Avatar photoFarewell Happy Hour, Thursday 12/15

I first stepped off the escalator at Dupont Circle for the very first time in May 1996.  After spending most of the past fifteen years in Washington, I am throwing in the towel and moving to Monterey, California.  (We’re just pretending Cambridge didn’t happen.) It seems fitting that I should end my time as a …

Avatar photoSpecial Delivery from North Korea

A Friend of Blog thoughtfully collected these specimens in Pyongyang last week: They are, of course, postage stamps commemorating the “successful” delivery into orbit of North Korea’s two satellites, Kwangmyongsong-1 (1998) and Kwangmyongsong-2 (2009). Maybe next time they should try the USPS. It could use the additional business, and the results couldn’t be any worse. …

Avatar photoCollected Thoughts on Phil Karber

Well, what to say about Phillip Karber’s forthcoming report that suggests China might have more than 3,000 nuclear weapons stashed away in all those tunnels that the Second Artillery has been building over the past few decades? Well, for one thing, Karber’s claims are utter nonsense. For another, Karber is unbelievably successful at generating unwarranted …

Avatar photo12 Nov Blast at Military Base in Iran

Some readers have asked why we have yet to comment on the very interesting November 12 explosion at  an Iranian missile facility (35°37’26.69″N, 50°52’23.88″E), as well as reports of another explosion near Isfahan.  The short answer is that, despite a lot of research, I just don’t have anything interesting to add yet. Sometimes, when that …