© T.W., ShutterstockThe Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has reset the "Doomsday Clock" to 5 minutes before midnight, a minute closer to humanity's imminent destruction, symbolized by "midnight," than last year.
In a sign of pessimism about humanity's future, scientists today set the hands of the infamous "Doomsday Clock" forward one minute from two years ago.
"It is now five minutes to midnight," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) director Kennette Benedict announced today (Jan. 10) at a press conference in Washington, D.C.
That represents a symbolic step closer to doomsday, a change from the clock's previous mark of six minutes to midnight, set in January 2010.
The clock is a symbol of the threat of
humanity's imminent destruction from nuclear or biological weapons, climate change and other human-caused disasters. In making their deliberations about how to update the clock's time, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists focused on the current state of nuclear arsenals around the globe, disastrous events such as the
Fukushima nuclear meltdown, and biosecurity issues such as the creation of an airborne H5N1 flu strain.
The
Doomsday Clock came into being in 1947 as a way for atomic scientists to warn the world of the dangers of nuclear weapons. That year, the Bulletin set the time at seven minutes to midnight, with midnight symbolizing humanity's destruction. By 1949, it was at three minutes to midnight as the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated. In 1953, after the first test of the hydrogen bomb, the
doomsday clock ticked to two minutes until midnight.
Comment: If more of these people who are worrying about the end of the world would give their attention, time and energy to current events, we wouldn't be facing the End of the World as we know it in political terms. But the same New Agers that are pushing this 2012 nonsense are also keeping people inactive with the "you create your own reality by what you think about" crap. They are aided and abetted by the Fundies who think Jesus will come and haul their buns out of the fire so they don't have to do anything either except maybe help the violence along by agitating for Armageddon. Meanwhile, the PTB are moving ahead with their plans for Total Domination and enslavement of humanity in social/political terms. So, yeah, the world we know is ending, but nobody's gonna ascend or go to heaven like they hope and believe and when the trap slams shut, they'll have no one but themselves to blame for being stupid and credulous.