We are now at 5 minutes to midnight.

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

EASTON, Md., January 16, 2012 — Tick tock, tick tock. Atomic scientists have moved the hands on the Doomsday Clock to five minutes before midnight, the witching hour. According to their calculations, we are only five minutes away from human extinction thanks to a looming global catastrophe coming in one form or another.

And one of the biggest reasons the clock’s minute hand has been moved one minute closer to Doomsday is Iran. All of this was brought into sharp focus this past week by the assassination in broad daylight of Iranian nuclear scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan. Many see the killing of Roshan and his bodyguard by a magnetic car bomb as the latest attempt by unknown parties to thwart Iran’s march towards nuclear weapons. Iran blames Israel and America, both of whom have denied involvement.

While the assassinations of key Iranian scientists and the computer virus, Stuxnet, have not stopped Iran from enriching uranium to higher levels of purity by running it through centrifuges, Iran has fallen behind schedule. "By their own measure, they should have been at 50,000 centrifuges operating, and there are about 8,000 installed. So that's dramatically short of where they would have been," Dennis Ross, who until recently was the Obama administration's point man on Iran, told CBS.

That said, "By the end of this year they [iran] are going to have about 250 kilos of this 20 percent enriched uranium, which is a matter of concern for the international community," said Olli Heinonen, who used to inspect Iran's centrifuges for the International Atomic Energy Agency.

This is a prime reason that the Doomsday Clock is one minute closer to striking the hour. The clock, set by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAC), has been with us for 55 years, a constant reminder to us how close the world is to self-annihilation. The clock started ticking in 1947, right after World War II ended and the Cold War began, a mere two years after America destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs.

The World Is Reassessed

Every few years BAC goes back and reassesses the status of the world. Now thanks to the lack of progress on nuclear weapons reduction and proliferation, the nuclear power plant disaster in Japan, and the continued inaction on climate change, things in the world have worsened considerably.

A very big piece of the problem continues to be Iran. “Ambiguity about Iran's nuclear power program continues to be the most prominent example of this unsolved problem,†according to the report.

The BAC report goes on to say: “…failure to act on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by leaders in the United States, China, Iran, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Israel, and North Korea and on a treaty to cut off production of nuclear weapons material continues to leave the world at risk from continued development of nuclear weapons.

“The world still has approximately 19,500 nuclear weapons, enough power to destroy the Earth's inhabitants several times over.â€

BAC describes the situation as ominous: "It is five minutes to midnight. Two years ago, it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face. In many cases, that trend has not continued or been reversed. For that reason, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is moving the clock hand one minute closer to midnight, back to its time in 2007."

source

The clock has been reset 17 times since it was created in 1947, when it was also set at seven minutes to midnight.

The closest it has been to midnight is two minutes, from 1953 to 1960, after the Soviet Union and the United States stepped up testing of thermonuclear devices.

The farthest has been 17 minutes, from 1991 to 1995, after the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

source

Nobody believed me when I stood on a street corner wearing a cardboard sign that said "The end is near"...

Edited January 16, 2012 by Darkhorse 1-6

[maturin 12]

We were at five minutes to midnight for most of the twentieth century, weren't we?

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

I believe so, what with all the threats of nuclear war, and some of the crazy bastards that were around. lol.

[slatts 1978]

nothing there about Irans flying saucers? :p

[walker 0]

Hi all

The clock was put back to seventeen minutes before Doomsday back in the early Nineties, I remember it quite well as spent some of the time leading up to it wondering around the edges of Eastern Europe, on ocasions it was a little too exciting >>:-< but afterwards was very relaxed :)

Since that time I did not pay much heed to it, but the clock seems to have risen back to it previous highs which is sad :( I am guessing a big Chunk of it was 9/11 and its aftermath.

KindRegards walker

[slatts 1978]

tis all a load of bollocks anyway

i dont get why some people believe in all these doomsdays...

[Beagle 684]

Nothing will ever happen as long as the really rich people on the planet still believe they could buy themself out of all global problems.

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

tis all a load of bollocks anyway

i dont get why some people believe in all these doomsdays...

I can sum up all the doomsday feelings in one sentence.

Michelle Bachmann could have been the President of the United States of America.

[slatts 1978]

I can sum up all the doomsday feelings in one sentence.

Michelle Bachmann could have been the President of the United States of America.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f3SZ5Tu916o/S88H4HvZUiI/AAAAAAAAQoI/-myIOP3MwoM/s400/end-nigh.jpg

key word "could" :cool:

[maturin 12]

And after that add an 'n't.' Same with Ron Paul.

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

Actually, the frightening thing is Ron Paul COULD actually win. A lot of people in the U.S. find the idea of pulling all US troops out of all foreign bases appealing. So what if he would renege on treaties. So what if he'd let China move on Taiwan, or North Korea on South Korea. It's none of our business anyways. :rolleyes:

[Nicholas 5]

So what if he would renege on treaties. So what if he'd let China move on Taiwan, or North Korea on South Korea. It's none of our business anyways. :rolleyes:

Exactly. Everybody hates the U.S. for meddling around in other countries business, but if the U.S. were to pull support, people would get mad at them.

Everyone will be mad at the U.S. no matter what they do.

[GRS 10]

Yep, quite the double standard the US is held to, whether people like to admit it or not.

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

I mean, I agree that the US doesn't need to be the "World policeman". But that is completely different having treaty obligations, defense pacts, etc. with other countries. The US provides a stabilizing influence in several regions, and we are there because both sides agreed to it. ASEAN members for example, don't want to see the US completely pull out of South East Asia because that would leave the door wide open for China to take our place. Russia would be opposed (privately at least) for the same reasons.

