When I last mentioned the idea of utilizing rape as a weapon amongst what I admitted, privately, were generally naive people during a recent wargame I participated on ‘irregular threats’, people became uneasy. Our group’s moderator had asked us to think of divergent ways that we would foment unrest in a malevolent manner, and this […]
As the Greek parliament voted today (amid public riots) on the austerity bill required for continued bailout money from the EU, President Obama held a press conference in which he chided American legislators for vacationing while the U.S. faces a similar debt crisis. The deficit talks in Washington are almost entirely discussed in the context […]
That’s what I call Joe Cirincione, Ploughshares President – behind his back, of course. He is the closest thing the arms control community has to a celeb – always camera-ready, always posed and always well-informed. And hey, he’s friends with Michael Douglas. But, in all seriousness, Joe has worked tirelessly for nuclear disarmament over the […]
Over at the CSIS Proliferation Prevention Program, program staff have helpfully culled useful articles and such on things nuclear that they are reading. They have separated the wheat from the nuclear chaff. Good stuff. The main page is here. The archives are found at Delicious.
The U.S. Department of State is quickly establishing itself as the most forward leaning U.S. public organization to embrace the use of technology to usher in a new era of open government. The latest example that Secretary Clinton is committed to helping other nations to press the ‘reset’ button on how they share information and interact […]
Public gallery at the ECCC at the start of Case 002. Photo courtesy of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia On Monday, more than 32 years after the Khmer Rouge fell from power in Cambodia, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) started proceedings on Case 002. The defendants on trial, […]
Last week, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale delivered the opening remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations’ forum entitled, “Strengthening U.S. Engagement with the World: A Review of U.S. Public Diplomacy.” Her brief speech addressed the State Department’s broad goals for the future of public diplomacy in policy making. The […]
There’s been a fair bit of fur flying as a result of Al Gore’s recent article in Rolling Stone: Climate of Denial. Most of the controversy centers around the fact that Gore calls out President Obama for not doing enough on climate change – not using his “bully pulpit.” More about that tack in a […]
By chance, I recently participated in the “Evolved Irregular Threat Project”, a series of wargames led by David Kilcullen and sponsored by the Rapid Reaction Technology Office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The process was interesting, bringing together experience from a multitude of areas: Department of Defense (DoD) scientists, military officers, physicists, […]
From Amanda Bowen at Citizens for Global Solutions (WASHINGTON, D.C., June 28, 2011) In issuing an arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi, the International Criminal Court has demonstrated yet again that tyrants and human rights abusers around the world—even if they are heads of state–will not enjoy immunity from international law, and will be held responsible […]
Another interview, this one from the guy who continues to shirk responsibility for establishing the most destructive proliferation network in history and helping to arm Syria, North Korea and Iran, to name a few: Abdul Qadeer Khan. In his latest sit down, this one with Der Spiegel via e-mail, Khan actually makes the following, laughable […]
Former Director General of the IAEA and former UNSCOM head Hans Blix sat down with The Economist online in a segment they call “Tea with The Economist”. In it, Blix talks about the Global Zero campaign, how practical nuclear disarmament really is and how we should deal with ne’er do well countries like North Korea. […]
In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, little-noticed radioactive nuggets which are used for everything from examining welds to providing medical therapies were suddenly the rage. The rage, that is, to account for, gather up, and secure. Sources like Strontium-90, Cobalt-60, Iridium-192 and Americium-241 all became household words – or the closest […]
In March I posted the article; UN releases much-anticipated Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights – Washington DC Human Rights on the Washington DC Human Rights Examiner. In follow-up to the release of the Guiding Principles, earlier this month, on Thursday, June 16, 2011 the United Nations Human Rights Council took an unprecedented step, the as they endorsed a […]
Unlike its neighbors Germany, Italy and Switzerland, France is increasing investment in nuclear power. President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced 1 billion euro nuclear spending program. “There is no alternative to nuclear energy today,” he said. “We are going to devote a billion euros to the nuclear program of the future, particularly fourth-generation technology,” Mr Sarkozy […]