Hold the phone!!! Microfilm lasts 500 YEARS???!!???

[CatWoman]

The enduring popularity of preservation microfilm is because of its practicality. Unlike its digital counterpart, microfilm is the product of a nearly static, tested technology that is governed by carefully crafted national standards. When created and stored according to these standards, microfilm boasts a life expectancy of 500+ years.1 It is also worth noting that, while digital data require use of a sophisticated retrieval system to access their treasures, microforms (i.e., microfilm and microfiche) can be read by the naked eye using only light and magnification.

and there were supposed to be several copies??

www.aiim.org/industry/standards/97stdcat.htm

I truly, truly HATE the Bush admin.

Lie upon lie upon lie upon lie upon lie upon lie upon lie upon lie.

Will it ever end??

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf51.htm

[HFishbine]

1. But it burns well

when it accidentaly comes in contact with a blow torch.

[LittleApple81]

2. LOL!

[demgrrrll]

3. This reminds me of the scene in The Big Easy where someone puts

a magnet next to the videotape. These folks are so transparent.
Who on earth would believe that this information was accidentally destroyed.

[shraby]

4. Who on earth believed Bush

fell off his bike cause it had rained....over 8 days before and the ground was still wet.

[CatWoman]

5. and what of his flight logs

were they "inadvertently destroyed" as well?

[VolcanoJen]

7. Fawn Hall called... she wants her shredder back.

Seriously... has anyone seen Fawn Hall recently? :D

[guitar man]

6. Hehe

I was wondering why my Dad was able to get dupes of his records from his service period, '47-'52, but Booshes* had deteriorated? This gets more pathetic all the time.

[Elidor]

8. I had a thread about this earlier

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1965268&mesg_id=1965268

I haven't heard of a 500-year shelf-life. Perhaps this is some new development. But the types of microfilm I discussed in my thread can easily last from 40-100 years.

And yes, there are duplicate copies. The National Historical Publications and Records Commission of the National Archives specifies at least three copies shall be made of any microfilm record. More details at the link above.

[funkybutt]

9. Why hasn't someone gotten their hands on that microfilm

and why isn't anyone asking where it is? THis man has been our president for 4 years. Why wasn't it discoverred before the last election? How can they legally get away with hiding this stuff (which has GOT to be what's going on). Also if they have this microfilm could it possibly be intact? I doubt it! I just can't believe this!

[Zen]

10. I thought there was something pretty fishy about that lame story...

I have worked with microfilm a lot in the past - also was used a lot for part retrieval at auto dealers. I've never seen any deterioration on any microfilm ever - parts for old 60's & 70's cars can still be looked up on the old microfilm (if it wasn't destroyed for digital storage). This stuff isn't like the old "plastics" used to make recordings in the 1920's. I knew someone would come out with this information proving that not only are they liars, but they have proven to have a propensity to be no smarter than Nixon when it comes to cover-ups. Well, so far they aren't in jail yet - I hope Bushco is behind bars in the future though.

[madrchsod]

11. let me see-----

little Georgie comes from a reasonably intelligent stock who have the ability to keep things important locked away-maybe in a bank,a safe ,or like me in my house in a file marked-"important". i also have our children's records until they move into a "permanent home ,then i `ll give them the records. so what Georgie? dog ate your records?
i also noticed that all people here and others i`ve talked to still have their records for all military service..my dad still had his ww2 records..little Georgie is lying and everyone who has served knows he is

[Zero Division]

12. 500 years???!! Not sure about that, and I've dealt with microfilm before

Perhaps under the absolute best possible conditions of storage or a more advanced type of microfilm than the type I checked for defects at my county's recorder's office, but given what I've seen of the conditions of some 20 to 25 year old microfilm I find that hard to believe.

From my own experience working with microfilm I'd say it's entirely possible that Bush's records on microfilm have deteriorated to the point of being useless (because of problems like redox, fungus that can eat away the gelatin in microfilm that's been kept in humid conditions), but there ought to be duplicates. Also, in many cases duplicates of original records were made on more durable types of microfilm.

If I were doing the investigative reporting on this I'd look into the condition of the existing military microfilm records that were stored in the same place that Bush's records were stored. If those records are in decent condition, then I'd say that any claims that the records deteriorated are very suspicious (not that there's not enough suspicion to go around in this case as it is).

[RC]

13. Military records are archived

In humidity controlled rooms in special envelopes.

[oasis]

14. I dare O'Rielly to ask for a video of Whoopi's remarks at the fundraiser.

[onecitizen]

15. Absolutely!

I work with Microfilm occasionally, and I'm telling you, YOU CANNOT DESTROY IT!