• GOV/2010/28 and GOV/2010/29

    Updated: 2010-05-31 16:42:29
    The IAEA has released the most recent Director-General’s reports on Iran and Syria. Since it is Memorial Day, I am not going to even bother reading these until tomorrow.

  • Memorial Day 2010

    Updated: 2010-05-31 15:22:36
    “The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it”                                                - Thucydides “Their silent wounds have speech; More eloquent than men”                                               - William Woodman “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we [...]

  • Evolution of Information

    Updated: 2010-05-31 05:56:17
    This is good. Perfect for non-geeks who nevertheless need to know the ripple effects of coming down the pike: The History of Information, by David Siegel from dsiegel on Vimeo. Hat tip to Dave Davison.

  • Public pressure stops French nuclear waste export to Russia

    Updated: 2010-05-29 22:00:00
    AREVA, the French nuclear energy company, admitted Friday that their contract to ship nuclear waste to Russia has been halted four years early, ending this July. Transports we have tirelessly highlighted, taken action against and lobbied to have ended. But , where to now with all their dangerous waste? AREVA says it plans to let the, ahem, "stocks" build up in their facilities at home.

  • Religions of the Chaos Lords

    Updated: 2010-05-29 05:29:37
     Pamela L. Bunker and Dr. Robert J. Bunker at SWJ Blog The Spiritual Significance of ¿Plata O Plomo? Conventional wisdom holds that narco gang and drug cartel violence in Mexico is primarily secular in nature. This viewpoint has been recently challenged by the activities of the La Familia cartel and some Los Zetas, Gulfo, and other cartel [...]

  • NPT RevCon Produces Consensus Final Document

    Updated: 2010-05-28 23:57:40
    Nukes of Hazard Blog Subscribe to Our Feed Print Email Link Share add to facebook add to del.icio.us add to digg add to yahoo related at technorati Nukes on a Blog NPT RevCon Produces Consensus Final Document Mary May 28, 2010 0 Delegates Gather during the Final Plenary Session Well folks , the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference has successfully produced a consensus final document This is the third time in the 40-year history of the Treaty that a consensus document has been achieved , so it is a not-unsubstantial achievement , especially given the tense negotiations that sometimes accompanied the month-long . negotiations The past 24 hours in particular witnessed tense negotiations surrounding one complicated and highly politicized issue in particular : Israel . Their

  • Soaring cost of nuclear weapons to be $180 billion or more over next decade

    Updated: 2010-05-28 20:25:28
    The whopping $7 billion for nuclear weapons programs that was proposed for 2011 is just the tip of the iceberg in a huge funding increase for the nuclear weapons complex. Last year, Republicans successfully pushed to require the Obama administration to submit a special report on modernizing the nuclear weapons complex, maintaining or enhancing our [...]

  • Russian Ratification of the Start Follow-on Treaty

    Updated: 2010-05-28 18:33:29
    Nukes of Hazard Blog Subscribe to Our Feed Print Email Link Share add to facebook add to del.icio.us add to digg add to yahoo related at technorati Russian Ratification of the Start Follow-on Treaty Chad May 28, 2010 0 State Duma Symbol It was reported today that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has submitted the New START Treaty to the lower house of the Russian parliament for ratification – the Duma . While it is well known that Senate ratification could take some time , some suggest that in contrast , Duma ratification is a foregone conclusion . 160 But are suggestions like this an accurate portrayal of Russian politics or overly simplistic For the START follow-on Treaty to be ratified in Russia , it needs to pass through the two houses of the Russian Federal Assembly . 160 The lower

  • Nuclear News: Are Obama's Energy Plans Jinxed?

    Updated: 2010-05-28 12:08:36
    : This field is mandatory Greenpeace Greenpeace International Select a website International English Africa Congo Français Africa Senegal Français Africa South Africa English Argentina Español Australia English Austria Deutsch Belgium Nederlands Français Brazil Português Canada English Français Chile Español China 中文 Czech Republic Češka Denmark Dansk Fiji English Finland Suomea France Français Germany Deutsch Greece Ελληνικά Hungary Magyar India English Indonesia Indonesia Israel עברית Italy Italiano Japan 日本語 Lebanon العربية Luxembourg Français Malta English Mexico Español Netherlands Nederlands New Zealand English Norway Norsk Papua New Guinea English Philippines Fillipino Poland Polska Portugal Português Romania Român Russia Русский Slovakia Slovenčina Spain Español Sweden Svenska

  • A Pretty Big COIN

    Updated: 2010-05-28 04:28:39
    This looks highly informative. Hat tip to Wings Over Iraq. I regret the light posting and lack of attention to the superb comments. I am buried at work and will be until early next week. Will be posting short items until then

  • What Do The Non-Nuclear Weapons States Want?

