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Saudi Arabia getting the bomb is one of those ideas that keeps me awake on lonely nights. Not to mention the (rumoured?) agreement with Pakistan to ship a few of their own bombs over if things get hairy in the Gulf.I'd merely point out that Saudi Arabia is developing plans, and has reached bidding stage for a nuclear power generator. It has also not signed, and refuses to sign, the IAEA Safeguarding Protocol in which IAEA inspectors ensure that no fuel gets diverted.
I'm not sure what's worse. Being blown up because the computers have mistaken astronomical or meterological phenomena for nuclear launches, or being blown up because of shoddy work practices by an American telephone company.
I did find it fascinating to look into this; the fact that even though America in the 1950s-1970s period didn't actually have the nationalised industries one associates with the UK in the same period, in practice the Bell monopoly effectively functioned like a nationalised industry that just wasn't under the control of the Government. The stereotypical point of argument in debates about nationalisation on here has always been 'do you want to go back to everyone having the same beige BT phone', but in America in that era of private enterprise, everyone had the same black AT&T phone.The.
Those were the days when even the Department of Defense were at the mercy American Telephone and Telegraph. In the immortal words of Lily Tomlin on Saturday Night Live, “We don’t care. We don’t have to. We’re The Phone Company.”
AT&T’s monopoly wasn’t broken up into close to a dozen companies until 1982.
Of course, since 1982, those companies have consolidated into three which largely actually don’t compete with one another, so...
I might be wrong but I was under the impression that Dead Hand has been turned off by Yeltsin at some point and was only turned on again recently. Thinking about that it adds another worry to your “Impacts that never happened” article in regards to the Chelyabinsk impact. I’m not sure if Dead Hand was online at that point but no-one knows how reliant it is on seismographs
Wasn't that Mike Stewart who refused the order (although it wasn't strictly an order he'd been given, merely warning to make preparations for if/when the order came)?
I understand Blunt said that he would have refused the order, but Stewart was - AIUI - the chap who actually refused the notional order.
The fact that cooler heads prevailed every time it came down to the wire is something I think about often.
I did find it fascinating to look into this; the fact that even though America in the 1950s-1970s period didn't actually have the nationalised industries one associates with the UK in the same period, in practice the Bell monopoly effectively functioned like a nationalised industry that just wasn't under the control of the Government. The stereotypical point of argument in debates about nationalisation on here has always been 'do you want to go back to everyone having the same beige BT phone', but in America in that era of private enterprise, everyone had the same black AT&T phone.
This is also something I think about often but what about the reverse?
Battles/wars that COULD be avoid. A example that often props up in my head is the Second Battle of Copenhagen (1807).
The British attacked Denmark because they were concerned that the Danes would join France in the Napoleon Wars and thus lay Copenhagen under siege. This pre-emptive act led Denmark to join up with France.
If Britain didn't attack Denmark, then I would believe they would stay neutral as it is not in their interest in join either side.
I would like to read such an article about battles/wars that could be avoid if they kept their head cool
Obviously, such a series would have to include Chernobyl.If anyone wants to do a series of "That could have gone so much better... five disasters that shouldn't have happened", I'd happily run it.
Then there is the Khwarazmian 'let's kill the trade envoys, I'm sure nobody important will care' blunder.