Bolton Out?
John Bolton appears to be leaving for the private sector now that my old boss, Bob Zoellick, will be nominated as Deputy Secretary of State. (Yes, I worked a bit for Zoellick at CSIS. We didn’t really click, as you…
Arms Control Wonk
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NSPD 28: Nuclear Weapons Command, Control, Safety, and Security
I think that I’ve discovered a previously undisclosed National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD) relating to nuclear weapons. Moreover, I worry that it lays the groundwork to build new nuclear weapons and resume nuclear testing. The source? National Nuclear Security Agency…
Hair Trigger in Space
Adam Herbert, a senior editor at AFA Magazine, writes that Air Force Space Command is attempting to install a hair trigger in outer space: Over the years, space essentially has been a militarily benign environment. For that reason, operators had…
Back From London
I am back from London—where the steadily escalating death toll from the Asian tsunami added a somber note to the festivities. Regular postings will resume tomorrow morning. There will be no end to the ration of crap I am going…
Vacation
Well, folks, the UMD e-mail has been down for a couple of days and, just as it comes back tomorrow, I will be arriving in London to decompress—safely out of contact with e-mail or Bush-supporters (slim chance that I’ll run…
China's National Defense in 2004
China has released a new white paper, China’s National Defense in 2004. An exercise in … uh … the middle of nowhere. One section in the 2002 White Paper—“National Defense Construction Structure and Organization of the Armed Forces”—has been divided…
LLNL to Simulate Nuclear Explosion
Reuters reports that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will simulate a nuclear explosion to study the effects of aging on nuclear warheads. The simulation will be conducted with the IBM-built BlueGene/L. Details about the test are unclear. I hope I’ll have…
Pettiness Toward IAEA Undermines International Security
Does Bush dodge photo ops with ElBaradei? Even more pettiness? Bill Broad and David Sanger have must reading in The New York Times today. They report that the Bush Administration has essentially no relationship with the IAEA, stifling investigation of…
More on Asteroids
On the subject asteroids and other near eath objects, Slashdot has the best coverage on 2004 MN4. JPL has a nice fact sheet replete with animations. 2004 MN4 has a 1/63 chance of hitting the earth, with the damage depending…
Asteroids and Arms Control
Final NEAR Shoemaker Descent Images of Eros from February 2001 at 1,150 meters. Nothing says holiday cheer like the reminder that total planetary annihilation is a statistical fact of existence in our universe. Astronomers spotted an near earth object after…