<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#f9f9fa">
<p> </p>
<div id="toolbar" class="toolbar-container"> </div>
<div class="container" style="--line-height: 1.6em;" dir="ltr"
lang="undefined">
<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"> <a
class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/07/12/rdep-j12.html">wsws.org</a>
<h1 class="reader-title">NYC Emergency Management Department
issues Public Service Announcement for nuclear attack</h1>
<div class="meta-data">
<div class="reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">4-5 minutes</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="content">
<div class="moz-reader-content reader-show-element">
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<div>
<p><em>This article was originally posted on </em><a
href="https://twitter.com/DavidNorthWSWS/status/1546903956411994112"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Twitter</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<p>The New York City Emergency Management Department has
posted a public service announcement advising residents
what they should do in the event of a nuclear attack.</p>
<div>
<p><img src="https://www.wsws.org/img/loading.gif"
class="moz-reader-block-img"></p>
<p>Loading Tweet ...</p>
</div>
<p>Incredibly, the video begins: “So there’s been a
nuclear attack. Don’t ask me how or why. Just know that
the big one has hit.” Then comes the advice: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>1) Get inside; 2) Stay inside, stay away from
windows, and shower if exposed to radioactive fallout;
3) Stay tuned. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Just think how many lives might have been saved if the
people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had taken these steps!
What the fantasists who created the video fail to
mention is that a hydrogen bomb strike would reduce most
of New York City to flaming rubble within seconds.</p>
<p>Tens of thousands of people would be instantly
vaporized. At least 80 percent of NYC residents would be
dead within minutes of the nuclear strike. All public
services would be dysfunctional. Most of those who
survived the initial blast would be dead within a few
days.</p>
<p>NYC and its environs would be uninhabitable for
decades. The scale of the resulting destruction is
beyond description. “Tsar Bomba”—a hydrogen bomb
detonated by the Soviet Union in a nuclear test 60 years
ago— produced devastation within a 60 mile radius.</p>
<p>An attack on NYC would be just part of a worldwide
nuclear exchange. According to a new study using
computer simulations by Louisiana State University, a
nuclear war would result in a global ice age leading to
the extinction of life on the planet.</p>
<p>Even worse than the delusional advice is the statement:
“Don’t ask me how or why.” But those are precisely the
questions that must be asked if a catastrophe is to be
stopped. The concise answer to “why?” is that the
reckless policies of Washington triggered a nuclear war.</p>
<p>The release of the public service message can only mean
that NYC officials, acting on information they have
received from Washington, believe that a nuclear war is
now a distinct and even imminent danger.</p>
<p>Rather than pulling back from the brink, Biden is
escalating the reckless war against Russia. The public
service announcement is in line with recent efforts by
the US government and media to downplay the consequences
of a nuclear war and portray it as a survivable event.</p>
<p>In a recently published book on the 1962 Cuban Missile
Crisis, historian Serhi Plokhy writes that a nuclear war
was averted, despite numerous blunders and
miscalculations, because American and Soviet leaders
recognized the catastrophic consequences. He writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Kennedy, Khrushchev, and their generation of world
leaders and the citizens of their countries came of
age in the shadow of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki…</p>
<p>That generation was keenly aware of the destruction
that atomic and especially hydrogen bombs could wreak
on their countries and humankind as a whole. Every
move of the two leaders ... was dictated by their fear
of the use of nuclear weapons... </p>
<p>There is little doubt that today there are world
leaders prepared to take a more cavalier attitude
toward nuclear weapons and nuclear war than Kennedy
and Khrushchev had in 1962. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is true. But the recklessness is not merely a
problem of the leaders’ psychology.</p>
<p>The conditions of intense capitalist crisis—producing a
sense among leaders that desperate measures are
necessary and unavoidable—result in actions that would
in “normal times” be rejected out of hand as “insane.”</p>
<p>The only effective and rational response to the insane
policies of the capitalist regimes is their overthrow by
the working class and the unification of humanity on a
progressive basis through socialism. The alternatives,
Rosa Luxemburg wrote, are “socialism or barbarism.” </p>
<p>Make the decision to stop war and fight for socialism!
