Who's ready for a nuclear war?

There are two people right now who are looking at the unfolding situation in North Korea and getting more and more irritated by it as the days go on; Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. This month was supposed to be about their heavyweight clash, but then some politicians decided to have a pissing contest. How rude.

The tension is at... hair raising levels *removes sunglasses like a boss

That's right kids, the Battle of the Bullshit is about to go down. The Donald has called out Kim and the 'big-boned' dictator has decided to square up to his American counterpart and declare his intentions to blow up Guam. That last battle in Game of Thrones will look like nothing compared to what could transpire in the next few weeks.

Dragons are pretty cool though

But is there actually going to be a war? It's a scary thought really. War isn't a new thing for our generation; the power of mass media and the Internet has given us an insight into the various conflicts that are raging around the world. Pictures of cities destroyed by days of endless shelling and waves of refugees fleeing for their lives are now part of our daily lives. But this situation in the Korean Peninsula could go nuclear, and that's bad. Like really bad.

The reasons about why this is bad should be pretty obvious to everyone, but I'm sure a few of you are blissfully unaware of why this is serious and instead are more focused on what to watch on TV now that Love Island has finished. Two things: first of all, pick up a fucking book. Second, I recommend filling the void with Stranger Things since that show is awesome.

Eleven would deal with this shit 

When the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, nobody was prepared for what they were about to see. The destruction was expected, but the human suffering caused by the background radiation was a horrible learning experience. I think the picture of Hiroshima before and after can sum it up well enough without any harrowing pictures of radiation burns or mutations.

This brought the world into the Atomic Age, and from that flash point in history was born the nuclear arms race between the Americans and the Soviets. Thankfully, they never used them since the theory of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) reminded the two superpowers that a scuffle would destroy humanity and everyone would be annoyed. Unfortunately, Trump and Kim fell asleep in History class and their finger is gently tapping on the trigger.

What makes this whole war of words even more precarious is that China and Russia have made their voices heard. China are allied to North Korea, and have stated that any attack on their buddies will lead to a Chinese intervention, which is exactly what happened during the Korean War in the 1950s. Russia,of course, do love a good conflict here and there and would love to get one over on the USA. It's certainly not a good situation to be in.

Ready to fight

If all hell breaks loose, what happens to our lovely little island? As a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation), any hostile action on one member means that the UK has to make some sort of effort and help out. However lovely it would be to see the British Special Forces in action and go all Falklands on the North Koreans, war is, and should always be, the last resort. But when there is so much at stake, sometimes action has to be taken.

Sometimes retaliation is necessary

The Donald, of course, will also be affected by an outbreak of hostilities. In the short term, his approval ratings will probably rise, because for some reason a good President is judged by his desire to kick some arse. Both George Bush Jr. and Sr. saw their ratings improve when they began their campaigns in the Middle East (apparently, a vendetta against the region runs in the family). The Bush's recorded all-time highs of 89% (1990) and 92% (2001), which just goes to show that war is the solution to a stagnating Presidency.

The America economy, in both circumstances, suffered greatly. Recession and an increased amounts of poverty led to Bill 'I can't keep it in my trousers' Clinton defeating Daddy Bush in 1992, while Bush the Younger ended his second term in 2008 with drastically low approval ratings (19%) as America began to deal with yet another global financial crisis.

I'd make the same face if I screwed up my presidency as well

Take these examples as you will, but war helps people forget. Margaret Thatcher survived as PM due to a successful retaking of the Falklands, allowing her to create a legacy and take back control of a country blighted by strikes and discontent. Trump is already under fire, and a victory for the United States over yet another small and distant country might get him through to 2018. He will run out of countries eventually, so don't be surprised if the Isle of Wight finds itself under an American occupation in a few years.

Military drills in full swing on the Isle of Wight

Deep down, I have a horrible feeling that war is coming. The President isn't the most stable politician out there, and the North Koreans don't seem to be relenting on both their threats to the USA and conducting missile tests. Nuclear war can easily be avoided if sense prevails, and the UN might just be able to do something useful and calm the whole thing down. Their track record isn't great, but a crisis can bring out the heroic side in all of us.

Ben G xo 😁