If we removed all troops from South Korea and Japan, then both of those countries would start beefing up their militarys in an attempt to discourage North Korea from taking any action, which would in turn almost assuredly cause NK to react, which would cause China to react, which would cause Russia to react, so on & so forth.

As crazy as it sounds, the world is fairly peaceful right now. If you remove the wrong block from the stack then the whole thing comes crumbling down, which is why having a complete recall of all American forces currently deployed outside of CONUS is a very bad thing.

[mrcash2009 0]

I dont believe in a clock system, its man made & easy to manipulate :bounce3:

Exactly. Everybody hates the U.S. for meddling around in other countries business, but if the U.S. were to pull support, people would get mad at them

.

I admit devs this is US politics but I couldn't help but reply ....

So invading something and fucking up its infrastructure to make people angry to become radical and then leave = snake eating its tail, so no wonder.

[maturin 12]

Actually, the frightening thing is Ron Paul COULD actually win. A lot of people in the U.S. find the idea of pulling all US troops out of all foreign bases appealing. So what if he would renege on treaties. So what if he'd let China move on Taiwan, or North Korea on South Korea. It's none of our business anyways. :rolleyes:

You're American, so you that what a U.S. politician says about foreign policy is almost completely irrelevant to the majority of voters.

Where the fuck is Taiwan? Is that in Japan?

[GRS 10]

Yeah.... no....

[abs 2]

... so you that what ...

Eh?

Where the fuck is Taiwan? Is that in Japan?

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=map+of+taiwan&hnear=Taiwan&gl=ca&t=m&z=6&vpsrc=0

There is Taiwan.

Abs

[maturin 12]

Eh?

Meant to type, "so you know."

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=map+of+taiwan&hnear=Taiwan&gl=ca&t=m&z=6&vpsrc=0

There is Taiwan.

Thanks. :j:

Since everything in my post was misunderstood, including the typoes, my point was that you can't get elected president of the United States because people like your foreign policy. Most Americans don't know where Taiwan is, and if they do, they can't keep it straight Japan, Tibet and Korea. Foreign policy can't get you votes in an American election, it can only lose them.

Now, the two exceptions are in the immediate aftermath of some very large buildings coming down, or if you are ending wars and withdrawing from costly foreign entanglements (not cheap bases). In case you haven't noticed, our troops are gone from Iraq and on the drawdown in Afghanistan, so Obama has already received most of the benefits a Ron Paul foreign policy would have offered a candidate. As long as Libya and Iran don't blow up of course.

[GRS 10]

Most Americans don't know where Taiwan is, and if they do, they can't keep it straight Japan, Tibet and Korea.

:j:

Yes, most Americans are as dumb as the global media portrays... :rolleyes:

[dmarkwick 261]

Actually, the frightening thing is Ron Paul COULD actually win.

Well, I remember the frightening thing 3 years ago was that Obama COULD actually win. There were many scare stories and scenarios attached to that possibility, turned out it was pretty much business as usual :)

[maturin 12]

:j:

Yes, most Americans are as dumb as the global media portrays... :rolleyes:

Yeah, it's a plot by them dirty foreigners. :j:

What global media? I'm an American and my impressions are from personal experience and American media.

Such as CNN:

After more than three years of combat and nearly 2,400 U.S. military deaths in Iraq, nearly two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 still cannot find Iraq on a map, a study released Tuesday showed.

The study found that less than six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, 33 percent could not point out Louisiana on a U.S. map.

The study, which surveyed 510 young Americans from December 17 to January 20, showed that 88 percent of those questioned could not find Afghanistan on a map of Asia despite widespread coverage of the U.S.-led overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 and the political rebirth of the country.

In the Middle East, 63 percent could not find Iraq or Saudi Arabia on a map, and 75 percent could not point out Iran or Israel. Forty-four percent couldn't find any one of those four countries.

Inside the United States, "half or fewer of young men and women 18-24 can identify the states of New York or Ohio on a map [50 percent and 43 percent, respectively]," the study said.

http://articles.cnn.com/2006-05-02/politics/geog.test_1_map-geographic-knowledge-young-people?_s=PM:EDUCATION

Any questions?

Well, I remember the frightening thing 3 years ago was that Obama COULD actually win.

An Obama win was only ever improbably because of the personal reasons of his political career. Obama is and has only ever been a moderate left winger well inside the narrow confines of the American two-party system. Ron Paul is far outside it, and his popularity is a symptom of massive public disaffection with the political system. It's a different phenomenon altogether. Edited January 19, 2012 by maturin

[GRS 10]

And what are the demographics of the rather small sample used there other than age? Survey a bunch of dumb-ass college kids and you'll get a bunch of dumb-ass college kid answers. It's no mystery that the age group used in the "study" is generally stupid. They don't represent the whole of America, just its potential future. I'd like to see the survey done with similar samples in other countries. That would be interesting since they are all apparently so damn smart compared to us.

Edited January 19, 2012 by GRS

[abs 2]

This was compiled by a Canadian talk show host a few years ago.

BhTZ_tgMUdo

Come to your own conclusions. The whole series is actually quite funny.

OT:

I agree with Mr Cash, and the whole clock system is ridiculous. Will it ever be at more than 30 minutes? The instant it's at 0 minutes, will the world blow up? It's dramatic BS.

Abs

[maturin 12]

They don't represent the whole of America, just its potential future.

Yeah, I'm sure that once they stop actively studying and traveling like college students tend to do, miraculous knowledge of the globe will enter their minds and they will become forty-year-old savants.

I'd like to see the survey done with similar samples in other countries. That would be interesting since they are all apparently so damn smart compared to us.

I never said anything about how much foreigners know about geography. But the America-centric worldview and knowledge base of Americans versus Europeans does not need to be argued.

Nice you doubt that the validity of the study purely because you don't like the results. Real classy.