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Do you worry about a nuclear holocaust? Should you? Do our everyday lives hang in a balance waiting for the right chain of purposeful, accidental or coincidental events to occur, leading to all out nuclear war, and possibly the end of life as we know it? How much warning would we receive?
All these questions and more are pondered in a great book called Nuclear Paranoia. I realise this thread might belong in the books thread, but I find this subject compelling and disturbing in equal measure and wanted to see what some of you intelligent folks thought.
"Weighing in at 5 tonnes, the first ever nuclear bomb, nicknamed 'the gadget', was resting atop a 100 foot steel tower, ready to be detonated. At 5:30am, July 6th 1945, the bomb was detonated and the world changed forever..."
Regarding the bombing of Hiroshima, Co-pilot Captain Robert A Lewis kept an astonishing minute by minute account of the attack. His reaction to the mushroom cloud is recorded thus : "My God, what have we done?? Everyone in the plane is actually dumbstruck, even though we expected something fierce. This was the greatest explosion man has ever witnessed......just how many did we kill??"
Now some TRUE stories to scare the hell out of you :
On June 3rd 1980, a training tape used to train radar and computer operators to recognise a full scale soviet nuclear attack, was mistakenly run at the NORAD detection operation. The commander of operations, thinking he was viewing the scenario for real, alerted those higher in command, and over 100 B52 bombers loaded with nuclear warheads were made ready for retaliation. The error was realised at the last minute and the alert was cancelled.
On 24th January 1961, two 25 megaton nuclear warheads were released after a B52 bomber broke apart over north carolina. One bomb parachuted to safety, but the other crashed into a waterlogged area of farmland. When it was found, it was discovered that 5 of the 6 safety devices had failed, and an explosion one thousand times more powerful than the hiroshima bomb had almost took place.
On July 26th 1957, a US B47 plane was practising a landing at an RAF airfield in cambridge. The pilot lost control and the plane smashed into a storage building that housed 3 nuclear bombs. The planes fuel threatened to ignite the TNT components of the bombs, but firefighters managed to put out the fire.
The cuban missile crisis needs no introduction, Mutually Assured Destruction was almost put into practise.
We all remember the millenium bug - many religious fanatics prophecised the end of the world, computer experts worried that computer crashes and destruction of valuable data would occur - vital systems would fail and chaos would reign. This was only the half of it. Nuclear arsenals, satellites, radars and triggering devices were all under the control of computers. The west spent billions of pounds bringing systems up to speed, but even with such massive expenditure, there were still doubts among high ranking specialists that the 'quick fix' would work. In the former soviet union the picture was even bleaker. Until february 1999, Russia's military leaders flatly denied that their nuclear forces could possibly face problems from the millenium bug. Most worrying was Russia's nuclear control system, named 'perimeter', which ensured that if Moscow looked to be under attack, or even if command links to key Russian leaders were interrupted, Perimeter would automatically launch thousands of nuclear weapons. President Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltzin planned a joint US/Russian early warning centre to prevent any 'mis-haps'. This was reassuring, until a US Department of defence worker was asked when it would be ready for use. "We're hoping to have it done for late '99, it could be early 2000. It's a complex process, obviously ....". In the end it was widely argued that the only way to be sure to avoid catastrophe was for all nations to agree to de-arm their nuclear weapons during the danger period. None of the worlds nuclear powers were willing to do this, so as we entered the new millenium all we could do was pray.
What are your thoughts on this? Is a major nuclear incident or exchange a possibility? Which nations on this planet are stupid enough to destroy their enemies and themselves just to prove a point? Where does the nuclear danger lie primarily? Is the middle east destined to become the nail in our coffins? Are we completely powerless? What gives ANYONE the right to have THAT much power?
Thanks for reading if you did!
All these questions and more are pondered in a great book called Nuclear Paranoia. I realise this thread might belong in the books thread, but I find this subject compelling and disturbing in equal measure and wanted to see what some of you intelligent folks thought.
