Glenn Kessler reported in the Washington Post yesterday that the US Intelligence Community has revised its estimate of the amount of plutonium separated at Yongbyon. U.S. intelligence analysts have prepared a fresh estimate of the size of North Korea’s stockpile of plutonium—larger than previous assessments—that will be compared with the information contained in 18,822 pages …
More Boxology
by | 2008-05-15 | 35 Comments
A friend observes that the Box-on-the-Euphrates may have been modeled to appear, at first glance, like a ruined Byzantine fortress. The other three images are of a Byzantine fortress in Zippori (Sepphoris) National Park, Israel. Same friend sends along some SketchUp models and Google Earth overlays, including: The BOE with the supporting structure for the …
"North Korea on the Precipice of Famine"
by | 2008-05-14 | 21 Comments
That’s the title of a disturbing new study conducted by a team of experts from the Peterson Institute for International Economics. It concludes that “the prospect of hunger-related deaths occurring in the next several months is approaching certainty.” Here is a summary: North Korea is on the brink of famine. The aggregate food picture appears …
Poor Sichuan
by | 2008-05-14 | 6 Comments
I spent a few days last summer in Sichuan Province — including Dujiangyan, close to the epicenter of the earthquake, and Mianyang, now the headquarters for the relief effort and also hit very hard. I still haven’t heard from any of my friends there, which is worrying me. The pictures from Sichuan are just heartbreaking. …
