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As I was walking down the street one day
A man came up to me and asked me
What the time was that was on my watch
Yeah, and I said….
… Does anybody really know what time it is?
… Does anybody really care?
… You know, I can’t imagine why
… We’ve all got time enough to cry
– “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” by Chicago, 1969
Time can be a funny thing. It’s certainly complex.
According to Albert Einstein’s theorizing, the speed of time is variable, depending on someone’s relative motion.
The time of day or night can be different for two people in different places around the world. If it’s noon in California, it’s midnight in the United Arab Emirates.
Depending on peoples’ feelings or circumstances, time can seem to move too slow, or too fast.
For some, time can feel like a friend; for others, it can feel like an enemy.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists would strongly suggest we see time as such an enemy, at least when it comes to the Doomsday Clock.
The Doomsday Clock is an idea created in 1947 by Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and other scientists connected to the creation of the atomic bomb. The concept uses “the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to convey threats to humanity and the planet”.
On Jan. 27 the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s ever been as a warning of worldwide nuclear Armageddon.
Scientists made this calculation on the basis of ongoing modernization of nuclear weapons by the nuclear powers — especially the U.S and Russia — and the coinciding military conflicts and tensions around the world.
Astoundingly, relatively few people on our planet seem alarmed by, or even conscious of, the potential nuclear annihilation. And despite the hit song by Chicago, we really all won’t have time enough to cry if and when the nuclear bombs start flying.
But wait! There’s more — or possibly less — depending on what happens in a very short time.
Here I refer to the last standing nuclear treaty between the U.S. and Russia, known as “New START”.
The treaty is scheduled to expire on Feb. 5 of this week. The expiration of this treaty will be bad news for both the U.S. and Russia, and humanity itself, not to mention most of the rest of life as we know it on Earth.
Indeed, there is much at stake for the New START Treaty. According to the U.S. Department of State, under New START, by 2018, the U.S. and Russia each met (and have since maintained) a limit on deployed nuclear weapons and delivery systems.
These include a maximum of “700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments”.
The number of actual nuclear warheads deployed on these delivery systems are limited to 1,550.
New START also established several measures of “verification and transparency” to assure both countries comply with the agreed-to limits of the nuclear missiles and warheads.
They are mandated to “exchange data on the numbers, locations, and technical characteristics of weapons systems and facilities that are subject to the treaty and provide each other with regular notifications and updates.”
In simpler terms, both the U.S. and Russia have been letting each other know where their nukes are and how many are deployed. Moreover, New START allows onsite inspections by both nations.
Surprisingly, on Sept. 22, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly offered to extend New START for another year beyond its expiration if the U.S. would also do so.
So far, the Trump administration has not agreed to Putin’s offer.
Perhaps the Trump administration has been too busy to respond to Russia, being occupied with taking over Venezuela and preparing to conquer other sovereign nations, not to mention the federal military invasion of U.S. cities.
But admittedly, even if New START is extended, the threat of nuclear annihilation will go on. The U.S. and Russia can each wipe out humanity numerous times over with the limited number of nuclear warheads deployed under New START.
Still, having some bilateral treaty with Russia would be helpful.
Also, there is the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that went into force in 2021, outlawing their use and possession by all nations.
According to the Arms Control Association, 99 countries have signed this treaty, 74 of which have ratified it. Unfortunately, no nuclear power has agreed to join the treaty, including the U.S. which is the nation that brought nuclear weapons into the world, and the only nation that has used them.
It will take only 30 minutes or less for the U.S. and Russia to launch and strike each other with nuclear-armed missiles. And again, there will never be enough time to cry if this is how the world ends.
[/fusion_text][fusion_button link=”https://santamariatimes.com/opinion/commentary/does-anybody-know-what-time-it-is-guest-commentary/article_e79f33fa-678c-404d-8a9b-dd5720a8762d.html” title=”” target=”_self” link_attributes=”” aria_role_button=”0″ alignment_medium=”” alignment_small=”” alignment=”center” modal=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” color=”custom” button_gradient_top_color_hover=”” hue=”” saturation=”” lightness=”” alpha=”” button_gradient_top_color=”#004c7d” button_gradient_bottom_color_hover=”” button_gradient_bottom_color=”#004c7d” gradient_start_position=”” gradient_end_position=”” gradient_type=”” radial_direction=”” linear_angle=”180″ accent_hover_color=”” accent_color=”var(–awb-color1)” type=”” bevel_color=”” bevel_color_hover=”” border_top=”” border_right=”” border_bottom=”” border_left=”” border_radius_top_left=”” border_radius_top_right=”” border_radius_bottom_right=”” border_radius_bottom_left=”” border_hover_color=”” border_color=”” size=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” fusion_font_family_button_font=”” fusion_font_variant_button_font=”” font_size=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_transform=”” stretch=”default” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” hover_transition=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_color=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_delay=”0″ animation_offset=””]Read Article in Santa Maria Times HERE[/fusion_button][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_global id=”30254″]