"Weighing in at 5 tonnes, the first ever nuclear bomb, nicknamed 'the gadget', was resting atop a 100 foot steel tower, ready to be detonated. At 5:30am, July 6th 1945, the bomb was detonated and the world changed forever..."
Regarding the bombing of Hiroshima, Co-pilot Captain Robert A Lewis kept an astonishing minute by minute account of the attack. His reaction to the mushroom cloud is recorded thus : "My God, what have we done?? Everyone in the plane is actually dumbstruck, even though we expected something fierce. This was the greatest explosion man has ever witnessed......just how many did we kill??"
Now some TRUE stories to scare the hell out of you :
On June 3rd 1980, a training tape used to train radar and computer operators to recognise a full scale soviet nuclear attack, was mistakenly run at the NORAD detection operation. The commander of operations, thinking he was viewing the scenario for real, alerted those higher in command, and over 100 B52 bombers loaded with nuclear warheads were made ready for retaliation. The error was realised at the last minute and the alert was cancelled.
On 24th January 1961, two 25 megaton nuclear warheads were released after a B52 bomber broke apart over north carolina. One bomb parachuted to safety, but the other crashed into a waterlogged area of farmland. When it was found, it was discovered that 5 of the 6 safety devices had failed, and an explosion one thousand times more powerful than the hiroshima bomb had almost took place.
On July 26th 1957, a US B47 plane was practising a landing at an RAF airfield in cambridge. The pilot lost control and the plane smashed into a storage building that housed 3 nuclear bombs. The planes fuel threatened to ignite the TNT components of the bombs, but firefighters managed to put out the fire.
The cuban missile crisis needs no introduction, Mutually Assured Destruction was almost put into practise.
We all remember the millenium bug - many religious fanatics prophecised the end of the world, computer experts worried that computer crashes and destruction of valuable data would occur - vital systems would fail and chaos would reign. This was only the half of it. Nuclear arsenals, satellites, radars and triggering devices were all under the control of computers. The west spent billions of pounds bringing systems up to speed, but even with such massive expenditure, there were still doubts among high ranking specialists that the 'quick fix' would work. In the former soviet union the picture was even bleaker. Until february 1999, Russia's military leaders flatly denied that their nuclear forces could possibly face problems from the millenium bug. Most worrying was Russia's nuclear control system, named 'perimeter', which ensured that if Moscow looked to be under attack, or even if command links to key Russian leaders were interrupted, Perimeter would automatically launch thousands of nuclear weapons. President Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltzin planned a joint US/Russian early warning centre to prevent any 'mis-haps'. This was reassuring, until a US Department of defence worker was asked when it would be ready for use. "We're hoping to have it done for late '99, it could be early 2000. It's a complex process, obviously ....". In the end it was widely argued that the only way to be sure to avoid catastrophe was for all nations to agree to de-arm their nuclear weapons during the danger period. None of the worlds nuclear powers were willing to do this, so as we entered the new millenium all we could do was pray.
What are your thoughts on this? Is a major nuclear incident or exchange a possibility? Which nations on this planet are stupid enough to destroy their enemies and themselves just to prove a point? Where does the nuclear danger lie primarily? Is the middle east destined to become the nail in our coffins? Are we completely powerless? What gives ANYONE the right to have THAT much power?
Thanks for reading if you did!
Page:
"My God, what have we done?? Everyone in the plane is actually dumbstruck, even though we expected something fierce. This was the greatest explosion man has ever witnessed......just how many did we kill??"
Christ, that quote is quite chilling!
Christ, that quote is quite chilling!
ßora† SagdiyeV wrote:
> What are your thoughts on this? Is a major nuclear incident or
> exchange a possibility?
Yes it is a possibility. Truth be told, as long as these weapons exist, there is a probability of an accidental nuclear incident. Nothing is guaranteed risk free.
However, with the advent of biological warfare there is no point in launching nuclear weapons. Why destroy any buildings when you only wish to destroy a nation.
