click on the image for a larger version R is the number of secondary cases caused by each infected person; thus R=1.1 means for each ten people sick, one more person will come down with the disease they will transmit it to 11 other people; R=3 means that each infected person transmits it to three …
Edward Teller on the ABM Treaty
by | 2009-04-27 | 2 Comments
Another dispatch from Michael Krepon’s shoebox, this one related to late Edward Teller (right) and his argument for ratifying the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty: “The ABM Treaty which is up for ratification… merely recognizes political realities. We must make a choice if we indeed care for the American people. We might decide to spend a …
Pandemics: When do you sound the alarm?
by | 2009-04-26 | 3 Comments
red=confirmed swine flu infections as of 26 April 2009 orange=suspected infections To put this into SAT format: Public health surveillance is to pandemics (and bio-weapons) as ballistic early warning radars are to nuclear war. In addition to sharing an early warning role, there are also a number of important policy issues they have in common …
Once Upon A Time
by | 2009-04-26 | 14 Comments
Some people have been wondering what happened to TotalWonkerr.com. Well. Glad you asked. ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a great island called Atlantis, west of the Pillars of Herakles. (Left at Gibraltar, then a couple blocks down — boom, you couldn’t miss it.) The Atlanteans were zealous in the service of the gods, and …
