Would Trump press the button?

[copehead]

Not too happy abut this. Right in the middle of 4 thermal radiation radiuses.

Brixworth is walking a mighty fine line, there...

I am pretty sure that is a bullshit map, why would you drop a bomb on Norwich rather than Mildenhall?

All they've done is assume that the major urban areas would be targets rather than the most important military targets, I'm pretty sure RAF Valley on Anglesey would be further up the target list than Norwich or Liverpool.

My Maternal grandfather was on the way to Japan when the atomic bombs were dropped and he was delighted.

Because they were actually in the process of building up forces for the invasion of japan and he was towing part of a Mulberry harbour there.

And considering history shows that the Military in Japan didn't want to surrender after Hiroshima and were still reluctant to surrender after Nagasaki and only did so because ordered to by the Emperor I think those suggesting that surrender was inevitable are stretching the available evidence extremely thinly.

I think I would have taken the same decision as Truman, it seemed like the fastest and least costly, in terms of humanity, way forward to him and it still does to me, despite the fact that I would cancel Britain's Trident program in an instant.

[naughty boy]

Not too happy abut this. Right in the middle of 4 thermal radiation radiuses.

Brixworth is walking a mighty fine line, there...

I am pretty sure that is a bullshit map, why would you drop a bomb on Norwich rather than Mildenhall?

All they've done is assume that the major urban areas would be targets rather than the most important military targets, I'm pretty sure RAF Valley on Anglesey would be further up the target list than Norwich or Liverpool.

My Maternal grandfather was on the way to Japan when the atomic bombs were dropped and he was delighted.

Because they were actually in the process of building up forces for the invasion of japan and he was towing part of a Mulberry harbour there.

And considering history shows that the Military in Japan didn't want to surrender after Hiroshima and were still reluctant to surrender after Nagasaki and only did so because ordered to by the Emperor I think those suggesting that surrender was inevitable are stretching the available evidence extremely thinly.

I think I would have taken the same decision as Truman, it seemed like the fastest and least costly, in terms of humanity, way forward to him and it still does to me, despite the fact that I would cancel Britain's Trident program in an instant.

[The Prof]

I am pretty sure that is a bullshit map

I'm sure it is. It's just the 20 biggest cities in mainland UK.

[Diamond Dog]

Morally I really struggle between the two camps as regards Hiroshima. But Nagasaki was morally wrong. Its main justification was to test a different detonation device to the Hiroshima bomb, as admitted afterwards by a great many of those directly involved.

[Goat Boy]

I'm sure most of us struggle morally and of course we know the consequences and impact of all this.

Has anybody read Five Days In August by Michael Gordin?

Most Americans believe that the Second World War ended because the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan forced it to surrender. Five Days in August boldly presents a different interpretation: that the military did not clearly understand the atomic bomb's revolutionary strategic potential, that the Allies were almost as stunned by the surrender as the Japanese were by the attack, and that not only had experts planned and fully anticipated the need for a third bomb, they were skeptical about whether the atomic bomb would work at all. With these ideas, Michael Gordin reorients the historical and contemporary conversation about the A-bomb and World War II.

Five Days in August explores these and countless other legacies of the atomic bomb in a glaring new light. Daring and iconoclastic, it will result in far-reaching discussions about the significance of the A-bomb, about World War II, and about the moral issues they have spawned.

[Your Friendly Neighbourhood Postman]

Copehead wrote:

I am pretty sure that is a bullshit map, why would you drop a bomb on Norwich rather than Mildenhall?

Sorry, in spite of all the dangers and absurdities, I had a jolly good laugh about this Pythonesque question!

[The Prof]

There's a big RAF base at Mildenhall and it used to be used to house an American Airbase too.

[kath]

I find Trump's first attempt at poetry not bad; '...will be met with fire and fury...' sounds good. Alliterative, and hints of Shakespeare and Faulkner in there too.

speaking of which... he's gone from "fire and fury" to "locked and loaded".

hints of john wayne and yosemite sam?

[andymacandy]

I am pretty sure that is a bullshit map

I'm sure it is. It's just the 20 biggest cities in mainland UK.

I imagine that Faslane and the Vickers yard in Barrow might get a bit warm too.

[Your Friendly Neighbourhood Postman]

I find Trump's first attempt at poetry not bad; '...will be met with fire and fury...' sounds good. Alliterative, and hints of Shakespeare and Faulkner in there too.

speaking of which... he's gone from "fire and fury" to "locked and loaded".

hints of john wayne and yosemite sam?

Amazing... what a genius!

[Tactful Cactus]

speaking of which... he's gone from "fire and fury" to "locked and loaded".

Stage 3 of the offensive: move on Kim like a bitch

[bobzilla77]

It's cute that people are thinking about historical precedent in regards to all this. You're certainly showing more intellectual involvement than our President.

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/03/trump-asks-why-us-cant-use-nukes-msnbcs-joe-scarborough-reports.html

We know Trump doesn't like to be told what he can and can't do. If the first answer to "why don't we use them" was unconvincing, I doubt he was paying attention by the time his question was answered for the third time.

I guess one thing that leaves me on the fence, how does Trump personally profit in a situation of nuclear destruction? How does he turn that into a money maker?

I haven't worked that out yet. Lots of American people dying, means lowering the tax burden for their healthcare and welfare subsidies, but it may also dampen productivity. But real estate could probably be purchased very cheaply by anyone left alive who had a lot of money.

I think we'd have to look at some scenarios to figure out where the win-win situation is located. But we may get there.

[Sneelock]

I've been seeing & hearing a lot of Reuters and AP articles that pretty much have Trump's back. "Tough Talk" the writer's reason. might just be what we need with North Korea.

Me, hearing The President of the United States use the phrase "locked and loaded" makes me want to start drinking early in the day.
I don't think this ass-wipe's arrogant hubris is "tough talk" anymore than telling McConnell he should quit or implying McMasters is a pussy is tough talk. the man is a D-I-C-K: DICK. straight up. lord help us all.

[The Prof]

I how does Trump personally profit in a situation of nuclear destruction?

War's always good for business and chances of re-elaction.

[clive gash]

He's had a good life, time to ensure a chapter in the history books.

[Sneelock]

Can't you just see him in his golf cart with a HAZMAT suit?

[bobzilla77]

Imagine the adjectives he will use to describe the bomb we drop on them. It'll make the chocolate cake at Mar A Lago sound like dogshit by comparison.

[Belle Lettre]

[Count Machuki]

Damn look at these poll results!

[Jimbo]

Well, I woke up and the world is still here.

One day at a time. One day at a time. One day at a time.