Only a meglomaniac with either total control or yes men in the right places would launch a nuclear attack. Are you worried now?
> What are your thoughts on this? Is a major nuclear incident or
> exchange a possibility?
Yes it is a possibility. Truth be told, as long as these weapons exist, there is a probability of an accidental nuclear incident. Nothing is guaranteed risk free.
However, with the advent of biological warfare there is no point in launching nuclear weapons. Why destroy any buildings when you only wish to destroy a nation.
Only a meglomaniac with either total control or yes men in the right places would launch a nuclear attack. Are you worried now?
Do you worry about a nuclear holocaust? Should you? Do our everyday lives hang in a balance waiting for the right chain of purposeful, accidental or coincidental events to occur, leading to all out nuclear war, and possibly the end of life as we know it? How much warning would we receive?
All these questions and more are pondered in a great book called Nuclear Paranoia. I realise this thread might belong in the books thread, but I find this subject compelling and disturbing in equal measure and wanted to see what some of you intelligent folks thought.
"Weighing in at 5 tonnes, the first ever nuclear bomb, nicknamed 'the gadget', was resting atop a 100 foot steel tower, ready to be detonated. At 5:30am, July 6th 1945, the bomb was detonated and the world changed forever..."
Regarding the bombing of Hiroshima, Co-pilot Captain Robert A Lewis kept an astonishing minute by minute account of the attack. His reaction to the mushroom cloud is recorded thus : "My God, what have we done?? Everyone in the plane is actually dumbstruck, even though we expected something fierce. This was the greatest explosion man has ever witnessed......just how many did we kill??"
Now some TRUE stories to scare the hell out of you :
On June 3rd 1980, a training tape used to train radar and computer operators to recognise a full scale soviet nuclear attack, was mistakenly run at the NORAD detection operation. The commander of operations, thinking he was viewing the scenario for real, alerted those higher in command, and over 100 B52 bombers loaded with nuclear warheads were made ready for retaliation. The error was realised at the last minute and the alert was cancelled.
On 24th January 1961, two 25 megaton nuclear warheads were released after a B52 bomber broke apart over north carolina. One bomb parachuted to safety, but the other crashed into a waterlogged area of farmland. When it was found, it was discovered that 5 of the 6 safety devices had failed, and an explosion one thousand times more powerful than the hiroshima bomb had almost took place.
On July 26th 1957, a US B47 plane was practising a landing at an RAF airfield in cambridge. The pilot lost control and the plane smashed into a storage building that housed 3 nuclear bombs. The planes fuel threatened to ignite the TNT components of the bombs, but firefighters managed to put out the fire.
The cuban missile crisis needs no introduction, Mutually Assured Destruction was almost put into practise.
We all remember the millenium bug - many religious fanatics prophecised the end of the world, computer experts worried that computer crashes and destruction of valuable data would occur - vital systems would fail and chaos would reign. This was only the half of it. Nuclear arsenals, satellites, radars and triggering devices were all under the control of computers. The west spent billions of pounds bringing systems up to speed, but even with such massive expenditure, there were still doubts among high ranking specialists that the 'quick fix' would work. In the former soviet union the picture was even bleaker. Until february 1999, Russia's military leaders flatly denied that their nuclear forces could possibly face problems from the millenium bug. Most worrying was Russia's nuclear control system, named 'perimeter', which ensured that if Moscow looked to be under attack, or even if command links to key Russian leaders were interrupted, Perimeter would automatically launch thousands of nuclear weapons. President Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltzin planned a joint US/Russian early warning centre to prevent any 'mis-haps'. This was reassuring, until a US Department of defence worker was asked when it would be ready for use. "We're hoping to have it done for late '99, it could be early 2000. It's a complex process, obviously ....". In the end it was widely argued that the only way to be sure to avoid catastrophe was for all nations to agree to de-arm their nuclear weapons during the danger period. None of the worlds nuclear powers were willing to do this, so as we entered the new millenium all we could do was pray.
