I made some excellent decisions decades ago with intent. But this one does not fall into that category:
I inadvertently moved into a nuclear war evacuation zone. It’s not just about moving out of the city. You can do that simply by living in a suburb. Nope. Genuine evac zone living means you’re in a very low population density region FAR from any city.
So when Putin nukes NYC, which today appears more likely than it has been for an eternity, I’m unlikely to see the flash or be aware right away. And thank goodness for the prevailing westerlies. But as one living in “the hills”, I do have concern about all the city and suburban folk who will be “heading for the hills”. Knowing their proclivities and lawless tendencies, maybe it is time to arm up still more.
But back to Putin. When Biden called him a “butcher” I suspect it did not go over well. And of course Biden’s inevitable backtracking did not really offer old Pooty Poot much salve. He still must be steaming. So will the steam coming out of his ears translate into ICBMs coming out of those Russian silos? It’s anyone’s guess. But wait!:
I thought it was Trump who was the guy who’d lead us into a nuclear conflict. No? Biden was the safe choice. Right?
Time to re-evaluate.
ETA
I’m adding this for other old timers who, like myself, might not have kept up:
The DEW line went out of existence in 1993. Years ago I actually had a fellow working for me, an Englishman, who had served up there. The DEW line was a joint effort of the USAF and the RCAF. It was part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
It’s all gone now. I assume our early warning systems are today satellite based. But doesn’t Putin have “killer” satellites to take our surveillance satellites out? And with his hypersonic missile capability any warning likely will not be sufficiently timely to save many folks.
ETA
Lest anyone view the above as hyperbole, here is some information for you straight from NORAD itself:
North America has few options to defend against Russian and Chinese hypersonic weapons, which can manoeuvre while travelling more than five times the speed of sound. Potentially capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the U.S. is still trying to develop a similar arsenal.
“Hypersonic weapons are extremely difficult to detect and counter given these weapons’ speed, maneuverability, low flight paths, and unpredictable trajectories,” NORAD commander Gen. Glen VanHerck told CTVNews.ca. “Hypersonic weapons challenge NORAD’s ability to provide threat warning and attack assessments for Canada and the United States.”
Short for North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD was formed by the U.S. and Canada during the height of the Cold War to protect the continent from aerial attack. Now, more than 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to renewed calls to upgrade and modernize the binational defence group so it can respond to new threats like hypersonic weapons.
“There is currently no policy directing NORAD to defend North America against hypersonic weapons,” VanHerck said in a written response to questions from CTV News.
The American Air Force general shared the same message with defence officials in Ottawa on Nov. 29, and with the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services on March 8.
“I cannot defend, nor am I tasked to defend, against a hypersonic glide vehicle attack,” his prepared statement for the committee read.
‘WE CAN’T TRACK THEM AND WE CAN’T KILL THEM’
Oh, swell. And Biden is in Europe, openly calling the guy who controls these weapons a “butcher”.
It actually gets worse. Read the rest of the bad news here.