Workers at PANTEX dismantled the last B53 nuclear gravity bomb, a nine-megaton behemoth affectionately known as the “Crowd Pleaser.” It sheer size and unfathomable explosive power — 600 Hiroshimas! — are so difficult to comprehend that one can’t help think about the Cold War and ask: What the hell were they thinking? That’s not what …
Hasaka Spinning Factory
by | 2011-10-24 | 14 Comments
Reporters are calling around town inquiring about this site, which is located at 36°30’33.99″N, 40°46’34.75″E near the town of Al Hasaka in Syria (sometimes transliterated as Hasakah or Hasekeh). The facility is said to be of some interest to the IAEA. (Like my use of the ambiguous passive voice?) There will, undoubtedly be a story …
Apogees of Dream-Catching
by | 2011-10-24 | 10 Comments
Before wars exhaust America’s patience and treasury, they can generate even more far-reaching aspirations. Higher purposes vary. During the Spanish-American War, President William McKinley felt obliged to set his sights beyond Cuba in order to uplift, civilize, and Christianize Filipinos. World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars. When World …
More on Iran at the GC
by | 2011-10-20 | 9 Comments
The other day, I posted a picture of an Iranian give-away at the IAEA General Conference — a laser-pointer shaped like a centrifuge. Another reader, who also must remain anonymous, sent along this image of the booth. Gosh, that’s a heck of an IR-1 model. You don’t see URENCO with those sorts of displays. Just …
