Inevitability of nuclear war

[T. A. Gardner]

Nuclear war certainly is possible, the question is how far would one go? That is, would a limited exchange occur, or would it be all out destruction? It's one thing if one or both sides in a conflict used Hiroshima sized bombs or even smaller ones. It's another thing entirely if thermonuclear weapons in the megaton range were used.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Shoot yourself now and avoid the pain of dying from radiation poisoning. It's not pretty; running at both ends for days and dying of dehydration? Not for me.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/radiation-sickness/symptoms-causes/syc-20377058
Radiation sickness
Possible symptoms include:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Fever
• Dizziness and disorientation
• Weakness and fatigue
• Hair loss
• Bloody vomit and stools from internal bleeding
• Infections
• Low blood pressure

Unless you got hit with a big dose (200 + Rem) from the initial explosion, you aren't likely to die of radiation poisoning afterwards if you take some simple precautions. The residual radioactives from a bomb detonation are all alpha and beta emitters. That is, you have to eat or breathe them in to have any effect on you. This means even the crappy Fauci Plague masks pretty much protect you from this crap. The amount of gamma given off as a side product of decay is low enough to survive unless you blunder into a major hot spot near the epicenter of the bomb explosion. So, stay away from there.

Now, if the bad guys hit a nuclear power plant that you happen to live downwind of, you are screwed if you don't go somewhere else. The fallout from the plant's destruction is so massive that up to about 100 to 300 miles downwind of it you can get toasted by the alpha and beta PDQ along with the gamma that these give off as they decay. That's an exception though.

 

[gemini104104]

No, not over Ukraine.
Just someday, eventually.
Assuming that N. Korea, Iran, another rogue state or faceless terrorists acquire nuclear weapons.
Or a head of state like Putin goes totally mad and literally has a scorched earth meltdown.
E.g., imagine Hitler with nuclear weapons on the brink of losing his war unleashes all he has before committing suicide.

Doubt it will happen in my lifetime but I believe odds are that it happen someday.

Actually, insurrectionist repukes along with tRump invoked their own type of treasonous nuclear war against Democracy and the common decency of humanity, and to which tRump conspired to enable his crimes against humanity nuclear type covid-19 death of 800,000 Americans that came with global implications too, in particular. How's about that?

 

[Legion]

I suggest you take your own advice. As a bonus the board will be better off .

 

[Dutch Uncle]

I suggest you take your own advice. As a bonus the board will be better off .

Unlike you, I'm not shitting my pants thinking "the End is near". If I see a few bright flashes taking out Dallas and Fort Worth, then I'll go hunting Trumpers. LOL

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Unless you got hit with a big dose (200 + Rem) from the initial explosion, you aren't likely to die of radiation poisoning afterwards if you take some simple precautions. The residual radioactives from a bomb detonation are all alpha and beta emitters. That is, you have to eat or breathe them in to have any effect on you. This means even the crappy Fauci Plague masks pretty much protect you from this crap. The amount of gamma given off as a side product of decay is low enough to survive unless you blunder into a major hot spot near the epicenter of the bomb explosion. So, stay away from there.

Now, if the bad guys hit a nuclear power plant that you happen to live downwind of, you are screwed if you don't go somewhere else. The fallout from the plant's destruction is so massive that up to about 100 to 300 miles downwind of it you can get toasted by the alpha and beta PDQ along with the gamma that these give off as they decay. That's an exception though.

True if you're talking about a single detonation but that's not what Moose is fretting about. He's shitting his pants over this scenario:

 

[Matt Dillon]

Unlike you, I'm not shitting my pants thinking "the End is near". If I see a few bright flashes taking out Dallas and Fort Worth, then I'll go hunting Trumpers. LOL

Saved!

 

[anonymoose]

Unlike you, I'm not shitting my pants thinking "the End is near".

Doubt it will happen in my lifetime

 

[T. A. Gardner]

True if you're talking about a single detonation but that's not what Moose is fretting about. He's shitting his pants over this scenario:

It doesn't work like it does in the movies...

 

[Dutch Uncle]

It doesn't work like it does in the movies...

No shit but that fact remains that once shit starts happening, tends to happen rather quickly. What kind of deluded fucking moron believes all the combatants will stop after on a few nukes?

 

[T. A. Gardner]

No shit but that fact remains that once shit starts happening, tends to happen rather quickly. What kind of deluded fucking moron believes all the combatants will stop after on a few nukes?

Escallation takes time. In WW 2 for example, the various combatants didn't go bombing cities into ruin wholesale from day one. During the Polish campaign only Warsaw could be said to get something like a nuke treatment where the Luftwaffe bombed it mercilessly for weeks. Other Polish cities didn't get this sort of concentrated treatment.
During the BoB, the Germans initially avoided attacking cities fearing retaliation and stuck to military targets. When they became desperate, they switched to terror bombing and got the same in return. If the two were tossing nukes, the Germans tossed one, the British fired two or three in return. Things went up (or down depending on your POV) from there. There was no single day of 'we'll fire everything we have' and getting the same in return. Neither side wanted that sort of destruction.
Germany refrained from using gas as did the Western Allies during that war even though both sides had massive quantities of it. Same idea.

