I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'm within two degrees of separation with Oliver Stone.

[NNadir]

I finally got around to watching the Oliver Stone film Nuclear Now, not that I needed my mind changed with respect to nuclear issues.

In the film, he interviews Rod Adams, who in turn, has interviewed me.

I can't say I'm an Oliver Stone fan, or that I even am very familiar with his movies. The movie's pretty good though, although it focuses, not entirely unexpected, on the role of Hollywood in portraying nuclear issues.

[Clash City Rocker]

1. That's what they want you to think

It’s all a massive conspiracy. 😃

[NNadir]

2. Well, Rod informed him that the antinuke movement was not a conspiracy of the fossil fuel companies.

Rod said that their support of it was just good business; no conspiracy, it was right out in the open.

Antinukism certain was good for the German coal industry. They're generally now the second or third worst country in Europe for carbon intensity of their electricity, after Poland, but Poland, unlike Germany, plans to do something about that.

Conspiracy or no conspiracy it is certain that the coal, gas, and petroleum industries are the main beneficiaries of antinukism. From my perspective, it ended up killing far more than Glen Canyon. The entire planet's at risk.

Rod did refer to the source of the money David Brower received when he switched sides from pronuke to antinuke. I was unaware of this claim, if true. I've always, of course, even though Brower's nominally identified as a major "environmentalist" type figure, held Brower in contempt since he thought it was right to trade the Glen Canyon for the Grand Canyon. Both should have been protected, but that would have required going nuclear for the environment.

[Archae]

3. Oliver Stone has zero credibility.

Even if the premise of this film is valid, (I support nuclear power, BTW,) Oliver Stone is simply a liar, anti-Semite and according to actors who worked for him, a total asshole.

The most notorious example being his movie "JFK."

Stone got two facts correct in that movie.
Kennedy was killed in Dallas.
Garrison did put Clay Shaw on trial for that.

The rest of the movie is pure Stone fiction.

[NNadir]

4. I've heard that about the JFK movie. I didn't see it.

I don't think I've ever seen an Oliver Stone movie other than Platoon, which was a very long time ago.

I don't know anything about his personality, or what bigotry he may or may not possess.

The facts stated in this movie however were basically accurate with respect to the things I do know, since I do know a great deal about nuclear power.

I do have something of a personal relationship with Rod Adams though, and have conversed with him on the phone and on his podcast and met him in person one time at his home. It's been a few years since we've been in touch.

I do not know the details of David Brower's sources of funding however. I generally respect and admire Rod though, and it seems credible. The statement that the antinuclear movement has been good for fossil fuels is unreservedly true.

Anyway...

It's not like Oliver Stone and I are going to have a personal relationship. I actually don't know very much about the guy, although I've heard through osmosis that the JFK movie was about crazies.

I'm actually not interested at all in JFK's assassination, but I tend to disregard conspiracy theories in general.

I have personally never felt very sanguine about JFK, the President, regarding him as the worst Democratic President of the 20th century, and am disinterested in theories about his assassination. ("I accept JFK's father's appraisal of his son. Quoth Joe Kennedy about his son John Kennedy, "My son is no liberal." It's the only thing on which Joseph Kennedy - an antisemite - and I agree.) JFK was a cold warrior, and Khrushchev's assessment of him as a lightweight, which may have been largely accurate, almost led to a nuclear war. To the extent that I'm interested in JFK, that's it, that's it's possible to stumble into tragedy through incompetence.

This is the lounge though, and we're probably straying off topic into the political realm.

[LudwigPastorius]

5. It could be worse.

There could be one degree of separation between you and Rudy Giuliani.

I was playing a gig at a law firm in 2010 and the future inmate came up and introduced himself to the band on a break.

*shudder*

[NNadir]

6. That would be worse.

When I was a kid of about 16, I shook Richard Nixon's hand when he was on a campaign stop at a shopping mall. I was in a crowd of people and he walked by.

I always felt my life was defined by cooties thereafter, but at least he didn't introduce himself to me.

[LudwigPastorius]

7. Back then, Giuliani was just another egomaniacal Republican asshole, not the insane insurrectionist criminal he is now.

But, maybe the worst thing about being one degree from Giuliani is being two degrees from Trump.

Hopefully, I'll be two degrees from someone in Club Fed soon.