No nukes! And no dictators!
Is it fair or safe that one man could bring about the end of the world as we know it, with many of us dying quick or slow deaths?
That is what we have made possible by developing nuclear technology. And it was so unnecessary - we could have developed cleaner energy and reduced our energy costs by building better-insulated homes long ago.
No dictators
The Kremlin has warned that it will fire nuclear missiles at London, Washington, Berlin and Kyiv if it loses the land that it claims.
This is what we risk if we develop nuclear weapons and allow psychopathic dictators to take control.
Britain does not have a psychopathic dictator but it does have a psychopathic party in control.
The U.S. does not have a psychopathic dictator but it does have Donald Trump trying to become one and his followers.
No nuclear energy
I warned about the many dangers of nuclear before, including the vulnerability of the nuclear plant at Zaphorizhzhia in Ukraine. Now the risk of that plant has increased again, as it has lost connection to its last backup power line.
No nuclear weapons
Britain has invested a lot of its security in nuclear, and even Putin thinks that is silly of us.
There are rumours that Putin is aiming to put nuclear-powered satellites in space, where they could destroy other satellites, devastating the modern communications upon which civilians and armies rely. Experts say that is unlikely, though.
The U.S. has done some updating of its nuclear missiles - they no longer need floppy disks, for example, but there is always the dilemma of whether to upgrade them or scrap them. It is currently planning on sending some to Britain.
Winning World War III on the cheap
Russia and the West have long been engaged in a power struggle. For many years there was the cold war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and their allies. Now Putin, already a dictator, wants to expand his empire until it is as big as Catherine the Great's. And, like her, he is not doing it all by sending out armies.
Putin has spent a lot of money on Russian agents and on troll farms, but this amount pales into insignificance compared to the cost of maintaining an army at war. And the amount spent by countries helping Ukraine to use up Putin's army is far less than it would cost them to fight World War III against him.
After paying Paul Manafort to help put Viktor Yanukovych in power in Ukraine, Russia then financed him to run Trump's campaign. Manafort gave Russia secret polling data which enabled Russian trolls to precisely target their interference in the American election of 2016, helping their man Trump to win.
Trump has been a Russian asset for over 40 years. Russia saved his business. In return, Trump has instructed speaker Mike Johnson to block any aid to Ukraine, and has said that if he becomes president again, he’d let Russia do ‘whatever the hell they want’ to NATO countries that he thinks are not pulling their weight (lawmakers scrambled to ensure he cannot unilaterally leave NATO).
Putin has also sown debilitating chaos in Europe. He interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum, weakening both Europe and Britain.
In other nuclear news
In other news, France had to shut down two nuclear reactors after a fire on site.
And don't forget, there are still nuclear bombs missing, nobody knows where. One that was found had nearly gone off.
Britain is planning on expanding its nuclear power.
The Sellafield nuclear site has been hacked by Russian and Chinese groups. It also has a leak. Even the energy secretary of the pro-nuclear Tory Party is concerned.
Nuclear waste has contributed to six of nine planetary boundaries having been crossed.
Japan's Fukushima plant has had a radioactive water leak.
America has a brand new nuclear plant.
In other dictatorial news
Putin has continued to have his opponents assassinated, including Alexei Navalny and Maksim Kuzminov, who defected to Ukraine in his military helicopter and moved to Spain. There has also been a rise in sub-lethal attacks on politicians around the world, fueled in part by division sowed by Russia online.
El Salvador’s dictator has claimed re-election despite consecutive terms being against the constitution.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is continuing to kill innocent Palestinians and plans to retain control of their land.
What can we do?
Ban new nuclear power and weapons, develop and increase cleaner and safer alternatives, and do not join the cult of or vote for any overweaning 'leader'.
Thank you for another very informative article
It is stressful to be a citizen anywhere today. The US probably grabs first prize for sheer lunacy and stupidity. And it is of great benefit for Putin to put extra effort into stoking the ego of his trumpanzee. Trolling & media buyouts by the right help pile on distractions and lies that are easily sold to the gullible.
I was unaware of the new nuclear plant in Georgia…what could possibly go wrong!?🙄
Trump audaciously compared himself to Navalny. Let’s hope the only comparison we will be able to make are two dead bodies. Trump is an existential threat.
We have been dangerously overwhelmed with authoritarian fascist policies and religious/nationalist intrusion into a secular government.
There are small signs of implosion within the US republican fascist party. The take over by the right is even scarier when there is access to nuclear weapons.
We need a system outside of the unregulated Capitalism that we have today.
So much to undo!