>Tom
>
>That all sounds perfectly depressing!
>
>Despite the terrorist horrors, IMHO matters are nevertheless better than at the height of the Cold War when so many of us lived in fear of a nuclear holocaust. Kennedy facing down USSR over Cuba risked everything.
>
>Regards
>
>JR

John;

Some how I am not greatly relieved or reassured that some fine person will not press a button and the Earth will vanish. Perhaps I saw too much while in the Air Force. It reminds me of a time bomb that has numerous activation devices attached to it. We do not know all the initiation points or where they are terminated. We do have the potential for catastrophe but would rather rely upon the good will of mankind to relieve us of such thoughts. Then we think of individuals whom I will not mention, who are in charge of such matters or people we do not even know.

I think my problem is that I do not trust the ability of mankind to prevent destroying the planet. What appears to be an absurdity, destroying the world that is, may be perfectly rational to some other person. It may not take a political or military leader to “push the button”. Just take the abilities of a James Bond like character with the mentality of an escaped mental patient and you have the right combination for disaster. Potentially, I think such individuals exist all over the planet. It is just a matter of circumstance and timing before we all go up in smoke.

I normally do not think about such things and it took ten years after getting out of the Air Force before I could sleep at night. Recently some old thoughts have kept me awake at night. It is better to think of those things I have control over and not ponder such matters as these. I have to rely upon chance and experts to control such situations.

Perhaps I had better do something like define my Christmas list. That is not as heavy as the above topic! :)

Tom