« on: September 02, 2014, 07:14:23 PM »
I don't know if this was ever posted here, but I figured that if it was, it deserved to be posted again. On this day, I was a sophomore at my university, probably going back to classes after the weekend(it was a Monday).
Stanislav Petrov: The man who may have saved the world
By Pavel Aksenov
BBC Russian
Stanislav Petrov: ''I knew perfectly well that nobody would be able to correct my mistake if I had made one''
Thirty years ago, on 26 September 1983, the world was saved from potential nuclear disaster.
In the early hours of the morning, the Soviet Union's early-warning systems detected an incoming missile strike from the United States. Computer readouts suggested several missiles had been launched. The protocol for the Soviet military would have been to retaliate with a nuclear attack of its own.
But duty officer Stanislav Petrov - whose job it was to register apparent enemy missile launches - decided not to report them to his superiors, and instead dismissed them as a false alarm.
This was a breach of his instructions, a dereliction of duty. The safe thing to do would have been to pass the responsibility on, to refer up.
But his decision may have saved the world.
Nice to know, eh?
The rest is here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24280831
Logged
"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
"All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don't sit looking at it - walk!" -Ayn Rand
"Those that trust God with their safety must yet use proper means for their safety, otherwise they tempt Him, and do not trust Him. God will provide, but so must we also." - Matthew Henry, Commentary on 2 Chronicles 32, from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
"These anti-gun fools are more dangerous to liberty than street criminals or foreign spies."--Theodore Haas, Dachau Survivor
Chase her.
Chase her even when she's yours.
That's the only way you'll be assured to never lose her.
