as Richmond, Virginia!

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/keeping_track.html

RMS Titanic had all the latest gadgets, including wireless telegraph (radio) so she did, too receive ice warnings, but capitalism being what it is, the owner/operators wanted those speed records more than they wanted the health and safety of the passengers and crew.

Like a game that has a plot that is centralised on a natural disaster like.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Alive

Besides that game..is there any game you know of which has such a plot?..
Alex,
isn’t I am Alive such a game..

Sim City baybee!

Rock those citizen with earthquakes and tornadoes!

In the moments following a devastating earthquake in Haiti, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began organizing a humanitarian response to assist the legions affected by the Jan. 12 disaster.

I thought Christ spoke with a demon-possessed person, and was told the evil spirits name was Legion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_(demon)
Ignorant people ask questions. Is that wrong?

No, it isn’t racist. Which race would Legion refer to, specifically, and why?

Yes, there is a demon that Christ spoke with that managed to find it’s way into popular modern mythology. I think he was even a character in the movie "Ghost Rider", not to mention being an X-men villain.

The word Legion comes before that. Have you wondered why movie demons named Legion always say they are called Legion "because they are many"?

When looking at a wikipedia article, anything with an underscore and a paranthesis is usually what’s called a "disambiguation". That means many articles linked to the same word. If you cut off everything after the word Legion in the url, so you end up with
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion

It sends you to a page that says this, right at the top
"Legion originally described a unit of the ancient Roman army."

The Roman Army. Which was huge. Thus, Legion, referring to a very large group.

So, to answer your question, it would only be racist if you were using it to describe a group of Romans. Maybe, it’s a bit of a stretch, but it could be used as a racist term applied to an Italian, or someone dressed as a Romulan at a Star Trek convention (Romulans were based on Romans). I doubt they’d be offended, though.

I like stuff that is like… "never expected it to happen" or worldwide disasters or something… something that is shocking and interesting for example the whole story about the tragedies with Ted Bundy, or the Story about Chernobyl i liked very much

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson_family_murders

I find this crazy and unexpected. But it’s probably a bigger shocker for me then for you because I knew everyone involved (the girl, her boyfriend, and her family). And there’s not much of the story here, but there’s a book about it called Runaway Devil which is really interesting. And another book coming out soon that my friend (who was best friends with her) wrote.

Actually I am now doing a history project and I have done A lots of Research on it on wikipedia and all… but have not found the answer, that the disaster incident of Pearl-Harbor (US) and after that more pathetic reply the incident of Hiroshima-Nagasaki have not impacted the modern relationship of two great nations?

And if effected then how…?

(It’s my question about my important history project so please answer compactly and nicely)
Thanks…:)

The post-WWII US-Japan relationship got very strong due to these reasons:

1. The US helped Japan rebuild the country and due to American influence, Japan became very "Americanized" (think why baseball is so popular in Japan) and capitalist in a region that was experiencing communist influence (for example China, North Korea, Vietnam). During the Cold War, the US wanted to do all it can to prevent communist expansion, and the three capitalist countries Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, were America’s "best friends" in Asia.

2. Japan and the US have a very close economic relationship.

3. At present, the rise of China and the insecurity of North Korea have made the Japan-US relationship even stronger.

Ultimately, Japan look up to the US as their "elder brother", while the same can be said of the US viewing Japan as a "sibling". In other words, whatever America does, Japan does. When America tries to get countries like China, Russia and France to do something, they tell America to f**k off and mind their own business, but Japan will always follow America - whether its politics, culturally, the latest fashion, the latest technology or the next American "cool thing".

Generally speaking, there have been tensions between the Japan-US relationship due to Japan’s successful economy from the 1960s - 1990s. There was a lot of anti-Japanese sentiment in the US when Japan’s economy started dominating the US and the public started boycotting companies like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Mitsubishi. However, since the decline of Japan’s economy in the 2000s, the tension has died down a bit.

I don’t think historical incidents like Pearl Harbor and the atomic bombings have affected the relationship at all. The reason is because Japan recovered very quickly after the war and so WWII was quickly forgotten. If Japan had lingered on in economic hardship after WWII, then the memories of the atomic bombings might still have an effect. But Japan and the US have never been at loggerheads since WWII, so the friendship has only got stronger politically, socially, economically and militarily. With the rise of China, and the US losing a lot of "friends" during the 2000s, I can only see the friendship strengthening.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8390156.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/8392358.stm

They handed out a paltry £470 million to "compensate" for the thousands of lives lost and thousands of lives ruined, yet even today there are chemicals at the plant that are leaching into the groundwater causing contamination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Ongoing_contamination
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Compensation_from_Union_Carbide
Sorry. I meant to press the $ sign. That’s even less. Either way, it’s peanuts for the destruction involved.

the indian government signed off on the 470,000,000 lbs,call it a big stimulus/porculus/political slush fund check .wonder how much got invested in stocks,russian oil and gas,american real estate, and swiss banks. this accidental release of isocyanate gas was indias’ sept 11th.

She was one of the 16 Senators who votes against the Vitter Amendment, which prohibits the confiscation of lawfully-held firearms during a disaster.

Luckily, the Amendment passes 84 vs. 16. But every time there’s been a law attempting to curtail the Second Amendment, Hillary has been behind it. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_views_of_Hillary_Rodham_Clinton#Gun_control

If she is elected, she will keep trying to confiscate lawfully-held firearms, you can count on that.

How does that affect your position with respect to her?

Well lets get this straight right now I don’t believe the word respect should even be in the same sentence as Hillary Clinton’s name.
I don’t support Hillary at all. I won’t say all the bad things about her I have in my head right now, I will save my ranting for a more worthy cause.
But I would like to add I am against anyone who would want to disarm me. I believe I have the right to own a gun, and I will defend that right at any cost. Once I am dead and my cold stiff body is laying on the ground , then and only then may anyone try and disarm me.

There are so many but try this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll#Top_10_deadliest_natural_disasters_.5B1.5D

A disaster is the tragedy of a natural or human-made hazard (a hazard is a situation which poses a level of threat to life, health, property, or environment) that negatively affects society or environment.
OR
A disaster can be defined as any tragic event with great loss stemming from events such as earthquakes, floods, catastrophic accidents, fires, or explosions.