How widespread would fallout from a nuclear bomb be?

[Emily]

https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.6658451
Long-Term Biological Consequences of Nuclear War
Paul R. Ehrlich John Harte Mark A. Harwell Peter H. Raven Carl Sagan George M. Woodwell Joseph Berry Edward S. Ayensu Anne H. Ehrlich[...]John M. Teal
Authors Info & Affiliations
Science • 23 Dec 1983 • Vol 222, Issue 4630 • pp. 1293-1300 • DOI: 10.1126/science.6658451

Abstract

Subfreezing temperatures, low light levels, and high doses of ionizing and ultraviolet radiation extending for many months after a large-scale nuclear war could destroy the biological support systems of civilization, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. Productivity in natural and agricultural ecosystems could be severely restricted for a year or more. Postwar survivors would face starvation as well as freezing conditions in the dark and be exposed to near-lethal doses of radiation. If, as now seems possible, the Southern Hemisphere were affected also, global disruption of the biosphere could ensue. In any event, there would be severe consequences, even in the areas not affected directly, because of the interdependence of the world economy. In either case the extinction of a large fraction of the Earth's animals, plants, and microorganisms seems possible. The population size of Homo sapiens conceivably could be reduced to prehistoric levels or below, and extinction of the human species itself cannot be excluded.

 

[Emily]

https://www.oregonlive.com/nation/2...t-russian-nuclear-attacks-new-poll-shows.html
Most Americans worried about Russian nuclear attacks, new poll shows
Published: Mar. 28, 2022, 10:55 a.m.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia’s war on Ukraine has most Americans at least somewhat worried that the U.S. will be drawn directly into the conflict and could be targeted with nuclear weapons, with a new poll reflecting a level of anxiety that has echoes of the Cold War era.

Close to half of Americans say they are very concerned that Russia would directly target the U.S. with nuclear weapons, and an additional 3 in 10 are somewhat concerned about that, according to the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Russian President Vladimir Putin placed his country’s nuclear forces on high alert shortly after the Feb. 24 invasion.

Roughly 9 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned that Putin might use a nuclear weapon against Ukraine, including about 6 in 10 who are very concerned...

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Emily]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/bus...-request-drugs-against-nuclear-threat-2608896
Medesis shares leap 75% on funding request for drugs against nuclear threat
05 Apr 2022 07:01PM (Updated: 05 Apr 2022 07:01PM)

French biotech company Medesis Pharma has requested defence funding to speed up the development of three drugs to treat nuclear contamination, it said on Tuesday (Apr 5), sending its shares up by as much as 75 per cent in early trading.

The surge in Medesis shares, which were up 53 per cent at 10.50am GMT (6.50pm Singapore time), triggered multiple trading halts from Euronext.

...
Medesis said it had requested funding from France's Defence Innovation Agency for three drugs "specifically intended for the treatment of large populations contaminated or irradiated after a civil or military nuclear accident"....
...

A nuclear explosion would generate a fireball and destructive shock blast, burns from light and heat radiation, and radioactive pollution that can be carried by winds across great distances and cause long-term cancers, it said.
...

Medesis' drug programmes seek to treat plutonium and caesium contamination, and prevent and treat respiratory and digestive inflammation caused by radiation.

They include a synthesised version of Prussian Blue which could be taken orally and stored at room temperature, and caesium medication that would be suitable for children....

 

[Emily]

German group examines WWIII/nuclear war risk in context. Video was banned on Facebook but reinstated after protests. Youtube still has it, but it's difficult to search for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtqFqeYWcNI

 

[Emily]

https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/01/...nato-vote-80-19-clinton-pleased-decision.html

SENATE APPROVES EXPANSION OF NATO BY VOTE OF 80 TO 19; CLINTON PLEASED BY DECISION
By Eric Schmitt May 1, 1998
...
But critics contend that expanding the pact will dilute NATO's self-defense mission, antagonize Russia, jeopardize several Russian-American arms-control negotiations and draw a new dividing line -- a new Iron Curtain -- across Europe.