What are your thoughts on this? Is a major nuclear incident or exchange a possibility? Which nations on this planet are stupid enough to destroy their enemies and themselves just to prove a point? Where does the nuclear danger lie primarily? Is the middle east destined to become the nail in our coffins? Are we completely powerless? What gives ANYONE the right to have THAT much power?
Thanks for reading if you did!
All these questions and more are pondered in a great book called Nuclear Paranoia. I realise this thread might belong in the books thread, but I find this subject compelling and disturbing in equal measure and wanted to see what some of you intelligent folks thought.
"Weighing in at 5 tonnes, the first ever nuclear bomb, nicknamed 'the gadget', was resting atop a 100 foot steel tower, ready to be detonated. At 5:30am, July 6th 1945, the bomb was detonated and the world changed forever..."
Regarding the bombing of Hiroshima, Co-pilot Captain Robert A Lewis kept an astonishing minute by minute account of the attack. His reaction to the mushroom cloud is recorded thus : "My God, what have we done?? Everyone in the plane is actually dumbstruck, even though we expected something fierce. This was the greatest explosion man has ever witnessed......just how many did we kill??"
Now some TRUE stories to scare the hell out of you :
On June 3rd 1980, a training tape used to train radar and computer operators to recognise a full scale soviet nuclear attack, was mistakenly run at the NORAD detection operation. The commander of operations, thinking he was viewing the scenario for real, alerted those higher in command, and over 100 B52 bombers loaded with nuclear warheads were made ready for retaliation. The error was realised at the last minute and the alert was cancelled.
On 24th January 1961, two 25 megaton nuclear warheads were released after a B52 bomber broke apart over north carolina. One bomb parachuted to safety, but the other crashed into a waterlogged area of farmland. When it was found, it was discovered that 5 of the 6 safety devices had failed, and an explosion one thousand times more powerful than the hiroshima bomb had almost took place.
On July 26th 1957, a US B47 plane was practising a landing at an RAF airfield in cambridge. The pilot lost control and the plane smashed into a storage building that housed 3 nuclear bombs. The planes fuel threatened to ignite the TNT components of the bombs, but firefighters managed to put out the fire.
The cuban missile crisis needs no introduction, Mutually Assured Destruction was almost put into practise.
We all remember the millenium bug - many religious fanatics prophecised the end of the world, computer experts worried that computer crashes and destruction of valuable data would occur - vital systems would fail and chaos would reign. This was only the half of it. Nuclear arsenals, satellites, radars and triggering devices were all under the control of computers. The west spent billions of pounds bringing systems up to speed, but even with such massive expenditure, there were still doubts among high ranking specialists that the 'quick fix' would work. In the former soviet union the picture was even bleaker. Until february 1999, Russia's military leaders flatly denied that their nuclear forces could possibly face problems from the millenium bug. Most worrying was Russia's nuclear control system, named 'perimeter', which ensured that if Moscow looked to be under attack, or even if command links to key Russian leaders were interrupted, Perimeter would automatically launch thousands of nuclear weapons. President Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltzin planned a joint US/Russian early warning centre to prevent any 'mis-haps'. This was reassuring, until a US Department of defence worker was asked when it would be ready for use. "We're hoping to have it done for late '99, it could be early 2000. It's a complex process, obviously ....". In the end it was widely argued that the only way to be sure to avoid catastrophe was for all nations to agree to de-arm their nuclear weapons during the danger period. None of the worlds nuclear powers were willing to do this, so as we entered the new millenium all we could do was pray.
What are your thoughts on this? Is a major nuclear incident or exchange a possibility? Which nations on this planet are stupid enough to destroy their enemies and themselves just to prove a point? Where does the nuclear danger lie primarily? Is the middle east destined to become the nail in our coffins? Are we completely powerless? What gives ANYONE the right to have THAT much power?
Thanks for reading if you did!
Page: