British Scientist Puts Odds for Apocalypse at 50-50
This is the way the world might end: A genetically engineered pathogen is released, debris from an erupting "supervolcano" blocks the sun or scientists in the biggest "bioerror" of them all accidentally trigger a matter-squeezing "big bang."
The demise of civilization has been predicted since it began, but the odds of keeping Planet Earth alive and well are getting worse amid a breakneck pace of scientific advances, according to Martin Rees, Britain's honorary astronomer royal.
Rees calculates that the odds of an apocalyptic disaster striking Earth have risen to about 50 percent from 20 percent a hundred years ago.
The 60-year-old scientist, author of the recently published "Our Final Hour," says science is advancing in a far more unpredictable and potentially dangerous pattern than ever before.
He lists as mankind's biggest threats: nuclear terrorism, deadly engineered viruses, rogue machines and genetic engineering that could alter human character. All of those could result from innocent error or the action of a single malevolent individual.
By 2020, an instance of bioterror or bioerror will have killed a million people, Rees contends.
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by Marilyn Barnewall
November 16, 2004
I have to admit to having been an X-files fan. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were for years part of my weekly television viewing life.
An article I read, however, beats any X-Files script I ever watched.
The original story, published by Rense.com on July 20, 2003 by Ian Gurney, is about twenty scientists, all top in their fields, who have died of "unnatural" causes (murder) since September 11, 2001. All of them specialized in microbiology. Many were experts in emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorism.
After two days on the Internet reading newspaper stories and obituaries from London, Australia, Canada, Russia, Israel and the United States, I can tell you that twenty scientists did not die since 9-11. Nope. The number is forty-four.
Dr. Benito Que, a cell biologist, worked on how infectious diseases can be genetically engineered into bio-warfare programs. He died in Miami on December 6 after being beaten by four men with baseball bats, November 12...
Our very own Phoenix station (actually Guadalupe):
98 KUPD, with a hard core rock and roll format, is now playing....U 2! Those Bastards!
I want to wake up, shake my head and scream to the music and the world, not sing with Bono! First it's Greenday, and Jet(sissy bands);now it's freaking U2!
It's a ClearChannel conspiracy, I tell ya!
How do you like them now?
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