''We'll be back on a hair-trigger,'' said Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a New York Democrat, warning that enlargement would rekindle a new cold war. ''We're talking about nuclear war.''

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Emily]

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/skeptics/ukraine-and-bomb-myths-and-misconceptions-201717
April 7, 2022
Ukraine and the Bomb: Myths and Misconceptions
Ukraine would not have been safer if it had remained a nuclear weapons state.

by Alexandra B. Hall
...

“People think that this idea of MAD, mutually assured destruction, works.” MAD relies on the theory that if one nuclear power uses nuclear weapons, another could use nuclear weapons in response, resulting in mutually assured destruction. The theory posits that this means no nuclear weapons state will ever use nuclear weapons first. However, “the fact is, we know that MAD actually doesn't work.”

What the Russo-Ukrainian War has shown us instead is that the leader of a nuclear weapons state is willing to threaten the use of nuclear weapons. Rublee cautions that “this is not the way that nuclear weapons theorists say it should happen … this is the real world. We're out of the world of theory, and out of the world of theories, nuclear weapons make us less safe.”...

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Emily]

https://www.globalresearch.ca/preem...lls-the-end-of-humanity-as-we-know-it/5772695
“Preemptive Nuclear War”: The Historic Battle for Peace and Democracy. A Third World War Threatens the Future of Humanity

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, April 30, 2022
...

Post Cold War Doctrine: “Preemptive Nuclear War”

The Doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) of the Cold War Era no longer prevails. It was replaced at the outset of the George W. Bush Administration with the Doctrine of Preemptive Nuclear War, namely the use of nuclear weapons as a means of “self-defense” against both nuclear and non-nuclear weapons states.

In early 2002, the text of George W. Bush’s Nuclear Posture Review had already been leaked, several months prior to the release of the September 2002 National Security Strategy (NSS) which defined, “Preemption” as:

“the anticipatory use of force in the face of an imminent attack”.

Namely as an act of war on the grounds of self-defense

The MAD doctrine was scrapped. The 2001 Nuclear Posture Review not only redefined the use of nuclear weapons, so-called tactical nuclear weapons or bunker buster bombs (mini-nukes) could henceforth be used in the conventional war theater without the authorization of the Commander in Chief, namely the President of the United States..

Seven countries were identified in the 2001 NPR (adopted in 2002) as potential targets for a preemptive nuclear attack

Discussing “requirements for nuclear strike capabilities,” the report lists Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, and Syria as “among the countries that could be involved in immediate, potential, or unexpected contingencies.” …

Three of these countries (Iraq, Libya and Syria) have since then been the object of US-led wars. The 2002 NPR also confirmed continued nuclear war preparations against China and Russia.

“The Bush review also indicates that the United States should be prepared to use nuclear weapons against China, citing “the combination of China’s still developing strategic objectives and its ongoing modernization of its nuclear and non-nuclear forces.”

“Finally, although the review repeats Bush administration assertions that Russia is no longer an enemy, it says the United States must be prepared for nuclear contingencies with Russia and notes that, if “U.S. relations with Russia significantly worsen in the future, the U.S. may need to revise its nuclear force levels and posture.” Ultimately, the review concludes that nuclear conflict with Russia is “plausible” but “not expected.” ( Arms Control) emphasis added.

Nuclear War against both China and Russia is contemplated

Russia is tagged as “Plausible” but “Not Expected”. That was back in 2002.

Today at the height of the Ukraine crisis, a Preemptive Nuclear attack against Russia is on the drawing of the Pentagon. That does not however mean that it will be implemented...

 

[Emily]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJKQu8bmwPs
Will the Invasion of Ukraine Lead to Nuclear War?
Apr 30, 2022

Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Join Dr. Ira Helfand and Dr. Michael Klare as they weigh in on the threat of nuclear war amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Learn about the historical, diplomatic, and political contexts of a potential nuclear war and the associated medical and humanitarian consequences. Find out how to get involved with the growing “Back from the Brink” movement in the United States and the larger international movement to abolish nuclear weapons. Audience Q&A is encouraged.

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Emily]

https://thebulletin.org/2020/12/do-tactical-nukes-break-international-law/

Do tactical nukes break international law?

