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All this threatening and tensions and military buildup between the US, it’s clients and China as well as Russia sure makes me nervous about the future. Not to m

All this threatening and tensions and military buildup between the US, it’s clients and China as well as Russia sure makes me nervous about the future. Not to mention the recently announced movement of the doomsday clock to two minutes before midnight by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. It would be terrible if the world were plunged into another catastrophe like WW1 or WW2. Unfortunately the lessons from those wars seems to be leaders are only to eager to start war to extend their power and prestige. I’m sure nobody here wants war, it’s up to us to stop it!

IntronExon 9y ago
I wouldn’t worry about the clock, but the rest scares me too. Russia sending SU-57’s to Syria for example, to paraphrase Hugo Rifkind, reminds me of how WWIII starts in all of those crap novels I read as a teenager.
- Synaesthesia 9y ago
  I am worried about the clock. These are sober experts who run it. There’s lots of things which could lead to a war. The tension in Syria, Ukraine, South China seas and over North Korea. They believe it’s the most dangerous times since the Cuban missile crisis and I think it’s serious. The US performs provocative military exercises outside the borders of Russia, China and North Korea. We have jets buzzing each other and having close calls.
  - tomohawk 9y ago
    Sober experts in unrelated fields. You can safely ignore their publicity stunt. Or not, and get stressed out. During the cold war, things were much worse on a daily basis. It was so common that it was hardly reported on. The presence of conflict does not mean war is at hand, or that we do not have peace. It just means that there are competing agendas between players with sharp elbows. Those 3 countries are extremely belligerent, and now that the US is finally countering them instead of appeasing them is a good thing. Russia took over a big chunk of Ukraine, and we did nothing. China made a grab for the south china sea, attacking the Philippines, and we did nothing. North Korea is engaged in nuclear threats and proliferation. These activities will cause other countries to take appropriate measures. It makes perfect sense that Japan, seeing the recent spate of appeasement on the part of the US, would realize it needs to take a larger role in defense of its own interests.
tropo 9y ago
War may be like earthquakes. Keep putting it off, and you'll get a 9.
- Already__Taken 9y ago
  What if it's like heart attacks, You can only survive take so many then it's all over.
meddlepal 9y ago
Terrible loss of life, but both of those wars were catalysts for major technical and industrial breakthroughs... I'm curious if the tech advancements of those wars outweigh the direct deaths.
- whatshisface 9y ago
  I hear this a lot, but it's silly on its face. What if the money was just put directly in to research instead? If any government action leads to spin-off technologies, I'd rather it be in the form of a space program than in the form of a war that kills many of the next generation's great scientists.
  - meddlepal 9y ago
    Practically speaking, the money would never be allocated without a good reason. War is a reason to do things. People don't buy into other reasons as strongly as "that guy over there is trying to kill you."
  - cinquemb 9y ago
    I agree, the argument is silly on it's face, but pragmatically speaking, until we can "convince"[0][1] every person alive (and the empowered leaders) to find other ways to allocate resources more efficiently such that everyone is satisfied to the degree of their own ideal resource consumption without resorting to conflict, I doubt things will change. Besides, def establishment is already clamoring for a "why not both option"[2] with increasing the development of capabilities to conduct war in space. [0] I have some ideas about how this can be done in practice in the future, though I suspect some could call it the War on Humans™ [1] https://elifesciences.org/articles/27069 https://elifesciences.org/articles/27069 "Tetherless magnetothermal deep brain neuro-stimulation" [2] http://spacenews.com/air-force-chief-goldfein-well-be-fighting-from-space-in-a-matter-of-years/ http://spacenews.com/air-force-chief-goldfein-well-be-fighti...
  - Fomite 9y ago
    “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

IntronExon 9y ago

I wouldn’t worry about the clock, but the rest scares me too. Russia sending SU-57’s to Syria for example, to paraphrase Hugo Rifkind, reminds me of how WWIII starts in all of those crap novels I read as a teenager.

Synaesthesia 9y ago
I am worried about the clock. These are sober experts who run it. There’s lots of things which could lead to a war. The tension in Syria, Ukraine, South China seas and over North Korea. They believe it’s the most dangerous times since the Cuban missile crisis and I think it’s serious. The US performs provocative military exercises outside the borders of Russia, China and North Korea. We have jets buzzing each other and having close calls.
- tomohawk 9y ago
  Sober experts in unrelated fields. You can safely ignore their publicity stunt. Or not, and get stressed out. During the cold war, things were much worse on a daily basis. It was so common that it was hardly reported on. The presence of conflict does not mean war is at hand, or that we do not have peace. It just means that there are competing agendas between players with sharp elbows. Those 3 countries are extremely belligerent, and now that the US is finally countering them instead of appeasing them is a good thing. Russia took over a big chunk of Ukraine, and we did nothing. China made a grab for the south china sea, attacking the Philippines, and we did nothing. North Korea is engaged in nuclear threats and proliferation. These activities will cause other countries to take appropriate measures. It makes perfect sense that Japan, seeing the recent spate of appeasement on the part of the US, would realize it needs to take a larger role in defense of its own interests.

tropo 9y ago

War may be like earthquakes. Keep putting it off, and you'll get a 9.

Already__Taken 9y ago
What if it's like heart attacks, You can only survive take so many then it's all over.

meddlepal 9y ago

Terrible loss of life, but both of those wars were catalysts for major technical and industrial breakthroughs... I'm curious if the tech advancements of those wars outweigh the direct deaths.

whatshisface 9y ago
I hear this a lot, but it's silly on its face. What if the money was just put directly in to research instead? If any government action leads to spin-off technologies, I'd rather it be in the form of a space program than in the form of a war that kills many of the next generation's great scientists.
- meddlepal 9y ago
  Practically speaking, the money would never be allocated without a good reason. War is a reason to do things. People don't buy into other reasons as strongly as "that guy over there is trying to kill you."
- cinquemb 9y ago
  I agree, the argument is silly on it's face, but pragmatically speaking, until we can "convince"[0][1] every person alive (and the empowered leaders) to find other ways to allocate resources more efficiently such that everyone is satisfied to the degree of their own ideal resource consumption without resorting to conflict, I doubt things will change. Besides, def establishment is already clamoring for a "why not both option"[2] with increasing the development of capabilities to conduct war in space. [0] I have some ideas about how this can be done in practice in the future, though I suspect some could call it the War on Humans™ [1] https://elifesciences.org/articles/27069 https://elifesciences.org/articles/27069 "Tetherless magnetothermal deep brain neuro-stimulation" [2] http://spacenews.com/air-force-chief-goldfein-well-be-fighting-from-space-in-a-matter-of-years/ http://spacenews.com/air-force-chief-goldfein-well-be-fighti...
- Fomite 9y ago
  “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower