It isn't easy to destroy a species, but we're giving it our best shot.
It would be enough to make one laugh were it not so tragic.…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
There Are Two Paths To Ultimate Destruction, And We Are Speeding Down Both Of Them - Comments Page 2
Article comments
26 - Dave Nalle
I guess I can agree with you on that, Richard. It certainly isn't a good thing when any special interest, be it socialists, unions or corporations develops a powerful voice in government out of proportion to its reasonable interests.
Dave
27 - Mr. Real Estate
Anything that becomes too large and unaccountable, regardless of whether it is government or corporate, can become a threat to the well-being of human kind. Examples for both include Enron and the government of China.
28 - Jamie Stern-Weiner
"You talk about the US almost triggering a nuclear war during the Cuban crisis, but that was the Soviets' doing. They built nuclear launch facilities in Cuba (which is not on the Russian border, incidentally)."
Well, firstly it does not really matter whether it was the Soviet's 'doing' or the US' - the point is that the fact that the world was whisker-close to nuclear war should have been a clear signal that nuclear weapons should be outlawed. It would have been much easier then, since only two states had gone nuclear - but obviously the political situation did not facilitate it.
But anyway it is too simplistic to say it was the Soviet's doing or the US' doing. It was the US' doing in the sense that its programme of expansionism is what got it into conflict with the Soviets in the first place. Obviously, the Soviets too were also jockying for influence. The point is that this expansionism (by anyone) makes for instability, and with nuclear weapons this instability can have terrible consequences.
In fact, if the world was nuke-free, had a powerful UN and had great powers that did not embark on imperialism or expansionism, the world would be much safer. The prerequisite for all the above is that the great, nuclear powers have to be committed to this system. The UN can't be powerful without the support of the great powers, and 'nuclear disarmament' is currently ridiculous since no-one who matters is taking it seriously.
As to how one would go about outlawing nuclear weapons. Well, the first and most obvious step would be for everyone to honour the terms of the NPT. The enxt would be for everyone (or atleast the big powers) to sign the FissBan treaty. Hans Blix and his WMD commission include a whole section on the practicalities of how disarmament can be realised. I don't have the exact link to the document, but I'm pretty sure you can find it on cfr.org and then 'Essential Documents'.