    Updated: 2010-05-28 02:30:20
    Nukes of Hazard Blog Subscribe to Our Feed Print Email Link Share add to facebook add to del.icio.us add to digg add to yahoo related at technorati Iran Watch What Do The Non-Nuclear Weapons States Want Mary May 27, 2010 0 Iran having a good time at the RevCon According to Iran , whose representative to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review Conference spoke with press this afternoon while on his way to a plenary session at which the latest draft of the final document was distributed , there are three things holding up consensus on this NPT RevCon . In particular , he said there are three issues that have been serious obstacles for the success of the conference so far , and the nuclear weapons states have not : cooperated One is the Non-Aligned Movement 116 countries have demanded setting a

  • Time to watch (NPT) TV!

    Updated: 2010-05-27 22:54:00
    : skip to main skip to sidebar The Nuclear Abolitionist Working towards a nuclear weapons-free world Quotable Nuclear weapons are unspeakable weapons . They don’t allow us to live nor die as humans . They are weapons of absolute evil which can never co-exist with human beings . Ms . Tokie MIZUNO , a Hibakusha survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima , speaking on May 5, 2010 Thursday , May 27, 2010 Time to watch NPT TV , Friends After nearly a month of trying to keep up with activities at the 2010 NPT Review Conference I finally decided that I needed to watch TV , but not just any TV . I've discovered NPT TV a Website designed and run by a team of students from Germany . They have been running brief video interviews with a wide variety of people involved with the 2010 NPT RevCon people

  • The NPT Review Conference's Focus on a Nuclear Free Middle East

    Updated: 2010-05-27 22:25:21
    Nukes of Hazard Blog Subscribe to Our Feed Print Email Link Share add to facebook add to del.icio.us add to digg add to yahoo related at technorati The NPT Review Conference's Focus on a Nuclear Free Middle East Sarah May 27, 2010 0 As the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference NPT RevCon comes to a close in New York , the call for a ban on nuclear weapons and other WMD in the Middle East has come back into the fore as a top issue . Nuclear Weapons Free Zones NWFZs which exist in Latin America , the South Pacific , Southeast Asia , Africa , and Central Asia , are zones in which countries commit themselves to not acquire , manufacture , test , or possess nuclear weapons . Article VII of the NPT affirms the rights of countries to establish such zones . A NWFZ in the Middle East

  • Fresh ideas on CTBT ratification

    Updated: 2010-05-27 20:41:00
    Nukes of Hazard Blog Subscribe to Our Feed Print Email Link Share add to facebook add to del.icio.us add to digg add to yahoo related at technorati Fresh ideas on CTBT ratification Chad May 27, 2010 0 Reigning national debate champions Michigan State University will face Emory University for what promises to be a lively debate on U.S . CTBT on June 10. Typically showcasing the views of renowned nuclear weapons experts , this specially organized PONI debate will put some of the nation†s brightest and sharpest young thinkers head to head in front of an expert judging panel consisting of DoD and DoE officials and audience . 160 The event builds on the momentum generated by the intercollegiate policy debate topic of 2009, “Reducing Reliance on Nuclear Weapons Policy” , which saw over ten

  • Some Anglospheric Multimedia

    Updated: 2010-05-27 03:56:32
    The Art of War by Sun Tzu A BBC podcast on Sun Tzu’s classic The Art of War. Perhaps the most sublime work on strategy of all time ( Hat tip to The Warlord) Next, and unrelated:  Via blogfriend Robert Paterson, a new talk by educational and creativity thought leader, Sir Ken Robinson. The ritual TED bowing to Al Gore notwithstanding, [...]

  • Dangerous Developments in the Koreas

    Updated: 2010-05-26 21:57:59
    Nukes of Hazard Blog Subscribe to Our Feed Print Email Link Share add to facebook add to del.icio.us add to digg add to yahoo related at technorati Dangerous Developments in the Koreas Tad Farrell May 26, 2010 0 The international team investigating the sinking of the Cheonan released its report last week , alleging North Korean responsibility for the attack . With the outcome of the investigation widely accepted by the international community , condemnation of Pyongyang has been nearly universal . As I explained in last week†s analysis , both South Korea and its allies have few avenues to reprimand the DPRK . Nonetheless , talk of U.N sanctions and the resumption of South Korea†s psychological warfare campaign has infuriated Pyongyang , which has threatened to retaliate with ‘a

  • Iran Beat Us to It.

    Updated: 2010-05-26 21:32:55
    Ivan Oelrich and Ivanka Barzashka Back in October, when Iran put in a request to the IAEA for a new load of fuel for its medical isotope reactor in Tehran, the United States proposed that Iran ship out an equivalent amount of its low enriched uranium (LEU) in exchange. It turns out, purely coincidentally, that the [...]

