Insult vs. Flame (was: The Genie is out of the Bottle)

WILKINS@hws.edu
Thu, 28 May 1998 17:11:01 -0500 (EST)


Re:
>Janie, I don't think that was a flame or insult. Let me give you an
>example. No offense should be taken these are provided as examples. :-)

No offense shall ever be taken (at least not to heart), but I somehow felt that
the following comment was at least slightly insulting (if not entirely):

>@hws.edu at precisely 7:50 AM-0700 on 5/28/98, grouped some
>electrons into this:
>
>WOW Rohit, if this isn't a VOX post I've never seen one ... ;-)

PLUS, I had been waiting for the opportunity to throw your own words back in
your face and this seemed like as good of time as any.

>Are we clear on the difference?

Hell, YES!!!

Okay, now to answer Ernie's question on who's who in the nuclear world. Paul
Crumlish, the director of the HWS Library where I work, has written a book on
this topic called "The Nuclear Predicament" and he is extremely knowledgable
about what's happening. So, I took the lazy way out and did not do actual
research but instead asked him for a list. There is a whole vocabulary for
listing countries -- ie. declared, suspected, potential, etc..
Here is his response:

Previously Declared (pre-1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty):
U.S. , the former USSR, UK, France, China

Newly Declared:
India, Pakistan (formerly on the suspected list)

Suspected:
Israel (note: until a country detonates, they can only be listed as suspected
even if everyone knows that they have it)

Potential (have an ambitious and active nuclear program):
Iraq, Iran, N. Korea

Possible (ie: have the technology and infrastructure):
Japan, Sweden, Taiwan, S. Korea, Germany, Norway, S. Africa

Ambitious in the Past (but not likely at the present):
Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia

Status Unsure:
Ukraine, Khazhakistan, Belorussia

Finally, Tim, I think you commented before that "we" gave Israel the
capability to be a nuclear power... who did you mean by we? According to Paul
Crumlish, Israel's nuclear capabilities should be attributed to France and not
the USA.

Janie