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Hawaii's Near Death Experience
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The Final Dakar
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Jan 13, 2018, 11:01 PM
 
A million people thought their deaths were imminent for almost an hour today. It's unbelievable.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Jan 13, 2018, 11:16 PM
 
With the current administration, its entirely believable. Its a wonder there is much of Hawaii left.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
Thorzdad
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Jan 14, 2018, 04:28 PM
 
The investigation into this could end up being very interesting. Did someone accidentally click the wrong button? Purposefully click the button? Were the military running a preparedness simulation and accidentally sent the message out live?

My favorite paranoid theory is that the Russians hacked the system to see if Trump might actually reflexively toss some nukes North Korea's way.

I'm actually kind of surprised they have that kind of pre-programmed emergency message ready to be sent out. I mean, most people have no clue where (or no place) to take shelter from incoming nukes. I always assumed the powers-that-be would just let it happen without alerting the public.
     
The Final Dakar  (op)
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Jan 14, 2018, 06:44 PM
 
I thought I read a button was pushed during a shift change.
     
The Final Dakar  (op)
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Jan 14, 2018, 07:10 PM
 
I'm also not sure whether we should be frightened that Trump had no response. Wouldn't the White House be told about it immediately? Seems like the 1A case for the President to get on twitter and say something, preferably "Don't panic, false alarm."
     
OreoCookie
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Jan 15, 2018, 06:00 AM
 
Wow, I am surprised how overly dramatic the reaction here is. I am saying that as someone who has received a missile warning last year when there was an actual North Korean missile (I live in Japan, and every once in a while they lob one over the island). (To be clear, the missile was never going to hit anywhere near where I live, North Korea didn't aim for Japan. We received an alarm nevertheless.)
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
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Jan 15, 2018, 10:44 AM
 
[...deleted...]
( Last edited by Ham Sandwich; Apr 23, 2020 at 09:38 AM. )
     
The Final Dakar  (op)
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Jan 15, 2018, 10:53 AM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
Wow, I am surprised how overly dramatic the reaction here is. I am saying that as someone who has received a missile warning last year when there was an actual North Korean missile (I live in Japan, and every once in a while they lob one over the island). (To be clear, the missile was never going to hit anywhere near where I live, North Korea didn't aim for Japan. We received an alarm nevertheless.)
You're surprised citizens within the strike zone of the country their President keeps antagonizing panicked?
     
OAW
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Jan 15, 2018, 03:24 PM
 
Somebody is sooooo fired behind this screwup.

OAW
     
The Final Dakar  (op)
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Jan 15, 2018, 03:57 PM
 
Nope, read he was reassigned.

Also read it was a misclick on a drop-down menu. No "Are you sure?" Dialog I guess
     
OreoCookie
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Jan 15, 2018, 07:32 PM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
You're surprised citizens within the strike zone of the country their President keeps antagonizing panicked?
Surprised? No, not really. It was social commentary: constantly hyperventilating isn't very healthy.
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The Final Dakar  (op)
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Jan 15, 2018, 07:50 PM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
Surprised? No, not really. It was social commentary: constantly hyperventilating isn't very healthy.
You think Americans are over-reacting from a missile warning I can never recall occurring in my lifetime? I think you're projecting you experience into some wildly unrealistic expectations here.
     
OreoCookie
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Jan 15, 2018, 08:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
You think Americans are over-reacting from a missile warning I can never recall occurring in my lifetime? I think you're projecting you experience into some wildly unrealistic expectations here.
Projecting? It’s not like I have received a missile warning before moving to Japan two years ago either. How is my expectation unrealistic? It seems we were in the same position beforehand. How people react to such a situation is cultural. Ditto for earthquake warnings, which have a much larger chance of having a real impact. And I think a calmer reaction would be healthier.
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subego
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Jan 15, 2018, 10:00 PM
 
When an alert happens, you should calmly stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye.
     
The Final Dakar  (op)
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Jan 16, 2018, 12:10 AM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
Projecting? It’s not like I have received a missile warning before moving to Japan two years ago either. How is my expectation unrealistic?
Did you have guidance from people who had lived through such warnings before? I'd also note that Japan is a magnitude of a size larger than Hawaii; Your chances of being the one hit are different.


Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
It seems we were in the same position beforehand.
As I already noted, we didn't have a President antagonizing a nuclear power of unknown mental stability a year ago.


Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
How people react to such a situation is cultural. Ditto for earthquake warnings, which have a much larger chance of having a real impact. And I think a calmer reaction would be healthier.
A ballistic missile and an earthquake are not of equivalent value. In terms of deadliness nor rarity.
     
OreoCookie
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Jan 16, 2018, 12:44 AM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
Did you have guidance from people who had lived through such warnings before?
Nope. And at least those colleagues I talked to didn't seem prepared one bit either. (We were joking about what we were supposed to do in the few seconds that you have, close the curtains?)

Look at how calm people remained in the face of actual life threatening danger β€” and then contrast that to the title you have chosen (which I thought was meant to be a bit sarcastic). A community can train itself to react responsibly (and without panicking) to great disasters.
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
I'd also note that Japan is a magnitude of a size larger than Hawaii; Your chances of being the one hit are different.
Japan is also much closer and has had flyovers by North Korean missiles for several years now. If anything, the chances of being hit are much larger, because I live close to the heart, Tokyo, which seems like a logical first target.
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
A ballistic missile and an earthquake are not of equivalent value. In terms of deadliness nor rarity.
They are not equivalent, but I don't think you realize the magnitude of the disaster that strong earthquakes (with all of their consequences) can be.

I live about 100 km from Fukushima. If Japan had been less lucky in 2011, it would have had to evacuate Tokyo (~35 million people) as a result β€” definitely an event that would have scarred Japan for decades (e. g. if the nuclear reactors in Fukushima hadn't been kept cool the way they were or if the epicenter were closer to Tokyo). The immediate death toll would probably have been smaller, though.* On the other hand, the affected area in case of an attack with a nuclear weapon would have been much smaller.

* About 20,000 people have died or gone missing in the Great Tohoku Earthquake, about 1/3 to 1/4 or the fatalities due to the atomic bomb dropped in Nagasaki. At least for now, North Korea's atomic bomb is comparable in yield to that used by the US in Japan.
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OreoCookie
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Jan 16, 2018, 12:45 AM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
When an alert happens, you should calmly stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye.
I just continued cuddling with my wife and we stayed in bed.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
The Final Dakar  (op)
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Jan 17, 2018, 12:32 AM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
Japan is also much closer and has had flyovers by North Korean missiles for several years now. If anything, the chances of being hit are much larger, because I live close to the heart, Tokyo, which seems like a logical first target.
I mean, that seems like a case for desensitization.

I'm going to give up the argument on difference of opinion.
     
OreoCookie
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Jan 17, 2018, 05:52 AM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
I mean, that seems like a case for desensitization.
I think it is cultural, because natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons) are quite common and Japanese society is prepared β€” that is something that spans generations. Desensitization to me implies that this is specific to individuals. People are trained since they are in kindergarten to behave correctly during natural disasters, and while I don't think they have been trained for missile attacks, it's part of the culture to remain calm.
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The Final Dakar  (op)
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Jan 17, 2018, 10:33 AM
 
I would not disagree it might also be cultural.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Jan 18, 2018, 12:15 PM
 
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
   
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