  • Fuel Swaps Compared

    Updated: 2010-05-26 19:48:38
    Nukes of Hazard Blog Subscribe to Our Feed Print Email Link Share add to facebook add to del.icio.us add to digg add to yahoo related at technorati Iran Watch Fuel Swaps Compared Laicie May 26, 2010 0 Let's make a . deal Building on the very useful analysis of CAP and IISS here are some of the key differences between the October 2009 and May 2010 fuel swap : proposals 1 Iran†s uranium supply is larger now : 1,500kg in 2009 vs . 2,300kg in 2010. As initially laid out , the swap would have removed nearly 80 percent of Iran†s stockpile of LEU . As it stands now , the proposal would remove only about 50 percent , leaving behind enough to , theoretically , build one . bomb 2 In the original proposal , Iran†s fuel would be shipped to Russia , enriched to 19.75 percent , and then sent to

  • Did Yang Jiechi Lose it? [2]

    Updated: 2010-05-26 01:19:53
    : ArmsControlWonk.com Home About Book Archive Contact Did Yang Jiechi Lose it posted Tuesday May 25, 2010 under japan china by jeffrey Or are Japanese officials just having some fun at his expense Japanese officials are leaking an account of an exchange between Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Japanese Foreign Minister . Okada The basic story is that Okada on May 15 twice pressed Yang on the subject of reducing China’s nuclear forces once at a bilateral , and again in a trilateral meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung . Hwan Asahi carried a bland description of the meeting , noting that it is perhaps the first” time Japan has used a ministerial-level meeting to raise the issue of reducing the number of Chinese nuclear . weapons Yeah , I’ll . say According to other

  • The Desert of American Strategy

    Updated: 2010-05-25 04:43:10
    “Welcome to the Desert of the Real….” Dr. Thomas Rid, at the excellent Kings of War blog, had a sharp historical observation: The State of Strategy Who produced the greatest strategists of all time, dead and alive? America or Europe? Before wading into that minefield, we need some criteria, some points of orientation. The key should be a body [...]

  • Avner Cohen on Israel and South Africa [47]

    Updated: 2010-05-24 23:11:21
    : ArmsControlWonk.com Home About Book Archive Contact Avner Cohen on Israel and South Africa posted Monday May 24, 2010 under israel media-criticism by joshua_pollack In the Guardian today , Chris McGreal has a sensationalist treatment of an episode in Israeli-South African relations from 1975. Revealed : how Israel offered to sell South Africa nuclear weapons , 8221 screams the headline Subhead : Exclusive : Secret apartheid-era papers give first official evidence of Israeli nuclear weapons . 8221 The four documents that serve as the basis of the story describe a negotiation over ballistic missiles , among other weapons . The South African side also wanted nuclear weapons to go with the missiles . The first document which appeared previously with Peter Liberman’s article Israel and the

  • WAR

    Updated: 2010-05-24 05:33:12
    WAR by Sebastian Junger Received a courtesy review copy of WAR yesterday from the publisher, due entirely to the kind offices of Kanani. Read the first 50 pages this afternoon and found it it interesting because as a book, it exists on the opposite end of the spectrum from Mackinlay and Kilcullen. Where the former are giving a panoramic or [...]

  • Recommended Reading

    Updated: 2010-05-23 05:33:51
    Top Billing! BBC - ‘Artificial life’ breakthrough announced by scientists Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA. The researchers constructed a bacterium’s “genetic software” and transplanted it into a host cell. The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species “dictated” by the [...]

  • Does Obama’s Vision of “Nuclear Zero” Score a Zero?

    Updated: 2010-05-21 18:49:09
    Having no nukes might be the last thing America—or the world—needs right now. In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Abram Shulsky (a better if outdated bio is here) and Douglas J. Feith slam Obama’s goal “nuclear zero” (a commitment to eventual global disarmament). While Shulsky and Feith point out logical flaws with the Obama paradigm, they [...]

  • Catching Up on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Conference & Other News

    Updated: 2010-05-21 17:45:30
    The Guardian’s Julian Borger offers excellent coverage of the ongoing NPT conference—which this entry will attempt to encapsulate.  The conference aims to wrangle out a Middle East nuclear free zone agreement.  But Iran (along with Brazil and Turkey) have derailed progress, after reaching their own nuclear accord. The reaction of the five nuclear powers was [...]

  • U.S. vs. Global Defense Spending

    Updated: 2010-05-21 14:45:00
    In 2008, the most recent year for which complete global data is available, the U.S. approved $696.3 billion in defense budget authority (fiscal 2010 dollars). This figure includes funding for the Pentagon base budget, Department of Energy-administered nuclear weapons activities, and supplemental appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan. This number is eight times more than Russia, 15 times more than Japan, 47 times more than Israel, and nearly 73 times more than Iran.

