Defense & Security

See All Press
Whence Peace Came, Where It Went
April 11, 2011 1 min. read

I wrote a review of a book called Peace: A World History, by Antony Adolf, for The Mantle.  Check it out here.  While I had some problems with the book, as you’ll read in the review, I still think it’s worth a read.  Here’s the first paragraph of my take: As implied by the title […]

Read more
CNN Report: Where Did You Get Your Chocolate?
April 10, 2011 2 min. read

Here is something timely for you: a CNN special report on chocolate and where it comes from.  It’s very interesting.  Let me know what you think! http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/06/the-dark-side-of-chocolate/?hpt=C2 From CNN’s website: “CNN’s Richard Quest talks to filmmaker U. Roberto Romano, whose documentary “The Dark Side of Chocolate” investigates child labor and cocoa fields in the Ivory […]

Read more
Don't You Forget About Me: More than just the theme song to "The Breakfast Club"
April 9, 2011 5 min. read

One of the many hats I wear is that of co-founder of an informal group of arms control and non-pro types, generously funded by the AAAS, who meet periodically to hear from experts in the field about topics of interest to the community.  On the heels of a speech made by National Security Advisor Tom Donilon […]

Read more
The Atomic Trucker and Lessons for Proliferation
April 9, 2011 4 min. read

A funky little site called “Motherboard” recently posted an interview with a guy named John Coster-Mullen. Apparently, Mr. Coster-Mullen, a former truck driver with no college education taught himself how to reverse-engineer the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With jaw-dropping accuracy. So much so that Dr. Robert Norris, the highly regarded nuclear weapons […]

Read more
Globalization and Zambia's Debt
April 9, 2011 4 min. read

Globalization has had a profound effect on the world over the course of the past three decades. We are experiencing a technological revolution; it’s far from over.  Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina began saying in 2004 that we were “at the end of the beginning” of the information age and that the last 25 years […]

Read more
GailForce: Budget Shutdown Wars – Congress Gets Paid But Troops Don’t?
April 8, 2011 5 min. read

As I write this blog, if Congress cannot agree on a budget in a few hours the U.S. government will be forced to shutdown.  Thought I’d weigh in on what this will mean to the 1.6 men and woman currently serving on active duty.  As someone who was on active duty in the military the […]

Read more
Justifying Military Tribunals
April 8, 2011 4 min. read

Eric Holder’s announcement earlier this week that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and several other 9/11 plotters will be tried in military tribunals represents another step in Obama’s ‘close Guantanamo’ saga. The saga began in Obama’s first week as president, when he signed the infamous Close Guantanamo executive order (you can read the executive order here).  […]

Read more
The Ambiguities of Resolution 1973
April 5, 2011 4 min. read

UN Security Council Resolution 1973 (which you can download here) authorizes a no-fly zone in Libya, as well as some other things.  The scope of those other things, though, is the source of much contention.  The no-fly zone, as far as I can tell, is pretty straight forward.  Paragraph 8 authorizes member states “to take […]

Read more
Ethics and Economics
April 1, 2011 2 min. read

Thank you, friends, for taking the time to read this blog on ethics and economics. We live in interesting and uncertain times.  So many issues vie for our attention, especially for those who have the heart to change the world. Do we save the rainforest?  Do we lobby for pro-life legislation?  Pro-choice reinforcements?  Should we […]

Read more
GailForce: Libya – Mission Creep?
April 1, 2011 7 min. read

Been off the blogosphere for a few days. In Alabama helping my Mom celebrate her 84th birthday. On my little net notebook and still haven’t figured out how to do spell check on it so sorry for any typos. Thursday was a particularly significant day for the Libya crisis. NATO announced it had taken over […]

Read more
More on Rad Stuff
March 30, 2011 1 min. read

Kudos to the NYT, at least this time, for profiling David Brenner at my alma mater, Columbia University, who is trying to spread accurate information about radiation in the context of Fukushima. I commend this piece to all. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/science/earth/29brenner.html?src=recg

Read more
Doses and exposures and plutonium – oh my!
March 30, 2011 5 min. read

No, I am absolutely not downplaying the potential contamination and exposures that are arising as a result of the ongoing mess at Fukushima. I have seen ample photos of severe radiation burns resulting from exposure to powerful strontium-90 sources discarded by Soviet authorities and stumbled upon by hapless woodsmen in the Republic of Georgia.  I […]

Read more

Popular from Press