Read the World Socialist Web Site! Join the<a
href="https://www.wsws.org/en/special/pages/sep/us/home.html">
Socialist Equality Party</a>! Build the Fourth
International as the World Party of Socialist
Revolution.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 7/14/22 11:23, RO wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:8d6bd63d-e5e4-1761-a6e7-173011167b24@gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<p> </p>
<div id="toolbar" class="toolbar-container"> </div>
<div class="container" style="--line-height: 1.6em;" dir="ltr"
lang="undefined">
<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"> <a
class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/07/14/dozm-j14.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">wsws.org</a>
<h1 class="reader-title">Questions remain unanswered after New
York City nuclear war alert</h1>
<div class="meta-data">
<div class="reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">8-10 minutes</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="content">
<div class="moz-reader-content reader-show-element">
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<div>
<p>Two days after the July 11 release of a public
service announcement by New York City’s office of
emergency management (OEM) for the case of a nuclear
attack, there has been no serious explanation given
for this extraordinary step taken by the
administration of America’s largest city, which is
home to almost 8.5 million people and the country’s
financial center, Wall Street.</p>
<p>The <a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-5d7V4Sbqk"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">90 second long video</a>,
which has now been watched by over half a million
people, was issued without any political explanation
or context. In what appeared like a parody on the Cold
War-era advice to children to “hide under your desk”
in case a nuclear bomb is dropped, the video
recommended the public to “get inside,” “shower with
soap or shampoo,” and then “stay put” and check their
“safety alerts” from the city for more information. To
top it all, the presenter ended the video with a
reassuring smile, stating, “You’ve got this.”</p>
<p>The utter irrationality of the content was almost as
disturbing as the very fact of the release of the
video itself. Of course, all of these recommendations
would be worthless in case of an actual nuclear
detonation, which would incinerate the city and
surrounding area and turn much of the East Coast
uninhabitable for generations.</p>
<p>A <a
href="https://thebulletin.org/2015/02/what-would-happen-if-an-800-kiloton-nuclear-warhead-detonated-above-midtown-manhattan/"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">2015 article</a> published by
the <em>Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists</em> noted
that Russia at the time had an estimated 700 strategic
nuclear warheads each with an explosive power of
800,000 tons of TNT that, if fired, could hit the US
within less than half an hour. If such a warhead
exploded over midtown Manhattan, it would create a
gigantic fireball which would “vaporize the structures
directly below it and produce an immense blast wave
and high-speed winds, crushing even heavily built
concrete structures within a couple miles of ground
zero. …Within tens of minutes, everything within
approximately five to seven miles of Midtown Manhattan
would be engulfed by a gigantic firestorm.”</p>
<p>The article continues to describe the apocalyptic
scenario as follows: “Those who tried to escape
through the streets would have been incinerated by the
hurricane-force winds filled with firebrands and
flames. Even those able to find shelter in the
lower-level sub-basements of massive buildings would
likely suffocate from fire-generated gases or be
cooked alive as their shelters heated to oven-like
conditions. The fire would extinguish all life and
destroy almost everything else. Tens of miles downwind
of the area of immediate destruction, radioactive
fallout would begin to arrive within a few hours of
the detonation.”</p>
<p>The response in the national and local media to the
public service announcement has been marked by extreme
complacency and indifference, with most outlets
limiting themselves to perfunctory reports. The <em>New
York Times</em>, which<a
href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/07/12/mwwn-j12.html"
moz-do-not-send="true"> just found that “people
around the world are better off than ever,”</a> has
not published a single article on it, as of this
writing.</p>
<p>By contrast, thousands took to social media to
express their shock and profound discomfort, with many
correctly asking, “is there something I should know
about?” Clearly, there is.</p>
<p>But no serious answer to this question has been given
by either New York City or White House officials. In a
press conference that was almost as bizarre as the
video itself, Democratic Mayor Eric Adams defended the
video, saying, “I don’t think it was alarmist. I’m a
big believer in better safe than sorry. I take my hat
off to OEM. This was right after the attacks in the
Ukraine, and OEM took a very proactive step to say
let’s be prepared. And it doesn’t mean just a nuclear
attack, it’s any natural disaster. Pack a bag. Know
where your medicines are located. These are just smart
things to do.”</p>
<p>Adams then insisted that the decision to publish this
video was made by his administration alone, stating,
“it was of my briefing, because when I saw it and
heard it, I thought it was a great idea. My
understanding is that it was really taking necessary
steps after what happened in Ukraine to give
preparedness.”</p>
<p>At a White House briefing on Wednesday, US National
Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also insisted that the
initiative had been taken by the city, without
coordination with the White House. His language,
however, was notably evasive. He said, “I do not
believe that it [the public service announcement] was
the result of any intelligence-sharing from the
federal government to New York City,” and added, “I
can’t speak as to why they put it out at this point.”</p>
<p>Workers cannot take these statements at face value.
