Dan, He didn't do his job, thank God! Regards, Bob S. On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 9:27 AM, Daniel J. Matyola <[email protected]> wrote: > 27 years ago today, Petrov saved the world > > September 26, 2010 > Written by Eliezer_Yudkowsky > > Today is September 26th, Petrov Day, celebrated to honor the deed of > Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov on September 26th, 1983. Wherever you > are, whatever you’re doing, take a minute to not destroy the world. > > The story begins on September 1st, 1983, when Soviet jet interceptors > shot down a Korean Air Lines civilian airliner after the aircraft > crossed into Soviet airspace and then, for reasons still unknown, > failed to respond to radio hails. 269 passengers and crew died, > including US Congressman Lawrence McDonald. Ronald Reagan called it > “barbarism”, “inhuman brutality”, “a crime against humanity that must > never be forgotten”. Note that this was already a very, very poor > time for US/USSR relations. Andropov, the ailing Soviet leader, was > half-convinced the US was planning a first strike. The KGB sent a > flash message to its operatives warning them to prepare for possible > nuclear war. > > On September 26th, 1983, Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Yevgrafovich > Petrov was the officer on duty when the warning system reported a US > missile launch. Petrov kept calm, suspecting a computer error. > > Then the system reported another US missile launch. > > And another, and another, and another. > > What had actually happened, investigators later determined, was > sunlight on high-altitude clouds aligning with the satellite view on a > US missile base. > > In the command post there were beeping signals, flashing lights, and > officers screaming at people to remain calm. According to several > accounts I’ve read, there was a large flashing screen from the > automated computer system saying simply “START” (presumably in > Russian). Afterward, when investigators asked Petrov why he hadn’t > written everything down in the logbook, Petrov replied,”Because I had > a phone in one hand and the intercom in the other, and I don’t have a > third hand.” > > The policy of the Soviet Union called for launch on warning. The > Soviet Union’s land radar could not detect missiles over the horizon, > and waiting for positive identification would limit the response time > to minutes. Petrov’s report would be relayed to his military > superiors, who would decide whether to start a nuclear war. > > Petrov decided that, all else being equal, he would prefer not to > destroy the world. He sent messages declaring the launch detection a > false alarm, based solely on his personal belief that the US did not > seem likely to start an attack using only five missiles. > > Petrov was first congratulated, then extensively interrogated, then > reprimanded for failing to follow procedure. He resigned in poor > health from the military several months later. According to > Wikipedia, he is spending his retirement in relative poverty in the > town of Fryazino, on a pension of $200/month. In 2004, the > Association of World Citizens gave Petrov a trophy and $1000. There > is also a movie scheduled for release in 2008, entitled The Red Button > and the Man Who Saved the World. > > Maybe someday, the names of people who decide not to start nuclear > wars will be as well known as the name of Britney Spears. Looking > forward to such a time, when humankind has grown a little wiser, let > us celebrate, in this moment, Petrov Day. > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions.
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