Nuclear Obsolescence
September 30, 2011 3 min. read

Those attending to Russian politics this week will have noticed that among the stated reasons for Finance Minister Kudrin’s rebellion and dismissal was his unhappiness with high Russian military spending. It’s important, indeed, to keep an eye on Russia’s military buildup and on the increased emphasis the Putin regime has put on nuclear deterrence, as […]

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Bring an End to Cyber Bullying
September 30, 2011 3 min. read

Last Spring I brought you the piece, Bullying is Abuse, regarding the case of 15 year-old Phoebe Prince, who committed suicide in Boston following instances of bulling.  Now with technology in every child’s hands bullying is even easier, quicker and can be more widespread with only the click of a button or mouse. Children can easily text […]

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A Tale of Two Ambassadors
September 29, 2011 4 min. read

It’s no secret that representing the U.S. abroad entails both risks and rewards. Ambassadors though are rarely in the news and rightly so- they are sent to represent their country, not make a name for themselves. I’m sure most people would be hard-pressed to name any ambassadors. If they are in the news it usually […]

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Happy National Coffee Day… Ensure Yours is Child Labor and Slave Free
September 29, 2011 4 min. read

I don’t know about you, but in the morning the first thing I do after hitting snooze a few times is start to dream about my first cup of coffee.  I jump from the bed all energized thinking about the aroma of that hot cup of dark wonder…  as if I can already smell it.  […]

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Afghanistalgia
September 29, 2011 3 min. read

Nostalgia is everywhere these days, a far cry from the good old days when we used to live for the future. Woody Allen. South Africa politicians. Even Mad Men are in on the act. But nostalgia for the Soviet war in Afghanistan? “Car bombs and suicide attacks, which have become a permanent threat in today’s […]

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Drone Proliferation
September 28, 2011 1 min. read

Anybody concerned about the possible spread of drone warfare outside the core theaters of Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan, or about drones generally, will want to consult the review article by Christian Caryl in the Sept. 29 issue of the New York Review of Books. Two noteworthy points: on the positive side of the ledger, because […]

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CTBTO to Holdouts: Seriously?
September 28, 2011 4 min. read
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As the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty continues to languish in Senate purgatory, the rest of the world keeps reminding us – along with the other slackers – to get with the program. Its been fifteen years and its starting to get embarrassing. For reals. So, the Comprehensive Test Ban Organization (CTBTO), the group charged with […]

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Wangari Maathai
September 28, 2011 2 min. read

The earth has lost a very, very good friend:  Dr. Wangari Maathai.  She was a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, environmental activist, human rights campaigner, and a wonderful voice for reason in the face of the madness we so often do to our planet and ourselves.  She died this week at the age of 71 from […]

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War Crimes Expansion Led By San Marino
September 28, 2011 1 min. read

  San Marino became the first nation to ratify an amendment proposed at the 2010 Kampala Review Conference of the Rome Statute, which governs the International Criminal Court. San Marino deposited its ratification of the amendment to Article 8 at U.N. Headquarters today becoming the first nation to ratify the amendment classifying the use of […]

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Why the Security Council won’t act on Syria
September 28, 2011 4 min. read

Something needs to be done to protect civilians and prevent civil war in Syria. Last week, Avaaz, a human rights organization, reported that more than 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprisings began in March. Meanwhile, a number of sources are suggesting that Syria may be on the brink of a civil […]

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Fox News, Washington Times, MSM Jump on Fast and Furious: All Sizzle, No Steak
September 27, 2011 21 min. read

On Monday morning, Fox News ran a cover story— “ATF ‘Fast and Furious’ Claim SHOT FULL OF HOLES” (The caps belong to Fox). The visuals were pretty exciting, but the revelations in the article, hardly breaking news, were SHOT FULL OF SPIN. Listen. It’s time for the media and Congress, to get the story (the whole thing) right. We need more focus more on the criminality that may attend Fast and Furious and less discussion about the outrageous, but not illegal, aspects of the operation. More news and less
noise…

Let’s review.

Fox reporter William LaJeunesse (US Government Bought and Sold Weapons) tells us, first, that it was ‘taxpayer money’ (1.25 million—ok, sounds right) that paid for the military-grade weapons ATF sent across the US-Mexico border as part of Fast and Furious.

Where else would that money have come from? Do we think ATF agents in Phoenix passed the hat…

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Laser Enrichment: Still Sketchy
September 27, 2011 2 min. read

My boss over at APS, Dr. Francis Slakey, continues the battle with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over efforts to get them to take proliferation risks into account in their licensing decisionmaking. The latest salvo comes in the form of a report by Aussie news channel ABC, which profiled efforts by Silex Systems Inc. to get […]

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