The 20th Century Pompeii

I got this from a friend who has a subscription to the SomethingAwful forums. This truly lives up to the advertising.

http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/

This is a website established by a Ukrainian woman who took a motorcycle ride through the areas affected by the Chernobyl meltdown in late April, 1986. She took pictures throughout the ride and, long short, it all amounts to a simple and striking documentary of how badly our hubris can bite when given half a chance.

This is, quite possibly, one of the most...I don't know what the best word is. Amazing? Impressive? Shocking? - sites I've ever seen. Give it a look over, maybe you can think of a word for me.

Really wild stuff.

HP posted that site in site of the day. The original site was killed by the traffic, but several mirrors popped up. Her new site (your link) has more pictures and less text. There's a lot more pictures of her (good thing :) ) and the area.
On the first site she told of "bandits" going into the hot area and stealing a couple of truckloads of new in the box TVs that were very contaminated, and selling them on the street in the other cities. After the police shot 8 of them, the traffic slowed down. Damn!

HP posted it on 3/8/04, I scooped him by two days, as Griffhas very subtly pointed out (the period on his post is actually a link to my posting. Thank you Rich, for your attentiveness.)

Edited to correct personal stupidity and inattentiveness.

Who is this Rich? :)

I get caught up in these pictures every time someone posts them. Sometimes I get thinking about the biology,sometimes the enviroment, sometimes I wonder about our Swedish friend's spontaneous abortion, sometimes I think about the girl and her fathers willingness to help her do this, sometimes, when I'm feeling political, I think about the innocents condemned to who knows what kind of future by the government planners of an evil system.


Some folks still believe in nuclear power.

Originally posted by Griff
Who is this Rich? :)

My bad. Sorry. Shouldn't post sleepy and without rechecking credits.

I beg forgiveness.

You are forgiven. Go now and sin no more. :)

Why is there an american stop sign in this picture?

Possibility #1: So the american spies can read it.

Possibility #2: The factory was owned and operated by an American Company with primarily American Workers before it was "nationalized".

(Where's the image from, actually? That might answer the question.)

Originally posted by wolf


(Where's the image from, actually? That might answer the question.)

It's from these Chernobyl pictures. I think it's a picture of the actual sarcophagus.

ah. I should have read the rest of the thread.

I stand by Possibility #1, then.

Do spies have to obey traffic laws? No diplomatic immunity?

That's only for ambassadors.

Spies get shot for running a stop sign, so it's important to have it printed in the language of the most likely spies to an installation.

1-English is the language of air traffic controlers and nuke operators.
2- I'm lying through my teeth.:D

Are those your teeth, or roebuckers? (and if they are, can it be determined to be lying?)

Originally posted by Chewbaccus
took a motorcycle ride

Alas, 'tis a partial fraud. She went with husband by car, and got the same tour everyone else gets. Pictures are real, but staged and misleading. More info:

http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthread.asp?fid=1&threadid=8951

Bummer:(