World War III: "Hey, we're still here! "

Onkel Neal · 11-30-07, 05:09 PM

Great article:

Quote:

This past month may be remembered as the one when World War III broke out. Not the thing itself, obviously, but the concept, the memory, the nightmare, which had been buried in the basement of our cultural consciousness since the end of the Cold War. The beast suddenly broke out of the basement and it's in our face again.

http://www.slate.com/id/2178792/

CCIP · 11-30-07, 06:29 PM

I agree! It's just what I've been saying for a while now, put eloquently and pragmatically enough.

Chock · 11-30-07, 07:21 PM

Yup, nothing new there, but concisely and well put all the same, and an entertaining read, if you can be entertained by reading about the imminent prospect of being welded to your kitchen wall by a nuclear air burst. It's just as well that those of my age are already used to coping with this kind of malarkey.

Now, where did I put that silly 'Protect and Survive' leaflet the British Govt handed all us limeys a few years ago? I seem to recall it was only marginally less ludicrous than the 'Duck and Cover' campaign the US had.

1,2,3,4 we don't want a nuclear war, etc.

Chock

Skybird · 11-30-07, 08:01 PM

For years I am preaching that pakistan is the most dangerous state ion earth, not just since Newsweek, I heared, had such a title on the front page some weeks or months ago.

I saw the need to rethink and change my former stand on nuclear weapons over the past 18 months. we cannot afford anymore to see their use not as an option if for example the iranian prgram should be shut down by force. I am sure that conventional weapons alone are not capable to achieve that, while ground wars to invade Iran are an incalculatable risk which to accept we also cannot afford.

Meanwhile, well-meaning sweethearts faced a terrible crush recently, and could not imagine where the hell it all of a sudden was coming from. They are said to be "dissappointed" now, and that almost breaks my heart

Before giving the link, i need to dry my tears, wait a moment...

So, done.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7120399.stm

when the story is fulfilled in the not so far away future, it will have become the greatest diplomatic disgrace Europe ever has produced itself since Chamberlain was sent to Hitler.

Chock · 11-30-07, 08:28 PM

Now you know why diplomatic discussions take so long, and generally get nowhere, check this out from Skybird's linked article:

Quote:

"I expected more and am therefore disappointed," the EU official said.
"I will be in telephonic contact with the Iranians before the end of December," he added, saying the envoys would meet again if circumstances permitted.

'I will be in telephonic contact':rotfl:

Chock

Sea Demon · 11-30-07, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chock

Now you know why diplomatic discussions take so long, and generally get nowhere, check this out from Skybird's linked article:

Quote:

"I expected more and am therefore disappointed," the EU official said.
"I will be in telephonic contact with the Iranians before the end of December," he added, saying the envoys would meet again if circumstances permitted.

'I will be in telephonic contact':rotfl:

Chock

Sounds like something President Bush would say.

Torplexed · 11-30-07, 08:49 PM

Mebbe it's a new form of 80's nostalgia. All that's old is new again. :p

Would-you-like-to-play-a-game?

Chock · 11-30-07, 09:01 PM

The thing which puzzled me more than anything about the movie 'Wargames', was that if all that supercomputing power was reliant on 16 kilobyte per second modems, why was there anything to worry about? halfway through sending the launch codes it would have had to redial, having lost the connection:rotfl:

These days the war will be delayed while we wait for a patch so that the launch codes will actually work in the first place...

'Sir, I'm afraid we cannot launch, as we've forgotten our Gamespy log on password'

Chock

Torplexed · 11-30-07, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chock

The thing which puzzled me more than anything about the movie 'Wargames', was that if all that supercomputing power was reliant on 16 kilobyte per second modems, why was there anything to worry about? halfway through sending the launch codes it would have had to redial, having lost the connection:rotfl:

These days the war will be delayed while we wait for a patch so that the launch codes will actually work in the first place...

'Sir, I'm afraid we cannot launch, as we've forgotten our Gamespy log on password'

Chock

Rather flawed movie to be sure. I think each silo has it own launch code. But then it was made back in the good old days when men were men and computers were huge boxes with thousands of meaningless lights.

Stealth Hunter · 11-30-07, 09:10 PM

LEAVE MY COUNTRY ALONE, BUSH. IT'S GETTING OLD...

Chock · 11-30-07, 09:19 PM

I think I've come up with a plan to avert the imminent nuclear war, but it all depends on one, well two, things...

1. Does the CD need to be in the drive for a nuclear missile to launch?

2. Does the software that launches it have Starforce copy protection on it?

Chock

Stealth Hunter · 11-30-07, 09:20 PM

OR does our military even know how to launch them, considering how the war's going?:rotfl:

Chock · 11-30-07, 09:43 PM

Well, they shouldn't need to with my cool plan...

We flirt over to Pakistan, sneak into their missile base (we'll probably need Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy or some other eighties brat actor for that bit, they can always sneak past army base entrance checkpoints), then we simply nick the CD and swap it for a DOS version of Missile Command, they'll never get that to work on Vista, or whatever their missile software is, and they'll be so busy messing about with trying different drivers and posting questions on how to sort it out on the rogue state forums (probably in general musharaf topics), they'll never think to check in the CD drive, and even if they do, they'll be knackered, because Missile Command is no fun without that big trackball thingy.

Chock

Stealth Hunter · 11-30-07, 09:53 PM

My God! It's the perfect plan...

We also need the guy from "That 70's Show" and Pop from "Sanford & Son". Unfortunately, he needs to be exhumed...