The decision for the release was taken in the midst of
the biggest war ranging in Europe since 1945, in which
NATO is effectively fighting a proxy war in Ukraine
against Russia, the world’s second-largest nuclear
power.</p>
<p>Without any public declaration, much less public
discussion or democratic decision, the US has
effectively entered a military conflict with Russia.
While gutting funds to social and COVID spending, the
US government has funneled tens of billions of dollars
worth of weapons into the Ukrainian army, including
long-range missiles that can hit Russian territory,
assisting in military strikes on Russian targets and
engaging in one major provocation after another.</p>
<p>Although US President Joe Biden has repeatedly
ridiculed and dismissed warnings by Russian President
Vladimir Putin that the Kremlin is prepared to make
use of its nuclear arsenal, the <em>Wall Street
Journal</em> reported recently that since February,
there had been “a series of urgent meetings in the
administration to map out how Mr. Biden should respond
if Russia conducts a nuclear detonation in Ukraine or
around the Black Sea. Officials will not discuss the
classified results of those tabletop exercises.”</p>
<p>At its summit two weeks ago, NATO announced <a
href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/07/01/ftvp-j01.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">plans for “high-intensity …
warfighting against nuclear-armed peer-competitors,”</a>
an extraordinary announcement that, again, has been
almost entirely blacked out by the media.</p>
<p>It should also be noted that the head of New York
City’s Office of Emergency Management is Zach Iscol,
who was appointed by Adams on February 22, just days
before the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Iscol is a
representative of what the WSWS has termed the “<a
href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/03/07/dems-m07.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">CIA Democrats</a>”: former
intelligence and military personnel who are deeply
embedded in the US national security apparatus and
have come to play a major role in Democratic Party
politics.</p>
<p>Iscol is a former Marine who was involved in the
Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004, the single biggest
battle during the bloody, decades-long US occupation
of Iraq. The city, one of the oldest urban settlements
of human civilization, was turned into a sea of ruins
and has become a sinister symbol of the <a
href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/06/08/pers-j08.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">war crimes of US imperialism</a>
against the people of Iraq. In 2020, Iscol
unsuccessfully ran for the office of mayor, pledging
to “translate” his experience during the battle of
Fallujah to New York City — a threat that must no
doubt be taken seriously.</p>
<p>While the immediate background behind the issuing of
this video remains to be clarified, it confirms the
warnings by the WSWS about the very real threat of
nuclear war. Writing in April this year, the WSWS
warned that “<a
href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/04/09/pers-a09.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">Capitalism is normalizing
mass death</a>,” first from the pandemic, and now
from a war, including one fought with nuclear weapons.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The total devaluation of human life, the
indifference to mass death in the pandemic and the
recklessness with which American capitalism is
rushing into conflict with Russia reflect the views
and social character of the American ruling class.
