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Doomsday Clock moved to 2.5 minutues to midnight. Cloest to midnight since 1953.

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M

maquiladora

Member
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists have just announced that the Doomsday Clock has been brought forward 2.5 minutes to midnight.

Steve Herman
‏@W7VOA

Hand move to ”two and a half minutes to midnight." #DoomsdayClock
Click to expand...

For the last two years, the minute hand of the
Doomsday Clock stayed set at three minutes
before the hour, the closest it had been to midnight
since the early 1980s. In its two most recent
annual announcements on the Clock, the Science
and Security Board warned: ”The probability of
global catastrophe is very high, and the actions
needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be
taken very soon." In 2017, we find the danger to be
even greater, the need for action more urgent. It is
two and a half minutes to midnight, the Clock is
ticking, global danger looms. Wise public officials
should act immediately, guiding humanity away
from the brink. If they do not, wise citizens must
step forward and lead the way.
Click to expand...

Full statement here : http://thebulletin.org/sites/default/files/Final 2017 Clock Statement.pdf

https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/824634357684064256

The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock face that represents a countdown to possible global catastrophe (e.g., nuclear war or climate change). It has been maintained since 1947 by the members of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board,[2] who are in turn advised by the Governing Board and the Board of Sponsors, including 18 Nobel Laureates. The closer they set the Clock to midnight, the more vulnerable the scientists believe the world is to global disaster.
Click to expand...

Note:
The closest nuclear war threat, the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, reached crisis, climax, and resolution before the Clock could be set to reflect that possible doomsday.
Click to expand...

600px-Doomsday_Clock_graph.svg.png


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Clock
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
It's the most uncertain I've felt about the state of the world since the '80s and in the days after 9/11. Thanks, Trump and his wonderful voters!
 
T

Toxi

Banned
Kill for gain or shoot to maim
But we don't need a reason
The Golden Goose is on the loose
And never out of season
Blackened pride still burns inside
This shell of bloody treason
Here's my gun for a barrel of fun
For the love of living death!

The killer's breed or the demon seed,
The glamour, the fortune, the pain,
Go to war again, blood is freedom-stained,
Don't you pray for my soul anymore?

2 minutes to midnight,
The hands that threaten doom.
2 minutes to midnight,
To kill the unborn in the womb.
 
N

NandoGip

Member
You thought Obama made history? Imagine 50 years from now when they hit the mid 2000's in history class... If we even survive to that point.
 
R

RinsFury

Member
Feels like doomsday is just around the corner and there's nothing any of us can do about it. Got me so upset these days.
 
S

slit

Member
You would think the Doomsday Clock would be lower during 90-91 since the Soviet Union was breaking up and nobody was sure who would gain ultimate control of their stockpile.
 
N

Nightbird

Member
I mean, it is the smallest change ever, but on the other hand, it happend 6 days into the minimum 4 year period of the current american government, and this is scary as fuck
 
G

Geeky

Member
Tony Rocky Horror said:
According to Wikipedia: "The United States and Soviet Union sign the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), and the Soviet Union is dissolved on December 26."

The whole article is pretty interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Clock
Click to expand...

The site for The Bulletin for Atomic Scientist also has a blurb about it

http://thebulletin.org/timeline

IT IS 17 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT

17 minutes to midnight
1991: With the Cold War officially over, the United States and Russia begin making deep cuts to their nuclear arsenals. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty greatly reduces the number of strategic nuclear weapons deployed by the two former adversaries. Better still, a series of unilateral initiatives remove most of the intercontinental ballistic missiles and bombers in both countries from hair-trigger alert. "The illusion that tens of thousands of nuclear weapons are a guarantor of national security has been stripped away," the Bulletin declares.
Click to expand...
 
X

Xe4

Banned
wienke said:
I'm guessing due to climate change denial by Trump and his administration?
Click to expand...

More likely his comments on nuclear proliferation, and willingness to use nuclear weapons if placed in a situation when compared to other presidents. The doomsday clock only deals with nuclear war. I am doubtful anything will happen, but if it will happen, it is more likely under Trump than Obama.

To be honest, due to nuclear disarmament, I'm surprised the clock is not further away than it is.
 
F

Flux

Member
Born in '91, everythings been downhill since.

I also immediately thought of the Watchmen. Damn that comic is on point right about now.
 
P

Plum

Member
Xe4 said:
To be honest, due to nuclear disarmament, I'm surprised the clock is not further away than it is.
Click to expand...

We still have enough nukes to make Threads look like Adventure Time, much stronger ones now as well most likely.
 
G

g859

Member
Xe4 said:
The doomsday clock only deals with nuclear war.
Click to expand...

They've added a few more categories:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...ay-clock-is-now-30-seconds-closer-to-midnight

Created in 1947, the Doomsday Clock was conceived by scientists who had participated in the Manhattan Project. Initially seen as an indicator of the likelihood of disastrous nuclear conflict, it now also includes other threats, such as climate change, biological weapons and cyber threats.
Click to expand...

http://thebulletin.org/doomsday-dashboard
 
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