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The Forgotten Element in Averting Nuclear Catastrophe

Image by Creative Commons 4.0 What will it take to end the nuclear nightmare that has gripped the world since the atomic bombings of 1945? For a time, that nightmare seemed to have abated for, in response to massive popular resistance to the prospect of nuclear war, governments turned to signing nuclear arms control and […]
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The Oppenheimer Imperative: Normalising Atomic Terror
The atomic bomb created the conditions of contingent catastrophe, forever placing the world on the precipice of existential doom. But in doing so, it created a philosophy of acceptable cruelty, worthy extinction, legitimate extermination. The scenarios for such programs of existential realisation proved endless. Entire departments, schools of thought, and think tanks were dedicated to […]
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The Atomic Genie Escapes
1945: Alamagordo Never have scientists so fervently prayed. Slumping against a wooden post, Robert Oppenheimer reminds himself not to weaken: “I must remain conscious!” The countdown proceeds: “five . . . . four . . . . three . . . two . . . ” Afraid it may electrocute him, the normally unflappable Sam […]
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Nuclear War on Edge

Nuclear war is unthinkable, but also uncontrollable once a spark is lit. There’s no turning back once that big misstep occurs. Indeed, the film Dr. Strangelove (Director Stanley Kubrick, 1964, Columbia Pictures) is all about what could happen if the wrong person pushes the wrong buttons, as US Air Force General Jack Ripper (George C. […]
