17 January 2007

Apocalypse Cocktail Lounge: The Doomsday Clock

Today, the Doomsday Clock was reset from 7 minutes 'til midnight to 5 minutes 'til midnight. For non-Apocalypse zealots, the Doomsday Clock is a Dr. Strangelovian device that has been maintained since 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago. It uses the analogy of the human race being at a time that is "minutes to midnight," with midnight representing total destruction by nuclear war. And you think your job sucks?

We haven't been this close since 1983 when the clock was set at 3 minutes 'til midnight. But then Sting ended the Cold War with his song "Russians" in 1984 and by 1991, we were a full 17 minutes from nuclear annihilation. In 1953, we were at two minutes to midnight, the closest ever, when the Soviet Union and the U.S were setting off test nuclear missiles like bottle rockets in New Hampshire.


(I can't do this anymore.)

And since Jack Bauer -- being fresh out of a Chinese prison, escaping torture and execution at the hands of Islamic terrorists, and reluctantly killing his friend Curtis -- said he "can't do this anymore," we're all screwed.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

(Jerusalem, Israel) – “Our best case scenario is for missiles to be hitting us in the next year or two. Either the West goes to war to stop Iran from going nuclear, and Iran fires conventional missiles at us in retaliation, or the West waits too long and Iran launches a nuclear first strike at us. Either way, a terrible war is coming. It cannot be avoided.”

That’s the sobering assessment a senior Israeli political leader shared with me over breakfast this week.

KJ said...

Yikes. That's a gigantic bummer. Should I start digging my bomb shelter now?

BAGS said...

Lighten up Francis.

Anonymous said...

Talk about your Debbie Downer... guess I shouldn't worry about using SPF 30 next Summer.

Anonymous said...

I will protect you miss Jackson as soon as I find the other 4 suitcase nukes. Stay alive!! I will find you!!!