  • GOP Critics vs. the Pentagon

    Updated: 2010-05-20 14:56:00
    A distressing trend has developed in relation to the politicization of U.S. nuclear weapons policy - President Obama is criticized, while Pentagon support for the president is ignored. In short, there is a pattern emerging of selective and misleading outrage, with partisan critics caricaturizing Obama's policies while neglecting to mention or acknowledge that the policies he is advancing enjoy the strong support of the nation's military leadership, writes General Robert Gard in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

  • Missile Defense Defense

    Updated: 2010-05-20 05:37:36
    I begin by stating I do not have the technical competence required to make an independent assessment here. Recently, the NYT published an article quoting leading missile defense critic,  MIT Professor Ted Postol: Review Cites Flaws in U.S. Antimissile Program Mr. Obama’s announcement of his new antimissile plan in September was based on the Pentagon’s assessment that the SM-3, or [...]

  • Attend a Talk on Eliminating Nuclear Weapons on May 26

    Updated: 2010-05-19 22:16:19
    If you’re in California’s Bay Area, be sure to come out for an interesting discussion with Tad Daley on how to eliminate nuclear weapons on Wednesday, May 26th. Tad Daley, J.D., Ph.D., is the author of the new book Apocalypse Never: Forging the Path to a Nuclear Weapon-Free World. He is the Writing Fellow with [...]

  • Expanding the Antilibrary

    Updated: 2010-05-19 05:29:25
    Posts have been slow here lately because my real-life workload has temporarily increased. Irrationally, I’ve attempted to compensate for my lack of blogging by ordering yet more books; perhaps I should order more free time instead!  In any event, esteemed readers, @cjschaefer and @CampaignReboot have requested a full accounting of what is new and here it is:            Blood and Rage: A [...]

  • Nuclear Weapons Week of Action May 17-21: Call your Senators

    Updated: 2010-05-17 19:53:03
    Will the Senate stand in the way of a safer world, or will it support a new nuclear weapons treaty to reduce the huge US and Russian nuclear weapons arsenals? Last week, President Obama formally submitted the New START treaty to cut nuclear weapons to the US Senate. Key Senate committees will be holding hearings [...]

  • Iran’s Nuclear Deal Skips Over the West, Russia and China

    Updated: 2010-05-17 15:15:42
    Today brings news of a “surprise nuclear deal” between Iran, Turkey and Brazil.  (Watch MSNBC’s solid coverage from Tehran here.)  Under the admittedly hazy details, Iran has agreed to ship its enriched uranium to Turkey.  Note the absence of Western powers, Russia and China from the talks. The Western response?  Well, Wesley Clark—interviewed on MSNBC’s [...]

  • Planting (and Nurturing) Seeds of Peace

    Updated: 2010-05-16 17:37:00
    : skip to main skip to sidebar The Nuclear Abolitionist Working towards a nuclear weapons-free world Quotable Nuclear weapons are unspeakable weapons . They don’t allow us to live nor die as humans . They are weapons of absolute evil which can never co-exist with human beings . Ms . Tokie MIZUNO , a Hibakusha survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima Sunday , May 16, 2010 Planting and Nurturing Seeds of Peace Dear , Friends The movement to abolish nuclear weapons is not for those of faint heart . It requires a deep sense of commitment and sense of purpose because we are working not only to secure humanity's very future , but we are also working against extraordinary odds . This is no small . task I have been fortunate to work with many extraordinary people , most of whom have many more

  • FAS side events at the RevCon

    Updated: 2010-05-12 18:06:39
    by Alicia Godsberg Yesterday FAS premiered our documentary Paths To Zero at the NPT RevCon.  The screening was a great success and there was a very engaging conversation afterward between the audience and Ivan Oelrich, who was there to promote the film.  As a result of some suggestions, we are hoping to translate the narration to [...]

  • Speaking at the NPT-Review Conference

    Updated: 2010-05-10 18:30:26
    The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference is Underway in New York By Hans M. Kristensen I gave two talks at the review conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, both on non-strategic nuclear weapons. The first was an FAS/BASIC panel on May 10 on Prospects for a shift in NATO’s nuclear posture. The second was a panel organized by Pax Christi [...]

  • 2010 RevCon begins

    Updated: 2010-05-03 23:20:40
    by Alicia Godsberg Today marked the opening of the 8th Review Conference to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations.  The general debate began today and will continue through Thursday, with an NGO presentation to the delegates this Friday to end the week.  Today’s plenary provided a few revelations from the [...]

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