Setting the "Doomsday Clock"

Once again, it is time to set the minute hand on the Doomsday clock.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is expected to unveil the minute hand on the metaphorical clock in Washington, D.C. The clock reflects how vulnerable the world is to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change and new technologies, according to the bulletin.

OK ATS, any ideas on what it will be and why? Of greater interest, what do YOU think it should be?

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a reply to: Vroomfondel

I think it is time for them to add an alarm to it?

originally posted by: seeker1963
a reply to: Vroomfondel

I think it is time for them to add an alarm to it?

Brilliant!

My prediction, they will set it to 2 minutes to Midnight because... Trump.

At which point Trump ruining the world just because he exists will officially have jumped the shark.

Three minutes.

Returned proliferation of smaller more advanced nuclear weapons by the US and Russia.
Instability of several nuclear states with large radical populations, ahem! Pakistan.
India and Pakistan waving their very phallic shaped missiles at each other's borders in renewed heated conflict.
China's island hopping tour (read:seizure) of islands in the South China Sea.
Global economy tanking, the whole migrant thing in Europe, damn, and that's just what I came up with in three minutes...

I don't even bother with Lil Kim...it seems that none of the rest of the world cares, so why should I?

originally posted by: Baldryck
My prediction, they will set it to 2 minutes to Midnight because... Trump.

At which point Trump ruining the world just because he exists will officially have jumped the shark.

I take it you are not a Trump fan... Fair enough.

I can see that perspective, and I can also see it for hillary. And I think there are probably a good number who think we already jumped that shark with obama. But hey, its a big ocean with lots of sharks in it...

a reply to: the owlbear

India and Pakistan waving their very phallic shaped missiles at each other's borders in renewed heated conflict.

As amusing as sword fights can be, I dont think this one will be funny in the end...no pun intended...

I think you are well focused on your suspect motivations.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

No, I actually am a Trump fan. I would not put it past the RNC/DNC giving a grant to the doomsday scientists to involve him in some way.

Personally, I think 2 minutes is good. Partially because of the migrant crisis coinciding with the economic instability of the EU right now. It wont take much to send that spiraling into an abyss. As tenuous a grasp as the entire global financial system has at this time, one major upheaval is a seismic trigger for many. I dont see an upside to this any time soon...

originally posted by: Baldryck
a reply to: Vroomfondel

No, I actually am a Trump fan. I would not put it past the RNC/DNC giving a grant to the doomsday scientists to involve him in some way.

Gotcha.... and I agree.

originally posted by: Vroomfondel
a reply to: the owlbear

India and Pakistan waving their very phallic shaped missiles at each other's borders in renewed heated conflict.

As amusing as sword fights can be, I dont think this one will be funny in the end...no pun intended...

I think you are well focused on your suspect motivations.

For the last 20 years or so, I have always thought if anyone in the world drops a nuclear weapon on another state it would be between these two. I still do. Because life will continue on around the globe. If modern audiences could see the real time results of a nuclear exchange over the Internet, maybe then the world would be a little less gung ho about super hot and melty chromosome altering destruction.

I think 1 minute will be the setting because of them adding global warming to the clock. And the proliferation of nukes, regardless of the already lost nukes like the Russian nuclear suitcase bombs used during the cold war, although they are probably faulty at this point. The warhead degraded the electronics which needed maintenance (supposedly they could trigger accidentally). And of course the current culture clash going on has brought things to a new level. As far as Pakistan is concerned we have plans in case of the fall of government or security to neutralize their arsenal. However, should radical groups ever get a hold of one of their warheads, or one of those Russian bombs and detonate it in the West, well all bets are off.

a reply to: the owlbear

It was already set at 3 minutes to midnight last year.

I agree with other comments...2 minutes sounds likely. 1 minute would cause too much alarm! (Hmmm...maybe that will motivate the world to change)

As the world population is now more cynical than ever before they will set it to midnight.

Remember, the Archons (nasty life sucking ethereal aliens) need fear to live. So to create total fear among the sheeple, the archons will order the elite Draconians to put it dead on midnight. Otherwise the population will naturally ignore it.

originally posted by: the owlbear

originally posted by: Vroomfondel
a reply to: the owlbear

India and Pakistan waving their very phallic shaped missiles at each other's borders in renewed heated conflict.

As amusing as sword fights can be, I dont think this one will be funny in the end...no pun intended...

I think you are well focused on your suspect motivations.

For the last 20 years or so, I have always thought if anyone in the world drops a nuclear weapon on another state it would be between these two. I still do. Because life will continue on around the globe. If modern audiences could see the real time results of a nuclear exchange over the Internet, maybe then the world would be a little less gung ho about super hot and melty chromosome altering destruction.

That is a very cogent observation. If people could see the result, it would definitely affect their behavior. Unfortunately, no such device exists...

originally posted by: spirit_horse
I think 1 minute will be the setting because of them adding global warming to the clock. And the proliferation of nukes, regardless of the already lost nukes like the Russian nuclear suitcase bombs used during the cold war, although they are probably faulty at this point. The warhead degraded the electronics which needed maintenance (supposedly they could trigger accidentally). And of course the current culture clash going on has brought things to a new level. As far as Pakistan is concerned we have plans in case of the fall of government or security to neutralize their arsenal. However, should radical groups ever get a hold of one of their warheads, or one of those Russian bombs and detonate it in the West, well all bets are off.

Very well said. The possibility of a radical group getting their hands on a portable weapon grows stronger every day. Unfortunately, it seems like it is just a matter of time. How sad that day will be...

It moved closer to midnight recently when a NATO jet shot down a Russian aircraft along the Turkish Syrian border.

Proxy war between superpowers and direct action over hotly contested territory is a clock changer.

originally posted by: intrptr

It moved closer to midnight recently when a NATO jet shot down a Russian aircraft along the Turkish Syrian border.

Proxy war between superpowers and direct action over hotly contested territory is a clock changer.

Agreed. That is the kind of thing that can escalate quickly. The tension in the area is no where near resolved. This can be an ongoing issue with a variety of unpleasant outcomes.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

Well, here it is...

"We announce, with utter dismay, that the clock remains at three minutes to midnight, the closest it has been in last 30 years," the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced in a live broadcast Tuesday. The scientists attribute this "grim" metaphoric timetable to Cold War-like tension between the United States and Russia and recent nuclear threats including one from North Korea among other things.

link

I was wrong. They decided to keep it at 3 minutes to midnight, one of the reasons being the deal with Iran, which they viewed as good news.