“Laßt mich in Ruhe mit euren Gewissensbissen, das ist doch so schöne Physik!” –Enrico Fermi, arguing with his colleagues on the Manhattan Project about the ethical implications of developing the atomic bomb. What? I thought Enrico Fermi was Italian! And why were they arguing in German at Los Alamos? Didn’t the security people freak out? …
A Belated, Happy Easter
by | 2011-04-26 | 21 Comments
Reader MP sends along a picture of nine easter eggs — one for each state with nuclear weapons
William C. Foster
by | 2011-04-26 | 2 Comments
The most successful and longest serving Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency was the first man to hold this job, William C. Foster. During his tenure, the United States negotiated the Limited Test Ban Treaty and the Nonproliferation Treaty, despite strenuous political, bureaucratic, and diplomatic opposition. Foster’s influence and skills had much to …
Israel and North Korea
by | 2011-04-21 | 7 Comments
I’ve been doing a lot of work lately on state-to-state nuclear cooperation — especially the connection between Pakistan and North Korea. I recently reread Bamboo and Blood, by James Church (a pseudonym for one of the most distinguished North Korea watchers in the US). Although Bamboo and Blood is a work of fiction, and Church …
