To ask how long it will take to die if we do get nuked

[MagicalRealist]

Just this really. How quick? I know the warning, if there is one, will only be a few minutes so nowhere near enough time to get to school and be with DC. But when the bombs hit, is it just a flash of light and then oblivion? Or a longer scarier process? Obviously I hope none of this will actually happen.

collective action, building a movement, seizing the public discourse, campaigning and protesting

These are just words. 'Holding power to account' doesn't make much sense when drawn into a game of nuclear chicken. Make them accountable to do what? Would I tell my mp we should be more aggressive/ passive/ to retreat from global politics/ take a greater role...how the hell would I know?

If there's a bomb in the uk no one will be ok - the weather will happily distribute radioactive particles via rain and wind. Remember Chernobyl anyone?

Hmmm. Assuming a London is targetted, the fall out will probably head out across East Anglia as the UKs weather is predominantly from the South West.

However, who's going to nuke us at the moment? I think the biggest danger is that the US get sucked into a conventional war which could end up as another Vietnam. Let's hope our PM (whoever it is) is as sensible as Wilson.

I also think that this is a big wake up call for those saying that updating Trident is a waste of money.

UnderCrackers5
Yes, I was once bitten by a radioactive hamster in a freak lab accident. Being able to carry a weeks worth of food around in my cheeks is ok, but they have me generating electricity 16 hours a day by running around in a large wheel.

Hahahahahaha

And for tomorrow's positive thinking question:

How long before gravity stops and we all drop off the planet?

Seriously, there is nothing you can do, it's pointless worrying about it. Best to live and enjoy your life to the full.

There has been at least one close shave with nuclear war that happened by sheer, unfortunate coincidence (had to do with several DEW stations going offline at the same time due to maintenance schedules and two sets of bad luck)

Few civilizations last forever. Previously they've often decayed from within and been overrun by outsider armies. Humanity has still survived. This time, unfortunately, the emperors have the ability to take out the attacking armies .. and the armies can take the emperors out.

That's if things don't happen by accident.

Well I hope it doesn't happen soon as I am off work with a broken leg, my DP is away for 2 weeks and I am house bound alone til he gets back. so if the bomb goes off I will have no one to hang about with til the radiation dies down and will probably die of loneliness (feel a bit like I am doing at that at the moment anyway, to be honest...)

Thinking back to a couple of posts where people asked why aren't you engaged politically in trying to stop this rather than fret about it on here. It would be AMAZING if people in the uk did collectively put pressure on our government to keep us out of the North Korea thing. Basically to distance us from the USA politically.

The problem is people have tried that, and discovered it does fuck all.

(remember how many people marched against the war in Iraq in 2003 ???)

Anyway, maybe the world population is due an adjustment ?

The airburst thing was probably my bad - my nuclear paranoia is 80s based.

Irrespective of physical damage, a decent nuke strike could knock out all our iShinys ...

www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/22/nork_nukes_could_emp_us/

Forgive my ignorance. Used the link upthread. I live near Leeds. If a bomb dropped in London I'd be ok according to that website? I selected the newest North Korean one listed.

"Humanity has still survived"

And it probably doesn't matter even if we don't. Because life will continue, just other (superior) forms. Like cockroaches.

what depresing coversation. it aint gonna happen to us. so please stop[ with this.

We were talking about just this over lunch at work today, in the light of the North Koreans seemingly not giving up.

Feel free to hide the thread barbs :)

I hate scaremongering threads. Yeah yeah yeah I could "hide the thread" bla bla

I do not think you would want to survive so maybe it does not matter.

China has no interested in nuking the UK. USA has no interest in nuking the UK.

North Korea is throwing its weight about and my guess is there are high level, shady meetings going on between James Bond types in Washington and Beijing about the best way of removing Kim Jong Un and replacing him with someone more stable.

There's hundreds of other threads on MN.... do you go on them and say 'stop this' if you personally don't like it??!

We had that conversation too - the US would need a mandate to take action. I reckon the current plan is "give 'em enough rope...".

LurkingHusband, I know, I went on the 2003 march. And to be honest, that was probably THE point where I realised how truly powerless we all are. Because such a gargantuan number of people protested against the Iraq war and we may as well not have bothered, for all the difference it made to policy.

Does anybody remember "Z for Zachariah". Even as a child I couldn't understand why the stream water wouldn't be contaminated.

If one single nuke is fired from anyone, the planet will go berserk. If no one fires back we will still see a collapse of economies like we have never, ever seen before.

.. do you go on them and say 'stop this' if you personally don't like it??!

No, and I haven't said "stop this" here either

Just as an aside, given that we are spunking billions into Trident (which could be better spend elsewhere) then surely it's not working ?

Most people here hardly feel any safer as a result ?

If the US does strike back with nuclear weapons I can't imagine the exchange lasting long.

It would probably take longer to redraw all the maps showing South Korea as an island.

notidiotproof didn't say you did? Didn't mention your name...