We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, February 2, 2015

The Doomsday Clock Moves to Three Minutes to Midnight

Click here to access article by John Harrison from Sputnik International.

Atomic scientists at the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists have moved their clock closest to midnight not seen since 1984. Addressing this change (in this rather confusing article), the first part features a 15:03m audio recording of an interview conducted by Harrison with two scientists:
One of the clock’s timekeepers; Dr. Kennette Benedict, Executive Director and Publisher of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and also Mr. John Large, an independent nuclear expert, and Consulting Engineer with Large & Associates in London....
Following this interview there is a transcript of another interview with Sharon Squassoni who is a member of the Doomsday Clock committee of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. She highlights the current international situation in comparison to the Cold War era.
The tensions of the Cold War period look almost calm in comparison to what is happening now internationally, with at least two international conflicts occurring, each one of which could lead to a Third World War. From this perspective, the Cold War period looks almost safe. Then there are Climate Change issues, which are just as serious, although because of their delayed effect, easier to ignore. As a result, a group of scientists has come up with a sobering reflection of the salience of current international events. The Doomsday Clock.
It's clear to me that the increasing tension in the world and desire of many smaller countries to obtain nuclear weapons are related, and both are related to the rampaging US Empire to control the entire world. The latter's activities are provoking countries like Russia and China, whose ruling capitalist classes refuse to take orders from the Empire, to beef up their nuclear arsenals. Noam Chomsky also supports this view and corroborates the views of these scientists in a post on RT entitled "World ominously close to nuclear war".