James Acton is a lecturer at the Centre for Science and Security Studies in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. Dr Acton’s research interests focus on topics at the interface of the technical and the political, including…
Not everything in the 1970s was as lousy as your haircut, Paul. Seriously, I am asking. Sandia National Laboratory Director C. Paul Robinson, reportedly in consultation with Administration officials, has written an article in Nature suggesting our nonproliferation efforts should…
The Department of Energy is competing the management and operating contract for the Nevada Test Site, presumably as part of the effort by Representative David Hobson (R-OH) to increase competition within the national laboratory system. Michaal Roston suggests that the…
Looks like Washington is gearing up to oust IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei. With the December 31 deadline for candidacies looming, anonymous diplomats are grousing about ElBaradei. Anonymous intelligence sources tell Reuters that Tehran purchased large amounts of beryllium, which can…
Readers often remark about the look and feel of my blog. The entire operation, from database to hosting, is a gift from my friend Greg. He runs a web development shop called hexive (logo at right) that focuses on small…
Ever notice that, in Kung Fu movies, some larger number of bad guys will stand around in a circle, allowing the hero to kick their asses one-by-one? Outside of cinema, such accomodation by adversaries is rare. Yet, this seems to…
Taylor Dinerman writing with a crayon over at The Space Review says: “In the case of boost-phase weapons, the debris will fall back on the nation that launched the missile.” Fall back? What kind of non-ballistic trajectory is that missile…
Bill Gertz reports that China has launched its new Type 094 SSBN. The story, however, doesn’t make much sense. Gertz claims that the “new Type 094 was spotted by U.S. intelligence agencies at the Huludao shipyard […], is in the…
The Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL/PR) Propulsion Directorate recently held an industry day “to provide specifications for a micro satellite propulsion experiment- development, integration and test, command/control, and flight operations. [sic] The micro satellite propulsion system flight demonstration will include…
I am just responding to an insightful comment by Chris Paine at the Natural Resources Defense Council. I agree that my uses of the phrase “give up” was probably a bit off. What I should have said was “agree to…
