13-Feb-13 World View -- North Korea announces nuclear test

Discussion of Web Log and Analysis topics from the Generational Dynamics web site.
John
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13-Feb-13 World View -- North Korea announces nuclear test

Post by John »

13-Feb-13 World View -- North Korea announces successful nuclear test

David Einhorn seeks to undermine Apple Computer

** 13-Feb-13 World View -- North Korea announces successful nuclear test
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 13#e130213




Contents:
North Korea announces successful nuclear test
U.N. Security Council condemns North Korea nuclear test
David Einhorn seeks to undermine Apple Computer


Keys:
Generational Dynamics, North Korea, China, United Nations,
Security Council, David Einhorn, Apple Computer
John
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Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:10 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA USA
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Re: 13-Feb-13 World View -- North Korea announces nuclear te

Post by John »

Here's an interesting statistic I hadn't known before:

Right now there are more than 17,000 nuclear weapons worldwide.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 83087.html
Reality Check
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Re: 13-Feb-13 World View -- North Korea announces nuclear te

Post by Reality Check »

John wrote:Here's an interesting statistic I hadn't known before:

Right now there are more than 17,000 nuclear weapons worldwide.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 83087.html
Without reading the article, I am betting over 10,000 of them are Russian tactical nukes.

Ok, I lost that bet ... see below.
Last edited by Reality Check on Thu Feb 14, 2013 1:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reality Check
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Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2011 6:07 pm

Re: 13-Feb-13 World View -- North Korea announces nuclear te

Post by Reality Check »

The Federation of American Scientist ( FAS ) is the source for the over 17,000 number.

The FAS report was referring to warheads, both current warheads and historical warheads, that may, or may not, still exist in some form, such as the fissionable material removed from historical warheads, which may, or may not, still be highly enough enriched to build a new nuclear warhead out of.

The FAS report was also counting tactical, short range, and strategic nuclear warheads as one and the same.

The Spiegle article misquoted the FAS article calling the over 17,000 number "nuclear weapons" which is not what the FAS was reporting.

According to the Federation of American Scientists 16,200 of those 17,000 plus warheads exist in the United States and Russia.

That would leave approximately 1,000 tactical, short range, and strategic warheads spread among China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India and Israel.

Both the number of warheads in China and the number of tactical nuclear warheads in Russia, appear to be on the low side, using the assumptions FAS uses regarding what should be counted as a warhead.


The FAS report can be found here:

http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/nukes/n ... tatus.html
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