Lyric of the week: We’re all skating on the thinnest of ice Gotta take it as it comes In a world that isn’t so very nice Gotta take it as it comes Any day now the curtain may fall All the plays end, there’s no curtain call If you live sad, or it you walk …
Archives for October 2019
Crocodiles, Technocrats and Commanders
by | October 25, 2019 | No Comments
Revisiting the 2011 Bidganeh explosion. If there is one thing that sanctions-hit Iran does not currently lack, it’s controversies. Ranging from high-profile corruption scandals to mysterious (or not so mysterious) drone attacks, limpet mines and radioactive warehouses, there is a cornucopia of high-drama developments competing for the world’s and the country’s media attention. Somewhat surprisingly, …
Scratching Erdogan’s Nuclear Itch
by | October 22, 2019 | No Comments
News media reporters can be counted on to scratch their Country X-is-going-nuclear itch whenever its armed forces burst across its borders, and this week was no exception following Turkey’s invasion of Syria. On October 22 the New York Times went over the top in headlining that President Recip Tayyip Erdogan “says he wants nuclear weapons” …
All Roads Lead to Putin
by | October 21, 2019 | No Comments
Quote of the week: “The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry.”–William F. Buckley, Jr. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s memorable retort to Donald Trump’s October 16th meltdown in the White House — “All roads with you lead to Putin” — ranks up there with Trump’s reference to American “carnage” in his inaugural address. …
Tailkits and the Turks: US Nuclear Weapons in Turkey
by | October 15, 2019 | No Comments
The New York Times reported recently that US officials are considering removing US nuclear weapons from Turkey. Aaron knows a bit about this, so Jeffrey called in from his car on the road to San Francisco, and Anne called in from a foggy Monterey to talk about nuclear weapons in Turkey. Producer’s Note: Due to …
More Malfeasance on Open Skies
by | October 13, 2019 | 4 Comments
Lyric of the Week: “There must be some kind of way outta here Said the joker to the thief There’s too much confusion I can’t get no relief” – “All Along the Watchtower,” lyrics by Bob Dylan, best cover by Jimi Hendrix Bob Woodward’s book Fear narrates the beginnings of Donald Trump’s disablement of the …
North Korea’s New SLBM: The Pukguksong-3
by | October 8, 2019 | No Comments
It is finally here! Two years after seeing posters for the Pukguksong-3 during Kim Jong Un’s visit to the Chemical Material Institute of the Academy of Defense Science in 2017, the North Korea has finally tested the next generation of its submarine launched ballistic missiles. Joseph Dempsey of the International Institute of Strategic Studies returns to talk …
No Use is Stronger Than No First Use
by | October 6, 2019 | 11 Comments
Quote of the week: “The earth — its cities and its forests in particular — is like a well-laid fire. If you light it with enough nuclear matches, it will burn, and as it burns it will fill the atmosphere with smoke and plunge much of the world into a frigid darkness for several months.” …