So, even two nuclear armed opponents may refrain from tossing nukes indiscriminately more out of fear of retaliation than anything else. It's the crazies like those ruling Iran or N. Korea that you have to worry about. If Putin really is crazy, then he could be dangerous, but we really don't know at the moment.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Escallation takes time. In WW 2 for example, the various combatants didn't go bombing cities into ruin wholesale from day one. During the Polish campaign only Warsaw could be said to get something like a nuke treatment where the Luftwaffe bombed it mercilessly for weeks. Other Polish cities didn't get this sort of concentrated treatment.
During the BoB, the Germans initially avoided attacking cities fearing retaliation and stuck to military targets. When they became desperate, they switched to terror bombing and got the same in return. If the two were tossing nukes, the Germans tossed one, the British fired two or three in return. Things went up (or down depending on your POV) from there. There was no single day of 'we'll fire everything we have' and getting the same in return. Neither side wanted that sort of destruction.
Germany refrained from using gas as did the Western Allies during that war even though both sides had massive quantities of it. Same idea.

So, even two nuclear armed opponents may refrain from tossing nukes indiscriminately more out of fear of retaliation than anything else. It's the crazies like those ruling Iran or N. Korea that you have to worry about. If Putin really is crazy, then he could be dangerous, but we really don't know at the moment.

Meh

Frank! Just some friendly advise, get help for that TDS before you have a stroke and you can't golf with your conservative friends. Stay healthy so they can guide you in the right direction!

Sorry, in a rush.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Escallation takes time. In WW 2 for example, the various combatants didn't go bombing cities into ruin wholesale from day one. During the Polish campaign only Warsaw could be said to get something like a nuke treatment where the Luftwaffe bombed it mercilessly for weeks. Other Polish cities didn't get this sort of concentrated treatment.
During the BoB, the Germans initially avoided attacking cities fearing retaliation and stuck to military targets. When they became desperate, they switched to terror bombing and got the same in return. If the two were tossing nukes, the Germans tossed one, the British fired two or three in return. Things went up (or down depending on your POV) from there. There was no single day of 'we'll fire everything we have' and getting the same in return. Neither side wanted that sort of destruction.
Germany refrained from using gas as did the Western Allies during that war even though both sides had massive quantities of it. Same idea.

So, even two nuclear armed opponents may refrain from tossing nukes indiscriminately more out of fear of retaliation than anything else. It's the crazies like those ruling Iran or N. Korea that you have to worry about. If Putin really is crazy, then he could be dangerous, but we really don't know at the moment.

While I agree that there could be an escalation, let's not forget this is the Space Age; they launch two missiles and it's known almost immediately despite the missile's 30(?) minute flight time. We'd launch two, which they'd know immediately so they launch three more, etc, etc, etc. until it's a full launch before the first missile even hits its target.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

You don't know that.

And don't forget that mental illness can be progressive, so even if Trump isn't crazy enough to start throwing nukes now, who knws what he'd be like in 10 years?

But more to the point, what I was talking about was ANOTHER (different) "Trump".

Someone LIKE Trump.

I wouldn’t worry about Trump to much either. Even if Trump were to be renominated for POTUS by the GOP in 2024 it would only guarantee a Democratic victory. The same would apply if Trump would bow to an acolyte who runs on a Trumpian populist platform.

Trump may still be popular and very influential in the GOP he would lose badly in a general election.

Keep in mind a whole lot of folks who voted for Biden believing that even a mediocrity would be vastly superior to another Trump administration. Which is currently proving to be the case.

Trump sure as hell proved he wasn’t up to leading a crises situation in his last year in office when he horribly managed the COVID and Civil Unrest which cost him re-election.

So I wouldn’t worry to much about Trump. He’s part of history now.

 

[cancel2 2022]

I wouldn’t worry about Trump to much either. Even if Trump were to be renominated for POTUS by the GOP in 2024 it would only guarantee a Democratic victory. The same would apply if Trump would bow to an acolyte who runs on a Trumpian populist platform.

Trump may still be popular and very influential in the GOP he would lose badly in a general election.

Keep in mind a whole lot of folks who voted for Biden believing that even a mediocrity would be vastly superior to another Trump administration. Which is currently proving to be the case.

Trump sure as hell proved he wasn’t up to leading a crises situation in his last year in office when he horribly managed the COVID and Civil Unrest which cost him re-election.

So I wouldn’t worry to much about Trump. He’s part of history now.

Saved!!

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Saved!!

Save it. Trumps support of Putin recently has all but guaranteed it. National Defense and foreign policy are POTUS most important job. Trumps support of Putin was decisive. If Trump or a Trump acolyte is nominated they will be crushed simply by attacking him on National Defense and quote his pro Putin comments. He/They would lose.

 

[cancel2 2022]

Save it. Trumps support of Putin recently has all but guaranteed it. National Defense and foreign policy are POTUS most important job. Trumps support of Putin was decisive. If Trump or a Trump acolyte is nominated they will be crushed simply by attacking him on National Defense and quote his pro Putin comments. He/They would lose.

You may be right who knows, I certainly don't.

 

[anonymoose]

What will the West’s response be if Russia decides to use tactical nuclear weapons?

 

[Mason Michaels]

What will the West’s response be if Russia decides to use tactical nuclear weapons?

Kiss our asses goodbye!
Man never created a weapon he didn't use!
Just a matter of time !

 

[anonymoose]

Kiss our asses goodbye!
Man never created a weapon he didn't use!
Just a matter of time !

Exactly.
But let’s say Russia uses a small nuke to take out a Ukrainian division. They’ve been flying missiles close to nuclear reactors. What if they go ahead and bomb one.
What does the West do?
I don’t put it past Putin to roll the dice and do that , betting the west will just incur sanctions, call him a war criminal etc.
Limited nuclear war?