Hope and Stiltgrass
Quote of the Week “As a special field of horticulture, a garden exclusively of ferns presents a powerful challenge to skill in soil culture and landscape design.” — “Ferns in the Flower Garden” by H. Lincoln Foster in Ferns, The…
2021
82 posts
Boiling Fish at Yongbyon
Looks like Yongbyon is running a little hot. The IAEA has announced that it believes the DPRK is conducting a plutonium reprocessing campaign at Yongbyon. Jeffrey and Aaron discuss why the DPRK would want to do this. What could the…
Time to Shift from the Post-Kabul Blues to the China Arms Control Challenge
Prophesy of the week: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. Woe unto them that are wise in their…
It’s Always Cloudy in Novaya Zemlya
Jeffrey and his team fear no cloud. Working with Capella Space to acquire cloud-piercing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, the MIIS team has been monitoring eternally-cloudy Novaya Zemlya, Russia, for evidence of Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile tests. Evidence pointed to the Burevestnik…
The Unipolar Moment Crashes and Burns in Kabul
Lyric of the week: “I wish that I knew what I know now When I was younger I wish that I knew what I know now When I was stronger” – “Ooh La La” by Rod Stewart and the Faces…
Wasted Opportunities with the JCPOA
Bad news abounds for Iranian and US returns to JCPOA compliance. Aaron and Jeffrey talk through the frustration around breakout time requirements, the timidity of the Biden administration, and the shortfalls of the wait-and-see approach. Links of Note: The…
Russia Resumes Burevestnik Testing
Some of our analysis is the subject of a CNN story (“New satellite images show Russia may be preparing to test nuclear powered ‘Skyfall’ missile“) by Zach Cohen. The analysis used synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images provided by Capella Space…
A Second Silo Field
Matt Korda and Hans Kristensen with the Federation of American Scientists have tracked down what appears to be a second field of missile silos near Hami, Xinjiang. Aaron, Jeffrey, and Scott gather up to discuss the rapidly increasing number of…
Topping-off National Missile Defenses for Tac Nuke Reductions?
Lyrics of the week: [way too politically incorrect for this space] – “Under My Thumb” by The Rolling Stones, retort by Shemekia Copeland Decades have passed since the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was negotiated (1972), the Soviet Union dissolved (1991), George W. Bush…
Is a Third Trade for Missile Defenses Possible?
Quote of the week: “The situation in the world seemed to me like the unfolding of a great Greek tragedy, where we could see the march of events and know what ought to be done, but to be powerless to…