By Jaroslav Krasny | December 31, 2020

 

[Emily]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/russi...dmitry-rogozin-is-going-totally-off-the-rails
Putin’s Nuke-Happy Space Man Is Going Totally Off the Rails
Russian space chief and hardcore Putin loyalist Dmitry Rogozin’s nuclear threats are getting more unhinged by the day.

Anna Nemtsova
Published Jun. 28, 2022 8:16PM ET

Russia’s top space official, Dmitry Rogozin, recited a well-known children’s poem in a YouTube video commemorating a national holiday last week. When he got to the line, “I love everybody around the world,” the clip took a dark turn, showing footage from the test launch of Russia’s nuke-capable Sarmat ballistic missile, nicknamed “Satan-2.”
...

“Russian propagandists often begin to believe what they say; there’s obviously something behind their constant threats,” Vasily Gatov, senior fellow at the USC Annenberg Center of Communication, told The Daily Beast. “But Rogozin often sounds like a charlatan. He is a classical Putin’s bureaucrat who is good at public relations and who shares murky imperialist ideas.”

But to those in Ukraine getting bombarded by Russian missiles, Rogozin’s Sarmat threats sound serious.

The founder and editor-in-chief of Ukraine’s Zaborona media outlet, Katerina Sergatskova, was sleeping peacefully at home with her husband and their two little children when the first Russian missiles struck Kyiv on Feb. 24. Sergatskova’s apartment block is on the left bank of the Dnieper River, which was attacked six times in the first day of the war.

“We seriously consider an attack by a Russian nuclear ballistic missile, that they would use it to improve their positions in high-stake negotiations,” she told The Daily Beast.

Earlier this month, nuclear talks came to a boiling point when Radoslaw Sikorski, a member of European Parliament, suggested the West “has a right to give Ukraine nuclear warheads.” Another Kremlin ideologist, the Chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, immediately promised Europe would “disappear” if they provided Ukraine with nuclear weapons. “Sikorski is provoking a nuclear conflict in the center of Europe. He neither thinks about the future of Ukraine nor about the future of Poland,” Volodin said.

KGB veteran Gudkov believes Putin has several bunkers to turn to in case of nuclear warfare. “When he says he has a plan, that plan must mean to be hiding 2,500 meters underground together with whomever he considers his closest men. The rest seem to be panicking. Nearly all Russian oligarchs have left the country,” Gudkov told The Daily Beast...

 

[Emily]

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/07/14/dozm-j14.html
Questions remain unanswered after New York City nuclear war alert
Clara Weiss @claraweiss_wsws
13 July 2022

Two days after the July 11 release of a public service announcement by New York City’s office of emergency management (OEM) for the case of a nuclear attack, there has been no serious explanation given for this extraordinary step taken by the administration of America’s largest city, which is home to almost 8.5 million people and the country’s financial center, Wall Street.
The 90 second long video, which has now been watched by over half a million people, was issued without any political explanation or context. In what appeared like a parody on the Cold War-era advice to children to “hide under your desk” in case a nuclear bomb is dropped, the video recommended the public to “get inside,” “shower with soap or shampoo,” and then “stay put” and check their “safety alerts” from the city for more information. To top it all, the presenter ended the video with a reassuring smile, stating, “You’ve got this.”
The utter irrationality of the content was almost as disturbing as the very fact of the release of the video itself. Of course, all of these recommendations would be worthless in case of an actual nuclear detonation, which would incinerate the city and surrounding area and turn much of the East Coast uninhabitable for generations...

 

[Emily]

See post #9 for more on this weapon.

https://americanmilitarynews.com/20...doomsday-submarine-armed-with-nuke-torpedoes/
Russia activates ‘doomsday’ submarine armed with nuke torpedoes

An advanced “doomsday” submarine capable of launching massive nuclear torpedoes entered service with the Russian Navy on Friday. The move comes after Russian figures have made repeated threats of nuclear war to opponents of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Russian state-owned TASS news agency reported Friday that shipbuilders at the Sevmash Shipyard had made the final delivery of the Project 09852 special-purpose submarine Belgorod to the Russian Navy. The Belgorod is a 508-foot-long modified version of the Soviet-designed Oscar-class submarine.