MothBalls · 11-30-07, 10:04 PM

Many people don't realize how many close calls there were that almost started WWIII.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_W...al_close_calls

I used to worry about Gerald Ford tripping over something and accidentally hitting the button. Now I worry about Bush tripping over his own thoughts and starting it.

I don't think we need to be as worried about Iran. I think they know that if they were to launch anything, the retaliatory strike would wipe out their country. The cold war stalemate, mutually assured destruction.

Reminds me of the line in the movie Peacekeeper when the woman tells Clooney "I'm not worried about some hothead dictator who wants to add 10 missiles to his arsenal. I'm worried about the guy who only wants one".

11-30-07, 06:29 PM	#2
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	I agree! It's just what I've been saying for a while now, put eloquently and pragmatically enough. __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

11-30-07, 07:21 PM	#3
Chock Sea Lord Join Date: May 2005 Location: Under a thermal layer in chilly Olde England Posts: 1,842 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Yup, nothing new there, but concisely and well put all the same, and an entertaining read, if you can be entertained by reading about the imminent prospect of being welded to your kitchen wall by a nuclear air burst. It's just as well that those of my age are already used to coping with this kind of malarkey. Now, where did I put that silly 'Protect and Survive' leaflet the British Govt handed all us limeys a few years ago? I seem to recall it was only marginally less ludicrous than the 'Duck and Cover' campaign the US had. 1,2,3,4 we don't want a nuclear war, etc. Chock __________________

11-30-07, 08:01 PM	#4
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,602 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	For years I am preaching that pakistan is the most dangerous state ion earth, not just since Newsweek, I heared, had such a title on the front page some weeks or months ago. I saw the need to rethink and change my former stand on nuclear weapons over the past 18 months. we cannot afford anymore to see their use not as an option if for example the iranian prgram should be shut down by force. I am sure that conventional weapons alone are not capable to achieve that, while ground wars to invade Iran are an incalculatable risk which to accept we also cannot afford. Meanwhile, well-meaning sweethearts faced a terrible crush recently, and could not imagine where the hell it all of a sudden was coming from. They are said to be "dissappointed" now, and that almost breaks my heart Before giving the link, i need to dry my tears, wait a moment... So, done. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7120399.stm when the story is fulfilled in the not so far away future, it will have become the greatest diplomatic disgrace Europe ever has produced itself since Chamberlain was sent to Hitler. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

11-30-07, 09:01 PM	#8
Chock Sea Lord Join Date: May 2005 Location: Under a thermal layer in chilly Olde England Posts: 1,842 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	The thing which puzzled me more than anything about the movie 'Wargames', was that if all that supercomputing power was reliant on 16 kilobyte per second modems, why was there anything to worry about? halfway through sending the launch codes it would have had to redial, having lost the connection:rotfl: These days the war will be delayed while we wait for a patch so that the launch codes will actually work in the first place... 'Sir, I'm afraid we cannot launch, as we've forgotten our Gamespy log on password' Chock __________________

11-30-07, 09:19 PM	#11
Chock Sea Lord Join Date: May 2005 Location: Under a thermal layer in chilly Olde England Posts: 1,842 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I think I've come up with a plan to avert the imminent nuclear war, but it all depends on one, well two, things... 1. Does the CD need to be in the drive for a nuclear missile to launch? 2. Does the software that launches it have Starforce copy protection on it? Chock __________________

11-30-07, 08:49 PM	#7
Torplexed Let's Sink Sumptin' ! Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,823 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	Mebbe it's a new form of 80's nostalgia. All that's old is new again. :p Would-you-like-to-play-a-game?

11-30-07, 09:10 PM	#10
Stealth Hunter Silent Hunter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Y'ha-Nthlei Posts: 4,262 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	LEAVE MY COUNTRY ALONE, BUSH. IT'S GETTING OLD...

11-30-07, 09:20 PM	#12
Stealth Hunter Silent Hunter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Y'ha-Nthlei Posts: 4,262 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	OR does our military even know how to launch them, considering how the war's going?:rotfl:

11-30-07, 09:43 PM	#13
Chock Sea Lord Join Date: May 2005 Location: Under a thermal layer in chilly Olde England Posts: 1,842 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Well, they shouldn't need to with my cool plan... We flirt over to Pakistan, sneak into their missile base (we'll probably need Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy or some other eighties brat actor for that bit, they can always sneak past army base entrance checkpoints), then we simply nick the CD and swap it for a DOS version of Missile Command, they'll never get that to work on Vista, or whatever their missile software is, and they'll be so busy messing about with trying different drivers and posting questions on how to sort it out on the rogue state forums (probably in general musharaf topics), they'll never think to check in the CD drive, and even if they do, they'll be knackered, because Missile Command is no fun without that big trackball thingy. Chock __________________

11-30-07, 09:53 PM	#14
Stealth Hunter Silent Hunter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Y'ha-Nthlei Posts: 4,262 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	My God! It's the perfect plan... We also need the guy from "That 70's Show" and Pop from "Sanford & Son". Unfortunately, he needs to be exhumed...

11-30-07, 10:04 PM	#15
MothBalls Ace of the Deep Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,012 Downloads: 20 Uploads: 0	Many people don't realize how many close calls there were that almost started WWIII. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_W...al_close_calls I used to worry about Gerald Ford tripping over something and accidentally hitting the button. Now I worry about Bush tripping over his own thoughts and starting it. I don't think we need to be as worried about Iran. I think they know that if they were to launch anything, the retaliatory strike would wipe out their country. The cold war stalemate, mutually assured destruction. Reminds me of the line in the movie Peacekeeper when the woman tells Clooney "I'm not worried about some hothead dictator who wants to add 10 missiles to his arsenal. I'm worried about the guy who only wants one".