The man who saved millions of lives

Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov is a retired Russian Strategic Rocket Forces lieutenant colonel who, on September 26, 1983, potentially avoided a nuclear attack on the USA. Assuming that reports of incoming U.S. nuclear missiles from the satellites were in error, Petrov deliberately certified what otherwise appeared to be an impending nuclear attack as a false alarm, and some question exists as to whether he then reported what appeared to be a US attack. The computer reports were later confirmed to have been in error. Because of military secrecy and international policy, Petrov's actions were kept secret until 1998.
This incident is one of several high-risk decisions that were made by strategic nuclear forces over the years of the Cold War, often at the last minute, by administrative personnel far from the chain of command.

More here and here.

So let's hope the the human will never be fully taken out of the decision loop when it comes to using weapons like these!

The real price of freedom

“THEY hate our freedoms.” So said George Bush in a speech to the American Congress shortly after the attacks on America in September 2001. But how well, at home, have America and the other Western democracies defended those precious freedoms during the “war on terror”?

View the whole article here.

Education against AIDS

“Abstinence only” education does not slow the spread of AIDS, according to a new study (here).

And anyone with half a functioning brain cell knows that!
How can you tell hormone laden kids to stay off each other and expect them to follow what you say? Mother Nature is strong, since it is the whole point to reproduce!

So George Bush's personal anti-AIDS initiative ($1 billion is reserved for groups that intend to fight AIDS without mentioning condoms) is borderline criminal. Well, the Church's position on (not) using condoms is as bad, and possibly even worse.