The Belgorod has been specially designed to carry and deploy up to six 80-foot long nuclear-armed weapons known as the Status-6 Oceanic Multipurpose System “Poseidon,” also known as Kanyon by NATO. The Poseidon weapons have been referred to both as nuclear torpedoes and as nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicles. According to U.S. Naval Institute News, the Poseidon torpedoes are estimated to carry 100 megaton nuclear warheads, which could be launched against enemy shorelines and detonate against enemy coastal cities or create tidal waves that flood vast swathes of land. The potential destructive power of the Poseidon torpedoes has earned the Belgorod a reputation as a “doomsday” vessel. TASS euphemistically referred repeatedly to the new submarine as a research vessel...

 

[Emily]

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252240/pope-francis-threat-of-nuclear-war-apostolic-nuncios
Pope Francis shares his concern about nuclear war risks in meeting with Vatican diplomats
By AC Wimmer
Rome Newsroom, Sep 8, 2022 / 11:00 am

...

But, unfortunately, he said, not only Europe but also the entire world is shaken by a “war of particular gravity.”
“It is a ‘piecemeal’ third world war, to which you bear witness in the places where you carry out your mission,” the pope told his representatives.

Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken of World War III during his pontificate.

In April, he wrote in an introduction to an Italian book that the world was moving toward World War III as if it were unavoidable, but that the war was not inevitable.

“When we allow ourselves to be devoured by this monster represented by war, when we allow this monster to raise its head and guide our actions, everyone loses, we destroy God’s creatures, we commit sacrilege and prepare a future of death for our children and grandchildren,” he wrote...

 

[Emily]

"But this desperation is very dangerous right now because they are losing again just south of Kharkov. And there are people in Washington talking about 'what else can we do?' There's actually talk about fighting and then winning a limited nuclear war, which, of course, is delusional. And we should have given up on that decades ago, but it's coming back in vogue."

Recorded September 9

 

[Emily]

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-general-limited-nuclear-war-russia-cant-be-ruled-out-2022-9
Ukraine's military chief says 'limited' nuclear war with Russia can't be ruled out, warning it could raise the prospect of World War 3

Jake Epstein and John Haltiwanger

• Ukrainian military officials said a "limited" nuclear war with Russia can't be ruled out.
• In an op-ed, they wrote that a nuclear conflict raises the possibility of World War III.
• Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shown it "neglects" the concept of global nuclear security, the officials wrote.

Ukraine's top military officials warned on Wednesday that that a "limited" nuclear war with Russia — which could potentially trigger World War III — can't be ruled out as fighting continues.

Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Lt. Gen. Mykhailo Zabrodskyi, who serves as the first deputy chair of the Ukrainian parliament's national security, defense, and intelligence committee, shared their thoughts on the six-month-long conflict in an op-ed published by the country's state news agency Ukrinform.

The duo wrote that one factor worth considering in Russia's approach to the war is the underlying threat of tactical nuclear weapons usage, arguing that Russia's unprovoked invasion has shown that it "neglects" the concept of global nuclear security, as has been demonstrated by its actions at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and around Chernobyl.

"It is hard to imagine that even nuclear strikes will allow Russia to break Ukraine's will to resist," Zaluzhnyi and Zabrodskyi wrote. "But the threat that will emerge for the whole of Europe cannot be ignored."

They cautioned that the "possibility of direct involvement of the world's leading powers in a 'limited' nuclear conflict, bringing closer the prospect of World War 3, cannot be completely ruled out either."...

 

[Emily]

A retired general and former national security adviser thinks Putin should be pushed to launch a small nuclear weapon against Ukraine. He thinks the world would condemn Putin, (rather than the US for pushing things that far). He thinks the risk of a greater nuclear exchange is worth it. (For whom?) Note the timing of the interview coincides with the discovery of the sabotage of Russia's Nord Stream pipelines.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6312879326112
America Reports
September 26, 2022 05:00