Ninety seconds to doomsday
New Zealand Listener|January 20 - 26 2024
New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stance at risk of compromise through our security partnerships must be upheld, says Russell Tregonning.
Ninety seconds to doomsday

We have lost our fear of nuclear weapons. But the board of the non-profit Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is alarmed. Its Doomsday Clock, which tracks man-made threats, states midnight is the time of the world’s apocalypse. In 1947, it was set at seven minutes to midnight. In January 2023, mainly because of the war in Ukraine, they reset it at 11/2 minutes.

More recently, more threats. In October, Russia simulated a nuclear strike and its parliament later rescinded ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In November, Israeli Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu said dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza was an option, and the US announced its new nuclear “gravity bomb” was 25 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. I was born in April 1945, four months before Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I grew up horrified by the death and suffering of Japanese civilians: about 220,000 died, half almost immediately, the rest slowly from radiation sickness, burns, injuries and malnutrition.

Denne historien er fra January 20 - 26 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra January 20 - 26 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA NEW ZEALAND LISTENERSe alt
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024