MetaFilter posts tagged with Nuclearwar

when two tribes go to war

the_very_hungry_caterpillar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:24:22 -0800

By 17 October, the day of the Soviet Moon landing, tension had risen. Czechoslovakian and Hungarian troops were said to be massing on the border with Austria. Soviet fighters had been harassing civil aircraft in the Berlin corridors, causing an American airliner to crash.

What was once the most secret British government document is released to the public on Tuesday. The Government War Book, used during the Cold War, set out in great detail exactly what would happen in the days before nuclear weapons were fired.

Prof Peter Hennessy describes the War Book

Strings, not Threads, nor Duct Tape

Blazecock Pileon — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:17:35 -0800

Nuclear puppet shows: Atomic survival PSAs by the U.S. Civil Defense

The secret in the safe deposit box

veedubya — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:30:30 -0800

The Letter of Last Resort. At this very moment, miles beneath the surface of the ocean, there is a British nuclear submarine carrying powerful ICBMs ... there is a safe attached to a control room floor. Inside that, there is an inner safe. And inside that sits a letter. It is addressed to the submarine commander and it is from the Prime Minister. In that letter, Gordon Brown conveys the most awesome decision of his political career ... and none of us is ever likely to know what he decided.

Be thankful these black swans didn't fly

lalochezia — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:34:01 -0800

Seven Close calls in the Nuclear Age Previously

When the Wind Blows

Artw — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:48:37 -0800

This is the Wartime Broadcasting Service. This country has been attacked with nuclear weapons. Communications have been severely disrupted, and the number of casualties and the extent of the damage are not yet known. We shall bring you further information as soon as possible. - The BBC releases its script for use in the event of nuclear war.

Alas! regardless of their doom, the little victims play!

KokuRyu — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:23:46 -0800

Limited nuclear war would damage ozone layer. Apart from the human devastation, a small-scale nuclear war between India and Pakistan would destroy much of the ozone layer, leaving the DNA of humans and other organisms at risk of damage from the Sun's rays, say researchers at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. Michael Mills at the LASP and his colleagues used computer models to study how 100 Hiroshima-sized bombs would affect the atmosphere. They say that their scenario – in which each country launches 50 devices of 15 kilotons – is realistic, given the countries' nuclear arsenals. "The figure of 100 Hiroshima-sized bombs compares pretty accurately to the approximately 110 warheads that both states reportedly possess between them," agrees Wyn Bowen, professor of non-proliferation and international security in the War Studies Group at King's College, UK. Here is an earlier 2006 report by Michael Mills about the devastating effect even a limited nuclear war would have on the ozone layer.

Apocalypse Now

MrMerlot — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:22:31 -0800

Depending on who you believe, either Guy Pearce or Viggo Mortensen will be cast in the lead role of the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's utterly brilliant dystopia, The Road. To my mind, the adaptation marks Hollywood's rekindling of the almost forgotten genre of the post-apocalyptical movie. With Mad Max, The Postman, Threads and The Day After, nuclear annihilation loomed large in the imaginations of filmmakers in the 70s and 80s. Since then cinematic dystopia has been projected in the realm of the fantastic (think 12 Monkey's, The Matrix and 28 Days Later). If dystopia is really just a satire of the present, what does the film adaptation of The Road tell us about the our times?

Strangelove's Doomsday: fiction meets facts

craven_morhead — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 07:32:27 -0800

Dr. Strangelove's Doomsday device may be more fact than fiction. We've had doomsday stories here before, but what if dead hand control of nuclear devices is real? Perhaps live-hand control is better. You could always try your hand at a nuclear apocalypse.

All aboard for thermonuclear war

Burhanistan — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:18:16 -0800

Russian Missile Train !

Photos from Hiroshima

jonson — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 18:41:52 -0800

Photos from Hiroshima in August of 1945. Long supressed by the occupying U.S. forces, a highly unsettling (and decidedly NSFW) collection of photos from the days immediately after August 6th. Via.

Samantha Smith

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 08:20:52 -0800

In 1982, ten-year old Samantha Smith from Maine wrote a letter to Yuri Andropov asking whether there was going to be a nuclear war. Andropov responded, and Samantha accepted his invitation to stay at a Russian pioneer camp with Soviet children. Tragically, within the following two years both the young Samantha and Secretary Andropov passed away. (wmv)

Threads

schoolgirl report — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:59:01 -0800

Threads (Google Video, 1hr 50min). Classic Reagan/Thatcher era nuclear war film that scared the bejeezus out of everyone in 1984 (including my 14-year-old self). [good background previously]

My Home in the Ground

IronLizard — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 00:00:52 -0800

1962 Fallout Shelter handbook. (more about nuclear survival and shelters, if that kind of thing worries you).

Protect and Survive

metaxa — Mon, 06 Sep 2004 03:16:44 -0800

Twenty Years Ago, The BBC produced a topical drama called Threads - little did they know the furore it would go on to create. [more inside]

One of the world's greatest unsung heroes?

ramakrishna — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 08:39:34 -0800

You may owe your life to this man If it weren't for Stanislav Petrov, many or even most of us reading this might be dead now - or never born, for the teens among us. At least according to this article, and the other links above.

Nuclear War Survival Skills

Johnny Assay — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 17:14:06 -0800

Nuclear War Survival Skills: Journey back sixteen years to a simpler time, when the impending apocalypse was a much less complicated affair. [more inside]

kirkaracha — Sun, 23 Jun 2002 18:13:37 -0800

Nuclear war on film The Los Angeles Times [registration required] reviews the potrayal of nuclear war in the movies.

sheauga — Mon, 10 Jun 2002 06:32:15 -0800

Nuclear War, India and Pakistan - a Tutorial. Blogging at its best! Fallout patterns, strategy, and more. Additional bonus: 4GW (Fourth Generation Warfare).

homunculus — Wed, 15 May 2002 00:20:17 -0800

In 1999, India and Pakistan were closer to nuclear war than was commonly known, according to Clinton's former chief adviser on South Asia. On Monday, the Defense Department's policy chief said that "there is a risk of war" that is "very large." On Tuesday, militants attacked an army camp in Indian Kashmir and killed 30 people, including 11 women and 10 children. All this makes me very nervous. Is it just me? And adding a touch of the bizarre, India is officially researching arcane, 2300 year-old military technology that it believes will give its military a greater advantage.

johnnyace — Sat, 09 Mar 2002 06:48:44 -0800

Bush prepares nuclear weapons for use. A classified Pentagon report directs the Defense Department to prepare "smaller nuclear weapons for use in certain battlefield situations," such as "targets able to withstand nonnuclear attack." Potential targets listed include China, Russia, Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Libya and Syria. Is the U.S. merely bluffing, or should we begin stocking our fallout shelters?

Fat Elvis — Tue, 04 Sep 2001 17:47:58 -0800

Students for Suicide Pills? On October 12th, 1984, 1900+ students turned out to vote on a referendum asking that their university's Health Services be allowed to offer cyanide pills in the event of nuclear war.

57% of students said they wanted it.

dagny — Sat, 28 Jul 2001 11:09:54 -0800

U.S. Gov't: IF communists attack THEN GOTO communism: The plans that the federal government had developed for salvaging the state in the event of a nuclear attack on the United States by the Soviet Union would have added mass starvation and social extinction to the mass devastation of nuclear war by imposing martial law and a federal dictatorship running the country from the top down.