I suppose this is of special interest now since Poland, a NATO member, got hit by what sounds like an errant missile from Russia recently. [1]
Reading the first part, I think the best thing that could happen in the event some big red buttons get pushed is that if you're next to a military base you're probably going to be vaporized along with it if you can't evacuate. Trying to survive that kind of thing sounds way worse.
Was nice knowing everyone!
[1] https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/15/russia-poland-missi...
It seems that most of you are ignoring that there are plenty of actors out there that actively seek destruction and ways to promote it. It's not that people are stupid. Many people of power are both intelligent and actively evil, as in-- working against your interests of survival--especially when their positions are threatened.
In fact, in some rare scenarios, nuclear destruction might even make logical sense to someone in power. One such scenario is evening out the playing field when you are way behind everyone else in the race. Do you recall how playing the "Armageddon" card in certain scenarios of Worms could actually help you win?
This reminded me of the better documentary films I have seen, The Atomic Cafe (1982).
It is a well-crafted film, with a neat-o formal technique of only using found footage/ audio to describe the history of US atomic-age propaganda.
More interestingly to me, it offers a useful commentary about the contradictions between the use of media to present nuclear wars a survivable and possibly necessary event but simultaneously an existential threat that requires the total resources of the state to avoid. The ending of the film seems especially useful as footage of naive "duck and cover" drills is juxtaposed with (legitimately terrifying) images of actual bomb blasts.
I think, in general, it recalled this bit: "Christopher Isherwood gave expression to this unreality of the American daily life, exemplified in the motel room: "American motels are unreal! /.../ they are deliberately designed to be unreal. /.../ The Europeans hate us because we've retired to live inside our advertisements, like hermits going into caves to contemplate.""
Here's a modern version https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/lie-down-try-not-to-cry-cry-a...
In all seriousness, in a true nuclear disaster the survivors will envy the dead.
I was subject to discussions at school about the UK gov's ludicrous 'Protect and Survive' novelty booklet in the 70s. Some years later The Young Ones episode 'Bomb' seemed like the most appropriate response.
Having grown up pretty much assuming I'd be incinerated by nukes at some point (I frequently dreamed of mushroom clouds on the horizon as a child), this is all nothing new to me. I've lived longer than I ever expected.
Interesting, but no thank you. I consider myself lucky to be living around one of the largest nuclear stockpiles on the planet. Huge target for the enemies. So, if nuclear attack is imminent, I would likely not even feel my body disintegrating. I'm more worried about the survivors.
I find it almost satirical that a guide on an imminent nuclear disaster is a 13-page pdf of dense text. If the producers of this guide are serious about their mission, this needs to be condensed into a flowchart with short statements and plenty of pictures that can be absorbed quickly. More detailed info can be tacked on the end, but some bolded statements in the middle of a wall of words is not how you communicate in an emergency.
An ICBM will take ~20-30 minutes from launch to hit the US. By the time you are notified, you will have 5-15 minutes to prepare. This goes down to minutes to seconds for dirty bombs/ground detonations or short range missiles (to which the US is not immune thanks to submarines).
Website down, mirror: https://web.archive.org/web/20221006150022/http://www.ki4u.c...
i think its better not to spend time and energy coming up with ways to prolong your suffering in an unlikely scenario but that’s just me. that’s to say i don’t have a plan, but rather it’s much shorter and weighs on me less
I live next to a massive US naval base + airbase + army base complex. I think I'll just enjoy my last seconds before vaporization.
Place your head firmly between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye.
I’d do something really interesting, so that the author of my world would be forced to focus on me and continue my life story. Because the only place where nuclear war is a realistic possibility is in a fictional setting.
Always tried to live somewhere near ground zero. Right now I live just far enough away that I'll have time to repeat after H. G. Wells, " God damn you all, I told you so."
My dad said they would do air raid drills in elementary school (50's, 60's) due to the fear of a nuclear attack. They were taught to get under their desks.
I have a house in Patagonian mountains. You are invited to come and have a last barbacue.
> What to do if a nuclear disaster is imminent [pdf]
Thank to your leaders.
it's assumed that everyone will be at home when a nuclear disaster happens, but it would probably happen on a weekday early in the morning, when kids are in the school, wife or husband is at work, and the chance that all of us get safe to the bunker is small.
The site is down so I can only speculate what it recommends. Whatever it is, I suspect it is not a list of suggestions for how to avoid nuclear disasters altogether. Because that is simply not in vogue. It seems we must all accept as something inevitable to have the specter of millions dead, if not billions, if not life as we know it, hanging over our heads for time eternal.
Because we as humans are seemingly only endowed with creative and innovative thinking when it comes to advertising, crypto scams or new JS frameworks, etc. When it comes to accomplishing something as basic as survival we seem to revert thoughts and prayers, and amassing even more weapons. It's frankly a mystery.
Controversial take, but I'm going to be pretty upset if there is a global thermonuclear war and we all die, I am not going to sugar coat it.