This parasitic oligarchy feasts upon the
impoverishment and exploitation of the working
population.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Living on financial speculation made possible by a
credit bubble inflated by the Federal Reserve,
fearing and hating the working population of America
and the world, the American ruling class is as
desperate and reckless as it is ruthless. The
central question is what will develop more quickly:
the war drive of the capitalist oligarchy or the
growing global rebellion of the working class.</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 7/14/22 11:17, RO wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:443f8dd4-54f0-ecb9-08cc-9ecec1409cbd@gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
charset=UTF-8">
<address><span class="news-header__date-date"><span
data-ng-if="visibleDate" class="ng-binding ng-scope"><a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://tass.com/politics/1478711"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://tass.com/politics/1478711</a></span></span></address>
<p><span class="news-header__date-date"><span
data-ng-if="visibleDate" class="ng-binding ng-scope"><br>
</span></span></p>
<p><span class="news-header__date-date"><span
data-ng-if="visibleDate" class="ng-binding ng-scope">12
Jul, 11:32</span></span></p>
<h1 class="news-header__title">US, allies teetering on brink of
military confrontation with Moscow, says diplomat </h1>
<div class="news-header__lead">Maria Zakharova also slammed
Japan’s attempts to paint Russia as a country that made
nuclear threats</div>
<div class="text-content">
<div class="text-block">
<p>MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. The United States and its allies
are teetering on the brink of an open military conflict
with Moscow, which would be fraught with nuclear tensions,
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said
in a statement on Tuesday.</p>
<p>"After provoking an escalation of the Ukrainian crisis
and unleashing a violent hybrid confrontation with Russia,
Washington and its allies are dangerously teetering on the
brink of an open military confrontation with our country,
which means a direct armed conflict between nuclear
powers. Clearly, such a confrontation would be fraught
with nuclear escalation," the statement reads.</p>
<p>Zakharova also slammed Japan’s attempts to paint Russia
as a country that made nuclear threats. "It is
unacceptable to try to distort the logic of deterrence,
which is what Russia’s official statements on nuclear
issues are based on, for propaganda reasons, as well as to
depict us as a country threatening to use nuclear
weapons," she stressed.</p>
<p>The Russian diplomat added that the tone and focus of
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s remarks on the
nuclear weapons issue were perplexing. "We have taken note
of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent
anti-Russian remarks, including his controversial
statements on the nuclear weapons issue. Their focus and
tone are puzzling. In particular, in order to justify the
move to choose Hiroshima as the host city of a G7 summit,
a remark was made that there was no better alternative to
the city in a situation where "Russia’s use of nuclear
weapons and nuclear threats are becoming a reality’," the
statement added.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 7/14/22 11:13, RO wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:9822d9b6-0e33-d937-8269-86d045d04583@gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
charset=UTF-8">
<address><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.frontnieuws.com/rood-alert-nyc-biedt-inwoners-suicidaal-advies-over-atoomaanval-terwijl-de-vs-poetin-pusht-tot-een-first-strike-nucleaire-aanval-op-meerdere-steden-om-amerika-te-vernietigen/"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.frontnieuws.com/rood-alert-nyc-biedt-inwoners-suicidaal-advies-over-atoomaanval-terwijl-de-vs-poetin-pusht-tot-een-first-strike-nucleaire-aanval-op-meerdere-steden-om-amerika-te-vernietigen/</a><br>
<br>
</address>
<div class="td-module-meta-info"> <span class="td-post-date"><time
class="entry-date updated td-module-date"
datetime="2022-07-14T07:42:50+00:00"><font
style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font
style="vertical-align: inherit;">July 14, 2022</font></font></time></span>
<div class="td-post-views"><span class="td-nr-views-61436"><font
style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font
style="vertical-align: inherit;">2046</font></font></span></div>
<div class="td-post-comments"><a
href="https://www.frontnieuws.com/rood-alert-nyc-biedt-inwoners-suicidaal-advies-over-atoomaanval-terwijl-de-vs-poetin-pusht-tot-een-first-strike-nucleaire-aanval-op-meerdere-steden-om-amerika-te-vernietigen/#comments"
moz-do-not-send="true"><font style="vertical-align:
inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">5</font></font></a></div>
</div>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 7/14/22 07:04, RO wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:ed193c24-9acf-ff0f-2512-4f8375bc5cdb@gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
charset=UTF-8">
<address><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.norad.mil/Newsroom/Article/2857439/norad-is-ready-to-track-santas-flight-for-the-66th-year/"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.norad.mil/Newsroom/Article/2857439/norad-is-ready-to-track-santas-flight-for-the-66th-year/</a></address>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 7/14/22 06:56, RO wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:5a91d0d7-4e4e-56df-5d7a-5c1d2c552252@gmail.com">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">CollectAMexilioPubem
JD delta 159
</pre>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</body>
</html>