3 ms·

What value is there in an article like this? To make me more afraid? To indulge an author who always wanted to write a spy thriller?

cryptonector 8y ago
To make you doubt the importance of ending the NK nuclear ICBM threat. Also the Iranian nuclear ICBM threat. See, if the thing to really worry about is nukes on little boats and minivans, then why bother with the ICBMs. For me the effect is the opposite: we must redouble our efforts to stop proliferation, to reduce the number of countries with the ability to make nukes that are not already nuclear powers, to reduce stockpiles of weapons grade fuel, and to reduce stockpiles of weapons to "reasonable" levels (we can't get rid of them entirely, sadly).
- jonhendry18 8y ago
  Meanwhile Trump is taking money from the Coast Guard (who could presumably patrol in order to catch those little boats) in order to pay for enforcing Federal misdemeanors on the border.
- autokad 8y ago
  when it started with the obligatory blame trump for something paragraph, i closed it. I dont like much of what trump has done, but I dont got time for their propaganda.
  - LyndsySimon 8y ago
    Yes, the article had a clear and strong bias - but I really think you're making a mistake when you reject someone's perspective merely because they don't agree with you.
mikeash 8y ago
I think it's valuable to make you and everyone else more afraid. I'm constantly astounded at how little people care about the very real possibility of nuclear war. It was on everyone's mind when I was growing up in the 80s, but when the USSR collapsed, the concern evaporated even though the arsenals very much did not. Avoiding nuclear war should be one of our top priorities (and was one of the major factors deciding my 2016 vote), yet it's hardly ever discussed. It's a bit crazy.
- nostrademons 8y ago
  What can you actually do to avoid a nuclear war, though? I mean, aside from not giving the big red button to a guy who brags about the size of his big red button, there's not much. And I doubt your vote did any more good in that regard than my vote did. (There's probably a sizable fraction of America who actively wants nuclear war because we have more nukes than anyone else. The idea that your loss might not actually be my gain doesn't seem to compute for a lot of people.)
  - acjohnson55 8y ago
    > [...] not giving the big red button to a guy who brags about the size of his big red button [...] That's your answer. By no means are Trump voters illiterate rubes. Their median income exceeded Hillary voters. People need to be reminded the stakes.
    - LyndsySimon 8y ago
      MAD is premised upon both actors believing that the other would respond in kind. In that light, Trump's boasting is... well, logical.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    Individually, our votes don’t matter much, but if a lot of voters cared enough for it to become a major issue, politicians would follow suit.
  - monort 8y ago
    Mutual nuclear disarmament is the obvious answer (lookup the START treaty), unfortunately it's a slow process and hopefully there will be another president by the renewal time, as Trump doesn't like the treaty. Regarding the access to the button, would you prefer to have egoistic, emotional man or rational and cold one, like Gen. Buck from "Dr. Strangelove"? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuP6KbIsNK4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuP6KbIsNK4
- bryanlarsen 8y ago
Arun2009 8y ago
In my admittedly amateurish opinion, having a vivid picture of the horrors of nuclear weapons can be very effective in curbing nationalistic and pro-war tendencies among both citizens and leaders of nuclear-armed states. MAD is effective only if all parties are keenly aware of the "Destruction" part of the deal. I have seen this work first hand myself when India and Pakistan mobilized their militaries on a large scale a couple of times after the 1998 nuclear tests by both nations. A few articles that came out during that time about the effects of nuclear weapons decidedly served to cool off the fervor of several uber-patriotic people I knew.
leoh 8y ago
To capture attention and make money

cryptonector 8y ago

To make you doubt the importance of ending the NK nuclear ICBM threat. Also the Iranian nuclear ICBM threat. See, if the thing to really worry about is nukes on little boats and minivans, then why bother with the ICBMs. For me the effect is the opposite: we must redouble our efforts to stop proliferation, to reduce the number of countries with the ability to make nukes that are not already nuclear powers, to reduce stockpiles of weapons grade fuel, and to reduce stockpiles of weapons to "reasonable" levels (we can't get rid of them entirely, sadly).

jonhendry18 8y ago
Meanwhile Trump is taking money from the Coast Guard (who could presumably patrol in order to catch those little boats) in order to pay for enforcing Federal misdemeanors on the border.
autokad 8y ago
when it started with the obligatory blame trump for something paragraph, i closed it. I dont like much of what trump has done, but I dont got time for their propaganda.
- LyndsySimon 8y ago
  Yes, the article had a clear and strong bias - but I really think you're making a mistake when you reject someone's perspective merely because they don't agree with you.

mikeash 8y ago

I think it's valuable to make you and everyone else more afraid. I'm constantly astounded at how little people care about the very real possibility of nuclear war. It was on everyone's mind when I was growing up in the 80s, but when the USSR collapsed, the concern evaporated even though the arsenals very much did not. Avoiding nuclear war should be one of our top priorities (and was one of the major factors deciding my 2016 vote), yet it's hardly ever discussed. It's a bit crazy.

nostrademons 8y ago
What can you actually do to avoid a nuclear war, though? I mean, aside from not giving the big red button to a guy who brags about the size of his big red button, there's not much. And I doubt your vote did any more good in that regard than my vote did. (There's probably a sizable fraction of America who actively wants nuclear war because we have more nukes than anyone else. The idea that your loss might not actually be my gain doesn't seem to compute for a lot of people.)
- acjohnson55 8y ago
  > [...] not giving the big red button to a guy who brags about the size of his big red button [...] That's your answer. By no means are Trump voters illiterate rubes. Their median income exceeded Hillary voters. People need to be reminded the stakes.
  - LyndsySimon 8y ago
    MAD is premised upon both actors believing that the other would respond in kind. In that light, Trump's boasting is... well, logical.
- mikeash 8y ago
  Individually, our votes don’t matter much, but if a lot of voters cared enough for it to become a major issue, politicians would follow suit.
- monort 8y ago
  Mutual nuclear disarmament is the obvious answer (lookup the START treaty), unfortunately it's a slow process and hopefully there will be another president by the renewal time, as Trump doesn't like the treaty. Regarding the access to the button, would you prefer to have egoistic, emotional man or rational and cold one, like Gen. Buck from "Dr. Strangelove"? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuP6KbIsNK4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuP6KbIsNK4
bryanlarsen 8y ago

Arun2009 8y ago

In my admittedly amateurish opinion, having a vivid picture of the horrors of nuclear weapons can be very effective in curbing nationalistic and pro-war tendencies among both citizens and leaders of nuclear-armed states. MAD is effective only if all parties are keenly aware of the "Destruction" part of the deal. I have seen this work first hand myself when India and Pakistan mobilized their militaries on a large scale a couple of times after the 1998 nuclear tests by both nations. A few articles that came out during that time about the effects of nuclear weapons decidedly served to cool off the fervor of several uber-patriotic people I knew.

leoh 8y ago

To capture attention and make money