More good news of late :

We appear to be headed towards a real, positive change in our nation’s (and hence hopefully the world’s) nuclear weapons policy. I think too many of us assume that this threat somehow vanished with the end of the cold war. Many of my students have not even lived in that era and seem to find the whole matter somewhat unbelievable. And I suppose that’s a matter of great concern as these weapons and devices still very much exist, and are still very much ready to be used in very short order.

Aside from utter global annihilation, we also live with perhaps a much more real threat today from small groups/terrorists that could perhaps obtain such a weapon. While large nation states may be seen to be somewhat reliable (or at least readable), small groups with no concern for their personal welfare pose a significant threat. I think few young people today really understand the nature of these devices and what incredible devastation can be brought by even a single detonation. It’s sort of the modern “Base Commander Ripper” from Dr. Strangelove.

Anyhow, I am encouraged that we seem to be moving towards not only fewer devices, but hopefully better control over those we do possess.