A fresh study on the global impact of a nuclear war has concluded that any conflict would plunge the world into darkness, cause temperatures to plummet and wipe out much of the world’s sea life.
Researchers at Louisiana State University ran multiple computer simulations to assess the impact of global and regional nuclear conflicts on the world’s oceans. They found that in all scenarios, firestorms would release soot and smoke into the upper atmosphere, blocking out the sun and forcing temperatures to fall by an average 13 degrees Fahrenheit in the first month.
That, in turn, would cause ocean temperatures to fall and sea ice to expand by more than six million square miles, blocking major ports including China’s Tianjin, Copenhagen and St. Petersburg. Researchers said changes to Arctic sea ice would likely last thousands of years, describing the event as a “nuclear little ice age.”
The study comes after the specter of nuclear war was raised following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warning in April that there was a “serious” risk of nuclear war.
Lead author, assistant professor Cheryl Harrison, said: “It doesn’t matter who is bombing whom. It can be India and Pakistan or NATO and Russia. Once the smoke is released into the upper atmosphere it spreads globally and affects everyone.”
The simulations examined what would happen to the Earth if the US and Russia dropped 4,400 100-kiloton bombs on cities and industrial areas, and, separately, if 500 of the same-sized weapons were detonated in an India-Pakistan conflict.
In the largest scenario, ocean recovery would likely take decades at the surface, and hundreds of years at depth.
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
The second law sounds worse as there’s no judicial review. I’d been thinking for a long time that I’d want to live in Russia for a period of time, maybe 6 months or a year to get a better feel for the country and culture, but now I don’t think I would risk it. As a writer, these newer laws are way too easy to run afoul of. Whether you think these laws are somehow justified under the circumstances or not, it’s really sad that it’s come to this. – Natylie
VIENNA, 15 July 2022 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, today denounced the continued shrinking space for freedom of expression and media freedom in Russia as the authorities enact more restrictive laws.
Ribeiro’s comments follow President Vladimir Putin’s signing on 14 July of the law “On amendments to certain legal acts of the Russian Federation” that provides important changes in the media law, in particular, in relation to foreign media in Russia as well as the enactment of the law “On control over the activities of persons under foreign influence.”
“It is deeply troubling that Russia continues to impose such severe restrictions that are completely incompatible with the right to freedom of expression and media freedom,” Ribeiro said. “I call on the authorities to repeal these highly restrictive and disproportionate laws, and stop other initiatives that curtail public discussions and free flow of information, and exert a dangerous chilling effect on the work of media workers.”
The law “On amendments to certain legal acts of the Russian Federation” broadly empowers the Prosecutor-General or her/his deputies – upon consent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – to ban the activity of foreign media that disseminates its products in Russia, including online, whenever the activity of a Russian media outlet in another country was banned or restricted. Such a ban can also involve withdrawal of accreditation of foreign correspondents in Russia, registrations and broadcast licenses, freezing of bank accounts and bank operations, and closure of bureaus of affected foreign media.
The same statute also introduces amendments to the law “On the Mass Media” allowing, for the first time since the law was adopted in 1991, the Prosecutor-General or her/his deputies to suspend the activities and ultimately close down media outlets without a court decision. The statute can be enacted if the prosecution considers actions to be in violation of a broad spectrum of bans, including dissemination of information “directed to discredit the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the aims of protection of the interests of the Russian Federation” or simply “untruthful information” on such a use (even unintentionally), as well as calls to introduce sanctions against the Russian Federation and expressions of disrespect towards Russian public bodies. During the suspension period, the publishers, editors and journalists of the affected media outlet(s) are not allowed to conduct any activity regulated by law “On the Mass Media”.
The new law “On control over the activities of persons under foreign influence” brings together and expands the existing ‘foreign agent’ regulations (which OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Ribeiro addressed on many occasions previously) by introducing more overly vague and broad terms. It allows an entity to be labeled a ‘foreign agent’ if it “has received support and/or is otherwise under foreign influence” and engages in a broad range of activities, including raising issues of public interest and other standard journalistic practices. Among other things, the law also establishes a separate register of persons affiliated with a so-called ‘foreign agent’ by including anyone who is in any way connected (or was connected) with organizations and/or individuals carrying such a status.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.
This is a Russian commentary facilitated by Jeff J. Brown
COMMENT by Greanville Post: New York Times citing US officials on 24/7/2022 [sic] reported that US & European allies will not be able to maintain current level of support for Kiev for a prolonged period of time. Despite the fact that President Biden has vowed to stand with Ukraine for “as long as it takes”, no one expects more billions of support for Ukraine when the currently authorised aid package of $54 billion in military & other assistance runs out by second quarter of 2023.
The tactics of unhurried military operations in Ukraine are still bewildering the best Pentagon analysts, and only a few have begun to guess that the main goal of the operation is not at all the surrender of Kyiv.
The fall of the Kyiv regime is undoubtedly spelled out in the plans for a special military operation, but not at all as the culmination of Russia’s actions, but only as an intermediate stage. The war is actually being waged at a much higher level.
American politicians and generals firmly believe that the United States is using Ukraine as a weapon to deplete Russia. In fact, everything is exactly the opposite — the Anglo-Saxons were lured to this battlefield in order to put an end to their dubious and extremely dirty hegemony.
Some in Washington began to suspect something, but it was already too late, as the deadly trap for the United States was slammed, and the Americans themselves did the most to achieve this.
The main trick of the special operation of the Russian Federation was revealed by the Ukrainian politician and journalist Dmitry Vasilets, noting that with their unhurried advancement, the (Russian) allied forces most effectively implement the process of demilitarisation not only of Ukraine, but of the entire collective West. He said:
“The Russian army took some tactical pause to regroup before the attack on Slavyansk. Even in the West, many have already concluded that this is far from a traditional war. In fact, the Russian army could long ago destroy all the bridges across the Dnieper and stop the transfer of equipment and personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the Donbass.
“We see a slow advance in the Donbass and near Kharkov, which is due to the fact that the army saves its forces as much as possible, giving the enemy even time and the opportunity to bring up reserves and thus destroying the entire military potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“It is already clear that Russia is planning a long-term war with the West in Ukraine. Most of the territory of Ukraine is becoming a financial yoke for Europe and the United States. As they say, politics is a concentrated economy, and war is an even more concentrated economy. The West has fallen into a deadly trap.
“For many years, Kyiv’s “partners” exported all its resources out of the country, but now they are only forced to inject huge amounts of money without receiving anything in return. This is a death trap for the US and its satellites.”
“Most likely, this is why Russia operates in Ukraine with a limited contingent and does not rush things at all, ”Vasilets explained.
The journalist noted that one should not believe in fairy tales about the unlimited resources of the United States, which, they say, can cover any costs by running the printing press at full capacity.
The sanctions war is hurting the American economy. At the same time, the United States needs to fully support Ukraine, even paying the salaries of the entire state apparatus, and soon it will also need to support the declining economy of the European Union in order to keep the already shaky anti-Russian coalition under control.
The Americans simply will not pull out a long war in such conditions, but, in theory, they also cannot retreat, at least without serious geopolitical losses. The trap has really slammed shut and in Ukraine they (Russians) are now grinding not only the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but the entire collective West.
