Ukraine - somebody explain to me

[Jeff Lebowski]

I don't remember any drills or talk in school about nukes.

You missed out. We had songs and everything.

[beefytee]

I was in elementary school when Red Dawn came out. That was the movie that made the cold war a big deal to me.

[Moliere]

I was in elementary school when Red Dawn came out. That was the movie that made the cold war a big deal to me.

You guys are soooo old. I barely remember hearing about the Berlin Wall falling. I was probably around 10.

At least a war would push up oil prices

[Bo Diddley]

They say memories are the first to go.

Guilty as charged!

[beefytee]

You guys are soooo old. I barely remember hearing about the Berlin Wall falling. I was probably around 10.

At least a war would push up oil prices

You sound like my wife. I'm a year and a half older than her.

[USUC]

You sound like my wife. I'm a year and a half older than her.

My wife was 9 when the Berlin Wall fell. She remembers the nuclear drills. But Nellis Air Force Base was close by so maybe they did it there at a higher frequency. I definitely remember a drill in 1984 because in the same room I tripped and stabbed myself with scissors.

[Pelado]

You guys are soooo old. I barely remember hearing about the Berlin Wall falling. I was probably around 10.

At least a war would push up oil prices

November 9, 1989. I was 13.

Drills in school - earthquake, yes; nuclear, no.

[Bo Diddley]

November 9, 1989. I was 13.

Drills in school - earthquake, yes; nuclear, no.

Yes, I remember earthquake drills in school.

[PaloAltoCougar]

You guys are soooo old. I barely remember hearing about the Berlin Wall falling. I was probably around 10.

At least a war would push up oil prices

You want old? I'll give you old... I was fascinated, afraid, and weirdly excited throughout the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was only 10 but was really into the possibility of WWIII, and sent away for plans to build a fallout shelter for our backyard. My dad was a general contractor and he humored me by going over the plans with me, but we never followed through. I read Alas, Babylon, a great book about nuclear war, and loved Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove (both of which were released a year or so after the Crisis. I was convinced we were headed toward a thermonuclear war (as were several members of JFK's cabinet). Fortunately, Mutual Assured Destruction kept us safe, and I think it always will, but I'm not discounting the risk of a terrorist organization with a single bomb.

[Pelado]

You want old? I'll give you old... I was fascinated, afraid, and weirdly excited throughout the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was only 10 but was really into the possibility of WWIII, and sent away for plans to build a fallout shelter for our backyard. My dad was a general contractor and he humored me by going over the plans with me, but we never followed through. I read Alas, Babylon, a great book about nuclear war, and loved Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove (both of which were released a year or so after the Crisis. I was convinced we were headed toward a thermonuclear war (as were several members of JFK's cabinet). Fortunately, Mutual Assured Destruction kept us safe, and I think it always will, but I'm not discounting the risk of a terrorist organization with a single bomb.

What if the terrorists get a married bomb? That could be even more explosive.

[myboynoah]

You want old? I'll give you old... I was fascinated, afraid, and weirdly excited throughout the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was only 10 but was really into the possibility of WWIII, and sent away for plans to build a fallout shelter for our backyard. My dad was a general contractor and he humored me by going over the plans with me, but we never followed through. I read Alas, Babylon, a great book about nuclear war, and loved Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove (both of which were released a year or so after the Crisis. I was convinced we were headed toward a thermonuclear war (as were several members of JFK's cabinet). Fortunately, Mutual Assured Destruction kept us safe, and I think it always will, but I'm not discounting the risk of a terrorist organization with a single bomb.

Don't remember the missle crisis (a little too young), but everything else rings true. Read Alas Babylon (it became my bible for post-apocalypse survival, like the dietary need for salt), have the image of Slim Pickens riding that bomb etched in my mind, and fantisized about how to fashion a makeshift fallout shelter (understanding that we would only have about a 30-minute warning) based on pamphlets my parents had around the house. My plan was that we would retreat to the basement and then fill in the stairwell with dirt, hoping that would be sufficient to keep the radiation from getting to us. A heavy burden for a 12-14 year-old.

[Bo Diddley]

You guys remind me of Billy Joel's song Leningrad. I really missed it.

[Pelado]

You guys remind me of Billy Joel's song Leningrad. I really missed it.

Blast them yellow Reds to hell!

[PaloAltoCougar]

Don't remember the missle crisis (a little too young), but everything else rings true. Read Alas Babylon (it became my bible for post-apocalypse survival, like the dietary need for salt), have the image of Slim Pickens riding that bomb etched in my mind, and fantisized about how to fashion a makeshift fallout shelter (understanding that we would only have about a 30-minute warning) based on pamphlets my parents had around the house. My plan was that we would retreat to the basement and then fill in the stairwell with dirt, hoping that would be sufficient to keep the radiation from getting to us. A heavy burden for a 12-14 year-old.

Weird that one would even want to survive a major attack, if one were living anywhere near a primary target. Between Livermore Labs, Sandia, and Silicon Valley, I read that this would be the number one civilian target if things went nuclear. Rather than hope to emerge weeks later into a desolate wasteland, I think I'd prefer to settle back into a recliner in my backyard, sipping a cool beverage, and enjoy, however briefly, the fireball.

Or perhaps, this (that's me with another board member):

[BlueK]

His problem is that the western half of the country are Ukrainian nationalists and hate Russia. It would be unmanageable for him. I don't think he would be that dumb.

I think he is that "dumb." He comes from a cold war past when the Soviet Union exerted strong influence over multiple countries where the people weren't fond of Russia. He wants Ukraine to go back to having an authoritarian government that leans toward Russia.The management of it would be through a puppet government. In his way of thinking, a democratic Ukraine that aligns with the west is a horrific nightmare probably worth starting a war over.