Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:09:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tamar Lindsay <dicconf at yahoo.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Stanislav Petrov day
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov=0A=0AOn 26th September, 1983, at the nadir of=
 the Cold War, =0Athis man =E2=80=94 Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov =E2=80=
=94 made a =0Ajudgement call that saved my life. (I was then living five =
=0Amiles from the Vickers Tank Factory in Leeds and about =0Aten miles from=
 the M1/M62 intersection =E2=80=94 both major =0Astrategic targets.) If you=
're over 25 years old and live in =0Athe UK, he saved your life, too. If yo=
u're over 25 years old =0Aand lived in the USA, there's about a 70% probabi=
lity that =0Ahe saved you. And so on. Iterate for everyone in every =0ANATO=
 and Warsaw Pact country, all 750 million of us.=0A=0AHe lost his job for i=
t, and suffered a nervous breakdown. =0AHe doesn't consider himself to be a=
 hero. Nevertheless, =0Ahe bent the regulations and risked punishment to pr=
event =0Aa disaster from overwhelming us all.=0AI'm going to raise a glass =
to him tonight. How about you?=0A=0Aoriginally Posted by Charlie Stross on =
September 26, 2008