Nice to see a bit of nostalgia coming back as the doomsday clock makes the news for the first time since my voice finally stopped breaking at unfortunate moments as The Star reports:
For the first time in five years, the elite board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is moving the minute hand on their Doomsday Clock closer to the fatal hour of midnight. The clock – a symbol of the perils facing the human race – is expected to shift two minutes, from the current seven minutes to midnight to five, a figure the Bulletin would not confirm before its news conference today.I knew that is what I have been missing in my creep towards middle age, fear of global destruction. This science clocky thing was all the rage when I was a kid, leading the news every time Regan burped or Leonid rolled over in bed. A great comfort to us all. Closest it's been to midnight? Two minutes in 1953 when The US and Soviets lit up nukes within nine minutes of each other. Somehow I don't find the current reason quite as compelling - the drift towards anarchy and fascism in areas where nuclear materials are known to exist - but that is only because I have lost touch with my inner terrorized me. Plus it is tied to the launch of a new website for the freaking eggheads behind the whole clock thing.
Nice use of elite by the Star, though. Images of skinny shadow-eyed freaking eggheads in lab coats dance in one's head.
Comments
ry - January 17, 2007 10:26 am
I'm not sure if that list is comprehensive or not, but I'm surprised that the hands didn't move in relation to the Cuban Missile Crisis. I mean, we really did face nuclear annihilation then, everyone knew it, but the clock didn't move? WT.....?
Gorthos - January 17, 2007 11:02 am
I for one embrace the idea of credit card and mortgage debt eliminating small scale apocalype where I can hole up with my family in our log home (and the cave I plan to discover on my property), fighting off zombie mutants for water and cans of beans, but thats just my fantasy.
The clock is a silly political thingy, based on non-political scientist's perceived level of threat to the world, just like the department of Homeland Insecurity's color (note the lack of a U) coded system of New Yorker scaring.
Chris Taylor - January 17, 2007 5:22 pm
A lot of the standard post-Cold War anti-NATO rhetoric works pretty well in this instance. The Doomsday Clock is not relevant to these times... needs to be dissolved... is an alliance looking for an adversary ... solution looking for a problem... etc etc.
I think Toronto needs a "Non-Resident Aggravation Doomsday Clock" wherein our most concerned scientists track how much other Canadians hate us, counting down to the apocalytpic midnight wherein Toronto is expelled from the federation but which we all studiously ignore because, after all, Toronto defines what is best for the federation. Whether anyone else likes it or not.
Alan - January 17, 2007 5:34 pm
Excellent concept. Perhaps I could set up a booth here on the internets hawking and vending personalized doomsday machines.
Chris Taylor - January 17, 2007 6:35 pm
Putting in my advance order for "Western alienation destroys the federation" and "Liberal democracy has finally devolved into mediocre jackbooted totalitarianism as predicted by Ayn Rand and a dozen Rush songs" decorative Doomsday clocks.
Gorthos - January 17, 2007 11:20 pm
I would like to order a "Gorthos' proximity to the point at which he goes haywire and starts verbally abusing coworkers" clock. Today, it was 11:59:25 for the record.